Automatic sliding air knife for a dishwasher

An air drying system for a dishwasher, comprising:

• a housing configured to be coupled on a first side of said dishwasher;
• a motor disposed within the housing;
• a retaining feature configured to be coupled to a second opposing side of said dishwasher;
• a lead screw coupled to and extending between the housing and the retaining feature, wherein the lead screw extends into the housing to engage the motor;
• an air knife including:
• a blower housing defining an inlet;
• an elongated body coupled to the blower housing and defining an outlet;
• and
• an attachment feature coupled to the elongated body for engaging the lead screw;
• a blower disposed within the blower housing and configured to draw air into the air knife via the inlet and generate an air curtain with the air via the outlet;
• and
• a controller communicatively coupled to the motor, wherein the controller is configured to activate the motor to drive the air knife along the lead screw.

An air drying assembly for a washing appliance, comprising:

• a housing including first and second side projections on opposing sides of a receiving cavity;
• a motor disposed within the housing proximate to the first side projection;
• a retaining feature spaced from the housing;
• a lead screw coupled to the housing and the retaining feature, wherein the lead screw extends into the first side projection to engage the motor;
• a support rod coupled to the second side projection of the housing and the retaining feature;
• and
• an air knife including:
• a blower housing defining an inlet;
• an elongated body defining an outlet and coupled to the blower housing;
• and
• attachment features coupled to the elongated body for engaging the lead screw and the support rod, respectively, wherein the blower housing is configured to abut the housing in the receiving cavity in a stowed position and is configured to be driven along the lead screw and the support rod by the motor in a deployed state.