Dishwasher spray assembly with intermittently operating nozzles

A dishwashing machine having a washing chamber, a rack for supporting dishes within said chamber and apparatus for spraying wash liquid onto dishes within said rack, said apparatus comprising:

• a conduit within said washing chamber positioned below said rack and having a plurality of apertures along a peripheral side wall of said conduit, at least one of said plurality of apertures being axially spaced from the remaining plurality of apertures;
• a pump means associated with said conduit for supplying washing liquid under pressure through said conduit;
• a hollow spray device rotatably mounted on said conduit adjacent said plurality of apertures so as to provide fluid communication between said conduit and said hollow spray device;
• a plurality of nozzles carried by said spray device for providing fluid communication between said spray device and said washing chamber;
• means for continuously rotating said spray device unidirectionally;
• and
• means for fluid-isolating at least one of said nozzles from the remaining plurality of nozzles and providing fluid communication between said fluid-isolated nozzles and said one axially spaced aperture of the conduit so as to provide select fluid communication between said one nozzle and said conduit as said spray device unidirectionally rotates about said conduit so that wash liquid is intermittently supplied to said fluid-isolated nozzles and continuously supplied to the remainder of said plurality of nozzles.

A dishwashing machine having a washing chamber, at least one rack for supporting dishes within said chamber and an apparatus for distributing wash liquid onto dishes within said rack, said apparatus comprising:

• a pump means having an outlet positioned below said rack for supporting wash liquid under pressure within said chamber;
• said outlet including a plurality of apertures along side walls thereof and at least two of said apertures being axially spaced from one another;
• at least one hollow spray device rotatably mounted within said chamber in operative relation with said rack and in fluid communication with said outlet;
• a plurality of nozzles carried by said spray device for providing fluid communication between said spray device and said washing chamber;
• and
• at least one tube-like member mounted within said spray device having an outer end thereof in fluid communication with a select one of said plurality of nozzles and having an inner end thereof adjacent and openly facing said outlet side walls along a portion thereof encompassing only one of the axially spaced apertures therein;
• whereby said tubular member is in fluid communication with said outlet only when said inner end of the tube-like member passes before the encompassed aperture as said spray device rotates about said outlet.

In a dishwashing appliance,

• means forming a treatment zone for receiving articles to be washed in separate areas within said zone;
• means including conduit means for pressurizing a supply of washing liquid and driving said supply of washing liquid in the form of a stream;
• a rotatable spray device having a plurality of passage means formed therein including at least one passage which has an opening inlet end at the radially innermost end thereof;
• hub means selectively interconnecting said spray device and said conduit means and having a first plurality of circumferentially spaced openings for intermittent registration with said open inlet end of the one passage within the spray device, whereby the pressurized stream intermittently directs a supply of washing liquid to a select one of said separate areas in said zone via said one passage within the spray device and continuously directs a supply of washing liquid to the remainder of said separate areas;
• and
• means for continuously rotating said spray device in one direction only during the operation of the dishwashing appliance.