Abstract:
A dishwasher for completely collecting used wash water into a sump is disclosed, the dishwasher including a housing; a tub provided in the housing and receiving dishes to be washed; a sump provided at the tub so as to receive wash water and including an upper end configured not to protrude from a bottom surface of the tub; and a sprayer mounted in the tub so as to spray the wash water of the sump on the dishes.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application claims the benefit of Korean Application No. P2004-74092, filed on Sep. 16, 2004, which is hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.  
       ACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     The present invention relates to a dishwasher, and more particularly, to a sump for receiving wash water in the dishwasher.  
         [0004]     2. Discussion of the Related Art  
         [0005]     A dishwasher is an apparatus for automatically washing and drying dishes by spraying wash water on dishes. The dishwasher is normally provided in a tub, and includes at least one rack, a sump for storing wash water, and at least one sprayer provided around the rack so as to spray wash water on dishes put on the rack.  
         [0006]     In the dishwasher, the sump is mounted at a bottom of the tub so as to retrieve water sprayed on the dishes. In more detail, a flange formed at an upper part of the sump is coupled with a bottom surface of the tub via a coupling member. Since the flange has a predetermined thickness, a height difference corresponding to the thickness of the flange is generated between the bottom surface of the tub and the upper part of the sump.  
         [0007]     Accordingly, due to the height difference, the sprayed wash water is unable to be collected at the sump, and partially remains on the bottom surface of the tub. The remaining wash water is easily decayed, thereby propagating bacteria and generating a bad smell.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0008]     Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a dishwasher that substantially obviates one or more problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art.  
         [0009]     An object of the present invention is to provide a dishwasher for completely collecting used wash water into a sump, the wash water in a tub.  
         [0010]     Additional advantages, objects, and features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and in part will become apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned from practice of the invention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.  
         [0011]     To achieve these objects and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, a dishwasher is provided, the dishwasher comprising a housing; a tub provided in the housing and receiving dishes to be washed; a sump provided at the tub so as to receive wash water and including an upper end configured not to protrude from a bottom surface of the tub; and a sprayer mounted in the tub so as to spray the wash water of the sump on the dishes.  
         [0012]     The upper end of the sump lies in a common plane with the bottom surface of the tub, or below the bottom surface of the tub.  
         [0013]     The tub supports the upper end of the sump to sink downwardly from the bottom surface of the tub to a predetermined depth. In more detail, the tub comprises an opening formed at a bottom thereof and receiving the sump inserted thereto.  
         [0014]     The tub comprises an extension extended from the opening and supporting the sump, and the extension is sunken from the bottom surface of the tub to a predetermined depth. The sump comprises a flange formed at an upper end thereof and rested on the extension.  
         [0015]     The sump is configured to be directly coupled with the tub without any fastening member. In more detail, the sump is configured to be directly engaged with a circumferential portion of the opening so as to be coupled with the tub.  
         [0016]     The sump further comprises a hook configured to be engaged with a circumferential portion of the opening, and the tub further comprises a skirt downwardly extended from the opening and latching the hook.  
         [0017]     Meanwhile, the dishwasher further comprising a sealing member provided between the tub and the sump. Desirably, the sealing member is not protruded from the bottom surface of the tub.  
         [0018]     Due to the present invention, wash water in the tub is completely collected into the sump, and sump is capable of being easily and quickly coupled with the tub.  
         [0019]     It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description of the present invention are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0020]     The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate embodiment(s) of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principle of the invention. In the drawings;  
         [0021]      FIG. 1  illustrates a schematic view showing a dishwasher in accordance with the present invention;  
         [0022]      FIG. 2  illustrates a cross sectional view showing a coupling part between a tub and a sump in the dishwasher in accordance with the present invention; and  
         [0023]      FIG. 3  illustrates a bottom perspective view showing a sump of the dishwasher in accordance with the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0024]     Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.  
         [0025]      FIG. 1  illustrates a schematic view showing a dishwasher in accordance with the present invention. In the dishwasher of the present invention, a tub  10  is provided in a housing of the dishwasher, and a washing chamber is formed by a door  11  provided in front of the tub  10 . In the washing chamber, at least one rack  30  for receiving dishes is provided in the washing chamber. The rack  30  is capable of being withdrawn to an outside of the washing chamber when the door  11  is opened.  
         [0026]     A pump (not shown) for pumping the wash water to the sprayer  40  is coupled with the sump  20 . The pump includes a motor (not shown) coupled with a side of the sump  20 , and an impeller (not shown) provided in the sump  20  and coupled with the motor. Accordingly, when the motor is operated, the impellor rotates and pumps the wash water in the sump  20  to the sprayer  40  through a duct  41 . The sprayer  40  is supplied with water pumped at the pump, and generally mounted under the rack. A nozzle (not shown) is provided at the sprayer  40 , and the pumped water is sprayed into the washing chamber through the nozzle of the sprayer  40 .  
         [0027]     The sprayer is rotatably mounted, and the nozzle is oriented to be inclined. The sprayer  40  is rotated by a reaction force exerted from the water sprayed from the nozzle at an angle [ 5 ]. Accordingly, the sprayed wash water is evenly sprayed into the washing chamber and thus the dishes placed on the rack  30  are washed clean.  
         [0028]     The used wash water is retrieved into the sump  20  as mentioned above and repeatedly sprayed into the washing chamber by the sprayer  40 . When a plurality of times of washing or rinsing is completed, the used wash water is discharged from the sump  20  to an outside of the dishwasher.  
         [0029]     In the dishwasher as mentioned above, the sump  20  is formed as a separated member and coupled with the tub  10 . A coupling structure of the sump  20  and the tub  10  will be described in more detail.  FIG. 2  illustrates a cross sectional view showing a coupling part between a tub and a sump in the dishwasher in accordance with the present invention, and  FIG. 3  illustrates a bottom perspective view showing a sump of the dishwasher in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0030]     The tub  10  includes an opening  12  formed at a bottom thereof, and the sump  20  is inserted into the opening  12 . The tub  10  has an extension  13  extended inwardly from the opening  12 . The extension  13  actually corresponds to a circumferential portion of the opening  12  and is formed by bending the circumferential portion. The extension  13  serves to support the sump  20 , and, desirably, is formed over the entire circumference of the opening  12  so as to stably support the sump  20 . Meanwhile, the sump  20  includes a flange  21  formed at an upper end thereof and extended in a radius direction.  
         [0031]     The flange  21  is rested on the extension  13 , and thus the sump  20  is stably supported by the tub  10 . The flange  21  is also formed over the entire circumference of the upper end in the sump so as to be stably supported by the extension  13 . When an upper end of the sump  20 , i.e., the flange  21 , is protruded form a bottom surface of the tub  10 , a part of the sprayed water remains on the bottom surface of the tub  10  because of height difference between the upper end and the bottom surface of the tub  10 . The remaining water causes a bad smell and the propagation of bacteria.  
         [0032]     Accordingly, as illustrated, the extension  13  is sunken downwardly from the bottom surface of the tub  10  to a predetermined depth so as to prevent the upper end of the sump  20  from being protruded. Since the extension  13  corresponds to the circumferential portion of the opening  12  as mentioned above, the circumferential portion of the opening is actually sunken from the bottom surface of the tub  10  to a predetermined depth.  
         [0033]     In more detail, the extension  13  may be sunken to a depth corresponding to thickness of the flange  12 . Accordingly, the upper end of the sump  20  is not protruded from the bottom surface of the tub  10  but lies in a common plane with the bottom surface of the tub  10  [ 7 ]. The extension  13  may be sunken to a depth larger than the thickness of the flange  12 . In this case, the upper end of the sump  20  lies below the bottom surface of the tub  10 .  
         [0034]     As a result, the tub  10  holds the upper end of the sump  20  via the extension  13  so as to be sunken from the bottom surface of the tub  10  to a predetermined depth. The upper end of the sump  20  is not protruded from the tub  20  but positioned in the common plane [ 7 ] with the bottom surface of the tub  10 , or below the bottom surface. Accordingly, the wash water in the tub  10  is completely collected into the sump  20  and thereby fundamentally preventing bacteria from being propagated and a bad smell from being generated.  
         [0035]     Desirably, the sump  20  is configured to be directly engaged with the circumferential portion of the opening  12 . In more detail, the sump  20  includes at least one hook structured to be engaged with the circumferential portion of the opening  12 . Desirably, the sump  20  includes a plurality of hooks  22  formed thereat. The plurality of hooks  22  is formed adjacent to the flange  21 . The tub  10  includes a skirt  14  so as to latch the hook  22 . The skirt  14  is extended downwardly from the circumferential portion of the opening  12 , i.e., from the extension  13 . When the sump  20  is inserted into the opening  12 , the hook  22  is elastically coupled with the hook  22  and the skirt  14 . Accordingly, the sump  20  may be directly coupled with the tub  10  via the hook  22  and the skirt  14  without any fastening member such as a bolt. As a result, a fabricating time is reduced by such mechanism, and thereby increasing productivity.  
         [0036]     In order to prevent the wash water from leaking from the tub  10 , a sealing member  50  is provided between the sump  20  and the tub  10 . Desirably, the sealing member  50  is mounted not to be protruded from the bottom surface of the tub  10 . Therefore, the sealing member  50  is prevented from obstructing a movement of the wash water to the sump  20  so as to completely collect the wash water into the sump  20 .  
         [0037]     It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the inventions. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.