Patent Publication Number: US-2005120533-A1

Title: Tableware washer

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present invention relates to a tableware washer, and more particularly, to a tableware washer capable of reducing an installation space by a compact construction and reducing an amount of water used at the time of washing tableware.  
      2. Description of the Conventional Art  
      Generally, a tableware washer is a device for automatically washing tableware, etc. at home, at a restaurant, etc. The tableware washer removes foreign materials existing at tableware, etc. by using a frictional force of water and a decomposition force of detergent. The tableware washer washes not only tableware but also cooking utensils such as a cup, a spoon, a fork, a knife, etc.  
       FIG. 1  is a longitudinal section view schematically showing one example of a tableware washer in accordance with the conventional art.  
      As shown, the conventional tableware washer includes: a body  10  having a washing space therein, the space formed as one surface of the body is opened; and a door (not shown) coupled to the body  10  for opening and closing one surface of the body  10 .  
      The body  10  of the tableware washer includes: a case  11  that forms an appearance; a tub  12  arranged in the case  11  with a washing space; a rack  20  mounted in the tub  12  and on which tableware is laid; an arm  25  positioned in the tub  12  for spraying introduced washing water upon the tableware; and a sump case  30  mounted at a lower surface of the tub  12  and having an accommodation space for accommodating the washing water sprayed onto the tableware.  
      The rack  20  is up-down installed to be drawn out in order to accommodate tableware to be washed, etc. Also, the arm  25  having a nozzle  26  for spraying washing water onto tableware, etc. is rotatably installed at a lower side of the rack  20 , respectively.  
      A filer  35  for shielding an introduction of foreign materials is provided in the sump case  30 . Also, a drain pump  60  and a drain pipe  61  for discharging washing water are respectively provided at one side of the sump case  30 .  
      A pump  50  for pumping washing water is arranged outside the sump case  30 , and the pump  50  is connected to the sump case  30  by a connection pipe  40 .  15  The pump  50  is connected to the arm  25  by a vertical conduit  45  thus to pump washing water.  
       FIG. 2  is a plane view of a sump case of a tableware washer according to another embodiment of the conventional art.  
      As shown, the tableware includes: a sump case  70  for accommodating washing water; a pump  80  formed at one side of the sump case  70  and providing a driving force for circulating washing water; a heater  90  installed at one side of the sump case  70  for heating washing water; a first connection pipe  75  for connecting the sump case  70  and the pump  80 ; a second connection pipe  85  for connecting the sump case  70  and the pump  80 ; and a third connection pipe  95  for connecting the heater  90  and the sump case  70 .  
      Washing water accommodated in the sump case  70  is heated while passing through the first, second, and third connection pipes thus to be sprayed into the tub through a vertical conduit (not shown).  
      A water softening device  92  for changing hard water into soft water, and a counter weight  91  for preventing vibration and noise at the time of a rotation of an arm (not shown) are respectively installed at one side of the sump case  70 .  
      A process for washing tableware of the conventional tableware will be explained as follows.  
      First, water is introduced into the sump case  30  from outside through an introduction conduit (not shown). The introduced water is mixed with detergent, etc. When the pump  50  is operated under a state that a certain amount of washing water is accommodated in the sump case  30 , the washing water is supplied to the arm  25  through the connection pipe  40  by a suction force of the pump  50 . The washing water is sprayed by the nozzle  26  provided at the rotating arm  25 . The sprayed washing water collides with tableware, etc. laid on the rack  20  thus to remove foreign materials existing at the tableware, etc., and then is returned to the sump case  30 . After performing the washing operation by repeating said circulation process, the washing water is discharged out through the drain pipe  61  with using the drain pump  60 .  
      However, in the conventional tableware washer, the pump  50 , the heater  90 , etc. are arranged outside the sump cases  30  and  70 , and the connection pipes  40 ,  75 ,  85 , and  95  are used to connect them one another. According to this, it is impossible to realize a compact construction thus to have a limitation a space utility, thereby increasing the number of components, the number of fabrication processes, and a fabrication cost. Also, since the conventional tableware washer is designed to accommodate a certain amount of washing water in the pumps  50  and  80 , the heater  90 , the connection pipes  40 ,  75 ,  85 , and  95 , etc., an entire amount of washing water is increased. Additionally, since the heater  90  is connected to the sump case  70  by the connection pipes, a heat loss is increased.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a tableware washer capable of reducing an installation space by a compact construction and reducing an amount of water used at the time of washing tableware.  
      To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, there is provided a tableware washer comprising: a case that forms an appearance; a tub arranged in the case with a washing space; a rack mounted in the tub and on which tableware is laid; an arm positioned in the tub, for spraying introduced washing water upon tableware; a sump case mounted at a lower surface of the tub and having an accommodation space of washing water; a first conduit connected to the arm, for spraying washing water accommodated in the sump case into the tub through the arm; a main motor mounted at a lower surface of the sump case, for generating a rotational driving force; and an impeller positioned in the sump case and connected to the main motor by a rotational shaft penetrated along an up-down direction, for pumping washing water into the tub through the first conduit.  
      To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, there is also provided an assembly method of a tableware washer comprising: a first step of mounting a tub having a washing space in a case that forms an appearance; a second step of completing a sump case assembly so that a rotational shaft of a main motor for providing a driving force for pumping washing water can be penetration-coupled to a sump case mounted at a lower surface of the tub and having an accommodation space of washing water; and a third step of inserting the sump case assembly into a penetration portion of the tub from an upper side of the tub so that a hook of the sump case can be coupled to a hook groove of the tub.  
      The foregoing and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention.  
      In the drawings:  
       FIG. 1  is a longitudinal section view schematically showing one example of a tableware washer in accordance with the conventional art;  
       FIG. 2  is a plane view showing a sump case of a tableware washer according to another embodiment of the conventional art;  
       FIG. 3  is a longitudinal section view showing a tableware washer according to one embodiment of the present invention;  
       FIG. 4  is a longitudinal section view showing a sump case according to one embodiment of the present invention; and  
       FIG. 5  is a disassembled perspective view showing the sump case according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
      Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.  
      Hereinafter, a tableware washer according to the present invention will be explained with reference to the attached drawings as follows.  
       FIG. 3  is a longitudinal section view showing a tableware washer according to one embodiment of the present invention,  FIG. 4  is a longitudinal section view showing a sump case according to one embodiment of the present invention, and  FIG. 5  is a disassembled perspective view showing the sump case according to one embodiment of the present invention.  
      As shown, the tableware washer according to the present invention comprises: a case  100  that forms an appearance; a tub  200  arranged in the case  100  with a washing space; a rack  830  mounted in the tub  200  and on which tableware is laid; an arm  810  positioned in the tub  200 , for spraying introduced washing water upon tableware; a sump case  300  mounted at a lower surface of the tub  200  and having an accommodation space of washing water; a first conduit connected to the arm  810 , for spraying washing water accommodated in the sump case  300  into the tub  200 ; a main motor  500  mounted at a lower surface of the sump case  300  for generating a rotational driving force; and an impeller  540  positioned in he sump case  300  and connected to the main motor  500  by a rotational shaft  510  penetrated along an up-down direction, for pumping washing water into the tub  200  through the first conduit.  
      The lower surface of the tub  200  is inclined so that washing water can be collected into the sump case  300 , and a penetration portion  250  is formed at the middle portion of the tub  200  so that the sump case  300  can pass and thereby can be coupled thereto. A hook groove  325  for engaging a hook  320  of the sump case  300  which will be later explained is formed at the periphery of the penetration portion  250 .  
      A drain pump  900  is coupled to one side of the lower portion of the sump case  300 , and a filter member  600  for preventing foreign materials of a certain size from being introduced into the sump case  300  is arranged at the upper end of the sump case  300 . Also, a filth case  400  for collecting filth of washing water is coupled to the lower side of the filter member  600 . The impeller  540  for pumping washing water by receiving a driving force is provided at the lower side of the filth case  400 . A conduit control valve  560  for controlling a flow amount of pumped washing water is rotatably installed at one side of the impeller  540 .  
      A heater  700  for heating washing water inside the sump case  300  is installed at the lower side of the impeller  540 . Also, the main motor  500  having the rotational shaft  510  rotatably and integrally coupled to the axial center of the impeller  540  by penetrating the sump case  300  in the up-down direction is coupled to the lower side of the sump case  300 .  
      The sump case  300  has a box shape that is upwardly opened to accommodate washing water therein, and a filter accommodating portion  324  for accommodating the filter member  600  is formed at the upper opened portion of the sump case  300 . A plurality of hooks  320  downwardly protruded so that the sump case  300  can be coupled thereto from the upper side of the tub  200  are formed at the lower side of the filter accommodating portion  324 . A valve engaging portion  330  protruded more than the periphery and rotatably engaging the conduit control valve  560  is formed at one side of the inner portion of the sump case  300 . A valve driving motor  570  for rotatably driving the conduit control valve  560  by passing through the sump case  300  and thereby being integrally coupled to the conduit control valve  560  is coupled to the lower side of the valve engaging portion  330 .  
      The filter member  600  has a disc shape, and is provided with a vertical conduit  800  at the middle portion thereof. The vertical conduit  800  is upwardly extended to supply washing water to a nozzle  821  installed at a lower portion of inside of the tub  200 . A mesh portion  620  for preventing foreign materials of a IS certain size from passing, and a plurality of penetration holes  610  of a certain size are respectively formed at the periphery of the vertical conduit  800 . The valve engaging portion  330  for engaging the upper end of the conduit control valve  560  is formed at one side of the vertical conduit  800 . Also, an upper conduit  170  upwardly extended for supplying washing water to an upper nozzle (not shown) installed at an upper portion of inside of the tub  200  is formed at one side of the valve engaging portion  330 .  
      The filth case  400  has a box shape that is upwardly opened, and is provided with an impeller accommodating portion  410  at one side thereof. The impeller accommodating portion  410  is protruded more than the periphery in order to accommodate the upper portion of the impeller  540 . A horizontal conduit  420  for flowing washing water pumped by the impeller  540  to the vertical conduit  800  is formed at the upper side of the impeller accommodating portion  410 . A valve accommodating portion  430  for accommodating the conduit control valve  560  is formed in the horizontal conduit  420 .  
      The horizontal conduit  420  formed in the filth case  400 , and the vertical conduit connected between the horizontal conduit  420  and the arm  810  form the first conduit.  
      An impeller case  440  for accommodating the impeller  540  together with the impeller accommodating portion  410  is coupled to the lower side of the filth case  400 , and an inlet  550  for introducing washing water is penetration-formed at the lower portion of the impeller case  440 . A screen  530  having introduction holes of a certain size so as to limit a size of foreign materials introduced into the inlet  550  is coupled to the inlet  550 . A grinder  520  for grinding foreign materials of washing water introduced into the screen  530  is rotatably and integrally coupled to the rotational shaft  510  of the impeller  540 .  
      The main motor  500  has a relatively thin thickness along the axial direction of the rotational shaft  510 , and is formed as a BLDC motor capable of easily controlling a rotation speed. The rotational shaft  510  is rotatably supported by a bearing  580  coupled to the sump case  300 .  
      An assembly method of the tableware washer is as follows. First, the tub  200  having a washing space is mounted in the case  100  that forms an appearance. Then, the rotational shaft  510  of the main motor  500  is penetration-coupled to the sump case  300  having the heater  700  for heating washing water. Additionally, the filth case  400  for collecting filth is coupled to the lower side of the filter member  600  for filtering filth, and the impeller case  440  for accommodating the impeller  540  is coupled to the lower side of the filth case  400 . Then, the filter member  600  is coupled to the opened portion of the sump case  300  so that the impeller  540  can be coupled to the upper end of the rotational shaft  540 , and the impeller  540  is fixedly-coupled to the upper end of the rotational shaft  510 , thereby completing the sump case assembly. Herein, it is preferable to couple the grinder to the rotational shaft  510 , to arrange the conduit control valve  560  at the valve engaging portion  330 , and to couple the valve driving motor  570  to the conduit control valve  560 . The completed sump case  300  is inserted into the penetration portion  250  of the tub  200  from the upper side of the tub  200  so that each hook  320  of the sump case  300  can be coupled to the hook groove  325  of the tub  200 .  
      Hereinafter, effects of the tableware washer according to the present invention will be explained as follows. The same operation effects as those of the conventional art will be omitted.  
      First, water is introduced into the sump case  300  through the upper conduit  170 , and the introduced water is mixed with detergent. As the pump driving motor  500  is operated, the impeller  540  is rotated. By the rotational force of the impeller  540 , washing water passes through the conduit control valve  560  positioned at the valve accommodating portion  430  through the inlet  550  of the pump case  440 . A desired flow amount of washing water is controlled by operating the valve driving motor  570  connected to the conduit control valve  560 . The washing water that has passed through the conduit control valve  560  reaches the vertical conduit  800  and the arm  810  via the horizontal conduit  420  positioned at the filth case  400 , and then is sprayed upon tableware, etc. positioned at the rack  830  through the nozzle  821 . At this time, the heater  700  heats washing water positioned in the sump case  300 .  
      As aforementioned, differently from the conventional art that the sump case is connected to the pump and the heater that are separately provided by the connection pipe, in the present invention, the pump driving motor coupled to the pump by passing through the sump case along the up-down direction is provided at the lower portion of the sump case, and the heater is positioned in the sump case. According to this, the number of components such as the heater case, the connection pipe, etc. is reduced, and a consumption amount of washing water is decreased. Also, since the sump case is assembled with a compact construction, a water softening device for converting hard water into soft water can be arranged therein. Additionally, since the heater and the sump case are integrally coupled to each other, a heat loss generated at the connection pipe can be reduced.  
      In the present invention, components are coupled to inside and outside of the sump case and the sump case to which components are attached is coupled to the tub, thereby facilitating the assembly between the sump case and the tub. According to this, the sump case can be conveniently assembled and can be easily repaired by separating only the sump case from the entire apparatus.  
      As the present invention may be embodied in several forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof, it should also be understood that the above-described embodiments are not limited by any of the details of the foregoing description, unless otherwise specified, but rather should be construed broadly within its spirit and scope as defined in the appended claims, and therefore all changes and modifications that fall within the metes and bounds of the claims, or equivalence of such metes and bounds are therefore intended to be embraced by the appended claims.