Patent Publication Number: US-2022233053-A1

Title: Easy loading silverware basket

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     Disclosed herein are easy loading silverware baskets for dishwashers. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Dishwashers often include removable baskets for utensils and other item-specific storage. During a wash cycle, spray may hit utensils stored in the basket in order to clean the utensils. However, the utensils are generally stationary and spray patterns may not reach all surfaces of the utensils. 
     SUMMARY 
     A dishwasher system for cleaning dishes may include at least one rack configured to receive a silverware basket, the basket including a plurality of partitions creating a plurality of cavities within the basket for receiving utensils for washing, where each cavity includes a separate and distinct base at a bottom of the basket that is vertically movable within the cavity, a camshaft fixed to the rack and operable by a gearbox configured to rotate the camshaft with respect to the rack, the camshaft arranged below the silverware basket, and a plurality of cams extending along the camshaft, at least one cam being arranged below each cavity, wherein upon rotation of the camshaft by the gearbox, each cam affects the height of the respective base to allow the utensils in the respective cavity to be intermittently lifted and exposed to spray from sprayers within the dishwasher. 
     A utensil tray for a dishwasher for housing utensils during washing may include a utensil basket including a plurality of partitions creating a plurality of cavities within the basket, and a separate and distinct base arranged at a bottom of the basket that is vertically movable within the cavity to selectively lift utensils arranged therein in response to a cam arranged along a rotating camshaft below the basket affecting the height of the base. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The embodiments of the present disclosure are pointed out with particularity in the appended claims. However, other features of the various embodiments will become more apparent and will be best understood by referring to the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: 
         FIG. 1  illustrates an example front perspective view of a dishwasher in accordance with one example embodiment; 
         FIG. 2  illustrates a cut-away view of an example silverware basket assembly; 
         FIG. 3  illustrates a front elevational view of an example silverware basket and camshaft assembly where one of the bases is in a first or lower position; and 
         FIG. 4  illustrates a front elevational view of an example silverware basket and camshaft assembly where one of the bases is in a second or higher position. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention that may be embodied in various and alternative forms. The figures are not necessarily to scale; some features may be exaggerated or minimized to show details of particular components. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention. 
     Dishwashers often include baskets that are removable to load special items such as silverware, chopsticks, cooking utensils, etc. The items are cleaned by liquid spray generated by various sprayers within the dishwasher. However, oftentimes the items within the basket may become grouped together within the basket. Various basket designs attempt to mitigate this by including separate compartments for reviewing the utensils. In one example, a grid-like basket top may define various openings for silverware to be inserted one by one. However, this is time consuming, limits the number of utensils the basket can hold, and limits the flexibility of the basket to be used for different items that vary in size. 
     Disclosed herein is a utensil basket and assembly configured to selectively adjust the height of silverware within a compartment to vary the surface at which the spray comes into contact with during a wash cycle. A camshaft mechanism may be arranged below the basket such that during a wash cycle, the camshaft mechanism may rotate to lift and then lower a base below each silverware compartment at periodic intervals to push the silverware up and then down and into the spray pattern for better cleaning. Moreover, the motion may cause movement within the utensils within the basket to prevent them from becoming grouped together. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates an example front perspective view of a dishwasher  100  in accordance with one example embodiment. The dishwasher  100  may be an automated appliance configured to clean kitchen equipment placed within the dishwasher  100 . The kitchen equipment may include tableware such as dishes, glassware, cutlery and other utensils, and well as food preparation equipment such as pots and pans, slicers, presses, and peelers. To perform the cleaning, the kitchen equipment is placed on racks  122 ,  124  inside a tub  104  of the dishwasher  100 . A door assembly  110  is closed to form a watertight seal around the tub  104 . Washing liquid and rinsing liquid is propelled from jets onto the kitchen equipment to clean dirt, grease, and other contaminants off the kitchen equipment. Though the examples described herein are generally related to in-home and personal use dishwashers, the same concepts may be applicable to commercial dishwashers as well. 
     The dishwasher  100  may include a frame  102  defining the exterior of the dishwasher  100 . The frame  102  may be configured to interface with components exterior to the dishwasher  100  for installation, such as cabinets, countertops, floors, etc. The frame  102  may include a top, left side, right side, back, and bottom. 
     The tub  104  may define a hollow cavity or interior of the dishwasher for washing dishes. The tub  104  may define an open-face, or access opening  106  with walls at the top, left side, right side, back and bottom. A chassis (not individually labeled) may be arranged between the frame  102  and the tub  104  to maintain the tub  104  within the frame. The chassis may support the tub  104  and allow for maintaining space between the frame  102  and the tub  104 . 
     A door assembly  110  may be arranged at a front of the dishwasher  100 . The door assembly  110  may be attached to the dishwasher at the bottom front edge of the frame  102  and may be hinged thereat to move between open and closed positions. In the closed position, the door assembly  110  may seal the tub  104  at the access opening  106 . In the open position, the cavity may be accessible via the access opening. In another example, the door assembly  110  may operate as a drawer that can be slidably extended outward from the front of the dishwasher  100  to move into the open position, and slidably retracted back into the dishwasher  100  to the closed position to seal the tub  104 . 
     The tub  104  may house at least one dish rack. In the example shown in  FIG. 1 , the dishwasher  100  includes a first dish rack  122  and a second dish rack  124 . It should be noted that while two disk racks are shown, this is only one example, and dishwashers  100  with more or fewer dish racks are possible. For instance, a dishwasher  100  may include a single rack or three or more racks. 
     Regardless of quantity or arrangement, the dish racks  122 ,  124  may be designed to hold the kitchen equipment in place for cleaning by the dishwasher  100 . In many examples the dish racks  122 ,  124  are wire frame racks that allow for the flow of liquid within the tub  104 . Although racks  122 ,  124  made of plastic, other materials are possible. The dish racks  122 ,  124  may generally include tines or other projections to allow the kitchen equipment to be washed to be held in a spaced apart relationship, such that the washing liquid and rinsing liquid can be projected onto the exposed kitchen equipment surfaces for cleaning these surfaces. 
     The racks are generally adapted to move between a retracted wash position within the tub  104  and an extended position outside the tub  104  for loading and unloading of the kitchen equipment to be washed. The racks typically include wheels or rollers for rolling movement along tracks or guides to the retracted and extended positions. In the illustrated example, the first rack  122  includes rollers or wheels that cooperate with a first track  132  formed at the bottom wall of the tub  104 . A door track  111  may be arranged on the dishwasher door  110  as shown to allow the first rack to be rolled into an extended position when the door  110  is open. The second rack  124  is generally mounted within the tub  104  along a pair of second support rails  134  that cooperate with rollers associated with the side walls of the tub  104 . Alternatively, the second rack  124  may be connected to a telescoping rail that allows the second rack to be extended out of the tub area when the door  110  is open. Thus, as shown the first and second racks  122 ,  124  may be movable along their respective track rails  132 ,  134  to allow the respective racks  122 ,  124  to be slidable in and out of the access opening  106 . 
     The dishwasher  100  may also include a spray system for spraying liquid within the tub  104  during a cleaning cycle. In an example cycle, washing liquid including soap may first be sprayed onto the kitchen equipment, and then once washed, rinsing liquid without soap may then be sprayed onto the kitchen equipment. The spray system may include various jets for providing the liquid onto the surfaces of dishes during the automated washing and rinsing operations. The spray system may include a bottom sprayer  142 , middle sprayer  144 , and a top sprayer (not shown). In some examples, one or more of the sprayers are positioned at fixed locations within the tub  104 . In other examples, one or more of the sprayers may be rotating spray arms with various nozzles configured to spray water onto the dishes maintained on the rack for cleaning. For instance, water jets on the spray arm may be angled so the water sprays out of the spray arms at an angle (e.g., ˜45 degrees off the vertical) thereby causing the spray arms to rotate due to the pressure of the exiting water. 
     During loading, a user may open the door assembly  110  into the open position, pull the racks  122 ,  124  from the tub  104 , and load the kitchen equipment onto the racks  122 ,  124 . Once completed, the user may push the racks back into the tub  104 , move the door assembly  110  back to the closed position, and initiate the cleaning cycle. Once the cleaning cycle has been completed, the user may again open the door assembly  110  to remove the cleaned kitchen equipment from the racks. 
     A third rack  126  may be arranged on and above one or more of the racks  122 ,  124 . In the illustrated example, the third rack  126  is arranged above the second rack  124 , but other configurations are possible, such as a single rack with a tray  126 , or multiple racks each with a third rack  126 , or one rack with multiple trays. As with the dish racks  122 ,  124 , the third rack  126  is configured to receive kitchen equipment for washing. In one non-limiting example, the third rack  126  may be designed to hold kitchen equipment such as chopsticks or knives that, due to their dimensions, are more difficult to hold in a fixed spaced apart arrangement within the dish racks  122 ,  124  themselves. 
     Dishwashers often include removable storage or specific purpose storage to allow for better cleaning of certain utensils. In one example, a utensil basket  150  may be arranged in one of the racks  122 ,  124 ,  126 . In the examples shown herein, the basket  150  is arranged in the first rack  122 . The basket  150  may be fixed within the rack  122 , and also may be selectively removable to allow for easier loading and unloading of items. Various tines or pins may be included on the rack  122  to maintain the basket  150  in a fixed position within the rack  122 . The tines or pins of the rack  122  may be configured to receive the basket  150  at various locations, allowing for greater loading flexibility of the rack  122 . During operation, the sprayers  142 ,  144  may spray liquid onto the basket  150  and its contents. This liquid may clean the utensils arranged within the basket  150 . 
       FIG. 2  illustrates a cut-away view of an example silverware basket assembly  200 . The assembly  200  may include the basket  150  as illustrated in  FIG. 1 . The basket  150  may have a frame made up of four sides forming a rectangular shape where a first pair of sides  206  are connected by a second pair of sides  208 , where the first pair of sides  206  are longer than the second pair of sides  208 . A middle support  212  may be arranged at the center of the first pair of sides  206  and extend between the first pair of sides  206  so that the support  212  is perpendicular with the first pair of sides  206  and parallel with the second pair of sides  208 . A handle  213  may extend above the middle support  212  to allow for easy gripping by the user during removal and placement of the basket in the rack  112 . 
     A plurality of partitions  210  may extend between one pair of sides along the length of the basket  150 . The partitions  210  may be spaced and parallel with each other and the second pair of sides  208 , as well as the middle support  212 . In the example shown in  FIG. 2 , the partitions  210  are equally spaced, but may be placed at varying distances so as to vary the length of the cavities that each partition  210  defines. The partitions  210  may facilitate holding utensils upright within the basket  150 . 
     Each cavity may be closed via a basket base  214  at the bottom of the basket  150 . Each cavity may have a separate base  214  and each base  214  may be vertically movable within the cavity. The base  214  may be maintained laterally within the cavity via the sides  206 ,  208 , partitions  210  and middle support  212 . In some examples, recesses, guides or rails may be defined or included on the partitions  210  or sides  206  to aid in maintaining the base  214  generally level. The bases  214  are discussed in further detail below. 
     Each of the sides  206 ,  208 , support  212 , partitions  210 , and bases  214  may be formed by a plurality of interconnecting strips that define openings between the strips. The openings allow fluid to enter into the basket  150  and reach the utensils housed within the cavities. The example illustrated in the figures illustrates a grid-like structure, but other structures may be appreciated. In some example, one or more of the sides  206 ,  208 , support  212 , partitions  210 , and bases  214  may also be solid. The basket  150  may be made of a plastic material, but other materials such as silicon, aluminum, etc., may also be used. The basket  150  may be coated or overmolded wire mess, stainless steel, etc. 
     The assembly  200  may also include a camshaft assembly  204  arranged below the basket  150 . The camshaft assembly  204  may be arranged and fixed on the first rack  122  such that the camshaft assembly  204  is maintained on the rack  122  when the basket  150  is removed. The camshaft assembly  204  may include a plurality of cams  220  spaced along a shaft  222 . The cams  220  may have a lobe or lever portion  225  on one side of the shaft  222  (as best shown and labeled in  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4 ) and a heal on the other side of the shaft  222 . The cams  220  are fixed to the shaft  222  such that the cams  220  rotate as the shaft  222  rotates. 
     The cams  220  are alternatingly arranged so that the lever portion  225  of one cam  220  does not align with the lever portion  225  of the adjacent cam. In the example shown in  FIG. 2 , the cams  22  are alternatingly arranged such that the lever portion  225  of one cam is opposite that of the next cam. That is, if one lever portion  225  is generally arranged above the shaft  222 , the lever portion  225  of the adjacent cam is arranged below the shaft. 
     Upon rotation of the shaft  222 , the cams  220  may also rotate. Each base  214  is configured to move with its respective cam  220 . As the shaft  222  rotates, the relative position of each cam  220  also rotates. This in turn causes the bases  214  to move in the vertical direction. This is discussed in further detail with respect to  FIGS. 3 and 4  below. 
     The camshaft assembly  204  may be controlled by a gearing system  230 . The gearing system  230  may be fixed to the first rack  122 , or the gearing mechanism may be attached the back wall of the dishwasher cavity. In this latter example, when the rack  122  is pulled from the cabinet for loading or unloaded of items, the shaft  222  may disengage from the gearing system  230 . The shaft  222  may reengage with the gearing system  230  when the rack  122  is returned to the cabinet. 
     The gearing system  230  may include a gearing mechanism  226  such as a Michigan manifold. The gearing mechanism  226  may include a Pelton wheel configured to generate a rotary motion. The wheel may be driven by a jet stream provided by a feed tube. Thus, water from the dishwasher  100  may be used to drive the gearing system  230  and thus rotate the camshaft assembly  204 . The use of a motor may be avoided, keeping costs and maintenance low. However, motors may be used in the alternative or in addition to the wheel. 
     The camshaft assembly  204  may include a controller  228  to control the components herein such as motors, gears, sensors, etc. For example, the controller  228  may control the gearing system  230  and thus control the shaft  222  and cams  220 . The controller may include the machine controller and any additional controllers provided for controlling any of the components of the dishwasher  100 . Many known types of controllers can be used for the controller  228 . It is contemplated that the controller is a microprocessor-based controller that implements control software and sends/receives one or more electrical signals to/from each of the various working components to implement the control software. 
     The controller may also include or be coupled to a memory configured to include instructions and databases to carry out the systems and processes disclosed herein. The controller  228  may also be part of the general dishwasher control system that controls wash cycles and other systems. The controller  228  may be programmed to rotate the shaft  222  during high spray volume times of the cycle. The controller  228  may also be programmed to rotate the shaft  222  at specific speeds for the most optimum wash capabilities. 
     The controller  228  may receive data and commands from the system components and may also have an antenna for wireless communication with the devices within the dishwasher  100 , as well as device remote from the dishwasher  100 . In one example, the controller  228  may receive commands from a user interface on the dishwasher  100 . Additionally or alternatively, the controller  228  may receive commands from a mobile application on device remote from the dishwasher  100 . 
       FIG. 3  illustrates a front elevational view of an example utensil basket  150  and camshaft assembly  204  where one of the bases  214  is in a first or lower position.  FIG. 4  illustrates a front elevational view of an example utensil basket  150  and camshaft assembly  204  where one of the bases  214  is in a second or higher position. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 3 , the lever portion  225  of the cam  220  is arranged below the shaft  222 . In this position, the base  214  of the respective cavity is arranged at a lower first position. In this position, the utensils  232  residing in the cavity are also in a lower position. The utensils  232  may reach a first height H 1 . As illustrated in  FIG. 4 , the lever portion  225  of the cam  220  is arranged above the shaft  222 . In this position, the base  214  of the respective cavity is forced upward by the lever portion  225  of the cam  220  when the cam  220  is rotated into this position. By increasing the height of the base  214 , the height of the utensils  232  increases to a second height H 2 . As illustrated, the spray pattern relative to the basket  150  may remain consistent. However, the utensils  232  may be moved in order to present a different portion of the utensils  232  into the spray. 
     Further, because the cams  120  are arranged along the shaft  222  to alternate the radial position of the lever portion  225  between adjacent cams, every other cavity has a base  214  in the elevated position, while the other bases  214  are in an opposite or lower position. This allows the utensils  232  in adjacent cavities to be lower than those in the cavities with the elevated bases  214 . Accordingly, these higher utensils  232  may be more accessible to the spray from the sides, in addition to the tops which are more accessible due to the height increase. There is less blockage of the utensils due to adjacent utensils in the neighboring cavities being lower than the elevated ones. 
     With minimal parts, the flexible bases  214  of the basket  150  may allow for increased cleaning capabilities of utensils stored within the basket  150 . The basket  150  may load and unload and be removable from the rack in a traditional sense, increasing user satisfaction. Furthermore, various portions of the utensils may be accessible to the spray without the need for individual silverware separators that are timely to load and unload and limit the space for silverware in a basket. 
     While exemplary embodiments are described above, it is not intended that these embodiments describe all possible forms of the invention. Rather, the words used in the specification are words of description rather than limitation, and it is understood that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Additionally, the features of various implementing embodiments may be combined to form further embodiments of the invention. 
     For purposes of description herein the terms “upper,” “lower,” “right,” “left,” “rear,” “front,” “vertical,” “horizontal,” and derivatives thereof shall relate to the device as oriented in  FIG. 1 . However, it is to be understood that the device may assume various alternative orientations and step sequences, except where expressly specified to the contrary. It is also to be understood that the specific devices and processes illustrated in the attached drawings, and described in the following specification are simply exemplary embodiments of the inventive concepts defined in the appended claims. Hence, specific dimensions and other physical characteristics relating to the embodiments disclosed herein are not to be considered as limiting, unless the claims expressly state otherwise. 
     The descriptions of the various embodiments have been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments. 
     The flowcharts and block diagrams in the figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. In this regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of code, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be noted that, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.