Patent Publication Number: US-8985128-B2

Title: Dish washer

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to dish washers, and more particularly, to a dish washer in which a structure for mounting a drain pump is improved for minimizing residual water, vibration and noise. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     The dish washer is a domestic appliance for washing and drying dishes by spraying water to the dishes, automatically. The dish washer is provided with a cabinet having a washing chamber formed therein, a plurality of racks in the washing chamber for holding the dishes, a sump for holding the washing water, a pump for supplying the washing water from the sump to spray arms, a sump assembly having a heater for heating the washing water and so on, and a plurality of spray arms arranged on upper/lower sides of the racks for spraying the washing water toward the dishes in the racks. 
     Upon putting the pump into operation, the spray arms spray the washing water pumped up by the pump toward the dishes for washing the dishes. The washing water sprayed thus is recovered by the sump and sprayed again toward the dishes. Upon finishing the washing, a drain pump comes into operation for draining the water from the sump to an outside of the dish washer through a hose, and, after drain pump is turned off, fresh water is supplied to the sump for rinsing. The fresh water is sprayed toward the dishes again, for rinsing the dishes. 
     However, the related art dish washer has inconvenience in that mounting/dismounting of the drain pump to/from the dish washer for replacement of components thereof is possible only after the dish washer itself is turned upside down to expose the sump assembly. 
     Moreover, the direct coupling of the drain pump to the sump assembly without vibration damping means results in direct transmission of vibration and consequential noise from the drain pump to the sump assembly, to affect vibration and noise of the dish washer itself. 
     To solve the problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a dish washer in which a mounting structure of the drain pump is improved for minimizing residual water, vibration and noise. 
     To achieve these objects and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, a dish washer includes a cabinet which forms an exterior of the dish washer, a tub in the cabinet to form a space for washing the dishes, a sump assembly at a lower portion of the cabinet, the sump assembly having a drain chamber for holding washing water to be drained, and a drain pump assembly coupled to a lower side of an outside of the sump assembly so as to be in communication with one side of the drain chamber for draining the washing water from the drain chamber by pumping, wherein the drain pump assembly is mounted tilted upward at a predetermined angle from an inside bottom surface of the cabinet, and the drain pump assembly and the sump assembly are connected with an insulating material to each other. 
     The drain chamber is formed to have a depth that forms a minimum space L between an outside bottom surface of the drain chamber and the inside bottom surface of the cabinet. 
     The drain chamber further includes a chamber outlet in one side of a lower side of the drain chamber connected to the drain pump assembly. 
     The drain pump assembly further includes a chamber connection pipe connected to the chamber outlet. 
     The chamber connection pipe is mounted tilted upward by a predetermined angle from a center line of the chamber outlet for supporting the drain pump assembly. 
     The minimum space L is a space enough to prevent the drain pump assembly from interfering with the inside bottom surface of the cabinet in a state the drain pump assembly is coupled to the chamber outlet. 
     The dish washer further includes a check valve member placed in the chamber outlet for preventing residual water from flowing in a reverse direction from the drain pump assembly. 
     In another aspect of the present invention, a dish washer includes a cabinet which forms an exterior of the dish washer, a tub in the cabinet to form a space for washing the dishes, a sump assembly at a lower portion of the cabinet, the sump assembly having a drain chamber with a drain filter for filtering the washing water, and a drain pump assembly coupled to a lower side of an outside of the sump assembly so as to be in communication with one side of the drain chamber for draining the washing water from the drain chamber by pumping, wherein the drain pump assembly and the sump assembly are connected with an insulating material to each other, and a check valve member is placed in a connection flow passage. 
     The drain chamber is formed to have a depth that forms a minimum space L between an outside bottom surface of the drain chamber and the inside bottom surface of the cabinet. 
     The drain chamber further includes a chamber outlet in one side of a lower side of the drain chamber connected to the drain pump assembly, and the drain pump assembly further includes a chamber connection pipe connected to the chamber outlet. 
     The minimum space L is a space enough to prevent the drain pump assembly from interfering with the inside bottom surface of the cabinet in a state the drain pump assembly is coupled to the chamber outlet. 
     As has been described, the dish washer of the present invention has an advantage in which residual water can be minimized by tilted mounting of the drain pump. 
     The vibration insulating material used for the drain pump permits to minimize vibration and noise at the time the drain pump is in operation. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide further understanding of the disclosure and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate embodiments of the disclosure and together with the description serve to explain the principle of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a section of a dish washer in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  illustrates the sump assembly in  FIG. 1 , schematically. 
         FIG. 3  illustrates a perspective view of the sump assembly in  FIG. 1 , partially. 
         FIG. 4  illustrates a section of the sump assembly in  FIG. 1 , partially. 
         FIG. 5  illustrates a section showing a fastening state of a check valve member to the sump assembly in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 6  illustrates a perspective view of the check valve member in  FIG. 5 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Reference will now be made in detail to the specific 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. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a section of a dish washer in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention,  FIG. 2  illustrates the sump assembly in  FIG. 1  schematically, and  FIG. 3  illustrates a perspective view of the sump assembly in  FIG. 1  partially.  FIG. 4  illustrates a section of the sump assembly in  FIG. 1  partially,  FIG. 5  illustrates a section showing a fastening state of a check valve member to the sump assembly in  FIG. 1 , and  FIG. 6  illustrates a perspective view of the check valve member in  FIG. 5 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , the dish washer includes a cabinet  10  which forms an exterior of the dish washer, a tub  200  which forms a washing chamber  210  for washing dishes, a door  100  for opening/closing the tub  200 , and a sump assembly  600  for supplying/recovering the washing water. 
     The tub  200  has the washing chamber  210  formed therein for holding the dishes, and a plurality of racks  220  are mounted in the washing chamber  210  for placing the dishes thereon. The washing water is sprayed through the spray arms  230  in a state the dishes are placed on the racks  220  for washing the dishes. 
     The spray arm  230  includes an upper arm  232  under an upper rack  222 , and a lower arm  234  under the lower rack  224 . Both the upper arm and the lower arm are rotatably mounted, and each of the spray arms  230  has a plurality of nozzles (not shown) for spraying washing water to the dishes. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 to 3 , the sump assembly  600  is connected to the upper arm  232  and the lower arm  234  with a connection pipe  300 . The sump assembly  600  receives the washing water from an external water supply source, stores the washing water in the sump  610 , and supplies the washing water to the upper arm  232  and the lower arm  234  selectively or simultaneously through the connection pipe  300 . The washing water used for washing is drained through a drain pipe  500 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the sump assembly  600  includes a sump  610  for holding the washing water, a water supply pump (not shown) for pumping up water from the sump  610 , a drain chamber  620  for holding the washing water used in washing of the dishes, and a drain pump assembly  700  for draining the washing water. A heater (not shown) is mounted to the sump  610  for heating the washing water, and a drain filter (not shown) is mounted to the drain chamber  620  for filtering the washing water. 
     Different from the related art dish washer in which a drain pump assembly is formed on an inside of the sump assembly as one unit therewith, the sump assembly  600  of the present invention has the drain pump assembly  700  fastened to a lower side of an outside of the sump assembly  600 , enabling to enlarge a space for placing a drain filter therein, which permits to place a larger drain filter therein to prevent the drain filter from clogging with foreign matter, thereby preventing draining efficiency from becoming poor. 
     The sump  610  has a cylindrical shape formed on one side of the sump assembly  600 , with a heater (not shown) detachably mounted therein for heating the washing water held therein. The washing water heated by the heater is transferred to the tub  200  along a supply flow passage connected to the sump  210  and supplied through the spray arm  230 . 
     The drain chamber  620  has a cylindrical shape formed on the other side of the sump assembly  600 , with the drain filter mounted therein for filtering foreign matters from the washing water used in washing the dishes. The drain chamber  620  has an outside bottom surface spaced from an inside bottom surface of the cabinet  10  by a minimum distance L so that the outside bottom surface of the drain chamber  620  is not in contact with the inside bottom surface of the cabinet  10 . 
     That is, the drain chamber  620  has a height which enables to provide the minimum distance L to the inside bottom surface of the cabinet  10  while securing the space for mounting the drain filter therein to the maximum (a reason of this will be described in description of a drain pump assembly). The washing water filtered at the drain filter is re-supplied through a water supply connection pipe  640  for washing the dishes until the drain pump comes into operation when the washing water is drained through the drain pipe  500 . 
     The drain chamber  620  has a chamber outlet  622  in one side of a lower side in communication with the drain pump assembly  700 . The chamber outlet  622  of a cylindrical tube shape has a check valve member  640  mounted to an inside end for preventing the washing water from flowing in a reverse direction from the drain pump assembly  700 , which will be described, later. Moreover, the drain pump assembly  700  is mounted to the chamber outlet  622 . 
     The drain pump assembly  700  includes a drain pump (not shown) and an impeller for pumping the washing water, and a drain motor for driving the drain pump. A chamber connection pipe  710  is connected to an impeller side of the drain pump assembly  700  for connection to the chamber outlet  622  in the drain chamber  620 . 
     The chamber connection pipe  710  is tilted upward with reference to the inside bottom surface of the cabinet  10  so that the drain pump assembly  700  is mounted tilted with reference to the inside bottom surface of the cabinet  10 . That is, the chamber connection pipe  710  is mounted tilted upward with reference to a length direction imaginary center line of the chamber outlet  622 . 
       FIG. 4  illustrates an example of the chamber connection pipe  710  mounted tilted upward by 25 degrees with reference to the center line of the chamber outlet  622 . If the chamber connection pipe  710  is formed parallel to the inside bottom surface of the cabinet  10 , it is difficult to secure a drain chamber  620  of an adequate size if it is intended that the drain pump assembly  700  is mounted not to be in contact with the inside bottom surface of the cabinet  10  due to a size of the drain pump assembly  700 . 
     This is because, if it is intended that the drain pump assembly  700  is mounted not to be in contact with the inside bottom surface of the cabinet  10 , it is required that the chamber connection pipe  710  connected to the lower side of the drain chamber  620  is mounted with an adequate distance from the inside bottom surface of the cabinet  10 . In order to achieve this, the drain chamber  620  is required to have an adequate distance from the inside bottom surface of the cabinet  10 , that results in a lower height of the drain chamber  620 . 
     However, in order to secure adequate efficiency of the drain filter in the drain chamber  620 , the drain filter is required to have a certain size, leading to require an adequate sized drain chamber  620 . 
     Accordingly, in order to secure the adequate sized drain chamber  620 , it is preferable that the chamber connection pipe  710  is tilted upward with reference to the inside bottom surface of the cabinet  10 , rather than formed parallel to the inside bottom surface of the cabinet  10 . 
     Moreover, the upward tilting of the chamber connection pipe  710  is desirable in view of easy escape of air from an inside of the chamber connection pipe  710  when the drain pump assembly  700  is coupled thereto as well as easy mounting/dismounting of the chamber connection pipe  710 . 
     The upward tilting of the chamber connection pipe  710  and formation of a discharge end  720  through which the washing water is drained by the drain pump at a side or an upper side of the drain pump assembly  700  is liable to lock air in the drain pump assembly  700 . Since draining efficiency becomes poor if air formed during draining of the washing water is locked in the drain pump assembly  700 , in order to prevent this from taking place, it is preferable that the discharge end  720  is formed, not at the upper side, but tilted in a side direction, slightly. 
     If the chamber connection pipe  710  is mounted tilted thus, the washing water is liable to flow in a reverse direction from the drain pump assembly  700  to the chamber connection pipe  710 . In order to prevent the washing water from flowing in the reverse direction at a side of the drain pump, it is preferable that the check valve member  640  is placed in the chamber outlet  622 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 5 and 6 , the check valve member  640  is cylindrical, and has an outside circumference coupled to an inside of the chamber outlet  622 , and an opening/closing portion  642  in contact with an annular projection  622   a  formed on an inside of the chamber outlet  622 . 
     The check valve member  640  is mounted such that, when the washing water flows toward the check valve member  640  from the drain chamber  620 , the opening/closing portion  642  is moved to the drain pump assembly  700  by a water pressure to open the chamber outlet  622 , and when the washing water flows toward the check valve member  640  from the drain filter, the opening/closing portion  642  closes the chamber outlet  622 . 
     If the check valve member  640  is placed in the chamber outlet  622  to position the check valve member  640  lower than a case when the check valve member  640  is formed in the chamber connection pipe  710 , an amount of residual water can be minimized. 
     In the meantime, referring to  FIG. 4 , it is preferable that the drain pump assembly  700  is spaced a predetermined distance from the inside bottom surface of the cabinet  10  for preventing vibration generated at the time of operation of the drain pump assembly  700  from transmission. Therefore, it is preferable that the drain chamber  620  has a space L from the inside bottom surface of the cabinet  10  enough to secure an adequate size of the drain chamber  620  while the drain pump assembly  700  does not interfere with the inside bottom surface of the cabinet  10 . 
     It is also preferable that the drain pump assembly  700  is insulated of vibration so that the vibration generated at the time of operation of the drain pump assembly  700  is prevented from transmitting to a washing space or an outside of the cabinet  10  through the sump assembly  600 . 
     For this, referring to  FIG. 4 , the drain pump assembly  700  is coupled to an underside of the sump assembly  600  with a securing member  730 . 
     The securing member  730 , formed of an insulating material, such as rubber or silicone, connects one side of the drain pump assembly  700  to one side of the sump assembly  600 . To do this, the drain pump assembly  700  and the sump assembly  600  have a first fastening portion  700   a  and a second fastening portion  600   a  formed thereon, respectively. 
     The securing member  730  has one end fastened to the first fastening portion  700   a  and the other end fastened to the second fastening portion  600   a  to connect the drain pump assembly  700  to the sump assembly  600 . Since the securing member  730  is formed of insulating material, such as rubber or silicone, with predetermined elasticity, the transmission of the vibration generated at the time of operation of the drain pump assembly  700  can be insulated. Accordingly, the transmission of the operational vibration from the drain pump assembly  700  to the sump assembly  600  can be prevented. 
     Eventually, the dish washer of the present invention permits to secure easy mounting of the drain pump assembly and a size of the drain chamber that maximize the filter efficiency by mounting the drain pump assembly tilted with respect to the inside bottom surface of the cabinet. 
     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 invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.