Steam Generation in a Dishwasher

The present invention relates to a dishwasher and, more particularly, to a steam generating structure in a dishwasher.

A dishwasher including a steam washing step or a steam softening step is proposed in copending application, STEAM WASHING IN A DISHWASHER, Ser. No. 973,917, filed on Dec. 28, 1978 by Ichiro Oguri and Yoshihiro Koyama and assigned to the same assignee as the present application.

The present invention is to improve the steam generating means in a dishwasher such as disclosed in the above-mentioned application Ser. No. 973,917.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to improve a steam generating heater means in a dishwasher.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a heater means which functions to generate steam in a steam softening step and to warm up the water in a main washing step in a dishwasher.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a novel heater cover for ensuring effective steam generation and also ensuring effective warming up of the water in a dishwasher.

Other objects and further scope of the applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. It should be understood, however, that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.

To achieve the above objects, pursuant to an embodiment of the present invention, an immersion heater is disposed in a lower section of a dishwashing tub. A square shaped heater cover is provided to surround the immersion heater. The bottom free end of the heater cover functions to communicate the immersion heater with the dishwashing tub. The upper free end of the heater cover is covered by a filter.

A circulation pump is provided for selectively circulating the water within the dishwashing tub and emitting the water from a sprinkler. When the circulation pump and the immersion heater are energized, the water contained in the lower section of the dishwashing tub is forced to travel through the immersion heater and, therefore, the warm water is emitted from the sprinkler. When only the immersion heater is energized, the water disposed in the heater cover is heated up and, therefore, steam is generated through the filter which covers the upper free end of the heater cover.

In a preferred form, an overheat preventing sensor is disposed in the heater cover to ensure stable operation.

The present invention will be better understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the present invention and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a sectional side view of an embodiment of a dishwasher of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional plan view of the dishwasher of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a filter employed in the dishwasher of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line IV--IV of FIG. 2.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a dishwasher of the present invention.

The dishwasher mainly comprises a housing 10, a dishwashing tub 12, and a front door 14 for giving access to a supporting rack 16 which supports tableware 18 in the dishwashing tub 12.

The dishwashing tub 12 includes an indent section 20, where an immersion heater 22 is disposed for selectively generating steam and warming up water. FIG. 2 shows the indent section 20. Like elements corresponding to those of FIG. 1 are indicated by like numerals.

A filter 24 is provided to cover the indent section 20. FIG. 3 shows the filter 24. The filter 24 comprises a metal provided with openings 26 formed therein. The openings 26 are circles of 1.2 mm diameter and aligned in a 2 mm pitch (in the row direction) and a 3 mm pitch (in the column direction).

A heater cover 28 is disposed around the immersion heater 22. FIG. 4 shows the heater cover 28 in great detail. Like elements corresponding to those of FIGS. 1 and 2 are indicated by like numerals.

The heater cover 28 comprises square shaped side walls. The bottom free end of the square shaped side walls functions to communicate the immersion heater 22 with the indent section 20 of the dishwashing tub 12. The upper free end of the square shaped side walls confronts the filter 24 with a distance formed therebetween. The square shaped side walls are supported by supporters 30 so that the water easily travels through the gap formed between the bottom free end of the square shaped side walls and the bottom wall of the dishwashing tub 12. An overheat preventing sensor 32 is disposed in the heater cover 28 to ensure stable operation. A heat screen plate 34 is disposed under the heater cover 28 for protecting the bottom wall of the dishwashing tub 12 from the heat energy generated by the immersion heater 22.

The dishwashing further comprises a circulation pump 36 which introduces the water from the dishwashing tub 12 through an inlet 38 and develops the water toward a sprinkler 40. The sprinkler 40 emits the water toward the tableware 18 supported by the supporting rack 16. The thus emitted water causes the rotation of the sprinkler 40 within the dishwashing tub 12. A float mechanism 42 is provided to detect the liquid level in the dishwashing tub 12. A microswitch 44 is associated with the float mechanism 42 to control the operation of a water supply valve 46.

Operation of the dishwasher of the present invention will be described with reference to specific washing steps.

First, the preliminary washing is performed after predetermined amount of water is introduced through the water supply valve 46. In the preliminary washing step, the circulation pump 36 is energized but the immersion heater 22 is not energized. The water is filled slightly above the filter 24. The switching level L.sub.1 of the float mechanism 42 is lower than the height of the filter 24. However, the liquid level in the dishwashing tub 12 is held above the filter 24 due to the suction force created by the circulation pump 36. When the preliminary washing step is completed, the water is drained through a drain valve 48 and a drain pump 50. In the preliminary washing step, the water is about 4.5 l is supplied to the dishwashing tub 12. The circulation pump 36 has the ability to circulate the water at 80 l/min.

In the steam softening step and the steam drying step, the immersion heater 22 is energized but the circulation pump 36 is not energized. The heater is held at the level L.sub.1, which is slightly lower than the upper free end of the heater cover 28 and slightly higher than the upper surface of the immersion heater 22. Typically, the water of about 2.5 l is introduced into the dishwashing tub 12 in the steam generation mode. Since the circulation pump 36 is not energized, the water contained in a section surrounded by the heater cover 28 is extremely heated up to generate the steam. The thus generated steam is applied through the openings 26 formed in the filter 24 to the tableware 18 supported by the supporting rack 16.

The steam filled in the dishwashing tub 12 is exhausted through an exhaustion pipe 52. A heat exchanger 54 is secured around the exhaustion pipe 52, and a louver 56 is provided in the housing 10 for cooling the outgoing steam.

In the main washing step, both of the inmersion heater 22 and the circulation pump 36 are energized. The water level is same as the preliminary washing operation. A cleaning agent is supplied from a cleaning agent supplier 58. The water heated up by the immersion heater 22 is developed from the gap formed below the heater cover 28 due to the suction force created by the circulation pump 36. That is, the warm liquid is emitted from the sprinkler 40. The water is maintained at a preferred temperature through the use of a thermostat 60 disposed at the bottom wall of the dishwashing tub 12. The entire water is warmed and the steam is not generated because of the circulation operation.

A power supply control unit 62 is disposed in the housing 10 for controlling operations of the water supply valve 46, the circulation pump 36, the immersion heater 22, the drain valve 48 and the drain pump 50. Of course, the power supply control unit 62 is responsive to output signals of the microswitch 44 and the thermostat 60.

The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.