Wash arm assembly and dishwasher comprising wash arm assembly

Abstract

A wash arm assembly may include: a wash arm having a circular opening with a center, an edge, and a mounting unit having a circular insertion portion and a supporting portion. The mounting unit may be inserted at least partly in the circular opening to mount the wash arm within the dishwasher and to allow rotation of the wash arm around a rotational axis. The insertion portion may be inserted at least partly in the circular opening to form a passage between the edge and the circular insertion portion when the mounting unit is inserted at least partly in the circular opening. The wash arm may include a protrusion, and the supporting portion and the wash arm may form a chamber delimited by the passage and the protrusion when the supporting portion supports the wash arm. A dishwasher including the wash arm assembly may also be provided.

Claims

1. A wash arm assembly for a dishwasher, comprising: a wash arm comprising a circular opening with a centre and with an edge portion comprising an edge; and a mounting unit comprising a circular insertion portion and a supporting portion extending radially from said circular insertion portion, wherein said mounting unit is arranged to be inserted at least partly in said circular opening to mount said wash arm within said dishwasher and to allow rotation of said wash arm around a rotational axis of said wash arm, wherein said circular insertion portion is arranged to be inserted at least partly in said circular opening to form a passage between said edge and said circular insertion portion when said mounting unit is inserted at least partly in said circular opening, wherein said supporting portion is arranged to support said wash arm when said circular insertion portion is inserted at least partly in said circular opening, wherein said wash arm comprises a protrusion, protruding parallely to said rotational axis towards said supporting portion extending around said centre, and wherein said supporting portion and said wash arm are arranged to form a chamber delimited by said edge portion including said edge, said supporting portion, said passage, and said protrusion when said supporting portion supports said wash arm, wherein said edge has a form of a v, and wherein the edge is configured to point towards said circular inserting portion when said circular inserting portion is inserted in said circular opening.

2. The wash arm assembly according to claim 1, wherein said protrusion is arranged to abut against said supporting portion in at least a non-operational mode of said wash arm.

3. The wash arm assembly according to claim 1, wherein a second passage is formed between said protrusion and said supporting portion in an operational mode of said wash arm.

4. The wash arm assembly according to claim 1, wherein said protrusion extends along a circle with said centre, wherein the protrusion comprises a first guiding surface and said supporting portion comprises a second guiding surface, wherein said first guiding surface is aligned to said second guiding surface when said wash arm is supported by said supporting portion, and wherein said first and second guiding surfaces are arranged to guide said protrusion and said supporting portion into alignment with each other upon rotation of the wash arm.

5. The wash arm assembly according to claim 1, wherein said supporting portion is arranged to receive at least a part of the protrusion.

6. The wash arm assembly according to claim 5, wherein said supporting portion comprises a groove to receive the at least the part of said protrusion.

7. The wash assembly according to claim 1, wherein said wash arm is mounted in an upper position within an interior of said dishwasher.

8. A dishwasher comprising a wash arm assembly according to claim 1.

9. The wash assembly according to claim 1, wherein the protrusion is defined farther from the rotational axis than the edge of the wash arm.

10. The wash assembly according to claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the edge portion is defined between the edge and the protrusion along the wash arm.

11. A wash arm assembly for a dishwasher, comprising: a wash arm comprising a circular opening with a centre and with an edge portion comprising an edge; and a mounting unit comprising a circular insertion portion and a supporting portion extending radially from said circular insertion portion, wherein said mounting unit is arranged to be inserted at least partly in said circular opening to mount said wash arm within said dishwasher and to allow rotation of said wash arm around a rotational axis of said wash arm, wherein said circular insertion portion is arranged to be inserted at least partly in said circular opening to form a passage between said edge and said circular insertion portion when said mounting unit is inserted at least partly in said circular opening, wherein said supporting portion is arranged to support said wash arm when said circular insertion portion is inserted at least partly in said circular opening, wherein said wash arm comprises a v-shaped protrusion, protruding parallely to said rotational axis towards said supporting portion extending around said centre, wherein said supporting portion and said wash arm are arranged to form a chamber delimited by said edge portion, said supporting portion, said passage, and said v-shaped protrusion when said supporting portion supports said wash arm, wherein said supporting portion is arranged to receive at least a part of the v-shaped protrusion, and wherein said supporting portion comprises a v-shaped groove to receive and contact the at least the part of said v-shaped protrusion, the v-shaped groove defining a recessed portion with radially inward and outward sides of the groove being higher than the recessed portion, the contact between the v-shaped groove and the v-shaped protrusion guiding the rotation of the wash arm around the rotational axis of the wash arm.

12. A wash arm assembly for a dishwasher, comprising: a wash arm comprising a circular opening with a centre and with an edge portion comprising an edge; and a mounting unit comprising a circular insertion portion and a supporting portion extending radially from said circular insertion portion, wherein said mounting unit is arranged to be inserted at least partly in said circular opening to mount said wash arm within said dishwasher and to allow rotation of said wash arm around a rotational axis of said wash arm, wherein said circular insertion portion is arranged to be inserted at least partly in said circular opening to form a passage between said edge and said circular insertion portion when said mounting unit is inserted at least partly in said circular opening, wherein said supporting portion is arranged to support said wash arm when said circular insertion portion is inserted at least partly in said circular opening, wherein said wash arm comprises a raised ledge, wherein the raised ledge comprises a protrusion and the edge, the protrusion protruding parallely to said rotational axis towards said supporting portion extending around said centre, and wherein said supporting portion and said wash arm are arranged to form a chamber delimited by said edge portion including said edge, said supporting portion, said passage, and said protrusion when said supporting portion supports said wash arm.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The various aspects of the embodiments herein, including its particular features and advantages, will be readily understood from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings, in which:

(2) FIG. 1 is a side view illustrating a dishwasher comprising a wash arm assembly,

(3) FIG. 2 is a plan view illustrating the wash arm assembly illustrated in FIG. 1, wherein the wash arm assembly is disassembled,

(4) FIG. 3 is another plan view illustrating the wash arm assembly illustrated in FIG. 1, wherein the wash arm assembly is assembled, and

(5) FIG. 4 is a further plan view illustrating an embodiment of the wash arm assembly.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(6) The embodiments herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which example embodiments are shown. Disclosed features of example embodiments may be combined. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout. Well-known functions or constructions will not necessarily be described in detail for brevity and/or clarity.

(7) FIG. 1 illustrates a wash arm assembly 1 arranged within an interior of a dishwasher 2. The dishwasher 2 may thus be said to comprise the wash arm assembly 1. The dishwasher 2 comprises a wash arm 3. The wash arm 3 may comprise an additional wash arm 10, sometimes referred to as a satellite wash arm due to its relation to the wash arm 3, which sometimes may be referred to as a main wash arm. As shown in FIG. 1, the wash arm 3 is rotatably connected to a main tube 4, through which a washing liquid is supplied to the wash arm 3. The wash arm 3 is arranged to rotate around an axis 17. Typically, the main tube 4 is connected to a washing liquid supply line comprising a pump 6 for supplying of the washing liquid to the dishwasher 2. According to the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the wash arm assembly 1 is arranged under a basket 8 for accommodating dishware (not shown) to be washed within the dishwasher 2. In such a position within the dishwasher 2, the wash arm assembly 1 may also be referred to as an upper wash arm assembly. It means that the wash arm assembly is arranged at an upper position within the interior of the dishwasher 2. The upper position shall be understood as “upper” in relation to an ordinary operation of the dishwasher 2.

(8) FIG. 2 illustrates a more detailed side-view of the wash arm assembly 1 shown in FIG. 1. The wash arm assembly 1 is arranged for assembling the wash arm 3 in the dishwasher 2. In other words, the wash arm assembly 1 is arranged for mounting of the wash arm 3 within the dishwasher.

(9) The wash arm assembly 1 comprises a wash arm 3, comprising a circular opening 5. The circular opening 5 has, or is provided with, a centre 7 and an edge 9. The wash arm assembly 1 further comprises a mounting unit 11, comprising a circular insertion portion 13 and a supporting portion 15. The supporting portion 15 extends radially from the circular insertion portion 13. As can be seen in FIG. 2, the circular opening 5 has a first radius r1, the circular insertion portion has a second radius r2 relatively a mounting axis 12 of the mounting unit 11 and the supporting portion 15 has a third radius r3 relatively the mounting axis 12. Moreover, the supporting portion 15 extends radially from the circular insertion portion 13 in relation to the mounting axis 12. The supporting portion 15 may extend radially and equally i.e. with the same third radius r3 from the circular insertion portion 13 and thereby may have a form of a circle with the third radius r3. However, the supporting portion 15 may extend radially and unequally i.e. with different radius from the circular insertion portion 13 and thereby may have a form of for example a square, oval, rectangle or the like.

(10) The mounting unit 11 further comprises a connection portion 14. The connection portion 14 may be circular with a fourth radius r4 relatively the mounting axis 12. The mounting unit 11 is arranged to be inserted at least partly into the circular opening 5 to mount the wash arm 3 within the dishwasher. According to the embodiments in FIG. 2, the fourth radius r4 of the connection portion 14 is less than the first radius r1 of the circular opening 5 to enable insertion of the connection portion 14 in the circular opening 5 in order to connect the connection portion 14 to the main tube 4 illustrated in FIG. 1. The connection portion 14 is arranged to be connected to the main tube 4 in a common manner and therefore not described in detail herein. Clearance between the first radius r1 and the fourth radius r4 may be in a range of 1-3 mm.

(11) The second radius r2 of the insertion portion 13 may be less than the first radius r1. Thereby, the insertion portion 13 may be inserted at least partly in the circular opening 5. Clearance between the first radius r1 and the second radius r2 may preferably be less than 1 mm.

(12) The third radius r3 of the supporting portion 15 is larger than the first radius r1. Thereby, when the mounting unit 11 is at least partly inserted in the circular opening 5, the supporting portion 15 extends over the circular opening 5 and supports the wash arm 3. In this way, the wash arm 3 may be mounted within the dishwasher 2. The supporting portion 15 supporting i.e. holding the wash arm 3 is illustrated in FIG. 2. The third radius r3 may be 5-10 mm greater than the first radius r1. According to some embodiments the second radius r2 and the fourth r4 are essentially equal an lifting forces acting on the wash arm 3 mostly dependent on the difference between the fourth radius r4 and the third radius r3. Thus, the bigger difference the higher lift forces in the wash arm 3.

(13) The wash arm 3 comprises a protrusion 21, protruding parallely to the rotational axis 17 and towards the supporting portion 15 when the supporting portion 15 supports the wash arm 3. The term protrusion 21 refers to a part of the wash arm 3 with a greater thickness than the rest of the wash arm 3. In other words the wash arm comprises a part of the wash arm 3 that stand out from the wash arm. According to some embodiments, a cross-section of the protrusion 21 comprises a v-shape, where a tip of the v-shape points out from the wash arm 3 parallely to the rotational axis 17. The cross-section is taken along a plane that is parallel to the rotational axis 17 and that runs through the rotational axis 17. The v-shape may, alternatively or additionally, comprise a circular shape, a square shape or the like. The protrusion 21 may have a height h which may be in a range of 2-5 mm.

(14) The protrusion 21 extends around the centre 7 of the circular opening 5. In other words, the protrusion 21 extends continuously as a uniform body without interruption around the centre 7. According to some embodiments, the protrusion 21 may extend along a circle defined with respect to said centre 7.

(15) FIG. 3 shows the wash arm assembly 1 illustrated in FIG. 2. The mounting unit 11 is at least partly inserted into the circular opening 5, whereby the supporting portion 15 supports the wash arm 3. The mounting unit 11 is arranged to be at least partly inserted in the circular opening 5 to allow rotation of the wash arm 3 around the rotational axis 17 of the wash arm 3. According to some embodiments, the mounting axis 12 described above may coincide with the rotational axis 17 of the wash arm when the mounting unit is at least partly inserted in the circular opening 5.

(16) As can be seen in the FIG. 3, a passage 19 between the edge 9 and the circular insertion portion 13 is formed when the mounting unit 11 is inserted at least partly in the circular opening 5. Further, the supporting portion 15 and the wash arm 3 are arranged to form a chamber 23 delimited by the passage 19 and the protrusion 21 when the supporting portion 15 supports the wash arm 3. Thus, during different operational conditions of the dishwasher, the washing liquid may easily flow through the passage 19 between the edge 9 and the circular insertion portion 13. The term chamber 23 may refer to a space, a room with a volume formed between the wash arm 3 and the supporting portion 15 when the supporting portion supports 15 the wash arm 3, i.e. when the mounting unit 11 and the insertion portion 13 are at least partly inserted in the circular opening 5. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the wash arm 3 comprises an edge portion 16, comprising the edge 9. The edge portion 16 comprises a first sub-portion 18 with a first thickness t1 and a second sub-portion 20 thinning out in a direction towards the edge 9. According to some embodiments, said chamber 23 is formed between the first sub-portion 18 and the supporting portion 15 when the supporting portion 15 supports the wash arm 3. The first sub-portion 18 may be formed by beveling the first sub-portion 18 along a surface 22 in a direction from the second sub-portion 20 towards the edge 9. Thus, the surface 22 may be essentially straight and inclined towards said edge 9. However, the surface 22, when seen in cross-section perspective, may for example have a circular form or a form of a square or the like.

(17) The wash arm assembly 1 illustrated in FIG. 3 corresponds to a non-operational mode of the wash arm 3. With the non-operational mode is meant when the wash arm 3 is not driven to a rotational movement by the washing liquid. For example before mounting of the wash arm 3 in the dishwasher or before the washing liquid is delivered with sufficient pressure to achieve rotation of the wash arm 3. In at least the non-operational mode, the protrusion 21 may abut, i.e. have contact with the supporting portion 15.

(18) According to some embodiments, the supporting portion 15 comprises a groove 31 arranged to receive at least a part 29 of the protrusion 21. The groove 31 enables, such as supports, facilities and the like, positioning of the protrusion 21 and thereby also positioning of the wash arm 3 within the wash arm assembly 1. Moreover, the groove 31 supports guiding of the wash arm 3 during rotation of the wash arm 3. According to some embodiments, a cross-section of the groove 31 by a plane parallel to the mounting axis 12 and through the mounting axis 12 has form corresponding to the form of the protrusion 21. The cross-section of the groove 31 may than have form of a v or a circular form or square or the like.

(19) According to FIG. 4, the chamber 23 is formed by both the first sub-portion 18 and by the second sub-portion 20 of the edge portion of the wash arm 3 and by the supporting portion 15 when supporting the wash arm 3. As shown in the FIG. 4, the supporting portion 15 is arranged to receive at least a part 29 of the protrusion 21. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the at least a part 29 may not be the same in all instances.

(20) The protrusion 21 may comprise a first guiding surface 25 and the supporting portion 15 may comprise a second guiding surface 27. The first guiding surface 25 is aligned to the second guiding surface 27 when the wash arm 3 is supported by the supporting portion 15. The first and second guiding surfaces 25, 27 are arranged to guide the protrusion 21 and the supporting portion 15 into alignment with each other upon rotation of the wash arm 3. In this manner, the first and second guiding surfaces 25, 27 are guided such that the first and second guiding surfaces 25, 27 are at least substantially parallel to each other. Thereby, during rotation of the wash arm 3, the first and second guiding surfaces 25, 27 are all the time guided into alignment with each other even if the first and second guiding surfaces 25, 27 are not completely, or at least substantially, parallel to each other at all times, for example during a disturbance. The disturbance may, for example be caused by dirt that get stuck in the wash arm assembly or by dynamic operation conditions of the dishwasher.

(21) The edge 9 may have a form of a v pointing towards the circular inserting portion 11 when the circular inserting portion 11 is inserted in the circular opening 5 or the edge 9 may have a circular form. When the edge 9 has a form of a v the edge 9 may act as a knife cutting any dirt or particles getting between the edge 9 and the circular insertion portion.