US1968657A - Dishwashing machine - Google Patents

Description

31, 1934- E. s. STODDARD 1,968,657

' DISHWASHING MACHINE Filed March 5, 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Invenjfir Edgar S Stoddard- B WMWM July 31, 1934. s. STODDARD 1,968,657

' DISHWASHING MACHINE Filed rch 5,1930 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig-2.

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1,968,657 FICEI 1,968,657 -msnwasnmc moms Edgar s. Stoddard, Berwyn, m, assignor to The Conover Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application March 5,

8 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in dishwashing machines, and it-more particularly relates to improved rack arrangements for holding the dishes and similar objects to be washed in the interior of the machine.

An object of this invention is to provide an im.- proved rack arrangement which is adapted to position all the dishes, saucers, cups, glasses, silverware, etc. in .the interior of the washing chamber so as to obtain an economical utilization of the space within such washing chamber.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved rack arrangement which is adapted to position all the articles to be cleansed and rinsed so that all surfaces thereof will be effectively exposed to the cleansing and rinsing liquids when the machine is in operation.

A further object of this invention is to provide an improved rack arrangement which is selfcleansing and which will be cleansed and rinsed at the same time as the articlesv which it contains.

A still further object of this invention is to provide an improved rack arrangement for 'dishwashing machines ofthe spray-projection type.

Other objects will appear during the course of the following specification, among which is the provision of a rack construction adapted to be satisfactorily coated or covered with organic coatings such as of rubber.

Although this invention is broadly directed to improvements in connection with all dishwashing machines, it is especially directed to improvements to be used in connection with the centrifugal spray projector-type of washing machines,

which are more fully described and shown in the copending application, Serial No. 389,696 filed August 31, 1929, which has matured into Patent No. 1,937,100, granted November 28, 1933.

' The following drawings illustrate one embodiment ofthe invention as applied to the centrifugal spray projector-type of dishwashing machines, to which the invention is by no means restricted.

Fig. 1 represents a side sectional view of the washing machine and the racks inposition;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the lower dish rack showing the silver rack in position;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the inner upper rack;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the outer upper rack;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken along line 7-7 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a plan view of the silver rack;

Fig. 9 is a sectional view taken along line 9-9 0 I of m.

1930, Serial No. 433,206

Fig. 10 is a sectional view taken along line 10-10 of Fig. 8;

Fig. 11 is a plan view of the impeller guard; and

Fig; 12 is a sectional view taken along line l2-12 ofFig. 11.

In Fig. 1 the washing machine is composed of a vertical cylindrical tank 11 which is provided with a removable cover 12, the tank being attached to the structure 13 forming part of a. household sink. The structure 13 is adapted to be placed in position permanently in a kitchen. The tank is provided with a centrally draining bottom 1'7. At the lowest portion ofthe' centrally draining bottom is positioned a. well chamber 20- in the lowest compartment 21 of which is placed a centrifugal pump. The cleansing and rinsing liquids are adapted to be admitted to the tank by an inlet connection. In the lowest central portion of the tank is positioned the impeller 35 which is driven by the motor 36. The lid 12 is adapted to be removed from the top of the tank and placed over the sink portion when it is desired to load or unload the machine.

The lower rack structure is shown in section in position in the machine upon Fig. 1. It is shown in top view removed from the machine in Fig. 2. Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional'view of the lower rack taken along line 3-3 in Fig. 2. In both Figs. 2 and 3 the silverware holder is in position. Fig. 8 is a top view of the silverware holder removed from the lower rack, while Figs. 9 and 10 are side sectional views thereof. The lower rack is provided with a series of centrally tangential dish.- holders which are so proportioned and shaped as to receive substantially all shapes and kinds of dishes now in current use and expose them in a proper fashion to the cleansing spray. In the embodiment shown these holders are all substantially of the same size. The lower rack is adapted to hold the larger platesa'nd dishes. The silverware rack is supported in the outer portion of the washing chamber by the lower rack and is adapted to hold the knives, forks and spoons, during the cleansing operation. The lower rack is preferably supported on the bottom of the tank 17 by three symmetrically positioned legs 45, but {it also may be supported on the baffles 43 attached to the impeller guard 44. The legs 45 also are adapted to support the rack when it is outside the tank so as to prevent any of the downwardly projecting portions of the dishes from being chipped and otherwise marred.

A portion of the outer periphery of the lower rack is constructed so as to receive the silverware holder 46 (see Figs. 8, 9 and 10). This holder is provided with the handles 47, which handles are so positioned in respect to the center of gravstructed and is so positioned that the knives, forks and spoons contained therein will receive the full effect of the cleansingi spray. It will be noted that the holder is arcuate in shape to conform to the shape of the tank. As shown in the present embodiment of the invention it is provided with a series of substantially vertical cylindrical compartments 48. Several of the seventeen compartments 54 are made slightly larger than the remainder so .as to hold utensilswith larger and wider handles. These compartments are of such width as to receive the handles of the knives, forks, spoons and similar objects, maintain such articles in substantially vertical position and prevent them from falling upon their sides. The holder shown in. Figs. 8, 9 and 10' is made of three aluminum castings which are attached to one another by the bolts 50. The upper section is drilled or cored so as to form the cylindrical compartments 48 while the lower section 49 is left open at the side so as to permit of ready drainage. The bottom 52 of the lower section 49 is adapted to support the ends of the handles of the inverted knives, forks and spoons. The intermediate section 53 is provided with angular inwardly projecting strips 55 which prevent the handles of the implements from sliding off the bottom 52. It will be noted that the bottom 52 slopes toward the sides of the holder so as to insure ready drainage. The angular location of the silverware container is determined by the wires 60 and 61. It is located radially by the wire 62. The bottom of the holder rests upon the wires 63 (see Figs. 1 and 3). The holder is preferably cast or constructed of aluminum. Although the rest of the rack is usually provided with a protective coating, the aluminum holder is preferably left uncoated so that there may be a close contact between the silverware placed therein and the metallic rack structure. During the washing operation the aluminum rack and silverware are subjected to the action of alkaline solutions, and as a result electrical or chemical reactions are set up resulting in a very satisfactory and rapid cleansing of the silverware. The holder may also be constructed of other metallic materials, higher in the electromotive series than silver, which in addition have the necessary qualities to serve as a silverware holder.

A circular series of wire dish holders are provided in the lower rack for the various sized dishes and plates. The smaller and deeper vessels are positioned in the upper rack structure which will be sebsequently described. One set of these wire holders extends between the inner ring 65 and the intermediateringfiG (see Figs. 2 and 3). The wire holders between the rings 65 and 66 are provided with tangential pockets and are adapted to hold the dishes with their concave faces slightly inclined from the vertical and tangent to the mean circumference of the water impeller 35 in a direction opposite to its rotation. The inclination will vary with the shape, size and type of water distributing device and in certain cases the dishes may be placed in substantially vertical position. It is also desirable in the case of certain dishes to set the holders radially, instead of tangentially. The dishes are positioned in these holders in such a manner that the tangential line on which they are set willintersect the projected water at an acute angle less than 90. The projected water, which is in the form of a spray during the operation of the machine, may be considered as being initiated from the middle of the spoon-shaped projector at the top of the impeller 35. The other set of holders extends between the intermediate concentric wire 66 and the outer concentric wire 68. These holders are adapted to hold the largest dishes adjacent the wall of the washing chamber and transverse to a radius.

The tangential holders between the rings 65 and 66 extend entirely around the rack and are all of substantially the same size and shape. The concentric rings 65 and 66 are adjacent the bottom of the rack and on substantially the same level. These rings 65 and 66 together support the bottoms of the dishes. The backs of the dishes are properly supported and positioned by the inverted U-like wires 69 which are attached at their lower ends to the concentric wires 65 and 66. These wires 69 extend around the entire inner circle of the rack so as to enclose the impeller 35 and the impeller guard 44 and slanted backwardly as if their upper portions had been pushed backwardlyby the projected spray. The angle of inclination to the vertical, however, is very slight and is usually not over about 10 to 25 and in the embodiment shown is about 15. The wires 69 rise to their maximum height above and slightly to the outside of the inner concentric wire 65 at the point 70. The upper portions 71 of the U-wires 69 are straight and slope downwardly toward the outside of the rack until they join the outer vertical portions 72 substantially directly above the circle 66. These portions 72 are attached to the ring 66 at their lower ends at the point 74. Between the rings 66 and portions 72, are the short slanting support wires 73 which are attached to ring 66 slightly in front of (that is, in opposite direction to the inclination of) the U-wire 69, and to the portion 72 slightly above-the point of attachment 74. These wires 73 cause that portion of the dish resting upon the ring 66 to slide forwardly (in opposite direction to the inclination of the wires 69). The heights of the U-wires 69 are such that the plates and dishes may be readily loaded or unloaded by taking hold of them above the wires. The position of highest point 75 of the U wires 69 is so regulated that it will support the back of a dish placed in the holder. The position of the point 76 at the junction of the portions 71 and 72 is substantially lower than the position of point 75. In most cases only the lower portions of the wires '72 (on the opposite side of the short wire 73) serve to contact with the lower outer edge of the dish, and it is desirable to reduce the height of the wire 72 below the height of the inner wire 77 so as to enable easier loading. The inclination of the wires 71 is also particularly advantageous as it enables the rack to be utilized in supporting pans and pots in proper relationship to the cleansing spray. As mentioned before the holders formed by the wires 65, 66, 69 and 73 are all of substantially the same size and shape. The construction of these holders is such that substantially all sizes and shapes of dishes in current use may be supported therein in proper relationship to the cleansing spray. r The guard 44 is so positioned in regard to the lower rack that the dishes will not be able to roll out of the holders 65--66--6973 onto the impeller. The guard (see Figs. 1, 11 and 12) consists of a. series of rings 86, 87, 88, 89 and 90. The rings 87 to 90 are cbnnected together by the symmetrically positioned U-shaped wires 91. The short plates 92 are positioned at the top of the guard and are attached to the concentric wires 86 and 87. The bottoms 93 of the U-wires 91 are i centrar pdrnoa of the upper rack. To the side offthe 'j' g uard '44, and preferably welded to the circular wire 88 thereof, are secured a plurality of radiallyprojecting'baiiles 43, the outer portions ofiwhich 'rest adj acent the bottom of the tank. "Thesebaillesretard 'therotation of water, thereby loading the impeller with the proper amount of wash, liquid. In addition to this function the permit foodparticles to pass from the tank into the well chamberj l ders extending between the intermedie ring 66and "the outer ring 68 are adapted to redeiye thelargest plates or bowls. The radial L-shapedwires 100 are attached to the concentric rings 66 and 68 and with these rings form tlieouter dish holders of the lower rack (see Figs. 11,,"2 jandB). On the bottom portions of these "wires 100is' positionedthe concentric wire 67. The L-wires 100 are so angularly spaced that only .a proper number of the large dishes may be positioned around the outer portion of the lower "rack. ,The inner lower edge of the large dishes in this outer lower rack will rest against either the inner vertical portions 72 of the U-wires 69 or against the concentric ring 67 and the bottom or the L-wires 100, depending upon their depth, the deeper dishes resting against the wires 72 and the shallow dishes. against the wire 67.'

These plates are caused to lean backward so that they willface the center of the machine and not come into contact with the smaller plates located in the central holders. The backs of these dishes will rest against the outer vertical portions 102 of the L -wires 100 and/or the ring 68. The lower rack is provided with three upwardly extending supports 103. The supports 103 serve to position "thsupiper dish rack by the bent portions 104, as is readilyapparent upon Fig. 1. The-inner circle ofthe lower rack is adapted to support approxi- [mately 24 dinner, salad or bread and butter plates of 5" toY12' diameter, while the outer circle is .adapt'e'd'to supportseveral deeper dishes such as f'vesta e d es. a

The .upperrackstructures are shown in position intlie, machinein Fig. 1 and their component parts" are "'shown' removed from the machine in top,and sidefsectionalviejw upon Figs. 4, 5, 6 and .7 The rack consist'sfoftwo concentric sections, I r. seet'ion s ewn on Figs. 4 and 5 and an "sedtiojrijshown innigsf; o and 7. The inner upper rack ifss'upp'ort'ed upon the outer upper rack adapted"to belutilized as a deep vessel hold ' i a series, of radial and concentric wires elded -or otherwise joined together to Jtingfrusto-conical secsane i119 and "three ,cylindrical portions side andbetweenjsfaid conical sections. The rack is provided with 'a'series of short radial wiresd lfi and aseries of. longer radial wires 117. These radial wires are'welded or otherwise attached to a series of concentric wires 123, 124, 125 and 126, the - concentric wires 123 and 124 being-outside or above the radial wires 117 and 119 and the concentric wires 125 and 126 being below or outside of the same wires. Several of l the long radial wires 117, preferably symmetrically positioned, are extended to the center of the struc-- ture and welded or otherwise attached together,

as shown at 136, the remaining wires 117 ter- 'I'he-innenupper rack shown as Figs. 4 and 5 ported rings 150 or 151.

tended wires 117 together with the ring 123 form a central cylinder which is adapted to hold a deep vessel vertically over the impeller (that is,

minating at the innermost ring 124. These ex- The conical section 118 is formed by sloping portions of the radial wires 117 and the concentric wires124. formed by the inner substantially vertical portions of the radial wires 116 and117, the former of which terminate at the outermost ring 124. The outer sloping or conical section 119 is formed The cylindrical section 121 is by the rings 125 and sloping portions of the radial wires 116 and 117. Finally, the cylindrical portion 122 is composed of the outer substantially vertical portions of the radial wires 116' and 117 and the ring 126. The projecting portions of the wires 116 and 117 are looped over as indicated at 138. The loops 138 and the vertical portions 121 and 122 are adapted to support the sides of the glasses, cups and other deep vessels, while the articles are resting on the conical sections 118 and 119 faced downwardly. The loops 138 are particularly of value in supporting long and slender vessels, such as glass tumblers. The conical bottoms formed by the welded radial wires and concentric rings are inclined to the horizontal at a sufiicient angle to permit the cleansing streams to strike the center of the inner bottoms of the inverted vessels and provide proper drainage for the water from the upturned bottoms.

This angle isabout 10 to 30?, usually about 15 toms of the bends in wires 154 and/or l55. The

wires 156 are attached to the lowermo'st ring .152 which rests upon the'portions 104 on the' eX- tensions 103 of the lower rack (seeFig. 1). The

.wires 154 and'155 extend from the outermostiring 153, over the intermediate ring'l49', to theupp'er most ring 150 in the case'of the 'wires 154 orthe innermost ring 151 in the case of the wires 155. The ring 151 supports the inner'upper rack below its conical portion 119' and the ring 150 centrally locates it. The pockets formed by the bent wires 154 and 155 are adapted to-rec'eive saucers and small plates, the wires-being properly" radially spaced for this purpose. In a modifiedconstruction the wires 154 and 155 may all extendeither to the ring 150 or the ring 151 and other supporting wires provided'top'os'ition' the unsup- Thewires 154 and 155 should be so inclined outwardly that the dishes supported therein do not interfere with the positioning of the inner upper rack upon the ring 151 and within the ring 150. They should also prevent the dishes from making contact with the walls of the washing chamber. Both the upper and lower racks are spaced away from the walls so that there will always be an opportunity for the cleansing spray to-wash the entire interior of the machine. The outer upper rack has a capacity of about 12 saucers or plates of about 5 diameter. The embodiment of the inner upper rack shown in Fig. 4 has a capacity of 18 glasses or cups. The inner conical bottom of the inner upper rack is positioned below the inner edge of the outer conical section, but not sufiiciently below to prevent the water spray projected by the impeller 35 from effectually contacting with the articles on said outer conical portion.

The rack structures may be made from stainless alloys or they may be coated with glass or other enamels or organic coatings to prevent them from rusting and from marking or marring the dishes. In the embodiment shown they are provided with a rubber coating of about 1/64 to 5/64 of an inch in thickness. They may also be colored light gray so as to give them a sanitary apthe liquids collecting in the central lower portion of the washing chamber upwardly and outwardly. The wires in the cage 44 are so spaced and positioned that they will not materially interfere with the spray-projection of the cleansing liquids. Part of the projected liquids will pass upwardly through the circular space formed by the holders 69 and will be effective in cleansing the articles in the upper rack. The spray-projection of this liquid will be assisted by means of the shortbaffies 92 placed on top of the cage 44. The liquid spray-projected outwardly will strike for most part acutely upon the concave side of the dishes and plates in the holders 6566-69 and part of the liquid will be deflected outwardly against the dishes in the outer holders 666'l68-100, and the other part will be deflected upwardly into the articles, principally in the outer portions of the upper rack structure. Substantial portions of the spray-projected liquid will also be directly projected against the internal walls of the washing chamber and the dishes in the outer holders duce the amount of whirl and motion therein.

The structure described heretofore may be variously modified without departing from the spirit of my invention, and all such embodiments are intended to be included in the appended claims.

What is claimed is: I

1. In a spray-projection type dishwashing machine, a dish rack comprising a series of vertical dish holders, said holders consisting of inner and outer transverse supports adapted to support the lower edge of the dish, inclined side members adapted to support the back of the dish and cause it to lie backwardly and short backwardly inclined wires between the outer edges of the side members and the outer transverse support adapted to cause the lower outer edge of the dish to slide forwardly.

2. A dish rack comprising a series of substantially vertical dish holders consisting of inner and outer supports adapted to-support the lower edge of the dish, backwardly inclined side members adapted to support the back of the dish and cause it to lie backwardly and short backwardly inclined wires between the outer edges of the side members and the outer support adapted to cause the lower outer edge of the dish to slide forwardly.

3. In a dish rack, a metallic silverware holder the upper portion of which is provided with a series of cylindrical compartments for receiving and holding the handles of silverware, and the lower port on of which is open and provided with an outwardly sloping bottom to insure drainage, the upper part of said open portion being provided with inwardly directed ledges for the purpose of preventing the downwardly turned handles of the silverware from sliding off the bottom of the silverware holder.

4. In a dish rack, a, metallic silverware holder provided with handles adjacent the top of the holder, said handles being placed slightly to one side of the center of gravity of the holder, said holder being provided with an upper portion having narrow vertical compartments slightly wider than and adapted to receive the handles of the silverware andgaeing also open :at the sides below the holding po tion so as to permit ready drainage.

5. In-combination with an annular dishwashing machine rack adapted to be placed in the lower part of the washing chamber of a dishwashing machine and to encircle the upper portion of an impeller positioned in the lower central portion thereof, a guard adapted to prevent dishes from rolling out of the holders in said rack, comprising a framework dome consisting of a series of crossing wires and provided with several fiat vertical plates in the upper portion thereof, said guard being positioned so as to extend over substantially all of and project upwardly from the space inside of said annular dish rack.

6. A dish rack comprising an outer ring, an inner ring, a series of wire loops connecting said rings and extending therebelow, the lower portion of the wire loops being bent inwardly toward the central portion of the rack.

7. A dish rack comprising an outer ring, an inner ri g, a series of downwardly extending wire loops h ving oneend attached to said outer ring and the other end extending across and inwardly of the inner ring, and an inner dish rack removably positioned on the inward extensions of said loops.

8. In combination, a dish rack comprising an outer ring, an inner ring, and downwardly extending wire loops connected to said rings, a plurality of downwardly extending wires connected to said rack, and a ring connected to said downwardly extending wires to form positioning means.

EDGAR S. STODDARD.

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