US2012318296A1PendingUtilityA1

Ultra micron filter for a dishwasher

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Individually held — no corporate assignee on recordPriority: Jun 20, 2011Filed: Jun 20, 2011Published: Dec 20, 2012
Est. expiryJun 20, 2031(~4.9 yrs left)· nominal 20-yr term from priority
Inventors:Jordan R. FountainAntony M. RappetteBarry E. TullerRodney M. Welch
A47L 15/4285A47L 15/46A47L 15/4202A47L 15/0005A47L 15/4293A47L 15/4219A47L 15/22A47L 15/0007
49
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Claims

Abstract

A dishwasher and a method of treating utensils in the dishwasher wherein the dishwasher has a tub at least partially defining a treating chamber, a liquid spray system, a liquid recirculation system fluidly coupling the treating chamber to the spray system to recirculate wash liquid from the treating chamber to the spray system, and filters capable of removing particles from the wash liquid.

Claims

exact text as granted — not AI-modified
1 . A method of treating utensils in a dishwasher having a treating chamber for receiving utensils, a spray system for spraying wash liquid in the treating chamber, and a recirculating system for recirculating sprayed liquid from the treating chamber to the spray system to treat the utensils according to a cycle of operation, the method comprising:
 spraying wash liquid from the spray system into the treating chamber;   recirculating the sprayed wash liquid from the treating chamber back to the spray system for subsequent spraying;   microfiltering the wash liquid, as it is recirculated, to remove particles larger than 150 microns to form a microfiltered wash liquid; and   ultrafiltering at least a portion of the microfiltered wash liquid to remove particles larger than 40 microns to form an ultrafiltered wash liquid.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein all of the sprayed wash liquid is recirculated. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  wherein all of the recirculated wash liquid is microfiltered. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3  wherein all of the microfiltered wash liquid is ultrafiltered. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the at least a portion of microfiltered wash liquid is fluidly separated from the recirculated wash liquid prior to ultrafiltering. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5  wherein the at least a portion of microfiltered wash liquid is fluidly combined with the recirculated wash liquid after ultrafiltering. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the microfiltering and ultrafiltering occur during at least one phase of the cycle of operation. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7  wherein the at least one phase is at least one of a wash phase and a rinse phase. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8  wherein the at least one phase is a rinse phase. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the microfiltering comprises passing the wash liquid through a rotating screen filter. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the ultrafiltering includes removing particles larger than 20 microns to form the ultrafiltered wash liquid. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11  wherein the ultrafiltering includes removing particles larger than 5 microns to form the ultrafiltered wash liquid. 
     
     
         13 . An automatic dishwasher for treating utensils according to a cycle of operation, comprising:
 a tub at least partially defining a treating chamber for receiving utensils for treatment;   a spray system comprising at least one sprayer for spraying wash liquid in the treating chamber;   a recirculation system fluidly coupling the treating chamber to the spray system to recirculate wash liquid from the treating chamber to the spray system;   a microfilter fluidly coupled to at least one of the recirculation system and the spray system to remove particles larger than 150 microns from wash liquid recirculated from the treating chamber to the spray system; and   an ultrafilter fluidly coupled to the microfilter to remove particles larger than 5 microns from the wash liquid after it is filtered by the microfilter.   
     
     
         14 . The automatic dishwasher of  claim 13  wherein the microfilter is fluidly coupled to the recirculation system such that all of the recirculated wash liquid passes through the microfilter. 
     
     
         15 . The automatic dishwasher of  claim 14  wherein the ultrafilter is fluidly coupled to the microfilter such that at least part of the wash liquid filtered by the microfilter passes through the ultrafilter. 
     
     
         16 . The automatic dishwasher of  claim 14  wherein the recirculation system comprises a recirculation circuit fluidly coupling the treating chamber to the spray system. 
     
     
         17 . The automatic dishwasher of  claim 16  wherein the recirculation system further comprises a pump fluidly coupled to the recirculation circuit to pump the wash liquid from the treating chamber to the spray system. 
     
     
         18 . The automatic dishwasher of  claim 17  wherein the microfilter comprises a rotating filter fluidly coupled to the recirculation circuit such that wash liquid passing through the recirculation circuit passes through the rotating filter. 
     
     
         19 . The automatic dishwasher of  claim 18  wherein the rotating filter defines an exterior and an interior, with the interior fluidly coupled to the pump. 
     
     
         20 . The automatic dishwasher of  claim 19  wherein the interior is fluidly coupled to an inlet of the pump and the ultrafilter is located within the interior such that wash liquid passing through the rotating filter into the interior, then passes through the ultrafilter, before entering the pump. 
     
     
         21 . The automatic dishwasher of  claim 16  wherein microfilter is fluidly coupled to the recirculation circuit such that wash liquid passing through the recirculation circuit passes through the microfilter. 
     
     
         22 . The automatic dishwasher of  claim 21  wherein the recirculation circuit comprises a diversion circuit fluidly coupling a portion of the recirculation circuit on an output side of the microfilter to the ultrafilter. 
     
     
         23 . The automatic dishwasher of  claim 22  wherein the recirculation circuit further comprises a return circuit fluidly coupling an output side of the ultrafilter to at least one of the treating chamber and the recirculation circuit. 
     
     
         24 . The automatic dishwasher of  claim 13  wherein the ultrafilter is replaceable.

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