Exhibiting a dishwasher rack to the user

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12342976-B2
Application number	US-202217707389-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 29, 2022
Priority date	Mar 29, 2022
Publication date	Jul 1, 2025
Grant date	Jul 1, 2025

Abstract

A rack for an appliance such as a dish washing appliance. Deployment of the rack may allow the user to become aware of the presence of the rack within the dish washing appliance. At least one rack is positionable from a stowed position to at least one deployed position. The rack may be deployed or actuated with a door and/or a second rack. The door and/or second rack may carry, force, or actuate the rack to a deployed position. The deployed position of the rack may not be a fully deployed position of the rack.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A dish washing appliance comprising:
a dishwasher tub having a front opening;
a door positionable between an open position and a closed position relative to the dishwasher tub;
a rack engaging the dishwasher tub, wherein the rack includes a front side and a top edge and a bottom edge positioned on the front side of the rack, and wherein the rack is positionable between a stowed position in the dishwasher tub and one or more deployed positions different from the stowed position;
wherein the door magnetically actuates the rack away from the stowed position to at least one deployed position of the one or more deployed positions; and
wherein the door includes at least one of one or more magnetic members having at least one metal member and one or more magnets fixed in position relative to the door, and wherein the top edge of the front side of the rack includes the other of the at least one of the one or more magnetic members and the one or more magnets fixed in position relative to the rack.

2. The dish washing appliance of claim 1 wherein the door magnetically separates from the top edge of the front side of the rack that includes the other of the at least one of the one or more magnetic members and the one or more magnets when in the at least one deployed position.

3. The dish washing appliance of claim 2 wherein when magnetically separated from the door the rack deploys to another deployed position further away from the stowed position than the at least one deployed position.

4. The dish washing appliance of claim 1 wherein when closing the door from the open position to the closed position, the door magnetically couples to the rack.

5. The dish washing appliance of claim 1 wherein when the rack is in the at least one deployed position, a portion of the rack is positioned through the front opening away from the dishwasher tub.

6. The dish washing appliance of claim 1 wherein when opening the door from the closed position to the open position, the door always magnetically actuates the rack away from the stowed position to the at least one deployed position of the one or more deployed positions.

7. A dish washing appliance comprising:
a dishwasher tub having a front opening;
a door positionable between an open position and a closed position relative to the dishwasher tub, and wherein the door includes at least one of one or more magnetic members having at least one metal member and one or more magnets;
a rack engaging the dishwasher tub, wherein the rack includes a front side and a top edge and a bottom edge positioned on the front side of the rack, and wherein the top edge of the front side of the rack includes the other of the at least one of the one or more magnetic members and the one or more magnets, and wherein the rack is positionable between a stowed position in the dishwasher tub and one or more deployed positions different from the stowed position, wherein the one or more deployed positions includes a first deployed position and a second deployed position that is further from the stowed position than the first deployed position; and
when opening the door from the closed position towards the open position, the rack is deployed from the stowed position with the door corresponding to the one or more magnets magnetically engaging the one or more magnetic members until reaching the first deployed position when the one or more magnets magnetically disengage from the one or more magnetic members.

8. The dish washing appliance of claim 7 wherein each occurrence of closing the door from the open position towards the closed position, the one or more magnets magnetically engages to the one or more magnetic members.

9. The dish washing appliance of claim 7 wherein the door includes the one or more magnetic members and the rack includes the one or more magnets.

10. The dish washing appliance of claim 7 wherein the door includes the one or more magnets and the rack includes the one or more magnetic members.

11. The dish washing appliance of claim 7 wherein the rack includes a front side, wherein the front side includes the other of the at least one of the one or more magnetic members and the one or more magnets.

12. The dish washing appliance of claim 7 wherein the door includes an interior side and a top edge, wherein the at least one of the one or more magnetic members and the one or more magnets is positioned on the interior side and adjacent the top edge of the door.

13. The dish washing appliance of claim 7 wherein the one or more magnets is magnetically engaged to the magnetic members when both the door is in the closed position and the rack is in the stowed position.

14. The dish washing appliance of claim 7 wherein when the rack is in the first deployed position, a portion of the rack is positioned through the front opening away from the dishwasher tub.

15. The dish washing appliance of claim 7 wherein both the one or more magnets and the one or more magnetic members only have one fixed position relative to the door or relative to the rack, respectively.

16. The dish washing appliance of claim 7 wherein when closing the door from the open position to the closed position, the door engages the bottom edge of the front side of the rack when in the second deployed position until magnetically engaging the one or more magnets with the one or more magnetic members at the top edge of the front side of the rack.

17. The dish washing appliance of claim 7 wherein the other of the at least one of the one or more magnetic members and the one or more magnets is positioned adjacent one or both of opposing sides of the rack.

Assignees

• Midea Group Co Ltd

Inventors

• Fawaz Bassam
• Digman Robert M

Classifications

• A47L15/507 Primary

  Arrangements for extracting racks, e.g. roller supports · CPC title

• A47L15/502 Primary

  Cutlery baskets · CPC title