Household appliance having antennas

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9510723-B2
Application number	US-201615177820-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 9, 2016
Priority date	Dec 20, 2012
Publication date	Dec 6, 2016
Grant date	Dec 6, 2016

Abstract

A household appliance, such as a dishwasher, for treating an item according to at least one automatic cycle of operation includes multiple antennas for transmitting and receiving data with an external network. The multiple antennas can be coupled with a radio also located within the appliance.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A dishwasher for treating dishes according to at least one automatic cycle of operation, comprising:
a housing having a front and a rear;
a tub within the housing defining a treating chamber for receiving dishes for treatment according to the at least one automatic cycle of operation, and having an open face at the front of the housing;
a door assembly movably mounted to the housing for movement between opened and closed positions to selectively open and close the open face of the tub;
a control console on the door assembly and comprising a user interface;
a controller coupled with at least one controllable component configured to implement the at least one automatic cycle of operation;
a first antenna mounted inside the control console on the door assembly;
a second antenna mounted below the tub at the rear of the housing; and
a radio operatively coupled with the first antenna, the second antenna, and the controller;
wherein the first antenna and the second antenna lie on opposite sides of a plane extending vertically through and bisecting the housing.

2. The dishwasher of claim 1 wherein the first antenna and the second antenna lie on opposite sides of a plane horizontally through and bisecting the housing.

3. The dishwasher of claim 1 wherein the radio lies between the first and second antennas.

4. The dishwasher of claim 3 wherein the radio is at a different height than both of the first and second antennas.

5. The dishwasher of claim 1 wherein the first antenna lies above the radio and the second antenna.

6. The dishwasher of claim 1 wherein the radio is located beneath the tub.

7. The dishwasher of claim 1 wherein the radio is mounted in the door assembly.

8. The dishwasher of claim 1 wherein the radio is spaced from and below the first antenna.

9. The dishwasher of claim 1 wherein the radio is provided with at least one of the first and second antennas.

10. The dishwasher of claim 9 wherein the radio comprises a printed circuit board, and first antenna is embedded on the printed circuit board of the radio.

11. The dishwasher of claim 9 and further comprising at least one cable coupling the radio with at least one of the first and second antennas.

12. The dishwasher of claim 11 wherein the door assembly includes a front panel and a rear panel which define an interior space, and wherein the at least one cable extends through the interior space.

13. The dishwasher of claim 1 wherein the control console is mounted at an upper end of the door assembly.

14. The dishwasher of claim 13 wherein the control console comprises a face plate mounted above a panel of the door assembly, and wherein the first antenna is located behind the face plate.

15. The dishwasher of claim 14 and further comprising an antenna receiver on a rear side of the face plate and accommodating the first antenna.

16. The dishwasher of claim 1 wherein the housing further comprises a frame which supports the tub on a ground surface, and wherein the second antenna is mounted to the frame.

17. The dishwasher of claim 1 and further comprising a first cable connected to the radio and the first antenna and a second cable connected to radio and the second antenna.

18. The dishwasher of claim 17 wherein the first and second cables are substantially equal in length.

Assignees

• Whirlpool Co

Inventors

• Cottrell Nicholas J
• Gries Jason R
• Ireland Vince A
• Smith Blayne C

Classifications

• A47L15/46

  Devices for the automatic control of the different phases of cleaning {; Controlling devices (A47L15/449 takes precedence)} · CPC title

• H04B1/38

  Transceivers, i.e. devices in which transmitter and receiver form a structural unit and in which at least one part is used for functions of transmitting and receiving · CPC title

• A47L15/4293

  Arrangements for programme selection, e.g. control panels; Indication of the selected programme, programme progress or other parameters of the programme, e.g. by using display panels · CPC title

• F25D2400/36

  Visual displays · CPC title

• A47L15/0063 Primary

  using remote monitoring or controlling of the dishwasher operation, e.g. networking systems · CPC title