Midea Group Co., Ltd.

Foshan Shunde Midea Washing Appliances Manufacturing Co., Ltd.

Robert M Digman

Joel Boyer

Bassam Fawaz

Russell Dietrich

Eric Scalf

Mark Wayne Wilson

Daniel J Trice

Paul R Staun

Timothy Martin Wetzel

Qiang Liu

John Kenneth Hooker

Weijun Xue

Garen Gibbs

Wei Zhang

Dylan Rowe

A dishwashing appliance with a filtration assembly capable of removing/shredding/pulverizing large dishwashing debris from recirculated dishwashing fluid is provided. The dishwashing appliance may include a tub, a spray system, a recirculation pump, a drainage pump, and a grinding type filtration assembly in fluid communication with the spray system, the recirculation pump, and the drainage pump.

Filtration assembly with grinding mechanism

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.

Exhibiting a dishwasher rack to the user

A rack-mounted tubular spray element assembly is capable of both rotating and supplying fluid to multiple rack-supported tubular spray elements when the rack is in a washing position that couples the rack-mounted tubular spray element assembly to a wall-supported and electrical motor-driven rotatable drive member and a wall-supported fluid port that is physically separated from the rotatable drive member.

Dishwasher with rack-mounted tubular spray element assembly

A beverage container washing system may be used for rapid washing and/or sanitizing of beverage containers, e.g., for use in a retail environment to wash and/or sanitize customer-provided beverage containers prior to filling the beverage containers with purchased beverages, among other applications. Separate entrance and exit openings may be provided in some instances to minimize employee interaction with unwashed customer beverage containers, and a beverage container may be conveyed from the entrance opening to the exit opening past one or more stations using a holder that is capable of spinning the beverage container when the beverage container is disposed in at least one of the stations.

High speed reusable beverage container washing system with spinning beverage container holder

A dishwasher and method for making and/or using the same utilize one or more walking tubular spray elements that may be used to effectively increase the spray coverage area of the tubular spray elements through rotation and/or movement of the walking tubular spray elements in directions other than about the longitudinal axes thereof.

Dishwasher with walking tubular spray element

A beverage container washing system may utilize a state machine-based control system and/or beverage container type determination to manage washing and/or sanitizing of beverage containers, e.g., for use in a retail environment to wash and/or sanitize customer-provided beverage containers prior to filling the beverage containers with purchased beverages.

State machine and/or container-specific operational control of high speed reusable beverage container washing system

A wall mounted dishwasher incorporates storage into an exterior door of the dishwasher to facilitate user access to utensils stored in the dishwasher. The exterior door may be hinged and configured to rotate about a substantially vertical axis, and one or more spray devices and/or one or more fluid collection pans may be integrated into the exterior door.

Wall mounted dishwasher

A beverage container washing system may utilize a through opening air knife to direct a flow of pressurized fluid through an opening in a concentric housing member of a beverage container washing system and onto a beverage container disposed within a wash chamber thereof.

Through opening air knife for high speed reusable beverage container washing system

A dishwasher and method for operating the same utilize a diverter valve to control via rotation the flow of fluid such as wash fluid or pressurized air to a rotatable conduit supported in the rack of a dishwasher. A valve member may be disposed at a predetermined rotational position about an axis of rotation of the conduit such that a fluid inlet on a rotatable valve body may be rotated to the predetermined rotational position to restrict fluid flow to the conduit.

Dishwasher with rotatable diverter valve

A beverage container washing system, e.g., for use in a retail environment to wash and/or sanitize customer-provided beverage containers prior to filling the beverage containers with purchased beverages, may include a lighting system with a plurality of lights disposed on a housing of the beverage container washing system and configured to be illuminated with various types of animations to convey different types of information to a customer and/or retail establishment employee.

High speed reusable beverage container washing system with themed lighting

A dishwasher includes in part a controllably-movable sprayer and a controller coupled to the controllably-movable sprayer and configured to control the controllably-movable sprayer to spray fluid onto one or more utensils disposed in a wash tub during a wash cycle. The controller is also configured to control the controllably-movable sprayer to spray fluid onto one or more walls of the wash tub by controllably-redirecting the controllably-movable sprayer to reorient one or more apertures of the sprayer away from the one or more utensils and towards the one or more walls.

Dishwasher with image-based diagnostics

A single cavity dishwashing appliance with one or more drawers is disclosed. The drawer may be moveable between a closed position and an open position. A drip shield may be provided to prevent washing fluid from dripping onto the floor or onto the inner components of the dishwashing appliance when the drawer is in the open position.

Drawer type single cavity dishwashing appliance with convertible drip shields

A beverage container washing system may utilize an auto-opening holder to laterally separate opposing grippers from one another when a housing is configured in a loading or unloading configuration to facilitate insertion and/or removal of a beverage container into or from the holder.

Auto-opening holder for high speed reusable beverage container washing system

A beverage container washing system may be used for rapid washing and/or sanitizing of beverage containers, e.g., for use in a retail environment to wash and/or sanitize customer-provided beverage containers prior to filling the beverage containers with purchased beverages, among other applications. The beverage container washing system may include a pop-up ultraviolet sanitizer that may be used to sanitize an interior of a beverage container by extending into an opening of the beverage container and emitting ultraviolet light onto an interior surface of the beverage container.

High speed reusable beverage container washing system with pop-up ultraviolet sanitizer

A beverage container washing system may utilize a heated wash fluid circulation system to circulate wash fluid retained in a line between a tank and a sprayer to enable fluid that is supplied to the sprayer to be maintained at a suitable temperature for washing and/or sanitizing a beverage container, and in many instances regardless of the amount of time between wash cycles.

Growing community of inventors

Goshen, KY, United States of America

Robert M Digman