Sump assembly for a dishwasher appliance

Abstract

A sump assembly for a dishwasher appliance is provided. The sump assembly includes a housing that defines a chamber. The sump assembly also includes a filter and an impeller mounted within the chamber. The impeller can hinder object accumulation within the filter or improve performance of the filter or both.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A sump assembly for a dishwasher appliance, the sump assembly comprising:
 a housing defining an inlet and a chamber;   a filter disposed within the chamber of said housing, said filter and said housing defining a filtered volume and an unfiltered volume within the chamber of said housing;   an outlet conduit defining an outlet passage, the outlet passage of said outlet conduit being in fluid communication with the unfiltered volume of the chamber;   a recirculation conduit defining a recirculation passage, the recirculation passage of said recirculation conduit being in fluid communication with the filtered volume of the chamber; and   an impeller mounted within the chamber of said housing and rotatable about an axis of rotation.   
     
     
         2 . The sump assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the sump assembly defines an axial direction and a radial direction, wherein said impeller comprises:
 a post extending into the chamber of said housing along the axial direction; and   a plurality of blades mounted to the post of said impeller and extending away from the post of said impeller along the radial direction.   
     
     
         3 . The sump assembly of  claim 2 , wherein said housing comprises a bottom wall and the post of said impeller is mounted to the bottom wall of said housing and extending away from the bottom wall of said housing along the axial direction. 
     
     
         4 . The sump assembly of  claim 2 , wherein said plurality of blades comprises at least three blades. 
     
     
         5 . The sump assembly of  claim 2 , wherein each blade of said plurality of blades has a distal portion that is positioned away from the axis of rotation of said impeller by about a first distance along the radial direction, wherein said filter has an inner surface that is positioned away from the axis of rotation of said impeller by about a second distance along the radial direction, wherein said second distance is greater than said first distance. 
     
     
         6 . The sump assembly of  claim 5 , wherein the first and second distances are selected such that said plurality of blades do not contact said filter. 
     
     
         7 . The sump assembly of  claim 1 , wherein said housing comprises a bottom wall and said impeller is mounted to the bottom wall of said housing. 
     
     
         8 . The sump assembly of  claim 1 , wherein said impeller further comprises a motor in mechanical communication with said impeller in order to selectively rotate said impeller about the axis of rotation. 
     
     
         9 . The sump assembly of  claim 1 , wherein said impeller is configured for rotation in a first direction, a second direction, or both the first and second directions. 
     
     
         10 . The sump assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the sump assembly defines an axial direction and a radial direction, wherein said housing comprises a bottom wall and an sidewall mounted to the bottom wall and extending away from the bottom wall along the axial direction, wherein said outlet conduit is mounted to the bottom wall of said housing and said recirculation conduit is mounted to the sidewall of said housing. 
     
     
         11 . A dishwasher appliance comprising:
 a tub that defines a wash compartment, the wash compartment of said tub extending between a top portion and a bottom portion;   a rack assembly received within the wash compartment of said tub and configured for receipt of articles for washing;   a spray assembly for applying wash fluid to the articles within the rack assembly;   a drain pump for urging a flow of wash fluid out of the wash compartment of said tub;   a recirculation pump for urging a flow of wash fluid to said spray assembly; and   a sump assembly mounted to said tub and positioned adjacent the bottom portion of the wash compartment of said tub, said sump assembly comprising:
 a housing defining a chamber and an inlet that provides fluid communication between the wash compartment of said tub and the chamber of said housing; 
 a filter disposed within the chamber of said housing, said filter and said housing defining a filtered volume and an unfiltered volume within the chamber of said housing; 
 an outlet conduit defining an outlet passage, the outlet passage of said outlet conduit being in fluid communication with the unfiltered volume of the chamber and said drain pump; 
 a recirculation conduit defining a recirculation passage, the recirculation passage of said recirculation conduit being in fluid communication with the filtered volume of the chamber and said recirculation pump; and 
 an impeller mounted within the chamber of said housing and rotatable about an axis of rotation. 
   
     
     
         12 . The dishwasher appliance of  claim 11 , wherein said sump assembly defines an axial direction and a radial direction, wherein said impeller comprises:
 a post extending into the chamber of said housing along the axial direction; and   a plurality of blades mounted to the post of said impeller and extending away from the post of said impeller along the radial direction.   
     
     
         13 . The dishwasher appliance of  claim 12 , wherein said housing comprises a bottom wall and the post of said impeller is mounted to the bottom wall of said housing and extending away from the bottom wall of said housing along the axial direction. 
     
     
         14 . The dishwasher appliance of  claim 12 , wherein said plurality of blades comprises at least three blades. 
     
     
         15 . The dishwasher appliance of  claim 12 , wherein each blade of said plurality of blades has a distal portion that is positioned away from the axis of rotation of said impeller by about a first distance along the radial direction, wherein said filter has an inner surface that is positioned away from the axis of rotation of said impeller by about a second distance along the radial direction, wherein said second distance is greater than said first distance. 
     
     
         16 . The dishwasher appliance of  claim 15 , wherein the first and second distances are selected such that said plurality of blades do not contact said filter. 
     
     
         17 . The dishwasher appliance of  claim 11 , wherein said housing comprises a bottom wall and said impeller is mounted to the bottom wall of said housing. 
     
     
         18 . The dishwasher appliance of  claim 11 , wherein said impeller further comprises a motor in mechanical communication with said impeller in order to selectively rotate said impeller about the axis of rotation. 
     
     
         19 . The dishwasher appliance of  claim 11 , wherein said impeller is configured for rotation in a first direction, a second direction, or both the first and second directions. 
     
     
         20 . The dishwasher appliance of  claim 11 , wherein said sump assembly defines an axial direction and a radial direction, wherein said housing comprises a bottom wall and an sidewall mounted to the bottom wall and extending away from the bottom wall along the axial direction, wherein said outlet conduit is mounted to the bottom wall of said housing and said recirculation conduit is mounted to the sidewall of said housing.