Laundry treating appliance with bulk dispenser and treating chemistry cartridge therefor

Abstract

A laundry treating appliance, such as a washing machine, either vertical or horizontal axis, can have a bulk dispenser assembly capable of dispensing multiple doses of treating chemistry from a bulk supply of treating chemistry. The bulk supply may be a solid block of treating chemistry held within a removable cartridge. A sensing assembly can be provided for determining the amount of treating chemistry that is dispensed from the bulk supply for a non-uniform dosing of treating chemistry.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A laundry treating appliance for treating laundry in accordance with an automatic cycle of operation comprising:
 a tub defining an interior for retaining liquid;   a liquid supply assembly in fluid communication with the tub and operable to supply liquid for use in treating laundry; and   a dispenser assembly comprising:
 a housing defining a chamber with a base; 
 one or more support ribs located within the chamber and collectively defining an erosion platform located above the base that is configured to support a solid block of treating chemistry; 
 a liquid flow channel extending at least partially along the one or more support ribs; 
 a liquid inlet to the flow channel in fluid communication with the liquid supply assembly; and 
 a liquid outlet from the flow channel in fluid communication with the tub; 
 wherein liquid supplied to the liquid inlet enters the liquid flow channel and the liquid flow channel is configured to pass the liquid under the erosion platform to erode a portion of the solid block to form a mixture of liquid and treating chemistry, and the mixture is supplied to the tub through the liquid outlet. 
   
     
     
         2 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more support ribs extend upwardly from the base of the chamber. 
     
     
         3 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the base of the chamber is sloped toward the liquid outlet. 
     
     
         4 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the chamber defines opposing first and second ends, with the base extending between the opposing first and second ends, and the liquid inlet is provided at the first end and the liquid outlet is provided at the second end. 
     
     
         5 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 4 , wherein the base of the chamber is sloped between the first and second ends, toward the liquid outlet. 
     
     
         6 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the liquid flow channel slopes downwardly between the liquid inlet and the liquid outlet. 
     
     
         7 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more support ribs comprises multiple support ribs, and the support ribs are spaced from each other to form the liquid flow channel between the support ribs. 
     
     
         8 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 7 , wherein the support ribs comprise elongated, upstanding, and spaced walls, with at least two discrete flow paths therebetween defining the liquid flow channel. 
     
     
         9 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 8 , wherein the walls have opposing ends, with the liquid inlet provided at one of the opposing ends and the liquid outlet provided at the other of the opposing ends. 
     
     
         10 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the dispenser assembly further comprises a cartridge defining a cartridge interior for receipt of the solid block of treating chemistry, wherein the cartridge is receivable within the chamber. 
     
     
         11 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 10 , wherein the erosion platform is provided with the cartridge. 
     
     
         12 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 10 , wherein the cartridge comprises a casing having multiple sides that form a block chamber in conjunction with the erosion platform for receipt of the solid block of treating chemistry. 
     
     
         13 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 12 , wherein the casing comprises an open bottom configured to confront the one or more support ribs, such that the solid block rests directly on the erosion platform. 
     
     
         14 . A treating chemistry cartridge for use in a dispenser assembly of a laundry treating appliance for treating laundry in accordance with an automatic cycle of operation, the treating chemistry cartridge comprising:
 a casing defining an interior chamber with a base and having a liquid inlet and a liquid outlet;   one or more support ribs extending upwardly relative from the base, and collectively defining an erosion platform configured to support a solid block of treating chemistry within the interior chamber; and   a liquid flow channel extending between the liquid inlet and the liquid outlet, at least partially defined by the one or more support ribs;   wherein, liquid supplied to the liquid inlet enters the liquid flow channel and passes under the erosion platform to erode a portion of the solid block.   
     
     
         15 . The treating chemistry cartridge of  claim 14 , wherein the liquid outlet is provided in the base, and the base is sloped toward the liquid outlet. 
     
     
         16 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 14 , wherein the one or more support ribs comprises multiple support ribs, and the support ribs are spaced from each other to form the liquid flow channel between the support ribs. 
     
     
         17 . The treating chemistry cartridge of  claim 16 , wherein the support ribs comprise elongated, upstanding, and spaced walls, with at least two discrete flow paths therebetween defining the liquid flow channel. 
     
     
         18 . The treating chemistry cartridge of  claim 14  and further comprising a solid block of laundry treating chemistry sufficient for multiple cycles of operation of the laundry treating appliance, wherein the solid block is received within the casing and is supported by the erosion platform. 
     
     
         19 . The treating chemistry cartridge of  claim 18 , wherein the casing encloses multiple sides of the solid block. 
     
     
         20 . The treating chemistry cartridge of  claim 19 , wherein the solid block comprises a top face, a bottom face, and a peripheral surface between the top and bottom faces, and wherein casing encloses the top face and peripheral surface of the solid block. 
     
     
         21 . The treating chemistry cartridge of  claim 14 , wherein the liquid inlet comprises an end flange on the casing, with the end flange configured to overlie at least a portion of the solid block.