Sheathed heating element installation

Claim 1

In a dishwasher comprising a door and a tub, having first and second apertures therethrough and, an exterior coated metallic section adjacent said apertures, providing together a wash chamber; the improvement being a resistive heating element in the chamber having opposite ends extending through the apertures, each end including a core, an insulator around the core, a metallic sheath around the insulator and terminals exterior of the tub; and means sealing the sheath to the inside of the tub and grounding the sheath to the metallic section, said sealing and grounding means comprising: a first resilient seal in surrounding sealing relationship with each of the ends of said sheath; a rigid metallic sleeve, in surrounding sealing engagement with each of said first seals, each rigid sleeve extending through one of said apertures and having a first end including a radially outwardly projecting flange and a second threaded end having an element bearing against the sheath in electrical connection therewith, said ends being disposed adjacent the interior and the exterior, respectively, of the tub and said first resilient seals each underlying and extending from said first end to said second end of its respective rigid sleeve; a second seal member including a rigid cup-shaped washer abutting said flange of said first sleeve end; and, a resilient washer disposed between said cup shaped washer and the interior of the tub in sealing engagement therewith, said rigid cup-shaped washer partially enclosing and deforming said resilient washer; a metallic rotatable fastener threadably connected to each second sleeve end and bearing against the exterior of the tub and binding said flange against the seal member, the fastener comprising at least one pointed element projecting in bearing engagement with the metallic section for scratching the coating therefrom upon rotation of the fastener against the tub exterior and effecting grounding; the sealing and grounding means providing a ground path between the sheath and the metallic section through the sleeve element bearing against the sheath, the metallic sleeve and the rotatable fastener.