Resilient mount for dishwasher motor and pump assembly

Claim 1

In a domestic dishwasher including casing means forming a dishwashing chamber having an opening in the bottom thereof defined by a radially inwardly directed annular flange, mounting means resiliently suspending a motor-pump assembly in said bottom opening from said annular flange, housing means for the pump of said assembly, said pump housing means including a vertically extending upper small diameter wall portion and a vertically extending lower larger diameter wall portion separated by a substantially horizontal planar portion, said pump housing upper wall portion having pump inlet means located therein, the improvement wherein; said mounting means including a one-piece elastomer sleeve positioned between said pump housing means and said bottom opening, said one-piece sleeve formed by a large diameter radially outwardly directed top gasket portion, a frustoconical medial portion and a smaller diameter bottom cylindrical portion; means sealingly retaining said top gasket portion in nested overlying relation with said annular flange, means sealingly retaining said smaller diameter bottom cylindrical portion in circumscribing relation with said pump larger diameter lower housing portion, said medial portion tapering axially downwardly and radially inwardly from said sleeve top portion to said sleeve bottom portion to coaxially connect same so as to dispose said sleeve bottom cylindrical portion at a substantial distance below said bottom opening, said medial portion defining with said pump housing planar portion and said pump housing upper small diameter wall portion a sump wherein said frusto-conical medial portion is positioned in outer radial spaced opposed relation with said pump inlet means, whereby water exiting from said dishwashing chamber is directed in funnel-like fashion by said frusto-conical medial portion and said pump housing planar portion in substantially uninterrupted flow through said sump into said pump inlet means, and said sleeve medial portion being of uniform thickness substantially one-half the thickness of said sleeve top and bottom portions, whereby said sleeve medial portion being free to flex allowing said motor-pump assembly to move in directions coaxially, laterally and torsionally with respect to a vertical axis in said dishwasher so as to substantially obviate the transmission of vibrational energy from said motor-pump assembly to said dishwasher casing means.