초록 ▼

A food waste disposer having one or more antimicrobial components is disclosed. The components can be metal, plastic, or rubber, and preferably constitute at least those components that a user could come in contact with during operation or maintenance of the disposer and/or components that come in c

A food waste disposer having one or more antimicrobial components is disclosed. The components can be metal, plastic, or rubber, and preferably constitute at least those components that a user could come in contact with during operation or maintenance of the disposer and/or components that come in contact with food waste. The plastic and rubber components can either be embedded or coated with an antimicrobial agent. The metal components are preferably powder coated. Exemplary components within the disposer benefiting from such antimicrobial treatment include a metal shredder plate, a metal shredder ring, a rubber mounting gasket, a rubber vibration isolation mount, a rubber vibration isolation tailpipe coupling, and the plastic discharge outlet and associated rubber seals.

대표청구항 ▼

What is claimed is: 1. A food waste disposer, comprising: a grinding chamber for reducing food waste; a stationary shredder ring attached to an inner wall of the grinding chamber, the stationary shredder ring having a plurality of teeth; a rotating shredder plate assembly having an upper rotating p

What is claimed is: 1. A food waste disposer, comprising: a grinding chamber for reducing food waste; a stationary shredder ring attached to an inner wall of the grinding chamber, the stationary shredder ring having a plurality of teeth; a rotating shredder plate assembly having an upper rotating plate and a lower support plate adjacent the rotating shredder plate; a plurality of lugs attached to the upper rotating plate by a stationary member extending through the upper rotating plate and the lower support plate such that the lugs are rotatable relative to the upper rotating plate to force the food waste against the teeth of the stationary shredder ring to grind the food waste into particulate matter; and a rubber or plastic component that contacts the food waste, the rubber or plastic component having an embedded antimicrobial agent and being at least one of a load bearing component and a vibration isolating component. 2. The food waste disposer of claim 1, wherein the rubber or plastic component includes an inlet housing which communicates food waste to the grinding chamber. 3. The food waste disposer of claim 2, wherein the inlet housing is a load bearing component. 4. The food waste disposer of claim 1, further comprising a dishwasher inlet having an embedded antimicrobial agent. 5. The food waste disposer of claim 1, further comprising: a removable rubber component which contacts the food waste having an embedded antimicrobial agent. 6. The food waste disposer of claim 5, wherein the removable rubber component comprises a baffle positionable in an inlet to the food waste disposer. 7. The food waste disposer of claim 5, wherein the removable rubber component is positionable within a drain opening in a sink to which the disposer is attached. 8. The food waste disposer of claim 1, wherein the rubber or plastic component includes a rubber component which isolates vibration. 9. The food waste disposer of claim 8, wherein the rubber vibration isolation component includes an anti-vibrational mount for affixing the food waste disposer to a sink. 10. The food waste disposer of claim 8, wherein the rubber vibration isolation component comprises a vibration isolation discharge coupling for connecting a tailpipe to the disposer. 11. The food waste disposer of claim 8, wherein the rubber vibration isolation component bears a weight of the disposer. 12. The food waste disposer of claim 1, wherein the rubber or plastic component is a load bearing component. 13. The food waste disposer of claim 12, wherein the load bearing component is a plastic load bearing component. 14. The food waste disposer of claim 1, wherein the rubber or plastic component is a vibration isolating component. 15. The food waste disposer of claim 14, wherein the vibration isolating component is a rubber vibration isolating component. 16. A food waste disposer, comprising: an inlet housing including a first molded plastic housing for receiving food waste; a motor housing including a motor for imparting rotational movement to a motor shaft; a grinding chamber for reducing food waste, the grinding chamber being disposed between the inlet housing and the motor housing, the inlet housing conveying the food waste to the grinding chamber, the grinding chamber including a grinding mechanism having a portion mounted to the motor shaft, the grinding mechanism grinding the food waste into particulate matter, the grinding chamber including a second molded plastic housing encompassing the grinding mechanism and integrally formed with the first plastic housing, the second molded plastic housing having a discharge outlet; and wherein the first molded plastic housing and the second plastic molded housing have an embedded antimicrobial agent and are least one of a load bearing component and a vibration isolating component. 17. The food waste disposer of claim 16, further comprising a liner for receiving reduced food waste below a grinding plate positioned within the grinding chamber, the liner being made of plastic and having an embedded antimicrobial agent. 18. The food waste disposer of claim 16, further comprising a dishwasher inlet made of plastic and having an embedded antimicrobial agent. 19. The food waste disposer of claim 18, wherein the first and second plastic housings and the dishwasher inlet are comprised of ABS, the first and second plastic housings having a concentration of approximately 2,000 ppm of the embedded antimicrobial agent, and the dishwasher inlet having a concentration of less than 2,000 ppm of the embedded antimicrobial agent. 20. The food waste disposer of claim 19, further comprising a removable rubber component which contacts the food waste, wherein the removable rubber component includes an embedded antimicrobial agent having a concentration of approximately 1,000 ppm. 21. The food waste disposer of claim 16, wherein at least one of the first and second housings is load bearing. 22. The food waste disposer of claim 21, wherein both of the first and second housings are load bearing. 23. The food waste disposer of claim 16, further comprising a rubber component which isolates vibration and has an embedded antimicrobial agent. 24. The food waste disposer of claim 23, wherein the rubber vibration isolation component includes an anti-vibrational mount for affixing the food waste disposer to a sink. 25. The food waste disposer of claim 23, wherein the rubber vibration isolation component comprises a vibration isolation discharge coupling for connecting a tailpipe to the disposer. 26. The food waste disposer of claim 23, wherein the rubber vibration isolation component bears a weight of the disposer. 27. A food waste disposer, comprising: a grinding chamber for reducing food waste; a stationary shredder ring attached to an inner wall of the grinding chamber, the stationary shredder ring having a plurality of teeth; a rotating shredder plate assembly having an upper rotating plate and a lower support plate adjacent the rotating shredder plate; a plurality of lugs attached to the upper rotating plate by a stationary member extending through the upper rotating plate and the lower support plate such that the lugs are rotatable relative to the upper rotating plate to force the food waste against the teeth of the stationary shredder ring to grind the food waste into particulate matter; a rubber vibration isolating component that contacts the food waste and has an embedded antimicrobial agent; and a plastic load bearing component that contacts the food waste and has an embedded antimicrobial agent. 28. The food waste disposer of claim 27, wherein the plastic load bearing component is an inlet housing which communicates food waster to the grinding chamber. 29. The food waste disposer of claim 27, further comprising a dishwasher inlet made of plastic and having an embedded antimicrobial agent. 30. The food waste disposer of claim 27, further comprising a liner for receiving reduced food waste below a grinding plate positioned within the grinding chamber, the liner being made of plastic and having an embedded antimicrobial agent. 31. The food waste disposer of claim 27, wherein the rubber vibration isolating component includes an anti-vibrational mount for affixing the food waste disposer to a sink. 32. The food waste disposer of claim 27, wherein the rubber vibration isolating component comprises a vibration isolation discharge coupling for connecting a tailpipe to the disposer. 33. The food waste disposer of claim 27, wherein the rubber vibration isolating component bears a weight of the disposer.