dishwasher

Abstract

Dishwasher (1),- with a washing chamber which is bounded on five sides by a housing (2) and can be closed at the front by a dishwasher door (3),- with a door bearing (6) about which the dishwasher door (3) can be pivoted between a closed position (4) and an open position,- with a cable pull (10) which is arranged to apply a holding force on the dishwasher door (3) opposite to the opening movement of the dishwasher door (3), wherein the cable pull (10) is blocked by a stop element (13) between the closed position (4) and a predetermined coupling position (15), so that the cable pull (10) exerts no or at least only a negligible holding force on the dishwasher door (3) over a pivoting range between the closed position (4) and the coupling position (15).

Description

The invention relates to a dishwasher, in particular to a dishwasher for domestic use.(Dishwasher) dishwashers are conventionally configured to use wash water with a temperature of usually more than 40° for cleaning the tableware. The rinsing water is distributed over the tableware by means of a plurality of spray devices. Such spray devices are usually so-called spray arms which are set in rotation by the pressure of the flushing water flowing out of nozzles. In order that the user of the dishwasher does not need to dry the tableware after the wash cycle has ended during the removal, a drying phase is provided at the end of most wash cycles, in which drying phase the clear wash water remaining on the tableware is intended to evaporate by heat. At the end of the rinsing program, therefore, there is a high water vapor content in the rinsing chamber. In addition, a residual amount of wash water partially remains on some tableware items which does not fully evaporate. For this reason, it is advantageous to open the (dishwasher) door of the dishwasher, so that the water vapor can escape from the washing chamber and moisture adhering to items of tableware can optionally dry off.In order to prevent the door from falling into its open position without being braked after opening due to its weight force, as a result of which damage can occur to the dishwasher or the door during careless handling, the doors of dishwashers are conventionally coupled (for example according to DE 11 2007 000 423 T5) to a spring system. The spring system compensates, on the one hand, the weight force of the door to a certain extent, so that damage during the swinging open of the door can be virtually avoided. On the other hand, the door is frequently pulled in the direction of its closed position starting from approximately half its pivot path. In order to provide a sufficient opening gap for the escape of the water vapor, therefore, many users partially pull a dish rack of the dishwasher out of the washing chamber and lean the door against the latter.According to DE 33 45 604 C2, the aforementioned spring system is designed in such a way that a minimum spring force acts on the door in a venting position and the door is thus moved by the spring system both from the closed position and from the open position into the venting position.The object of the invention is to specify an improved dishwasher.This object is achieved according to the invention by a dishwasher with the features of claim 1. advantageous embodiments and developments of the invention which are partly inventive per se are set out in the dependent claims of the following description.The dishwasher according to the invention comprises a washing chamber which is bounded on five sides by a housing and can be closed at the front side by a (dishwasher) door. Furthermore, the dishwasher (hereinafter referred to as dishwasher for short) comprises a door bearing about which the door can be reversibly pivoted between a closed position and an open position. In addition, the dishwasher comprises a cable pull which is configured and provided to apply a holding force to the door which is opposed to the opening movement of the door. According to the invention, the cable pull is blocked by a stop element between the closed position and a predefined coupling position of the dishwasher door, which coupling position is arranged between the closed position and the open position. As a result, the cable pull between the closed position and the coupling position can exert no or at least only a negligibly small holding force on the door.The holding force of the cable pull is preferably predefined in such a way that the holding force of the cable pull almost compensates the weight force of the door. This allows the door to remain stationary in at least almost any position that is set by a user, for example. However, since the weight-related torque (opening torque) acting on the door in the opening direction decreases due to the inclination of the door, it regularly occurs in the upper pivot path region, i.e. at comparatively small opening angles (of less than 30 degrees, for example), that the torque (closing torque) applied by the holding force of the cable pull exceeds the opening torque. Thus, the door would be closed at least until the door seal (conventionally located at the closing edge of the housing). An "opening angle" is understood in particular to mean the angle between the door and the closing edge of the housing, at which the door rests in the closed position.However, because the cable pull is blocked between the closed position and the coupling position, it is advantageously prevented that the door is moved by the holding force of the cable pull up to the door seal or up to the closed position. The door can thus be held against the door seal almost without force by a user (since no holding force acts on the door and the opening moment is comparatively low) and / or can be set obliquely against the holding force of the cable pull in the coupling position. In this case, an opening gap is advantageously formed between the upper edge of the door and the upper closing edge of the housing, through which opening gap ventilation of the flushing chamber can take place.The coupling position is preferably predefined in such a way that the opening angle of the door in the coupling position is less than 20 degrees.To generate the holding force, the cable pull is in a preferred embodiment guided via a deflection roller onto a tension spring connected indirectly or directly to the housing. The tension spring is preferably designed as a helical spring. In addition, the tension spring is expediently arranged in the upper region of the housing, so that when the door is closed, a length of the cable pull sufficient for the pivoting movement of the door is reserved. In addition, a comparatively large angle of wrap (of, for example, more than 100 degrees) of the cable pull on the deflection pulley is thereby achieved, which advantageously leads to high friction between the cable pull and the deflection pulley. This friction additionally brakes the opening movement of the door in addition to the holding force of the cable pull. In addition, the friction on the cable pulley also allows the holding force of the cable pull on the door to be reduced, with the result that the closing torque on the door is likewise reduced, in particular in the upper closing travel region. Within the scope of the invention, however, it is also conceivable for the cable pull to be wound, as an alternative to the deflection pulley and the tension spring, on a cable drum which is coupled to a torsion spring, such that the torsion spring tensions itself when the cable pull is unwound.In order to achieve a preferably automatic and as complete as possible venting of the flushing chamber at the end of a flushing cycle, the dishwasher expediently has an adjusting device which is referred to as a lock drive and acts on the door lock for the purpose of opening the door. The door can thus be opened automatically by means of this lock drive after a flushing program has elapsed, i.e. without action by a user of the dishwasher. The door lock has at least one pawl arranged on the door, in particular two pawls (preferably sprung against one another) which, in the closed position, are snapped into a respective undercut (in the manner of snap hooks) in a lock counterpart.The lock drive is in particular a "wax drive" (also: expansion element) which acts on a pawl of the door lock, so that the latter is pressed out of the undercut of the lock counterpart. This wax drive is formed in particular by a heatable cylinder which is filled with a suitable extender, preferably paraffin (wax). An axially displaceable punch rests on this expanding material. If the cylinder and thus the expanding material located therein are now heated, it expands (in particular due to a phase transition from solid to liquid) and thus displaces the punch by a stroke of approximately 1 to 10 mm. This stroke is used to push the locking pawl out of the undercut. Because the door is braced against the door seal in the closed position (in order to ensure the sealing effect), the second detent pawl automatically slides out of its corresponding undercut under the effect of the sealing pressure when the first detent pawl is unlocked, and the door is pressed open by the door seal. Optionally, two wax drives are assigned to the door lock, each of which acts on one of the ratchet pawls.The automatic door opening at the end of each wash cycle advantageously establishes a venting position of the door. The door is thus open with a sufficiently large opening gap, also referred to below as a venting gap, so that the water vapor can escape from the dishwasher and dry any remaining liquid which may remain on some items of tableware. The venting gap is preferably larger than the opening gap occurring in the coupling position. The venting gap is established in particular in that the door swings up beyond the coupling position under the spring action of the door seal and due to its inertia-almost no resistance of the cable pull acting up to the coupling position. When the coupling position is exceeded, the door is increasingly braked by the holding force (and the friction) of the cable pull until the inertia of the door, the holding force directed counter to it and preferably the friction, compensates and the door thus remains stationary-in the venting position. Advantageously, due to the friction (in particular the friction of the cable pull on the deflection pulley), the door is prevented from swinging behind or being moved back into the coupling position by the holding force of the cable pull.The holding force of the cable pull is expediently selected, in particular by a specific adaptation of the prestressing force of the tension spring, in such a way that the venting gap of the door is set between 10 and 20 cm, preferably at 15 cm. Because the venting gap is enlarged relative to the opening gap of the coupling position, the water vapor can escape particularly quickly at the end of the flushing process.The venting gap of 15 cm corresponds-depending on the distance of the upper edge of the door from the door bearing-to an opening angle of the door of approximately 10 to 15 degrees, in particular approximately 12 degrees. The coupling position is preferably selected here at an opening angle of the door of between 4 and 10 degrees, in particular at approximately 6 degrees.The door thus preferably has two intermediate positions between its open position and its closed position, in which the door is substantially immediately open. This is, on the one hand, the venting position which is established automatically after the automatic unlocking, and a position which substantially corresponds to the coupling position. The latter is preferably established when the door is moved by the user in the direction of the closed position, but is not currently fully closed. In particular, the door in this position is based on the door seal at least in the lower region.In a preferred embodiment, the door has a pivoted lever protruding in an L-shaped manner in the region of its connection to the door bearing. The door is in particular hinged to the door bearing approximately at the intersection of the pivot lever with the door leaf. For the connection of the cable pull to the pivot lever, it is possible in principle within the scope of the invention for the cable pull to be fastened directly to the pivot lever. Preferably, however, a receptacle is arranged at the free end of the pivot lever, in which receptacle the cable pull is pivotably articulated, in particular hooked, between the open position and the coupling position by means of a coupling lever.In an expedient embodiment, the receptacle on the pivot lever is designed as a slotted link (i.e. in the form of a slot or a groove). The coupling lever is hooked onto the pivot lever between the open position and the coupling position in a bearing region of the link, which bearing region is formed in particular by a closed end of the link, by force transmission technology. Between the coupling position and the closed position, on the other hand, the coupling lever is displaced out of the bearing region of the link along at least one partial region of the link. As a result, the cable pull is decoupled from the door by force transmission at least in the closing direction. In the event that the coupling lever outside the bearing region does not have any lateral contact with the link, i.e. with the side walls thereof, the coupling lever is completely decoupled from the pivot lever.In an expedient embodiment, the coupling lever is seated on the stop element for blocking the cable pull and in particular for decoupling from the pivot lever between the coupling position and the closed position. The coupling lever is thus held by the stop element when the door is closed when the door exceeds the coupling position. The pivot lever moves further with the door, wherein the link is displaced relative to the coupling lever and thus decoupled in the closing direction.In a particularly preferred embodiment, the stop element is additionally used to increase the angle of wrap of the cable pull around the deflection pulley. The wrap angle is thereby preferably more than 180 degrees. The stop element is positioned in particular with respect to the axis of rotation of the deflection pulley in such a way that the stop element acts as a second deflection (next to the deflection pulley) for the cable pull. As a result, the friction of the cable pull is advantageously further increased, in particular on the deflection roller, but also on the stop element.Within the scope of the invention, the stop element can be formed, for example, as part of the housing, for example as an outwardly bent sheet metal tab. In a particularly preferred embodiment, however, the stop element is formed by a bolt. The bolt has the advantage that, in particular when the angle of wrap of the deflection roller is increased, the cable pull can slide off the (preferably circular cylindrical) surface of the bolt in a particularly material-saving manner. In addition, the bolt can be mounted, e.g. screwed, particularly easily on the housing of the dishwasher.In order to be able to set the ventilation gap of the door precisely, in particular in the event that the door of the dishwasher in the intended installed state carries a door panel adapted to the front panels of the kitchen furniture, the dishwasher in an expedient embodiment has a prestressing device for setting the prestressing force of the tension spring. The door panel has a varying weight, depending on the design of the kitchen furniture, so that with a constant predefined prestressing force of the tension spring, a different venting gap is established depending on the respective total weight of the door and the door panel, and the door would thus swing open to varying extents. However, by means of the prestressing device, the prestressing force of the tension spring can be adapted to the respective weight of the door panel and thus the venting gap of the door can be adjusted in a customer-specific and precise manner.An exemplary embodiment of the invention is explained in more detail below with reference to a drawing. Shown therein are: FIG. 1 shows a schematic and fragmentary side view of a dishwasher with a housing, a dishwasher door and with a lever mechanism for adjusting the dishwasher door, wherein the dishwasher door is arranged in a closed position, and FIGS. 2 and 3 show, in a view according to FIG. 1, the door of the dishwasher in a coupling position and in a venting position.Corresponding parts are always provided with the same reference numerals in all figures.FIG. 1 shows a schematic detail of a (dishwasher) 1. The dishwasher 1 comprises a housing 2 which encloses a washing chamber on five sides. Towards the open front side, the dishwasher 1 can be reversibly closed by a (dishwasher) door 3. The door 3 is pivotably mounted between an open position, not shown in detail, and a closed position 4, shown in FIG. 1, on a door bearing 6 by means of an angle piece 5. The angle piece 5 projects here from the door 3 by a leg referred to as pivot lever 7. At the free end of the pivot lever 7, a slot-shaped slotted link 8 is formed in the pivot lever 7. The link 8 serves as a receptacle for a coupling lever 9 which is pivotably and displaceably suspended in the link 8. A cable pull 10 is connected to the pivot lever 7 and thus to the door 3 via the coupling lever 9. The cable 10 is connected at its end opposite the coupling lever 9 to a tension spring 11 which is articulated on the housing 2 in a region above the door bearing 6. The cable pull 10 is guided between the tension spring 11 and the coupling lever 9 via a deflection roller 12. The cable pull 10 serves to apply a holding force to the door 3 which is opposed to the opening movement of the door 3, in order thus to partially compensate for the weight force of the door 3 during pivoting between the open position and the closed position 4.Furthermore, a bolt 13 is arranged on the housing 2, which is positioned above and offset to the front side of the dishwasher 1 with respect to the axis of rotation of the deflecting roller 12. As a result, the angle of wrap of the cable 10 on the deflection pulley 12 is increased, so that the friction of the cable 10 on the deflection pulley 12 is increased. Furthermore, the bolt 13 serves as a stop element for the coupling lever 9. the coupling lever 9 is seated on the bolt 13 in the closed position 4 and is displaced upwards by a part of the link 8 (FIG. 1 ), so that the coupling lever 9 no longer lies in the end 14 of the link 8 that is closed in the direction of tension of the cable pull 10. As a result, the coupling lever 8 and thus the cable pull 10 in the closed position 4 does not exert any holding force on the pivot lever 7 or the door 3.FIG. 2 shows a coupling position 15 of the door 3, in which the door 3 has an opening angle 16 of 6 degrees. The link 8 is designed in such a way that, when the door 3 is opened, the coupling lever 9 couples to the pivot lever 7 starting from the coupling position 15, i.e. hooks into the closed end 14 of the link 8 by force transmission. In other words, when the door 3 is opened, the cable pull 10 exerts a holding force on the door 3 only from the coupling position 15. As a result, the door 3 can be braced almost without force between the coupling position 15 and the closed position 4, i.e. only under the action of its own weight force, against the door seal arranged on the housing 2.In its closed position 4, the door 3 is locked against the sealing pressure of the door seal by means of a door lock (not shown in more detail). The door lock has two ratchet pawls arranged on the door 3, which in the closed position 4 engage in a lock counterpart arranged on the housing 2 and claw with it. In order to be able to unlock the door 3 at the end of each wash cycle, the dishwasher 1 has a lock drive, not shown in detail, which acts on one of the ratchets.The lock drive thereby presses the one pawl out of its engagement. Due to the sealing pressure, the second detent pawl is likewise released from its clawing, wherein the door 3 swings out of the closed position 4 by the spring action of the door seal. Due to the momentum of the door seal and due to the weight force of the door 3 itself, the door 3 moves in the direction of its open position and couples at the coupling position 15 to the coupling lever 9. Due to inertia, the door 3 subsequently oscillates beyond the coupling position 15 counter to the holding force of the cable pull 10 until the momentum of the door 3 is compensated by the tension spring 10 and the friction occurring at the deflection pulley 12. This position of the door 3 shown in FIG. 3 is referred to as the venting position 18. Due to the friction of the cable pull 10 on the deflection pulley 12 and the friction occurring, for example, on the door bearing 6, it is prevented that the door 3 is moved back in the direction of the coupling position 15 under the spring action of the tension spring 11.As can be seen from FIG. 3, the coupling lever 9 is no longer seated on the bolt 13 in the venting position 18, with the result that the holding force of the tension spring 11 is transmitted to the pivot lever 7 via the cable pull 10. The opening angle 16 of the door 3 is approximately 12 degrees in the venting position. As a result, an opening gap of approximately 15 cm is established between the upper edge of the door 3 and the upper edge of the housing 2, by means of which gap an especially good venting of the flushing chamber 2 is achieved after a flushing cycle.The subject matter of the invention is not limited to the embodiment described above. Rather, further embodiments of the invention can be derived from the above description by the person skilled in the art.List of reference characters1 Dishwasher 2 Housing 3 (dishwasher) door 4 Closed position 5 Angle piece 6 Door bearing 7 Pivot lever 8 Link 9 Coupling lever 10 Cable pull 11 Tension spring 12 Deflection roller 13 Bolt 14 End 15 Coupling position 16 Opening angle 18 Venting position

Claims

Dishwasher (1), - with a dishwasher chamber which is delimited on five sides by a housing (2) and can be closed at the front by a dishwasher door (3), - with a door bearing (6) about which the dishwasher door (3) can be pivoted between a closed position (4) and an open position, - with a cable pull (10) which is configured to apply a holding force, which is opposed to the opening movement of the dishwasher door (3), to the dishwasher door (3), wherein the cable pull (10) is blocked by a stop element (13) between the closed position (4) and a predefined coupling position (15), such that the cable pull (10) exerts no holding force, or at least only a negligibly small holding force, on the dishwasher door (3) over a pivoting path region between the closed position (4) and the coupling position (15).Dishwasher (1) according to claim 1, wherein the cable pull (10) is guided via a deflection roller (12) onto a tension spring (11) connected to the housing (2).Dishwasher (1) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the dishwasher door (3) can be automatically unlocked by means of a lock drive.Dishwasher (1) according to one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the dishwasher door (3) has, in the region of its connection to the door bearing (6), an L-shaped protruding pivot lever (7) at the free end of which a receptacle (8) is arranged, in which the cable pull (10) is pivotably articulated between the open position and the coupling position (15) by means of a coupling lever (9).Dishwasher (1) according to claim 4, wherein the receptacle is designed as a slotted link (8), wherein the coupling lever (9) is hooked in by force transmission technology in a bearing region of the slotted link (8) between the open position and the coupling position (15), and wherein the coupling lever (9) is displaced out of the bearing region of the slotted link (8) along a partial region of the slotted link (8) between the coupling position (15) and the closed position (4).Dishwasher (1) according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the coupling lever (9) rests on the stop element (13) between the coupling position (15) and the closed position (4).Dishwasher (1) according to one of claims 2 to 6, wherein the stop element (13) is positioned with respect to the axis of rotation of the deflecting roller (12) in such a way that the angle of wrap of the cable pull (10) around the deflecting roller (12) is increased.Dishwasher (1) according to one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the stop element is designed as a bolt (13).Dishwasher (1) according to one of claims 2 to 8, having a prestressing device for setting the prestressing force of the tension spring (11).

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