Household appliance, in particular dishwasher
Patent Information
- Application Number
- EP2023730762
- Authority / Receiving Office
- EP · EP
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Priority Date
- 2022-06-10
- Filing Date
- 2023-06-02
- Publication Date
- 2025-04-16
AI Technical Summary
Existing household appliances, particularly dishwashers, face safety risks due to uncontrolled door movement when the door spring breaks, as previous locking devices fail to reliably prevent the door from swinging down, potentially causing injury or damage.
A clamping device is introduced that interacts with the cable pull, featuring a first and second clamping element, where the second element is spring-loaded, allowing immediate locking of the cable and preventing further door movement upon a door spring failure, ensuring the door remains stationary regardless of its position.
This solution significantly enhances operational safety by immediately stopping uncontrolled door movement and securely locking the door in place without the need for sensors or electronic components, providing robust and reliable operation throughout the appliance's lifespan.
Smart Images
Figure 1.1
Abstract
Description
[0001] Description
[0002] Household appliance, especially dishwasher
[0003] The invention relates to a household appliance, in particular in the form of a dishwasher, with an appliance base and an appliance container providing a treatment chamber, which has a loading opening for access to the treatment chamber, which can be closed by means of an appliance door pivotably mounted about a pivot axis, and with a door spring which is arranged on one end with the interposition of a cable pull on the appliance door and on the other end on the appliance base, wherein the door spring is designed to spring-load the appliance door when transferred from a closed position closing the loading opening into an open position.
[0004] Household appliances in general and dishwashers in particular are well known from the state of the art, which is why there is no need for separate printed evidence at this point.
[0005] A household appliance of this type has a base supporting a container providing a treatment chamber. The container has a loading opening for access to the treatment chamber provided by the container. This loading opening can be closed, preferably in a fluid-tight manner, by means of a door pivoted about a pivot axis.
[0006] In the case of a dishwasher, the treatment chamber, when used as intended, serves to hold items to be cleaned, which may, for example, be items of crockery and / or cutlery.
[0007] The household appliance also features a door spring. This is located on one end of the appliance door, interposed by a cable, and on the other end of the appliance base. The door spring is designed to pre-tension the appliance door when it is moved from a closed position (closing the loading opening) to an open position.
[0008] The door spring serves primarily to increase ease of use for the user of the household appliance. When the appliance door is opened, the door spring is pre-tensioned, thus slowing down the downward swinging of the appliance door. When the appliance door is moved into a locked position that closes the loading opening, the previously pre-tensioned door spring helps to pivot the appliance door against the weight acting on it, thus making it easier for the user to close the door. The door spring therefore serves both to slow down the downward swinging of the appliance door and to simplify the upward swinging of the appliance door.
[0009] Depending on the design of the household appliance, one or two door springs may be used. In the case of two door springs, a first door spring is preferably used on the left side of the appliance door and a second door spring on the right side.
[0010] The use of the above-described door springs is particularly suitable for appliance doors equipped with a decorative panel on the front that increases the overall weight of the appliance door, as described, for example, in DE 102004 023 509 A1. Properly adjusted door springs ensure that the appliance door remains locked in any angular position and does not open or close again on its own.
[0011] A problem with the design described above is the potential for a door spring to break, even when used as intended. In this case, the balance of the appliance door, which is maintained by the door spring, is disrupted, and the door is not decelerated when it swings down, with the disadvantageous consequence that the door swings down without braking, i.e., it is moved into its open position. This unbraked transfer of the appliance door into the open position represents a safety risk, particularly for users within the door's pivoting range. In the event of a door spring failure, the unbraked swinging down of the appliance door can result in unintentional personal injury and / or property damage.This must be avoided, which is why a locking device was already proposed in EP 3430 966 A1, which is intended to prevent the appliance door from pivoting downwards unhindered in the event of a door spring breaking. The locking device previously known from EP 3430 966 A1 is designed in two parts and has a cable-side locking element which, in the event of a defect, interacts with locking elements provided on the appliance base. The locking element is spring-loaded and arranged on a door hinge of the appliance door. If a door spring breaks, the locking element pivots due to the spring force acting on the locking element. In a pivoted position of the locking element, it can come into engagement with locking elements provided on the appliance base, which, if so, leads to a blockage of further pivoting movement of the appliance door.So when the locking element pivots into engagement with the corresponding locking elements, further pivoting movement of the appliance door is prevented. However, it is disadvantageous that if the door spring fails, the appliance door cannot be stopped immediately while it is pivoting. This is not possible because the locking elements that interact with the locking element are arranged at a distance from one another, so that only gradual locking with the locking element is possible, which prevents the appliance door from coming to an immediate stop in the event of a door spring failure. Another disadvantage is that the locking element and locking element cannot be reliably guaranteed. This is because if the appliance door is pivoting at a sufficient speed, it seems possible that the locking element strikes a locking element without locking with it and then jumps from locking element to locking element.The previously known design is therefore not able to reliably prevent the appliance door from swinging downwards in an uncontrolled manner in the event of a door spring defect.
[0012] Based on the above, it is therefore the object of the invention to further develop a household appliance of the type mentioned at the outset in such a way that increased operational reliability is ensured even in the event of a defective door spring.
[0013] To achieve this object, the invention proposes a household appliance of the type mentioned at the outset, which is characterized by a clamping device which interacts with the cable pull, wherein the clamping device has a first clamping element and a second clamping element which is movable relative thereto, between which two clamping elements the cable pull is guided, wherein the second clamping element is spring-biased in the direction of the cable pull.
[0014] In contrast to the prior art according to EP 3430 966 A1, the invention provides a clamping device rather than a locking device. The clamping device provided according to the invention interacts directly with the cable pull. This allows the cable pull to be immediately locked in the event of a door spring defect, immediately stopping any further downward swinging of the appliance door. The clamping device according to the invention thus enables the appliance door to be immediately locked in the event of a door spring defect, independent of the current position of the appliance door. This significantly increases operational reliability and reliably ensures that the appliance door cannot swing downwards in an uncontrolled manner.
[0015] The clamping device provided according to the invention has two clamping elements, namely a first clamping element and a second clamping element. The second clamping element is movable relative to the first clamping element and can therefore move, for example, displace and / or rotate, in particular toward the first clamping element.
[0016] The cable is routed between the two clamping elements. This allows the cable to be securely locked in position between the two clamping elements in the event of a triggering action.
[0017] According to the invention, it is further provided that the second clamping element is spring-loaded in the direction of the cable. The second clamping element therefore presses on the cable under the action of spring force. During intended use, the cable itself is spring-loaded due to the door spring arranged on the other end of the machine base. As long as the door spring is intact, the spring preload of the cable caused by the door spring ensures that the second clamping element cannot move in the direction of the first clamping element. If, however, the door spring breaks, the spring preload on the cable decreases, so that the second clamping element can now move in the direction of the spring preload acting on the second clamping element, i.e. in the direction of the first clamping element.As a result, the cable becomes stuck between the two clamping elements as described above, which also causes the appliance door to become stuck.
[0018] The inventive design thus enables immediate, i.e., direct, activation of the clamping device in the event of a door spring break, resulting in the appliance door stopping in the position in which the door spring broke, as described above. No sensors and / or other electronic components are required for activation. Rather, the second clamping part interacts directly with the cable pull and automatically pivots toward the first clamping element as soon as the spring preload acting on the cable pull decreases due to the spring break in the event of a door spring break.
[0019] The clamping device provided according to the invention is therefore self-triggering and extremely robust in construction, so that the desired operational reliability is guaranteed over the service life of the household appliance.
[0020] According to a further feature of the invention, the second clamping element is in contact with the cable and rests against it. This ensures that in the event of a door spring defect, immediate release of the second clamping element by movement is ensured. Since the second clamping element is in contact with the cable, in the event of a door spring defect, slackening of the cable automatically also leads to the clamping element, which is spring-loaded in the direction of the cable, being moved. This movement of the second clamping element ultimately locks the cable between the first and second clamping elements, reliably preventing further pivoting of the appliance door. Slackening of the cable as a result of a door spring break therefore leads to direct, i.e. immediate, activation of the clamping device by moving the second clamping element.
[0021] According to a further feature of the invention, the second clamping element is pivotable. According to the invention, the second clamping element is movable relative to the first clamping element. This achieves, as already described, that in the event of a door spring failure, the second clamping element moves toward the first clamping element, thereby locking the cable. It is particularly preferred that the second clamping element is pivotable. This results in a particularly simple, yet secure, robust construction.
[0022] According to a further feature of the invention, it is provided that the first
[0023] The clamping element is provided by a deflection pulley around which the cable is guided. This design feature also supports an overall simple, yet robust construction. This is because the deflection pulley, which is already provided for guiding the cable, is, according to this embodiment, also part of the clamping device according to the invention as the first clamping element. On the device side, therefore, there is no need to separately design a first clamping element. The deflection pulley already present can be used for this purpose. This makes the design according to the invention particularly simple and inexpensive to implement and manufacture.
[0024] According to a further feature of the invention, it is provided that the second clamping element has a convex clamping surface on the deflection roller side.
[0025] When the clamping device is used as intended, the second clamping element pivots due to the spring force acting on the second clamping element. The second clamping element rests against the first clamping element with the cable interposed. According to the invention, the second clamping element has a convex clamping surface on the deflection pulley side. During operation, the clamping surface therefore interacts with the deflection pulley with the cable interposed. Due to the convex design, a clamping gap tapers towards the deflection pulley, which causes the section of the cable on the appliance door to pull further in the direction of the tapered clamping gap, which in turn leads to an even further pivoting of the second clamping element. As a consequence of this design, the greater the load on the cable is caused by the weight of the appliance door, the more the clamping force increases.
[0026] According to a further feature of the invention, one of the two clamping elements has teeth on the cable pull side. According to the previously described embodiment, it is particularly preferred if the convex clamping surface of the second clamping element is equipped with corresponding teeth. When used as intended, these teeth dig into the cable pull locked between the first clamping element and the second clamping element, which further supports the clamping device's secure holding of the cable pull.
[0027] According to a further feature of the invention, a spring element, in particular a tension spring or a leg spring, is provided for spring preloading the second clamping element, which spring element is arranged at one end on the device base and at the other end on the second clamping element. By means of this spring element, in particular the tension spring or leg spring, the second clamping element is spring preloaded in the direction of the first clamping element. If the door spring is not defective, the second clamping element is supported on the cable. The cable therefore opposes any pivoting movement of the second clamping part. If a spring breaks, the spring preload acting on the cable by the door spring decreases, with the result that the cable slackens.This means that the cable pull no longer provides a counterweight to the possible pivoting movement of the second clamping element, allowing the second clamping element to pivot under the influence of the spring element mounted thereon, specifically in the direction of the first clamping element. The second clamping element also pivots relative to the device base, on which the spring element is mounted at the other end.
[0028] According to an alternative embodiment, according to a further feature of the invention, the first clamping element is provided by a support element which is fixed on the device base side, in particular pivotably arranged about a pivot axis fixed on the device base side, and which has a contact surface equipped with teeth for the cable pull.
[0029] According to this embodiment, a support element is used as the first clamping element instead of a pulley. This support element has a contact surface that, when used as intended, serves to attach the cable. The cable is pressed against the contact surface of the support element by means of the second clamping element. To securely lock the cable in position, the contact surface is equipped with teeth into which the cable digs under the force of the second clamping element.
[0030] According to a further feature of the invention, in connection with the alternative embodiment, it is provided that the second clamping element is pivotably arranged on the first clamping element. In this respect, the first clamping element and the second clamping element form a modular unit. The advantage of this embodiment over the first alternative lies in the fact that it can also be easily retrofitted to existing household appliances. For this purpose, the support element, i.e. the first clamping element, can be arranged, for example, at the pivot point for a deflection pulley of the cable pull, in particular pivotably arranged about this pivot point. No further interventions on the device are required for retrofitting.This is because the first and the second clamping element are pre-assembled and arranged on one another, wherein the second clamping element is pivotable in relation to the support element and wherein a spring element, in particular a tension spring or a leg spring, is provided for spring preloading the second clamping element, which spring element is arranged at one end on the first clamping element and at the other end on the second clamping element.
[0031] The inventive design proposes a clamping device that reliably and safely stops the appliance door from swinging downwards in the event of a defective door spring and securely locks the appliance door in this stopped position. This advantageously increases the operational reliability of the household appliance according to the invention.
[0032] Further features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description based on the figures. These show:
[0033] Fig. 1 shows a schematic side view of a household appliance according to the invention;
[0034] Fig. 2 shows a schematic side view of the clamping device according to the invention;
[0035] Fig. 3 shows a schematic detailed view of the clamping device according to the invention according to Fig. 2 with the door spring intact;
[0036] Fig. 4 shows a schematic detailed view of the clamping device according to the invention according to Fig. 2 with a defective door spring;
[0037] Fig. 5 shows a schematic representation of a second embodiment of the invention with an intact door spring and
[0038] Fig. 6 shows a schematic representation of a second embodiment of the invention with a defective door spring.
[0039] Fig. 1 shows a purely schematic side view of a household appliance according to the invention in the form of a dishwasher 1.
[0040] The dishwasher 1 has, in a manner known per se, a device base 2 and a device container 3 which provides a treatment chamber 4.
[0041] The treatment chamber 4 is accessible by the user via a loading opening of the device container 3, which loading opening can be closed, preferably in a fluid-tight manner, by means of a pivotably mounted device door 5. During intended use, the device door 5 can be moved by the user from an open position to a closed position closing the loading opening, and vice versa. According to the illustration in Fig. 1, the device door 5 is shown in both an open position 6 and a closed position 7.
[0042] The appliance door 5 interacts with a door spring 8, as is particularly evident from the illustration in Fig. 2. When opened, the door spring 8 serves to slow down the pivoting of the appliance door 5 into an open position 6, which occurs when the door spring 8 is tensioned. When the appliance door 5 is moved into the closed position 7, the door spring 8, which was previously pretensioned during opening, serves to assist the user-side closing movement of the appliance door 6, which simplifies the pivoting of the appliance door 5.
[0043] As can be seen from the illustration in Fig. 2, the appliance door 5 has a door hinge 9 on the appliance container side. By means of this door hinge 9, the appliance door 5 can be pivoted about the pivot axis 10, that is to say with reference to the plane of the drawing in Fig. 2 in a clockwise direction or in the opposite direction, depending on whether the appliance door 6 is moved from an open position into a closed position or vice versa.
[0044] The door spring 8 is arranged at one end with an interposed cable 11 on the appliance door 6 and at the other end on the appliance base 2. Two pulleys 12 and 13 guide the cable.
[0045] As can be seen from Fig. 3, the appliance door-side end of the cable pull 11 is arranged on the door hinge 9, specifically at the articulation point 15. This articulation point 15 performs a movement along a circular path around the pivot axis 10 when the appliance door 5 moves, as is indicated in Fig. 3 by the arrow 16.
[0046] As can further be seen from the illustration in Fig. 2, the dishwasher 1 according to the invention has a clamping device 14 that interacts with the cable 11. This clamping device 14 has a first clamping element 17 and a second clamping element 18, as can be seen in particular from the detailed view in Fig. 3. Fig. 3 relates to a first alternative embodiment of the invention, according to which the first clamping element 17 is provided by the deflection pulley 13, around which the cable 11 is guided.
[0047] According to the invention, the second clamping element 18 is spring-loaded in the direction of the cable pull 11. For this purpose, according to the embodiment shown in Fig. 3, the second clamping element 18 is pivotable about a pivot point 19, wherein a spring element, which here, without restriction of generality, is designed as a tension spring 20, is provided, which is arranged at one end on the device base 2 and at the other end on the second clamping element 18. By means of this spring element or this tension spring 20, the second clamping element 18 strives to rotate clockwise with respect to the plane of the drawing according to Fig. 3, thus pivoting in the direction of the cable pull 11.
[0048] According to the embodiment shown in Fig. 3, the second clamping element 18 has a clamping surface 22 on the deflection pulley side, which is equipped with teeth 23. Furthermore, a roller 21 or a sliding piece is provided, by means of which the second clamping element 18 is in contact with the cable pull 11 and rests against it.
[0049] Fig. 3 shows a situation in which the door spring 8 is intact, and the cable 11 is under spring preload due to the door spring and is therefore tensioned. In this situation, the second clamping element 18 rests against the cable 11 with the roller 21 interposed. Due to the roller 21, the cable 11 can be moved with little wear relative to the second clamping element 18 when the appliance door 5 moves.
[0050] Fig. 4 shows the clamping device 14 according to the invention in the event of a breakage of the door spring 8.
[0051] If the door spring 8 is defective, the cable 11 is no longer under spring preload. As a result, the cable 11 gives way and sags. This allows the second clamping element 18 to pivot due to the spring force acting on the second clamping element 18 by the spring element or the tension spring 20, specifically clockwise around the pivot point 19 with reference to the plane of the drawing in Fig. 4. As a result, the second clamping element 18 pivots in the direction of the deflection pulley 13 serving as the first clamping element 17, so that a clamping gap 24 is formed between the clamping surface 22 provided by the second clamping element 18 and the deflection pulley 13. The clamping surface 22 is preferably convex, resulting in a gap 24 that tapers towards the deflection pulley 13. In this gap, the cable pull 11 tightens between the first clamping element 17 and the second clamping element 18, which leads to a stop in the movement of the appliance door 6.For a secure positional hold of the cable pull 11, it is also preferred to equip the clamping surface 22 with teeth 23, which dig into the cable pull when used as intended.
[0052] The tapered design of the gap 24 also advantageously ensures that the more the cable is loaded by the weight of the appliance door 5, the higher the clamping force prevailing between the two clamping elements 17 and 18 is.
[0053] The particular advantage of the embodiment according to Figs. 3 and 4 is that the deflection roller 13 provided anyway by the dishwasher 1 is used as the first clamping element 17.
[0054] An alternative embodiment of the clamping device 14 according to the invention is shown in Figs. 5 and 6. According to this embodiment, the first clamping element 17 is provided by a support element 29 fixed to the appliance base. For fixing to the appliance base, the support element 29 is pivotably mounted on the pivot axis 28 of the deflection roller 13, so that during normal operation, when the appliance door 5 pivots about its pivot axis 10, a certain pivoting movement of the support element 29 occurs about the pivot axis 28. In this case, the cable pull 11 remains taut in every door position, particularly in the section between the deflection roller 13 and the pivot point 15, during normal operation.
[0055] The support element 29, in turn, pivotably supports the second clamping element 18. In the illustrated embodiment, this element has a roller 25 arranged at one end of a rod 26. At the other end, the rod 26 is arranged on the support element 29 so that it can pivot about a pivot point 27.
[0056] Furthermore, a roller 30 is arranged so as to be rotatable about the pivot point 27, over which the cable 11 is guided, which, when the appliance door 5 is pivoted as intended, serves to move the cable 11 past the support element 29 with little wear.
[0057] The support element 29 further provides a contact surface 31 which is equipped with teeth 23.
[0058] According to the situation shown in Fig. 5, the door spring 8 is intact. As a result, the cable 11 is tensioned and is guided between the rollers 30 and 25 with low wear.
[0059] Fig. 6 shows a situation with a defective, i.e. broken, door spring 8. A break in the door spring 8 leads to a sudden release of the tensile stress acting on the cable 11. As a result, the cable 11 slackens, which allows the second clamping element 18 to rotate clockwise with respect to the plane of the drawing according to Figs. 5 and 6 due to the spring force generated by the spring element, i.e., for example, by the tension spring 20. As a result, the roller 25 of the second clamping element 18 presses the cable 11 against the contact surface 31 provided by the support element 29. The cable 11 is thereby pressed into the teeth 23 provided by the contact surface 31, which leads to an immediate stop of movement of the appliance door 5. Fig. 6 shows this secure locking of the appliance door 6.
[0060] Reference symbol
[0061] 1 dishwasher
[0062] 2 device bases
[0063] 3 equipment containers
[0064] 4 Treatment room
[0065] 5 Appliance door
[0066] 6 Appliance door (open position)
[0067] 7 Appliance door (locked position)
[0068] 8 door spring
[0069] 9 Door hinge
[0070] 10 Swivel axis
[0071] 11 Cable pull
[0072] 12 pulley
[0073] 13 pulley
[0074] 14 Clamping device
[0075] 15 Pivot point
[0076] 16 Arrow
[0077] 17 first clamping element
[0078] 18 second clamping element
[0079] 19 Pivot point
[0080] 20 spring element
[0081] 21 Roller / sliding piece
[0082] 22 clamping surface
[0083] 23 teeth
[0084] 24 gap
[0085] 25 rolls
[0086] 26 staff
[0087] 27 Pivot point
[0088] 28 Swivel axis
[0089] 29 Supporting element
[0090] 30 rolls
[0091] 31 contact surface
Claims
Patent claims 1. Household appliance, in particular a dishwasher, with an appliance base (2) and an appliance container (3) providing a treatment chamber (4), which has a loading opening for access to the treatment chamber (4) and which can be closed by means of an appliance door (5) pivotally mounted about a pivot axis (10), and with a door spring (8) which is arranged at one end on the appliance door (5) with an intermediate cable (11) and at the other end on the appliance base (2), wherein the door spring (8) is arranged to spring-tension the appliance door (5) when it is moved from a closed position (7) closing the loading opening to an open position (6), characterized by a clamping device (14) cooperating with the cable (11), which has a first clamping element (17) and a second clamping element (18) movable relative to it, between which two clamping elements (17, 18) the cable (11) is passed.wherein the second clamping element (18) is spring-loaded in the direction of the cable pull (11).
2. Household appliance according to claim 1, characterized in that the second clamping element (18) is in contact with the cable pull (11) and rests against it.
3. Household appliance according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the second clamping element (18) is designed to be pivotable.
4. Household appliance according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that one of the two clamping elements (17, 18) has teeth (23) on the cable pull side.
5. Household appliance according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the first clamping element (17) is provided by a deflection pulley (13) around which the cable pull (11) is guided.
6. Household appliance according to claim 5, characterized in that the second clamping element (18) has a convexly shaped clamping surface (22) on the deflection pulley side.
7. Household appliance according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a spring element (20) is provided for spring preloading of the second clamping element (18), the spring element being arranged at one end on the appliance base (2) and at the other end on the second clamping element (18).
8. Household appliance according to any one of the preceding claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the first clamping element (17) is provided by a support element (29) fixed to the appliance base, which has a contact surface (31) equipped with teeth (23) for the cable pull (11).
9. Household appliance according to claim 8, characterized in that the second clamping element (18) is pivotably arranged on the first clamping element (17).
10. Household appliance according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that a spring element (20) is provided for spring preloading of the second clamping element (18), which is arranged at one end on the first clamping element (17) and at the other end on the second clamping element (18).