Dispensing system for a dishwasher

Abstract

The invention relates to a dispensing system (1) for a dishwasher. The dispensing system (1) has a flat housing (10) with a front wall (11) and a rear wall (12) and is designed in such a way that it can be placed, like a plate, in a plate holder in the interior of the dishwasher. The front wall (11) or rear wall (12) of the housing (10) has at least one first channel-like recess (17) which is located on the base (13) of the housing (10). According to the invention, a depth (T) of the first recess (17) decreases from the base (13) of the housing (11) in the direction of an upper end (21) of the first recess (17).

Description

[0001] Dosing system for a dishwasher

[0002] Description

[0003] The invention relates to a dosing system for a dishwasher, wherein the dosing system has a flat housing with a front wall and a rear wall and is designed to be placed like a dish plate in a plate holder of a dish drawer of the dishwasher.

[0004] Such a dosing system is known from EP 2 296 520 B1. In one embodiment, the dosing system can be placed upright in the plate holder of the dish drawer, which can be pulled out of the dishwasher's interior for loading or unloading dishes. The dosing system allows preparations to be dosed into the interior during a wash cycle.

[0005] The plate holder is formed by several upwardly extending support rods arranged in two parallel rows. The base of the plate holder or the dish drawer is formed by floor struts arranged in the grid, from which the support rods extend vertically upwards at a slight angle of inclination. A plate compartment, into which the dish plate or the dispensing system can be placed, is defined by two adjacent support rods in each row. The dispensing system is held in an upright position by contact with the support rods and the floor struts. To prevent the dispensing system from slipping sideways within a plate compartment - for example, when the dish drawer is pulled out of the interior of the dishwasher - EP 2 296 520 B1 proposes fixing means. These fixing means can be small, curved recesses on the base of the dispensing system into which the floor struts engage or snap into place.EP 2 296 520 B1 also discloses that the fixing means can be designed as channel-like recesses on the front wall and / or rear wall of the dosing system, which recesses are attached to the bottom of the housing.

[0006] The distance between two adjacent support bars in a row of plate holders (hereinafter also referred to as bar spacing) can vary from dishwasher manufacturer to dishwasher manufacturer. The dispensing system, which is placed in the plate compartment, is then held in position more or less upright by the upright support bars. The dispensing system stands well fixed and upright in the plate compartment if the thickness of the housing corresponds to the distance between the support bars (bar spacing). However, if the housing is narrow, the dispensing system can also be placed in a plate compartment with a small bar spacing. However, in a plate compartment with widely spaced support bars, it would stand at a comparatively steep angle in the plate compartment and block adjacent plate compartments, in which no plates could then be placed.It should also be noted that the housing of the dispensing system must also have a certain minimum thickness to provide sufficient space for the components required for dispensing. The invention is therefore based on the object of providing a dispensing system whose housing provides sufficient space for the components required for dispensing and which can be installed in a space-saving manner inside the dishwasher, even with differently designed dish drawers.

[0007] According to the invention, the depth of the recess decreases from the bottom of the housing toward an upper end of the recess. In one embodiment, a second channel-like recess is provided on the front or rear wall of the housing, which is spaced apart from the first recess and runs parallel to the first recess.

[0008] The first recess serves to accommodate one of the upwardly projecting support rods of a first row of the plate holder. The second parallel recess serves to accommodate a support rod of a second row. The recesses, whose depth reduces the effective thickness of the housing in the area of ​​the support rods, make it possible to place the dispensing system in a plate compartment of a plate holder where the rod spacing is smaller than the thickness of the housing in an area outside of the first or second recess. As the depth of the first recess decreases starting from the bottom of the housing, the effective thickness of the housing increases in the area of ​​the recesses. Near the bottom, the effective thickness of the housing is small, so the dispensing system can be placed in a plate holder with a close rod spacing, as long as the support rods are not too long.In the case of a plate holder with a larger bar spacing and comparatively long holding bars, the housing is supported on the holding bars located in the recesses in an upper area of ​​the recesses, where the depth of the recess is small and thus the effective thickness of the housing is greater. This means that the dispensing system stands relatively upright in the plate holder, both with a small bar spacing and short holding rod length and with a large bar spacing and long holding rod length. The invention exploits the knowledge that in conventional dish drawers the bar spacing and the length or height of the holding bars of the plate holder are in a certain relationship: A small bar spacing is generally associated with a short holding rod height, while a larger bar spacing is associated with greater holding rod heights.Because the depth of the recess decreases with increasing distance from the floor, the dosing system can be used for different plate holders without the dosing system being tilted too far in the plate holder and blocking otherwise free plate compartments.

[0009] Along a longitudinal extent of the first recess, the depth of the first recess can be constant in a third close to the ground or lower third and decrease continuously in an upper third. The transition from the constant depth to the continuously decreasing depth can occur in a middle third, whereby the middle third can be more or less characterized by the constant depth. For example, the lower half of the first recess can also have a constant depth. The above exemplary embodiments make it clear that the depth of the first recess does not necessarily have to decrease continuously over the entire length of the recess with increasing distance from the ground. There can certainly be regions where the depth does not decrease but, as described above, remains constant. The course of a groove base could, for example, be stepped.It is also possible that the groove floor of the first recess has locally pronounced raised areas, whose height increases with increasing distance from the ground. However, the groove floor may be retracted between the individual raised areas.

[0010] The profile of the groove base of the first recess can have an inflection point. In one embodiment, starting from the base of the housing, the groove base initially runs in a straight line (constant depth) with increasing distance from the base. A curved section of the groove base adjoins the straight section without discontinuity. The groove base can then taper into the plane of the front or rear wall, preferably also without discontinuity in the slope.

[0011] The above and following statements regarding the first recess can be applied to the second recess. Preferably, the first recess and the second recess are identical in terms of length and the shape of the groove base. However, the first recess and the second recess can also differ from each other.

[0012] The distance between the first recess and the second recess can be between 6 and 12 cm. If the spacing of the support rod rows of a plate holder corresponds to the distance between the recesses, the dosing system can easily be placed in a plate compartment of the plate holder.

[0013] The width of the first recess can be 2 to 4 cm. If the width of the recess is very small, there is a risk that a certain discrepancy between the spacing of the support rod rows (row spacing) and the spacing of the recesses will prevent the dispensing system from being placed in the plate compartment. If the first recess is too wide, too much volume is lost within the housing, which is needed for the components inside.

[0014] The housing can have a height of 200 to 280 mm. The width of the housing can be 200 to 280 mm. In one embodiment, the front wall or the rear wall is essentially square, in which case the ratio of the height of the housing to the width of the housing is approximately 1. The height / width ratio can be in a range between 0.8 and 1.2, preferably between 0.9 and 1.1. Even if the front wall or the rear wall is not rectangular, it is expedient if the width / height ratio is between 0.8 and 1.2 or 0.9 and 1.1. For example, a housing with an approximately circular front wall / rear wall would also have a width / depth ratio of 0.8 to 1.2 or 0.9 to 1.1. However, the front wall and the rear wall are preferably rectangular in their basic shape. The above dimensions (height and width) correspond to the dimensions of larger dinner plates that fit in the plate holder of the dish drawer.

[0015] The maximum thickness of the housing can be between 20 and 28 mm. The thickness of the housing can decrease from the bottom toward an upper housing edge. In one embodiment, the thickness of the housing is 20 to 28 mm at the bottom and 10 to 15 mm at the upper housing edge, whereby the thickness can decrease from the bottom to the upper housing edge without forming a local maximum.

[0016] The maximum depth of the first recess can be between 5 and 20 mm. Preferably, the maximum depth is in a range of 8 to 12 mm. The length of the first recess (distance between the bottom and the top of the recess) can be 80 to 140 mm, preferably 90 to 120 mm.

[0017] The dosing system may comprise at least one dosing valve and a metered opening associated with the dosing valve, wherein the dosing valve and the opening are arranged near the bottom. If the dosing valve comprises at least two dosing valves, the first recess is preferably arranged between these two dosing valves.

[0018] The dosing system can have a container with at least one connecting piece and a connecting receptacle to which the connecting piece is connected when the container is inserted, wherein the connecting piece can be guided into the connecting receptacle by a linear movement along a direction that runs substantially perpendicular to the front wall or rear wall. In one embodiment, to separate the connecting piece and the connecting receptacle, for example if the container is to be replaced with a fully filled container, the connecting piece can be pulled out of the connecting receptacle by an opposite linear movement. It has been found that the connection between the connecting piece and the connecting receptacle described above allows the container to be replaced relatively easily for refilling purposes.

[0019] The container preferably has a plurality of chambers, each of which is assigned a connecting piece. A connection receptacle and a metering valve are then preferably assigned to each connecting piece.

[0020] The invention is explained in more detail with reference to the exemplary embodiments illustrated in the drawings. They show:

[0021] Figure 1 shows a perspective and cross-sectional view of a dosing system according to the invention (Figures 1A and 1B); Figure 2 schematically shows the influence of the invention on the angle of inclination of the dosing system in a plate holder;

[0022] Figure 3 shows further embodiments of the dosing system according to the invention;

[0023] Figure 4 schematically shows a longitudinal section through a housing of the dosing system and a container accommodated in the housing; and

[0024] Figure 5 shows the container of Figure 5 from above.

[0025] Figures 1A and 1B show a dosing system 1 in different views. Figure 1A is a perspective view of the dosing system 1, while Figure 1B shows a longitudinal section through a housing 10 of the dosing system 1.

[0026] The housing 10 has a front wall 11 and a rear wall 12. The rear wall 12 and the front wall 11 extend from a base 13 to an upper housing edge 14. Near the upper housing edge 14, a film hinge 15 is provided between the front wall 11 and the rear wall 12, so that the housing 10 can be opened to gain access to an interior space 16 of the housing 10.

[0027] A first recess 17 and a second recess 18 are provided on the rear wall 12. Only the first recess 17 will be discussed in more detail below. Since the second recess 18 is identical in design to the first recess 17, the explanations for the first recess 17 also apply mutatis mutandis to the second recess 18.

[0028] The first recess 17 starts at the base 13 and extends in the direction of the upper housing edge 14. The recess 17 is designed as an elongated, channel-like or groove-like recess, wherein a length in the longitudinal direction of the recess (direction from the base 13 to the upper housing edge 14) is significantly greater than a width of the recess transverse to the longitudinal direction. The first recess 17 has a groove base 19, the distance of which from the surface in which the rear wall 12 lies defines a depth T of the first recess 17. Starting from a lower, open end 20 to an upper, closed, open end 21, the depth T decreases. Accordingly, the depth T at the lower end 20 is greater than the depth T in the region of the upper end 21. Starting from the lower end 20, the groove base 19 initially runs in a straight line and then merges into a curved section. The first recess 17 and the second recess 18 run parallel to each other.

[0029] Figure 2 is intended to illustrate the influence that the depth T of the first recess 17 has on the position of the dispensing system 1 when the latter is placed in a plate holder 50 of a dish drawer. Figure 2 shows parts of the plate holder 50, namely holding rods 51 that extend upwards from a horizontally running base strut 52, essentially upright and at a slight angle of inclination. Typically, in a plate holder 50, the holding rods 51 are arranged in two parallel rows that are spaced apart from one another (row spacing). In the illustration in Figure 2, only one of the two rows is visible; the row of the plate holder 50 that is not shown or is hidden lies in a plane parallel to the plane of the drawing.

[0030] Figure 2A (upper part of Figure 2) shows a dosing system 101 not according to the invention, which, like the dosing system 1 according to the invention, also has two channel-like recesses on a rear wall 112, of which only a first recess 117 is visible. In contrast to the invention, a groove bottom 119 of the recess 117 is rectilinear over its entire length, so that the depth T of the recess 117 is constant over its entire length and does not decrease towards an upper end 121. The recess 117 serves to accommodate a holding rod 51 when the dosing system 101 has been placed in the plate holder 50.

[0031] If the distance between two adjacent support rods 51 (rod spacing) approximately corresponds to the effective thickness Deff of the housing 110 (see Figure 2A left), the dosing system 101 stands upright in the plate compartment defined by these two adjacent support rods 51. The term "upright" is understood here to mean that the dosing system 101 and the support rods 51 (51a, 51b) run parallel and have the same angle of inclination to the vertical. The effective thickness Deff corresponds to the difference between the thickness D of the housing and the depth T of the recess 117. However, if the dosing system 101 is placed in a plate holder with a larger rod spacing (see Figure 2A right), the dosing system 101 stands at a significantly inclined position in the respective plate compartment. An upper part of the housing 110 protrudes into the adjacent plate compartment. This adjacent plate compartment is then blocked and can no longer accommodate a dinner plate or similar item of crockery.

[0032] In the lower part of Figure 2 (Figure 2B), the dosing system 1 according to the invention is shown with different spacings of the holding rods 51. With a small bar spacing and a rather short length of the holding rods 51, the holding rod 51b located in the recess 17 rests in a region of the recess 17 in which the depth T is still large, which leads to a small effective thickness Deff. Accordingly, even with a small bar spacing, paired with shorter holding rods 51, the dosing system 1 can be placed in the relevant plate holder (see Figure 2B left). If the dosing system 1 is placed in a different plate holder 50 with a medium bar spacing and medium length of the holding rods 51 (see Figure 2B middle), the holding rod 51 rests in a region of the recess 17 in which the depth T is already significantly reduced, which leads to a greater effective thickness Deff.With a large bar spacing and a great length of the holding bars 51 (Figure 2B right), the housing is supported on the holding bar 51b in the upper region of the recess 17, in which the depth T only assumes a very small value. In all three cases, however, the dosing system 1 stands upright in the respective plate compartment and does not block the adjacent plate compartment. Figure 3 schematically shows further designs for the housing 10 of the dosing system 1 according to the invention. The embodiment of Figure 3A corresponds to the dosing system of Figure 2B, in which the groove base 17 initially runs in a straight line and then merges into a curved section with a turning point 23. The curved section then gently tapers into the plane of the rear wall 12. Figure 3B shows an embodiment in which the groove base has several steps 24.Figure 3C shows that the groove base 17 can also have several exposed ridges 25, between which the groove base can then be recessed again. However, with increasing distance from the base 13, the ridges 25 lead to an increasingly smaller depth T of the recess 17.

[0033] Figure 4 shows a schematic longitudinal section of the dosing system 1. A container 26 is arranged in the housing 10, which is shown in isolation—also only schematically—in Figure 5. The container 26 has three chambers 27, 28, 29, each of which can hold a preparation. The volumes of the individual chambers 27, 28, 29 are approximately equal in the illustrated embodiment, but they can also differ significantly from one another.

[0034] While Figure 1 shows the dosing system 1 in an operational position (base 13 facing downward), Figure 4 shows the dosing system lying on the rear wall 12. In this lying position, the front wall 11 can be opened by pivoting about a pivot axis of the film hinge 14 to remove the container 26 from the housing 10.

[0035] Each chamber 27, 28, 29 is assigned a connector 30. Accordingly, the container 26 has three connectors 30, each of identical construction. One of these connectors 30 is also shown in Figure 4. The connector 30 has a base body with a weld-in part 31 and a plug-in part 32. The weld-in part 31 is arranged between two thermoformed housing halves 33, 34, which are welded together at a circumferential edge 35 and at intermediate webs 36 between the chambers 27, 28, 29.

[0036] As can be seen from Figure 4, the plug-in part 32 of the connecting piece 30 is inserted into a connection receptacle 37. By means of a linear pulling movement (upwards in the illustration in Figure 4), the plug-in part 32 can be pulled out of the connection receptacle 37. A corresponding pulling force can be transmitted into the main body of the connecting piece 30 by means of a finger ring 38. For this purpose, the finger ring 38 can be rotated from the starting position shown into an active position. In the active position, which is represented in Figure 4 by the dashed line 38', the finger ring can be grasped behind by a human finger and then serves as a pulling means for releasing the connection between the connecting piece 30 and the connection receptacle 37. In order to establish a connection between the connecting piece 30 and the connection receptacle 37 when a new container is to be inserted into the housing 10, a pressure plate 39 is provided.It serves to hold a finger, with which the plug-in part 32 can be pressed into the connection receptacle 37. In the illustration in Figure 4, the required pressure force acts from above and is directed perpendicular to the rear wall 12. A dosing compartment 40 is integrated into the rear wall 12, in which an associated dosing chamber 41 and a dosing valve 42 are housed for each connection receptacle 37 (the dosing chamber 41 and dosing valve 42 are only indicated by rectangles). When the dosing valve 42 is positioned accordingly, a dosing opening 43 is opened, through which the respective preparation can be dispensed from the dosing system 1. It should be noted that when the dosing system 1 is in use, the dosing opening 43 is directed downwards, whereby the preparation can flow from the dosing system 1 into the interior of the dishwasher due to gravity.The connector 30 and the connector receptacle 37 are designed in such a way that a membrane of the connector 30 is pierced when these two parts are inserted into each other. Furthermore, ventilation of the chamber is activated when the two parts are inserted into each other.

[0037] List of reference symbols

[0038] I Dosing system

[0039] 10 housings

[0040] II Front wall

[0041] 12 Rear wall

[0042] 13 Floor

[0043] 14 upper edge of the housing

[0044] 15 film hinge

[0045] 16 Interior

[0046] 17 first recess

[0047] 18 second recess

[0048] 19 Groove bottom

[0049] 20 lower end

[0050] 21 upper end

[0051] 23 Turning point

[0052] 24 level

[0053] 25 Investment increase

[0054] 26 containers

[0055] 27 Chamber

[0056] 28 Chamber

[0057] 29 Chamber

[0058] 30 connector

[0059] 31 Weld-in part

[0060] 32 plug-in part

[0061] 33 Housing half

[0062] 34 Housing half

[0063] 35 Rand

[0064] 36 intermediate bridge

[0065] 37 Connection holder

[0066] 38 finger ring

[0067] 39 pressure plates

[0068] 40 Dosing compartment

[0069] 41 Dosing chamber

[0070] 42 Dosing valve

[0071] 43 Dosing opening

[0072] 50 plate holders

[0073] 51 Holding rod

[0074] 52 Floor strut Dosing system (not according to the invention) Rear wall First recess Groove bottom Upper end

Claims

Patent claims 1. Dosing system (1) for a dishwasher, wherein the dosing system (1) has a flat housing (10) with a front wall (11) and a rear wall (12) and is designed to be able to be placed in a plate holder in the interior of the dishwasher like a crockery plate, wherein at least one first channel-like recess (17) is provided on the front wall (11) or rear wall (12) of the housing (10), which recess begins at a base (13) of the housing (10), characterized in that a depth (T) of the first recess (17) decreases from the base (13) of the housing (11) towards an upper end (21) of the first recess (17).

2. Dosing system (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that a second channel-like recess (18) is provided on the front wall (11) or on the rear wall (12) of the housing (10), which is spaced from the first recess (17) and runs parallel to the first recess (17).

3. Dosing system (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that along a longitudinal extent of the first recess (17), the depth (T) of the first recess (17) is constant in a bottom-near or lower third and decreases continuously in an upper third.

4. Dosing system (1) according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the course of a groove bottom (19) of the first recess (17) has an inflection point (23).

5. Dosing system (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that a distance between the first recess and the second recess is 6 to 12 cm.

6. Dosing system (1) according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that a width of the first recess (17) is 2 to 4 cm.

7. Dosing system (1) according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the housing (10) has a height of 200 to 280 mm.

8. Dosing system (1) according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the housing (10) has a width of 200 to 280 mm.

9. Dosing system (1) according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that a maximum thickness of the housing is between 20 and 28 mm.

10. Dosing system (1) according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that a thickness of the housing (10) decreases from the bottom (13) towards an upper housing edge (14) of the housing (10). Dosing system (1) according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that a maximum depth of the first recess (17) is between 5 and 15 mm. Dosing system (1) according to one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that the dosing system (10) has at least one dosing valve (41) and a dosing opening (43) associated with the dosing valve (41), wherein the dosing valve (41) and the dosing opening (43) are arranged near the base (13). Dosing system (1) according to claim 12, characterized in that the dosing system (1) has at least two dosing valves (43), between which the first recess (17) is arranged.Dosing system (1) according to one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that the dosing system (1) has a container (26) with at least one connecting piece (30) and a connecting receptacle (37) into which the connecting piece (30) is inserted when the container (26) is inserted, wherein the connection between the connecting receptacle (37) and the connecting piece (30) can be established by a linear movement of the connecting piece (30) along a direction that runs essentially perpendicular to the front wall (11) or rear wall (12). Dosing system (1) according to claim 14, characterized in that the connection between the connecting receptacle (37) and the connecting piece (30) can be severed by a linear movement of the connecting piece (30) along a direction that runs essentially perpendicular to the front wall (11) or rear wall (12).

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