Dishwasher having at least one water feed

Abstract

A dishwasher includes a dishwasher cavity configured to receive an item to be washed. A water feed extends completely or partially in the dishwasher cavity for providing a water distribution in the dishwasher cavity. Associated with the water feed is a lighting device having a lighting line extending along a guiding direction of the water feed.

Claims

1. A dishwasher, comprising: a dishwasher cavity configured to receive an item to be washed; a water feed extending completely or partially in the dishwasher cavity for providing a water distribution in the dishwasher cavity; and a lighting device associated with the water feed, wherein the water feed comprises a closed channel extending at least on one region vertically upward along a rear wall of the dishwasher cavity for guidance of washing fluid to the water distribution, wherein the water feed extends symmetrically in a transverse center of the dishwasher cavity at least along the rear wall, so that an equal amount of space remains between left and right vertical sides of the water feed and left and right side walls of the dishwasher cavity, respectively, wherein the lighting device comprises two lateral lighting lines arranged symmetrically on the left and right vertical sides of the water feed and arranged between the closed channel and the rear wall of the dishwasher cavity at a distance from the rear wall, and wherein the two lateral lighting lines are hidden by the closed channel, so as to produce an indirect light on condition that the dishwasher cavity is viewed from a front side in a direction of the rear wall.

2. The dishwasher of claim 1, constructed in the form of a household dishwasher.

3. The dishwasher of claim 1, wherein the water distribution is arranged in an upper half of the dishwasher cavity.

4. The dishwasher of claim 1, wherein the two lateral lighting lines radiate light transversely toward the left and right vertical sides of the water feed.

5. The dishwasher of claim 1, wherein the lighting device includes an upper terminating line to connect the two lateral lighting lines to one another above the water distribution.

6. The dishwasher of claim 5, wherein the upper terminating line has at least one region to radiate light upward.

7. The dishwasher of claim 5, wherein the two lateral lighting lines and the upper terminating line together form a common, complete lighting line having at least one region in surrounding relationship to the water feed.

8. The dishwasher of claim 1, wherein the two lateral lighting lines comprise a plurality of LED light sources.

9. The dishwasher of claim 1, wherein the two lateral lighting lines comprise a light guide.

10. The dishwasher of claim 1, wherein the two lateral lighting lines have a color which is individually selectable.

11. The dishwasher of claim 1, further comprising a watertight plastic body, the two lateral lighting lines being arranged in the watertight plastic body.

12. The dishwasher of claim 1, wherein the two lateral lighting lines are cast in a plastic material which is resistant to washing liquor.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The invention and its advantageous embodiments and developments as well as the advantages thereof are described below in greater detail with reference to drawings illustrating exemplary embodiments. These are schematic principle sketches in which:

(2) FIG. 1 shows a schematic perspective view obliquely from the front of an embodiment of a household appliance, here for example a dishwasher, in this case having a door on the front side,

(3) FIG. 2 shows a view from the front side into the dishwasher cavity with a water feed rising symmetrically in the transverse center,

(4) FIG. 3 shows a view similar to that of FIG. 2 but in a perspective view obliquely from above,

(5) FIG. 4 shows an illustration similar to that of FIG. 3 in a steep perspective view from above,

(6) FIG. 5 shows a water feed drawn separately as a single unit,

(7) FIG. 6 shows the water feed from FIG. 5 from above,

(8) FIG. 7 shows the detail VII in FIG. 6,

(9) FIG. 8 shows the water feed obliquely from behind prior to its installation, and

(10) FIG. 9 shows the detail IX in FIG. 8.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

(11) The dishwasher 1 schematically represented in FIG. 1 is a household dishwasher. It has, as an element of an appliance body 5 which is partially open to the outside or closed, a dishwasher cavity 2 for receiving items to be washed such as dishes, pots, cutlery, glasses, cooking utensils and the like. Here, the items to be washed can be stackable for example in baskets 11 and/or a cutlery drawer 10 and what is known as washing liquor or washing fluid can be applicable thereto. Washing liquor is understood here to mean fresh water or in particular water circulating during operation with or without detergent, and/or rinse aid, and/or desiccant. The dishwasher cavity 2 can have an at least essentially rectangular floor plan with a front side V facing toward the user in the operating position. Here, this front side V can form a part of a kitchen front comprising kitchen units arranged side by side, or in the case of a free-standing appliance, can also be unrelated to further units. From the front side V, the dishwasher extends in the transverse direction Q to the left and right. The transverse direction Q thus corresponds to a width direction of the dishwasher. In the transverse direction Q, the dishwasher 1 often has an extent or width of 45, 50 or 60 centimeters. Viewed rearward in the depth direction from the front side V, the extent often also amounts to approximately 60 centimeters. The values are not mandatory.

(12) The dishwasher cavity 2 is closable by means of a door 3, in particular on this front side V. This door 3 is shown in FIG. 1 in a partially open position, in which it is then slanted with respect to the vertical. In its closed position, on the other hand, it stands upright and is pivotable forward and downward about a lower horizontal axis in the direction of the arrow 4 according to the drawing, so that it lies at least almost horizontal in the fully opened position.

(13) On its outer and front side V which is vertical in the closed position and faces toward the user, the door 3 can be provided with a décor panel 6 in order thus to undergo a visual and/or haptic enhancement and/or an adaptation to surrounding kitchen units.

(14) The household appliance, in this case the dishwasher 1, is embodied as a free-standing or what is known as a partly integrated or fully integrated appliance. In the latter case, the appliance body 5 can also close essentially with the outer walls of the dishwasher cavity 2. A housing surrounding the latter on the outside can then be dispensed with. A base 12 for receiving in particular functional elements can be disposed in the lower region of the dishwasher.

(15) In the exemplary embodiment according to the drawing, a control panel 8 extending in the transverse direction Q of the dishwasher is associated with the movable door 3 in its upper region, which control panel 8 can comprise an access opening 7 accessible from the front side V for manually opening and/or closing the door 3.

(16) When the door 3 is closed, the dishwasher cavity 2 is limited circumferentially by four vertical walls 13 and 14 and two horizontal walls 13 in total, of which one forms a ceiling and a further one forms a floor of the dishwasher cavity 2. Disposed opposite the front side V is a rear wall 14, which like the other walls 13 is often made from stainless steel. The rear wall 14 here is self-contained and requires no openings for introducing light or energy into the dishwasher cavity 2.

(17) At least one water feed 15 extends completely or partially in the dishwasher cavity 2 for a water distribution means such as an upper spray arm or one or more individual jets (not shown here) arranged in the upper half of the dishwasher cavity 2. Water feed 15 is understood to mean a feed not only of water but also of washing liquor already specified in more detail above. Furthermore, water distribution means is understood to mean a device for distributing not only water but also more generally washing liquor.

(18) At least one lighting line 17, 18, 19, 20, which can extend over a length of several tens of centimeters, is associated with this fluid-guiding water feed 15 along its guiding direction 16.

(19) Here, the water feed 15 comprises a closed channel 21 extending in certain regions vertically along an upright wall, here the rear wall 14, of the dishwasher cavity 2, in which channel 21 the water or the washing liquor is guided upward. The water feed 15 further comprises a first part 15c extending horizontally along the floor 13, in which the channel 21 also initially extends horizontally. This part 15c can be provided with first parts of the lighting lines 17, 18 in a similar manner to the upright part.

(20) Both the horizontal and the vertical section of the water feed 15 extend symmetrically in a transverse center of the dishwasher cavity 2, so that an equal amount of space remains between the central water feed and the two side walls 13, which space generally has a transverse extent of significantly less than 30 centimeters. Very little luminous power is therefore sufficient for uniform illumination.

(21) The water feed 15 itself has a width of just a few centimeters in the transverse direction Q, although it can be a few tens of centimeters long in the guiding direction 16, as can be seen clearly for example in FIG. 3. In the exemplary embodiment here, a transition 22 into a horizontal feed for an upper spray arm is provided at the upper end.

(22) According to the drawing, two lateral lighting lines 17, 18 are arranged on two opposing sides 15a, 15b of the water feed 15, thus running parallel to the longitudinal extent of the water feed 15 and radiating light toward the transverse sides in the transverse direction Q.

(23) Here, said lateral lighting lines 17, 18 are connected to one another above the transition 22 via an upper terminating line 19, which can be embodied in principle in the same manner as the lateral lighting lines 17, 18 and here at least in its central region radiates light upward onto the ceiling 13 of the dishwasher cavity 2.

(24) Depending on the embodiment of the upper end of the water feed 15, the upper terminating line does not have to extend in a straight line but can also extend in a curved shape.

(25) In this way, the lateral lighting lines 17, 18 and the upper terminating line 19 can together form a common, complete lighting line 20 surrounding the water feed in certain regions. Here, this continuous line 20 has the shape of an inverted U. Alternatively, for example, the upper terminating line 19 can also be omitted. In this case, only the two parallel lateral lighting lines 17, 18 are present.

(26) The embodiment of the respective lighting lines 17, 18, 19, 20 can vary. To obtain a light yield which is as uniform as possible over the extent while minimizing the installation space required, at least one of the lighting lines comprises a plurality of LED light sources 23, or comprises in total one light guide which also radiates light to the side. The light source(s) 23 radiate light to the left and right into the dishwasher cavity 2, the light is reflected by the stainless-steel walls 13, 14 of the dishwasher cavity 2 and is thus distributed uniformly.

(27) In an LED embodiment, the color of the lighting lines 17, 18, 19 20 can be individually selectable by the respective customer, so that an additionally enhanced quality impression for the customer is produced.

(28) For a highly integrated and simple construction and for a minimal installation space, the lighting line(s) 17, 18, 19, 20 is or are arranged in an intermediate space between the channel 21 and a wall, here the rear wall 14, of the dishwasher cavity 2. This means that the channel 21 itself extends at a horizontal distance D from the rear wall 14 (or at a vertical distance D from the floor 13). The distance D can amount to approximately 8 to 25 millimeters, for example. However, the unit of the water feed 15 overall extends continuously up to the rear wall 14. As can be seen clearly from FIG. 9, the unit of the water feed 15 is constructed in such a way that on its contact side 24 with the rear wall 14 initially a plastic part 26 is molded on toward the rear. The lighting lines 17, 18 are arranged in this plastic part 26 on the outer side with respect to the transverse direction Q. To this end, the plastic part here in the exemplary embodiment is preferably embodied as an insertion shaft, which is sealed in a watertight manner by a closing cover or a closing cap 25. With its rear wall surface 24, the water feed device 15 rests preferably flush, in other words without a gap, on the rear wall 14 of the dishwasher cavity. To the front, in the direction toward the front side V, the channel 21 which is wider in the transverse direction Q is connected such that the lighting line(s) 17, 18 itself or themselves is or are hidden by the channel 21. The plastic part 26 is preferably formed from a transparent, in particular milky transparent plastic. The light source(s) can extend over the entire longitudinal extent of the water feed 15 from the sump via the horizontal part 15c to its upper end above the transition or coupling device 22 for the upper water distribution means, such as an upper spray arm. The (milky) transparent plastic can act as a diffusor and support uniform illumination without individual light sources 23, for example light-emitting diodes, becoming visible.

(29) Alternatively, the plastic part 26 can also be embodied solid, and the two lighting lines can then expediently be cast into the plastic part 26.

(30) The lighting line(s) 17, 18, 19 are thus arranged in a watertight plastic body 26, which depending on the embodiment is either box-shaped and sealed off to the outside, for example by the cover cap 25, or which overall embodies or can contain a casting compound for the lighting line(s) 17, 18 19, 20. It is also possible for the plastic part 26 to be manufactured in a dual injection method jointly with the channel 21 in order to simplify manufacturing. In all cases, a high integration and long-term reliability of the lighting is ensured without restricting the fluid-guiding function. The channel 21 can be either manufactured jointly or at least pre-assembled jointly with the plastic body 26 and inserted as a common unit into the dishwasher cavity 2.

(31) In the fully assembled state of the dishwasher, the light guide or the light cord or the like is preferably connected to the plastic part 26 of the water feed 15. The entire unit comprising the channel 21 and the plastic part 26 can already be completed outside of the assembly line of the dishwasher 1 and mounted as a common unit in the dishwasher cavity 2 with minimal mounting effort. Both the mounting and a possible later replacement by customer service are thereby simplified.

(32) The energy supply can likewise be routed via the interface to the water feed 15. As a result, no additional interfaces are required.

(33) Because the channel 21 covers the light source(s) 23 of the lighting lines 17, 18, 19, 20 toward the front, the latter is or are not itself or themselves visible. An indirect light is thus produced, which does not dazzle the customer looking from the front side V in the direction of the rear wall 14.

(34) Where applicable, it can also be expedient if, instead of the one or more lighting lines such as 17, 18, a lighting device with a spatial-geometric shape which differs from a line is associated with the water feed, in particular is attached thereto. In this way, the lighting device can be provided for example in the form of a flat, for example circular or rectangular lighting panel at a height position on the upward water feed disposed in the vacant gap between a lower basket provided close to the dishwasher cavity floor and an upper basket arranged further up in the dishwasher cavity at a vertical distance from the lower basket. According to a further advantageous variant, the lighting device can form an illuminated surface section on the upper side of the water feed which is visible to the user. In particular, the lighting device can form an illuminated surface section on the front side which is directly visible from the front on the vertically extending section of the upward water feed.