DISHWASHER WITH AN AUTOMATIC METERING DEVICE

Abstract

A dishwasher includes a washing chamber, and an automatic metering device configured automatically meter a plurality of metering quantities from a supply of cleaning agent in the form of a solid material into the washing chamber. The automatic metering device is held in a vibration-insulated manner.

Claims

1-14. (canceled)

15. A dishwasher, comprising: a washing chamber; and an automatic metering device configured to automatically meter a plurality of metering quantities from a supply of cleaning agent in the form of a solid material into the washing chamber, said automatic metering device being held in a vibration-insulated manner.

16. The dishwasher of claim 15, constructed in the form of a household dishwasher.

17. The dishwasher of claim 15, further comprising a damping means configured to hold the automatic metering device in the vibration-insulated manner.

18. The dishwasher of claim 15, wherein the damping means is configured to seal the washing chamber.

19. The dishwasher of claim 15, further comprising a fastening element fastening the automatic metering device to the dishwasher, said damping means being arranged along each vibration transmission path from the automatic metering device to the fastening element.

20. The dishwasher of claim 15, wherein the automatic metering device includes a damping unit for active damping of a mechanical vibration.

21. The dishwasher of claim 15, wherein the automatic metering device is configured for metering pourable cleaning agent and/or cleaning agent molded bodies.

22. The dishwasher of claim 15, wherein the automatic metering device includes a receiving unit for receiving a removable storage container for storing the cleaning agent.

23. The dishwasher of claim 22, wherein at least one member selected from the group consisting of the receiving unit and the storage container in the receiving unit is mounted for rotation.

24. The dishwasher of claim 23, further comprising a drive means for rotating the member.

25. The dishwasher of claim 15, wherein the automatic metering device includes a housing.

26. The dishwasher of claim 25, wherein the housing comprises an airborne noise reducing means.

27. The dishwasher of claim 25, wherein the housing includes a closure flap for extracting a storage container from the housing and inserting the storage container in the housing.

28. The dishwasher of claim 15, further comprising: a dishwasher cavity configured to delimit the washing chamber and including an interior wall which has an edge to delimit a through opening for arrangement of the automatic metering device, said automatic metering device including a first shell with a first flange and a second shell with a second flange, with the first flange and the second flange resting on the edge of the interior wall from opposite sides of the interior wall by way of the damping means; and an internally disposed clamping means configured to clamp the first shell and the second shell to one another.

29. The dishwasher of claim 15, further comprising a door, said automatic metering device being arranged on the door.

Description

[0052] Further advantageous embodiments and aspects of the invention form the subject matter of the subclaims and of the exemplary embodiments of the invention that are described below. The invention is described below in greater detail on the basis of preferred embodiments with reference to the attached figures.

[0053] FIG. 1 shows a schematic perspective view of an embodiment of a household dishwasher;

[0054] FIG. 2 shows an exemplary chart of a transmission of a mechanical vibration; and

[0055] FIG. 3 shows a schematic exemplary embodiment of an automatic metering device held in a vibration-insulated manner.

[0056] In the figures, elements that are identical or have the same function are provided with the same reference characters unless otherwise stated.

[0057] FIG. 1 shows a schematic perspective view of an embodiment of a dishwasher 1, which is embodied here as a household dishwasher. The household dishwasher 1 has a dishwasher cavity 2, which can be closed by a door 3, in particular in a watertight manner. A sealing facility can be provided for this purpose between the door 3 and the dishwasher cavity 2. The dishwasher cavity 2 is preferably cuboid in shape. The dishwasher cavity 2 may be arranged in a housing of the household dishwasher 1. The dishwasher cavity 2 and the door 3 may form a washing chamber 4 for washing items to be washed.

[0058] The door 3 is shown in its opened position in FIG. 1. The door 3 can be closed or opened by pivoting about a pivot axis 5 provided on a lower end of the door 3. A loading opening 6 of the dishwasher cavity 2 can be closed or opened with the aid of the door 3. The dishwasher cavity 2 has a bottom 7, a ceiling 8 arranged opposite the bottom 7, a rear wall 9 arranged opposite the closed door 3 and two side walls 10, 11 arranged opposite one another. The bottom 7, the ceiling 8, the rear wall 9 and the side walls 10, 11 may be manufactured from a stainless steel sheet for example. Alternatively, the bottom 7 may be manufactured from a plastic material.

[0059] Furthermore, the household dishwasher 1 has at least one receptacle for items to be washed 12 to 14. A number of, for instance three, receptacles for items to be washed 12 to 14 can preferably be provided, wherein the receptacle for items to be washed 12 can be a lower receptacle for items to be washed or a bottom basket, the receptacle for items to be washed 13 can be an upper receptacle for items to be washed or an upper basket and the receptacle for items to be washed 14 can be a cutlery drawer. As additionally shown in FIG. 1, the receptacles for items to be washed 12 to 14 are arranged one above the other in the dishwasher cavity 2. Each receptacle for items to be washed 12 to 14 is optionally able to be shifted into or out of the dishwasher cavity 2. In particular, each receptacle for items to be washed 12 to 14 is able to be inserted or pushed into the dishwasher cavity 2 in an insertion direction E and extracted or pulled out from the dishwasher cavity 2 in an extraction direction A opposite to the insertion direction E.

[0060] Furthermore, an automatic metering device 100 is arranged on the interior side of the door 3. The automatic metering device 100 is held in a vibration-insulated manner by a vibration-insulating bracket 110. The automatic metering device 100 comprises in particular movable or also drive components (not shown), which can be considered as exciters in terms of mechanical vibrations. On account of the vibration-insulated bracket 110, mechanical vibrations generated by such an exciter are not transmitted or are transmitted only in attenuated form to the door 3. This is explained in more detail in a chart in FIG. 2.

[0061] FIG. 2 shows an exemplary chart 120 of a damped transmission of a mechanical vibration, for example from the automatic metering system 100 to the door 3, as shown in FIG. 1. The y-axis of the chart 120 shows a vibration amplitude of a vibration with a certain frequency. The x-axis shows a distance from the exciter generating the vibration, for example an electric motor of the automatic metering device 100. For reasons of clarity, the envelope 122 of the vibration is shown in the chart 120. In the chart 120, the vibration amplitude is standardized to the value 1, which is achieved in the exciter when x=0.

[0062] Two positions are marked on the x-axis. The damping means 110 begins at x=x1, for example. The damping means ends at x=x2.

[0063] The exciter is located at x=0, for example. Starting from the exciter, the vibration propagates for example via a housing of the automatic metering device 100 to a vibration-insulating bracket 110 (see FIG. 1), with which the automatic metering device 100 is fastened. The vibration initially also propagates along the vibration-insulating bracket 110 and in so doing is attenuated only very slightly, as up to that point it has not passed through any damping means 112 (see FIG. 3). The damping means 112, which is embodied for example as an elastomer, begins at the position x=x1. Because the damping means 112 has good damping properties, the amplitude of the vibration drops exponentially to a value of approximately 10% of the initial amplitude over a short distance, for example 1 cm. The damping means 112 ends at the position x=x2. Depending on the embodiment of the vibration-insulating bracket 110, the damping means 112 is fastened directly to a further component of the household dishwasher 1, or there follows a further section of the vibration-insulating bracket 110.

[0064] As distinct from the representation, further damping means and/or additional damping sections can be provided in the vibration-insulating bracket 110. In particular, different damping means 112 optimized for different frequency ranges can be provided, wherein vibrations advantageously pass through different damping means 112 along each transmission path from the automatic metering device 100 to the dishwasher 1 so that the entire relevant frequency range is covered.

[0065] FIG. 3 shows a schematic exemplary embodiment of a metering device 100 held in a vibration-insulated manner, which can be used for example with the household dishwasher 1. In the example of FIG. 3, the automatic metering device 100 is inserted into a through opening 19 in an interior wall 16 of the door 3. The door 3 is shown here in a section from the side. The door 3 is delimited toward the outside by an exterior wall 17.

[0066] In the example of FIG. 3, the automatic metering device 100 comprises a housing which consists of a first shell 130 and a second shell 140 and in particular provides a fluid-tight interior 150 for the further components of the automatic metering device 100. The first shell 130 is arranged in the intermediate space 18 between the exterior wall 17 and the interior wall 16 of the door 3 and rests with a circumferential flange 132 by way of a damping means 112 on an edge of the interior wall 16 delimiting the through opening 19. The second shell 140 projects into the washing chamber 4 and rests with a circumferential flange 142 by way of a damping means 112 on an edge of the interior wall 16 delimiting the through opening 19. The first shell 130 and the second shell 140 thus rest in each case by way of a damping means 112 on the interior wall 16 from opposite sides. The damping means 112 is embodied in particular as a combined sealing damping means. The damping means 112 is embodied for example in the shape of a circumferential ring. Furthermore, an airborne noise reducing means 160 is arranged in each case on the first shell 130 and on the second shell 140, which means here comprises a fleece fabric on the front side for absorbing airborne noise and a bitumen layer on the rear side for reflecting airborne noise.

[0067] The first shell 130 also has an internally disposed receptacle 134 for a clamping means 170. This receptacle is embodied here as a thread 134 in the first shell 130. The second shell 140 has a likewise internally disposed receptacle 134 for the clamping means 170, which receptacle functions as an abutment. For example, the clamping means 170 is embodied as a screw and the receptacle 144 is embodied as a bush for the screw 170. For the reciprocal clamping of the first shell 130 with the second shell 140, the screw 170 is for example guided through the bush 144 in the second shell 140 and screwed into the thread 134 in the first shell 130. As a result, the first shell 130 and the second shell 140 are pulled toward one another so that a contact pressure is applied by way of the flange 132, 142 onto the damping means 112 and the edge of the interior wall 16. This contact pressure on the one hand holds the automatic metering system 100 in place and on the other hand ensures that the damping means 112 seals the interior 150 of the automatic metering device 100 in a fluid-tight manner.

[0068] Further components of the automatic metering device 100, such as for example a receiving unit for receiving a supply container, an extraction unit for extracting the metering quantity from the supply of cleaning agent, an active damping unit, a drive means and where appropriate a metering channel and the like are not shown in FIG. 3 for reasons of clarity. It can also be provided that the automatic metering device 100 has components which are not arranged in the fluid-tight interior 150.

[0069] Although the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it can be modified in numerous different ways.

REFERENCE CHARACTERS USED

[0070] 1 Dishwasher [0071] 2 Dishwasher cavity [0072] 3 Door [0073] 4 Washing chamber [0074] 5 Pivot axis [0075] 6 Loading opening [0076] 7 Bottom [0077] 8 Ceiling [0078] 9 Rear wall [0079] 10 Side wall [0080] 11 Side wall [0081] 12 Receptacle for items to be washed [0082] 13 Receptacle for items to be washed [0083] 14 Receptacle for items to be washed [0084] 16 Interior wall [0085] 17 Exterior wall [0086] 18 Intermediate space [0087] 19 Through opening [0088] 100 Automatic metering device [0089] 110 Vibration-insulated bracket [0090] 112 Damping means [0091] 120 Chart [0092] 122 Envelope of a vibration [0093] 130 First shell [0094] 132 Flange [0095] 134 Receptacle [0096] 140 Second shell [0097] 142 Flange [0098] 144 Receptacle [0099] 150 Fluid-tight interior [0100] 160 Airborne noise reducing means [0101] 170 Clamping means [0102] A Extraction direction [0103] E Insertion direction