HOUSEHOLD DISHWASHER HAVING AT LEAST ONE AIR OUTLET

Abstract

A household dishwasher includes a dishwasher cavity for processing items to be washed, and an air outlet designed to blow out dishwasher interior air of the dishwasher cavity. The air outlet is arranged in a lower quarter of a height of the household dishwasher and extends as a slot outlet over at least half of a width of the household dishwasher.

Claims

1-20 (canceled)

21. A household dishwasher, comprising: a dishwasher cavity for processing items to be washed; and an air outlet designed to blow out dishwasher interior air of the dishwasher cavity, said air outlet arranged in a lower quarter of a height of the household dishwasher and extending as a slot outlet over at least half of a width of the household dishwasher.

22. The household dishwasher of claim 21, wherein the air outlet is at least 40 centimeters wide overall.

23. The household dishwasher of claim 21, wherein the air outlet is designed as a flat slot outlet having a height to width ratio of less than 1:10.

24. The household dishwasher of claim 21, wherein the air outlet is designed as a flat slot outlet having a height to width ratio of less than 1:20.

25. The household dishwasher of claim 21, wherein the air outlet is divided into several sub-slots that lie in alignment adjacent to one another.

26. The household dishwasher of claim 25, wherein two to three of the several sub-slots are provided adjacent to one another.

27. The household dishwasher of claim 21, wherein the air outlet is arranged on a user-facing front side of the household dishwasher.

28. The household dishwasher of claim 21, wherein the air outlet is arranged entirely at a lower end of the front side of the household dishwasher.

29. The household dishwasher of claim 21, further comprising a front-side base panel, said air outlet arranged in a region of a lower edge of the front-side base panel.

30. The household dishwasher of claim 21, further comprising an assembly unit designed to extend essentially over an entire width of the front side of the household dishwasher, said air outlet arranged within the assembly unit.

31. The household dishwasher of claim 30, further comprising a base including a front-side base panel, said assembly unit arranged behind the front-side base panel of the base support, as viewed in a depth direction.

32. The household dishwasher of claim 31, wherein the assembly unit has a projection oriented forwards and arranged below a lower edge of the base panel, with the slot outlet located there, or the projection forms the slot outlet together with the lower edge of the base panel.

33. The household dishwasher of claim 21, wherein the air outlet is arranged within a design element that extends with a constant height over a wide area.

34. The household dishwasher of claim 33, wherein the design element is of contrasting color with respect to a front base panel in a lower region of the household dishwasher.

35. A household dishwasher, comprising: a dishwasher cavity having a dishwasher interior for processing items to be washed; an air outlet designed to blow out dishwasher interior air of the dishwasher cavity; a conveying element responsible for blowing out dishwasher interior air; an air duct leading from the dishwasher cavity to the conveying element; and an outlet duct extending between the conveying element and the air outlet, said outlet duct designed with a reduced cross-section with respect to the air duct.

36. The household dishwasher of claim 35, wherein the air duct is several tens of centimeters long, said air duct extending from the dishwasher cavity and arranged upstream of the air outlet.

37. The household dishwasher of claim 35, wherein the conveying element is a fan wheel to influence the air outlet with dishwasher interior air from the dishwasher interior of the dishwasher cavity, said conveying element arranged in a lower region of the household dishwasher behind the air outlet in a depth direction.

38. The household dishwasher of claim 35, wherein the dishwasher cavity is defined by walls, said air duct starting within an upper 20% of a height of the dishwasher cavity in one of the walls.

39. The household dishwasher of claim 35, wherein the air duct is at least 40 centimeters long.

40. The household dishwasher of claim 35, wherein the conveying element is controllable in a clocked manner over a period of several days.

41. The household dishwasher of claim 35, wherein the conveying element is controllable by detecting moisture in the dishwasher cavity.

Description

[0024] A schematic sketch of the principle is shown in each case:

[0025] FIG. 1 shows from obliquely in front, a schematic perspective view of an advantageous embodiment of a household dishwasher that is designed in accordance with the invention, here without outer housing parts, with a view into a dishwasher cavity inside the household dishwasher, and

[0026] FIG. 2 shows a schematic individual part view of the air-guiding parts.

[0027] In FIGS. 1 and 2, corresponding parts are provided with the same reference characters. In this case, only those components of a household dishwasher that are necessary for understanding the invention are provided with reference characters and explained.

[0028] The household appliance that is schematically illustrated in FIG. 1 is here a household dishwasher 1. Also, other household appliances 1 having a drying function are in principle eligible for a design in accordance with the invention.

[0029] The household dishwasher 1 that is described below according to FIG. 1 has, as part of an appliance body that is partially open to the outside or closed, a dishwasher cavity 2 for receiving items to be washed, such as inter alia dishes, pots, cutlery, glasses, cooking utensils. In this case, the items to be washed can be held, for example, in racks and/or a cutlery drawer and can be influenced in this case by so-called washing liquor. In this case, washing liquor is understood to be fresh water or, in particular, water circulating during operation, with or without detergent and/or rinse aid and/or drying agent. In particular, the washing liquor has passed through an ion exchanger for softening. In addition, the washing liquor can also be more or less mixed with soiling from ongoing operation. The dishwasher cavity 2 can have an at least essentially rectangular outline with a front side V that is facing a user in the operating position. In this case, this front side V can form a part of a kitchen front of adjacent kitchen furniture or, in the case of a stand-alone appliance, can also be without reference to further furniture.

[0030] The dishwasher cavity 2 can be closed, in particular at this front side V, by a front door or flap. This is not shown here.

[0031] The household dishwasher can be designed as a stand-alone appliance or as a so-called partially integrable or also fully integrable appliance. In the latter case, the appliance body can also terminate essentially flush with the outer walls of the dishwasher cavity 2. A housing that surrounds this dishwasher cavity on the outside can then be superfluous. In the lower region of the household dishwasher, there can be a base S for accommodating, in particular, functional elements, such as also a pump for circulating the washing liquor. This circulation pump can in particular also be heated as a so-called heating pump, in order to bring the washing liquor to the temperature that is desired in the respective program step. An external heating system that is independent of the circulation pump can be provided additionally or alternatively.

[0032] In the width direction B, the household dishwasher often has an extent of 45, 50 or 60 centimeters. In the depth direction T from the front side V to the rear, the extent is likewise often about 60 centimeters. The values are not mandatory. In particular, an easily accessible installation, for example at eye level or at the height of a worktop, is also possible. The lower edge of the household dishwasher 1 is then approximately 70 to 110 centimeters above the floor in the installation position.

[0033] The household dishwasher 1 is provided with at least one air outlet 4 for blowing out, in particular, moist air from the dishwasher cavity 2 in which dishes, glasses, cutlery and similar can be processed. This air outlet is arranged in the lower region, namely in the lower quarter, of the appliance height H and extends as a horizontal slot outlet over at least half of the width B of the household dishwasher 1. In this way, a good distribution of the blown-out air is achieved, so that even in the case of particularly moist air which is to be conveyed to the outside, condensation and droplet formation in the region of the air outlet 4 can be avoided to the greatest possible extent. In particular, it is thus also possible to form the air outlet 4 entirely at the lower end of the front side—almost as a lower edge—of the household dishwasher 1 without drops running from there onto the kitchen floor or onto cabinets that are arranged below.

[0034] In particular, the single-piece or multi-piece air outlet 4 is at least 40 centimeters wide overall for this purpose. In accordance with FIG. 1, the air outlet is designed in this case as a flat slot outlet, wherein its height to width ratio can be less than 1:10, in particular also less than 1:20. Then, with a 40-centimeter-wide air outlet 4, its height in the height direction H is less than approximately 2 centimeters.

[0035] As already indicated above, the air outlet 4 can be divided into several sub-slots 4a, 4b, 4c that lie in alignment adjacent to one another, as indicated in FIG. 2. These do not all have to be of the same length. It is important that a broadly extended air outlet 4 is created overall, which allows a high air throughput in order to also achieve a broad distribution of the moisture that is contained in the air.

[0036] Here, as an example, two to three sub-slots 4a, 4b, 4c are provided adjacent to one another and the sub-slots extend in each case with a small height approximately 8 to 15 centimeters in the direction of the width B of the household dishwasher 1.

[0037] Further, it can be seen from FIG. 1 that the air outlet 4 is arranged on the front side V of the household dishwasher 1, which is facing a user, so that the air outlet blows out into the free air space in front of the household dishwasher 1 and the moist air does not disappear inside built-in furniture where it could cause damage.

[0038] Both for the assembly as well as for the design, it is advantageous if, as can be seen for example in FIG. 1, the air outlet 4 is arranged within an assembly unit 6 that extends over the entire width B of the front side V of the household dishwasher 1 and can thus have the same continuous width as, for example, a base panel 5 that is arranged above the air outlet on the front side. This gives a particularly uniform and uncluttered design and consequently a pleasing appearance.

[0039] In the exemplary embodiment, the assembly unit 6 is thus preferably arranged behind a front-side base panel 5 of the base support or base S of the household dishwasher 1, as viewed in the depth direction. The assembly unit has a projection 10 that is oriented forwards and that comprises the partial sections 10a, 10b, 10c and the projection is arranged below the lower edge of the base panel 5 and has the slot outlet 4 there comprising the sub-slots 4a, 4b, 4c or forms the slot outlet together with the lower edge of the base panel 5.

[0040] In particular, the assembly unit 6 can be designed as a design element that extends continuously over the horizontal course of the assembly unit with the same height extension, so that the air outlet 4 is then arranged within a design element that extends with a constant height over a wide area. This can be designed, for example, from metal or also as a whole as a plastic unit, in particular as an injection-molded part in which the respective sub-slots 4a, 4b, 4c are recessed. Of course, other materials are also possible. If necessary, the front-mounted base panel 5 can be omitted. In this case, the assembly unit 6 itself can be expediently designed as a decorative base panel and can integrally comprise the slot-like air outlet 4.

[0041] The design element can be of contrasting color with respect to a front panel 5 in the lower region of the household dishwasher 1, for example black or chrome-plated or with a brushed stainless-steel look. Other designs are of course also possible.

[0042] To enable air, in particular also moist air, to be conveyed out of the dishwasher cavity 2, an air duct 3 that is several tens of centimeters long and that comes from the dishwasher cavity 2 is arranged upstream of the air outlet 4. This air duct 3 starts far up in the dishwasher cavity 2, in particular at least within the upper 50% of the height H of the dishwasher cavity 2 in one of the walls of the dishwasher cavity. Particularly advantageously for the rising water vapor, a start 9 is provided in the upper 50%, in particular 30%, of the height of the dishwasher cavity 2. Here, the start 9 of the air duct 3 is provided in a side wall. According to the drawing, the air duct 3 extends from its start 9 in the wall of the dishwasher cavity 2 initially in a kind of loop upwards, so that any condensation that forms can run back into the dishwasher cavity 2 and does not remain in the air duct 3.

[0043] From its start 9 at the dishwasher cavity 2, the air duct 3 extends into the base S towards at least one conveying element 7, such as a fan wheel. According to the drawing, the air duct 3 is at least 40 centimeters long and can thus bridge approximately the entire height H of the household dishwasher 1. The air duct 3 can be manufactured as a plastic assembly unit, in particular of uniform material.

[0044] The fan wheel or similar conveying element 7 can be arranged in the base S of the household dishwasher, in other words in its lower region, in the depth direction T behind the air outlet 4 and at approximately the same height as the air outlet. In particular, the conveying element 7 is arranged at the lowest point of the household dishwasher 1 directly above its base.

[0045] However, in this case an outlet duct 8 extends between the conveying element 7 and the slot-shaped air outlet 4 and the outlet duct has a reduced cross-section with respect to the air duct 4 that leads to the conveying element 7. In particular, the cross section is reduced by at least 15%. At the same air throughput, the flow speed in the outlet duct 8 is consequently significantly increased with respect to the air duct 4, so that condensation and drop formation hardly occur in this outlet duct 8. This also helps to keep condensation and liquid water to a minimum at the air outlet 4. Together with the wide air outlet 4 and the large distribution area that is consequently achieved, this goal is achieved in a particularly effective and optimized manner. The low height of the air outlet 4 also results in a small cross-section despite the large width. This means that a high flow speed of the air is also necessary here, so that the risk of condensation directly at the air outlet 4 is also low. Corresponding baffles or similar devices can be provided in the air outlet 4 to achieve a uniformly and widely distributed air flow. These can be an integral part of the assembly unit 6.

[0046] In particular, the discharge duct also does not run diagonally downwards, but horizontally, so that any water that does occur does not reach the air outlet 4 and could drip out the air outlet.

[0047] Such a household dishwasher 1 can also be well equipped with a so-called storage function, which allows the items to be washed to remain in the dishwasher cavity 2 with the front door closed after processing, without becoming damp again. The items to be washed can remain in the dishwasher cavity for several days without the dryness of the items to be washed deteriorating. The household dishwasher 1 then also serves as a storage and drying cabinet from which the items to be washed can be removed fresh and dry.

[0048] For this purpose, the conveying element 7 in particular can be controlled in a clocked manner. Alternatively and particularly effectively, the conveying element 7 is controlled via a moisture sensor system which provides a measure of the current moisture of the items to be washed in the dishwasher cavity.

[0049] In both cases, the conveying element 7 is only switched on from time to time in order to repeatedly convey moist air out of the dishwasher cavity 2 and thus to maintain the quality of the cleaning of the items to be washed over a longer period of time. Due to the only short effective running times, the energy requirement is low—as is the noise pollution caused by the at least one fan wheel or similar conveying element 7.

[0050] Overall, the invention significantly reduces the risk of condensation at the air outlet 4.

LIST OF REFERENCE CHARACTERS

[0051] 1 Household appliance,

[0052] 2 Dishwasher cavity,

[0053] 3 Air duct,

[0054] 4 Air outlet,

[0055] 5 Base panel,

[0056] 6 Assembly unit,

[0057] 7 Conveying element,

[0058] 8 Outlet duct,

[0059] 9 Start of the air duct at the dishwasher cavity,

[0060] V Front side,

[0061] B Width,

[0062] T Depth direction,

[0063] H Height,

[0064] S Base