Abstract
A scent-releasing device and related method, said device to be attached onto an inner side of the door of a dishwasher, including a storage chamber for accommodating a fragrance oil and a release chamber having a membrane through which a gas phase of the fragrance oil is able to pass. Wherein, in a first position of the scent-releasing device, the storage chamber and the release chamber are separated from one another, such that no fragrance oil reaches from the storage chamber into the release chamber. Wherein, in a second position of the scent-releasing device, the storage chamber and the scent-releasing device are connected such that fragrance oil reaches from the storage chamber into the release chamber. Wherein, when there is a change in position from the second position to the first position a defined amount of fragrance oil remains in the release chamber.
Claims
1. A scent-releasing device to be attached onto an inner side of the door of a dishwasher, comprising a storage chamber for accommodating a fragrance oil and a release chamber having a membrane through which a gas phase of the fragrance oil is able to pass, wherein, in a first position of the scent-releasing device, the storage chamber and the release chamber are separated from one another, such that no fragrance oil reaches from the storage chamber into the release chamber; wherein, in a second position of the scent-releasing device, the storage chamber and the scent-releasing device are connected such that fragrance oil reaches from the storage chamber into the release chamber; and wherein, when there is a change in position from the second position to the first positionwhich can be achieved by closing the opened doora defined amount of fragrance oil remains in the release chamber.
2. The scent-releasing device according to claim 1, wherein the volume of the storage chamber is 50 to 600 times greater than the volume of the release chamber.
3. The scent-releasing device according to claim 1, comprising a storage bowl made of plastic and covered by the membrane.
4. The scent-releasing device according to claim 3, wherein a partition having at least one window is arranged between the membrane and the storage bowl, wherein the partition is spaced apart from the membrane at least in some sections.
5. The scent-releasing device according to claim 1, wherein a fragrance-impermeable activation layer is releasably attached to the membrane.
6. The scent-releasing device according to claim 1, wherein a base release chamber is provided, wherein an amount of fragrance released from the base release chamber per unit time is significantly smaller than an amount of fragrance released from the release chamber per unit time.
7. The scent-releasing device according to claim 1, wherein a fragrance-impermeable barrier layer having at least one hole is adhered onto the membrane.
8. The scent-releasing device according to claim 1, wherein a usage position of the scent-releasing device, the first position can be achieved by having the door of the dishwasher in a horizontal position, and the second position can be achieved by having the door of the dishwasher in a vertical position.
9. A dishwasher, comprising the scent-releasing device according to claim 1.
10. The dishwasher according to claim 9, wherein the door of the dishwasher is hinged onto the housing of the dishwasher so as to be able to pivot about a horizontal axis of rotation, wherein the scent-releasing device is located in the second position when in the vertical position of the door and is located in the first position when in the horizontal position of the door.
11. The dishwasher according to claim 9, wherein the membrane is oriented toward the inner side of the door when in an installation position of the scent-releasing device.
12. A method for scenting the internal space of a dishwasher having a door and the scent-releasing device according to claim 1, wherein the scent-releasing device is fastened to the inner side of the door of the dishwasher, and opening and closing of the door causes a metered amount of fragrance oil to be automatically released from the storage chamber into the release chamber.
13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the release of the fragrance oil from the storage chamber into the release chamber takes place with a time delay of 1 to 100 seconds.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0023] The present invention shall be described in greater detail with reference to embodiments depicted in the drawings.
[0024] FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a dishwasher provided with a scent-releasing device;
[0025] FIG. 2 illustrates the dishwasher of FIG. 1, with the door open;
[0026] FIG. 3 illustrates a section of an embodiment of the scent-releasing device;
[0027] FIGS. 4a, 4b, and 4c and 4d illustrate the process of filling a release chamber of the scent-releasing device; and
[0028] FIG. 5 illustrates a section of another embodiment of the scent-releasing device.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0029] FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a dishwasher 10 having a door 11 that is fastened to a housing 13 via swivel joints (not shown) so as to be able to pivot about a horizontal axis of rotation 12. A scent-releasing device 20 is fastened by means of accommodating means 16 to an inner side 15 of the door 11 that faces the internal space. An underside 21 of the scent-releasing device 20 is turned to the inner side 15 of the door, wherein a gap remains between the underside 21 and the inner side 15. This gap can be, for example, 2 to 8 millimeters. It should be noted that the scent-releasing device 20 in FIG. 1 is not depicted to scale.
[0030] FIG. 1 illustrates the door 11 in a closed position. The door extends then in the vertical direction. In this closed position, the scent-releasing device 20which has been attached onto the inner side 15 of the door 11in a first or vertical position. The flat underside 21 also extends in the vertical direction so as to be parallel to the inner side 15 of the door 11.
[0031] FIG. 2 illustrates the dishwasher 10 with the door 11 opened. In contrast to the closed position, the door 11 has been rotated 90 downward, so as to now be located in a horizontal plane. Due to the change in position of the door 11, the position of the scent-releasing device 20 has also changed. The scent-releasing device now assumes a second or horizontal position. In this second position, the underside extends in the horizontal direction and is oriented downward. When the door 11 is opened, dirty dishes to be cleaned can be put away in drawers (not shown here) with compartments, baskets, and the like. After the dishwasher has been loaded, the door 11 is closed again, i.e., brought into the position shown in FIG. 1. Considerable time may pass until a rinse cycle is started. During this time, the dirty dishes may provide for a very unpleasant odor in the dishwasher 10.
[0032] FIG. 3 illustrates a section of an embodiment of the scent-releasing device 20. Components or features that are similar or identical to the components and features of FIGS. 1 and 2 are provided with the same reference signs. This also applies, mutatis mutandis, to all other drawings.
[0033] The scent-releasing device 20, which is found in the first or vertical position according to FIG. 1, has a membrane 22 on the underside 21 thereof. The membrane closes off a storage bowl 23 that opens on the underside 21. The storage bowl may entail a plastic part that is thermoformed or produced by deep-drawing. The storage bowl 23 then has an approximately trapezoidal enlargement 24 that delimits a storage chamber 25. The enlargement may also take another form, e.g., a bulbous shape or the shape of a crescent. An indented section 26 is provided above the storage chamber 25.
[0034] A partition 27 arranged between the membrane 22 and the storage bowl 23 extends, like the membrane 22, from a firstor, in the depiction in FIG. 3, loweredge 28 to a second or upper edge 29 of the storage bowl 23. The edges 28, 29 lie in the same plane. The partition has cranked ends 30, 31 that lie with one side flat on the edges 28, 29 of the storage bowl 23 and with the other side flat on the membrane 22. The edges 28, 29, the cranked ends 30, 31, and the membrane 22 are welded or sealed together. The partition 27 is preferably also made out of plastic and can be produced by deep-drawing.
[0035] Apart from the edge region, the cranked ends produce a distance 32 between the partition 27 and the membrane 22 that constitutes a release chamber 33. The release chamber 33 is thus delimited by the membrane 22 and the partition 27. The release chamber extends over almost the entire length of the storage bowl 23, i.e., from the lower edge 28 to the upper edge 29.
[0036] The partition 27 has a window 34 in the region of the indented section. The window 34 constitutes a connectivity between the storage chamber 25 and the release chamber 33. The effects of the scent-releasing device 20 and the individual components/chambers thereof shall be described on the basis of FIGS. 4a-d.
[0037] FIG. 4a depicts the scent-releasing device 20 in the first position, so as to thus be comparable to FIGS. 1 and 3. The storage chamber 25 is then filled with a volatile fragrance oil 35. The release chamber 33, however, is not filled with the fragrance oil 35.
[0038] A gas phase of the fragrance oil 26, which is called a fragrance for brevity and can be distributed into the indented region 26 as well asdue to the window 34into the empty release chamber 33, can emerge through the membrane 22 to the exterior, i.e., into the internal space 14 of the dishwasher 10 when the door 11 thereof is closed. However, the amount of fragrance that emerges to the exterior through the membrane 22 having not been wetted with fragrance oil 26 should be comparatively small in comparison to the amount of fragrance when the membrane is wetted or is directly in contact with the fragrance oil 26. It may also be assumed, approximately, that the release of fragrance through the membrane 22 is negligible in the position depicted in FIG. 4a and when the release chamber 33 is not filled. It should be noted here that with the appropriate selection of material and layer thickness, the membrane can be designed so as to have a reduced, yet still noticeable release of fragrance in the state in FIG. 1.
[0039] FIG. 4b illustrates the scent-releasing device 20 in the second position, i.e., in the position that corresponds to an opened dishwasher 10 according to FIG. 2. The force of gravity distributes the fragrance oil 35 into the storage chamber 25, the indented region 26, and the release chamber 33. The fragrance oil 36 then flows from the storage chamber 25, via the indented region 26 and the window 34, into the release chamber 33. The time required to fill the release chamber may be affected by the shape of the indented region 26, the dimensioning of the window 34 (for example, shape and cross-section of flow), and the flow obstaclesfor example, in the form of a sieve, a flow-through membrane, or the likethat may be arranged in the window 34. Thus, the scent-releasing device 20 may, for example, be designed such that a significant amount of fragrance oil 26 first reaches the release chamber 33 five seconds after the opening of the door 11 (corresponds to the change in position from FIGS. 4a to 4b), and the release chamber is completely filled after 20 seconds. This time delay prevents the release chamber 33 from being (completely) filled during an only brief opening of the dishwasher 10. FIG. 4b shows the release chamber completely filled, irrespective of this possible time delay.
[0040] The position shown in FIG. 3 and the depicted fill levels correspond to those of FIG. 3. Now, if the scent-releasing device 20 is loadedwhich takes a certain amount of timeand thereafter returned to the vertical position by closing of the door 11, then a part of the fragrance oil flows out from the release chamber 33 back into the storage chamber 25 (see FIG. 4d). However, a certain part remains in the release chamber, the quantity of which depends on the position of a lower edge 36 of the window 34. The lower edge 36 thus defines a maximum fill level in the vertical position of the scent-releasing device 20. Accordingly, only a metered amount of liquid fragrance is located in the release chamber.
[0041] FIG. 4c illustrates the scent-releasing device 20 in the second position, i.e., in the position that corresponds to an opened dishwasher 10 according to FIG. 2. Though only a lower region of the membrane 22 is wetted with fragrance oil 35 in FIG. 4d, the membrane may be designed with capillary forces so as to become saturated with fragrance oil over the entire length thereof, as far as the upper edge 29 of the storage bowl 23. This makes it possible to have an increased release of fragrance over the entire surface of the membrane. Only when the liquid fragrance 35 within the release chamber is completely consumed (see FIG. 4a) is there a significant decrease in the release of fragrance from the scent-releasing device 20. If at all, there remains only a small base release, due to the gaseous phase of the fragrance oil present in the storage chamber 25, which can emerge to the exterior through the membrane 22. If the membrane is designed so that the fragrance is released only when the membrane is wetted with fragrance oil, then no more fragrance is released when the release chamber 33 (FIG. 4a) is completely emptied.
[0042] FIG. 5 illustrates another embodiment of the scent-releasing device 20. The basic structure of the scent-releasing device 20 shown here corresponds to the scent-releasing device 20 of FIG. 3. In addition to the cranked ends 30, 31, the partition 27 has another recessed region 37 that lies in the same plane as the ends 30, 31. The membrane 22 rests against the partition 27, or, more precisely, against the ends 30, 31 thereof and against the recessed region 37. A fragrance-impermeable barrier layer 38 is provided on a side of the membrane 22 that faces away from the partition 27 or is on the outside. The barrier layer 38 has two holes, namely, a first hole 39 and a second hole 40. In the depiction in FIG. 5, which shows the scent-releasing device 20 in the first or vertical position, the first hole 39 constitutes a lower hole and the second hole constitutes an upper hole. In addition to the window 34, an additional window 41 is provided in the partition.
[0043] The recessed region 37 of the partition 27 divides the intermediate space between the partition 27 and the membrane 22 into two chambers. The upper chamber corresponds to the release chamber 33. As stated above, the upper chamber can be filled by pivoting the scent-releasing device 20 into the horizontal position. Configured below the release chamber 33, there is a base release chamber 42 that, like the release chamber 33, can be filled by pivoting the scent-releasing device 20 into the horizontal position. Then, fragrance oil flows from the storage chamber 25 into the base release chamber 42.
[0044] Due to the substantially smaller hole 39, however, the amount of fragrance released via the base release chamber per unit time is significantly smaller than the amount of fragrance that is released via the release chamber 33 through the hole 40. The scent-releasing device 20 of FIG. 5 thus makes it possible to achieve a high-intensity fragrance release that is triggered by loading but diminishes after a certain length of time. In addition, the base release chamber 42 provides a lower-intensity base release. The lower-intensity base release does, however, last significantly longer than the release of fragrance through the release chamber 33.
LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS
[0045] 10 Dishwasher [0046] 11 Door [0047] 12 Axis of rotation [0048] 13 Housing [0049] 14 Internal space [0050] 15 Inner side [0051] 16 Accommodation [0052] 20 Scent-releasing device [0053] 21 Underside [0054] 22 Membrane [0055] 23 Storage bowl [0056] 24 Enlargement [0057] 25 Storage chamber [0058] 26 Section [0059] 27 Partition [0060] 28 Edge [0061] 29 Edge [0062] 30 End [0063] 31 End [0064] 32 Distance [0065] 33 Release chamber [0066] 34 Window [0067] 35 Fragrance oil [0068] 36 Lower edge [0069] 37 Recessed region [0070] 38 Barrier layer [0071] 39 First hole [0072] 40 Second hole [0073] 41 Additional window [0074] 42 Base release chamber
