Dispensing System for a Dishwasher

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a dispensing system for a dishwasher, wherein the dispensing system has a flat housing with a front wall and a rear wall and is designed in such a way that it can be placed, like a plate, in a plate holder of a dish rack of the dishwasher.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Such a dispensing system is known from EP 2 296 520 B1. In one embodiment, the dispensing system can be placed upright in the plate holder of the dish rack, which can be pulled out of the interior of the dishwasher in order to load or unload the dishes. The dispensing system allows formulations to be dispensed into the interior during a wash cycle.

The plate holder is formed by a plurality of upward-pointing support bars, which are arranged in two parallel rows. The base of the plate holder or dish rack is formed by base struts arranged in the grid, from which the support bars extend vertically upward at a small angle of inclination. A plate compartment, in which the plate or the dispensing system can be placed, is bounded by two adjacent support bars in each row. The dispensing system is held in an upright position by resting on the support bars and the base struts. To ensure that the dispensing system does not slip sideways within a plate compartment—for example when the dish rack is pulled out of the interior of the dishwasher—EP 2 296 520 B 1 proposes securing means. These securing means can be small curved recesses at the base of the dispensing system into which the base struts engage or snap into place. EP 2 296 520 B1 also discloses that the securing means can be designed as channel-like recesses on the front wall and/or rear wall of the dispensing system, which recesses begin at the base of the housing.

The distance between two adjacent support bars of a row of plate holders (hereinafter also referred to as bar spacing) can vary depending on the manufacturer of the dishwasher. 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 is well secured 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 still be placed in a plate holder with a small bar spacing, but in a plate compartment with widely spaced support bars, it would be positioned at a comparatively slanted 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 in order to provide enough space for the components required for dispensing.

The object of the invention is therefore that of providing a dispensing system of which the housing provides sufficient space for the components required for dispensing and which can be arranged in a space-saving manner inside the dishwasher in dish racks of various designs.

According to the invention, a depth of the recess decreases from the base of the housing in the direction of an upper end of the recess. In one embodiment, the front wall or rear wall of the housing has a second channel-like recess, which is at a distance from the first recess and runs parallel to the first recess.

The first recess is used to accommodate one of the upward-pointing support bars of a first row of the plate holder. The second, parallel recess is used to accommodate a support bar of a second row. By virtue of the recesses, the depth of which reduces the effective thickness of the housing in the region of the support bars, it is possible also to place the dispensing system in a plate compartment of a plate holder in which the bar spacing is smaller than the thickness of the housing in a region outside the first or the second recess. As the depth of the first recess decreases from the base of the housing, the effective thickness of the housing increases in the region of the recesses. Near the base, the effective thickness of the housing is low, so that the dispensing system can be placed in a plate holder with a small bar spacing, as long as the support bars are not too long. In the case of a plate holder with a larger bar spacing and comparatively long support bars, the housing is supported on the support bars located in the recesses in an upper region of the recesses where the depth of the recess is low 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 length of the support bars and with a large bar spacing and long length of the support bars. The invention makes use of the knowledge that there is a certain relationship between the bar spacing and the length or height of the support bars of the plate holder in conventional dish racks: a small bar spacing is usually associated with a low support bar height, while a larger bar spacing is associated with greater support bar heights. Because the depth of the recess decreases with increasing distance from the base, the dispensing system can be used for different plate holders without the dispensing system tilting too much in the plate holder and blocking otherwise free plate compartments.

Along a longitudinal extension of the first recess, the depth of the first recess can be constant in a bottommost or lower third and decrease continuously in an upper third. The transition from constant depth to continuously decreasing depth can occur in a middle third, wherein the middle third can be more or less characterized by constant depth. For example, the lower half of the first recess can also have a constant depth.

The above 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 base. There may well be regions where the depth does not decrease, but remains constant, as described above. For example, the course of a groove bottom could be stepped. It could also be the case that the groove bottom of the first recess has locally pronounced raised portions, the height of which increases with increasing distance from the base. However, between the individual raised portions, the groove bottom could be lower again.

The course of the groove bottom of the first recess can have an inflection point. In one embodiment, starting from the base of the housing, the groove bottom initially runs straight (constant depth) with increasing distance from the base. Without any discontinuity, the straight portion is followed by a curved portion of the groove bottom. The groove bottom can then run out into the plane of the front wall or rear wall, preferably also without any discontinuity in the slope.

The above and following embodiments for the first recess can also be applied to the second recess. Preferably, the first recess and the second recess are identical in terms of length and shape of the groove bottom. However, the first recess and the second recess can also differ from one another.

A distance between the first recess and the second recess can be in a range of 6 to 12 cm. If the distance between the rows of support bars of a plate holder corresponds to the distance between the recesses, the dispensing system can be readily placed in a plate compartment of the plate holder.

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 if there is a certain deviation between the distance between the rows of support bars (row spacing) and the distance between the recesses, the dispensing system can no longer be placed in the plate compartment. If the width of the first recess is too large, too much volume is lost within the housing, which is needed for the components located therein.

The housing can have a height of 200 to 280 mm. The housing can have a width of 200 to 280 mm. In one embodiment, the front wall or rear wall is substantially 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 rear wall is not rectangular, it is useful if the width to height ratio is between 0.8 and 1.2 or 0.9 and 1.1. For example, a housing with a roughly circular front/back wall would likewise have a width/depth ratio of 0.8 to 1.2 or 0.9 to 1.1. Preferably, however, the front wall and rear wall are 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 rack.

The housing can have a maximum thickness of between 20 and 28 mm. The thickness of the housing can decrease from the base in the direction of an upper housing edge of the housing. In one embodiment, the thickness of the housing is 20 to 28 mm at the base and 10 to 15 mm at the upper housing edge, wherein the thickness can decrease from the base to the upper housing edge without forming a local maximum.

The maximum depth of the first recess can be between 5 and 20 mm. Preferably, the maximum depth is in the range of 8 to 12 mm. The first recess can have a length (distance between the base and the upper end of the recess) of 80 to 140 mm, preferably 90 to 120 mm.

The dispensing system can comprise at least one dispensing valve and a dispensing opening associated with the dispensing valve, wherein the dispensing valve and the opening are arranged near the base. If the dispensing valve comprises at least two dispensing valves, the first recess is preferably arranged between these two dispensing valves.

The dispensing system can comprise a container with at least one connector and a connection socket to which the connector is connected when the container is in the inserted state, wherein the connector can be guided into the connection socket via a linear movement along a direction which runs substantially perpendicular to the front wall or rear wall. In one embodiment, in order to separate the connector and the connection socket, for example if the container is to be replaced with a full container, the connector can be pulled out of the connection socket via an opposing linear movement. The connection between the connector and the connection socket described above makes it relatively easy to replace the container for refilling purposes.

Preferably, the container has a plurality of chambers, each of which is assigned a connector. Each connector is then preferably assigned a connection socket and a dispensing valve.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is explained in more detail with reference to the exemplary embodiments shown in the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective and cross-sectional view of a dispensing system according to the invention (FIGS. 1A and 1B);

FIG. 2 schematically shows the effect of the invention on the angle of inclination of the dispensing system in a plate holder;

FIG. 3 shows further embodiments of the dispensing system according to the invention;

FIG. 4 schematically shows a longitudinal section through a housing of the dispensing system and a container accommodated in the housing; and

FIG. 5 shows the container of FIG. 5 from above.

FIGS. 1A and 1B show different views of a dispensing system 1. FIG. 1A is

a perspective view of the dispensing system 1, while FIG. 1B shows a longitudinal section through a housing 10 of the dispensing system 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

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 in order to gain access to an interior 16 of the housing 10.

A first recess 17 and a second recess 18 are provided in the rear wall 12. In the following, only the first recess 17 will be discussed in more detail. Since the second recess 18 is identical to the first recess 17 in terms of its design, the embodiments for the first recess 17 also apply, mutatis mutandis, to the second recess 18.

The first recess 17 begins at the base 13 and extends in the direction of the upper housing edge 14. The recess 17 is designed as an elongate, 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 substantially greater than a width of the recess transverse to the longitudinal direction. The first recess 17 has a groove bottom 19, the distance of which from the plane in which the rear wall 12 lies defines a depth T of the first recess 17. The depth T decreases from a lower, open end 20 to an upper, closed open end 21. 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 bottom 19 initially runs straight and then transitions into a curved section. The first recess 17 and the second recess 18 run parallel to one another.

FIG. 2 is intended to illustrate the effect that the depth T of the first recess 17 has on the position of the dispensing system 1 when it is placed in a plate holder 50 of a dish rack. FIG. 2 shows portions of the plate holder 50, namely support bars 51, which extend substantially vertically upward, with a small angle of inclination, from a horizontally running base strut 52. Usually, in a plate holder 50, the support bars 51 are arranged in two parallel rows which are spaced apart from one another (row spacing). In the representation of FIG. 2, only one of the two rows is visible; the row of the plate holder 50 which is not shown or is hidden lies in a plane parallel to the plane of the drawing.

FIG. 2A (upper portion of FIG. 2) shows a dispensing system 101 not according to the invention which, like the dispensing system 1 according to the invention, also has two channel-like recesses in 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 straight over the entire length, so that the depth T of the recess 117 is constant over the entire length and does not decrease in the direction of an upper end 121. The recess 117 is used to accommodate a support bar 51 when the dispensing system 101 has been placed in the plate holder 50.

If the distance between two adjacent support bars 51 (bar spacing) is approximately equal to the effective thickness D_eff of the housing 110 (see left-hand side of FIG. 2A), the dispensing system 101 stands upright in the plate compartment defined by these two adjacent support bars 51. The term “upright” is to be understood here to mean that the dispensing system 101 and the support bars 51 (51a, 51b) run in parallel and have the same angle of inclination with respect to the vertical. The effective thickness D_eff corresponds to the difference between the thickness D of the housing and the depth T of the recess 117. However, if the dispensing system 101 is placed in a plate holder with a larger bar spacing (see right-hand side of FIG. 2A), the dispensing system 101 is positioned at a significant incline in the relevant plate compartment. An upper portion 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 piece of crockery.

In the lower portion of FIG. 2 (FIG. 2B), the dispensing system 1 according to the invention is shown with different distances between the support bars 51. With a small bar spacing and support bar 51 of rather short length, the support bar 51b located in the recess 17 rests in a region of the recess 17 in which the depth T is still high, which leads to a small effective thickness D_eff. Accordingly, even with a small bar spacing, together with shorter support bars 51, the dispensing system 1 can be placed in the relevant plate holder (see left-hand side of FIG. 2B). If the dispensing system 1 is placed in another plate holder 50 with a medium bar spacing and support bar 51 of medium length (see middle of FIG. 2B), the support bar 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 D_eff. With a large bar spacing and support bars 51 of long length (right-hand side FIG. 2B), the housing is supported on the support bar 51b in the upper region of the recess 17, in which the depth T only has a very small value. In all three cases, however, the dispensing system 1 stands upright in the relevant plate compartment and does not block the adjacent plate compartment.

FIG. 3 schematically shows further embodiments for the housing 10 of the

dispensing system 1 according to the invention. The embodiment of FIG. 3A corresponds to the dispensing system of FIG. 2B, in which the groove bottom 17 initially runs straight and then transitions into a curved section with an inflection point 23. The curved section then gently runs out into the plane of the rear wall 12. FIG. 3B shows an embodiment in which the groove bottom has a plurality of steps 24. FIG. 3C shows that the groove bottom 17 can also have a plurality of prominent raised portions 25, between which the groove bottom can then be lower again. However, with increasing distance from the base 13, the raised portions 25 lead to the depth T of the recess 17 progressively decreasing.

FIG. 4 schematically shows the dispensing system 1 in longitudinal section. A container 26 is arranged in the housing 10, which is shown alone—also only schematically—in FIG. 5. The container 26 has three chambers 27, 28, 29, each of which can hold one formulation. The volumes of the individual chambers 27, 28, 29 are approximately the same in the embodiment shown, but they can also differ significantly from one another.

While FIG. 1 shows the dispensing system 1 in a position of use (base 13 is directed downward), FIG. 4 shows the dispensing system lying on the rear wall 12. In this lying position, the front wall 11 can be opened via a pivoting movement about a pivot axis of the film hinge 14 in order to remove the container 26 from the housing 10.

Each chamber 27, 28, 29 is assigned a connector 30. Accordingly, the container 26 has three connectors 30, each of which is identical in structure. One of these connectors 30 is also shown in FIG. 4. The connector 30 has a main body with a weld-in portion 31 and a plug-in portion 32. The weld-in portion 31 is arranged between two thermoformed housing halves 33, 34, which are welded together at a peripheral border 35 and at intermediate bars 36 between the chambers 27, 28, 29.

As can be seen from FIG. 4, the plug-in portion 32 of the connector 30 is inserted into a connection socket 37. By means of a linear pulling movement (upward in the representation of FIG. 4), the plug-in portion 32 can be pulled out of the connection socket 37. A suitable pulling force can be transmitted through a finger ring 38 into the main body of the connector 30. For this, the finger ring 38 can be rotated from the shown starting position into an active position. In the active position, which is represented in FIG. 4 by the dashed line 38′, the finger ring can be pulled back by a human finger and then acts as a pulling means for releasing the connection between the connector 30 and the connection socket 37. In order to establish a connection between the connector 30 and the connection socket 37 when a new container is to be inserted into the housing 10, a pressure plate 39 is provided. A finger can use it to press the plug-in portion 32 into the connection socket 37. In the representation of FIG. 4, the required pressing force comes from above and is directed perpendicularly to the rear wall 12.

A dispensing compartment 40 is integrated into the rear wall 12, in which an associated dispensing chamber 41 and a dispensing valve 42 are accommodated for each connection socket 37 (dispensing chamber 41 and dispensing valve 42 are shown only as rectangles). When the dispensing valve 42 is in the appropriate position, a dispensing opening 43 is opened through which the formulation in question can be dispensed out of the dispensing system 1. It should be noted that when the dispensing system 1 is in use, the dispensing opening 43 is directed downward, whereby the formulation can pass from the dispensing system 1 into the interior of the dishwasher via gravity. The connector 30 and the connector socket 37 are designed in such a way that a membrane of the connector 30 is pierced when these two portions are inserted one into the other. In addition, ventilation of the chamber is activated when the portions are inserted one into the other.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

• • 1 Dispensing system
  • 10 Housing
  • 11 Front wall
  • 12 Rear wall
  • 13 Base
  • 14 Upper housing edge
  • 15 Film hinge
  • 16 Interior
  • 17 First recess
  • 18 Second recess
  • 19 Groove bottom
  • 20 Lower end
  • 21 Upper end
  • 23 Inflection point
  • 24 Step
  • 25 Raised portion
  • 26 Container
  • 27 Chamber
  • 28 Chamber
  • 29 Chamber
  • 30 Connector
  • 31 Weld-in portion
  • 32 Plug-in portion
  • 33 Housing half
  • 34 Housing half
  • 35 Border
  • 36 Intermediate bar
  • 37 Connection socket
  • 38 Finger ring
  • 39 Pressure plate
  • 40 Dispensing compartment
  • 41 Dispensing chamber
  • 42 Dispensing valve
  • 43 Dispensing opening
  • 50 Plate holder
  • 51 Support bar
  • 52 Base strut
  • 101 Dispensing system (not according to the invention)
  • 112 Rear wall
  • 117 First recess
  • 119 Groove bottom
  • 121 Upper end