EP0057217B1

EP0057217B1 - An automatic dispenser

Info

Publication number: EP0057217B1
Application number: EP81902238A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Per Olov Edvard Eknor
Original assignee: Electrolux AB
Current assignee: Electrolux AB
Priority date: 1980-08-11
Filing date: 1981-08-10
Publication date: 1985-05-22
Also published as: FI821137A0; WO1982000482A1; SE436582B; FI74748C; DK134682A; FI821137L; DK150262B; FI74748B; EP0057217A1; DK150262C; SE8005655L

Abstract

The device is essentially composed of a feeding roller (15) with compartments (19) in a house (16) and a supply of detergent. Since the detergent is highly hygroscopic it is important to prevent moisture from penetrating into the supply. The roller is therefore made of an elastic material and separates a filling opening (20) and an emptying opening (21) in the house. The roller is rotated in portioning intervals by a motor (18) controlled by a program control device.

Description

The present invention refers to an automatic dispenser device for powder detergents in a laundry or a dish washing machine provided with a supply of the detergent and a feeding member in the form of a roller transferring a portion of the detergent from the supply to the wet cabinet of the machine, a number of portioning compartments being provided in said roller which is rotatably journalled in a housing with a filling opening to one of the said compartments and an emptying opening to the wet cabinet, the roller being driven in portioning intervals by a driving member.
Powder detergents are very hygroscopic and have the property of forming clumps when being moist. Big clumps of detergent can cause a stoppage in the dispensing arrangement of the machine. The best way of avoiding clumps is to keep the detergent dry, and if this may be done it is possible without any breaks to dispense it by means of an automatic device enclosing a small supply of detergent so that it is possible to repeat a program a plurality of times without filling of detergent manually every time. In the dispensing device the supply shall be kept well separated from the wet cabinet of the machine.
A dispenser device of the kind referred to is described in U.S.-A-1,466,192. In this reference the emptying opening is situated above a casing 9 into which the powder in the portioning compartment to be emptied falls down by gravity force through channel 41.
However, during washing and rinsing operations water drops and steam will enter channel 41 and might even reach the portioning compartment facing the channel 41 causing powder supplied during a subsequent washing operation to stick to the walls of the channel which after some time could become blocked.
The inconvenience connected with the dispensing device described above can be removed by providing in the emptying opening of a liquid supply pipe which by spraying of water operates to clean the walls of the emptying channel. Such a liquid supply pipe is disclosed in FR-A-2,386,966.
The object of the invention is to further improve a dispensing device of the kind referred to and provided with a liquid supply pipe in the emptying opening. In addition the invention will solve the problem of transfer of humidity from the emptying opening to the powder supply.
The object indicated will be achieved in a dispensing device of the kind referred to above which has been given the features stated in the characterizing part of the appending Claim 1.
An embodiment of the dispensing device will be described in the following with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which

Fig. 1 shows a vertical cross section through the dispensing device and
Fig. 2 is a cross section perpendicular to the one of Fig. 1.

The dispensing device is positioned in the wet cabinet of a machine of the aforesaid kind, preferably in the door of the machine, which makes filling of the device easy, when the door is opened. A supply of washing powder for laundry or dishes is enclosed in a box 10 with a lid 11 which can be unscrewed and has a gasket 12 which tightens against moisture. The box is sunk into the inside of the door, and only the lid is visible. The latter is preferably made of a transparent material so that the amount of the powder in the supply can be seen. Thus it is easy to unscrew the lid and fill the box, when necessary. At the bottom of the device is a feeding member 14 adapted to transfer a portion of the powder from the supply to the wet cabinet. It is in the form of a roller 15 of star-shaped cross section which is journalled in a house 16 by means of a shaft 17 and is rotated in the house by a motor 18. In the roller there are a plurality of compartments 19 which in a regular order during rotation are filled with powder from the supply when anyone thereof is in a filling station constituted of a hole 20 in a wall of the box. The roller is driven by the motor 18 which is controlled by the program control device (not shown) of the machine. The driving lasts at low speed of rotation for an angle equal to at least the width of a compartment. Every compartment passes once during a revolution an emptying station in the form of an opening 21 in the bottom of the house 16 so that the powder transferred by such a passing compartment is emptied through the opening into the wet cabinet. The roller 15 runs against the inside of the house and thus keeps the supply separated from the wet cabinet, and to improve the sealing between the roller and the inside the roller is made of an elastic material. To further ensure the sealing a compartment filled with powder is always kept between the filling station and the emptying station. This powder absorbs possible moisture passing past the compartment wall from the emptying station.
In order to prevent water from being enclosed in a compartment and transferred to the supply the compartment next to the filling station is drained through a channel 22 through the bottom of the house.
To ensure emptying of the compartment at the emptying station a pipe 23 from the circulation system of the machine is disposed in the opening 21 so that water spurts into the compartment and flushes it clean. A similar flushing can be done when the box 10 is to be cleansed. A simple way of doing this is to unscrew the lid 11 so that the box becomes open to the wet cabinet while the machine is allowed to work for a while.
The electric motor 18 is started by a signal from the program control device which keeps the motor working to rotate the roller until a switch 25 controlled by a cam disc 24 disconnects the power to the motor. The object of the cam disc is to control the switch to make it disconnect when a compartment coincides with the opening 21 whereby the most effective emptying is achieved.
The embodiment now described is an example showing in what way the invention can be practised. Dividing of the roller into compartments is arbitrary, e.g. the roller can have only one compartment. The rotation of the roller can be effected in other ways, e.g. by the flushing water pressure. Further, the roller can be mounted on a vertical shaft and the compartments be filled and emptied at one or the other end of the roller, respectively.

Claims

1. An automatic dispenser device for powder detergents in a laundry or a dish washing machine provided with a supply (10) of a detergent and a feeding member in the form of a roller (15) transferring a portion of the detergent from the supply to the wet cabinet of the machine, a number of portioning compartments (19) being provided in said roller (15) which is rotatably journalled in a housing (16) with a filling opening (20) to one of the said compartments (19) and an emptying opening (21) to the wet cabinet, the roller being driven in portioning intervals by a driving member,(18), characterized by the following features:

a liquid supply pipe (23) is disposed in the emptying opening (21), the pipe being directed towards the portioning compartment (19) which is in said emptying opening;

the roller (15) is rotatably arranged in a liquid- tight manner; and

a channel (22) is provided which interconnects the portioning compartment (19) which is next to be filled from the supply (10) with the emptying opening (21).

2. A device according to Claim 1, characterized in that the supply comprises a box (10) with a lid (11) positioned in a wall or a door to the wet cabinet of the machine.