Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47L—DOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47L15/00—Washing or rinsing machines for crockery or tableware
  • A47L15/42—Details
  • A47L15/44—Devices for adding cleaning agents; Devices for dispensing cleaning agents, rinsing aids or deodorants
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47L—DOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47L15/00—Washing or rinsing machines for crockery or tableware
  • A47L15/42—Details
  • A47L15/44—Devices for adding cleaning agents; Devices for dispensing cleaning agents, rinsing aids or deodorants
  • A47L15/4409—Devices for adding cleaning agents; Devices for dispensing cleaning agents, rinsing aids or deodorants by tipping containers or opening their lids, e.g. with the help of a programmer

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a device for dispensing washing agents for a washing machine, particularly for a dishwasher.
• the invention relates to a dispensing device comprising a first releasing device for a detergent, including a receptacle for the detergent and an associated openable cover, and a second releasing device for a rinsing agent, the releasing devices being intended to be activated at successive times in a washing cycle by successive energizations of a single electrically operable actuator which is mechanically coupled thereto in such a way that a first energization of the actuator is able to modify the state of the first releasing device without changing the state of the second releasing device, and a successive energization of the actuator is such as to cause the activation of the second releasing device.
• One object of the present invention is to provide a dispensing device of the type defined above which has a highly simplified structure and can be produced in a reasonably economical way.
• a further object of the invention is to provide a dispensing device of this type which can enable the dispensing of the detergent to be divided into stages, for example for a pre- wash stage and subsequently for the actual washing stage.
• the associated detergent receptacle when the cover of the first releasing device is in the aforesaid pre- opening condition, the associated detergent receptacle remains substantially closed, and therefore the detergent is not released into the wash chamber of the machine. In this case, the complete dispensing of the detergent takes place as a result of the de-energization of the actuator immediately after the aforesaid first energization.
• the associated detergent receptacle when the cover of the first releasing device is in the aforesaid pre- opening condition, the associated detergent receptacle is open, but to a lesser degree, such that only a limited quantity of the detergent contained therein can be dispensed into the wash chamber of the machine.
• the dispensing of the detergent by the first releasing device is completed on the de-energization of the actuator immediately after the first energization.
• the actuator remains energized between the first energization of the actuator and the immediately successive de-energization. It is also possible for the actuator to be made in such a way that a reduced amount of electrical energy is required to maintain its state of energization.
• Figure 1 is a perspective view from the front of an integrated dispensing device according to the present invention
• Figure 2 is a sectional view taken along the line II-II of Figure 1 ;
• Figure 3 is a perspective view showing in a schematic way an embodiment of a retaining mechanism which, in an integrated dispensing device according to the invention, couples the actuator to the cover of the first releasing device;
• Figure 4 is a partial view, in cross section taken along the line IV-IV of Figure 3, showing the aforesaid retaining device in a first operating condition;
• Figure 5 is a schematic and partly sectional view showing the procedures for coupling the actuator device of an integrated dispenser according to the invention to the detergent releasing device and to the rinsing agent releasing device, in a first operating condition;
• Figure 6 is a view similar to that shown in Figure 5, and shows a second operating condition
• Figure 7 is a view similar to that of Figure 4, and shows the condition of the aforesaid retaining mechanism resulting from a first energization of the actuator device;
• Figure 8 is a view similar to that of Figure 7, and shows the condition of the aforesaid retaining mechanism following the first energization of the actuator device;
• Figure 9 is a view similar to that shown in Figure 6, and shows a further operating condition of the actuator.
• Figure 10 is a time diagram illustrating the procedures for energizing the actuator device and the integrated dispensing device according to the invention.
• the number 1 indicates the whole of an integrated dispensing device for washing agents for a dishwasher, made according to the present invention.
• the integrated dispensing device 1 comprises a housing la of moulded plastic material, in which a releasing device 2 for dispensing a detergent, particularly a powder detergent, and an adjacent second releasing device 3 for dispensing a rinsing agent are formed in a known way.
• the releasing device 2 for the detergent comprises an essentially bowl-shaped receptacle 4 ( Figure 2) associated with a cover 5 ( Figure 1).
• This cover is, for example, mounted rotatably about an axis indicated by A-A in Figure 1.
• the cover 5 could also be coupled to the body la in a translatable or rotatable- translatable way.
• the cover 5 is associated with a resilient member such as a torsion spring which tends to cause the cover to move from the closed position shown in Figure 1 to an open position by oscillation about the axis A-A in the direction of the arrow B of Figures 1 and 3.
• a resilient member such as a torsion spring which tends to cause the cover to move from the closed position shown in Figure 1 to an open position by oscillation about the axis A-A in the direction of the arrow B of Figures 1 and 3.
• the releasing device 2 for the rinsing agent is also of a known type. It comprises a receptacle 6 ( Figure 2) for containing a quantity of rinsing agent corresponding to a plurality of doses.
• shut-off valve indicated as a whole by 7 in Figures 2, 5, 6 and 9.
• this valve which is normally closed, is interposed on a conduit adapted to enable the receptacle 6 to communicate with the wash chamber of the machine.
• valve 7 is positioned near the lower part of the receptacle 6 for the rinsing agent.
• valve 7 comprises a valve seat 8, and a plug 9 carried by an operating rod 10, whose axial position is controllable by means of an actuator device indicated as a whole by 1 1 ( Figures 2, 5, 6 and 9).
• the actuator 1 1 is of the electrically operable type and, as described more fully below, also controls the activation of the release device 2 for the detergent.
• the actuator device 11 is of the solenoid type, and comprises a winding or solenoid 12, an associated frame 13 of material capable of conducting a magnetic flux, and a core 14 which is movable within the solenoid.
• the frame 13 and the winding 12 are mounted in a fixed position in the housing la of the integrated dispensing device 1, these elements being conveniently inclined, in a substantially vertical plane, with respect to the horizontal direction, at an angle which is advantageously in the range from 30° to 60°, and preferably approximately 45°.
• the core 14 is axially movable with respect to the above elements within the solenoid 12, in a corresponding inclined direction.
• the frame 13 has an upper branch 13a in which an aperture 13b is formed.
• a portion 13c of the frame 13, surrounding the aperture 13b, has an essentially trunco-conical outwardly projecting shape ( Figures 5, 6 and 9).
• the end portion 14a of the core 14 facing the formation 13c of the frame 13 is also of essentially trunco-conical shape.
• a point 15a of a lever 15 extends through the aperture 13b of the magnetic frame 13, the lever extending radially from the periphery of a shaft 16 mounted rotatably in the housing la of the integrated dispensing device 1 about a fixed axis indicated by C-C (see also Figure 3), in a position conveniently close to the axis A-A of oscillation of the cover 5.
• a radial arm 17, terminating in a hammer head formation 18, extends from the shaft 16.
• two retaining members 19 and 20 substantially parallel to and facing each other, of which the first is shorter than the second, extend from the cover 5 of the releasing device of the detergent 3.
• These retaining elements 19 and 20 have respective bevelled retaining catches 19a, 20a at their distal ends, these catches essentially facing each other.
• the hammer head formation 18 has two opposite bevelled ends 18a and 18b, facing the retaining element 19 and the retaining element 20 respectively.
• the cover 5 of the releasing device 2 for the detergent is closed ( Figures 1 and 3) and the actuator 1 1 is de-energized ( Figure 5)
• the end 18a of the hammer head formation 18 is engaged with the catch 19a of the retaining element 19 of the cover 5, as shown in Figures 3 and 4.
• the hammer head formation 18 therefore retains the cover 5 in the closed condition.
• the point 15a of the lever 15 bears on the end 14a of the movable core 14 until the actuator 11 is de-energized.
• This core 14 is also coupled to the shut-off valve 7, in the way which will now be described with reference to Figures 5, 6 and 9.
• the lower end of the core 14 has a radially projecting disc-shaped formation 14b, which extends between two opposing retaining arms 21a extending from a plate-like element 21 which is integral with the operating rod 10.
• the retaining arms 21a are essentially parallel to each other and to the axis of the core 14, and their distal ends are provided with respective retaining catches 21b which face each other.
• a helical spring 22 tends to move the plate-like element 21 away from the actuator 1 1 by pushing it towards bearing surfaces formed by a casing 23 ( Figure 2) which encloses the whole device 1 1.
• the terminal disc-shaped formation 14b of the core 14 extends between the plate-like element 21 and the retaining catches 21b, with an ample clearance in the direction of the axis of the core 14. Additionally, when the actuator 11 is de-energized ( Figures 2 and 5) the disc-shaped formation 14b bears against the plate-like element 21, in a position spaced apart from the retaining catches 21b.
• the integrated dispensing device according to the invention as described above operates, essentially, in the following manner. At the start of a washing cycle of a dishwasher, the integrated dispensing device is in the conditions shown in Figures 1 to 5.
• the cover 5 of the detergent releasing device is retained in the closed position by the engagement of the end 18a of the hammer head element 18 with the retaining catch 19a ( Figures 3 and 4), and the core 14 bears on the plate-like element 21 ( Figures 2 and 5), which is held against the stop surfaces of the casing 23 by the spring 22.
• the valve 7 which controls the supply of the rinsing agent is closed.
• a control unit for the operation of the dishwasher causes a first energization of the actuator 11 by sending a current to the solenoid 12.
• the core 14 is then "pulled” upwards against the action of gravity.
• the movement of the core 14 causes a rotation of the lever 15 (in the anticlockwise direction as seen by an observer of Figures 5 and 6) and a corresponding rotation of the shaft 16, together with the arm 17 and the associated hammer head formation 18.
• the extent of the movement of the cover 5 depends on the length of the retaining element 20 relative to that of the retaining element 19.
• the core 14 returns to the condition of Figures 2 and 5, by gravity and/or by the action of resilient means associated with the lever 15, while the shaft 16 and the associated arms 15 and 17 rotate (in a clockwise direction as seen by an observer of Figures 5 and 6) under the action of an associated return spring (not shown).
• the de-energization of the solenoid 12 of the actuator 11 does not change the condition of the control valve 7 for the dispensing of the rinsing agent, which remains closed.
• the control unit of the dishwasher causes a second de-energization of the solenoid 12: the core 14 is again "pulled” upwards and causes a rotation of the lever 15, the shaft 16 and the arm 17 with the hammer formation 18.
• This rotation of the arm 17 and of the hammer head formation 18 can now move through a greater angle than in the rotation resulting from the first energization of the solenoid 12, since the rotation of the hammer head formation 18 is no longer limited by the presence of the retaining element 20, 20a.
• the second energization of the solenoid 12 therefore causes a greater upward travel of the core 14, such that its terminal disc-shaped formation 14b engages the catches 21b of the plate-like element 21 and pulls the latter, together with the shaft 10 and the plug 9, away from the valve seat 8.
• the valve 7 is thus opened in order to dispense a dose of rinsing agent.
• the cover 5 of the detergent releasing device can be returned manually to the closed position, after a new quantity of detergent has been placed in the associated receptacle 4 ( Figure 2).
• Figure 2 the cover 5 is closed, the chamfers or bevels of the retaining catches 20a, 19a and the corresponding chamfers or bevels of the ends 18a, 18b of the hammer head formation 18 make it possible to restore the initial situation shown in Figures 3 and 4.

Landscapes

• Washing And Drying Of Tableware (AREA)
• Cleaning By Liquid Or Steam (AREA)
• Detergent Compositions (AREA)

Priority Applications (1)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (2)

Family

ID=43976433

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (7)

Families Citing this family (10)

Family Cites Families (12)

• 2011
  • 2011-02-08 IT ITTO2011A000101A patent/IT1404048B1/it active
• 2012
  • 2012-02-08 US US13/980,752 patent/US20130306115A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2012-02-08 PL PL12708935T patent/PL2672876T3/pl unknown
  • 2012-02-08 CN CN201280007987.9A patent/CN103369998B/zh not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2012-02-08 KR KR1020137020110A patent/KR20140016261A/ko not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 2012-02-08 EP EP20120708935 patent/EP2672876B1/de not_active Not-in-force
  • 2012-02-08 WO PCT/IB2012/050565 patent/WO2012107886A1/en active Application Filing

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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