GB2198332A

GB2198332A - Front-loading dishwashing machine

Info

Publication number: GB2198332A
Application number: GB08625376A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Ernst Stickel; Hans Mailander
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1985-11-26
Filing date: 1986-12-04
Publication date: 1988-06-15
Anticipated expiration: 2006-12-04
Also published as: IT8623767V0; GB2198332B; FR2590472B1; FR2590472A1; GB8625376D0; DE3541789C1; IT1198141B; IT8622414A0

Abstract

In a dish-washing machine having a washing container and a door which is mounted on the machine body so as to be pivotable about a horizontally extending axle and consists of an inner wall and an outer wall in a dished shape, the inner wall engaging with its bottom-side edge forming a door nose behind an apron which is drawn up from the washing-container bottom in the region of the lower edge of the loading opening, it is provided, for a pivot geometry of the door allowing the attachment of an extension plate on the outer door, that the apron (8) is of shortened construction in height over the course of the door width and that the washing-container side walls (14) forms transitions (15) raised in a step-like manner from the apron edge (12) to the front edges (17) of the side walls, and that a seal (13) is provided which bears from the outside against the apron (8) when the door (2) is closed, projects beyond the apron edge (12) approximately by the height (16) of a step of the step-like transitions (15) of the washing-container side walls (14), forms an elevation of the apron, and bears against the vertical step sections (24) of the transitions (15) of the washing-container side walls (14) for the tight lateral closure. <IMAGE>

Description

FRONT-LOADING DISHWASHING MACHINE The present invention relates to a front-loading dishwashing machine.

In DE-GM 70 17 821 there is disclosed a dishwashing machine with a front door, which is constructed to be double-walled, in which machine a sealing strip of rubber-elastic material is arranged between the rinsing container and the inside wall of the door. The strip extends over the entire door width, is approximately U-shaped in crosssection and is fastened by one limb thereof to the inside wall of the door and by its other limb to a skirt of the rinsing container, while the portion of the sealing strip between the limbs bends into the hollow space between the inside wall and the outside wall of the door.

In that case, the outer door extends downwardly beyond the door bearing axle, which is disposed high above the rinsing container bottom. In this dishwashing machine, which in the absence of a pedestal recess cannot be clad with a front mounting plate protruding beyond the lower door edge, dirt can drip onto the skirt during loading of the crockery baskets, deposit in the upper skirt portion and in the course of time form a dirt zone which during each loading and unloading of the machine lies fully in the field of vision of the operator. Since the dishwashing machine cannot be clad with a panel simulating a door of a kitchen cupboard, installation of the machine, which in appearance is adapted to kitchen furniture, in a row of kitchen cupboards is excluded.

A movement is imposed on the sealing strip by the sharp-edged skirt each time the door is opened and closed and the strip is therefore subject to considerable stressing.

In one known dishwashing machine (DE-OS 32 42 624), there is fastened on the outside door a front-mounting plate which projects into the pedestal region below the lower door edge. This plate serves to prevent formation of a dirt zone - which when the door is open and in consequence of the deep entry of the front-mounting plate into the pedestal recess would lie freely in the field of vision of the operatorat the skirt of the rinsing container bottom through food remnants falling from the crockery. For this purpose, it was proposed to arrange a sealing strip at the bottom portion of the inside door and a skirt seal at the skirt, so that the sealing strip in the closed setting of the door sealingly bears against the skirt seal.The door lip engages over the skirt except for a gap between the lower lip rim and the rinsing container bottom, and the door lip covers over the skirt seal in the open setting of the door. In this dishwashing machine, too, the skirt height of the rinsing container is relatively high.

There remains a need for a dishwashing machine with a low rinsing container skirt at the access opening without the risk of water escaping in the region of the skirt seal. The lowered skirt would provide enlargement of the access opening and of the usable rinsing container space and enable a form of door mounting which permits cladding of the machine door by a front-mounting plate.

According to the present invention there is provided a frontloading dishwashing machine comprising a casing with a rinsing container bounded in part by a base wall with a skirt extending upwardly therefrom at the front of the machine and by two side walls each with its front edge adjoining the skirt and rearwardly stepped in a region above the skirt, and a door which is pivotably mounted on the casing to be movable between an open and a closed position for opening and closing of a front access opening of the container and which comprises an outer wall panel, an inner wall panel with a lower lip portion which in the closed position of the door is disposed behind the skirt with respect to the front of the machine and ends at a spacing above the container base wall, and a seal element which is disposed in a space between the panels and which in the closed position of the door bears against a front face of the skirt and part of the front edge of each of the side walls above the skirt and which extends upwardly substantially to said region to form an upward extension of the skirt.

A construction with a seal element which, on closing of the door bears against the skirt and lateral portions of the container side walls, allows the skirt rim to be low in relation to the filling level of the container or else the access opening lower edge to be low. When the door is closed, the seal element bearing against the skirt over its entire width forms a prolongation heightening the skirt. On opening of the door, the seal element lifts off the skirt and the low skirt rim makes possible an advantageous form of door bearing geometry, in particular in the case of dishwashing machines to be clad by a front plate.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be more particularly described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a schematic sectional view of a skirt seal region of a first dishwashing machine embodying the invention; Fig. 2 is a schematic sectional view of a skirt seal region of a second dishwashing machine embodying the invention; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a support rail and seal element in a third dishwashing machine embodying the invention; and Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the front corner region of the rinsing container of a dishwashing machine embodying the invention.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown in Fig. 1 part of a front-loading dishwashing machine, comprising a fine steel rinsing container 1 and a door 2, which is constructed in shell form with an inside wall 3 and an outside wall 4. Control or metering devices (not shown) and so forth can be provided in the upper door region. Formed in the door in its bottom region between the wall 4 and a lower lip 5 of the inside rim 3 is a hollow space 6, into which a skirt 8 drawn up from the rinsing container bottom 7 projects when the door is closed. The door, which closes the charging opening of the container, is pivotable about a horizontal axle 9 between a closed and an open setting.The axle 9, formed by bearing blocks fixed to the machine housing, in this embodiment is disposed, to enable a certain geometry of the rotational centre of the door to be achieved, in the region of the height of the transition of the container bottom 7 into the skirt 8, the axis of the axle extending through the container at a small spacing from the skirt. A door hinge is designated by 10, a reinforcing member for the door hinge by 11 and a pedestal recess is designated by 36. In order that the rinsing container can be rinsed clean of the rinsing liquid in the region of the skirt space, the door lip 5, which engages behind the skirt 8, ends at a spacing above the rinsing container bottom.

The skirt 8 is so shortened in height in the course of the width of the door, for the sake of an increased size of charging opening and for a favourable geometry of the rotational centre of the door, that without special precautions the rinsing liquid would overflow the skirt rim 12 during filling of the container. In order to avoid this, a seal 13 is provided, which in the closed setting of the door forms a heightening of the skirt as well as a door seal in the skirt region.

The rinsing container 1 includes, apart from the skirt 8, upwardly angled side walls 14 which at the front side form step-shaped transitions 15 in transition to the skirt. The skirt height, shortened by the step height 16 of the transitions 15, is compensated for by the seal 13. A door frame 18 with a seal 19 is arranged behind outwardly extending side wall front edge portions 17 of the walls 14 (Fig. 4).

For lateral sealing, the front edges 20 of the transitions 15 of the walls 14 are bent outwardly and form strip-shaped contact surfaces for the seal 13. Similarly, the upper edge of the skirt 8 is bent over to form a double rim 12. The seal 13 is thereby protected against sharp edges, sealing is improved and the rinsing container is stronger in the skirt region. It is, however, quite possible for the rinsing container to be made of plastics material.

According to Fig. 4, the corner connection between the side walls 14 and the skirt 8 is provided by a welding seam 21 and a fold, wherein the flange bent over along the line 23 forms a fold edge 22.

The vertical step portions of the transitions 15 of the walls 14 are designated by 24 (only one shown in Fig. 4).

In the embodiment according to Fig. 1, a metal or plastics material profile 25 extending over the width of the door is fastened, for example by screws 26, to the door hinges 10. The profile 25 carries the seal 13, which is strip shaped. The seal can, for example, be glued to, foam-moulded onto or snapped into the profile. The seal 13 has a lip 27 or the like and in the closed setting of the door bears tightly against the outer face of the skirt 8 by a lower strip portion.

An upper strip portion forms an upward extension of the skirt and the sealing lip 27 bears against the skirt rim 12.

In order to protect the mounting space in the door shell against entry of water, foam and steam and to improve the noise damping in the machine, the profile 25 has a limb 28 which screens the space 6 from the upper interior space of the door. According to Fig. 2, the limb 28 can additionally carry an insulating and sealing strip 29, which can be integral with the seal 13.

Through appropriate profiling, the seal 13 forms a collecting gutter 30 which, on opening of the door, receives any water adhering to the seal and prevents such water from flowing into the door or onto the floor. The limb 28 and the seal 13 or the insulating and sealing strip 29 are so arranged that the profile 25 is pivotable about the axle 9 over the skirt rim 12 on opening of the door 2.

It is also possible for the seal 13 to be arranged in the outside door shell without a mounting and support profile, for example through appropriate shaping of the outside wall.

In the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 3, a support rail 31, which extends over the width of the door and carries the seal 13 on the inward side 32 facing the skirt, is arranged between the outside door or outside wall 4 of the door 2 and the skirt 8 in the hollow space 6 of the door. The rail 31 consists of an angled strip of metal or plastics material and is pivotably mounted by way of laterally bent over lugs 33 to the axles 9.

The seal 13 fastened in the rail 31 has a raised profiling or ridge 34, which covers the skirt rim 12 and runs out into upright end ridges 35, which form a closure against the vertical step portions 24 of the transitions 15 of the walls 14 and at the same time provide protection against outflow of water droplets from the seal during the opening of the door.

Claims

1. A front-loading dishwashing machine comprising a casing with a rinsing container bounded in part by a base wall with a skirt extending upwardly therefrom at the front of the machine and by two side walls each with its front edge adjoining the skirt and rearwardly stepped in a region above the skirt, and a door which is pivotably mounted on the casing to be movable between an open and a closed position for opening and closing of a front access opening of the container and which comprises an outer wall panel, an inner wall panel with a lower lip portion which in the closed position of the door is disposed behind the skirt with respect to the front of the machine and ends at a spacing above the container base wall, and a seal element which is disposed in a space between the panels and which in the closed position of the door bears against a front face of the skirt and part of the front edge of each of the side walls above the skirt and which extends upwardly substantially to said region to form an upward extension of the skirt.

2. A dishwashing machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the outer wall panel of the door is provided with a carrier carrying the seal element.

3. A dishwashing machine as claimed in either claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the seal element comprises a profiled strip which in the closed position of the door bears against the top edge of the skirt and which is received in and supported by a rigid support member extending over the width of the door.

4. A dishwashing machine as claimed in claim 3, wherein the support member is provided with a limb which extends across said space towards the door inner wall panel and which passes over the skirt on pivotable movement of the door.

5. A dishwashing machine as claimed in claim 4, wherein the limb carries an insulating and sealing strip co-operable with said lip portion to upwardly close off said space.

6. A dishwashing machine as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the seal element is provided with a water-collecting trough in a portion thereof which in the closed position of the door is disposed above the skirt.

7. A dishwashing machine as claimed in claim 5, wherein the seal element and insulating and sealing strip comprise respective portions of a resilient member fixed to the support member.

8. A dishwashing machine as claimed in claim 6, wherein the resilient member is fixed to the support member by gluing, welding or detenting or by being partially enveloped by the support member.

9. A dishwashing machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the seal element is mounted on a mounting rail which is arranged between the door panels and pivotable about an axis of pivotation of the door.

10. A dishwashing machine as claimed in claim 9, wherein the mounting rail comprises an angle element and is provided at its ends with mounting lugs pivotably connected to the casing at said axis.

11. A dishwashing machine as claimed in either claim 9 or claim 10, wherein the seal element is provided with a water-collecting trough in a portion thereof which in the closed position of the door is disposed above the skirt, the trough being defined by a horizontal ridge arranged to bear on the top edge of the skirt and two vertical ridges arranged to bear on said parts of the front edges of said side walls.

12. A dishwashing machine as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the skirt is bent over at its top edge portion and each of the side walls is provided at said part of the front edge thereof with an elongate bearing surface for the seal element, the step in each side wall being inclined downwardly in direction towards the front of the machine.

13. A dishwashing machine as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the container base wall is made of sheet metal and the skirt and side walls are formed integrally with and bent up from the base wall, the skirt being provided at its ends with bent-over flanges welded to the side walls.

14. A dishwashing machine substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figs. 1 and 4 of the accompanying drawings.

15. A dishwashing machine substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Fig. 2 of the accompanying drawings.

16. A dishwashing machine substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Fig. 3 of the accompanying drawings.