GB2200535A

GB2200535A - Crockery basket for a front-loading dishwashing machine

Info

Publication number: GB2200535A
Application number: GB08730083A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Dietrich Rehberg; Siegfried Treide
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1987-01-30
Filing date: 1987-12-23
Publication date: 1988-08-10
Anticipated expiration: 2007-12-23
Also published as: GB2200535B; IT1216713B; FR2610189A1; DE3702829C1; FR2610189B1; GB8730083D0; IT8819223A0

Abstract

A crockery basket (2) for a dishwashing machine with a spray arm (6) rotatably arranged below the basket and rotatably mounted on a liquid feed pipe (11) which extends from a wall of the machine, is provided with a guide (12), which extends along the centre of the basket and which on insertion of the basket into the rinsing container (1) engages the liquid feed pipe so as to support the spray arm in a defined position relative to the basket. <IMAGE>

Description

CROCKERY BASKET FOR A FRONT-LOADING DISHWASHING MACHINE The present invention concerns a crockery basket for a frontloading dishwashing machine.

In a known dishwashing machine (DE-AS 16 28 501), the bottom of an upper crockery basket lies in a laterally inclined plane and a rotatable spray arm is arranged immediately underneath this bottom to be rotatable in a plane parallel to the inclined plane. The spray arm has spray nozzles directed upwardly against the upper basket and is mounted mechanically independently of the upper crockery basket supported on a carrier arm which extends out from a wall of the machine and also forms the liquid feed duct. If an uncontrolled rolling movement of the spray arm during operation of the dishwashing machine is to be avoided, the carrier a?#i mtst be constructed to be very rigid and heat-resistant. Due to the hot rinsing liquid, a plastics material feed duct would sag and prejudice the operation of the spray arm.

For that reason, in DE-AS 16 28 501 there was proposed an arrangement in which the spray arm is mounted at the bottom of the upper crockery basket and the liquid feed duct to the spray arm includes a plug coupling which is arranged in the proximity of the housing wall and effective in the direction of movement of the basket so that a feed duct portion arranged at the basket is separable from the feed duct at the housing wall. Since there is a risk of undesired discharge of rinsing liquid in the region of the plug coupling, this construction requires a high production effort.

Finally, a dishwashing machine is known (DE-OS 14 28 357) with at least two crockery baskets, which can be pushed into the rinsing chamber and under each of which is provided a respective rotary spray arm, wherein an upper one of the baskets is provided at about the centre of its load-carrying surface with a vertically disposed connecting tube. Arranged at the lower end of the tube and underneath-the basket is the spray arm, while the open upper end of the tube is disposed at a small spacing below a rinsing water feed duct.

Due to the free. flow path between the feed duct and the tube, water and pressure losses arise. Moreover, the presence of the connecting tube reduces the load carrying area of the basket.

There is thus a need, in the case of a front-loading dishwashing machine, for the spray arm to be held in the operative position and stabilised without additionally a carrier arm and without special reinforcement of a liquid feed pipe carrying the arm.

According to the present invention there is provided a crockery basket for a front-loading dishwashing machine with a rotary spray arm suspended from a feed pipe extending from an internal wall of the machine, the basket being provided in a base region thereof with a guide which extends in an intended direction of insertion of the basket into- such machine and substantially centrally between the sides of the basket and which is so engageable with the feed pipe on insertion of the basket into the machine as to support the spray arm in a defined position relative to the basket.

In a preferred embodiment, the crockery basket is for use with a dishwashing machine with a spray arm-rotatably arranged below the crockery basket and mounted mechanically independently of the basket at a liquid feed duct which extends out from a wall of the machine and is connected to a circulating pump. A guide, which extends along the centre of the basket and parallelly to the basket displacement direction and which on insertion of the basket into the rinsing container of machine supports and fixes the spray arm by its liquid feed pipe, is provided in or at the crockery basket bottom.The crockery basket is particularly advantageous in the case of a frontloading dishwashing machine, the liquid feed pipe of which to the upper spray arm has a portion which extends out from a wall of the machine and projects into the rinsing container substantially horizontally below the bottom of the upper crockery basket and which ends in a 900 elbow with downwardly directed outlet nipple, wherein the spray arm is rotatably fastened to the elbow outlet nipple in depending arrangement by way of a mounting. When the basket is pushed into the rinsing container, then the spray equipment - first the spray arm mounting or elbow and thereafter the substantially horizontal pipe portion - is seized by the guide at the bottom of the basket, is centred, and is held or fixed in the operative position by the basket or its guide.On withdrawal of the basket, the spray arm can slide out of the guide.

An embodiment 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 elevation of a dishwashing machine equipped with a crockery basket embodying the invention; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the bottom portion of the basket; Fig. 3 is a plan view of the bottom portion shown in Fig. 2; and Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the basket bottom portion and of a liquid feed pipe supported in a guide of the bottom portion.

Referring now the drawings, there is shown in Fig. 1 a dishwashing machine with a rinsing container 1 which is accessible by way of a front door 4 for the loading and unloading of an upper crockery basket 2 and a lower crockery basket 3. In the illustrated embodiment, rinsing liquid for rinsing crockery in the baskets is pumped by way of a circulating pump (not shown) through a rising duct 5 to two rotatable spry arms 6 and 7, which are arranged underneath the crockery baskets 2 and 3, respectively. The spray arm 6 underneath the bottom 8 of the upper basket 2 has spray nozzles 9 and 10 directed towards the upper basket 2 and the lower basket 3, respectively.

The duct 5 is connected to spray arm 6 by way of a liquid feed pipe 11 having a portion which projects into the rinsing container 1 substantially horizontally below the bottom 8 of the upper basket 2 and which ends in a 900 elbow 17 with a downwardly directed outlet nipple. The upper spray arm 6 is rotatably fastened to the elbow outlet nipple in depending arrangement by way of a spray arm mounting.

In order to prevent, in particular during operation of the dishwashing machine, sagging of the pipe, which may be made of plastics material, promoted by the hot rinsing liquid and lateral uncontrolled rolling of the rotating spray arm, a guide 12 for the spray arm 6 and/or the pipe 11 is provided at or in the bottom 8 of the basket 2.

For support and lateral guidance of the spray equipment, namely spray arm 6, pipe 11 and elbow 17, the guide 12 is laterally bounded by two basket wires 14 extending parallelly at a spacing and in the basket displacement direction 13. The ends 15, which precede in the direction of insertion of the basket, of the wires 14 are constructed to diverge in V-shape in such a manner that the spray arm 6 or its elbow 17 or the pipe 11 are securely caught by the guide 12 during insertion of the basket into the rinsing container.

The basket rear side adjacent the rinsing container rear wall is designated by 16. With the basket inserted, the spray equipment is supported by the wires 14 and centred towards the centre of the basket.

It is advantageous if the wires 14 slope upwards in direction towards the basket end face from their ends 15. As a result, it is possible to securely engage the spray equipment, which may be slightly sagging before insertion of the basket, by the guide 12 during movement of the basket into the rinsing container and to support the spray equipment at the defined working height when the basket is fully inserted.

For fixing the height of the spray equipment, the guide 12, apart from the wires 14 supporting and laterally guiding the spray arm 6 and the pipe 11, has an upper guide track limitation preferably consisting of further basket wires 19. The spray equipment, when the basket has been pushed in, is fixed in the desired position relative to the basket centre by both the wires 14 and the upper wires 19.

The depth of insertion of the basket is limited by an end abutment 20 of the guide 12. The end abutment 20 can comprise, for example, a bracket-shaped transverse connection of the lateral guide wires 14 or downwardly bent end portions of the wires 19 forming the upper guide track limitation. The spray arm head formed by the elbow 17 can have a moulded-on rib or the like for engagement into the bracket-shaped end abutment or as a counter-abutment.

To improve the sliding movement of the spray equipment relative to the guide 12, at least one support element 18, which during insertion of the basket 2 runs on the wires 14, can be provided at the elbow 17 between the horizontally extending portion of the pipe 11 and the spray arm 6 or at the pipe 11.

With advantage, the bottom portion 21 of the basket bottom 8 has pent-roof shape along the guide 12. The wires defining this roof shape also form supports for crockery to be placed in the basket.

Claims

1. A crockery basket for a front-loading dishwashing machine with a rotary spray arm suspended from a feed pipe extending from an internal wall of the machine, the basket being provided in a base region thereof with a guide which extends in an intended direction of insertion of the basket into such machine and substantially centrally between the sides of the basket and which is so engageable with the feed pipe on insertion of the basket into the machine as to support the spray arm in a defined position relative to the basket.

2. A basket as claimed in claim 1, wherein the guide comprises two spaced apart wires laterally bounding a guide passage for the pipe, the passage having a pipe entry portion in which the wires diverge in said direction and a pipe locating portion which adjoins the entry portion and in which the wires+greasubstantially parallel.

3. A basket as claimed in claim 2, wherein the wires are so inclined over at least part of their length as to extend upwardly in a direction opposite to said direction.

4. A basket as claimed in either claim 2 or claim 3, wherein the guide comprises further wires defining an upper limit of the passage.

5. A basket as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, the basket being constructed in its base region to define a peaked roof of the guide.

6. A basket as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the guide is provided with an end abutment to limit the extent of insertion of the basket into the machine.

7. A basket as claimed in claim 6 when appended to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein. the abutment is provided by a wire portion connecting said two spaced apart wires.

8. A basket as claimed in claim 6 when appended to claim 4, wherein the abutment is provided by downwardly bent end portions of one of said further wires.

9. A crockery basket substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

10. A front-loading dishwashing machine provided with a rotary spray arm suspended from a feed pipe extending from an internal wall of the machine and with a crockery basket as claimed in any one of the preceding claims.

11. A dishwashing machine as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the pipe is provided with at least one support element engageable by the guide on insertion of the basket into the machine.

12. A dishwashing machine as claimed in claim 11, wherein the or each support element is provided on a substantially horizontally extending portion of the pipe disposed between the wall and an end elbow connected to the spray arm.

13. A dishwashing machine as claimed in claim 11, wherein the pipe comprises an end elbow connected to the spray arm, the or each support element being provided on the end elbow.

14. A dishwashing machine as claimed in any one of classes 11 to 13, wherein the spray arm is supported by the guide in a defined position relative to the basket.

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