JP2006346314A - Dishwasher - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To couple the movements of an upper door and a lower door with each other in opening/closing and temporarily stop the doors opened by a specified amount when the doors are opened. <P>SOLUTION: A dishwasher is equipped with an opening/closing door vertically split into the upper door and the lower door, and the opening/closing door is equipped with a resilient body which applies an opening force to an upper door holder only in the vicinity of the opening start position when being opened. When the door is opened by the specified opening amount, a spring is separated from the upper door to reduce the opening force. In addition, a recess portion or a projecting portion is provided on a guide rail which guides a guide roller, and the opening motion is surely stopped temporarily by retaining the guide roller in the recess portion or the projecting portion. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a dishwashing apparatus for washing dishes by jetting washing water.

  Conventionally, this type of dishwashing apparatus is configured as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and the configuration will be described below.

  FIG. 1 is an external view showing an entire conventional tableware washing apparatus, and FIG. 2 is a side view showing a schematic configuration of the tableware washing apparatus in a state where a door is fully opened. On the front side of the main body 1, the lower door 2 and the upper door 3 are closed by two open / close doors.

  When the door opening button 4 is pressed, the door locking means (not shown) is released. By pulling the handle 5, the lower door 2 rotates in the direction of the downward arrow A to the 2A position, and the upper door 3 is interlocked with the lower door 2. Then, it moves in the direction of the upward arrow B and opens to reach the 3B position, the front surface of the main body is opened, the opening 11 appears, and tableware can be taken in and out.

  Below the lower door 2 is an operation panel unit 8 which includes buttons 9 for instructing operation such as start and stop of dishwashing and display means 10 such as an LED for displaying an operation status.

  The inside of the main body 1 is a washing tub 12, in which a table basket 14 for placing dishes 13 to be cleaned is provided, for example, in two upper and lower stages, and the tableware is placed inside the washing tub. When the door is fully open, the tableware can be taken in and out through the opening 11.

  When the upper door 3 and the lower door 2 are closed, the water sealing member prevents water from leaking to the outside of the apparatus between the upper and lower doors and the cleaning tank 12 and between the upper door 3 and the lower door 2. It is configured. For example, a rotary spray nozzle 15 is provided on the bottom surface of the cleaning tank 12, and the cleaning water that has been pressurized by the pump 16 is sprayed from the spray nozzle so that dirt attached to the dishes can be removed and cleaned. It has become.

  When the lower door 2 is closed, the claw portion 18 of the locking means 17 is engaged with the lock hooking portion 19 provided on the main body 1 so that the lower door 2 is locked at the closed position. Such a detection means 20 is configured to enable the cleaning operation of the dishwashing apparatus by transitioning from the OFF state to the ON state.

  When the user presses the door opening button 4 to release the lock means 17, the detection means 20 is configured to stop the operation of the dishwashing apparatus from the ON state to the OFF state.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 2003-70712 Japanese Patent Publication No. 2002-300996

  Patent Document 1 discloses a main body, a cleaning tank provided in the main body, an opening provided with a front surface of the cleaning tank as a main surface, a door body that closes the opening, and the door body. And a support means for movably supporting the upper space of the table, and the support means describes a dishwasher provided with a slide portion.

  In this configuration, since the rotation fulcrum is configured to slide, there is a problem that the position of the center of rotation on the left and right sides may be shifted and smooth operation may be hindered.

  Patent Document 2 includes a cleaning tank, a plurality of door bodies that open and close an opening provided in the cleaning tank, and interlocking means that interlocks the door body, and the door body is in a closed position of the door body. A dishwasher is described in which a force in the closing direction is applied and a force in the opening direction of the door body is applied at the opening position of the door body.

  In such a configuration, when the door is opened from the closed position, the door does not open because a force in the closing direction acts on the door body even if the unlocking means is released. Therefore, in order to open the door, the user must always apply force in the opening direction by hand from the beginning of the opening operation, and the opening operation of the door body is troublesome.

Furthermore, in recent years, in order to increase the cleaning power of the dishwashing apparatus, the ejection pressure when ejecting cleaning water from the nozzle has been increased, and in order to prevent water leakage, it is desired to improve the sealing performance more than before. .
In order to prevent water leakage, for example, it is provided at the boundary between the door and main body that opens and closes the packing part made of a flexible member made of rubber, and is sandwiched between the door and main body to be deformed and closely adhered to prevent water leakage Has been done.

  As described above, in order to strengthen the water leakage prevention function, it is necessary to strengthen the pressure of the packing between the door portion and the main body, so when the door is opened and closed, the pressure between the packing portion and the door As a result, the opening / closing operation is hindered by the frictional force, and the door opening / closing operation is heavy, or the door does not open reliably when the door is opened.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and a dishwasher according to the present invention is provided with a main body, a cleaning tank provided in the main body, and a front portion of the cleaning tank. An upper door and a lower door, each of which includes an opening for enabling insertion / removal, a plurality of opening / closing doors for closing the opening, and an opening / closing mechanism for opening / closing the opening / closing door. An upper door support that supports the upper door; a lower door support that supports the lower door; and the upper door support and the lower door support connected to each other to connect the upper door and the lower door. A connecting means, one end of which is swingably supported around a rotation fulcrum provided on the main body, the other end of which is rotatably supported by the upper door support member, and the upper A guide body provided at one end of the door support member, and guiding the guide body when the opening / closing door performs an opening / closing operation. A sliding portion that controls the attitude of the door, and an elastic body that urges the upper door support body in a direction to open the upper door until the predetermined amount is opened from a state in which the upper door is closed. is there.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the upper and lower doors can be connected to open and close, and since the force required to open and close the door is small, the door can be opened and closed easily. When the upper door is opened from the closed state, the posture of the upper door can be controlled so that it moves once away from the water seal member provided in the main body and then rotates upward. effective.

  In addition, when the door is closed, the first elastic body presses the upper door in the direction of the main body, so that the upper door and the water seal member are reliably pressed, so water leakage is reliably prevented. it can.

  Furthermore, since the first elastic body and the second elastic body generate a force in a direction to close the door when the door is fully opened, the first elastic body and the second elastic body are generated by the door when the door is opened. Since the impact can be mitigated, it is possible to provide a dishwasher equipped with a higher quality door by reducing the annoyance from the feeling of use during operation.

  Furthermore, since the auxiliary elastic body that urges the upper door support body in the direction in which the upper door opens is provided between the packing and the door, which is a water sealing member, at the start of the door opening operation. Since an opening force larger than the frictional force can be generated, the opening operation is ensured.

  Furthermore, after the door is opened by a predetermined amount by the urging force of the elastic body, it is arranged so that a force in the direction of closing the door acts, so that the door is surely secured when the door locking means is released. When the door is opened, it is not opened any more when it is opened, so that the door can be stopped in a state in which the door is reliably opened.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
The overall configuration and function of the dishwashing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention are substantially the same as those of the conventional dishwashing apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and the features of the present invention are the upper door and the lower door. It is configured to work in conjunction.

  The structure and operation of the door opening / closing means for opening and closing the upper door 3 and the lower door 2 in conjunction with each other will be described with reference to FIGS.

  3 to 11, the lower door 2 is attached to a lower door holder 21, and the lower door holder 21 is pivotally supported around a lower rotation fulcrum 22 provided on the main body 1. The door 2 can be rotated around the lower rotation fulcrum 22 to be opened and closed.

  The upper door 3 is attached to an upper door holder 31, and a guide roller 32 is rotatably provided on the upper door holder 31, and a swing member is provided at another rotation fulcrum 33 provided on the upper door holder 31. 34 is rotatably supported.

  The other end of the oscillating member 34 is pivotally supported around a rotation fulcrum 35 fixed to the main body 1. The guide roller 32 is fitted in a guide groove 36 that is bent in a substantially S shape provided on the side surface of the main body 1 via a gap that is easily slidable, and is supported movably along the guide groove 36. .

  In this embodiment, the guide groove 36 is disposed on the lower door 2 side with respect to the rotation fulcrum 33 of the upper door holder 31, and the guide roller 32 is further disposed on the lower door 2 side with respect to the rotation fulcrum 31. ing. Furthermore, the rotation fulcrum among the upper door holder 31, the swing member 34, and the connecting member 41 is configured to be a single point and is rotatably connected by, for example, a rivet.

  A part of the upper door holder 31 is a spring hooking portion 37 extending upward, and a spring hole 38 that is a hole or groove for hooking the spring SA that is a first elastic body is provided at one time, and the other end of the spring SA is the main body. 1 is hung on a spring hooking portion 23 provided in 1.

  The spring SA generates a pulling force in the direction of the arrow F4, and applies a rotating force in the clockwise direction (CW direction) to the upper door holder 31 around the rotation fulcrum 33. 3D is a water seal member that is provided along the lower end of the upper door 3 and seals the water between the upper door 3 and the lower door 2.

  In FIG. 3, if the gravity center position of the upper door 3 is G3, the mass is W3, and the distance from the rotation fulcrum to the gravity center position is L3, the counterclockwise (CCW direction) moment M3 generated around the rotation fulcrum 33 is M3 = It is expressed as W3 × L3. On the other hand, if the tensile force generated by the spring SA is F4 and the distance from the rotation fulcrum 33 to the spring is L4, the moment M4 in the CW direction generated by the spring SA is M4 = F4 × L4.

  Further, if the force generated by the opening auxiliary spring SC is F7 and the distance from the rotation fulcrum 33 to the opening auxiliary spring SC is L6, the moment M7 in the CW direction generated by the opening auxiliary spring SC is M7 = F7 × L7.

  Here, by determining the tensile force F4 generated by the spring SA and the force F7 generated by the auxiliary spring SC so that M3 <(M4 + M7), a rotational moment in the CW direction can be applied to the upper door 3, so that the upper door 3 The upper door 3 is pressed against the water sealing member 25 provided along the upper end of the opening of the cleaning tank 11 by generating a force in the direction of arrow F5, so that the water sealing is improved and water leakage is prevented. This is preferable because it is possible.

  A rotation fulcrum 26 provided on the lower door holder 21 and a rotation fulcrum 33 provided on the upper door holder 31 are connected by a connecting member 41 so as to be rotatable. By pushing the door opening button 4 to release the lock means 17 and then pulling the handle 5 forward, the lower door 2 rotates and opens in the counterclockwise direction (CCW) as shown in FIG. Pushes the rotation fulcrum 33 of the upper door holder 31 upward. The rotation fulcrum 33 moves in the direction of the arrow J1 on the circumference around the swing fulcrum 35 of the swing member 34.

  With the above configuration, the upper door 3 is interlocked to open by opening the lower door 2, and the upper door 3 is interlocked to close by closing the lower door 2.

  One end of the spring SB, which is the second elastic body, is hooked on the spring hooking portion 42 of the connecting member 41, and the other end is hooked on the spring hooking portion 24 of the main body 1. Is added to the connecting member 41. Since this force is a force to move the connecting member 41 in the direction of arrow F0, that is, a force in the direction of opening the lower door 2, when the door opening button 4 is pressed to release the lock means 17, the arrow is applied to the lower door 2. It is configured to open the door by applying a rotational force in the CCW direction. Furthermore, it is preferable because the user can reduce the operating force when the user opens the door by pulling the handle 5 toward the user after the door opening button 4 is pressed to release the locking means 17 and the lower door 2 is opened. is there.

  When the upper door 3 is closed, the opening auxiliary spring SC that is the third elastic body applies a force in the direction of the arrow F7 that is the direction of opening the upper door 3 to the upper door holder 31, and the upper door 3 When 3 is opened by a predetermined amount, the upper door holder 31 is separated and no force is applied.

  Here, when the door opening button 4 is pushed to release the locking means 17, in addition to the force F6 by the spring SB which is the second elastic body, the direction of the arrow F7 by the opening auxiliary spring SC which is the third elastic body. Both the forces act in the direction of opening the upper door 3 to reliably open the door.

  Here, the direction of the force F7 generated by the opening assist spring SC will be described. 3 to FIG. 4, the upper door 3 and the upper door holder 31 move in a direction away from the cleaning tank 12 toward the upper left side in the drawing. Therefore, it is desirable that the direction of the force F7 is substantially matched with the direction in which the upper door holder 31 is moved, and is directed toward the upper left side of the drawing as shown in FIGS.

  By arranging in this way and matching the direction of movement of the upper door holder 31 and the direction of the opening auxiliary spring SC, the upper door holder 31 moves in the direction of the substantially central axis of the opening auxiliary spring SC, so that the door is opened. The upper door holder 31 only compresses or extends the opening auxiliary spring SC in the axial direction even when the opening auxiliary spring SC is closed or closed, so that a positional shift occurs between the opening auxiliary spring SC and the upper door holder 31 and the auxiliary spring SC. This is convenient because there is no distortion or rubbing between the auxiliary spring SC and the upper door holder 31.

  Next, a state in which the lower door 2 and the upper door 3 start to open from the closed state and are opened by a predetermined angle, that is, a predetermined amount will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 4, the lower door 2 starts to rotate and rotate in the CCW direction, the connecting member 41 moves in the direction of the arrow F0 to push up the rotation fulcrum 33, and the swing member 34 rotates in the CW direction around the rotation fulcrum 35. To do. In the upper door holder 31, the rotation fulcrum 33 moves in the arrow J1 direction, and the guide roller 32 moves along the guide groove 36 in the arrow J2 direction, that is, in the direction close to the swinging fulcrum 35. The part 3C moves in the direction of the arrow J3 and moves away from the water seal member 25 to reach the state shown in FIG. In the state of FIG. 4, the position of the inner wall 2 </ b> C indicated by the broken line of the lower door 2 is the position of the substantially front edge 39 of the upper door.

  When the door opening button 4 is pressed to release the locking means 17, the lower door 2 and the upper door 3 do not reach the fully open state shown in FIG. 9 at once, but the position shown in FIG. Although it is obvious at a glance that the door is open, at the position where the inner wall 26 shown by the broken line of the lower door 2 is the position of the substantially front edge 38 of the upper door 3, the door temporarily stops the opening operation. It is composed.

  At this time, the opening assist spring SC is extended more than the door shown in FIG. 3 is closed, and the generated force F7 is also small. Here, the relationship between the door opening angle and the force for opening the door included in the closed state of the door shown in FIG. 3 and the state shown in FIG.

  In FIG. 5, the horizontal axis shows the opened state of the door, the left end shows the closed state shown in FIG. 3, the initial opening position shows the half-opened state shown in FIG. 4, and the door opens according to the right side. .

  The vertical axis indicates the force for opening the door. If the force required to start opening the door from the closed state is F8, then the force (F0 + F7)> F8 by the opening spring SB and the auxiliary spring SC. Therefore, when the locking means 17 is released, the door starts an opening operation and reaches the initial opening position shown in FIG. The opening amount so far is assumed to be T1.

  In the state of FIG. 4 in which the door is opened by T1, the opening force F7 by the auxiliary spring hardly acts, so the opening force is only the force F0 'generated by the opening spring SB shown in FIG. Here, if the force of the opening spring SB is set so that F0 ′ <F8, the door is not fully opened until the door is opened by T1, and therefore the door is in the half-open state shown in FIG. Stop at.

  Here, in order to generate the force F8 of F0 + F7 at the start of opening of the door with only the opening spring SB without the auxiliary spring SC, it is necessary to generate a force such as FA indicated by a broken line in FIG. In such a case, since FA> F8 until the door opening amount reaches T2, the door cannot be stopped at the opening amount T1 and opens until T2.

  Therefore, in order to stop the door in the state of the opening amount T1, the auxiliary spring SC that applies the opening force F7 only from the closed state to the opening amount T1 is provided, and at the position of the opening amount T1, the opening force F0 ′. It is preferable that only a force smaller than the force F8 necessary for opening is generated.

  Next, an example of a configuration for further reliably stopping the door opening operation at the position of the opening amount T1 will be described.

  An example of a configuration for temporarily stopping the door opening operation will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. 6 is a view showing the positional relationship between the guide groove 36 and the guide roller 32 when the upper door 3 and the lower door 2 shown in FIG. 2 are fully closed, and FIG. 7 is a state shown in FIG. It is a figure showing the positional relationship between the guide groove 36 and the guide roller 32 in a state where the door is opened only by T1 and the opening operation is temporarily stopped.

  A recess 36A that can be fitted into the guide roller 32 is provided on one side of the guide groove 36. When the door shown in FIG. 4 is opened and temporarily stopped, the guide roller 32 is fitted into the recess 36A as shown in FIG. Once the guide roller 32 is engaged with the recess 36A, the upper door holder 31 provided with the guide roller 32 is restrained and the operation of opening the door is obstructed. Stop temporarily.

  If the user wants to open the door further in the fully open direction, pulling the handle 5 toward the front and opening the lower door 2 opens the upper door 3 in conjunction with the interlocking member 41, so that it can be opened to the fully open position.

  Further, another embodiment of a configuration for temporarily stopping the door opening operation will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 is a view showing the positional relationship between the guide groove 36 and the guide roller 32 when the upper door 3 and the lower door 2 shown in FIG. 2 are fully closed, and FIG. 9 is a state shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the positional relationship of the guide groove 36 and the guide roller 32 in the state which was and the door opened and stopped once.

  As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, a protrusion 36B is provided on one side of the guide groove 36, and the door is temporarily stopped by applying a system stopping force to the guide roller 32 by bringing the guide roller 32 into contact with the protrusion 36B. The structure to be made may be sufficient.

  Here, the effect of stopping the opening operation at the half-open position of the opening amount T1 will be described. For example, when the user presses the door opening button 4 during the dish washing operation using hot water of about 80 ° C., the detection means 20 changes from the ON state to the OFF state, so the dish washing operation is stopped and the pump 16 is stopped, and hot water erupting from the nozzle 15 is also stopped. However, when the lower door 2 and the upper door 3 are configured to open suddenly, the door is earlier than hot water eruption stops. May open, and in such a case, hot hot water may be ejected from the gap between the lower door 2 and the upper door 3 and may be dangerous to the user.

  On the other hand, in the present embodiment, as described above, as shown in FIG. 4, the position of the inner wall 26 indicated by the broken line of the lower door 2 becomes the position of the substantially front edge 38 of the upper door 3. In the position where the door is opened, the opening operation is temporarily stopped. During the dish washing operation, the door opening button 4 is suddenly pressed while hot water is being sprayed from the nozzle 15. Even if the locking means 17 is released, the hot water spouted from the nozzle 15 only hangs on the inner surface of the upper door 3 or the lower door 2, and hot water spouts from between the upper door 3 and the lower door 2 to the user. It is safer because it does not happen.

  Although the third elastic body SC in the present embodiment has been described as being a compression spring, it is not limited to that form, and may be a torsion spring as shown in FIG. It is equivalent to the case of a compression spring.

  Still another embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 12, the auxiliary spring SC is provided in the vicinity of the guide roller 32 provided on the upper door support member 31 and applies a force in the J2 direction shown in the figure. The upper door is pushed upward by the force in the J2 direction to become a force in the direction of opening the door, and J2 is arranged to generate a clockwise (CW) direction moment with respect to the rotation fulcrum 33. This is preferable because the upper door upper end is pressed against the cleaning tank 12 with the door closed.

  However, when the configuration shown in FIGS. 3 to 4 is compared with the configuration shown in FIG. 12, when the auxiliary spring SC is arranged in the vicinity of the guide roller 32 as shown in FIG. Since the moment in the CW direction around the rotation fulcrum 33 due to the generated spring force is larger when it is arranged in the vicinity of the upper door 3 of the upper door holder 31 as shown in FIG. 3 to FIG. It is more desirable to arrange in the vicinity of the upper door 3 of 31 and apply a force in the direction of opening the upper door.

  Since it is configured as described above, the upper and lower doors can be connected and opened, and the force required to open and close the doors can be reduced, so that the doors can be opened and closed easily. There is an effect that the opening operation is temporarily stopped.

  Since the upper door is opened while controlling the posture of the upper door via the upper door support by the slide part, when opening the door, the upper door and the water seal member are separated without rubbing each other before turning the upper door. Therefore, the door can be opened and closed with ease because it does not cause an unnecessary frictional load.

  Further, when the door is closed, the upper door is pressed against the main body by the first elastic body and the opening auxiliary spring, so that the upper door and the water seal member are surely pressed. Is preferable because it can be surely prevented.

  Further, by providing a concave or convex portion on the slide portion, the guide roller as a guide body is stopped, so that the door opening operation is temporarily stopped while the lower door is slightly opened during the door opening operation. Since the door is opened at a stretch and the hot water sprayed from the nozzle is not ejected from the gap of the door when the locking means is suddenly released during cleaning, the effect that the safety is high There is also.

It is an external appearance perspective view of the tableware washing apparatus in one Example of this invention. It is a side view which shows the structure of the tableware washing apparatus in one Example of this invention. It is a side view which shows the door closed state of the tableware washing apparatus in one Example of this invention. It is a side view which shows the door partial open state of the tableware washing apparatus in one Example of this invention. The figure explaining the relationship between the opening angle of the door of the dishwasher in one Example of this invention, and the force which opens a door. The figure which shows the guide groove and guide roller of the tableware washing apparatus in one Example of this invention. The another figure which shows the guide groove and guide roller of the tableware washing apparatus in one Example of this invention. The figure which shows the guide groove and guide roller of the tableware washing apparatus in one Example of this invention. The another figure which shows the guide groove and guide roller of the tableware washing apparatus in one Example of this invention. The figure which shows the fully open state of the door of the tableware washing apparatus in one Example of this invention. The figure which shows another Example of the tableware washing apparatus in one Example of this invention. The figure which shows another Example of the tableware washing apparatus in one Example of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Main body 2 ... Lower door 3 ... Upper door 4 ... Door opening button 5 ... Handle 8 ... Operation panel part 9 ... Buttons 10 ... Display means 12 ... Washing tank 13 ... Tableware 14 ... Tableware basket 15 ... Injection nozzle 16 ... Pump 17 ... Locking means 18 ... Claw part 19 ... Locking part 20 ... Detection means 21 ... Lower door holder 22 ... Lower rotation fulcrum 25 ... Water seal member 26 ... Rotation fulcrum 31 ... Upper door holder 32 ... Guide roller 33 ... Rotation fulcrum 34 ... Swing member 35 ... Rotating fulcrum 36 ... Guide groove 37 ... Spring hook 38 ... Spring hole 41 ... Connecting member 43 ... Pin 44 ... Suppression guide SA ... Spring SB ... Opening spring SC ... Opening auxiliary spring

Claims (5)

A main body, a cleaning tank provided in the main body, an opening provided at a front portion of the cleaning tank for allowing tableware to be taken in and out, a plurality of opening / closing doors closing the opening, and the opening and closing An opening / closing mechanism that opens and closes the door, and the plurality of opening / closing doors includes an upper door and a lower door divided into upper and lower parts, an upper door support that supports the upper door, and a lower door that supports the lower door A support, a connecting means for connecting the upper door support and the lower door support to connect the upper door and the lower door, and one end swingable around a rotation fulcrum provided in the main body A swing member that is supported and rotatably supported at the other end by the upper door support member, a guide body provided at one end of the upper door support member, and the opening and closing door when the opening and closing operation is performed A slide part for guiding the guide body to control the posture of the upper door, and the upper door support body in a state where the upper door is closed Dishwashing apparatus and a resilient member for urging in a direction to open the on door until a predetermined amount open from 2. The dishwasher according to claim 1, wherein the door is disposed so that a force in a closing direction is applied after the door is opened by a predetermined amount by the urging force of the elastic body. 2. The dishwasher according to claim 1, wherein one side of the slide portion is provided with a system stop portion that stops the door opening operation by engaging the guide body with the system stop portion during the door opening operation. When the door is opened by a predetermined amount, the guide body abuts against the system stop and stops the opening operation of the door. 4. The dishwasher according to claim 3, wherein the system stop means is a recess provided on one side of the slide portion. 4. The dishwasher according to claim 3, wherein the system stop means is a convex portion provided on one side of the slide portion.

Images