JP2009000349A - Rack detector of dishwasher - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a rack detector of a dishwasher in which a lever is not damaged even when a load is imposed on the lever from outside. <P>SOLUTION: The rack detector 20 includes: a casing 22 formed into a box shape which composes a main body; and a lever 30 formed by a rod cotton material, a base end part of which is fixed inside the casing 22 and the other end part of which projects forward through a long hole 24 opened to a front of the casing 22; and a detecting means 40 for detecting that the lever 30 horizontally turns by a prescribed angle or larger to output a drive stop signal to a dishwasher 1. A first coil part 32 is formed at the base end part of the lever 30 and a second coil part 34 is formed in the middle part of the lever 30. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a rack detection apparatus for a dishwasher, and more particularly to a rack detection apparatus for a dishwasher provided with a lever that is pushed by a side surface of a rack that is transported by a transport device and rotates horizontally. .

  A dishwasher for automatically washing dishes such as dishes, teacups, and cups after eating and drinking is installed in kitchens such as coffee shops and restaurants, and even in general homes, and is widely used favorably. In places where a large amount of tableware is used such as in schools and hospitals, a dishwasher that uses a transport device such as a conveyor to sequentially transport and wash the racks on which the tableware is placed is used as in Patent Document 1. Has been.

  The conveyor-type dishwasher will be schematically described. As shown in FIG. 4, on the left side of the washing machine body 2 in the dishwasher 1, a rack 4 containing dirty dishes (for example, dishes) 3 is provided. A soil table 5 is placed on the right side of the washing machine main body 2, and a clean table 6 is placed on the right side of the washing machine body 2 for placing the rack 4 containing the washed dishes 3. The rack 4 is carried into the cleaning chamber 10 provided in the housing 7 of the cleaning machine body 2 from the inlet 12 and is conveyed toward the outlet 13 by a conveyor (not shown) disposed in the cleaning chamber 10. . The rack 4 is cleaned and rinsed by a cleaning nozzle and a rinsing nozzle (not shown) disposed at predetermined positions in the cleaning chamber 10 while being transported in the cleaning chamber 10.

  The rack 4 that has been cleaned and rinsed is slid by the conveyor from the cleaning chamber 10 and carried onto the clean table 6. The unloaded rack 4 slides on the clean table 6 while being pushed by the unloaded racks, and is racked on the clean table 6 by the rack detection device 50 disposed on the back plate 8 of the clean table 6. Is now being detected.

The rack detection device 50 has a lever 54 having one end fixed to the main body 52 and the other end protruding into the rack transport path. The lever 54 is pushed by the side surface of the rack 4 transported at the other end. Horizontal rotation is possible about one end side as an axis. When the lever 54 rotates more than a predetermined angle, a detection means (not shown) arranged in the main body 52 detects the rotation of the lever 54 and outputs an operation stop signal to the dishwasher 1.
JP 2001-112691 A

  However, in the above-described conventional rack detection apparatus 50, the lever 54 is formed of a rod shape or a pipe and is disposed so as to protrude from the conveyance path of the rack, so that it is hooked on the lever 54 when the rack 4 is carried from the clean table 6. Or the rack 4 may be accidentally placed on the lever 54. At this time, an excessive load is applied to the lever 54, so that the shaft portion of the lever 54 may be damaged or the lever 54 itself may be bent.

  That is, the present invention has been proposed to solve this problem in view of the above-mentioned problems inherent in the prior art described above, and the lever can be damaged even if a load is applied to the lever from the outside. An object is to provide a rack detector for a dishwasher that is not.

In order to overcome the above-mentioned problems and to achieve the intended object suitably, a rack detection apparatus for a dishwasher according to claim 1 of the present application,
In the rack detection device of the dishwasher for detecting that the rack carried out of the cleaning chamber has reached a predetermined position after being transported through the cleaning chamber by the transport device and performing washing and rinsing,
A box-shaped main body, a lever that is pivotally supported by the main body so as to be pivotable horizontally, and that always protrudes into the rack transport path, and detects that the lever has been pivoted horizontally by being pushed by the side of the transported rack. Detecting means,
The lever is formed of a rod-shaped wire, and at least a part of the wire is formed in a coil shape so that a middle portion of the lever can be bent.
According to the first aspect of the invention, even if a load is applied to the lever from the direction other than the rotation direction of the lever from the outside, the load can be released by bending the coil portion, and the lever can be damaged. Absent.

The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that the lever is pivotally supported so as to be horizontally rotatable by forming a base end portion fixed to the main body in a coil shape.
According to the invention of claim 2, the lever can be given a restoring force without using a member having a restoring force such as a spring, and the lever is automatically returned to the initial position when the rack is removed. Can be made.

  According to the rack detection apparatus for a dishwasher according to the present invention, the lever is not damaged even when a load is applied to the lever from the outside.

  Next, a preferred embodiment of the rack detection apparatus for a dishwasher according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the same members as those described in the background art with reference to FIG. 4 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted. Further, “left and right” and “front and rear” in the description in the specification mean that the soil table 5 side is “left” and the clean table 6 side is “right” across the washing machine body 2 in FIG. The side on which the back plate 8 is disposed is referred to as “rear”, and the opposite side is referred to as “front”.

  FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a dishwasher in which a rack detection apparatus for a dishwasher according to an embodiment is suitably implemented, and a rack 4 carried out from an outlet 13 of the washing machine body 2 is placed. A back plate 8 is erected on the rear end side of the clean table 6. A rack detection device 20 is arranged at a position on the right side of the front surface of the back plate 8. When the rack 4 is fully loaded on the clean table 6, the rack full load is detected and an operation stop signal is output to the dishwasher 1. It functions as a rack fullness detection device.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the rack detection device 20 is formed by a box-shaped casing 22 constituting a main body of the rack detection device 20 and a rod-shaped wire, and a base end portion is fixed inside the casing 22. The other end of the dish 22 passes through the long hole 24 opened in the front surface of the casing 22 and protrudes forward, and the dishwasher 1 detects that the lever 30 has rotated horizontally over a predetermined angle. It is mainly comprised from the detection means 40 which outputs an operation stop signal. The casing 22 in FIG. 2 is indicated by a two-dot chain line, and the inside can be seen through.

  A cylindrical shaft 26 extends vertically in a substantially intermediate position in the front-rear direction in the internal space of the casing 22, and the upper end and the lower end of the shaft 26 are on the top surface and the bottom surface of the casing 22, respectively. It is fixed by welding or the like. A first coil portion 32 is formed at the base end portion of the lever 30 by bending a rod-shaped wire into a coil shape, and the first coil portion 32 has a positional relationship in which the central axis is coaxial with the shaft 26. Is arranged so as to surround the shaft 26. The upper end portion of the first coil portion 32 is fixed to the top surface of the casing 22 by welding or the like, and the lower end portion is integrally formed with a lever 30 that is located on the tangent line of the coil portion and extends forward. ing. The lever 30 is bent in a coil shape so that the extending direction of the lever 30 and the axial direction are the same at a position in front of the long hole 24 and not in contact with the side surface of the rack 4 that has been conveyed. Two coil portions 34 are formed. A hook-shaped contact portion 36 is formed at the front end portion of the lever 30 so as to contact the side surface of the rack 4 that has been transported. The lever 30 is disposed so as to extend in a direction (front-rear direction) orthogonal to the transport direction (left-right direction) of the rack 4 in the initial state. When the contact portion 36 is pushed in the horizontal direction (from left to right) by the side surface of the rack 4 that has been transported, the coil of the first coil portion 32 contracts while rotating, so that the lever 30 is centered on the shaft 26. As a horizontal pivot. The long hole 24 is set to have a width that allows the lever 30 to rotate horizontally by a predetermined angle, and the upper and lower edges of the long hole 24 restrict the vertical movement of the lever 30.

  The first coil portion 32 is formed with an extending portion 38 in which a part of the wire is extended to the side, and a magnet 42 is disposed at the tip thereof by a fixing member such as a screw. In addition, a reed switch 44 is disposed in close proximity to the lower surface of the magnet 42 and is fixed to the inner wall surface of the casing 22 by a fixing means (not shown). The reed switch 44 is set to be turned on when the magnet 42 is approached and turned off when the magnet 42 is separated by a predetermined distance or more. When the magnet 42 is turned off, an operation stop signal is sent to the dishwasher 1. It is designed to output. As described above, the extension unit 38, the magnet 42, and the reed switch 44 constitute the detection means 40.

  Since the second coil portion 34 is formed in a coil shape, when the load of a certain level or more is applied to the tip of the lever 30 from the periphery, the load can be released by bending the second coil portion 34. It has become. However, the coil interval, the number of windings, etc. are set so that the second coil section 34 is not bent by the load acting on the rack 4 when the rack 4 is transported, and only when an abnormal load is applied. It is designed to bend. When the load disappears, the lever 30 returns to the initial position by the restoring force of the second coil portion 34.

  With the above configuration, when the rack 4 carried out from the outlet 13 of the washing machine main body 2 slides on the clean table 6 and rotates in the horizontal direction by the lever 30 being pushed by the side surface of the rack 4, the first coil The extending portion 38 is also rotated in the same direction as the lever 30 via the portion 32, and the magnet 42 is gradually separated from the reed switch 44. When the lever 30 is horizontally rotated by a predetermined angle, the separation distance between the magnet 42 and the reed switch 44 becomes a certain value or more, and the reed switch 44 is turned off. When the reed switch 44 is turned off, an operation stop signal is output to the dishwasher 1, and the operation of the dishwasher 1 is stopped. Thereafter, when the rack 4 on the clean table 6 is removed by the user, the lever 30 is returned to the initial position by the restoring force of the coil of the first coil portion 32 that has been contracted, and the magnet 42 is also moved to the initial position (the reed switch 44). The reed switch 44 is turned on. When the reed switch 44 is turned on, an operation resumption signal is output, and the operation of the dishwasher 1 is resumed.

  Thus, according to the rack detection apparatus of the dishwasher of an Example, even if a load is applied to the lever 30 from the outside, the load can be released because the second coil part 34 is bent, and the lever 30 is damaged. There is no. Further, since the lever 30 can be horizontally rotated by the first coil portion 32, the lever 30 can have a restoring force without using a member having a restoring force such as a spring, and when the rack is removed, The lever 30 can be automatically returned to the initial position. Since the first coil part 32 and the second coil part 34 are integrally formed with the lever 30 by using a rod-shaped wire, the number of parts can be reduced and the configuration can be simplified.

[Example of change]
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but can be modified as follows.
(1) The upper end portion of the first coil portion 32 is fixed to the top surface of the casing 22, and the lower end portion is integrally formed with the lever 30, but the positional relationship between the first coil portion 32 and the lever 30 is reversed. The lower end portion of the portion 32 may be fixed to the bottom surface of the casing 22, and the upper end portion may be integrally formed with the lever 30.
(2) Although the rotation of the lever 30 is detected by the magnet 42 and the reed switch 44, other detection means such as a Hall IC or an optical sensor may be used. Moreover, although the extension part 38 is provided in the 1st coil part 32 and the detection means is arrange | positioned, you may make it attach a detection means to lever 30 itself.
(3) The rack detection device 20 is used as a rack detection device for a dishwasher in which the rack 4 is transported from left to right, but may be used in a dishwasher in which the rack 4 is transported from right to left. Good. When the lever 30 is pushed from right to left, the coil of the first coil portion 32 is pushed and widened to allow the lever 30 to turn leftward, and if the rack 4 is removed by its restoring force, it is automatically Return to the initial position. In this way, even if the lever 30 is rotated in either the left or right direction, it automatically returns to the initial position when the rack is removed. This is common to dishwashers in which the rack transport direction is set to the left or right direction. The rack detecting device can be used.
(4) The rack detection device 20 is used as a full load detection device for the rack 4 by being arranged at the right end of the clean table 6, but the rack 4 is arranged by being arranged in the vicinity of the outlet 13 of the dishwasher 1. It can also be used as an unloading detection device for detecting unloading.
(5) Although the lever 30 is integrally formed with the first coil portion 32 constituting the shaft portion and the wire, the lever 30 may be formed separately from the shaft portion.
(6) Although the second coil portion 34 is formed in a part of the lever 30, as shown in FIG. 3, the entire lever may be formed in a coil shape. As a result, no matter what part of the lever is loaded, it can be bent at an appropriate position so that an abnormal load can be reliably released.

It is a schematic structure perspective view of the dishwasher which concerns on an Example. It is a perspective view of the rack detection apparatus of the dishwasher which concerns on an Example. It is a perspective view of the rack detection apparatus of the dishwasher which concerns on the example of a change. It is a schematic structure perspective view of the tableware washing machine concerning a prior art.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Dishwasher, 4 racks, 20 rack detection apparatus, 22 casing, 30 lever, 32 1st coil part, 34 2nd coil part, 38 extension part, 40 detection means, 42 magnet, 44 Reed switch

Claims (2)

In the rack detection device of the dishwasher for detecting that the rack carried out of the cleaning chamber has reached a predetermined position after being transported through the cleaning chamber by the transport device and performing washing and rinsing,
A box-shaped main body, a lever that is pivotally supported by the main body so as to be pivotable horizontally, and that always protrudes into the rack transport path, and detects that the lever has been pivoted horizontally by being pushed by the side of the transported rack. Detecting means,
A rack detection apparatus for a dishwasher, wherein the lever is formed of a rod-shaped wire, and at least a part of the wire is formed in a coil shape so that a middle portion of the lever can be bent.   The rack detection device for a dishwasher according to claim 1, wherein the lever is pivotally supported so as to be horizontally rotatable by forming a base end portion fixed to the main body in a coil shape.

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