JP2565254Y2 - Dishwasher - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a dishwasher for performing washing by injecting a washing liquid into dishes in a washing tank, and more particularly to an improved structure for drying dishes after washing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a dishwasher of this type, for example, a dishwasher having the structure shown in FIG. 4 is provided. In this embodiment, a washing tank 2 is arranged in a main body 1 and tableware 3 can be stored therein. A rotating washing nozzle 4 and a sheath heater 5 are arranged at the bottom of the washing tank 2. I have. On the other hand, a fan device 6 and a duct 7 are provided at the back of the main body 1, and the intake side of the duct 7 is open at the back of the main body 1, and the discharge side is open at the lowermost part of the washing tank 2.

In the above configuration, during the cleaning process, the cleaning liquid is stored in the cleaning tank 2 up to the liquid level L and heated by the sheath heater 5. This is sucked by the spray pump 8 and circulates while being sprayed from the washing nozzle 4 to the tableware. Further, during the drying step of drying the washed dishes, the inside of the washing tank 2 is drained, and then the sheath heater 5 is dried.
While the power is being supplied to the fan, the fan device 6 is operated to blow outside air through the duct 7 and into the cleaning tank 2. As a result, the blown outside air is hot-airized and dries the dishes, and is discharged out of the machine through the exhaust holes 9 formed in the ceiling of the washing tank 2.

[0004]

However, the dishwasher having the above configuration has the following disadvantages.

When the cleaning step is performed, the sheath heater 5
Then, the discharge port 7b of the duct 7 is submerged in the cleaning liquid. For this reason, dirt in the cleaning liquid adheres to these and is strongly heated by the sheath heater 5 during the drying process.
Generates an unpleasant odor.

A sheath heater 5 is provided in an exposed state,
Since the temperature becomes considerably high even during the drying process, there is a danger of burns if the user puts his hand in picking up a spoon or the like that has fallen to the bottom immediately after the drying is completed.

In order to solve such a problem, the sheath heater 5 at the inner bottom of the cleaning tank 2 is eliminated, and a heater for generating hot air is provided in the duct 7 in FIG. A configuration in which the liquid level is set above the liquid level line L at the time of the cleaning process is also conceivable. However, this configuration causes the following problem.

During the execution of the cleaning / rinsing step, a warm cleaning liquid is sprayed from the cleaning nozzle 4 in a spray form.
The inside of the cleaning tank 2 is filled with steam. For this reason,
The water vapor enters the duct 7 from the discharge port 7b of the duct 7, flows backward, and forms dew inside the duct 7 and around the heater. In this case, rust is generated in the duct 7 or electric insulation around the heater is deteriorated.

In order to cope with this, the shutter is set to the duct 7.
It is also conceivable that the shutter is closed when the cleaning / rinsing step is performed and the shutter is opened when the drying step is performed. However, the provision of the shutter in this manner not only complicates the opening / closing mechanism but also causes a problem that the opening / closing operation is not performed smoothly due to the adhesion of dirt to the shutter.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its object is to prevent the generation of offensive odor during the drying process and to eliminate the risk of burns, and to prevent water from adhering to the heater. It is an object of the present invention to provide a dishwasher capable of avoiding insulation deterioration caused by the above.

[0011]

As a means for achieving the above-mentioned object, a dishwasher according to the present invention has a washing tank provided in a main body for accommodating tableware, and is stored in the washing tank. A washing mechanism for injecting the washing liquid into the tableware for washing,
A fan device provided on an upper side of the main body and sucking outside air during a drying process of the dishes in the washing tank; and a discharge port at a lower part of the washing tank and at a position higher than a liquid level of the washing liquid at the time of washing the dishes. Is opened, a discharge duct provided so as to be continuous with the discharge side of the fan device, a bent portion provided laterally at an intermediate position of the discharge duct, and the fan more than the bent portion in the discharge duct. A heater provided on the device side to heat the air supplied into the cleaning tank; and a heater provided on the bent portion, always closing the discharge duct by its own weight, and flowing through the discharge duct when the fan device is operating. And a shutter that is opened by the pressure of air.

[0012]

The operation of the present invention is as follows. In the washing / rinsing step, the washing liquid stored in the washing tank is sprayed on the tableware by the washing mechanism. In the drying step, the heater and the fan device are operated to supply hot air into the washing tank, so that the washed dishes are dried. When the cleaning / rinsing process is performed, the shutter is closed because the fan device is stopped. Therefore, even if the cleaning tank is filled with water vapor by spraying the cleaning liquid, the water vapor is prevented from flowing back into the discharge duct toward the heater, and there is no insulation deterioration around the heater. In addition, even if the sprayed cleaning liquid jumps from the discharge port of the discharge duct, the cleaning liquid has a horizontal bent portion at an intermediate position of the discharge duct. It is possible to prevent collision with the inner wall of the connection portion and further penetration into the interior. Since the shutter is provided at the bent portion, the cleaning liquid does not adhere to the shutter, and there is no problem that dirt accumulates and the shutter eventually fails to open and close.

[0013]

[0014]

[0015]

As described above, according to the dishwasher of the present invention, a heater for generating hot air is provided in the middle of the discharge duct. It is possible to avoid the generation of an unusual odor and the danger of burns caused by the sheath heater. Also, the shutter can prevent the attachment of water vapor around the heater,
The problem of insulation deterioration is eliminated. In addition, since the shutter is disposed in the middle of the discharge duct at a position where the cleaning member is provided with a horizontal bent portion, there is no possibility that the cleaning liquid that has flown from the discharge port adheres to the shutter, and the problem of poor opening and closing of the shutter does not occur. Further, since the shutter is provided at the bent portion, the shutter can be closed by its own weight, and a special mechanism for driving the shutter can be dispensed with. Thus, the shutter can be manufactured with a simple structure and at low cost.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

A cleaning tank 12 is provided inside the main body 11, and its front opening is opened and closed by a door 13. A liquid reservoir recess 12a is formed at the bottom of the cleaning tank 12, and a suction port of an injection pump 15 driven by a motor 14 is connected to the concave portion 12a. The discharge port of the injection pump 15 communicates with well-known rotary cleaning nozzles 16 and 17 provided at the inner bottom and the ceiling of the cleaning tank 12, respectively. A washing mechanism 18 configured to wash the tableware D in the washing tank 12 by jetting from the washing nozzles 16 and 17 is configured.

Further, a casing 21 is provided in the rear upper portion of the main body 11, a centrifugal fan 22 is provided therein, and a motor 23 for driving the fan 22 is attached. It is configured. An intake duct 25 extends straight forward from the front surface of the casing 21 on the intake side of the fan device 24, and the tip thereof opens as an intake port 26 at the uppermost front surface of the main body 11.

On the other hand, downward from the side of the casing 21 which is the discharge side of the fan device 24, the discharge duct 27
Is extended, and its tip is opened as a discharge port 28 in the lower part of the washing tank 12. The opening height position of the discharge port 28 is a position higher than the liquid level of the cleaning liquid at the time of washing the dishes (indicated by the symbol WL in FIG. 1).

The discharge duct 27 is formed to have a large diameter at the lower part of the fan device 24 and is used as a heater storage portion 29.
A heater 30 is mounted in the heater storage section 29. In this embodiment, the heater 30 is a positive temperature coefficient thermistor made of a barium titanate-based ceramic semiconductor resistor.

A bent portion 31 is formed in the discharge duct 27 below the heater 30 so as to bend the passage direction of the duct. The shape of the bent portion 31 is as shown in FIG. 2. If the direction of the passage is described in order from the discharge port 28 side, after rising upward from the discharge port 28 side, it is bent in one direction by a predetermined angle θ. As a result, it is inclined upward, and then rises directly upward to be connected to the heater accommodating portion 29.

The bent portion 31 is provided with a shutter 40. The shutter 40 is provided at an upper end portion of the bent portion 31 of the discharge duct 27, that is, at a mouth portion extending straight upward from the bent portion 31 and connected to the heater housing portion 29. The shutter 40 has a rectangular plate shape, and is pivotally supported across both front and rear walls of the discharge duct 27.
The upper edge is fixed to 1 and is normally urged by its own weight to be in a hanging state, in which state the passage of the discharge duct 27 is closed (see the solid line in FIG. 2). Then, when the fan device 24 is operated during the drying process, the shutter 40 can be opened by the wind pressure as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG.

An exhaust port 32 is formed near the front surface of the ceiling of the cleaning tank 12, and an exhaust duct 33 is connected to the exhaust port 32.

Next, the operation of the dishwasher of this embodiment will be described. The tableware D is stored in the cleaning tank 12, the door 13 is closed, and the cleaning process is started. Then, a solenoid valve (not shown) is opened, and hot water is supplied from the water heater outside the machine to the cleaning tank 12 to a predetermined liquid level WL, and is mixed with a detergent previously supplied to become a cleaning liquid, thereby forming a cleaning liquid in the cleaning tank 12. Stored at the bottom. Then, the injection pump 15 is energized to suck the cleaning liquid in the cleaning tank 12 and jet it from the cleaning nozzles 16 and 17 in a shower shape. The sprayed cleaning liquid collects again at the bottom of the cleaning tank 12 while removing dirt adhering to the tableware D. Therefore, the cleaning liquid is sucked again by the injection pump 15, and the tableware D is cleaned while circulating the cleaning liquid.

In such a cleaning process, a large amount of water vapor is filled in the cleaning tank 12 due to the injection of a warm cleaning liquid, which may flow backward in the discharge duct 27.
However, in this embodiment, since the shutter 40 provided in the discharge duct 27 is closed during the execution of the cleaning process, this water vapor is prevented from flowing back to the heater 30 side, and insulation deterioration around the heater 30 is reduced. It is prevented beforehand.

In such a cleaning process, the cleaning liquid sprayed from the cleaning nozzles 16 and 17 in the form of a shower may enter the discharge duct 27 from the discharge port 28 on the inner wall of the cleaning tank 12 by vigor. . However, since the shutter 40 is located at a position away from the discharge port 28 and at a location where the cleaning liquid that has entered does not reach, the shutter 40
It is possible to prevent the fluttering of 0, the adhesion of the cleaning liquid to this point, and the accumulation of dirt.

Moreover, in this embodiment, in particular, the discharge duct 27
Since the bent portion 31 is formed as shown in FIG. 2 and the passage direction is bent in the middle, even if the cleaning liquid jumps vigorously from the discharge port 28, this will proceed straight. As shown by an arrow in the drawing, it collides with the inner wall of the discharge duct 27 and does not enter any further. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent the cleaning liquid from adhering around the shutter 40 and the heater 30.

When such a washing process is completed, a dirty washing solution is discharged, clean hot water is supplied from the water heater, and a rinsing process for operating the injection pump is performed again. Move to the drying process.

In the drying process, the heater 30 and the motor 23 of the fan device 24 are energized. As a result, outside air is sucked into the intake duct 25 from the intake port 26 of the main body 11, and is blown into the discharge duct 27 from the casing 21. As a result, the shutter 40 in the discharge duct 27 is opened by the wind pressure, and warm air is blown into the cleaning tank 12 from the discharge port 28 located below the cleaning tank 12. The outside air is warmed by the heater 30 when flowing through the heater accommodating portion 29 of the discharge duct 27. Therefore, the inside of the washing tank 12 is filled with dry warm air, and the tableware D inside is quickly dried. The hot air containing moisture is discharged out of the machine through an exhaust port 32 located on the ceiling of the washing tank 12.

The dishwasher of this embodiment has the following advantages over the conventional structure shown in FIG.

(1) In the configuration shown in FIG. 4, since the sheath heater 5 and the discharge port 7b are submerged in the cleaning liquid, dirt in the cleaning liquid adheres thereto, and this is heated by the sheath heater 5 in the drying process to generate an odor. generate. However, in this embodiment, the drying heater 30 and the discharge port 28 are located at positions where they do not submerge, and there is no possibility that dirt in the cleaning liquid adheres to the heater 30 and the discharge port 28, thereby preventing generation of an odor.

(2) If the sheath heater 5 that is energized during the drying process is exposed as shown in FIG.
Immediately after the end of the drying process, there is a risk that the user may get burned when trying to pick up a spoon or the like that has fallen into the inner bottom of the washing tank 2,
In this embodiment, there is no such danger since the drying heater 30 is not exposed in the cleaning tank 12. Of course, such a configuration also facilitates cleaning of the cleaning tank 12.

(3) If the heater 30 is provided in the middle of the discharge duct 27 and the discharge port 28 of the discharge duct 27 is set above the liquid level line WL as in the present embodiment, the steam Enters through the discharge port 28 and discharge duct 2
7 may flow back to reach the heater 30. If such a situation is repeated, it is expected that the insulation around the heater 30 will be deteriorated and an electrical failure will occur. In this regard, in the present embodiment, the shutter 40 is provided in the discharge duct 27.
Is provided, the backflow of steam is reliably prevented, and the heater 3
The insulation deterioration around zero is reliably prevented.

(4) Even if the shutter 40 is provided as described above, the structure is simple because it is configured as a so-called wind pressure release type. Moreover, since the shutter 40 is disposed at a position where the sprayed cleaning liquid does not reach while the air pressure is released as described above, the cleaning liquid adheres to the shutter 40 and the opening / closing operation of the shutter 40 becomes defective. There is no fear. Moreover, the discharge duct 27
Of the bent portion 31 between the heater 30 and the discharge port 28
Is formed, the cleaning liquid entering from the discharge port 28 can be reliably prevented at the bent portion 31.

(5) In addition, as in the present embodiment, the duct 2
In the configuration in which the air passing through the inside of the heater 7 is heated by the heater 30, if dust or dust adheres to the heater, the inside of the duct or the heater may be clogged, causing a decrease in drying efficiency or abnormal overheating. Actually, in the conventional configuration shown in FIG. 4, since the intake port 7a is provided on the back surface of the main body 1 where dust and dust easily accumulate, dust and the like are sucked into the duct 7 from there, and There was a problem of causing clogging relatively early. However, in the present embodiment, since the intake port 26 is located at the upper portion of the front surface of the main body 11 where dust and dust hardly accumulate, there is no danger that these will be sucked into the intake duct 25 and the duct 25 and the heater 30 Clogging can be prevented for a long time.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above and shown in the drawings. For example, as shown in another embodiment of FIG. It is also possible to provide a cast heater which is not necessarily configured to supply hot water from a water heater, for example, a cast heater in which a sheathed heater is embedded by die casting at the bottom of the cleaning tank, and water supplied to the cleaning tank is supplied. Heating may be performed by heating with the cast heater.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal side view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view from the rear.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional side view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional side view showing a conventional dishwasher.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Main body 12 ... Cleaning tank 15 ... Injection pump 16, 17 ... Cleaning nozzle 18 ... Cleaning mechanism 24 ... Fan device 26 ... Intake port 27 ... Discharge duct 30 ... Heater 40 ... Shutter

Claims (1)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] 1. A cleaning tank provided in a main body for accommodating tableware, a cleaning mechanism for spraying a cleaning liquid stored in the cleaning tank onto the tableware to perform cleaning, and a cleaning mechanism provided on an upper side of the main body. A fan device that draws in outside air during the drying process of the dishes in the washing tank; and a discharge port is opened at a position lower than the washing tank and higher than the level of the washing liquid at the time of washing the dishes. A discharge duct provided standing up so as to be continuous with the discharge side, a bent portion provided laterally at an intermediate position of the discharge duct, and the cleaning provided at a position closer to the fan device than the bent portion of the discharge duct. A heater for heating the air supplied into the tank; provided at the bent portion, always closing the discharge duct by its own weight, and reducing the pressure of the air flowing through the discharge duct during operation of the fan device. A dishwasher, comprising: a shutter that opens more.