JP2653840B2 - Powder dosing device - Google Patents

Abstract

The device has a receiving container and a rinsing-out space for the apportioned metering of, in particular, powdery cleaning material from the receiving container into the rinsing-out space for supplying industrial dishwashers or washing machines. A solution is to be provided which allows the metering both of satisfactorily pourable powder cleaners and of powder cleaners with lumps and the like, whilst always achieving essentially the same metering capacity even with different levels of the powder cleaner in the receiving container and additionally reducing the risk of moisture entering the receiving container from the rinsing-out space. This is achieved by metering holes (9) in the bottom (8) of the receiving container (2) and in each case a collection plate (10), arranged with spacing below the metering holes (9), and a scraping mechanism (11) which is movable in the space between the underside of the bottom (8) and the collection plates (10) and essentially wipes over the plate surfaces. <IMAGE>

Description

Description: FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention comprises an intermediate container and a charging chamber, for supplying a detergent, especially a powdered detergent, to a washing machine or a dishwasher. The present invention relates to a charging device for distributing and adding a container to a charging chamber.

2. Description of the Related Art A powder dispenser of the type described above is preferably used in a commercial dishwasher or washing machine. In such machines, a large volume of detergent is permanently stored in the intermediate container so that detergent can always be added to fresh or recirculated water as needed. For example, a powdered product supplied to the input chamber in the form of an input tank of a commercial dishwasher may be supplied with fresh cold or hot water via an electromagnetic valve for the first metering, and a drop or tilt for subsequent metering. Into the tank to be added to the machine to be supplied by the recirculated hot water. In this connection, dosing machines have been created which can control the powder form detergent and supply it to the dosing chamber. A problem arises when the detergent powder hardens or becomes wet or paste-like due to the influence of moisture in the air and the metering mechanism does not operate as intended. When using detergent in powder form, if a relatively large amount of detergent is supplied to the intermediate container, the pressure of the detergent gradually decreases as the detergent is consumed, so that the input amount decreases as the intermediate container becomes empty. There are often.

[Object of the Invention] An object of the present invention is to provide both a sufficiently free-flowing detergent powder and a detergent powder containing lumps and the like. To provide a solution that constantly doses with the same metering and reduces the risk of moisture entering the intermediate container from the dosing chamber.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The object of the invention is to provide a dosing device of the type initially described in which a dosing hole at the bottom of the intermediate container and a receiving plate spaced apart below each dosing hole and a lowering of the container bottom. It has been found that this is achieved according to the invention, characterized in that it has a take-off mechanism which is mounted in such a way that it transports in the part between the surface and the receiving plate to wipe out substantially the entire plate surface. The metering holes and the receiving plate are preferably arranged substantially symmetrically about a vertical axis.

The metering holes at the bottom of the intermediate container allow the detergent powder to flow from the intermediate container to the receiving plate located below each of the metering holes. The powder flows down the individual metering holes until the frusto-conical part having a slope corresponding to the angle of repose contacts the edge of the metering hole. Only after the dispensed product present has been pushed laterally on the receiving plate between the lower surface of the container bottom and the receiving plate, further powder can flow down through the holes. A removal mechanism arranged to transport at a portion between the lower surface of the container bottom and the receiving plate to wipe out substantially the entire plate surface is provided for this purpose. Thus, in the present invention, basically, the detergent powder is first weighed in the form of a truncated cone, and the initially weighed or pre-weighed product is used by the take-off mechanism for the purpose or need.
However, if the unloading mechanism is not activated, the pre-weighed product part forms a closure between the adjacent part inside the machine and the intermediate container containing the feed powder, thereby allowing moisture to enter the intermediate container from the input chamber. To prevent Since the powder filling the intermediate container is supported and held not only by the dosing hole but also by the bottom of the container, the dosing performance is hardly affected by the level of the powder present in the intermediate container. Finally, the metering hole can be very large and / or a stirrer for dispensing the detergent powder can be provided at the bottom of the container, so that even a massive detergent powder can be metered without difficulty. Can be put in.

According to the invention, the unloading mechanism used for the receiving plate has a dosing hole and at least one dosing finger mounted for rotation about a vertical axis in which the receiving plate is arranged substantially symmetrically. Consisting of If three dosing holes and three receiving plates are used, it is advantageous, in terms of uniform dosing, to provide a removal mechanism consisting of four dosing fingers arranged symmetrically about the axis. In a form that is easy to make, the receiving plates are circumferentially spaced,
It consists of a sector of a circle, each mounted vertically on a vertical axis below the dosing hole. The flow-down cross section of the dosing hole, the vertical spacing between the lower surface of the bottom of the container and the receiving plate and the area of the receiving plate under the dosing hole shall be such that the intermediate container, the charging chamber and Must be mutually adjusted according to the angle of repose of the detergent powder so that the passage between them is closed by the pre-weighed detergent powder. In this way, a self-sealing metering and dosing mechanism is obtained.

In another aspect of the invention, the bottom of the intermediate container is provided with a valley, preferably a valley which is symmetric about a vertical axis,
A metering hole is provided at the bottom of this valley. Immediately above the dosing hole, directly in the bottom of the intermediate vessel surrounding the valley and, optionally or additionally, the valley,
A stirrer comprising one or more stirring fingers may be mounted for rotation about a vertical axis. When the agitating mechanism arranged below the bottom of the container is operated by these stirrers, even a considerably bulky powder can be continuously supplied to the metering hole without difficulty.

The dynamic forcible removal of the powder portion distributed to the receiving plate and of the receiving plate by the inventive removal mechanism results in a reliable powder dosing. If there is a danger of wet powder accumulating on the stripping (or stripping) surface of the take-off mechanism, these metering means are regularly stripped, for example by a bowspring once per revolution.

The take-out mechanism is designed so that even after a long period of non-use, it can be used without difficulty to remove the hard lumpy powder cone from the receiving plate into the later input chamber.

The metering and stirring mechanism of the powder dosing device of the present invention,
Preferably, the output shaft is driven by a motor with a reduction gear, particularly a shaded pole motor, located on the vertical axis of the metering hole and the receiving plate. The drive is arranged in the form of a closed block below the charging chamber, so that the part above the metering mechanism has a space for accommodating a commercially available powder cask or package.

In view of the corrosion effects of the detergent used and the necessary stability of the moving parts, the bottom of the intermediate container and the moving parts of the take-out mechanism and the stirrer, including the integrated shaft, are preferably high-quality steel, more preferably Made from V4 steel. Conversely, the receiving plate and the bottom of the loading chamber may be made essentially of a plastic material, such as polyethylene or polypropylene, which resists aggressive detergent powder.

In order to be able to observe the powder in the intermediate container, in another aspect of the invention, the intermediate container is made from a transparent plastic material.

Furthermore, in order to reduce the risk of ingress of moisture into the intermediate container, in another aspect of the invention, a chimney steam vent is placed in the input chamber above the water outlet. This is particularly useful for dosing devices where the recirculated water flows permanently through the dosing chamber.

In another aspect of the invention, an air baffle having an aerodynamic flow edge located at the connection between the input chamber and the steam vent and an air slot formed in the side wall of the input chamber enhances the effect of the steam vent. I do. The air baffle and air slot cooperate with the input chamber vapor vent to create an airflow that draws the resulting mist vapor into the vapor vent and keeps moisture away from the metering mechanism. The air baffle is designed so that water vapor condensing on the air baffle collects near the flow edge and is entrained by the steam vent by the air flow. The air slot is provided at a position completely above the normal liquid level in the charging chamber.

In order to avoid the scattering of water in the charging chamber and to ensure a controlled liquid flow behavior, the powder charging apparatus of the present invention uses a guide core having a substantially oblique cross section surrounding the drive shaft of the stirrer. In the room.

In another embodiment of the invention, which is particularly conservative and pulls back the slag, recirculating water is supplied in the input chamber via a recirculating water feeder in the form of a water distribution lip.

Finally, in another aspect of the invention, at least one electrode is located near the water outlet for measuring the water level in the input chamber.

 The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The charging device 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 comprises an intermediate container 2, a charging chamber 3, and a metering charging mechanism disposed therebetween. The intermediate container 2 has enough containers to contain the original package quantity. The intermediate container has a cover 4 and can therefore be closed at the top to prevent the ingress of moisture. Means (not shown) may be provided at the bottom of the intermediate container for opening the first pack, which has not been opened, into the container, for example by perforation.

In the embodiment shown, it is preferably made of V4A steel and the bottom 5 which is inclined towards the central axis 6 of the container 2 has a valley 7 in the bottom 8 where the metering hole 9 is provided. It is formed so that it becomes. A fan-shaped receiving plate 10 is provided below each of the metering holes 9. It is best to provide three metering holes 9 and a receiving plate 10, arranged in a circle which is divided substantially symmetrically with respect to the central axis 6.

For example, a take-out mechanism 11 consisting of four metering-in fingers 12 is mounted for rotation about the central axis 6 between the bottom 8 of the valley 7 and the receiving plate 10. In the embodiment shown, a stirrer 13 consisting of two groups 14 and 15 of stirrers fingers has a central axis 6 on the bottom 8 of the valley 7.
It is mounted to rotate around. The stirring finger 14 operates in the valley 7, and the stirring finger 15 sweeps the bottom 5 of the intermediate container surrounding the valley 7. The effect of the stirrer 13 is that even wet, hardened or agglomerated powder can be fed and metered reliably in the metering hole 9.

In use, the powder falls via a metering hole 9 onto a receiving plate 10 on which the powder is present in the form of a frustoconical metering section 16. Activate the take-out mechanism 11 whenever detergent is needed on the machine located behind,
The dosing finger sweeps over the radial edge 17 of the receiving plate 10 and feeds the frustoconical measuring portion 16 located on the receiving plate 10 into the dosing chamber 3 arranged in the form of a tank located below the plate. At the same time, powder 18 is permanently supplied to the metering hole 9 via the valleys 7 of the bottom 5 of the intermediate container 2 inclined towards the center by the rotating fingers 14 and 15. To prevent the stripping surface of the metering dosing finger 12 from being excessively covered with the powder, the metering dosing finger 12 is peeled off once per rotation by the bow spring 19.

The powder metered into the charging chamber 3 is, for example, a pipe 24
Water distribution lip 20 to which recirculated water of about 60 ° C. is supplied via
Through a water outlet and then to a dishwasher via a vortex pump (not shown) or an injector. If necessary, fresh cold or hot water may be supplied to the charging chamber 3 via the nozzle 25.
When a washing machine is incorporated in the powder charging device 1, only fresh cold water is supplied to the charging chamber 3.

The agitator 13 and the take-out mechanism 11 are driven by an electric motor 22 with a reduction gear 23, which is best accommodated below the charging chamber 3 for spatial reasons. Stirrer 13 and take-out mechanism
Design and control the drive through a shaft on the central axis 6 so that either the 11 rotates together or the agitator 13 rotates permanently and the dispensing mechanism rotates whenever detergent is needed. it can.

If three dosing holes 9 are provided at the bottom 8 of the valley 7, the dimensions can be, for example, as follows: diameter of the dosing hole = 18 mm radius of the ring of the hole = 31 mm sector size of the receiving plate = 80 ° receiving plate / Bottom spacing = 10 mm The water distribution lip 20 is designed to distribute the incoming recirculating water uniformly over the bottom of the input chamber 3. Residue, which may be entrained in the recirculated water, can be released from the water distribution lip 20 attached to the shaft 26 and returned to the dishwasher via the water outlet 21.

A chimney-like steam vent 27 is provided above the water outlet of the charging device 1 in order to remove steam-like steam generated while supplying the recirculating water at about 60 ° C. An air slot 28 is provided on the side wall of the charging chamber 3. One of these air slots is
This is indicated by a chain line in the figure. Along with fresh air flowing through the air slots 28, the steam generated in the input chamber is sucked up by the steam vent 27 and discharged to the surrounding atmosphere. In order to prevent steam and air from being disturbed by the edges and surfaces of the dosing mechanism in the part of the dosing chamber, the edges and surfaces are aerodynamically designed in the direction of flow. In particular, an air baffle 29 having an aerodynamically designed flow edge 30 is provided at the connection between the input chamber 3 and the steam vent 27. The steam vent 27, the air slot 28 and the air baffle 29 form an air flow that prevents condensation of water vapor in the part of the metering mechanism.

In order to measure the conductivity of the incoming recirculated water, a carbon flow-through electrode 31 is provided in the conduit 24 below the input chamber. When the conductivity falls below a predetermined value, the take-out mechanism 11 is operated, and the detergent powder is metered into the charging chamber. Further, a time lag relay may be combined with the take-out mechanism 11. Since the dosing device of the present invention is very suitable for precise time / volume adjustment, the time lag relay automatically activates the unloading mechanism at predetermined time intervals.

Finally, two electrodes 32 are provided in the charging chamber 3 at the water outlet 21 in order to measure the water level in the charging chamber. If the water level is too high, the higher of the two electrodes will stop supplying water. If the water level in the charging chamber 3 is too low, the lower electrode switches off the motor 22.

Further, a guide core 33 having a substantially oblique cross section is arranged around the dry shaft for the stirrer 13 in the charging chamber 3, and the inflow water flows around the guide core 33 in the direction of the arrow in FIG. Flows.

Finally, the safety switch is interlocked with the cover 4 so that the switch of the metering mechanism is not turned on unless the cover is in a predetermined state, that is, in order to prevent inflow of water.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of the dosing device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the dosing mechanism taken along line II-II in FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a plan view of the guide core along line IV-IV. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Powder input device, 2 ... Intermediate container, 3 ... Input chamber, 4 ... Cover, 5 ... Bottom, 6 ... Center axis, 7 ... Valley, 8 ... Bottom, 9 ... Measurement Input hole, 10… Receiving plate, 11… Remove mechanism, 12… Measurement input finger, 13… Agitator, 14,15… Agitator finger, 16… Measurement input part, 17 …… Edge, 18… ... powder, 19 ... bow spring, 20 ... distribution lip, 21 ... water outlet, 22 ... motor, 23 ... gear, 24 ... conduit, 25 ... nozzle, 26 ... shaft, 27 ... steam Vents, 28 air slots, 29 air baffles, 30 flow edges, 31 carbon flow-through electrodes, 32 electrodes, 33 guide cores, 34 safety switches.

Claims (22)

(57) [Claims] 1. An intermediate container with a take-out mechanism and an input chamber with a water inlet and a water outlet, for supplying a detergent, in particular a detergent in powder form, to a washing machine or a dishwasher. In a dosing device for distributing from a container to a dosing chamber, at least one metering hole is formed at the bottom of the intermediate container, and a receiving plate is disposed below each of the metering holes at intervals. At the portion between the lower surface of the bottom and the receiving plate, a take-out mechanism is installed to wipe out substantially all of the plate surface, the device has several metering holes and a receiving plate, When not in operation, the passage between the metering charging hole, the bottom of the valley and the lower surface, so that the passage between the intermediate container and the charging chamber is closed by the pre-metered detergent. A dosing device characterized in that the vertical spacing between the receiving plate and the surface area of the receiving plate below the weighing hole is mutually adjusted according to the angle of repose of the detergent powder. 2. The dosing device according to claim 1, wherein the dosing hole and the receiving plate are provided substantially symmetrically with respect to a vertical axis. 3. The dosing device according to claim 1, wherein the unloading mechanism comprises at least one dosing finger mounted for rotation about a vertical axis. 4. A method for dispensing detergent powder, comprising:
The charging device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein two stirrers are arranged at a bottom of the container above the charging hole. 5. The dosing device according to claim 4, wherein the stirrer comprises at least one stirring finger mounted for rotation about a vertical axis. 6. A weighing hole according to claim 2, wherein the weighing hole is formed at the bottom of the intermediate container and is provided at the bottom of a valley symmetrical with respect to the vertical axis. Feeding device. 7. The charging device according to claim 6, wherein the stirrer is rotatable in a valley. 8. The dosing device according to claim 6, wherein three metering dosing holes are provided in a divided circle at the bottom of the valley. 9. A charging device according to claim 6, wherein said receiving plate is in the form of a sector which is arranged circumferentially at an interval and is mounted on a vertical axis. . 10. The dosing device according to claim 1, wherein a cleaning element for removing the attached detergent once per revolution, in particular a bow spring, is incorporated in the take-out mechanism. 11. The take-out mechanism and the stirrer are driven by a motor with a reduction gear having an output shaft on a vertical axis, particularly a shaded pole motor.
An input device according to any one of the above items. 12. The charging device according to claim 11, wherein a driving device is arranged in the form of a closed block below the charging chamber in the form of a charging tank. 13. The method according to claim 1, wherein the bottom of the intermediate container and the movable part of the take-out mechanism and the stirrer are made of high-quality steel, including the integrated shaft. Input device. 14. The method according to claim 1, wherein the bottom of the receiving plate and the input chamber are made essentially of plastic.
13. The charging device according to any one of items 12 to 12. 15. The dosing device according to claim 1, wherein the intermediate container is designed to receive the original detergent package. 16. The charging device according to claim 1, wherein the intermediate container is made of a transparent plastic. 17. The charging device according to claim 1, wherein the chimney-shaped steam vent is arranged in the charging chamber above the water outlet. 18. An air baffle having a flow edge aerodynamically designed to prevent steam and air from being disturbed in the section of the charging chamber is located at a connection between the charging chamber and the steam vent. A charging device according to any one of claims 1 to 17. 19. The charging device according to claim 1, wherein an air slot is formed in a side wall of the charging chamber. 20. The charging device according to claim 1, wherein a guide core having a substantially oblique cross section surrounding the dry shaft of the stirrer is disposed in the charging chamber. 21. A recirculating water feeder in the form of a water distribution lip designed to distribute the incoming recirculating water evenly over the bottom of the dosing chamber is provided in the dosing chamber. 21. The charging device according to any one of items 20 to 20. 22. The charging device according to claim 1, wherein at least one electrode is arranged near the water outlet for measuring the water level of the charging chamber.