US3300096A

US3300096A - Granular detergent dispenser

Info

Publication number: US3300096A
Application number: US486424A
Authority: US
Inventors: Richard L Perl
Original assignee: Tappan Co
Current assignee: White Consolidated Industries Inc
Priority date: 1965-09-10
Filing date: 1965-09-10
Publication date: 1967-01-24
Anticipated expiration: 1984-01-24
Also published as: SE302341B; GB1126914A

Description

Jan. 24, 1967 R. L. PERL 3,300,096

GRANULAR DETERGENT DISPENSER Filed Sept. 10, 1965 INVENTOR F 5-- ?i RICHARD L. PERL BY dmyrzw a 0M ATTORNEYS United States Patent Ofiice 3,300,096 Patented Jan. 24, 1967 3,300,096 GRANULAR DETERGENT DISPENSER Richard L. Perl, Mansfield, Ohio, assignor to The Tappan Company, Mansfield, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed Sept. 10, 1965, Ser. No. 486,424 4 Claims. (Cl. 222-166) This invention relates to a dispenser for discharging a measured quantity of granular material, such as a detergent, within the interior of a dishwashing machine and the like.

It is a primary object of the invention to provide such a dispenser to be actuated within the closed machine in such manner as to deliver a charge of the granules by a positive dumping action which greatly minimizes and practically eliminates residual accumulations of the granular material in the dispenser. The positive dumping action thus provided is particularly distinguished from a supply of the granules either entirely or in significant part by a flushing action resulting from exposure of the charge to water spray in the machine, with the granules necessarily wetted in this common type of discharge while at least partially still in the dispenser and the tendency for particles to adhere on surfaces of the dispenser being high. This type of dispensing operation is, moreover, commonly effected by means of a recess or pocket for containing the charge in a vertical wall, such as the inner liner of the door of a front loading machine, and the flushing of the detergent from such a compartment can be quite inefiicient.

Another object is to provide a dispenser for granular detergent and the like in which a separately formed container is employed and s mounted and actuated in the operation of the machine as to quickly and fully dump a charge of the detergent therein at the desired point in the operation of the machine.

It is another object of the invention to provide such a dispenser which can very conveniently and easily be filled with the granular material and conditioned to be automatically operated for discharge of the material at the proper time in the operating cycle of the dishwashing machine and the like.

A more particular object is to provide such a dispenser for mounting against the inner surface of the door of a front loading dishwasher, with the door being conventionally hinged at the bottom for movement between a vertical closed and a substantially horizontal open position, whereby the dispenser is readily accessible for loading in the open condition of the door.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a detergent dispenser for a washing machine including a container adapted to be supported inwardly of a wall of the washing chamber, with the container thus being within the chamber itself and actuatable from a detergent charge holding condition to a dump condition to deliver the charge directly to the washing chamber.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends the invention, then, comprises the features hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims, the following description and the annexed drawing setting forth in detail a certain illustrative embodiment of the invention, this being indicative, however, of but one of the various ways in which the principle of the invention may be employed.

In said annexed drawing:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation on a relatively reduced scale of a dishwashing machine equipped with a granular detergent dispenser in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragment in elevation of the inner liner of the door of the machine at which the dispenser is mounted;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of the door and dispenser, with the latter in its closed or detergent holding condition; and

FIG. 4 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 3, but showing the dispenser in its actuated or detergent dumping condition.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, the dishwashing machine designated generally by reference numeral 10 is of known construction and operating mode, apart from the granular detergent dispenser assembly indicated at 11, and detailed illustration and description of the machine is not necessary for full and proper understanding of the present dispenser invention.

The dishwasher 10 is of front loading type and is, ac cordingly, provided with a door 12 at the front and at tached to the machine cabinet by bottom edge hinging 13 for movement between the vertical closed position shown and a substantially horizontal open position. A handle 14 is located to extend across the top of the door, and there is a control assembly 15 mounted in the upper portion 0 fthe door below the handle. As noted, the specific operating cycle of the machine is not important to this disclosure and any suitable programming for automatic operation can be employed in which some form of timer or sequence controller, as shown at 16, determines the point in the cycle at which the detergent is to be discharged from the dispenser. The two such units are shown to be operatively related by means of a mechanical connection in the form of a strip or link 17 serving as an actuator for the dispenser in a manner to be later described in detail.

The dispenser assembly 11 comprises a base 18 in the form of a plate disposed against the inner liner 19 of the dishwasher door 11, the liner being slightly recessed as shown at 20 at the location of the base. The bottom of this recessed portion of the liner obscured by the base is provided with a hole 21 in a local further depression 22, and a washer 23 is located in the depression 22 beneath the base. The base is attached firmly to the liner by a plurality of screws 24, with the washer 23 being made of an elastomeric material and having a thickness such that the mounting of the base on the liner causes the former to engage and slightly compress the washer to seal the hole 21. A number of small proturberances as shown at 25 can be provided on the underside of the base to engage the liner and stabilize the mounting. Two upstanding ears 26 are formed respectively at the lower corners of the base 18, which is preferably made of plastic, and in the illustrated vertical orientation of the assembly these ears are curved upwardly and inwardly to form semi-cylindrical surfaces. A holder or container 27 for the granular detergent and the like is provided in the form of an elongated box, also preferably made of plastic, open at one of its long sides 28. This holder has trunnions 29 at corresponding bottom corners, and the holder is pivotally mounted on the dispenser base by support of the trunnions 29 in the ears 26 so that the open side 28 is outermost when the holder is positioned against the dispenser base in a first operative position shown in FIG. 3. The mounting ears 26 can be somewhat flexible and the spacing of their free ends from the base 18 slightly smaller than the diameter of the trunnions 29, whereby the latter can be fairly easily forced into and out of the engagement with the ears for attaching and removing the holder.

The dispenser base 18 is further provided with two apertured ears 30 respectively at its upper corners, and a cover designated generally by reference numeral 31 is pivotally connected to the base at these apertured ears.

3 Such attachment is realized by providing the cover with legs or extensions 32 adjacent its respective sides which terminate in trunnions 33 received in the base apertured ears 30. The cover, also preferably made of plastic, comprises a generally rectangular main body portion 34 and a contiguous inclined wall 35 projecting inwardly from the upper edge of such body portion. The legs 32 are tapered as shown upwardly from the juncture thereof with the wall 35 to their trunnion ends, and there is a small flange 36 at the edge of the wall 35 between the legs. A centered stop section 37 of greater thickness is formed in the flange 36 for a purpose to be described, and the cover has an inturned flange 38 about the periphery of the body portion 34 and the side edges of the wall 35. The cover body portion 34 is of slightly greater size than the open side 28 of the container 27 to close the same in the condition of the dispenser illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3.

The dispenser base 18 carries two leaf springs 39 respectively engaged with the inboard edges of the cover legs 32 and effective to hold the cover when unrestrained in the extended open condition illustrated in FIG. 4. The cover can be held releasably in the first-noted closed condition by being pressed inwardly by hand against the springs 39 and into holding engagement with a latch 40. The latch 46 extends through an opening 41 in the base 18, the washer 23 in sealed relation, and the hole 21 in the inner liner 19 to the interior of the door 12. Trunnions 42 on the latch engage in slots in the wall of the base opening 41 to mount the latch for pivotal movement or rocking on an axis in the plane of the base. The opening 41 in the base is of relatively enlarged size to permit such movement of the latch, with the resilient nature of the washer 23 also accommodating such movement of the latch portion surrounded thereby. At its outer end, the latch is formed with a downwardly facing hook 43 and the length within the door comprises a flat relatively thin section 44 and a cylindrical end 45 which passes through an opening provided in the end of the actuator 17. A suitable safety wire or key 46 is applied to the extreme end of the latch portion outwardly of the actuator 17 in order to preclude accidental slipping of the latter from the latch.

In the dispenser condition illustrated in FIG. 3, it will be apparent that the detergent container 27 is held in position only by the restraining engagement of the cover 31 against and about the open side 28 of the container, with the cover held in this engaged closed position and against the tension in the leaf springs 39 by the latch 41 hooking the cover at the stop section 37 of the latter. The pivotal connection or mounting of the container is in this condition below and displaced laterally from the center of gravity of the container. The cover can be released by advancing the actuator 17 downward to rock the latch until its hook portion 43 is withdrawn from the cover, whereupon the leaf springs quickly cause the cover to swing outward to the extended position shown in FIG. 4. As soon as the cover is withdrawn or clears the detergent container, the latter will immediately fall due to its own weight to the illustrated fully inverted second operative position, with any granular detergent in the container thereby being dumped.

With the dispenser in the empty FIG. 4 condition, charging or recharging would be accomplished by moving the dishwasher door 10 to its substantially horizontal open condition. The user then flips or turns the container 27 up or against the base 18, so that the open side 28 is uppermost, the spring extension of the open cover 31 being suflicient for such access to the container and the cover can be swung or folded completely back against the door. The desired amount of the granular detergent is placed in the container and the machine timer 16 set in its start position in order to locate the actuator 17 in the relatively elevated condition represented in vertical orientation in FIG. 3. The cover 31 is pressed downwardly against the container and latches in the closed condition, the dishwasher door is then closed and the machine ready for operation. With reference to FIG. 3, it will be noted that the closure of the cover 31 produces camming of the latch 41 in a direction which would tend to cause it to rotate counter clockwise in this view, while the inner end 45 of the latch is arrested by the actuator connection. However, the intermediate latch section 44 of significantly reduced thickness is designed to provide a degree of flexure to accommodate this latching action.

The specific manner in which the actuator 17 is operated by the timer 16 is not critical and could, for example, be a simple cam engagement effective to extend the actuator downwardly at the preselected time or point in the operating cycle of the machine for the dumping of the detergent. A spring may be included for upward biasing of the actuator to make sure that it returns to the FIG. 3 condition when the timer is set in the star position, although the deformation of the resilient washer 23 which occurs in the released latch condition of FIG. 4 could be enough for the upward return of the actuator when permitted by the resetting of the timer without the need for additional spring force.

It will be apparent that the new dispenser is of economical construction, and the ease of its use will be obvious. The mounting on the inner face of the door greatly facilitates not only the use of the device but the incorporation thereof in the washing machine and, at the same time, provides the further advantage of quick and complete dumping. The self-dumping of the container does occur very rapidly and this characteristic, together with the full inversion of the unobstructed container, practically eliminates the unwanted adherence of wetted granules of the detergent to the surfaces of the container.

Other modes of applying the principle of the invention may be employed, change being made as regards the details described, provided the features stated in any of the following claims or the equivalent of such be employed.

I therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as my invention:

1. A dispenser for granular detergent and the like, comprising a boxlike container for granules having a discharge opening at one side and being otherwise closed, support means for the container including a pivot mounting thereof which is below and displaced laterally from the center of gravity of the container in a first operative position thereof, the open side of the container being substantially vertical and outermost with respect to such support mounting in said first operative position, cover means for closing the discharge opening and releasably holding the container in said first position, and actuator means for withdrawing the cover means thereby to cause the container to pivot by its own weight from the first position to a relatively rotated second operative position, such rotation bringing the discharge opening from an upper side to the bottom for dumping of granules in the container.

2. A dispenser as set forth in claim 1, wherein said cover means is spring biased away from the container and held by latch means in the container closing and holding condition thereof, said latch means being operated by said actuator means.

3. A dispenser for supplying granular detergent to a dishwashing machine and the like having a door which is movable between vertical closed and horizontal open positions, said dispenser comprising a boxlike container for granules having an open side and being otherwise closed, pivot means for mounting said container on the inside of such door to move with and relatively to the door, the container being pivotable to a fill position with the open side thereof at the top when the door is in open position, closure and restraining means for holding the container releasably in such fill position and closing the open side thereof, the container as thus restrained and closed being movable with the door upon closing of the latter and assuming a ready position in which its normally open side is also substantially vertical, said pivot means being below and displaced laterally from the center of gravity of the container in such ready position, and actuator means for withdrawing the closure and restraining means thereby to cause the container to open and pivot downwardly from the ready position to a relatively rotated dumping position for discharge of the granules therein.

4. A dispenser as set forth in claim 3, including spring means for normally holding said closure and restraining means away from the container, thereby to facilitate charging thereof with the granules in the fill position, and latch means for releasably latching the closure and restraining means against the container to close and restrain the same.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 8/1941 Palmer 222-166 X 9/1956 Manley 222-166 X 12/1961 Kendt 222-166 6/1962 Braga et al. 222-166 X 11/1962 Cushing 222-166 10/1965 Krezewina 222-166 X FOREIGN PATENTS 9/1938 Great Britain.

ROBERT B. REEVES, Primary Examiner.

15 N. L. STACK, Assistant Examiner.

Claims

1. A DISPENSER FOR GRANULAR DETERGENT AND THE LIKE, COMPRISING A BOXLIKE CONTAINER FOR GRANULES HAVING A DISCHARGE OPENING AT ONE SIDE AND BEING OTHERWISE CLOSED, SUPPORT MEANS FOR THE CONTAINER INCLUDING A PIVOT MOUNTING THEREOF WHICH IS BELOW AND DISPLACED LATERALLY FROM THE CENTER OF GRAVITY OF THE CONTAINER IN A FIRST OPERATIVE POSITION THEREOF, THE OPEN SIDE OF THE CONTAINER BEING SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICAL AND OUTERMOST WITH RESPECT TO SUCH SUPPORT MOUNTING IN SAID FIRST OPERATIVE POSITION, COVER MEANS FOR CLOSING THE DISCHARGE OPENING AND RELEASABLY HOLDING THE CONTAINER IN SAID FIRST POSITION, AND ACTUATOR MEANS FOR WITHDRAWING THE COVER MEANS THEREBY TO CAUSE