WO2011039262A1

WO2011039262A1 - A dishwasher with increased drying effectiveness

Info

Publication number: WO2011039262A1
Application number: PCT/EP2010/064468
Authority: WO
Inventors: Gokhan Ozgurel; Zehra Ulger; Onur Hartoka
Original assignee: Arcelik Anonim Sirketi
Priority date: 2009-10-01
Filing date: 2010-09-29
Publication date: 2011-04-07
Also published as: EP2482705B1; EP2482705A1

Abstract

The dishwasher (1) of the present invention comprises a washing tub (2) wherein items to be washed are placed, a door (3) providing access into the washing tub (2), a receptacle (4) bound by walls, isolated from the surrounding, having an inlet (I) wherein the cycle air leaving the washing tub (2) enters and an outlet (O) providing the cycle air passing therethrough to enter into the washing tub (2) again. The receptacle (4) is Zeolite filled, the cycle air passing through the receptacle (4) in a serpentine path to increase cycle air drying.

Description

A DISHWASHER WITH INCREASED DRYING EFFECTIVENESS

[0001] The present invention relates to a dishwasher wherein a regenerable

moisture retaining material is used.

[0002] In dishwashers, the use of moisture retaining material, particularly zeolite, which is a reversible adsorbent material is known in order to remove water from the dishes in the drying step, with the aim of increasing drying effectiveness and to save energy in the drying step.

[0003] In state of the art embodiments, the dishwasher comprises a moisture retaining unit which is connected to the washing tub with an inlet and an outlet. In the main washing step, while the washing water is heated by operating the heater disposed inside or in the vicinity of the moisture retaining unit, the fan is operated simultaneously and the cycle air received from the inside of the washing tub is passed over the moisture retaining unit. Consequently, by regenerating the moisture retaining material located in the moisture retaining unit, the water remaining thereon from the previous drying step is removed to be delivered into the washing tub. The heater used in the main washing step in order to increase the temperature of the washing water is also used to enable regeneration of the moisture retaining material. In the drying step, the moist air, aspirated from the washing tub by means of the fan, is passed over the moisture retainer and the moisture contained therein is trapped by the moisture retaining material. The moisture in the cycle air is retained by the moisture retaining material which is previously regenerated and a closed cycle is formed in the drying step by directing the cycle air again into the washing tub.

[0004] In the state of the art German Patent Application no DE10353774, a

dishwasher is explained wherein the air is passed over the moisture retaining material in the drying step.

[0005] In the state of the art International Patent Application no WO2006061287, the explanation is given for regenerating the moisture retaining material by heating homogeneously.

[0006] In the state of the art European Patent Application no EP1674029, by

providing homogeneous distribution of air by the moisture retaining units with heaters embedded in each one are placed in the adsorption chamber along the length of the chamber, the moisture retaining material is provided to be effectively regenerated.

[0007] In the state of the art documents, the use of moisture retaining materials like zeolite in dishwashers is explained. In these documents, various applications developed for providing to remove (regenerate) the moisture from the entire surface of the moisture retaining material in the main washing step and the entire moisture retaining material to retain the moisture in the drying step, are explained.

[0008] The aim of the present invention is the realization of a dishwasher wherein the air is provided to be passed homogeneously over the moisture retaining material.

[0009] The dishwasher realized in order to attain the aim of the present invention, explicated in the first claim and the respective claims thereof, comprises at least two separators disposed adjacently inside a receptacle with moisture retaining material located therebetween and one opening disposed on each separator, situated at the ends of the separators such that the ones on the adjacent separators are not aligned, providing the air entering into the receptacle to move in serpentine shape. The openings are situated on the reverse corners of the adjacent separators. Consequently, the cycle air entering from the opening at the bottom side of a separator leaves from the opening situated on the top side of the adjacent separator.

[0010] The cycle air entering into the receptacle leaves the receptacle after

contacting the entire surface of the moisture retaining material disposed between the adjacent separators. Consequently, the entire surface of the moisture retaining material is provided to be regenerated or to retain moisture effectively.

[001 1] The openings are formed on or between the walls whereby each separator is secured to the receptacle, such that the ones on the two adjacent separators are not aligned in order to subject the cycle air taken into the receptacle to a serpentine shaped forced flow. By means of this

configuration, the cycle air entering from the opening on a separator reaches the opening on the other separator only after streaming almost the entire surface of the moisture retaining material.

[0012] The heater embedded into the moisture retaining material is turned on in the washing step thereby providing to regenerate the moisture retaining material, that is releasing the moisture retained therein. When the heater is turned off in the drying step, the moisture contained in the cycle air passing over the moisture retaining material, which is regenerated previously, is trapped.

[0013] In another embodiment of the present invention, an intermediary partition not containing moisture retaining material therein is disposed inside the receptacle, between the pair of two adjacent separators with moisture retaining material situated therebetween. By means of this intermediary partition, the cycle air is provided to move more freely and

homogeneously.

[0014] In another embodiment of the present invention, the heater is disposed between the separators which are nearest to the receptacle inlet.

Accordingly, the air entering between the first two adjacent separators is heated and radiates the heat to the moisture retaining material between the other separators. Consequently, the moisture retaining material is provided to be regenerated without requiring the use of more heaters.

[0015] In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the moisture

retaining material is produced from zeolite material having reversible properties.

[0016] A dishwasher realized in order to attain the aim of the present invention is illustrated in the attached figures, where:

[0017] Figure 1 - is the schematic view of a dishwasher.

[0018] Figure 2 - is the schematic view of a receptacle.

[0019] Figure 3 - is the schematic view of a receptacle in another embodiment of the present invention.

[0020] The elements illustrated in the figures are numbered as follows:

1. Dishwasher

2. Washing tub

3. Door

4. Receptacle 5. Opening

6. Separator

7. Moisture retaining material

8. Heater

9. Intermediary partition

[0021] The dishwasher (1 ) of the present invention comprises a washing tub (2) wherein items to be washed are placed, a door (3) providing access into the washing tub (2), a receptacle (4) bound by walls, isolated from the surrounding, having an inlet (I) wherein the cycle air leaving the washing tub (2) enters and an outlet (O) providing the cycle air passing

therethrough to enter into the washing tub (2) again and at least one moisture retaining material (7) disposed inside the receptacle (4) (Figure

1 ).

[0022] The dishwasher (1 ) furthermore comprises at least two separators (6)

separating the receptacle (4) perpendicular to the flow direction of the cycle air such that the inlet (I) remains on one side and the outlet (O) on the other side, arranged to be adjacent and almost parallel to each other, with the moisture retaining material (7) disposed therebetween and at least one opening (5) situated at the end of each separator (6) such that the ones on two adjacent separators (6) are not aligned, providing the air entering into the receptacle (4) to move forward in serpentine shape (Figure 2).

[0023] The dishwasher (1 ) furthermore comprises at least one heater (8)

disposed between the separators (6). The moisture retaining material (7) disposed between the separators (6) is regenerated by turning on the heater (8) in the washing step. The heater (8) is turned off when the drying step starts and the moisture retaining material (7) is provided to retain moisture.

[0024] The opening (5) can be situated on or between the wall whereby the

separator (6) is secured to the receptacle (4). The cycle air entering into the receptacle (4), moves along the moisture retaining material (7) disposed between two separators (6) after passing through the opening (5) on the separator (6) nearest to the inlet (I) and leaves from the opening (5) on the other separator (6). Consequently, the cycle air is provided to flow along the entire length of the moisture retaining material (7).

[0025] The heater (8) is turned on in the washing step and the cycle air received from the washing tub (2) is delivered into the receptacle (4) by passing from the inlet (I), one end of which opens to the washing tub (2) and the other end into the receptacle (4). The cycle air entering into the receptacle (4) enters between the two adjacent separators (6) by passing from the opening (5) on the first separator (6) and moves along the length of the moisture retaining material (7) disposed between the two adjacent separators (6) and continues its serpentine shaped movement by leaving from the opening (5) situated on the other separator (6). Consequently, the cycle air reaches to the outlet (O) of the receptacle (4) after passing along the entire length of the moisture retaining material (7) situated between each adjacent separator (6) and leaves the receptacle (4). By means of the present invention, the cycle air entering into the receptacle (4) passes along the entire length of all the moisture retaining materials (7) disposed between the separators (6) in the receptacle (4) by following an almost serpentine shaped path and leaves from the outlet (O), one end of which opens to the receptacle (4) and the other end to the washing tub (2). Thus, throughout the main washing step, all of the adsorbent material becomes regenerated. The same process is repeated during the drying step while the heater (8) is turned off and in this situation, the moisture of the cycle air is provided to be retained on the moisture retaining material (7).

[0026] Accordingly, the air received into the receptacle (4) is provided to leave the receptacle (4) only after moving along the length of each moisture retaining material (7) disposed between the adjacent separators (6). This provides the cycle air received into the receptacle (4) to pass more homogeneously over the moisture retaining material (7) and the moisture retaining material (7) to retain the moisture entirely or to enable the regeneration thereof.

[0027] In another embodiment of the present invention, the dishwasher (1 )

comprises an intermediary partition (9), without the moisture retaining material (7) placed therein, which is disposed between the pair of two adjacent separators (6) having moisture retaining material (7) placed therebetween (Figure 3). Consequently, the cycle air is provided to be directed more homogeneously and more easily.

[0028] In another embodiment of the present invention, the heater (8) is disposed between the separators (6) which are nearest to the receptacle (4) inlet (I). Thus, it is not required to dispose the heater (8) between each one of the separator (6) pairs. This provides the moisture retaining material (7) affected by heat in the course of time to conserve its endurance for a longer period of time.

[0029] In another embodiment of the present invention, preferably zeolite material is used as the moisture retaining material (7) having reversible properties.

[0030] It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the

embodiments disclosed above and a person skilled in the art can easily introduce different embodiments. These different embodiments should also be considered within the scope of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A dishwasher (1 ) comprising a washing tub (2) wherein items to be washed are placed, a door (3) providing access into the washing tub (2), a receptacle (4) bound by walls, isolated from the surrounding, having an inlet (I) wherein the cycle air leaving the washing tub (2) enters and an outlet (O) providing the cycle air passing therethrough to enter into the washing tub (2) again and at least one moisture retaining material (7) disposed inside the receptacle (4), characterized by

- at least two separators (6) separating the receptacle (4) perpendicular to the flow direction of the cycle air such that the inlet (I) remains on one side and the outlet (O) on the other side, arranged to be adjacent and almost parallel to each other, with the moisture retaining material (7) disposed therebetween and

- at least one opening (5) situated at the end of each separator (6) such that the ones on the two adjacent separators (6) are not aligned, providing the air entering into the receptacle (4) to move in serpentine shape.

2. A dishwasher (1 ) as in Claim 1 , characterized by at least one heater (8)

disposed between the separators (6).

3. A dishwasher (1 ) as in Claim 1 , characterized by the opening (5) situated on or between the wall whereby the separator (6) is secured to the receptacle (4).

4. A dishwasher (1 ) as in Claim 1 , characterized by an intermediary partition (9), without the moisture retaining material (7) placed therein, which is disposed between the pair of two adjacent separators (6) having moisture retaining material (7) placed therebetween.

5. A dishwasher (1 ) as in Claim 2, characterized by a heater (8) disposed

between the separators (6) nearest to the inlet (I).

6. A dishwasher (1 ) as in Claim 1 , characterized by the moisture retaining material (7) which is manufactured from reversible moisture retaining material.

7. A dishwasher (1 ) as in Claim 6, characterized by the moisture retaining material (7) which is produced from zeolite material.