CN111345765B - Tablet dosage system and household cleaning device for water provided with such a tablet dosage system - Google Patents

Abstract

A tablet dosing system, in particular a household dishwasher, is proposed, comprising a magazine for storing cleaning tablets in a plurality of stacks arranged side by side, and an extractor for extracting the cleaning tablets from the magazine. The extractor has an extractor mechanism movably arranged relative to the cartridge, the extractor mechanism configured to: each stack is operated to extract the cleaning tablets without changing the stack position. In certain embodiments, the extractor mechanism is designed as an extractor roller having a plurality of extraction pockets distributed along the roller axis for receiving at least one cleaning tablet from the stack, respectively. In other embodiments, the extractor mechanism is formed by a linearly movable extractor slide that can alternately operate two adjacently arranged stacks for tablet extraction.

Description

Tablet dosage system and household cleaning device for water provided with such a tablet dosage system

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a tablet dosing system, and to a household cleaning device for water provided with such a tablet dosing system.

Background

In conventional washing machines and dishwashers for household appliances, various cleaning substances are added to the washing water used in order to improve the cleaning effect or even to enable its use. These cleaning materials are generally available in various dosage forms, such as liquid, gel, powder or compressed tablet forms. In particular in household dishwashers, tablet forms have been shown to be a popular dosage form among end users. On the one hand, the tablet form allows easy handling of the cleaning additive and on the other hand the user is largely freed from the dosing task, since he only needs to count the number of cleaning tablets to be added (typically in a conventional dishwasher, a single cleaning tablet is used for each operation of the machine).

Conventional household dishwashers have a compartment on the inner wall of the door facing the washing chamber when the door is closed, which compartment is closable by a flap, in which the user has to insert cleaning tablets before each operating process of the machine. During operation, the flap is lifted at a defined point in time or under defined conditions, so that the cleaning tablet can fall into the flushing chamber and meet the flushing water there. In order to reduce the operational costs for the user, it is desirable that the user does not have to manually place cleaning tablets into such a tablet grid before starting a new operational procedure each time. It would be desirable to replace an automatic tablet dosing system that relieves the user from having to be responsible for dosing the detergent each time the dishwasher is started.

For the prior art of automatic tablet dosing systems for dishwashers reference is made to DE19540958A1, DE4344205A1 and WO02/058528A1.

Disclosure of Invention

The object of the present invention is to provide a tablet dosage system which enables automatic dosage of especially square cleaning tablets in case of relatively large capacity.

To achieve this object, according to one aspect, the present invention provides a tablet dosing system which is particularly suitable for a household dishwasher and comprises a cartridge and an extractor. The magazine is used for storing cleaning tablets in a plurality of stacks arranged side by side in a row. The extractor is for extracting cleaning tablets from the magazine and has an extractor mechanism movably arranged relative to the magazine, which is arranged to operate each stack to extract cleaning tablets without changing the position of the stack.

In the solution according to the invention, the magazine makes it possible to store not only the cleaning tablets in a single stack, but also in a plurality of stacks arranged side by side, in particular in a straight line. In the case of a given installation height available for installing a tablet dosage system, for example in a door of a domestic dishwasher, the cartridge can provide a correspondingly larger clean tablet capacity than a cartridge which only provides space for a single tablet stack. The side-by-side arrangement of the stacks in a row results in a substantially constant depth of structure compared to a single stack magazine.

In the solution according to the invention, the extractor comprises an extractor mechanism (which may also be referred to as dosing mechanism) which can operate each of the plurality of stacks without having to move the stack concerned to a specific predetermined operating position for this purpose. Conversely, the extractor mechanism has such a range of action: although the plurality of stacks have positional stability, this range of action allows the extractor member to operate each stack for the purpose of extracting the cleaning tablets. The possibility of arranging the stacks in a fixed position makes it possible, for example, to install the tablet dosage system in a door of a domestic dishwasher, in such a way that the stacks are arranged side by side parallel to the door plane of the door.

In addition, the ability of the extractor to operate each stack individually allows for: cleaning tablets having a profile shape other than cylindrical or spherical may be used. While spherical or disc-shaped tablets may be collected in a funnel in a random fashion and removed from the extractor at a single common extraction location, this is difficult, if not impossible, for square cleaning tablets. By individual operation of each stack by the extractor mechanism, such square tablets can be brought into an ordered stack form until such time as the square tablets are extracted. The risk of clogging of the cleaning tablet during extraction can be kept low or even completely avoided.

In certain embodiments, the extractor mechanism is formed by an extractor slide reciprocally disposed along the stacking row. The extractor slide has at least one extraction opening (dosing opening) through which the extractor slide is selectively movable under each of at least two stacks of the plurality of stacks. In this case, the extraction opening is sized to allow the cleaning tablet to fall from the magazine through the extractor slide.

The extractor slide may be movable, corresponding to each of the at least two stacks, between a first slide position in which the extraction opening is below the respective stack and allows the cleaning tablet arranged at the lowermost of the relevant stack to fall into the extraction opening, and a second slide position in which the falling cleaning tablet is realized to fall downwardly out of the extraction opening. Accordingly, in the first slide position, cleaning tablets fall from a stack into the extraction opening. By moving the extractor slide from the first slide position to the second slide position, the cleaning tablet located in the extraction opening is then transferred to a position where it can leave the extraction opening downwards and for example falls into the feed-out drum of the tablet dosing system. The take-off cylinder may also be referred to as a drop cylinder or drop channel.

In certain embodiments, the extractor mechanism is formed by an extractor roller rotatably disposed about a roller axis parallel to the stacking row. The extractor roller has at least one extraction pocket corresponding to each of the plurality of stacks in a manner distributed along the roller shaft. Each extraction capsule is sized so that the cleaning tablet falls from the magazine into the associated extraction capsule. By rotating the extraction roller around the roller axis, for example about 180 degrees, the cleaning tablet that has fallen into the extraction pocket of the extraction roller can be transferred to a position where it can fall out of the extraction pocket, for example into the feed-out drum of the tablet dosing system.

For at least two stacks of the plurality of stacks, the extraction pockets corresponding to the at least two stacks may be offset from each other in the circumferential direction of the roller from stack to stack. This allows for a time-lapse operation of the different stacks by the extraction roller.

It has been shown that under certain circumstances, heat may adversely affect the cleaning tablets stored in the cartridge. The thermal protection of the cleaning tablets stored in the cartridge can be achieved by a forced air flow which is introduced into the cartridge or/and which is swept externally along the cartridge wall. For this purpose, in certain embodiments, a blowing device is provided for generating a blowing air flow for cooling the cartridge. The air blast is advantageously introduced from outside the cleaning device in which the tablet dosing system is installed. In the case of a dishwasher used in the home, it is possible in this way to generate a blast air flow having a temperature corresponding to the room temperature of the private home, typically between about 18 ℃ and about 25 ℃.

The usual cleaning procedure of a dishwasher generates a temperature of about 50 ℃ or more in the washing chamber of the machine only during a relatively short phase. During other phases of program operation, the water temperature (and thus the air temperature) in the rinse chamber is typically lower than this temperature, for example during a phase of pre-washing the cutlery with relatively cold water to achieve rough pre-cleaning of the cutlery. In view of this, it is proposed in certain embodiments to control the blower structure such that it generates a blower air flow at least during and in particular only during the high-temperature part phase of the cleaning program of the cleaning device. The high temperature partial stage is a partial stage in which the water temperature of the cleaning water is at least 50 c, for example.

In certain embodiments, the cartridge and extractor are part of a preinstallable structural unit that itself may be installed in the door, for example, behind the door's outer liner.

According to another aspect, the present invention provides a water-consuming household cleaning device comprising a wet chamber, a door for closing the wet chamber and a tablet dosing system of the above-mentioned type fitted into said door. The tablet dosage system has a delivery outlet for delivering the cleaning tablet extracted by the extractor into the wet chamber. The cleaning device is for example a household dishwasher.

According to a further aspect, the invention provides a water-consuming household cleaning device, in particular a dishwasher, wherein the cleaning device has a wet chamber and a door for closing the wet chamber. The door provides a reservoir for holding a reservoir of cleaning substance, wherein a feed inlet for feeding the cleaning substance to the reservoir is provided on the door. A covered drop channel is formed in the door, the drop channel opening out of the door at an access location on a wet side of the door. A controllable dosing mechanism is mounted in the door for extracting a dose of cleaning substance from the reservoir and for inputting the extracted dose into the drop channel. A maintenance inlet, which is provided separately from the access point and is detachably covered by a cover element, is formed on the door in relation to the feed inlet, which maintenance inlet provides access to the drop channel and/or the dosing mechanism for the user. The expression covering the service access by means of a cover member means that the cover member can be moved (e.g. can be flipped open, screwed or pushed open) by a user in order to open the service access. The maintenance inlet enables maintenance work in the drop channel and/or on the dosing mechanism, for example for cleaning purposes or in case of clogging of the dosing mechanism. In certain embodiments, the cleaning substance stored in the storage chamber and which can be dosed by means of the dosing mechanism is not in liquid or gel form, but rather is in powder form or pressed into defined shaped pieces (i.e. cleaning tablets). The wet side of the door is the side of the door that faces the wet chamber and is wetted during operation of the cleaning device (and thus when the door is closed).

The maintenance access in certain embodiments forms the wet side of the door. It is alternatively possible here to provide the maintenance inlet on the outside of the door facing away from the wet chamber in the closed state of the door, although this may not be a preferred solution due to the apparent form of the cleaning device.

In certain embodiments, the metering device can be removed from the door through the service access opening. After removal of the dosing mechanism, in certain embodiments, at least part of the storage chamber can also be reached through the maintenance access. In certain embodiments, the maintenance inlet provides a consistent connection up to the feed inlet at least in the event of withdrawal of the dosing mechanism. The feed inlet is formed, for example, in the region of the narrow side of the door or alternatively on the inside of the door, i.e. on the side of the door facing the wet chamber which is subjected to moisture in the closed state of the door. The user can, for example, use the coherent connection, for example, to introduce a possibly bendable brush through the maintenance inlet or the feed inlet and penetrate to the respective further inlet.

The dosing mechanism is in certain embodiments hidden directly behind the cover member.

In certain embodiments, the metering device is formed by a linearly movable pushing body or a rotatably movable rotating body (for example in the form of a disk or a roller).

The cover member may be formed, for example, by a cover flip, a screw-on cover, or a push-pull cover.

Drawings

The invention is further explained below with reference to the drawings. Wherein:

figure 1 shows a perspective view of a home dishwasher with a door open according to one embodiment,

Fig. 2 shows a tablet dosing system according to one embodiment, which is installed in a door of a dishwasher and when seen in a partially cut-away perspective view of the door,

Figure 3 shows an enlarged view of a detail of the tablet dosage system of figure 2,

Figure 4 shows a rear view of a tablet dosage system according to another embodiment,

Figure 5 shows in elevation the tablet dosage system of figure 4,

Figure 6 shows a cross-sectional view of a door of a dishwasher with a tablet dosing system according to another embodiment,

Figure 7 shows a perspective view of a dishwasher door according to one embodiment from the door side facing the washing chamber,

FIG. 8 shows the dishwasher door of FIG. 7 with a tablet dosing system according to another embodiment mounted therein, with the outer liner of the dishwasher door removed;

Figures 9a to 9d show various stages during an automatic dosing process of the tablet dosing system of figure 8, and

Fig. 10 is an enlarged portion of fig. 7 with the access flap to the tablet dosage system of fig. 8 open, showing the extractor slide of the tablet dosage system removed from its installed position.

Detailed Description

See first fig. 1. The dishwasher shown therein is generally designated 10 and has a typical design for private households. Dishwasher 10 includes a machine body 12 to which a door 14 is mounted about a horizontal pivot axis (not shown). A wet chamber (flushing chamber) 16 is formed in the machine body 12. Although not shown in detail in fig. 1, the wet chamber 16 can be equipped with one or more cutlery racks and/or cutlery drawers in a manner known per se. The door 14 is used to enclose a wet compartment 16 during operation of the dishwasher 10.

Door 14 has an inner wall 18, which in the closed state of the door faces wet chamber 16, and is formed, for example, from a metal lining. A service flap 20 is arranged on the inner wall 18 of the door 14, which can be opened by a user if required and locks the access opening formed in the inner wall 18 in the inverted closed state. In the flipped open state, the maintenance flip 20 allows a user to access the extractor mechanism (which may also be referred to as a tablet separator in the embodiments discussed herein) through the mentioned access opening. The extractor mechanism is part of a tablet dosing system, as will be described later, and is hidden behind the maintenance flap 20 in the inverted closed state. By opening the maintenance flap 20, a user can effect an intervention on the extractor mechanism and withdraw the extractor mechanism through the access opening. This may be necessary for maintenance and cleaning purposes, for example when jamming of the tablets occurs in the tablet dosing system. Thus, the access opening provides maintenance access. The user can first try himself, troubleshoot by opening the maintenance flap 20 and removing the extractor mechanism and, if necessary, clean the interior area of the tablet dosing system, after which he has to call for service if he fails. The maintenance flap 20 can be resiliently pre-biased towards its flipped closed position by a suitable spring mechanism. A discharge outlet 22, which is likewise arranged on the inner wall 18 of the door 14 and serves to discharge or in particular discharge the cleaning tablet into the wet chamber 16, also belongs to the tablet dosage system.

Furthermore, a dosing flap 24 also belongs to the tablet dosing system, which covers the dosing inlet and allows the user to fill a new clean tablet in a cartridge hidden behind the inner wall 18, which is not visible in fig. 1. The cleaning tablets filled via the feed flap 24 are collected in the cartridge and are removed therefrom by the extractor mechanism in metered amounts, in particular one by one, and finally reach the discharge outlet 22 via a discharge cylinder which is likewise hidden behind the inner wall 18, where the cleaning tablets are discharged into the wet chamber 16. The delivery outlet 22 is formed as an opening portion as follows: the mentioned discharge cartridge opens out thereon on the wet side of the door 14. It can be seen that the feed flap 24 is in the example case shown arranged on a narrow side 26 of the door, the inlet flap being located above and thus easily accessible to the user when the door 14 is closed and thus upright. The narrow side 26 is located outboard of a sealing flange bearing surface 28 formed on the inner liner of the door 14 forming the inner wall 18 and oriented toward the machine body 12 (i.e., toward the wet chamber 16) when the door 14 is closed. The sealing flange bearing surface 28 serves to support an elastomeric sealing flange 30 arranged on the front side of the machine body 12, which extends annularly around the wet compartment 16, which is compressed when the door 14 is closed due to contact with the sealing flange bearing surface 28 of the door 14 and thus takes care of the sealing of the wet compartment 16 outwards. Accordingly, the feed flap 24 is disposed outside of a sealed barrier that prevents moist, hot air from escaping from the wet chamber 16 between the machine body 12 and the door 14 during a washing operation of the dishwasher 10.

Reference is now made to the embodiment of fig. 2 and 3. The mentioned extractor mechanism can be seen in fig. 2, which in the example shown is formed by an extractor roller 32. The extractor roller 32 arranged behind the maintenance flap 20 has a plurality of (in the example shown, two in total) extraction pockets 34, each of which is dimensioned such that a defined number of cleaning tablets 36 with a square contour can be found accommodated in the associated extraction pocket 34 in each case. In the example shown, the defined number is one, but is not limited thereto. The extractor roller 32 is rotatably supported around the roller shaft 38, and is drivable around the roller shaft 38 by an electric drive not shown in the drawing. In the example shown, the roller 38 extends in a horizontal direction parallel to the door plane of the door 14. The extraction pockets 34 are each embodied as a groove formed in the roll shell, i.e., the peripheral surface, of the extractor roll 32.

The extractor roller 32 is adjustable to different rotational positions. In the first rotational position, the open capsule inlet of one of the extraction capsules 34 is located directly below the cleaning tablets 36u, the cleaning tablets 36u being located lowermost in the tablet stack 40, the stack 40 being stored in the storage chamber 42. In the second rotational position (illustrated in fig. 2), the open bladder inlet of the associated extraction bladder 34 of the extractor roller 32 is located above the upper end of the discharge tube forming a discharge channel (drop channel) 44. In the first rotational position of the extractor roller 32, the cleaning tablet 36u may thus fall by gravity into the associated extraction pocket 34. By rotating the extractor roller 32 about the rotational axis 38 to the second rotational position, the cleaning tablet 36u located in the associated extraction pocket 34 may be transferred to a discharge position where the cleaning tablet 36u may fall out of the associated extraction pocket 34 into the discharge channel 44.

The storage chamber 42 is formed by a cartridge 46 mounted to the rear of the inner wall 18 of the door 14. The storage chamber 42 extends to the feed flap 24 so that a user can fill a fresh cleaning tablet 36 into the storage chamber 42 through the feed flap 24. In the example shown, the cleaning tablets 36 are located in the storage chamber 42 in an ordered stack. The ordered storage of cleaning tablets 36 in storage chamber 42 is useful in the case of approximately square cleaning tablets, as shown in fig. 2, to ensure that extractor roller 32 can reliably grasp each cleaning tablet 36 (even though it may reliably slide into the corresponding extraction pocket 34). The stack of tablets in the storage chamber 42 is oriented such that the cleaning tablets 36 in the stack can slide by gravity alone and no additional pushing means is required to drive the stored cleaning tablets 36 in the direction of the extractor roller 32. As shown in fig. 2, for this purpose, individual cleaning tablets 36 are present in a large vertical stack arrangement in a tablet stack. Here, the cleaning tablets 36 are stacked with short narrow sides, so that the cleaning tablets are vertically stacked on each other. In other arrangements, the cleaning tablets 36 may be stacked on a planar side or with long narrow sides.

To increase the amount of cleaning tablets 36 that can be stored in the magazine 46, the magazine 46 in the example of fig. 2 and 3 is designed not only to receive a single tablet stack, but also to receive a plurality of tablet stacks arranged side by side in a horizontal row. All of these stacks of tablets are operated together by extractor rollers 32. The magazine 46 is fixedly mounted in the door 14, which is why the individual stacks of tablets are themselves arranged in an unalterable fixed stacking position in the door 14. The extractor roller 32 has an extent of action such that it can handle all of the stacks of tablets (i.e. can extract cleaning tablets 36 from each stack of tablets) without having to change the stacking position relative to the gate 14 for this purpose. In the exemplary case shown in fig. 2 and 3, the extractor roller 32 is designed to operate a total of two stacks of tablets. Depending on the number of tablet stacks, the extractor roller is provided with a total of two extraction pockets 34, which are distributed in the direction of the roller shaft 38 such that each extraction pocket 34 is arranged at an axial position of a corresponding tablet stack. Assuming that only a single cleaning tablet 36 is required during each operation of the dishwasher 10, the extraction pockets 34 are distributed in the circumferential direction of the extractor roller 32 such that only one extraction pocket 34 is located above the discharge channel 44 at one point in time, respectively, and thus only a single cleaning tablet 36 can be fed out of the tablet dosing system into the wet chamber 16 at one point in time. In the exemplary case shown, there are a total of two stacks of tablets, each corresponding to one stack of tablets, and two extraction pockets 34 formed on the extractor roller 32, the two extraction pockets 34 being offset from one another, for example by 180 degrees in the circumferential direction of the roller. This configuration of extractor roller 32 can be seen in fig. 2.

The profile of extraction bladder 34 on the roll shell of extractor roll 32 may be such that: such that in each rotational position in which one extraction pocket 34 is ready to receive a cleaning tablet 36 from one tablet stack, the other extraction pocket 34 is simultaneously located above the discharge channel 44. Thus, the gripping of a new cleaning tablet 36 by the extractor roller 32 is accompanied by the release of another cleaning tablet 36 that has been previously gripped from the extractor roller 32 into the discharge channel 44. In the exemplary case according to fig. 3, each 180 degree rotation of the extractor roller 32 results in a new cleaning tablet 36 falling into one of the extraction pockets 34 and simultaneously releasing one cleaning tablet 36 from the other extraction pocket 34 into the discharge channel 44. In the case of three, four or five stacks of tablets, the extraction pockets 34 arranged in different axial regions of the roller circumference are arranged offset from each other by, for example, 120 degrees, 90 degrees or 60 degrees. It should also be appreciated that the extractor roller 32 may also have more than one extraction pocket 34, e.g., two extraction pockets, for each stack of tablets. The profile of the extraction pockets 34 on the roller shell may then be selected, for example, such that when the extractor roller 32 is rotated further from a rotational position in which one of the extraction pockets 34 is ready to receive a cleaning tablet 36 from one tablet stack to a next rotational position in which the extractor roller 32 is ready to again receive a cleaning tablet 36, the next cleaning tablet 36 is always removed from the respective other tablet stack. In this way, cleaning tablets 36 are removed from each tablet stack in a given order before the next removal cycle begins, in which cleaning tablets 36 are again removed from each tablet stack in the same order. It goes without saying that any order of taking out the cleaning tablets 36 from the tablet stack can be achieved by extracting the profile of the pockets 34 on the roller shell.

The extraction pockets 34 are suitably sized so that the desired number of cleaning tablets 36 (i.e., typically a single cleaning tablet 36) are located entirely therein and do not protrude radially from the roll shell. This allows the roller-receiving chamber in which the extractor roller 32 rotates to be arranged very closely such that the extractor roller 32 forms a sufficiently effective barrier to prevent moist hot air from escaping from the wet chamber 16 through the discharge channel 44 through the roller-receiving chamber into the cartridge 46. The walls of the roller-receiving chamber (such walls being shown at 48 in fig. 3) may be so close to the extractor roller 32 that at most only a small negligible amount of moist hot air may flow through the remaining gap.

The extractor roller 32 may be driven, for example, by a stepper motor (not shown) driven by a control device (also not shown) disposed below the door 14. A suitable sensor system may be provided to provide information about the actual rotational position of the extractor roller 32 to the drive control of the extractor roller 32. Such a sensor system may include, for example, one or more hall sensors, electromechanical switches, and/or other sensor elements for detecting the rotational position of the extractor roller 32.

In the other figures, identical or equivalent elements are provided with the same reference numerals as in figures 1 to 3, but with lower case letters. These same or equivalent components are explained with reference to the above explanation of fig. 1 to 3, unless otherwise stated below.

Fig. 4 and 5 show an embodiment of a tablet dosage system with an extractor roller 32a, which extractor roller 32a is not only designed for the operation of two tablet stacks as in the embodiment of fig. 2 and 3, but for the common operation of a total of four tablet stacks. For each stack of tablets, an own cartridge 50a is formed in the cartridge 46 a. The different cartridge barrels 50a are separated from each other by a partition wall 52 a. The extractor roller 32a has a total of four extraction pockets 34a corresponding to the number of tablet stacks, which are offset along the roller axis 38a corresponding to the axial position of the tablet stacks. The receiving pockets 34a are respectively successive to each other at intervals of 90 degrees as viewed in the circumferential direction of the roller. In the view of fig. 5, the right outer receiving pocket 34a of the extractor roller 32a is shown occupied by a cleaning tablet 36 a.

Cartridge 46a is part of a system housing 54a (fig. 4) that forms, in addition to cartridge 46a, a channel housing 56a for the discharge channel leading to discharge opening 22a and a chamber housing 58a that receives extractor roller 32a and forms the roller receiving chamber. The system housing 54a itself may be secured to a wall plate 60a, which is shown in fig. 4 and 5 as a rectangular plate for illustrative purposes only, and may be, for example, a portion of the inner wall 18 (fig. 1) of the door. Thus, the system housing 54a may be mounted to the wall plate 60a from the rear (as viewed from the rinse chamber of the dishwasher). The system housing 54a may be a unitary component, or the system housing may be formed from a plurality of separate components that may be assembled into a structural unit prior to subsequent installation of the structural unit in the door of the dishwasher.

In the embodiment of fig. 6, which, like the embodiments of fig. 2 and 3 and fig. 4 and 5, proposes a roll-shaped configuration of the extractor mechanism (extractor roll 32 b), a blast channel 60b is machined in the door 14b of the dishwasher, up to the area of the cartridge 46b. A blower (which forms a blower device in the sense of the invention) which is also mounted in the door 14b and in the example shown is located in the blower channel 60b serves to generate a blower air flow which flows in the blower channel 60b in the direction of the cartridge 46b. The blower 62b draws relatively cool air from outside the dishwasher. In certain embodiments, the blast air directed to the cartridge 46b via the blast channel 60b is only swept along the cartridge wall on the outside and does not enter the inside of the cartridge 46b. In other arrangements, the blast air is introduced into the interior of the cartridge 46b such that the blast air may directly contact the cleaning tablets 36b stored therein there. In fig. 6, a plurality of slits 64b can be seen, which slits 64b are machined into one of the channel walls defining the blow channel 60b and allow the blow air to pass from the blow channel 60b to the cartridge 46b.

The operation of the blower 62b is controlled by a control device not shown. Since the rinse liquid (rinse water) in the rinse chamber of the dishwasher generally reaches temperatures of 50 ℃ or higher only stepwise, i.e. temporarily, it is possible that active blast cooling of the cleaning tablet 36b stored in the cartridge 46b is not required during the entire duration of the operation of the dishwasher. Instead, the blower 62b is only turned on during a certain high-temperature operating phase of the operating process. During which the flushing liquid, for example having a temperature of at least 50 c, or the air present in the flushing liquid, is filled.

Reference is now made to the embodiment of fig. 7 to 10. In this embodiment, the extractor mechanism is formed as an extractor slide (dosing slide) 32c which is reciprocally movable along a linear sliding direction 62c extending parallel to the door plane of the door 14c, extending horizontally in the mounted position of the door dosing system. The sliding direction 62c corresponds to the direction in which the stacks of tablets are arranged side by side in the magazine 46 c. The extractor slide 32c has an extraction opening 64c that is sized such that the contour is square and the vertically stacked cleaning tablets 36c can each individually slide into the extraction opening 64 c. The extraction opening 64c is designed as a drop opening, i.e. the extraction opening allows the individual cleaning tablets 36c to drop completely from the magazine 46c into the discharge channel 44 c. The extraction opening 64c is bottomless and opens downwardly unlike the extraction pouch of the embodiment of fig. 2, 3 and 4, 5.

For driving the extractor slide 32c in the sliding direction 62c is a first drive unit 66c, which in the example comprises an electric motor 68c as a power source and a reduction gear 70c connected downstream of the electric motor at the power output side. The reduction gear 70c (more specifically, a driven side end gear of the reduction gear 70 c) meshes with teeth (not visible in the drawing) formed on, for example, the extractor slider 32 c.

The sliding range of the extractor slide 32c is sized such that the extraction opening 64c is selectively movable under each stack of tablets. Thus, the extractor slide 32c can operate each stack of tablets and individually remove the cleaning tablets 36c from each stack of tablets without changing the stacking position. In the example shown in fig. 7-10, the magazine 46c provides space for two stacks of tablets, but it should be understood that the magazine 46c may be configured larger and may provide space for more than two stacks of tablets, if desired.

Fig. 9a to 9d show different stages of extraction of the cleaning tablet from the magazine 46 c. The cleaning tablet extracted in this process is denoted by 36c' in fig. 9a to 9d for better identification.

In fig. 9a, the extractor slider 32c has moved the extraction opening 64c below the one to the right in the drawing of the two tablet stack, so that the cleaning tablet 36c' can fall into the extraction opening 64c. This slide position constitutes a first slide position in the sense of the invention corresponding to the right-hand tablet stack. In this first slider position, the cleaning tablet 36c', although possibly falling into the extraction opening 64c, will not be able to slide through the extraction opening 64c because the extraction opening 64c of the extractor slider 32c is partially above the blocking surface 72c formed on the system housing 54 c. The blocking surface 72c prevents the cleaning tablet 36c' from falling out of the extraction opening 64c.

The discharge channel 44c is blocked in the state of fig. 9a by a locking element 74c, which in the example shown is formed as a sliding member that is linearly movable along the sliding direction 62c and selectively blocks and opens the discharge channel 44c. For driving the locking element 74c is a second drive unit 76c, which in the example shown comprises an electric motor 78c and a reduction gear 80c connected to the motor on the driven side. In the second drive unit 76c, the reduction gear 80c is engaged with the lock member 74c similarly to the case of the first drive unit 66 c; the latter is designed for this purpose with teeth 82c.

To selectively deliver the cleaning tablet 36c' slid into the extraction opening 64c, the extractor slide 32c is then moved to a second slide position in which the extraction opening 64c is completely above the discharge channel 44c and outside the range of action of the blocking surface 72 c. This situation is shown in fig. 9 b. Unblocking of cleaning tablet 36c 'by blocking surface 72c has resulted in cleaning tablet 36c' falling out of extractor slide 32c and into locking element 74c in drain channel 44c in fig. 9 b. As long as the locking element 74c is in its closed position according to fig. 9b, the cleaning tablet 36c' is prevented from falling further by the locking element 74c.

In the slide position according to fig. 9b, the extraction opening 64c of the extractor slide 32c is not vertically aligned with any stack of tablets, although it is located entirely above the discharge channel 44 c. Thus, in the slide position according to fig. 9b, none of the tablet stacks can have a new cleaning tablet 36c falling into the extraction opening 64 c. For this purpose, the extractor slide 32c has to be moved back to the slide position according to fig. 9a (if tablets are again to be taken out of the right-hand stack of tablets) or the extractor slide 32c has to be moved further beyond the slide position according to fig. 9b until the extraction opening 64c is located below the left-hand stack of tablets at the first slide position corresponding to the left-hand stack (if tablets are to be taken out of the left-hand stack). Also corresponding to the left tablet stack, the system housing 54c has a blocking surface 72c that prevents: the cleaning tablets 36c falling from the left tablet stack into the extraction opening 64c immediately slide further into the discharge channel 44 c.

The next step in the extraction process of cleaning tablet 36c' is to transfer locking element 74c to the open locked position. This is shown in fig. 9 c. Thus, the cleaning tablet 36c' may pass through the locking element 74c and fall in the discharge channel 44c in a direction further toward the delivery opening 22 c.

Finally, in fig. 9d, the arrival of the cleaning tablet 36c' at the delivery opening 22c is shown. Where the locking element 74c again returns to its closed locking position.

As shown in fig. 10, in certain embodiments, the extractor slide 32c may be accessed and disassembled by opening the maintenance flap 20c without having to install an inner and/or outer liner of the door 14c for this purpose. Such disassembly of the extractor slide 32c may be required, for example, for maintenance purposes or for the purpose of cleaning the tablet dosage system from time to time.

Claims (2)

1. A home dishwasher, comprising:

A wet chamber, a wet chamber,

A door for closing the wet chamber,

A dosing system mounted in a door, wherein the dosing system comprises a storage magazine for storing cleaning tablets, a discharge channel for transferring by gravity a dose of cleaning tablets extracted from the storage magazine to a delivery outlet provided at the wet side of the door, and a sliding member for locking for selectively blocking and opening the discharge channel, and

An extractor slide having an extraction opening for enabling a square and vertically stacked cleaning tablet to be individually slid into the extraction opening and fall into the discharge channel, the extraction opening being bottomless and open downward.

2. The home dishwasher of claim 1, further comprising:

a blast passage, and

A blower located in the blower channel for generating a blower air flow for introducing at least a portion of the blower air flow into the storage cartridge and/or for sweeping along the cartridge wall of the storage cartridge externally.