Tablet dosing system and water-carrying domestic cleaning apparatus equipped therewith

A tablet dosing system, in particular for a domestic dishwasher, includes a magazine for stocking cleaning tablets in a plurality of stacks arranged side by side in a row, and an extractor for extracting cleaning tablets from the magazine. The extractor comprises an extractor member which is arranged to be movable relative to the magazine and which is adapted, without changing the position of the stacks, to serve each of the stacks for the purpose of extracting cleaning tablets. The extractor member is in the form of an extractor roller having a plurality of extraction pockets distributed along the roller axis for each receiving at least one cleaning tablet from the stacks or the extractor member is in the form of a linearly movable extractor slider which is able to serve two adjacent stacks alternately for the purpose of tablet extraction.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to a tablet dosing system and a water-carrying domestic cleaning apparatus equipped with such a tablet dosing system.

2. Description of the Prior Art

In conventional domestic washing machines and dishwashers, various cleaning substances are added to the washing water that is used in order to improve or make possible the cleaning action. Such cleaning substances are conventionally obtainable in different administration forms, for example liquid, gel-like, powdered or compacted into tablet form. In particular in the case of domestic dishwashers, the tablet form has been found to be a popular administration form among end-users. On the one hand, the tablet form permits simple handling of the cleaning additive, and on the other hand, the user is largely relieved of dosing tasks since he only has to count out the number of cleaning tablets to be added (in conventional dishwashers, a single cleaning tablet per operating cycle of the machine is usually sufficient).

Conventional domestic dishwashers have a compartment in the inside wall of the machine door that faces the washing chamber when the door is closed, which compartment can be closed by a flap and into which the user has to place a cleaning tablet before each operating cycle of the machine. During the operating cycle, the flap springs open at a defined point in time or under defined conditions, so that the cleaning tablet can fall into the washing chamber and combine therein with the washing water. In order to reduce the operating effort for the user, it is desirable if the user does not manually have to place a cleaning tablet into such a tablet compartment at the start of each new operating cycle. Instead, an automatic tablet dosing system would be desirable which relieves the user of the task of having to concern himself with the dosed addition of a cleaning agent each time he operates the dishwasher.

For prior art relating to automatic tablet dosing systems for dishwashers, reference is made to DE 195 40 958 A1, DE 43 44 205 A1 and WO 02/058528 A1.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a tablet dosing system which, with a comparatively large capacity, permits the automatic dosing of in particular cleaning tablets of quadrangular shape.

In order to achieve this object, the present invention provides according to one aspect a tablet dosing system which is suitable in particular for a domestic dishwasher and comprises a magazine and an extractor. The magazine serves to stock cleaning tablets in a plurality of stacks arranged side by side in a row. The extractor serves to extract cleaning tablets from the magazine and comprises an extractor member which is arranged to be movable relative to the magazine and which is adapted, without changing the position of the stacks, to serve each of the stacks for the purpose of extracting cleaning tablets.

In the solution according to the invention, the magazine makes it possible to stock cleaning tablets not only in a single stack but in a plurality of stacks which are arranged side by side in a row which in particular is straight. For a given installation height which is available for the installation of the tablet dosing system, for example, in the door of a domestic dishwasher, the magazine can provide a correspondingly larger capacity for cleaning tablets than an magazine that provides space for only a single tablet stack. Arranging the stacks side by side in a row leaves the overall depth substantially unchanged in comparison with a single-stack magazine.

In the solution according to the invention, the extractor comprises an extractor member (which can also be referred to as a dosing member), which is able to serve each of the plurality of stacks without the stack in question having to be moved to a specific, defined service position. Instead, the extractor member has a range which allows the extractor member to serve each of the stacks with the aim of extracting cleaning tablets, despite the fixed position of the plurality of stacks. The possibility of arranging the stacks in a stationary manner makes it possible, for example, to install the tablet dosing system into the door of a domestic dishwasher, namely in such a manner that the stacks are arranged side by side parallel to the door plane of the door.

The ability of the extractor member to serve each stack individually additionally makes it possible to use cleaning tablets having an outline shape which differs from a circular cylindrical shape or a spherical shape. While spherical or disk-shaped tablets can be brought together in an unordered manner in a funnel and removed by an extractor at a single, common extraction point, this is possible in the case of cleaning tablets of quadrangular shape only with difficulty, if at all. As a result of each stack being served individually by the extractor member, it is possible to leave such tablets of quadrangular shape in an ordered stack formation until the time of their extraction. The risk of the cleaning tablets becoming jammed during the extraction process can thus be kept low or even avoided completely.

In some embodiments, the extractor member is formed by an extractor slider which is arranged to be movable to and fro along the row of stacks. The extractor slider comprises at least one extraction opening (dosing opening), with which the extractor slider can selectively be moved beneath either of each of at least two stacks of the plurality of stacks. The extraction opening is so dimensioned that a cleaning tablet is able to fall from the magazine through the extractor slider.

The extractor slider, in association with each of the at least two stacks, can be movable between a first slider position, in which the extraction opening is located beneath the stack in question and allows a cleaning tablet arranged at the bottom of the stack in question to fall into the extraction opening, and a second slider position, in which the cleaning tablet that has fallen into the extraction opening is able to fall downwards out of the extraction opening. In the first slider position, a cleaning tablet accordingly falls from one of the stacks into the extraction opening. By displacing the extractor slider from the first slider position into the second slider position, the cleaning tablet located in the extraction opening is then transferred into a position in which it can leave the extraction opening at the bottom and, for example, can fall into a delivery chute of the tablet dosing system. The delivery chute can also be referred to as a fall chute or fall channel.

In some embodiments, the extractor member is formed by an extractor roller which is arranged to be rotatable about a roller axis which is parallel to the row of stacks. The extractor roller comprises, distributed along the roller axis, at least one extraction pocket associated with each of the plurality of stacks. Each extraction pocket is so dimensioned that a cleaning tablet is able to fall from the magazine into the extraction pocket in question. By rotating the extraction roller about the roller axis, for example through approximately 180 degrees, a cleaning tablet that has fallen into an extraction pocket of the extractor roller can be transferred into a position in which it can fall out of the extraction pocket, for example into a delivery chute of the tablet dosing system.

For at least two stacks of the plurality of stacks, the extraction pockets associated with the at least two stacks can be offset relative to one another from stack to stack in the circumferential direction of the roller. This allows different stacks to be served by the extractor roller in a manner that is offset in terms of time.

It has been shown that heat can under some circumstances adversely affect the cleaning tablets stocked in the magazine. Heat protection for the cleaning tablets stocked in the magazine can be achieved by means of a forced air stream, which is introduced into the magazine or/and flows along the magazine walls on the outside. For this purpose, a blower arrangement for generating a blowing air stream for cooling the magazine is provided in some embodiments. The blowing air is advantageously obtained from outside the cleaning apparatus in which the tablet dosing system is installed. In the case of a dishwasher which is used in a private household, a blowing air stream having a temperature corresponding to the room temperature of the private dwelling of typically between approximately 18° C. and approximately 25° C. can be generated in this manner.

Conventional cleaning programs of dishwashers generate a temperature of approximately 50° C. or more in the washing chamber of the machine only during comparatively short phases. During other phases of a program cycle, the water temperature (and thus the air temperature) in the washing chamber is often below that temperature, for example during phases in which the dishes are being pre-rinsed with comparatively cold water in order to carry out rough pre-cleaning of the dishes. In view of this, it is provided in some embodiments that the fan arrangement is so controlled that it generates the blowing air stream at least during and in particular only during a high-temperature sub-phase of a cleaning program of the cleaning apparatus. A high-temperature sub-phase is, for example, a sub-phase in which the water temperature of the cleaning water is at least 50° C.

In some embodiments, the magazine and the extractor are part of a structural unit which can be pre-assembled and installed as such into the door, for example behind an outer paneling of the door.

According to a further aspect, the present invention provides a water-carrying domestic cleaning apparatus comprising a wet chamber, a door for closing the wet chamber, and a tablet dosing system of the type described above installed in the door. The tablet dosing system comprises a delivery outlet for delivering a cleaning tablet extracted by means of the extractor into the wet chamber. The cleaning apparatus is, for example, a domestic dishwasher.

According to yet a further aspect, the invention provides a water-carrying domestic cleaning apparatus, in particular a dishwasher, wherein the cleaning apparatus comprises a wet chamber and a door for closing the wet chamber. The door provides a storage chamber for receiving a supply of a cleaning substance, wherein a loading access for loading the storage chamber with the cleaning substance is provided in the door. Concealed in the door there is formed a fall channel, which discharges from the door on a wet side of the door at a mouth point. There is accommodated in the door a controllable dosing member which is configured for extracting a dose of the cleaning substance from the supply and for delivering the extracted dose into the fall channel. There is formed in the door, at a distance from the mouth point, a maintenance access which is separate from the loading access and is removably covered by a cover component, which maintenance access allows a user access to the fall channel or/and to the dosing member. Removable covering of the maintenance access by the cover component means that the cover component can be moved by the user (e.g. can be folded back, unscrewed or pushed away) in order to expose the maintenance access. The maintenance access allows maintenance work to be carried out inside the fall channel or/and on the dosing member, for example for the purpose of cleaning or if the dosing member has become blocked. The cleaning substance which is stocked in the storage space and can be dosed by means of the dosing member is in some embodiments not liquid and not in gel form but is powdered or compacted into defined shaped bodies (i.e. cleaning tablets). The wet side of the door is the side of the door that faces towards the wet chamber and is wetted during operation of the cleaning apparatus (and consequently when the door is closed).

In some embodiments, the maintenance access is formed on the wet side of the door. However, it is possible, as an alternative, to provide the maintenance access on the outer side of the door which faces away from the wet chamber when the door is in the closed state, although this will in some circumstances not be the preferred solution for reasons of the visual appearance of the cleaning apparatus.

In some embodiments, the dosing member can be removed from the door through the maintenance access. After the dosing member has been removed, at least parts of the storage chamber are in some embodiments also accessible via the maintenance access. In some embodiments, the maintenance access provides a continuous connection to the loading access at least when the dosing member has been removed. The loading access is formed, for example, in the region of a narrow side of the door or alternatively on the inside of the door, that is to say on the side of the door that faces towards the wet chamber and is exposed to the wet when the door is in the closed state. The user can use this continuous connection, for example, to introduce an optionally flexible brush through either the maintenance access or the loading access and push it through as far as the respective other access.

In some embodiments, the dosing member is concealed directly behind the cover component.

In some embodiments, the dosing member is formed by a sliding body which is mounted to be linearly movable or by a rotatably mounted rotating body (e.g. in disk or roller form).

The cover component can be formed, for example, by a cover flap, a screw cover or a sliding cover.

The invention will be explained further with reference to the accompanying drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference will first be made toFIG. 1. The dishwasher shown therein is designated generally10and has a form typical for use in a private household. The dishwasher10comprises a machine main body12to which a door14is attached about a horizontal pivot axis (not designated further). A wet chamber (washing chamber)16is formed in the machine main body12. Although not shown in greater detail inFIG. 1, the wet chamber16can be equipped in a manner known per se with one or more dish racks or/and with a cutlery drawer. The door14serves to close the wet chamber16during operation of the dishwasher10.

The door14has an inside wall18which faces towards the wet chamber16when the door is in the closed state and which is formed, for example, by a metal interior lining. A maintenance flap20is arranged on the inside wall18of the door14, which maintenance flap can be opened by the user if required and, in the closed state, blocks an access opening formed in the inside wall18. In the open state, the maintenance flap20allows the user access through the mentioned access opening to an extractor member (which in the exemplary embodiment under consideration here can also be described as a tablet separator). The extractor member is part of a tablet dosing system, which will be described in greater detail below, and is concealed behind the maintenance flap20when the maintenance flap is closed. By opening the maintenance flap20, a user can obtain access to the extractor member and can remove the extractor member through the access opening. This may be necessary for maintenance or cleaning purposes, for example if tablets have become jammed in the tablet dosing system. The access opening accordingly provides a maintenance access. The user can first try to eliminate the fault himself and, if necessary, clean the internal regions of the tablet dosing system by opening the maintenance flap20and removing the extractor member, before—if the user remains unsuccessful—customer services have to be called. The maintenance flap20can be resiliently biased in the direction towards its closed position by suitable spring means. The tablet dosing system further includes a delivery outlet22which is likewise arranged on the inside wall18of the door14and serves to deliver or, specifically, to eject cleaning tablets into the wet chamber16.

The tablet dosing system further includes a loading flap24which covers a loading access which allows a user to fill a magazine, not shown in greater detail inFIG. 1, which is concealed behind the inside wall18, with new cleaning tablets. The cleaning tablets introduced via the loading flap24are collected in said magazine, from where they are removed by means of the extractor member in a dosed amount, in particular singly, and ultimately travel via an ejection chute, which is likewise concealed behind the inside wall18, to the delivery outlet22, where they emerge into the wet chamber16. The delivery outlet22forms a mouth point at which the mentioned ejection chute discharges on the wet side of the door14. It will be seen that the loading flap24in the example shown is arranged on a narrow side26of the door which is located at the top when the door14is closed and thus vertical and is therefore easily accessible for the user. This narrow side26lies outside sealing bead contact surfaces28which are formed on the interior lining of the door14forming the inside wall18and, when the door14is closed, are oriented towards the machine main body12(i.e. towards the wet chamber16). The sealing bead contact surfaces28serve for contact of an elastomeric sealing bead30which is arranged on the front side of the machine main body12and extends around the wet chamber16and which, when the door14is closed, is compressed as a result of contact with the sealing bead contact surfaces28of the door14and thus serves to seal the wet chamber16to the outside. The loading flap24is consequently arranged outside the sealing barrier that prevents moist hot air from escaping from the wet chamber16between the machine main body12and the door14during washing operation of the dishwasher10.

Reference will now be made to the exemplary embodiment ofFIGS. 2 and 3. InFIG. 2there can be seen the mentioned extractor member, which in the example shown is formed by an extractor roller32. The extractor roller32, which is arranged behind the maintenance flap20, comprises a plurality of extraction pockets34(in the example shown a total of two), which are each so dimensioned that a defined number of cleaning tablets36of quadrangular shape in outline can be received in the extraction pocket34in question. In the example shown, the defined number is one, but it is not limited thereto. The extractor roller32is rotatably mounted about a roller axis38and can be driven about the roller axis38by an electromotive drive which is not shown in greater detail in the drawings. In the example shown, the roller axis38extends parallel to the door plane of the door14in the horizontal direction. The extraction pockets34are each in the form of a recess which is formed in the roller shell, that is to say in the circumferential surface of the extractor roller32.

The extractor roller32can be adjusted into different rotational positions. In a first rotational position, one of the extraction pockets34is located with its open pocket opening directly beneath a cleaning tablet36uwhich is at the bottom of a tablet stack40stored in a storage chamber42. In a second rotational position (depicted inFIG. 2), the extractor roller32is located with the open pocket opening of the extraction pocket34in question above the upper end of an ejection chute forming an ejection channel (fall channel)44. In the first rotational position of the extractor roller32, the cleaning tablet36ucan consequently fall into the extraction pocket34in question under the force of gravity. By rotation of the extractor roller32about the axis of rotation38into the second rotational position, the cleaning tablet36ulocated in the extraction pocket34in question can be transferred into a delivery position, in which the cleaning tablet36ucan fall out of the extraction pocket34in question into the ejection channel44.

The storage chamber42is formed by a magazine46which is installed behind the inside wall18of the door14. The storage chamber42extends as far as the loading flap24, so that the user is able to introduce new cleaning tablets36into the storage chamber42via the loading flap24. In the example shown, the cleaning tablets36are located in the storage chamber42in an ordered stack. Stocking the cleaning tablets36in an ordered manner in the storage chamber42is advantageous in the case of cleaning tablets that are approximately quadrangular in shape, as shown inFIG. 2, in order to ensure that the extractor roller32can reliably pick up individual cleaning tablets36(i.e. can reliably allow them to slide into a respective one of the extraction pockets34). The tablet stack in the storage chamber42is so oriented that the cleaning tablets36in the stack are able to slide down solely under the force of gravity and no additional feed means is required to push the stocked cleaning tablets36in the direction towards the extractor roller32. As shown inFIG. 2, the individual cleaning tablets36are for this purpose located in the tablet stack in an arrangement in which they are largely vertically above one another. The cleaning tablets36are located with their short narrow sides against one another, that is to say they are arranged on edge one above the other. In other embodiments, the cleaning tablets36can be arranged with their flat sides or with their long narrow sides against one another.

In order to increase the quantity of cleaning tablets36which can be stocked in the magazine46, the magazine is designed in the example ofFIGS. 2 and 3not only to receive a single tablet stack but to receive a plurality of tablet stacks which are arranged side by side in a horizontal row. All these tablet stacks are served jointly by the extractor roller32. The magazine46is installed in the door14in a stationary manner, for which reason the individual tablet stacks as such are also arranged in unchangeable, fixed stack positions in the door14. The extractor roller32has a range such that it is able to serve all the tablet stacks (i.e. can extract cleaning tablets36from every tablet stack) without the stack positions relative to the door14having to be changed. In the example ofFIGS. 2 and 3shown, the extractor roller32is designed to serve a total of two tablet stacks. Corresponding to this number of tablet stacks, the extractor roller is provided with a total of two extraction pockets34, which are so distributed in the direction of the roller axis38that each of the extraction pockets34is arranged at the axial position of an associated one of the tablet stacks. Assuming that only a single cleaning tablet36is required for each operating cycle of the dishwasher10, the extraction pockets34are so distributed in the circumferential direction of the extractor roller32that in each case only one of the extraction pockets34is located above the ejection channel44at any one time and accordingly only a single cleaning tablet36can be delivered at any one time from the tablet dosing system into the wet chamber16. In the example shown with a total of two tablet stacks and two extraction pockets34formed in the extractor roller32, each of which is associated with one of the tablet stacks, the two extraction pockets34are, for example, offset relative to one another in the circumferential direction of the roller by 180 degrees. Such a form of the extractor roller32can be seen inFIG. 3.

The distribution pattern of the extraction pockets34on the roller shell of the extractor roller32can be such that, in every rotational position in which one of the extraction pockets34is ready to receive a cleaning tablet36from one of the tablet stacks, another of the extraction pockets34is at the same time located above the ejection channel44. The picking up of a new cleaning tablet36by the extractor roller32is then accompanied at the same time by the release of another, previously picked up cleaning tablet36from the extractor roller32into the ejection channel44. In the example according toFIG. 3, each rotation of the extractor roller32through 180 degrees leads to a new cleaning tablet36falling into one of the extraction pockets34and at the same time a cleaning tablet36being released from the other extraction pocket34into the ejection channel44. In the case of three, four or five tablet stacks, the extraction pockets34arranged in different axial regions of the roller circumference are arranged offset relative to one another by, for example, 120 degrees, 90 degrees or 60 degrees. Moreover, it will be appreciated that the extractor roller32can also have more than one extraction pocket34per tablet stack, for example two extraction pockets. The distribution pattern of the extraction pockets34on the roller shell can then be so chosen, for example, that, on further rotation of the extractor roller32from a rotational position in which one of the extraction pockets34is ready to receive a cleaning tablet36from one of the tablet stacks into a subsequent rotational position in which the extractor roller32is ready next time to receive a cleaning tablet36, that next cleaning tablet36is always removed from a different tablet stack. In this manner, a cleaning tablet36is removed from each tablet stack in a given order, before the next removal cycle begins, in which a cleaning tablet36is again removed from each tablet stack in the same order. It will be appreciated that any desired orders of the removal of cleaning tablets36from the tablet stacks can be achieved via the distribution pattern of the extraction pockets34on the roller shell.

The extraction pockets34are preferably so dimensioned that there is sufficient space therein for the desired number of cleaning tablets36(i.e. generally a single cleaning tablet36) and the cleaning tablets do not protrude radially beyond the roller shell. This makes it possible for a roller-accommodating chamber, in which the extractor roller32rotates, to be made sufficiently small that the extractor roller32forms a sufficiently effective barrier against the escape of moist hot air from the wet chamber16via the ejection channel44through the roller-accommodating chamber into the magazine46. The chamber walls of the roller-accommodating chamber (such chamber walls are shown at48inFIG. 3) can be arranged sufficiently close to the extractor roller32that moist hot air is able to flow through the remaining gap at most to only a small, negligible degree.

The extractor roller32can be driven, for example, by means of a step motor (not shown), which is driven by a control device (likewise not shown) accommodated in the door14. A suitable sensor system can be provided for supplying a drive controller of the extractor roller32with information about the actual rotational position of the extractor roller32. Such a sensor system can comprise, for example, one or more Hall sensors, electromechanical switches or/and other sensor elements for detecting the rotational position of the extractor roller32.

In the further figures, elements which are the same or have the same effect are provided with the same reference numerals as inFIGS. 1 to 3, but with the addition of a lowercase letter. Unless indicated otherwise hereinbelow, reference is made to the above explanations relating toFIGS. 1 to 3for the explanation of such components which are the same or have the same effect.

FIGS. 4 and 5show an exemplary embodiment of a tablet dosing system having an extractor roller32awhich is configured not only to serve two tablet stacks—as in the exemplary embodiment ofFIGS. 2 and 3—but to jointly serve a total of four tablet stacks. For each of the tablet stacks, a magazine chute50ais formed in the magazine46a. The various magazine chutes50aare separated from one another by separating walls52a. The extractor roller32ahas a total of four extraction pockets34a, corresponding to the number of tablet stacks, which are arranged offset along the roller axis38aaccording to the axial positions of the tablet stacks. When seen in the circumferential direction of the roller, the receiving pockets34afollow one another in each case at a 90 degree interval. In the representation ofFIG. 5, the receiving pocket34aon the far right of the extractor roller32ais shown loaded with a cleaning tablet36a.

The magazine46ais part of a system housing54a(FIG. 4) which, in addition to the magazine46a, also forms a channel housing56afor the ejection channel leading to the delivery opening22a, and a chamber housing58awhich receives the extractor roller32aand forms the mentioned roller-accommodating chamber. The system housing54acan be fixed as such to a wall plate60awhich inFIGS. 4 and 5is shown as a rectangular plate, only for the purposes of the illustration, and can be part of the inside wall18(FIG. 1) of the door, for example. The system housing54acan thus be mounted on the wall plate60afrom behind (when seen from the washing chamber of the dishwasher). The system housing54acan be a one-piece component or it can be formed by a plurality of individual components which can be assembled to form a structural unit, before the structural unit is subsequently installed in the door of the dishwasher.

In the exemplary embodiment ofFIG. 6, which, like the exemplary embodiments ofFIGS. 2 and 3and ofFIGS. 4 and 5, provides a roller-like form of the extractor member (extractor roller32b), a blowing air channel60bis incorporated into the door14bof the dishwasher, which blowing air channel extends into the region of the magazine46b. A fan62b, which forms a blower arrangement within the meaning of the invention, which is likewise installed in the door14band, in the example shown, is seated in the blowing air channel60b, serves to generate a blowing air stream which flows in the blowing air channel60bin the direction towards the magazine46b. The fan62bdraws in comparatively cool air from outside the dishwasher. In some embodiments, the blowing air guided to the magazine46bvia the blowing air channel60bonly passes over the outside of the magazine walls, without penetrating the interior of the magazine46b. In other embodiments, the blowing air is guided into the interior of the magazine46bso that it is there able to come into direct contact with the cleaning tablets36bstored therein. There can be seen inFIG. 6a plurality of slots64bwhich are incorporated into one of the channel walls delimiting the blowing air channel60band allow the blowing air to pass from the blowing air channel60bto the magazine46b.

Operation of the fan62bis controlled by a control device, which is not shown in greater detail. Since the washing liquor (washing water) in the washing chamber of the dishwasher usually reaches temperatures of 50° C. or more only in phases, that is to say temporarily, it may be that it is not necessary to actively cool the cleaning tablets36bstored in the magazine46bwith blowing air for the entire duration of an operating cycle of the dishwasher. Instead, it may be sufficient to switch on the fan62bonly during specific high-temperature operating phases of an operating cycle in which the washing liquor or the air present in the washing chamber is at temperatures of, for example, at least 50° C.

Reference will now be made to the exemplary embodiment ofFIGS. 7 to 10. In this exemplary embodiment, the extractor member is in the form of an extractor slider (dosing slider)32c, which is movable to and fro in a linear sliding direction62cwhich runs parallel to the door plane of the door14cand, in the installed situation of the door dosing system, extends linearly. The sliding direction62ccorresponds to the direction in which the tablet stacks are arranged in rows side by side in the magazine46c. The extractor slider32chas an extraction opening64cwhich is so dimensioned that the cleaning tablets36c, which are of quadrangular shape in outline and are stacked on edge on top of one another, can each slide individually into the extraction opening64c. The extraction opening64cis designed as a fall-through opening, that is to say it allows individual cleaning tablets36cto fall completely from the magazine46cinto the ejection channel44c. The extraction opening64c, unlike the extraction pockets of the exemplary embodiments ofFIGS. 2, 3 and 4, 5, does not have a base and is open at the bottom.

For driving the extractor slider32cin the sliding direction62cthere serves a first drive unit66c, which in the example shown comprises an electric motor68cas the power source and a reduction gear70carranged downstream thereof on the power output side. The reduction gear70c(more specifically: a last toothed wheel of the reduction gear70con the output side) is in intermeshing engagement, for example, with a toothing (not visible in greater detail in the figures) formed on the extractor slider32c.

The sliding range of the extractor slider32cis such that the extraction opening64ccan selectively be moved to beneath each of the tablet stacks. Without changing the positions of the stacks, the extractor slider32ccan accordingly serve each of the tablet stacks and remove cleaning tablets36csingly from each of the tablet stacks. In the example ofFIGS. 7 to 10shown, the magazine46cprovides room for two tablet stacks, but it will be appreciated that the magazine46ccan also be made larger, if required, and can provide space for more than two tablet stacks.

FIGS. 9ato 9dshow different phases in the extraction of a cleaning tablet from the magazine46c. The cleaning tablet extracted in this operation is designated36c′ inFIGS. 9ato 9dfor the purpose of better identification.

InFIG. 9a, the extractor slider32cwith the extraction opening64chas been moved to beneath the tablet stack of the two tablet stacks that is on the right in the representation, so that the cleaning tablet36c′ was able to fall into the extraction opening64c. This slider position represents a first slider position associated with the right-hand tablet stack within the meaning of the invention. In this first slider position, although the cleaning tablet36c′ was able to fall into the extraction opening64c, it could not slide through the extraction opening64cbecause the extractor slider32cwith the extraction opening64cis partly located above a blocking surface72cformed on the system housing54c. The blocking surface72cprevents the cleaning tablet36c′ from falling out of the extraction opening64c.

In the state shown inFIG. 9a, the ejection channel44cis blocked by a lock element74c, which in the example shown is in the form of a sliding component which is movable linearly in the sliding direction62cand is able to selectively block and open the ejection channel44c. For driving the lock element74cthere serves a second drive unit76c, which in the example shown comprises an electric motor78cand a reduction gear80ccoupled thereto on the output side. Similarly to the first drive unit66c, the reduction gear80cin the case of the second drive unit76cis in intermeshing engagement with the lock element74c; the lock element is provided with a toothing82cfor this purpose.

For selectively delivering the cleaning tablet36c′ which has slid into the extraction opening64c, the extractor slider32cis next moved into a second slider position, in which the extraction opening64cis located wholly above the ejection channel44cand out of the range of the blocking surface72c. This situation is shown inFIG. 9b. The removal of the blocking of the cleaning tablet36c′ by the blocking surface72chas had the effect inFIG. 9bthat the cleaning tablet36c′ has fallen out of the extractor slider32cand has fallen down into the ejection channel44cas far as the lock element74c. However, the cleaning tablet36c′ is prevented from falling further by the lock element74cas long as the lock element is in its closed position according toFIG. 9b.

In the slider position according toFIG. 9b, although the extraction opening64cof the extractor slider32cis located wholly above the ejection channel44c, it is not oriented vertically with respect to any of the tablet stacks. Accordingly, in the slider position according toFIG. 9b, a new cleaning tablet36ccannot fall from any of the tablet stacks into the extraction opening64c. To that end, the extractor slider32cmust either be moved back into the slider position according toFIG. 9a(if a tablet is to be removed from the right-hand tablet stack again) or the extractor slider32cmust be moved further beyond the slider position according toFIG. 9buntil the extraction opening64cis located beneath the left-hand tablet stack in a first slider position associated with the left-hand stack (if a tablet is to be removed from the left-hand stack). In association with the left-hand tablet stack too, the system housing54ccomprises a blocking surface72cwhich prevents a cleaning tablet36cwhich has fallen from the left-hand tablet stack into the extraction opening64cfrom immediately sliding further into the ejection channel44c.

The next step in the extraction of the cleaning tablet36c′ is the transfer of the lock element74cinto an open lock position. This is illustrated inFIG. 9c. The cleaning tablet36c′ is then able to pass the lock element74cand fall in the ejection channel44cfurther in the direction towards the delivery opening22c.

Finally, the arrival of the cleaning tablet36c′ at the delivery opening22cis shown inFIG. 9d. The lock element74chas here been brought back into its closed lock position.

As illustrated inFIG. 10, it can be possible in some embodiments to obtain access to the extractor slider32cby opening the maintenance flap20cand to remove the extractor slider without having to remove the interior lining or/and the outer paneling of the door14c. Such a removal of the extractor slider32ccan be necessary from time to time, for example, for maintenance purposes or for the purpose of cleaning the tablet dosing system.