DISPENSER ARRANGEMENT FOR A LIQUID TREATMENT AGENT IN A DISH-WASHER

Abstract: A dish-washer comprises a cabinet (11), with a cleansing chamber (14). The chamber is closed by a door which sealingly cooperates with a sealing area (20) arranged on the cabinet and surrounding the cleansing chamber. A dispenser (24) for a liquid treatment agent is arranged in a recess (23) or the like in the cabinet (11) separated from the cleansing chamber (14) and so situated that the dispenser is accessible for re-filling the treatment agent from the door side of the machine in an area situated in the same plane as the sealing area (20) but radially outside it. The outlet (26) of the dispenser communicates with the cleansing chamber (14) by means of a tube (27) or the like.

Description: This invention relates to a dispenser arrangement for a liquid treatment agent in a dish-washer and of the kind described in the introduction of the following claim 1. Dispensers for wetting agents in dish-washers usually comprise a container with a refill opening as well as an outlet. Dosing the agent is effected by means of a piston activated by electricity and feeding the desired amount of the agent to the cleansing chamber via the outlet. In dish-washers which are placed on the floor the dispener is often arranged in the door of the machine which means that the inlet opening for the agent is easily accessible when the door is opened. A drawback is however that the dispenser is placed in the cleansing chamber which means that the re-fill opening has to be closed by a cover which is sealed by an annular ring or the like. In dish-washers being placed on the sink it is desirable to avoid electrical installations in the door and in this type of machines the dispenser has usually been arranged at the rear wall of the cleansing chamber. As in machines which are placed on the floor the re-fill opening of the dispenser has to be covered by a tight cover. In this case the re-fill opening is not easily accessible but re-filling has to take place inside the machine at its rear wall. In order to facilitate the re-fill operation the bottle containing the agent has been provided with an extended re-fill pipe. It has also been suggested, see US 3.207.373, to use a detergent dispensing arrangement which is placed above the cleansing chamber and which is accessible for refilling at the front side when the door is opened. However, this arrangement means that there has to be a space between the cabinet surrounding the cleansing chamber and the outer shell of the machine which increases the total height of the machine. For small dishwashers which are placed on sinks or table tops such an increase of the overall dimensions are not desirable. The purpose of this invention is to create a dispenser arrangement eliminating the drawbacks mentioned above. According to the invention re-filling takes place at the door-side of the machine and the dispenser is electrically operated without arranging the electrical conductors in the door. Moreover the arrangement minimizers the overall dimensions of the machine. The purpose is achieved with a dispenser arrangement having the characteristics mentioned in claim 1. One embodiment of the invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawing. Fig. 1 shows schematically a dishwasher cabinet seen from the front and with the door taken away. Fig. 2 is a side view of the cabinet according to Fig. 1 but with the door in its position. The dish-washer 10 comprises a cabinet 11 resting on two transverse support beams 12, 13 an enclosing a cleansing chamber 14 with a front opening. The opening can be closed by means of a rectangular door 15 which by taps 16 is turnably supported in holes 17 arranged in bearing parts 18 fastened to the support beam 13 and positioned on each side of the cabinet. In closed position the door cooperates with a sealing rim 19a attached to a vertical surface 19 surrounding the opening of the cleansing chamber. The sealing rim 19a is preferably of rubber and extends around the opening in a sealing area 20. The cabinet has from the front side seen rectangular shape and the surface 19 is a part of an edge flange 21 on the cabinet. As appears from Figure 1 the periphery of the edge flange 21 has a shape which corresponds to the periphery of the door so that the closed door completely covers the surface 19. As appears from Figure 1 the cleansing chamber 14 also has a generally rectangular shape. The upper left corner is however replaced by an inclined surface 22 which extends in the deep direction along the complete side of the cabinet. In this manner a space or recess 23 is created where a dispenser 24 for a liquid treatment agent such as a detergent or a wetting agent is placed. The cleansing chamber is provided with upper and lower extensible racks, not shown, for supporting the dishes. The support means on the racks for the plates are preferably placed so that the plates are mainly parallel with the rear wall at the left hand side of the cleansing chamber. This means that the corner area radially outside the plates which normally is a free space is effetively used. The dispenser comprises a container 25 which is wedge shaped in order to fit in the recess. In the rear part of the container there is an outlet 26 which via a short tube 27 is connected to the cleansing chamber. The tube is inserted into a sleeve shaped connecting part, not shown, in the wall of the cleansing chamber an sealed by annular sealing, not shown. Above the outlet 26 a solenoid 28 is arranged which acts on a piston or the like, not shown, arranged for feeding a fixed amount of the agent from the container 25 to the cleansing chamber. The dispenser is fastened at the cabinet partly by the tube 27 and partly because a front surface 29 of the container by means of screws or in any other way is fastened to the flange 21. In the flange there are openings or recesses for an extensible refill spout 30, an amount indicator 31 and a turnable nob 32 for setting the desired amount to be fed. The amount indicator comprises a transparant vertical pipe communicating with the inside of the container. The height of the liquid column in the pipe indicates the amount of liquid in the container. The re-fill spout 30 comprises a horisontal tube or an upwardly open channel which at its front end has a re-fill opening 33 and at its rear end has a downwardly directed outlet 34. The re-fill spout is movable between an extended position for re-filling and a retracted normal position. In the retracted position the door can be closed and in this position the door completely covers the dispensing arrangement.

Claims: 1. Diswasher dispenser arrangement for a liquid treatment agent the dishwasher comprising a cabinet (11) enclosing a cleaning chamber (14) which has an open end closed by a door (15) situated at the front of the cabinet (11) and having a rectangular shape which sealingly cooperates with a sealing area (20) on the cabinet (11) surrounding the open end of the cleansing chamber the sealing area being generally in the same plane as a front of the cabinet the cabinet (11) as viewed from the door (15) also having a generally rectangular shape the dispenser (24) being arrangement in a recess (23) in the cabinet (11) separated from the cleansing chamber (14) such that the dispenser is accessible for refilling of the liquid treatment agent from the door side of the machine in an area which is mainly in the same plane as the sealing area but as viewed from the front of the cabinet radially outside this area (20) the door (15) being so arranged that, in closed position, it covers the cleansing chamber (14) as well as the dispenser (24) the dispenser (24) having an outlet (26) which communicates with the cleansing chamber (14) by means of a connecting tube (27) or the like, characterized in that one of the upper corners of the cabinet is obliquely cut for forming the recess (23) for the dispenser (24). 2. Diswasher dispenser arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that the dispenser (24) comprises a container (25) with a refill opening (33) which is arranged at one end of a movable connecting part (30) having a generally planar front surface the other end of which opens into the container (25) whereby the planar surface of the connecting part (30) can be placed in a first position generally parallel to but situated at a distance from the front of the cabinet (11) and a second position in which the planar front surface of the connecting part (30) is generally in the same place as the front of the cabinet. 3. Dishwasher dispenser arrangement according to claim 2, characterized in that the connecting part (30) is an extensible refill spout.

Inventors: SUNDBERG, LARS-ERIK
Applicants: AKTIEBOLAGET ELECTROLUX
Application year: 1989
Main classification: A47L15
IPC codes: A47L15