Diswasher with height adjustable rack

Abstract: A dishwasher (1) is described comprising a washing tank (2) housing at least one rack (3) that is sliding along lateral guides (4) of the tank to which said rack (3) is connected by means of sliding means (101, 102) provided with adjustment means (7) that are suitable to selectively vary the vertical position of the rack (3). The adjustment means (7) for the height of the rack (3) are of the pin (11) and slot (12) type, being said slot (12) associated with at least one first element (8) that is movable vertically and integral with the rack (3) and the pin (11) being free to slide in a guide (10) of at least one second element (6) associated with the sliding means (101, 102). The slot (12) have a reversed Y shape with one of the wings aligned with the common stem and with connection passage between the two wings. The pin (11) cooperates with the slot (12) in such a way that by applying the rack (3) a force directed upward an upper position and a bottom position are defined between which the rack (3) can be moved, with the pin (11) in locking engagement with the slot (12) in said bottom and upper positions of the rack (3).

Description: The present invention refers to a dishwasher with height adjustable rack. There are known dishwashers, particularly for household, that have on the inside of a tank a rack that is extractable and selectively adjustable in height in order to support dishes having various sizes. A dishwasher of such type is known for instance from DE-A-4228954 in which a dishwasher rack is laterally provided with elastically stressed levers, each one of which has three grooves at different heights in which a tang belonging to a triangular plate slideable along a guide predisposed for the horizontal sliding of the rack is selectively engageable. The height adjustment of the rack takes place by means of horizontal pressure on the top ends of the levers so as to take the tangs out of the grooves in which they are inserted, which is followed by the lifting or lowering of the rack to the desired position and by the insertion of the tangs in the new groove by means of release of the levers. The height adjustment of the rack takes place by operating separately on each lever. However this solution is demonstrated to be particularly uncomfortable to use, since the adjustment in height of the rack requires, for every side of the same, the double operation on the levers for the extraction and the subsequent insertion of the tangs from and into the grooves and the vertical sliding of the rack. EP-A-0 901 770 shows a dishwasher rack height adjustment means comprising first and second elements and pins slidable in V-shaped tracks to assume upper and lower positions. The preamble of independent claim 1 is based on this document. In view of the state of the art herein described, scope of the present invention is to provide a dishwasher with a rack which is adjustable in height by means of a simple operation device. According to present the invention, such scope is attained by means of a dishwasher comprising a washing tank housing at least one rack sliding along lateral guides of the tank with which said rack is connected by means of sliding means provided with adjustment means that are suitable to selectively vary the vertical position of said rack, characterised in that said adjustment means for rack height are of the pin and slot type, said slot being associated with at least one first element that is vertically movable and integral with the rack and said pin being free to slide in a guide of at least one second element associated with the sliding means, said slot having a reversed Y-shape with one of the wings in line with the common stem and with connection passage between the two wings, said pin cooperating with said slot in such way that by applying a force upward to the rack an upper position and a bottom position are defined between which said rack can be moved, being said pin in locking engagement with said slot in said bottom and upper positions of the rack. Owing to the present invention it is possible to form a dishwasher with rack adjustable in height in a simple and fast way by means of the single lifting of the rack. The characteristics and the advantages of the present invention will become evident from the following detailed description of some embodiments thereof, that are illustrated as a non-limiting example in the enclosed drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a schematic side view of a dishwasher with extracted rack provided with a device for the adjustment of the height according to the present invention; Figure 2 is a schematic side view of the rack in Figure 1 during the lifting step; Figure 3 is a schematic side view of the rack in Figure 1 in lifted position; Figure 4 is a section of the single rack height adjustment device in Figure 1 according to line IV-IV; Figure 5 is a section of the single rack height adjustment device in Figure 3 according to the line V-V. With reference to the annexed figures a dishwasher 1 is shown that is provided with a washing tank 2 housing at least one rack 3 extractable from the tank 2 and that is suitable to support the dishes to be washed. The rack 3 is preferably made of plasticized metal rod and it is horizontally sliding along side guides 4 having substantially C-shape that are slidingly mounted on rollers 5 that are hinged onto respective side walls of the tank 2. The rack 3 is connected with the guides 4 by means of rollers 101, 102 that are engaged inside the same guides. Said rollers are connected with a flange 6 that is part of a device 7 that allows the lifting of the rack 3. Two devices 7 for the lifting of the rack 3 are provided but a single device 7 will be described hereinafter. Said device 7 also comprises a pair of vertical walls 8 that are integral with the rack 3 and vertically sliding along appropriate guides 9 of the flange 6. This last is provided with two horizontal grooves 10 in each one of which one end of a pin 11 can slide. On the other end of the pin 11 a slot 12 can slide, that is provided on each wall 8, with a shape similar to a reverse Y but with one of the two wings aligned with the common stem instead that apart from it and with connection passage between the two wings. The two grooves 10 are each provided with an opening 100 for the assembly of the pin 11. The pin 11 can be in two engagement positions with slot 12, shown in figures 1, 4 and 3, 5, respectively a position A in which the pin 11 is in a top end of the stem of the slot 12 and a position B in which the pin 11 is in the passage of connection between the two wings of the slot 12. The device 7 allows the height adjustment of rack 3 between an upper position and an bottom position shown respectively in Figures 3 and 1. In the bottom position shown in Figure 1, the top edges of the walls 8 rest on the top edge of the flange 6 and the pin 11 is in the position A. In order to move one or both sides of the rack 2 into the upper position it is sufficient to lift the rack 3. In this way each wall 8 integral with the rack gets lifted with respect to the flange 6 and the slot 12 slides on the pin 11 so that it gets into the position B, as shown in Figures 2 and 3, 5. In that way the pin 11 supports each wall 8 and therefore the rack 3. In order to bring the rack 3 back into the normal bottom position it is necessary to lift the same rack 3 for a short additional distance so as to unloch the pin 11 from its position B in the slot 12. After the aforesaid partial lifting the walls 8 can slide toward the bottom due to gravity thus determining the sliding of the slot 12 onto the pin 11 so that the pin 11 gets in its starting position A with the rack 3 in its bottom position, as shown in Figures 1 and 4. From what herein described the structural simplicity of the dishwasher according to the present invention and the particular easiness with which the rack 3 can be adjusted in height with a single and simple manual lifting operation that does not require any specific intervention on behalf of the user become evident. The dishwasher herein described can be subject to modifications within the sphere of the invention; for instance the pin 11 and the slot 12 can be shaped differently in order to allow the adjustment of the rack 3 in more than two different positions.

Claims: Dishwasher (1) comprising a washing tank (2) housing at least one rack (3) sliding along lateral guides (4) of the tank to which said rack (3) is connected by means of sliding means (101, 102) provided with adjustment means (7) that are adapted to selectively vary the vertical position of said rack (3), wherein said adjustment means (7) for the height adjustment of the rack (3) are of the pin (11) and slot (12) type, said slot (12) being associated with at least one first element (8) that is movable vertically and integral to the rack (3) and said pin (11) being free to slide in a guide (10) of at least one second element (6) associated with the sliding means (101, 102), characterised by said slot (12) having a reversed Y shape with one of the wings aligned with the common stem and with connection passage between the two wings, said pin (11) cooperating with said slot (12) in such a way that by applying to the rack (3) a force directed upward an upper position and a bottom position are defined between which said rack (3) can be moved, said pin (11) being in locking engagement with said slot (12) in said bottom and upper positions of the rack (3). Dishwasher according to claim 1, characterized in that said second element (8) is a wall on whose surface facing to said first element (6) said slot (12) is obtained. Dishwasher according to claim 1, characterized in that said pin (11) is in a position (A) in proximity of a top end of the stem of the slot (12) in said bottom position of the rack (3) and it is in a position (B) inside the connection passage of the wings of the slot (12) in said upper position of the rack (3).

Inventors: FUMAGALLI SILVANO, FUMAGALLI, SILVANO
Applicants: CANDY SPA, CANDY S.P.A.
Application year: 2001
Main classification: A47L15
IPC codes: A47L15