Patent Publication Number: US-9427134-B2

Title: Stationary household appliance, in particular a dishwasher

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to a stationary household appliance, in particular a dishwasher. 
     The transportation or stacking of stationary household appliances, in particular dishwashers, may take place at the factory using a clamping device, wherein clamping elements press with a holding force from outside onto the opposite side walls of the stationary household appliance housing. 
     In order to avoid transportation damage such as possible deformations occurring at the side walls in this situation, in a generic stationary household appliance a force transmitting element or force transducer which is capable of absorbing a force acting upon the housing wall from the outside is provided between a function element situated inside the housing and the housing wall. A holding force exerted from outside upon the housing side wall can thus be applied into the functional part inside the housing by way of the force transducer without this resulting in a deformation of the housing side wall. In this situation, the force transmitting element can transmit the force into structural components of the stationary household appliance at least two force application regions. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The object of the invention consists in making available a stationary household appliance which is able to reliably absorb holding forces with a reduced dead weight and increased functionality. 
     The invention is based on a stationary household appliance, in particular a dishwasher, at least having one housing wall and with at least one force transmitting element which transmits a force acting upon the housing wall from the outside into structural components of the stationary household appliance. 
     According to the characterizing portion of claim  1 , the force transmitting element has at least two force application regions for transmitting force into at least two different structural components of the stationary household appliance. In this manner, at least two force paths parallel to one another are provided to the two different structural components. The applied clamping forces are thus distributed over the at least two structural components, with the overall result that the risk of damaging the structural components is reduced. The invention is applicable to all stationary household appliances, for instance a dishwasher, a stove/oven, a washing machine or a dryer. 
     By preference, a first force application region can be provided in a hinge support, on which is articulated a pivoting hinge lever of an appliance door of the stationary household appliance. The second force application region can by contrast be provided in a front frame delimiting a loading opening of the stationary household appliance. 
     By preference, the clamping forces can be applied into the stationary household appliance in further force paths. Thus, a third force application region can be provided in the hinge lever of the appliance door. A fourth force application region can be provided in a base of the stationary household appliance. 
     The force transmitting element can have one or more supporting elements projecting therefrom, which are supported against the structural components of the stationary household appliance. In order to ensure an even application of force into the at least two different structural components, at least one supporting element can be associated with each of the force application regions respectively. In this situation, in an exemplary embodiment which is simple to manufacture the supporting elements associated with the force application regions can all be supported against the hinge support. 
     The stationary household appliance can have two opposing lateral hinge supports, between which the appliance door is arranged. The two hinge supports spaced apart from one another can be linked with one another by way of a force transmitting cross member, for instance a base rail which supports the two hinge supports with respect to the clamping forces. 
     The force transmitting element can have a plate-like basic element having at least one supporting element projecting therefrom, which can support itself against the stationary household appliance structural component. According to the invention, the force transmitting element is therefore not a compact structural component consisting of solid material. Rather, the force transmitting element can bear with its plate-like basic element on the housing wall in order to avoid indentations on the housing wall. On the side facing the functional part, the force transmitting element is however not in contact over its entire area but in accordance with its lightweight construction only with the at least one supporting element projecting from the plate-like basic element. As a result, weight can be saved overall—given appropriate dimensioning of the supporting element—without adversely affecting the functionality of the force transmitting element. 
     In order to further reduce the weight and to increase the strength, the plate-like basic element of the force transmitting element can have lattice-like stiffening walls, which by way of example are arranged in the manner of a honeycomb structure. In this situation, the stiffening walls and the supporting element can be arranged on a common side surface of the basic element, which preferably faces away from the housing wall. 
     In terms of installation, the force transmitting element can preferably be designed to be formed from the same material throughout and in one piece and for instance be manufactured as a plastic or metal injection molded part. In order to achieve a reduction in components, latching elements can be formed in one piece on the force transmitting element, by means of which the force transmitting element can be captively pre-fixed to the functional part. To realize a compact design, it is advantageous if the latching element is formed directly on the frontal supporting surface of the supporting element of the force transducer. 
     As already mentioned above, lateral hinge supports in particular, between which an appliance door is articulated in pivoting fashion, are suitable as functional parts in the housing interior for the application of force and/or for mounting the force transmitting elements according to the invention. In the case of a dishwasher, the appliance door can pivot around a horizontal axis of rotation in order to open or close the washing container which is open at the front. 
     The two lateral hinge supports are normally stiff, plate-like sheet metal parts which are held in a base group of the dishwasher. The lateral hinge supports together with the appliance door articulated thereto and connected between form an extremely stiff structure in the side direction of the appliance, to which the lateral holding forces acting on it from outside can be applied without causing damage. 
     Normally the appliance door is articulated in rotatable fashion by way of lateral hinge levers on bearing pins which are seated in the hinge supports. The two hinge levers of the appliance door can moreover each have a lever arm which is also pivoted laterally along the hinge support. The lever arm can be connected to a compensation device which for instance by way of a spring exerts a compensation moment on the appliance door which counteracts the weight moment of the appliance door. Through appropriate dimensioning of the compensation device, the moments acting on the appliance door are always in equilibrium regardless of the pivot position of the appliance door. 
     The lever arm of the hinge lever of the appliance door can be arranged in one side direction of the appliance between the respective hinge support and the force transmitting element. In this case, the force transmitting element can overlap the lever arm of the hinge lever in hood-like fashion. The supporting element of the force transmitting element should be arranged here outside the pivot path of the lever arm. In particular, a free space into which the lever arm of the hinge lever can be pivoted without impairment can be provided between the force transmitting element and the hinge support. 
     By preference, in the region of the hinge lever the base plate of the force transmitting element can have a raised contact contour. In the normal state this can be spaced away from the hinge lever and only in the event of an external application of force be deflected onto the force transmitting element with elastic resilience until contact is made with the hinge lever. In this case, the lateral holding forces can be applied directly by way of the hinge lever into the stiff hinge structure. 
     When the stationary household appliance is fully installed, the lever arm of the door-side hinge lever protrudes through a hinge opening of a front frame part delimiting the washing container opening right into the free space delimited by the hinge support and by the force transducer. This free space is thus configured to be open towards the outside by way of the hinge opening. Operating noises inside the housing can thus issue to the exterior through the free space and the front-side hinge opening. In order to prevent this, the force transmitting element can have sound-damping walls which preferably can extend between the force transmitting element and hinge support. In this manner, said free space for the lever arm of the hinge lever is separated with respect to the housing interior. In addition, the sound-damping walls can at least partially cover the hinge opening on the front side, by which means the noise emission from the appliance is further inhibited. 
     In order to further increase its stiffness, the plate-like basic element of the force transducer can have a side wall running all round the edge. The basic element is thus designed to be approximately dish-shaped. When the force transmitting element is installed, the flat dish base can be in contact with the housing side wall and the side wall running all around the edge can project in the direction of the functional part. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       An exemplary embodiment of the invention will be described in the following with reference to the attached figures. 
       In the drawings: 
         FIG. 1  shows a perspective partial view of a dishwasher; 
         FIG. 2  shows in a further perspective view a lateral hinge region of the dishwasher, on which an appliance door is articulated; and 
         FIG. 3  shows a force transducer according to the invention on its own. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXPLEMARY EMBODIMENTS OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
       FIG. 1  shows a perspective partial view of a dishwasher having a washing container  1  which is open at the front. The washing container  1  is usually arranged in an outer housing  3  of the dishwasher. Only a housing side wall  5  and front frame elements  7 ,  9  of the outer housing  3 , which delimit a front loading opening of the washing container  1 , are shown in  FIG. 1 . The front loading opening of the washing container  1  can be closed by means of an appliance door  13 , articulated in pivoting fashion around a horizontal axis of rotation  11 , which is indicated in  FIG. 1  only by means of dashed lines. 
     The appliance door  13  is supported in the usual manner on both sides by means of hinge levers  15 . The hinge levers  15  are in turn articulated by way of bearing pins  25  to lateral plate-like hinge supports  17 , only one of which is shown in  FIG. 2 . According to  FIG. 2 , the hinge support  17  is a sheet metal part of an approximately angular configuration, the vertical arm of which is held laterally in a base group  19  of the dishwasher. 
     The hinge lever  15  of the appliance door  13  has a lever arm  21  which projects laterally beneath the washing container  1  through a hinge opening  23  in the vertical front frame part  7  into the housing interior. The lever arm  21  is operatively connected to a compensation device (not shown) which exerts a compensation moment M 1  clockwise on the appliance door  13 , which counteracts the weight moment of the appliance door  13  acting counterclockwise. In the two  FIGS. 1 and 2 , only the right-hand hinge region of the dishwasher is shown in each case. The corresponding left-hand hinge region (not shown) is of identical construction. 
     As can also be seen from  FIG. 2 , the hinge lever  15  is rotatably mounted in the side direction y laterally outside the hinge support  17  on the latter&#39;s bearing pins  25 . In this situation, the lever arm  21  of the hinge lever  15  moves along an outer side surface of the hinge support  17 . The two hinge supports  17  arranged in each case in the lateral region of the dishwasher together with the appliance door  13  arranged between them overall form a hinge structure which is extremely stiff in the side direction y. This can absorb holding forces F H  acting laterally on the opposing side walls  5  without any damage during a transport situation. 
     According to  FIG. 2 , the front loading opening of the washing container  1  is delimited by a front frame  22 . This is supported in the usual manner against the hinge support  17  by way of its lateral frame strip shown in  FIG. 2 . For a fixed connection with the hinge support  17 , the front frame  22  is screwed together with the hinge plate  17  by means of an indicated screw connection  24 . 
     The two lateral hinge supports  17  are furthermore connected together beneath the washing container base by way of a cross member, in other words the indicated base rail  26 . The base rail  26  of planar configuration closes off to the front an assembly opening to the motor compartment. Furthermore, the base rail  26  is used for noise damping and can be provided with a corresponding damping layer, a bitumen layer for instance. 
     In order to apply the holding force F H  from the respective housing side wall  5  into the dishwasher, according to  FIG. 2  a force transmitting element  27  is provided which absorbs a holding force F H  acting from outside on the side wall  5  and applies it into the interior of the dishwasher. 
     The force transmitting element  27  is supported according to  FIG. 2  by way of supporting elements  30  on the outside on the hinge support  17  shown. In this situation, the supporting elements  30  are widely distributed over the entire hinge support  17  in such a manner that the associated force application regions I, II, III, IV are associated with different structural components, in other words the hinge support  17 , the front frame  22  of the washing container  1 , the base group  19  and the hinge lever  15 . 
     The first force application region I here is associated with the hinge support  17 , while the second force application region II is associated with the front frame  22 . In contrast, the third force application region III is associated with the hinge lever  15  of the appliance door  13  and the fourth force application region IV is associated with the base group  19 . In this manner, not only a single structural component is subjected to the clamping force F H . Rather, the force application regions I, II, III, IV make available force paths running parallel to one another, by means of which the clamping forces F H  are distributed over the hinge plate  17 , the base group  19 , the front frame  26  and the hinge lever  15 . 
     The force transducer or the force transmitting element  27  is shown on its own in  FIG. 3 . The force transducer  27  here is designed as an injection molded plastic part in one piece and formed from the same material throughout. Overall, the force transducer  27  is implemented in lightweight construction in its geometrical configuration. To this end, the force transducer  27  has a plate-like basic element  29  and supporting elements  30  projecting therefrom. The plate-like basic element  29  has a closed smooth surface facing the side wall  5  in order to avoid indentations or dents in the side wall  5  during transportation. The closed smooth surface of the force transducer  27  is delimited by a side wall  31  miming all around the edge, which projects in the direction of the hinge support  17 . Together with the closed smooth outer surface of the force transducer  27 , the side wall  31  running all around the edge overall forms an approximately dish-shaped structure which incorporates lattice-like stiffening walls  33 . 
     The supporting elements  30  of the force transmitting element  27  projecting from the basic element  29  are designed differently according to  FIG. 3 . Thus, a first supporting element  30  is configured as a cylindrical latching dome, on the front of which, facing the hinge support  17 , a latching element  35  is formed centrally. The latching element  35  is surrounded by an annular surface  37  which is supported against the hinge support  17 . The second supporting element  30  has two supporting struts spaced apart from one another, between which is arranged a further latching element  35  which overtops the two struts in the side direction of the appliance y. Both latching elements  35  can engage behind corresponding latching openings in the hinge support  17 . The third supporting element  30  is designed without an additional latching element  35  and is supported merely on the side surface of the hinge support  17 . 
     In  FIG. 2 , the force transducer  27  is shown latched laterally to the hinge support  17 . In this situation, the plate-like basic element  29  is spaced by way of a free space  39  from the hinge support  17  by means of the supporting elements  30 . According to FIG.  2 , the lever arm  21  of the hinge lever  15  protrudes into the free space  39  formed between the hinge support  17  and the force transmitting element  27 . In this situation, the supporting elements  30  are positioned such that they do not impede the pivot path S of the lever arm  21 . 
     As can be seen further from  FIG. 3 , a contact contour  41  raised from the stiffening walls  33  is also formed in addition to the supporting elements  30 . In the normal state the contact contour  41  is spaced away from the lever arm  21  of the hinge lever  15  so as not to impede the door pivoting motion. In the event of an application of force by means of the lateral holding force F H , the force transducer deflects in the region of the contact contour  41  with elastic resilience until contact is made with the lever arm  21 . In this manner, the holding force F H  can in addition also be applied by way of the hinge lever  15  into the hinge support  17 . 
     The free space  39  provided between the force transducer  27  and the hinge support  17  is open towards the outside by way of the hinge opening  23  in the front frame part  7 . Operating noises from inside the housing are carried outside undamped through the hinge opening  23 . In order to achieve a reduction in noise here the force transducer  27  has sound-damping walls  43 . A first of the sound-damping walls  43  is arranged in the structural depth direction x on the rear of the force transducer  27  and separates the free space  39  to the rear from the housing interior. Furthermore, according to  FIGS. 1 to 3 , a vertical section of the side wall  31  situated at the front in the structural depth direction x likewise serves as a sound-damping wall  43 . According to  FIG. 1 , the front sound-damping wall  43  of the force transducer  27  partially covers the hinge opening  23  of the front frame part  7 , by which means the noise emission is likewise reduced. 
     LIST OF REFERENCE CHARACTERS 
     
       
         
           
               
             
               
                   
               
               
                 List of reference characters 
               
               
                   
               
             
            
               
                   
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                 1 
                 Washing container 
               
               
                 3 
                 Outer housing 
               
               
                 5 
                 Housing wall 
               
               
                 7, 9 
                 Front frame parts 
               
               
                 11 
                 Axis of rotation 
               
               
                 13 
                 Appliance door 
               
               
                 15 
                 Hinge lever 
               
               
                 17 
                 Hinge support 
               
               
                 19 
                 Base group 
               
               
                 21 
                 Lever arm of hinge lever 15 
               
               
                 22 
                 Front frame 
               
               
                 23 
                 Hinge opening 
               
               
                 24 
                 Screw connection 
               
               
                 25 
                 Bearing pins 
               
               
                 26 
                 Base rail 
               
               
                 27 
                 Force transducer or force transmitting element 
               
               
                 29 
                 Plate-like basic element 
               
               
                 30 
                 Supporting elements 
               
               
                 31 
                 Side wall running all around edge 
               
               
                 33 
                 Stiffening walls 
               
               
                 35 
                 Latching elements 
               
               
                 37 
                 Annular surface 
               
               
                 39 
                 Free space 
               
               
                 41 
                 Contact contour 
               
               
                 43 
                 Sound-damping walls 
               
               
                 y 
                 Side direction 
               
               
                 x 
                 Depth direction 
               
               
                 S 
                 Pivot path 
               
               
                 M 1   
                 Compensation moment 
               
               
                 F H   
                 Holding force 
               
               
                 I, II, III, IV 
                 Force application regions