Patent Publication Number: US-8123869-B2

Title: Dishwasher having sorption drying device

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is a continuation, under 35 U.S.C. §120, of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/791,381, filed May 23, 2007, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,846,270, issued on Dec. 7, 2010, which is a U.S. national stage application under 35 U.S.C. §371 of PCT/EP2005/056517, filed Dec. 6, 2005, which designated the United States; this application also claims the priority, under 35 U.S.C. §119, to German Application No. 10 2004 059 425.2, filed Dec. 9, 2004, and to German Application No. 10 2005 004 094.2, filed Jan. 28, 2005. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to a dishwasher with a washing container and devices for washing dishes by means of rinsing liquor and with a sorption drying device which is connected in an air-conducting manner to the washing container via an outlet of the washing container and an inlet of the washing container, and is provided with a sorption column encompassing reversible dehydratable material. 
     As is known, conventional dishwashers perform a washing process whose programme sequence generally consists of at least one “Pre-wash” partial programme step, a “Clean” partial programme step, at least one “Intermediate wash” partial programme step, a “Clear wash” partial programme step and a “Dry” partial programme step. To increase the cleaning effect the rinsing fluid or rinsing liquor is heated before or during a partial programme step. The rinsing fluid is normally heated by means of electrical heating elements. Different drying systems are known for drying the items to be washed in a dishwasher. 
     DE 20 16 831 discloses, for example, a dishwasher of the type already mentioned in which the air is conducted from the washing container through a sealable opening in the wall of the washing container on reversibly dehydratable material, and from there to the outside through an opening. Desorption of the reversibly dehydratable material takes place during the non-operating phase of the device, the water vapour formed thereby being conducted to the outside through the opening. The dishwasher described is disadvantageous from the energy viewpoint because the regeneration of the reversibly dehydratable material takes place during a non-operating phase of the appliance, i.e. at a time when none of the partial programme steps already described is being carried out. A further disadvantage consists in the fact that the possibility of damage to the surrounding kitchen furniture cannot be ruled out as a result of the discharge of the water vapour formed during regeneration of the reversibly dehydratable material to the outside. In this case the regeneration is associated with an additional energy requirement which is additional to the energy required during the partial programme steps. 
     In order to minimise the energy expended during operation of a dishwasher, DE 103 53 774.0 of the applicant discloses a dishwasher with a washing container and devices for washing dishes by means of rinsing liquor which is provided with a sorption column which is connected in an air-conducting manner to the washing container and encompasses reversibly dehydratable material, where on the one hand the sorption column is used for drying the dishes and on the other hand the thermal energy utilised for desorption of the sorption column is used to heat the rinsing liquor and/or the dishes in the washing container, at least in part. 
     To solve the same problem DE 103 53 775.9 of the applicant proposes conducting air from a processing space and/or from ambient air through a sorption column and into the processing space for operating an appliance in the at least one “Dry” partial programme step, where the sorption column encompasses reversibly dehydratable material and moisture is extracted from the air during its through-passage. 
     Heating the items to be washed in the partial programme step preceding the “Dry” partial programme step is no longer normally necessary due to the use of reversibly dehydratable material with a hydroscopic property, e.g. zeolith. This allows a substantial saving in energy. 
     EP 0 358 279 B1 discloses a dishwasher with a closed drying system in which the air from the washing container circulates through a drying device that can be regenerated by heating and from this device back into the washing container. The drying device is assigned to the heater arranged outside the washing container for the rinsing liquor, this heater preferably being a geyser. The outlet of the washing container is located in the ceiling of the washing container, whilst the inlet is integrated in the washing tank of the washing container. The outlet of the washing container is connected to the sorption drying device by means of an air duct. Since the sorption drying device is assigned to the heater for the rinsing liquor it is arranged in a region underneath the rinsing tank. 
     A common feature of all the arrangements described above is that the integration of the sorption drying device in a dishwasher is only conceptually described. The object of this invention is therefore to provide a dishwasher in which a sorption drying device can be integrated easily and at low cost. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     This object is achieved with a dishwasher having the features according to the exemplary embodiment described herein. 
     A dishwasher according to the invention, particularly a domestic dishwasher, has a washing container and devices for washing dishes by means of a rinsing liquor, as well as a sorption drying device which is connected in an air-conducting manner to the washing container via an outlet of the washing container and an inlet of the washing container, and which is provided with a sorption column encompassing reversibly dehydratable material. Provision is also made for connecting the outlet and inlet of the washing container to the sorption drying device without the intermediate mounting of an air duct. The advantage of this is that the space requirement is extremely low. This enables a dishwasher to be provided that is extremely simple and inexpensive to manufacture since it is possible to dispense with pipes or ducts that would have to be arranged in the dishwasher and since the sorption drying device can have a particularly compact design. 
     According to a preferred design the sorption drying device may be arranged in the bottom region of the dishwasher underneath a rinsing tank, the outlet and inlet of the washing container being arranged in the bottom region. Since sufficient space is normally provided for functional elements of the dishwasher underneath the rinsing tank, the sorption drying device can be integrated extremely easily in existing design and production processes. 
     According to a further suitable design the outlet and/or inlet is/are provided with a passive means for sealing against penetrating water. In the simplest case this may be a cover over the outlet and/or inlet which is preferably designed so that at the same time the direction of the air flow is established to achieve the best possible turbulence of the air in the washing container for effective moisture absorption. 
     In an alternative design the outlet and/or the inlet may be provided with active sealing means. The sealing means may be designed, for example, so that it can be actuated by applying a voltage. The sealing means may therefore be designed so that it is motor or hydraulically driven. It is particularly advantageous here if voltage is also applied to the sealing means when voltage is applied to the fan, enabling the sealing means to open to provide air circulation to the sorption drying device. Here the inlet and outlet need only be open during the regeneration phase of the sorption column and during the “Dry” partial programme step. During the other partial programme steps the sealing means provide such sealing to prevent spray water from penetrating the sorption drying device provided with electrical functional elements. 
     In a further suitable design the sealing means may also be actuated by a temperature-sensitive memory metal. Here the sealing means is not actuated electrically but on the basis of the temperatures prevailing during different partial programme steps. 
     According to a further design the sorption column is used for drying the dishes on the one hand, and the thermal energy utilised for desorption of the sorption column is used to heat the rinsing liquor and/or the items to be washed present in the washing container. In terms of its operating principle the dishwasher may be designed as described in DE 103 53 774.0 of the applicant, the content of which is incorporated in this application, if appropriate. The machine described here differs in terms of the arrangement of the sorption drying device. 
     According to a preferred feature, air is conducted from the washing container and/or from the ambient air during a partial programme step with rinsing liquor to be heated, preferably during the “Clean” and/or “Pre-wash” and/or the “Clear wash” partial programme step through the sorption column and back into the washing container. 
     An electrical heating element is suitably arranged for desorption of the reversibly dehydratable material and for heating the rinsing liquor and/or the items to be washed. This element is preferably arranged in the reversibly dehydratable material. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The invention is explained in further detail in the following with reference to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , which show exemplary embodiments of a dishwasher according to the invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
       FIGS. 1 and 2  show, in diagrammatic representations, a dishwasher  1  of the invention according to a first variant with a washing container  2 , in which are arranged crockery baskets  3 ,  4  for the storing of items to be washed, not shown. The dishwasher according to the invention can in principle be constructed as described in DE 103 53 774 and/or DE 103 53 775 of the applicant, the contents of which are incorporated in this application, where appropriate. Dishwasher  1  is provided with a sorption column  10  which is connected in an air-conducting manner to washing container  2  and encompasses reversibly dehydratable material  11 , e.g. zeolith, sorption column  10  being used on the one hand for drying and on the other hand for heating air passed through. Washing container  2  has an outlet  5  which is arranged in the exemplary embodiment described in rinsing tank  6 , which outlet is connected directly to a sorption drying device  21  arranged underneath the rinsing tank, and has an inlet  8  from sorption drying device  21  which is also arranged in the exemplary embodiment described in rinsing tank  6 . In addition to sorption column  10  sorption drying device  21  also has a fan  9  and an electrical heating element  12 , a housing  14  of the fan and a housing  13  of sorption column  10  being formed integrally underneath rinsing tank  6  of dishwasher  1 . The passage of air through sorption drying device  21  is denoted by arrows A, B and C. The drying process itself takes place as described in DE 103 53 774 and/or DE 103 53 775 of the applicant. 
     To prevent penetration of spray water in sorption drying device  21  and the electrical functional parts (fan  9 , heating element  12 ) during a partial programme step to which items to be washed in washing container  2  are subjected, outlet  5  is provided with a sealing means (not shown in detail in the FIGURE) for reliably preventing penetration of water. Inlet  8  in the FIGURE is suitably provided, for example, with a passive sealing means  15 , designed in the exemplary embodiment as a cover with a flow function. A passive sealing means can generally be represented by any suitably designed cover. 
     Both outlet  5  and inlet  8  could be provided with a (controllable) actively actuated sealing means according to a variant, not shown. An active sealing means may be formed by a cover, slide valve or the like having an opening and closing function, the opening and closing position preferably being coupled to the operation of sorption drying device  21 , more precisely to the operation of its fan  9  and/or electrical heating element  12 . The active sealing means can therefore allow unobstructed sucking in or blowing out of air during the operation of the fan, e.g. during the “Dry” partial programme step, and reliably seal the access or accesses to the sorption drying device against the penetration of rinsing liquor when the fan is switched off The active sealing means could be actuated by a motor and/or hydraulically, the actuation taking place as a function of the operation of the sorption drying device. 
     Alternatively the use of a memory metal would also be conceivable, which metal could be brought into an opening or closing position during different partial programme steps according to the varying temperatures. 
     The advantage of the dishwasher according to the invention is that it can be produced simply and at low cost because the laying and integration of air ducts can be dispensed with. 
     According to this invention a dishwasher is provided which, from the economic point of view, can be produced at low cost and can be cleaned and dried efficiently with the items to be washed present in the washing container, with the possibility of minimising the associated energy expenditure.