CN114587231A - Dosing of solid detergents in domestic dishwashers - Google Patents

Abstract

A domestic dishwasher comprises a dishwashing container, a door mounted on the dishwashing container for closing a dishwashing chamber formed therein, and a dosing system for a solid detergent (for example in tablet form), the dosing system being arranged at the door. In some embodiments, the dosing system comprises an annular bin having a rotatably arranged rotor defining a plurality of radially outwardly open circumferentially distributed storage compartments each for receiving a detergent tablet. In some embodiments, a chute is arranged below the rotor, which chute allows detergent tablets that have fallen into the chute to freely fall to a discharge opening where they can enter the dishwashing chamber. By rotating the rotor, the storage compartment filled with detergent tablets can be placed in a position radially opposite the dosing opening, which is the start of the chute.

Description

Dosing of solid detergents in domestic dishwashers

Technical Field

The present disclosure generally relates to dosing of solid detergents in a domestic dishwasher.

Background

In dishwashers for private households, the technology is moving towards providing a silo in the machine which can store larger quantities of solid detergent. For liquid rinse aids, solutions already exist for storing an amount of liquid sufficient for a number of operating cycles of the dishwasher. Storage solutions with automatic dosing are also increasingly being investigated for actual detergents, usually in the form of compacted detergent tablets or pourable detergent powders.

For the prior art concerning solutions for storing and dosing detergents in the form of powder or tablets in domestic dishwashers, reference may be made, for example, to the following documents: DE102014115512a 1; W02009/022223A 1; CN 111743495A; DE102019009054a 1.

Detergent tablets are particularly easy for the user to handle. If the user is required to introduce detergent powder into the hopper of the powder dosing unit, it is very easy for the user to spill some of the detergent powder. These inconveniences are not generally feared with the use of detergent tablets. However, especially in the case of detergent tablets not having a spherical, elliptical or disc-like shape, it is often necessary to store the detergent tablets in an ordered manner in a magazine in order to be able to reliably remove a defined number of detergent tablets during operation of the dishwasher (typically 1 tablet is required per operating cycle). The magazine for orderly storing of detergent tablets may form, for example, one or more stacking chutes, wherein the detergent tablets may be stored stacked one on top of the other (see, for example, DE102019009054a 1).

Another silo structure that should be considered more closely within the scope of the present disclosure is an annular silo structure that allows specific measured portions of detergent tablets or detergent powder to be stored in an annular arrangement. The publications WO2009/022223a1 and CN111743495A mentioned at the outset disclose annular silo solutions with a plurality of storage compartments distributed along a ring (in each of which a detergent tablet or powder fraction can be stored). According to WO2009/022223a1, the detergent contained in the storage compartment is gradually flushed from the storage compartment by a jet of water. Unless the individual storage compartments of the cartridge are perfectly sealed from each other, which is often difficult to achieve, splashing can reach the detergent portions stored in the other storage compartments, which can lead to undesired caking and clumping. CN111743495A provides a slide for pushing a detergent tablet prepared in a storage compartment laterally out of the storage compartment. The slide block causes considerable additional expenditure in terms of construction and control.

Disclosure of Invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide a dosing system suitable and intended for use in a dishwasher, which dosing system is characterized by a simple construction and a simple operating principle.

In order to achieve this object, the invention provides a domestic dishwasher, wherein the dishwasher comprises a dishwashing container, a door mounted on the dishwashing container so as to be pivotable about a horizontal door pivot axis close to the ground/floor (floor) for closing a dishwashing chamber formed in the dishwashing container, and a dosing system arranged at the door for solid detergent. The dosing system comprises: a rotor arranged in the bin chamber so as to be rotatable about a rotor axis, the rotor defining a plurality of radially outwardly open storage compartments distributed circumferentially about the rotor axis, each storage compartment for receiving a portion of the solid detergent; a dosing opening in a boundary wall of the silo chamber, wherein each storage compartment can be brought individually one after the other into a position diametrically opposite the dosing opening by rotating the rotor in order to empty said storage compartment through the dosing opening; and a chute connected to the silo chamber through the dosing opening. The rotor is arranged with its plane of rotation substantially parallel to the main plane of the door, wherein the dosing opening is arranged below the rotor such that when the door is closed and when one of the storage compartments is moved into a position radially opposite the dosing opening, a portion of the solid detergent stored in said storage compartment can fall by gravity alone from said storage compartment through the dosing opening into the chute.

According to this solution, it is sufficient to rotate the rotor into a position in which one of the storage compartments is in a position radially opposite the dosing opening. In this dosing position of the storage compartment in question, a portion of the solid detergent located therein can fall radially from the storage compartment and through the dosing opening into the chute by gravity alone. The storage compartment does not have to be flushed by a jet of water, nor does it have to be pushed laterally (horizontally) by an additional pusher to push part of the solid detergent out of the storage compartment. The metering opening can be formed, for example, in a chamber boundary wall of a cartridge chamber which is formed by the chamber housing and surrounds the rotor in an annular manner.

In some embodiments, the rotor is mounted in the door with a plane of rotation of the rotor substantially parallel to a major plane of the door, wherein the chute abuts the bin chamber below the bin chamber. The positional term below in turn refers to the state when the door is closed. Typically, the door is mounted on the dishwashing container of the dishwasher so as to be pivotable about a horizontal pivot axis adjacent the floor. Thus, the closed door has a vertical orientation; when the door is opened, the door pivots in the horizontal direction. In order to allow a gravity-driven transport of the detergent from the storage compartment and into the chute, the chute is thus arranged below the rotor in a direction towards the pivot axis close to the floor. By rotating the rotor further step by step, the detergent portions can thus be conveyed from each storage container successively into the chute.

The solid detergent may be present as a pourable powder or tablet form. Such detergent tablets are typically compacted into a defined spatial form from one or more powdered starting materials, in some cases with different active composition. Detergent tablets of approximately quadrangular form are often found, wherein the detergent tablets have an approximately rectangular outline, seen from the large face of the detergent tablet, and the length and width, seen from the large face of the detergent tablet, are greater than the thickness, seen from the small face of the detergent tablet. However, the invention is of course not limited to such quadrangular detergent tablets; the use of detergent tablets of other shapes is also contemplated within the scope of the present disclosure. Where reference is made herein to a portion of a solid detergent, that portion consists of a defined number of such detergent tablets (e.g. individual detergent tablets) in the case of a detergent tablet. In the case of powdered detergents, a portion consists of the quantity of powder introduced into the storage compartment. This quantity may be measured specifically, in particular when the cartridge has been filled with detergent by the manufacturer, or may be a quantity determined by visual judgment, for example when the consumer has manually introduced detergent by first filling or refilling.

In some embodiments, the chute defines a drop section extending substantially linearly downward, particularly from the dosing opening to the discharge opening, for a portion of the solid detergent to fall freely in the chute, wherein the chute opens from the door into the discharge opening of the dishwashing chamber. In these embodiments, the portion of the solid detergent removed from the silo can fall, without additional assistance, through the dosing opening and the entire chute, to and from the discharge opening, only under the influence of gravity. After leaving the discharge opening, part of the solid detergent may be absorbed and dissolved by the dishwashing water splashed or collected in the dishwashing chamber.

In some embodiments, the chute is arranged so as to be immovable with respect to the dosing opening. For example, the dosing system comprises a common housing part which delimits at least part of the magazine chamber and at the same time delimits at least part of the chute.

In some embodiments, the dosing system comprises a drive mechanism for driving the rotor in rotation, such that the direction of rotation of the rotor may be changed. Furthermore, a control unit is provided, which is adapted to control the drive mechanism to change the direction of rotation of the rotor. By these measures, the dosing system provides structural and control-related requirements for driving the rotor to change the direction of rotation.

Changing the direction of rotation of the rotor can be used for a variety of purposes. For example, the detergent tablet is easily clamped or otherwise retained in its storage compartment such that it does not immediately fall out of the storage compartment when the latter has been moved into a position opposite the dosing opening in a first approach stroke. In this case, however, moving the storage compartment back and forth one or more times over the dosing opening may help the cleaning tablet to fall out of the storage compartment. Thus, some embodiments provide that the control unit is adapted to control the drive mechanism such that said storage compartment is moved back and forth at least once in order to empty one of the storage compartments. In particular, the storage compartment can be moved at least once at least partially beyond the dosing opening and then returned into a position radially opposite the dosing opening.

Alternatively or additionally, it is useful to be able to change the direction of rotation of the rotor to verify that the storage compartment has in fact been emptied. It is therefore provided in some embodiments that the dosing system comprises a sensor system which allows the presence of a portion of solid detergent in the storage compartments to be detected before said storage compartments are moved into an emptying position (dosing position) relative to the dosing opening, wherein the control unit is adapted to control the drive mechanism such that after one of the storage compartments has been moved into the emptying position, said storage compartment is moved back into the detection range of the sensor system. By moving the storage compartment back, it can be checked by the sensor system whether there is still a portion of solid detergent in the storage compartment. If not, it may be determined that the storage compartment has been properly emptied, provided that the storage compartment has been identified as being full before moving to the emptying position. If so, the control unit may issue a visual or/and audible warning message to the user, for example, or/and further attempt to empty the same storage compartment or/and attempt to empty the next storage compartment.

Some embodiments include a drive mechanism for driving rotation of the rotor, a control unit for controlling the drive mechanism, and a sensor system coupled with the control unit that allows detecting the presence of a portion of the solid detergent in the storage compartment. The control unit is adapted to control the drive mechanism to move one of the storage compartments into the emptying position if it is detected that a portion of the solid detergent remains in the one of the plurality of storage compartments after the storage compartment has been moved into the emptying position at least once relative to the dosing opening. Thus, even if one of the storage compartments cannot be successfully emptied (e.g. due to the action of moisture, the cleaning tablet has become stuck in said storage compartment and cannot fall out), the function of the dosing system is still maintained. If the storage compartment cannot be emptied at a predefined number of emptying attempts, the dosing system will attempt to empty the next storage compartment. It is therefore not necessary to interrupt the operation of the dishwashing program.

If the control unit detects that the storage compartment cannot be emptied despite one or more attempts, the control unit may issue an audible or/and visual indication to the operator. This indication constitutes a request for the operator to clean the silo and remove any agglomerated amount of detergent.

Hot steam or/and spray from the dishwashing compartment may enter the chute or/and the bin compartment. Hot steam or spray can be harmful to the detergent stored in the annular bin. For example, the detergent may partially dissolve and form lumps or stick to the walls of the storage compartment. The intrusion of hot water components can be counteracted by the blowing stream being introduced into the silo chamber or/and the chute. Thus, some embodiments provide that the dosing system comprises a blower for generating a blowing stream into the silo chamber or/and into the chute.

The blower may be in direct-blow-supply connection with the chute. Directly here means that the blower supply connection leads directly from the impeller chamber of the impeller, in which the blower is arranged, to the chute without first passing through other parts of the dosing system, in particular the silo chamber. In other embodiments, it is provided that the blower is in direct-blowing supply connection with the silo chamber. There, the incoming wind can then enter the chute. In such embodiments, there is a blower supply connection between the blower and the chute through the silo chamber.

The chute can be selectively closed and released. To this end, the dosing system may comprise a closing member which is arranged so as to be movable back and forth, in particular in a translatory manner, between a closing position and a release position, and which in the release position releases the chute such that a portion of the solid detergent can fall to the discharge opening, and which in the closing position closes the chute such that a portion of the solid detergent cannot fall to the discharge opening. The closing member may in particular be configured such that in its closed position the closing member substantially closes the entire chute cross section of the chute. Thus, when the chute is closed (i.e. when the closing member is in the closed position), unwanted steam or/and splashing can be prevented from invading the part of the dosing system located above the closing member. However, for dosing purposes, the chute must occasionally be opened, so that a portion of the detergent removed from the magazine can reach the end of the chute and from there reach the dishwashing chamber of the dishwasher. During this opening phase of the chute, it is advisable to activate the blower so that the hot steam and/or the spray can be as far away from the silo as possible. Embodiments of the invention thus provide a control unit for a hair dryer, wherein the control unit is adapted to control the hair dryer to generate a blow at least during a phase in which the closing member is in the release position.

Of course, the blower may be controlled to additionally generate a blow during the phase in which the closing member is in the closed position and the chute is thus closed. This is because the presence of tightness defects, due to which steam and/or splashes can enter the silo chamber, cannot be ruled out. Therefore, the blower can be conveniently operated when the chute is closed. For example, it is conceivable that in some embodiments the blower is driven substantially continuously during the entire wet phase of the operating program of the dishwasher and is even additionally allowed to run during a subsequent drying phase (in which the measures for actively drying the dishes are carried out by the dishwasher), if desired.

According to some embodiments, the dosing system comprises a pusher for forcing a portion of the solid detergent stored in one of the storage compartments radially outwards in the drop direction. The pusher may for example be in the form of a spring operated pusher or in the form of an electromagnetically actuated pusher.

Some embodiments provide that the dosing system comprises an electrically controllable drive mechanism for driving the rotor in rotation and a cartridge cover, in particular a pivotably mounted cartridge cover, for closing the inlet to the cartridge chamber. The bin cover can be removed from the bin chamber without disconnecting the mechanical drive connection between the drive mechanism and the rotor, and each storage compartment is accessible through the inlet to be filled with a portion of the solid detergent when the bin cover has been removed.

The rotor may be secured against axial removal from the cartridge chamber by at least one fastening member (e.g., a screw), the release of which requires an auxiliary tool.

According to another aspect, the invention provides a dosing system for a domestic dishwasher, comprising: a rotor disposed or disposable in the cartridge chamber so as to be rotatable about a rotor axis, wherein the rotor forms a central cup portion bounded by a cup side surface and a cup base; and a plurality of storage compartments arranged radially distributed in a circumferential direction outside the central cup portion and axially overlapping the cup side surface, each for receiving a portion of the solid detergent; and an electrically controllable drive mechanism for driving the rotor in rotation, wherein in an operational readiness state of the dosing system, electromechanical or/and mechanical components of the drive mechanism, in particular the electric motor or/and the reduction gear, are accommodated inside the cup such that they are at least partially concealed under the cup base. Accommodating the components of the drive mechanism in the central cup portion facilitates a smaller overall height of the dosing system. In particular, the inner circumference of the cup-side surface can be used for providing a toothing with which a drive pinion of the drive mechanism arranged in the central cup portion meshes.

A further aspect of the invention provides a dosing system for a domestic dishwasher, comprising: a rotor arranged or arrangeable in the bin chamber such that it is rotatable about a rotor axis, wherein the rotor forms a plurality of storage compartments arranged to be distributed in a circumferential direction about the rotor axis, each of the storage compartments for receiving a portion of the solid detergent; and a photosensor system allowing to detect the presence of a portion of solid detergent in the storage compartments, wherein the sensor system is adapted to emit a sensor beam into each storage compartment, the sensor beam being directed radially inwards and radially outwards, or vice versa. The injection of a light beam directed radially or at a relatively small (acute) angle with respect to the radial direction through the storage compartment allows the light emitting or/and light receiving means to be arranged radially inside or/and radially outside the storage compartment but within the axial height of the storage compartment. Therefore, the sensor system does not require any additional installation space in the vertical direction. This is advantageous in view of the limitations in terms of installation space typically imposed by the door of a domestic dishwasher in the direction of the thickness of the door.

Each storage compartment is radially delimited internally by a wall portion of the rotor provided with a window opening, wherein the sensor system is adapted to direct a sensor beam to each storage compartment through the window opening.

Another aspect of the invention provides a domestic dishwasher having a dishwashing container, a door mounted on the dishwashing container so as to be pivotable about a horizontal door pivot axis proximate a floor for closing a dishwashing chamber formed in the dishwashing container, and a dosing system arranged at the door for solid detergent. The dosing system comprises: a bin for storing a solid detergent; a chute for conveying by gravity a portion of the solid detergent removed from the hopper to the discharge opening; a closing member arranged to be movable back and forth, in particular in a translatory manner, between a closing position and a release position, and which in the release position releases the chute such that a portion of the solid detergent can fall to the discharge opening, and which in the closing position closes the chute at a closing point located below the starting point of the chute such that a portion of the solid detergent cannot fall to the discharge opening; an electrically controllable actuator for driving the closing member; and a control unit adapted to control the actuator such that, when a dishwashing program of the dishwasher is running, the closing member is in the closed position for a majority of the duration of the program, but upon removal of a portion of the solid detergent from the cartridge, the removed portion is allowed to freely fall in the chute from the start of the chute to the discharge opening.

In this aspect of the invention, it is ensured by the control unit that the free fall of the detergent portions conveyed from the magazine into the chute is not temporarily stopped by the closing member, since the closing member is still in its closed position. Instead, when the detergent portion removed from the magazine falls into the chute, the control unit ensures that the closing member is in its release position. Therefore, the detergent part can fall through the entire chute at one stroke. For this purpose, the control unit is suitably programmed or otherwise configured such that the transfer of the closing member from the closing position to the release position is effected in due time before the detergent portion conveyed from the magazine into the chute reaches the position of the closing means. Once the detergent portion has passed the closing member, the closing member may be immediately moved back into its closed position.

A further aspect of the invention provides a domestic dishwasher comprising a dishwashing container, a door mounted on the dishwashing container so as to be pivotable about a horizontal door pivot axis proximate a floor for closing a dishwashing chamber formed in the dishwashing container, and a dosing system arranged at the door for solid detergent. The dosing system comprises: a bin for storing a solid detergent; a chute for conveying by gravity a portion of the solid detergent removed from the hopper to the discharge opening; a closing member arranged to be movable back and forth, in particular in a translational manner, between a closing position and a release position, and which in the release position releases the chute such that a portion of the solid detergent can fall to the discharge opening, and which in the closing position closes the chute such that a portion of the solid detergent cannot fall to the discharge opening; an electrically controllable actuator for driving the closing member; and a control unit adapted to control the actuator such that the closing member is moved out of the closed position into the release position without initiating a dishwashing program of the dishwasher in response to a received predefined operating command of the operator. This functionality of the control unit allows to transfer the closing member into its release position for cleaning purposes, so that the user can reach all areas of the chute with cleaning objects, such as brushes or toothbrushes.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a dosing system for a domestic dishwasher, comprising: a bin for storing a solid detergent; a chute for conveying by gravity a portion of the solid detergent removed from the hopper to the discharge opening; a closing member arranged to be movable back and forth, in particular in a translatory manner, between a closing position and a release position, and which in the release position releases the chute such that a portion of the solid detergent can fall to the discharge opening, and which in the closing position closes the chute at a closing point located below the starting point of the chute such that a portion of the solid detergent cannot fall to the discharge opening; a sensor system, in particular a photoelectric sensor system, associated with the chute, the sensor system being adapted to check whether a portion of solid detergent is present in the chute area of the chute above the closing point.

The sensor system makes it possible to scan the chute by means of the sensor for the drop of the detergent portion removed from the magazine or/and for the presence of a detergent portion that has stopped at the (closed) closing member. The functional reliability of the dosing system can thus be improved. The sensor system makes it possible to determine whether the detergent portions have actually entered the chute or/and passed through the chute during the dosing operation. For example, the sensor system can work by the functional principle of a light barrier. Mechanical sensors with sensor arms projecting into the path of the detergent fall in the chute are likewise conceivable as an alternative to the test beam that is projected into the chute.

Another aspect of the present invention provides a household dishwasher, comprising: a rotor arranged or arrangeable in the bin chamber such that it is rotatable about a rotor axis, wherein the rotor forms a plurality of storage compartments arranged to be distributed in a circumferential direction about the rotor axis, each of the storage compartments for receiving a portion of the solid detergent; a chute for conveying by gravity a portion of the solid detergent removed from one of the storage compartments to the discharge opening; and a sensor system, in particular a photoelectric sensor system, which allows to detect the presence of a portion of solid detergent in one of the storage compartments and to independently detect the presence of a portion of solid detergent in the chute. In this aspect of the invention, the sensor system is adapted to scan at least one of the storage compartments for the presence of detergent parts and to monitor the chute for the entry or the fall of detergent parts.

Wherein the dosing system in the last-mentioned aspect of the invention comprises a closing member which is arranged to be movable back and forth, in particular translationally movable back and forth, between a closing position and a release position, and which in the release position releases the chute such that a portion of the solid detergent can fall to the discharge opening, and which in the closing position closes the chute at a closing point located below the starting point of the chute such that a portion of the solid detergent cannot fall to the discharge opening, the sensor system in some embodiments being adapted to check whether a portion of the solid detergent is present in the chute area of the chute above the closing point or/and in the chute area of the chute below the closing point.

The invention also provides a domestic dishwasher having a dishwashing container, a door mounted on the dishwashing container so as to be pivotable about a horizontal door pivot axis close to the floor for closing a dishwashing chamber formed in the dishwashing container, and a dosing system arranged at the door for solid detergent, wherein the dosing system comprises a storage compartment for receiving a supply of solid detergent and defines a drop section leading to a discharge opening for a portion of solid detergent extracted from the supply. The discharge opening allows the extracted portion to enter the dishwashing chamber. According to the invention, in such a dishwasher it is provided that the dosing system comprises a movably arranged protective cover which is spatially associated with the discharge opening and an electrically controllable actuator, in particular an electric actuator, with which the protective cover is drive-coupled for its movement for selectively releasing and closing the discharge opening.

DE102014115512a1 mentioned at the outset already discloses a protective cap for covering the discharge opening at the end of the drop section. The protective cover according to this publication is configured in a gravity pendulum manner and closes the discharge opening when the door is open and horizontally oriented. However, upon closing the door, the protective cover is pivoted under the influence of gravity into an open position which releases the discharge opening. Thus, the drain opening is released throughout the duration of the operating cycle of the dishwasher, and spray may pass through the drain opening into the drop section at any time during the operating cycle. In contrast, changing from a purely passive protective cover responsive to gravity to an actively controllable protective cover allows the protective cover to also close during operational phases of spraying water in the dishwashing chamber. This provides a high degree of protection for the detergent stored in the storage chamber (silo) from moisture ingress causing damage.

In some embodiments, wherein the dosing system comprises a closing member arranged to be movable back and forth, in particular translationally, between a closing position and a release position, and which in the release position releases the drop section such that a portion of the extracted detergent can drop to the discharge opening, and which in the closing position closes the drop section such that the detergent cannot drop to the discharge opening, the closing member is also drivingly coupled with the actuator for its movement. Thus, in these embodiments, the closure member and the protective cover are drivingly coupled to the same actuator. This allows a synchronized actuation of the closing member and the protective cover; furthermore, the expenditure in terms of construction is simplified, since only a single actuator (and optionally only a single reduction gear) has to be provided to actuate both components.

In some embodiments, the actuator is controlled such that when a dishwashing program of the dishwasher is running, the protective cover is in a closed position closing the discharge opening for a majority of the duration of the program, but is opened upon occurrence of a predefined event. In this sense, the predefined event may be, for example, a dosing operation that removes a detergent portion from the storage chamber and sends it to the drop section. Once the dosed detergent portion has been delivered into the dishwashing chamber, the protective cap can be closed again. In summary, the time for which the protective cover releases the discharge opening during the operating program of the dishwasher can thus be reduced to a very short period of time, for example only a few seconds. Thereby providing effective protection against moisture ingress into the drop section and storage chamber.

According to another aspect, the invention provides a domestic dishwasher having a dishwashing container, a door mounted on the dishwashing container so as to be pivotable about a horizontal door pivot axis near the floor for closing a dishwashing chamber formed in the dishwashing container, and a dosing system arranged at the door for solid detergent. The dosing system comprises a storage chamber for receiving a supply of solid detergent and defines a drop section leading to a discharge opening for a portion of solid detergent extracted from the supply. According to this aspect, the discharge opening allowing the extracted detergent portion to enter the dishwashing chamber is arranged eccentrically with respect to the lateral centre of the door, as seen along the door pivot axis. This is based on the assumption that, at least in some dishwashers, the water jet hits the door approximately centrally (centrally when seen in the lateral direction of the door) during the dishwashing operation. By arranging the discharge opening offset with respect to the center, the possibility of spray undesirably entering the dosing system via the discharge opening may be reduced.

For example, the opening center of the discharge opening, as seen along the door pivot axis, may be arranged offset with respect to the door lateral center by not less than 4cm or not less than 8cm or not less than 12 cm.

In general, the aim is to be able to store as large a quantity of detergent as possible in the dosing system, so that the user has to refill the magazine of the dosing system relatively little. The same is true for the case of configuring the silo as an annular silo. If quadrangular detergent tablets are inserted into the magazine in an annular arrangement pressed against their large faces (so that their small faces face each other), the total number of detergent tablets that can be stored is relatively small. In contrast, if the rotor of the annular magazine defines a plurality of tablet compartments distributed in the circumferential direction around the rotor axis, and each detergent tablet (in the form of a flat body having opposite large faces and small faces connecting the large faces, the detergent tablet being longer and wider than it is thick and at the same time longer than it is wide when looking at the large faces of the detergent tablet (for example, in the case of a quadrangle)), is placed into one of the tablet compartments lying against the longitudinal small face of the detergent tablet, a larger number of detergent tablets can be stored in the annular magazine. In particular, the detergent tablets may be placed in the tablet compartment in such a way that each detergent tablet is oriented substantially radially when looking axially into the annular magazine. By this radial orientation, the detergent tablet faces its major face in the circumferential direction. However, it is not excluded that the detergent tablets are arranged in an orientation angled to the radial direction when looking axially at the annular magazine. Storing the detergent tablets in both cases in an annular bin standing on the small side (viewed axially) of the detergent tablet allows a relatively large number of detergent tablets to be stored.

The invention also provides a tablet dosing system for installation in a domestic dishwasher, wherein the tablet dosing system comprises a magazine for storing two stacked detergent tablets arranged side by side and an extractor for extracting detergent tablets from the stack and conveying the extracted detergent tablets into a chute. The extractor has an extractor member arranged to be movable relative to the bin for use individually for each stack for extracting detergent tablets from said stack. According to the invention, the extractor member is formed by a rotary body arranged to be rotatable about an axis of rotation, wherein the two stacks are arranged side by side substantially along a vertical plane with respect to the axis of rotation, and the rotary body has two extraction pockets, which extraction pockets are distributed non-uniformly, in particular in the circumferential direction, and each extraction pocket is dimensioned such that a detergent tablet can fall out of the magazine into said extraction pocket.

For example, two extraction pockets may be located within a circumferential segment of the rotational body that extends no more than 220 °, or no more than 200 °, or no more than 180 °. The arrangement of the rotary bodies such that the direction of the side-by-side arrangement of the stack of tablets is substantially parallel to the plane of rotation of the rotary bodies allows the extractor to have a relatively small mounting depth in the direction of the axis of rotation of the rotary bodies. It can therefore be considered that there is generally limited available installation space in the door of the dishwasher in the direction of the thickness of the door.

Alternatively or additionally to configuring the extractor member as a rotating body, such a tablet dosing system may comprise a blower for introducing a blower into the bin, wherein an impeller of the blower is arranged between the two stacks.

The invention also provides a tablet dosing system for mounting in a domestic dishwasher, comprising a magazine for ordered storage of detergent tablets, a chute for gravity-driven transport of detergent tablets extracted from the magazine to a discharge opening, and a closing member arranged such that it can be moved between a closed position and a release position and in the release position releases the chute such that extracted detergent tablets can fall to the discharge opening, and in the closed position closes the chute such that detergent tablets cannot fall to the discharge opening. The tablet dosing system is characterized by a blower for generating a blowing stream, wherein the blower comprises an impeller in an impeller chamber and the impeller chamber is in blowing supply connection with the chute or/and an extractor chamber in which a movably arranged extractor member is received for extracting detergent tablets from the magazine and transporting the extracted detergent tablets into the chute. Via the blower supply connection, the blower generated blower can enter the chute or/and the extractor chamber and prevent hot steam or/and splashes from penetrating into the silo.

Finally, the invention also provides a domestic dishwasher comprising a dishwashing container, a door mounted on the dishwashing container so as to be pivotable about a horizontal pivot axis close to the floor for closing a dishwashing chamber formed in the dishwashing container, and a dosing system arranged at the door for a solid detergent, wherein the door has a liner on an inner side of the door facing the dishwashing chamber when the door is closed. The dosing system comprises a storage chamber for receiving a supply of solid detergent and a chute for gravity-driven delivery of a portion of solid detergent removed from the supply to the discharge opening. The dosing system further comprises a blower for introducing a blower into the storage chamber or/and the chute, wherein the blower comprises an impeller which is rotatably arranged in the impeller chamber and the impeller chamber is in blower-supplying connection with the storage chamber or/and the chute. The impeller chamber is formed by a housing part fitted to the inner liner on the rear side, which housing part has one or more intake slots which are open, in particular, towards the inner liner for drawing air into the impeller chamber.

Drawings

The invention will be explained below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a domestic dishwasher according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an inside of a door of a home dishwasher in accordance with an exemplary embodiment;

fig. 3a shows a tablet dosing system for installation in a door of a domestic dishwasher with detergent tablets delivered from an annular magazine of the tablet dosing system resting on a closing slide and waiting for a chute to be released, according to an exemplary embodiment;

figure 3b shows the tablet dosing system of figure 3a with the closing slide having released the chute and the detergent tablet having dropped through the chute;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a rotor having a plurality of tablet compartments, the rotor being suitable for use in an annular magazine, according to an exemplary embodiment;

fig. 5a is a perspective view of a tablet dosing system with an annular cartridge with the cartridge cover open according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 5b is a cross-sectional view of the tablet dosing system with the rotor of the annular silo of FIG. 5a removed;

FIG. 5c is a plan view of the tablet dosing system of FIG. 5 a;

fig. 6a shows a tablet dosing system with an annular magazine with a protective cover of the tablet dosing system open according to another exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 6b shows the tablet dosing system of FIG. 6a with the protective cover closed;

fig. 7a to 7d are different views of a tablet dosing system with an annular magazine according to another exemplary embodiment;

figure 8 shows a detail view of an annular magazine with a spring operated pusher according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 9 shows an annular magazine with an electromagnetic impeller according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 10 is a partially cut-away perspective view of a blower mounted on a door of a dishwasher in accordance with an exemplary embodiment;

fig. 11 shows a tablet dosing system with stacked bins according to an exemplary embodiment; and

fig. 12 shows a tablet dosing system with stacked bins according to yet another exemplary embodiment.

Detailed Description

Reference is first made to fig. 1. A dishwasher intended for domestic use is shown therein and generally indicated at 10. The dishwasher includes a housing (dishwashing container) 12 in which a dishwashing chamber 14 is formed. Mounted on the body 12 is a door 16, the door 16 being pivotable about a horizontal pivot axis 17 near the floor. The door 16 is pivotable between a fully open position, shown in fig. 1, in which a door plane of the door is substantially horizontal, and a closed position, in which the door closes the dishwashing chamber 14 against the exterior and is substantially upright. One or more cutlery baskets and optionally a cutlery tray for holding the cutlery and the cutlery items to be cleaned can be inserted into the dishwashing chamber 14 in a manner known per se. A control unit 18, indicated by a dashed line, is responsible for controlling the operation of the dishwasher 10. In the example shown, the control unit 18 is built into the door 16. It should be understood that in other embodiments, at least a portion of the control unit 18 may be disposed on the body 12.

The control unit 18 is responsible for controlling not only the dishwashing operation and optionally the drying operation of the dishwasher 10, but also a dosing system 20, by means of which dosing system 20a portion can be automatically removed from the supply of solid detergent and delivered into the dishwashing chamber 14. In a further explanation, the solid detergent is considered to be in the form of a tablet (tablet), that is to say formed from a detergent tablet which has been produced with a defined shape (for example approximately quadrilateral). Therefore, the dosing system 20 will hereinafter also be referred to as tablet dosing system.

In the example shown in fig. 1, the tablet dosing system 20 is arranged at the gate 16. The door 16 has an inner lining 22, which is arranged on the inner side of the door 16 facing the dishwashing compartment 14 when the door 16 is closed, and is typically made of sheet metal material. At least part of the tablet dosing system 20 may be externally fitted to the inner liner 22. Alternatively or additionally, at least part of the tablet dosing system 20 may be concealed behind the inner liner 22. Alternatively or additionally, the inner liner plate 22 may comprise one or more apertures into which at least a portion of the tablet dosing system 20 may be inserted.

In the other figures, elements which are identical or have the same effect have the same reference numerals, wherein different lower case letters are attached to the reference numerals in order to distinguish different exemplary embodiments. Unless otherwise stated below, reference may be made to such elements having the same number when making observations associated with the figures associated with the elements described in the first explanation.

In the exemplary embodiment shown in fig. 2, the tablet dosing system 20a has a cap 24a, which cap 24a is in the form of a screw cap in the example shown, but may alternatively be in the form of a hinged or pivotable cap or a sliding cap, for example. Although not separately shown in fig. 2, at least a portion of the magazine of the tablet dosing system 20a in which detergent tablets may be stored may be located below the cover 24 a. The user can thus access the tablet magazine by opening the cover 24 a. The access may in particular enable a user to refill the tablet magazine or/and to remove components of the fillable magazine by the access.

The cover 24a may be designed to be transparent at least in one or more cover areas, allowing a user to visually inspect the fill level of the tablet magazine without removing the cover 24 a.

In the exemplary embodiment of fig. 2, the tablet dosing system 20a additionally has a cover cap 26a, which cover cap 26a covers a discharge opening at the bottom end of the chute (drop channel or drop section), not shown in more detail in fig. 2, through which detergent tablets removed from the tablet magazine can fall into the dishwashing chamber of the dishwasher. It will be seen in fig. 2 that the cover 26a is arranged to be eccentrically offset with respect to an imaginary center line M extending from the top edge to the bottom edge of the door at the middle of the door 16 a. The door center here means the center as viewed along the pivot axis 17a, that is, the center in the lateral direction of the door 16 a. In the example shown, the tablet dosing system 20a is arranged entirely on the other side of the lateral centre of the gate 16 a. The eccentric offset of the shroud 26a and the chute's discharge opening hidden under the shroud 26a with respect to the door's lateral center ensures that spray impacting the door 16a cannot enter the chute through the discharge opening in the region of the door's lateral center. Since it is to a large extent expected that the spray will impact the gate 16a in the region of the lateral center of the gate, the possibility of moisture entering the chute and the tablet bin can be reduced by the laterally offset arrangement of the tablet dosing system 20 a. The size of the lateral offset (denoted by d in fig. 2) may be, for example, at least 10cm or more, for example up to 15cm or even up to 20cm, depending on the installation space present in the door 16a in the lateral direction of the door. The distance d extends in fig. 2 from the center line M to an imaginary center point of the cover 26a or of the discharge opening of the chute located below the cover 26 a.

In the exemplary embodiment of fig. 2, a cap 28a is also shown on the inside of the door 16a, below which one or more filling openings for various other additives, which are necessary for the cleaning operation of the dishwasher, in particular liquid additives, such as rinse aids, can be provided.

Reference will now be made to the exemplary embodiments of fig. 3a, 3 b. The tablet dosing system 20b shown therein includes an annular cartridge 30b having a cartridge housing 32b and a rotor 36b rotatable about a rotor axis 34 b. The rotor 36b is inserted into a cartridge chamber 37b having a circular profile formed by the cartridge housing 32 b. Associated with the annular magazine 30b is a rotor drive unit (generally referred to as a drive mechanism), not shown in more detail in fig. 3a, 3b, for driving the rotor 36b in rotation about the rotor axis 34 b. The rotor driving unit may include, for example, an electric motor as a driving power source. The rotor 36b may be removable for cleaning and, referring to fig. 2, the rotor 36b may be arranged to be hidden behind the cover 24a such that the user may directly access the rotor 36b by opening the cover 24 a.

The rotor 36b defines a plurality of tablet compartments (commonly referred to as storage compartments) 38b, the plurality of tablet compartments 38b being distributed in an annular arrangement about the rotor axis 34 b. The tablet compartments 38b may also be referred to as storage compartments, and for this reason the rotor 36b may also be referred to as a compartment wheel or a dispenser wheel. Adjacent tablet compartments 38b are separated from each other by partition wall structures 40b, respectively. In the situation shown in fig. 3a, 3b, detergent tablets 42b have been placed in some of the tablet compartments 38 b. In the example shown, the detergent tablet 42b has an approximately quadrilateral shape, with the detergent tablet 42b being in the form of a flat body having opposed (opposing) major faces 44b and a minor face 46b between the major faces 44 b. The quadrangle of the detergent tablet 42b means that the detergent tablet 42b has two longer facets 46b extending in the longitudinal direction of the quadrangle (quadrangle) and two shorter facets 46b extending in the width direction of the quadrangle. The length and width of the quadrilateral detergent tablet 42b is greater than the thickness of the tablet 42b measured between the major faces 44 b.

In the example of fig. 3a, 3b, the tablet compartment 38b is very narrow, so that each detergent tablet 42b has to be placed in the annular bin 30b in a manner standing on one of the facets of the detergent tablet. Standing on a facet means that the detergent tablets 42b face each other with their large faces 44b in the circumferential direction and that one of the facets 46b of the detergent tablets 42b is located on an axially directed support surface 47b, which in the example shown is part of the rotor 36 b. Due to the small width of the tablet compartment 38b, the detergent tablet 42b cannot be placed in the tablet compartment 38b in such a way that it is pressed against the large face of the detergent tablet 42 b. In the example shown, a detergent tablet 42b is placed in the tablet compartment 38b in such a way that it is pressed against one of the longer facets 46b (that is to say the longitudinal facet) of the detergent tablet 42 b. In this way, the overall height of the annular silo 30b can be kept small. The depth of the tablet compartment 38b, measured in the axial direction of the rotor 36b, is greater than the width of the detergent tablet 42 b; when a detergent tablet 42b is inserted into the tablet compartment 38b standing on a longitudinal facet of the detergent tablet 42b, the partition wall structure 40b correspondingly projects axially above the detergent tablet 42 b. The detergent tablets 42b placed in the tablet compartment 38b are substantially radially oriented.

The manner in which the detergent tablets 42b are introduced into the tablet compartment 38b as shown allows a relatively large quantity of detergent tablets 42b to be contained in the annular bin 30 b. However, it is in principle not excluded within the scope of the present disclosure to dimension the tablet compartment 38b sufficiently wide in the circumferential direction of the rotor 36b such that a detergent tablet 42b may be placed in the tablet compartment 38b in such a way as to press against a large face of the detergent tablet 42b, as shown in fig. 4 for illustration. In this figure, only the rotor 36c and its tablet compartments 38c are shown. A detergent tablet 42c, approximately quadrangular in shape in the example shown in figures 3a, 3b, has been inserted into one of the tablet compartments 38c in such a way as to press against its large face.

In fig. 4 it will be seen that the rotor 36c in the example shown is designed in the manner of a disk rotor and has a disk portion 48c from which the partition wall structure 40c projects axially on one side of the disk. The disc portion 48c forms an axial bearing surface for the detergent tablet 42 c; alternatively, it is conceivable not to design the rotor 36c as a disc rotor, but rather to design it so as to be axially fully open in the region of the tablet compartment 38c, so that the detergent tablet 42c is axially pressed against the chamber seat of the silo chamber 37 c.

The dividing wall structure 40c is disposed radially outward of the central cup portion 50c of the rotor 36 c. The central cup portion 50c is defined by a cup base 54c and a cup side surface 52c extending in the circumferential direction, the cup side surface 52c and the cup base 54c defining a space in a cup manner in which components of a rotor mechanism for driving the rotor 36c to rotate can be accommodated in a space-saving manner. The cup interior is accessible from the other axial side of the rotor 36c (that is, from the rear axial side away from the viewer in fig. 4).

It will further be seen in fig. 4 that the cup-side surface 52c in the example shown not only axially overlaps the partition wall structure 40c, but even projects axially above the partition wall structure 40 c. The components of the drive mechanism described can thus be accommodated in the dosing system substantially in the axial region of the detergent tablets 42c inserted in the tablet compartment 38 c. This ensures that the overall height of the dosing system is small.

Reference will now be made again to fig. 3a, 3 b. The annular cartridge 30b with the rotor 36b may be disposed below a cartridge cover (e.g., the cover 24a of fig. 2) such that a user gains access to the rotor 36b and the tablet compartments 38b after removing the cover. The intended mounting position of the annular magazine 30b is substantially parallel to the main plane of the door of the dishwasher, e.g. the door 16a, i.e. the annular plane of the annular magazine 30b should be substantially parallel to the door plane. When the door is closed, the rotor axis 34b is correspondingly oriented substantially horizontally. Thus, when the door is closed, gravity acts substantially along the annular plane of the annular magazine 30 b.

The tablet compartment 38b is designed to open radially outward. The detergent tablets 42b inserted into the tablet compartment 38b can thus easily slide radially outward off the rotor 36b if the rotor 36b is removed from the magazine chamber 37 b. The rotor 36b itself does not contain any structure that prevents the detergent tablets 42b inserted into the tablet compartments 38b from sliding radially outward. When the rotor 36b is inserted into the magazine chamber 37b, the rotor 36b is surrounded by a chamber delimiting wall 56b, which chamber delimiting wall 56b extends radially outwardly around the rotor 36b in the manner of an annular wall. The chamber-defining wall 56b is part of the cartridge housing 32b and radially delimits the cartridge chamber 37b on the outside. In the example shown in fig. 3a, 3b, two openings are formed in the chamber-bounding wall 56 b. A first of these openings forms a dosing opening 58b, which dosing opening 58b may also be referred to as an extraction opening and is located at the 6 o' clock position of the annular magazine 30b (when the door standing upright is seen from the front). The other opening forms a blowing supply opening 60 b; the blow supply opening 60b is located at the 12 o ' clock position in the illustrated example, but may alternatively be located at a different angular position of the cartridge housing 32b, such as somewhere between the 9 o ' clock position and the 3 o ' clock position.

Through the dosing opening 58b, the bin chamber 37b is connected to a chute 62b, which chute 62b extends substantially vertically downwards from the bin chamber 37b (when looking at the door standing vertically from the front) and allows the detergent tablets 42b to freely fall from the bin chamber 37b to a discharge opening 64b at the end of the chute 62b by gravity alone. The chute 62b is formed by a chute housing 66b, the chute housing 66b being fixedly connected to the bin housing 32 b; for example, the bin housing 32b and the chute housing 66b can be formed from a unitary housing component. At the discharge opening 64b, the chute 62b opens toward the area surrounding the door at the inner side of the door. When the door is closed, the detergent tablets 42b falling out at the discharge opening 64b may thus enter the dishwashing chamber of the dishwasher and be absorbed and dissolved there by the sprayed or collected dishwashing water. Looking at the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 2, the discharge opening 64b is located in the area of the cover 26 a.

Associated with the chute 62b is a closing slide 68b, the closing slide 68b being linearly adjustable between a closed position shown in fig. 3a and a release position shown in fig. 3 b. For driving the closing slider 68b, the tablet dosing system 20b may have an actuator (not shown in more detail in fig. 3a, 3 b), for example an electric actuator, which is controlled by a control unit, for example the control unit 18 of fig. 1. In the closed position according to fig. 3a, the closing slide 68b prevents the detergent tablet 42b from falling through the chute 32 b; in the release position according to fig. 3b, the closing slide 68b has moved far enough out of the chute 62b that the detergent tablet 42b can fall through the chute 62 b. The purpose of the closing slide 68b is to prevent splashing or/and hot steam from rising through the chute 62b towards the silo chamber 37 b. Thus, the closing slide 68b closes the chute 62b in its closed position over substantially the entire chute section of the chute.

For dosing (i.e. extraction) of the detergent tablet 42b, the rotor 36b is moved into a position in which the tablet compartment 38b filled with detergent tablet 42b is in the 6 o' clock position, that is to say occupies a position radially opposite the dosing opening 58 b. The dosing opening 58b is large enough to allow detergent tablets 42b stored in said tablet compartment 38b to fall through the dosing opening 58b into the chute 62 b. However, despite the precise orientation of the tablet compartments 38b relative to the dosing opening 58b, the detergent tablets 42b may not immediately fall into the chute 62 b. For example, a detergent tablet 42b may not be completely loosely placed in its tablet compartment 38 b. In order to eliminate any obstacles that may prevent the detergent tablets 42b from immediately falling out of the tablet compartment 38b, a conceivable pattern of movement of the rotor 36b may comprise moving said tablet compartment 38b in a first rotational direction (e.g. clockwise) towards the dosing opening 58b and moving the tablet compartment 38b partly through the dosing opening 58b in the same rotational direction. According to this movement pattern, the rotor 36b is then moved back in the opposite rotational direction (for example counterclockwise) until the tablet compartment 38b is again in a position exactly diametrically opposite the dosing opening 58 b. This rearward movement of the rotor 36b may continue slightly further, if desired, so that the tablet compartments 38b also move slightly past the dosing opening 58b in the opposite direction. In summary, the movement pattern of the rotor 36b for emptying the tablet compartments 38b may thus comprise moving the rotor 36b back and forth at least once in the area of the dosing opening 58 b. By this back and forth movement, any blockage that prevents the detergent tablets 42b located in the tablet compartment 38b from immediately falling out can be removed.

Upon emptying the tablet compartment 38b, the closing slide 68b may be in its closed position, as shown in fig. 3 a. The detergent tablet 42b that has fallen out of the tablet compartment 38b is then prevented from falling by the closing slide 68b and remains in front of the closing slide 68b until the closing slide 68b is moved into the release position according to fig. 3 b. It is conceivable that the detergent tablets 42b are discharged from the annular magazine 30b into the chute 62b only after the operating program of the dishwasher has been started. Alternatively, it is conceivable to discharge the detergent tablet 42b from the annular magazine 30b into the chute 62b even before the operational program of the dishwasher has started, and to keep the detergent tablet 42b in the chute ready by closing the slider 68b until the detergent tablet 42b is actually needed once the program has started. To deliver the detergent tablets 42b extracted from the annular bin 30b into the dishwashing chamber of the dishwasher, the closing slider 68b then only has to be moved into its release position. For example, it is conceivable to discharge the detergent tablet 42b from the annular magazine 30b into the chute 62b at the end of an operating cycle of an operating program of the dishwasher and to keep the detergent tablet 42b ready by closing the slide 68b until the next start of the operating program of the dishwasher.

An alternative dosing procedure provides that the closing slide 68b is already in the release position according to fig. 3b at the exact moment of discharge of the detergent tablets 42b from the annular magazine 30b into the chute 62 b. The detergent tablets 42b that have fallen into the chute 62b are then not stopped by the closing slide 68b, but can fall freely and uninterruptedly through the entire chute 62b to the discharge opening 64 b. For example, the closing slide 68b is opened shortly before the detergent tablet 42b is extracted from the annular bin 30b, and once the detergent tablet 42b passes through the chute 62b, the closing slide 68b is closed again.

Figures 3a, 3b schematically show sensors 70b, 72b by which the chute 62b can be monitored in terms of the dropping of a detergent tablet 42 b. For example, these sensors 70b, 72b each operate as a light barrier/light curtain/light barrier (light barrier) which is interrupted for a short time when the detergent tablet 42b falls through the test beam of light passing through the light barrier. In the example shown in fig. 3a, 3b, the sensor 70b is arranged above the closing point, at which the closing slider 68b can close the chute 62 b; the sensor 72b is arranged below the closing point. It should be understood that it is sufficient to provide only one of the sensors 70b, 72b (sensor 70b or sensor 72 b). This is particularly the case when the detergent tablets 42b extracted from the annular bin are not prevented from falling freely by the closing slide 68 b. Thus, when the dosing system 20b is operated such that the detergent tablets 42b extracted from the annular bin 30b fall through the entire chute 62b with uninterrupted sliding, it is sufficient to provide a single light barrier (or typically a single sensor) in the region of the chute 62 b. However, if the operation of the dosing system 20b is configured such that a detergent tablet 42b that has fallen into the chute 62b is first stopped by a closing slider 68b (corresponding to the illustration in fig. 3 a), it may be advantageous to provide sensors both above and below the closing slider 68 b. A sensor located above the closing point, shown in the example as sensor 70b, is then advantageously positioned so as to be able to detect the presence of a detergent tablet 42b when the tablet 42b is pressed against the closed closing slide 68 b.

The blower supply opening 60b connects the bin chamber 37b to an impeller chamber 74b, in which impeller chamber 74b an impeller 76b of a blower, generally indicated as 78b, is disposed. The impeller chamber 74b is formed by a blower housing 80b, the blower housing 80b being fixedly connected to the cartridge housing 32 b; for example, blower housing 80b and cartridge housing 32b are integrally formed in one piece. The blower 78b is used to generate a blowing stream into the bin chamber 37 b. The introduced air flows from the silo chamber 37b through the metering opening 58b into the chute 62 b. The blow air provides for the intrusion of hot steam into the chute 62b through the discharge opening 64b and may provide a drying effect if moisture has entered the dosing system 20 b.

The blower 78b comprises a drive unit, not shown in more detail in fig. 3a, 3b, for driving the impeller 76b in rotation. A control unit, also not shown, such as the control unit 18 of fig. 1, is used to control the driving of the blower 78 b. The control unit controls the blower 78b in such a way that, during a dishwashing phase of the dishwasher, a blower is generated at least when the closing slider 68b is in the release position according to fig. 3 b. It may be advantageous to drive the blower 78b to additionally generate a blow at least during part of the operating phase of the dishwasher with the closing slider 68b in its closed position according to fig. 3 a. This is because, even when the closing slider 68b is closed, the undesired ingress of hot steam through the chute 62b into the silo chamber 37b or/and past a cover arranged above the annular silo 30b (e.g. the cover 24a of fig. 2) cannot always be completely ruled out. It may be that the closing slider 68b does not perfectly seal the chute 62b in its closed position. Also, the seal between the cartridge housing 32b and the cartridge cover (e.g., the cover 24a of fig. 2) disposed thereon may not be perfect. Therefore, it is often necessary to anticipate the presence of tightness defects, due to which hot steam or/and spray may penetrate the inner region of the dosing system 20b and impair the quality of the stored detergent tablets 42 b. It may therefore be advantageous to also drive the blower 78b during the phase of closing of the closing slider 68 b. For example, it is conceivable to allow the blower 78b to run substantially uninterrupted during the entire phase in which the dishwashing water is sprayed in the dishwashing chamber of the dishwasher while the operating program of the dishwasher is being executed.

Reference will now be made to the exemplary embodiments of fig. 5a to 5 c. This is not essential to the exemplary embodiment of fig. 3a, 3 b. In fig. 5a to 5c, a slider housing 82d can be seen, the slider housing 82d forming a sliding channel for a linearly movably arranged closing slider (for example, the closing slider 68b of fig. 3a, 3 b), by means of which the chute 62d can be selectively closed and released at a distance below the dosing opening 58 d. The slide housing 82d may be integrally connected to the chute housing 66 d.

Also visible in fig. 5a is a lid 24d, by means of which the lid 24d is pivotably attached to the chute housing 66d and the annular magazine 30d is closable. By opening the cover 24d, the user can access the cartridge chamber 37d and the rotor 36d inserted therein. In particular, the access may be such that when the lid 24d is opened, the rotor 36d may be removed from the magazine chamber 37d and the annular magazine 30d, for example after a fastening screw (not shown) has been removed, which fastening screw is accessible by opening the lid 24 d. The rotor 36d may thus be fixedly but releasably mounted in the annular magazine 30d, in particular in such a way that the rotor 36d cannot be removed by hand only without auxiliary tools (e.g. a screwdriver).

Fig. 5b additionally shows the components of a drive mechanism 84d for driving the rotor 36d in rotation. The drive mechanism 84d uses, for example, an electric motor (not shown in detail) as a drive power source and includes a gear train 86d having a speed reduction function for transmitting the source drive power to the rotor 36 d. In the example shown, the gear train 86d includes a drive pinion 88d disposed in the central cup portion 50d and hidden beneath the cup base 54d, and meshing with teeth (not shown in more detail in fig. 5 b) formed on the inner circumference of the cup-side surface 52 d. With the proper sizing of the cup portion 50d, the entire gear train 86d, along with the motor as described, can be housed within the cup interior defined by the central cup portion 50 d. The force transmitting engagement of the drive pinion 88d with the cup side surface 52d at the inner circumference of the cup side surface 52d allows for a smaller overall height of the annular cartridge 30 d.

When the lid 24d is open, a user can access all of the tablet compartments 38d of the annular magazine 30 d. Without rotating the rotor 36d, the user is thus able to fill each tablet compartment 38d with a detergent tablet 42d when the lid 24d is opened. To this end, the rotor 36d may remain in the bin chamber 37 d; the rotor 36d does not have to be removed from the bin chamber 37 d. Thus, the rotor 36d may be filled with detergent tablets 42d with the rotor 36d in force transmitting engagement with the drive mechanism 84 d.

The exemplary embodiment of fig. 6a, 6b differs from the exemplary embodiment of fig. 5a to 5c mainly in that a protective cover 90e is additionally provided, which in the example shown is in the form of a pivotable cover and is held on the chute housing 66e so as to be pivotable between an open position shown in fig. 6a and a closed position shown in fig. 6 b. In the open position according to fig. 6a, the protective cover 90e releases the discharge opening 64e, whereby the discharge opening 64e is released for discharging the detergent tablet 42 e. In the closed position according to fig. 6b, the protective cover 90e is pivoted over the discharge opening 64e, whereby the discharge opening 64e is closed to prevent the detergent tablet 42e from falling out. When the protective cover 90e is in the closed position according to fig. 6b, the protective cover 90e prevents hot steam or spray from entering the chute (not shown in more detail in fig. 6a, 6 b) formed inside the chute housing 66e at the discharge opening.

In this respect, the dosing system 20e of fig. 6a, 6b is equipped with a double barrier for preventing steam or/and splashes from rising through the chute into the area of the annular silo 30 e. Protective cap 90e forms a first barrier; the closing slider 68e forms a second barrier, the closing slider 68e being indicated only by dashed lines in fig. 6a, 6b, the closing slider 68e being guided movably in a slider housing 82e and being able to close the chute at a closing point between the top end of the chute and the bottom end of the chute.

Also depicted in fig. 6a is a schematically indicated actuator 92e, which actuator 92e is coupled with the closing slider 68e via a mechanical drive connector 94e and with the protective cover 90e via a mechanical drive connector 96 e. The drive connectors 94e, 96e include, for example, one or more gears and the actuator 92e is in the form of, for example, an electric actuator. Via the drive connections 94e, 96e, the protective cover 90e and the closure slider 68e can be provided with drive power from a single, i.e. common, source. In particular, the actuator 92e is controlled and the drive connectors 94e, 96e are configured such that the closing slider 68e and the protective cover 90e open and close in a synchronized manner when the actuator 92e is actuated. Thus, when the closing slider 68e is moved from the release position according to fig. 6a to the closed position according to fig. 6b, the protective cover 90e simultaneously pivots from the open position according to fig. 6a to the closed position according to fig. 6b and vice versa. The actuator 92e is controlled by a suitable control unit (e.g., the control unit 18 of fig. 1).

Reference will now be made to the exemplary embodiments of fig. 7a to 7 d. Figure 7a is a perspective view of the annular magazine 30f as seen by a user when the user has opened the magazine lid (e.g., lid 24a of figure 2 or lid 24d of figure 5 a). Fig. 7b is a view similar to fig. 7a, but with the cup base 54f of the central cup portion 50f of the rotor 36f removed so that the interior of the central cup portion 50f can be seen. Fig. 7c shows a cross section of the annular magazine 30f and fig. 7d is a partly cut-away overall view of a tablet dosing system 20f equipped with the annular magazine 30f of fig. 7a to 7c, with the next tablet compartment 38f to be emptied in the testing position.

It will be seen that in the exemplary embodiment of fig. 7 a-7 d, a window opening 98f is formed in the cup side surface 52f of the rotor 36f in the area of each tablet compartment 38 f. The annular magazine 30f, which is fixedly arranged with respect to the magazine housing 32f, further comprises a photo sensor member 100f (fig. 7d), which photo sensor member 100f is accommodated inside the cup of the central cup portion 50f and is embodied as, for example, a light barrier or a portion of a light barrier and is used for detecting the presence or absence of a detergent tablet in one of the tablet compartments 38 f. The sensor member 100f is arranged to be able to check whether the next tablet compartment 38f to be emptied is present with a detergent tablet in a test position angularly offset with respect to the dosing position. Thus, the test position is angularly offset with respect to the 6 o' clock position; in the example shown in fig. 7d, the test position corresponds approximately to the position at 5 o' clock. The test position corresponds to the tablet compartment 38f in question not yet being fully located in an angular position opposite the dosing opening 58f, so that in the test position the detergent tablets present in said tablet compartment 38f are not yet able to fall out of the tablet compartment 38f into the chute 62 f. In the example shown, the test position corresponds to an angular position in which the tablet compartment 38f in question is located substantially outside the range of the dosing opening 58 f. At the same time, the test position is close enough to the dosing position to ensure that, as the rotor 36f rotates, the tablet compartment 38f in question is the next tablet compartment to move into the dosing position (i.e., no other tablet compartment 38f will reach the dosing position in advance).

In this way, the presence of a detergent tablet in the tablet compartment 38f in question can be checked by the sensor member 100f before the tablet compartment 38f is moved into a position radially opposite the dosing opening 58 f. If the magazine controller (e.g. formed by the control unit 18 of fig. 1) determines that said tablet compartment 38f is empty, the magazine controller may issue, for example, a visual or/and audible indication by which the user is requested to fill the annular magazine 30f with new detergent tablets. Other predefined control actions are of course equally conceivable. Furthermore, once one of the tablet compartments 38f has been moved into a position radially opposite the dosing opening 58f, the magazine controller can check whether that tablet compartment 38f has actually been emptied. To this end, the magazine controller can cause the rotor 36f to move back into the rotational position in which the tablet compartment 38f in question is again in the test position, so that the sensor component 100f can again check said tablet compartment 38 f. If the bin controller subsequently determines that the tablet compartment 38f is empty, the bin controller knows that the previously located detergent tablet therein has actually been properly emptied into the chute 62 f.

The window opening 98f in the cup-side surface 52f of the rotor 36f allows the sensor member 100f to "see" (figuratively) within the tablet compartment 38 f. To this end, the sensor component 100f may comprise, for example, a light-emitting diode which transmits a sensor light beam 101f which is oriented radially or at a relatively small angle with respect to the radial direction (fig. 7 d). The sensor beam 101f passes through the window opening 98f of the associated tablet compartment 38f (when the tablet compartment is in the testing position) and either onto the detergent tablet (if present in the tablet compartment 38 f) or radially outwardly through the entire tablet compartment 38f to the chamber bounding wall 56 f. According to some embodiments, a photodetector (e.g. a photodiode or phototransistor), not shown in more detail, may here be arranged in the chamber defining wall 56f in a position substantially diametrically opposite the sensor component 100 f. According to other embodiments, the photo detector may be comprised in the sensor part 100f, wherein the light barrier then works by reflection principles and uses different degrees of reflection depending on whether the sensor beam 101f hits on the detergent tablet or on the chamber delimiting wall 56 f.

The two exemplary embodiments of fig. 8 and 9 differ from the preceding exemplary embodiment by the presence of a pusher capable of exerting a pulse-like thrust in the direction of fall (i.e. in the direction of gravity) on the detergent in the tablet compartment in the dosing position (i.e. in a position diametrically opposite the dosing opening). This pushing can help the detergent tablets to fall out of the tablet compartment and into the chute, for example, when agglutination (agglutinations) prevents the detergent tablets from falling out of the tablet compartment individually.

In the exemplary embodiment of fig. 8, the mentioned pusher is in the form of a spring operated pusher 102g, which spring operated pusher 102g generates the desired push from its inherent spring tension. In the example shown, the spring-operated pusher 102g is formed by a spring bow 104g, which spring bow 104g forms a resiliently deflectable pusher nose 106 g. The spring bow 104g may be formed from a metal strip that has been bent into a desired shape by a bending operation. When one of the tablet compartments 38g is in the dosing position (i.e. radially opposite the dosing opening at the chute inlet), the pusher nose 106g protrudes to some extent into said tablet compartment 38g through a window opening 107g formed in the cup-side surface 52g of the rotor 26 g. Each tablet compartment 38g of the rotor 36g is designed with this window opening 107 g. Turning to the exemplary embodiment of fig. 7 a-7 d, the window opening 98f therein may be used as the window opening 107g of fig. 8. As the rotor 36g rotates, the opening edge of the window opening 107g pushes the pusher nose 106g radially inward so that the cup side surface 52g can slide past the pusher nose 106g until the next window opening 107g moves into the area of the pusher nose 106 g. Due to the inherent spring tension of the pusher nose 106g, the pusher nose 106g then snaps into the next window opening 107g and pushes against the detergent tablet located in the associated tablet compartment 38 g. Thus, the detergent tablet is actively pushed into the chute.

In the exemplary embodiment of fig. 9, an electromagnetic pusher 108h is provided instead of the spring-operated pusher, which has an electromagnetic actuator 110h and a pusher head 112h, which pusher head 112h can be advanced in a pulse-like manner by excitation of the electromagnetic actuator 110 h. Pusher head 112h has the same function as pusher nose 106g of spring-operated pusher 102g of fig. 8; upon activation of the electromagnetic actuator 110h, the pusher head 112h moves somewhat through the window opening 98h of the tablet compartment 38h, which is currently in the dosing position (that is to say in a position diametrically opposite the chute), into this tablet compartment 38 h. In case there is a detergent tablet therein, and the detergent tablet has not fallen into the chute by itself, the pusher head 112h pushes against the detergent tablet and thereby starts the fall of the detergent tablet into the chute.

Figure 10 is a partial cross-sectional view of an exemplary embodiment of a blower 78i with an impeller 76i housed in a blower housing 80 i. It can be seen that blower housing 80i is fitted to the rear side of door liner 22i of door 16i (rear side refers to the side of door liner 22i facing the inside of the door, that is, away from the dishwashing compartment). Air suction by the impeller 76i is performed through an air intake groove 114i formed in the blower case 80i and opened toward the inner liner plate 22 i. By fitting the blower case 80i to the inner lining plate 22i, the air intake grooves 114i are closed at the ends, respectively. Such air intake slots 114i may be provided along all four sides of blower housing 80i, which blower housing 80i has a quadrilateral outline in the illustrated example. Due to the proximity of the inlet slots 114i to the panel (panel), the intake of air occurs close to the inner lining panel 22 i. Air flows substantially along the inner liner plate 22i through the air intake slots 114i into the impeller chamber 74i and is pushed by the impeller 76i into the annular bin chamber and adjacent portions of the metering system.

In the exemplary embodiment of fig. 11, the tablet dosing system 20k does not include an annular bin but includes a stacking bin 116k having two bin chutes 118k, each bin chute 118k allowing a plurality of detergent tablets 42k (in the illustrated example, a quadrilateral shape) to be stored in the tablet stack. The two magazine chutes 118k extend at a distance from each other at least over a part of their chute length, wherein the gap between the two magazine chutes 118k is intended to accommodate the blower 78k, more precisely the blower housing 80k of the blower 78k accommodating the impeller (impelleter) 76 k. The two silo chutes 118k can thus be supplied with air uniformly by the air blower 78 k. The blower air is blown by the blower 78k directly into the chute chamber of the silo chute 118 k.

In order to service two stacks of tablets individually, that is to say to remove a detergent tablet 42k individually from a selected stack of tablets, the tablet dosing system 20k comprises an extractor slide 120k, which extractor slide 120k can be adjusted linearly by a slide drive unit (not shown in more detail, for example an electric slide drive unit) between different positions in which it is ready to receive a detergent tablet 42k from one of the stacks of tablets (corresponding to the illustration of fig. 11) and to transport the received detergent tablet 42k into a chute, only the chute housing 66k of which chute is visible in fig. 11. Further details of the construction and function of the extractor slider 120k can be found in DE102019009054a1, and in particular in the explanations given therein in connection with the exemplary embodiments of fig. 7 to 10. The content of the specification of said DE102019009054a1 is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

In fig. 11, additional blowers 78' k and 78 "k are shown, which are arranged at different locations of the dosing system 20k than the blower 78k and which show alternative or additional arrangement locations for such blowers. The blower 78' k is in direct blower supply connection with the chute inside the chute housing 66k, and the blower 78 "k is in direct blower supply connection with the slide chamber in which the extractor slide 120k is slidably received. It should be understood that not all three blowers 78k, 78' k, 78 "k need be provided. The remaining blowers may be omitted provided that one of the three blowers is sufficient to ensure the blowing stream passes through the magazine chute 118k, chute and slide chamber.

In the exemplary embodiment of fig. 12, the tablet dosing system 201 again comprises a stacking bin 116I with two bin chutes 118I, as in the exemplary embodiment of fig. 11, a common extractor member is used for the bin chute 118I. In the case of the exemplary embodiment of fig. 12, the extractor member is in the form of a rotary extractor 122I, which rotary extractor 122I is received in an extractor housing 126I so as to be rotatable about a rotation axis 124I. In the mounted condition of the tablet dosing system 20I, the rotation axis 124I is substantially perpendicular to the main plane of the door of the dishwasher; the two bin chutes 118I are thus fitted into the door such that the stack of tablets formed by the detergent tablets 42I in the bin chute 118I is arranged side by side along a vertical plane with the rotation axis 124I.

The rotary extractor 122I has two extraction pockets 128I, each extraction pocket 128I being dimensioned to receive a detergent tablet 42I. As can be readily seen from fig. 12, the two extraction recesses 128I are distributed unevenly in the circumferential direction of the rotary extractor 122I, that is to say that the two extraction recesses 128I are not diametrically opposed to one another. Instead, two extraction pockets 128I are formed within a 180 ° segment of the rotary extractor 122I in the example shown. During operation, the rotary extractor 122I may be controlled, for example, such that the rotary extractor 122I serves one of the tablet stacks with one of the extraction pockets 128I (i.e. extracts a detergent tablet 42I from the tablet stack), and then the rotary extractor 122I rotates into a position where the received detergent tablet 42I can fall out of the extraction pocket 128I into the chute 62I, and then by a relatively slight further or backward rotation of the rotary extractor 122I, the other of the two extraction pockets 128I is brought under the other tablet stack so that a detergent tablet can then fall out of the other tablet stack into the rotary extractor 122I. By repeatedly changing the direction of rotation of the rotary extractor 122I, each tablet stack can thus be served alternately, wherein each of the extraction pockets 128I is always used for the same tablet stack.

Claims (30)

1. A domestic dishwasher having a dishwashing container, a door mounted on the dishwashing container to be pivotable about a horizontal door pivot axis near the floor for closing a dishwashing chamber formed in the dishwashing container, and a dosing system for a solid detergent, the dosing system being arranged at the door, wherein the dosing system comprises:

-a rotor arranged in a bin chamber to be rotatable around a rotor axis, the rotor defining a plurality of radially outwardly open storage compartments distributed circumferentially around the rotor axis, each storage compartment for receiving a portion of solid detergent,

-a dosing opening in a boundary wall of the silo chamber, wherein each of the storage compartments can be brought individually, in succession, into a position diametrically opposite the dosing opening by rotating the rotor, in order to empty the storage compartment diametrically opposite the dosing opening through the dosing opening, and

-a chute connected to the silo chamber through the dosing opening,

wherein the rotor is arranged such that its plane of rotation is substantially parallel to the main plane of the door, and the dosing opening is arranged below the rotor such that when the door is closed and when one of the storage compartments is moved into a position radially opposite the dosing opening, a portion of the fixed detergent stored in the storage compartment radially opposite the dosing opening can fall out through the dosing opening and into the chute by gravity alone from the storage compartment radially opposite the dosing opening.

2. Household dishwasher according to claim 1, wherein the chute defines a drop section extending, in particular substantially linearly, downwards from the dosing opening to a discharge opening for free dropping of a portion of the fixed detergent in the chute, wherein the chute opens out from the door into the dishwashing chamber at the discharge opening.

3. The domestic dishwasher of claim 2, wherein the chute is arranged to be fixed relative to the dosing opening.

4. A domestic dishwasher according to any one of claims 1 to 3, comprising a drive mechanism for driving the rotor in rotation such that the direction of rotation of the rotor can be changed, and a control unit adapted to control the drive mechanism in terms of changing the direction of rotation of the rotor.

5. Household dishwasher according to claim 4, wherein the control unit is adapted to control the drive mechanism such that for emptying one of the storage compartments the one storage compartment is moved back and forth at least once, and in particular at least once in such a way that it at least partially exceeds the dosing opening and then returns into a position diametrically opposite the dosing opening.

6. The domestic dishwasher of claim 4 or 5, wherein the dosing system comprises a sensor system allowing detection of the presence of a portion of fixed detergent in the storage compartments before the storage compartments are moved into an emptying position relative to the dosing opening, wherein the control unit is adapted to control the drive mechanism such that one of the storage compartments is moved back into a detection range of the sensor system after the one storage compartment has been moved into the emptying position.

7. Household dishwasher according to any of claims 1 to 6, comprising a drive mechanism for driving the rotor in rotation, a control unit for controlling the drive mechanism, and a sensor system coupled to the control unit, which sensor system allows detecting the presence of a portion of fixed detergent in a storage compartment,

wherein the control unit is adapted to control the drive mechanism to move one of the storage compartments into the emptying position when it is detected that a portion of the fixed detergent remains in one of the storage compartments after it has been moved into the emptying position relative to the dosing opening at least once.

8. Household dishwasher according to claim 7, wherein the control unit is adapted to give an audible or/and visual indication to an operator upon detection that a portion of the fixed detergent remains in one of the storage compartments.

9. The domestic dishwasher of any of claims 1 to 8, wherein the dosing system further comprises:

-a blower for generating a blowing stream into the silo chamber or/and the chute,

-a closing member arranged to be movable back and forth, in particular in a translatory manner, between a closing position and a release position, and which in the release position releases the chute such that a part of the fixed detergent can fall to the discharge opening, and, in the closing position, closes the chute such that a part of the fixed detergent cannot fall to the discharge opening, and

-a control unit for the blower, wherein the control unit is adapted to control the blower to generate a blow at least during a phase in which the closing member is in the release position.

10. The domestic dishwasher of any of claims 1 to 9, wherein the dosing system comprises a pusher for driving a portion of the fixed detergent stored in one of the storage compartments radially outwards in a drop direction, wherein the pusher is in the form of a spring-operated pusher or in the form of an electromagnetically-operated pusher.

11. The domestic dishwasher of any of claims 1 to 10, wherein the dosing system further comprises an electrically controllable drive mechanism for driving the rotor in rotation and a cartridge cover, in particular a pivotably mounted cartridge cover, for closing an inlet to the cartridge chamber, wherein the cartridge cover can be removed from the cartridge chamber without detaching a mechanical drive connection between the drive mechanism and the rotor and each storage compartment is accessible through the inlet for filling a portion of stationary detergent when the cartridge cover has been removed.

12. The home dishwasher of claim 11, wherein the rotor is secured against axial removal from the sump chamber by at least one fastening member, release of which requires an auxiliary tool.

13. A dosing system for a domestic dishwasher, comprising:

-a rotor arranged or arrangeable in a bin chamber to be rotatable around a rotor axis, wherein the rotor forms a central cup portion delimited by a cup side surface and a cup base, and a plurality of storage compartments arranged distributed in a circumferential direction radially outside the central cup portion and axially overlapping the cup side surface, each for receiving a portion of solid detergent, and

an electrically controllable drive mechanism for driving the rotor in rotation, wherein in an operational readiness state of the dosing system, electromechanical components or/and mechanical components of the drive mechanism, in particular an electric motor or/and reduction gears, are accommodated inside the cup such that they are at least partially concealed under the cup base.

14. A dosing system for a domestic dishwasher, comprising:

a rotor arranged or arrangeable in the bin chamber such that it is rotatable around a rotor axis, wherein the rotor forms a plurality of storage compartments arranged distributed in a circumferential direction around the rotor axis, each for receiving a portion of the solid detergent,

-a photosensor system allowing detection of the presence of a portion of solid detergent in the storage compartments, wherein said photosensor system is adapted to emit a sensor beam into each of said storage compartments, which sensor beam is directed radially inwards, radially outwards, or radially outwards, radially inwards.

15. The dosing system according to claim 14, wherein each storage compartment is radially delimited internally by a wall portion of the rotor provided with a window opening, wherein the optoelectronic sensor system is adapted to pass the sensor light beam through the window opening in each storage compartment.

16. A domestic dishwasher having a dishwashing container, a door mounted on the dishwashing container to be pivotable about a horizontal door pivot axis near the floor for closing a dishwashing chamber formed in the dishwashing container, and a dosing system for a solid detergent, the dosing system being arranged at the door, wherein the dosing system comprises:

-a bin for storing the solid detergent,

-a chute for conveying by gravity a portion of the solid detergent removed from the silo to a discharge opening,

a closing member arranged to be movable back and forth, in particular in a translatory manner, between a closing position and a release position, and which in the release position releases the chute such that a portion of the solid detergent can fall to the discharge opening, and in the closing position closes the chute at a closing point located below the starting point of the chute such that a portion of the solid detergent cannot fall to the discharge opening,

-an electrically controllable actuator for driving the closing member, an

-a control unit adapted to control the actuator such that, when a dishwashing program of the dishwasher is running, the closing member is in the closed position for a majority of the duration of the dishwashing program, but when a portion of the solid detergent is removed from the magazine, the removed portion is allowed to fall freely in the chute from the start of the chute to the discharge opening.

17. A domestic dishwasher having a dishwashing container, a door mounted on the dishwashing container to be pivotable about a horizontal door pivot axis near the floor for closing a dishwashing chamber formed in the dishwashing container, and a dosing system for a solid detergent, the dosing system being arranged at the door, wherein the dosing system comprises:

-a silo for storing the solid detergent,

-a chute for conveying by gravity a portion of the solid detergent removed from the silo to a discharge opening,

-a closing member arranged to be movable back and forth, in particular in a translatory manner, between a closing position and a release position, and in the release position the closing member releases the chute such that a portion of the solid detergent can fall to the discharge opening, and in the closing position the closing member closes the chute such that a portion of the solid detergent cannot fall to the discharge opening,

-an electrically controllable actuator for driving the closing member, an

-a control unit adapted to control said actuator such that said closing member is moved out of said closed position and into said release position in response to a received predefined operating command of an operator without initiating a dishwashing program of said dishwasher.

18. A dosing system for a domestic dishwasher, comprising:

-a bin for storing solid detergent,

-a chute for conveying by gravity a portion of the solid detergent removed from the silo to a discharge opening,

-a closing member arranged to be movable back and forth, in particular translationally movable back and forth, between a closing position and a release position, and in the release position the closing member releases the chute such that a portion of the solid detergent can fall to the discharge opening, and in the closing position the closing member closes the chute at a closing point located below the starting point of the chute such that a portion of the solid detergent cannot fall to the discharge opening,

-a sensor system, in particular a photoelectric sensor system, associated with said chute, adapted to check the chute area above said closing point for the presence of a portion of solid detergent.

19. A dosing system for a domestic dishwasher, comprising:

-a rotor arranged or arrangeable in a bin chamber to be rotatable around a rotor axis, wherein the rotor forms a plurality of storage compartments arranged distributed in a circumferential direction around the rotor axis, each storage compartment for receiving a portion of solid detergent,

-a chute for conveying by gravity a portion of the solid detergent removed from one of the storage compartments to a discharge opening,

-a sensor system, in particular a photoelectric sensor system, which allows to check the presence of a portion of solid detergent in one of said storage compartments and to detect the presence of a portion of solid detergent in said chute independently of said check.

20. Dosing system according to claim 19, further comprising a closing member which is arranged to be movable back and forth, in particular translationally movable back and forth, between a closed position and a release position, and which in the release position releases the chute such that a portion of the solid detergent can fall to the discharge opening, and in the closed position closes the chute at a closing point located below the starting point of the chute such that a portion of the solid detergent cannot fall to the discharge opening, wherein the sensor system is adapted to check whether a portion of the solid detergent is present in the chute area of the chute above the closing point or/and in the chute area of the chute below the closing point.

21. A domestic dishwasher having a dishwashing container, a door mounted on the dishwashing container so as to be pivotable about a horizontal door pivot axis near the floor for closing a dishwashing chamber formed in the dishwashing container, and a dosing system for solid detergent, the dosing system being arranged at the door, wherein the dosing system comprises a storage chamber for receiving a supply of the solid detergent, and the dosing system defines a drop section for a portion of solid detergent extracted from the supply, leading to an exit opening, wherein the exit opening allows the extracted portion of solid detergent to pass into the dishwashing chamber,

wherein the dosing system comprises a movably arranged protective cover spatially associated with the discharge opening for selectively releasing and closing the discharge opening, and an electrically controllable actuator, in particular an electric actuator, with which the protective cover is drivingly coupled for movement of the protective cover.

22. The domestic dishwasher of claim 21, wherein the dosing system further comprises a closing member which is arranged to be movable back and forth, in particular translationally movable back and forth, between a closing position and a release position and which in the release position releases the drop section such that the extracted portion of the solid detergent can drop to the discharge opening and which in the closing position closes the drop section such that detergent cannot drop to the discharge opening, wherein the closing member is also drivingly coupled with the actuator for movement thereof.

23. A domestic dishwasher according to claim 21 or 22, wherein the actuator is controlled such that, when a dishwashing program of the dishwasher is running, the protective cover is in a closed position closing the discharge opening for a majority of the duration of the dishwashing program, but is open on occurrence of a predetermined event.

24. A domestic dishwasher having a dishwashing container, a door mounted on the dishwashing container to be pivotable about a horizontal door pivot axis near the floor for closing a dishwashing chamber formed therein, and a dosing system for solid detergent arranged at the door, wherein the dosing system comprises a storage chamber for receiving a supply of the solid detergent, and the dosing system defines a drop section leading to an exit opening for a portion of solid detergent extracted from the supply, wherein the exit opening allows the portion of solid detergent extracted to enter into the dishwashing chamber,

wherein the discharge opening is arranged eccentrically with respect to a door transverse center, as seen along the door pivot axis.

25. The domestic dishwasher of claim 24, wherein the opening center of the drain opening, as seen along the door pivot axis, is arranged offset with respect to the door lateral center by not less than 4cm or not less than 8cm or not less than 12 cm.

26. A method of loading a household dishwasher with detergent tablets, wherein the dishwasher is equipped with a tablet dosing system having an annular magazine with a rotor arranged to be rotatable about a rotor axis, wherein the rotor defines a plurality of tablet compartments distributed in a circumferential direction about the rotor axis, wherein the detergent tablets are in the form of flat bodies having opposite large faces and small faces connecting the large faces, wherein the detergent tablets are longer and wider than their thickness and at the same time longer than their width when seen in a large face, wherein in the method a detergent tablet is placed into each of the plurality of tablet compartments in a position standing on one of its longitudinal small faces, in particular such that each of said detergent tablets is oriented substantially radially when looking axially at said annular magazine.

27. Tablet dosing system for installation in a domestic dishwasher, comprising a magazine for storing two stacked detergent tablets arranged side by side and an extractor for extracting detergent tablets from the stacks and conveying the extracted detergent tablets into a chute, wherein the extractor has an extractor member arranged movable relative to the magazine for serving each stack individually for extracting detergent tablets from the stack in question, wherein the extractor member is formed by a rotor arranged rotatable around a rotation axis, wherein the two stacks are arranged side by side substantially along an orthogonal plane relative to the rotation axis, and wherein the rotor has two extraction pockets, which are distributed, in particular, non-uniformly in the circumferential direction, and each of the two extraction pockets is dimensioned such that detergent tablets can fall out of the bin into the extraction pocket.

28. A tablet dosing system for installation in a domestic dishwasher, comprising a bin for storing detergent tablets in two stacks arranged side by side and an extractor for extracting detergent tablets from the stacks and conveying the extracted detergent tablets into a chute, wherein the extractor has an extractor member arranged to be movable relative to the bin for serving each stack individually for extracting detergent tablets from the stack,

wherein the tablet dosing system further comprises a blower for introducing a blower into the bin, wherein an impeller of the blower is arranged between the two stacks.

29. A tablet dosing system for installation in a domestic dishwasher, comprising a bin for ordered storage of detergent tablets, a chute for gravity-driven transport of detergent tablets extracted from the bin to a discharge opening, and a closing member arranged to be movable between a closed position and a release position, the closing member releasing the chute in the release position so that extracted detergent tablets can fall to the discharge opening, and in the closed position the closing member closing the chute so that detergent tablets cannot fall to the discharge opening,

the tablet dosing system comprises a blower for generating a blowing stream, wherein the blower comprises an impeller in an impeller chamber and the impeller chamber is in blowing supply connection with the chute or/and an extractor chamber in which a movably arranged extractor member is received for extracting detergent tablets from the magazine and transporting the extracted detergent tablets into the chute.

30. A domestic dishwasher having a dishwashing container, a door mounted thereon so as to be pivotable about a horizontal pivot axis near the floor for closing a dishwashing chamber formed therein, and a dosing system for a solid detergent arranged at the door, wherein the door has a liner on an inner side of the door facing the dishwashing chamber when the door is closed,

wherein the dosing system comprises a storage chamber for receiving a supply of the solid detergent and a chute for gravity-driven delivery of a portion of the solid detergent removed from the supply to a discharge opening,

wherein the dosing system further comprises a blower for introducing a blower into the storage chamber or/and the chute,

wherein the blower comprises an impeller rotatably arranged in an impeller chamber,

wherein the impeller chamber is in a blowing supply connection with the storage chamber or/and the chute,

wherein the impeller chamber is formed by a housing part fitted to the liner on the rear side and having one or more intake slots for drawing air into the impeller chamber, which are open in particular towards the liner.

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