JP7528905B2 - Dishwasher - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to a dishwasher that washes and dries dishes.

Conventionally, one type of dishwasher that washes and dries dishes is known to be a type in which dishes or other items to be washed are placed in a dish basket, and water used for washing or rinsing is repeatedly sprayed onto the items from a washing nozzle to wash them (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2008-73400 A

The conventional dishwasher disclosed in Patent Document 1 has an upper basket body and a lower basket body that contain the tableware to be washed in the washing tub, and a tower-type nozzle that extends vertically upward near the center of the washing tub. In addition, a fixed support part that supports the upper basket body is provided on the outside of the tower-type nozzle.

The upper basket body is movable, and when storing larger dishes in the lower basket body, the upper basket body can be flipped up and held near the side wall of the washing tub without being used. When storing dishes such as cups, the upper basket body is moved to a position where the dishes can be placed, and at that time the support part receives and supports the upper basket body.

In the conventional dishwasher disclosed in Patent Document 1, the support member is neither movable nor detachable, but is fixed and formed on the outside of the tower-type nozzle, so that the indicator is present in a fixed position even when the upper basket is not in use. As a result, the sprayed water used for washing or rinsing is always blocked in the same position by the member that constitutes the support part, making it difficult to set the spray direction of the water used for washing or rinsing and the positioning of the dishes.

The present disclosure aims to solve the above-mentioned problems and provide a dishwasher in which the member supporting the upper basket is moved when not needed so as not to block the water used for washing or rinsing upward.

The dishwasher of the present disclosure comprises a washing tub with an opening at the top that accommodates items to be washed and allows them to be inserted and removed from the opening at the top, an upper basket body and a lower basket body that are arranged in the washing tub and each accommodates and places the items to be washed on it, a lid body that covers the opening at the top of the washing tub in a manner that allows it to be closed, a washing pump that pressurizes and circulates washing water used to wash the items to be washed, and a rotatable washing nozzle that sprays the washing water pressurized by the washing pump onto the items to be washed, the central part of the washing nozzle has a tower nozzle that protrudes vertically upward, and a nozzle guard for protecting the items to be washed from coming into contact with the tower nozzle is provided on the lower basket body so as to surround the outer periphery of the tower nozzle, the nozzle guard is composed of multiple members, and of the multiple members, the upper member that can move vertically upward supports the upper basket body when it is moved vertically upward.

In the dishwasher according to the present disclosure, the nozzle guard that is provided to surround the outer periphery of the tower nozzle is composed of multiple members, and among the multiple members, the upper member that can move vertically upward is adapted to support the upper basket body when moved vertically upward. Therefore, when the upper basket body is not being used, it is not necessary to move the upper member that can move vertically upward of the nozzle guard vertically upward. Therefore, when larger objects to be washed are stored and washed without using the upper basket body, the water used for washing or rinsing that is sprayed diagonally upward from the tower nozzle is not blocked, and the washing water can be sprayed above the larger objects to be washed, without reducing the washing performance.

1 is an external perspective view of a housing of a dishwasher showing an example of a dishwasher according to a first embodiment. FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing an example of the dishwasher according to embodiment 1 when the washing tub is pulled out from the housing. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a cross section of a dishwasher according to a first embodiment taken from a side direction in a front-to-rear direction. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of a partially cut-away view of a wall surface of a washing tub of the dishwasher according to the first embodiment. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an example of a state in which a lower basket body is housed in the washing tub of the dishwasher of embodiment 1, as viewed from above the washing tub opening. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an example of a state in which a lower basket body and an upper basket body are housed in a washing tub of a dishwasher in accordance with embodiment 1, as viewed from above a washing tub opening. FIG. 1 is a simplified oblique view showing the relationship between the lower basket body of the dishwasher of embodiment 1, the state in which the upper basket body is supported by moving the upper member of the nozzle guard provided on the lower basket body upward, and the washing nozzles; FIG. This is a perspective view showing, in a simplified manner, the state in which one of the upper cage bodies is folded up from Figure 6, one of the upper members of the nozzle guard provided on the lower cage body is moved downward, and the other is moved upward while supporting one of the upper cage bodies, and the relationship with the cleaning nozzles. 7 is a perspective view showing a simplified relationship between the upper cage body and the washing nozzles when the upper cage body is removed from FIG. 6 and an upper member of a nozzle guard provided on a lower cage body is moved downward. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an image of water being sprayed from a nozzle in a cross section taken from a side direction of a dishwasher according to embodiment 1 cut in the front-to-rear direction. FIG.

Embodiment 1.
Hereinafter, a dishwasher 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that in the following drawings including Fig. 1, the relative dimensional relationship and shape of each component may differ from the actual ones. In addition, in the following drawings, the same reference numerals are used to denote the same or equivalent parts, and this applies throughout the entire specification.

Embodiment 1.
FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a housing of a dishwasher showing an example of a dishwasher according to embodiment 1. FIG. 2 is an external perspective view showing an example of a state in which a washing tub is pulled out from the housing of the dishwasher according to embodiment 1. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a cross section of the dishwasher according to embodiment 1 cut in the front-rear direction from a side direction. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an example of a partially cut-away wall surface of the washing tub of the dishwasher according to embodiment 1. FIG. 5 is a plan view showing an example of a state in which a lower basket body is accommodated in the washing tub of the dishwasher according to embodiment 1 as viewed from above the washing tub opening. FIG. 6 is a plan view showing an example of a state in which a lower basket body and an upper basket body are accommodated in the washing tub of the dishwasher according to embodiment 1 as viewed from above the washing tub opening. FIG. Fig. 8 is a perspective view showing a simplified relationship between the lower cage body of the dishwasher and the washing nozzle in a state where the upper cage body is supported by moving an upper member of the nozzle guard provided on the lower cage body upward, Fig. 8 is a perspective view showing a simplified relationship between the washing nozzle in a state where one of the upper cage bodies is folded from Fig. 6, one of the upper members of the nozzle guard provided on the lower cage body is moved downward, and the other is moved upward to support one of the upper cage bodies, Fig. 9 is a perspective view showing a simplified relationship between the washing nozzle in a state where the upper cage body is removed from Fig. 6 and the upper member of the nozzle guard provided on the lower cage body is moved downward, Fig. 10 is a schematic diagram showing an image of water spraying from the nozzle in a cross section from the side direction of the dishwasher according to the first embodiment cut in the front-rear direction. The configuration of each part of the dishwasher 100 will be described with reference to Figs. 1 to 10. It should be noted that although Figures 7 to 9 show the relationship between the dish basket 16 and the washing nozzle 5 in the washing tub 3, for ease of explanation, the washing tub 3 has been omitted from the drawings.

The front-back, left-right, and up-down directions shown in Figures 1 and 2 are the basic directions, and when front-back, left-right, and up-down directions are illustrated in subsequent drawings, they will be the same as the basic directions shown in Figures 1 and 2.

[Dishwasher 100]
A dishwasher 100 according to a first embodiment of the present invention is a dishwasher that is incorporated into, for example, a kitchen furniture (system kitchen) (not shown). As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the dishwasher 100 has a housing 1 that forms the outer shell of the dishwasher 100, and a washing tub 3 housed inside the housing 1.

The dishwasher 100 also includes a cover 14 that is provided on the top surface of the washing tank 3 and opens and closes the washing tank opening 3a on the top surface of the washing tank 3, and a door 2 that is attached to the front of the washing tank 3 and opens and closes when the washing tank 3 housed inside the housing 1 is pulled out. The dishwasher 100 also includes a control unit 15 in the space between the front of the washing tank 3 and the door 2, which controls the operation of the dishwasher 100.

(Housing)
The housing 1 is formed in a box shape, and a housing opening 1a is formed on the front side of the housing 1. The housing 1 is formed into a box shape, for example, by bending a metal plate. The housing opening 1a is an opening that penetrates the front side of the housing 1, and a door body 2 is disposed in this housing opening 1a.

The cleaning tank 3 is stored inside the housing 1 and is also pulled out from the housing 1 through this housing opening 1a. The housing 1 and the cleaning tank 3 are slidably connected by slide rails 4 shown in FIG. 2, and the slide rails 4 allow the cleaning tank 3 to be smoothly stored in the housing 1 and pulled out from the housing 1.

A water supply valve 11 is provided inside the housing 1. The water supply valve 11 is a valve that supplies water used for cleaning or rinsing from outside the housing 1 into the cleaning tank 3 via a water supply hose 12, and also stops the supply of water used for cleaning or rinsing into the cleaning tank 3.

Furthermore, inside the housing 1, a drying heater 9 for heating the air to turn it into warm air, and a blower fan 10 for supplying the warm air into the cleaning tank 3 are installed behind the cleaning tank 3.

The blower fan 10 supplies air heated by the drying heater 9 into the washing tank 3. That is, the blower fan 10 supplies air from outside the washing tank 3 to the inside of the washing tank 3, and expels the air from inside the washing tank 3 to the outside of the dishwasher 100 using the supplied air.

(Cleaning tank)
The washing tank 3 is formed in a box shape, and a washing tank opening 3a is formed on the upper surface of the washing tank 3. The washing tank opening 3a is an opening formed on the upper surface of the washing tank 3, and a user can place tableware 20 such as plates and bowls in a dish basket 16 arranged inside the washing tank 3 as shown in Figure 3, and can also remove tableware 20 from inside the washing tank 3, through the washing tank opening 3a.

The cleaning tank 3 is provided with a water level detector 18 that detects the level of the water stored in the cleaning tank 3 for use in cleaning or rinsing, a water temperature detector 19 that detects the temperature of the water used for cleaning or rinsing, and a heater 7 that heats the water used for cleaning or rinsing. A cleaning pump 6 that pressurizes the water used for cleaning or rinsing and supplies it to the cleaning nozzle 5 is provided on the outside of the bottom of the cleaning tank 5.

As described above, the water used for washing or rinsing is pressurized by the washing pump 6 and supplied to the washing nozzle 5. The washing nozzle 5 is disposed below the dish basket 16, more specifically, below the lower basket body 16b that constitutes the dish basket 16.

The cleaning nozzle 5 also has a space inside through which the water used for cleaning or rinsing passes, and is made of, for example, a resin material. Furthermore, the cleaning nozzle 5 has multiple injection holes 5b formed therein, and the water used for cleaning or rinsing, which is pressurized and supplied from the cleaning pump 6, is injected from the injection holes 5b.

The washing nozzle 5 is rotatably supported by an axis structure 50. When the water used for washing or rinsing, which is pressurized and sent from the washing pump 6, passes through the inside of the axis structure 50 and reaches the washing nozzle 5, the washing nozzle 5 rotates in the opposite direction to the direction of spraying due to the reaction force of the water used for washing or rinsing, which is sprayed from the injection hole 5b, which is one of the multiple injection holes 5b that sprays in the lateral direction. Then, while the washing nozzle 5 rotates, the water used for washing or rinsing is sprayed from the injection hole 5b toward the tableware 20, thereby washing or rinsing the tableware 20.

Similar to the cleaning pump 6, a drainage pump 8 is provided on the outside of the bottom of the cleaning tank 5. The drainage pump 8 drains the water used for cleaning or rinsing that is stored in the cleaning tank 3 out of the cleaning tank 3 via a drainage hose 13.

The housing 1 is provided with a holding mechanism 30 for holding the cleaning tank 3 inside the housing 1 as shown in FIG. 3 so that the cleaning tank 3 does not move forward unless necessary. When the cleaning tank 3 is pushed from the front to the rear of the housing 1 to a predetermined holding position, the cleaning tank 3 is held in the predetermined position by the holding mechanism 30. At this time, the holding mechanism 30 is biased by an elastic body 31 such as a spring with a force in the opposite direction to the direction in which the cleaning tank 20 is pulled out (forward), and the cleaning tank 20 can be held within the housing 10.

(Lid)
The lid 14 is provided to be capable of opening and closing the cleaning tank opening 3a formed in the upper part of the cleaning tank 3, and in the closed state, separates the inside and the outside of the cleaning tank 3. The lid 14 is provided on the upper part of the inner surface of the housing 1. One end of a link mechanism (not shown) is attached to the lid 14, and the other end of the link mechanism is attached to the upper part of the inner surface of the housing 1.

Then, by this link mechanism, the lid body 14 is raised to open the cleaning tank opening 3a of the cleaning tank 3 when the cleaning tank 3 is pulled out of the housing 1, and is lowered to close the cleaning tank opening 3a of the cleaning tank 3 when the cleaning tank 3 is stored in the housing 1. The link mechanism also prevents the lid body 14 from being pulled out of the housing 1 together with the cleaning tank 3 when the cleaning tank 3 is pulled out of the housing 1, in other words, the lid body 14 is configured to remain within the housing 1.

(Door body)
1 to 3, a door body 2 is provided on the front side of the dishwasher 100. The door body 2 is attached to the front of the washing tub 3 and covers the housing opening 1a of the housing 1. A handle portion (not shown) is provided on the upper part of the door body 2 for holding the hand when pulling the washing tub 3 out from the housing 1 to the front.

The door body 2 is also provided with an operation unit (not shown). The operation unit receives operation instructions input by the user and outputs corresponding operation signals to the control unit 15. The operation unit is provided with a power switch for turning on the dishwasher 100 and an operation switch for starting or pausing the operation of the dishwasher 100.

(Control unit)
The control unit 15 is, for example, a dedicated hardware (not shown), or a circuit board mounted with a CPU (also called a central processing unit, processing unit, arithmetic unit, microprocessor, microcomputer, or processor) that executes a program stored in a memory unit, housed in a case. The control unit 15 controls the operation of each device that constitutes the dishwasher 100.

The control unit 15 receives information detected by the water level detection device 18 and the water temperature detection device 19. The control unit 15 controls the water supply valve 11, the cleaning pump 6, the heater 7, the drain pump 8, the blower fan 10, the drying heater 9, etc.

(Dish basket)
The dish basket 16 is simply and diagrammatically shown in Figures 3 and 10, but is actually made up of a lower basket body 16b and an upper basket body 16a as shown in Figures 4, 7 and 8. The lower basket body 16b and the upper basket body 16a can be attached to and detached from the washing tub 3 independently.

The upper cage body 16a is further composed of an upper cage body 1 (first upper cage body of the present disclosure) 16a1 and an upper cage body 2 (second upper cage body of the present disclosure) 16a2, which are independently movable. In the following explanation, when the upper cage body 1 (first upper cage body of the present disclosure) 16a1 and the upper cage body 2 (second upper cage body of the present disclosure) 16a2 are explained as a set, they may be collectively referred to as the upper cage body 16a.

First, the lower cage body 16b is installed in the cleaning tank 3 as shown in FIG. 5. Next, the upper cage body 16a is installed as shown in FIG. 6. The upper cage body 16a is integral, but as shown in FIG. 8, the upper cage body 1 (first upper cage body of the present disclosure) 16a1 and the upper cage body 2 (second upper cage body of the present disclosure) 16a2 can rotate independently around the upper cage rotation shaft 16a3.

The tableware 20 is also shown simply and diagrammatically in Figures 3 and 10, but the tableware 20 includes large plates, small plates, rice bowls, soup bowls, teacups, cups, chopsticks, etc. Details of the tableware 20 are not shown, but the large plates, small plates, rice bowls, soup bowls, chopsticks, etc. are stored in the lower basket body 16b, and the teacups, cups, etc. are stored in the upper basket 16a.

As mentioned above, Figs. 7 to 9 show the relationship between the dish basket 16 and the washing nozzle 5 in the washing tank 3, and for ease of explanation, the washing tank 3 is omitted from the figures. As shown in Figs. 4 and 7 to 9, a tower nozzle 5a is provided vertically above the center of the washing nozzle 5.

The tower nozzle 5a is provided so that the water used for washing or rinsing can be easily sprayed onto tall tableware 20 such as teacups, glasses, etc. stored in the upper basket body 16a in a deep washing tank 3, or onto tall tableware such as large plates stored in the lower basket body 16b.

As shown in Figures 7 to 9, the tower nozzle 5a protrudes vertically upward from the center of the washing nozzle 5, passing through the lower basket body 16b. Therefore, tableware 20 is not stored in the area of the lower basket body 16b through which the tower nozzle 5a passes.

In addition, a nozzle guard 17 is provided on the lower basket body 16b so as to surround the outer periphery of the tower nozzle 5a, so that the tableware 20 stored in the lower basket body 16b does not come into contact with the tower nozzle 5a and impede the rotation of the washing nozzle 5 or the spraying of water used for washing or rinsing. The nozzle guard is made of, for example, a resin material.

The nozzle guard 17 is composed of multiple members, including a nozzle guard base member 17b fixed to the lower cage body 16b, and an upper member 17a that can move up and down in the vertical direction. Furthermore, the upper member 17a is composed of an upper member 1 (first upper member of this disclosure) 17a1 and an upper member 2 (second upper member of this disclosure) 17a2 that can move up and down in the vertical direction independently and individually. In the following explanation, when upper member 1 (first upper member of this disclosure) 17a1 and upper member 2 (second upper member of this disclosure) 17a2 are explained as a set, they may be collectively referred to as upper member 17a.

As shown in FIG. 7, when the upper member 17a is moved vertically upward, it is fixed in position by a fixing means (not shown) and receives and supports the upper cage body 16a. Because it is necessary to receive and support the upper cage body 16a, when the upper member 17a is moved vertically upward to a position where it can be supported by the upper cage body 16a, the part that receives the upper cage 16a moves to a position higher than the tip of the tower nozzle 5a so that the upper cage body 16a does not come into contact with the tower nozzle 5a.

As a result, the portion of the water used for washing or rinsing that is sprayed diagonally upward from the tower nozzle spray hole 5a1 shown in Figure 9 may be partially blocked by the upper member 17a, so it is necessary to consider the positioning so that the water used for washing or rinsing hits the tableware 20 efficiently.

As described above, the upper cage body 16a is configured so that the upper cage body 1 (first upper cage body of the present disclosure) 16a1 and the upper cage body 2 (second upper cage body of the present disclosure) 16a2 can rotate independently around the upper cage rotation shaft 16a3, and the upper member 17a is configured so that the upper member 1 (first upper member of the present disclosure) 17a1 and the upper member 2 (second upper member of the present disclosure) 17a2 can move independently up and down in the vertical direction.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, when the upper cage body 1 (first upper cage body of the present disclosure) 16a1 does not need to be used, the upper cage body 1 (first upper cage body of the present disclosure) 16a1 can be rotated upward around the upper cage rotation shaft 16a3.

The upper member 1 (first upper member of the present disclosure) 17a1 that receives and supports the upper cage body 1 (first upper cage body of the present disclosure) 16a1 does not need to receive the upper cage body 1 (first upper cage body of the present disclosure) 16a1, and therefore the portion that receives the cage body 1 (first upper cage body of the present disclosure) 16a1 does not need to be maintained at a position higher than the tip of the tower nozzle 5a. As shown in FIG. 8, the portion can be moved downward to the lowest position in the vertical direction within the movable range.

Figure 9 shows the upper cage body 16a in a state where it is not in use and not attached. When the upper cage body 16a is not in use as shown in Figure 9, the upper member 17a of the nozzle guard 17 can be moved downward to its lowest position in the vertical direction. In this way, the upper member 17a of the nozzle guard 17 can be adjusted within its movable range to a position where it can at least support the upper cage body 16a, and a position where it can be fixed vertically to its lowest position in the vertical direction.

When the upper member 17a is moved to the lowest vertical position within its movable range, the tip of the tower nozzle 5a, and further the tower nozzle injection hole 5a1 provided in the tower nozzle 5a, become exposed above the upper member 17a, as shown in FIG. 9.

In other words, by moving the upper member 17a to the lowest vertical position within its movable range, the tower nozzle injection hole 5a1 can be exposed above the upper member 17a, allowing the water used for cleaning or rinsing to be sprayed from the tower nozzle injection hole 5a1 to be unobstructed.

Since there is nothing blocking the water used for washing or rinsing sprayed from the tower nozzle spray hole 5a1, as shown in FIG. 10, the water used for washing or rinsing sprayed from the tower nozzle spray hole 5a1 can be sprayed unobstructed even above tall tableware 20, such as large plates, stored in the lower basket body 16b, allowing the water used for washing or rinsing to be applied abundantly to the tableware 20.

According to the present disclosure as described above, the upper member 17a of the nozzle guard 17, which receives and supports the upper basket body 16a, can be moved downward to the lowest position in the vertical direction when the upper basket body 16a is not in use, so that the water used for washing or rinsing sprayed from the tower nozzle spray hole 5a1 provided in the tower nozzle 5a can be sprayed unhindered above the tall tableware 20, allowing the water used for washing or rinsing to be applied abundantly to the tableware 20, thereby making it possible to provide a dishwasher with improved cleaning performance.

1 housing, 1a housing opening, 2 door body, 3 cleaning tank, 3a cleaning tank opening, 4 slide rail, 5 cleaning nozzle, 5a tower nozzle, 5a1 tower nozzle injection hole, 5b injection hole, 6 cleaning pump, 7 heater, 8 drain pump, 9 drying heater, 10 blower fan, 11 water supply valve, 12 water supply hose, 13 drain hose, 14 lid body, 15 control unit, 16 dish basket, 16a upper basket body, 16a1 upper basket body 1 (first upper basket body), 16a2 upper basket body 2 (second upper basket body), 16a3 upper basket rotation shaft, 16b lower basket body, 17 nozzle guard, 17a upper member, 17a1 upper member 1 (first upper member), 17a2 upper member 2 (second upper member), 17b nozzle guard base member, 18 Water level detection device, 19 Water temperature detection device, 20 Tableware, 30 Holding mechanism, 31 Elastic body, 50 Shaft structure, 100 Dishwasher.

Claims (3)

a cleaning tank having an open top surface and accommodating an object to be cleaned in the cleaning tank so that the object can be taken in and out through the opening on the top surface;
an upper basket body and a lower basket body, each of which is disposed in the cleaning tank and which accommodate the objects to be cleaned;
a cover that closes the opening on the top surface of the cleaning tank;
A washing pump that pressurizes and circulates washing water used to wash the object to be washed;
a rotatable cleaning nozzle for spraying the cleaning water pressurized by the cleaning pump onto the object to be cleaned;
The cleaning nozzle has a tower nozzle provided at the center thereof so as to protrude vertically upward,
a nozzle guard for protecting the object from contacting the tower nozzle is provided on the lower cage body so as to surround the outer periphery of the tower nozzle;
The nozzle guard is composed of a plurality of members, and among the plurality of members, an upper member that is vertically movable upward supports the upper basket body when moved vertically upward. The upper member is composed of a first upper member and a second upper member that are independently movable in a vertical direction,
2. The dishwasher according to claim 1, wherein the upper basket body is composed of a first upper basket body and a second upper basket body which can be separated, the first upper member supporting the first upper basket body, and the second upper member supporting the second upper basket body. 3. The dishwasher according to claim 1 , wherein the upper member is vertically adjustable between a position where the upper basket body can be supported and a position where the upper member can be fixed at the lowest position.

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