The invention relates to a dishwasher, in particular domestic dishwasher, with a dishwashing compartment having an in particular frontal, loading opening, a door to close said loading opening and at least one washware basket which is movable out of and into the dishwashing compartment.
Dishwashers frequently have optical indicators, which are intended to facilitate operation, for example in that they request the effecting of certain actions, for example the replenishment of salt in a dishwasher salt receptacle. Such optical indicators can for example be provided on a panel on the door front, on the top edge of the door, on the internal wall of the door and/or in the dishwashing compartment. It is the object of the invention to propose a dishwasher of the type described in the introduction, which is improved in respect of the operation of at least one washware basket.
This problem is solved in accordance with the invention in that the dishwasher comprises an in particular non-contacting device for the recognition of at least one movement position of the washware basket and a control device, which controls at least one light source arranged in and/or on the dishwasher, depending on the at least one movement position of the washware basket.
Such an embodiment opens up completely new possibilities for optically-based user support and user guidance, in particular user animation. The user can thus for example be made aware, by means of the illumination of a light source, that the washware basket has perhaps not been fully retracted into the dishwashing compartment after being loaded with washware. In this way it is possible to prevent the door striking the washware basket upon being closed and washware thereby being dislodged from its retainer and damaged. A similar situation also obtains upon withdrawing the washware basket, if this is pulled to the extreme end of its travel with excessive speed. Washware can be dislodged here too.
The proposed embodiment further offers the possibility of mapping and indicating the progress of the withdrawal and insertion of the washware basket by optical means.
The control device is expediently embodied in such a way that at least one parameter of the at least one light source can be controlled by means of the control device, in particular its illuminance, color, mode of illumination, time of activation and/or deactivation, and/or timing varied. A change in the respective spatial position of the respective washware basket can thereby be dynamically signaled or indicated by means of a change in at least one parameter of the one or more light sources. This improves user guidance. In particular the handling of the respective washware basket is thereby facilitated.
A parameter of a light source which can be controlled depending on the respective movement position of the washware basket is thus, for example, its operating status, i.e. in order to draw the user's attention to a particular movement position of the washware basket the light source can simply be switched on or illuminated. Furthermore an indication of the respective movement position of the washware basket can take place in that the illuminance or the color of a light source are changed. In the case of a color change the use of color filters is conceivable, or light sources provided which have means of illumination, such as LEDs, of different colors, wherein a certain means of illumination or—to create a mixture of colors—multiple means of illumination are activated.
If in particular a non-contacting device for the position detection of the respective washware basket is used, no extensive adaptation of the respective washware basket is required, so that washware baskets of conventional embodiment and mounting can continue to be used without modification. The non-contacting device for position detection can for example operate inductively or capacitively, and make use of corresponding sensors. In the case of one preferable embodiment a Hall sensor is employed, wherein at least one magnet which interacts with the aforementioned sensor is attached to the washware basket.
The at least one light source is expediently arranged outside the respective washware basket in and/or on the dishwasher and is variable depending on the at least one movement position of the washware basket.
The respective light source is in particular provided in the dishwashing compartment, preferably in and/or on its floor and/or its side walls, and/or in particular in and/or on that internal wall surface on the door which faces the interior of the dishwashing compartment in its final closed position.
It is therefore simple in a number of practical circumstances appropriately to illuminate or render visible the interior compartment of the dishwasher, including in particular the treatment area of the dishwasher, the internal wall surface of the door facing the treatment area when the door is in its final closure position, and other areas which are invisible to the user when viewed from the front in the final closure position of the door, i.e. they are concealed. In contrast to a dishwasher with a movable washware basket, which is equipped with a light source and would require complex linkage mechanisms to its electrical connection to an electrical power supply line, a stationary, i.e. fixed accommodation of the one or more light sources and their associated electrical connections is sufficient in the case of the inventive dishwasher.
In a particularly preferable embodiment it is provided that multiple light sources are present and that the control device is so embodied that it activates an increasing number of light sources with the increasing path of travel of the washware basket. In this way, if the light sources are preferably arranged in a row extending in the direction of movement of the washware basket, an optically changing strip light or lighting ribbon is created. The light sources can here be actuated by the control device in such a way that the number of illuminated light sources increases in the extension direction of the washware basket and decreases in the retraction direction. The row or lighting ribbon formed by the light sources thus lengthens in the extension direction and shortens in the retraction direction. It is however also conceivable for the length of the lighting ribbon or the row of light sources to remain the same during the inward or outward movement of the washware basket, but that depending on the progress of the inward or outward movement of the washware basket, the lighting ribbon or the row of lighting sources in its entirety changes color or an illuminated, for example colored, section of the lighting ribbon moves forwards or backwards according to the movement of the washware basket. If appropriate, instead of a multiplicity of light sources arranged in a row, one elongated light source only, such as for example an actively illuminating lighting strip can be provided, which is formed for example by one or more LED or OLED lighting elements.
A row of light sources or a lighting ribbon is preferably arranged in the immediate vicinity of a guide track guiding the washware basket in its retraction and extension direction, i.e. as close as possible to this, so that it emphasizes the insertion level of the respective washware basket or the guide tracks during the retraction and extension of the washware basket. In the case of a washware basket mounted on the side walls of the dishwashing compartment the guide tracks are generally formed by telescopic pullouts, so that the washware basket can be extended sufficiently far out of the dishwashing compartment. A telescopic pullout is not required in the case of a washware basket arranged in the lower part of the dishwashing compartment, as the washware basket can rest on the door or on an inner wall of the door forming its inner face. In this case the washware basket is as a rule provided with under-mounted rollers or sliding elements, which interact with runner surfaces extending in the direction of movement of the washware basket on the inner wall of the door (facing the interior compartment of the dishwashing compartment in the final closure position of the door). Running surfaces are also provided within the dishwashing compartment too, which for example are present on the floor of the dishwashing compartment. A row of light sources or a lighting ribbon is then preferably positioned directly on the runner surface. The light sources are here preferably arranged in inset form, for instance in recesses, so that the rollers or slider elements can largely move along the runner surface unhindered.
The end of a travel movement of the washware basket can then very readily be recognized when the lighting ribbon is of a length corresponding to the displacement distance of the washware basket. The distance traveled by the washware basket is namely then mapped by the lighting ribbon on a near 1:1 basis. A further advantageous measure enabling recognition of the progress of the outward or inward movement of the washware basket based on the lighting ribbon consists in the control device being so embodied that it activates the multiple light sources arranged in a row in such a way that the change of a parameter of the light sources propagates in the direction of movement of the washware basket. It is here advantageous if the actuation of the multiple light sources takes place in such a way that the parameter propagates at a speed corresponding to the speed of travel of the washware basket.
There are multiple possibilities for the arrangement of light sources in and on the dishwasher. A light source can thus be arranged standing out from the inner face of a side wall facing the treatment area and/or the base wall of the dishwashing compartment and/or on the inner face of the inner wall of the door facing the treatment area of the dishwashing compartment in the final closure position of the door. Alternatively to such a mode of mounting, in which the light source stands out from the respective wall, an opening or a recess to accommodate the light source can also be present in the aforementioned walls. However one preferable variant provides for the case of an arrangement of one or more light sources on the door, in that at least a partial area of the inner wall of the door, preferably the entire inner wall of the door, is embodied in translucent form, that is consists of one or more translucent materials. One or more light sources are then arranged in one or more recesses or openings in the door covered by the translucent partial area or by the totally translucent inner wall of the door. One or more light sources can thus expediently be arranged in one or more recesses or openings behind a translucent cover element for example made of a glass and/or plastic material, which forms a partial surface area of the inner wall of the door which is otherwise formed of an opaque material such as metal, in particular stainless steel. In particular in the case of a completely translucently embodied inner wall of the door, light sources can be arranged within the interior of the door underneath the inner wall of the door which faces the treatment area of the dishwashing compartment in the final closure position of the door, without a gap thereby arising between light source and inner wall of the door, which would run the risk of rinsing liquid finding its way into the door during operation of the dishwasher. In the case of a translucent inner wall of the door or a partial area thereof, in addition to light sources located in the specified recess, structural parts of the door would also be visible. In order to prevent visibility of the structural parts, in the case of a preferable embodiment it is expediently provided that the partial area or the inner wall of the door (interior door) is provided externally or internally with a coating which has lower translucency than the material forming the partial area or the inner wall of the door. An area located over the light source or sources remains uncoated however, so that a window is created through which the light from the light sources can emerge to the outside.
If within the framework of the explanations of the invention and its advantageous embodiments the expression “capable of extension and retraction” is used in relation to the respective washware baskets, this then comprises a multiplicity of possibilities regarding movement of the respective washware basket into and out of the interior compartment, i.e. the treatment area of the dishwashing compartment.
Other advantageous developments of the invention are specified in the subsidiary claims.
The advantageous embodiments and developments of the invention previously explained and/or specified in the subsidiary claims can here—except for example in the case of clear dependencies or incompatible alternatives—be employed not just individually but also in any desired combination.
The invention and its advantageous embodiments and developments and their advantages are explained in greater detail below on the basis of drawings.
Wherein, in each case in a schematic diagram:
A dishwasher 1 shown in its entirety in
The dishwasher 1 further has an in particular non-contacting, device 18 for the recognition of at least one, preferably a multiplicity of movement positions of the washware baskets 5, 6, which in
For the actuation of one, preferably multiple light sources 27, these are connected to the control device 26 via one or more control lines 21 (in
A further advantageous possible embodiment provides that multiple light sources 27, as for example shown in
In order clearly to emphasize the levels of travel of the washware baskets 5, 6 a lighting ribbon 33 is arranged in the immediate vicinity of a guide track 13 on a side wall 14, 14′ or on the inner face 17 of the door 3. In the case of the lower washware basket 6 this is not guided on a telescopic pullout, but rollers 35 or similar guide elements are present on the washware basket 6, which interact with a runner surface 37 arranged on the inner face 17 of the door 3 and on the floor 36 of the dishwashing compartment 2.
A light source 27 can in principle be mounted on the surface of a side wall 14 or on the surface of the inner wall of the door 34, wherein it stands out from this (not shown). A light source 27 is however preferably arranged in a recess or in an opening 32 of the respective wall, as shown for instance in
In the case of a door 3 a further possibility for the arrangement of light sources emerges. Here, the light sources 27 can be arranged in a recess 38 of the door and if applicable retained by a bearer 41, wherein the recess 38 is covered by the inner wall of the door 34 formed of one or more translucent materials (
In the case of the dishwasher from
In the exemplary embodiment of
It can in particular be expedient if strip lights or lighting ribbons or rows of multiple illumination or light sources are provided both in the area of the floor 36 of the dishwashing compartment 2 as well of the inner face 17 of the inner wall of the door 34, in particular in the area of the two guide tracks 13b and 13c of the lower washware basket, for example 6, which traverse its rollers 35 upon its movement into or out of the dishwashing compartment. The entire possible path of travel of the lower washware basket can thereby be made optically recognizable to the respective user.
Here, the light sources can expediently be provided either on top of the floor 36 and/or on top of the inner face 17 of the inner wall of the door 34, or in recesses or openings of the floor 36 and/or of the inner wall of the door 34. Here, the recesses or openings can in each case expediently be provided with a translucent top cover. This translucent cover is preferably largely arranged to be flush with the opaque areas of the floor and/or of the inner wall of the door surrounding the respective recess or opening. Perfect, liquid-tight integration of the one or more light sources into the floor of the dishwashing compartment and/or in the inner wall of the door is thereby provided. If appropriate, the one or more light sources can also be arranged underneath the floor of the dishwashing compartment and/or underneath the inner wall of the door facing the interior compartment of the dishwashing compartment (in the final closure position of the door), if the entire inner wall of the floor of the dishwashing compartments and/or the entire inner wall of the door in each case consist in particular of a translucent material.
LEDs or OLEDs in particular, but also other illumination or lighting means can be used as light sources for the various design engineering variants illustrated above, provided that at least one parameter of the respective illumination or lighting means such as its time of activation and/or deactivation, illuminance, brightness, color, timing, . . . etc. can be controlled, i.e. influenced and changed, by means of a conventional control device.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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10 2011 084 460 | Oct 2011 | DE | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/EP2012/070158 | 10/11/2012 | WO | 00 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
WO2013/053823 | 4/18/2013 | WO | A |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20140230865 A1 | Aug 2014 | US |