Dish Washer Decalcifier

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Note: Within nine months of the publication of the mention of the grant of the European patent in the European PatentBulletin, any person may give notice to the European Patent Office of opposition to that patent, in accordance with theImplementing Regulations. Notice of opposition shall not be deemed to have been filed until the opposition fee has beenpaid. (Art. 99(1) European Patent Convention).

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TEPZZ54584_B_T(11) EP 2 545 841 B1

(12) EUROPEAN PATENT SPECIFICATION

(45) Date of publication and mention

of the grant of the patent:04.09.2013 Bulletin 2013/36

(21) Application number: 11425184.6

(22) Date of filing: 12.07.2011

(51) Int Cl.:

A47L 15/42 (2006.01)

(54) Dishwasher with decalcifier

Geschirrspüler mit Entkalkungsmittel

Lave-vaisselle doté d’un décalcifiant

(84) Designated Contracting States:AL AT BE BG CH CY CZ DE DK EE ES FI FR GB

GR HR HU IE IS IT LI LT LU LV MC MK MT NL NO

PL PT RO RS SE SI SK SM TR

(43) Date of publication of application:16.01.2013 Bulletin 2013/03

(73) Proprietor: Bonferraro S.p.A.

37060 Bonferraro (VR) (IT)

(72) Inventor: Ambrosi, Andrea37052 Casaleone VR (IT)

(74) Representative: Concone, Emanuele et al

Società Italiana Brevetti S.p.A.

Via Carducci 8

20123 Milano (IT)

(56) References cited:EP-A2- 0 133 677 DE-A1-102006 011 640

FR-A1- 2 580 165 FR-A5- 2 052 333



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Description

[0001] The present invention relates to dishwashers,and in particular to a dishwasher provided with a decal-cifier from which it is possible to tap decalcified water tobe used outside the dishwasher.

[0002] It is known that the network water loaded in adishwasher must be usually treated to make it less hard,i.e. to reduce the concentration of calcium and magne-sium salts that by precipitation form limescale on the sur-faces and degrade the washing performance. To this pur-pose, the water loaded in the dishwasher is first of allpassed in a decalcifier provided with a network water inlet and a decalcified water outlet.[0003] The water loading system of a dishwasher istherefore conventionally made up of a load electrovalvethat controls the inflow of network water and is connectedthrough a first pipe to the inlet of an air-break which is inturn connected to a decalcifier. The decalcified water

leaving the decalcifier is then sent through a second pipeto the collecting sump located at the bottom of the washtank to enter the wash circuit of the machine. Such dish-washers are known for example from FR 2 052 333 A5.[0004] It is also known that in several other instancesthe use of decalcified water is practically indispensableor at least preferable, typically in steam ironing deviceswhere the formation of limescale damages the iron byclogging it and making it unusable. In order to preventsuch problems the user must purchase decalcified water at the supermarket or, in certain cases, recover the con-densed vapor from air conditioning systems or use water treated by a specific decalcifying apparatus.[0005] This results in drawbacks both in terms of costand inconvenience, since the user must provide a stockof decalcified water to be available when required.[0006] Therefore the object of the present invention isto provide a dishwasher that allows to tap on request thewater decalcified by the decalcifier so as to overcomethe above-mentioned drawbacks. This object is achievedby means of a dishwasher provided with a valve arrangedbetween the decalcifier outlet and the sump so that it candivert the decalcified water towards a tapping nozzle.Other advantageous features of the present dishwasher are disclosed in the dependent claims.

[0007] The main advantage of this dishwasher residesin making available in a simple and inexpensive way asource of decalcified water that can be used for ironing,cooking, washing laundry and the like. In this way, it ispossible to avoid the costs involved with the purchase of decalcified water or with the specific decalcifying appa-ratus, as well as the inconvenience of recovering con-densate from the air conditioning system.[0008] A further advantage of the present dishwasher stems from the fact that the modifications required toachieve this new function are minimal, whereby also thecost increase for manufacturing and using such a dish-washer is negligible.[0009] These and other advantages and characteris-

tics of the dishwasher according to the present inventionwill be clear to those skilled in the art from the followingdetailed description of an embodiment thereof, with ref-erence to the annexed drawings wherein:

Fig.1 is a diagrammatic front view of the dishwasher,

with the hydraulic circuit configured for the normaloperation of the dishwasher;Fig.2 is a view similar to Fig.1 with the hydraulic cir-cuit configured for the decalcified water tapping func-tion;Fig.3 is a perspective view of a decalcified water col-lecting container that can be used in the configura-tion of Fig.2; andFig.4 is a view similar to Fig.2 that shows a variantof the water collecting system.

[0010] Referring to said figures, there is seen that adishwasher according to the present invention is conven-

tionally provided with a decalcifier 1 whose outlet 1a isconnected through a pipe 2 to a collecting sump 3, fromwhere the decalcified water is drawn off by a wash pump4 and sent to a sprinkler 5 for washing the dishes housedin a rack 6 (just one sprinkler 5 and one rack 6 are shownfor the sake of simplicity, but the dishwasher will usuallyhave two of each).[0011] The novel aspect of the present invention re-sides in the fact that between outlet 1a of decalcifier 1and pipe 2 connecting it to sump 3 there is arranged avalve 7 suitable to divert the decalcified water to a duct8 ending with a nozzle 9 that projects into the wash tank,preferably from a side wall at a position higher than rack 6.[0012] The simple and effective operation of thepresent dishwasher is therefore readily understood in thelight of the description given above.[0013] For the normal operation of the dishwasher thehydraulic circuit is in the configuration of Fig.1, wherevalve 7 connects decalcifier 1 to sump 3. When the user wishes to tap decalcified water for other uses he/sheneeds only select the appropriate option on the controlpanel of the dishwasher and hang a collecting container 10 on nozzle 9, then close the door and wait for the signalon the dishwasher display indicating that it is possible toopen the door and fetch the required decalcified water.

[0014] The control unit of the dishwasher, after detect-ing the user’s request and the closing of the door, switch-es valve 7 so that it connects decalcifier 1 to nozzle 9,according to the configuration of Fig.2, and opens thewater load electrovalve to load the preset amount of water or an amount set by the user.[0015] In case the control unit detects that the dish-washer can not dispense the required amount of decal-cified water because the resins of decalcifier 1 are ex-hausted, it will first proceed with a phase of regenerationand wash of the resins according to the conventional cy-cle normally used in dishwashers. Only after said cycle,the control unit will switch valve 7 putting outlet 1a of

decalcifier 1 into connection with duct 8 that wil l convey

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the decalcified water up to nozzle 9 so that it can becollected in container 10, which is provided with a suitablerear hole 10a and a spout 10b (Fig.3).[0016] Alternatively, as illustrated in Fig.4, the water can be collected by means of an additional small pipe 11provided with a socket 11a for its mounting on nozzle 9,

said small pipe 9 being mounted by the user only whenthe tapping of decalcified water is requested. In this way,the free end of the small pipe 11 can be introduced intoany container placed in rack 6, such as a bottle 12.[0017] It is clear that the above-described and illustrat-ed embodiment of the dishwasher according to the in-vention is just an example susceptible of various modifi-cations. In particular, the exact structure and position of the portion of hydraulic circuit intended for tapping thedecalcified water can change somewhat according tospecific manufacturing needs. For example, valve 7could be arranged at another position between decalcifier 1 and sump 3, such as in the middle of pipe 2 or down-

stream therefrom, and nozzle 9 could be located on theceiling or the bottom of the wash tank.

Claims

1. Dishwasher comprising a wash tank with a collectingsump (3) at the bottom and a decalcifier (1) whoseoutlet (1a) is connected to said collecting sump (3),characterized in that between said outlet (1a) of the decalcifier (1) and the collecting sump (3) thereis arranged a valve (7) suitable to divert the decalci-fied water to a duct (8) ending with a nozzle (9) thatprojects into the wash tank.

2. Dishwasher according to claim 1, characterized in

that the valve (7) is located adjacent to the outlet(1a).

3. Dishwasher according to claim 1 or 2, characterized

in that the nozzle (9) projects from a side wall at aposition higher than a rack (6) intended to receivedishes.

4. Dishwasher according to any of the preceding

claims, characterized in that it further includes anadditional small pipe (11) provided with a socket(11a) for the mounting on the nozzle (9).

5. Dishwasher according to any of the precedingclaims, characterized in that it further includes acontainer (10) provided with a rear hole (10a) suita-ble for hanging said container (10) on the nozzle (9).

6. Dishwasher according to any of the precedingclaims, characterized in that it further includes con-trol means for setting the amount of decalcified water to be tapped.

Patentansprüche

1. Geschirrspüler, umfassend einen Waschtank mit ei-nem Sammelbecken (3) am Boden und einem Ent-kalker (1), dessen Auslass (1a) mit dem Sammel-becken (3) verbunden ist, dadurch gekennzeich-

net, dass zwischen dem Auslass (1a) des Entkal-kers (1) und dem Sammelbecken (3) ein Ventil (7)angeordnet ist, welches geeignet ist, das entkalkteWasser zu einer Leitung (8) umzulenken, die in einer Düse (9) endet, welche in den Waschtank hineinragt.

2. Geschirrspüler nach Anspruch 1, dadurch gekenn-

zeichnet, dass das Ventil (7) in der Nachbarschaftdes Auslasses (1a) platziert ist.

3. Eine Sprinkleranordnung nach Anspruch 1 oder 2,dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass die Düse (9) auseiner Seitenwand herausragt an einer Position ober-

halb eines Gestells (6) zur Aufnahme des Geschirrs.

4. Geschirrspüler nach einem der vorhergehenden An-sprüche, dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass er ferner eine zusätzliche kleine Leitung (11) aufweist, die miteinem Sockel (11a) zur Montage der Düse (9) ver-sehen ist.

5. Geschirrspüler nach einem der vorhergehenden An-sprüche, dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass er ferner einen Behälter (10) aufweist, der mit einer rückwär-tigen Öffnung (10a) versehen ist, geeignet, um denBehälter (10) an die Düse (9) zu hängen.

6. Geschirrspüler nach einem der vorhergehenden An-sprüche, dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass er ferner Mittel aufweist, um die Menge des zu zapfenden,entkalkten Wassers einzustellen.

Revendications

1. Lave-vaisselle comprenant un réservoir de lavageavec un bassin collecteur (3) au fond et un décalci-ficateur (1) dont la sortie (1a) est raccordée audit

bassin collecteur (3), caractérisé en ce que, entreladite sortie (1a) du décalcificateur (1) et le bassincollecteur (3), on agence une valve (7) appropriéepour dévier l’eau décalcifiée vers un conduit (8) seterminant par une buse (9) qui fait saillie dans le ré-servoir de lavage.

2. Lave-vaisselle selon la revendication 1, caractérisé

en ce que la valve (7) est positionnée de manièreadjacente à la sortie (1a).

3. Lave-vaisselle selon la revendication 1 ou 2, carac-

térisé en ce que la buse (9) fait saillie à partir d’une

paroi latérale dans une position plus haute qu’une

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grille (6) prévue pour recevoir de la vaisselle.

4. Lave-vaisselle selon l’une quelconque des revendi-cations précédentes, caractérisé en ce qu’il com-prend en outre un petit tuyau supplémentaire (11)prévu avec une douille (11a) pour être montée sur

la buse (9).

5. Lave-vaisselle selon l’une quelconque des revendi-cations précédentes, caractérisé en ce qu’il com-prend en outre un récipient (10) prévu avec un trouarrière (10a) approprié pour suspendre ledit réci-pient (10) sur la buse (9).

6. Lave-vaisselle selon l’une quelconque des revendi-cations précédentes, caractérisé en ce qu’il com-prend en outre des moyens de commande pour dé-terminer la quantité d’eau décalcifiée à tirer.

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REFERENCES CITED IN THE DESCRIPTION

This list of references cited by the applicant is for the reader’s convenience only. It does not form part of the European

patent document. Even though great care has been taken in compiling the references, errors or omissions cannot be

excluded and the EPO disclaims all l iability in this regard.

Patent documents cited in the description

• FR 2052333 A5 [0003]

Documents

Dish Washer Decalcifier