Granted Patent B2

US 12,520,989 · App. 18/628,395 · Granted Jan 13, 2026

Inventors: Tobias Foster (Cologne, DE); Sven Klose (Essen, DE); Gerold Carlhoff (Tönisvorst, DE); Aleksandr Gelenberg (Dortmund, DE); Katharina Irmingard Miriam Horn (Marktschellenberg, DE); Martin Schweble (Siegsdorf, DE); Andreas Ruppert (Siegsdorf, DE)

Assignee: Ecolab USA Inc.

A47L15/4436A47L15/0055A47L15/14A47L15/4445A47L15/4463A47L15/0005A47L15/0007A47L2401/023

Abstract

Claims (40)

1 . A system for dispensing a detergent solution from a solid detergent into a dishwasher, the dishwasher including a washing chamber and being capable of performing cleaning cycles each including washing and rinsing periods, the system comprising:

a dispenser for dissolving solid detergent blocks and dispensing detergent solution, the dispenser configured to:

accommodate solid detergent blocks in an amount sufficient to provide detergent solution for at least 10 cleaning cycles;

be removably retrofittable into the dishwasher by being mounted on an interior wall within the washing chamber of the dishwasher;

collect water or liquid sprayed within the washing chamber;

guide the collected water or liquid to the solid detergent blocks accommodated in the dispenser, whereby a portion of the solid detergent blocks is dissolved and a detergent solution is formed; and

allow continuous release of all detergent solution as it is formed; and

a battery-powered device configured to operate independently of the dishwasher and to be removably retrofittable into the dishwasher, the battery-powered device including a control unit and a conductivity sensor, the conductivity sensor configured to measure the conductivity of the washing liquid and to provide the measured conductivity value to the control unit when the battery-powered device is removably mounted in the dishwasher, the control unit configured to process the conductivity value and to produce a signal to be displayed independently of the dishwasher to indicate that the dispenser is to be refilled with solid detergent blocks if the conductivity value is below a preset threshold value.

2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the dispenser comprises a liquid inlet configured to collect the water or liquid sprayed within the washing chamber, and the dispenser is configured in a way that all of the collected water or liquid entering the dispenser enters the dispenser via the liquid inlet.

3 . The system of claim 2 , wherein the liquid inlet comprises an exchangeable element.

4 . The system of claim 3 , wherein the exchangeable element is configured to be mounted to the dispenser to form the liquid inlet, the exchangeable element configured to provide a specific clear opening space.

5 . The system of claim 4 , further comprising one or more further exchangeable elements each configured to be mounted to the dispenser to form the liquid inlet, the one or more further exchangeable elements each providing a specific clear opening space different from that of the first exchangeable element and different from each other.

6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the dispenser comprises a liquid inlet, a pre-chamber, a detergent chamber and a liquid outlet in fluid communication with each other in this order, wherein the dispenser is configured to pass all of the collected water or liquid from the liquid inlet to the pre-chamber, from the pre-chamber to the detergent chamber to form the detergent solution by dissolving a portion of the solid detergent blocks, and to pass the detergent solution from the detergent chamber to the liquid outlet.

7 . The system of claim 6 , wherein the liquid inlet of the dispenser is arranged on a top side of the pre-chamber and comprises an exchangeable element.

8 . The system of claim 7 , wherein the detergent chamber comprises a detergent opening on the top side for introducing the solid detergent blocks and a lid, which lid when closed is sealing the opening for introducing the solid detergent blocks.

9 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the pre-chamber is arranged adjacent the detergent chamber and being separated from the detergent chamber by a partition wall leaving a fluid communication between the pre-chamber and the detergent chamber at the bottom.

10 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the detergent chamber is divided into more than one compartment by partition wall(s) leaving a fluid communication between adjacent compartments at the bottom.

11 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the dispenser further comprises an additional partition wall between the liquid outlet and the adjacent detergent chamber leaving a fluid communication between the detergent chamber and the liquid outlet at the bottom, the additional partition wall acting as a vapour barrier.

12 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the dispenser is configured to accommodate solid detergent blocks having a total weight of 400 g to 600 g and to provide a clear opening space of the liquid inlet from 0.2 cm 2 to 3.0 cm 2 .

13 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the dispenser comprises a mounting mechanism allowing the dispenser to be internally mounted in the dishwasher, wherein the mounting mechanism comprises a mounting plate configured to be mounted on an interior surface of the dishwasher, and the dispenser is configured to be detachably attached to the mounting plate.

14 . The system of claim 13 , wherein the mounting mechanism comprises a device to adjust the inclination of the dispenser when arranged within the dishwasher.

15 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the dispenser comprises a front wall and wherein at least the portion of the front wall covering the detergent chamber is transparent.

16 . A method for dispensing a detergent solution from a dispenser in a dishwasher capable of performing cleaning cycles each including washing and rinsing periods, the method comprising:

placing one or more solid detergent blocks each including a washing agent and a rinsing agent in a detergent chamber of the dispenser in an amount sufficient to provide detergent solution for at least 10 cleaning cycles;

collecting a portion of water or liquid sprayed within the dishwasher during the washing and rinsing periods and using the collected water to form a detergent solution in the detergent chamber of the dispenser by dissolving a portion of the solid detergent;

continuously releasing all of the detergent solution from the dispenser as it is formed;

measuring the conductivity of the washing liquid by a conductivity sensor of a battery-powered device arranged within the dishwasher;

providing the measured conductivity value to a control unit of the battery-powered device for processing; and

producing a signal by the control unit, if the conductivity value is below a preset threshold value, in order to indicate that the dispenser has to be refilled with solid detergent blocks, and displaying the signal independently of the dishwasher.

17 . The method of claim 16 , further comprising:

selecting and installing a specific clear opening space of a liquid inlet of the dispenser;

removably retrofitting the dispenser in the dishwasher; and

removably retrofitting the battery-powered device in the dishwasher.

18 . The method of claim 17 , wherein displaying the signal comprises displaying a light signal by the battery-powered device.

19 . The method of claim 17 , wherein displaying the signal comprises:

sending the signal from the battery-powered device to an external device located outside of the dishwasher by wireless communication; and

displaying the signal by the external device.

20 . The method of claim 17 , further comprising:

configuring the liquid inlet as an exchangeable element; and

altering the specific clear opening space of the liquid inlet by exchanging the exchangeable element by another exchangeable element having a different specific clear opening space.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (2)

References Cited (98)