The present invention relates to the sector of fittings for dishwashing machines. In particular, a fitting with which a dishwashing machine is typically provided is a funnel designed to facilitate filling of a special storage compartment with salt which is used for periodic regeneration of the ion exchange resins in the water softener unit.

Supply of the funnel therefore represents an additional cost for the manufacturer. Moreover, since this fitting is supplied separately from the dishwashing machine and therefore must be kept separately by the user, it often happens that said fitting is lost, also in view of the fact that it is used occasionally, namely only when it is required to top up the salt. Therefore, if the fitting is lost, the user is obliged to pour, with a certain amount of difficulty, the salt directly into the narrow inlet nozzle of the associated storage compartment, with the risk of it being spilled and causing corrosion of the surrounding metal parts.

The object of the present invention is therefore to overcome the abovementioned drawbacks of the prior art.

According to the invention, this object is achieved by means of a fitting for a dishwashing machine comprising a filtering element having a filtering side surface and defining internally a cavity, the bottom end of the element being provided with means designed to allow connection of the fitting with an inlet nozzle of a salt storage compartment, and the cross-section of the bottom portion of said cavity tapering in a downwards direction.

The normal function of the fitting according to the invention is - as in the prior art - that of filtering the washing water. Therefore, during normal operation and during periods of inactivity of the dishwashing machine, the fitting is installed there in a conventional manner with the top part of the aforementioned filtering element which rests on a plate of the bottom of the washing chamber and the bottom part which is engaged with the sump. Nevertheless, when the salt needs to be topped up, the element may be extracted from the sump and fixed, via the connection means on its bottom end, to the inlet nozzle of the salt storage compartment. In this configuration, the fitting acts as a funnel owing to tapering of the cross-section of its inner cavity and prevents salt being poured outside of the associated storage compartment.

Therefore, it is no longer required to provide a funnel as an additional component, resulting in a saving in the associated costs and avoiding the risk of it being lost. In fact, the fitting according to the invention must be arranged inside the sump in order to be able to perform the water filtering function, with the advantages that it does not occupy further space and does not reduce the capacity of the washing chamber.

The present invention relates also to a dishwashing machine provided with a fitting of the type indicated above. The present invention relates furthermore to the use of a fitting of the type indicated above as a filter for water supplied to a dishwashing machine and as a funnel for topping up the salt inside a storage compartment of the dishwashing machine, use as a filter and use as a funnel occurring at different times and in different locations. Further advantages and features of the present invention will become clear from the detailed description given below with reference to the accompanying drawings provided by way of a non-limiting example in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a fitting according to the invention;

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view along the line II-II of Figure 1 ;

Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view which shows the fitting according to the preceding figures together with other components of a dishwashing machine with which it is associated;

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view along the line IV-IV of Figure 3, showing the fitting according to the invention in its normal seat in the dishwashing machine;

Figure 5 is a perspective view showing the fitting according to the invention in the configuration in which it performs the function of a funnel; and

Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view along the line VI- VI of Figure 5. A fitting for a dishwashing machine comprises (Figs. 1 and 2) an element 10 formed by a cylindrical hollow body having a filtering side wall 12 which defines internally a cavity 14 which is open towards the top and towards the bottom. A frustoconical skirt 16 extends from the inner surface of the bottom portion of the side wall 12 in such a way that the cross-section of the cavity 14 tapers in a downwards direction, while remaining open at its bottom end.

The top end of the element 10 is integral with a conveyor plate 18. In embodiments of the invention which are not shown, the plate 18 could instead be mechanically coupled to the top end of the element 10. In any case, the plate 18 is provided with gripping means - in particular a tongue 19 - which allow easy extraction of the fitting from the seat inside which - as described below - it is mounted in the dishwashing machine.

On the other hand, the bottom end of the element 10 is provided, underneath the skirt 16, with means designed to allow connection of the fitting to an external member (in particular an inlet nozzle, as will become clear from the description below) and which consist of a plurality of circumferentially spaced teeth 20 which protrude from this end. For example, the teeth 20 may be equidistant and three in number. During normal operation of the dishwashing machine, the fitting is housed there (Figs. 3 and 4) resting on a plate 21 which defines the bottom of the washing chamber, with the filtering element 10 engaged with the sump 22 and in particular sealingly inserted inside a cylindrical chamber 24 connected by a passage 26 to a pump which conveys back into the washing chamber - these not being shown in the figures - the filtered water. The plate 18 is instead positioned on the bottom of this chamber and may thus convey to the filtering element 10 the water falling on top of it. Figures 3 and 4 also show a cage 28 which is removably arranged inside the internal cavity 14 of the filtering element 10 and acts as a pre-filter for retaining the coarser impurities. The cage 28 is also provided with a protruding head 29 which keeps the fitting assembled with the sump 22.

As a whole, therefore, the method of installation of the fitting and the way in which it performs the filtering function are entirely conventional and similar to those of a known filter.

On the other hand, when the salt needs to be topped up inside the associated storage compartment, the element 10 is extracted from the cavity 24 of the sump 22 and arranged (Figs. 5 and 6) on top of the inlet nozzle 30 of the salt storage compartment from which the lid 32 (Fig. 3) which normally protrudes inside the sump 22 has been removed. The fitting is fixed to the inlet nozzle 30 by means of the teeth 20 which protrude from the bottom end of the filtering element 10. The teeth 20 may be engaged with the inner surface and/or the outer surface of the inlet nozzle 30.

In this configuration, the fitting acts as a funnel owing to both the tapering of the cross- section of its inner cavity 14 due to the skirt 16 and the presence of the plate 18 and thus prevents salt from being able to fall outside of the inlet nozzle 30 during the pouring operations. Once these operations have been completed, the fitting may be removed from the inlet nozzle and arranged in its normal seat inside the sump 22 without the risk of being lost.

Obviously, without modifying the principle of the invention, the constructional details and embodiments may be greatly varied with respect to that described purely by way of example, without thereby departing from the scope claimed.