Automatic dishwashers of the type referred to at the outset, that is to say of the generic type, are known per se from the prior art which is why there is no need for separate documentary evidence at this point.
Automatic dishwashers of the type referred to at the outset have a wash tub which for its part provides a washing compartment. In the intended use case, the wash tub is used to hold the dishes to be cleaned. At the same time, the washing compartment provided by the wash tub is accessible on the user's part by way of a loading aperture. This can be sealed so as to be fluid-tight by means of a pivotably designed dishwasher door.
An automatic dishwasher has a spray device in the washing compartment to supply the dishes to be cleaned with washing liquid. This generally has two or three rotatably configured spray arms which in specified normal operation spray washing liquid conveyed by a circulating pump onto the dishes to be cleaned.
Electric heaters are typically used to heat the washing liquid. Moreover, heat pump devices for heating washing liquid have also become known from the prior art. Such heat pump devices draw heat from the space surrounding the automatic dishwasher or from the ambient air to heat the washing liquid. For this purpose, a heat pump device has an evaporator and a fan, the fan being used to supply the evaporator with ambient air sucked in by said fan.
The evaporator of the heat pump device is typically designed as a finned-tube heat exchanger and has a large number of fins arranged spaced apart from each other. In the intended use case, the outside air sucked in by the fan is guided between the fins of the evaporator where heat is transferred from the ambient air to a refrigerant of the heat pump device. As the ambient air sucked in from outside contains dust and/or dirt particles, in the intended use case the intermediate spaces formed between the individual fins of the evaporator may also become clogged with the result that it is no longer possible to guarantee perfect functioning of the heat pump device.
To counteract clogging of the evaporator due to dust and/or dirt particles, it is known from the prior art to connect a filter upstream of the evaporator in the flow direction of the ambient air. By means of such a filter, any dust and/or dirt particles in the ambient air can be largely eliminated before the ambient air that is sucked in is fed through the evaporator which results in the functionality of the evaporator being maintained.
Although previously described filters have proven themselves in daily practice, there is a need for improvement. Thus on the user's part it is considered to be a particular disadvantage that previously known filters require maintenance. It is particularly necessary to carry out cleaning of the filter from time to time. If such cleaning is not done, the filter may clog up with the result that it is no longer possible to suck in sufficient ambient air for the heat pump device to function properly. In this respect, cleaning of the filter required from time to time is considered on the user's part to be inconvenient.