CN112842215A

CN112842215A - Control method, processor and device for dish washing machine and dish washing machine

Info

Publication number: CN112842215A
Application number: CN202110098673.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 范志恒; 陈蔚; 魏中科; 全永兵; 王彩霞
Original assignee: Foshan Shunde Midea Washing Appliances Manufacturing Co Ltd
Current assignee: Foshan Shunde Midea Washing Appliances Manufacturing Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-01-25
Filing date: 2021-01-25
Publication date: 2021-05-28

Abstract

The invention relates to the field of household appliances, and discloses a control method, a processor, a control device and a storage medium for a dish washing machine. The control method comprises the following steps: determining a washing pattern for at least one of a plurality of washing zones within a dishwasher; and washing the articles in the dishwasher according to the washing mode corresponding to the washing area. The technical scheme can customize the washing modes of a plurality of washing areas in the dish washing machine, and different washing modes are used for different types of tableware in different washing areas, so that the fine shuffling is realized, and the intelligence degree of the dish washing machine is improved; meanwhile, the dishwasher does not wash the washing area only containing clean tableware, and selects the most appropriate washing mode for the washing area containing dirty tableware, so that the energy consumption of the dishwasher is reduced, and the use feeling of a user is improved.

Description

Control method, processor and device for dish washing machine and dish washing machine

Technical Field

The invention relates to the field of household appliances, in particular to a control method, a processor, a control device, a dish-washing machine and a storage medium for the dish-washing machine.

Background

At present, the society pays more and more attention to the energy-saving and environment-friendly performance of electronic products, and in order to actively respond to the good advocation of the society, the white household appliance industry pursues energy saving and environment protection more and more while ensuring the quality of household appliance products. Consumers in the household appliance industry are also paying more attention to the quality and energy-saving and environment-friendly performance of products, and dish washing machines also introduce energy-saving control technology.

Dishwashers often contain all the dishware of the household user, and in the daily use process, the dishware washing machine can have used dirty dishware and also can have unused clean dishware. Present dish washer washes all tableware in the dish washer in unison, and this makes the power consumption of dish washer great, and intelligent degree is lower.

Disclosure of Invention

In order to overcome the defects of the prior art, the embodiment of the invention provides a control method, a processor and a storage medium for a dishwasher.

In order to achieve the above object, a first aspect of the present invention provides a control method for a dishwasher, the control method comprising:

determining a washing pattern for at least one of a plurality of washing zones within a dishwasher;

and washing the articles in the dishwasher according to the washing mode corresponding to the washing area.

In an embodiment of the present invention, determining a washing pattern of at least one washing zone of a plurality of washing zones within a dishwasher comprises:

receiving a setting input by a user;

in response to the setting, the washing zone within the dishwasher is divided, and a washing pattern of at least one divided washing zone is determined.

In an embodiment of the invention, prior to washing the articles in the dishwasher, the method further comprises:

in response to the setting, a number of washing zones is determined, the number of washing zones being at least nine.

acquiring an image of an article in the dishwasher;

determining the state information of the article according to the image;

according to the status information, the washing zones within the dishwasher are divided and a washing pattern of at least one washing zone is determined.

determining the number of washing areas according to the state information, wherein the number of washing areas is at least nine.

In an embodiment of the invention, the status information comprises at least one of: degree of soiling, location, quantity and material.

In an embodiment of the present invention, washing the articles in the dishwasher according to the washing mode corresponding to the washing area includes:

determining washing parameters of the dishwasher based on the washing mode corresponding to the washing area, wherein the washing parameters comprise at least one of the following: water pressure, water temperature, washing time and dish washing powder concentration;

and washing the articles in the dishwasher based on the washing parameters.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the washing pattern includes at least one of: no wash, standard wash, intensive wash and gentle wash;

when the washing mode is no washing, the washing time and the dishwashing powder concentration are both 0.

In an embodiment of the present invention, washing articles in a dishwasher includes:

after receiving the door closing signal of the dishwasher, the articles in the dishwasher are washed.

In an embodiment of the present invention, after washing the articles in the dishwasher, the method further comprises:

and executing a first operation on each washing area in the dish washing machine, wherein the first operation is rinsing with clean water.

A second aspect of the present invention provides a processor configured to perform the above-described control method for a dishwasher.

A third aspect of the invention provides a control device for a dishwasher, comprising a processor as described above.

In an embodiment of the invention, the control device further comprises an image capturing device configured to capture an image of the articles within the dishwasher.

A fourth aspect of the present invention provides a dishwasher comprising the control device for a dishwasher as described above.

A fifth aspect of the present invention provides a machine-readable storage medium having stored thereon instructions for causing a machine to execute the above-described control method for a dishwasher.

A sixth aspect of the invention provides a computer program product comprising a computer program which, when executed by a processor, implements the control method for a dishwasher described above.

The technical scheme can customize the washing modes of a plurality of washing areas in the dish washing machine, and different washing modes are used for different types of tableware in different washing areas, so that the fine shuffling is realized, and the intelligence degree of the dish washing machine is improved; meanwhile, the dishwasher does not wash the washing area only containing clean tableware, and selects the most appropriate washing mode for the washing area containing dirty tableware, so that the energy consumption of the dishwasher is reduced, and the use feeling of a user is improved.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the embodiments of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the embodiments of the invention without limiting the embodiments of the invention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1A schematically shows a configuration diagram of a dishwasher according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which a control method for the dishwasher according to an embodiment of the present invention may be applied;

FIG. 1B schematically illustrates a front view of the structure of a dishwasher in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1C schematically illustrates a schematic structural view of a washing mechanism of a dishwasher in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1D schematically illustrates a partial structural view of the purge mechanism of FIG. 1C;

fig. 2 schematically shows a flow chart of a control method for a dishwasher according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Description of the reference numerals

100. A dishwasher;

1. a housing; 2, cleaning the mechanism;

21. an image acquisition device; 22. A rack;

23. a drive motor; 24. A processing device;

25. a spray arm; 26. Mounting a bracket;

251. spray orifice

Detailed Description

The following detailed description of embodiments of the invention refers to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration and explanation only, not limitation.

It should be noted that, if directional indications (such as up, down, left, right, front, and rear … …) are referred to in the embodiments of the present application, the directional indications are only used to explain the relative positional relationship between the components, the movement situation, and the like in a specific posture (as shown in the drawings), and if the specific posture is changed, the directional indications are changed accordingly.

In addition, if there is a description of "first", "second", etc. in the embodiments of the present application, the description of "first", "second", etc. is for descriptive purposes only and is not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one such feature. In addition, technical solutions between the various embodiments can be combined with each other, but must be realized by a person skilled in the art, and when the technical solutions are contradictory or cannot be realized, such a combination should not be considered to exist, and is not within the protection scope of the present application.

Fig. 1A schematically shows a configuration diagram of a dishwasher according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which a control method for the dishwasher according to an embodiment of the present invention may be applied. Fig. 1B schematically shows a front view of the structure of a dishwasher according to an embodiment of the present invention. It should be understood that fig. 1A and 1B are merely illustrative of one embodiment of the dishwasher 100 and are not intended to limit the shape, location, manner of installation, and connection of the components of the dishwasher not relevant to the present invention.

As shown in fig. 1A and 1B, the dishwasher 100 may include a housing 1 and a washing mechanism 2 disposed inside the housing 1. The outer contour of the housing 1 may include, but is not limited to, a rectangular, cylindrical shape.

The washing means 2 may comprise an image acquisition device 21, a rack 22, a handling device 24 and a spray arm.

A rack 22 (e.g., a basket) may be secured inside the dishwasher 100 for holding dishes and the image acquisition device 21 may include a camera or an image sensor (e.g., an infrared sensor). The image acquisition device 21 can be arranged in a variety of orientations within the dishwasher 100. The processing device 24 may be electrically connected to the image acquisition device 21.

The image acquisition device 21 may be used to acquire images within the dishwasher 100 and the processing device 24 may be used to process the acquired images.

For example, after the dishes are placed on the rack 22, the image capturing device 21 may capture an image of the dishes on the rack 22. The processing device 24 can acquire the image and determine characteristics of the dishes placed within the dishwasher 100 to control the spray arms to wash the dishes according to the characteristics of the dishes.

The processing device 24 may include a processor, examples of which may include, but are not limited to, a general purpose processor, a special purpose processor, a conventional processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in association with a DSP core, a controller, a microcontroller, an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) circuit, any other type of Integrated Circuit (IC), a state machine, and so forth.

In one example, the spray arm may take a rotatable form.

FIG. 1C schematically illustrates a schematic structural view of a washing mechanism of a dishwasher in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1D schematically illustrates a partial structural view of the purge mechanism of FIG. 1C. Referring to FIGS. 1B-1D, the washing mechanism 2 may further include a drive motor 23, and the drive motor 23 may be disposed on the underside of the interior of the dishwasher 100, or may be disposed on the back of the dishwasher 100, i.e., the side away from which the dishes are placed by the user. The drive motor 23 may be connected to a spray arm 25. The spray arm 25 is provided with spray holes 251 communicated with the interior of the spray arm 25, and the spray holes 251 can be arranged on the spray arm 25 at intervals so that the spray arm 25 sprays a larger range. In one example, the spray arm 25 may be cylindrical, and the orifices 251 are spaced apart in the cross-section of the spray arm 25 and arranged in an array such that water ejected from the orifices 251 is emitted at an angle.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the dishwasher 100 may further include a water pressure transducer (not shown), a water heater (not shown), and a water valve (not shown). The water pressure transducer and water heater may be electrically connected to the processing equipment 24, and the water pressure transducer, water heater, and water valve may be internally connected and in communication with the spray arm 25. The connection of the spray arm 25 with the water pressure transmitter, the water heater, the water valve, and the driving motor 23 may be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate member.

The water valve can be used for controlling the water yield of the sprayed water, the water pressure transmitter can be used for controlling the water outlet pressure, the water heater can be used for controlling the water outlet temperature, and the driving motor 23 can be used for driving the spraying arm 25 to rotate. In one example, the spray arm 25 may be disposed at a central location within the dishwasher. The central position may be defined as a middle position of the plurality of racks 22 in the dishwasher 100 so as to cover dishes on the plurality of racks 22 when the spray arm 25 rotates, thereby saving space inside the dishwasher 100. Only a single spray arm 25 is needed to spray the tableware on a plurality of shelf 22, which saves the cost of design and material and brings more use space.

The water valves, water pressure transducer, water heater, and drive motor 23 may be controlled by the processing device 24. For example, the area of the rack 22 for placing dishes can be divided into four quadrants, namely, the first, second, third and fourth quadrants. Processing device 24 may control drive motor 23 to rotate spray arm 25 such that orifice 251 is directed toward any of the four quadrants. In addition, the treatment device 24 may also control a water valve to adjust the amount of water discharged from the nozzle hole 251 (or stop the water discharge).

In the embodiment of the present invention, the driving motor 23 may also drive the spray arm 25 to translate. When the spray arm 25 is translatable, the dishwasher 100 may further include a conversion mechanism (not shown) coupled between the drive motor 23 and the spray arm 25 that converts rotation of the drive motor 23 into translation of the spray arm 25.

In the present embodiment, the shelf 22 may include one or more shelves, such as two shelves. In the example of a two-level rack shown in the figures, the spray arm 25 may be located in the middle of the two racks 22 so that all dishes on the two racks 22 may be sprayed when the spray arm 25 is rotated.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the dishwasher 100 may further include a mounting bracket 26, and the spray arm 25 may be rotatably coupled to the mounting bracket 26. The mounting bracket 26 is fixed in position such that the spray arm 25 can rotate relative to the mounting bracket 26. the manner in which the mounting bracket 26 is fixed in position is not limited, as the mounting bracket 26 can be fixedly attached to the carrier 22 or elsewhere.

Fig. 2 schematically shows a flow chart of a control method for a dishwasher according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 2, in an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a control method for a dishwasher, including the steps of:

step 201, determining a washing mode of at least one washing area in a plurality of washing areas in a dishwasher;

step 202, washing the articles in the dishwasher according to the washing mode corresponding to the washing area.

The dishwasher can be applied to families and hotels. In some embodiments, the items in the dishwasher may be understood as dishware, but may also be referred to as dishware, and are not limited thereto.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the number of the plurality of washing sections is not limited, and for example, the number of the washing sections may be two, four, or nine. The number and distribution of the washing zones within the dishwasher may be user-defined, as may the washing pattern of each washing zone. It should be noted that the dishwasher can implement customized washing of a single dish, that is, when the washing area is divided into more fine areas and the number of the washing areas is greater, the user can perform customized washing on each dish in the dishwasher, and the user can decide whether each dish in the dishwasher is washed or not and what washing mode to select.

In one embodiment, a dishwasher may include 2 wash zones: an upper bowl basket and a lower bowl basket (the left bowl basket is similar to the right bowl basket). The washing of going up bowl basket and bowl basket down is independent each other, that is to say, the user can set up the washing mode of bowl basket and bowl basket down respectively according to self demand. For example, when clean dishes are in the upper basket and dirty dishes are in the lower basket, the user may define the upper basket as the no-wash mode and the lower basket as the standard wash mode. When ordinary tableware is located in the upper bowl basket and valuable and fragile tableware is located in the lower bowl basket, a user can define the upper bowl basket as a standard washing mode and the lower bowl basket as a soft washing mode.

receiving a setting input by a user;

In this embodiment, the user can divide the washing region in the dish washer according to self demand to the washing mode in the washing region after the self-defined division, like this, the cleaning function of dish washer more can satisfy user demand, has promoted user's use impression.

acquiring an image of an article in the dishwasher;

determining the state information of the article according to the image;

The dishwasher may be provided with an image acquisition device, such as a camera. The camera can gather the image of article in the dish washer, acquires the image of tableware from the camera after, confirms the state information of each tableware in the dish washer according to the image, according to state information, divides the washing region in the dish washer to confirm the washing mode in each washing region. For example, clean dishware and dirty dishware in the dishwasher can be automatically identified and divided by the camera, and the clean dishware does not need to be washed, but only the dirty dishware is washed. The washing area and the washing mode are determined through the image acquired by the camera, artificial participation is reduced, user experience is improved, and the intelligent degree of dish washing is improved.

In this embodiment, the number of washing areas is determined from the image acquired by the camera.

The image that acquires the camera is handled, can obtain the dirty degree, position, quantity and the material of tableware in the dish washer, according to the dirty degree, position, quantity and the material of tableware in the dish washer, comes to divide the washing region in the dish washer to confirm the washing mode in each washing region after dividing.

and washing the articles in the dishwasher based on the washing parameters.

After the washing mode corresponding to the washing area is determined, washing parameters of each washing area are correspondingly determined, such as: water pressure, water temperature, washing time, dishwashing powder concentration and the like.

In the three modes of standard washing, reinforced washing and soft washing, the water pressure of the reinforced washing and the concentration of the dishwashing powder are highest, and the water pressure of the soft washing is lowest.

When the dishwasher detects a door closing signal, the tableware is washed, and the washing safety is ensured.

Because the washing mode of every tableware can accurate definition to dish washer, can take place dirty tableware and spatter the clean tableware that need not to wash in the washing process, like this in the dish washer tableware washing completion after, carry out the clear water to all tableware in the dish washer again and wash, perhaps wash to some key regions in the dish washer clear water, ensure that the tableware washing is clean, improve the reliability of dish washer washing.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a processor configured to perform the control method for a dishwasher of any one of the above embodiments.

In particular, the processor may be configured to:

In an embodiment of the invention, the processor being configured to determine a washing pattern of at least one washing zone of a plurality of washing zones within the dishwasher comprises:

the processor is configured to:

receiving a setting input by a user;

In an embodiment of the invention, the processor is further configured to:

before washing of articles within the dishwasher, a number of wash zones is determined in response to the setting, the number of wash zones being at least nine.

the processor is configured to:

acquiring an image of an article in the dishwasher;

determining the state information of the article according to the image;

In an embodiment of the invention, the processor is further configured to:

before washing the articles in the dishwasher, the number of washing zones is determined according to the status information, the number of washing zones being at least nine.

In an embodiment of the invention, the processor is further configured to:

the status information includes at least one of: degree of soiling, location, quantity and material.

In an embodiment of the invention, the processor is configured to wash the articles in the dishwasher according to the washing mode corresponding to the washing area, including:

the processor is configured to:

and washing the articles in the dishwasher based on the washing parameters.

In an embodiment of the invention, the processor is further configured to:

the washing pattern includes at least one of: no wash, standard wash, intensive wash and gentle wash;

In an embodiment of the invention, the processor being configured to wash articles within the dishwasher comprises:

In an embodiment of the invention, the processor is further configured to:

after washing articles in the dish washer, first operation is executed on each washing area in the dish washer, and the first operation is washing by clean water.

The embodiment of the invention provides a control device for a dishwasher, which comprises the processor.

The embodiment of the invention provides a dishwasher, which comprises the control device for the dishwasher.

Embodiments of the present invention provide a machine-readable storage medium having stored thereon instructions which, when executed by a machine, implement the above-described control method for a dishwasher.

An embodiment of the invention provides a computer program product comprising a computer program which, when executed by a processor, implements the above-described control method for a dishwasher.

The scheme provided by the embodiment of the invention can customize the washing modes of a plurality of washing areas in the dish-washing machine, and different washing modes are used for different types of tableware in different washing areas, so that the fine shuffling is realized, and the intelligence degree of the dish-washing machine is improved; meanwhile, the dishwasher does not wash the washing area only containing clean tableware, and selects the most appropriate washing mode for the washing area containing dirty tableware, so that the energy consumption of the dishwasher is reduced, and the use feeling of a user is improved.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, embodiments of the present application may be provided as a method, system, or computer program product. Accordingly, the present application may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, the present application may take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, and the like) having computer-usable program code embodied therein.

The present application is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the application. It will be understood that each flow and/or block of the flow diagrams and/or block diagrams, and combinations of flows and/or blocks in the flow diagrams and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

In a typical configuration, a computing device includes one or more processors (CPUs), input/output interfaces, network interfaces, and memory.

The memory may include forms of volatile memory in a computer readable medium, Random Access Memory (RAM) and/or non-volatile memory, such as Read Only Memory (ROM) or flash memory (flash RAM). The memory is an example of a computer-readable medium.

Computer-readable media, including both non-transitory and non-transitory, removable and non-removable media, may implement information storage by any method or technology. The information may be computer readable instructions, data structures, modules of a program, or other data. Examples of computer storage media include, but are not limited to, phase change memory (PRAM), Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), other types of Random Access Memory (RAM), Read Only Memory (ROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM), flash memory or other memory technology, compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM), Digital Versatile Discs (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other non-transmission medium that can be used to store information that can be accessed by a computing device. As defined herein, a computer readable medium does not include a transitory computer readable medium such as a modulated data signal and a carrier wave.

It should also be noted that the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitation, an element defined by the phrase "comprising an … …" does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises the element.

The above are merely examples of the present application and are not intended to limit the present application. Various modifications and changes may occur to those skilled in the art. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present application should be included in the scope of the claims of the present application.

Claims

1. A control method for a dishwasher, comprising:

determining a washing pattern for at least one of a plurality of washing zones within the dishwasher;

2. The control method for a dishwasher of claim 1, wherein said determining a washing pattern of at least one of a plurality of washing zones within the dishwasher comprises:

receiving a setting input by a user;

in response to the setting, a washing zone within the dishwasher is divided and a washing pattern of at least one divided washing zone is determined.

3. The control method for a dishwasher of claim 2, wherein prior to said washing of articles within the dishwasher, the method further comprises:

determining the number of wash zones in response to the setting, the number of wash zones being at least nine.

4. The control method for a dishwasher of claim 1, wherein said determining a washing pattern of at least one of a plurality of washing zones within the dishwasher comprises:

acquiring an image of an article within the dishwasher;

determining state information of the article according to the image;

according to the status information, the washing zones within the dishwasher are divided and a washing pattern of the at least one washing zone is determined.

5. The control method for a dishwasher of claim 4, wherein prior to said washing of articles within the dishwasher, the method further comprises:

and determining the number of the washing areas according to the state information, wherein the number of the washing areas is at least nine.

6. The control method for a dishwasher according to claim 4, wherein the status information includes at least one of: degree of soiling, location, quantity and material.

7. The control method for a dishwasher according to claim 1, wherein washing items in the dishwasher according to the washing pattern corresponding to the washing zone comprises:

determining washing parameters of the dishwasher based on a washing mode corresponding to the washing area, wherein the washing parameters comprise at least one of the following: water pressure, water temperature, washing time and dish washing powder concentration;

and washing the articles in the dishwasher based on the washing parameters.

8. The control method for a dishwasher according to claim 7, wherein the washing mode includes at least one of: no wash, standard wash, intensive wash and gentle wash;

and under the condition that the washing mode is no washing, the washing time and the dish washing powder concentration are both 0.

9. The control method for a dishwasher of claim 1, wherein said washing articles in the dishwasher comprises:

and after receiving a door closing signal of the dishwasher, washing the articles in the dishwasher.

10. The control method for a dishwasher of claim 9, wherein after the washing of the articles in the dishwasher, the method further comprises:

executing a first operation on each washing area in the dishwasher, wherein the first operation is rinsing with clean water.

11. A processor characterized by being configured to execute the control method for a dishwasher according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

12. A control device for a dishwasher, comprising a processor according to claim 11.

13. The control device according to claim 12, characterized by further comprising:

an image capture device configured to capture an image of an article within the dishwasher.

14. A dishwasher, characterized by comprising a control device for a dishwasher according to claim 12 or 13.

15. A machine-readable storage medium having stored thereon instructions for causing a machine to perform the control method for a dishwasher according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

16. A computer program product comprising a computer program, characterized in that the computer program realizes the control method for a dishwasher according to any one of claims 1 to 10 when executed by a processor.