DE102021200678A1 - Carrying out a cleaning process for a water-bearing household appliance - Google Patents

Abstract

A method (S1-S13) is used to carry out a cleaning process for a water-bearing household appliance (1), a user being prompted to specify a cleaning agent concentrate to be used (S2), after specifying the cleaning agent concentrate by the household appliance (1) a water quantity is calculated to together with the cleaning agent concentrate, to produce a cleaning solution with a predetermined concentration of the cleaning agent concentrate (S3), through the household appliance (1) this amount of water is pumped (S5-S6) into a vessel (15) fluidically connected by a user to the household appliance (1), a cleaning process of the household appliance (1) is carried out by means of the cleaning solution (S8) and after the cleaning process has taken place, the used cleaning solution is conveyed back into the vessel (S9). A household appliance (1) with internal water-carrying components (5) is set up to carry out the method (S1-S13). The invention is particularly advantageously applicable to baking ovens with a steam treatment function.

Description

The invention relates to a method for carrying out a cleaning process for a water-bearing household appliance, in which a cleaning process for the household appliance is carried out using a cleaning solution. The invention also relates to a household appliance with internal water-carrying components, the household appliance being set up to automatically clean at least one of the water-carrying components using a cleaning solution, the household appliance having at least one user interface, a data processing device and a delivery device for delivering water, the household appliance is also set up to carry out the method. The invention is particularly advantageously applicable to baking ovens with a steam treatment function.

DE 10 2011017021 A1 discloses a cleaning device for food intake or preparation devices, in particular cooking, grilling, warming or fermenting devices, with: a dosing device for generating a cleaning mixture, at least one container for receiving the cleaning mixture, a coupling device for connecting the cleaning device to a device to be cleaned Food intake or food preparation device, and a control device for controlling the cleaning device in such a way that it generates the cleaning mixture according to a predetermined composition and transfers the cleaning mixture into the food intake or food preparation device to be cleaned.

EP 3 076 086 A1 discloses a domestic cooking appliance and a method of operating the same. The household cooking appliance has a cooking chamber, at least one dosing device for the successive addition of a plurality of treatment additives (81, 82) to water to form a respective treatment agent, the cooking chamber being able to be treated successively by the plurality of treatment agents, and a receiving means for receiving the treatment agents together after the respective treatment of the cooking chamber, wherein the household cooking appliance has a first tank that can be filled with water by the user, the dosing device is set up to add the treatment additives on the appliance side, and the receiving means is designed as a tank that can be emptied by the user. The method is used to operate a household cooking appliance, with water coming from a first tank that can be filled by the user being brought into a cooking chamber and a first treatment additive being added to the cooking chamber in order to form a first treatment agent with the water.

EP 3 511 079 A1 discloses a cleaning system for cleaning a cavity of a food or beverage preparation device. The cavity is connected to a pipe system. The piping system directs a liquid through the piping system to the cavity. When the flow of liquid stops, any residue of the liquid in the piping system is removed by passing a gas (e.g. air) through the piping system or through a valve placed at a high point in the piping system.

It is the object of the present invention to at least partially overcome the disadvantages of the prior art and in particular to provide a particularly user-friendly option for carrying out a cleaning process for a water-bearing household appliance.

This object is solved according to the features of the independent claims. Preferred embodiments can be found in particular in the dependent claims.

1. (a) abhängig von einem zum Durchführen des Reinigungsablaufs zu verwendenden Reinigungsmittelkonzentrat durch das Haushaltsgerät eine Wassermenge berechnet wird, um zusammen mit dem Reiningungsmittelkonzentrat eine Reinigungslösung mit vorgegebener Konzentration des Reiningungsmittelkonzentrats zu ergeben,
2. (b) durch das Haushaltsgerät diese Wassermenge in ein durch einen Nutzer mit dem Haushaltsgerät fluidisch verbundenes Gefäß gefördert wird,
3. (c) mittels der Reinigungslösung ein Reinigungsvorgang des Haushaltsgeräts durchgeführt wird und
4. (d) nach erfolgtem Reinigungsvorgang die verbrauchte Reinigungslösung abgelassen wird.

The object is achieved by a method for performing a cleaning process of a water-bearing household appliance in which

1. (a) depending on a cleaning agent concentrate to be used to carry out the cleaning process, the household appliance calculates an amount of water in order, together with the cleaning agent concentrate, to produce a cleaning solution with a specified concentration of the cleaning agent concentrate,
2. (b) this amount of water is pumped through the household appliance into a vessel that is fluidically connected to the household appliance by a user,
3. (c) a cleaning process of the household appliance is carried out using the cleaning solution and
4. (d) after the cleaning process has been completed, the used cleaning solution is drained off.

The advantage achieved by this method is that a user no longer needs to mix the cleaning solution himself and the cleaning solution is also in a predetermined concentration range with high reliability.

The water-bearing household appliance can be an electrically operated large household appliance such as a cooking appliance (eg an oven with steam treatment functionality or a steam cooker), a laundry care appliance (eg a washing machine or a washer-dryer) or a dishwasher. The household appliance can be an electrically operated one Household appliance small appliance such as a coffee maker, etc. be.

The cleaning process can include the cleaning process carried out in step (c) as such and optionally further processes such as a rinsing process.

The detergent concentrate can be in the form of a tab, liquid, granules, powder, etc., for example.

The amount of water in step (a) can be calculated such that the concentration of the cleaning solution is within a predetermined concentration range. The calculation can be done, for example, using stored tables.

The quantity of water in step (b) can be conveyed by draining or filling in or pumping the quantity of water. The vessel is a stand-alone manageable vessel. The method can be carried out particularly simply and inexpensively if the cleaning solution is mixed in a container provided by the user. Such a vessel does not need to be kept by the household appliance, which saves components and space. The user only has to ensure that the container has a sufficient filling volume. However, a user can also use a vessel of the household appliance, e.g. its coffee pot in the case of a coffee machine.

With the presence of the cleaning solution in the household appliance, this can carry out cleaning, in particular decalcification, of its internal water-carrying components in step (c) in a manner which is known in principle.

In a further development, the used cleaning solution is conveyed back into the vessel in step (d). Subsequent to step (d), a user may dispose of the used cleaning solution, e.g., by pouring the vessel down a drain. In this way, the used cleaning solution can advantageously be removed in a particularly simple manner, in particular also in the case of household appliances without a waste water connection. Alternatively, the used cleaning solution can be drained into other removable or drainable liquid reservoirs of the household appliance. In the case of household appliances with a waste water connection, the used cleaning solution can be drained into the waste water.

In one embodiment, before step (a), a user is prompted to specify a cleaning agent concentrate to be used. This may include specifying a type of detergent concentrate (e.g. manufacturer, product name and/or active ingredient), quantity of detergent concentrate (e.g. in g or ml) and/or delivery form (e.g. liquid, granules or tab etc. ) on the household appliance. This information(s) can be provided via a user interface of the household appliance, e.g. menu-driven. In particular, a selection of stored cleaning agent concentrates can be offered to a user for selection. The cleaning agent concentrates can be stored by a user and/or by a manufacturer. The fact that the amount of water is calculated as a function of a cleaning agent concentrate to be used to carry out the cleaning process can therefore include the amount of water being calculated as a function of the specification of the cleaning agent concentrate to be used.

However, this step can also be omitted when carrying out a cleaning process, e.g. if only one cleaning agent concentrate is available for selection or a specific cleaning agent concentrate from a list of cleaning agent concentrates is marked as the default setting. The first case can be the case, for example, if when the household appliance is put into operation or before a cleaning process is carried out, a user has only specified a cleaning agent concentrate (e.g. with regard to its type, form of addition and/or quantity) and does not change this for the following cleaning processes. Then, in step (a), the amount of water is also automatically calculated for the following cleaning processes without the user having to provide any further information beforehand. The first case can also occur, for example, if a specific cleaning concentrate has been specified by a manufacturer but can be modified by the user. The second case can occur, for example, if several cleaning agent concentrates or their details are saved or stored, but one of them is marked as the default setting.

In particular, a user can supplement the group of cleaning agent concentrates or make other standard settings, for example via a settings menu. In a further development, the user can set whether or not he should be prompted to specify a cleaning agent concentrate to be used before carrying out a cleaning process.

In one embodiment, the further step is carried out between steps (b) and (c), that the cleaning solution produced in the vessel is automatically sucked into the household appliance. In this way, the advantage of a particularly high level of user-friendliness is achieved, since a user no longer needs to worry about the Rei to spend maintenance solution in the household appliance. Alternatively, the user can remove the container with the cleaning solution mixed in step (b) and fill the cleaning solution into the household appliance himself. A further advantage is that residual water in the appliance can be pumped into the vessel in a simple manner, which would otherwise have to be drained from the household appliance before the cleaning process

In one embodiment, in step (b), the amount of water conveyed into the vessel is measured by sensors. This has the advantage that the amount of water added can be detected directly and particularly precisely. An upstream measurement of the amount of water in the household appliance before filling the vessel can be dispensed with.

In a further development, the amount of water conveyed into the vessel is measured using at least one flow meter. This is particularly advantageous in the case of a vessel provided by the user, which is placed, for example, outside the household appliance or inside a treatment room of the household appliance (e.g. in a cooking chamber).

In one embodiment, in step (b) the amount of water pumped into the vessel is measured in the household appliance and then (in particular without further measuring the amount of water) pumped into the vessel. As a result, a direct measurement of the amount of water conveyed into the vessel can advantageously be dispensed with, which can be implemented particularly inexpensively, in particular if the upstream measurement can be carried out by means already present in the device.

In one configuration, the amount of water measured in the household appliance is measured by determining the weight of the amount of water. This has the advantage that the amount of water supplied can be determined using inexpensive sensors (e.g. force or pressure sensors). For this purpose, for example, the weight of a water reservoir located in the household appliance can be measured and its quantity can be calculated from the tare weight of the water.

In one configuration, the amount of water measured in the household appliance is measured by means of at least one level sensor of a water reservoir located in the household appliance. This also has the advantage that the amount of water supplied can be determined using inexpensive sensors (e.g. a float switch).

In one configuration, in step (b), the water is pumped into the vessel at least once from at least one water reservoir of the household appliance with a known filling volume. In this way, the advantage is achieved that the amount of water fed into the vessel can also be easily achieved using an internal water reservoir with a small filling volume compared to a typically required amount of water, which is particularly inexpensive. For example, if the household appliance has a water reservoir with a capacity of 100 ml and 500 ml of water are to be added to the container to mix the cleaning solution, this water reservoir can be filled five times with water using the household appliance, which is then emptied into the container, or similar etc.

In one configuration, the household appliance has a connection (“cleaning connection”) that is accessible on the user side, to which the user can connect a maintenance hose that is inserted into the vessel. Through the cleaning connection, both water can be entered into the vessel and, if necessary, the cleaning solution can also be sucked out of the vessel into the household appliance. For this purpose, the household appliance can have at least one pump. This achieves the advantage that a user can easily establish a fluidic connection between the vessel and the household appliance. If the household appliance is also designed to suck the cleaning solution from the container into the household appliance, the advantage is achieved that the user no longer has to bring the cleaning solution into the household appliance himself.

In one embodiment, before step (b), the user is prompted to connect the maintenance hose to the cleaning connection of the household appliance and to insert the maintenance hose into the vessel. This is particularly user-friendly.

In one embodiment, step (d) is followed by a step (f), in which the domestic appliance carries out a rinsing process with fresh water and the rinsing liquid produced in this way is also pumped into the vessel. This achieves the advantage that residues of the cleaning solution can be removed from the household appliance and easily disposed of.

• - eine Nutzerschnittstelle, über die ein Nutzer ein für einen Reinigungsvorgang zu verwendendes Reiningungsmittelkonzentrat angeben kann;
• - eine Datenverarbeitungseinrichtung zur Berechnung einer Wassermenge, die dem Reiningungsmittelkonzentrat hinzugegeben werden sollte, um eine Reinigungslösung gewünschter Konzentration zu erhalten; und
• - eine Fördereinrichtung zum Fördern von Wasser der berechneten Wassermenge in ein Gefäß,

wobei Haushaltsgerät ferner dazu eingerichtet ist, das Verfahren wie oben beschrieben durchzuführen. Das Haushaltsgerät kann analog zu dem Verfahren ausgebildet sein, und umgekehrt, und ergibt die gleichen Vorteile.The object is also achieved by a household appliance with internal water-carrying components, the household appliance being set up to automatically clean at least one of the water-carrying components using a cleaning solution, the household appliance having:

• - A user interface via which a user can specify a cleaning agent concentrate to be used for a cleaning process;
• - a data processing device for calculating an amount of water which should be added to the cleaning agent concentrate in order to obtain a cleaning solution of the desired concentration; and
• - a pumping device for pumping water of the calculated amount of water into a vessel,

wherein the household appliance is also set up to carry out the method as described above. The household appliance can be designed analogously to the method and vice versa, and gives the same advantages.

In one embodiment, the household appliance is an oven with a cooking chamber and an evaporator arranged outside the cooking chamber, which evaporator has a water reservoir in the form of a heatable evaporation chamber that is provided with a level sensor for detecting at least one full evaporation chamber. This achieves the advantage that a user-friendly cleaning process, in particular a decalcification process, of the evaporator can be carried out. In particular, the evaporation space can also be used as a water reservoir for the upstream metering of a quantity of water. In addition, the advantage is achieved in this way that residual water in the evaporation chamber is added to the quantity of water to be conveyed into the vessel, so that it is possible to dispense with prior emptying of the residual water from the evaporator.

In one embodiment, the domestic appliance has a user-accessible cleaning connection, which is connected to the conveying device and to which a maintenance hose can be connected on the user side, the cleaning connection being arranged in a wall of the cooking chamber. As a result, a vessel provided by the user can advantageously be easily connected to the cooking appliance, even if the cooking appliance is a built-in appliance. For a cleaning process, the vessel can be placed in the cooking space, for example, which advantageously results in a space-saving arrangement.

In one configuration, the household appliance has a fixed water connection. This achieves the advantage that a user does not need to check whether there is a sufficient amount of water in the household appliance for mixing the cleaning solution. Alternatively, the household appliance does not have a fixed water connection, but rather, for example, a sufficiently large water tank that can be filled and, in particular, removed by the user.

• 1 zeigt in Seitensicht eine Skizze eines Haushaltsgeräts in Form eines Backofens mit Dampfbehandlungsfunktion; und
• 2 zeigt einen möglichen Ablauf zur Reinigung des Haushaltsgeräts aus 1.

The characteristics, features and advantages of this invention described above, and the manner in which they are achieved, will become clearer and more clearly understood in connection with the following schematic description of an exemplary embodiment, which will be explained in more detail in connection with the drawings.

• 1 Fig. 12 shows a sketch of a household appliance in the form of an oven with a steam treatment function in a side view; and
• 2 shows a possible procedure for cleaning the household appliance 1 .

1 shows a side view sketch of a household appliance in the form of an oven 1 with steam treatment function. The oven has a cooking chamber 2, the loading opening of which can be closed with a door 3 at the front. Outside the cooking chamber 2 there is an evaporator 4 which has a heatable evaporation chamber 5 which can be filled with water via a fixed water connection 6 with a controllable shut-off valve 7 . Water in the evaporation chamber 5 can be brought to the boil by means of the evaporator 4 , so that the steam produced is conducted into the cooking chamber 2 . The evaporation chamber 5 is equipped with a level sensor 8, which reports to a control device 9 when the evaporation chamber 5 is full of water. The control device 9 can control the evaporator 4, the shut-off valve 7 and other components of the oven 1 such as heating elements for heating the cooking chamber 2 (o. Fig.). The control device 9 is also connected to a user interface 10, which in particular can have a screen, in particular a touch-sensitive screen (“touch screen”).

In a cooking chamber wall of the cooking chamber, in particular in a side wall 11 of the cooking chamber 2 , there is a cleaning connection 12 which is connected to the evaporation chamber 5 of the evaporator 4 via a conveying device 13 . The delivery device 13 can comprise, for example, a one-way pump and valve system, two reverse-delivering one-way pumps or one pump delivering in both directions. By means of the conveying device 13 liquid can be pumped selectively from the evaporation chamber 5 to the cleaning connection 12 and vice versa from the cleaning connection 12 into the evaporation chamber 5 .

A maintenance hose 14 can be connected to the cleaning connection 12 by the user the one that can be inserted into a vessel 15 provided by the user. The vessel 15 can be placed in the cooking chamber 2, for example, to carry out a cleaning process.

2 shows a possible procedure for cleaning the oven 1, in particular its evaporation chamber 5, which calcifies particularly quickly due to the boiling of water carried out there.

To carry out a cleaning process for the oven 1, a user starts it in a step S1 via the user interface 10.

In a step S2, the user is prompted via the user interface 10 to specify a cleaning agent concentrate to be used, e.g. menu-driven.

In a step S3, after the cleaning agent concentrate has been specified in step S2, the control device 9 calculates an amount of water that is required to combine with the cleaning agent concentrate to produce a cleaning solution with a predetermined concentration (typically within a predetermined concentration range) of the cleaning agent concentrate.

In a step S4 , the user interface 10 prompts you to put the cleaning agent concentrate into the container 15 , to connect the maintenance hose 14 to the cleaning connection 12 and to place it in the container 15 .

Steps S2 and S3 or step S4 can also be carried out in reverse order or in parallel.

In a subsequent step S5, the shut-off valve 7 is opened by the control device 9 in order to fill the evaporation chamber 5 of the evaporator 4 if it is not already full. The evaporation chamber 5 has a known filling volume, e.g. 100 ml. In a further development, it can be taken into account that after the shut-off valve 7 has been blocked, water still in the line from the shut-off valve 7 to the evaporation chamber 5 can possibly flow off into the evaporation chamber 5 . The evaporation space 5 is used during the cleaning process as a water reservoir for temporary storage and metering of the amount of water to be pumped.

In a step S6, the delivery device 13 is actuated by the control device 9 in order to deliver the water located in the evaporation chamber 5 through the cleaning connection 12 and the maintenance hose 14 into the vessel 15. Thus, the minimum amount of water that can be supplied to the vessel 15 corresponds to the filling volume of the evaporation chamber 5, here e.g. 100 ml Steps S5 to S6 are carried out repeatedly until the calculated amount of water is reached, as indicated by the dotted arrow. The control device 9 can already take into account in step S3 that the calculated amount of water can only be added to the vessel 15 in steps of 100 ml.

Step S6 has the particular advantage that residual water in the evaporation chamber 5 is also taken into account and conveyed into the vessel 15 so that there is no need to drain the residual water separately.

In a step S7, if necessary after a certain delay time, the cleaning solution formed in the vessel 15 from the cleaning concentration and the added water is controlled by the control device 9 in such a way that the delivery device 13 sucks the cleaning solution out of the vessel 15 and into the evaporation space 5 pumps.

In a step S8, a cleaning process is now carried out using the cleaning solution, as a result of which the evaporation chamber 5 is cleaned, in particular decalcified.

After the cleaning process has taken place, the control device 9 controls the conveying device 13 in a step S9 in order to convey the used cleaning solution back into the vessel 15 .

In a step S10, the shut-off valve 7 is opened again by the control device 9 in order to fill the evaporation chamber 5 with fresh water and flush it with it.

In a step S11, the control device 9 controls the delivery device 13 again in order to deliver the rinsing liquid into the vessel 15 as well.

In a step S12, the control device 9 controls the user interface 10 in order to inform the user that the cleaning process has ended.

In a step S13, the user can now remove and empty the vessel 15 and the war Disconnect the hose 14 from the cleaning connection.

Of course, the present invention is not limited to the embodiment shown.

In general, "a", "an" etc. can be understood as a singular or a plural number, in particular in the sense of "at least one" or "one or more" etc., as long as this is not explicitly excluded, e.g. by the expression "exactly a" etc.

A numerical specification can also include exactly the specified number as well as a usual tolerance range, as long as this is not explicitly excluded.

Reference List

1

oven

2

cooking chamber

3

door

4

Evaporator

5

evaporation room

6

mains water connection

7

shut-off valve

8th

level sensor

9

control device

10

user interface

11

side wall of the cooking chamber

12

cleaning port

13

conveyor

14

service hose

15

vessel

S1-S13

process steps

QUOTES INCLUDED IN DESCRIPTION

This list of documents cited by the applicant was generated automatically and is included solely for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions.

Patent Literature Cited

• DE 102011017021 A1 [0002]
• EP 3076086 A1 [0003]
• EP 3511079 A1 [0004]

Claims (15)

Method (S1-S13) for carrying out a cleaning process of a water-bearing household appliance (1), in which (a) depending on a cleaning agent concentrate to be used to carry out the cleaning process, the household appliance (1) calculates an amount of water in order, together with the cleaning agent concentrate, to produce a cleaning solution with a specified concentration of the cleaning agent concentrate (S3), (b) this quantity of water is pumped through the household appliance (1) into a vessel (15) that is fluidically connected to the household appliance (1) by a user (S5-S6), (c) a cleaning process of the household appliance (1) is carried out using the cleaning solution (S8) and (d) after the cleaning process has been completed, the used cleaning solution is drained from the household appliance (1), in particular is conveyed back into the vessel (15) (S9). Procedure (S1-S13) according to claim 1 , in which before step (a) a user is prompted to specify the cleaning agent concentrate to be used (S2) and then in step (a) the amount of water is calculated. Method (S1-S13) according to one of the preceding claims, in which between steps (b) and (c) the further step is carried out that the cleaning solution generated in the vessel (15) is automatically sucked into the household appliance (1) ( S7). Method (S1-S13) according to one of the preceding claims, in which in step (b) the amount of water conveyed into the vessel (15) is measured by sensors. Process (S1-S13) according to one of Claims 1 until 3 , in which in step (b) the amount of water conveyed into the vessel (15) is measured in the household appliance (1) (S5) and subsequently conveyed into the vessel (15) (S6). Procedure (S1-S13) according to claim 5 , In which the in the household appliance (1) measured amount of water is measured by determining the weight of the amount of water. Procedure (S1-S13) according to claim 5 , in which the amount of water measured in the household appliance (1) is measured by means of at least one level sensor (8) of a water reservoir (5) located in the household appliance (1) (S5). Method (S1-S13) according to one of the preceding claims, in which in step (b) water is conveyed at least once from at least one water reservoir (5) of the household appliance with a known filling volume into the vessel (15) (S5, S6). Method (S1-S13) according to one of the preceding claims, in which the household appliance (1) has a user-accessible cleaning connection (12) to which the user can connect a maintenance hose (14) which can be inserted into the vessel (15). Procedure (S1-S13) according to claim 9 , in which the user is asked before step (b) to connect the maintenance hose (14) to the cleaning connection (12) and to insert the maintenance hose (14) into the vessel (S4). Method (S1-S13) according to one of the preceding claims, in which step (d) is followed by step (f) in which the household appliance (1) carries out a rinsing process with fresh water (S10) and the resulting rinsing liquid is also removed from the household appliance (1) is discharged, in particular is conveyed back into the vessel (15) (S11). Household appliance (1) with internal water-conducting components (5), the household appliance (1) being set up to automatically clean at least one of the water-conducting components (5) using a cleaning solution, the household appliance (1) having: - A user interface (10) via which a user can specify a cleaning agent concentrate to be used for a cleaning process; - a data processing device (9) for calculating an amount of water which should be added to the cleaning agent concentrate in order to obtain a cleaning solution of the desired concentration; and - A conveying device (13) for conveying water of the calculated amount of water into a vessel (15), wherein the household appliance (1) is also set up to carry out the method according to one of the preceding claims (S1-S13). Household appliance (1) after claim 12 , wherein the household appliance (1) is an oven with a cooking chamber (2) and an evaporator (4) arranged outside of the cooking chamber (2), which evaporator (4) has a water reservoir in the form of a heatable evaporation chamber (5) which is equipped with a Level sensor (8) for detecting at least one full evaporation chamber (5) is provided. Household appliance (1) after Claim 13 Having a cleaning connection (12) accessible on the user side, which is connected to the conveyor (13) and to which a maintenance hose (14) can be connected on the user side, the cleaning connection (12) being arranged in a wall (11) of the cooking chamber (2). . Household appliance (1) according to one of Claims 12 until 14 , wherein the household appliance (1) has a fixed water connection (6).

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