EP1014845B1 - A dish-washer wherein the humidity control is made by a temperature sensor - Google Patents

A dish-washer wherein the humidity control is made by a temperature sensor Download PDF

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Publication number
EP1014845B1
EP1014845B1 EP98905936A EP98905936A EP1014845B1 EP 1014845 B1 EP1014845 B1 EP 1014845B1 EP 98905936 A EP98905936 A EP 98905936A EP 98905936 A EP98905936 A EP 98905936A EP 1014845 B1 EP1014845 B1 EP 1014845B1
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EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
air
dish
temperature sensor
temperature
washer
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
EP98905936A
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German (de)
French (fr)
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EP1014845A1 (en
Inventor
Merih Pasin
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Arcelik AS
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Arcelik AS
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Publication date
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Publication of EP1014845A1 publication Critical patent/EP1014845A1/en
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    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L—DOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L15/00—Washing or rinsing machines for crockery or tableware
    • A47L15/42—Details
    • A47L15/48—Drying arrangements
    • A47L15/486—Blower arrangements
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L—DOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L15/00—Washing or rinsing machines for crockery or tableware
    • A47L15/0018—Controlling processes, i.e. processes to control the operation of the machine characterised by the purpose or target of the control
    • A47L15/0021—Regulation of operational steps within the washing processes, e.g. optimisation or improvement of operational steps depending from the detergent nature or from the condition of the crockery
    • A47L15/0034—Drying phases, including dripping-off phases
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L—DOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L2401/00—Automatic detection in controlling methods of washing or rinsing machines for crockery or tableware, e.g. information provided by sensors entered into controlling devices
    • A47L2401/18—Air temperature
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L—DOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L2401/00—Automatic detection in controlling methods of washing or rinsing machines for crockery or tableware, e.g. information provided by sensors entered into controlling devices
    • A47L2401/19—Air humidity
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L—DOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L2501/00—Output in controlling method of washing or rinsing machines for crockery or tableware, i.e. quantities or components controlled, or actions performed by the controlling device executing the controlling method
    • A47L2501/10—Air circulation, e.g. air intake or venting arrangements

Definitions

  • the present invention is related to a dish-washing machine wherein a drying fan and a temperature measuring unit for an improved drying performance are used for the washing and drying of such objects as dishes, cutlery, etc.
  • the drying capacity of the dish washers together with their washing performance is an important parameter.
  • the dish washer completes the main washing operation and then starts drying.
  • Drying of the washed dishes is realized by different ways.
  • One way is to provide drying by increasing the temperature using a heater present in the tub, during the drying cycle. As this method does not remove the humidity in the tub, and provides a drying effect by increasing the temperature and thus reduces the relative humidity in the air, when the door is opened and therefore the inner temperature is reduced, it leads to an excessive condensation which is an undesired condition with regard to user's comfort.
  • an electrical valve placed at the inlet of the blower is used to control the air flow within the blower.
  • a similar system consisting of an air inlet opening located at the lower wall of the washing compartment (tub) and a blower sending the external air into the said compartment.
  • This invention also proposes to place valves at the inlet and outlet of the air flow; the valves close by gravity when the blower stops.
  • Another method is to reduce the interior humidity by discharging the hot air to outside.
  • the drying operation is realized by taking the hot and humid air directly out of the dish washer tub and thus by removing relative humidity and as well as absolute humidity.
  • This system also eliminates the excessive condensation problem upon opening the door and provides less energy consumption as compared with conventional systems.
  • the hot and humid inner air is removed by a fan placed at the door region.
  • a fan placed at the door region.
  • drying performance is improved by placing a fan that removes air, at the lower part of the washing compartment.
  • the problem of all these systems, regardless the location of the fan is, to determine the dryness of the objects in the dish washer and to control the operational duration of the fan in order to finalize the drying cycle.
  • the fan operates all through a predetermined period without controlling the dryness of the objects in the dish washer.
  • the operation of the fan is controlled by a humidity sensor used to determine dryness.
  • a humidity sensor used to determine dryness.
  • the most important of these problems is the fact that the humidity sensor is not simple and practical. Most of these devices respond very slowly and are not accurate in environments with high condensation. Therefore under the conditions present inside the dish washer, measurement of humidity is quite difficult and generally require costly solutions. Furthermore the measurements taken, give information about the humidity condition at the point where the sensor has made the measurement, instead of giving an average value.
  • the object of the present invention is to realize a dish washer having a fan-drier system in which a fan is placed on the ceiling of the tub, at a location diagonal to the air inlet and wherein a control method is applied for operating the drier fan.
  • the fan discharging the air is placed on the ceiling (Fig.1) diagonally to the air inlet opening (1), thus the passage way of the air entering the tub is elongated. According to the calculations, this arrangement forms vertices in such a manner that thev enhance the drying process. In addition, it has been observed that the air discharged from the tub by means of a fan (2) represents the inner atmosphere very well, with regard to temperature and humidity.
  • the drying fan (2) consists of a blower type rotor and an air discharge duct (7) located at the outlet side of the rotor. Hot and humid air from the mid-region enters the fan and is discharged through the air discharge duct (7). A temperature sensor (8) placed at this location measures the temperature changes of the exiting air.
  • discharged air has the average characteristics of the air inside the machine and it is replaced by cold air entering through the inlet opening (1) existing on the side wall, near the bottom. Due to the difference of density, cold air sinks to the bottom, then changes the direction and rises upwards and is discharged from the ceiling by means of a fan This arrangement, lengthens the path of the air and increases its drying capacity.
  • the operation of the fan (2) is controlled by means of a thermometer (8).
  • the temperature of the inside air is measured instead of the dryness of the dishes etc. in the machine, in order to determine the dryness of its contents.
  • fan (2) starts to discharge the hot and humid air. During this period, due to the cold air replacing the hot and humid air, the interior temperature decreases. This continuos decrease in the temperature of the inner air and of the walls can easily be seen from the measurements ( Figures 2 and 3).
  • the dryness of the objects washed in a dishwasher may be determined by monitoring the changes in the temperature of the air discharged by the fan. Said increase in temperature may be up to 10°C in a short duration. This increase in temperature is observed at different parts of the machine tub at different times. The most typical location giving the average air temperature value is observed to be the interior of the air discharge duct (7). This increase in temperature is used to control the operation of the fan in order to end the drying cycle.
  • the temperature sensor (8) placed in the air discharge duct (7) used for removing air from the dishwasher tub during drying process measures the changes in the air temperature. An increase in the temperature is evaluated as an indication of the dryness of the contents of the dish washer. Therefore, the present invention eliminates the requirement to use a humidity sensor for dryness control and provides control method for the operation of the fan.

Abstract

The present invention is related to a dish-washer wherein a dryer fan is used in order to dry such objects as dishes, glasses, etc., after being washed and the humidity control is made by using a temperature sensor, for an improved drying process. A temperature sensor (8) placed in the fan channel (7) used to discharge air from the wash machine tub during the drying cycle, gives information about the dryness of the objects within the machine by determining the changes in the temperature of air inside the channel. With the dish washing machine of the present invention wherein a method based on the fact that an increase in the temperature shows the degree of dryness of the objects inside the machine, is used, hence the need to use a humidity sensor for the control of dryness is eliminated and to use a temperature sensor which is a cheaper method, is proposed.

Description

The present invention is related to a dish-washing machine wherein a drying fan and a temperature measuring unit for an improved drying performance are used for the washing and drying of such objects as dishes, cutlery, etc.
The drying capacity of the dish washers together with their washing performance is an important parameter. In a washing cycle, the dish washer completes the main washing operation and then starts drying.
Drying of the washed dishes is realized by different ways. One way is to provide drying by increasing the temperature using a heater present in the tub, during the drying cycle. As this method does not remove the humidity in the tub, and provides a drying effect by increasing the temperature and thus reduces the relative humidity in the air, when the door is opened and therefore the inner temperature is reduced, it leads to an excessive condensation which is an undesired condition with regard to user's comfort.
There are several methods to increase the drying effectiveness of such a system. The most common of them is using a cold surface to provide the condensation of the humid air within the dish-washer. This cold surface is provided by reducing the temperature of one of the walls by using a water tank (US Patents No.s 3.65.8.075 and 3.704.170). Another method is using a system that moves the air for example by a fan. In the US patent No 3 026 628, a blow-in system providing the air heated outside to be introduced into the washing section, is disclosed.
Whereas, in the US Patent No. 3.378.933, an electrical valve placed at the inlet of the blower, is used to control the air flow within the blower. In US Patent No. 4.247.158, a similar system consisting of an air inlet opening located at the lower wall of the washing compartment (tub) and a blower sending the external air into the said compartment. This invention also proposes to place valves at the inlet and outlet of the air flow; the valves close by gravity when the blower stops.
Another method is to reduce the interior humidity by discharging the hot air to outside. In this case, the drying operation is realized by taking the hot and humid air directly out of the dish washer tub and thus by removing relative humidity and as well as absolute humidity. This system also eliminates the excessive condensation problem upon opening the door and provides less energy consumption as compared with conventional systems.
In some systems. the hot and humid inner air is removed by a fan placed at the door region. In the US patent No. 3.908.681 it is declared that drying performance is improved by placing a fan that removes air, at the lower part of the washing compartment. The problem of all these systems, regardless the location of the fan is, to determine the dryness of the objects in the dish washer and to control the operational duration of the fan in order to finalize the drying cycle. Currently, in all models with fan, the fan operates all through a predetermined period without controlling the dryness of the objects in the dish washer.
In general practise, the operation of the fan is controlled by a humidity sensor used to determine dryness. However some problems arise with this practice The most important of these problems is the fact that the humidity sensor is not simple and practical. Most of these devices respond very slowly and are not accurate in environments with high condensation. Therefore under the conditions present inside the dish washer, measurement of humidity is quite difficult and generally require costly solutions. Furthermore the measurements taken, give information about the humidity condition at the point where the sensor has made the measurement, instead of giving an average value.
A prior art example using air temperature measurements is disclosed in US-A-3126024.
The object of the present invention is to realize a dish washer having a fan-drier system in which a fan is placed on the ceiling of the tub, at a location diagonal to the air inlet and wherein a control method is applied for operating the drier fan.
This object is achieved with a dishwasher according to the independent claim 1. Preferred embodiments are defined in the dependent claims.
The dishwasher realized to achieve these objects of the present invention is described below, also by making references to the attached drawings. wherein:
  • Figure 1 is the schematic view of the dish washer
  • Figures 2.3,4 -show the change of temperature in the dishwasher tub during fan drying cycle.
    • In the lower part of the left wall of the dish washer tub (Fig. 1) near the front door, there is an air inlet opening (1). The fan (2) is placed on the ceiling, at the right rear comer. Thus the path of the air from the inlet to the outlet passes through the upper and lower baskets (3) and (4) and the cutlery basket. This air flow path increases the drying effectiveness of the machine Fan (2) is installed in an enclosure that works as an air collector and directs the air flow from the fan (2) towards the discharge channel (7).
    The fan discharging the air is placed on the ceiling (Fig.1) diagonally to the air inlet opening (1), thus the passage way of the air entering the tub is elongated. According to the calculations, this arrangement forms vertices in such a manner that thev enhance the drying process. In addition, it has been observed that the air discharged from the tub by means of a fan (2) represents the inner atmosphere very well, with regard to temperature and humidity.
    The drying fan (2) consists of a blower type rotor and an air discharge duct (7) located at the outlet side of the rotor. Hot and humid air from the mid-region enters the fan and is discharged through the air discharge duct (7). A temperature sensor (8) placed at this location measures the temperature changes of the exiting air.
    As mentioned above, discharged air has the average characteristics of the air inside the machine and it is replaced by cold air entering through the inlet opening (1) existing on the side wall, near the bottom. Due to the difference of density, cold air sinks to the bottom, then changes the direction and rises upwards and is discharged from the ceiling by means of a fan This arrangement, lengthens the path of the air and increases its drying capacity. The operation of the fan (2) is controlled by means of a thermometer (8).
    In this dish washer realized according to the invention, the temperature of the inside air is measured instead of the dryness of the dishes etc. in the machine, in order to determine the dryness of its contents.
    Following the main washing cycle, fan (2) starts to discharge the hot and humid air. During this period, due to the cold air replacing the hot and humid air, the interior temperature decreases. This continuos decrease in the temperature of the inner air and of the walls can easily be seen from the measurements (Figures 2 and 3).
    After a certain time the temperature starts to increase due to the machine load and environmental conditions; although discharge of hot air and intake of cold air is carried on. The reason for this is the fact that water accumulated on the dishes is completely removed and these objects start to heat the air due to their thermal inertia.
    This is also verified by using a sensor developed specifically to control the dryness of the surfaces of dishes etc., which operates according to the principle of electrical conductance.
    The temperature measures taken from the surface of a dish in the dishwasher show that the air temperature value increases up to the dish temperature value (Figure 3).
    Based on these results the dryness of the objects washed in a dishwasher, may be determined by monitoring the changes in the temperature of the air discharged by the fan. Said increase in temperature may be up to 10°C in a short duration. This increase in temperature is observed at different parts of the machine tub at different times. The most typical location giving the average air temperature value is observed to be the interior of the air discharge duct (7). This increase in temperature is used to control the operation of the fan in order to end the drying cycle.
    The temperature sensor (8) placed in the air discharge duct (7) used for removing air from the dishwasher tub during drying process, measures the changes in the air temperature. An increase in the temperature is evaluated as an indication of the dryness of the contents of the dish washer. Therefore, the present invention eliminates the requirement to use a humidity sensor for dryness control and provides control method for the operation of the fan.

    Claims (5)

    1. A dish-washer wherein drying is realised by discharging the air inside a closed dish washer tub, by means of an air removing arrangement, said tub having an air inlet opening (1) and an air discharge opening (7) and containing objects to be dried that have relatively high thermal capacity such as dishes etc., characterised in that the operation of the air removing arrangement (2) is controlled by measuring changes in the temperature of the discharged air by a temperature sensor (8) during which steady decrease followed by a sudden increase is used as an indication in order to complete the drying cycle, through which humidity of the contents of the dishwasher is controlled.
    2. A dish-washer according to claim 1, characterized in that the air inlet opening (1) and the air removing arrangement (2) are located as far from each other as possible in order to lengthen the path of the air taken in the tub and to form vortices so that they accelerate the drying process.
    3. A dish-washer according to claim 1 and 2, characterized in that the air inlet opening (1) is located at the lower section of the left wall of the tub, near the bottom and the air removing arrangement (2) is located on the right back part of the ceiling.
    4. A dish-washer according to claim 1 to 3, characterized in that, humidity is controlled by temperature sensor (8) with an air discharge system wherein a fan (2) consisting of an air discharge duct through which the discharged air passes, is used.
    5. A dish-washer according to claim 1 to 4, characterized in that the temperature sensor (8) is placed inside the air discharge duct.
    EP98905936A 1997-02-03 1998-02-03 A dish-washer wherein the humidity control is made by a temperature sensor Expired - Lifetime EP1014845B1 (en)

    Applications Claiming Priority (3)

    Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
    TR9700082 1997-02-03
    TR97/00082A TR199700082A2 (en) 1997-02-03 1997-02-03 Uncontrolled sandblasting machines.
    PCT/TR1998/000003 WO1998033427A1 (en) 1997-02-03 1998-02-03 A dish-washer wherein the humidity control is made by a temperature sensor

    Publications (2)

    Publication Number Publication Date
    EP1014845A1 EP1014845A1 (en) 2000-07-05
    EP1014845B1 true EP1014845B1 (en) 2004-07-14

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    Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
    EP98905936A Expired - Lifetime EP1014845B1 (en) 1997-02-03 1998-02-03 A dish-washer wherein the humidity control is made by a temperature sensor

    Country Status (7)

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    EP (1) EP1014845B1 (en)
    AT (1) ATE270842T1 (en)
    AU (1) AU6129798A (en)
    DE (1) DE69825061T2 (en)
    ES (1) ES2221981T3 (en)
    TR (2) TR199700082A2 (en)
    WO (1) WO1998033427A1 (en)

    Families Citing this family (12)

    * Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
    Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
    DE10156559C2 (en) * 2001-11-20 2003-10-30 Miele & Cie Device for temperature measurement control in the dishwasher rinse tank
    KR100955484B1 (en) * 2003-04-30 2010-04-30 삼성전자주식회사 Washing Machine And For Drying Control Method
    DE102005004089A1 (en) 2004-12-09 2006-06-14 BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH Dishwasher with a Sorptionstrockenvorrichtung and method for operating the same
    DE102005004097A1 (en) 2004-12-09 2006-06-14 BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH Dishwasher and method of operating the same
    DE102007017284B3 (en) * 2007-04-12 2008-11-13 BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH Temperature detection with zeolite drying
    DE102007059516A1 (en) * 2007-12-11 2009-06-18 BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH Method for drying time control in dishwashers
    IL222876A (en) * 2012-11-05 2013-12-31 Joseph Dorone Janowski Apparatus for drying dishes and glasses
    US9895044B2 (en) 2012-08-28 2018-02-20 Whirlpool Corporation Dishwasher with controlled dry cycle
    JP6273570B2 (en) * 2013-12-25 2018-02-07 パナソニックＩｐマネジメント株式会社 Tableware dryer
    DE102016208530A1 (en) 2016-05-18 2017-11-23 BSH Hausgeräte GmbH Controlling a household appliance
    US10827905B2 (en) 2018-09-04 2020-11-10 Haier Us Appliance Solutions, Inc. Dishwasher appliance with a vortex air dryer
    WO2023128964A1 (en) * 2021-12-28 2023-07-06 Arcelik Anonim Sirketi A dishwasher with improved drying effectiveness

    Family Cites Families (3)

    * Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
    Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
    US3126024A (en) * 1964-03-24 jellies
    US3397708A (en) * 1966-02-01 1968-08-20 Gen Motors Corp Forced air drying system for a dishwasher
    DE2101746A1 (en) * 1971-01-15 1973-03-15 Miele & Cie CIRCUIT FAN CIRCUIT IN A DISHWASHING MACHINE

    Also Published As

    Publication number Publication date
    ATE270842T1 (en) 2004-07-15
    TR199700082A2 (en) 1998-08-21
    WO1998033427A1 (en) 1998-08-06
    TR199901950T2 (en) 2001-05-21
    EP1014845A1 (en) 2000-07-05
    ES2221981T3 (en) 2005-01-16
    DE69825061D1 (en) 2004-08-19
    AU6129798A (en) 1998-08-25
    DE69825061T2 (en) 2005-08-04

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