GB2312419A

GB2312419A - Dosing control apparatus

Info

Publication number: GB2312419A
Application number: GB9712870A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Paul Kyprianides
Original assignee: CHEM CONTROLS Ltd
Current assignee: CHEM CONTROLS Ltd
Priority date: 1996-03-22
Filing date: 1997-02-14
Publication date: 1997-10-29
Anticipated expiration: 2017-02-14
Also published as: GB9712870D0; GB2312419B

Abstract

A dosing control apparatus (1) comprises machine status monitoring means for monitoring the operating status of the machine in which dosing is to be controlled. Dosing pump control means (5, 7) for controlling operation of at least one dosing pump (10), associated with the machine to be controlled, in accordance with the monitored status of the machine and at least one predetermined parameter is also provided. A wireless remote control (3) controls the monitoring means and the pump control means. The dosing pump control means (5, 7) can be arranged to enable an installing user to choose to control the pump (10) in accordance with at least one parameter selected from the group of fluid conductivity, time, fluid flow rate or fluid speed.

Description

DOSING CONTROL APPARATUS This is a divisional application based upon application no. 9703072.0.

This invention relates to a dosing control apparatus of the type employed to control the dosing of materials in dishwashers, laundry systems and the like.

Traditionally, such apparatus has involved the control of pumps by manually set controls to control the flow of detergent or other chemicals into the dishwashing or laundry system. Such apparatus have generally been supplied separately to the dishwashing or laundry system itself as they are dependent upon the type of detergents and chemicals being used, and have therefore been supplied by the detergent/chemical supplier. Because of this a variety of apparatus types have had to be provided to the detergent/chemical supplier so that the various systems can have apparatus fitted which is suited to control according to the particular parameters for which the particular system was designed. These control parameters, which control the supply of detergent and other chemicals, have traditionally been time, conductivity, fluid flow rate or fluid speed, or a combination thereof. The need for a supplier of dosing equipment to keep a stock of a variety of dosing devices which provide control in accordance with one or more of the aforementioned parameters, together with the need to ensure that the correct type of device is supplied to an installation engineer, causes considerable expense and inconvenience.

Such devices also have other problems associated with them. For instance, the manual setting of the control based upon any of the above parameters is complex and time consuming, and is almost invariably inaccurate.

Furthermore, as such dosing devices are often positioned in inaccessible locations, such as behind laundry or dishwashing equipment, access to them to alter dosing levels is difficult, and monitoring of the system as a whole to ensure that doses do not vary, and that detergent or other chemicals does not run out is difficult to perform. A further problem occurs in that the devices can be tampered with to alter the levels of dosing and that such tampering is difficult to detect.

The present invention seeks to overcome the aforementioned problems.

According to the present invention there is provided a dosing control apparatus comprising: machine status monitoring means for monitoring the operation status of a machine in which dosing is to be controlled; and dosing pump control means for controlling at least one pump, associated with the machine in which dosing is to be controlled, in accordance with the machine operating status and at least one predetermined parameter, wherein the pump control means is arranged to enable an installing user to choose to control the pump in accordance with at least one parameter selected from the group of fluid conductivity, time, fluid flow rate or fluid speed.

A wireless remote control may be provided, the wireless remote control may use infrared, and may incorporate a transmission encryption system which may require an operator password to ensure device security. The monitoring and pump control means may be realised by a single microprocessor with associated drive circuitry.

The provision of a wireless remote control ensures that, even when the apparatus is located in an inaccessible location, control of the apparatus can be performed and, particularly when encryption is employed by the remote control, the risk of unauthorised tampering is reduced.

The fluid may be detergent alone, water or a powder or solid detergent solution.

In the above embodiment of the present invention, a display may be provided to show the current status of the machine and dosing levels.

The invention may be adapted to monitor the level of chemicals which are being dosed and to provide a warning when a chemical supply runs out. The invention may be adapted to log the amount of chemicals that have been dosed so that a permanent record, which is stored either electronically or on paper, of amounts of chemicals used can be provided.

Because the installing user can select the parameter or parameters by which the dosing pump is controlled, the apparatus has far greater flexibility than prior art devices, and can be employed with a large range of washing machinery.

An example of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which: Figure 1 is a schematic block diagram showing the layout of the present invention.

Referring to Figure 1, a dosing apparatus 1 comprises a housing 2 and an infrared remote control unit 3.

Contained within the housing 2 and arranged to receive signals from the remote control unit 3 is an infrared receiving unit 4. The receiving unit 4 is, in turn, connected to a microprocessor 5 contained within the housing 2. Also connected to the microprocessor 5 is the output of an in-line conductivity sensor 6, in this case, monitoring the status of a liquid in a rinse pump. Plural additional sensors 25...28 may also be connected to the microprocessor 5 if desired. The plural sensors 25...28 in this example can monitor system temperature and detergent characteristics. A further input to the microprocessor 5 is provided by the output of pump control circuitry 7, which is also contained within the housing 2. It will be appreciated that, in many applications, some of the pump control circuitry 7 may actually be incorporated into the microprocessor 5. It will also be appreciated that the pump control circuitry 7 may control more than one pump.

The microprocessor 5 has a number of outputs. One output is provided to a display unit 8, and enables the display of status information to a user. A further output is provided to the pump control means 7, and a yet further output is provided to an optional printer 19. It will be appreciated that the printer 19 could be replaced with or complemented by a PC 20, or some other form of electronic storage medium or by a transmitter 21 which transmits to a remote printer 19, PC 20 or remote hand held data acquisition system 23.

The microprocessor 5 also has outputs to alarm control circuity 14, which controls an alarm 16, and an output to indicator lamp interface circuity 15 which connects to lamps 17. Furthermore, the pump control circuitry can be connected to a detergent dispensing solenoid valve which is used to inject water on to the surface of solid or powder detergents to dispense them, in place of liquid detergents and a peristaltic pump or pumps. The microprocessor 5 also has the ability to receive, via machine status signal sensors 24 to 24'', signals indicating the status of the machine or machines to be controlled.

The pump control circuitry 7 has input and output connections to a pump 10 and water flow sensor 11. Pump flow sensors 12 may also be connected. The flow sensors 11, 12 can be either invasive or non-invasive.

The overall operating function of the apparatus will now be described.

The microprocessor 5 has an installation or "set up" mode. In this mode, an installing user operates the remote control handset to set up the control parameters by which the pump control means 7 operates by inputting a password.

The control parameters that are selected will depend upon the type of washing system that is to be controlled, and may be selected as one or more parameters from the group of fluid conductivity, fluid flow rate, fluid speed, and time.

The fluid parameter may relate to fluid detergent, water or a combination thereof. The microprocessor 5 is arranged so that it only accepts commands from a remote control handset which transmits a correctly encoded signal and/or which provides a correct identification password at the start of the installation procedure. In this mode, the installing user can select the number of machine monitoring sensors 24 to 24'' that are to be employed, together with the number of pumps 10 that are to be controlled, and the type or types of pump to be controlled. It is also possible for the installing user to select additional features such as automatic logging of amounts of chemicals used, wash and rinse water temperature measurement recordal or display, output to a printer or data recording medium, and temperature compensation if conductivity is selected as a control parameter. The data logger can record a variety of different sets of data in addition to the used chemical amount. This data can include the amount of time the unit has been switched on, the type of control parameter which is being employed, the amount and time of operation of the fill and rinse cycles and their corresponding valves, the current conductivity reading (if a conductivity sensor is being used), the number of drains, (if a drain sensor is being used), the current wash and rinse temperature sensor reading (if appropriate sensors are being used), the number of occurrences and the period of each occurrence for which a temperature reading is below a specified temperature, and the lowest temperature read. The microprocessor can also be arranged so that absence of water can be detected and a visual indication of such provided on the display 8 or lamps 17. The device can then prevent detergent dispense.

The microprocessor 5 can also be arranged to issue an alarm via the transmitter 21 to a remote service facility.

Further features include the provision of a pump priming facility, indicator language selection, and password changing facilities.

A further feature that can be used is that of conductivity calibration of the microprocessor using the conductivity sensor 6 to calibrate an appropriate reading for a given chemical to be dispensed. The microprocessor 5 can be arranged to do this automatically during installation of the apparatus. This reference reading can then be stored for future use, simplifying calibration.

Subsequent use by an end-user of an inferior chemical can then be noted by the microprocessor 5 and an alarm issued if appropriate.

The microprocessor 5 employs an internal clock (not shown) so that time-controlled options can be used in order to control pump running times.

It will be appreciated that an apparatus may be provided for simple laundry systems, in which case all of the flexibility described above is not necessarily required.

Once the necessary control parameters and operating cycle data are input by an installing user the system is ready for operation. During operation, the microprocessor 5 monitors the operating status of the system in which dosing is being controlled, and controls the pump 10 or pumps to provide the necessary doses of detergents and/or other chemicals as and when required using only the selected parameters. The apparatus may be arranged to provide an alarm to an operator when a supply of chemicals runs out or if any other fault, such as an unacceptable level of chemical concentration or unacceptable process temperature, occurs in the system. A number of manual override inputs 3, which do not require the remote control, may be provided on the housing 1 of the apparatus so that, for example, pumps 10 can be primed and the control restarted without the need for the remote control 3. When the apparatus sounds an alarm, data relating to the type of fault is displayed on the display 8. During the washing cycle the apparatus also provides an indication of the dispense time remaining on the display 8.

Claims

1. A dosing control apparatus comprising: machine status monitoring means for monitoring the operation status of a machine in which dosing is to be controlled; and dosing pump control means for controlling at least one pump, associated with the machine in which dosing is to be controlled, in accordance with the machine operating status and at least one predetermined parameter, wherein the pump control means is arranged to enable an installing user to choose to control the pump in accordance with at least one parameter selected from the group of fluid conductivity, time, fluid flow rate or fluid speed.

2. An apparatus according to claims 1, wherein the machine status monitoring and pump control means are realised by a single microprocessor and associated drive circuitry.

3. An apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 2, incorporating a wireless remote control to enable selection of the control parameters to be monitored and under which the control means operates.

4. An apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the wireless remote control uses infrared.

5. An apparatus according to claims 3 or 4, wherein the wireless remote control incorporates a transmission encryption system.

6. An apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the wireless remote control transmission encryption system requires an operator password.

7. An apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, wherein a display is provided to show the current status of the machine and dosing levels.

8. An apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the display shows operating temperature.

9. An apparatus according to claims 7 or 8, wherein the display can display information in more than one language.

10. An apparatus according to any of the preceding claims wherein an alarm is provided to indicate errors in operation.

11. An apparatus according to claim 10 arranged to monitor the level of chemicals which are being dosed and to provide a warning via the alarm when a chemical supply runs out.

12. An apparatus according to any of the preceding claims arranged to log operating condition data so that a permanent record, which is stored either electronically or on paper, of operating conditions can be provided.

13. An apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the pump control means can control either a peristaltic pump or a solenoid valve.

14. An apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the machine status monitoring means is arranged to receive the output from a conductivity sensor and store the output for subsequent use in the control operation.

15. An apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the machine status monitoring means is arranged to provide temperature compensation of conductivity measurements.

16. An apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the dosing pump control means is arranged to provide, upon request, a pump priming operation, in which at least one pump is driven continuously for a fixed period of time or until an override operation is instructed by a user.