JP2008183276A - Dishwasher - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a leakage discharge system capable of preventing cleaning water from flowing backward to a connection part of a hose other than a drain hose without using a flow backward prevention valve and of laying the drain hose easily in discharging the leakage in a water saucer of a built-in type dish washer with the leakage pump and the leakage hose. <P>SOLUTION: The built-in type dishwasher is provided with a water level detection means, the leakage pump, and the leakage hose in the water saucer, starts the leakage pump when a prescribed water level in the water saucer is detected by the detecting means, and drains the leakage in the water saucer with the leakage hose. In the dishwasher, a leakage introducing pipe is provided along a back wall of a cleaning tank in the vertical direction, an upper end of the leakage introducing pipe is positioned above the water level in the cleaning tank, and a tip of the leakage hose is connected to the upper end of the leakage introducing pipe. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a water leakage discharge device for a built-in type dishwasher, and when water leaks due to poor sealing of the lid of the washing tub, overflow of the washing tub, etc., collected in the water receiving tray, it overflows into the floor of the room. In order to prevent spillage, the drainage drain pump (hereinafter referred to as "leakage pump") installed in the water receiving tray is extremely simplified, and the mechanism and structure for it are simplified. It is.

  In a built-in type dishwasher (dishwasher built in a sink), if there is leakage due to poor sealing of the lid of the washing tub, poor sealing of the pipe joint, overflow from the washing tub, etc. It is received by a water tray to prevent leakage of water from flowing into the floor of the room. When water leakage in the water receiving tray accumulates to the specified water level, this is detected by a sensor, the water leakage is notified, the water supply valve is shut off, and a drainage pump for cleaning (hereinafter referred to as “drainage pump”) is started. In general, the cleaning water in the cleaning tank is discharged (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-164431).

  A drainage hose for water leakage (hereinafter referred to as “leakage hose”) is connected to the water receiving tray to ensure that leakage does not overflow from the water receiving tray and wet the floor of the room. In addition, there is a known example in which water leaks naturally out of the water receiving tray from this water leak hose (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-154886). It is also well known that a water receiving tray is provided with a water leakage pump, and when the water level in the tray exceeds a predetermined level, this is detected by a water level sensor, and the water leakage pump is started and discharged from the water leakage hose to the outside of the dishwasher. (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-154485, hereinafter referred to as “prior art”). In addition, this Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-154885 also describes an example in which a washing drain pump (a drain pump used for washing operation) is also used as a leak pump, in addition to using a dedicated pump for discharging the leak. Yes.

[Problems of the prior art]
Any of the above-described known techniques for discharging the water leaked in the water receiving tray to the outside of the dishwasher with the water leakage hose is a table-top type. On the other hand, when this is applied to a built-in type, it is commonly assumed that the leakage hose is connected to an existing drain hose (or drain pipe; the same shall apply hereinafter) under the sink. The leak hose must be connected upstream of the drain trap of the drain hose, and the connection structure must be able to reliably prevent drainage from flowing back from the other drain hose to the leak hose. For this reason, since it is necessary to attach a backflow prevention means (such as a check valve) to the connection part of the water leakage hose to other drainage hoses, etc., piping for drainage becomes complicated and construction work increases. On-site plumbing costs increase.

For the built-in type, applying the above-mentioned known technology, providing a water leakage pump in the water receiving tray, and constructing such that the water accumulated in the water receiving tray is discharged outside by the water leakage hose causes the above problem. It is necessary to devise the connection structure so that there is no such thing.
JP-A-4-1664311 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-154885 JP-A-8-154886

  In view of this, the present invention relates to discharging the water accumulated in the water receiving tray of the built-in type dishwasher with the water leakage pump and the water leakage hose, without interposing the backflow prevention valve at the connection portion of the water leakage hose to the other drain hose. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to devise a water leakage discharge system so that the washing water does not flow back to the water leakage hose and the water leakage hose can be easily piped.

Means for solving the above-mentioned problem is that a water receiving tray is provided with a water level detection means, a water leakage pump, and a water leakage hose, and when the predetermined water level in the water receiving tray is detected by the detection means, Regarding the built-in type dishwasher in which the water leakage in the receiving tray is discharged with the water leakage hose, it is due to the following (a) and (b).
(A) A water leakage introduction pipe line is provided in the vertical direction along the rear wall of the washing tank, and the upper end of the water leakage introduction pipe line is located above the water level in the washing tank,
(B) The tip of the water leakage hose is connected to the upper end of the water leakage introduction pipeline.

The water leakage introduction pipe line may be formed integrally with the cleaning tank or may be a separate pipe material, and may be disposed on the inner surface or the outer surface of the rear wall of the cleaning tank.
Even if the upper end of the water leakage introduction pipe is not necessarily located above the water level in the cleaning tank (hereinafter referred to as “water level in the cleaning tank”), a part of the water leakage hose is located above the water level in the cleaning tank. As long as it extends to the upper side, that may be sufficient.
In the above (i), when the washing water is discharged from the washing tank, air enters the leakage introduction pipe and the leakage hose, and when the washing water is injected again to the predetermined water level, the washing water flows backward to the leakage hose. Therefore, regardless of the arrangement of the leakage hose (for example, a configuration in which the leakage hose bends and stretches in a horizontal plane; see Japanese Patent No. 3129311), the washing water in the washing tank is leaked from the leakage hose. Backflow to the water receiving tray is prevented. However, even if the upper end of the water leakage introduction pipe is not located above the water level in the cleaning tank, if a part of the water leakage hose extends above the water level in the cleaning tank, the cleaning water in the cleaning tank It does not flow back to the leak hose and flow out to the water receiving tray.

Further, the water leakage pump may be started immediately by detecting an extremely low water level with a detecting means for detecting the water level in the water receiving tray. In this case, even when there is a small amount of water leakage per unit time (for example, 1 minute), it can respond quickly.
On the other hand, when the water level of the water receiving tray reaches a certain level, the water leakage pump is started when the water level of the water receiving tray reaches a certain level so that the water leakage pump does not repeat starting / stopping in a short time for a relatively small amount of water leakage. It can also be made to do.
Further, once the water leakage pump is started, it may be controlled to stop the water leakage pump with the detection signal when the water level drops to a predetermined level, but the time required to reduce the water level by several millimeters ( For example, the timer may be controlled so as to stop after a few seconds.

  When the built-in type dishwasher is particularly a drawer type, the water leakage hose in the above solution means expands and contracts as the washing tank is taken in and out, and the water leakage introduction pipe is provided on the rear wall of the washing tank. Vertical flow paths, which are structurally separate from each other. However, since the connection structure between the water leakage hose and the cleaning tank by the water leakage introduction pipe line only needs to have at least the above-described action, the water leakage introduction pipe line and the water leakage hose can be integrated. For this purpose, the tip of the water leakage hose may be arranged in the cleaning tank in place of the water leakage introduction pipe and opened in the cleaning tank. However, in that case, the water leakage hose is a U-shaped hose bent upwards, and the upper end of the U-shaped part protrudes above the cleaning water level of the cleaning tank, thereby cleaning the cleaning tank. It is necessary to prevent water from flowing back to the leak hose.

  The water leakage discharge path from the water tray includes a water leakage pump, a water leakage hose, a water leakage introduction conduit, a cleaning tank, a drainage pump, and a cleaning water drainage hose (hereinafter referred to as “drainage hose”). And since the upper end of the water leakage introduction pipe line provided along the rear wall of the washing tank is located above the washing water level, the washing water in the washing tank does not flow back to the leakage hose. And in the installation work of the dishwasher, it is only necessary to directly connect the tip of the water leakage hose to the upper end of the above water leakage introduction pipe, so that the piping work of the water leakage hose is extremely simple and easy.

  In addition, poor water supply valve closure, poor sealing of the lid of the washing tank, poor sealing of various hose connections, etc. are the main causes of water leakage. Therefore, the amount of leaked water per unit time of the drainage means by the leak pump and leak hose is relatively small. Therefore, the water leakage hose may be a thin tube, and for example, a water hose having an inner diameter of about 1/2 that of the drainage hose is sufficient. Therefore, the piping work from the water leakage pump to the upper end of the water leakage introduction conduit can be easily and easily performed without interfering with other piping.

  The built-in type dishwasher has a front-opening type in which the front door of the washing tub is opened forward, the tableware basket is pulled out and the tableware is taken in and out, and the upper lid of the washing tub is opened and closed vertically. Are roughly divided into drawers that can be taken in and out of the dishwasher body, and an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a drawer dishwasher will be described.

  The washing tub 2 that is supported by the rails on the left and right inner surfaces of the dishwasher main body 1 and slides in the front-rear direction is opened when the upper lid 3 is opened upward and is completely pushed into the dishwasher main body 1. The upper lid 3 is closed. A front door 4 is provided at the front end of the cleaning tank 2, an operation button 4 a and a start / pause button 4 b are provided at the upper front of the front door 4, and a detergent / rinse feeder 4 c is provided inside the front door 4. A float type water level switch 5 is provided for regulating the cleaning water level to a predetermined level, and a drainage pump 6 for discharging the cleaning water in the cleaning tank is provided.

  A drying fan 7 is provided outside the rear wall of the cleaning tank 2, a cleaning pump 8 is attached to the center of the bottom surface of the bottom, a rotating nozzle 9 is located in the center of the cleaning tank 2, and above the rotating nozzle 9. There is a tableware basket C, and a tableware W such as a plate, a bowl or a cup is arranged in the tableware basket C. Then, the washing water in the washing tank 2 is ejected from the rotary nozzle 9 to wash the tableware W, rinse it, and blown to the washing tank 2 by the drying fan 7 to dry the tableware W. While detecting the water temperature and air temperature in the washing tank with the thermistor 11 provided at the bottom of the washing tank, the heater 10 is heated and the water temperature and air temperature in the washing tank 2 are controlled according to the control program.

The washing water in the washing tank 2 is pressurized by the washing pump 8 and ejected from the rotary nozzle 9, and after washing the dishes W, returns to the washing tank 2 and is filtered by the filter 12 f in the recess 12 at the bottom of the washing tank 2. Then, it is sucked in again by the washing pump, pressurized and ejected from the rotary nozzle 9.
There is a water supply port 13 on the inner surface of the rear wall 2 a of the cleaning tank 2, a water supply hose 21 bent in a U shape is connected to the water supply port 13, and a drainage hose 22 is connected to the discharge port of the drainage pump 6. The drainage hose 22 is bent in a U shape, and is bent and stretched when the cleaning tank 2 is taken in and out. The water supply hose 21 is connected to a water supply electromagnetic valve 23 fixed to the dishwasher main body 1, and the drainage hose 22 is connected to a drainage trap 24.
In addition, the above is a structure of the range of a prior art.

The water receiving tray at the lower part of the dishwasher main body 1 has a concave water reservoir 30a, and a water leakage pump 31 and a water level sensor 32 are provided in the water reservoir 30a. The water level sensor 32 has a terminal that conducts when in contact with water, and turns on the drive switch of the water leakage pump in response to the conduction of the terminal.
The water level sensor 32 in this embodiment detects two levels of water levels, an upper level (for example, a water level of 10 mm from the bottom of the puddle 30a) and a lower level (for example, the water level of 5 mm). The leakage pump drive switch (not shown) is turned ON, and when the lower level is not detected, the leakage pump drive switch is turned OFF by the signal. Thereby, the start and stop of the water leakage pump 31 are controlled, and the water leakage in the water receiving tray 30 is surely discharged. In this way, it is simplest to turn on / off the water leakage pump 31, but there is only one operation mode of such a water leakage pump 31, and the pump capacity in this case is sufficient for a large amount of water leakage. Since it must be capable of coping, the leak pump will be operated at high power (eg 2 liters / min) even for relatively small leaks.

Since the leakage pump is automatically controlled as described above, the leakage in the water receiving tray 30 is discharged by the leakage pump 31, so that the leakage overflows from the receiving tray 30 and wets the floor of the room. There is no.
In this embodiment, when the water discharge capacity by the water leakage pump is insufficient and the water level in the water receiving tray 33 further rises to reach a dangerous water level, this is detected and the operation of the dishwasher is stopped, The drainage pump 6 is started and the cleaning tank is emptied. Therefore, even if a large amount of water leaks, the floor of the room is prevented from being wetted by the water leak.

[Other example 1 of leakage pump operation control]
The operation control of the water leakage pump can be configured as follows.
That is, a water level sensor 32 capable of detecting two levels of water level at a lower level (for example, 5 mm) and an upper level (for example, 10 mm) is provided in the water pool 30a in the concave water pool 30a provided at the bottom of the water receiving tray 30. Yes. The depth of the water pool 30a is a depth corresponding to the lower level.
When the upper level is detected by the water level sensor 32, the water leakage pump 31 is started. When the water level of the water receiving tray 30 falls below the lower level and the lower level detection signal stops, the water leakage pump 31 is It is the structure which stops.
As described above, when the water leakage pump 31 is controlled, when the amount of water leakage is small and the water pool 30a is about to be accumulated (the water level is lower than the lower level), it is left as it is, and the water level of the water receiving tray is increased to the upper level. Since the water leakage pump 31 starts when the pressure reaches the value (the water level is 5 mm with respect to the bottom surface of the water receiving tray), the frequency of operation of the water leakage pump is limited to a necessary limit.
In this case, when an upper level (water level 10 mm) is detected, a water leak is notified.

  The two levels of water levels detected by the water level sensor (5 mm and 1 mm) are based on the premise that the depth of the water pool is 5 mm, and the water level from the bottom surface of the water receiving tray 30 is 5 mm (the above upper level). Therefore, when the water level reaches 10 mm from the bottom of the puddle, it is based on the specific design of starting the water leakage pump. Therefore, the reference value of these water levels depends on the depth of the puddle 30a. What is necessary is just to select suitably according to the basic design concept about water leak management.

[Other example 2 of leakage pump operation control]
Further, the operation control of the water leakage pump can be configured as follows. That is, the water level sensor 32 provided in the water receiving tray is used as a water level sensor for detecting two levels of upper and lower levels, ie, a lower level and an upper level. The pump is configured to be selectively switched.
When the lower level water level is detected, the leak pump 31 is operated at a low output, and when the upper level water level is detected, the leak pump 31 is controlled so that the leak pump 31 is operated at a high output. .
The lower level is, for example, 10 mm, and the upper level is, for example, 20 mm. The low output of the water leakage pump is, for example, “1 liter / minute”, and the high output is, for example, “2 liter / minute”.

When the lower level (10 mm) is detected, the leak pump is operated at a low output for a predetermined time (for example, several seconds). This operation stop is controlled by a timer.
When the water level is detected by the water level sensor 32 when the water level of the water receiving tray 30 rises without lowering and reaches the upper level (20 mm) even though the leakage pump is operated at a low output. The water leakage pump is operated at a high output, and this is continued for a predetermined time (for example, several seconds).
By doing so, the leakage pump 31 is operated at a low output for a small amount of water leakage, and the leakage pump 31 is operated at a high output for a large amount of water leakage. A small amount of water leakage can be handled quietly with low power operation.

A leak hose 33 is connected to the discharge port of the leak pump 31, and a leak introduction pipe 2 g is provided on the inner side surface of the rear wall 2 a of the cleaning tank 2. The lower end of the water leakage introduction pipe line 2g extends below the tableware basket C along the rear wall 2a.
The upper end of the water leakage introduction pipe line 2g is slightly below the water supply port 13 of the cleaning tank 2, and a water leakage hose 33 is connected to the upper end. In order to prevent the cleaning water in the cleaning tank 2 from flowing back to the water supply hose 21, the water supply port 13 is sufficiently above the water surface in the cleaning tank 2. The upper end of the water leakage introduction pipe line 2g is located slightly below the water supply port 13 of the cleaning tank 2, so that the cleaning water level in the cleaning tank 2 (the detection level by the float type water level switch 5) Since the water level is higher than the water level at which the water supply valve 23 is closed when the water level is reached, the cleaning water does not flow back from the cleaning tank to the water leakage hose 33. When the water leakage hose 33 is bent upward in a U shape as shown in the drawing and the upper end of the water leakage hose 33 extends sufficiently upward, the upper end of the water leakage introduction pipe line 2g is almost equal to the height of the water supply port 13 of the cleaning tank 2. Although it does not necessarily need to be in the same height position, by doing in this way, it is avoided that the washing water in the washing tank 2 flows backward to the leakage hose 33 regardless of the piping mode of the leakage hose 33. .

  In this embodiment, the lower end of the water leakage introduction pipe line 2g extends downward from the tableware basket C, so that the water leaked back to the washing tub 2 is scattered and applied to the tableware W. Yes. However, there is no sanitary problem even if the tableware W leaks water (the tableware is then washed and sterilized by high temperature rinsing), so it is necessary to extend the lower end of the water leakage introduction pipe line 2g to the bottom of the tableware basket. Is not necessarily. Therefore, the water leakage introduction pipe line 2g only needs to have a length in the vertical direction of about several millimeters so that the washing water ejected from the rotary nozzle does not enter the water leakage hose 33 from the water leakage introduction pipe line 2g. .

  By the way, although the overflow height of the water receiving tray 30 in this embodiment is 30 mm and its volume is 0.3 liter, the rise in the water level of the water receiving tray 30 at the time of water leakage is gentle and does not rise rapidly. Therefore, the discharge capacity of the water leakage pump 31 is about “2 liters / minute”, and the water leakage hose 33 is a thin tube having an inner diameter of about 10 mm. As described above, since the water leakage hose 33 is sufficient as a thin tube, it can be integrated with the water supply hose 21 bent into a U shape, and the piping operation of the water leakage hose 33 is easy and easy.

  As described above, since the water leakage in the water receiving tray 30 is discharged by the water leakage pump 31, it does not overflow from the water receiving tray 30 and wet the floor of the room. When the water level in the water receiving tray 30 further rises and reaches the upper level due to a shortage, the operation of the dishwasher is stopped urgently, and the drain pump 6 is started to empty the washing tank. Therefore, even if a large amount of water leaks, the water leak is quickly stopped and the floor of the room is prevented from being wetted by the water leak.

[Notice of water leakage]
As for the water leakage notification, either the water leakage notification is made, the water leakage enough to activate the water leakage pump 31 is notified, or the water leakage by the water leakage pump 31 is notified. That's fine. Which one is selected depends on the difference in basic design philosophy for the water leak notification of the dishwasher.
When water leaks into the water receiving tray 30, even if it is small, if it is detected and notified by the water level sensor 32, the presence of the water leak itself will be reported regardless of the amount of water leak. On the other hand, when the water level of the water receiving tray 30 reaches the predetermined level and this is detected, this is a problem when the water leakage reaches a predetermined amount. You will be warned that maintenance is needed to prevent it.
Furthermore, when notifying water leakage during the operation of the water leakage pump 31, it is just informing that drainage by the water leakage pump 31 from the water receiving tray 30 is being performed.

Moreover, about the method of water leak alerting | reporting, what is necessary is just to use appropriate alerting means, such as a character and a voice | voice, and in the case of voice alerting | reporting, continuous alerting | reporting or intermittent alerting | reporting may be sufficient.
Further, the notification by the notification means may be continued until the reset operation is performed, or may be stopped after a predetermined time, and when the dishwasher is started next time, the water leakage warning is again issued. Can also be issued.

These are sectional drawings of an Example.

Explanation of symbols

1: Dishwasher body 2: Washing tank 2a: Rear wall 2g: Water leakage introduction line 3: Upper lid 4: Front door 4a: Operation button 4b: Start / pause button 5: Float type water level switch 6: Drain pump 7: Drying fan 8: Washing pump 10: Heater 11: Thermistor 12: Recess 12f: Filter 13: Water supply port 21: Water supply hose 22: Drainage hose 23: Water supply solenoid valve 24: Drainage trap 30: Water receiving tray 30a: Puddle 31 : Water leakage pump 32: Water level sensor 33: Water leakage hose C: Tableware basket W: Tableware

Claims (4)

Provide a water level detection means in the water receiving tray, provide a water leakage pump and a water leakage hose, and start the water leakage pump when the predetermined water level in the water receiving tray is detected by the detection means, to leak the water leakage in the water receiving tray. Built-in type dishwasher that is allowed to discharge in
The water leakage hose is a U-shaped hose that is bent upwards, and its tip is in the cleaning tank and is open in the cleaning tank,
A built-in type dishwasher characterized in that the upper end of the U-shaped convex upward is above the washing water level of the washing tank. Provide a water level detection means in the water receiving tray, provide a water leakage pump and a water leakage hose, and start the water leakage pump when the predetermined water level in the water receiving tray is detected by the detection means, to leak the water leakage in the water receiving tray. Built-in type dishwasher that discharges in
A water leakage introduction pipe line is provided in the vertical direction along the rear wall of the washing tank, and the upper end of the water leakage introduction pipe line is located above the water level in the washing tank,
A built-in type dishwasher characterized in that the end of the water leak hose is connected to the upper end of the water leak hose. A water leakage pump is provided in a concave water reservoir provided at the bottom of the water receiving tray, and a water level sensor for detecting two levels of water levels, an upper level and a lower level, is provided in the water reservoir.
The puddle has a depth corresponding to the lower level;
The water leakage pump is controlled by the pump control means so that the water leakage pump is started when the water level sensor detects the upper level water level and then the water leakage pump is stopped when the water level sensor does not detect the lower level water level. The dishwasher of claim 1 to be made. The water level detection means provided in the water receiving tray is a water level sensor that detects the lower level, the upper level, and the upper and lower water levels,
The leakage pump is capable of selectively switching its output between two stages of low output and high output, and has pump control means for switching the output of the leakage pump to two stages,
Control by the pump control means so that when the water level sensor detects a lower level water level, the leak pump is operated at a low output, and when an upper level water level is detected, the leak pump is operated at a high output. The dishwasher of claim 1 to be made.

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