JP3280287B2 - Dishwasher - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cleaning means for cleaning an object to be cleaned in a closed cleaning space having a closed entrance, a drying means for drying the object to be cleaned, and an operation of the cleaning means. And control means for controlling the operation of the drying means. The control means operates the cleaning means so as to sequentially execute a cleaning step of cleaning the object to be cleaned and a rinsing step of the object to be cleaned. After the rinsing step is completed, the drying step is performed to control the operation of the drying unit, and the finishing agent for the object to be cleaned is artificially supplied. Related to dishwashers.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Finishing agents for objects to be washed, such as tableware, effectively prevent traces of water droplets from being left on the surface of the object to be washed after drying and the occurrence of cloudiness in transparent glass products. It is used to clean the finish after cleaning by avoiding that the substance causing the cloudiness of the coal-based component or the alkaline component remains on the object to be cleaned. Therefore, when a finish is used, the surface tension of water is reduced and drainage of the object to be washed is improved, but in a conventional dishwasher, regardless of whether a finish is used, the drying time is reduced. It was constant.

[0003]

That is, when a finish is used, drainage of an object to be cleaned is improved.
Although it is possible to shorten the drying time compared to the case where no finishing agent is used, in the conventional dishwasher, even when using the finishing agent, the drying time is the same as when using no finishing agent. . Therefore, when a finish is used, it results in drying for an unnecessarily long time,
There is a problem that it takes a long time to complete the drying of the object to be cleaned, which increases the running cost.

The present invention has been made in view of such a point, and an object of the present invention is to reduce the drying time and reduce the running cost of a dishwasher when a finishing agent is used. The point is to provide a machine.

[0005]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a dishwasher configured to artificially feed a finishing agent to an object to be cleaned is notified of the timing of feeding the finishing agent. Notification means and a determination means for determining whether or not the finishing agent has been supplied at the time of the supply is provided, and control means for controlling the operation of the cleaning means and the operation of the drying means,
Along with the discrimination of the finishing agent by the discriminating means, the drying time by the drying means is configured to be shorter than the drying time when the finishing agent is not supplied. Therefore, when it is determined that the finishing agent has been introduced, the effect of the above-described finishing agent, that is, the effect of lowering the surface tension of water and improving drainage, is used to shorten the drying time, and to reduce the time required for the dishwasher. The running cost can be reduced.

According to the invention described in claim 2, the discriminating means is constituted by opening / closing detecting means for detecting opening / closing of the door with respect to the washing space, and the finishing agent is detected based on the detection of the opening / closing of the door by the opening / closing detecting means. Since it is configured to judge that the finishing agent has been inserted, after the notification means notifies the timing of the finishing agent injection, if the door is opened, the finishing agent is input and the door is closed, especially manual operation is required The drying time is shortened, and the inconvenience caused by forgetting the operation is eliminated.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the determination means is constituted by a manually operated command means, and is configured to determine that the finishing agent has been supplied based on a command from the command means. Therefore, it is necessary to instruct the finishing agent to be input manually after the finishing agent is input,
There is no danger that the drying time will be reduced regardless of whether the finishing agent has been introduced. That is, as described in claim 2, when the input of the finish is determined by opening and closing the door, for example, even if the door is opened and closed for a purpose other than the input of the finish, such as cleaning a filter or removing residual vegetables, There is a possibility that the drying time may be shortened by determining that the finishing agent has been supplied. However, there is no such danger. Sufficient situations are reliably avoided.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a manually operated selection means for selecting whether or not to supply the finishing agent. However, by configuring so that the timing of the addition of the finishing agent is notified, it is possible to select whether or not to input the finishing agent as needed, and when it is not necessary to input the finishing agent,
Notifying means does not work, and drying time is not shortened,
Drying can be performed as desired.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the drying means includes a heating means for heating the inside of the washing space, and a drying fan for supplying drying air to the washing space,
And, since the drying step comprises a heating drying step by a heating means and a blast drying step by a drying fan,
Good drying by heating and blowing is possible, and
Since the control means is configured to execute only the heating and drying step without executing the air-drying step and to shorten the drying time in accordance with the determination of the finishing agent input by the determination means, Thereby, the entire drying time can be shortened. That is, in the heating drying and the blowing drying, the heating drying is more effective, and by performing the heating drying, the entire drying time can be shortened.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a dishwasher according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 2 and 3 show a dishwasher according to the present invention. In this dish washer, a substantially rectangular box-shaped main body case 1 having an open front is provided with a door 2 which can swing open and close around a horizontal axis at a lower end portion. A cleaning tank 3 for cleaning an object to be cleaned is provided. The cleaning tank 3 is configured such that the front surface is widely opened as an entrance / exit D for an object to be cleaned, and when the door 2 is closed, the cleaning tank 3 is hermetically closed by the inner side surface of the door 2.

A support rail 4 is provided on the lateral side of the closed washing space K formed by the washing tank 3, and FIG.
As shown in the figure, the object to be washed such as tableware is stored in the upper and lower two net baskets 5a and 5b, which are detachably slidably supported by the support rails 4, and are placed below the lower net basket 5a. The lower ejection nozzle 6a provided on the side, the middle ejection nozzle 6b provided below the upper mesh basket 5b, and the upper ejection nozzle 6c provided above the upper mesh basket 5b. The washing water is ejected from the large number of ejection holes 7 to wash the object to be washed.

In the dishwasher, a water supply passage 8 for supplying the washing water to the washing tank 3, a discharge passage 9 for discharging the washing water in the washing tank 3 to the outside, and a water stored in the washing tank 3 are provided. Each of the transport paths 10 for transporting the cleaning water to each of the cleaning nozzles 6a, 6b, 6c is provided in a state of being connected to the cleaning tank 3. The water supply channel 8 is connected to the inside of the washing tank 3 in a state of being opened near the middle position in the vertical direction of the washing tank 3, and a manual opening / closing valve 11 which is set to be open during operation is provided in the middle thereof. When the manual opening / closing valve 11 and the water supply valve 12 are both opened, water is supplied into the cleaning tank 3 by the water supply pressure of a water supply source such as water supply. The discharge passage 9 sucks washing water from an opening 14 formed in the bottom of the washing tank 3 by a drain pump 13 provided in the middle thereof, and a backflow provided on a lateral side of the washing tank 3. After passing through the vertical path portion 9a for prevention, the washing water is discharged to the outside from the discharge portion 9b.

The dishwasher is provided with a water level sensor 15 for detecting whether or not the water level stored in the washing tank 3 when the water is supplied into the washing tank 3 has reached a set water level. Is turned on, and when it is detected that the set water level has been reached, the water supply valve 12 is closed and the water supply is automatically stopped.

The transport path 10 is provided with a suction transport path portion 10a for sucking cleaning water stored in the cleaning tank 3 from the opening 14 by the operation of a circulation pump 16 provided in the middle thereof. A first transport path portion 10b for forcibly transporting the cleaning water from the lower side of the circulation pump 16 toward the lower ejection nozzle 6a, and forcibly supplying the cleaning water from the lower side of the circulation pump 16 to the upper ejection nozzle 6c. And a second transport path portion 10c to be transported.

The lower ejection nozzle 6a is rotatably supported around the longitudinal axis at a middle portion in the longitudinal direction with respect to the bottom surface of the washing tank 3, and the middle ejection nozzle 6b is provided with a mesh basket 5b. In contrast, it is configured to be rotatable around the vertical axis. In addition, each ejection nozzle 6a, 6b, 6
c is configured such that each of the ejection holes 7 ejects the washing water obliquely upward in opposite directions, and the lower ejection nozzle 6a
And the middle ejection nozzle 6b are configured such that the ejection nozzle itself rotates at a low speed around the longitudinal axis due to the reaction of the ejection power of the washing water, and the washing water is sprayed to every corner of the object to be washed. The cleaning is performed effectively. still,
Upper ejection nozzle 6c is configured to jet the cleaning water at a location stationary relative cleaning tank 3, supplied from the washing water the water supply unit 6b ₁ ejected from the upper spray nozzle 6c for the medium ejection nozzle 6b It is configured to be. Therefore, the transport path 10, the circulation pump 16, and the ejection nozzles 6a, 6
The cleaning means S is constituted by b and 6c.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a filter F is provided in the opening 14 at the bottom of the cleaning tank 3 for receiving dust such as residual vegetables generated by the cleaning action. As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the filter F is composed of a coarse filter F1 having a coarse mesh and a fine filter F2 having a fine mesh. The filter is configured to pass through the filter F2, and at the time of discharge, the flow of the washing water is reversed, so that dust adhering to the inner surface of the fine filter F2 is removed and discharged. The filter F is placed and supported along the inner peripheral edge of the opening 14 and is configured to be easily removable.

The bottom of the washing tank 3 is heated by heating the washing water supplied to the washing tank 3 in the washing step and heating the air inside the washing tank 3 in the drying step after the washing water is discharged. A heater 17 is provided as heating drying means for heating and drying the cleaning object. This heater 1
Reference numeral 7 denotes a hot water heater 17 which heats and dries the hot water heated by a gas-fired external heat source device 18 through a hot water supply passage 19 to supply heat. Further, after heating and drying by the hot water heater 17, a blower 26 is provided as a blowing drying means for supplying drying air into the cleaning tank 3 and blowing and drying the object to be cleaned.

As shown in FIG. 4, the hot water heater 17 is arranged in a bent state over a wide area at the bottom of the washing tank 3, and is constituted by a pipe through which hot water can flow. As shown in FIG. 5, the hot water supplied from the heat source unit 18 through the hot water supply path 19 flows through the hot water heater 17 and then circulates through the return path 20 to the heat source unit 18. , An electromagnetic open / close type hot water valve 22 is provided. The hot water supplied from the heat source unit 18 is configured to be constant at a temperature of about 80 ° C. By opening the hot water valve 22, the hot water heater 1
7, the hot water supply to the hot water heater 17 is stopped by closing the hot water valve 22.

Inside the cleaning tank 3, a temperature sensor 24 for detecting the temperature in the cleaning tank 3 and a door switch 25 as an opening / closing detecting means for detecting the opening / closing of the door 2 are provided. , The hot water heater 17 depending on the OFF state.
It is determined whether or not the drying step time by the air blower 26 is reduced. That is, the door switch 25 functions as a determination unit that determines whether the finishing agent has been supplied.

A control unit 27 using a microcomputer as control means for controlling the operation of each unit as described above, and an operation unit 28 as command means for instructing the control device 27 with control information are provided. . Operation unit 28
Is provided on the upper outer surface side of the door 2 as shown in FIG.
A power switch 29 for instructing power on / off, a start switch 30 for instructing the start of a cleaning operation, a finishing agent input switch 31 as a manually operated selecting means for selecting whether or not to input a finishing agent such as a rinse, a drying time , A notification buzzer 33 and a notification lamp 34 constituting the notification means H are provided.

Next, the control operation of the control device 27 will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. Prior to the start of the cleaning operation, the door 2 is manually opened and tableware or the like as an object to be cleaned is placed in the cleaning tank 3 in a net basket 5.
a and 5b, and a dedicated detergent is supplied into the cleaning tank 3. Then, when the door 2 is closed, the door switch 25 is turned ON, and the door 2 is set in an operable state (step 1). When the power switch 29 is turned on, the cleaning course is selected by the course switch, and when a finish such as a rinse is to be fed, the finish feed switch 31 is turned on, and finally, the start switch 30 is turned off.
When the N operation is performed, the operation is started (Step 2,
3). First, the washing water in the washing tank 3 is discharged (step 4). That is, when the water pump 13 is operated and the water level sensor 15 is turned off, the water pump 13 stops. Next, the water supply valve 12 is opened and the cleaning water is supplied into the cleaning tank 3 (step 5). When the water level sensor 15 is turned on and it is detected that the set water level has been reached, the water supply valve 12 is closed. I do.

Next, the process proceeds to a washing step, and after water is supplied, the circulation pump 16 is operated and the hot water heater 1 is turned on.
The hot water of about 80 ° C. is passed through 7 (steps 6 and 7).
The operation of the hot water valve 22 is controlled to adjust the hot water supply state to the hot water heater 17 so that the detection value of the temperature sensor 24, that is, the temperature in the cleaning tank 3 is maintained at about 60 ° C. (step 8). When the set time (about 13 minutes) elapses, the operation of the circulation pump 16 is stopped and the hot water heater 17
The hot water is stopped and the washing water is discharged (steps 9, 10, 11). In this cleaning process, the cleaning water jetted in a spray form from the jetting holes 7 comes into contact with the hot water heater 17 to be efficiently heated, and the cleaning is performed with the hot water. Further, as described above, the lower and middle ejection nozzles 6a and 6b rotate around the vertical axis with the ejection power of the washing water so that the corners of the object to be washed are surely washed. Has become.

Next, the operation proceeds to the rinsing step, and after water is supplied, the circulating pump 16 is operated for a set time (about 1 minute) to perform rinsing, and thereafter, the operation of discharging the washing water is repeated three times. (Steps 12 to 1)
6). The number of times of rinsing is not limited to three. When the three rinsing operations are completed in this way, water is supplied again to activate the circulation pump 16, and when the detection value of the temperature sensor 24 reaches 50 ° C., the supply of hot water to the hot water heater 17 is stopped. The operation of the circulation pump 16 is continued.

When the finishing agent is to be supplied, if the finishing agent input switch 31 is ON (step 17), the notification buzzer 33 is activated and the notification lamp 34 is turned on, and the user is turned on. Is notified that a finishing agent for drying is to be supplied (step 18).
In this way, the user can reliably recognize that the finishing agent should be supplied, and it is possible to avoid a series of cleaning operations in a state where the finishing agent is not supplied as much as possible. Become.

As described above, the operation of the notification buzzer 33 and the lighting of the notification lamp 34 are executed for a set time (for example, 5 seconds), and thereafter, the notification is performed until the set time (for example, 10 minutes) elapses (step 21). The lamp 34 is turned on and off to notify that the finishing agent can be supplied. During this time, if the user manually opens the door 2, the door switch 25 is turned off (step 19), and the circulation pump is turned off. 16 is stopped (step 20), the filter F is removed as necessary to remove the removed residue such as residual vegetables, and the finishing agent is supplied into the cleaning layer 3. At this time, since the temperature of the hot water in the cleaning tank 3 does not exceed 50 ° C., there is no fear of burns or the like.

If the door 2 is opened while the notification lamp 34 is blinking, it is determined that the finishing agent has been supplied by turning off the door switch 25, and after the door switch 25 is turned on,
The operation is resumed, and the fourth rinsing is started. After the rinsing is completed, drying is performed in a finishing agent input drying mode for shortening the drying time. After the notification operation is executed, if the set time (for example, 10 minutes) has elapsed without opening the door 2 (step 21), the operation is restarted and the fourth rinsing is started, and after the rinsing is completed, The same applies to the case where the drying is performed in the normal drying mode without shortening the drying time and the finishing agent input switch 31 is OFF.

As shown in FIG. 8, at the time of the fourth rinsing, after the above-described water supply operation is performed, the hot water is passed through the hot water heater 17, and the operation of the circulation pump 16 is started, and the hot water is supplied. Is performed (steps 23 and 2).
4, 25). At this time, the detection value of the temperature sensor 24 is about 7
When the temperature reaches 0 ° C., the hot water supply to the hot water heater 17 is stopped,
Thereafter, when the hot water rinsing is continued for a set time (about 2 minutes), the operation of the circulation pump 16 is stopped and the cleaning water is discharged (steps 26, 27, 28), and the fourth rinsing step is completed.

Next, the process proceeds to the drying step. The drying step includes a finishing agent feeding mode for shortening the drying time and a normal drying mode for shortening the drying time. For example, in the finishing agent input mode, the drying time is about 20 minutes for only the heating and drying, and in the normal mode, after the heating and drying for about 20 minutes,
Blow dry for about 30 minutes.

As shown in FIG. 9, in the finishing agent charging / drying mode, the hot water is passed through the hot water heater 17 and the heating state by the hot water is adjusted so that the detection value of the temperature sensor 24 is maintained at about 70 ° C. Control is performed (steps 29 and 30), the air in the cleaning tank 3 is heated to about 70 ° C., and the object to be cleaned is heated and dried. When a set time (about 20 minutes) elapses from the start of such a drying operation, the hot water heater 1
7 and the heating and drying is completed (step 3).
1, 32) Power switch 29 is turned off after 10 minutes
And the operation ends (steps 39 and 39).
40).

As shown in FIG. 10, in the normal drying mode, the hot water is passed through the hot water heater 17 and the heating state by the hot water is adjusted and controlled so that the detection value of the temperature sensor 24 is maintained at about 70 ° C. (Steps 33 and 34), Cleaning tank 3
The inside air is heated to about 70 ° C., and the object to be cleaned is heated and dried. When a set time (about 20 minutes) has elapsed since the start of the heating and drying operation (step 3)
5) The hot-water supply is stopped and the blower 26 is operated (step 36).
(0 minutes) (Step 37), the operation of the blower 26 is stopped (Step 38), and the heating and drying by the hot water heater 17 and the blowing and drying by the blower 26 are completed.
After a lapse of 0 minutes, the power switch 29 is switched to the OFF state, and the operation ends (steps 39 and 40).

The operation time in each step as described above is not limited to the set time as illustrated, but may be changed as appropriate.

[Other Embodiments] (1) In the above embodiment, an example is shown in which the door switch 25 for detecting the opening and closing of the door 2 constitutes the judging means for judging whether or not the finishing agent has been supplied. The unit 28 may be provided with a command switch as a manual operation type command means, and after the finishing agent is supplied, the command switch may be manually operated to determine that the finishing agent has been supplied.

(2) In the above embodiment, the drying step time is shortened by not performing the blast drying by the blower 26 in the finishing agent charging and drying mode, but the blast drying is performed to shorten the blast drying time. Alternatively, both drying times of heating drying and blast drying may be shortened. In short, irrespective of whether the heating drying or the blast drying is performed, it is sufficient that the drying step time is shorter in the finishing agent introduction drying mode than in the normal drying mode.

(3) In the above embodiment, the notification is made by using the notification buzzer 33 and the notification lamp 34 as the notification means. However, only one of them may be used. You may be notified with words such as "Please supply finishing agent" or a melody sound with a recording sound, and a notification lamp may be projected upward from the upper surface of the dishwasher, An information lamp that emits light in the direction may be used. Alternatively, the notification may be made by graphic display in various forms.

(4) In the above embodiment, the cleaning means is configured to jet the cleaning water from the nozzles 8a, 8b, 8c. However, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. A configuration for cleaning in various forms, such as a configuration in which cleaning water is swirled and cleaned, may be used.

(5) In the above-described embodiment, the case where the heating drying means is constituted by the hot water heater 17 through which hot water flows is exemplified. However, the heating drying means may be constituted by an electric heater for heating air by energization. .

(6) In the above embodiment, the detergent used in the cleaning step is also supplied manually. However, the detergent is stored, and when the detergent is to be supplied, the detergent is automatically placed in the cleaning space. The structure which provides the detergent supply means to supply may be sufficient.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a dishwasher.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a dishwasher.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a dishwasher.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an arrangement state of a hot water heater.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a filter.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a control operation.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a control operation.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a rinsing operation.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a finishing agent charging and drying mode.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a normal drying mode.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Door 17 Heating means as heating drying means 25 Opening / closing detection means as discriminating means 26 Drying fan as blowing drying means 27 Control means 31 Selection means D Doorway H Reporting means K Cleaning space S Cleaning means

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Yoshiyoshi Sadakuni 4-1-2, Hirano-cho, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka Inside Osaka Gas Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Yoko Sasou 19 Sakuradacho, Atsuta-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi Prefecture No. 18 Toho Gas Co., Ltd. (72) Kazuyuki Morimoto, Inventor Kazuyuki Morimoto 1-1-1 Oka, Minami-ku, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture No. 52 Harman Co., Ltd. (72) Genro Nishimaru, Inventor 1-15-1 Oka, Minami-shi, Minato-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka Prefecture (72) Inventor Hiroaki Doi 1-152 Oka, Minami-shi, Minato-ku, Osaka, Osaka No. 72 within Herman Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Kenji Marusasa 1-152 Oka, Minami-shi, Minato-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka Inspector of Herman Co., Ltd. Toshimasa Hirashiro (56) References JP-A-9-173272 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) A47L 15/46 A47L 15/44 A47L 15/48 A47L 15/42

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A cleaning means for cleaning an object to be cleaned, a drying means for drying the object to be cleaned, an operation of the cleaning means, and an operation of the drying means in a closed cleaning space in which an entrance is closed. Control means for controlling the operation of the cleaning means so as to sequentially execute a cleaning step of cleaning the object to be cleaned and a rinsing step of rinsing the object to be cleaned. A dishwasher configured to control the operation of the drying unit to execute a drying process after the process is completed, and configured to artificially input a finishing agent to the object to be cleaned. An informing means for informing the timing of the supply of the finishing agent, and a determining means for determining whether or not the finishing agent has been supplied at the input time, are provided, and the control means is configured to control the finishing agent by the determining means. Input With the dishwasher that is configured to be shorter than the drying time in the non-on of the finish drying time by the drying means. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the determining unit includes an opening / closing detecting unit configured to detect opening / closing of the door with respect to the cleaning space, and based on the detection of the opening / closing of the door by the opening / closing detecting unit, determine that the finishing agent has been supplied. The dishwasher according to claim 1, wherein the dishwasher is configured. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the determining means includes a manually operated command means, and based on a command from the command means,
The dishwasher according to claim 1, wherein the dishwasher is configured to determine that the finishing agent has been charged. 4. An artificially operated selecting means for selecting whether or not to apply the finishing agent is provided, and when the selecting of the adding of the finishing agent is selected by the selecting means, the notifying means sets the timing of adding the finishing agent. Claim 1 configured to notify.
The dishwasher according to any one of claims 1 to 3. 5. The drying means comprises a heating means for heating the inside of the washing space, and a drying fan for supplying air for drying into the washing space, and wherein the drying step comprises heating by the heating means. A drying step, and a blow-drying step by the drying fan, wherein the control means reduces the drying time without performing the blow-drying step, along with the determination of the finishing agent by the determination means. The dishwasher according to any one of claims 1 to 4, which is configured.