JP3357768B2 - 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 dishwasher for automatically washing and rinsing dishes. In particular, it relates to a rinsing process in a dishwasher.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The above-mentioned dishwasher is disclosed in, for example,
No. 49584. In this dishwasher, tap water is supplied from a water supply port and stored in a tank before being used for washing and rinsing. This water is heated by the heater in the tank as needed, but is replaced in a relatively short time in the rinsing step (excluding the final hot water rinsing), so that even if the water is heated by the heater, the temperature is high. No. Therefore, in the rinsing step, the rinsing time, for example, 1 to 3 minutes, and the number of times of rinsing, for example, 3 times, are set on the assumption that low-temperature water is used.

[0003]

By the way, with the spread of water heaters in recent years, it is conceivable that hot water from a water heater is supplied to a water inlet of a dishwasher instead of tap water.
In this case, effects such as shortening of the heating time of water in the dishwasher are expected. However, in the above-described dishwasher that is premised on rinsing with water, the rinsing time and the number of times of rinsing do not change even when hot water is supplied, and the effect of rinsing with hot water is not sufficiently exhibited. Rather, since hot water has a high rinsing effect, rinsing is performed even after sufficient rinsing, resulting in waste of time and water for rinsing.

On the other hand, it is conceivable to use a dishwasher which is premised on rinsing with hot water, but in such a case, it is conceivable that problems such as insufficient rinsing with water may occur. Therefore, a main object of the present invention is to provide a dishwasher that does not waste time and water for rinsing in a rinsing process at the time of hot water supply.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a cavity for accommodating tableware and storing water, and guiding water supplied from a water supply port into the cavity. In a dishwasher provided with processing means for washing and rinsing dishes using the stored water, a stain detecting means for detecting stains of water, and a temperature detecting means for detecting a temperature of water for rinsing, Control means for controlling the number of times of rinsing, wherein the control means reduces the number of times of rinsing and reduces the number of If the dirt is not judged to be low by the means, the number of times of rinsing is increased, but the number of times of rinsing is reduced when the temperature of the water detected by the temperature detecting means is higher than a predetermined temperature. If and further, the control means, it is determined that less contamination by dirt detection means,
By not detecting the water temperature by the temperature detection means
Depending on the temperature of the water and the
Not be reduced further rinsing number from which the set number of times of rinsing Te, or is less contamination by dirt detection means
If it is determined that there is no
Even when the temperature of the water is high, it is judged that there is little dirt
From the number of rinses set based on
It does not reduce it .

With the above arrangement, by controlling a temperature of the detection result to the basis rinse control means the number of water for water stains and rinsing, the number of rinse cycles of water stains and <br/> water temperature It can be made appropriate according to. Therefore, the processing means can perform appropriate rinsing according to the temperature of the water, regardless of whether water or hot water is supplied from the water supply port, so that time for rinsing and waste of water can be reduced. Can be.

[0007]

[0008]

[0009]

[0010]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of a dishwasher according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a sectional side view of the above dishwasher. In FIG. 1, the dishwasher includes a box-shaped housing 14 having an opening on a front surface, an openable / closable door 2 capable of closing a front opening of the housing 14, and a dishwasher inside by opening the openable door 2. And a cavity 1, which is a chamber defined in the housing 1 and capable of accommodating an article to be washed (not shown).

In order to supply water or hot water (wash water) into the cavity 1, one end of the dishwasher is connected to a water passage 23 opened in the cavity 1, and the other end is provided as a water supply port 26a. It has a pipe 26 led out of the machine and a water supply valve 22 which is connected in the middle of the pipe 26 and is an electromagnetic valve for controlling water flow inside. The water supply port 26a can be connected to an external water supply, a water heater or the like (not shown) via a connection hose (not shown) or the like. Wash water supplied from a water supply, a water heater or the like passes through a pipe 26 and passes through a water supply valve 22.
Is opened, it flows into the cavity 1.

At the bottom of the cavity 1, there is formed a recess 5 in which the supplied washing water can be stored. Further, a pump 7 provided below the cavity 1, a pipe 12 communicating the suction port 8 of the pump 7 with the inside of the recess 5, and a nozzle 3 connected to the discharge port 9 of the pump 7 and provided in the cavity 1. And a filter 13 provided below the nozzle 3 and above the recess 5. The cleaning water that has flowed into the cavity 1 accumulates in the recess 5 and is introduced into the pump 7 through the pipe 12.

The pump 7 is a washing and draining pump. By rotating the impeller 10 in the casing 11 forward, the washing water can be pumped from the discharge port 9 to the nozzle 3. Water can be drained from the drain pipe 21. Note that washing and drainage may be performed by separate pumps. The nozzle 3 is a tubular member that has a plurality of ejection ports and extends horizontally.
The central portion is supported rotatably about a rotating shaft extending vertically at the center of the bottom of the cavity 1. At the end of the cylinder of the nozzle 3, a pair of jets capable of jetting the wash water in mutually opposite directions so that the nozzle 3 can be rotated by the water pressure of the wash water in the cylinder, And a ball valve capable of closing any one of them is provided. This structure is similar to that disclosed in the prior application (Japanese Patent Publication No. 6-43636). When the above-mentioned ball valve closes one of the jet ports due to the water pressure of the washing water, the nozzle 3 rotates in one direction by jetting water from the other jet port. Then, when the pumping of the washing water is stopped and the pumping is performed again, the ball valve closes the other ejection port, and the nozzle 3 rotates in the other direction. By repeating this operation and rotating the nozzle 3 while inverting, the nozzle 3 injects the flushed cleaning water from the ejection port, so that the cleaning water can be uniformly sprayed on the object to be washed in the cavity 1.

The washing water sprayed on the object to be washed cleans and rinses the object to be washed, and reaches the bottom of the cavity 1 together with dirt such as residual vegetables. The residual food and the like at this time are collected by the filter 13. As described above, the cleaning water supplied from the water supply port 26 a is guided into the cavity 1 by the pipe 26, the water supply valve 22, the pipe 12, the pump 7, and the nozzle 3, and the cleaning water stored in the cavity 1 is discharged. A processing means for cleaning and rinsing tableware using the apparatus is constituted.

The dishwasher has a heater 4 disposed at the inner bottom of the cavity 1 for heating the washing water, and a thermistor 30 provided at the outer bottom of the cavity 1 as temperature detecting means for measuring the temperature of the washing water. The cleaning water stored in the bottom of the cavity 1 can be heated to an appropriate temperature as needed. The dishwasher also includes a dirt sensor 33 as dirt detection means. The dirt sensor 33 includes a light-emitting element such as a light-emitting diode and a light-receiving element such as a phototransistor that detects light from the light-emitting element, provided in a pair facing each other with the suction port 8 of the pump 7 interposed therebetween. I have. A member between the light receiving element and the light emitting element, for example, a forming member of the suction port 8 and the like is formed of a transparent member so that light from the light emitting element can pass through the washing water and reach the light receiving element. Is configured. This dirt sensor 33 is disclosed in the prior application (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-4958).
4)). When the light from the light emitting element passes through the washing water and is detected by the light receiving element, the transmittance of the washing water can be measured from the relationship between the amount of emitted light and the amount of received light, and as a result, contamination of the water is detected. can do.

Further, the dishwasher is provided with the following drying device for drying an object to be washed at a rear portion of the housing 1. That is, the circulation air passage 17 communicating with the inside of the cavity 1 through the exhaust port 19 formed in the upper part of the rear surface of the cavity 1 and the air supply port 20 formed in the lower part of the rear surface of the cavity 1.
A cooling air passage 18 which is partitioned from the circulation air passage 17 and communicates with the outside through a vent formed in the rear panel 15 of the housing 1, and provided between the cooling air passage 18 and the circulation air passage 17. And a motor 24 for driving the double-sided fan 16.

When the two-sided fan 16 is driven to rotate by the motor 24, the two-sided fan 16 is cooled by the air flowing through the cooling air passage 18, and the air in the cavity 1 is discharged from the exhaust port 19 to the circulation air passage 17. Inhale. The inhaled air is cooled and dehumidified by the double-sided fan 16 here. The dehumidified air is sent from the air supply port 20 into the cavity 1 by the double-sided fan 16. By repeating this operation, the air in the cavity 1 is dehumidified, and the object to be washed can be dried.

A control unit 2 for controlling the operation of each of the above units
5 is provided in the housing 14, for example, in the lower front part. Next, the electrical configuration of the control unit 25 will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG. The control unit 25 includes a microcomputer (not shown) as a control center, and executes control based on programs and data stored in advance in a ROM, a RAM (not shown), or the like. That is, the microcomputer includes the dirt sensor 3
3. Thermistor 30 is connected, and its detection output is input. The microcomputer detects water contamination from the detection output of the contamination sensor 33 as described above. Also,
From the detection output of the thermistor 30, the temperature of the washing water in the cavity 1 is detected. The microcomputer is
The heater 4, the pump 7, the water supply valve 22, the motor 24, and the like are controlled and driven.

Next, the control of the operation of the dishwasher will be described with reference to the control flowcharts shown in FIGS. First, an outline will be described with reference to FIG. In this dishwasher, the washing process (step S
1 to 3), a rinsing step (steps S4 to S7) and a drying step (step S8) are sequentially performed.

In the cleaning step, a predetermined amount of cleaning water is supplied into the cavity 1 by opening the water supply valve 22 (step S1). The dirt sensor 33 detects the permeability of the cleaning water before the cleaning and after a lapse of a predetermined time from the start of the cleaning, and determines the status of the dirt on the object to be cleaned from the detection result. Various conditions such as the temperature of the cleaning water and the cleaning time in the cleaning process are set based on the determination result (step S).
2).

The heater 4, the pump 7 and the like are controlled in accordance with the set washing water temperature and washing time to perform washing (step S3). Specifically, the cleaning water in the cavity 1 is heated by the heater 4 to a predetermined temperature while the temperature of the cleaning water is detected by the thermistor 30. Further, the pump 7 is driven during the cleaning time, and the cleaning water is jetted. During this time, the pump 7 stops at a predetermined timing, and accordingly, the nozzle 3 rotates while reversing. After the cleaning is completed, the pump 7 is driven in reverse, and the cleaning water in the cavity 1 is drained. In addition, additional washing | cleaning etc. may be performed as needed.

Next, in step S4, the above step S
The rinsing time and the number of times of rinsing are set based on the dirt determination result determined in step 2, and the following steps are performed according to the dirt. That is, if the degree of dirt is considerably small, the rinsing A step (step S5) is performed. If the degree of dirt is standard, the rinsing B step (Step S6) is performed. If the degree of dirt is severe, the rinsing C step (Step S7) is performed.

When the above-described rinsing steps are completed, the heater 4 and the motor 24 are driven for a predetermined time, and the cavity 1 is rotated.
The object to be washed is dried (step S8), and the entire process ends. Next, the rinsing step A will be described in detail with reference to FIG. In order to control the repetition of the following steps S12 to S14, a counter C1 for counting the number of repetitions is reset in advance (step S11).

When the water supply valve 22 is opened, a predetermined amount of washing water is supplied into the cavity 1 (step S).
12). At this time, the heater 4 is not driven, and the cleaning water is not heated. Next, rinsing for 30 seconds is performed (step S13). More specifically, pump 7 has a 13.5
The nozzle 3 is driven to rotate forward for one second, and the cleaning water is jetted to one of the nozzles 3 while, for example, rotating clockwise. Then, pump 7
Is stopped for 1.5 seconds. Next, the pump 7 is driven to rotate forward again for 13.5 seconds, and the cleaning water is jetted to the other side while the nozzle 3 is being rotated counterclockwise, for example. Thereafter, the pump 7 is stopped for 1.5 seconds. Step S1
During the period 3, the heater 4 is driven and the cleaning water is heated.

Next, the pump 7 is driven to rotate in the reverse direction, and the washing water in the cavity 1 is drained (step S14).
Steps S12 to S14 are repeated a predetermined number of times, for example, twice (steps S15 and S16), and thereafter, hot water rinsing is performed (step S17). That is, the water supply valve 2
By opening 2, a predetermined amount of washing water is supplied into cavity 1. The cleaning water in the cavity 1 is heated by the heater 4 to a set temperature while the temperature of the cleaning water is detected by the thermistor 30. Therefore, the heating time by the heater 4 differs between water supply and hot water supply. During this time,
When the pump 7 is driven to rotate in the normal direction and stopped at a predetermined timing, the nozzle 3 is inverted and the heated washing water is jetted from the nozzle 3. When the cleaning water reaches a predetermined temperature, the heater 4 is continuously driven for a predetermined time, for example, three minutes. During this time, the pump 7 is driven to rotate forward, and the nozzle 3 injects heated cleaning water from the nozzle 3 while appropriately inverting in both directions. Thereafter, the heater 4 is turned off. Then, the pump 7 is driven in reverse, and the washing water in the cavity 1 is drained.

Next, the rinsing B step will be described in detail with reference to FIG. The following steps S22 to S26
In order to control the repetition of the step, the counters C1 and C2 for counting the number of repetitions are reset (Step S
21). When the water supply valve 22 is opened, a predetermined amount of cleaning water is supplied into the cavity 1 (step S2).
2). At this time, the heater 4 is not driven, and the cleaning water is not heated.

Next, a one-minute rinsing is performed (step S23). More specifically, the pump 7 is driven to rotate forward for 28.5 seconds, and the washing water is jetted while the nozzle 3 rotates to one side, for example, clockwise. Then, pump 7
Is stopped for 1.5 seconds. Next, the pump 7 is driven to rotate forward again for 28.5 seconds, and the washing water is injected while the nozzle 3 is turned to the other side, for example, counterclockwise. Thereafter, the pump 7 is stopped for 1.5 seconds. Step S2
During the period 3, the heater 4 is driven and the cleaning water is heated.

Next, in step S24, the temperature of the washing water is detected by the thermistor 30, and it is determined whether or not the temperature is a predetermined temperature, for example, 50 ° C. If the cleaning water has reached the predetermined temperature, it can be determined that the cleaning water supplied in step S22 is hot water. If it is hot water, the counter C2 is added and the rinsing with hot water is counted (step S25). The thermistor 30 in step S24
Is detected not immediately after the completion of the water supply in step S22 but after the rinsing in step S23, because the temperature of the supplied wash water is sufficiently transmitted to the thermistor 30. It is to wait and detect accurately. In addition, the temperature can be detected more accurately in response to a change in the temperature of the washing water during the rinsing.

Next, the pump 7 is driven to rotate in the reverse direction, and the washing water in the cavity 1 is drained (step S26).
When the above steps S22 to S26 are repeated a predetermined number of times, for example, twice (steps S27 and S28), step S29 is performed.
In, the number of times of rinsing with hot water is the predetermined number of times, that is,
It is determined whether it is twice. If the two rinsings have been performed with hot water, hot water rinsing is immediately performed in the same manner as in step S17 (step S31). Here, the predetermined number of times of rinsing is set to correspond to the temperature of the washing water detected in step S24, 50 ° C., and if the rinsing for one minute in step S23 is performed with the washing water of 50 ° C. In addition, a sufficient rinsing effect can be obtained with two times of rinsing.

If at least one of the two rinsings is not performed with hot water, steps S22 to S26 are repeated a predetermined number of times, for example, three times (step S30), and then the above hot water rinsing is performed (step S30). S31). In this case, the predetermined number of times of rinsing is three times, and in order to obtain a sufficient rinsing effect when the temperature of the washing water is low, step S23
In the case of rinsing for one minute, it is set that three times of rinsing is required.

The rinsing step C is performed in the same procedure as the rinsing step B, except that the settings such as the set number of times of rinsing differ depending on dirt. In addition, rinse A
In the process, the temperature of the washing water is not detected, but the reason is as follows. That is, rinse A
In the process, the required rinsing time is set to be as short as 30 seconds and the number of times of rinsing is set to be as small as 2 because the amount of dirt is originally small. In this state, if the number of times of rinsing is further reduced according to the temperature of the washing water, for example, if two times are set to one time, the fluctuation of the rinsing effect becomes large, so that a sufficient rinsing effect may not be obtained. Because it is possible. Further, depending on the accuracy of the temperature detection of the washing water, the fluctuation of the rinsing effect may be further increased. Therefore,
Originally, in a setting with a small number of times of rinsing, rinsing can be performed reliably by not further reducing the number of times of rinsing according to the temperature.

Next, the operation of the dishwasher will be described.
As described above, the dishwasher can be supplied with water or hot water by connecting a tap or hot water supply to the water supply port 26a. When supplying hot water, the temperature of the hot water is detected by the thermistor 30 and is heated to a predetermined temperature by the heater 4 as necessary. In this case, since the temperature of the hot water in the water heater is usually high, the water is not often heated by the heater 4. However, even when the water is heated, the heating time is short, and the cleaning and rinsing time is also shortened. Also, less power is required for heating.

By the way, in the case of hot water having a higher temperature than in the case of water having a lower temperature, rinsing can be performed more effectively, so that the number of times of rinsing for obtaining the same rinsing effect can be reduced. Therefore, when the temperature of the water is higher than the predetermined temperature, the number of times of rinsing can be reduced, and the time required for rinsing and waste of the amount of water can be saved. For example, rinse B
In the process, if the temperature of the hot water is 50 ° C. or more, the rinsing should be 2
Repeated three times, less than three times for cold water. Therefore, rinsing time for one rinse and hot water can be saved.

If the water heater cannot supply hot water having a sufficiently high temperature due to a failure or the like, the temperature of the hot water is detected by the thermistor 30, and the hot water is washed and rinsed according to the temperature. Therefore, cleaning and rinsing are performed reliably. Even in the case where the temperature of the hot water supplied from the water heater falls during the cleaning or rinsing, the temperature after rinsing is measured each time in step S24. Then, washing and rinsing are performed reliably.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the temperature of the washing water for rinsing is automatically detected by the thermistor 30, and the number of times of rinsing suitable for the detection result, that is, when the temperature is high, Since rinsing is performed with a small number of times of rinsing, the cavity 1 is supplied from the water supply port 26a.
Regardless of whether water or hot water is supplied, the amount of water for rinsing and waste of time can be reduced.

Also, when the temperature of water is lower than a predetermined temperature, rinsing can be sufficiently performed by increasing the number of times of rinsing. Further, when the amount of dirt is small, it is possible to prevent rinsing more than necessary by further reducing the rinsing time and number of times in the rinsing A step. As a result, the amount of water for rinsing and the waste of time can be further reduced.

Further, since the washing water is automatically detected regardless of whether it is supplied with water or hot water, there is no need to make settings or the like, and the dishwasher is easy to use. In the embodiment of the present invention, the temperature of the washing water is not detected in the rinsing step A for the above-described reason, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the temperature may be detected similarly to the rinsing B step, and only the rinsing time may be set based on the detection result. Specifically, when the temperature of the washing water is high,
By reducing only the rinsing time without reducing the number of times of rinsing, fluctuations in the effect of rinsing can be suppressed, and waste of time can be reduced more finely.

In the above embodiment, the water supply port 26
Although a can be connected to either a water supply or a water heater, a may be assumed to be connected to either one of them. Further, in the above embodiment, only the number of times of rinsing is controlled according to the temperature so that the number of times of rinsing in the rinsing B step is reduced, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the rinsing time may be controlled according to the temperature, or both the number of times of rinsing and the rinsing time may be controlled.
In this case, at the time of hot water supply, since the rinsing effect is high, at least one of the rinsing time and the number of times of rinsing can be reduced, and waste of time can be reduced.

In addition, various design changes can be made without changing the gist of the present invention.

[0040]

According to the present invention , the temperature of water for water contamination and rinsing is automatically detected by the contamination detecting means and the temperature detecting means. Regardless of whether water or hot water is supplied from the water supply port, rinsing can be performed with an appropriate number of times of rinsing according to the detected dirt of water and the temperature of the water . Can be reduced.

[0041]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of a dishwasher according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an electric configuration of a control unit of the dishwasher.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the control unit.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a rinsing process of the control unit.

FIG. 5 is another flowchart of the rinsing process of the control unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 cavity 3 nozzle (processing means) 7 pump (processing means) 12 pipe (processing means) 22 water supply valve (processing means) 25 control unit (control means) 26 pipe (processing means) 26a water supply port 30 thermistor (temperature detecting means) 33 Soil sensor (soil detection means) Step S4 Control means Step S24, 25, 29 Control means

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Katsushi Onishi 2-5-5 Keihanhondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-3-133418 (JP, A) JP JP-A-5-130967 (JP, A) JP-A-7-8437 (JP, A) JP-A-7-5917 (JP, A) JP-A-63-31924 (JP, A) JP-A-61-280838 (JP, A) , A) (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) A47L 15/00-15/46

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A cavity for accommodating tableware and storing water, a step of guiding water supplied from a water supply port into the cavity, and washing and rinsing the tableware using the water stored in the cavity. A dishwasher comprising: means for detecting dirt on water; temperature detecting means for detecting a temperature of water for rinsing; and control means for controlling the number of times of rinsing. When the dirt detecting means determines that the dirt is small, the number of times of rinsing is reduced as compared with the case where the dirt is not determined, and when the dirt detecting means does not determine that the dirt is small, the rinsing frequency is increased. However, the number of rinses is reduced when the temperature of the water detected by the temperature detecting means is higher than a predetermined temperature. If it is determined that the dirt is low, do not use the temperature detection means to detect the temperature of water.
Is determined based on the water temperature ,
Does not reduce the further rinsing number from which the set number of times of rinsing by Zui, or when it is determined that less contamination by dirt detection means
Means that the temperature of the water detected by the temperature detecting means is high
However, the soot set based on the determination that
A dishwasher characterized in that the number of times of rinsing is not further reduced from the number of times of rinsing .