KR20040023103A - Water softening device for dishwasher - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A water softener for a dish washer is provided to offer convenience to a user by precisely detecting the amount of salt water for cleaning the water softener. CONSTITUTION: In a water softener including a water softening unit(330b) and a salt water storing unit(330a) storing salt water supplied to the water softening unit, a vertical passage(336) is formed at one side of the salt water storing unit, and is communicated with the salt water storing unit. A float(F) is installed in the vertical passage, and includes a casing(Fa) having an inner space and a magnet(M) attached to the bottom of the casing. A hall sensor(H) is installed at the bottom of the vertical passage.

Description

Water softening device for dishwasher

The present invention relates to a dishwasher having a water softening device, and more particularly, according to a specific gravity of salt water for cleaning an ion exchange resin in a soft water softening device made of an ion exchange resin, so as to inform a user of adding salt. It relates to a softening device of the dishwasher.

First, a configuration of a general dish washer will be described with reference to FIG. 1. As shown, the dishwasher includes a main body 10 having a space for washing dishes therein and a door 20 for opening and closing the opened front surface of the main body.

The inner casing is formed by the tub 16 inside the main body 10. Inside the tub 16, the upper rack assembly 12a and the lower rack assembly 12b for placing dishware to be washed are detachably installed. And the upper injection arm 14a and the lower part arm 14b for discharging wash water to the tableware mounted on the said rack assembly 12 are provided in each rack assembly 12 lower part. Therefore, the washing water supplied from the water pipe is sprayed through the injection arm 14, the washing of the dishes proceeds.

The upper injection arm 14a is installed under the upper rack assembly 12a and has a plurality of injection holes for injecting the washing water so that the supplied washing water is sprayed upward toward the upper rack assembly 12a. . Alternatively, the upper injection arm 14a may also form a spray hole on the lower surface of the upper injection arm 14a to spray the washing water downward toward the lower rack assembly 12b. And the lower arm 14a is provided below the lower rack assembly 12b, and sprays washing water toward the upper part of the lower rack assembly 12b.

As such, after the dish washing is completed using the washing water, the washing water should be drained to the outside of the dishwasher. Such drainage is performed through the drain hose by the operation of the drain pump installed inside the dishwasher.

And in order to soften the water supplied to the inside of a dishwasher, a water softener (not shown) is installed inside. Such water softeners are of various types, but are intended to improve the cleaning performance by softening the water by incorporating an ion exchange resin and allowing the wash water to pass through such water.

However, if the ion exchange resin is not cleaned after a certain time of use, the performance of the softening deteriorates or worsens the softening function. In order to clean the ion exchange resin, it is cleaned with brine, and the brine must be kept above a certain concentration.

The water for cleaning the ion exchange resin should be brine, and when the concentration of the brine drops due to prolonged use, and the specific gravity of the brine is substantially lowered, the user must replenish the salt. In order to detect the specific gravity of such salt water, a reed switch has been conventionally used. However, since the reed switch has many malfunctions, a disadvantage arises that the user is aggravated in actual use.

The present invention is to solve the conventional problems as described above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a device that can accurately detect the specific gravity of the brine so as to inform the user accurately when the specific gravity of the brine is low.

1 is a perspective view of a typical dishwasher.

Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of the dishwasher of the present invention.

3 is a perspective view of the base of the dishwasher of the present invention.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the water softener of the present invention.

5 is a partial cutaway perspective view of the water softener of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

330 ..... Water softener 330A ..... Salt water filling unit

330B ..... softening department 335 ..... exit

F ..... Float H ..... Hall sensor

M ..... Magnet

In the softening device according to the present invention for achieving the above object is a softening unit with a built-in ion-exchange resin for softening the wash water, and a softening device having a salt filling unit containing the salt water supplied to the softening unit, respectively; A vertical flow channel formed at one side to communicate with the salt water filling unit; A float installed inside the vertical flow path and including a casing having a predetermined volume of internal space in which air is embedded, and a magnet attached to a lower end of the casing; And the outer side of the water softener casing, it comprises a Hall sensor installed in the lower end of the vertical flow path.

When the specific gravity of the brine in the vertical passage and the salt water filling unit is lowered, the float is lowered, the hall sensor can transmit a predetermined electrical signal. Based on the electrical signal, the display unit installed on the outer portion of the dishwasher can notify the user of the salt input time by emitting light or transmitting a warning sound.

The water softener according to the present invention can accurately notify the user when the salt is introduced, and can be expected to have an effect of increasing the reliability to make the detection signal more clear by using the Hall sensor.

First, referring to FIG. 2, the overall configuration and drainage of the dishwasher will be described. As illustrated, the outer casing of the dishwasher includes an upper surface 110 and a pair of side surfaces 112 provided on both lower sides of the upper surface 110.

A tub 116 is installed inside the outer casing, and the tub 116 is a portion for substantially dishwashing inside. Inside the tub 116, the upper rack assembly 210 and the lower rack assembly 212 for placing the dishes to be washed are installed to be detachable from above and below.

As can be seen with reference to Figure 3, the base 300 is installed below the tub 116. The sump assembly 310 provided with the washing pump 312, the drain pump 314, and the heater assembly 316 is mounted on the base 300. In addition, a softening device 330 for softening the washing water is installed on the base 300.

A holder 226 is installed at an upper portion of the sump assembly 310, and the holder 226 distributes the washing water supplied by the washing pump 312 to the washing water guide 220 or the lower arm 224. I can supply it.

In addition, the washing water guide 220 for supplying the washing water is installed in the longitudinal direction on the inner rear surface of the tub 116. The water supplied through the washing water guide 220 is supplied to the upper injection arm 222 in which a plurality of injection holes are formed. The upper injection arm 222 is installed below the upper rack assembly 210 by the holder 223 to spray the supplied water toward the upper rack assembly 210.

Next, let's look at the overall flow of water in the dishwasher. Water supplied through the water pipe is guided into the air guide 320 through the inlet 326. Water flowing along the passage inside the air guide 320 is supplied into the sump assembly 310 via the water softener 330. When the washing pump 312 operates, the washing water is distributed to the washing water guide 220 or the lower arm 224 in the holder 226 and is supplied at a constant pressure.

The water supplied to the washing water guide 220 is sprayed toward the upper rack assembly 210 while being sprayed through the upper spray arm 222, and the water supplied to the lower rack arm 224 is the lower rack assembly 212. Sprayed towards.

The washing water is repeatedly circulated while maintaining a constant water level in the sump assembly 310, and foreign substances included in the water in the circulation process are filtered by a filtering device installed in the sump assembly. When the washing is completed while repeating this process, the water inside the dishwasher should be drained.

When draining, the drain pump 314 attached to one side of the sump assembly 310 is operated, and flows to the inner hose 322 connecting the sump assembly 310 and the air guide 320 by the operation. Goes. Water inside the inner hose 322 is guided to the drain hose 324 through the interior of the air guide 320. And the drain hose 324 is connected to the outside of the dishwasher through the guide hole 302 is configured to substantially drain the washing water to the outside of the dishwasher.

Next, the water softener 330 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. As shown in the figure, the casing of the softening device 330 is divided into two spaces, including a softening part 330B having an ion exchange resin for softening water, and a salt water filling part 330A filled with salt water. Are separated.

The water supplied through the air guide 320 is introduced through the inlet 332 on one side, and then discharged to the outlet 335 via the inside of the softening unit 330B through an internal path. The outlet 335 is connected to the interior of the sump assembly 310 described above, so that the water exiting through the outlet 335 is internal to the interior of the sump assembly 310, and described above by the washing pump 312. Cleaning is performed while being sprayed through the upper and lower guides (222, 224).

And the other side of the inlet 333 is a portion for supplying a predetermined amount of water to the salt filling unit 330A. Therefore, the water supplied through the inlet 333 is guided to the salt water filling unit 330A, maintaining a constant water level. In addition, the salt water filling unit 330A periodically maintains the concentration for cleaning the ion exchange resin when salt is added.

After washing the dishes for a predetermined time, the salt water in the salt filling unit 330A is introduced into the water softening unit 330B along an internal path formed by the operation of the valve 334 to the outlet 335. During the discharge, the inside of the ion exchange resin is cleaned.

The brine is filled in the interior space of the salt filling unit 330A, because the water is introduced, and the salt is introduced through the opening 335 that is opened and closed by the cap (335a). And when the brine is consumed over a certain level to clean the ion exchange resin, the concentration of the brine falls. Therefore, users must add salt periodically.

On one side of the salt filling unit 330A, a vertical flow passage 336 is formed in communication with it. The vertical passage 336 is formed to communicate with the salt water filling unit 330A. For example, the lower end portion of the vertical passage 336 communicates with the salt filling unit 330A. Therefore, the specific gravity of the brine in the interior of the vertical passage 336 is the same as the specific gravity of the brine in the salt filling unit 330A, both the water level is the same.

In the present invention, by sensing the specific gravity of the salt water in the vertical passage 336, and informs the user, it is intended to configure so that the user can accurately recognize the timing of the salt input.

To this end, a float F is provided inside the vertical passage 336. The float F is composed of a casing Fa having a constant volume of internal space and a magnet M provided at a lower end of the casing Fa. The casing Fa is formed of a synthetic resin material, and contains a constant volume of air therein.

Since the air inside the casing Fa has buoyancy, and the casing Fa of the synthetic resin material has a settling force, the buoyancy of the float F can be determined by adjusting the volume of air and the volume of the synthetic resin material. Can be.

The buoyancy of the float (F) can be set to float on light oil having a high specific gravity of salt water, and set to sink when the specific gravity of the salt water is low. That is, when there is sufficient salt in the salt water filling unit 330A and the specific gravity is high, the float F may maintain a floating state on the water surface. When the brine is consumed for cleaning the ion exchange resin, when the fresh water is added to lower the specific gravity of the brine, the float F sinks. When the specific gravity of the brine drops below a certain level, it is difficult to clean the ion exchange resin, and therefore, new salt should be added. Therefore, when the specific gravity of the brine is low, the float (F) is designed to sink.

As described above, the determination of the buoyancy of the float F can be performed by appropriately adjusting the air volume inside the float and the volume of the synthetic resin material entering the casing Fa as described above.

The lower part of the vertical passage 336 is provided with a Hall sensor (H). When the Hall sensor H is adjacent to the magnet M attached to the lower end of the float F, it generates a predetermined electrical signal. For example, when the specific gravity of the brine in the vertical passage 336 is lowered and the float F is lowered, the magnet M at the lower end thereof reaches a position adjacent to the hall sensor H. In this case, the hall sensor H sends a predetermined electrical signal to the control unit of the dishwasher.

In addition, the controller determines that the specific gravity of the salt water is lowered when such a signal is input, so that the user needs to replenish salt in the salt water filling unit 330A by turning on the display unit outside the dishwasher or by sending a warning sound. You can tell when it is time.

Next, the overall operation of the softening apparatus 330 according to the present invention having the above configuration will be described.

In the process of general dish washing, water introduced through the inlet 332 is softened in contact with the ion exchange resin via the softening unit 330B, and then introduced into the sump assembly. And the circulation of water in the dishwasher is as described above.

In order to clean the ion exchange resin, the valve 334 is opened, and salt water inside the salt filling unit 330A is used. And after use of the brine, as the fresh water is replenished, the specific gravity of the brine will be lowered. When the specific gravity of the salt water is lowered, as described above, the float F is lowered and the hall sensor H generates a predetermined electrical signal. The signal is applied to the control unit of the dishwasher, and the control unit turns on the display unit provided on the front surface based on the signal. The display unit may be configured to generate a visual signal such as a light emitting lamp or the like, or may be configured as a device capable of transmitting a warning sound.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to form a vertical flow path communicating with the brine filling unit filled with brine, and to detect the decrease in the specific gravity of the brine by using a magnet and a hall sensor. It can be seen that. Within the scope of the basic technical idea of the present invention, many other modifications are possible to those skilled in the art, and the present invention should be interpreted based on the appended claims. Self-explanatory

According to the present invention as described above, it can be seen that the float and the hall sensor is used to detect the specific gravity of the salt water used to clean and normalize the ion exchange resin filled in the water softening unit (330A). According to such a structure, the specific gravity of the brine for cleaning an ion exchange resin can be judged easily and correctly. Therefore, the user can accurately recognize the time of replenishment of salt, and the effect of increasing the convenience of using the dishwasher is expected to be further enhanced.

Claims (1)

In the softening unit 330B having a built-in ion-exchange resin for softening the wash water, and a salt water filling unit (330A) containing the salt water supplied to the softening unit, respectively; A vertical flow path 336 formed at one side to communicate with the salt water filling unit; A float (F) installed inside the vertical flow path and including a casing Fa having a predetermined volume of internal space in which air is embedded, and a magnet attached to a lower end of the casing; And Outside the water softener casing, the water softener of the dishwasher comprising a Hall sensor (H) is provided on the lower end of the vertical flow path.