RU2541282C2 - Method of dishwashing machine control - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: personal use articles.

SUBSTANCE: proposed is a dishwashing machine control method. The control method may include air heating in the tank after completion of the process of tableware main washing in the tank and release of moisture-containing air from the tank outside during or simultaneous with air heating so that to enable energy utilisation efficiency increase and tableware drying process reduction.

EFFECT: control method improvement.

12 cl, 3 dwg

Description

Technical field

A method for controlling a dishwasher is proposed.

State of the art

Known methods for controlling dishwashers. However, they have various disadvantages.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Embodiments of the invention will be described in detail with reference to the following drawings, in which like reference numerals refer to like elements and in which:

figure 1 is a side view in cross section of a dishwasher, which can be applied to the control method of the dishwasher in accordance with a variant embodiment;

figure 2 is a diagram illustrating the result of the method of controlling a dishwasher in accordance with a variant embodiment, and

3 is a diagram illustrating a method for controlling a dishwasher in accordance with an embodiment.

Detailed description

Embodiments will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Embodiments, however, may be embodied in various forms and should not be construed as limiting the embodiments set forth herein. Where possible, the same reference numerals were used to denote the same elements, and a duplicate disclosure was omitted.

In general, a dishwasher is a device that flushes a foreign substance such as dirt adhering to objects, such as dishes, by spraying washing water inside a tank under high pressure. In order to increase the washing efficiency, such a dishwasher can be configured to heat the washing water in order to more easily dissolve the detergent in water. In addition, the dishwasher can be configured to wash objects, such as dishes, by softening the dirt adhering to the dishes for a long time using washing water at high temperature.

In the method of operation of the dishwasher, the washing cycle can be divided, for example, into a preliminary washing process, a main washing process and a drying process. In the prewash process, washing the dishes can be done more reliably by softening the dirt adhering to the dishes. In recent years, a sterilization process has been added in which they are irradiated with ultraviolet light to inhibit bacterial growth.

In the drying process, two methods can be used. One of the two methods can be a circulation drying method in which the dishes in the tank can be heated, the moisture evaporates by evaporating moisture from the dishes, and the evaporated air in the tank is condensed by circulating it in the dishwasher, and then condensed water can be released to drying dishes. Another method may be an exhaust drying method in which dry air can be introduced into the tank from outside the dishwasher, steam vaporized from heated dishes, just as in the circulating drying method, can be included in dry air, and then, moist moisture-containing air is discharged outside to dry the dishes.

However, in the control methods described above, the circulation drying method is less efficient than the bleeding drying method. On the other hand, in such control methods, the discharge drying method can be configured so that the washing water in the pan is heated to a predetermined temperature during washing the dishes after the main washing process and the temperature of the dishes in the tank is increased in order to cause evaporation of the water. However, since the drying process takes longer for a predetermined time for heating the washing water, and when at least the washing water is heated, the washing water is heated to a temperature suitable for washing dishes and increasing the drying performance, as described above, this is serious energy consumption problem.

Next, a method for controlling a dishwasher in accordance with an embodiment will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a cross-sectional side view of a dishwasher to which a method for operating a dishwasher in accordance with an embodiment may be applied. The dishwasher 1 in FIG. 1 may include a housing 10 that forms the outer contour of the dishwasher, a door 100 that opens and closes an opening formed in the housing 10, a tank 200 located inside the housing 10 for receiving dishes or other items intended for washing, and forming a receiving space in which the dishes are washed when washing, and an assembly 400 of the pan including various parts connected to the underside of the tank 200 for containing washing water, for spraying the washing water on the dishes, and drying the dishes s.

A washing chamber 210 that holds the dishes may be provided inside the tank 200, and a washing chamber 210 may be provided with a plurality of supports 220 on which the dishes are placed. The stand 220 may include an upper stand 222 mounted on the upper side of the washing chamber 210, and a lower stand 224 mounted on the lower side of the washing chamber 210. Dishes or other items may be washed by spraying the washing water through the spraying portion 230, in a state in which the dishes or other items are located on the stand 220.

The spraying portion 230 may include an upper portion 232 located, for example, on the lower side of the upper stand 222, and a lower portion 234, located, for example, on the lower side of the lower stand 224. Each of the upper portion 232 and the lower portion 234 may be installed rotatable, and the spraying portion 230 may be provided with a plurality of spray nozzles that spray the washing water onto dishes or other items.

The pallet assembly 400 may be connected to the upper portion 232 and the lower portion 234 by the connecting pipe 300. The pallet assembly 400 may store washing water and supply the washing water selectively or simultaneously to the upper portion 232 and the lower portion 234 through the connecting pipe 300.

The pan assembly 400 may include a pan that stores washing water supplied through a water supply pipe 500 connected to an external water source (not shown), a drain chamber (not shown) inserted with a drain filter (not shown) that filters foreign substances from washing water, drained after washing dishes, and a drainage pump 600, which pumps washing water. When the washing up is completed, the washing water can be pumped through the drain pump and drained outside the dishwasher through the drain pipe 600.

Additionally, the pallet assembly 400, although not shown, may further include a pallet heater to increase the temperature of the washing water by directly supplying heat to the washing water in order to increase the efficiency of washing dishes or other items. The pan heater can raise the temperature of the washing water in the pan assembly 400 to a temperature suitable for washing dishes. In particular, when the temperature of the washing water rises, it becomes more suitable for softening the dirt, which has long stuck to the dishes and has become difficult to remove. The high temperature of the washing water is not necessary, however, the temperature should rise to an appropriate level, given the durability of the parts when heated, which make up the pallet assembly 400.

One side of the housing 10 may be provided with an outlet of internal air (not numbered) to release air from the tank 200 to the outside, so that the external environment of the dishwasher 1 and the internal environment of the washing chamber 210 can communicate with each other. The release of internal air can be provided in such a way that air is discharged outside the housing 10 by driving an exhaust fan (not shown).

The dishwasher 1 may further include air heaters 700A and 700B located inside the washing chamber 210 for heating the internal air in the washing chamber 210, as shown in FIG. Air heaters 700A and 700B may be located, for example, in the middle of any one side wall on the left or right sides of the washing chamber 210, as shown in FIG. 1, in order to provide heat for the thermal radiation of dishes or other elements adopted on the upper stand 222 and a lower stand 224. However, while in the embodiment of FIG. 1, air heaters 700A and 700B are shown located in the middle of any one side wall on the left or right sides of the wash chamber 210, embodiments are not limited to this. That is, the air heaters 700A and 700B can be located in any place suitable for providing heat at a predetermined temperature in order to increase the temperature of the dishes by convection in the washing chamber 210, taking into account the calorific values of the air heaters 700A and 700B provided by bringing into the movement of the exhaust fan in the tank 200.

In the embodiment of FIG. 1, an upper air heater 700a may be provided, for example, at a location corresponding to the upper side of the upper stand 222, and a lower air heater 700B may be provided, for example, in a middle portion between the upper stand 222 and the lower stand 224, that is, in a place corresponding to the upper side of the lower stand 224.

Hereinafter, the working process of a dishwasher constructed as described above in accordance with an embodiment will be described.

Firstly, after the user places the dishes or other washing elements on the upper stand 222 and / or lower stand 224, the dishwasher 1 is activated by a control button (not shown), the pan heater can heat the washing water to a temperature suitable for washing dishes or other elements, and then the washing water at high temperature can be sprayed onto dishes or other elements through the upper section 232 and / or the lower section 234. Moreover, the washing water sprayed through the upper section 232 and / or the lower section 234, It is to be sprayed in a high pressure container. Here, subsequently, the high-pressure washing water spraying process using the upper portion 232 and / or the lower portion 234 may be considered as a “main wash process”, step S200.

However, before the main washing process, step S200, a preliminary washing process, step S100, can be carried out by spraying the washing water at high temperature on the dishes under low pressure, in order to properly soften the dirt that has long adhered to the dishes or other elements and became hard to remove. When the main washing process, step S200, is stopped, after the washing process, step S300, which removes foreign substances such as liquid dirt adhering to the dishes, the drying process of the dishes to remove residual moisture from the dishes, step S400. Then the operation of the dishwasher 1 can be completed.

Next, a method for controlling a dishwasher constructed as described above in accordance with an embodiment will be described in detail.

Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating the result of the operation of the method for controlling a dishwasher in accordance with an embodiment. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method for operating a dishwasher in accordance with an embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 3, after performing the main washing process, step S200, for washing dishes in the tank, the control method may include, in step S400, an air heating step in the tank, step S410, and discharging air containing moisture in the tank outward, step S420.

The main washing process, step S200, can be considered as the process of spraying the washing water onto the dishes under high pressure using the upper portion 232 and / or the lower portion 234, and before the main washing process, step S200, after the washing water placed in the pan is heated by the pan heater, a pre-washing process can be performed, step S100, in which heated washing water is sprayed onto the dishes or other elements in the tank 200 and the dirt adhering to the dishes is softened, as described above. In addition, after the main washing process, step S200, a washing process may be performed, step S300, as described above.

The above-mentioned air heating, step S410, and air discharge, step S420, performed after the main washing process, step S200, can be processes that dry dishes or other items. Accordingly, hereinafter, they are collectively considered as “dishes drying processes”, step S400.

Air heating, step S410, in the drying processes of dishes, step S400, can heat the air in the tank, such as the tank 200 of FIG. 1, using air heaters, such as the air heaters 700A and 700B of FIG. 1, located in the washing chamber , such as a washing chamber 210 of FIG. 1, of a tank. Heating the air in the washing chamber means an instant increase in the moisture content of air, since the air contains the more moisture, the higher the air temperature, as is well known. Heating the air in the washing chamber while heating the air, step S410, can increase the temperature of the dishes or other elements and evaporate the remaining moisture from the dishes by directly heating the air and increasing the moisture content that may be contained in the air by indirectly increasing the moisture content of the air.

However, the method of increasing the temperature of the dishes is not limited to the aforementioned air heating, step S410. That is, it is possible to increase the total internal temperature of the washing chamber by heating the washing water located in the heated pan with the pan heater before heating the air, step S410, or at the same time as heating the air, step S410. For convenience of description, this can be considered as step "preheating" S430.

The temperature of the washing water heated in the preheating step S430 can be set to at least a temperature suitable for washing dishes or other items (i.e., the main washing process, step S200).

In the methods of the prior art, the temperature of the dishes can be increased by drying the outlet type in the tank, which can dry the dishes by releasing air containing moisture from the tank to the outside. Accordingly, the temperature of the dishes or other elements has been increased only through the aforementioned preheating, step S430. However, in the methods for raising the temperature of prior art dishes, energy consumption is excessive, since water that has a relatively high heat capacity must be heated to a temperature sufficient to satisfy the conditions for increasing the drying performance of the dishes, and not to the temperature for heating the washing water or at least the optimum temperature for washing dishes. Accordingly, there is a problem that the overall drying time of the dishes is long, since the heating time of the washing water is long and the heating temperature of the washing water rises.

In order to solve this problem, in the control method in accordance with the embodiments disclosed herein, the air in the washing chamber having a relatively low heat capacity can be heated for a short time by directly heating the air, step S410.

More specifically, the temperature of the cookware can be rapidly increased by using air heaters, moisture can evaporate, and the moisture-containing air can be vented out by the exhaust type drying method, by setting the locations of the air heaters, so that the air can be heated and the cooker is heated by heat radiation.

The utensils heated by heating the air, step S410, can raise the temperature to at least a first predetermined temperature, which is increased by a predetermined temperature from an elevated temperature (second predetermined temperature) by heating the washing water using a pan heater. In other words, this means that the first predetermined temperature increased by the air heater, step S410, may be higher than the second preset temperature of the dishes increased by preheating, step S430. This is because if the air in the washing chamber is heated using air heaters, due to convection of hot air inside the washing chamber, the temperature of the dishes mounted on the upper and lower supports, such as the upper and lower supports 222, 224 of FIG. 1, can be increased by convection of heated air, or the temperature can be directly raised to a higher temperature by heating with radiation using air heaters.

2 is a diagram illustrating the operational efficiency of a method for controlling a dishwasher in accordance with an embodiment. Figure 2 will be described below in more detail.

Referring to FIG. 2, when the same energy is consumed, when a pan heater is used to heat the washing water, it is known that the temperature of the dishes can be maintained at a higher temperature during the drying of the dishes, when the washing water and air are simultaneously heated using changes in the temperature of the dishes and pan heater and air heaters. Water can be easily evaporated as the moisture from the dishes evaporates.

The air discharge, step S420, may include releasing air containing water vapor from the tank to the outside by driving an exhaust fan.

Thus, in the method for controlling a dishwasher in accordance with the embodiments disclosed herein, a drying process with an outlet having an improved drying quality indicator is preferable to a circulating drying process from dish drying methods known in the art. Thus, there is an advantage that the time required for drying the dishes can be significantly reduced, since the moisture contained in the dishes can evaporate with increasing temperature of the dishes in a short period of time, and the moisture content of the air can increase.

Thus, the method for controlling the dishwasher in accordance with the embodiments disclosed herein has the effect of lowering energy consumption compared to increasing the temperature of the dishes using washing water by rapidly increasing the temperature of the dishes by heating the air in the tank during the drying process of the dishes. In addition, the method of operating the dishwasher in accordance with the embodiments disclosed herein has the effect that the time required for the drying process of the dishes can be reduced and the drying of the dishes is quickly achieved, as the air in the tank heats up and the temperature of the dishes rises rapidly.

The embodiments disclosed herein provide a method for controlling a dishwasher capable of increasing energy efficiency during the drying process of dishes, while also reducing the drying time of dishes and increasing overall drying performance.

The embodiments disclosed herein provide a method for controlling a dishwasher, which may include heating the air to preheat the air in the tank after the main dishwashing process in the tank and discharging the moisture-containing air from the tank to the outside while the air is heating, or at the same time, when air heating occurs. The control method may further include preheating to heat the washing water placed in the pan to increase the temperature of the dishes after the main washing process and before heating the air. In addition, the temperature (first set temperature) of the dishes increased with air heated by heating the air can be higher than the (second set temperature) dishes increased with pre-heating.

The embodiments disclosed herein additionally provide a method for controlling a dishwasher, which may include a pre-wash process, after heating the washing water placed in the pan using a washing water heater, to soften the dirt adhering to the dishes by spraying heated washing water onto the dishes in the tank, the main washing process for spraying washing water onto dishes having softened dirt using high pressure after the preliminary washing process, and the drying process of the dishes in the tank by after the main wash process. The drying process of the dishes may include heating the air in the tank and releasing the air containing moisture in the tank to the outside, after heating the air. Air heating can increase the temperature of dishes using an air heater installed in the tank. In addition, the heating of the air can be carried out so that the temperature of the dishes can be increased to the first predetermined temperature.

The drying process of the dishes may additionally include pre-heating to heat the washing water placed in the pan so that the temperature of the dishes increases to a second predetermined temperature, after the main washing process and before heating the air. The first set temperature may be higher than the second set temperature.

In addition, the air outlet can exhaust air in the tank containing water vapor to the outside by driving an exhaust fan. Additionally, the air heater may be located at a place where the dishes in the tank can be heated for thermal radiation.

As mentioned above, embodiments of a method for controlling a dishwasher have been described with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, embodiments should not be construed as so limited. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that many modifications are possible without substantially departing from the original idea and advantages. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this concept of the invention, as defined in the claims.

Any reference in this description to “one embodiment”, “embodiment”, “exemplary embodiment”, etc. mean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the invention. Bringing such phrases at various places in the description is not necessarily a reference to the same embodiment. Additionally, when a specific feature, structure or characteristic is described in connection with any embodiment, it is assumed that it is within the competence of a person skilled in the art to implement such a feature, structure or characteristic in connection with other embodiments.

Although embodiments have been described with reference to a number of illustrative embodiments, it should be understood that many other modifications and variations can be developed by a person skilled in the art that will fall within the spirit and principles of this disclosure. More specifically, various changes and modifications are possible in the components and / or layouts of the subject matter within the scope of this disclosure, the drawings and the appended claims. In addition to changes and modifications to the components and / or arrangements, alternative use will also be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Claims (12)

1. A method for controlling a dishwasher, according to which a preliminary washing process is carried out by spraying washing water on the dishes in the tank;
carry out the main washing process by spraying washing water on the dishes under pressure exceeding the pressure during the preliminary washing;
warm the washing water in the pan to increase the temperature of the dishes;
heat the air in the tank; and
while heating the air, air containing moisture is released from the tank to the outside. 2. The control method according to claim 1, according to which the first predetermined temperature of the dishes increased by heating the air is higher than the second predetermined temperature of the dishes increased by heating the washing water. 3. The control method according to claim 1, according to which an additional rinse the dishes after the main washing process. 4. The control method according to claim 3, according to which the heating of the air and the release of air is performed after rinsing the dishes. 5. The control method according to claim 1, according to which, when the air is heated, the air in the tank is heated using at least one air heater. 6. The control method according to claim 5, according to which at least one air heater is located in a place where the dishes in the tank can be heated using thermal radiation. 7. The control method of the dishwasher, according to which
after heating the washing water placed in the pan, the liquid mud adhering to the dishes is soaked with the washing water heater by spraying heated washing water onto the dishes in the tank under low pressure;
after that, washing water is sprayed onto soaked dishes under high pressure; and
after that, the dishes are dried in the tank, and when drying the dishes:
heat the air in the tank, and
release air containing moisture from the tank to the outside after heating the air,
while raising the temperature of the dishes using at least one air heater when drying the dishes,
a washing chamber is placed inside the tank, in which the dishes are placed, the upper stand being installed on the lower side of the washing chamber, and at least one air heater includes:
an upper heater made on the upper side of the upper stand, and
lower air heater, made on the upper side of the lower stand. 8. The control method according to claim 7, according to which, when the air is heated, the air is heated so that the temperature of the dishes increases to the first predetermined temperature. 9. The control method according to claim 8, according to which, when drying the dishes, the washing water placed in the tray is additionally heated so that the temperature of the dishes increases to a second predetermined temperature after the main washing process and before heating the air. 10. The control method according to claim 9, according to which the first predetermined temperature exceeds the second set temperature. 11. The control method according to claim 7, according to which at least one air heater is located in a place where the temperature of the dishes increases to the first predetermined temperature, taking into account the calorific value and air flow created by actuating the fan in the tank. 12. The control method according to claim 7, according to which, when the air is exhausted, air containing water vapor is released from the tank to the outside by driving an exhaust fan.

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