WO2016015121A1

WO2016015121A1 - System and method for managing the supply of tanks of electric household appliances

Info

Publication number: WO2016015121A1
Application number: PCT/BR2015/050103
Authority: WO
Inventors: Gustavo Lazzaris De BONA; Alisson Costa Da SILVA; Leandro Berno LIDIO
Original assignee: Whirlpool S.A.
Priority date: 2014-07-28
Filing date: 2015-07-24
Publication date: 2016-02-04
Also published as: BR102014018461A2; AR101325A1; UY36234A

Abstract

The present invention pertains to the technological field of electric household appliances and relates to a system and method for managing the supply of tanks for electric household appliances, in particular apparatuses for automatically preparing instant beverages, developed to provide a more efficient and optimised operation and use than those obtained with similar known apparatuses, since it relies on readings of various parameters such as (i) carbon dioxide availability and (ii) water temperature in the tank.

Description

SUPPLY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR APPLIANCE RESERVOIRS

Field of the Invention

[0001] This invention relates to a reservoir supply management system and method for household appliances, more specifically for instant drink dispensers, which has been developed for optimal and efficient operation and use. than those achieved with similar known devices.

Background of the Invention

As is well known, the range of equipment that enables users to instantly prepare products for immediate consumption has grown over the last few years, and among such niche equipment are those intended for beverage preparation, whose fundamental principle of operation is based on the use of capsules that store various beverage or flavoring ingredients and which, at the time of preparation, have their contents removed and mixed with water - carbonated or not - which is stored in a reservoir located in your inside.

Therefore, such equipment needs to be provided with automatic systems for managing the internal reservoir volume so that whenever the user requests a drink, there is water necessary for its preparation and dispensing.

Apparatus known in the present state of the art for the same purpose are generally provided with a management system based on the actuation of two flowmeters, so that the conventional routine is to introduce an equal volume of water into the tank. to what was taken from it. However, the technology of such components has a high margin of error of an average of 10%. Thus, often the difference between the volumes read was such that there was no sufficient replenishment of water, which could result For example, at the gas outlet rather than water at the user's request for high volume dispensing - ie the system often indicates that the reservoir is full when in fact such information is not true.

In addition to the drawback related to the exclusive use of flow meters to parameterize reservoir water supplies, similar state-of-the-art apparatus also requires the use of two pumps for proper system operation - a pump for conducting water. to the tank, and a solenoid pump that operates at low flow and high pressure to pressurize the system - thus incurring significant component costs, installation / maintenance time and power consumption.

Therefore, the state-of-the-art home appliance reservoir supply management system requires the use of two flow meters, two pumps - one to conduct water to the tank and one to pressurize the system - and a routine simple operation whereby the volume of water entering the reservoir must be equal to the volume of water leaving the reservoir.

It should be emphasized, however, that in addition to the high costs of using two pumps, another drawback of similar apparatus of the present state of the art stems from the lack of control of the reservoir internal pressure, since whenever a certain volume of water is introduced into the reservoir, its higher temperature eventually raises the internal pressure, and with high internal pressure it is not possible to fill the reservoir, so often in known appliances the pump remains almost permanently turned on to provide proper filling and As a result, there is a considerable additional expense of electricity in addition to the early wear of the pump, which, due to constant heating, ends up having a reduced service life or more frequent problems, which certainly causes unpleasant inconvenience to users. In addition, failure to fill the tank even with the pump on may cause internal leakage of the product, which poses a serious risk of short circuit as the electrical wiring circuits of the pump and some other components are very close to the place of installation.

Due to the observation of this occurrence, it was observed that the current state of the art lacks a solution that allows to manage more adequately, efficiently and safely the supply of the internal reservoirs of household appliances and, in addition, allows reduce the levels of electricity consumption arising from its operation.

Objectives of the invention

Therefore, the present invention basically aims to solve the technical problem of the drawbacks related to continuous pump operation and filling errors arising from the current water supply management system for household appliance reservoirs, in particular for appliances intended for preparing instant drinks.

Therefore, it is an object of the invention to disclose a supply system for household appliance reservoirs that is not only based on the readings of inlet and outlet volumes of the reservoir to control its supply method, but also takes into account water level, temperature and carbon dioxide pressure readings.

It is also an object of the present invention to disclose a system that minimizes the margin of error of interpretation of the internal volume of the reservoir, thereby aiming to minimize the risk of improper dispensing during use of the apparatus (gas rather than water, for example). example).

Further, it is another object of the present invention to disclose a water supply system for household appliance reservoirs that does not require the use of a specific pump solely to perform pressurization of the system.

Accordingly, it is another of the main objects of the present invention to disclose a reservoir supply management method. appliances based on internal water level readings made by a level sensor, and constant monitoring of water temperature.

In addition, it is an object of the present invention to provide a management method that also controls the maximum time that the system pump can remain activated to optimize its operation, energy consumption and life. useful.

Finally, it is one of the objects of the present invention to provide a management method that allows to determine the amount of failed tank filling attempts that must be performed for the equipment itself to indicate to the user an error state.

Summary of the Invention

[0017] The above objectives are achieved through a supply management system for household appliance reservoirs, more specifically instant beverage preparation and dispensing apparatus comprising at least one water reservoir, at least one cooperating pump with at least one. at least one reservoir, at least one carbon dioxide supply line and at least one controller device cooperating with at least one pump.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, said system comprises:

- at least one fluid level sensor cooperating with at least one reservoir and at least one controller device;

[0020] - at least one temperature measuring device cooperating with at least one reservoir and at least one controlling device;

At least one cooperating pressure measuring device with at least one carbon gas supply line and at least one controlling device;

At least one cooperating valve with at least one reservoir and at least one pump;

[0023] The pump is only started when at least At least one level sensor indicates that the internal volume of water in the reservoir is below a predetermined value, and when the temperature reading is within predetermined value ranges.

The system preferably comprises only one pump for simultaneously supplying the water reservoir and pressurizing the system.

Also in a preferred embodiment, the system comprises actuating the pump and opening the valve to effect a first filler with a volume within the range of 250 to 400 ml when the system identifies that the water reservoir has been completely filled. emptied.

In addition, said system preferably comprises actuating the pump and opening the valve to effect fill loads of between 50 and 150 ml when the system identifies that the water reservoir is not full and needs to be topped up. .

[0027] The present invention also relates to a supply management method for household appliance reservoirs, more specifically instant beverage preparation and dispensing apparatus comprising at least one water reservoir, at least one cooperating pump with at least a reservoir, and at least one controller device cooperating with the at least one pump, characterized in that said method comprises the following steps:

[0028] - verification of the availability of carbon dioxide;

[0029] - reading of the reservoir water level sensor, if it is identified that it is full no action will be taken, but if the reading is empty or not full the filling routine will be started by the controller board. system;

[0030] - monitoring of water temperature;

[0031] - If the temperature meets the predetermined parameters, the system controller board will release the water inlet valve opening and pump drive; if the temperature reading is not within set defaults, the controller board will wait for additional time to stabilize the values;

[0032] - once the reservoir feed pump is started, the monitoring of the parameters that will determine the moment of its shutdown begins;

[0033] - reading the reservoir water level sensor to verify that the intended volume for the previous feeding action has been properly completed;

[0034] - If the reservoir has been adequately filled with the pre-set volume, the management method returns to the initial parameter monitoring step;

[0035] - If it is found that the reservoir has not been properly filled, the pump is restarted and the process proceeds as indicated above;

- if after "n" filling attempts it is found that the desired volume has not been filled, the controller board will stop the operation of the device and beep and / or audibly signal to indicate that the device is in good condition. error.

Preferably the pump shutdown parameters of said management method comprise at least one of the following: (i) the sensor reading indicates "reservoir full"; (ii) if it can attest that the reservoir has been filled to the previously specified volume; or (iii) if it reaches the maximum time interval within which the pump is allowed to run.

Preferably the maximum number of "n" fill attempts is within the range of 20 to 40 attempts, and the maximum pump on time is within the range of 20 to 40 seconds.

Said method is also characterized by the fact that the system operation is automatically interrupted if the unavailability of carbon dioxide is detected.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The present invention will be described in detail on the basis of the attached figures in which:

[0041] Figure 1 .1 shows a flowchart indicating the steps for filling reservoirs of household appliances of the current state of the art;

Figure 1.2 shows a graph of the supply pump operation as cited in the flow chart of Figure 1.1;

Figure 2 shows a flowchart of steps of the supply management method for household appliance reservoirs according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and

Figure 3 shows the supply pump operation graph according to one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention.

[0045] Detailed Description of the Invention

The object of the present invention will be further described and explained on the basis of the accompanying drawings, which are merely exemplary and not limiting in nature, as adaptations and modifications may be made without thereby departing from the scope of the present invention. claimed protection.

[0047] The present invention relates to a supply management system and method for household appliance reservoirs, more specifically for instant beverage preparation and delivery appliances - carbonated or not.

In general, similar prior art apparatuses comprise a cooperative water reservoir with two pumps - one for water supply and one for pressurizing the system - and with two flow meters, one for measuring volume. of water that is withdrawn from the reservoir and another to measure the volume of water that is injected into it, and a controller device performs the meter readings and management, as a result, the operation of the pump to perform the monitoring and replenishment of the reservoir whenever necessary.

Due to the previously reported drawbacks, the object of the The present invention is based not only on reading the volumes entering and leaving the reservoir, but is based on the control of the water level contained therein plus the monitoring of water temperature and carbon dioxide pressure - since If the pressure is above a certain value, even if the supply pump is turned on, it will not be possible to inject water into the reservoir, causing malfunctions that can cause various disturbances.

Accordingly, the system of the present invention operates with a single pump to supply and pressurize the system and further comprises also a fluid level sensor, a fluid temperature measuring device, a flow measuring device and a CO ₂ (carbon dioxide) pressure measurement in the pipeline connected to the reservoir and isolated with a checkvalve that does not allow pressure return from the reservoir to the CO ₂ piping, and a cooperating valve with the pump.

[0051] Said level sensor constantly monitors the water level inside the reservoir and always indicates when the internal level reaches or leaves the "full tank" level. Therefore, whenever the device is restarted, such a reading is taken, and if it is detected that the reservoir is not full, the filling routine is started and, therefore, the pump is started and the valve that will allow the inlet to be opened. water in the reservoir. This action, however, promotes the filling of the reservoir by shots or loads of predetermined volumes, and when it is identified that the reservoir is completely empty, the first shot is preferably 300 ml, and once injected the determined volume the pump is turned off. If the level sensor reading indicates that the reservoir is not empty but not fully filled either, the additional shots will be approximately 100 ml per pump drive.

After performing this first level reading and water injection, the management method in question enters a continuous monitoring state to answer the questions "Does the sensor indicate a full tank?" and / or "was the volume injected into the reservoir the predetermined volume?". Additionally, the plate The system controller always measures the amount of time the pump is turned on to verify that after a certain predefined interval is actually effective even if the pump has been on for a certain amount of time, the tank could not be filled to the desired volume.

In this regard, it is important to note that the system pump will only be shut down when one of the following conditions is met:

[0054] - sensor reading indicates "reservoir full";

- can attest that the reservoir has been filled to the previously specified volume, or

- after a certain pump on time has been found, the desired volume has not been filled.

Additionally, the system management method remains reading the elapsed time, water temperature and CO2 pressure in the gas supply line. Thus, if a supply is required, if the temperature and pressure readings are within a predetermined value range, or below a predefined value, the system attempts to perform a new supply action, otherwise it becomes waiting for the proper parameters to be restored to prevent the pump from remaining false and unnecessary.

It is important to note that the management method developed for this application was designed to prevent the pump from starting during an undue pressure increase in the system - which is one of the reasons for making the pumps pump. Similar appliances of the present state of the art are left on longer than necessary, causing early wear and thus shortening the service life. Since it was realized that it is not effective to start the pump and release the water inlet valve if the carbon dioxide has a high pressure, this step filling method has been developed according to predetermined functional parameters. Thus, if these parameters are not met, a time is allowed to allow the system temperature to fall - a factor that directly impacts the pressure reduction. internal - so that later, when the pump drive is released, it is totally safe to perform a new filling action with the certainty that, after this action, there will be the determined water volume inside the reservoir.

Additionally and in order to improve the safety conditions of the equipment, the management system of the present invention always monitors the number of unsuccessful attempts of supply, and after a certain number of attempts the system is interrupted and the user receives a message. equipment error. In this regard, it is important to note that reservoirs with a volume of approximately 1 liter (1000 ml) are generally used, so that under proper operating conditions after 8 or 9 shots the tank should be fully filled. Therefore, it is estimated that there will be more than this number of retries (eg 30 retries) before locking the system and diagnosing an error state.

It is worth remembering that state-of-the-art devices use flow meters (also called flowmeters) which, due to their manufacturing technology, typically have a 10% - that is, considerably high - operating margin of error. which allowed in some cases not enough water to dispense, causing the system to release only gas without water, causing the pump to overheat and the consequent risk of damage to the pump and equipment as a whole. As a result, it is briefly possible to identify that the inventive activity of the management system of the present invention was based on the following technical-functional characteristics:

[0061] - inclusion of water level sensor in the reservoir;

[0062] - Determination of different volumes for the first shot and subsequent reservoir water supply shots;

[0063] - Determination of a maximum time during which the pump remains on at each filling action (eg 30 seconds), so that regardless of the volume that has entered the reservoir after 30 seconds (exemplary and not limiting value) the pump is automatically switched off;

[0064] - a management logic whereby attempts between reservoir fillings are linked to meeting certain parameters, namely: (i) the water temperature must be below a predetermined value, or within a range (ii) the time elapsed since the previous attempt to fill is predetermined to ensure that a reduction in CO ₂ pressure occurs such that water enters the reservoir;

[0065] - delimitation of the maximum amount of allowable attempts of filling, ie the system monitors the number of attempts to fill the reservoir and if a value n is reached without the desired water volume entering the reservoir , the device is blocked from operating and an error message is issued to the user.

It is important to note that the management system and method object of the present invention adds to the state of the art apparatus the use of a level sensor and a new operating logic, however eliminates the need to use the second pump. currently used exclusively to pressurize the system, which also incurs a reduction in manufacturing costs and the necessary internal space. In this regard, the present invention provides for the use of a single high flow, low pressure pump, and this is the result of improved system efficiency, which allows the operating pressure to be reduced and thus to use the main pump itself. product to do the filling and pressurizing actions of the system.

Another differential between the known management methods and that object of the present invention is that in addition to involving a simpler operating logic and dependent on very few operating parameters, it was still mandatory for the user to wait a certain interval between subsequent dispensing of several glasses of drinks, otherwise it was possible that the drink would be prepared with water under inadequate carbonation conditions. With the management method and operation As proposed in the present invention, the apparatus becomes more efficient and thus the user can prepare several consecutive glasses of carbonated beverages without compromising the quality of the dispensed water.

Concerning carbonation, it is important to clarify that this is a process that depends on the sum of several factors to occur properly, since it is necessary to have water subjected to a certain carbon dioxide pressure, a certain temperature, for a certain period of time. The management method of the present invention permits monitoring of water temperature, carbon dioxide pressure (provides for the use of a CO ₂ cylinder coupled device for pressure monitoring), and the basic premise for the method in question is existence of gas, since if gas unavailability is detected, the proposed dispensing management method will not even be initiated.

In addition, it is important to clarify that constant control of CO ₂ pressure eliminates the need to use reservoirs built with thin thicknesses for mechanical strength as it will operate at lower pressures. Therefore, it is noted that there are various constructive, technical and functional benefits obtained with the development of the present invention.

In short, the supply management method for household appliance reservoirs - more specifically instant beverage preparation and delivery devices - basically comprises the following steps:

[0071] - verification of the availability of carbon dioxide;

[0072] - reading of the reservoir water level sensor, if it is identified that it is full no action will be taken, but if the reading is empty or not full the filling routine will be started by the controller board. system;

[0073] - monitoring of water temperature;

[0074] - if temperature meets predetermined parameters, system controller board will release water inlet valve opening and pump drive; If the temperature reading is not within the defined standards, the controller board will wait for an additional time to stabilize the values.

[0075] - once the reservoir supply pump is started, the parameters that will determine the moment of its shutdown will be started, which may be: (i) the sensor reading indicates "reservoir full"; (ii) if it can attest that the reservoir has been filled to the previously specified volume; or (iii) if it reaches the maximum time allowed to operate the pump;

[0076] - reading the reservoir water level sensor to verify that the intended volume for the previous feeding action has been properly completed;

[0077] - If the reservoir has been adequately filled with the pre-set volume, the management method returns to the initial parameter monitoring step;

[0078] - If it is found that the reservoir has not been properly filled, the pump is restarted and the process proceeds as indicated above;

- If after "n" filling attempts it is found that the desired volume has not been filled up, the controller board will stop the operation of the device and beep and / or beep to indicate that the device is in good condition. error.

It is worth noting that after numerous operation tests of the management method in question, it was found that a preferred but not limiting number of attempts to fill the reservoir - and consequently consecutive pump activation - is "n" = 30.

Therefore, in a completely unprecedented and effective manner, the object of the present invention solves the drawbacks of the current state of the art as regards the optimization of reservoir filling operations for home appliances making and dispensing instant beverages, mostly carbonated.

Claims

1 . Household appliance reservoir supply system, more specifically instant beverage preparation and dispensing apparatus comprising at least one water reservoir, at least one cooperating pump with at least one reservoir, at least one carbon dioxide supply line and at least one controller device cooperating with at least one pump, characterized by the fact that said system comprises:

at least one cooperating fluid level sensor with at least one reservoir and at least one controller device;

- at least one temperature measuring device cooperating with at least one reservoir and at least one controlling device;

at least one cooperating pressure measuring device with at least one carbon dioxide supply line and at least one controlling device;

The pump is only started when the at least one level sensor indicates that the internal water volume in the reservoir is below a predetermined value, and when the temperature reading is within predetermined value ranges. .

System according to Claim 1, characterized in that it comprises only one pump for simultaneously supplying the water reservoir and pressurizing the system.

System according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises the actuation of the pump and opening of the valve to effect a first filling charge of a volume within the range of 250 to 400 ml when the system identifies that the reservoir of Water has been completely emptied.

System according to claim 1, characterized by the understanding the actuation of the pump and opening of the valve to effect fill loads of volumes within the range of 50 to 150 ml when the system identifies that the water tank is not full and needs to be topped up.

5. Supply management method for household appliance reservoirs, more specifically instant beverage preparation and dispensing apparatus comprising at least one water reservoir, at least one cooperating pump with at least one reservoir, and at least one controlling device cooperative with at least one bomb, characterized by the fact that said method comprises the following steps:

- verification of the availability of carbon dioxide;

- reading the reservoir water level sensor, if it is identified that it is full no action will be taken, but if the reading is empty or not full the filling routine will be started by the system controller board;

- monitoring of water temperature;

- If the temperature meets the predetermined parameters, the system controller board will release the opening of the water inlet valve and the pump drive; If the temperature reading is not within the defined standards, the controller board will wait for an additional time to stabilize the values.

- once the reservoir feed pump is started, the monitoring of the parameters that will determine the moment of its shutdown begins;

- reading the reservoir water level sensor to verify that the intended volume for the previous feeding action has been properly completed;

- if the reservoir has been adequately filled with the pre-set volume, the management method returns to the initial parameter monitoring step; - If it is found that the reservoir has not been properly filled, the pump is started again and the process proceeds as indicated above.

- If after "n" filling attempts it is found that the desired volume has not been filled up, the controller board will stop the operation of the device and emit a visual and / or audible signal to indicate that the device is in error.

Management method according to claim 5, characterized in that the pump shutdown parameters comprise at least one of the following: (i) the sensor reading indicates "reservoir full"; (ii) if it can attest that the reservoir has been filled to the previously specified volume; or (iii) if it reaches the maximum time interval within which the pump is allowed to run.

Management method according to claim 5, characterized in that the maximum number of filling attempts "n" is within the range of 20 to 40 attempts.

Management method according to claim 6, characterized in that the maximum pump on time is within the range of 20 to 40 seconds.

Management method according to claim 5, characterized in that the system operation is automatically interrupted if carbon dioxide outage is detected.