Patent Application
20160316993
The present disclosure relates to a dishwasher and a method for controlling the same.
A dishwasher is an apparatus that washes dishes by spraying wash water having high pressure onto dishes stored in a dish accommodation unit to remove foreign substances and the like remaining on the dishes using a water pressure of the sprayed wash water. Dishwashers may be used in households and may also be used in industrial sites.
A dishwasher may include a main body having a wash tub structurally provided inside it for washing dishes, a dish storage unit that stores dishes, a sump that retains wash water, a spray nozzle that sprays the wash water, and a pump that supplies the wash water in the sump to the spray nozzle. A rotary nozzle that sprays the wash water onto dishes and the like while rotating may be provided in the wash tub inside the dishwasher. The rotary nozzle may rotate by the water pressure of the sprayed wash water while spraying the wash water. Accordingly, the wash water may reach dishes within a range of a radius of rotation and the dishes may be washed. In addition, a fixed nozzle that is fixed to one side of the wash tub and sprays wash water may also be provided in the dishwasher. The fixed nozzle may spray wash water having a predetermined water pressure in a predetermined direction toward dishes to allow the dishes to be washed.
It is an aspect to provide a dishwasher in which sprayed wash water can properly reach a reflecting module, and a method for controlling the same.
It is another aspect to provide a dishwasher that includes a spray nozzle in which a spray angle, a spray direction, or a spray position is controllable so that wash water can be properly reflected by a reflecting module according to a position of the reflecting module.
It is still another aspect to provide a dishwasher that includes a reflecting module in which sprayed wash water is incident on a position suitable for reflection and which is capable of reflecting the arriving wash water toward dishes or a rail assembly.
To achieve the aspects mentioned above, a dishwasher and a method for controlling the same are provided.
A dishwasher includes a wash tub, a spray nozzle that sprays wash water inside the wash tub, a reflecting module that is movable inside the wash tub and reflects the wash water sprayed by the spray nozzle, and a control unit that controls a spray pressure at which the wash water is sprayed according to a position of the reflecting module.
The dishwasher may further include a sump that retains the wash water and a circulation pump that transfers the wash water retained in the sump to the spray nozzle.
The control unit may determine the spray pressure of the wash water according to the position of the reflecting module and may control a transfer force of the circulation pump according to the determined spray pressure.
The circulation pump may include a brushless direct current (BLDC) motor.
The dishwasher may further include a detection unit that detects a position of the dishwasher.
At least one of a wash water spray height and a wash water spray angle of the spray nozzle may be controllable. In addition, a length of the spray nozzle may be varied.
A spray angle of the spray nozzle may be controllable by a reaction force of the sprayed wash water.
The dishwasher may further include a rail assembly that includes a rail for guiding a movement of the reflecting module.
The rail may be in an inclined shape to descend in an opposite direction of the spray nozzle.
The rail may also be in a shape of a curve having a central portion protruding upward.
The reflecting module may include a first reflecting surface disposed at a front surface and a second reflecting surface disposed behind the first reflecting surface, and the second reflecting surface may move to protrude from the reflecting module.
A dishwasher includes a wash tub, a spray nozzle that sprays wash water inside the wash tub, and a reflecting module that is movable inside the wash tub and reflects the wash water sprayed by the spray nozzle, wherein at least one of a wash water spray height and a wash water spray angle of the spray nozzle may be controlled.
At least one of the wash water spray height and the wash water spray angle may be controlled according to a distance between the spray nozzle and the reflecting module.
A dishwasher includes a wash tub, a spray nozzle that sprays wash water inside the wash tub, and a reflecting module that is movable inside the wash tub and reflects the wash water sprayed by the spray nozzle, wherein a length of the spray nozzle may be varied.
The length of the spray nozzle may be extended or shortened according to a distance between the spray nozzle and the reflecting module.
A dishwasher includes a wash tub, a spray nozzle that sprays wash water inside the wash tub, a reflecting module that is movable inside the wash tub and reflects the wash water sprayed by the spray nozzle, and a rail assembly that includes a rail for guiding a movement of the reflecting module, wherein the rail may be in an inclined shape to descend in an opposite direction of the spray nozzle or may be in a shape of a curve having a central portion protruding upward.
A dishwasher includes a wash tub, a spray nozzle that sprays wash water inside the wash tub, and a reflecting module that is movable inside the wash tub and reflects the wash water sprayed by the spray nozzle, wherein the reflecting module may include a first reflecting surface disposed at a front surface and a second reflecting surface disposed behind the first reflecting surface, and the second reflecting surface may move upward to protrude from the reflecting module.
The second reflecting surface may protrude from the reflecting module or be inserted into the reflecting module according to a distance between the spray nozzle and the reflecting module.
A method for controlling a dishwasher may be performed in a dishwasher including a circulation pump that transfers wash water, a spray nozzle that sprays the wash water transferred by the circulation pump, and a reflecting module that is movable and reflects the wash water sprayed by the spray nozzle, and the method for controlling the dishwasher includes detecting a position of a reflecting module and determining a distance between the reflecting module and a spray nozzle based on a detection result, determining a spray pressure of the spray nozzle according to the distance between the reflecting module and the spray nozzle, changing a transfer force of the circulation pump based on the determined spray pressure, and changing the spray pressure according to the changed transfer force of the circulation pump.
According to a dishwasher and a method for controlling the same described above, an effect in which wash water sprayed by a nozzle is properly incident on a reflecting module can be obtained, and accordingly, an effect in which the reflecting module can reflect the incident wash water in a proper direction with a proper strength can also be obtained.
According to a dishwasher described above, a spray direction, a spray strength, a spray position, etc. of wash water sprayed by a nozzle can be precisely controlled according to a position of a reflecting module such that an effect in which the wash water can stably reach the reflecting module can be obtained, and an effect of improving efficiency of washing dishes can also be obtained.
In addition, according to the dishwasher described above, the waste of wash water can be reduced since the sprayed wash water can stably reach the reflecting module, and washing dishes can be more effectively performed since the reflecting module can properly reflect the wash water toward the dishes such that, ultimately, an advantage of improving dish washing efficiency of the dishwasher can be obtained.
According to a dishwasher described above, a spray angle, a spray direction, or a spray position of a nozzle can be properly controlled as needed according to a position of a reflecting module such that an effect in which wash water can be stably incident on the reflecting module can also be obtained.
According to a dishwasher described above, the linearity of wash water sprayed by a nozzle is secured such that an advantage in which the wash water is properly and stably incident on a reflecting module even when there is a long distance between the reflecting module and the nozzle can also be obtained.
According to a dishwasher described above, effects in which sprayed wash water can be incident on a position suitable for reflection and, further, the arriving wash water can be reflected toward dishes can be obtained.
Furthermore, according to a dishwasher described above, even when there is a long distance between a reflecting module and a nozzle, an effect in which sprayed wash water is incident on and reflected to a proper position even without controlling the nozzle can be obtained.
Hereinafter, an overall structure of an embodiment of a dishwasher 1 will be generally described with reference to
Referring to what is illustrated in
A user interface may be installed at an outer surface of the main body 10. A user interface 20 may include an input unit that receives a predetermined instruction from a user. An input unit 20a may include at least one of a keyboard, a mouse, a track-ball, a touch screen, a touch pad, a paddle, various types of levers or handles, a joystick, and other various input means. According to an embodiment, the input unit 20a may also be installed at an external device connected to the dishwasher 1. The external device may include a personal computer (PC), a smartphone, a tablet PC, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a cellular phone, a remote controller, etc. The user interface 20 may include a display unit 20b for displaying various types of information to the user. The display unit 20b may include a display means using a plasma display panel (PDP), a light emitting diode (LED), an organic light emitting diode (OLED), a liquid crystal display (LCD), or the like. The display unit 20b may also express a three-dimensional image.
A door 11 through which dishes may be inserted and withdrawn may be provided at one surface of the main body 10. The door 11 may be opened and closed by being moved in a predetermined direction as illustrated in
Referring to what is illustrated in
The opening 11a through which dishes may be inserted or withdrawn in at least one direction may be provided at one surface of the wash tub 30. The opening 11a may be opened and closed by the door 11. The wash tub 30 may include a plurality of walls 31 to 34 and a bottom plate 35. Hereinafter, while describing the wash tub 30, a direction and an area in which the bottom plate 35 is disposed will be referred to as a lower direction or a lower portion, and a direction opposite the direction in which the bottom plate 35 is disposed will be referred to as an upper direction or an upper portion. A direction in which the opening 11a is disposed will be referred as the front, and a direction opposite the direction in which the opening 11a is disposed will be referred to as the rear. In addition, a wall disposed at the opposite side of the opening 11a will be referred to as a rear wall 32, a wall disposed at the left when viewed from the opening 11a will be referred to as a left wall 33, and a wall disposed at the right when viewed from the opening 11a will be referred to as a right wall 34. Furthermore, a wall disposed at the opposite side of the bottom plate 35 of the wash tub 30 will be referred to as an upper wall 31.
Referring to
The dish accommodation units 12a and 12b may be in the shape of a basket in which pins and the like are formed. The basket may be a wire rack formed of a wire so that the wash water can pass therethrough without pooling. The dish accommodation units 12a and 12b may be detached from the wash tub 30. The dish accommodation units 12a and 12b may also be withdrawn outside of the opening 11a using a rail and a roller (not shown), etc. provided at the left wall 33 and the right wall 34 inside the wash tub 30. The withdrawal of the dish accommodation units 12a and 12b may be performed manually or automatically. The dish accommodation units 12a and 12b may include an upper dish accommodation unit 12a disposed at an upper portion of the wash tub 30 and a lower dish accommodation unit 12b disposed at a lower portion of the wash tub 30.
The upper rotary nozzle assembly 311 may be provided above the upper dish accommodation unit 12a and spray the wash water toward the upper dish accommodation unit 12a while rotating by a water pressure. A spray nozzle 312 through which the wash water is sprayed may be provided at a lower end of the upper rotary nozzle assembly 311 as illustrated in
The middle rotary nozzle assembly 313 may be disposed between the upper dish accommodation unit 12a and the lower dish accommodation unit 12b. The middle rotary nozzle assembly 313 may spray the wash water in upper and lower directions while rotating by the water pressure like the upper rotary nozzle assembly 311. A rotational direction of the middle rotary nozzle assembly 313 may be the same as or different from that of the upper rotary nozzle assembly 311. Spray nozzles 314 may be provided at an upper end and a lower end of the middle rotary nozzle assembly 313. The wash water may be sprayed onto the dishes accommodated in the upper dish accommodation unit 12a and the lower dish accommodation unit 12b through the spray nozzles 314.
The fixed nozzle assembly 320 may be fixed to one side of the wash tub 30 as illustrated in
The wash water sprayed by the fixed nozzle assembly 320 may be reflected toward the dishes by the reflecting module 400 provided in front of the spray nozzles 331 and 341. The reflecting module 400 may longitudinally extend in the horizontal direction of the wash tub 30 to be able to reflect the wash water sprayed by the plurality of spray nozzles 331 and 341 of the fixed nozzle assembly 320 as illustrated in
The reflecting module 400 may reflect the wash water sprayed by the fixed nozzle assembly 320 in the upper direction or the lower direction. When the fixed nozzle assembly 320 is disposed below the lower dish accommodation unit 12b as illustrated in
The wash water sprayed by the left fixed nozzle 330 may be reflected only to a left area of the wash tub 30 by the reflecting module 400, and the wash water sprayed by the right fixed nozzle 340 may be reflected only to a right area of the wash tub 30 by the reflecting module 400. In this case, when the left fixed nozzle 330 and the right fixed nozzle 340 of the fixed nozzle assembly 320 spray the wash water independent of each other, a left side and a right side of the dishwasher 1 may be separately washed independent of each other. Of course, washing areas of the dishwasher 1 may be further subdivided and separately washed as needed.
Referring to what is illustrated in
The dishwasher 1 may further include filters 120, 130, and 140 for filtering scraps contained in the wash water. The filters 120, 130, and 140 may include a fine filter 120 mounted on the drainage hole 50 of the bottom plate 35, a coarse filter 140 mounted on the sump 100, and a micro filter 130.
The coarse filter 140 may have a substantially cylindrical shape. The coarse filter 140 may be mounted on an inner surface of the side wall portion 103 of the sump 100. The coarse filter 140 may have a filter unit that filters relatively large-sized scraps and a handle for mounting the coarse filter 140. A filter unit 142 of the coarse filter 140 may be formed at a circumferential surface of the coarse filter 140. The coarse filter 140 is mounted on the sump 100 by passing through a through-hole 139 of the micro filter 130 and a through-hole 122 of the fine filter. An upper portion of the coarse filter 140 protrudes toward an inside of the wash tub 30, and a lower portion thereof protrudes toward a scrap collecting chamber 111 of the sump 100. The scrap collecting chamber 111 will be described below.
The fine filter 120 may have a filter unit 121 that filters relatively mid-sized or larger scraps and the through-hole 122 through which the coarse filter 140 passes. The fine filter 120 may be substantially horizontally mounted on the drainage hole 50 of the bottom plate 35 of the wash tub 30. The fine filter 120 may have a slope so that the wash water can be guided toward the through-hole 122 by its self-load. The wash water of the wash tub 30 may flow toward the coarse filter 140 along the slope of the fine filter 120. However, some of the wash water and scraps may pass through the filter unit 121 of the fine filter 120 and directly flow into the water retaining chamber 110 of the sump 100.
The micro filter 130 may have a filter unit 131 that filters relatively small-sized or larger scraps and has a flat shape, frames 132, 133, and 135 that support the filter unit 131, and the through-hole 139 through which the coarse filter 140 passes.
The frames 132, 133, and 135 include an upper frame 132, a lower frame 133, and side frames 135. The micro filter 135 may be mounted on the sump 100 such that the lower frame 133 adheres to the bottom portion 101 of the sump 100 and the side frames 135 adhere to the side wall portion 103 of the sump 100. The micro filter 130 may divide the water retaining chamber 110 of the sump 100 into the scrap collecting chamber 111 and a circulation chamber 112. The drainage pump 52 is connected to the scrap collecting chamber 111, and the circulation pump 51 is connected to the circulation chamber 112.
When the lower portion of the coarse filter 140 is provided to protrude toward the scrap collecting chamber 111, the wash water that passes through the coarse filter 140 and scraps contained in the wash water may be introduced into the scrap collecting chamber 111. The wash water introduced into the scrap collecting chamber 111 may pass through the micro filter 130 and flow into the circulation chamber 112. In this case, since the scraps contained in the wash water introduced into the scrap collecting chamber 111 cannot pass through the micro filter 130, the scraps remain in the scrap collecting chamber 111 as they are without flowing into the circulation chamber 112. The scraps collected in the scrap collecting chamber 111 may be discharged to the outside of the main body 10 together with the wash water when the drainage pump 52 is operated.
The coarse filter 140 may be vertically inserted downward into the sump 100 and then mounted on the sump 100 by being rotated from an unlocking position to a locking position. According to an embodiment, the coarse filter 140 may be mounted on the sump 100 by a mounting protrusion formed at an outer circumferential surface of the coarse filter 140 and a mounting groove into which the mounting protrusion is horizontally inserted when the coarse filter 140 is rotated from the unlocking position to the locking position formed at the inner surface of the side wall portion 103 of the sump 100.
The circulation pump 51 may pump the wash water retained in the circulation chamber 112 and transfer the wash water to each of the nozzles 311, 313, and 320 of the spray nozzle assembly 300. A wash water spray pressure of each of the nozzles 311, 313, and 320 may change according to a transfer force of the circulation pump 51. In other words, the wash water spray pressure of each of the nozzles 311, 313, and 320 may increase as the transfer force of the circulation pump 51 is larger, and conversely, the wash water spray pressure of each of the nozzles 311, 313, and 320 may also decreased when the transfer force of the circulation pump 51 is smaller. The circulation pump 51 may include an inverter and a motor. The circulation pump 51 may obtain the transfer force by a driving force of the motor. The motor of the circulation pump 51 may be a brushless direct current (BLDC) motor. The transfer force of the circulation pump 51 may change when the revolutions per minute (RPM) of the BLDC motor changes, and the wash water spray pressure of each of the nozzles 311, 313, and 320 may also change according to the change of the transfer force of the circulation pump 51.
The right fixed nozzle 340 may include the spray nozzles 341 that spray wash water, a nozzle flow channel 342 that supplies the wash water to the spray nozzles 341, a nozzle inlet 343 through which the wash water is introduced into the nozzle flow channel 342, a nozzle body 344 that forms an exterior, a nozzle cover 345 coupled to the rear of the nozzle body 344 to form the nozzle flow channel 342, an ornamental member 346 coupled to the front of the nozzle body 344, and a coupling hole 347 formed at the nozzle body 344 to couple the right fixed nozzle 340 to a bottom plate cover 600. Here, the nozzle body 334 of the left fixed nozzle 330 and the nozzle body 344 of the right fixed nozzle 340 may be integrally formed. In this way, by the left fixed nozzle 330 and the right fixed nozzle 340 being integrally provided, it may be easy to horizontally align the left fixed nozzle 330 and the right fixed nozzle 340, and it may be easy to couple the right fixed nozzle 340 to the bottom plate cover 600.
The nozzles 330 and 340 of the fixed spray nozzle assembly 320 may move in vertical directions. According to an embodiment, as illustrated in
The nozzles 330 and 340 may move in the upper direction when the reflecting module 400 is far apart from the nozzles 330 and 340 as illustrated in
Spray angles of the nozzles 330 and 340 of the fixed spray nozzle assembly 320 may be adjusted. To adjust the spray angles, the fixed spray nozzle assembly 320 may include a first insertion groove 361, support bars 362 and 365, second insertion grooves 363 and 366, and fastening members 364 and 367. The first insertion groove 361 may be formed at outer surfaces of housings of the nozzles 330 and 340. The support bars 362 and 365 may be fixed to a part of the bottom plate 35 of the wash tub 30 of the dishwasher 1. The second insertion grooves 363 and 366 may be formed by passing through the support bars 362 and 365. The fastening members 364 and 367 may sequentially pass through the second insertion grooves 363 and 366 and the first insertion groove 361 to connect the nozzles 330 and 340 to the support bars 362 and 365. The nozzles 330 and 340 may be rotated about the fastening members 364 and 367. In other words, the nozzles 330 and 340 may rotate about the first insertion groove 361 or the second insertion grooves 363 and 366. According to an embodiment, the nozzles 330 and 340 may be rotated in the upper direction or the lower direction using a motor and the like connected to the fastening members 364 and 367. According to another embodiment, the nozzles 330 and 340 may also be rotated in the upper direction or the lower direction by a reaction force of a spray force with which the wash water is sprayed or a reaction force generated as the wash water reaches the reflecting module 400.
The nozzles 330 and 340 may rotate in the upper direction by a power device such as a motor when the reflecting module 400 is far from the nozzles 330 and 340 as illustrated in
A length of the spray nozzles 331 and 341 of the fixed spray nozzle assembly 320 may be extended or shortened. Referring to what is illustrated in
When the length of the spray nozzles 331 and 341 is extended, effects in which the linearity of a spray path of the wash water is secured and the wash water sprayed by the nozzles 330 and 340 moves to a farther distance can be obtained. Consequently, as illustrated in
Referring to
The dishwasher 1 may include the bottom plate cover 600 coupled to one rear side of the bottom plate 35 of the wash tub 30. The bottom plate cover 600 performs a role of sealing a motor through-hole 37 and flow channel through-holes 38, a role of supporting a motor 530 that drives the reflecting module 400, and a role of fixing a rail assembly 430 of the dishwasher 1 and the nozzle assembly 300. Here, as mentioned above, the nozzle assembly 300 includes the upper rotary nozzle assembly 311, the middle rotary nozzle 313, the left fixed nozzle 330, and the right fixed nozzle 340.
A bottom plate protruding portion 36 protruding so that the bottom plate cover 600 is coupled thereto may be formed at the rear of the bottom plate 35. The motor through-hole 37, through which the motor 530 for driving the reflecting module 400 passes, and the flow channel through-holes 38, through which a flow channel that connects the nozzle assembly 300 to the distribution device 200 passes, may be formed at the bottom plate protruding portion 36. The motor 530 may be mounted on an undersurface of the bottom plate cover 600, and the motor 530 may be withdrawn together with the bottom plate cover 600 through the motor through-hole 37 when the bottom plate cover 600 is detached from the bottom plate 35. Hose connection units 652a, 652b, and 652c of the bottom plate cover 600 may specifically pass through the flow channel through-holes 38.
The bottom plate cover 600 may include a shaft through-hole 640 through which a drive shaft 531 of the motor 530 passes, the hose connection units 652a, 652b, and 652c that protrude downward so that hoses 271a, 271b, and 271c extended from the distribution device 200 are coupled thereto and are inserted into the flow channel through-holes 38 of the bottom plate protruding portion 36, nozzle inlet connection units 651a, 651b, and 651c that protrude upward so that inlets 333, 343 of the nozzle assembly 300 are coupled thereto, fastening holes 620 for fixing the nozzle assembly 300 and the rail assembly 430, and a rotation guide 610 that protrudes to guide rotation of the reflecting module 400.
The bottom plate cover 600 is adhered and coupled to an upper surface of the bottom plate protruding portion 36. Fixing caps 680 are coupled to the hose connection units 652a, 652b, and 652c of the bottom plate cover 600 so that the bottom plate cover 600 may be fixed to the bottom plate protruding portion 36.
The motor through-hole 37 of the bottom plate protruding portion 36 and a sealing member 670 that prevents the wash water inside the wash tub 30 from leaking through the flow channel through-holes 38 may be provided between the bottom plate cover 600 and the bottom plate protruding portion 36.
A motor mounting unit 630 on which the motor 530 that drives the reflecting module 400 is mounted may be provided at the undersurface of the bottom plate cover 600. The drive shaft 531 of the motor 530 may pass through the shaft through-hole 640 of the bottom plate cover 600 and protrude toward the inside of the wash tub 30. A drive pulley 500 may be coupled to the drive shaft 531 of the motor 530 and rotate together with the drive shaft 531. A sealing member 660 may be provided at the shaft through-hole 640 so that the wash water inside the wash tub 30 does not leak through the shaft through-hole 640. The sealing member 660 may be a mechanical sealing device that allows smooth rotation of the driving shaft 531 and performs sealing.
An upper surface of the bottom plate cover 600 may be provided to be inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to a reference horizontal surface. This is to prevent scraps from accumulating on the bottom plate cover 600 or advancing toward the fixed spray nozzles 330 and 340. In the dishwasher 1 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, since the fixed spray nozzles 330 and 340 do not move unlike the rotary nozzles 311 and 313 and thus scraps may remain and be stuck therein, such a problem may be prevented by the structure above. An angle of inclination between the upper surface of the bottom plate cover 600 and the reference horizontal surface is preferably approximately 3° or larger.
In addition, an end portion of the bottom plate cover 600 may be prevented to be spaced apart from the bottom plate 35 by a predetermined interval. This is because it is difficult to make the bottom plate cover 600 and the bottom plate 35 completely adhere to each other due to an error in manufacturing and assembling, and this is rather to prevent scraps from being struck in fine gaps formed between the end portion of the bottom plate cover 600 and the bottom plate 35. An interval S between the end portion of the bottom plate cover 600 and the bottom plate 35 is preferably approximately 5 mm or larger.
The rail assembly 430 and the nozzle assembly 300 may be coupled to the bottom plate cover 600. The bottom plate cover 600, the rail assembly 430, and the nozzle assembly 300 may be firmly fixed by a fastening member 690. For this, fastening holes 620, 453, and 347 may be respectively formed at corresponding positions of the bottom plate cover 600, the nozzle assembly 300, and the rail assembly 430. Accordingly, the rail assembly 430 and the nozzle assembly 300 may be fixed to each other and aligned with each other.
Hereinafter, the reflecting module and a moving module thereof of the dishwasher will be described with reference to
The rail assembly 430 may include a rail 440 that guides movement of the reflecting module 400 and has an inner space 441, the drive pulley 500 that rotates by being connected to the motor 530, a belt 520 that rotates by being connected to the drive pulley 500 and is disposed in the inner space 441 of the rail 440, an idle pulley 510 connected to the belt 520 to rotatably support the belt 520, a belt holder 480 disposed in the inner space 441 of the rail 440 to be coupled to the belt 520 to linearly reciprocate, a reflecting module holder 490 disposed outside the rail 440 to be coupled to the belt holder 480 to linearly reciprocate and to which the reflecting module 400 is coupled, a rear holder 450 that rotatably supports the drive pulley 500 and is coupled to a rear end portion of the rail 440, and a front holder 460 that rotatably supports the idle pulley 510 and is coupled to a front end portion of the rail 440.
The rail 440 may be formed with a metal material. The rail 440 may be provided to longitudinally extend in front and rear directions at the center with respect to the left wall 33 and the right wall 34 of the wash tub 30. The rail 440 may have a pipe shape in which an opening 445 is formed at an approximately lower portion. That is, the rail 440 may include the inner space 441, an upper wall 442, a lower wall 444, both side walls 443, and the lower opening 445 formed on the lower wall 444. The lower opening 445 may extend from one end portion to the other end portion in a longitudinal direction of the rail 440. By this structure, an operation of the belt 520 being interfered with due to coming into contact with dishes in the wash tub 30 or the belt 520 being corroded due to coming into contact with the wash water in the wash tub 30 may be prevented.
The belt 520 forms a closed loop by being wound around the drive pulley 500 and the idle pulley 510 and may rotate along a rotational direction of the motor 530 when the motor 530 operates. The belt 520 may be formed of a resin material including aramid fibers in consideration of tensile strength, cost, etc. A toothed form 521 that transmits a driving force of the belt 520 to the belt holder 480 may be formed at an inner surface of the belt 520. The belt holder 480 may be disposed in the inner space 441 of the rail 440 like the belt 520, and may be coupled to the toothed form 521 of the belt 520 and rotate together with the belt 520. For this, the belt holder 480 may have a toothed form coupling portion 481 coupled to the toothed form 521 of the belt 520. In addition, the belt holder 480 may include legs 482 and 483 supported by the rail 440. The legs 482 and 483 may include one or more side legs 482 that protrude sideward to be supported by the side walls 443 of the rail 440 and at least one or more lower legs 483 that protrude downward to be supported by the lower wall 444 of the rail 440. The side legs 482 may be provided to be elastically deformable to reduce noise and vibration due to collision and friction with the rail 440 when the belt holder 480 moves and to allow the belt holder 480 to smoothly move. The side legs 482 may be an elastic body of one type of a plate spring. That is, the side legs 482 may include a curved plate that is elastically deformed between a stretched shape and a compressed shape. In addition, the belt holder 480 may have a fastening unit 484 for coupling with the reflecting module holder 490. The fastening unit 484 may include a fastening hole 485 into which a fastening member 496 is inserted.
The reflecting module holder 490 is coupled to the belt holder 480 to move together with the belt holder 480 and transmits the driving force of the belt holder 480 to the reflecting module 400. The reflecting module holder 490 is provided to surround an outer surface of the rail 440. The reflecting module holder 490 is coupled to the belt holder 480 through the lower opening 445 of the rail 440. For this, the reflecting module holder 490 may have a fastening hole 491 for coupling with the belt holder 480. Consequently, by fastening the fastening member 496 to the fastening hole 491 of the reflecting module holder 490 and the fastening hole 485 of the belt holder 480, the reflecting module holder 490 and the belt holder 480 may be coupled to each other. The fastening member 496 advances from bottom to top and may be sequentially fastened to the fastening hole 491 of the reflecting module holder 490 and the fastening hole 485 of the belt holder 480. A coupling protrusion unit 493 to which the reflecting module 400 is detachably coupled may be formed at the reflecting module holder 490. The coupling protrusion unit 493 may include a coupling shaft part 494 that protrudes sideward and a deviation prevention part 495 formed at an end portion of the coupling shaft part 494 to prevent the deviation of the reflecting module 400.
The drive pulley 500 may include a rotary shaft 501, a shaft connection unit 503 connected to the drive shaft 530 of the motor 530 to receive a driving force, and a belt coupling unit 502 to which the belt 520 is coupled.
The rear holder 450 rotatably supports the drive pulley 500 and is coupled to the rear end portion of the rail 440. The rear holder 450 includes a pulley support surface 451 that supports the rotary shaft 501 of the drive pulley 500, a rail support surface 452 that supports the rear end portion of the rail 440, and the fastening hole 453 for being coupled to the bottom plate cover 600.
The idle pulley 510 may include a rotary shaft 511 and a belt coupling unit 512 to which the belt 520 is coupled.
The front holder 460 may include a front top holder 461, a front bottom holder 465 coupled to a lower portion of the front top holder 461, and a pulley bracket 467 that is movably provided along the longitudinal direction of the rail 440 between the front top holder 461 and the front bottom holder 465 and rotatably supports the idle pulley 510. The front top holder 461 may include a pulley support surface 462 that supports the rotary shaft 511 of the idle pulley 510 and a rail support surface 463 that supports the front end portion of the rail 440.
The front bottom holder 465 may be coupled to the lower portion of the front top holder 461 by a locking structure. The front bottom holder 465 may have a coupling protrusion 466 coupled to the bottom plate 35 of the wash tub 30.
The pulley bracket 467 includes a pulley support surface 468 that supports the rotary shaft 511 of the idle pulley 510.
The rail 440, the belt 520, the drive pulley 500, the rear holder 450, the idle pulley 510, and the front holder 460 may be assembled to each other by tension of the belt 520. In other words, the drive pulley 500 is pressed in a direction approaching the rail 440 by the tension of the belt 520, and a force is transmitted to the rear holder 450 through the pulley support surface 451 of the rear holder 450 such that the rear holder 450 is adhered and coupled to the rear end portion of the rail 440. In addition, the idle pulley 510 is pressed in a direction approaching the rail 440 by the tension of the belt 520, and a force is transmitted to the front holder 460 through the pulley support surface 462 of the front holder 460 such that the front holder 460 is adhered and coupled to the front end portion of the rail 440. Meanwhile, the front holder 460 may further include an elastic member 470 for maintaining the tension of the belt 520. This is because the belt 520 extends and the tension of the belt 520 is reduced when the belt 520 thermally expands due to hot air inside the wash tub 30, and the reflecting module 400 cannot operate smoothly when the tension of the belt 520 is reduced.
One end portion of the elastic member 470 may be supported by the front holder 460, and the other end portion of the elastic member 470 may be supported by the pulley bracket 467. For this, elastic member support surfaces 464 and 469 may be respectively formed at the front holder 460 and the pulley bracket 467. The elastic member 470 may be a compression spring. Since the front holder 460 is supported by the rail 440 by the rail support surface 463, the elastic force of the elastic member 470 may act on the pulley bracket 467. That is, the pulley bracket 467 may be pressed in a direction away from the rail 440 by the elastic force of the elastic member 470. Here, since the pulley bracket 467 is being pressed in the direction approaching the rail 440 by the tension of the belt 520, the pulley bracket 467 is moved to a position where the tension of the belt 520 and the elastic force of the elastic member 470 form equilibrium. That is, when the tension is reduced due to extension of the belt 520 and the elastic force of the elastic member 470 becomes larger than the tension of the belt 520, the pulley bracket 467 moves in the direction away from the rail 440 by the elastic force of the elastic member 470, and when the pulley bracket 467 moves in the direction away the rail 440, the belt 520 is tightly stretched again and the tension of the belt 520 is restored. By this configuration, even when the belt 520 is extended due to thermal expansion, the tension of the belt 520 may be constantly maintained by the pulley bracket 467 moving and stretching the belt 520, and reliability of the moving module 420 may be improved.
Hereinafter, the reflecting module according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to
The reflecting module 400 may be provided to longitudinally extend in a direction perpendicular to the rail 440. The reflecting module 400 may include a reflecting unit 401 that reflects the wash water sprayed by the fixed nozzles 330 and 340, an upper support unit 410 bent from the reflecting unit 401, a rear support unit 411 bent from the upper support unit 410, a cap part 404 provided at a longitudinal central portion of the reflecting unit 401, a rotation locking part 409 provided to interfere with the rotation guide 610 of the bottom plate cover 600, a reinforcing rib 414 provided to reinforce the strength of the upper support unit 410 and the rear support unit 411 of the reflecting unit 401, a horizontal support unit 412 supported by an upper surface of the reflecting module holder 490, and a vertical support unit 413 supported by a side surface of the reflecting module holder 490.
The reflecting unit 401 may include reflecting surfaces 402a and 402b obliquely provided to reflect the wash water. The reflecting surfaces 402a and 402b may include a reflecting surface 402a and a reflecting surface 402b alternately arranged in the longitudinal direction with different slopes to reflect the wash water in different angles. The cap part 404 may include a coupling groove 405 for coupling with the reflecting module holder 490, and a rotation stopper unit 408 that limits a rotation range of the reflecting module 400 when the reflecting module 400 rotates by the rotation guide 610 of the bottom plate cover 600.
The coupling protrusion unit 493 of the reflecting module holder 490 may be coupled to the coupling groove 405 of the reflecting module 400. Specifically, the coupling shaft part 494 of the coupling protrusion unit 493 may be inserted into the coupling groove 405 of the reflecting module 400. The coupling shaft part 494 may rotatably support the reflecting module 400.
As illustrated in
Rollers 415 that allow smooth movement of the reflecting module 400 may be provided at both longitudinal end portions of the reflecting module 400. A roller support unit 39 that supports the rollers 415 may be provided at the bottom plate 35 of the wash tub 30.
When the rail 440b is in the shape of a curve, a moving body 1000 illustrated in
Hereinafter, referring to
The user interface 20 may be provided at the outer surface of the main body 10. The user interface 20 may include the input unit 20a, the display unit 20b, or the like as described above.
The control unit 700 may control an operation of the dishwasher 1 according to predefined settings or a user's instruction received through the input unit 20a of the user interface 20. The control unit 700 may control spray pressures of the nozzles 430 and 440 of the fixed nozzle assembly 320 according to the position of the reflecting module 400. In addition, the control unit 700 may determine wash water spray angles, wash water spray heights, or the like of the nozzles 330 and 340 according to the position of the reflecting module 400, and control the nozzles 330 and 340 according to the determined result. Furthermore, the control unit 700 may also determine whether to protrude the second reflecting surface 401a of the reflecting module 400 according to the position of the reflecting module 400, and control the reflecting module 400 according to the determined result.
The control unit 700 may be implemented with a semiconductor chip and a printed circuit board on which the semiconductor chip may be installed. The semiconductor chip may perform at least one of controlling, computing, and storing functions. The semiconductor chip and the printed circuit board may be installed at any place of the dishwasher 1 according to a designer's choice. For example, the semiconductor chip and the printed circuit board may be installed inside a housing that forms the door 11 of the dishwasher 1 or may also be installed at an upper portion or a lower portion of the main body 10 of the dishwasher 1.
The detection unit 701 may detect the position of the reflecting module 400. The detection unit 701 may also detect a distance between the reflecting module 400 and the fixed nozzle assembly 320 to detect the position of the reflecting module 400. The detection unit 701 may detect the position of the reflecting module 400 using infrared rays, visible rays, ultrasonic waves, or various electromagnetic waves. The detection unit 701 may also be implemented using various sensors such as an optical sensor, an infrared sensor, or an ultrasonic sensor.
The spray driving unit 710 may generate a driving force to allow the wash water to be sprayed by the nozzle assemblies 311, 313, 330, and 340 according to a control command of the control unit 700. According to an embodiment, the spray driving unit 710 may include the circulation pump 51 and the drainage pump 52. The circulation pump 51 of the spray driving unit 710 may use a BLDC motor. The spray driving unit 710 may change the transfer force of the circulation pump 51 according to a control command of the control unit 700 to increase or decrease the spray pressure of the wash water sprayed by the nozzles 430 and 440.
The reflecting module driving unit 720 may generate a driving force that moves the reflecting module holder 490 to which the reflecting module 400 is coupled in a predetermined direction to allow the reflecting module 400 to move within the wash tub 30. The reflecting module driving unit 720 may include the motor 530 connected to the drive pulley 500. According to an embodiment, the reflecting module driving unit 720 may also include a pneumatic actuator or a hydraulic actuator.
According to what is illustrated in
The detection unit 701 may detect a position of the reflecting module 400 which is moving and output an electrical signal S2. The detection unit 701 may also detect the position of the reflecting module 400 every predefined period.
The control unit 700 may determine a distance between the reflecting module 400 and the fixed nozzle assembly 320 based on the electrical signal output by the detection unit 701 S3.
The control unit 700 may determine a spray pressure according to the distance between the reflecting module 400 and the fixed nozzle assembly 320 S4. According to an embodiment, when there is a short distance between the reflecting module 400 and the nozzles 330 and 340 as illustrated in
The control unit 700 may determine the spray pressure and then generate a control signal that controls the circulation pump 51 according to the determined spray pressure to transmit the control signal to the circulation pump 51 of the spray driving unit 710.
The circulation pump 51 may change a transfer force based on the control command of the control unit 700 S5. In this case, the circulation pump 51 may increase the transfer force to increase the spray pressure when there is a long distance between the reflecting module 400 and the nozzles 330 and 340 and may decrease the transfer force to decrease the spray pressure when there is a short distance between the reflecting module 400 and the nozzles 330 and 340.
Since wash water spray pressures of the nozzles 330 and 340 are also changed when the circulation pump 51 changes the transfer force, the wash water spray pressures may be controlled according to the position of the reflecting module 400 as illustrated in
The dishwasher and the method for controlling the same are industrially applicable due to being able to be used in households or industrial sites.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2013-0169524 | Dec 2013 | KR | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/KR2014/012956 | 12/29/2014 | WO | 00 |
