Patent Grant
12178377
This application claims priority to German Application No. 10 2021 207 534.7, filed Jul. 15, 2021, the contents of which are hereby incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.
The invention relates to a dishwasher and to a method for controlling such a dishwasher, to a computer program designed for performing the method at a control unit of the dishwasher, and to a data carrier on which such a computer program is stored.
A cleaning system that can be inserted as a self-contained module into a dishwasher as a kind of dosing module is known from WO 2020/152004 A1. Furthermore, it is designed self-sufficient and contains both several different additives and/or cleaning agents for a cleaning process inside the dishwasher, and also a self-contained control unit with dosing of the aforementioned agents. It is also provided with its own power supply. However, the control unit and the power supply make this dosing module expensive.
A hob with a hob plate and induction heating coils arranged thereunder is known from DE 10 2017 201 109 A1. In addition, a transmission device extending over a larger surface is provided that consists of resonant circuits inductively coupled to one another. Each of these resonant circuits has a transmission coil and a transmission capacitor that form an L-C resonant circuit. This transmission device is designed very flat and/or thin and can be used for controlling additional operating elements or lighting from elsewhere. This allows in particular a saving on the expense of providing additional cabling or a supply line in the region of several induction heating coils possibly placed close together.
The object underlying the invention is to create a dishwasher previously mentioned, a method previously mentioned, a computer program previously mentioned and a data carrier designed for it, using which problems of the prior art can be solved and using which it is in particular possible to operate easily and practically a dishwasher with an aforementioned dosing module therein.
This object is solved by a dishwasher having the features of claim 1, by a method having the features of claim 21, by a computer program having the features of claim 22 and by a data carrier having the features of claim 23. Advantageous and preferred embodiments of the invention are the subject matter of further claims and are explained in more detail in the following. Some of the features are described only for the dishwasher, only for the method, only for the computer program or only for the data carrier. Regardless of this, they are however intended to apply by themselves and independently of one another for a dishwasher, for a method for its control, for a computer program and for a data carrier. The wording of the claims is based on express reference to the content of the description.
The dishwasher in accordance with the invention has a tub with tub walls, with an outlet and with water pipes, valves and a pump. These are usually so provided in dishwashers. At least one water inlet into the tub is provided and is connected to the pump by means of water pipes. The same may apply for an outlet from the tub. This is as a rule routed to the pump with filters. Furthermore, a dosing module for the dishwasher is provided, which is placed into the tub or is used in the tub. The dosing module contains additives and/or cleaning agents known from the prior art previously mentioned. These agents are introduced or added to a cleaning process inside the dishwasher, of course matching the progress of the respective process. The dosing module has at least one supply compartment for an additive and/or a cleaning agent, and advantageously several supply compartments for several agents. It has furthermore at least one dosing valve for releasing or dosing an appropriate agent into the tub. The dosing module is designed here as a self-contained structural unit that can be removed from the dishwasher or tub and is independent thereof. In particular, removal is possible without tools and with little effort. Finally, the dishwasher also has a control unit that can also be used for the dosing module, for the pump and for the valves. Particularly advantageously, only a single control unit is provided in the entire dishwasher that per se also passes on the commands to the dosing module, which are then implemented therein by the aforementioned dosing valves. In addition, a dosing module may also have sensors that can also be controlled and/or evaluated by the control unit. The dosing module therefore does not have to have a control unit for sensors of this type.
In accordance with the invention, the dosing module has a communication module for communicating with the control unit. Advantageously, this is a bidirectional communication. Furthermore, the dishwasher has a transmission device which is designed to work together with the communication module of the dosing module, or the two are coordinated with one another. The transmission device is designed planar, preferably with a size of at least 5 cm×10 cm, in particular at least 20 cm×50 cm. It is arranged along a wall of the tub, in particular on the outside or underside of the tub or outside the tub. This transmission device is designed to transmit signals and/or power in the surface of the transmission device. It is in particular possible, using the dosing module and possibly also with further functional units in the tub or on the dishwasher, for signals to be exchanged or for communication to take place. Furthermore, it should also be possible to transmit power if required, so that the dosing module as described above, and if required other functional units too, does not need to have its own power supply. Its design and its arrangement can be freer and more advantageous as a result.
The transmission device has a plurality of resonant circuits inductively coupled to one another. Each resonant circuit has a transmitting coil and a transmitting capacitor and is hence designed as an L-C-resonant circuit. The transmitting coil, an inductance and the transmitting capacitor or a capacitor are advantageously designed separate from one another, but can if required also be accommodated in a single component. The transmitting coils extend here substantially in that surface in which the entire transmission device also extends. This surface is advantageously parallel to the wall of the tub in that region in which the dosing module is advantageously arranged. The resonant circuits or the transmitting coils also have relatively short distances from one another, advantageously between 1% and 10% of the diameter of a transmitting coil or between 1 mm and 20 mm. The transmission device extends here up to a place at which the dosing module or the communication module is arranged or can advantageously be arranged. Its signal-transmitting connection is thus as easy to achieve as possible. Furthermore, the transmission device is connected to the control unit to permit signal transmission at least during operation of the dishwasher, in particular directly connected. An electronic power unit and/or an inverter are also advantageously provided in the dishwasher, which can also be connected to the transmission device. This is explained in more detail in the following.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a signal-transmitting connection between the communication module of the dosing module and the transmission device is designed wireless, particularly preferably inductive over said distance of several centimeters. This allows a good and secure signal-transmitting connection through the tub wall to the dosing module. For that purpose the communication module has particularly advantageously a coil that can be inductively coupled to the transmission device. Inductively couplable coils of this type for communication modules in particular are known to the person skilled in the art.
In an embodiment of the invention, the dosing module can be designed without its own power supply, so that it is in fact supplied with power only by means of the transmission device, preferably wirelessly. This is a very simple embodiment. In a possible further embodiment of the invention, it can be provided that a dosing module is nevertheless provided with its own power source. This has the advantage that certain functions and/or memory content or the like can be retained even when the dosing module is removed from the tub. This can also apply for displays or the like. A power supply or internal power source for the dosing module can be a primary or secondary battery, possibly also a capacitor in a simple embodiment. The charging of an appropriate rechargeable power source can be performed by means of the transmission device.
In a generally possible embodiment of the invention, the control unit can be directly or galvanically connected to the transmission device to permit signal transmission, for example via sealed electric contacts and/or a sealed cable through the wall of the tub. Advantageously, however, a wireless and inductive signal-transmitting connection is provided which in particular enables the tub wall to be designed without penetrations and to prevent insulation problems during signal transmission and power transmission. To do so, the control unit can be connected to a control coil which is in turn inductively coupled to the transmission device. This could then be provided, corresponding to the signal-transmitting connection, between the dosing module and the transmission device.
In an advantageous further embodiment of the invention, the control unit is connected to an inverter or in general to an electronic power unit of the dishwasher. This inverter too is connected to the control coil, in particular connected to permit signal transmission and power transmission. To do so, the inverter can, in a control mode, control the control coil and in particular the transmission device, in order to transmit signals and also, if required, power per se to the communication module and/or to the dosing module by means of the transmission device. The general power supply of the dosing module previously mentioned is thus advantageously achieved via said inverter, regardless of whether the latter is directly or galvanically or inductively coupled to the transmission device.
Furthermore, the inverter or the electronic power unit can be designed to supply the pump of the dishwasher with power and to drive it in a further mode, i.e. in a pump mode. To do so, the control unit can generate appropriate control signals for the best possible operation of the pump. Furthermore, the dishwasher can also have a heater, which is advantageously integrated into the pump. This heater can also be controlled and operated by the inverter or an electronic power unit if required.
The stated control unit of the dishwasher is designed to control valves present in the dishwasher. Sensors present in the dishwasher can also be controlled with it.
Advantageously, the control unit is the only control unit in the entire dishwasher, and can have a microcontroller which is then the only microcontroller in the entire dishwasher. The dosing module too can then be designed without its own microcontroller. This simplifies its design.
In a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, it can be provided that a signal-transmitting connection not only to the dosing module by means of the transmission device, but also to outside the dishwasher, in particular to a mobile terminal, is possible. Such a mobile terminal, which can advantageously be a tablet computer or a smartphone, can thus be connected to permit signal transmission and if required also power transmission to the dishwasher or be connected thereto. This enables operation of the dishwasher by means of this mobile terminal, which would otherwise be more difficult. The transmission device can thus also be provided along an outside of the dishwasher, but on its inner face, i.e. not on the outside itself. A door of the dishwasher, for example, can be used here, on which door a mobile terminal can be arranged or fastened and then connected to permit signal transmission to the control unit and/or to the dosing module. This is advantageously achieved by an inductive coupling or by an NFC method, nowadays provided in many mobile terminals.
In an advantageous further embodiment of the invention, the transmission device can extend not only as a kind of wide strip from a place of connection to the control unit and/or from the electronic power unit or inverter to an intended place for the dosing module; the transmission device can also take up a larger surface, in particular on the bottom of the tub as a tub wall. The transmission device can thus take up at least one third of this floor surface, and preferably at least two thirds. This also makes it easy to place the dosing module at another point at the bottom of the tub, for example for varying technical reasons. Further sensors or functional units may also be arranged at the bottom of the tub and then connected in simple manner to the control unit and/or to an electronic power unit or to an inverter for power supply.
In an advantageous development of the invention, the transmission device and the control unit are designed to detect a place at which the dosing module is arranged in the tub. The dosing module should of course in turn be arranged at the necessary short distance to the transmission device for that purpose. This can for example be used to control a water inlet having an adjustable nozzle or the like such that water is conveyed at least for a limited time where possible to the place at which the dosing module is arranged. The agent released thereby can be dissolved as well as possible and hence be used. The control unit can therefore for example direct an adjustable nozzle onto the dosing module, having determined its place of attachment inside the tub by means of the transmission device.
The method in accordance with the invention, with which the control unit can control the dosing module via the transmission device, can be achieved by an appropriate computer program. The latter can be input into the control unit or into a memory of the control unit. This computer program is advantageously stored on a data carrier, which can for example be a memory chip, alternatively also a diskette, DVD or the like.
These and further features are found in the description and in the drawings as well as in the claims, wherein the individual features can each be realized singly or severally in the form of sub-combinations in one embodiment of the invention and in other fields, and can represent designs advantageous and protectable per se, for which protection is claimed here. The subdivision of the application into individual sections and sub-headings does not limit the statements made thereunder in their general validity.
Examples of the invention are shown schematically in the drawings and are explained in more detail in the following. The drawings show in:
A rack 17 is arranged at the bottom of the tub 14, further racks may be arranged in particular above it. A downward outlet 19 is provided on the tub floor 15, possibly draining from a so-called sump of the tub 14. A filter device known per se is advantageously provided in the outlet 19. A pump line 20 leads from the outlet 19 to a pump 22 by means of a pump valve 21. By means of the pump valve 21, a water flow can be controlled, of course also using the operation of the pump 22. A supply line 23 runs in turn from the pump 22 away to the side and then upwards to a spray arm 24 arranged at the top of the tub 14 in known manner. A further spray arm may also be provided in accordance with
The dishwasher 11 has a control unit 26 which is connected to an electronic power unit 27 or which controls the latter. The control unit 26 is advantageously in control of the entire dishwasher 11 and hence is the only control unit, in particular with a single microcontroller. The control unit 26 is thus provided for an integrated operating device, not shown here, of the dishwasher 11, but also to control the pump 22 and the pump valve 21 and any further valves, not shown here, which are of course present. The control unit 26 however does not control the pump 22, at least not a pump motor, directly, but via an electronic power unit 27, advantageously an inverter. In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the pump 22 can also have an associated heating unit, particularly advantageously integrated therein. This heating unit too can then be advantageously precisely controlled via the control unit 26 and the electronic power unit 27. Sensors, in particular temperature sensors, arranged in the pump 22, in particular on said heating unit, are also evaluated using the control unit 26.
The control unit 26 is also connected to a communication device 29, shown in
A transformer 32 is arranged as a transmission device in accordance with the invention and as described above on the tub floor 15, in particular arranged on its underside so that no tightness problems can occur. Such a transmission device is known from DE 10 2017 201 109 A1, previously mentioned, to which explicit reference is made concerning details of its structure and design. The transformer 32 can in one embodiment of the invention extend substantially directly from a place near the control unit 26 or above the latter to an area underneath a dosing module 36. The arrangement of the dosing module 36 is then however restricted to a point above this strip-like transformer 32. Alternatively and advantageously, the transformer 32 takes up an area substantially corresponding to the tub floor 15, of course with a cutout around the outlet 19. The dosing module 36 can then be placed wherever required. Furthermore, other additional sensors, additional actuators or additional devices too can be connected thereto, with signal transmission possible and if required also power transmission, and hence be controlled and/or evaluated by the control unit 26, as explained in more detail in the following. As can be seen from the enlargement in
The slightly enlarged representation of a section through the dishwasher 11 according to
The external operating device 44 is also supplied with power via the transformer 32, for example to operate lights and/or a display used as an indicator. Inputs by an operator at the external operating device 44 are transmitted by means of the transformers 32′ and 32 to the control unit 26 to be processed there.
As indicated in
The dosing module 36 can also have a module transmitter 40 for transmitting radio signals for example to outside the dishwasher 11, in particular either also to the external operating device 44 arranged there or to a diagnostics unit or the like. Advantageously, the dosing module 36 has however no module transmitter 40 of its own, as both expense can be spared and any communication with the control unit 26 can be via the transformer 32. The control unit 26 in turn can have the previously described communication device 29 to the outside, which is then for example is arranged outside the tub 14. This usually consists of stainless steel and thus is often an obstacle to radio transmission of signals passing through it.
In
The control unit 26 and the electronic power unit 27 can be designed such that there is a control mode and a pump mode. In the control mode, the transformer 32 is controlled, and so all functional units connected thereto are controlled and evaluated. In a pump mode, the transformer 32 is advantageously disconnected from the electronic power unit 27, and the latter operates only a drive motor and/or a heating unit of the pump 22. The electronic power unit 27 can then be kept simpler in its design.
The schematic general drawing in
A further dashed-line connection can be formed to self-sufficient additional sensors 46 or to self-sufficient additional actuators 47. Such self-sufficient unit actuators can also permit dosing of certain agents for which the dosing module 36 might not be designed.
A further dashed-line connection extends from the transformer 32 to a self-sufficient additional unit 48. This can for example be, according to the example in
The transformer 32 is directly connected to the electronic power unit 27 that controls it and hence receives its signals, which are passed on to the control unit 26. Furthermore, the pump 22 too is connected to the electronic power unit 27. The latter is in turn connected to the control unit 26, to which a previously described communication device 29 is connected.
Thanks to the signal-transmitting connection, using which power can also be distributed to the tub floor 15 of the dishwasher 11, a corresponding functionality in the dosing module 36 can be dispensed with. It can therefore be of simpler design and above all easier and simpler to operate. Furthermore, further functional units such as the aforementioned additional sensors, additional actuators or additional devices in the dishwasher 11 can be subsequently inserted, although the dishwasher 11 was not even originally designed for this.
As previously explained, the control unit 26 can detect, based on the information from the transformer 32, where in the region of the latter or where on the tub floor 15 the dosing module 36 or one of the aforementioned additional units is arranged. A control unit can then take into account this attachment place in particular, which makes the control and hence also the functioning of the dosing module particularly precise and versatile as well as adaptable.
A transformer 32 is shown in
Advantageously, all L-C-resonant circuits 35 are designed identical. As can be discerned, they are also aligned or arranged in the same way. This is not essential, but has proved advantageous for good power transmission inside the transformer.
The distance between adjacent L-C-resonant circuits 35 and above all the transmitting coils L can be relatively short and for example be between 1 mm and 15 mm, advantageously between 2 mm and 10 mm. This applies for transmitting coils L arranged both laterally adjacent to one another and arranged one behind the other. The distance should be so short that they are in any case inductively coupled to one another in every direction. In an embodiment of the invention, it is even conceivable for different transmitting coils L, in particular adjacent ones, to extend in different planes and even overlap in the plan view.
An inductance of a single-winding transmitting coil L′ can be in the region of around 1 μH. A capacitance of the transmitting capacitor C′ can be, for a desired frequency of around 20 kHz, slightly above 30 μF, and for a frequency of 30 kHz around 15 μF. The transmitting capacitors C′ must be selected accordingly.
An increase in the number of windings of a transmitting coil L has a significant effect on its inductance, as can easily be predicted. With each additional winding, of course, the expense of manufacturing the transmitting coils L and hence also the entire transformer 32 rises.
However, the expense of manufacturing additional windings can be worthwhile, if in particular very different frequencies in the system or in the dishwasher are to be harmonized, for example the frequency of the inverter with the frequency of the transmission, by means of NFC, Bluetooth, or the like. The options for harmonization are known to the person skilled in the art from the theory of coupled resonant circuits. It is only necessary to harmonize the L-C resonances and the couplings to one another, as is however described in detail in the literature on coupled resonant circuits. Furthermore, it can generally be of advantage to focus internally in the dishwasher on frequencies in the higher kHz range, advantageously frequencies of 30 kHz or 50 kHz up to frequencies of 80 kHz or 200 kHz. This can ensure that no disturbances of the electromagnetic field from the outside negatively affect communication between for example the transmission device and the dosing module.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 2021 207 534.7 | Jul 2021 | DE | national |
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20110204096 | Kessler | Aug 2011 | A1 |
| 20120125366 | Beshears, Jr. et al. | May 2012 | A1 |
| 20200113405 | Kessler et al. | Apr 2020 | A1 |
| 20210348088 | Kessler et al. | Nov 2021 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 102016225833 | Jun 2018 | DE |
| 102017201109 | Jul 2018 | DE |
| 3059480 | Aug 2016 | EP |
| 201800003574 | Sep 2019 | IT |
| WO 2009146692 | Dec 2009 | WO |
| WO 2018196941 | Nov 2018 | WO |
| WO 2020152004 | Jul 2020 | WO |
| Entry |
|---|
| European Patent Office, Extended European Search Report received for Application No. 22183553.1, dated Dec. 19, 2022, 10 pages, Germany. |
| German Patent and Trade Mark Office, Office Action received for Application No. DE 102021207534.7, mailed May 9, 2022, 9 pages, Germany. |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20230013323 A1 | Jan 2023 | US |
