Patent Application
20240099542
This application claims the priority benefit of Chinese Patent Application No. 202211160122.8 filed on Sep. 22, 2022, in the China National Intellectual Property Administration, the whole disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The present disclosure relates to household appliances, and more particularly, to a structure for detecting rotation of spray arms of a household appliance and a household appliance including the same.
A dishwasher, as a household appliance used for washing tableware, typically utilizes a rotating spray arm to expel washing water onto the tableware. A rotating speed of the spray arm varies with the degree of cleanness of tableware, the available water supply, and the presence or absence of obstructions. In this way, the rotating speed of spray arm is closely related to washing performance and efficiency.
When an existing dishwasher is in use, there is a risk of the spray arm being blocked, resulting in unclean washing or overcurrent of a motor driving the spray arm. Therefore, it is necessary to detect the working condition of the spray arm. An existing scheme for detecting the working condition of the spray arm is to embed a magnetic block on the spray arm, and install a reed switch on the inner wall of the dishwasher. In this way, the working condition of the spray arm can be determined by detecting the on-off state of the reed switch. This solution is inconvenient to install, and the detection provided thereby is not accurate enough to fully inspect all spray arms in the dishwasher.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a system adapted to detect rotation of at least two spray arms of a household appliance spaced along a longitudinal axis of the appliance includes a first detection magnet, a second detection magnet and a magnetic sensor. The first detection magnet is arranged on a first spray arm of the at least two spray arms. The second detection magnet is arranged on a second spray arm of the at least two spray arms. A magnetic field direction of the second detection magnet is different from a magnetic field direction of the first detection magnet. The magnetic sensor is arranged in the household appliance and is adapted to sense a motion status of the first detection magnet and the second detection magnet.
The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying Figures, of which:
Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described hereinafter in detail with reference to the attached drawings, wherein the like reference numerals refer to the like elements. The present disclosure may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiment set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that the present disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the concept of the disclosure to those skilled in the art.
In the following detailed description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the disclosed embodiments. It will be apparent, however, that one or more embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are schematically shown in order to simplify the drawing.
An improved system or structure for detecting rotation of spray arms of a household appliance is disclosed herein. The exemplary household appliance includes at least two spray arms spaced apart in the household appliance along a longitudinal axis. The structure includes a first detection magnet arranged on a first spray arm of the at least two spray arms, a second detection magnet arranged on a second spray arm of the at least two spray arms, and a magnetic sensor arranged in the household appliance. The magnetic sensor is adapted to sense a motion status of the first detection magnet and the second detection magnet. A magnetic field direction of the second detection magnet is different from a magnetic field direction of the first detection magnet.
In the exemplary embodiment, the first spray arm 10 is arranged at the top of the housing 100, the third spray arm 30 is arranged at the middle of the housing 100, the second spray arm 20 is arranged at the bottom of the housing 100, and the magnetic sensor 300 is arranged at the bottom of the housing 100. The magnetic field directions of the first detection magnet 210, the second detection magnet 220, and the third detection magnet 230 are different from each other, so that the magnetic sensor 300 can sense the motion status (for example, motion position, rotating speed, etc.) of each spray arm (for example, any one of the first spray arm 10, the second spray arm 20, and the third spray arm 30).
As shown in
In use, each detection magnet may be provided with magnetic blocks with different magnetic field intensity according to detection requirements, which is not limited herein. In this embodiment, the S pole of the first magnetic block 211 faces towards a first direction (for example, outwardly perpendicular to the paper surface). The N pole of the second magnetic block faces towards the first direction (for example, outwardly perpendicular to the paper surface). The N pole of the third magnetic block 220 faces towards an extension direction of the second spray arm 20. The N pole of the fourth magnetic block 230 faces towards a second direction. The second direction is perpendicular to the first direction and the extension direction above. As shown in
Referring to
In view of the above, the magnetic field directions of the first detection magnet 210, the second detection magnet 220 and the third detection magnet 230 disclosed in the present embodiment are different from each other. In this way, the magnetic sensor 300 can sense the magnetic field intensity under the combined action of the three detection magnets. The specific principle is described herein.
More specifically,
In view of the above, first, data sensed by the magnetic sensor 300 in the detection time period, based on the relation between the magnetic field intensity and the rotational angle in the x, y, and z directions, as shown by the B_H curves in the
Next, after the corresponding detection magnets are installed on the three spray arms respectively, the following operation steps are performed during the operation of the dishwasher for detection. Step 1: detecting, by the magnetic sensor 300, the magnetic field intensity in the z-direction. If the absolute value of the peak value of the detected data is greater than a first threshold (for example, 10 mG or other data), it can be determined that the third spray arm 30 rotates normally, and the rotating speed and position of the third spray arm can be calculated according to the period of occurrence of the peak value. Step 2: if it has been determined in step 1 that the third spray arm 30 rotates normally, detecting, by the magnetic sensor 300, the magnetic field intensity in the y-direction, and performing the following algorithm processing on the detected data: subtracting in real time the magnetic field intensity (as shown by By_M in
Based on the above calculation method, the working parameters such as the motion position and rotating speed of each spray arm at different moments can be obtained by sensing of the detection magnets through the magnetic sensor 300.
Compared with the existing detection system, the structure or system for detecting rotation of spray arms of a household appliance disclosed herein can accurately detect the working state of multiple spray arms by means of the arrangement of a magnetic sensor, and at the same time reduce the manufacturing cost and simplify the installation.
As shown in
In this embodiment, the first spray arm 10 is arranged at the top of the housing 100, the third spray arm 30 is arranged at the middle of the housing 100, and the second spray arm 20 is arranged at the bottom of the housing 100. In addition, the first magnetic sensor 310 is arranged at the top of the housing 100 to detect motion status of the first spray arm 10. The second magnetic sensor 320 is arranged at the bottom of the housing 100 to detect motion status of the second spray arm 20. The third magnetic sensor 330 is arranged at the middle of the housing 100 to detect motion status of the third spray arm 30.
The magnetic field directions of the first detection magnet 210, the second detection magnet 220, and the third detection magnet 230 are different from each other, such that multiple magnetic sensors can respectively sense the motion status (for example, motion position, rotating speed, etc.) of the corresponding spray arms. Furthermore, in this example, the first magnetic sensor 310, the second magnetic sensor 320, and the third magnetic sensor 330 are all three-axis AMR magnetic sensors. In actual design, other types of magnetic sensors can be selected according to requirements.
As shown in
In view of the above, the magnetic field directions of the first detection magnet 210, the second detection magnet 220 and the third detection magnet 230 disclosed in the present embodiment are different from each other, such that the first magnetic sensor 310 can sense the magnetic field status of the first detection magnet 210, the second magnetic sensor 320 can sense the magnetic field status of the second detection magnet 220, and the third magnetic sensor 330 can sense the magnetic field status of the third detection magnet 230. In addition, the arrangement of the multiple detection magnets in this embodiment may also be as shown in
In the present embodiment, each magnetic sensor respectively senses the motion status (for example, motion position, rotating speed, etc.) of the corresponding detection magnet, so as to achieve correct detection of each spray arm. In the structure for detecting rotation of spray arms of a household appliance disclosed in this embodiment, placement positions of magnetic poles of detection magnets are different, and therefore, regularly varying magnetic fields in different directions are generated at the corresponding installation positions of the magnetic sensors, so that the rotation state of each spray arm can be distinguished.
A household appliance (for example, a dishwasher) is disclosed in a third embodiment, which includes a first spray arm 10 and a second spray arm 20, as shown in
In the instant embodiment, as the magnetic field directions of the first detection magnet 210 and the second detection magnet 220 are different from each other, the magnetic sensor 300 respectively senses the magnetic fields that vary regularly in different directions, and the rotation status of the first spray arm 10 and the second spray arm 20 are distinguished by means of the algorithm processing similar to that in the first embodiment.
A household appliance (for example, a dishwasher) is also disclosed in a fourth embodiment, which includes a first spray arm 10 and a second spray arm 20, as shown in
In this embodiment, the installation positions of the first magnetic sensor 310 and the second magnetic sensor 320 are similar to those in
In addition, those areas in which it is believed that those of ordinary skill in the art are familiar, have not been described herein in order not to unnecessarily obscure the invention described. Accordingly, it has to be understood that the invention is not to be limited by the specific illustrative embodiments, but only by the scope of the appended claims.
It should be appreciated for those skilled in this art that the above embodiments are intended to be illustrated, and not restrictive. For example, many modifications may be made to the above embodiments by those skilled in this art, and various features described in different embodiments may be freely combined with each other without conflicting in configuration or principle.
Although several exemplary embodiments have been shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes or modifications may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the disclosure, the scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents.
As used herein, an element recited in the singular and proceeded with the word “a” or “an” should be understood as not excluding plural of the elements or steps, unless such exclusion is explicitly stated. Furthermore, references to “one embodiment” of the present disclosure are not intended to be interpreted as excluding the existence of additional embodiments that also incorporate the recited features. Moreover, unless explicitly stated to the contrary, embodiments “comprising” or “having” an element or a plurality of elements having a particular property may include additional such elements not having that property.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 202211160122.8 | Sep 2022 | CN | national |
