Dishwasher

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11272825-B2
Application number	US-201616466667-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 15, 2016
Priority date	Dec 15, 2016
Publication date	Mar 15, 2022
Grant date	Mar 15, 2022

Abstract

A dishwasher may include a washing chamber and a wash arm arrangement having a wash arm rotatably arranged in the washing chamber, and a satellite spray device arranged on the wash arm. The dishwasher may include at least one sensor configured to sense a rotational position of the wash arm and a control unit configured to monitor consecutive sensed rotational positions of the wash arm. The control unit may be configured to calculate a rotational speed of the wash arm based on an elapsed time and a rotational distance between two sensed rotational positions, and may be configured to estimate a current rotational position of the wash arm based on an elapsed time since a previously sensed rotational position and the calculated rotational speed. The control unit may adapt the pumping intensity of a pump of the dishwasher based on the estimated current rotational position of the wash arm.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A dishwasher comprising:
a washing chamber;
a wash arm arrangement comprising a wash arm rotatably arranged in the washing chamber, and a satellite spray device arranged on the wash arm,
wherein the wash arm arrangement includes a plurality of nozzles, the dishwasher comprises a pump fluidically connected to the plurality of nozzles, the pump is configured to pump washing liquid through the plurality of nozzles into the washing chamber, the dishwasher comprises at least one proximity sensor configured to sense a rotational position of the wash arm each time the wash arm passes by the least one proximity sensor during rotation, and the dishwasher further comprises a control unit configured to:
calculate a rotational speed of the wash arm based on an elapsed time between consecutive sensed rotational positions and a known rotational distance that the wash arm travels between the consecutive sensed rotational positions,
estimate a current rotational position of the wash arm away from the least one proximity sensor based on an elapsed time since a previously sensed rotational position and the calculated rotational speed,
adapt pumping intensity of the pump based on the estimated current rotational position of the wash arm, and
increase or decrease pumping intensity of the pump when the estimated current rotational position is within at least one selected rotational position interval.

2. The dishwasher according to claim 1 , wherein at least one nozzle of the plurality of nozzles is arranged to direct the washing liquid in directions causing the wash arm to rotate within the washing chamber.

3. The dishwasher according to claim 2 , wherein the wash arm is configured to continuously rotate within the washing chamber when the pump is pumping washing liquid through the at least one nozzle of the plurality of nozzles.

4. The dishwasher according to claim 1 , wherein the satellite spray device is rotatably arranged around a satellite spray device axis on the wash arm, and wherein nozzles of the satellite spray device are arranged to direct the washing liquid in directions causing the satellite spray device to rotate around the satellite spray device axis.

5. The dishwasher according to claim 1 , wherein the number of nozzles and/or sizes of nozzles on the satellite spray device and the wash arm are arranged such that a flowrate of washing liquid pumped through the nozzles of the satellite spray device is higher than a flowrate of washing liquid pumped through the nozzles of the wash arm.

6. The dishwasher according to claim 1 , wherein the wash arm comprises a magnet and the at least one sensor comprises at least one magnetic sensor configured to sense the rotational position of the wash arm by sensing a magnetic field of the magnet.

7. The dishwasher according to claim 1 , wherein the dishwasher comprises one sensor only, configured to sense a rotational position of the wash arm.

8. The dishwasher according to claim 1 , wherein the dishwasher comprises a user interface for selecting the at least one selected rotational position interval.

9. The dishwasher according to claim 1 , comprising a first communication unit connected to the control unit, wherein the first communication unit is arranged to wirelessly communicate with a second communication unit comprising a user interface for selecting the at least one selected rotational position interval.

10. The dishwasher according to claim 9 , wherein the second communication unit is a stationary or portable communication unit, such as a computer, a tablet computer or a smartphone.

11. The dishwasher of claim 1 , wherein the at least one sensor is mounted in at least one fixed position in the washing chamber to detect the wash arm at the consecutive sensed rotational positions each time the wash arm passes the at least one sensor.

12. The dishwasher of claim 1 , wherein the wash arm continuously rotates throughout the at least one selected rotational position interval in an instance the pumping intensity is increased or decreased.

13. The dishwasher of claim 1 , wherein the pumping intensity of the pump is increased or decreased in the at least one selected rotational position interval for a plurality of consecutive full rotations of the wash arm.

14. The dishwasher of claim 1 , wherein the control unit is further configured to decrease the pumping intensity of the pump based on the estimated current rotational position of the wash arm.

15. The dishwasher of claim 1 , wherein the control unit is further configured to decrease the pumping intensity of the pump when the estimated current rotational position is within the at least one selected rotational position interval.

16. The dishwasher of claim 1 , wherein each sensor of the at least one sensor is configured to detect the rotational position of the wash arm during each rotation of the wash arm.

17. The dishwasher of claim 1 , wherein the at least one sensor comprises a first sensor and a second sensor, and wherein the first sensor is configured to detect the wash arm at a first rotational position during each rotation of the wash arm and the second sensor is configured to detect the wash arm at a second rotational position different than the first rotational position during each rotation of the wash arm.

18. The dishwasher of claim 1 , wherein each sensor of the at least one sensor is disposed at a respective particular rotational position of the wash arm, such that each sensor is configured to detect the rotational position of the wash arm at the respective particular rotational position.

Assignees

• Electrolux Appliances AB

Inventors

• Wahlberg Magnus
• Svensson Finn
• Persson David
• Runnquist Camilla
• Zienkiewicz Maciej
• Hedberg David
• Anello John

Classifications

• A47L15/23 Primary

  moved by means of the sprays · CPC title

• A47L2401/32

  Vibration or sound detection · CPC title

• A47L15/4289

  Spray-pressure measuring or regulating arrangements (nozzles A47L15/4278) · CPC title

• A47L2401/30

  Variation of electrical, magnetical or optical quantities · CPC title

• A47L2301/08

  Other manual input · CPC title