Monitoring of a washing program of a dishwasher machine

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12016504-B2
Application number	US-201917044248-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 26, 2019
Priority date	Jun 27, 2018
Publication date	Jun 25, 2024
Grant date	Jun 25, 2024

Abstract

Among other things, a method is disclosed which includes the following: acquiring at least one set of acceleration data indicative of a progression of measured acceleration values; determining status data indicative of a process step within a cleaning program performed by a dishwasher; outputting or causing the output of the determined status data. Further revealed is a device for executing and/or controlling this method, a system with one or more devices for executing and/or controlling this method and a computer program for executing and/or controlling this method by employing a processor.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method of optimizing dispensing of a cleaning agent in a dishwasher comprising:
detecting at least one set of acceleration data indicative of a progression of measured acceleration values, wherein the at least one set of acceleration data is detected by at least one acceleration sensor in a treatment chamber of the dishwasher, the at least acceleration sensor being part of a separate dosing device for dispensing the cleaning agent positioned in the treatment chamber of the dishwasher, and wherein the separate dosing device is configured to be removably placed within the treatment chamber of the dishwasher;
determining status data indicative of a current process step within a cleaning program being performed by the dishwasher, wherein the status data is determined partly based on the at least one set of acceleration data;
detecting at least one set of sensor data indicative of a variation in temperature within the treatment chamber or an elapsed time of the cleaning program, wherein the at least one set of sensor data is detected by at least one sensor in the treatment chamber of the dishwasher;
further determining the status data partly based also on the at least one set of sensor data;
outputting or causing the output of the determined status data that was determined partly based on the at least one set of acceleration data and partly based also on the at least one set of sensor data; and
determining control data at least partially based on the status data, wherein the control data causes the dosing device to perform a dosing of cleaning agent into the treatment chamber of the dishwasher;
wherein the at least one set of acceleration data represent signals from directions of each of two or three degrees of freedom with respect to a Cartesian coordinate system, and
wherein an orientation or placement of the dosing device in the treatment chamber of the dishwasher is determined based on a comparison between the acceleration data in the directions of all of the two or three degrees of freedom represented by the at least one set of acceleration data.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the status data represents one or more process steps i) to xi) of the cleaning program:
i) start of the cleaning program;
ii) performing filling with water during the cleaning program;
iii) performing a water change during the cleaning program;
iv) performing a pre-rinse during the cleaning program;
v) performing a main cleaning cycle during the cleaning program;
vi) performing a first rinse during the cleaning program;
vii) performing further rinsing steps during the cleaning program;
viii) performing a final rinse during the cleaning program;
ix) performing a drying process during the cleaning program;
x) performing a zeolite-active drying process during the cleaning program; and
xi) end of the cleaning program.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one set of sensor data is acquired from a temperature sensor or a timer.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one set of acceleration data and the at least one set of sensor data are acquired in parallel.

5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one set of acceleration data and/or the at least one set of sensor data are each acquired over a predefined period of time.

6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein acceleration data is separately collected for each of the two or three degrees of freedom.

7. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the determination of the status data is further based on one or more of the following characteristics:
a noise level represented by said at least one set of acceleration data;
a progression represented by the at least one set of acceleration data compared with a progression represented by temperature data; and
a progression represented by the at least one set of acceleration data compared with a progression represented by time data.

8. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
creating a set of user profile data at least partially based on the at least one set of acceleration data and the at least one set of sensor data, the status data being further determined partly based on the user profile data.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the control data is further determined based on the user profile data, and wherein the control data causes a dosing device to perform adjusted dosing of the cleaning agent.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the control data is further determined based on the user profile data, and wherein the control data includes instructions on how to place the dosing device in the treatment chamber of the dishwasher.

11. The method of claim 8 , wherein the control data is further determined based on the user profile data, and wherein the control data includes advice on how to solve a problem that may occur during a cleaning cycle.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one sensor is part of the separate dosing device.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one sensor is part of the dishwasher.

14. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising a computer program with instructions which cause a processor to execute the method according to claim 1 when the computer program is executed by the processor.

Assignees

• Henkel Ag & Co Kgaa

Inventors

• Kessler Arnd
• Zuechner Lars
• Hernandez Robert Ruiz
• Juckel Thomas
• Wick Wolfgang

Classifications

• A47L2501/26

  Indication or alarm to the controlling device or to the user · CPC title

• A47L2501/07

  Consumable products, e.g. detergent, rinse aids or salt · CPC title

• A47L2401/32

  Vibration or sound detection · CPC title

• A47L2401/20

  Time, e.g. elapsed operating time · CPC title

• A47L2401/12

  Water temperature · CPC title