Dishwasher, method for operating a dishwasher, and computer program product
AssigneeBSH Hausgeräte GmbH
InventorsAndreas Heidel, Johannes Wölfle, Vitus Hörmann, Bernd Kränzle
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A dishwasher includes a dishwasher interior for washing items to be washed with washing liquor. Arranged at a lower end of the dishwasher interior is a pump sump for collecting the washing liquor, and a sensor is arranged in the pump sump for outputting a sensor signal as a function of a presence of washing liquor at the sensor. A control apparatus configured to carry out a washing program selected from a number of washing programs is designed to determine a malfunction of a component of a hydraulic assembly as a function of the sensor signal and of a current operating state of the dishwasher.
Claims16
A dishwasher, comprising:
- a dishwasher interior for washing items to be washed with washing liquor;
- a pump sump arranged at a lower end of the dishwasher interior for collecting soiled washing liquor;
- an optical sensor arranged in the pump sump for outputting a sensor signal as a function of a presence of the soiled washing liquor at the optical sensor arranged in the pump sump;
- a drain pump arranged in the pump sump for pumping the soiled washing liquor out of the pump sump into an outlet hose;
- a drain check valve arranged between the drain pump and the outlet hose to retain the soiled washing liquor pumped into the outlet hose;
- a hydraulic assembly;
- and
- a control apparatus configured to perform operations comprising:
- executing a washing program selected from a number of washing programs;
- activating the drain pump to pump the soiled washing liquor out of the pump sump into the outlet hose while an inlet valve is closed;
- subsequent to activating the drain pump to pump the soiled washing liquor out of the pump sump into the outlet hose while the inlet valve is closed, receiving, from the optical sensor arranged in the pump sump, the sensor signal as the function of the presence of the soiled washing liquor at the optical sensor arranged in the pump sump;
- and
- detecting a malfunction of the drain check valve based on the receiving, from the optical sensor arranged in the pump sump, the sensor signal as the function of the presence of the soiled washing liquor at the optical sensor arranged in the pump sump, wherein the malfunction of the drain check valve comprises a failure of the drain check valve to retain the soiled washing liquor pumped into the outlet hose.
A method for operating a dishwasher, said method comprising:
- activating a drain pump to pump soiled washing liquor out of a pump sump into an outlet hose while an inlet valve is closed, wherein the pump sump is arranged at a lower end of a dishwasher interior for collecting washing liquor used for washing items to be washed in the dishwasher interior, wherein the drain pump is arranged in the pump sump, and wherein a drain check valve is arranged between the drain pump and the outlet hose to retain the soiled washing liquor pumped into the outlet hose;
- subsequent to activating the drain pump to pump the soiled washing liquor out of the pump sump into the outlet hose while the inlet valve is closed, receiving, from an optical sensor arranged in the pump sump, a sensor signal as a function of a presence of the soiled washing liquor at the optical sensor arranged in the pump sump;
- determining a malfunction of the drain check valve based on the receiving, from the optical sensor arranged in the pump sump, the sensor signal as the function of the presence of the soiled washing liquor at the optical sensor arranged in the pump sump, wherein the malfunction of the drain check valve comprises a failure of the drain check valve to retain the soiled washing liquor pumped into the outlet hose.
A computer program product for operating a dishwasher, comprising a computer program embodied in a non-transitory computer readable medium, wherein the computer program, when loaded into a computer and executed by the computer, causes the computer to execute the steps of:
- activating a drain pump to pump soiled washing liquor out of a pump sump into an outlet hose while an inlet valve is closed, wherein the pump sump is arranged at a lower end of a dishwasher interior for collecting washing liquor used for washing items to be washed in the dishwasher interior, wherein the drain pump is arranged in the pump sump, and wherein a drain check valve is arranged between the drain pump and the outlet hose to retain the soiled washing liquor pumped into the outlet hose;
- subsequent to activating the drain pump to pump the soiled washing liquor out of the pump sump into the outlet hose while the inlet valve is closed, receiving, from an optical sensor arranged in the pump sump, a sensor signal as a function of a presence of the soiled washing liquor at the optical sensor arranged in the pump sump;
- and
- determining a malfunction of the drain check valve based on the receiving, from the optical sensor arranged in the pump sump, the sensor signal as the function of the presence of the soiled washing liquor at the optical sensor arranged in the pump sump, wherein the malfunction of the drain check valve comprises a failure of the drain check valve to retain the soiled washing liquor pumped into the outlet hose.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.