Dish washer
AssigneeLG Electronics Inc.
InventorsSung Hun Lee, Minhyuk Lee, Daegyu Kim
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A dish washer effectively identifies a viscosity of a detergent stored in a detergent supply based on the number of revolutions of a roller sensed via a roller sensor and an operating time of a pump motor, thereby simplifying a structure, improving space utilization, and reducing a manufacturing cost as a separate electrode sensor or level sensor for identifying the viscosity of the detergent is eliminated.
Claims20
A dish washer comprising:
- a tub that defines a washing space therein;
- a detergent supply comprising (i) a container configured to store detergent to be provided to the washing space and (ii) a detergent pump configured to supply the detergent in the container to the washing space;
- and
- a controller configured to control the detergent pump during a washing process,
- wherein the detergent pump comprises:
- a tube configured to guide the detergent discharged from the container to the washing space,
- a roller configured to pressurize the tube, the roller being configured to revolve about a revolution axis to thereby cause the detergent inside the tube to flow,
- a pump motor configured to generate a driving force to move the roller, and
- a roller sensor configured to sense a location of the roller and to generate an output signal corresponding to the location of the roller, and
- wherein the controller is configured to:
- determine a state of the detergent pump or a state of the detergent based on the output signal received from the roller sensor, and
- based on the state of the detergent pump or the state of the detergent, (i) stop the washing process or (ii) select a mode of the washing process corresponding to the state of the detergent and perform the selected mode of the washing process.
A method for controlling a dish washer, the dish washer including a tub that defines a washing space therein, a detergent supply that includes (i) a container configured to store detergent to be provided to the washing space and (ii) a detergent pump configured to supply the detergent in the container to the washing space, and a controller configured to control the detergent pump during a washing process, wherein the detergent pump includes a tube configured to guide the detergent discharged from the container to the washing space, a roller configured to pressurize the tube, the roller being configured to revolve about a revolution axis to thereby cause the detergent inside the tube to flow, a pump motor configured to generate a driving force to move the roller, and a roller sensor configured to sense a location of the roller and to generate an output signal corresponding to the location of the roller, the method comprising:
- determining a state of the detergent pump or a state of the detergent based on the output signal received from the roller sensor;
- and
- based on the state of the detergent pump or the state of the detergent, (i) stopping the washing process or (ii) selecting a mode of the washing process corresponding to the state of the detergent and performing the selected mode of the washing process.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.