# US 9,751,115 B2 · Washer such as a dishwasher or a washing machine and method for operating a washer > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 9,751,115 B2 - Document ID: US9751115B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 14/470,063 - Filed: 2014-08-27 - Published: 2014-12-11 - Granted: 2017-09-05 - Earliest claimed: 2009-08-05 - Assignees: Electrolux Home Products, Inc. - Applicants: Electrolux Home Products Corporation N.V. - Inventors: Per-Erik Pers; Sarah Tempelmann; Niklas Nordin - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US9751115B2 ## CPC - A47L 15/0049: {Detection or prevention of malfunction, including accident prevention (arrangements to prevent clogging of filters A47L15/4208; safety arrangements for preventing water damage A47L15/421)} - A47L 15/08: by application of a pressure effect produced by pumps - B08B 7/04: by a combination of operations - A47L 15/0089: {of small size, e.g. portable mini dishwashers for small kitchens, office kitchens, boats, recreational vehicles (specially adapted for drinking glasses A47L15/0065)} - A47L 15/4217: {Fittings for water supply, e.g. valves or plumbing means to connect to cold or warm water lines, aquastops} - A47L 15/4225: {Arrangements or adaption of recirculation or discharge pumps} - A47L 2401/08: Drain or recirculation pump parameters, e.g. pump rotational speed or current absorbed by the motor - A47L 2401/14: Water pressure or flow rate - A47L 2401/26: Loading door status, e.g. door latch opened or closed state - A47L 2501/01: Water supply, e.g. opening or closure of the water inlet valve - A47L 2501/05: Drain or recirculation pump, e.g. regulation of the pump rotational speed or flow direction - A47L 2501/26: Indication or alarm to the controlling device or to the user - A47L 2501/30: Regulation of machine operational steps within the washing process, e.g. performing an additional rinsing phase, shortening or stopping of the drying phase, washing at decreased noise operation conditions - A47L 2501/32: Stopping or disabling machine operation, including disconnecting the machine from a network, e.g. from an electrical power supply - D06F 39/20: Arrangements for water recovery - A47L: DOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING (brushes A46B; cleaning quantities of bottles or of other hollow articles of one kind B08B9/00; laundry D06F); SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL (cleaning in general B08) - B08B: CLEANING IN GENERAL; PREVENTION OF FOULING IN GENERAL - D06F: LAUNDERING, DRYING, IRONING, PRESSING OR FOLDING TEXTILE ARTICLES ## Abstract The invention relates to methods for operating a washer, and in preferred embodiments to a washer having a water tank that is integrally, preferably detachably, formed with the washer, wherein the washer comprises a washing chamber for accommodating goods to be cleaned, said washing chamber having in its lower portion a sump for collecting water during operation of the washer, a water inlet, a circulating pump for circulating water through the washing chamber, and a control unit for controlling a washing cycle carried out by the washer. In accordance with the invention, in this method water is fed via the water inlet into the sump; the pressure within an inlet or outlet conduit of the circulating pump is measured; and based on the pressure measurement the washing cycle is controlled and/or indicator signals are issued to a user of the washer. ## Claims ### Claim 1 Washer, such as a dishwasher or a washing machine, comprising a water tank detachably formed with the washer, a washing chamber for accommodating goods to be cleaned, said washing chamber having in its lower portion a sump for collecting water during operation of the washer, a water inlet connected to the water tank for feeding water from the water tank into the sump, a circulating pump for circulating water through the washing chamber, and a control unit for controlling a washing cycle carried out by the washer, said tank being arranged to feed water into the sump by the action of the hydrostatic pressure prevailing within the tank; a pressure sensor which is located within an inlet or outlet conduit of the circulating pump, and the control unit being adapted to cause completion of an action based on signals received from the pressure sensor, the action comprising at least one of: modifying at least one parameter and/or step of the program cycle, terminating the washing cycle, or outputting an indicator signal to a user of the washer. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The washer of claim 1, wherein the circulating pump has a non-rotation-symmetric impeller and wherein the control unit is adapted to carry out a method for operating the washer comprising in subsequent steps: (a) feeding water via the water inlet into the sump; (b) measuring the pressure within the inlet conduit of the circulating pump by a pressure sensor when the circulating pump is started; (c) stopping operation of the circulating pump if the value measured in step (b) is above a predetermined value; (d) restarting the circulating pump; and (e) repeating steps (b) to (d) for a predetermined time interval or repeating steps (b) to (d) until the condition under step (c) is no longer fulfilled. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The washer of claim 1, wherein the control unit is adapted to carry out a method for operating the washer comprising in subsequent steps: (a) feeding water from the tank via the water inlet into the sump by the action of the hydrostatic pressure prevailing within the water tank; (b) at least twice measuring the pressure within an inlet or outlet conduit of the circulating pump by a pressure sensor when the water inlet is opened to feed water into the sump and storing the measured values; (c) comparing the values of subsequent measurements to obtain a differential value; and (d) generating a warning message to a user of the washer if the differential value obtained in step (c) is less than a predetermined value. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The washer of claim 3, further comprising a sensor which senses opening of a door of the dishwasher or the filling of the tank and issues a corresponding signal to the control unit that is adapted to: check whether there was an interaction with a user of the machine upon generation of a warning message, and if so, steps (b) through (d) are repeated. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The washer according to claim 1, wherein the water tank has a volume corresponding essentially to the amount of water required for executing a single program cycle. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The washer of claim 1, wherein the circulating pump has a non-rotation-symmetric impeller and wherein the control is adapted to carry out a method for operating the washer comprising in subsequent steps: (a) feeding water via the water inlet into the sump; (b) measuring the pressure within the outlet conduit of the circulating pump by a pressure sensor when the circulating pump is started; (c) stopping operation of the circulating pump if the value measured in step (b) is below a predetermined value; (d) restarting the circulating pump; and (e) repeating steps (b) to (d) for a predetermined time interval or repeating steps (b) to (d) until the condition under step (c) is no longer fulfilled. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The method of claim 6, in which a certain cavitation level is assumed in dependency of the number of subsequently measured values which exceed the predetermined value, and in which the amount of water which is fed into the sump is rated in dependency of the cavitation level. ### Claim 8 (depends on 6) The method of claim 6, in which the predetermined time interval of step (iii) has a length of about 10 s. ### Claim 9 A method for operating a washer which comprises a water tank that is detachably formed with the washer, wherein the water tank has a volume corresponding essentially to the amount of water required for executing a single program cycle, a washing chamber for accommodating goods to be cleaned, said washing chamber having in its lower portion a sump for collecting water during operation of the washer, a water inlet for feeding water from the water tank into the sump, a circulating pump for circulating water through the washing chamber, and a control unit for controlling a washing cycle carried out by the washer, in which method in subsequent steps : water is fed from the tank into the sump by the action of the hydrostatic pressure prevailing within the water tank; the pressure within an inlet or outlet conduit of the circulating pump is measured by a pressure sensor; and based on the pressure measurement, cause completion of an action based on signals received from the pressure sensor, the action comprising at least one of: controlling at least one parameter and/or step of the washing cycle, terminating the washing cycle, or issuing an indicator signal to a user of the washer. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The method of claim 9, further comprising in subsequent steps: (i) measuring the pressure when the circulating pump is in operation and storing the measured value; (ii) comparing the values measured in step (i) with a predetermined value; (iii) feeding a rated amount of water into the sump if in step (ii) it is determined that within a predetermined time interval a predetermined number of measured values exceeds the predetermined value; and (iv) repeating steps (i) to (iii) as long as the circulating pump is operating.