Dish overflow protection systems for dish machines and methods of making and using same
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing dish overflow protection systems for dishwashers often generate false alarms due to environmental changes, leading to unnecessary halting of the conveyor mechanism, which can result in dishes falling and damage, as they rely on a single sensor to determine when the holding area is full.
Innovation Solution
A dish overflow protection system utilizing two sensors, a rack sensor and an ambient light sensor, to determine when the holding area is full by evaluating the difference between their readings, reducing false positives and ensuring accurate detection of the position limit.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a single sensor is used to detect when the holding area is full, then the system is simple and easy to operate, but false alarms are generated due to environmental changes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines two sensors (a rack sensor and an ambient light sensor) into a unified detection system. The rack sensor detects the presence of dishes while the ambient light sensor compensates for environmental lighting changes. By merging their functions and evaluating both readings together, the system achieves reliable detection without false alarms while maintaining operational simplicity through integrated control logic.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the conveyor mechanism is halted frequently to prevent overflow, then dish damage is reduced, but productivity decreases due to unnecessary halts
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback control by continuously monitoring both sensor readings and dynamically adjusting conveyor operation. The control unit processes real-time data from the rack sensor and ambient light sensor, halting the conveyor only when the evaluation of both readings confirms the holding area is genuinely full. This feedback mechanism prevents unnecessary halts while ensuring timely intervention to avoid dish damage.
3Device complexity
If a single sensor is used, then the device complexity is low, but measurement precision is insufficient due to environmental interference
Solution Approach 1:
The ambient light sensor serves as an intermediary that mediates the detection process by compensating for environmental lighting variations. Rather than relying solely on the rack sensor which is directly affected by ambient light changes, the system uses the ambient light sensor as an intermediary to measure and compensate for environmental factors, thereby improving measurement precision without significantly increasing device complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A dish overflow protection system for a dishwasher. The dishwasher has a conveyor mechanism, a holding area, and a washing system. The dish overflow protection system has a housing including a user interface. A first sensor is disposed on the housing and is configured to take a first reading. A second sensor is remote from the housing and is configured to take a second reading. The dish overflow protection system has a control unit configured to halt operation of the conveyor mechanism where a difference between the first reading and the second reading is greater than a threshold. The user interface is usable to modify the threshold.