Dishwasher Wash Liquid Reuse via Sedimentation and Selective Drainage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional dishwashers face challenges in efficiently capturing and reusing wash liquid, as the separation of sedimented, entrained, and suspended soil particles during drainage is difficult, leading to contamination risks and inefficiencies in water reuse.
Innovation Solution
The method involves recirculating liquid through the dishwasher's treating chamber, pausing recirculation to allow sedimentation, and selectively removing and storing the 'cleanest' portion containing entrained soil particles in a reuse tank, while draining sedimented and suspended particles, using a combination of time-based and turbidity/opacity sensors to manage the drainage process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of substance
If recirculation is continued without pause to maximize water reuse, then water conservation is improved, but soil particle separation becomes difficult leading to contamination risks
Solution Approach 1:
The recirculation pump operates periodically with alternating on/off cycles. During off periods, sedimentation occurs allowing soil particles to settle; during on periods, clean liquid is recirculated. This periodic operation enables both water reuse and effective particle separation.
Solution Approach 2:
Sedimentation is performed as a preliminary action before reuse. The system pauses recirculation to allow soil particles to settle at the bottom of the sump, separating cleaner liquid above from sedimented particles below, ensuring only clean liquid is reused.
2Reliability
If recirculation is paused for sedimentation to improve liquid cleanliness, then contamination risk is reduced, but water reuse efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs partial sedimentation rather than complete drainage. Only a portion of the wash liquid is paused for sedimentation, and the pump resumes operation before all liquid is settled, balancing cleanliness improvement with reuse efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The recirculation pump maintains continuous operation with brief pause periods for sedimentation. The useful action of recirculation continues predominantly, with short interruptions sufficient for particle settling, thereby maintaining high water reuse efficiency while achieving adequate separation.
3Loss of substance
If all wash liquid is drained for reuse processing, then water conservation is maximized, but energy consumption and processing time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system drains and processes only a portion of the wash liquid rather than all of it. The pump operates intermittently to drain sufficient liquid for reuse while leaving some liquid in the sump, reducing processing time and energy consumption while still achieving significant water conservation.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach enables effective separation and reuse of cleaner wash liquid, reducing the risk of contamination and enhancing water savings by capturing a low-soil content portion for subsequent wash cycles, thereby improving the dishwasher's efficiency and water conservation.
Implementation Method 1
The recirculation may be ceased to allow any sediment soil particles to settle in a lower portion of the sump and the wash liquid may be removed from the sump at a removal location in the sump above the sedimented soil particles
Data Source
AI summary
Methods of operating a dishwasher having a treating chamber, a sump fluidly coupled to the treating chamber, a sprayer for spraying liquid in the treating chamber, a recirculation pump fluidly coupled to the sump and the sprayer to recirculate the sprayed liquid from the sump to the sprayer, and a reuse tank for storing liquid. The methods remove and store liquid that do not include sedimented soil particles.