Dish treating appliance with diverter valve position sensing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing automatic dish treating appliances face challenges in accurately and efficiently directing liquid flow to multiple sprayers due to the limitations of traditional rotary disk diverter valves, which can lead to inefficiencies and potential fluid leakage.
Innovation Solution
A diverter valve assembly featuring a membrane with through openings and indicia aligned with outlets, coupled with a sensor to determine the aligned outlet, allowing precise control of liquid flow to specific sprayers within the appliance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a traditional rotary disk diverter valve is used to direct liquid flow to multiple sprayers, then the device structure is simple, but the liquid distribution accuracy deteriorates and fluid leakage occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the traditional mechanical rotary disk diverter valve with a membrane-based diverter valve that uses fluid pressure to control liquid flow direction. The membrane can be selectively pressurized to deflect and direct liquid flow to different outlets, eliminating the need for complex mechanical rotation mechanisms while improving liquid distribution accuracy and preventing leakage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a flexible membrane as the core component of the diverter valve. This thin film structure can dynamically deflect in response to pressure changes, allowing precise control of liquid flow direction to multiple sprayer outlets. The flexible nature of the membrane enables accurate flow control without the leakage issues associated with rigid rotary mechanisms.
2Reliability
If a membrane-based diverter valve with sensor is implemented, then liquid flow control accuracy is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates a sensor that detects the position or state of the membrane and provides feedback to the control system. This feedback mechanism enables the controller to accurately determine which outlet is currently receiving liquid flow and to make precise adjustments to membrane positioning, thereby improving liquid flow control reliability while managing system complexity through intelligent control.
Data Source
AI summary
A diverter valve assembly includes a manifold defining a plenum with an inlet and multiple outlets, a membrane movably mounted within the plenum and having at least one through opening, which is sequentially aligned with the multiple outlets upon movement of the membrane, indicia provided on the membrane corresponding to each of the multiple outlets, and a sensor configured to sense the indicia and provide an output of the sensed indicia.