Water-conducting household appliance comprising a dosing unit and multiple metering pumps
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing laundry treatment appliances, such as washing machines, often result in increased resource consumption and prolonged program durations due to inefficient water and energy usage, as well as excessive cleaning and rinsing cycles.
Innovation Solution
A water-conducting domestic appliance with a treatment area, a treatment agent container, a metering device, and a controller that allows users to adjust treatment agent parameters based on the degree of soiling, type of laundry, and water hardness, optimizing detergent dosage and program duration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional monitoring and control methods are used to ensure adequate cleaning, then cleaning effectiveness is maintained, but water and energy consumption increase considerably
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback control by continuously monitoring the concentration of cleaning additives in the washing liquid using optical sensors. The controller adjusts the dosing amount and program duration based on real-time concentration measurements, ensuring adequate cleaning while avoiding excessive resource consumption. This closed-loop control system replaces conventional open-loop methods that use fixed dosing and program lengths.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically changes operational parameters (dosing amount, program duration, water consumption) based on monitored concentration levels. Instead of using fixed parameters, the controller adjusts these parameters in real-time according to the actual cleaning agent concentration and soiling conditions, optimizing resource usage while maintaining cleaning effectiveness.
2Reliability
If conventional monitoring methods monitor cleaning agent concentration to ensure cleaning quality, then cleaning performance is maintained, but program runtime is considerably exceeded
Solution Approach 1:
The optical sensor provides continuous feedback on cleaning agent concentration, allowing the controller to make real-time decisions about program termination. When the monitored concentration reaches the target level, the program can be ended promptly, avoiding unnecessary extensions while ensuring adequate cleaning is achieved.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses pre-stored concentration data and evaluation criteria to determine optimal program termination points. By having reference concentration levels and evaluation algorithms prepared in advance, the controller can quickly assess when cleaning objectives are met and end the program at the appropriate time, preventing runtime extensions.
3Ease of operation
If fixed dosing amounts are used according to manufacturer recommendations, then dosing simplicity is maintained, but adaptability to different soiling degrees and water hardness is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs self-adjustment of dosing amounts based on monitored water hardness and soiling conditions. The controller automatically compensates for varying water hardness by adjusting the cleaning agent dosing, eliminating the need for manual user adjustments while maintaining optimal cleaning performance across different water conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The optical sensor monitors cleaning agent concentration and provides feedback that enables the controller to adapt dosing amounts to actual soiling conditions and water hardness. This feedback loop allows the system to automatically optimize dosing for different scenarios without requiring user intervention or pre-programming for each condition.
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
A water-bearing domestic appliance 1, which is used in particular as a laundry treatment appliance for washing laundry, comprises a treatment area 16, a treatment agent container 10, which is used to store treatment agents, a metering device 7 with a plurality of metering pumps 8, 9, which are used to meter the treatment agent for the treatment area 16 is used, and a controller 5. In this case, the controller 5 has a number of treatment programs. A user can select one of these treatment programs. The controller 5 then controls the dosing device 7 according to the selected treatment program. Here, at least one treatment agent parameter, in particular a treatment agent type or a treatment agent quantity, is provided, which can be set by the user. The controller 5 executes the selected treatment program depending on the treatment agent parameters.