Real-time single dish cleaner
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional dishwashers are inefficient in cleaning each dish thoroughly, often requiring lengthy cycles, wasting time, energy, and water, and fail to provide individual attention to each dish, leading to suboptimal cleanliness and germ accumulation during waiting periods.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising a load module for dirty dishes, a wash module with robotic arm for individual cleaning using pressurized water, soap, and ultrasonic vibrations, and a store module for clean dishes, ensuring each dish is cleaned efficiently and hygienically with real-time attention.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If batch dishwashing is used to clean multiple dishes at once, then the dishwasher can handle large volumes of dishes, but the cleaning time for each individual dish increases significantly and resources are wasted on clean regions
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the batch cleaning process into individual dish cleaning units. Each dish is picked up by a robotic arm, positioned in the cleaning chamber, cleaned individually by the spray nozzle, and then removed. This segmentation allows the system to process multiple dishes through the same cleaning mechanism sequentially, reducing waste on clean regions while maintaining throughput capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts the cleaning process based on real-time detection of each dish's soiling level. The spray nozzle activates only when dirt is detected, and the robotic arm continuously moves dishes through the cleaning chamber. This dynamic operation allows the system to maintain high productivity while minimizing cleaning time and resource consumption for each dish.
2Productivity
If batch dishwashing is used to clean multiple dishes together, then the dishwasher can operate efficiently, but it cannot provide individual attention to each dish leading to suboptimal cleanliness
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates sensors that detect the presence and soiling level of each dish individually. The spray nozzle is controlled based on feedback from these sensors, activating only when dirt is detected on a specific dish. This feedback mechanism ensures that each dish receives appropriate cleaning attention while maintaining batch processing efficiency, thereby improving cleaning quality without sacrificing productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The cleaning system applies cleaning resources locally only to dirty regions of each dish rather than treating the entire batch uniformly. The spray nozzle targets specific dishes based on detection, and the robotic arm positions each dish optimally for cleaning. This local quality approach ensures thorough cleaning of each individual dish while maintaining overall system productivity.
3Measurement precision
If conventional dishwashers use turbidity detectors to measure dirt level, then they can monitor overall water cleanliness, but they cannot detect the state of each individual dish in the batch
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts each dish from the batch and presents it individually to the cleaning mechanism. The robotic arm picks up each dish, positions it in the cleaning chamber, and the spray nozzle cleans it individually. This extraction approach allows the system to maintain batch processing capability while obtaining individual dish information, as each dish is separately handled and cleaned based on its specific soiling level.
4Loss of energy
If dishes are left in the kitchen sink waiting for the dishwasher to be full, then resources are conserved by batching, but dirty dishes attract microscopic germs and create unhygienic conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The system maintains continuous operation by immediately cleaning each dish as it is placed in the load module, rather than waiting for the batch to be full. The robotic arm continuously picks up dishes, and the spray nozzle continuously cleans them as they pass through the cleaning chamber. This continuous action eliminates waiting time, preventing germ accumulation while maintaining resource efficiency through the streamlined individual cleaning process.
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
The system ensures each dish is cleaned thoroughly and efficiently, reducing germ accumulation, conserving resources, and providing faster cleaning comparable to hand washing, with the robotic arm facilitating precise handling and orientation for optimal cleaning.
Implementation Method 1
a wash module having the means to transform said dirty dish into a clean dish
Implementation Method 2
cleaning said dirty dish in said wash module having the means to transform said dirty dish into a clean dish
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method for cleaning a reusable dish, comprising: picking a dirty dish from a load module disposed to contain at least one dirty dish with a robotic arm, wherein said dirty dish is stained with material that needs to be removed prior to reuse; transporting said dirty dish from said load module to a wash module with said robotic arm; cleaning said dirty dish in said wash module having the means to transform said dirty dish into a clean dish, wherein said clean dish does not exhibit any material that needs to be removed prior to reuse; transporting said clean dish from said wash module to a store module with said robotic arm; and dropping off said clean dish in said store module, wherein said store module is disposed to contain at least one clean dish, whereby each dirty dish is cleaned thoroughly and efficiently with individual attention in real time.