ECO-DISHWASHER SYSTEM AND METHODOLOGY

Abstract

A dishwashing apparatus and a methodology are provided for washing dishware using electrolyzed water to provide alkaline and acidic water for wash and rinse cycles. The water used at the beginning of a pre-wash stage is repeatedly used in plural pre-wash cycles and filtered through sediment and oil filtration between pre-wash cycles. Water from a final rinse cycle is saved for use for future pre-wash cycles. The sediment and oil filtration filter are reversely flushed to regenerate the filtration systems.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present subject matter relates to dishwashers. More specifically, the present subject matter relates to dishwashers and methods for operating such with reduced water and energy consumption and without requiring the use of detergent.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Commonly available dishwashers such as the current GE Profile dishwasher consumes approximately 7.2 gallons of water to clean a heavily soiled ten place setting dish load in normal cycle and consumes approximately 2.17 kWh energy in the process.

Some prior devices have been developed that recover and store washing liquids including, for example, EP 0 691 099 A3 assigned to Candy S.p.A, thereby addressing concerns relating to water usage. Other dishwashers, for example as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,947,135, wash and rinse tableware using variously ionized water. U.S. Pat. No. 6,832,617 describes a dishwasher fine filter assembly.

In view of these known concerns and ongoing efforts, it would be advantageous to provide an ecologically friendly and efficient dishwasher that uses significantly less water and with less energy consumption while not requiring the use of detergents.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Aspects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the following description, or may be obvious from the description, or may be learned through practice of the invention.

The present subject matter relates to apparatus and methodologies for providing and operating a dishwasher unit (herein after described as an eco-dishwasher) that is designed and operated in such a manner so as to consume significantly less water and electrical energy than previously known devices while at the same time performing an effective cleaning operation without requiring the use of detergents. In an exemplary configuration, an eco-dishwasher constructed in accordance with present technology may use only approximately 3.6 gallons of water and approximately 0.94 kWh of electrical energy with no detergent consumption for an exemplary heavily soiled ten place setting dish load.

In certain embodiments, the present technology relates to a dishwasher that includes a main cabinet configured to hold items to be washed. An electrolysis system is configured to generate acidic and alkaline water from a water supply. The dishwasher includes an acidic water storage tank, an alkaline water storage tank, a sedimentation filtration system, an oil filtration system, and a controller. The controller is configured to cause the dishwasher to perform a plurality of pre-wash cycles using fresh water from a tap or previously stored final rinse water filtered through the sedimentation filtration system and the oil filtration systems following each pre-wash cycle or fresh tap water, to perform a wash cycle using alkaline water, to perform a rinse cycle using acidic water, to perform a final rinse cycle using water from a water supply, and to store the final rinse water in the alkaline water storage tank upon completion of the rinse cycle for use in subsequent pre-wash cycles or to drain the final rinse water without storing.

In selected embodiments, the sedimentation filtration system has a first filter having a first mesh size and a second filter having a second mesh size. In particular embodiments, the first mesh size may be from about 100 microns to about 1 mm and the second mesh size may be between about 5 to 100 microns. In particular embodiments, the oil filtration system comprises a filter made of material having hydrophobic and oleophilic surface characteristics that in certain embodiments may correspond to a filter made of kapok.

In other embodiments, the dishwasher controller may cause a filtration process to be performed by causing water used for the plurality of pre-wash cycles to be reverse flushed through the sedimentation filtration system and the oil filtration system to regenerate the filtration systems. The controller may be further configured to cause the filtration process to be performed between pre-wash cycles, simultaneously with spraying of water into the main cabinet, or continuously as single pre-wash cycles until substantially all contamination is filtered out.

In certain selected embodiments of the preset subject matter, a heater may be positioned within the main cabinet or the dishwasher sump to heat the wash and final rinse cycle water. In other selected embodiments, a drain is provided to drain stored previous final rinse water if a subsequent pre-wash cycle is not begun within a predetermined period of time.

The present subject matter also relates to methods for operating a dishwasher to wash items placed in the main cabinet of the dishwasher. The method includes electrolyzing water to generate acidic and alkaline watery, and storing the alkaline water in a first storage tank and storing the acidic water in a second storage tank. A sedimentation filtration system and an oil filtration system are provided. The method includes performing a plurality of pre-wash cycles using previous final rinse water, filtering the water through the sedimentation filtration system and the oil filtration systems, performing a wash cycle using alkaline water, performing a rise cycle using acidic water, performing a final rinse cycle using water from a water supply, and draining the final rinse water into one of a storage tank for use in subsequent pre-wash cycles or from the dishwasher.

These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following description and appended claims. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A full and enabling disclosure of the present invention, including the best mode thereof, directed to one of ordinary skill in the art, is set forth in the specification, which makes reference to the appended figures, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a electrolysis, detergent free washing system in accordance with present technology;

FIG. 2 is diagrammatic illustration of an electrolysis cell;

FIG. 3 is diagrammatic illustration of an electrolysis system design;

FIG. 4 is a graphical representation of exemplary Base and Acid liquid generation results in accordance with present technology;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram representing pre-wash, filtration, and regeneration processes in accordance with present technology;

FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating steps in an exemplary dishwashing cycle per present technology; and

FIG. 7 is a schematic representation of relationships among various components of an exemplary dishwashing system per present technology.

Repeat use of reference characters throughout the present specification and appended drawings is intended to represent same or analogous features or elements of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference now will be made in detail to embodiments of the invention, one or more examples of which are illustrated in the drawings. Each example is provided by way of explanation of the invention, not limitation of the invention. In fact, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. For instance, features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment can be used with another embodiment to yield a still further embodiment. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers such modifications and variations as come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

As noted in the Summary section, the present subject matter is directed toward dishwashers configured for operation with reduced water and energy consumption and without requiring the use of detergent. A full-scale eco-dishwasher unit constructed in accordance with present technology is designed to operate using only approximately 3.6 gallons of water, approximately 0.94 kWh of electrical energy, and no detergent consumption. These values are not, however, limitations of the invention.

With reference now to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a block diagram of an electrolysis, detergent free washing system 100 in accordance with present technology. The electrolysis, detergent-free system 100 uses alkaline wash technology wherein hydroxyl ions are generated at the point of use and worked in place of detergents. An electrochemical compartment 102 is designed such that direct water splitting generates hydroxyl ions. More particularly, electrolysis system 102 is configured to split water supplied from, for example, a tap water supply 104, and to store the split water in an acid storage tank 132 and a base storage tank 134. In an exemplary system, about two fill volumes of water is converted into about one fill volume of relatively acidic liquid and one fill volume of relatively basic liquid. In exemplary configurations, a fill volume may correspond to about 1.2 gallons of water.

As more specifically seen in FIG. 2, electrolysis cells 202, 204, 206, 208 form an electrolysis system 200 that, as a voltage supply is coupled between anode electrode 210 and cathode electrode 212, converts water supplied to electrolysis cells 202, 204, 206, 208 into acid and base ionized liquids for storage in chambers 232, 234, respectively. Anion and cation exchange membranes 222, 224, 226 are used to separate and transport protons and hydroxyl ions to the acid and base chambers 232, 234. In an exemplary configuration, an alkaline dish wash liquid having a pH of about 11 and an acidic rinse having a pH range of about 2.5 to 4 may be employed. The acidic rinse not only assists in managing scaling and filming (spotting) on the dishes but also on the dishwasher hydraulic system. An acidic rinse also acts as a sanitization agent in the dishwashing operation.

More generally, as illustrated in FIG. 3, water from the tap is introduced into acid and base tanks 332, 334, respectively, of electrolysis system 300 with about one fill volume of water in each tank for a total of about two fill volumes. Once the tanks have been filled with the required amount of water, the electrolysis process starts.

With reference now to FIGS. 2 and 3, it will be seen that an exemplary electrolysis cell 200, may include two inlets and two outlets with one set, i.e., one inlet and one outlet, provided for base and another one for acid generation. Tanks 232, 234, 332, 334 are connected to the electrolysis cell through independent pumps and particle filters 342, 344 to remove solid particles from water to avoid clogging of electrolysis cell. In an exemplary configuration, pumps 342, 344 may be configured for operation at 12 VDC. It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that pumps operating at other voltages may also be used.

A power supply (not separately illustrated) coupled to the electrodes 210, 212 of the electrolysis cell is provided and may correspond in an exemplary configuration to a 12 VDC supply. Again, it should be appreciated that other voltage levels may be used. Power is supplied simultaneously to the pumps and electrolysis cell, and the electrolysis process starts. As generally illustrated in FIG. 4, the pH level 444 of water in base tank 334 slowly increases and the pH level 442 in acid tank 332 decreases. Once the required level of pH is achieved, the process stops. As generally indicated on FIG. 4, this process may require from about twenty to thirty minutes to complete. During the main wash cycle, water from base (alkaline) tank 334 is used for washing the dishes while during one of the rinse cycle, water from acid tank 332 is used as an acid rinse.

With reference to FIG. 5, there is illustrated a block diagram representing pre-wash, filtration, and regeneration processes 500 in accordance with present technology. One of the important aspects of the present subject matter involves soil separation system 502. In accordance with present disclosure, the soil separation system 502 includes two filtration or separation portions: a sediment-water separation portion 504 and an oil-water separation portion 506.

Within sediment-water separation portion 504, two filters, a 150 micron (μ) filter 510 and a 5μ filter 512, are used to remove sediments from used pre-wash water. 150-micron filter 510 may correspond to a nylon mesh filter which effectively removes loose food particles from used water. 5μ filter 512 removes particle size of 5-micron and above and helps to prevent clogging of Kapok filter 514 which corresponds to the previously noted oil-water separation portion 506. Kapok filter 514 helps to filter oil from water. Ultra and/or nano filtration can also be added to the sediment filtration to obtain cleaner water for re-cycling.

Kapok is a natural material that comes from the Kapok tree, also known as Ceiba pentandra, Ceiba, or Silk Cotton Tree and has hydrophobic and oleophilic surface characteristics. The surface characteristic of the kapok fiber helps to retain oils while permitting water to pass, thereby producing the desired separation of oil from water. Each of the filters 510, 512, 514 may be regenerated via reverse flushing at the end of each cycle to prepare them for the next cycle. This process can be effectively used in various applications where there are suspended particles, oil and grease contaminations which need to be separated and flush to the drain system.

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, an exemplary dishwashing cycle in accordance with present technology will be described. First, however, with reference to FIG. 7, it will be noticed that there is representatively illustrated a controller 700. Further, the schematic representation of the dishwasher system illustrated in FIG. 7 illustrates a number of connecting lines that generally represent tubes or piping configured to provide fluid flow paths. The various illustrated valves V1-V9 and pumps P1-P5 are controlled by controller 700 to direct fluid flow within the dishwasher. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that controller 700 may take on various forms including, for example but not limited to, a timer motor driven switching mechanism, a computer operated controller, a microprocessor, or other electro-mechanical device. Further, with respect to the variously illustrated valves V1-V9, it will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that certain of these valves, for example V2, V6, and V8 are configured to simply be open or closed to block or permit fluid flow. Others of the valves, for example V1, V3, V4, V5, and V6 may be operated to block or direct fluid flow in different flow paths. These paths will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in conjunction with the following operational description.

The dishwashing cycle begins with a water fill 602 from base tank 1 (FIG. 7) or fresh water from a tap into Main Tank 704. Water from base tank 1 corresponds to water saved from previous rinse water. A first pre-wash 604 starts and at the same time tap water from source 702 is sent to electrolysis cell 706 at step 606. An electrolysis cycle begins at step 608 after about 2.4 gallons of water is introduced into electrolysis cell 706.

At step 610 the first pre-wash cycle ends and a sediment and oil filtration step begins. At this point water from the first pre-wash is recycled with the help of filtration system including filters 710, 712, 714 and the same water is used for a second pre-wash starting at step 612. Pre-wash stops at step 614 and again the pre-wash water is filtered by filters 710, 712, 714 and used again a third pre-wash at step 616 and yet another filtering at step 618 when the third pre-wash is stopped. In accordance with present technology, these three pre-wash cycles including filtration and reuse of the water provide a saving of ⅔ of pre-wash water consumption.

Water from the tap 702 or base tank 1 (previous rinse water) is taken into main tank (sump) 704 of the dishwasher for pre-washing. Once the sump has been filled with a required amount of water, spraying starts for the pre-wash cycles to remove loose food particles, oil and grease from the dishware. After specified times of spraying, the pre-washing stops and the filtration process starts. Water will pass through 150 micron filter 710, 5 micron filter 712, and kapok filter 714 and back to sump 704. This is a dilution process, so the filtration process continues until most of the soils are separated from the water. Once the filtration process is completed, spraying starts again for further pre-washing the dishes. This cycle continues, through a third pre-wash cycle. At the end of this process, used water will reverse flush through 5 and 150-micron filters 712, 710, respectively, for regeneration. Kapok filter 714 is spun at high speed (step 622), which enables centrifugal extraction of oil at the end of this drain cycle 620. At this time the electrolysis process is stopped (step 624) and base water from base tank 1 is sent to main dishwasher cabinet 704 (step 626).

Following the three pre-wash cycles, the main (alkaline) wash is started (step 628) using water from Base tank 1. During this process a heater within dishwasher cabinet 704 is turned on to heat the wash water to about 130° F. After a predetermined washing period, the alkaline wash is stopped at step 630 and a sediment filtration process starts using 5 and 150-micron filters 712, 710 to circulate the water from Base tank 1 through cabinet 704. Following filtration, the used alkaline water is moved to base tank 1 (step 632) and acid water is added to cabinet main sump 704 (step 634) from acid tank 2 to start an acid rinse cycle (step 636).

Following the acid rinse cycle, used acid water is moved from main sump 704 to acid tank 2 (step 638) and the alkaline water previously moved in step 632 to base tank 1 is sent (step 640) to main sump 704 and base tank 1 is acid flushed (step 642) with water from acid tank 2.

Acid sediment filtration flushing (step 644) is then performed by pumping water from acid tank 2 through base tank 1 and 5 and 150-micron filters 712, 710 to drain 708. Kapok filter 714 is then spun by a spin motor 716 (step 646) and drained into drain 708 along with alkaline water. Tap water from source 702 is then sent to main sump 704 (step 648) in preparation for a final rinse at step 650. during the final rinse, the heater within main sump 704 is controlled to operate at about 150° F. Upon completion of the final rinse, the rinse water in main tank 704 is moved to base tank 1 for storage or drained out of the dishwasher and the wash cycle ends (step 654).

This written description uses examples to disclose the invention, including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they include structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal languages of the claims.

Claims

1. A dishwasher, comprising:

a main cabinet configured to hold items to be washed;

an electrolysis system configured to generate acidic and alkaline water from a water supply;

an acidic water storage tank;

an alkaline water storage tank;

a sedimentation filtration system;

an oil filtration system; and

a controller,

wherein said controller is configured to cause the dishwasher to perform a plurality of pre-wash cycles using fresh water from a tap or previously stored final rinse water filtered through said sedimentation filtration system and said oil filtration systems following each pre-wash cycle or fresh tap water, to perform a wash cycle using alkaline water, to perform a rinse cycle using acidic water, to perform a final rinse cycle using water from a water supply, and to store the final rinse water in said alkaline water storage tank upon completion of the rinse cycle for use in subsequent pre-wash cycles or to drain the final rinse water without storing.

2. A dishwasher as in claim 1, wherein said sedimentation filtration system comprises a first filter having a first mesh size and a second filter having a second mesh size.

3. A dishwasher as in claim 2, wherein said first mesh size is about 150 microns and said second mesh size is about 5 microns.

4. A dishwasher as in claim 1, wherein said oil filtration system comprises a filter made of material having hydrophobic and oleophilic surface characteristics.

5. A dishwasher as in claim 4, wherein said oil filtration system comprises a filter made of kapok.

6. A dishwasher as in claim 1, wherein said controller is further configured to perform a filtration process by cause water used for the plurality of pre-wash cycles to be reverse flushed through said sedimentation filtration system and said oil filtration system to regenerate the filtration systems, and wherein the controller is further configured to perform the filtration process during at least one of between pre-wash cycles, simultaneously with spraying of water into the main cabinet, or continuously as single pre-wash cycles until substantially all contamination is filtered out.

7. A dishwasher as in claim 6, wherein said controller is further configured to cause a filter portion of said oil filtration system to be spun to assist in regenerating said oil filtration system.

8. A dishwasher as in claim 1, further comprising:

a sump; and

a heater positioned within one of said cabinet or said sump,

wherein said controller is further configured to cause said heater to heat water within said main sump to a first temperature during a wash cycle and to a second temperature during the final rinse cycle.

9. A dishwasher as in claim 1, wherein said controller is further configured to automatically cause the final rinse water stored in said alkaline water storage tank to be drained if a subsequent pre-wash cycle is not begun within a predetermined period of time.

10. A method for operating a dishwasher to wash items held in a main cabinet of the dishwasher, comprising:

electrolyzing water to generate acidic and alkaline water;

storing the alkaline water in a first storage tank;

storing the acidic water in a second storage tank;

providing a sedimentation filtration system;

providing an oil filtration system;

performing a plurality of pre-wash cycles using one of fresh water or previously used final rinse water;

filtering the water through the sedimentation filtration system and the oil filtration systems;

performing a wash cycle using alkaline water;

performing a rinse cycle using acidic water;

performing a final rinse cycle using water from a water supply; and

draining the final rinse water into one of a storage tank for use in subsequent pre-wash cycles or from the dishwasher.

11. A method as in claim 10, wherein providing a sedimentation filtration system comprises providing a first filter having a first mesh size and a second filter having a second mesh size.

12. A method as in claim 11, wherein providing a first filter comprises providing a filter having a mesh size of about 150 microns and wherein providing a second filter comprises providing a filter having a mesh size of about 5 microns.

13. A method as in claim 10, wherein providing an oil filtration system comprises providing a filter made of material having hydrophobic and oleophilic surface characteristics.

14. A method as in claim 13, wherein providing an oil filtration system comprises providing a filter made of kapok.

15. A method as in claim 10, further comprising:

reverse flushing the water used for the plurality of pre-wash cycle through the sedimentation filtration system and the oil filtration system..

16. A method as in claim 15, wherein said controller is further configured to cause a filter portion of said oil filtration system to be spun to assist in regenerating said oil filtration system.

17. A method as in claim 10, further comprising:

providing a heater within the main sump;

controlling the heater to heat water within the main sump to a first temperature during a wash cycle; and

controlling the heater to heat water within the main sump to a second temperature during a final rinse cycle.

18. A method as in claim 10, further comprising:

automatically draining the stored final rinse water if a subsequent pre-wash cycle is not begun within a predetermined period of time.

19. A method as in claim 10, wherein electrolyzing water comprises electrolyzing a volume of water equal to two fills of water into about one fill volume of acidic water and about one fill volume of alkaline water.

20. A method as in claim 10, wherein performing a final rinse cycle comprises performing a final rinse cycle using about one fill volume of water from a water supply.