US20240044066A1

US20240044066A1 - Method for operating a water-conducting electrical appliance and water-conducting electrical appliance

Info

Publication number: US20240044066A1
Application number: US18/267,258
Authority: US
Inventors: Werner Strothoff; Daniel Ebke; Rainer Bicker
Original assignee: Miele und Cie KG
Current assignee: Miele und Cie KG
Priority date: 2020-12-14
Filing date: 2021-11-30
Publication date: 2024-02-08
Also published as: CN116635583A; BE1028882B1; EP4258969A1; KR20230118837A; BE1028882A1; WO2022128438A1

Abstract

A water-bearing electrical apparatus and a method of operating a water-bearing electrical apparatus having a water absorption element, an electrochemical cell, a dosing device for metering a conductivity transmitter-containing detergent and/or cleaning means into the electrochemical cell. The method includes

- conducting water into the electrochemical cell,
- dosing of the conductivity transmitter-containing washing and/or cleaning means into the electrochemical cell or into the water flowing through it,
- determining a conductance of the fluid in the electrochemical cell following the prior steps, and
- setting the determined conductance to a predetermined conductance.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present disclosure claims priority to and the benefit of PCT Application PCT/EP2021/083510, filed on Nov. 30, 2021, which claims priority to and the benefit of Belgium Application 2020/5917, filed on Dec. 14, 2020, the entire contents of both of which are incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosure relates to a method of operating a water-bearing electrical apparatus and a water-bearing electrical apparatus.

BACKGROUND

WO2018226706A1 describes a heating device that can be connected to water-bearing electrical apparatus to provide hot water. The heating device is designed as an instantaneous water heater and has a reservoir, a cold water connection, an inlet and outlet, a pump, and a hot water return. However, this system is complex and requires a lot of installation space.

SUMMARY

The disclosure addresses the discovered problem of providing a method of operating a water-bearing electrical apparatus and a water-bearing electrical apparatus which are simple and require little installation space.
According to the disclosure, this problem is solved by a method and a water-bearing electrical apparatus having the features of the independent claims. Advantageous embodiments and developments of the disclosure can be found in the following dependent claims.
The advantages achievable with the disclosure, in addition to a reduction in the complexity of the system and a reduction in the installation space, are that standardized conditions are provided for operating the electrochemical cell. The standardized conditions are achieved by setting the conductance of the liquid in the electrochemical cell to the predetermined conductance.
Since water has regionally different conductivities, heating the water usually has to be performed with different parameters. This leads to an increased design effort, for example of required electrode areas and control effort, to compensate for this. The disclosure solves this problem by setting the conductance of the fluid in the electrochemical cell to the predetermined conductance, thus eliminating or at least minimizing this design and control effort, since the electrochemical cell can always operate under the same conditions. The water-bearing electrical apparatus is designed to be compact.
The disclosure relates to a method of operating a water-bearing electrical apparatus having a water absorption element, an electrochemical cell, a dosing device for metering a conductivity transmitter-containing detergent and/or cleaning means into the electrochemical cell, having

- a) conducting water into the electrochemical cell;
- b) dosing of the conductivity transmitter-containing washing and/or cleaning means into the electrochemical cell or into the water flowing through it;
- c) determining a conductance of the fluid in the electrochemical cell following steps a) and b); and
- d) setting the determined conductance to a predetermined conductance.

The power required to heat the liquid depends on the conductivity of the liquid to be heated. By adjusting the electrical conductivity or conductance of the liquid resulting from the supply of water and the conductivity transmitter-containing washing and/or cleaning means to the predetermined conductance, the electrochemical cell can be operated under the same conditions regardless of the conductance or electrical conductivity of the water supplied to the electrochemical cell. This system is particularly advantageous in regions with low water hardness and thus low conductivity values of the water.
Preferably, drinking water is supplied to the electrochemical cell T in the step a). The conductance of drinking water differs regionally.
In a preferred embodiment, step d) has

- comparing the predetermined conductance with the determined conductance; and
- conducting water into the electrochemical cell when the determined conductivity is greater than the predetermined conductivity, and metering the conductivity transmitter-containing washing and/or cleaning means into the electrochemical cell when the determined conductivity is less than the predetermined conductivity.

This means that the conductance determined can be easily adjusted to the predetermined conductances of the liquid present in the electrochemical cell.
Preferably, step c) has applying a predetermined voltage to the electrochemical cell, measuring a current flow in the electrochemical cell, and determining the conductance based on the measured current flow. This makes it easy to determine the conductance of the liquid in the electrochemical cell.
Preferably, the electrochemical cell is designed for a working area that is above a conductance present at a water hardness above 14° dH, more preferably above 17° dH, even more preferably above 21° dH. The predetermined conductance is preferably stored in the water-bearing electrical apparatus.
In a preferred embodiment, when the determined conductance is equal to the predetermined conductance, the electrochemical cell is started up such that the liquid inside it is heated. The electrochemical cell is started up, for example, by applying an AC voltage to its electrodes. Preferably, the liquid is directed from the electrochemical cell into the water absorption element during and/or following heating. There, the liquid can then wash and/or clean the water absorption element and/or objects located therein.
Preferably, the fluid is directed from the electric cell into the water absorption element and from there back into the electric cell such that it is circulated through the electric cell and the water absorption element. In a preferred embodiment, during and/or after heating of the fluid in the electrochemical cell, the fluid is circulated from a first area of the water absorption element through the electrochemical cell to a second area of the water absorption element. This further improves the washing and/or cleaning performance of the liquid.
Preferably, steps c) and d) are performed during heating of the liquid in the electrochemical cell. This ensures that the electrochemical cell is operated under constant conditions during heating.
In a preferred embodiment, the conductivity transmitter-containing means is selected from the group consisting of alkali carrier, inorganic or organic acid, salt of organic acid, phosphonate, surfactant and/or mixtures thereof. The conductivity transmitter-containing means may constitute a part of the washing and/or cleaning means, then the washing and/or cleaning means further contains, for example, washing and/or cleaning-active substances. The washing and/or cleaning means may alternatively consist of the conductivity transmitter-containing means. The conductivity generated by the conductivity transmitter is higher than that of the water available for diluting the conductivity transmitter-containing washing and/or cleaning means.
The disclosure further relates to a water-bearing electrical apparatus, having

- a water absorption element,
- an electrochemical cell,
- a dosing device which is designed to dose a washing and/or cleaning means containing a conductivity transmitter into the electrochemical cell or into the water flowing through it, and
- a control unit configured to perform a method according to one or more of the preceding described embodiments.

The electrochemical cell has electrodes in the form of an anode and a cathode to which a voltage can be applied. Preferably, the electrochemical cell is designed to heat the fluid within it when an AC voltage is applied to the anode and cathode.
Preferably, the water-bearing electrical apparatus is designed as a washing machine or dishwasher.
Preferably, the apparatus further has a circulation system designed to convey water from a first area of the water absorption element through the electrochemical cell to a second area of the water absorption element.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

An embodiment of the disclosure is shown purely schematically in the drawings and is described in more detail below. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 shows a partial flow diagram of a method according to the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a partial flow diagram of a method according to the disclosure. The method is performed in a water-bearing electrical apparatus having an electrochemical cell into which water is introduced and a conductivity transmitter-containing washing and/or cleaning means is metered so that a liquid is present in the electrochemical cell. In step 1, a conductivity value of the liquid present in the electrochemical cell is determined from water and conductivity transmitter-containing washing and/or cleaning means. Subsequently, a step 2 is performed in which the determined conductance is compared with a predetermined conductance.
In a finding 3, if the determined conductance is greater than the predetermined conductance, water is introduced into the electrochemical cell to adjust the conductance of the liquid to the predetermined conductance. If in a finding 5 the determined conductance is equal to the predetermined conductance, the electrochemical cell is put into operation in a step 6 such that the liquid inside it is heated. If in a finding 7 the determined conductivity is less than the predetermined conductivity, in a step 8 conductivity transmitter-containing detergent and/or cleaning means is metered into the electrochemical cell to adjust the conductivity of the liquid to the predetermined conductivity. After steps 4, 6 and 8, step 1 can still be performed again.

Claims

1. A method of operating a water-bearing electrical apparatus having a water absorption element, an electrochemical cell, a dosing device for dosing a conductivity transmitter-containing washing and/or cleaning means into the electrochemical cell, the method comprising:

a) conducting water into the electrochemical cell;

b) dosing of the conductivity transmitter-containing washing and/or cleaning means into the electrochemical cell or into the water flowing through it;

c) determining a conductance of the fluid in the electrochemical cell following steps a) and b); and

d) setting the determined conductance to a predetermined conductance.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein step d) includes

comparing the predetermined conductance with the determined conductance; and

conducting water into the electrochemical cell if the determined conductivity is greater than the predetermined conductivity and metering the conductivity transmitter-containing washing and/or cleaning means into the electrochemical cell or into the water flowing through it if the determined conductivity is less than the predetermined conductivity.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step includes applying a predetermined voltage to the electrochemical cell, measuring a current flow in the electrochemical cell, and determining the conductance based on the measured current flow.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the electrochemical cell is designed for a working area which is above a conductance present at a water hardness above 14° dH, more preferably above 17° dH, even more preferably above 21° dH.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein, when the determined conductance is equal to the predetermined conductance, the electrochemical cell is put into operation in such a manner that the liquid inside it is heated.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein during and/or after heating the liquid in the electrochemical cell, the liquid is circulated from a first area of the water absorption element through the electrochemical cell to a second area of the water absorption element.

7. The method according to claim 5, wherein during heating of the liquid in the electrochemical cell, steps c) and d) are performed.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the conductivity transmitter-containing washing and/or cleaning means contains a conductivity transmitter-containing means that is selected from the group consisting of alkali carrier, inorganic or organic acid, salt of organic acid, phosphonate, surfactant and/or mixtures thereof.

9. A water-bearing electrical apparatus comprising:

a water absorption element,

an electrochemical cell,

a dosing device configured to dose a conductivity transmitter-containing washing and/or cleaning means into the electrochemical cell,

a control unit configured to perform a method according to any of the preceding claims.

10. The water-bearing electrical apparatus of claim 9, wherein the apparatus is a washing machine or dishwasher.