Dishwasher sanitation cycle
First Claim
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1. A method for sanitizing contents of a dishwasher with rinse water, the dishwasher including a rinse water temperature sensor and a rinse water heater and a controller coupled to the sensor and the heater, said method comprising the steps of:
- executing a temperature cycle to determine rinse water temperature;
executing a heating cycle to optimize rinse water temperature;
indexing a heat sum value for the determined rinse water temperature;
executing a heat sum cycle to monitor heating of the dishwasher contents; and
repeating the above steps at fixed time intervals until a predetermined heat sum value is obtained.
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Abstract
A dishwasher sanitation cycle includes sampling a temperature of rinse water inside a dishwasher, executing a heating cycle to keep water temperature at optimal levels, and executing a heat sum cycle to ensure that dishes are sanitized according to accepted standards.
39 Citations
11 Claims
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1. A method for sanitizing contents of a dishwasher with rinse water, the dishwasher including a rinse water temperature sensor and a rinse water heater and a controller coupled to the sensor and the heater, said method comprising the steps of:
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executing a temperature cycle to determine rinse water temperature;
executing a heating cycle to optimize rinse water temperature;
indexing a heat sum value for the determined rinse water temperature;
executing a heat sum cycle to monitor heating of the dishwasher contents; and
repeating the above steps at fixed time intervals until a predetermined heat sum value is obtained. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
sensing the temperature of the rinse water;
comparing the temperature of the rinse water at each interval to a minimum sanitation cycle temperature, a low sanitation cycle temperature, and a high sanitation cycle temperature.
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3. A method in accordance with claim 2 wherein said step of executing a temperature cycle further comprises calculating an adjusted rinse water temperature to account for heat loss between the temperature sensor and the position of dishwasher contents.
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4. A method in accordance with claim 2 wherein said step of executing the heating cycle comprises the steps of:
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turning on the rinse water heater when the determined temperature is below the sanitation cycle low temperature; and
turning off the rinse water heater when the determined temperature is above the sanitation cycle high temperature.
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5. A method in accordance with claim 2 wherein said step of indexing a heat sum value for the determined rinse water temperature comprises the steps of:
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referencing a heat unit equivalent for the determined rinse water temperature from heat unit equivalent values stored in a controller memory; and
storing the referenced heat unit equivalent.
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6. A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein said step of executing a heat sum cycle comprises the step of adding the heat sum value at each cycle to the cumulative heat sum cycle from previous fixed time intervals.
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7. A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein the fixed time interval is one second.
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8. A controller for a dishwasher including a water temperature sensor, a water heater, and a water pump, said controller programmed to:
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monitor a rinse water temperature at a fixed time interval and operate the water heater and water pump in response thereto when a dishwasher sanitation cycle is selected;
index a heat unit equivalent value at the fixed time interval when said rinse water temperature is within an acceptable sanitization range; and
cumulatively sum a heat unit equivalent total at each successive fixed time interval until a selected cumulative sum is reached. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11)
comparing a sensed water temperature to a low sanitation cycle temperature; and
energizing the water heater if the sensed temperature is below the minimum temperature.
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10. A controller in accordance with claim 8 wherein monitoring the rinse water temperature comprises:
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comparing a sensed water temperature to a high sanitation cycle temperature; and
de-energizing the water heater if the sensed temperature is below the minimum temperature.
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11. A controller in accordance with claim 8 wherein monitoring the rinse water temperature comprises:
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sensing a rinse water temperature; and
determining an adjusted rinse water temperature to account for heat loss between the temperature sensor and the position of dishwasher contents.
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Specification