U.S. patent application number 10/308724 was filed with the patent office on 2003-06-26 for automatic dispensing system.
This patent application is currently assigned to Unilever Home & Personal Care USA, Division of Conopco, Inc.. Invention is credited to Appel, Peter William, Birker, Paul Johan, Callaghan, Ian Charles, Van Heesen, Roy, Van Kralingen, Cornelis Gerhard, Vas-Bhat, Rahul Dominic, Warmoeskerken, Marinus Maria.
Application Number | 20030116177 10/308724 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 26077044 |
Filed Date | 2003-06-26 |
United States Patent
Application |
20030116177 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Appel, Peter William ; et
al. |
June 26, 2003 |
Automatic dispensing system
Abstract
The invention provides a non-intrusive automatic dosing system
for use with existing fabric- and dishwashing machines. The system
contains a container house with one ore more containers which can
contain a fabric- or dishwashing product or ingredient, said
container(s) being connected with a pump, said pump being connected
with the water inlet conduit of the machine. The container house
also contains means for receiving and transmitting signals. Signals
are received from at least one sensor, capable of reading at least
one parameter of the washing process or machine when in operation,
and cause the transmission of a signal to activate the pump to
cause the delivery of the product or ingredient to the water inlet
conduit of the machine. The system enables the user to adapt the
dosing of the product or ingredient to the machine according to his
wishes without having to invade the machine to change or adapt
programmes of the machine.
Inventors: |
Appel, Peter William;
(Vlaardingen, NL) ; Birker, Paul Johan;
(Vlaardingen, NL) ; Callaghan, Ian Charles;
(Vlaardingen, NL) ; Van Heesen, Roy; (Vlaardingen,
NL) ; Van Kralingen, Cornelis Gerhard; (Vlaardingen,
NL) ; Vas-Bhat, Rahul Dominic; (Vlaardingen, NL)
; Warmoeskerken, Marinus Maria; (Vlaardingen,
NL) |
Correspondence
Address: |
UNILEVER
PATENT DEPARTMENT
45 RIVER ROAD
EDGEWATER
NJ
07020
US
|
Assignee: |
Unilever Home & Personal Care
USA, Division of Conopco, Inc.
|
Family ID: |
26077044 |
Appl. No.: |
10/308724 |
Filed: |
December 3, 2002 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
134/18 ; 134/57D;
68/12.18; 8/158 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47L 15/4418 20130101;
A47L 15/4454 20130101; D06F 39/022 20130101; A47L 15/4472 20130101;
D06F 33/37 20200201 |
Class at
Publication: |
134/18 ;
134/57.00D; 8/158; 68/12.18 |
International
Class: |
D06F 029/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Dec 7, 2001 |
EP |
01204740.3 |
Mar 15, 2002 |
EP |
02076024.5 |
Claims
1. A non-intrusive automatic dosing system, capable of being used
with an existing fabric- or dishwashing machine, said system
comprising a container house which can contain at least one
container for a product or ingredient suitable for use in a fabric
washing or dishwashing process or stage thereof in the fabric- or
dishwashing machine, said container being connected with a pump,
said pump being connected with the water inlet conduit of the
machine, said container house also contaning means for receiving
and transmitting signals, said means for receiving signals being
capable of receiving signals from at least one sensor which is
capable of reading at least one parameter of the washing process or
machine when in operation, said means for transmitting signals
being capable of activating the pump to cause the delivery to the
water inlet conduit of the product or ingredient from the
container.
2. A system according to claim 1, containing a combination of two
or more sensors, each reading a different parameter of the washing
process or machine.
3. A system according to claim 1, further comprising a computer
system with a database for storing the readings of the sensors.
4. A system according to claim 1, further comprising a timer device
for resetting the system after completion of the washing or
cleaning operation.
5. A system according to claim 1, wherein said system is used for
automatically and sequentially dosing different washing- or
cleaning compositions or ingredients thereof in a fabric- or
dishwashing machine, said system being adapted to contain at least
two containers for said different products or ingredients, each
container having an encoded set of information about its contents
and its use instructions affixed to it, said system further
comprising means for retrieving and, optionally, storing said
information, and means for executing instructions either received
directly from the retrieved information or from the stored
information and dosing the compositions or ingredients thereof into
the machine at the start of or during the operation of the washing
or cleaning process according to the received instructions in the
proper sequential order.
6. A system according to claim 1, in which the encoded set of
information is in the form of a bar code, or a magnetic strip, or a
microchip.
7. A system according to claim 1, in which at least one of the
containers is a multi-compartment container.
8. A system according of claim 1, in which the means for retrieving
the information from the encoded set of information is a scanning
device.
9. A process for automatically dosing a washing or cleaning product
or ingredient to an existing fabric washing or dishwashing machine,
comprising the steps of measuring, by means of one or more sensors
which are non intrusively connected with the washing machine, at
least one parameter of the washing process or machine when in
operation, feeding the signal from the sensor or sensors to a
signal-receiving and transmitting device which is connected with a
device for activating a pump connected with one or more containers
for the washing or cleaning product or ingredients, activating
through said device said pump to cause the delivery of said product
or ingredient to the water inlet conduit of the machine.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to an automatic dispensing
system. More particularly, it relates to an automatic dispensing
system that can be fitted to fabric washing machines, dishwashing
machines and the like for dispensing ingredients into the machines,
required for the laundering or dishwashing process. It relates
especially to an automatic dispensing system that can be fitted to
the above-mentioned machines by the user of the machines without
having to invade the machine housing in any way. For brevity's sake
the system of the present invention will hereinafter be referred to
as the non-invasive system.
PRIOR ART
[0002] Current commercial machines of the above type are only to a
limited extent controllable or programmable by the user as regards
the dosing of ingredients into the machines. They are usually
equipped with a dosing chamber for certain types of products such
as a pre-wash detergent product, or a main wash product, or a
softening product. The machines are usually preprogrammed by the
machine manufacturer, and the user can only select certain fixed
programs by a control system, fitted into the machine by the
manufacturer. Once the user has selected a certain program, the
machine runs according to the program, and the user cannot dose
particular ingredients anymore at particular points in time
according to his needs. This is undesirable, because the user may
wish to use particular ingredients (or leave out particular
ingredients) for special purposes, or dose them at particular
points in time, or treat special substrates in a particular way
according to his/her needs or desire.
[0003] Furthermore, such controllable dosing may make the washing
operations more efficient, since the dosing may be effected at the
right time and under the right conditions during the washing
operation. This efficiency improvement need not be limited to the
washing operation itself but to the entire process of clothes
cleaning and care, and could include, amongst others, improvements
in ease of ironing, quicker drying of fabric etc.
[0004] There have already been prior proposals in the art for
delivering ingredients in a controllable way to machines of the
above type. Thus, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,982,666 and U.S. Pat. No.
3,881,328 a dispensing system for sequentially and automatically
dispensing detergents, fabric conditioners and other cleaning
products into laundry washing machines has been described. This
system contains a signaling device, synchronized with the washing
machine cycle, and actuates and deactuates solenoid-operated valves
positioned upstream of venturi-aspirators assigned to each
ingredient line. Predetermined quantities of each ingredient can
thereby be delivered at any desired point in the machine cycle.
[0005] According to U.S. Pat. No. 4,103,520 an injector having a
plurality of liquid additive reservoirs and associated time control
valves can inject selectively liquid additives into the machine. An
adapter, connected to both the machine and injector controls
sequencing during the operating cycle of the machine. This adapter
establishes sequential program signals to the injector where the
machine does not have a built-in programmer. U.S. Pat. No.
2,834,364 describes a dishwasher, fitted with sensors to activate
addition of cleaning ingredients. The machine has a hot water feed
pipe to which is connected a pressure switch. A drop in water
pressure causes the switch to open an electric valve, which allows
a quantity of cleaning ingredient to flow into the machine.
[0006] All these prior proposals require the invasion of the
machine housing to connect these systems with the programmer, which
causes problems of installation difficulty, equipment
compatibility, and machine warranties.
[0007] Non-invasive or non-intrusive dosing systems have also
already been proposed in the art. Thus, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,932,227
a fabric washing machine with a non-intrusive dosing system has
been described. The system comprises a plurality of pumps,
connected to a plurality of ingredient supply containers which are
connected with an inlet conduit to the machine. In the hot and cold
water inlet conduits sensors are placed, which sense the flow of
water in the conduits and convert a flow signal therefrom into an
electronic impulse to sense each stage of the washing sequence.
These impulses are sent to a control head and activate a program in
the control, whereby one or more pumps are activated through the
program, delivering an ingredient to the machine.
[0008]
[0009] In EP-A- 0611,159 a dosing system is described, which can be
fitted to an existing washing machine. The system comprises sensors
which provide signals to a control device, dependant upon the
presence or absence of water at the sensor location, which provides
output signals to a pump which is connected to an ingredient supply
container and to an outlet to the washing machine tank. The output
signal to the pump causes the pump to feed the ingredient from the
container into the washing machine tank.
[0010] These prior proposals of non-intrusive dosing systems have,
however, the disadvantage that they are not fully controllable by
the user. Once the user has switched on the system, the system
operates according to the set program, and the user cannot regulate
according to his/her own wishes the dosing of particular
ingredients at particular points in time during the washing
operation. Moreover, these dosing systems require various pumps and
inlet conduits, which make the system rather complicated.
Furthermore, both systems use water as the trigger for the sensors.
The use of water as the sole trigger is not a foolproof technique
to distinguish between the main wash and rinse cycle. Most modern
day washing machines draw in water more than once during the main
wash process. This is directly related to the level of water in the
drum--which in turn is related to the type of wash load. For fabric
that absorbs a greater proportion of water to its weight, the
machine draws in water more than once in the main wash cycle to
maintain a constant height of water in the drum. In such a case,
the use of solely inlet water flow as a sensor for dosing detergent
ingredients will not suffice.
[0011] In U.S. Pat. No. 5,207,080 a dosing system is described
which comprises a detergent supply means, connected to a detecting
device which monitors the electric current, drawn by the washing
machine. When the current exceeds a predetermined threshold
current, the device transmits a signal to the detergent supply
means, which then causes a quantity of detergent to be fed into the
washing machine. For the dispensing of multiple additives to the
washing machine, multiple devices are necessary, which makes the
system complicated and not easy to use by the user. In addition,
the use of multiple dosing devices is expensive to manufacture and
maintain. Key drawback of using only electrical current drawn by
the machine as a trigger to monitor the washing cycle is that this
parameter is controlled by a number of different washing processes.
For example, the threshold current level could be reached due to
the working of the internal heating element as it brings the water
to a predetermined set point, or by the action of the motor as it
rotates the drum during the spin/centrifugal cycle. This means that
the pre-determined threshold current would have to be programmed
for each and every washing machine model/type making it relatively
complex to manufacture. However, a combination of a device
monitoring electrical current with one or more sensors that monitor
other washing machine parameters would overcome this
limitation.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0012] It has now been found that the above drawbacks can be
overcome to a significant degree by providing an automatic,
non-intrusive dosing system which is capable of dispensing a
product or ingredient, suitable for the treatment of fabrics or
dishware, from a container into a fabric washing machine or a
dishwashing machine at appropriate points in time at the start and
during the washing operation outside the machine through the water
inlet of the machine, said dispensing being activated by a trigger
signal obtained from at least one sensor, capable of reading at
least one parameter of the washing process or machine when in
operation. Consequently, in its broadest aspect the present
invention relates to a non-intrusive automatic dosing system,
capable of being used with an existing fabric- or dishwashing
machine, said system comprising a container house which can contain
at least one container for a product or ingredient suitable for use
in a fabric washing or dishwashing process or stage thereof in the
machine, said container being connected with a pump, said pump
being connected with the water inlet conduit of the machine, said
container house also containing means for receiving and
transmitting signals, said means for receiving signals being
capable of receiving signals from at least one sensor which is
capable of reading at least one parameter of the washing process or
the machine when in operation, said means for transmitting signals
being capable of activating the pump to cause the delivery to the
water inlet conduit of the product or ingredient from the
container.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0013] The system of the invention is non-intrusive, by which is
meant that the system does not require any modification of the
machine, nor any invading of the machine housing to install any
device. The container house can be of any suitable form or shape,
and can be adapted to contain one or more suitable containers,
filled or refillable with a product or ingredient, suitable for use
in the fabric washing or dishwashing process. The containers can
also be of any suitable form, shape or material, such as bottles,
squeezeable pouches, plastic bags etc. The products or ingredients
may be single ingredients such as bleaches, perfumes, color care
agents, fresheners and the like, or detergent formulations such as
pre-wash compositions, main wash compositions, rinse conditioners,
fabric softening compositions and so on. The container house and
the containers can be adapted to any particular program or need of
the user. The container house also contains at least one pump; this
pump can be connected via electrically (or pneumatically)
operatable valves with the various containers and can be activated
sequentially by means of the appropriate signals received from the
means for transmitting signals to the pump in the container
house.
[0014] The sensors, used in the system of the present invention can
be of any desirable type. They can be placed in the machine, e.g.
in the drain or in the dispensing compartment of the machine, or in
the conduit leading into the dispensing compartment, or they can be
wiredly or wirelessly remotely connected with the means for
receiving signals in the container house. The sensors are capable
of reading at least one parameter of the washing process or machine
when in operation, such as acoustic patterns, amperage drawn from
mains, water inlet and outlet flow, water pressure drum speed,
temperature, degree of soiling through conductivity measurement,
residual detergent concentration in the rinse water and so on.
Additional parameters that can be measured by the sensors are e.g.
water inflow pattern, total water taken in at the start of the
washing process, drum torque measured by the peak current drawn
from the mains etc. By the use of the sensors signals can be
obtained (and combined with one another) which monitor the wash
cycle and the cycle time and provide a trigger for the dispensing
system. Combinations of several sensors will provide more accurate
information to the system, enabling the system to operate more
effectively. The system may also comprise a computer program with a
database in which the results of the various readings are stored or
which can steer or reset the dispensing sequence on the basis of
the readings received from the sensors. The system may also
comprise means to reset the dosing system at the end of the washing
or cleaning process to start a new washing or cleaning process or
cycle, once the first one has been completed. Thus, for example,
when using a sensor which measures the current, drawn from the
mains, the system may be reset after a certain period has elapsed
after the current drawn is back at its base value, e.g. through an
appropriate command generated by the computer program, or activated
by a timing device. This period may vary according to the type of
washing and cleaning process or cycle. When using a timing device,
this may also be set at a certain period after the completion of
the washing or cleaning process, to reset the system back to its
starting configuration. It is also possible to use one sensor
according to the present invention together with a timing device,
incorporated into the system. Thus, for example, a signal from one
sensor may simultaneously activate the timing device which may be
programmed to activate the pump again after the elapse of a set
period of time, delivering the then required product or ingredient
to the water inlet. The set period of time depends, of course, on
the length of the washing or cleaning process or cycle, and the
washing or cleaning machine, and said period, once determined, may
be stored into a computer database as mentioned above.
[0015] The products or ingredients to be dispensed can be in any
form, such as powders, liquids, pastes, gels, tablets, capsules,
sachets and the like. When necessary, these can be predispersed by
means of part of the water from the water inlet being led to the
relevant containers, from which the predispersed product can be
re-fed into the water-inlet conduit.
[0016] Operation of the system can be exemplified as follows: the
user switches on the dispensing system. By selecting the
appropriate program, the washing process is started. The sensor or
sensors then provide signals at appropriate or predetermined points
in time, feeding a signal to the signal-receiving device in the
container house, which then causes according to the selected
program the delivery of a certain product or ingredient into the
water inlet of the machine, e.g. by means of a conduit from the
pump to a T-shaped insert in the water inlet tube. Subsequent
signals will similarly cause other products or ingredients to be
delivered to the water inlet as dictated by the selected program or
as steered by the computer program m. By proper selection of the
program and the choice of sensor and readings, the system can adapt
the dispensing of the products or ingredients to any given wash
load, type of wash, duration of the wash and so on. Thus, for
example, when using a washing process using a main wash cycle, a
subsequent bleaching cycle and a rinse conditioning cycle, the user
of the system provides to the system, before starting the process,
information about e.g. the type of wash load, e.g. white or
coloured fabrics, the degree of soiling, e.g. normal or dirty, and
whether a rinse conditioner is required or not. This information
the user can provide to the system by means of an interface, e.g. a
set of buttons on the container house of the system, or a touch
screen device, connected with the system either via wire ore
remote. Once he/she has done that, he/she can then start the
washing or cleaning process as usual by switching on the washing or
cleaning machines.
[0017] When the system of the present invention comprises at least
two containers for different products or ingredients suitable for
use in a fabric washing or dishwashing process, it is desirable
that the effects of mistakes made by the user, such as mistakes in
putting the wrong product into the wrong dispensing compartment or
putting the products in a wrong sequential order into the dosing
system, are corrected or prevented. Such mistakes could cause
serious damage to the substrates to be washed or cleaned, or
seriously impair the efficiency of the washing or cleaning process.
To prevent such mistakes, the at least two containers of the
washing- or cleaning compositions or the ingredients thereof are
preferably provided with an encoded set of instructions affixed
thereto.
[0018] In other words, for this purpose of preventing misuse or
mistakes, the system of the invention is preferably an automatic
dosing system for automatically and sequentially dosing different
washing- or cleaning compositions or ingredients thereof, said
system being adapted to contain at least two containers for said
different products or ingredients, each container having an encoded
set of information about its contents and its use instructions
affixed to it, said system further comprising means for retrieving
and, optionally, storing said information, and means for executing
instructions either received directly from the retrieved
information or from the stored information and dosing the
compositions or ingredients thereof into the machine at the start
of or during the operation of the washing or cleaning process
according to the received instructions in the proper sequential
order.
[0019] In this preferred embodiment, the system is adapted to
comprise at least two containers for the different compositions or
ingredients. This can be achieved e.g. by providing a housing with
at least two slots into which the containers can be placed. There
may even be more than two containers, depending on the number of
products to be used in the washing or cleaning process. As
mentioned above, the containers present in this preferred
embodiment are provided with an encoded set of information about
their contents and their use instructions, said set being affixed
in any suitable manner to the containers. This may be in the form
of a bar code, magnetic strip, a microchip or any other suitable
machine-readable attachment.
[0020] This preferred system further comprises means for reading
the encoded set of information and storing the read information,
e.g. a scanning device for reading the encoded set of information
and a transmission device for transmitting the signals, received by
the scanning device to a storing device which may be a computer
data bank storing the read information. From the storing device the
information may then be transmitted through an appropriate
transmission device to the dosing system, which comprises at least
one pump, connected with a conduit which leads either directly or
indirectly (through the water inlet)to the washing or cleaning
chamber of the machine, for activating the pump to cause the
delivery of the composition or ingredient in accordance with the
received instructions.
[0021] The containers of this preferred system may also be
multi-compartmented. each compartment having a discharge opening
attached to a conduit leading to a pump, the encoded set of
information containing information about the contents of each
compartment and their respective use instructions. The encoded sets
of information relating to the containers of this preferred system
of the invention also contain information about the sequence in
which the contents of these containers are to be dosed into the
machine.
[0022] When using this preferred system, at least two containers
with different products or ingredients are placed in the container
house in random order. The containers have previously been provided
with an encoded set of information, e.g. in the form of a bar code,
about their contents and use instructions. The user then switches
on the system. The scanning device will read the bar code
information, and transmit that information directly to the
transmission device which activates the pump, or to the computer
data bank from which appropriate instructions will then be
transmitted to the activating device of the pump.
[0023] Since the scanning device will read the encoded set of
instructions of all the containers, it will automatically select
the proper sequence for dosing the respective products, and thus it
will ignore the improper placing by the user of the containers in
the container house, thus making the system "use-proof". Thus, the
user can place the containers in any order in the container house,
and the scanning device will read the encoded set of instructions
and determine which product should be dosed first and so on.
Multi-compartment containers can contain separate products or
ingredients, e.g. a bleach product and a bleach activator, or a
perfume, or an enzyme separated from the bleach product, and again
by reading the encoded set of information on each compartment the
scanning device will determine its content and its use
instructions, thus determining the proper sequence of dosing.
[0024] The dosing system of the invention desirably has the ability
to dose detergent material in a controlled way into the water inlet
of the washing machine. In this preferred embodiment, water
entering the washing machine contains pre-dissolved detergent
solution having a desired detergent concentration. As a result the
operation of the washing machine can be optimized leading to a
reduced risk of residue formation and of dye damage on the treated
fabric.
[0025] The flow rate required to dose the contents of each of the
containers of the system of the invention will depend on a number
of factors. Some of these factors are dependent on properties of
the contents of these containers, such as the composition,
viscosity and density thereof. Another factor is the rate of water
flow being taken up by the washing machine. Information regarding
the properties of the detergent compositions present in each of the
containers, may be stored in the barcode of the respective
containers, whereby this information may be provided through
retrieving means such as a scanning device. In addition, existing
sensors on the automatic dosing system of the invention may provide
information on the rate of water uptake by the washing machine.
Combination of these two sources of information gives all
information required for determining the correct rate of addition
into the water inlet stream for each of the detergent compositions
to be added.
[0026] The invention also provides for a process for automatically
dosing a washing or cleaning product or ingredient to an existing
fabric washing or dishwashing machine, comprising the steps of
measuring, by means of one or more sensors which are
non-intrusively connected with the washing machine, at least one
parameter of the washing machine or process when in operation,
feeding the signal from the sensor or sensors to a
signal--receiving and transmitting device which is connected with a
device for activating a pump connected with one or more containers
for the washing or cleaning product or ingredient, activating
through said device said pump causing the delivery of said product
or ingredient to the water-inlet conduit of the machine.
* * * * *