Method and apparatus for energy efficient wash appliances

Abstract

An electronic controller used with a washing appliance, such as a dishwasher, operatively connected to a hot water delivery system having a hot water heater, hot water delivery piping, and a circulation pump that when activated circulates water in the delivery piping back to the hot water heater. The washing appliance structured to perform a cleaning process that includes a pre-wash cycle and a wash cycle that utilizes hot water received from the hot water delivery piping. The pre-wash cycle having a water fill step, a water spray step, and a water drain step. The electronic controller on sensing the completion of the water fill step, or, alternatively, the water spray step, sends a first signal to the circulation pump causing the pump to become activated, and upon sensing the completion of the water spray step, or, alternatively, the water drain step, sends a second signal to the circulation pump causing the deactivation of the pump.

What I claim is: 
     
         1 . An electronic controller for use with a hot water delivery system comprising a hot water heater, hot water delivery piping and a circulation pump operatively connected to circulate hot water from the hot water heater through the hot water delivery piping and back to the hot water heater when the circulation pump is activated, and for use with a washing appliance having a hot water inlet valve operatively connected to the hot water delivery system to receive hot water from the hot water delivery piping when the hot water inlet valve is open, wherein the washing appliance performs a washing process comprising a pre-wash cycle and a wash cycle, the pre-wash cycle including a water fill step, a water spray step, and a water drain step, the improvement to which comprises:
 a. the electronic controller upon sensing completion of the water fill step or the water spray step or initiation of the water drain step being constructed to send a first signal to activate the circulation pump, and   b. the electronic controller upon sensing the completion of the water spray step or the water drain step to send a second signal to deactivate the circulation pump.   
     
     
         2 . The electronic controller according to  claim 1  wherein the electronic controller upon sensing initiation of the water drain step being constructed to send a first signal to activate the circulation pump, and upon sensing the completion of the water drain step to send a second signal to deactivate the circulation pump. 
     
     
         3 . In an assembly for operation of a dishwasher including:
 a. the dishwasher having a body forming an interior cavity having a sump area, a water inlet valve operatively attachable to a hot water source, a washing system, a heater system, a drain system, and an electronic controller operatively attached to (i) the water inlet valve to close or open the water inlet valve, (ii) upon receiving wash process signals from the controller, the washing system to initiate at least one of a pre-wash cycle, a wash cycle and a rinse cycle, (iii) upon receiving water draining signals from the controller, the drain system to initiate a water drain step to remove water from the dishwater sump, and (iv) upon receiving drying cycle signals from the controller the heater system to initiate a drying cycle;   b. a hot water delivery system including a hot water heater, a first pipe operatively connected to the hot water heater to receive heated water from the hot water heater and operatively connected to a circulation pump constructed when activated to pump heated water from the first pipe to a second pipe operatively connected to the hot water heater for delivery of the heated water back to the hot water heater for reheating;
 the improvement to which comprises the electronic controller constructed to transmit a first signal representative of (i) completion of the water fill step, (ii) initiation of the water spray step, (iii) completion of the water spray step or (iv) initiation of the water drain step of the pre-wash cycle to the circulation pump to activate the circulation pump, and to transmit a second signal representative of the completion of the pre-wash cycle to the circulation pump to deactivate the circulation pump. 
   
     
     
         4 . The assembly of  claim 3  further comprising the electronic controller constructed to transmit a third signal to the water inlet valve to open the water inlet valve and permit the heated water to flow though the water inlet valve and into the dishwasher cavity. 
     
     
         5 . A method utilizing heated water from a hot water heater for supplying hot water at a pre-determined temperature to a dishwasher upon initiation of a wash cycle of the dishwasher by an electronic controller transmitting a signal to open a water inlet valve operatively attached to the hot water heater by a hot water deliver piping to receive the hot water upon opening of the water inlet valve, wherein the hot water delivery piping comprises a first pipe operatively attached at one end to the hot water heater and operatively attached at an opposite end to the water inlet valve, a second pipe operatively attached at one end to the first pipe and operatively attached to an intake port of a circulation pump, and a third pipe operatively attached at one end to a discharge port of the circulation pump and operatively attached at an opposite end to the hot water heater; comprising the steps of:
 a. sending a first signal from the controller upon activation of a pre-determined pre-wash cycle to the circulation pump to activate the circulation pump, and   b. sending a second signal from the controller upon completion of a water drain step
 of the pre-determined pre-wash cylce to the circulation pump to de-activate the pump. 
   
     
     
         6 . A method utilizing heated water from a hot water delivery system comprising a hot water heater, a hot water delivery piping operatively attached to the hot water heater to receive hot water from the hot water heater and to circulate the heated water back to the hot water heater upon activation by a controller of a circulation pump operatively attached to the hot water delivery piping, the hot water delivery piping operatively connected to a dishwasher to deliver hot water through the hot water delivery piping at a pre-determined temperature to the dishwasher upon initiation of a wash cycle of a pre-determined washing process of the dishwasher, comprising:
 a. sending to the circulation pump a first signal from the controller upon the controller sensing completion of a water fill step or a water spray step or initiation of a water drain step of a pre-determined pre-wash cycle of the washing process, the first signal causing activation of the circulation pump,
 and 
   b. sending to the circulation pump a second signal from the controller after a predetermined period of time prior to the initiation of the wash cycle of the washing process, the second signal causing deactivation of the circulation pump.   
     
     
         7 . The method according to  claim 6  wherein
 a. the dishwasher comprises a dishwasher controller that transmits control signals to selected components of the dishwasher to initiate and complete the water fill step, the water spray step, and the water drain step of the pre-wash cycle; 
 b. the controller is the dishwasher controller; 
 c. the water fill step includes the controller sending a first water inlet valve signal to the water inlet valve causing opening of the water inlet valve operatively connected to the hot water delivery piping to receive hot water from the hot water heater, maintaining the water inlet valve opened for a pre-determined period of time to permit the received hot water to collect in an interior sump area of the dishwasher, and upon expiration of the pre-determined time the controller sending a second water inlet valve signal to the water inlet valve causing closing of the water inlet valve; 
 d. the water spray step includes the controller sending a first sump pump signal to the sump pump of the dishwasher causing activation of the sump pump operatively positioned upon activation to collect the hot water collected in the interior sump area and to deliver the collected hot water to a spray arm having nozzles positioned to direct the collected hot water to contact articles to be washed, and the controller sending a second sump pump signal to the sump pump causing deactivation of the sump pump to terminate the collection of the hot water from the interior sump area; 
 e. the water drain step includes the controller sending a first drain valve signal to a drain valve of the dishwasher located in the interior sump area causing opening of the drain valve to permit water collected in the interior sump area to be removed from the dishwasher, the controller sending a first drain pump signal to a drain pump of the dishwasher positioned to collect water in the interior sump area causing activation of the drain pump to direct the collected water to the drain valve, after a pre-determined period of draining time, the controller sending a second drain pump signal to the drain pump causing deactivation of the drain pump and sending a second drain valve signal to the drain valve causing closing of the drain valve; 
 f. sending the first signal by the controller to the circulation pump upon sending one of the following signals (i) second water inlet valve signal, (ii) first sump pump signal, (iii) second sump pump signal, (iv) first drain valve signal, or (v) first drain pump signal. 
 
     
     
         8 . The method according to  claim 7  wherein
 a. the first signal is sent to the circulation pump when the second water inlet valve signal is sent to the water inlet valve, and 
 b. the second signal is sent to the circulation pump upon sending one of the following signals: (i) second sump pump signal, (ii) the first drain valve signal, (iii) the first drain pump signal, (iv) the second drain valve signal, or (v) the second drain pump signal. 
 
     
     
         9 . The method according to  claim 7 , wherein:
 a. the first signal is sent to the circulation pump when the first sump pump signal is sent to the sump pump, and   b. the second signal is sent to the circulation pump upon sending one of the following signals: (i) second sump pump signal, (ii) the first drain valve signal, (iii) the first drain pump signal, (iv) the second drain valve signal, or (v) the second drain pump signal.   
     
     
         10 . The method according to  claim 7 , wherein:
 a. the first signal is sent to the circulation pump when the second sump pump signal is sent to the sump pump, and   b. the second signal is sent to the circulation pump upon sending one of the following signals: (i) the second drain valve signal, or (ii) the second drain pump signal.   
     
     
         11 . The method according to  claim 7 , wherein:
 a. the first signal is sent to the circulation pump when the first drain valve signal or the first drain pump signal is sent to the sump pump, and   b. the second signal is sent to the circulation pump upon sending one of the following signals: (i) the second drain valve signal, or (ii) the second drain pump signal.