Detection of dishwasher heating defect based on connected data

Abstract

A dishwashing appliance having a heating system and a method of detecting a fault in a dishwasher heating system. The method includes forming a cluster of historic wash water temperature readings recorded from one or more dishwasher cycles and comparing a current wash water temperature reading with the cluster of historic wash water temperature readings. A heating system fault is determined based on the comparison and displayed.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of detecting a heating system fault in a dishwasher appliance connected to a network, the dishwasher appliance comprising a heating system, a temperature sensor, and an appliance controller, the method comprising:
 forming a cluster of historic wash water temperature readings recorded from one or more dishwasher cycles;   receiving a current wash water temperature reading of a dishwasher cycle;   recording the current wash water temperature reading in a memory location including the cluster of historic wash water temperature readings;   comparing the current wash water temperature reading with the cluster of historic wash water temperature readings;   determining a heating system fault based on the comparison; and   displaying the heating system fault.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein:
 receiving the current wash water temperature reading comprises obtaining the current wash water temperature reading using the temperature sensor; and   recording the current wash water temperature reading comprises communicating the current wash water temperature reading to the memory location using the appliance controller.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the memory location is associated with the network. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein determining the heating system fault comprises:
 calculating a mean value of the historic wash water temperature readings;   calculating a difference between the current wash water temperature reading and the mean value; and   determining that the calculated difference is greater than a predetermined range.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein determining the heating system fault comprises:
 calculating a standard deviation of the historic wash water temperature readings; and   determining that the current wash water temperature reading falls outside the standard deviation.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein displaying the heating system fault comprises causing a graphic display on a user interface of the dishwasher appliance. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the network comprises an external device; and   displaying the heating system fault comprises an alert at the external device.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the current wash water temperature reading is included in the cluster of historic wash water temperature readings. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the dishwasher cycle is one of a main wash cycle or a final rinse cycle. 
     
     
         10 . A method of detecting a heating system fault in a disconnected dishwasher appliance, the disconnected dishwasher comprising a heating system, a temperature sensor, and an appliance controller no longer connected to a network, the method comprising:
 operating the heating system to heat a wash water during a dishwasher cycle;   receiving a current wash water temperature reading for the dishwasher cycle;   comparing the current wash water temperature reading with a cluster of historic wash water temperature readings recorded from one or more dishwasher cycles and saved at a memory location;   determining a heating system fault based on the comparison; and   displaying the heating system fault.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein receiving the current wash water temperature reading comprises obtaining the current wash water temperature using the temperature sensor. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein determining a heating system fault comprises:
 calculating a mean value of the historic wash water temperature readings;   calculating a difference between the current wash water temperature reading and the mean value; and   determining that the calculated difference is greater than a predetermined range.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein determining a heating system fault comprises:
 calculating a standard deviation of the historic wash water temperature readings; and   determining that the current wash water temperature falls outside the standard deviation.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein displaying the heating system fault comprises causing a graphic display on a user interface of the dishwasher appliance. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the dishwasher cycle is one of a main wash cycle or a final rinse cycle. 
     
     
         16 . A dishwasher appliance connected to a network, the dishwasher appliance comprising a heating system, a temperature sensor, and an appliance controller, wherein the appliance controller is configured to:
 form a cluster of historic wash water temperature readings recorded from one or more dishwasher cycles, the historic was water temperature readings saved to a memory location;   operate the heating system to heat a wash water during a dishwasher cycle;   receive a current wash water temperature reading from the temperature sensor for the dishwasher cycle;   record the current wash water temperature reading in the memory location;   receive a signal corresponding to a heating system fault; and   display a heating system fault message.   
     
     
         17 . The dishwasher appliance of  claim 16 , wherein the appliance controller is further configured to periodically receive a current wash water temperature reading form the temperature sensor. 
     
     
         18 . The dishwasher appliance of  claim 16 , wherein forming a cluster of historic wash water temperature readings recorded from one or more dishwasher cycles comprises including the current wash water temperature reading in the cluster. 
     
     
         19 . The dishwasher appliance of  claim 16 , wherein:
 the network further comprises an external device; and   the appliance controller is further configured to display a heating system fault at the external device.   
     
     
         20 . The dishwasher appliance of  claim 16 , wherein:
 the dishwasher appliance further comprises a user interface: and   the appliance controller is further configured to display a heating system fault at the user interface.