EP 4015698 A1 20220622 - WASHING MACHINE AND METHOD OF UNCLOGGING A DRAIN FILTER OF A WASHING MACHINE
Title (en)
WASHING MACHINE AND METHOD OF UNCLOGGING A DRAIN FILTER OF A WASHING MACHINE
Title (de)
WASCHMASCHINE UND VERFAHREN ZUM ENTSTOPFEN EINES ABLAUFFILTERS EINER WASCHMASCHINE
Title (fr)
MACHINE À LAVER ET PROCÉDÉ DE DÉBOUCHAGE D'UN FILTRE DE VIDANGE D'UNE MACHINE À LAVER
Publication
Application
Priority
EP 20214105 A 20201215
Abstract (en)
The present invention provides a washing machine (10), such as a machine for laundering clothes or a dishwasher, which comprises a washing chamber (12) having an outlet (14) for waste water. The outlet (14) is in fluid communication with a drain and waste water is pumped from the washing chamber (12) to the drain via a drain pump (26). The drain pump (26) is protected from debris and sludge which may be present in the waste water by a drain filter (24). In order to unclog the drain filter (24), a path for waste water upstream from the drain filter (24) to the outlet (14) bifurcates into first and second routes. The first route comprises a bypass channel (20) for waste water, which is used during normal operation of the washing machine (10). The second route is for use during an unclogging operation of the drain filter (24) and comprises an unclogging chamber (22) for containing an unclogging agent. During the unclogging operation, the waste water is diverted to pass through the unclogging chamber (22) by a three-way valve (18), which has a first state, wherein waste water is directed along the first route, and a second state, wherein waste water is directed along the second route. The three-way valve (18) is switched between the first and second states thereof according to whether the rate of waste water drainage from the washing machine (10) is less than or equal to a predetermined value, and possibly also whether the temperature of the waste water is greater than or equal to a predetermined temperature. The present invention also provides a corresponding method of unclogging a drain filter of a washing machine and a computer program product or a program code or system for executing such a method.
IPC 8 full level
D06F 39/08 (2006.01); D06F 33/42 (2020.01); D06F 103/14 (2020.01); D06F 103/16 (2020.01); D06F 105/34 (2020.01); D06F 105/42 (2020.01); D06F 105/54 (2020.01)
CPC (source: EP)
D06F 33/42 (2020.02); D06F 39/083 (2013.01); D06F 2103/14 (2020.02); D06F 2103/16 (2020.02); D06F 2105/34 (2020.02); D06F 2105/42 (2020.02); D06F 2105/54 (2020.02)
Citation (applicant)
- US 2014158163 A1 20140612 - MONTGOMERY MARK D [US], et al
- CN 105316913 A 20160210 - QINGDAO HAIER INTELLIGENT TECHNOLOGY DEV CO LTD
Citation (search report)
- [A] WO 2020089727 A1 20200507 - UFI INNOVATION CENTER S R L [IT]
- [A] EP 3561170 A1 20191030 - BSH HAUSGERAETE GMBH [DE]
- [A] US 2014298590 A1 20141009 - FULMER GREGORY R [US], et al
- [A] WO 03083201 A1 20031009 - SHARP KK [JP]
Designated contracting state (EPC)
AL AT BE BG CH CY CZ DE DK EE ES FI FR GB GR HR HU IE IS IT LI LT LU LV MC MK MT NL NO PL PT RO RS SE SI SK SM TR
Designated extension state (EPC)
BA ME
DOCDB simple family (publication)
DOCDB simple family (application)
EP 20214105 A 20201215