Conventional automatic cleaning appliances, such as washing machines, dishwashers, and the like, involve the mixing of a wash aid with water to create a wash liquid to facilitate the cleaning process. These wash aids may include detergents, water softeners, fabric softeners, whitening agents, brightening agents, in-wash stain removers, color safe bleaches, peroxygen bleaches and the like. One dispensing method is for the appropriate quantity of wash aid to be added to the cleaning appliance by an operator prior to the initiation of the laundering cycle. The operator places the wash aid in a dispenser, and the wash aid is introduced into the water at a preselected step in the cleaning cycle. The effectiveness of the wash aid is dependent, at least in part, on the quantity of wash aid dispensed. Thus, accurate measuring and dispensing of the wash aid is very desirable.
Certain wash aids, particularly laundry detergents, are increasingly supplied to the public in higher concentrations, such as twice or three times the concentration of a traditional laundry detergent. Thus, for example, if a traditional laundry detergent has a base concentration identified as “1×,” a detergent having twice the concentration or triple the concentration can be identified as “2×” or “3×”, respectively. Because these detergents are more highly concentrated, a smaller quantity of higher-concentration detergent is required to provide the same cleaning effectiveness as a 1× detergent.
The more highly concentrated wash aids have created a dispensing problem. Current dispensing systems are designed for wash aids of a known and standard concentration, such as the 1× detergent concentration. If a wash aid of a greater concentration is used, the dispensing system is dependent on the user to place the appropriate amount of wash aid in the dispenser. Unfortunately, reliance on the user provides a source of dispensing errors, the most likely of which is the filling of the dispensing system with too much of the higher concentration wash aid.
Conventional cleaning appliances, such as washing machines and dishwashers, require a specific amount of detergent in order to optimize cleaning and minimize the generation of excess suds, which can be detrimental to the cleaning process and certain components, particularly pumps. High concentrations of detergent can also be damaging to certain fabrics. The quantity of detergent required will be dependent on the concentration of the detergent. Thus, for example, if too large a quantity of a high-concentration detergent is dispensed, excessive sudsing can occur, or fabrics can be damaged. Conversely, if too low a quantity of a low-concentration detergent is used, soil removal from the laundered items can be less effective.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds