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EP-4739830-A1 - DOSING SYSTEM FOR LIQUID CHEMICALS

EP4739830A1EP 4739830 A1EP4739830 A1EP 4739830A1EP-4739830-A1

Abstract

Dosing system configured to dose one or more liquid chemical products in one or more washing devices (60A-60D), which includes at least one hydraulic input pipe (1500, 2500) connectable to the water mains (1200) and at least one hydraulic pipe (1600, 2600) outlet, one or more hydraulic mixing ducts connected between said at least one inlet hydraulic duct (1500, 2500) and said at least one outlet hydraulic duct (1600, 2600) and on each of which there is a respective solenoid valve (1230A-1230F, 2230G-2230J) downstream of which a respective dosing device (1240A-1240F, 2240G-2240J) of said one or more liquid chemical products is arranged, in which said at least one hydraulic conduit (1600, 2600) of the outlet is in turn connected to an inlet hydraulic duct (3500) of a distribution unit (3000), in which the distribution unit (3000) includes one or more distribution solenoid valves (3230A-3230D), each of which is arranged on a respective hydraulic distribution duct connected to a corresponding washing apparatus, in which the dosing system also includes an electronic processing unit (1130) configured to be operationally connected to said one or more washing apparatus (60A-60D), an input flow meter (1220) arranged on said at least one hydraulic duct (1500, 2500) and an output flow meter (2260) arranged on said at least one output hydraulic duct (1600, 2600), in which the electronic unit (1130) of processing is operationally connected to the input flow meter (1220), to the one or more solenoid valves (1230A-1230F, 2230G-2230J) of said one or more hydraulic mixing ducts, to the output flow meter (2260), and to said one or more distribution solenoid valves (3230A-3230D), in which the electronic processing unit (1130) is configured to receive flow rate values measured from the output flow meter (2260) and from the input flow meter (1220) and to measure and control a quantity of said one or more liquid chemical products dosed in said one or more washing apparatus (60A-60D) on the basis of said measured flow rate values.

Inventors

  • CAPORALE, CARLO
  • LOMBARDINILO, ANTONELLO
  • SEBASTIANI, Piero
  • CATTANI, DAVIDE

Assignees

  • SEKO S.p.A.

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20240703

Claims (9)

  1. 1. Dosing system configured to dose one or more liquid chemicals into one or more washing apparatus (60A-60D), wherein the dosing system includes at least one inlet hydraulic duct (1500, 2500) configured to be connected to a water network (1200) and at least one outlet hydraulic duct (1600, 2600), one or more mixing hydraulic duct connected between said at least one inlet hydraulic duct (1500, 2500) and said at least one outlet hydraulic duct (1600, 2600) and on each one of which a respective solenoid valve (1230A-1230F, 2230G-2230J) is arranged, wherein downstream of the respective solenoid valve (1230A-1230F, 2230G-2230J) a respective dosing device (1240A-1240F, 2240G-2240J) is arranged, which is configured to dose a respective liquid chemical product of said one or more liquid chemicals when a diluent flows into the mixing hydraulic duct, wherein said at least one outlet hydraulic duct (1600, 2600) is in turn connected to an inlet hydraulic duct (3500) of a distribution unit (3000), wherein the distribution unit (3000) comprises one or more distribution solenoid valves (3230A-3230D) each one of which is arranged on a respective hydraulic distribution duct connected, downstream of the distribution solenoid valve, to a corresponding washing apparatus of said one or more washing apparatuses (60A-60D), wherein the dosing system further includes an electronic processing unit (1130) configured to be operatively connected to said one or more washing apparatuses (60A-60D), an inlet flow meter (1220) arranged on said at least one inlet hydraulic duct (1500, 2500) upstream of said one or more mixing hydraulic ducts, and an outlet flow meter (2260) arranged on said at least one outlet hydraulic duct (1600, 2600) downstream of said one or more mixing hydraulic ducts, wherein the electronic processing unit (1130) is operatively connected to the inlet flow meter (1220), to the one or more solenoid valves (1230A-1230F, 2230G-2230J) of said one or more mixing hydraulic ducts, to the outlet flow meter (2260), and to said one or more distribution solenoid valves (3230A-3230D), wherein the electronic processing unit (1130) is configured to receive flow rate values measured by the outlet flow meter (2260) and inlet flow meter (1220), and to measure a quantity of said one or more liquid chemicals dosed into said one or more washing apparatuses (60A-60D) on the basis of said measures flow rate values, and to control the one or more solenoid valves (1230A-1230F, 2230G-2230J) of said one or more mixing hydraulic ducts and the said one or more distribution solenoid valves (3230A-3230D) to dose a quantity of said one or more liquid chemicals into said one or more washing apparatuses (60A-60D) on the basis of said measures flow rate values.
  2. 2. Dosing system according to claim 1, wherein the electronic processing unit (1130) is configured to receive in real time the flow rate values measured by the outlet flow meter (2260) and inlet flow meter (1220).
  3. 3. Dosing system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the electronic processing unit (1130) is configured to measure a quantity of said one or more liquid chemicals dosed into said one or more washing apparatuses (60A-60D) performing the difference between a flow rate value measured by the outlet flow meter (2260) and a flow rate value measured by the inlet flow meter (1220).
  4. 4. Dosing system according to claim 3, wherein the electronic processing unit (1130) is configured to control the one or more solenoid valves (1230A-1230F, 2230G-2230J) of said one or more mixing hydraulic ducts and the said one or more distribution solenoid valves (3230A- 3230D) to dose a quantity of said one or more liquid chemicals into said one or more washing apparatuses (60A-60D) on the basis of said difference between measured flow rates.
  5. 5. Dosing system according to claim 1, further comprising an inlet pressure sensor (1210) arranged on said at least one hydraulic duct (1500, 2500) upstream of said one or more mixing hydraulic ducts, wherein the inlet pressure sensor (1210) is configured to detect a pressure of a diluent flowing in said at least one inlet hydraulic duct (1500, 2500), wherein the electronic processing unit (1130) is further operatively connected to the inlet pressure sensor (1210) and is configured to receive a pressure value therefrom and to compensate for variations of a measurement sensitivity of the input flow meter (1220) and of a measurement sensitivity of the output flow meter (2260) based on the received pressure value.
  6. 6. Dosing system according to claim 1 or 5, wherein the one or more dosing devices (1240A-1240F, 2240G-2240J) arranged on said one or more mixing hydraulic ducts are venturi mixers each one having a suction line configured to be connected to a respective container (50G- 50J) containing a corresponding liquid chemical product of said one or more liquid chemical products.
  7. 7. Dosing system according to claim 6, wherein a check valve is arranged on the suction line of each one of said one or more venturi mixers (1240A-1240F, 2240G-2240J) that is configured to allow a flow of liquid chemical product from the suction line to the respective mixing hydraulic duct of said one or more mixing hydraulic ducts.
  8. 8. Dosing system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the electronic processing unit (1130) is configured to be operatively connected to each one of said one or more washing apparatuses (60A-60D) through a respective trigger interface (80A-80D) operatively connected to a corresponding washing apparatus of said one or more washing apparatuses (GOA- GOD) .
  9. 9. Dosing system according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising a main unit (1000) operatively connected to an additional extension module (2000), wherein said at least one inlet hydraulic duct (1500, 2500) comprises or consists of a main inlet hydraulic duct (1500) of the main unit (1000) and an inlet hydraulic duct (2500) of the additional extension module (2000) connected to each other, wherein said at least one outlet hydraulic duct (1600, 2600) comprises or consists of an outlet hydraulic duct (1600) of the main unit (1000) and an outlet hydraulic duct (2600) of the additional extension module (2000) connected to each other, wherein the electronic processing unit (1130) is arranged in the main unit (1000), wherein at least one of said one or more mixing hydraulic ducts is arranged in the main unit (1000) and at least one of said one or more mixing hydraulic ducts is arranged in the additional extension module (2000), thereby the inlet flow meter (1220) is arranged on the main inlet hydraulic duct (1500) of the main unit (1000) and the outlet flow meter (2260) is arranged on the outlet hydraulic duct (2600) of the additional extension module (2000).

Description

DOSING SYSTEM FOR LIQUID CHEMICALS * * * The present invention concerns a closing system configured to dose one or more liquid chemical products in one or more washing apparatus which allows in a precise, simple, reliable, efficient and economical way to control the quantity of each of said one or more chemical products liquids which is mixed with a diluent, for example water, and supplied together with the diluent, i.e. dosed, in each of said one or more washing apparatus . In the following description, reference will be made mainly to applications of the dosing system according to the invention in the industrial or domestic washing apparatus sector, in particular for clothing and/or linen (e.g. industrial or domestic washing machines), as well as for crockery and/or cookware (eg industrial or domestic dishwashers). However, it must be kept in mind that the dosing system according to the invention can be applied in any othertechnological context in which the quantity of one or more liquid chemical products that is mixed with a diluent, for example water, such as in the water treatment sector, always remaining within the scope of the present invention defined by the attached claims. Furthermore, in the remainder of the present description, reference will be made mainly to applications of the dosing system according to the invention comprising venturi effect dosing or mixing devices and in which the diluent consists of water. However, it must be kept in mind that the dosing system according to the invention can also include different dosing or mixing devices, such as for example dosing pumps, and/or the diluent can also be different from water, always remaining within the scope of the present invention defined by the attached claims. It is known that in the washing apparatus sector it is necessary that a liquid chemical product, stored in a container, such as a bag or a can, is mixed with a diluent, typically water, according to a precise dosage and the mixture of water and liquid chemical product is supplied to a washing apparatus. In this regard, a washing apparatus, such as for example a washing machine or a dishwasher, operates according to one or more washing programs or formulas which usually include a sequence of phases in some of which different liquid chemical products can be dosed into the washing apparatus with each other and/or in different quantities between the various phases which are mixed with water. In particular, the variability of water pressure can influence the characteristics of the mixture of liquid chemicals with water in an unpredictable way, making precise control of the dosage of liquid chemicals complex and difficult. This complexity and difficulty are increased in the case of systems comprising a plurality of washing devices. In the prior art, some solutions have been developed to control the dosage of liquid chemicals. By way of example, document EP3462271A1 describes a dosing system in which the dosing duration of a chemical product is regulated on the basis of the pressure of the diluent before mixing, while document EP0403296 describes a dosing system in which the dosage is regulated on the based on frequent recalibrations, the use of peristaltic pumps, the use of capacitive devices to verify the presence of chemical liquids in the flow directed to the washing machines, and the use of a single flow meter placed upstream of the mixing devices of chemical liquids . However, prior art solutions suffer from some drawbacks. First of all, they do not allow the quantity of liquid chemical products that are dosed into the washing apparatus to be precisely controlled, given that this control is influenced by pressure drops in the hydraulic pipes and by the viscosity of the chemical products. Furthermore, prior art solutions are complex, not entirely reliable, requiring frequent calibrations, thus often involving significant manufacturing and/or installation and/or maintenance costs. The aim of the present invention is, therefore, to allow in a precise, simple, reliable, efficient and economical way to control the quantity of one or more liquid chemical products which is mixed with a diluent, for example water, and which is dosed in one or more washing devices. The specific object of the present invention is a dosing system configured to dose one or more liquid chemical products in one or more washing apparatus, in which the dosing system includes at least one hydraulic input duct configured to be connected to a water network and at least an outlet hydraulic duct, one or more mixing hydraulic ducts connected between said at least one inlet hydraulic duct and said at least one outlet hydraulic duct and on each of which a respective solenoid valve is arranged, in which downstream of the respective solenoid valve there is a respective dosing device, which is configured to dose a respective liquid chemical product of said one or more liquid chemicals when a diluent flows in the hydrauli