US 12,345,471 B1
Capacity expansion method for household food waste disposers
Zhimin Liu, Dongguan (CN); Dongyuan Lin, Dongguan (CN); Shaoliang Yang, Dongguan (CN); Shuo Huang, Dongguan (CN); and Tiejiang Luo, Dongguan (CN)
Assigned to Bigland Electric Appliance Co., Ltd., Dongguan (CN)
Filed by Bigland Electric Appliance Co., Ltd., Guangdong (CN)
Filed on Jan. 8, 2025, as Appl. No. 19/013,130.
Claims priority of application No. 202411777970.2 (CN), filed on Dec. 5, 2024.
Int. Cl. F26B 21/10 (2006.01); F26B 21/08 (2006.01)
CPC F26B 21/10 (2013.01) [F26B 21/08 (2013.01); F26B 2200/02 (2013.01)] 8 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A capacity expansion method for a household food waste disposer, comprising:
a starting step, in which after a user closes a lid of the household food waste disposer, a control unit starts a treatment routine, uses a heating element to start heating a disposal drum which is used for collecting and storing food waste, and starts the treatment of the food waste;
a detecting step, in which the control unit continuously detects and records the temperature and relative humidity at a temperature and humidity detection point by means of a detection element located at the temperature and humidity detection point of the food waste disposer, after the treatment routine is started;
a determination and reminder step, in which the control unit calculates and determines whether a temperature rise rate of the detected temperature is not higher than a predetermined threshold; and if the temperature rise rate is not higher than the predetermined threshold, the control unit will determine that an initial warming stage has been completed and will send out a waste addition reminder signal to remind the user by means of an audible/visual reminder to open the lid of the household food waste disposer and add food waste to the disposal drum again; and
a waste addition step, in which the control unit suspends the treatment routine to provide the user with an opportunity to add food waste to the disposal drum, after the control unit sends out a waste addition reminder signal and receives an open-lid signal indicating that the lid has been opened or a control signal for adding food waste, and continues the operation of the treatment routine after the control unit receives a closed-lid signal indicating that the lid has been closed or a control signal for continuing the operation of the treatment routine;
wherein the household food waste disposer treats the food waste in stages sequentially comprising an initial warming stage, an evaporation stage, a drying stage, a temperature maintaining stage, and a cooling stage;
the treatment routine the treatment routine comprises an initial warming subroutine corresponding to the initial warming stage, an evaporation subroutine corresponding to the evaporation stage, a drying subroutine corresponding to the drying stage, a temperature maintaining subroutine corresponding to the temperature maintaining stage, and a cooling subroutine corresponding to the cooling stage;
the control unit sequentially executes the initial warming subroutine, the evaporation subroutine, the drying subroutine, the temperature maintaining subroutine, and the cooling subroutine according to the advancement of the treatment stage;
the control unit calculates and determines whether the current treatment stage is completed based on the temperature and relative humidity detected at the temperature and humidity detection point, and when the control unit determines that the current treatment stage has been completed, the control unit executes a subroutine that corresponds to the next treatment stage and sends a reminder signal by means of an audible/visual reminder to remind the completed treatment stage and/or the current treatment stage; and
the audible/visual reminder comprises a light alarm, a text, symbol or information alarm, a voice alarm, or a buzzer alarm;
wherein the control unit comprises a saturated water vapor pressure-temperature comparison table stored therein;
the saturated water vapor pressure-temperature comparison table provides a plurality of saturated water vapor pressure values corresponding to different temperatures at one atmospheric pressure respectively;
after the activation of the treatment routine, the control unit records the temperature T0 and the relative humidity U0 at the beginning of drying when the heating element is activated to start drying;
the target humidity Ub is calculated and obtained by the equation below in the temperature maintaining stage after the detected current relative humidity U1 has dropped 40-80% and the current detected temperature T1 has stabilized, the control unit obtains the saturated water vapor pressure ec0 corresponding to the temperature T0 and the saturated water vapor pressure ec1 corresponding to the temperature T1, which can be looked up from a saturated water vapor pressure-temperature comparison table;
Ub=ec0/ec1*U0+a, where a is 1-10%; and
when the current detected relative humidity is smaller than or equal to the target humidity Ub, the drying step is stopped, and at this time, the waste in the disposal drum is already situated at a drying state and the control unit is determined to have completed the temperature maintaining stage and switched to the cooling stage.