Eco-dishwasher system and methodology

Abstract

A dishwashing apparatus and a methodology are provided for washing dishware using electrolyzed water to provide alkaline and acidic water for wash and rinse cycles. The water used at the beginning of a pre-wash stage is repeatedly used in plural pre-wash cycles and filtered through sediment and oil filtration between pre-wash cycles. Water from a final rinse cycle is saved for use for future pre-wash cycles. The sediment and oil filtration filter are reversely flushed to regenerate the filtration systems.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A dishwasher, comprising:
 a main cabinet configured to hold items to be washed;   an electrolysis system configured to generate acidic and alkaline water from a water supply;   an acidic water storage tank;   an alkaline water storage tank;   a sedimentation filtration system;   an oil filtration system; and   a controller,   wherein said controller is configured to cause the dishwasher to perform a plurality of pre-wash cycles using fresh water from a tap or previously stored final rinse water filtered through said sedimentation filtration system and said oil filtration systems following each pre-wash cycle or fresh tap water, to perform a wash cycle using alkaline water, to perform a rinse cycle using acidic water, to perform a final rinse cycle using water from a water supply, and to store the final rinse water in said alkaline water storage tank upon completion of the rinse cycle for use in subsequent pre-wash cycles or to drain the final rinse water without storing.   
     
     
         2 . A dishwasher as in  claim 1 , wherein said sedimentation filtration system comprises a first filter having a first mesh size and a second filter having a second mesh size. 
     
     
         3 . A dishwasher as in  claim 2 , wherein said first mesh size is about 150 microns and said second mesh size is about 5 microns. 
     
     
         4 . A dishwasher as in  claim 1 , wherein said oil filtration system comprises a filter made of material having hydrophobic and oleophilic surface characteristics. 
     
     
         5 . A dishwasher as in  claim 4 , wherein said oil filtration system comprises a filter made of kapok. 
     
     
         6 . A dishwasher as in  claim 1 , wherein said controller is further configured to perform a filtration process by cause water used for the plurality of pre-wash cycles to be reverse flushed through said sedimentation filtration system and said oil filtration system to regenerate the filtration systems, and wherein the controller is further configured to perform the filtration process during at least one of between pre-wash cycles, simultaneously with spraying of water into the main cabinet, or continuously as single pre-wash cycles until substantially all contamination is filtered out. 
     
     
         7 . A dishwasher as in  claim 6 , wherein said controller is further configured to cause a filter portion of said oil filtration system to be spun to assist in regenerating said oil filtration system. 
     
     
         8 . A dishwasher as in  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a sump; and   a heater positioned within one of said cabinet or said sump,   wherein said controller is further configured to cause said heater to heat water within said main sump to a first temperature during a wash cycle and to a second temperature during the final rinse cycle.   
     
     
         9 . A dishwasher as in  claim 1 , wherein said controller is further configured to automatically cause the final rinse water stored in said alkaline water storage tank to be drained if a subsequent pre-wash cycle is not begun within a predetermined period of time. 
     
     
         10 . A method for operating a dishwasher to wash items held in a main cabinet of the dishwasher, comprising:
 electrolyzing water to generate acidic and alkaline water;   storing the alkaline water in a first storage tank;   storing the acidic water in a second storage tank;   providing a sedimentation filtration system;   providing an oil filtration system;   performing a plurality of pre-wash cycles using one of fresh water or previously used final rinse water;   filtering the water through the sedimentation filtration system and the oil filtration systems;   performing a wash cycle using alkaline water;   performing a rinse cycle using acidic water;   performing a final rinse cycle using water from a water supply; and   draining the final rinse water into one of a storage tank for use in subsequent pre-wash cycles or from the dishwasher.   
     
     
         11 . A method as in  claim 10 , wherein providing a sedimentation filtration system comprises providing a first filter having a first mesh size and a second filter having a second mesh size. 
     
     
         12 . A method as in  claim 11 , wherein providing a first filter comprises providing a filter having a mesh size of about 150 microns and wherein providing a second filter comprises providing a filter having a mesh size of about 5 microns. 
     
     
         13 . A method as in  claim 10 , wherein providing an oil filtration system comprises providing a filter made of material having hydrophobic and oleophilic surface characteristics. 
     
     
         14 . A method as in  claim 13 , wherein providing an oil filtration system comprises providing a filter made of kapok. 
     
     
         15 . A method as in  claim 10 , further comprising:
 reverse flushing the water used for the plurality of pre-wash cycle through the sedimentation filtration system and the oil filtration system..   
     
     
         16 . A method as in  claim 15 , wherein said controller is further configured to cause a filter portion of said oil filtration system to be spun to assist in regenerating said oil filtration system. 
     
     
         17 . A method as in  claim 10 , further comprising:
 providing a heater within the main sump;   controlling the heater to heat water within the main sump to a first temperature during a wash cycle; and   controlling the heater to heat water within the main sump to a second temperature during a final rinse cycle.   
     
     
         18 . A method as in  claim 10 , further comprising:
 automatically draining the stored final rinse water if a subsequent pre-wash cycle is not begun within a predetermined period of time.   
     
     
         19 . A method as in  claim 10 , wherein electrolyzing water comprises electrolyzing a volume of water equal to two fills of water into about one fill volume of acidic water and about one fill volume of alkaline water. 
     
     
         20 . A method as in  claim 10 , wherein performing a final rinse cycle comprises performing a final rinse cycle using about one fill volume of water from a water supply.