Validation of addition of cleaning chemistry to self-cleaning oven

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11959644-B2
Application number	US-202017028499-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 22, 2020
Priority date	Sep 27, 2019
Publication date	Apr 16, 2024
Grant date	Apr 16, 2024

Abstract

A system for controlling the initiation of a cleaning process for an interior of an appliance may include a detection sensor and a processor in communication with the detection sensor. The detection sensor may be configured to generate detection sensor data based on a sensed condition in a field of detection of the detection sensor which may comprise one or more pre-determined locations. The processor may control the initiation of an appliance cleaning process. The appliance cleaning process may comprise receiving detection sensor data representative of a first time and a second time, generating an initial condition based on the received detection sensor data representative of the first time, and generating a new condition based on the received detection sensor data representative of the second time. The processor may be additionally configured to compare the initial condition and the new condition and determine if cleaning product is present.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system for controlling an initiation of a cleaning process for an interior of an appliance, comprising:
a detection sensor, the detection sensor configured to generate detection sensor data based on a sensed condition in a field of detection (FOD) of the detection sensor, wherein
the FOD of the detection sensor comprises one or more pre-determined locations in the interior of the appliance, each pre-determined location intended for the receipt of a cleaning product that is used during the cleaning process; and

a processor operatively coupled to the detection sensor, the processor being configured to control the initiation of the cleaning process, the control of the initiation of the cleaning process comprising:
receiving detection sensor data representative of a first time, the first time being a time when no cleaning product is present at the one or more pre-determined locations;
generating an initial condition based on the received detection sensor data representative of the first time;
receiving detection sensor data representative of a second time, different than the first time;
generating a new condition based on the received detection sensor data representative of the second time;
comparing the initial condition and the new condition; and
determining if cleaning product is present at the one or more pre-determined locations at the second time based on the comparison of the initial condition and the new condition.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the appliance is an oven; and the oven comprises at least one heating element, and further comprising a first auxiliary sensor, the first auxiliary sensor configured to sense whether the at least one heating element is on or off, and wherein the processor receives detection sensor data representative of the first time when the first auxiliary sensor indicates that the at least one heating element of the oven is off.

3. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a second auxiliary sensor, the second auxiliary sensor configured to sense whether a door for the appliance is open or closed, and wherein the processor receives detection sensor data representative of the first time when the second auxiliary sensor indicates that the door of the appliance is open.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the detection sensor is located underneath the appliance and the FOD of the detection sensor comprises a portion of the bottom of the appliance.

5. The system of claim 4 , wherein the one or more predetermined locations comprise a sapphire window.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the detection sensor is a reflective sensor.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the detection sensor is a mass sensor.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the detection sensor is a two prong detection mechanism.

9. The system of claim 1 , further comprising:
a user interface; and
the processor further configured to receive, via the user interface, instructions to initiate the cleaning process.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
determine if an appliance pre-cleaning process has been performed;
if the processor determines the appliance pre-cleaning process has not been performed, prompt, via the user interface, to initiate the appliance pre-cleaning process; and wherein
the processor receives detection sensor data representative of the first time when the processor determines that the appliance pre-cleaning process has been performed.

11. The system of claim 9 , wherein the processor is further configured to prompt a user, via the user interface, to place a cleaning product at the one or more pre-determined locations after receiving detection sensor data representative of the first time.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein if the processor determines the cleaning product is not present at the second time, prompt a user, via the user interface, to place the cleaning product at the one or more pre-determined locations after receiving sensor data representative of the second time.

13. The system of claim 11 , wherein if the processor determines the cleaning product is present at the second time, initiate the cleaning process of the interior of the appliance.

14. The system of claim 13 , wherein the system comprises a two prong detection mechanism configured to sense whether or not the cleaning product has been placed at the one or more predetermined locations; and wherein
the processor determining that the cleaning product is present at the second time comprises receiving a signal from the two prong detection mechanism representative of the cleaning product having been placed at the one or more predetermined locations.

15. The system of claim 1 , wherein:
generating the initial condition based on the received sensor data representation of the first time comprises a statistical analysis of the sensor data; and
generating the new condition based on the received sensor data representative of the second time comprises a statistical analysis of the sensor data.

16. The system of claim 15 , wherein:
the sensor data representative of the first time comprises sensor data over a first period of time; and
the sensor data representative of the second time comprises sensor data over a second period of time, same as the first period of time; wherein
the statistical analysis of the sensor data for generating the initial condition comprises averaging the sensor data over the first period of time, and the statistical analysis of the sensor data for generating the new condition comprises averaging the sensor data over the second period of time; and wherein
each of the first period of time and the second period of time is between 5 and 30 seconds.

17. The system of claim 1 , wherein the cleaning product is composed of one or more blocks or the cleaning product is composed of a powder.

18. A method for controlling the initiation of a cleaning process for an interior of an appliance, the method comprising:
receiving sensor data from a detection sensor representative of a first time, the first time being a time when no cleaning product is present within a field of detection (FOD) of the detection sensor, wherein
the FOD of the detection sensor comprises one or more pre-determined locations in the interior of the appliance, each pre-determined location intended for the receipt of the cleaning product used during the cleaning process;

generating an initial condition based on the received detection sensor data representative of the first time;
receiving sensor data from the detection sensor representative of a second time, different than the first time;
generating a new condition based on the received detection sensor data representative of the second time; and
determining if cleaning product is present at the one or more pre-determined locations at the second time based on the comparison of the initial condition and the new condition.

19. The method of claim 18 , further comprising:
receiving sensor data from a first auxiliary sensor representative of whether a heating element is on or off based on the received sensor data from the first auxiliary sensor, wherein
the heating element configured to heat the interior of the appliance;

determining whether the heating element is on or off, and initiating the cleaning process for the interior of the appliance if the heating element is determined to be off.

20. The method of claim 18 , further comprising:
receiving sensor data from a second auxiliary sensor representative of whet

Assignees

• Ecolab Usa Inc

Inventors

• Kraus Paul R
• Bocci Frank Anthony
• Plante Joseph C
• Hammel Devon Beau

Classifications

• F24C14/005 Primary

  using a cleaning liquid · CPC title

• G05B19/401

  characterised by control arrangements for measuring, e.g. calibration and initialisation, measuring workpiece for machining purposes (G05B19/19 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G05B2219/2643

  Oven, cooking · CPC title

• G05B19/048 Primary

  Monitoring; Safety · CPC title

• G05B2219/24015

  Monitoring · CPC title