EP-4157053-B1 - AUTOMATED CLEANING MACHINE PROCESSING USING SHORTENED CYCLE TIMES

Inventors

• MCGINNESS, Rachel Marie
• BUTWINICK, Jonathan Charles
• KRAUS, PAUL R.
• ELLINGSON, Alissa R.
• SMITH, Conor Sylvester
• CHRISTIAN, Paul Dominic

Dates

Publication Date

20260513

Application Date

20210305

Claims (15)

1. An automated cleaning machine (100) comprising: at least one processor (202); at least one storage device (208) that stores default cleaning cycle parameters (214) and short cleaning cycle parameters (218), wherein the short cleaning cycle parameters (218) include a total cycle duration that is relatively less than a total cycle duration of the default cleaning cycle; the at least one storage device (208) further comprising instructions executable by the at least one processor (202) to: control execution by the cleaning machine (100) of at least one cleaning cycle using the default cleaning cycle parameters (214); determine a number of cleaning cycles executed during a predetermined period of time; compare the determined number of cleaning cycles to a predetermined short cycle threshold; in response to the determined number of cleaning cycles being greater than the predetermined short cycle threshold, control execution of at least one subsequent cleaning cycle using the short cycle cleaning process parameters (218).
2. The automated cleaning machine (100) of claim 1, wherein the one or more default cleaning cycle parameters (214) include at least one of a default wash phase duration, a default rinse phase duration, a default detergent concentration, a default wash water temperature and a default rinse water temperature, the one or more short cleaning cycle parameters (218) include at least one of a short cycle wash phase duration, a short cycle rinse phase duration, a short cycle detergent concentration, a short cycle wash water temperature and a short cycle rinse water temperature, and wherein the short cycle wash water temperature is relatively higher than the default wash water temperature.
3. The automated cleaning machine (100) of claim 2, wherein the short cycle detergent concentration is relatively higher than the default detergent concentration.
4. The automated cleaning machine (100) of claim 2, wherein the short cycle rinse water temperature is relatively higher than the default rinse water temperature.
5. The automated cleaning machine (100) of claim 2, wherein the short cycle wash phase duration is relatively less than the default wash phase duration.
6. The automated cleaning machine (100) of claim 2, wherein the short cycle wash phase duration and the short cycle wash water temperature are sufficient to transfer at least 3600 Heat Unit Equivalents, HUEs, to the articles in a wash chamber of the automated cleaning machine.
7. The automated cleaning machine (100) of claim 1, the at least one storage device (208) further comprising instructions executable by the at least one processor (202) to: control execution of one or more cleaning cycles in a wash chamber of the cleaning machine (100) in either a default cycle mode or a short cycle mode; in default cycle mode, control execution of at least one cleaning cycle in the wash chamber of the cleaning machine (100) using the default cleaning cycle parameters; and in short cycle mode, control execution of at least one cleaning cycle in the wash chamber of the cleaning machine (100) using the short cleaning cycle parameters.
8. The automated cleaning machine (100) of claim 1, the at least one storage device (208) further comprising instructions executable by the at least one processor (202) to: in response to the determined number of cleaning cycles being less than the predetermined short cycle threshold, control execution of at least one subsequent cleaning cycle using the default cycle cleaning process parameters (214).
9. The automated cleaning machine (100) of claim 1, comprising: a wash chamber configured to receive one or more articles to be cleaned; a controller (200) that controls execution of the one or more cleaning cycles in the wash chamber of the cleaning machine in one of a default cycle mode or a short cycle mode, the controller (200) comprising: the at least one processor (202); the at least one storage device (208), wherein the default cleaning cycle parameters (214) are associated with the default cycle mode and the short cleaning cycle parameters (218) are associated with the short cycle mode; the at least one storage device (208) further comprising instructions executable by the at least one processor (202) to: in response to the determined number of cleaning cycles being greater than the predetermined short cycle threshold, control execution of at least one subsequent cleaning cycle in the short cycle mode using the short cycle cleaning process parameters (218).
10. The automated cleaning machine (100) of claim 1, the at least one storage device (208) further comprising instructions executable by the at least one processor (202) to: determine whether a current time of day is within a predetermined short cycle time period; and in response to determining that the current time of day is within the predetermined short cycle time period, control execution of at least one subsequent cleaning cycle using the short cycle cleaning process parameters (218).
11. The automated cleaning machine (100) of claim 10, wherein the number of cleaning cycles is a first number of cleaning cycles and the predetermined period of time is a first predetermined period of time, the at least one storage device (208) further comprising instructions executable by the at least one processor (202) to: determine a second number of cleaning cycles executed using the short cleaning process parameters during a second predetermined period of time; compare the determined second number of cleaning cycles to the predetermined short cycle threshold; in response to the determined second number of cleaning cycles being less than the predetermined short cycle threshold, control execution of at least one subsequent cleaning cycle using the default cycle cleaning process parameters (214).
12. The automated cleaning machine of claim 1, the at least one storage device further comprising instructions executable by the at least one processor to: determine a time duration between consecutive cleaning cycles executed using the default cleaning cycle parameters; determine whether time durations between at least a predetermined number of the consecutive cleaning cycles satisfies a short cycle threshold; and in response to determining that the time durations between at least the predetermined number of sequential cleaning cycles satisfied the short cycle threshold, control execution by the cleaning machine of at least one subsequent cleaning cycle using the short cycle cleaning process parameters.
13. A method for controlling, by a computing device, one or more cleaning cycles in a cleaning machine, the method comprising: storing default cleaning cycle parameters and short cleaning cycle parameters, wherein the short cleaning cycle parameters include a total cycle duration that is relatively less than a total cycle duration of the default cleaning cycle; controlling execution by the cleaning machine of at least one cleaning cycle using the default cleaning cycle parameters; determining a number of cleaning cycles executed during a predetermined period of time; comparing the determined number of cleaning cycles to a predetermined short cycle threshold; and in response to the determined number of cleaning cycles being greater than the predetermined short cycle threshold, controlling execution by the cleaning machine of at least one subsequent cleaning cycle using the short cycle cleaning process parameters.
14. The method of claim 13, further comprising: determining whether a current time of day is within a predetermined short cycle time period; in response to determining that the current time of day is within the predetermined short cycle time period, controlling execution of at least one subsequent cleaning cycle using the short cycle cleaning process parameters.
15. The method of claim 13, further comprising: determining a time duration between consecutive cleaning cycles executed using the default cleaning cycle parameters; determining whether time durations between at least a predetermined number of the consecutive cleaning cycles satisfies a short cycle threshold; and in response to determining that the time durations between at least the predetermined number of sequential cleaning cycles satisfied the short cycle threshold, controlling execution by the cleaning machine of at least one subsequent cleaning cycle using the short cycle cleaning process parameters.

Description

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/031 ,990, titled, "AUTOMATED CLEANING MACHINE PROCESSING USING SHORTENED CYCLE TIMES", filed May 29, 2020. BACKGROUND Automated cleaning machines are used in restaurants, healthcare facilities, and other locations to clean, disinfect, and/or sanitize various articles. In a restaurant or food processing facility, automated cleaning machines (e.g., ware wash machines or dish machines) may be used to clean food preparation and eating articles, such as dishware, glassware, pots, pans, utensils, food processing equipment, and other items. In general, articles to be cleaned are placed on a rack and provided to a wash chamber of the automated cleaning machine. In the chamber, one or more cleaning products and/or rinse agents are applied to the articles during a cleaning process. The cleaning process may include one or more wash phases and one or more rinse phases. At the end of the cleaning process, the rack is removed from the wash chamber. Water temperature, water pressure, water quality, concentration of the chemical cleaning and/or rinse agents, duration of the wash and/or rinse phases and other factors may impact the efficacy of a cleaning process. WO 2015/167574 A1 describes a method for operating a shortened dishwashing cycle of a dishwasher. SUMMARY In general, the invention is directed to systems and/or methods of automated cleaning machine processing using shortened cycle times. For example, the systems and/or methods in accordance with the present invention include automated cleaning machines having one or more "short" cleaning cycles that effectively clean and sanitize items in a shortened time period. The short cleaning cycles may include other short cycle parameters to ensure items are cleaned and sanitized in a shortened time period as compared to default or normal machine cycle settings. The short cleaning cycles of the present invention may be used to increase throughput of an automated cleaning machine while ensuring satisfactory cleaning and/or sanitizing results. The invention is directed to an automated cleaning machine comprising at least one processor; at least one storage device that stores default cleaning cycle parameters and short cleaning cycle parameters, wherein the short cleaning cycle parameters include a total cycle duration that is relatively less than a total cycle duration of the default cleaning cycle; the at least one storage device further comprising instructions executable by the at least one processor to: control execution by the cleaning machine of at least one cleaning cycle using the default cleaning cycle parameters; determine a number of cleaning cycles executed during a predetermined period of time; compare the determined number of cleaning cycles to a predetermined short cycle threshold; in response to the determined number of cleaning cycles being greater than the predetermined short cycle threshold, control execution of at least one subsequent cleaning cycle using the short cycle cleaning process parameters. The one or more default cleaning cycle parameters may include at least one of a default wash phase duration, a default rinse phase duration, a default detergent concentration, a default wash water temperature and a default rinse water temperature, the one or more short cleaning cycle parameters may include at least one of a short cycle wash phase duration, a short cycle rinse phase duration, a short cycle detergent concentration, a short cycle wash water temperature and a short cycle rinse water temperature, and the short cycle wash water temperature may be relatively higher than the default wash water temperature. The short cycle detergent concentration may be relatively higher than the default detergent concentration. The short cycle rinse water temperature may be relatively higher than the default rinse water temperature. The short cycle wash phase duration may be relatively less than the default wash phase duration. The short cycle wash phase duration and the short cycle wash water temperature may be sufficient to transfer at least 3600 Heat Unit Equivalents (HUEs) to the articles in the wash chamber of the automated cleaning machine. The at least one storage device further may comprise instructions executable by the at least one processor to control execution of one or more cleaning cycles in the wash chamber of the cleaning machine in either a default cycle mode or a short cycle mode; in default cycle mode, control execution of at least one cleaning cycle in the wash chamber of the cleaning machine using the default cleaning cycle parameters; and in short cycle mode, control execution of at least one cleaning cycle in the wash chamber of the cleaning machine using the short cleaning cycle parameters. The at least one storage device may further comprise instructions executable by the at least one processor to: in response to the determined number of cleaning cycles being less than t