Patent ID: 11959644
Assignee: ECOLAB USA INC.
Field: Control (Instruments)
Classification: CPC F  G | IPC F  G

Claim 0:
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.