Monitoring and control of thermal sanitization in automated cleaning machines

A method comprising:

• controlling execution of a cleaning process by a cleaning machine of at least an initial portion of the cleaning process using values of cleaning process parameters stored in a storage device of the cleaning machine, the cleaning process including delivering a cleaning solution from a sump associated with the cleaning machine into a wash chamber of the cleaning machine into which articles to be cleaned are present;
• and
• prior to completion of the cleaning process:
• determining a first temperature of the cleaning solution in the sump at a first predetermined time during execution of the cleaning process;
• determining a second temperature of the cleaning solution in the sump at a second predetermined time during execution of the cleaning process, wherein the second predetermined time is subsequent to the first predetermined time;
• determining a sump temperature difference between the first temperature and the second temperature;
• predicting a number of heat unit equivalents (HUEs) that will be delivered to the wash chamber of the cleaning machine during the cleaning process based on the sump temperature difference;
• in response to the predicted number of HUEs not satisfying a target range indicative of thermal sanitization, adjusting the values of one or more of the cleaning process parameters such that a revised predicted number of HUEs that will be delivered during the cleaning process based on the sump temperature difference satisfies the target range indicative of thermal sanitization;
• and
• controlling execution of a remaining portion of the cleaning process using the adjusted values of the cleaning process parameters.

A non-volatile computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor, configure the processor to:

• control execution by a cleaning machine of at least an initial portion of a cleaning process using values of cleaning process parameters stored in a storage device of the cleaning machine, the cleaning process including delivering cleaning solution from a sump of the cleaning machine into a wash chamber of the cleaning machine into which articles to be cleaned are present;
• and
• prior to completion of the cleaning process:
• determine a first temperature of a cleaning solution in the sump of the cleaning machine at a first predetermined time during execution of the cleaning process;
• determine a second temperature of the cleaning solution in the sump of the cleaning machine at a second predetermined time during execution of the cleaning process, wherein the second predetermined time is subsequent to the first predetermined time;
• determine a sump temperature difference between the first temperature and the second temperature;
• predict a number of heat unit equivalents (HUEs) that will be delivered during the cleaning process based on the sump temperature difference;
• in response to the predicted number of HUEs not satisfying a target range indicative of thermal sanitization, adjust the values of one or more of the cleaning process parameters such that a revised predicted number of HUEs that will be delivered during the cleaning process based on the sump temperature difference satisfies the target range indicative of thermal sanitization;
• and
• control execution of a remaining portion of the cleaning process using the adjusted values of the cleaning process parameters.