Cleaning machines and methods for cleaning bottles

Abstract

Cleaning machine (10) for cleaning a bottle (11), the cleaning machine (10) comprising: • a holding device (12) for holding the bottle (11) in a cleaning position (15), • a steam source (27) with a boiler and / or with a continuous flow heater for the respective generation of dry steam (44), • a pipe (21) mounted movably with respect to the holding device (12), wherein the pipe (21) has an outlet device (33) along its pipe wall and / or at one end (32) with at least one outlet opening (53) for dry steam (44) supplied to the pipe (21), • a drive device (24) which is designed to insert at least part of the tube (21) into the bottle (11) and / or to move it within the bottle (11) when the bottle (11) is arranged in the holding device (12) in the cleaning position (15), • a line device (29) and / or a valve device for supplying at least part of the dry steam (44) from the steam source (27) into the pipe (21), so that the supplied dry steam (44) exits from the at least one outlet opening (53) of the outlet device (33) and flows onto an inner wall of the bottle (11) with the exited dry steam (44), characterized in that • a) the cleaning machine (10) has a control circuit which is designed to move the tube (21) in the bottle (11) by controlling the drive device (24) during the supply of the dry steam (44), wherein the movement rotates the outlet device (33) in the bottle (11), wherein the drive device (24) for rotating the tube (21) has a spindle nut (22) in which the tube (21) is arranged, and the tube (21) has a corresponding (32) external thread, and / or • b) the drive device (24) for moving the tube (21) has a belt drive (25), and / or • c) the cleaning machine (10) has an annular nozzle (35) which is arranged in the holding device (12) in such a way that the annular nozzle (35) surrounds an area in which a bottle head and / or a bottle neck of the bottle (11) is arranged when the bottle (11) is arranged in the cleaning position (15), and the annular nozzle (35) is fluidically coupled to the steam source (27) in order to receive a part of the dry steam (44), and / or • d) the holding device (12) has a downwardly conical or funnel-shaped support surface (19) for supporting a bottle shoulder (FS), and the drive device (24) is designed to insert the tube (21) at least partially into the bottle (11) through a bottle opening of the bottle only after the bottle (11) has been arranged in the cleaning position (15) in the holding device (12), and / or • e) the holding device (12) has spring-mounted support rollers (16) which support the bottle (11) in the region of a bottle belly (FK) in the cleaning position (15).

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a cleaning machine for cleaning bottles. Such a bottle can, for example, be a beverage bottle, such as those used in a reusable or deposit system. The invention also encompasses a method for cleaning a bottle, such as can be carried out using the cleaning machine.

[0002] JP 2004 - 141 699 A shows a steam cleaner which, for cleaning a cylindrical body with a base, such as a bottle, with steam, is equipped with a plurality of nozzles which penetrate relatively into the cylindrical body with a base and spray steam onto the inner surface of the cylindrical body with a base, wherein the cylindrical body is moved relative to the nozzles.

[0003] The CN 2 02 877 202 U shows a multi-purpose drying cabinet for cleaning and sterilizing aluminum bottles, which comprises a cabinet body and several groups of spray heads in an interior of the multi-purpose drying cabinet are attached to an inner wall of the cabinet body.

[0004] A bottle is used to store and dispense a liquid (e.g., a beverage) or an emulsion (e.g., body lotion). For example, a beverage such as juice or wine can be stored in a bottle. After emptying a bottle, it may be intended to be reused, i.e., refilled. In this case, it is important to first clean the bottle to remove residues and contaminants from previous use. When using a bottle in the catering industry and / or in the deposit return system described, it may be intended to automate the cleaning of the bottle, for which purpose a cleaning machine may be provided.

[0005] In order to be able to refer to the elements of a bottle to be cleaned, the following will be used in connection with Fig. 4 a basic structure of a bottle F is described, which will be used as the basis for the further description. Fig. 4 shows a schematic representation of a longitudinal section through a bottle F. The bottle F can have a bottle belly or bottle body FK for storing a liquid or an emulsion, which can be closed at the bottom by a bottle base FB (seen when the bottle F is in an upright position). The bottle body FK can (still seen in an upright position) be shaped so as to taper upwards to form a bottle neck FH, resulting in a transition region or cranked region referred to as the bottle shoulder FS. The bottle neck FH can merge into the bottle head FKO, which has the bottle opening FO for filling and dispensing the liquid or emulsion. The bottle head can be designed for arranging a closure device, such as a crown cork, screw cap, or swing top, as is known per se in the prior art. The space required for storing the liquid orThe volume of the emulsion intended for the bottle is referred to as the bottle volume FV. The bottle volume FV is enclosed by the bottle wall FW. The bottle wall can be made of glass or plastic, for example.

[0006] By filling and using the bottle F with the liquid or emulsion, the inner bottle wall FI is also wetted with it. If a bottle F is to be cleaned after it has been emptied, the tapered area in the area of the bottle neck compared to the bottle body FK presents a challenge when cleaning the inner bottle wall FI in that a mechanical cleaning tool, for example a brush, must be able to be inserted into the bottle opening FO through the bottle neck FH into the bottle body FK in order to be able to mechanically clean the inner bottle wall FI in the area of the bottle body FK as well. An additional or alternative method of cleaning can provide for rinsing the bottle F with a chemical cleaning agent, which requires a correspondingly aggressive cleaning agent to ensure disinfection and / or sufficient removal of, for example, dried-on beverage residues and / or grease.

[0007] A bottle F can be designed rotationally symmetrically, i.e. a longitudinal axis or bottle axis FA can be defined by the rotationally symmetric shape of the bottle F.

[0008] The invention is based on the object of providing an automatic cleaning machine and a method for cleaning a bottle in order to enable automated cleaning of a bottle.

[0009] The problem is solved by the subject matter of the independent patent claims. Advantageous further developments of the invention are described by the dependent patent claims, the following description, and the figures.

[0010] As one solution, the invention comprises a cleaning machine for cleaning a bottle. Of course, multiple bottles can also be cleaned by repeatedly operating the cleaning machine. The basic shape of a bottle can be that associated with Fig. 4. Within the scope of the invention, a bottle can also have a shape in which the bottle body FK (see Fig. 4) has the same diameter as the bottle neck FH, meaning that no bottle belly is required. The ratio of the bottle head FKO to the bottle neck FH can be constant, or alternatively, a bottle head FKO with a larger diameter than the bottle neck FH can be provided, which is also referred to as a carafe.

[0011] The automatic cleaning machine has a holding device for holding the bottle so that the bottle is held in a cleaning position during the cleaning process. This cleaning position can, for example, provide that the bottle is held upside down in the holding device. In the automatic cleaning machine according to the invention, at least one cleaning stage or cleaning phase is carried out using steam, for which purpose the automatic cleaning machine has a dry steam device, i.e. generally a steam source for generating dry steam. For this purpose, the steam source has a boiler and / or a continuous flow heater for generating dry steam. In order to blow the dry steam into the bottle (when the bottle is in the holding device in the cleaning position), the automatic cleaning machine has a pipe which is mounted so as to be movable with respect to the holding device and which can be inserted into the bottle like a lance.The tube has an outlet device along its wall and / or at one end, with at least one outlet opening for the dry steam supplied to the tube. In the simplest case, the tube can be open at the end, for example, so that the supplied dry steam can exit there. Additionally or alternatively, the tube can have several outlet openings in its wall so that the dry steam can exit from the side walls or the outer surface of the tube. A preferred embodiment of the outlet device, which offers further advantages, is described below.

[0012] The automatic cleaning machine has a drive device which is designed to insert at least part of the tube into the bottle, i.e. to retract it through the bottle opening and / or to move it out, and / or to move the tube within the bottle. This description naturally assumes that the respective bottle to be cleaned is in the holding device in the intended cleaning position. In other words, the tube can be moved with respect to the holding device within a spatial volume which (with the bottle in the cleaning position in the holding device) corresponds to the interior of the bottle or the bottle volume. The holding device, the tube, and the drive device are coordinated in such a way that, for the predetermined cleaning position, the tube can be moved in such a way that it is moved within the spatial volume which is free of the bottle wall and corresponds to the bottle volume.

[0013] Thus, when the bottle is inserted in the holding device and arranged in the cleaning position, the tube can be arranged in the region of the bottle volume and dry steam from the steam source can flow into the bottle volume via the outlet device of the tube, where it then hits the inner wall of the bottle. A line device and / or a valve device fluidically couples the steam source to the tube in that the line device and / or valve device is provided to guide at least a part or a partial amount of the dry steam from the steam source into the tube. The dry steam supplied to the tube then exits from the at least one outlet opening of the outlet device of the tube and the inner wall of the bottle is flowed against by the escaped dry steam.This allows the cleaning machine to clean the inside of, for example, a beverage bottle or a laboratory bottle.

[0014] The advantage of the cleaning machine is that the entire cleaning effect and / or part of the cleaning effect for cleaning the bottle using dry steam is achieved by blowing or flowing dry steam onto the inside of the bottle. The dry steam can be water vapor. The dry steam can contain a chemical cleaning agent, but preferably the dry steam is free of a chemical cleaning agent, i.e. it is pure water vapor, such as can be generated by the steam source using distilled water by heating it. In general, the term "dry steam" here refers to water vapor with or without chemical cleaning additives.

[0015] According to the invention, additionally according to aspect a), the automatic cleaning machine has a control circuit which is configured to move the tube in the bottle by controlling the operating device while the dry steam is being supplied, as can be controlled, for example, by switching the valve device. In other words, the tube and in particular its outlet device are in motion while the dry steam is flowing out. As a result, different areas of the bottle's inner wall are successively sprayed with the dry steam, in particular directly or head-on or at an acute angle of less than, for example, 40 degrees (to a horizontal plane which can be oriented perpendicular to the bottle axis, which corresponds to an acute angle with respect to the sprayed surface).This offers the advantage that, even if there are not enough outlet openings available to simultaneously supply the dry steam to the entire inner wall of the bottle, the dry steam can still be supplied to the entire inner wall of the bottle, or at least predominantly to the entire inner wall, vertically or at the aforementioned acute angle. For example, it may be sufficient to provide a number of outlet openings ranging from one or two or more than two to, for example, six or seven or eight or ten or twelve or fourteen. A smaller number of outlet openings allows the static pressure of the dry steam in the tube to be maintained with correspondingly little effort, meaning that the power of the steam source can remain correspondingly low.

[0016] The movement of the tube can be carried out in two different or combined ways, namely by moving the tube along the longitudinal axis of the tube, i.e. transversely or linearly into and / or out of the bottle, and by rotating it around the longitudinal axis of the tube.

[0017] According to aspect a), the movement can be provided to rotate the outlet device in the bottle. In other words, rotation can occur around the longitudinal axis of the tube. Thus, an outlet opening can be successively aligned with different areas of the bottle's inner wall. This eliminates the need to create a ring of escaping dry steam within the bottle volume simply by having a sufficiently high density of outlet openings. Instead, one or more rotating steam jets can be provided.

[0018] To achieve the rotation of the tube, according to aspect a), the drive device can comprise a spindle nut in which the tube is arranged, wherein the tube accordingly has a corresponding external thread. By pushing or pulling the tube through the spindle nut, the interaction between the spindle nut and the external thread results in the rotation of the tube. Thus, advantageously, no separate drive motor is required for the rotation; instead, a drive provided in the drive device for the linear or transverse movement of the tube can be used.

[0019] According to the invention, in addition to or alternatively to aspect a), aspect b) provides that the drive device for moving the tube comprises a belt drive. The belt drive has the additional advantage that the belt acts resiliently or elastically, so that if the tube hits or catches on something, for example, the bottle head, damage to the bottle can be prevented and / or the tube can spring back along the direction of movement and, for example, realign or adjust itself.

[0020] According to the invention, it is additionally or alternatively provided according to aspect c) that the cleaning machine has an annular nozzle which is arranged in the holding device such that the annular nozzle surrounds an area or a spatial volume in which a bottle head and / or a bottle neck of the bottle is arranged when the bottle is arranged in the cleaning position. The annular nozzle is also fluidically coupled to the steam source in order to receive a portion of the dry steam. This portion of the dry steam thus exits the annular nozzle and flows onto the bottle head and / or bottle neck from the outside. This results in the advantage that an area of the bottle, namely the bottle head and / or bottle neck, can also be cleaned with the dry steam, thus enabling, for example, disinfection and / or the removal of lipstick and / or fingerprints using dry steam.

[0021] According to the invention, it is additionally or alternatively provided according to aspect d) that the holding device has a downwardly conical or funnel-shaped support surface, which is configured to support a shoulder of the bottle in the cleaning position and thus to keep the bottle aligned with respect to the tube, and the drive device is configured to insert the tube at least partially into the bottle through a bottle opening in the bottle only after the bottle has been arranged in the cleaning position in the holding device. For this purpose, the control circuit can have a control program or washing program designed in this way, which is started each time a bottle has been arranged in the holding device.

[0022] According to the invention, additionally or alternatively according to aspect e), the holding device has spring-mounted support rollers that support the bottle in the cleaning position in the area of the bottle body or bottle belly, thus securing it laterally against falling over. In particular, three or more support rollers can be provided, between which the bottle can be inserted upside down, for example, from above, so that the bottle rolls with its belly against the support rollers until the bottle shoulder rests on or strikes the described support surface, for example.

[0023] The invention includes further developments which result in additional advantages.

[0024] A further development thus provides for the movement to occur in a longitudinal direction of the tube, thus moving the outlet device along the inner wall of the bottle. The tube can thus be moved parallel to or on the described bottle axis. This offers the advantage that the outlet device with at least one outlet opening does not have to be able to spray the entire length of the bottle at once, but rather, for example, only a certain vertical section at a time. It is therefore sufficient to provide a horizontal nozzle ring using the outlet device.

[0025] In particular, a further development provides that the movement along the longitudinal direction pulls the tube out of the bottle. This has the advantage that the dry steam expels the loosened dirt from the bottle or blows it out in front of it. This movement along the longitudinal direction of the tube thus ensures that the outlet device is moved toward the bottle opening, i.e., while the dry steam is escaping, it is moved toward the position of the bottle opening according to the cleaning position. Thus, the outlet device can push or blow loosened dirt "in front of it" toward the bottle opening by blowing out the dry steam.

[0026] According to a further development, the aforementioned cleaning position provides for a bottle bottom to be positioned above a bottle opening. In other words, after condensation, vapor can flow out of the bottle as liquid water. In particular, the bottle is positioned upside down, with the bottle shoulder resting on a support surface. This also prevents the formation of a puddle or water accumulation inside the bottle, for example, in the area of the bottle shoulder.

[0027] With regard to the steam source, a further development provides that it is designed to generate dry steam at a temperature of more than 150°C and a pressure of more than 4 bar. A maximum pressure can, for example, be in the range of 10 bar to 15 bar. The temperature range can, for example, be upper limited in a range of 190°C to 250°C. Using such dry steam, it is advantageously possible to dissolve dirt and / or grease and / or dried-on beverage residue without the need for a rinsing effect using liquid water. The pressure can blow dissolved dirt residues out of the bottle. A temperature above 150°C activates the dry steam in such a way that a dirt-dissolving and / or grease-dissolving effect is established or results.In general, the term “dry steam” refers to steam, in particular water steam, which has the state of “hot steam” or superheated steam.

[0028] According to a further development, the said outlet device has a distributor element arranged at the end of the pipe, i.e. a spray head or steam distributor. This distributor element has the at least one outlet opening or at least one or several of them. Thus, additional outlet openings can optionally be provided in the pipe itself. According to a further development, however, the at least one outlet opening is only provided in the distributor element. One or several or each outlet opening in the distributor element is aligned in an outlet direction transverse to the longitudinal axis of the pipe or at least at an acute angle to an imaginary plane oriented perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the pipe. In other words, the dry steam sprays out through this respective outlet opening to the side with respect to the longitudinal axis of the pipe.Thus, in this case, the corresponding jet or the mean outflow direction of the dry steam is aligned transversely or at an acute angle to the imaginary plane and thus impinges on the bottle's inner wall, particularly in the area of the bottle's belly or body, perpendicularly or at an acute angle to the bottle's inner wall. To direct the dry steam from the tube to such an aligned outlet opening, this respective outlet opening is fluidically connected to the tube via at least one deflection channel. The distributor element can, for example, be attached to the end of the tube inserted into the bottle, for example, by screwing or welding, to name just a few examples.If the distribution element has several such outlet openings radiating transversely or at an acute angle to the said plane, a nozzle ring is created that is directly aligned with the inner wall of the bottle in the area of the bottle's belly or body (and also with the bottle neck when pulled out). "Aligned" means that this outlet opening creates a central outflow direction of the dry steam, which is aligned perpendicular to the inner wall of the bottle or at an acute angle to the inner wall of the bottle in the said area.

[0029] According to a further development, the distributor element is additionally or alternatively designed to have at least one outlet opening, the central outlet direction of which for the dry steam is aligned parallel or at an acute angle to the longitudinal axis of the tube. Thus, the dry steam flowing from such an outlet opening is directed perpendicularly or at an acute angle to the bottom of the bottle. This also results in a correspondingly advantageous cleaning effect there.

[0030] The operation of the cleaning machine results in a method which is also part of the invention.

[0031] The process involves cleaning a bottle, • the bottle is held in a cleaning position by means of a holding device, • a steam source generates dry steam by means of a boiler and / or a continuous flow heater, • at least part of the dry steam is supplied to a pipe which is mounted movably with respect to the holding device by means of a line device and / or a valve device, • a drive device, with the bottle arranged in the holding device in the cleaning position, introduces at least a part of the tube into the bottle through a bottle opening of the bottle and / or moves it within the bottle, in the bottle via an outlet device of the tube, which has at least one outlet opening and which is provided along a tube wall of the tube and / or at one end of the tube, the dry steam supplied to the tube flows into the bottle and an inner wall of the bottle is sprayed with the escaped dry steam, and a) the cleaning machine (10) has a control circuit, during the supply of the dry steam (44) the tube (21) in the bottle (11) is moved by controlling the drive device (24), wherein the movement rotates the outlet device (33) in the bottle (11), wherein the drive device (24) for rotating the tube (21) has a spindle nut (22) in which the tube (21) is arranged, and the tube (21) has a corresponding (32) external thread, and / or b) the drive device (24) for moving the tube (21) has a belt drive (25), and / or c) the cleaning machine (10) has an annular nozzle (35) which is arranged in the holding device (12) in such a way that the annular nozzle (35) surrounds an area in which a bottle head and / or a bottle neck of the bottle (11) is arranged when the bottle (11) is arranged in the cleaning position (15), and the annular nozzle (35) is fluidically coupled to the steam source (27) and receives part of the dry steam (44), and / or d) the holding device (12) has a downwardly conical or funnel-shaped support surface (19) for supporting a bottle shoulder (FS), and the drive device (24) only after the bottle (11) has been arranged in the cleaning position (15) in the holding device (12) inserts the tube (21) at least partially into the bottle (11) through a bottle opening of the bottle into the bottle, and / or e) the holding device (12) has spring-mounted support rollers (16) which, in the cleaning position (15), support the bottle (11) in the region of a bottle belly (FK).

[0032] Thus, the method advantageously provides for cleaning the bottle using dry steam. The method can be further developed accordingly, as is also the case with the described developments of the cleaning machine according to the invention. The corresponding developments of the method are also considered to be part of the invention.

[0033] So far, it has been described that the bottle is cleaned using dry steam. In addition, before and / or after the cleaning phase using dry steam, the bottle can be cleaned with a liquid, in particular water (pure / distilled water or tap water) and / or a mixture of water with a cleaning chemical, for example a surfactant and / or an alcohol. For this purpose, the valve device can, for example, be designed to switch between dry steam and liquid, for which purpose a multi-way switching valve from the prior art can be used. The said control circuit for controlling the switching valve and / or the drive device can, for example, be based on a microcontroller, which can have corresponding control software for controlling a switchable valve device, for example a switching valve, and / or the drive device.

[0034] Exemplary embodiments of the invention are described below. Shown are: Fig. 1 a schematic representation of a longitudinal section of an embodiment of the cleaning machine after the introduction or arrangement of a bottle in the cleaning position and before a cleaning phase with dry steam; Fig. 2 a schematic representation of the longitudinal section of the cleaning machine of Fig. 1 during the cleaning phase; Fig. 3 is a schematic representation of a cross-section of an embodiment of a distribution element which is arranged at one end of a pipe of the cleaning machine of Fig. 1 may be arranged; Fig. 4 the schematic representation of the longitudinal section of an exemplary bottle as it is used in the cleaning machine of Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 can be cleaned.

[0035] Fig. 1 shows an automatic cleaning machine 10, by means of which a bottle 11 can be cleaned, particularly from the inside. The automatic cleaning machine 10 can be operated, for example, in a bottling plant for a beverage, such as lemonade or mineral water. Alternatively, the automatic cleaning machine can be operated, for example, in a catering establishment. The bottle 11 can be fed to the automatic cleaning machine 10 manually or by means of a conveyor device, as is known per se for automatic cleaning machines from the prior art. The removal of the cleaned bottle 11, i.e., after its cleaning, can also be carried out using means from the prior art.

[0036] The cleaning machine 10 can hold the bottle 11 in a holding device 12, in which the bottle 11 can be held, for example, by means of an upper centering device 13 and a lower centering device 14 in a cleaning position 15 intended for cleaning, for example as in Fig. 1, upside down, so that the bottle bottom FB is oriented upwards and the flange head FKO is oriented vertically downwards. The upper bottle centering device 13 can, for example, have one or more spring-loaded support rollers 16, between which the bottle 11 can be inserted into the holding device 12. The spring-loaded mounting can be achieved in the manner shown, for example, by spiral springs 17, which push or pull a lever 18 with the support rollers 16 mounted so as to be rollable at its end towards the bottle 11. The lower bottle centering device 14 can be realized on the base or by means of a conical or funnel-shaped support surface 19, on which the bottle shoulder FS of the bottle 11 rests, so that the bottle axis FA is centered or aligned.The support surface 19 can be provided, for example, by a ring 20, the inner wall of which has the conical or funnel-shaped support surface 19.

[0037] To clean the bottle 11, the automatic cleaning machine can spray or eject dry steam onto the bottle 11 from the inside in its cleaning position 15. Additionally, at least one wet cleaning phase can be provided, in which the bottle 11 is rinsed from the inside with water or with water mixed with a cleaning agent or with a cleaning fluid (e.g., alcohol-based).

[0038] For blowing out the interior of the bottle or blowing dry steam onto the inner wall of the bottle FI, the cleaning machine can have a tube 21 that is movably mounted with respect to the holding device 12 and that can be inserted or pushed into the bottle 11 (here from below) through the bottle opening FO. For this purpose, the tube can be enclosed in a spindle nut 22 and a threaded spindle 23 can be provided on an outer wall of the tube 21 so that when the tube 21 is pushed into the bottle 11, i.e. when the tube 21 is moved by the spindle nut 22, the tube 21 rotates or is turned around itself. The tube is then pushed into the bottle or pulled out of the bottle along the bottle axis FA.

[0039] A drive device 24 provided for this purpose can comprise a geared motor and / or a belt drive 25 for moving the tube. It is shown how the belt drive 25 can be connected to the tube 21 via a pivot bearing 26, so that the tube 21 can rotate freely in the pivot mount 26 while being pulled into or out of the bottle 11 by the belt drive 25.

[0040] The cleaning machine 10 can have a steam source 27, which can, for example, be a boiler and / or a continuous-flow heater for boiling water. Dry steam generated by the steam source 27 can be fed into the pipe 21 via a switching valve 28 and / or a conduit device 29.

[0041] The switching valve 21 can be switched or controlled by a control device 30 so that the supply of dry steam can be coordinated with the operation of the drive device 24, and for this purpose, software can be provided, for example, in a microcontroller of the control circuit 30. The line device 29 can, for example, be formed on the basis of at least one hose and / or at least one pipe. It can be fluidically coupled to a lower end of the pipe 21 by means of a rotary union 31 so that the pipe 21 can rotate, while the line device 29 does not have to rotate. At another end 32 of the pipe, an outlet device 33 for the dry steam can be provided. The outlet device 33 is in Fig. 3 is shown in more detail. The outlet device 33 represents a spray head through which the dry steam in the bottle can be sprayed onto the inner wall FI of the bottle.

[0042] The automatic cleaning machine 10 can further be designed to clean the bottle head FKO from the outside, i.e., an outer surface that may have been touched by a user's lips, for example, when drinking from the bottle. For this purpose, an annular nozzle 35 can be provided in the holding device 12, which surrounds the bottle 11 in its cleaning position 15 in the area of the bottle head FKO. Dry steam from the steam source 27 can also be supplied to the annular nozzle 35. A switching valve 28 of the valve device can provide a corresponding supply for the annular nozzle 35. The annular nozzle 35 can be arranged so that its height can be adjusted, for which purpose an annular nozzle guide 36 can be provided so that the annular nozzle 35 can be adapted to a bottle type to be cleaned or a bottle shape of the bottle 11 to be cleaned.

[0043] The steam source 27 can, for example, receive tap water from a water supply 38. The water supply 38 can also be connected to the switching valve 28 of the valve device to supply liquid tap water to the line device 29 in order to additionally rinse the bottle 11 with liquid water, with or without cleaning agent, before or after cleaning with the dry steam. A water line 38' can be provided to conduct water from the water supply as liquid water (with or without cleaning chemical) into the pipe 21.

[0044] Liquid escaping from the bottle 11 can be drained from a housing 40 of the cleaning machine 10 through a drain 39 of the cleaning machine 11. The pipe 21 and / or the drive device 24 can be arranged in the housing 40 of the cleaning machine 10 in a container 41 that is watertight and / or vapor-tight, so that liquid escaping from the bottle 11 cannot reach the drive device 24 and / or the rotary union 31.

[0045] Fig. 2 shows the automatic cleaning device 10 during a steam cleaning phase, in which the bottle 11 is sprayed or sprayed with dry steam 44, so that the bottle's inner wall FI is exposed to the dry steam 44. By means of the drive device 24 and the belt drive 25, the tube 21 is moved into the bottle 11 through the bottle opening FO of the bottle head FKO, along the longitudinal axis of the tube 21, and thus along the bottle axis FA, in a linear movement 45. For withdrawal, the linear movement 45 can be reversed. For example, a rotational movement 46 of the tube 21, and thus of the outlet device 33, can also be effected by the spindle nut 22 described.For example, by switching the switching valve 28, the dry steam 44 can be directed into the tube 21, while the tube 21, starting from an extended position during which the tube 21 projects maximally into the bottle 11, is pulled out of the bottle again in the linear movement 45, so that loosened dirt is blown out of the bottle 11 through the bottle opening FO by the dry steam 44. The movement of the tube 21 is effected in particular entirely by the belt drive 25 of the drive device 21 and is thus controllable, for example, by the gear motor of the drive device 24, as can be determined by the control circuit 30 according to a software program for the washing phases or cleaning phases by a person skilled in the art.

[0046] Another portion of the dry steam can be sprayed onto the outside of the bottle head FKO via the ring nozzle 35.

[0047] Fig. Figure 3 illustrates how the dry steam 44 can be distributed and / or redirected at the end of the tube 21 in the bottle 11 in order to impinge on or spray the bottle inner wall FI with the dry steam 44 in such a way that a respective radiation direction or exit direction 47, in particular a central exit direction, of steam jets 48 of the dry steam strikes the bottle inner wall FI perpendicularly or at least at an acute angle. In this regard, it is illustrated once again that the tube axis 49, which in the example shown coincides with the bottle axis FA, in Fig. 3 can run vertically from top to bottom. By means of at least one diversion channel or deflection channel 50, the dry steam 51 supplied to the pipe 21 and exiting from the upper end 32 of the pipe 21 can be guided to outlet openings 33, 34 of the distributor element 33.

[0048] The respective deflection channel 50 or the respective outlet opening 33 can be aligned perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 49 of the tube 21, i.e., by means of the respective deflection channel 50 leading to the outlet opening 33 and the alignment of the outlet opening 53, the outlet direction 47 can be aligned such that it is aligned perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 49 or at least at an acute angle to a plane 55 that is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 49. This means that this imaginary plane 55 has the longitudinal axis 49 as the normal direction. Fig. 3 this imaginary plane 55 is graphically indicated as a line.

[0049] To also clean the bottle bottom FB (see Fig. 4), further outlet openings 54 can be aligned such that they are aligned at an acute angle to the longitudinal axis 49 of the tube 21.

[0050] The term “acute angle” here means in particular an angle that lies in a range from 0 degrees to 60 degrees, in particular a range from 0 degrees to 45 degrees.

[0051] After cleaning the bottle 11, when the tube 21 is withdrawn from the bottle 11 (for example, after the steam cleaning phase or a subsequent cleaning phase with liquid), the bottle 11 can be withdrawn from the holding device 12 again, which can be carried out in the manner described using prior art means known from bottle cleaning systems. The bottle 11 can be reused, for example, to be refilled with liquid or an emulsion, i.e., in the described beverage filling process, for example, with a beverage. LIST OF REFERENCE SYMBOLS: 10 cleaning machines 11 bottles 12 Holding device 15 Cleaning position 16 support rollers 17 spiral springs 18 levers 19 footprint 20 rings 21 pipe 22 spindle nut 23 Threaded spindle 24 drive device 25 Belt drive 26 Rotating bracket 27 Steam source 28 Switching valve 29 Line equipment 30 Control device 31 Rotary union 32 End 33 Exit device 35 ring nozzle 36 Ring nozzle guide 38 water pipe 39 Process 40 housings 41 containers 44 Dry steam 45 Movement 46 Rotational movement 47 Exit direction 48 steam jets 49 Longitudinal axis 50 deflection channel 51 dry steam 53 Exit opening 54 outlet openings 55 Level

Claims

[1] Cleaning machine (10) for cleaning a bottle (11), the cleaning machine (10) comprising: • a holding device (12) for holding the bottle (11) in a cleaning position (15), • a steam source (27) with a boiler and / or with a continuous flow heater for the respective generation of dry steam (44), • a pipe (21) mounted movably with respect to the holding device (12), wherein the pipe (21) has an outlet device (33) along its pipe wall and / or at one end (32) with at least one outlet opening (53) for dry steam (44) supplied to the pipe (21), • a drive device (24) which is designed to insert at least part of the tube (21) into the bottle (11) and / or to move it within the bottle (11) when the bottle (11) is arranged in the holding device (12) in the cleaning position (15), • a line device (29) and / or a valve device for supplying at least part of the dry steam (44) from the steam source (27) into the pipe (21), so that the supplied dry steam (44) exits from the at least one outlet opening (53) of the outlet device (33) and flows onto an inner wall of the bottle (11) with the exited dry steam (44), characterized by , that • a) the cleaning machine (10) has a control circuit which is designed to move the tube (21) in the bottle (11) by controlling the drive device (24) during the supply of the dry steam (44), wherein the movement rotates the outlet device (33) in the bottle (11), wherein the drive device (24) for rotating the tube (21) has a spindle nut (22) in which the tube (21) is arranged, and the tube (21) has a corresponding (32) external thread, and / or • b) the drive device (24) for moving the tube (21) has a belt drive (25), and / or • c) the cleaning machine (10) has an annular nozzle (35) which is arranged in the holding device (12) in such a way that the annular nozzle (35) surrounds an area in which a bottle head and / or a bottle neck of the bottle (11) is arranged when the bottle (11) is arranged in the cleaning position (15), and the annular nozzle (35) is fluidically coupled to the steam source (27) in order to receive a part of the dry steam (44), and / or • d) the holding device (12) has a downwardly conical or funnel-shaped support surface (19) for supporting a bottle shoulder (FS), and the drive device (24) is designed to insert the tube (21) at least partially into the bottle (11) through a bottle opening of the bottle only after the bottle (11) has been arranged in the cleaning position (15) in the holding device (12), and / or • e) the holding device (12) has spring-mounted support rollers (16) which support the bottle (11) in the region of a bottle belly (FK) in the cleaning position (15). [2] Cleaning machine (10) according to claim 1, aspect a), wherein the movement takes place in a longitudinal direction of the tube (21) and thus the outlet device (33) moves along the inner wall of the bottle. [3] Cleaning machine (10) according to claim 2, wherein the movement along the longitudinal direction pulls the tube (21) out of the bottle (11) and / or moves the outlet device (33) towards a bottle opening. [4] Cleaning machine (10) according to one of the preceding (32) claims, wherein the cleaning position (15) provides that a bottle bottom of the bottle (11) is arranged above a bottle opening of the bottle (11), in particular the bottle (11) is arranged upside down. [5] Cleaning machine (10) according to one of the preceding (32) claims, wherein the steam source (27) is arranged to generate the dry steam (44) at a temperature of more than 150 degrees Celsius and at a pressure of more than 4 bar. [6] Automatic cleaning machine (10) according to one of the preceding (32) claims, wherein the outlet device (33) has a distributor element arranged at the end (32) of the tube (21), which has the at least one outlet opening (53), wherein one or some or each outlet opening (53) is aligned in an outlet direction (47) transverse to a longitudinal axis (49) of the tube (21) or at an acute angle to an imaginary plane aligned perpendicular to the longitudinal axis (49), and this respective outlet opening (53) is fluidically connected to the tube (21) via at least one deflection channel (50). [7] Cleaning machine (10) according to one of the preceding (32) claims, wherein the distributor element has at least one outlet opening (53) whose outlet direction (47) for the dry steam (44) is aligned parallel or at an acute angle to the longitudinal axis (49) of the tube (21). [8] Method for cleaning a bottle (11), wherein • the bottle (11) is held in a cleaning position (15) by means of a holding device (12), • a steam source (27) generates dry steam (44) by means of a boiler and / or a continuous flow heater, • at least part of the dry steam (44) is supplied to a pipe (21) which is mounted movably with respect to the holding device (12) by means of a line device (29) and / or a valve device, • a drive device (24) which, when the bottle (11) is arranged in the holding device (12) in the cleaning position (15), introduces at least part of the tube (21) into the bottle (11) through a bottle opening of the bottle and / or moves it within the bottle (11), • in the bottle (11) via an outlet device (33) of the tube (21), which has at least one outlet opening (53) and which is provided along a tube wall of the tube (21) and / or at an end (32) of the tube (21), the supplied dry steam (44) flows into the bottle (11) and sprays an inner wall of the bottle (11) with the escaped dry steam (44), characterized by , that • a) the cleaning machine (10) has a control circuit, during the supply of the dry steam (44) the tube (21) in the bottle (11) is moved by controlling the drive device (24), wherein the movement rotates the outlet device (33) in the bottle (11), wherein the drive device (24) for rotating the tube (21) has a spindle nut (22) in which the tube (21) is arranged, and the tube (21) has a corresponding (32) external thread, and / or • b) the drive device (24) for moving the tube (21) has a belt drive (25), and / or • c) the cleaning machine (10) has an annular nozzle (35) which is arranged in the holding device (12) in such a way that the annular nozzle (35) surrounds an area in which a bottle head and / or a bottle neck of the bottle (11) is arranged when the bottle (11) is arranged in the cleaning position (15), and the annular nozzle (35) is fluidically coupled to the steam source (27) and receives a part of the dry steam (44), and / or • d) the holding device (12) has a downwardly conical or funnel-shaped support surface (19) for supporting a bottle shoulder (FS), and the drive device (24) only after the bottle (11) has been arranged in the cleaning position (15) in the holding device (12) inserts the tube (21) at least partially into the bottle (11) through a bottle opening of the bottle into the bottle, and / or • e) the holding device (12) has spring-mounted support rollers (16) which support the bottle (11) in the region of a bottle belly (FK) in the cleaning position (15).

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