Container Cleaning Equipment

Abstract

To reliably wash even an edge (a port portion) of an opening as a lower end when washing an inner surface of a container (a drum can) in an inverted state.SOLUTION: A first washing device 6 has a three-dimentional nozzle 13 for washing an inner surface 2A of a container 2 and an annular guide member 12 installed on a lower side of an edge 2C of the container 2. When the container 2 in an inverted state is carried into a first washing part C2, the three-dimentional nozzle 13 is inserted into the inside of the container 2, then a washing liquid is injected from the three-dimentional nozzle 13, and the three-dimentional nozzle 13 is revolved and is turned about a turning rotary shaft 23 as a rotation center. Thus, the cleaning liquid is injected to an inner surface 2A of the container 2 forming a three-dimentional moving locus. The washing liquid injected obliquely downward from the three-dimentional nozzle 13 is also injected to the edge 2C of the container 2 by being guided by the guide member 12, which is arc-shaped in cross section. Thus, not only the inner surface 2 but also the edge 2V are simultaneously washed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a container cleaning device, and more particularly to a container cleaning device capable of cleaning the edge of an opening at the bottom when cleaning the inner surface of, for example, an inverted drum. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, open-type drums with removable lids have generally stored highly viscous substances such as oils and fats, paints, etc., and the insides of these drums are cleaned after use and reused. A cleaning device for cleaning such open-type drums has been conventionally known (for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Publication No. 3-17997 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Incidentally, in the cleaning device of Patent Document 1, the inside and outside of the container can be cleaned using an internal cleaning nozzle and an external cleaning nozzle, but it is not possible to clean dirt on the edge of the opening, which is the lower end of the inverted container. For this reason, in the past, it was necessary to provide a separate nozzle for cleaning the edge of the opening, or for a worker to manually clean the edge of the opening using a tool. The edge of the opening of a drum can has a generally circular bulged shape in vertical cross section to increase its strength, and there was a problem that the cleaning work was complicated and time-consuming when a worker manually cleaned the edge. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] In view of the above circumstances, the present invention provides a container washing device comprising: a rotating member rotatably arranged on an axis; a swiveling rotating member arranged in a direction perpendicular to the rotating member and rotatably arranged on an axis; a washing liquid passage formed between the rotating member and the swiveling rotating member; and a washing nozzle attached to the swiveling rotating member for spraying the washing liquid supplied through the washing liquid passage toward an inverted container with an edge of an opening at the lower end, a pair of chains supporting a container in an inverted state at a cleaning position; and a cleaning device disposed adjacent to and below the inverted container supported by the pair of chains; The cleaning liquid sprayed from the cleaning nozzle Supported by the pair of chains A guide member is provided to guide the liquid to be sprayed onto the edge of the opening of the inverted container, The guide member is formed in an annular shape along the edge of the opening of the container. And, The cleaning nozzle passes through the center of the guide member formed in an annular shape and is raised and lowered between the pair of chains. It is characterized by the above. Effect of the Invention

[0006] Such a configuration According to the present invention, the cleaning liquid sprayed from the cleaning nozzle is guided by the guide member before being sprayed onto the edge of the container, While cleaning the inside of the inverted container, The edge of the opening of the container can be cleaned reliably. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a plan view of the main part of FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG. 1. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing another embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 5] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing another embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0008] The present invention will be described below with reference to the illustrated embodiment. In Fig. 1, 1 denotes a container washing device for washing the inner surface 2A and outer surface 2B of a container 2 (drum can). In this container washing device 1, a container 2 supplied in an upright state to a supply position A is transported to a reversal position B by a roller conveyor 3, and the container 2 is reversed by a reversal mechanism 4 at the reversal position B and placed in an inverted state on a chain conveyor 5. Thereafter, the inverted container 2 is intermittently transported downstream in sequence within a washing area C by the chain conveyor 5, while the inner surface 2A of the container 2 is washed by a first washing device 6 and a second washing device 7, and then the outer surface 2B of the container 2 is washed by an external washing device 8, and the inner surface 2A of the container 2 is rinsed by a rinsing washing device 11.

[0009] In this embodiment, the container 2 to be cleaned is an open-type drum can with a detachable lid, and the lid is removed from the edge 2C (mouth) which is the top end when the drum is upright, leaving the top surface (top surface) open. A lid (not shown) is fitted onto the edge 2C which is the top opening, and a band-shaped fastener is attached and fastened to the entire circumferential area of ​​the edge of the lid and edge 2C, thereby fixing the lid and sealing the inside of the container 2. As shown in an enlarged view in Fig. 3, the longitudinal section of the edge 2C of the container 2 is bulged into a substantially circular shape over the entire circumferential direction, which provides sufficient rigidity to the edge 2C. As shown in Fig. 3, in this embodiment, the container 2 from which the lid has been removed is supported on the chain conveyor 5 in an inverted state with the bottom 2D facing upward, and in this state, the inner surface 2A and the outer surface 2B of the container 2 are washed. In this embodiment, the inner surface 2A of the inverted container 2 is washed by a first washing device 6 and a second washing device 7, and the outer surface 2B of the container 2 is washed by an external washing device 8. In this case, the inner surface 2A and the outer surface 2B of the container 2 can be washed with a washing liquid, but it is difficult to wash the edge portion 2C, which is the lower end of the inverted container 2, with a washing liquid. As will be described in more detail later, in this embodiment, a ring-shaped guide member 12 is arranged at the cleaning position of the container 2 by the first cleaning device 6, and when cleaning liquid is sprayed from the three-dimensional nozzle 13 of the first cleaning device 6 onto the inner surface 2A of the container 2, the cleaning liquid is guided by the guide member 12 and then sprayed onto the edge 2C of the container 2, thereby cleaning the edge 2C.

[0010] The upstream end of the transport path for the containers 2 is a supply position A where the containers 2 are supplied, and a roller conveyor 3 is provided from this supply position A to a reversal position B. In addition, a chain conveyor 5 is disposed from the reversal position B to the entire cleaning area C for intermittently transporting the containers 2. When the roller conveyor 3 is rotating, and a container 2 is supplied in an upright state onto the roller conveyor 3 at the supply position A by an operator, the container 2 supplied in an upright state to the supply position A is transported by the roller conveyor 3 to the reversal position B. The reversal mechanism 4 arranged at the reversal position B holds the container 2 in an upright position, and then reverses it to place it in an inverted position on the adjacent endless chains 5A, 5B located downstream. The inversion mechanism 4 comprises a support shaft 4A supported in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the container 2, and a pair of L-shaped arms 4B, 4B connected to both ends of the support shaft 4A in an opposing relationship (only one side is shown), and left and right grippers 4C, 4C are attached to the tips of each arm 4B, 4B, which can move forward and backward in an opposing relationship. When both arms 4B, 4B are in a standby state facing the upstream side in the conveying direction as shown by the solid line, and an upright container 2 is conveyed between both arms 4B, 4B by the roller conveyor 3, a pair of left and right grippers 4C, 4C are advanced synchronously to clamp the outer surface 2B (outer periphery) of the upright container 2 from both the left and right sides. After that, both arms 4B, 4B are rotated 180° toward the downstream side in the conveying direction around the support shaft 4A by a rotation mechanism (not shown), and the grippers 4C, 4C are moved backward to release the clamped state of the container 2. As a result, the container 2 is inverted from an upright state to an inverted state and placed on the chain conveyor 5 which is stopped at an adjacent position. After this, the inversion mechanism 4 is rotated 180° toward the upstream side in the conveying direction by the above-mentioned rotation mechanism around the support shaft 4A as the rotation center, so that the container 2 returns to the original standby state in which both arms 4B, 4B face the upstream side in the conveying direction. In this manner, the reversing mechanism 4 at the reversing position B reverses the upright container 2 and places it in an inverted state on the chain conveyor 5. In this embodiment, to ensure the safety of workers on-site, the upper and both sides of the movable range of the reversing mechanism 4 are covered with a lattice-shaped protective fence 14.

[0011] Next, the cleaning area C and the first cleaning device 6, the second cleaning device 7, the external cleaning device 8, etc., arranged therein will be described. In the washing area C, the most upstream end is a receiving section C1 for the container 2, and adjacent to it on the downstream side are a first washing section C2 for washing the inner surface 2A of the container 2 with high-pressure detergent, a second washing section C3 for washing the inner surface 2A of the container 2 with high-pressure warm water, and the most downstream section is a rinsing section C4 for rinsing the inner surface 2A of the container 2 with a rinsing device 11 and washing the outer surface 2B of the container 2 with an external washing device 8. A chain conveyor 5 is disposed throughout the washing area C as a transport means, and a control device (not shown) intermittently rotates motors (not shown) for the endless chains 5A and 5B, thereby allowing the chain conveyor 5 to transport the inverted containers 2 intermittently in sequence. The area adjacent to and downstream of the cleaning area C is a drying area in which the containers 2 after cleaning are dried with hot air, and a drying mechanism (not shown) is disposed therein. The chain conveyor 5 is composed of a pair of endless chains 5A, 5B arranged in parallel with a gap smaller than the diameter of the container 2, and is configured to directly support and transport the container 2 in the horizontal running area above the pair of endless chains 5A, 5B. The receiving section C1 is disposed within a protective fence 14 at the reversing position B, while both sides and the upper side of the chain conveyor 5 downstream of the receiving section C1 are covered with a casing 15. The inside of this casing 15 is partitioned into three spaces by four openable and closable shutters 16A-16D. This partitions the receiving section C1, the first cleaning section C2, the second cleaning section C3, and the rinsing section C4, and the receiving section C1 also serves as the rear half of the reversing section B. With the chain conveyor 5 at rest and the shutters 16A-16D closed, containers 2 are supplied in an inverted state onto the chain conveyor 5 of the receiving section C1 by the reversing mechanism 4, and then the shutters 16A-16D are opened and the chain conveyor 5 runs intermittently a predetermined distance at a time. As a result, the inverted containers 2 are successively carried into the first cleaning section C2, the second cleaning section C3, and the rinsing section C4, and the shutters 16A-16D are closed for a required time. Then, in the state where the shutters 16A to 16D are closed, in the first washing section C2, the three-dimensional nozzle 13 of the first washing device 6 inserted from below into the inverted container 2 sprays high-pressure detergent to wash the inner surface 2A of the container 2, and then in the adjacent second washing section C3, the three-dimensional nozzle 13 of the second washing device 7 is inserted from below into the inner surface 2A of the inverted container 2 to spray high-pressure hot water to wash the inner surface 2A of the container 2. Furthermore, in the rinsing section C4, the outer surface 2B of the container 2 is washed by the external washing device 8, and the inner surface 2A of the container 2 is rinsed with washing water by the rinsing washing device 11. In addition, a recovery tank 17 for recovering the washing liquid, hot water, etc. after washing is arranged below the chain conveyor 5 in the washing area C.

[0012] As shown in Figures 1 to 3, the first cleaning device 6 includes a cleaning unit 21 having a three-dimensional nozzle 13 rotatably mounted on the upper part, a drive unit 25 that houses a first servo motor 22 that revolves the three-dimensional nozzle 13 around the axis of the cleaning unit 21 and a second servo motor 24 that rotates the three-dimensional nozzle 13 around a horizontal rotation axis 23 as the center of rotation, and a lifting mechanism 26 that raises and lowers the drive unit 25 and the cleaning unit 21. The lifting mechanism 26 includes a ball screw 28 arranged vertically and rotated by a servo motor 27, and a support member 29 that supports the cleaning unit 21 and drive part 25 vertically and has a nut part 29A that serves as the base and is screwed onto the ball screw 28. The operation of the servo motor 27 is controlled by a control device (not shown), and before the inverted container 2 is carried into the first cleaning section C2 by the chain conveyor 5, the control device positions the support member 29 at the lower end via the servo motor 27. In this state, the upper end of the cleaning unit 21 is located at the lower end, retracted below the chain conveyor 5 (endless chains 5A, 5B). In contrast, when the container 2 is transported into the first cleaning section C2 by the chain conveyor 5, the control device raises the support member 29 to the upper end via the servo motor 27, so that the three-dimensional nozzle 13 is also raised and inserted into the inverted container 2 between the left and right endless chains 5A, 5B (see Figures 1 and 3). In this state, high-pressure detergent is sprayed from the three-dimensional nozzle 13, and the three-dimensional nozzle 13 revolves around the axis of the cleaning unit 21 and rotates around the swivel rotation axis 23. As a result, the three-dimensional nozzle 13 sprays high-pressure detergent over the entire inner surface 2A of the container 2 while tracing a three-dimensional movement trajectory, so that the inner surface 2A of the container 2 is cleaned with the cleaning liquid. 2 and 3, the cleaning unit 21 includes an outer tube 30A and an inner tube 30B disposed therein, and the outer tube 30A and the inner tube 30B are supported so as to be freely rotatable while being maintained in a vertical direction. A rotating shaft 23 is connected horizontally to the upper part of the inner tube 30B, and a three-dimensional nozzle 13 is attached to the tip of the rotating shaft 23, approximately perpendicular to the rotating shaft 23. The inside of the rotating shaft 23 and the inner tube 30B connected thereto form a cleaning liquid passage 30C through which the cleaning liquid flows, and the high-pressure cleaning liquid is sprayed from the three-dimensional nozzle 13 by supplying high-pressure cleaning liquid from a cleaning liquid supply source to the cleaning liquid passage 30C. The inner tube 30B is rotated around its axis by the first servo motor 22, and when the inner tube 30B is rotated, the three-dimensional nozzle 13 is rotated around a rotating shaft 23, which is maintained horizontally by an interlocking mechanism such as a bevel gear arranged in the drive unit 25. The outer tube 30A arranged surrounding the inner tube 30B is rotated around its axis by the second servo motor 24. The operation of the first servo motor 22 and the second servo motor 24 is controlled by a control device, and the high-pressure detergent is sprayed from the three-dimensional nozzle 13 and at the same time, the control device controls the operation of both servo motors 22 and 24, so that the high-pressure detergent sprayed from the three-dimensional nozzle 13 is sprayed onto the inner surface 2A of the container 2 along a three-dimensional movement trajectory. A cleaning device that revolves and rotates a tertiary nozzle using two servo motors like this is known, for example, from JP 2018-171609 A and JP 2018-187586 A, and detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

[0013] The first cleaning device 6 of the first cleaning section C2 is configured as described above, and based on this, a guide member 12 is arranged at a position adjacent to and below the container 2 supported by the chain conveyor 5 of the first cleaning section C2. As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the guide member 12 is formed in an annular shape as a whole, and the cross section (longitudinal cross section) in a direction perpendicular to the circumferential direction is an arc shape with an opening at the top. In other words, the guide member 12 is a gutter shape formed in an annular shape, and the height of the inner surface is higher on the inside than on the outside. The maximum outer diameter of the guide member 12 is a dimension slightly larger than the outer diameter of the edge portion 2C that becomes the opening of the container 2, and the entire upper opening of the guide member 12 is located adjacent to and below the entire edge portion 2C of the container 2 supported by the chain conveyor 5. In addition, in order to prevent the cleaning liquid from accumulating in the guide member 12, a plurality of drainage holes for draining the liquid are drilled at predetermined positions of the guide member 12. In addition, the surface of the guide member 12 onto which the cleaning liquid is sprayed is preferably mirror-finished to suppress attenuation when the cleaning liquid is sprayed. The three-dimensional nozzle 13 of the first cleaning device 6 passes through the center of the annular guide member 12 and is raised and lowered between the endless chains 5A and 5B of the chain conveyor 5. In this embodiment, the guide member 12 is disposed in the first cleaning section C2 together with the first cleaning device 6. Therefore, as described above, when the high-pressure detergent is sprayed from the three-dimensional nozzle 13 from the first cleaning device 6 so as to draw a three-dimensional movement trajectory, as shown in FIG. 3, the high-pressure detergent is sprayed diagonally downward, guided by the inner surface of the guide member 12 having a circular arc cross section, and then sprayed from below onto the edge portion 2C of the container 2. In other words, the first cleaning device 6 cleans the inner surface 2A of the container 2, and at the same time, cleans the edge portion 2C (mouth) located at the lower end. Therefore, according to this embodiment, the guide member 12 is disposed, so that the first cleaning device 6 can reliably clean not only the inner surface 2A of the container 2, but also the edge portion 2C at the lower end.

[0014] Next, the second cleaning device 7 of the second cleaning section C3 will be described. The second cleaning device 7 is configured similarly to the first cleaning device 6 described above. That is, the second cleaning device 7 includes a cleaning unit 21 having a three-dimensional nozzle 13, a drive section 25 accommodating a first servo motor 22 and a second servo motor 24, and a lifting mechanism 26 for lifting and lowering them. The configuration and operation of this second cleaning device 7 are the same as those of the first cleaning device 6, but this second cleaning device 7 is configured to spray high-pressure warm water instead of high-pressure detergent onto the inner surface 2A of the container 2. In other words, when the inner surface 2A and edge 2C of the container 2 are cleaned by the first cleaning device 6 in the first cleaning section C2, the container 2 is transported to the second cleaning section C3 by the chain conveyor 5, and high-pressure warm water is sprayed from the three-dimensional nozzle 13 of the second cleaning device 7 onto the inner surface 2A of the container 2, thereby cleaning the inner surface 2A. Although the first cleaning section C2 is provided with the annular guide member 12, the second cleaning section C3 is not provided with a guide member. However, the second cleaning section C3 may be provided with a guide member similar to the guide member 12 of the first cleaning section C2.

[0015] Next, the rinsing device 11 and the external cleaning device 8 of the rinsing section C4 will be described. The rinsing device 11 includes a cylindrical water supply unit 31 having a rinsing nozzle 31A at its upper end, and a lifting mechanism 32 for lifting and lowering the water supply unit 31. A bifurcated rinsing nozzle 31A is disposed at the upper end of the water supply unit 31, and when cleaning water is sprayed from the rinsing nozzle 31, the bifurcated rinsing nozzle 31A rotates around the axis of the water supply unit 31 as the rotation center. This water supply unit 31 is supported vertically by a lifting mechanism 32 and is adapted to be raised and lowered between a lower end position where the rinsing nozzle 31A is retracted below the chain conveyor 5 and an upper end position where the rinsing nozzle 31A is above the chain conveyor 5 and inserted into the container 2. The lifting mechanism 32 includes a ball screw 34 arranged vertically and rotated by a servo motor 33, and a support member 35 that supports the water supply unit 31 vertically and has a nut portion 35A that serves as the base and is screwed onto the ball screw 34. The operation of the servo motor 33 is controlled by a control device (not shown), and before the inverted container 2 is carried into the rinsing section C4 by the chain conveyor 5, the control device positions the support member 35 at the lowering end via the servo motor 33. In this state, the rinsing nozzle 31A of the water supply unit 31 is located at the lowering end, retracted below the chain conveyor 5 (endless chains 5A, 5B). In contrast, when the container 2 is transported into the rinsing section C4 by the chain conveyor 5 and stopped, the control device causes the servo motor 33 to raise the support member 35 to its upper end, so that the rinsing nozzle 31A is also raised to its upper end and inserted into the inverted container 2 between the left and right endless chains 5A, 5B. The rinsing nozzle 31A is connected to a cleaning water supply source (not shown) via a liquid supply passage formed in the water supply unit 31 and a conduit 36. When cleaning water is supplied to the rinsing nozzle 31A from the cleaning water supply source via the conduit 36 ​​and the above-mentioned liquid supply passage, the cleaning water is sprayed from the rinsing nozzle 31A toward the inner surface 2A of the container 2, and the rinsing nozzle 31A is rotated about the axis of the water supply unit 31. As a result, the cleaning water is sprayed evenly over the entire inner surface 2A of the container 2, thereby performing rinsing.

[0016] Next, the external cleaning device 8 includes an inverted U-shaped cleaning pipe 41 provided with a large number of injection nozzles, and a rotation mechanism 42 that rotates the cleaning pipe 41 along the outer circumferential surface of the container 2. The cleaning pipe 41 has a horizontal section 41A which is the upper end, and two vertical sections 41B extending vertically downward from both ends, and a plurality of cleaning nozzles are provided at required positions on the horizontal section 41A and the vertical section 41B toward the outer surface 2B (bottom section 2D and outer peripheral surface) of the container 2. The center of the horizontal section 41A is held by a rotating mechanism 42, and the inside of the horizontal section 41A is connected to a cleaning liquid supply source (not shown) via a rotary joint and a conduit 43 provided in the rotating mechanism 42. When the inverted container 2 is transported into the rinsing section C4 by the chain conveyor 5 and stopped, the horizontal part 41A of the inverted U-shaped cleaning pipe 41 is positioned close to and above the bottom 2D of the container 2, and both vertical parts 41B of the cleaning pipe 41 are close to both the left and right sides of the outer circumferential surface. In this state, when the rotation mechanism 42 is rotated by a servo motor (not shown), the horizontal part 41A and both vertical parts 41B of the cleaning pipe 41 rotate in the circumferential direction of the container 2 with the rotation mechanism 42 as the center of rotation. In other words, the cleaning pipe 41 revolves around the container 2, and at that time, cleaning liquid is supplied to the cleaning pipe 41 from a cleaning liquid supply source, so that the cleaning liquid is sprayed toward the outer surface 2B of the container 2 from the cleaning nozzles of the horizontal part 41A and the vertical part 41B of the cleaning pipe 41. As a result, the entire outer surface 2B (bottom part 2D, outer peripheral surface) of the inverted container 2 is cleaned with the cleaning liquid. In this rinsing section C4, cleaning of the outer surface 2B of the container 2 by the external cleaning device 8 and rinsing of the inner surface 2A of the container 2 by the rinsing device 11 are performed simultaneously.

[0017] As described above, in this embodiment, the inner surface 2A of the inverted container 2 is washed by the first washing device 6 in the first washing section C2 of the washing area C, and at the same time, the washing liquid guided by the guide member 12 is sprayed from below onto the edge portion 2C of the container 2 to wash the edge portion 2C. Thereafter, in the second washing section C3, the inner surface 2A of the inverted container 2 is washed by high-pressure hot water sprayed from the second washing device 7. Thereafter, in the rinsing section C4, the outer surface 2B of the container 2 is washed by the external washing device 8, and at the same time, the inner surface 2A of the container 2 is rinsed by the rinsing washing device 11. In this manner, the container 2 whose inner surface 2A and outer surface 2B have been cleaned is discharged downstream of the rinsing section C4 of the cleaning area C as the chain conveyor 5 intermittently transports it, and then is dried by a drying mechanism in a drying area (not shown).

[0018] As described above, the guide member 12 is arranged at the position of the first cleaning device 6 in the first cleaning section C2, so that when detergent as a cleaning liquid is sprayed from the three-dimensional nozzle 13 to clean the inner surface 2A of the container 2, the edge 2C (mouth), which is the lower end of the container 2, can also be washed with the cleaning liquid during the cleaning process. Therefore, after cleaning by the container cleaning apparatus 1 of this embodiment, there is no need for on-site workers to clean the edge 2C of the container 2, which reduces the workload of the workers and shortens the overall time required to clean the container 2. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the edge 2C of the container 2 can be cleaned without providing a dedicated nozzle for cleaning the edge 2C, which prevents the configuration from becoming complicated and reduces the amount of cleaning liquid consumed.

[0019] Next, Fig. 4 shows another embodiment of the first cleaning device 6. In this embodiment, the guide member 12 is formed to have a diameter slightly larger than the mouth 2C of the container 2, and the guide member 12 is disposed so that the upper opening of the guide member 12, which has an arc-shaped cross section, faces the edge 2C of the container 2 on the chain conveyor 5. The other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment described above. In this embodiment, the three-dimensional nozzle 13 is inserted into the inner surface 2A of the container 2 and the cleaning liquid is sprayed to clean the inner surface 2A, and then the three-dimensional nozzle 13 is positioned at a height below the edge 2C of the container 2 and sprays the cleaning liquid obliquely upward from the three-dimensional nozzle 13 while maintaining the three-dimensional nozzle 13 at a predetermined angle. In addition, at that time, the three-dimensional nozzle 13 is rotated with the axis of the cleaning unit 21 as the rotation center, so that the cleaning liquid sprayed from the three-dimensional nozzle 13 is guided by the inner surface of the guide member 12 and then sprayed over the entire circumferential area of ​​the edge 2C of the container 2. Even in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, it is possible to obtain the same functions and effects as in the first embodiment.

[0020] Next, Fig. 5 shows another embodiment of the first cleaning device 6. This embodiment has the same configuration as the embodiment shown in Fig. 4, but the cleaning operation is different. That is, in this embodiment, first, the three-dimensional nozzle 13 is inserted into the inner surface 2A of the container 2, and the cleaning liquid is sprayed to clean the inner surface 2A. After that, the three-dimensional nozzle 13 is positioned at a height below the edge 2C of the container 2, and the cleaning liquid is sprayed from the three-dimensional nozzle 13 obliquely upward while maintaining the three-dimensional nozzle 13 at a predetermined angle toward the edge 2C of the container 2. That is, the cleaning liquid is sprayed directly from the three-dimensional nozzle 13 to the edge 2C of the container 2. At that time, the three-dimensional nozzle 13 is rotated with the axis of the cleaning unit 21 as the rotation center, so that the cleaning liquid sprayed from the three-dimensional nozzle 13 is sprayed directly over the entire area in the circumferential direction of the edge 2C of the container 2. Even in the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the same action and effect as each of the above-mentioned embodiments can be obtained. Note that the cleaning liquid may be sprayed directly from the three-dimensional nozzle 13 to the edge 2C of the container 2 before cleaning the inner surface 2A.

[0021] In the above embodiment, the first cleaning device 6 and the second cleaning device 7 are each configured using two servo motors (22, 24). However, as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent No. 4636956, a cleaning device using a single servo motor as a drive source may also be used. In addition, in the above embodiment, drainage holes are drilled at required locations on the annular guide member 12, but it is also possible to use a guide member 12 consisting of multiple fan-shaped members divided at the edge 2C supported by the endless chains 5A, 5B of the chain conveyor 5, in which case the drainage holes provided in the guide member 12 can be omitted. In addition, in the above embodiment, the guide member 12 has an annular shape to match the cylindrical container 2, but this is not limited thereto and can be appropriately changed to match the shape of the container 2. In addition, since the portion of the edge 2C of the container 2 supported by the endless chains 5A, 5B cannot be washed with the washing liquid as it is, a lifting and rotating mechanism may be provided that lifts the container 2 during washing and rotates it by a predetermined angle. Note that such a lifting and rotating mechanism is not necessary in the case of a stationary type rather than an intermittent conveying type as in the above embodiment. Furthermore, the lifting mechanism 26 in the above embodiment is composed of the ball screw 28, the support member 29 and the servo motor 27, but other lifting mechanisms such as an air cylinder may also be used. Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to a line-type apparatus in which multiple containers 2 are transported one after another by a transport means and washed, but can also be applied to a stationary container washing apparatus in which containers 2 are transported one by one to a designated washing position and washed. [Explanation of symbols]

[0022] 1. Container cleaning device 2. Container 2A: Inner surface 2C: Edge 6. First cleaning device 12. Guide member 13. Three-dimensional nozzle (cleaning nozzle) 21. Cleaning unit 23. Swivel shaft (swivel member) 30A. Outer tube 30B: Inner tube (rotating member) 30C: Cleaning liquid passage

Claims

1. A container cleaning device comprising: a rotating member rotatably arranged on an axis; a swiveling rotating member arranged in a direction perpendicular to the rotating member and rotatably arranged on an axis; a cleaning liquid passage formed between the rotating member and the swiveling rotating member; and a cleaning nozzle attached to the swiveling rotating member for spraying cleaning liquid supplied through the cleaning liquid passage toward an inverted container with an edge of an opening at the lower end, a pair of chains supporting a container in an inverted state at a cleaning position; and a guide member disposed adjacent to and below the inverted container supported by the pair of chains, for guiding the cleaning liquid sprayed from the cleaning nozzle so as to be sprayed onto the edge of the opening of the inverted container supported by the pair of chains; The guide member is formed in an annular shape along the edge of the opening of the container, A container cleaning device characterized in that the cleaning nozzle passes through a central portion of the guide member which is formed in an annular shape, and is raised and lowered between the pair of chains.

2. 2. The container cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the guide member has a cross section shaped like a circular arc, and the guide member is provided with a drain hole for draining liquid.

3. 2. The container cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the guide member is made up of a plurality of fan-shaped members separated from an annular member.

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