Cleaning Equipment

Abstract

To reduce the size of a washing device that cleans an internal surface of a container and an external surface of the container by inserting a nozzle.SOLUTION: A washing device 10 includes: a washing booth 12 having an opening 12B formed on a top surface thereof; an external surface washing nozzle 18b that washes an external surface of a container V accommodated in the washing booth 12; a first lid 36 that closes an opening Vo of the container V; an internal surface washing nozzle 20 that is inserted into the container V, accommodated in the washing booth 12, through the opening Vo of the container V and washes an internal surface of the container V, with the opening Vo closed with the first lid 36; a nozzle shaft 14 provided with an internal surface washing nozzle 20 at a lower end thereof and fitted with the first lid 36 on a periphery thereof; a raising / lowering device 16 that raises / lowers the nozzle shaft 14; and a second lid 38 that is raised / lowered by the raising / lowering device 16 and closes the opening 12B, formed in the top surface of the washing booth 12, when the container V is washed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a cleaning device for cleaning the inside and outside of a container. [Background technology]

[0002] For containers such as tanks used in the manufacturing process of food, etc., cleaning of not only the inside but also the outside of the container may be required for hygienic reasons before or after use. One such cleaning device is known, which, while the container is housed in a cleaning booth, inserts an inside cleaning nozzle into the container to clean the inside of the container and also cleans the outside of the container with an outside cleaning nozzle (see Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 9-299897 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the cleaning device of Patent Document 1, when a container is put in or taken out of the cleaning booth, the inner surface cleaning nozzle must be retracted to a position higher than the opening of the tank so as not to interfere with the container, and the booth must be provided with a sufficient height. In particular, when a lid that closes the opening is provided above the nozzle shaft on which the inner surface cleaning nozzle is provided to prevent residue of the contents from flying out of the container opening and soiling the cleaning booth when the inner surface of the container is cleaned, the ceiling of the cleaning booth must be made higher so that the lid, which is raised together with the nozzle shaft, does not interfere with the cleaning booth, and the cleaning device becomes larger.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to reduce the size of a cleaning device into which a nozzle is inserted to clean the inner and outer surfaces of a container. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A cleaning device according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises: a cleaning booth capable of accommodating a container and having an opening formed on a top surface; an exterior cleaning nozzle for cleaning the exterior surfaces of the containers accommodated in the cleaning booth; a first lid for closing the opening of the container; an interior cleaning nozzle inserted into the container accommodated in the cleaning booth through the opening of the container and for cleaning the interior surfaces of the container whose opening is closed by the first lid; a nozzle shaft having the interior cleaning nozzle at its lower end and around which the first lid is attached; and lifting means for raising and lowering the nozzle shaft. attached around the nozzle shaft, and a second lid which is raised and lowered by the lifting means to close an opening formed in the top surface of the cleaning booth when a container is cleaned.

[0007] The cleaning device of the second invention is characterized in that, in the first invention, it further comprises a support means arranged around the nozzle shaft and supporting the second lid, and when the nozzle shaft descends and the opening formed in the ceiling surface of the cleaning booth is closed by the second lid, the support means releases support of the second lid, allowing the nozzle shaft to descend further. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the size of a cleaning device into which a nozzle is inserted to clean the inner and outer surfaces of a container. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a plan view showing a configuration of a cleaning device according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] FIG. 11 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the cleaning device when a container is inserted or removed. [Diagram 3] FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the cleaning device during container cleaning. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a plan view showing the configuration of a cleaning device according to one embodiment of the present invention, and Figs. 2 and 3 are vertical cross-sectional views of the cleaning device of Fig. 1. Fig. 2 shows a state in which the nozzle shaft is raised and containers are inserted and removed, and Fig. 3 shows a state in which the nozzle shaft is lowered and containers are cleaned.

[0011] The cleaning device 10 of this embodiment is used in the manufacturing process of, for example, food, cosmetics, medicines, etc., and is used to clean a container (tank) V that has an opening Vo at the top that can be opened upward. The cleaning device 10 includes a cleaning booth 12 that houses the container V, a nozzle shaft 14 that is inserted into the container V from above through the opening Vo of the container V housed in the cleaning booth 12, and a nozzle lifting device (lifting means) 16 that lifts and lowers the nozzle shaft 14.

[0012] A door 12A is provided on the side of the cleaning booth 12 for inserting and removing the container V into and from the cleaning booth 12, and an opening 12B is provided on the top surface of the cleaning booth 12 for inserting a nozzle shaft 14 through an opening Vo of the container V housed in the cleaning booth 12. An exterior cleaning unit 18 for cleaning the entire outer circumferential surface of the housed container V is disposed inside the cleaning booth 12. The exterior cleaning unit 18 is piped along the inner side surface of the cleaning booth 12 and includes a cleaning liquid supply pipe 18A for supplying a cleaning liquid, and a number of exterior cleaning nozzles 18B attached to the cleaning liquid supply pipe 18A toward the outer circumferential surface of the container V. The exterior cleaning nozzles 18B are disposed, for example, in three upper and lower stages so as to surround the periphery of the container V. A cleaning liquid is supplied to the cleaning liquid supply pipe 18A from a cleaning liquid supply source 18C.

[0013] The nozzle shaft 14 is disposed substantially vertically along the approximate center of the opening 12B. An inner surface cleaning nozzle 20 that is inserted into the container V and sprays cleaning liquid onto the inner surface of the container V to clean it is provided at the lower end of the nozzle shaft 14, and a nozzle drive unit 22 that can rotate the inner surface cleaning nozzle 20 in substantially all directions and a cleaning liquid supply pipe 24 that is connected to a cleaning liquid supply source are provided at the upper end of the nozzle shaft 14. The nozzle shaft 14 is held by an arm 26 of the nozzle lifting device 16 immediately below the nozzle drive unit 22.

[0014] The lifting arm 26 is supported so as to be freely movable up and down through a slider 32 that engages with a rail 30 that extends along the vertical direction of an upright support 28. A drive mechanism 34 for raising and lowering the lifting arm 26 along the rail 30 is provided on the support 28. The drive mechanism 34 in this embodiment is composed of an endless chain 34B that is wound around sprockets 34A provided above and below the support 28, and a motor 34C that rotates the upper sprocket 34A. The power of the motor 34C is transmitted to the lifting arm 26 by a support member 34D that connects the endless chain 34B and the lifting arm 26 via the sprocket 34A and the endless chain 34B.

[0015] A first lid 36 for closing the opening Vo of the container V is attached to the nozzle shaft 14 at a predetermined height so as to surround the nozzle shaft 14. A second lid 38 for closing the opening 12B of the cleaning booth 12 is attached to the nozzle shaft 14 above the first lid 36 so as to surround the nozzle shaft 14 and be movable up and down. A support member 38A for regulating the lowered position of the second lid 38 as it rises and falls is provided on the nozzle shaft 14 directly above the first lid 36.

[0016] In this embodiment, the opening 12B of the cleaning booth 12, the opening Vo of the container V, the first lid 36, and the second lid 38 are circular. The inner diameter of the opening 12B is larger than the inner diameter of the opening Vo, and the outer diameter of the first lid 36 is smaller than the inner diameter of the opening 12B of the cleaning booth 12 and larger than the inner diameter of the opening Vo of the container V. In addition, the outer diameter of the second lid 38 is larger than the opening 12B of the cleaning booth 12.

[0017] 2, when a container V is taken in or out of the cleaning booth 12, the nozzle shaft 14 is raised by the nozzle lifting device 16 until the inner surface cleaning nozzle 20 provided at the lower end is positioned higher than the opening Vo of the container V. At this time, the second lid 38 is supported on the support member 38A by its own weight. The container V accommodated in the cleaning booth 12 is positioned at a cleaning position where its opening Vo is approximately coaxial with the opening 12B of the cleaning booth 12.

[0018] When the container V is placed and fixed at the cleaning position, the nozzle shaft 14 is lowered by the nozzle lifting device 16. As a result, the nozzle shaft 14 is lowered along the central axis of the opening 12B of the cleaning booth 12, and the lower end of the nozzle shaft 14, i.e., the inner surface cleaning nozzle 20, is lowered through the opening Vo into the container V. At this time, the first lid 36 is lowered into the cleaning booth 12 through the opening 12B of the cleaning booth 12, and when the first lid 36 abuts against the open end of the container V and closes the opening Vo as shown in Fig. 3, the lowering of the nozzle shaft 14 by the nozzle lifting device 16 is stopped.

[0019] 2 to the state of FIG. 3, the outer periphery of the second lid 38 held by the support member 38A comes into contact with the inner periphery surrounding the opening 12B of the cleaning booth 12 to close the opening 12B. Since the second lid 38 is configured to be freely raised and lowered with respect to the nozzle shaft 14, even if the nozzle shaft 14 is further lowered after the second lid 38 closes the opening 12B, the second lid 38 is separated from the support member 38A (support is released) and the opening 12B is maintained in a closed state. As a result, with the opening 12B closed by the second lid 38, only the nozzle shaft 14 and the first lid 36 are further lowered toward the container V, and the inner surface cleaning nozzle 20 is inserted to approximately the center height in the container V, and the opening Vo is closed by the first lid 36 (state of FIG. 3).

[0020] In this embodiment, the cleaning operation of the container V is performed by spraying the cleaning liquid onto the outer and inner surfaces of the container V in the state shown in Fig. 3. That is, the cleaning liquid is sprayed onto the entire outer surface of the container V from a number of outer surface cleaning nozzles 18B installed in the cleaning booth 12, and the cleaning liquid is sprayed onto the inner surface of the container V from the inner surface cleaning nozzle 20 at the lower end of the nozzle shaft 14. The inner surface cleaning nozzle 20 is rotated, for example, approximately 360 degrees around a vertical axis and approximately 360 degrees around a horizontal axis by the nozzle drive unit 22, and the cleaning liquid is sprayed onto the entire inner surface of the container V. Note that the cleaning operation of the container V cannot be started unless the door 12A is closed to prevent the cleaning liquid from splashing out of the cleaning booth 12, and the door 12A cannot be opened during the cleaning operation.

[0021] As described above, according to the cleaning equipment of this embodiment, an opening is provided on the top surface of the cleaning booth, the nozzle shaft can be inserted into the cleaning booth through this opening, and the second cover that closes this opening is provided so as to be movable up and down together with the nozzle shaft, thereby making it possible to lower the ceiling height of the cleaning booth, thereby making it possible to miniaturize the cleaning booth and the cleaning equipment.

[0022] According to this embodiment, the second cover that closes the opening on the top surface of the cleaning booth is provided so as to be movable up and down together with the nozzle shaft, so that the length of the nozzle shaft can be shortened, which is more advantageous in terms of downsizing the cleaning device. In addition, the downsizing of the cleaning device also improves maintainability. Furthermore, the cleaning device of this embodiment can easily accommodate containers of different heights and diameters. [Explanation of symbols]

[0023] 10 Cleaning equipment 12 Cleaning Booth 12B opening 14 Nozzle shaft 16 Nozzle lifting device (lifting means) 18B External cleaning nozzle 20 Inner surface cleaning nozzle 36 1st lid 38 Second lid V container Vo opening

Claims

1. a cleaning booth capable of accommodating a container and having an opening formed on a top surface; an exterior cleaning nozzle for cleaning the exterior surface of a container accommodated in the cleaning booth; a first lid for closing an opening of the container; an inner surface cleaning nozzle that is inserted into a container housed in the cleaning booth through an opening of the container to clean an inner surface of the container whose opening is closed by the first lid; a nozzle shaft having the inner surface cleaning nozzle at a lower end thereof and the first lid attached around the nozzle shaft; A lifting means for lifting and lowering the nozzle shaft; a second lid attached to a periphery of the nozzle shaft and raised and lowered by the lifting means to close an opening formed in the top surface of the cleaning booth when cleaning a container; A cleaning device comprising:

2. 2. The cleaning device according to claim 1, further comprising a support means provided around the nozzle shaft and supporting the second lid, wherein when the nozzle shaft descends and an opening formed in a ceiling surface of the cleaning booth is closed by the second lid, the support means releases support of the second lid, allowing the nozzle shaft to descend further.

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