Cleaning device

Abstract

Provided is a cleaning device for a food manufacturing container that easily removes deposits remaining in the container for food manufacturing. 【Solution means】The cleaning device includes a transport mechanism 10 that transports a food mold 20 in which a through-hole 22 is formed to a predetermined position, an injection mechanism 200 having an upper injection part 210 and a lower injection part 250, and a control part. Compressed air A1 is injected downward from the outlet 231a of the upper injection part 210 into the through-hole 22. Compressed air A2 is injected upward from the outlet 271a of the lower injection part 250 into the through-hole 22. The distance from the through-hole 22 to the outlet 271a is smaller than the distance from the through-hole 22 to the outlet 231a. The control part controls the upper injection part 210 and the lower injection part 250 so that the timing at which the compressed air A1 reaches the through-hole 22 and the timing at which the compressed air A2 reaches the same through-hole 22 are shifted.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a cleaning device for removing deposits remaining in a container for manufacturing bread, for example.

Background Art

[0002] As an example of a device for cleaning a container for food production, there is a dust collecting device according to Patent Document 1. This dust collecting device injects compressed air from a compressed air injection means into the inside of a food mold after use to blow off bread crumbs remaining in the food mold, and then sucks foreign matters such as bread crumbs into a negative pressure generating hood.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] There may be deposits remaining on the inner surface of a container such as a food mold. As a result of the inventor's intensive research, it has been found that it may be difficult to remove such deposits only by simply injecting compressed air or sucking foreign matters as in Patent Document 1.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning device for a container for food production that can easily remove deposits remaining in the container for food production.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The cleaning device for food manufacturing containers of the present invention includes a conveying unit that conveys a food manufacturing container having an upward opening and one or more through holes at the bottom to a predetermined position, an upper object emitting unit having a first emission port for emitting an object, and being disposed above the through hole of the container at the predetermined position, a lower object emitting unit having a second emission port for emitting an object, and being disposed below the through hole such that the distance from the through hole of the container at the predetermined position to the second emission port is smaller than the distance from the through hole of the container at the predetermined position to the first emission port, and a control unit that controls the upper object emitting unit and the lower object emitting unit to emit an object from both the first emission port and the second emission port and cause the object to collide with at least one of the through holes in the container at the predetermined position.

[0007] The inventor has reached the conclusion that it is difficult to remove the deposits inside the container when they adhere to the through holes formed at the bottom of the container. In order to more surely remove such deposits, it is conceivable to direct an object such as compressed air at the through hole from a position close to the through hole and cause the object to collide with the through hole, thereby efficiently detaching the deposits from the through hole.

[0008] However, only the upper object emitting unit that emits an object from above the container toward the through hole has a limit in the ability to remove deposits. Since it is necessary to arrange the upper object emitting unit so as not to interfere with the conveyance of the container, it is difficult to bring the upper object emitting unit close to the bottom of the container. Therefore, it is difficult to bring the first emission port close to the through hole.

[0009] Therefore, the present invention employs a lower object emitting unit that causes an object to collide with the through hole from below. If it is below the container, it is easy to bring the through hole formed at the bottom of the container close to the lower object emitting unit. For this reason, it is easy to arrange the lower object emitting unit such that the second emission port is closer to the through hole than the first emission port.

[0010] And by emitting an object from both the upper object emitting unit and the lower object emitting unit and causing the object to collide with the through hole, a device that can more surely remove the deposits on the through hole has been realized.

[0011] In the present invention, it is preferable that the control unit controls the upper object emitting unit and the lower object emitting unit such that the timing at which an object from the upper object emitting unit collides with the one through hole and the timing at which an object from the lower object emitting unit collides with the one through hole are shifted. This is preferable.

[0012] When an object from the upper object emitting unit and an object from the lower object emitting unit collide with the through hole at the same time, the object collides with the deposit from both above and below at the same time. For this reason, the deposit may be sandwiched between the objects from both above and below, and the deposit may be difficult to detach from the through hole.

[0013] On the other hand, according to the above configuration, an object from the upper object emitting unit and an object from the lower object emitting unit collide with the through hole at different timings. Therefore, the deposit can be efficiently detached from the through hole.

[0014] In the present invention, it is preferable that the transport unit includes a belt-like member extending along the transport direction of the container on which the container is placed, and a belt-like member moving unit that moves the belt-like member, and the lower object emitting unit is arranged so as not to overlap the belt-like member in a plan view. According to this, an object emitted from the lower object emitting unit is less likely to be obstructed by the transport unit.

[0015] In the present invention, it is preferable that at least one of the upper object emitting unit and the lower object emitting unit is an injection unit that injects compressed air as the object. Thereby, the deposit can be blown off from the through hole by causing the compressed air to collide with the deposit.

[0016] In the present invention, it is preferable that the container is a bread mold for baking bread.

[0017] In the present invention, it is preferable that the peripheral edge of the one or more through-holes at the bottom of the container protrudes upward or downward. According to this, when the peripheral edge of the through-hole protrudes, deposits are likely to remain in the through-hole. Therefore, the effectiveness of applying the present invention in which an object is made to collide directly with the through-hole is high.

[0018] In the present invention, it is also preferable that a surface treatment for facilitating the removal of deposits is applied to the inner bottom surface of the container. According to this, it is difficult for the surface treatment to be uniform around the through-hole at the bottom of the container compared to other parts. Therefore, since deposits are likely to be difficult to remove around the through-hole, the effectiveness of applying the present invention is high.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0019]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0020] A cleaning device 1 for a food manufacturing container according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. In the present embodiment, a cleaning device 1 for a food mold 20, which is a container for manufacturing a long, rod-shaped bread (food) in one direction, will be described, but it may be a device for cleaning a food mold for foods other than bread.

[0021] As shown in FIGS. 1 to 2, the cleaning device 1 includes a transport mechanism 10 (transport unit in the present invention), a sensor 300, an injection mechanism 200, a negative pressure generating hood 400, and a control unit 100. As shown in FIG. 1, the transport direction A of the mold 20 is defined as the front, the opposite side is the rear, and the direction perpendicular to the front-rear direction shown in FIG. 1 is the vertical direction.

[0022] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the mold 20 is a rectangular parallelepiped that is long in the left-right direction. The mold 20 is open at the top. Six through-holes 22 are formed in the bottom 21 of the mold 20 at equal intervals in the left-right direction. As shown in FIG. 4, the peripheral edge 21a of the through-hole 22 in the bottom 21 projects upward. There may be deposits D derived from the dough of bread remaining in the through-hole 22 of the used mold 20. The inner surface 20a of the mold 20 is surface-treated, such as being covered with silicon, to facilitate peeling off the deposits. The inner surface 20a includes the inner bottom surface, which is the surface of the bottom 21 where the through-hole 22 is formed. Note that the number of through-holes 22 in the mold 20 may be adjusted as appropriate.

[0023] The control unit 100 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), etc. The control unit 100 drives and controls the transport mechanism 10, the injection mechanism 200, and the negative pressure generating hood 400 by receiving a signal indicating that the user has operated a switch or the like for adjusting the operation mode of the cleaning device 1 and a signal from the sensor 100.

[0024] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the conveying mechanism 10 includes a pair of pulleys 11a and 11b (the belt-like member moving part in the present invention), a pair of conveyor belts 11c and 11d (the belt-like member in the present invention), and a conveying motor (not shown) that drives the pulley 11a. The conveyor belts 11c and 11d are conveyor chains. The conveyor belts 11c and 11d extend along the conveying direction A and are spaced apart from each other in the left-right direction. The mold 20 is placed on the conveyor belts 11c and 11d. The conveyor belts 11c and 11d are looped around the pulleys 11a and 11b.

[0025] In this configuration, the control unit 100 drives and controls the conveying mechanism 10, causing the pulley 11a to rotate, and accordingly the conveyor belts 11c and 11d to run. The pulley 11b rotates in a driven manner following the running of the conveyor belts 11c and 11d. Thus, as shown in FIG. 1, the conveying mechanism 10 conveys the mold 20 in the conveying direction A. Note that the conveying mechanism 10 may be composed of a roller conveying mechanism having a plurality of rollers.

[0026] As shown in FIG. 1, the sensor 300 includes a light emitting unit 310 and a light receiving unit 320. The light emitting unit 310 is disposed above the conveyor belts 11c and 11d and upstream of the injection mechanism 200 in the conveying direction A. The light emitting unit 310 emits light such as laser light from its lower part. The light receiving unit 320 is disposed at a position sandwiching the conveying path of the mold 20 conveyed by the conveying mechanism 10 between it and the light emitting unit 310. The light receiving unit 320 receives the light emitted from the light emitting unit 310 and detects the intensity of the received light. Six sets of the light emitting unit 310 and the light receiving unit 320 are installed. Each of these six sets is arranged such that the light path from the light emitting unit 310 to the light receiving unit 320 passes exactly through each of the six through holes 22 of the mold 20 conveyed by the conveying mechanism 10.

[0027] When the sensor 300 is activated, the light emitting unit 310 emits light toward the light receiving unit 320. If there is no mold 20 on the optical path of the light, the light receiving unit 320 detects that it has received the light from the light emitting unit 310. The mold 20 conveyed by the transport mechanism 10 blocks the light traveling from the light emitting unit 310 to the light receiving unit 320. At this time, the light receiving unit 320 detects the blocking of the light by the mold 20. On the other hand, when the through hole 22 of the mold 20 intersects the optical path, if the through hole 22 is normal, the light from the light emitting unit 310 passes through the through hole 22 and is received by the light receiving unit 320. Therefore, the light receiving unit 320 detects the passage of the through hole 22. In contrast, when there is an attachment D as shown in FIG. 4 and the light is blocked by the attachment D, the light receiving unit 320 does not detect the passage of the through hole 22. The sensor 300 transmits a detection signal indicating a series of detection results by the light receiving unit 320 to the control unit 100. Based on this, as will be described later, the injection mechanism 200 is controlled.

[0028] As shown in FIG. 1, the injection mechanism 200 includes an upper injection unit 210 (the upper object emitting unit and the injection unit in the present invention) and a lower injection unit 250 (the lower object emitting unit and the injection unit in the present invention).

[0029] The upper injection part 210 is arranged above the conveyor belts 11c and 11d. As shown in FIG. 1, the upper injection part 210 has a pressure intensifying part 220 and four upper nozzle parts 230. The pressure intensifying part 220 is connected to a compressor (not shown) through a supply duct, and compressed air is supplied from the compressor. Four upper nozzle parts 230 arranged along the conveying direction A protrude downward at the lower end of the pressure intensifying part 220. The pressure intensifying part 220 is a device that supplies compressed air to each upper nozzle part 230 while temporarily increasing the pressure by instantaneously discharging the compressed air from the compressor. The pressure intensifying part 220 can switch on and off the supply of compressed air to each upper nozzle part 230 for each upper nozzle part 230. Each of the upper nozzle parts 230 has six nozzle pipes 231 arranged in the left - right direction at the same interval as the six through - holes 22 of the mold 20. When the four molds 20 reach a predetermined position below the upper injection part 210, as shown in FIG. 3, the four upper nozzle parts 230 are arranged such that each of the nozzle pipes 231 is positioned directly above each through - hole 22 of the mold 20. In other words, the predetermined position refers to the position of the four molds 20 such that each through - hole 22 is arranged directly below each nozzle pipe 231 of the upper nozzle part 230. Note that the number of nozzle pipes 231 of the upper nozzle part 230 may be appropriately adjusted according to the number of through - holes 22 of the mold 20.

[0030] The nozzle pipe 231 extends along the vertical direction, and an outlet 231a (the first outlet in the present invention) is formed at its lower end. As shown in FIG. 3, the outlet 231a injects the compressed air A1 sent from the pressure intensifying part 220 toward the directly - below through - hole 22. Note that the upper injection part 210 is movable up and down, and the height with respect to the mold 20 on the conveyor belts 11c and 11d is adjusted.

[0031] The lower injection unit 250 is disposed above the conveyor belts 11c and 11d. As shown in FIG. 1, the lower injection unit 250 has a pressure intensifying unit 260 and four lower nozzle units 270. The pressure intensifying unit 260 is connected to a compressor (not shown) through a supply duct, and compressed air is supplied from the compressor. At the upper end of the pressure intensifying unit 260, four lower nozzle units 270 arranged along the conveying direction A project upward. The pressure intensifying unit 260 is a device that supplies compressed air to each lower nozzle unit 270 while temporarily increasing the pressure by instantaneously discharging the compressed air from the compressor. The pressure intensifying unit 260 can switch on and off the supply of compressed air to each lower nozzle unit 270. Each of the lower nozzle units 270 has six nozzle pipes 271 arranged in the left-right direction at the same interval as the six through holes 22. When the four mold cavities 20 reach a predetermined position below the upper injection unit 210, the four lower nozzle units 270 are arranged such that each of the nozzle pipes 271 is positioned directly below each through hole 22 of the mold cavity 20, as shown in FIG. 3. Note that the number of nozzle pipes 271 of the lower nozzle unit 270 may be appropriately adjusted according to the number of through holes 22 of the mold cavity 20.

[0032] The nozzle pipes 271 extend along the vertical direction, and an outlet 271a (the second outlet in the present invention) is formed at the upper end thereof. As shown in FIG. 2, the outlet 271a is arranged so as not to overlap with the conveyor belts 11c and 11d. The outlet 271a discharges the compressed air A2 sent from the pressure intensifying unit 260 to the directly above through hole 22. Note that the lower injection unit 250 is movable up and down, and the height with respect to the mold cavity 20 on the conveyor belts 11c and 11d is adjusted. The heights of the upper injection unit 210 and the lower injection unit 250 are adjusted such that the distance from the through hole 22 of the mold cavity 20 to the outlet 271a is smaller than the distance from the through hole 22 of the mold cavity 20 to the outlet 231a.

[0033] In the above configuration, the control unit 100 controls the conveyance of the food molds 20 by the conveyance mechanism 10 and the injection of compressed air by the injection mechanism 200. The control unit 100 controls the operation of the conveyance mechanism 10 to pass the four food molds 20 below the light emitting unit 310. During this time, the control unit 100 determines, based on the detection signal from the sensor 300, which of the four food molds 20 has deposits D adhering to the through holes 22. The determination of the adhesion of the deposits D is made based on whether the light receiving unit 320 detects the passage of the through hole 22 when each food mold 20 passes below the light emitting unit 310. The control unit 100 causes the conveyance mechanism 10 to convey the food molds 20 until the four food molds 20 reach a predetermined position. When the four food molds 20 reach the predetermined position, the control unit 100 temporarily stops the operation of the conveyance mechanism 10.

[0034] Next, the control unit 100 controls the upper injection unit 210 so that compressed air A1 is injected only from the upper nozzle unit 230 corresponding to the food mold 20 to which the deposits D adhere. Thereby, the compressed air A1 is made to collide with the through hole 22 of the food mold 20 in which the adhesion of the deposits D has been detected. Further, the control unit 100 controls the lower injection unit 250 so that compressed air A2 is injected only from the lower nozzle unit 270 corresponding to the same food mold 20. Thereby, the compressed air A2 is made to collide with the through hole 22 in which the adhesion of the deposits D has been detected. Due to the collision of the compressed air A1 and A2, the deposits D are removed from the through hole 22.

[0035] Here, the control unit 100 controls the upper injection unit 210 and the lower injection unit 250 so that the timing at which the compressed air A1 reaches the through hole 22 and the timing at which the compressed air A2 reaches the same through hole 22 are shifted. This control is performed by controlling the timing at which the compressed air A1 is injected from the upper injection unit 210 and the timing at which the compressed air A1 is injected from the lower injection unit 250. For example, the compressed air A1 from the upper injection unit 210 collides with the through hole 22 of the food mold 20, and then the compressed air A2 from the lower injection unit 250 collides with the through hole 22. Also, the compressed air A2 from the lower injection unit 250 may collide with the through hole 22 of the food mold 20, and then the compressed air A1 from the upper injection unit 210 may collide with the through hole 22.

[0036] The control unit 100 may synchronize the timing at which the compressed air A1 is injected from the upper injection unit 210 and the timing at which the compressed air A2 is injected from the lower injection unit 250. Even in this case, as described above, since the distance from the through-hole 22 to the outlet 271a is smaller than the distance from the through-hole 22 to the outlet 231a, the timing at which the compressed air A1 reaches the through-hole 22 and the timing at which the compressed air A2 reaches the through-hole 22 are likely to be misaligned.

[0037] Thereafter, the control unit 100 resumes the operation of the transport mechanism 10 and causes the transport mechanism 10 to transport the four mold cavities 20 that have passed through the predetermined position to the negative pressure generating hood 400. Then, the control unit 100 causes the transport mechanism 10 to transport the next four mold cavities 20 to the predetermined position, and based on the detection signal received from the sensor 300 during that time, controls the injection mechanism 200 in the same manner as described above to remove the deposits D from the through-holes 22 of the four mold cavities 20.

[0038] As shown in FIG. 1, the negative pressure generating hood 400 is disposed above the conveyor belts 11c and 11d and is disposed downstream of the injection mechanism 200 in the transport direction A. The negative pressure generating hood 400 has a canopy portion 410 having a downward opening on its inner lower surface. The interior of the canopy portion 410 has a size large enough to cover one mold cavity 20. A suction duct (not shown) is connected to the negative pressure generating hood 400. When the mold cavity 20 is transported below the canopy portion 410, the canopy portion 410 whose interior has been made negative pressure by the suction duct sucks the deposits D and the like removed from the through-hole 22 by the injection mechanism 200. Note that the negative pressure generating hood 400 is movable up and down, and the height with respect to the mold cavity 20 on the conveyor belts 11c and 11d is adjusted.

[0039] In this configuration, the control unit 100 controls the suction duct of the negative pressure generating hood 400. By adjusting the pressure of the negative pressure in the suction duct, the intensity of the negative pressure inside the canopy portion 410 can be adjusted, and it becomes possible to suck the deposits D and the like whose adhesion to the mold 20 has been detached by the injection mechanism 200. The deposit D sucked by the negative pressure generating hood 400 is captured and collected by a filter or the like inside the canopy portion 410 and then discarded. In addition, an air injection portion may be further installed around the canopy portion 410, and the negative pressure generating hood 400 may be configured such that the canopy portion 410 sucks the deposits D and the like scattered by the air injected into the mold 20 from this air injection portion.

[0040] The cleaning device 1 operates as follows under the drive control of the control unit 100. First, the pulley 11a is rotated by the conveyance motor of the conveyance mechanism 10, and the conveyance belts 11c and 11d are run. The pulley 11b rotates following the running of the conveyance belts 11c and 11d. In this way, the mold 20 is conveyed in the conveyance direction A.

[0041] Next, the sensor 300 is activated to emit light from the light emitting portion 310 toward the light receiving portion 320. The through hole 22 of the mold 20 intersects the path of the light, and the light receiving portion 320 detects the presence or absence of passage through the through hole 22 according to whether the light is blocked by the deposit D. The sensor 300 transmits a detection signal indicating such a detection result by the light receiving portion 320 to the control unit 100.

[0042] Next, stop the rotation of the pulley 11a, thereby stopping the running of the conveyor belts 11c and 11d, and place the four mold cavities 20 at a predetermined position below the upper injection section 210. Next, supply compressed air to the upper nozzle section 230 and the lower nozzle 270 respectively in the pressure intensifying sections 220 and 260. Based on the detection result of the sensor 300, the control unit 100 controls the pressure intensifying sections 220 and 260 to supply compressed air only to the upper nozzle section 230 above the mold cavity 20 in which the deposit D is detected in one or more through holes 22 and the lower nozzle section 270 below it. Thereby, the compressed air A1 is injected from the upper nozzle section 230 and the compressed air A2 is injected from the lower nozzle section 270 into the through hole 22 of the mold cavity 20 in which the deposit D is detected. The compressed air A1 and the compressed air A2 reach the through hole 22 at different timings and collide with the deposit D on the peripheral edge 21a of the through hole 22. In this way, the deposit D is blown off from the through hole 22.

[0043] Next, the control unit 100 resumes the operation of the conveying mechanism 10 and conveys the four mold cavities 20 that have passed through the predetermined position to the conveying mechanism 10 up to the negative pressure generating hood 400. Then, the control unit 100 conveys the next four mold cavities 20 to the conveying mechanism 10 up to the predetermined position, and based on the detection signal received from the sensor 300 during that time, controls the injection mechanism 200 in the same manner as above to remove the deposit D from the through holes 22 of the four mold cavities 20.

[0044] When the mold cavity 20 is conveyed below the canopy portion 410 of the negative pressure generating hood 400, the canopy portion 410 whose interior is made negative pressure by the suction duct sucks the deposit D and the like removed from the through hole 22 by the injection mechanism 200. The deposit D sucked by the negative pressure generating hood 400 is captured and collected by a filter or the like in the canopy portion 410 and then discarded.

[0045] The cleaning device 1 described as above has the following effects.

[0046] The reason why the deposit D inside the food mold 20 is difficult to remove is when it adheres to the through-hole 22 formed at the bottom of the food mold 20. In order to more reliably remove such a deposit D, it is conceivable to direct compressed air to collide with the through-hole 22 from a position close to the through-hole 22, thereby efficiently detaching the deposit D from the through-hole 22.

[0047] However, the upper injection part 210 that injects the compressed air A1 from above the food mold 20 toward the through-hole 22 alone has a limit in the ability to remove the deposit D. Also, since it is necessary to arrange the upper injection part 210 so as not to interfere with the conveyance of the food mold 20, it is difficult to bring the upper injection part 210 close to the bottom 21 of the food mold 20.

[0048] Therefore, a lower injection part 250 that causes the compressed air A2 to collide with the through-hole 22 from below is adopted. If it is below the food mold 20, it is easy to bring the through-hole 22 formed in the bottom 21 of the food mold 20 close to the lower injection part 250. For this reason, it is easy to arrange the lower injection part 250 so that the outlet 271a is closer to the through-hole 22 than the outlet 231a.

[0049] And a device that can more reliably remove the deposit D adhering to the through-hole 22 by injecting compressed air from both the upper injection part 210 and the lower injection part 250 and causing it to collide with the through-hole 22 has been realized.

[0050] Also, if the compressed air A1 from the upper injection part 210 and the compressed air A2 from the lower injection part 250 collide with the through-hole 22 at the same time, the compressed air will collide with the deposit D from both above and below at the same time. For this reason, the deposit D may be sandwiched between the compressed air from both above and below, and there is a possibility that the deposit D is difficult to detach from the through-hole 22.

[0051] On the other hand, according to the configuration of the cleaning device 1, the compressed air A1 from the upper injection part 210 and the compressed air A2 from the lower object injection part 250 collide with the through-hole 22 at different timings. Therefore, the deposit D can be efficiently detached from the through-hole 22.

[0052] In addition, the outlet 271a of the lower nozzle portion 270 in the lower injection portion 250 is arranged so as not to overlap with the conveyor belts 11c and 11d in a plan view (see FIG. 2). According to this, the compressed air A2 jetted from the nozzle pipe 271 is less likely to be obstructed by the conveying mechanism 10.

[0053] In addition, in the mold 20, the peripheral portion 21a of the through hole 22 protrudes upward. When the peripheral portion 21a of the through hole 22 protrudes, deposits D are likely to remain in the through hole 22. Therefore, it is highly effective to apply the cleaning device 1 that causes compressed air to collide directly with the through hole 22.

[0054] In addition, the mold 20 is surface-treated such as being covered with silicon on the inner surface 20a in order to make it easier to remove the deposits D. Since the peripheral portion 21a of the through hole 22 at the bottom 21 protrudes upward, it is difficult to make the surface treatment uniform around the through hole 22 compared to other portions. Therefore, since deposits D are likely to be difficult to peel off around the through hole 22, it is highly effective to apply the cleaning device 1.

[0055] As described above, the embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to the drawings, but the specific configuration should be considered not to be limited to these embodiments. The scope of the present invention is shown not only by the description of the above embodiments but also by the scope of claims, and further includes all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the scope of claims. Hereinafter, modification examples according to the above embodiments will be described.

[0056] In the above-described embodiment, the peripheral portion 21a of the through hole 22 protrudes upward. However, the peripheral portion of the through hole may protrude downward. Further, one mold may have both a through hole whose peripheral portion protrudes upward and a through hole whose peripheral portion protrudes downward.

[0057] In the above-described embodiment, both the upper injection unit 210 and the lower injection unit 250 inject compressed air. Instead of these, an ejection unit may be employed in which a hard object such as a needle is ejected and the member is made to collide with the through-hole of the mold. Such an ejection unit may be employed in place of only one of the upper injection unit 210 and the lower injection unit 250, or in place of each of them. Further, the ejection unit may have a mechanism capable of ejecting both a gas such as compressed air and a member such as a needle from the ejection port.

[0058] In the above-described embodiment, among the four molds 20 at a predetermined position, compressed air is ejected from the ejection mechanism 200 only to the mold 20 in which the deposit D is detected by the sensor 300 in the through-hole 22. However, compressed air may be ejected from the ejection mechanism 200 to all the molds 20 located at the predetermined position. Alternatively, the pressure intensifying units 220 and 260 may be capable of individually switching on and off the supply of compressed air to each of the nozzle pipes 231 of the upper nozzle unit 230 and each of the nozzle pipes 271 of the lower nozzle unit 270. In this case, the control unit 100 controls the pressure intensifying units 220 and 260 so that compressed air is ejected only to the through-hole 22 in which the deposit D is detected by the sensor 300.

[0059] In the above-described embodiment, the upper injection unit 210 and the lower injection unit 250 each have four upper nozzle units 230 and four lower nozzle units 270. However, the number of each nozzle unit may be 1 to 3 or 5 or more. Note that the number of molds 20 located at the predetermined position coincides with the number of nozzle units.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0060] 1 Cleaning device 10 Conveying mechanism 11a, 11b Pulleys 11c, 11d Conveyor belts 20 Mold 21a Peripheral portion 22 Through-hole 100 Control unit 200 Injection mechanism Outlet ports of 231a and 271a Upper injection section 210 Lower injection section 250 Compressed air A1, A2

Claims

1. A conveying unit that conveys a container for food production, in which an upward opening and one or more through-holes at the bottom are formed, to a predetermined position; an upper object emitting unit that has a first emission port for emitting an object and is disposed above the through-hole of the container at the predetermined position; a lower object emitting unit that has a second emission port for emitting an object and is disposed below the through-hole such that the distance from the through-hole of the container at the predetermined position to the second emission port is smaller than the distance from the through-hole of the container at the predetermined position to the first emission port; a control unit that controls the upper object emitting unit and the lower object emitting unit so as to emit an object from both the first emission port and the second emission port and cause the object to collide with at least one of the through-holes in the container at the predetermined position. A cleaning device for a food production container, characterized by comprising the above components.

2. The control unit: controls the upper object emitting unit and the lower object emitting unit such that the timing at which the object from the upper object emitting unit collides with the one through-hole is shifted from the timing at which the object from the lower object emitting unit collides with the one through-hole. The cleaning device for a food production container according to Claim 1, characterized by the above.

3. The conveying unit has a belt-like member along which the container is placed and extends in the conveying direction of the container, and a belt-like member moving unit that moves the belt-like member; The cleaning device for a food production container according to Claim 1, characterized in that the lower object emitting unit is disposed so as not to overlap the belt-like member in a plan view.

4. The cleaning device for a food production container according to Claim 1, characterized in that at least one of the upper object emitting unit and the lower object emitting unit is an injection unit that injects compressed air as the object.

5. The cleaning device for a food production container according to Claim 1, characterized in that the container is a food mold for bread making.

6. The cleaning device for a food production container according to Claim 1, characterized in that the peripheral edge of the one or more through-holes at the bottom of the container protrudes upward or downward.

7. The cleaning device for a food production container according to Claim 6, characterized in that a surface treatment for facilitating the removal of deposits is applied to the inner bottom surface of the container.

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