Shopping basket cleaning method and shopping basket cleaning device

Abstract

To collectively wash a plurality of shopping baskets, and completely remove dirt and bacteria of the shopping baskets without damaging the shopping baskets during washing.SOLUTION: A shopping basket washing device includes a washing drum, a lid part, a rotary plate 8 mounted in the washing drum, a geared motor 9 for rotating the rotary plate 8, a tank 10 for storing washing liquid, a pump 11 for supplying the washing liquid into the washing drum from the tank 10, and a control part, wherein a basket holding tool for holding stacked shopping baskets is mounted on the rotary plate 8, the control part controls operations of the geared motor 9 so as to perform main washing of the stacked shopping baskets so that acceleration and deceleration of rotation of the stacked shopping baskets are alternately repeated, and a basket pressing part 18 for pressing the shopping basket at the upper most stage in a vertical direction so that the stacked shopping baskets are lifted up by a constant distance when rotation of the stacked shopping baskets is accelerated is mounted on the lid part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a shopping basket cleaning method and device for cleaning shopping baskets used in supermarkets, convenience stores, home improvement stores, drug stores, etc. [Background technology]

[0002] A large number of shopping baskets are used in supermarkets, convenience stores, home improvement stores, drug stores, and the like. These shopping baskets are used by placing various items, including fresh foods, inside them, and as a result, they become dirty and contaminated with bacteria. Therefore, used shopping baskets are washed by hand by workers on a regular basis, for example, once a day. In this case, large stores such as supermarkets use a large number of shopping baskets, which not only places a considerable burden on workers who have to wash them by hand, but also poses the problem that manual washing by workers cannot completely remove dirt, germs, etc. For this reason, various cleaning devices for shopping baskets have been proposed to reduce the burden on workers who manually clean shopping baskets and to completely remove dirt, germs, and the like from the shopping baskets. For example, Patent Document 1 (JP 2000-93913 A) discloses a cleaning device in which a basket- or box-shaped case to be cleaned is placed on a guide rail and moved horizontally, cleaning water is sprayed from a cleaning nozzle onto the bottom and sides of the case to clean the case, and the sprayed cleaning water is collected in a pan. However, the cleaning device in Patent Document 1 cleans cases that move horizontally on guide rails one by one, which not only takes a long time to clean a large number of cases, but also requires a moving device equipped with a motor, pulleys, chains, guide rails, guide bars, etc. to move the cases horizontally, which makes the device large and requires installation space.

[0003] Furthermore, Patent Document 2 (JP 2005-52783 A) describes a washing system that sequentially arranges a brush pre-washing machine having vertical and horizontal rotating brushes against which super baskets can be pressed and a cleaning liquid supply source, a hydraulic pre-washing machine having a rotary drive source and high-pressure water nozzles, and washing baskets that can store a predetermined amount of super baskets at three or more locations around a horizontal axis, and are provided with a rotary drive source that can rotate each washing basket around the horizontal axis and a cleaning liquid supply source that can supply enough cleaning liquid to submerge the washing baskets when they are moved directly below the horizontal axis, as well as high-pressure water nozzles that spray high-pressure water onto the rotating washing baskets to rinse them, and a hot air supply source that blows hot air onto each washing basket to dry them, thereby enabling each of the processes of brush pre-washing, hydraulic pre-washing, main washing, rinsing, spin-drying, and drying to be carried out. However, in the cleaning system of Patent Document 2, the brush pre-washing, hydraulic pre-washing, and main wash are performed using separate machines, which requires the attachment and detachment of the super baskets to each machine. Not only does this take time from the start to finish of cleaning the super baskets, but it also requires the installation of a brush pre-washing machine, a hydraulic pre-washing machine, and a rotating washer that can store a specified number of super baskets in multiple locations (three or more), which results in a larger system than the cleaning system of Patent Document 1 and requires more space to install the system. Furthermore, in the rotary washer of the washing system of Patent Document 2, the washing basket containing a predetermined amount of super baskets is rotated to perform the main washing, rinsing, spin-drying, and drying, which creates the problem that the super basket may collide with the wall of the washing basket during rotation, damaging the super basket.

[0004] In this regard, Patent Document 3 (JP Patent Publication No. 7-227582) discloses a rotary submersible cleaning device that performs submersible cleaning by injecting cleaning water into a cleaning chamber using an inlet / outlet means and causing countless air bubbles to collide with the object to be cleaned immersed in the water, in which a rotatable turntable is installed at the bottom of the cleaning chamber and on which the object to be cleaned is placed, and a rotary presser plate that can press the object to be cleaned placed on the turntable against the turntable and rotate in that state is installed on a member located at the top of the cleaning chamber so as to face the turntable, and in order to cause the air bubbles and water flow to collide with the object to be cleaned at high speed, the device is provided with a rotation mechanism that rotates the object to be cleaned while it is fixed by the turntable and rotary presser plate. In the rotary submersible cleaning device of Patent Document 3, if the object to be cleaned is a shopping basket, the rotary submersible cleaning device of Patent Document 3 does not have a means for rinsing the object after cleaning, and it is necessary to remove the cleaning liquid that has adhered to the shopping basket after cleaning. Furthermore, the rotary submerged cleaning device of Patent Document 3 has the problem that it takes a long time to clean a large number of shopping baskets because it cleans each item one by one. In this case, since the rotary washer of Patent Document 2 washes stacked supermarket baskets, it is also conceivable that the rotary underwater washing device of Patent Document 3 could also wash multiple shopping baskets in a stacked state (piled up). However, in the rotary underwater cleaning device of Patent Document 3, the items to be cleaned (stacked shopping baskets) are pressed down onto a rotating table by a rotary pressure plate, so dirt and germs cannot be removed from the areas where stacked shopping baskets overlap (contact areas), resulting in incomplete cleaning of the shopping baskets.

[0005] Next, Patent Document 4 (JP Patent Publication No. 8-19764) discloses an article washing device in which a cleaning work is formed by providing a space within a box-shaped main body, the items to be washed are placed in a washing basket that rotates within this cleaning work, and various nozzles are arranged near the washing basket, and washing liquid, rinsing liquid, air, and steam are sprayed from the nozzles to perform a series of operations including washing, rinsing, sterilization, and draining. In the article washing device of Patent Document 4, if the items to be washed are shopping baskets, the shopping baskets are placed inside a rotating washing basket and a series of steps including washing, rinsing, sterilization and draining are carried out, which creates the problem that the rotation of the washing basket causes the shopping basket to collide with the basket part of the washing basket, resulting in damage to the shopping basket. It is also possible to wash stacked shopping baskets using the ware washing device of Patent Document 4, but the rotation of the washing basket can cause the stacking of the shopping baskets to collapse, and the scattered shopping baskets can collide with the basket part of the washing basket, damaging the shopping baskets.Furthermore, after the series of steps of washing, rinsing, sterilizing and draining are completed, it is time-consuming to remove the scattered shopping baskets from the washing basket. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-93913 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-52783 [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 7-227582 [Patent Document 4] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 8-19764 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] To provide a cleaning device for cleaning shopping baskets without making the device large-scale and requiring no installation space, capable of cleaning a plurality of shopping baskets at once, completely removing dirt and germs from the shopping baskets without damaging the shopping baskets during cleaning, and easily removing the plurality of shopping baskets after cleaning. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The invention of claim 1 is a shopping basket washing method for washing a stack of shopping baskets, which is made up of multiple shopping baskets stacked vertically, in a washing tank using a shopping basket washing device comprising a washing tank, a rotor attached within the washing tank, rotor rotation means for rotating the rotor, and washing liquid supply means for supplying washing liquid into the washing tank, the method comprising: a washing liquid supply step of supplying the washing liquid from the washing liquid supply means into the washing tank and immersing the stack of shopping baskets in the washing liquid, with the stack of shopping baskets placed on the rotor so that the bottom shopping basket does not move in the rotational direction relative to the rotor; The above-mentioned problem is solved by providing a shopping basket washing method including a main washing step in which the rotor rotating means rotates the stacked shopping baskets via the rotor, accelerating the rotation of the stacked shopping baskets to cause the cleaning liquid to generate a force that lifts each shopping basket in the stacked shopping baskets, and after the stacked shopping baskets have been lifted a certain distance, decelerating the rotation of the stacked shopping baskets to lower the stacked shopping baskets that have been lifted a certain distance to their original positions, and alternately repeating the acceleration and deceleration of the rotation of the stacked shopping baskets to wash each shopping basket in the stacked shopping baskets.

[0009] The invention of claim 2 solves the above problem by providing a shopping basket cleaning method in which the rotor rotation means alternately repeats forward rotation, which rotates the stacked shopping baskets clockwise, and reverse rotation, which rotates the stacked shopping baskets counterclockwise, via the rotor, and after the forward rotation or reverse rotation begins, the rotation of the stacked shopping baskets is accelerated so that the stacked shopping baskets are lifted a certain distance, and the rotation of the stacked shopping baskets is decelerated so that when switching from the forward rotation to the reverse rotation or from the reverse rotation to the forward rotation, the stacked shopping baskets that have been lifted a certain distance are lowered to their original position, thereby alternately repeating acceleration and deceleration of the rotation of the stacked shopping baskets.

[0010] The invention of claim 3 solves the above problem by providing a shopping basket washing method in which the shopping basket washing device is equipped with a shopping basket holding means for vertically holding down the top shopping basket of the stacked shopping baskets placed on the rotating body, and in the main washing process, when the stacked shopping baskets are lifted the certain distance, the shopping basket holding means holds down the top shopping basket with a force smaller than the lifting force.

[0011] The invention of claim 4 further comprises a rinse liquid supply means for supplying a rinse liquid into the cleaning tank, The above problem is solved by providing a shopping basket cleaning method that includes a rinsing step in which, after the main cleaning step, the cleaning liquid is discharged from the cleaning tank, the stacked shopping baskets are rotated via the rotor by the rotor rotation means, and the rinsing liquid is sprayed onto the stacked shopping baskets by the rinsing liquid supply means to rinse the stacked shopping baskets.

[0012] The invention of claim 5 solves the above problem by providing a shopping basket washing method that includes a dehydration step in which, after the rinsing step, the rotor rotation means rotates the stacked shopping baskets at high speed via the rotor, thereby removing the rinsing liquid adhering to the stacked shopping baskets.

[0013] The invention of claim 6 is a shopping basket washing device comprising a washing tank having an opening, a lid for closing the opening, a rotor attached within the washing tank, rotor rotation means for rotating the rotor, a washing liquid tank for storing washing liquid, a washing liquid supply means for supplying the washing liquid from the washing liquid tank into the washing tank, and a washing control means, wherein the rotor is provided with a basket holder for holding the bottom shopping basket of a stack of multiple shopping baskets stacked vertically so that it does not move in the rotational direction relative to the rotor, and the washing control means supplies the washing liquid to the washing tank using the washing liquid supply means, immerses the stack of shopping baskets held by the basket holder and placed on the rotor in the washing liquid, and rotates the rotor using the rotor rotation means. The above-mentioned problem is solved by providing a shopping basket washing device that controls the operation of the washing liquid supply means and the rotor rotation means to rotate the stacked shopping baskets via a rotor and alternately speed up and slow down the rotation of the stacked shopping baskets to perform a main cleaning of the stacked shopping baskets, and a basket pressing means is attached to the lid portion for pressing down the top shopping basket of the stacked shopping baskets placed on the rotor in an up and down direction, and the basket pressing means lifts the stacked shopping baskets a certain distance when the rotation of the stacked shopping baskets is increased during the main cleaning, and presses down the top shopping basket so that the stacked shopping basket, which has been lifted a certain distance, returns to its original position when the rotation of the stacked shopping baskets is slowed down.

[0014] The invention of claim 7 solves the above problem by providing a shopping basket cleaning device in which the cleaning control means controls the operation of the rotor rotation means to alternately increase and decrease the speed of the rotation of the stacked shopping baskets by alternately repeating forward rotation, which rotates the stacked shopping baskets clockwise, and reverse rotation, which rotates the stacked shopping baskets counterclockwise.

[0015] The invention of claim 8 solves the above problem by providing a shopping basket cleaning device in which the basket pressing means comprises a pressing member that is movable relative to the underside of the lid portion and an elastic member that presses the pressing member against the topmost shopping basket.

[0016] The invention of claim 9 provides a shopping basket washing device which further comprises a washing liquid discharge means for discharging the washing liquid from the washing tank and a rinsing liquid supply means for supplying rinsing liquid into the washing tank, and the washing control means controls the operation of the washing liquid discharge means, the rotor rotation means and the rinsing liquid supply means so that after the main washing, the washing liquid is discharged from the washing tank by the washing liquid discharge means, the rotor rotation means rotates the stacked shopping baskets via the rotor, and the rinsing liquid supply means sprays the rinsing liquid on the stacked shopping baskets to rinse the stacked shopping baskets, thereby solving the above problem.

[0017] The invention of claim 10 solves the above problem by providing a shopping basket washing device in which the cleaning control means controls the operation of the rotor rotation means so that after the rinsing, the rotor rotation means rotates the stacked shopping baskets at high speed via the rotor, and performs dehydration to remove the rinsing liquid adhering to the stacked shopping baskets. [Effects of the Invention]

[0018] The shopping basket cleaning method of the invention described in claim 1 has the advantage that when cleaning shopping baskets using a cleaning device, multiple shopping baskets can be cleaned at once, and dirt and germs from the shopping baskets can be completely removed without damaging the shopping baskets during cleaning.

[0019] In the shopping basket cleaning method of the invention described in claim 2, furthermore, when the rotation of the stacked shopping baskets switches from forward to reverse or from reverse to forward, the change in the flow of cleaning liquid becomes greater, thereby achieving the effect of more completely removing dirt and germs from the shopping baskets.

[0020] The shopping basket cleaning method of the invention as set forth in claim 3 further has the effect of completely removing dirt and germs from the shopping basket using simple means.

[0021] The shopping basket washing method of the invention as set forth in claim 4 has the further advantage that the process can be shifted from the main washing step to the rinsing step without removing the shopping basket from the shopping basket washing device.

[0022] The shopping basket washing method of the invention described in claim 5 further has the effect of allowing the shopping basket to be transitioned from the rinsing process to the spin-drying process without removing the shopping basket from the shopping basket washing device, and allowing multiple shopping baskets that have been washed to be easily removed.

[0023] The shopping basket cleaning device of the invention described in claim 6 has the advantage that the device is not large-scale and does not require installation space, multiple shopping baskets can be cleaned at once, and dirt and germs from the shopping baskets can be completely removed without damaging the shopping baskets during cleaning.

[0024] The shopping basket cleaning method of the invention described in claim 7 further has the effect of increasing the change in the flow of cleaning liquid when the rotation of stacked shopping baskets switches from forward to reverse or from reverse to forward, thereby more completely removing dirt and germs from the shopping baskets.

[0025] The shopping basket cleaning device of the invention described in claim 8 further has the effect of completely removing dirt and germs from the shopping basket using simple means.

[0026] The shopping basket washing device of the invention as set forth in claim 9 has the advantage that it is possible to move from main washing to rinsing without removing the shopping basket from the shopping basket washing device.

[0027] The shopping basket washing device of the invention described in claim 10 has the advantage that it is possible to move from rinsing to spin-drying without removing the shopping baskets from the shopping basket washing device, and multiple shopping baskets that have been washed can be easily removed. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0028] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view of the exterior of a shopping basket cleaning device according to the present invention with the cover thereof opened 90 degrees. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a plan view of the shopping basket cleaning device shown in FIG. [Figure 3] 2 is a left side view of the shopping basket cleaning device shown in FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 4] 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 2. [Figure 5] 2 is an exploded perspective view of a washing drum portion of the basket washing device of FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 6] 2 is an exploded perspective view of the lower inner part of the outer cover of the basket cleaning device of FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 7] 2 is an exploded perspective view of an outer cover of the basket cleaning device of FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 8] 2 is an exploded perspective view of a lid portion and a basket pressing portion in the basket cleaning device of FIG. 1. [Figure 9] 2 is a piping control diagram showing the piping system and control system of the shopping basket cleaning device 1. FIG. [Figure 10] 1A and 1B are a perspective view and a front view of a shopping basket to be washed by a shopping basket washing device 1. FIG. [Figure 11] 1A and 1B are a perspective view, a front view, and an enlarged longitudinal cross-sectional view in the left-right direction (X direction) of a stacked shopping basket in which ten shopping baskets 30 are stacked vertically. [Figure 12] 10 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the shopping basket cleaning device in the X direction with stacked shopping baskets 40 set in the basket holder 7 and the cover plate 3a closed. FIG. [Figure 13] 10 is a graph showing an example of the change over time in the rotation speed of a rotary plate 8 (output shaft 9a) in one cycle. [Figure 14]10 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the shopping basket cleaning device in the X direction, with stacked shopping baskets 40 lifted by a certain distance. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0029] [Configuration of shopping cart cleaning device] Figure 1 is an external oblique view of the shopping basket washing device of the present invention with the lid portion opened 90 degrees, Figure 2 is a plan view of the shopping basket washing device shown in Figure 1, Figure 3 is a left side view of the shopping basket washing device shown in Figure 1, Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view along line AA in Figure 2, Figure 5 is an exploded oblique view of the washing drum portion of the basket washing device of Figure 1, Figure 6 is an exploded oblique view of the lower inner part of the outer cover of the basket washing device of Figure 1, Figure 7 is an exploded oblique view of the outer cover of the basket washing device of Figure 1, and Figure 8 is an exploded oblique view of the lid portion and basket pressing portion of the basket washing device of Figure 1. In the figure, 1 is a shopping cart cleaning device, 2 is an outer cover, 2a is a top panel, 2am is a window, 2b is a side panel, 2c is a bottom panel, 3 is a lid, 3a is a lid plate, 3b is a frame material, 3c is a handle, 3d and 3e are hinges, 4 is a partition plate, 4a is a shaft hole, 4b and 4c are pipe holes, 4d is a drain hole, 5 is a cleaning drum, 5a is a mouth, 5ak is an opening, 5b is a body, 5bh is a hole, 5bm is an inlet, 5c is the bottom, 5ch is the shaft hole, 5ck is the drain port, 6 is the lid receiving member, 6a is the flat plate, 6ak is the opening, 6b is the receiving frame, 7 is the basket holder, 7a is the upper frame, 7b is the lower frame, 7c is the side frame, 7d is the lattice bar, 7e is the mounting plate, 8 is the rotating plate, 9 is the geared motor, 9a is the output shaft, 10 is the tank, 10a is the hole, 10b is the drop port, 10c is the hole, 11 is the pump, 11a is the suction port, 11b is The numeral 11c denotes a discharge port, 12 denotes a cleaning pipe, 12a denotes an outlet, 13 denotes a connecting pipe, 14 denotes a rinsing pipe, 14a denotes a rinsing port, 14b denotes a supply port, 15 denotes a drain damper, 15a denotes a box, 15b denotes a motor, 16 denotes an overflow pipe, 18 denotes a basket holder, 18a denotes a holder member, 18a1 denotes an outer ring, 18a2 to 18a5 denote lattice bars, 18b denotes a spring, 18c denotes a support shaft, 18d and 18e denote clamping plates, 18dh and 18eh denote shaft holes, 18f denotes a blade plate, 118f1 denotes a base plate, 18f2 to 18f5 denote blades, 18fh denotes a shaft hole, 18g denotes a circular plate, and 19 denotes a control box. In the figure, X denotes the left-right direction, Y denotes the direction perpendicular to the X direction and the horizontal direction (front-back direction), and Z denotes the direction perpendicular to the horizontal plane (XY plane) (up-down direction). As shown in the figure, the shopping basket cleaning device 1 comprises an outer cover 2, a lid portion 3, a partition plate 4, a cleaning drum 5, a lid receiving member 6, a basket holder 7, a rotating plate 8, a geared motor 9, a tank 10, a pump 11, a cleaning pipe 12, a connecting pipe 13, a rinsing pipe 14, a drain damper 15, an overflow pipe 16, a water supply pipe 17, a basket holder portion 18, and a control box 19.

[0030] The outer cover 2 is a roughly cubic box that houses the cleaning drum 5, tank 10, etc., and has a top panel 2a, side panels 2b, and a bottom panel 2c as shown in Figures 1, 7, etc., and a window 2am is provided in the top panel 2a. The lid portion 3 opens and closes the windows 2am etc. of the outer cover 2, and is equipped with a cover plate 3a, a frame material 3b, and a handle 3c, with the cover plate 3a attached to the top plate 2a with hinges 3d and 3e, the frame material 3b attached to the underside of the cover plate 3a, and the handle 3c attached to the top surface of the cover plate 3a. The partition plate 4 is a plate that separates the internal space of the outer cover into upper and lower sections, and is attached to the inner surface of the side panel 2b as shown in Figure 4. The partition plate 4 has a shaft hole 4a, pipe holes 4b and 4c, and a drainage hole 4d as shown in Figure 6. The cleaning drum 5 is a cleaning tank of the present invention used to clean shopping baskets, etc., and consists of a mouth 5a, a body 5b, and a bottom 5c as shown in Figures 4 and 5, with the mouth 5a having an opening 5ak, the body 5b having an inlet 5bm and multiple holes 5bh, and the bottom 5c having an axial hole 5ch and a drain outlet 5ck as shown in Figures 2 and 4, and the bottom 5c is fixed to the partition plate 4 so that the axial hole 5ch is located at the position of the axial hole 4a and the drain outlet 5ck is located at the position of the drain hole 4d. The lid receiving member 6 serves as a receiving member for the lid portion 3, and comprises an approximately square flat plate 6a and a receiving frame 6b provided on the periphery of the flat plate 6a, with an opening 6ak provided in the flat plate 6a, and the flat plate 6a being fixed to the mouth portion 5a of the cleaning drum 5.

[0031] The basket holder 7 holds the bottom shopping basket of a stack of multiple shopping baskets stacked vertically, and as shown in Figure 5, it comprises an approximately rectangular upper frame 7a, a lower frame 7b that is similar to the upper frame 7a but has sides that are slightly shorter than the upper frame 7a, eight side frames 7c that connect the upper frame 7a and the lower frame 7b, four lattice bars 7d that connect the opposing sides of the lower frame 7b, and a mounting plate 7e fixed to the central rectangular frame formed by the lattice bars 7d. The upper frame 7a, lower frame 7b, side frame 7c, and lattice bars 7d are made of linear members such as metal bars, and are joined together by welding or the like. The rotating plate 8 is the rotating body of the present invention, and the lower surface of the mounting plate 7e of the basket holder 7 is fixed to the upper surface thereof. The geared motor 9 is the rotating body rotation means of the present invention, and is installed on an installation stand (not shown) attached to the bottom plate 2c of the outer cover 2, and the output shaft 9a passes through the shaft hole 4a of the partition plate 4 and the shaft hole 5ch of the bottom 5c.A rotating plate 8 is attached to the tip of the output shaft 9a located inside the cleaning drum 5, and the rotating plate 8 is attached inside the cleaning drum 5 via the output shaft 9a. As a result, when the geared motor 9 is operated and the output shaft 9a rotates, the rotating plate 8 and the basket holder 7 fixed thereto rotate within the washing drum 5. In this case, a seal member (not shown) is provided between the output shaft 9a and the shaft hole 5ch to prevent the cleaning liquid in the cleaning drum 5 from leaking into the outer cover 2 through the shaft hole 5ch.

[0032] Tank 10 is the cleaning liquid tank of the present invention, and stores cleaning liquid to be used to clean shopping baskets. As shown in Figure 6, tank 10 is a box-shaped body with an L-shaped horizontal cross section, and is fixed to the bottom plate 2c of outer cover 2. On each side of tank 10, a drop port 10b is provided on the top surface, a hole 10a is provided on the right side perpendicular to the X direction, and a hole 10c is provided at the top of the left side. In addition, a heater (not shown) is attached inside the tank 10 to heat the cleaning liquid stored therein. The pump 11 supplies the cleaning liquid in the tank 10 into the cleaning drum 5, and is installed on an installation stand (not shown) attached to the bottom plate 2c of the outer cover 2, and the suction port 11a of the pump 11 is connected to the hole 10a of the tank 10 via a pipe 11c. The cleaning pipe 12 is a pipe for supplying cleaning liquid into the cleaning drum 5, and is attached between the outer cover 2 and the cleaning drum 5. An outlet 12a of the washing pipe 12 is connected to an inlet 5bm of the washing drum 5, and a lower portion of the washing pipe 12 passes through a hole 4b in the partition plate 4 and protrudes below the partition plate 4. The connecting pipe 13 is a pipe that connects the pump 11 and the cleaning pipe 12, and one end of the connecting pipe 13 is connected to the discharge port 11b of the pump 11, and the other end of the connecting pipe 13 is connected to the cleaning pipe 12 that protrudes below the partition plate 4. As a result, the pump 11, the cleaning pipe 12 and the connecting pipe 13 constitute the cleaning liquid supply means of the present invention, and when the pump 11 is operated, the cleaning liquid in the tank 10 is sucked in through the suction port 11a, and the cleaning liquid discharged from the discharge port 11b is transported to the cleaning pipe 12 via the connecting pipe 13, and the cleaning liquid is supplied into the cleaning drum 5 from the outlet 12a (inlet 5bm). The rinsing pipe 14 is a pipe that supplies rinsing liquid into the washing drum 5. The pipe portion of the rinsing pipe 14 that extends in the Z direction has multiple rinsing ports 14a as shown in FIG. 4, and the rinsing ports 14a are connected to holes 5bh in the body portion 5b of the washing drum 5. Furthermore, supply port 14b of rinsing pipe 14 is connected to a tap water supply pipe (described later) via a solenoid valve (described later). As a result, the tap water supply pipe, the solenoid valve, and the rinse pipe 14 constitute the rinse liquid supply means of the present invention, and when the solenoid valve is operated to allow tap water to flow from the tap water supply pipe into the rinse pipe 14, tap water that serves as rinse liquid is supplied into the washing drum 5 from the rinse port 14a. The tank 10 may have an open top surface and the open top surface of the tank 10 may be closed by the partition plate 4, in which case the drop opening 10b is not necessary.

[0033] The drain damper 15 is the cleaning liquid discharge means of the present invention, and is equipped with a box 15a, a motor 15b, and a pipe 15c. Inside the box 15a, an opening / closing plate (not shown) is attached that rotates between a horizontal position (closed position) and an inclined position (open position). The box 15a is fitted into the drain outlet 5ck of the cleaning drum 5 and the drain hole 4d of the partition plate 4 and attached to the bottom 5c of the cleaning drum 5, and the motor 15b is attached to the front of the box 15a and rotates the opening and closing plate to form an opening facing the drop port 10b of the tank 10. As a result, when the cleaning drum 5 is filled with cleaning liquid and the shopping cart is being washed, the drain damper 15 does not operate and the opening and closing plate in the box 15a is in a horizontal position (closed position), and when the cleaning of the shopping cart is finished and the cleaning liquid in the cleaning drum 5 is discharged, the drain damper 15 operates and the opening and closing plate rotates and opens to an inclined position (open position) by the motor 15b, and the cleaning liquid in the cleaning drum 5 falls into the drop port 10b and moves into the tank 10. The overflow pipe 16 is a pipe that discharges the cleaning liquid (rinse liquid) that overflows from the hole 10c of the tank 10 to the outside of the tank 10, and one end of the overflow pipe 16 is connected to the hole 10c.

[0034] The basket pressing portion 18 serves as the basket pressing means of the present invention, and as shown in FIG. 8, includes a pressing member 18a, a spring 18b, a support shaft 18c, clamping plates 18d and 18e, a blade plate 18f, and a disk 18g. The pressing member 18a is made up of a circular outer ring 18a1 and four lattice bars 18a2 to 18a5, and a clamping plate 18e is fixed to the central rectangular frame formed by the lattice bars 18a2 to 18a5. The outer ring 18a1 and the grid bars 18a2 to 18a5 are made of linear members such as metal bars, and are joined together by welding or the like. The spring 18b is an elastic member of the present invention, and is a compression coil spring with an effective number of turns of 2 to 20 and a free length of 10 to 200 mm. The clamping plates 18d and 18e are square plates that clamp the spring 18b, and are provided at the center with shaft holes 18dh and 18eh through which the support shaft 18c passes. Slat plate 18f is a plate that blows away rinsing liquid that drops from the inner surface of lid portion 3 during spin-drying, and includes base plate 18f1 and four blades 18a2 to 18f5 attached to the upper surface of base plate 18f1 (the surface facing lid plate 3a), with shaft hole 18fh through which support shaft 18c passes provided in the center of base plate 18f1, and base plate 18f1 being fixed to clamp plate 18e with bolts and nuts, etc. In Figure 4, slat plate 18f is shown in gray for ease of illustration. The blades 18a2 to 18f5 are formed by bending a rectangular thin plate into a V shape and attaching one side surface to the substrate 18f1, so that the surface of the blades 18a2 to 18f5 protruding from the substrate 18f1 faces upward (towards the lid portion 3). In the basket holding portion 18, as shown in FIG. 4, the upper end of the support shaft 18c is fixed to the center of the underside of the lid portion 3 (lid plate 3a), and a clamping plate 18d, a spring 18b, a clamping plate 18e, and a blade plate 18f are inserted into the support shaft 18c in this order, and a disk 18g is attached to the lower end of the support shaft 18c, pressing against the base plate 18f1 of the blade plate 18f. In this case, bearings (not shown) are attached between the support shaft 18 and the clamping plates 18d, 18e, etc. so that the clamping plate 18d, spring 18b, clamping plate 18e, and blade plate 18f sandwiched between the underside of the lid portion 3 (lid plate 3a) and the disk 18g can rotate freely around the support shaft 18c as a unit. As a result, when the stacked shopping baskets held by the basket holder 7 inside the washing drum 5 rotate during washing and the top shopping basket is lifted and presses against the outer ring 18a1 of the pressing member 18a, the spring 18b is compressed and the stacked shopping baskets are lifted, and the clamping plate 18d, spring 18b, clamping plate 18e and blade plate 18f rotate together with the stacked shopping baskets around the support shaft 18c. The blade plate 18f may be attached between the pressing member 18a and the clamping plate 18e.

[0035] Figure 9 is a piping control diagram showing the piping system and control system of the shopping cart cleaning device 1, in which 19a is a control unit, 19b is an input / display unit, 19c is a memory unit, 20 is an electromagnetic valve, and 21 is a water pipe, and in the figure, electrical wiring is represented by dashed double-dashed lines. Regarding the piping system, a washing pipe 12 and a rinsing pipe 14 are connected to the washing drum 5, and the rinsing pipe 14 is connected to a water pipe 21 via an electromagnetic valve 20. A drain damper 15 is also attached to the washing drum 5. An intake port 11 a of a pump 11 and an overflow pipe 16 are connected to the tank 10 , and an outlet port 11 b of the pump 11 is connected to a cleaning pipe 12 via a connecting pipe 13 . As a result, the cleaning liquid in the tank 10 is transported by the pump 11 to the cleaning pipe 12, and the cleaning liquid is supplied from the cleaning pipe 12 to the cleaning drum 5, and the cleaning liquid in the cleaning drum 5 falls from the drain damper 15 into the drop port 10b and is returned to the tank 10. In addition, tap water (rinse liquid) is supplied from water pipe 21 to rinsing pipe 14 via solenoid valve 20, and tap water (rinse liquid) is supplied from rinsing pipe 14 to washing drum 5. The tap water (rinse liquid) in washing drum 5 is returned to tank 10 via drain damper 15 and pipe 15c, and tap water (rinse liquid) or washing liquid that overflows within tank 10 is discharged outside tank 10 through overflow pipe 16.

[0036] Regarding the control system, the control box 19 includes a control unit 19a, an input / display unit 19b, and a storage unit 19c. The control unit 19a is connected to the geared motor 9, the pump 11, the motor 15b, and the solenoid valve 20. The control unit 19a serves as the cleaning control means of the present invention, and controls the operation of the geared motor 9 during the main cleaning, rinsing and spin-drying of the shopping cart to control the rotation of the rotating plate 8, controls the operation of the pump 11 to control the start and stop of the supply of cleaning liquid to the cleaning drum 5, controls the operation of the drain damper 15 (motor 15b) to control the return of cleaning liquid (rinse liquid) from the cleaning drum 5 to the tank 10, and controls the operation of the solenoid valve 20 to control the start and stop of the supply of tap water (rinse liquid) to the cleaning drum 5. The input display unit 19b has a touch panel display screen, and displays various screens for operating the shopping basket cleaning device 1, etc. The storage unit 19c stores various parameters for the control unit 19a to control the operations of the geared motor 9, the pump 11, the motor 15b, the solenoid valve 20, and the like.

[0037] [Shopping cart, stacked shopping cart] Figure 10(a) is an oblique view of a shopping basket to be washed by the shopping basket washing device 1, and Figure 10(b) is a front view of the shopping basket shown in Figure 10(a). In the figure, 30 is the shopping basket, 31 is the basket body, 31a is the upper frame, 31b is the lower frame, 31c is the side frame, 32a and 32b are handles, and 33a to 33d are handle mounting parts. In the figure, X is the left-right direction, Y is the direction perpendicular to the X direction and the horizontal direction (front-back direction), and Z is the direction perpendicular to the horizontal plane (XY plane) (up-down direction). As shown in FIG. 10, shopping basket 30 is made of plastic such as polyethylene or polypropylene, and includes basket body 31, handles 32a and 32b, and handle attachment portions 33a to 33d. The basket body 31 comprises an upper frame 31a having a substantially rectangular shape, a lower frame 31b similar to the upper frame 31a but with the length of each side slightly shorter than that of the upper frame 31a, and four side frames 31c connecting the four corners of the upper frame 31a and the four corners of the lower frame 31b. Of the six surfaces formed by the upper frame 31a, the lower frame 31b and the side frames 31c, all except the top surface are mesh-like or lattice-like, and the top surface is open. Upper frame 31a of basket body 31 is provided with handle attachment portions 33a to 33d, with left handle 32a attached to handle attachment portions 33a and 33b, and right handle 32b attached to handle attachment portions 33c and 33d. The size of the shopping basket 30 is usually 450 to 570 mm in width (length in the X direction), 330 to 370 mm in depth (length in the Y direction), and 230 to 260 mm in height (length in the Z direction).

[0038] Figure 11(a) is an oblique view of a stacked shopping basket in which 10 shopping baskets 30 shown in Figure 10 are stacked vertically, Figure 11(b) is a front view of the stacked shopping basket shown in Figure 11(a), and Figure 11(c) is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view of the stacked shopping basket shown in Figure 11(a) in the left-right direction (X direction), in which 30A to 30J are shopping baskets and 40 is a stacked shopping basket. In the shopping baskets 30 (30A to 30J), the upper frame 31a and the lower frame 31b are similar in shape, and the length of each side of the lower frame 31b is slightly shorter than that of the upper frame 31a; in other words, the cross-sectional shape is an isosceles trapezoid.When stacked vertically, the upper shopping basket fits almost completely inside the lower shopping basket, and as shown in Figure 11(b), the increased height h (the height from the top surface of the bottom shopping basket 30A to the top surface of the top shopping basket 30J) of a stacked shopping basket 40 made up of 10 shopping baskets 30A to 30J stacked vertically is less than the height H of a single shopping basket. In this case, in stacked shopping baskets 40, as shown in Figure 11(c), the inner surface of the side of the lower shopping basket and the outer surface of the side of the upper shopping basket, for example, the inner surface of the side of shopping basket 30A and the outer surface of the side of shopping basket 30B, will be in close contact or in close proximity.

[0039] [Shopping basket cleaning method using shopping basket cleaning device 1] Next, a method for cleaning the shopping basket 30 (stacked shopping baskets 40) using the shopping basket cleaning device 1 will be described. The method for washing the shopping basket 30 comprises a main washing step in which dirt and germs adhering to the shopping basket 30 are washed off with a washing liquid, a rinsing step in which the washing liquid adhering to the shopping basket 30 in the main washing step is washed off with a rinsing liquid, and a dehydration step in which the rinsing liquid adhering to the shopping basket 30 in the rinsing step is removed. The washing step, rinsing step and spin-drying step will be described below. [Main cleaning process] First, the drain damper 15 is opened to drop the cleaning liquid from the cleaning drum through the drop port 10b and pour the cleaning liquid into the tank 10, and then the shopping baskets to be washed are stacked vertically to prepare stacked shopping baskets. Specifically, a stackable shopping basket 40 is prepared by stacking ten shopping baskets 30 (shopping baskets 30A to 30J). Next, the cover plate 3a of the cover portion 3 of the shopping basket washing device 1 is opened to open the window 2am, the stacked shopping baskets 40 are placed into the washing drum 5 through the opening 5ak of the washing drum 5 and set in the basket holder 7, and the cover plate 3a is closed to lock the cover portion 3 so that it cannot be opened. FIG. 12 is a vertical cross-sectional view in the X direction of the shopping basket cleaning device with stacked shopping baskets 40 set in the basket holder 7 and the cover plate 3a closed, and in the figure, CL is the cleaning liquid. As shown in Figure 12, the bottom shopping basket 30A of the stacked shopping baskets 40 is placed inside the frame (upper frame 7a, lower frame 7b, side frame 7c) of the basket holder 7 and placed on the mounting plate 7e, so that the bottom shopping basket 30A does not move relative to the frame of the basket holder 7. Furthermore, the pressing member 18a of the basket pressing section 18 lightly presses the top surface of the top shopping basket 30J of the stacked shopping baskets 40, and the spring 18b is in a compressed state, but the pressing member 18a may be separated from the top surface of the shopping basket 30J, and the spring 18b may not press against the shopping basket 30J and may not be compressed. In this case, in stacked shopping baskets 40, if the Z-direction (vertical) position of the top surface of the bottom shopping basket 30A is PA1 and the Z-direction position of the top surface of the top shopping basket 30J is PJ1, the relationship between positions PA1 and PJ1 is as shown in Figure 12, and the distance between the two positions is h (see Figure 11(b)).As shown in Figure 11(c), when two shopping baskets are stacked vertically, the inner surface of the side of the lower shopping basket and the outer surface of the side of the upper shopping basket are in close contact or in close proximity. Here, when the operator operates the input display unit 19b of the control box 19 and presses the start button, the control unit 19a activates a heater (not shown) installed in the tank 10 to heat the cleaning liquid CL in the tank 10. When the temperature of the cleaning liquid CL reaches a set temperature, for example, 60 degrees, a temperature sensor (not shown) sends a detection signal to the control unit 19a, and the control unit 19a activates the pump 11. The pump 11 pumps up the cleaning liquid CL in the tank 10 , carries the cleaning liquid CL to the cleaning pipe 12 via the connecting pipe 13 , and supplies the cleaning liquid CL from the cleaning pipe 12 into the cleaning drum 5 . When a predetermined amount of cleaning liquid CL in the tank 10 is supplied to the cleaning drum 5, a water level meter (not shown) installed in the tank 10 sends a detection signal to the control unit 19a, and the control unit 19a stops the operation of the pump 11, thereby stopping the supply of cleaning liquid CL into the cleaning drum. At this time, the cleaning drum 5 is filled with the cleaning liquid CL, and the stacked shopping baskets 40 are entirely immersed in the cleaning liquid CL.

[0040] Next, the control unit 19a operates the geared motor 9 to rotate the output shaft 9a, causing the rotating plate 8 inside the cleaning drum 5 and the basket holder 7 fixed thereto to rotate, thereby rotating the stacked shopping baskets 40. At this time, the lowest shopping basket 30A does not move relative to the basket holder, and therefore does not move relative to the rotating plate 8 in the rotation direction. Figure 13 is a graph showing an example of the change in the rotation speed of the rotating plate 8 (output shaft 9a) over time in one cycle, where (a) shows the case where the rotating plate 8 rotates in only one direction, and (b) shows the case where the rotating plate 8 rotates in different directions, with the vertical axis representing the rotation speed (rpm) and the horizontal axis representing the elapsed time (seconds). When the rotating plate 8 rotates in only one direction (forward rotation clockwise), as shown in Figure 13(a), the rotation of the rotating plate 8 increases in speed, and when it reaches N rpm after t1 seconds, it continues to rotate at that rotation speed, then decelerates after t2 seconds, and after t3 seconds the rotation speed becomes 0, completing one cycle. In this cleaning process, the rotating plate 8 rotates in a fixed direction, and repeats a cycle of increasing speed, a fixed speed, and decelerating a predetermined number of times. When the rotating plate 8 changes its rotation direction, as shown in Figure 13(b), the rotating plate 8 initially rotates clockwise in the forward direction, and its rotation speed increases. After t1 seconds, it reaches N rpm, whereupon it continues rotating in the forward direction at that rotation speed, decelerates after t2 seconds, and after t3 seconds, the rotation speed becomes 0, and it starts rotating counterclockwise in the reverse direction, and its rotation speed increases. After t4 seconds, it reaches -N rpm, whereon it continues rotating in the reverse direction at that rotation speed, decelerates after t5 seconds, and after t6 seconds, the rotation speed becomes 0, completing one cycle. In this case, N is preferably about 50 to 200, and t1 to t6 are preferably about 1 to 10. In this cleaning step, the rotating plate 8 rotates forward, increases its speed, then decreases its speed to a constant speed, and then decreases its speed to a reverse speed, then increases its speed to a constant speed, and then decreases its speed, and this cycle is repeated a predetermined number of times. In this case, the stacked shopping baskets 40 rotate as the rotating plate 8 rotates, but when the stacked shopping baskets 40 rotate (forward or reverse), the sides of each shopping basket 30A to 30J are slightly inclined with respect to the Z direction, so a force (hereinafter referred to as a "lifting force") acts from the cleaning liquid CL to lift the sides of each shopping basket 30A to 30J, and this lifting force becomes stronger the higher the rotation speed of the stacked shopping baskets 40, i.e., the faster the flow of cleaning liquid CL to the stacked shopping baskets 40. On the other hand, when the stackable shopping basket 40 is lifted, the pressing member 18a in the basket pressing portion 18 is lifted and the spring 18b is compressed, and a force that tries to press the stackable shopping basket 40 down (hereinafter referred to as a "pressing force") acts. As a result, the rotation (forward or reverse) of the stacked shopping basket 40 increases, the lifting force acting on the stacked shopping basket 40 increases, and when this lifting force becomes greater than the downward force of the pressure member 18a, the stacked shopping basket 40 is lifted by the amount that the spring 18b compresses. In the main cleaning process of the shopping basket cleaning device 1, the rotation of the stacked shopping baskets 40 is accelerated until the lifting force becomes greater than the downward force, and the stacked shopping baskets 40 are lifted a certain distance, that is, by the maximum contraction amount of the springs 18b. FIG. 14 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the shopping basket cleaning device in the X direction with the stacked shopping baskets 40 raised by a certain distance. When the stacked shopping baskets 40 are lifted, the position in the Z direction (vertical direction) of the top surface of the bottom shopping basket 30A is PA2, and the position in the Z direction of the top surface of the top shopping basket 30J is PJ2.The relationship between the positions PA1, PJ1 and the positions PA2, PJ2 before the stacked shopping baskets 40 are lifted is as shown in Figure 14, and the stacked shopping baskets 40 are lifted by a certain distance δ.

[0041] In this way, when the rotation (forward or reverse) of the stacked shopping basket 40 increases in speed, the stacked shopping basket 40 is lifted by a certain distance δ, but when the rotation (forward or reverse) of the stacked shopping basket 40 becomes constant speed, the state of being lifted by the certain distance δ continues. On the other hand, when the rotation (forward or reverse) of the stacked shopping baskets 40 slows down, the lifting force acting on the stacked shopping baskets 40 decreases and becomes smaller than the pushing force, and the stacked shopping baskets 40 are pushed down to their original position and descend. Therefore, the control unit 19a controls the operation of the geared motor 9, and rotates the stackable shopping basket 40 in a certain direction as shown in Figure 13, repeatedly increasing and decreasing the speed, or changes the direction of rotation of the stackable shopping basket 40 to repeatedly rotate forward and backward, so that the stackable shopping basket 40 repeats up and down movement, being lifted up a certain distance δ in the vertical direction while rotating and then lowered to its original position. As the stacked shopping baskets 40 rotate and move up and down repeatedly, the sides of the shopping baskets 30A to 30J, which are stacked one on top of the other and in close contact or close proximity, separate, creating gaps on the sides of each shopping basket 30A to 30J. Cleaning liquid can then seep into these gaps and wash away any dirt or germs adhering to the sides of each shopping basket 30A to 30J, completely removing any dirt or germs adhering to each shopping basket 30A to 30J. In particular, when the stacked shopping baskets 40 are repeatedly rotated forward and backward, when the rotation switches from forward to reverse, the flow direction of the cleaning liquid CL to the stacked shopping baskets 40 is reversed, causing significant disruption to the flow, allowing for more complete removal of dirt and germs adhering to each shopping basket 30A to 30J. Furthermore, since the stacked shopping baskets 40 are rotated by the basket holders 7, the shopping baskets 30A to 30J are not damaged by being thrown about during washing. In this manner, during the cleaning process, the control unit 19a controls the operation of the geared motor 9, and after repeating the cycle of rotating the stacked shopping baskets 40 forward and then reverse a predetermined number of times, the operation of the geared motor 9 is stopped, thereby completing the cleaning process.

[0042] [Rinsing process] When the main washing process is completed, the control unit 19a operates the motor 15b of the drain damper 15 to rotate the opening / closing plate in the box 15a to the open position, causing the washing liquid in the washing drum 5 to drop into the drop port 10b, move into the tank 10, and be discharged. When all the cleaning liquid in the washing drum 5 has been discharged, a water level meter installed in the tank 10 sends a detection signal to the control unit 19a, and the control unit 19a activates and opens the solenoid valve 20, thereby supplying tap water from the water pipe 21 to the rinsing pipe 14 as a rinsing liquid, and the supply of tap water from the rinsing pipe 14 to the washing drum 5 begins. At the same time, the control unit 19a operates the geared motor 9 to rotate the output shaft 9a in a fixed direction at a fixed speed, thereby rotating the stacked shopping basket 40 via the rotating plate 8 and the basket holder 7 fixed thereto. As a result, tap water flowing out from the rinsing pipe 14 hits the rotating stacked shopping baskets 40, rinsing the stacked shopping baskets 40 to wash away the cleaning liquid adhering to the stacked shopping baskets 40. At this time, the tap water that flows out from the rinse pipe 14 and falls after hitting the stacked shopping baskets 40 is returned to the tank 10 via the drain damper 15 and pipe 15c, and the tap water and cleaning liquid that overflows within the tank 10 is discharged outside the tank 10 through the overflow pipe 16. Then, after a certain time has elapsed since the stacked shopping baskets 40 started to rotate, the control unit 19a activates and closes the solenoid valve 20, stops the supply of tap water from the water pipe 21 to the rinse pipe 14, and stops the supply of tap water from the rinse pipe 14 to the washing drum 5, thereby completing the rinsing process.

[0043] [Dehydration process] When the rinsing process is completed, the control unit 19a controls the operation of the geared motor 9 to increase the rotation speed of the output shaft 9a, for example, to 500 rpm or more, and rotates the stacked shopping baskets 40 at high speed via the rotating plate 8 and the basket holder 7 fixed thereto. This causes tap water adhering to the stacked shopping baskets 40 to be blown away, and the stacked shopping baskets 40 are dehydrated. Furthermore, the rinsing liquid that falls along the inner surface of the lid portion 3 is blown away by the rotating blades 18f, preventing the falling rinsing liquid from splashing onto the stacked shopping baskets 40. Then, after a certain time has elapsed since the stacked shopping baskets 40 began to rotate at high speed, the control unit 19a stops the operation of the geared motor 9, stopping the rotation of the stacked shopping baskets 40 and stopping the stacked shopping baskets 40 at a certain position, thereby completing the dehydration process. After the spin-drying process is completed, the stacked shopping baskets 40 set in the basket holder 7 can be easily removed from the washing drum 5 by unlocking the lid portion 3 and opening the lid plate 3a.

[0044] As described above, the shopping basket washing device 1 has a compact structure in which the washing drum 5, tank 10, etc. are stored within the outer cover 2, so the device is not large and does not require much installation space.In addition, in the shopping basket washing device 1, the control unit 19a controls the operation of the geared motor 9, drain damper 15 (motor 15b), solenoid valve 20, etc. to perform the main washing process, rinsing process, and spin-drying process on stacked shopping baskets 40 set in the basket holder 7 inside the washing drum 5.This means that multiple shopping baskets can be processed at once without having to remove them from the washing drum 5 midway through, and dirt and germs attached to each shopping basket can be efficiently and completely removed in a short time without damaging the shopping baskets, and multiple shopping baskets that have been washed can be easily removed. [Industrial Applicability]

[0045] To provide a shopping basket washing method and a shopping basket washing device according to the present invention, which can wash shopping baskets with a washing device without making the device large-scale and requiring no installation space, and can wash a plurality of shopping baskets at once, completely remove dirt and germs from the shopping baskets without damaging the shopping baskets during washing, and can be used to wash shopping baskets used in supermarkets, convenience stores, home improvement centers, drug stores, etc. [Explanation of symbols]

[0046] 1. Shopping basket cleaning device 2 Outer cover 2a Top plate 2am window 2b Side plate 2c Bottom plate 3 Lid 3a Lid plate 3b Frame material 3c Handle 3d, 3e hinge 4 Dividers 4a shaft hole 4b, 4c pipe holes 4d drainage hole 5 Washing drum 5a Mouth 5ak aperture 5b Torso 5bh hole 5bm inlet 5c bottom 5ch shaft hole 5ck drain 6 Lid holder 6a flat plate 6ak aperture 6b Acceptance slot 7 Basket holder 7a Upper frame 7b Bottom frame 7c side frame 7d grid bar 7e Mounting plate 8 Rotating Plate 9 Geared motor 9a output shaft 10 Tank 10a hole 10b Drop opening 11 Pump 11a Inlet 11b Discharge port 11c pipe 12 Cleaning pipe 12a Outlet 13 Connecting pipe 14 Rinse pipe 14a Rinse port 14b Supply port 15 Drainage damper 15a Box 15b Motor 16 Overflow pipe 18 Basket holder 18a Pressing member 18a1 Outer Ring 18a2~18a5 Lattice bar 18b spring 18c support shaft 18d, 18e clamping plate 18dh, 18eh shaft hole 18f Slats 118f1 board 18f2~18f5 Feather 8fh shaft hole 18g disc 19 Control Box 19a Control section 19b Input display section 19c storage section 20 Solenoid valve 21 Water Pipe 30 Shopping Cart 30A~30J Shopping Cart 31 Basket body 31a Upper frame 31b Lower frame 31c Side Frame 32a, 32b Handle 33a~33d Handle mounting part 40 Stacked Shopping Carts

Claims

1. A shopping basket washing method for washing stacked shopping baskets, which are made up of multiple shopping baskets stacked vertically, in a washing tank using a shopping basket washing device comprising a washing tank, a rotor attached within the washing tank, rotor rotating means for rotating the rotor, and washing liquid supply means for supplying washing liquid into the washing tank, a cleaning liquid supplying step of supplying the cleaning liquid from the cleaning liquid supply means into the cleaning tank and immersing the stack of shopping baskets in the cleaning liquid while the stack of shopping baskets is placed on the rotating body so that the bottom shopping basket does not move in the rotational direction relative to the rotating body; a main cleaning step in which the stacked shopping baskets are rotated by the rotor rotating means via the rotor, the rotation of the stacked shopping baskets is accelerated to cause the cleaning solution to generate a force that lifts each shopping basket of the stacked shopping baskets, and after the stacked shopping baskets have been lifted a certain distance, the rotation of the stacked shopping baskets is decelerated to lower the stacked shopping baskets that have been lifted a certain distance to their original positions, and the acceleration and deceleration of the rotation of the stacked shopping baskets are alternately repeated to clean each shopping basket of the stacked shopping baskets; A method for cleaning a shopping cart, comprising:

2. 2. The shopping basket cleaning method according to claim 1, wherein the rotor rotating means alternately rotates the stacked shopping baskets clockwise in a forward direction and counterclockwise in a reverse direction via the rotor, and after the forward rotation or the reverse rotation starts, the rotation of the stacked shopping baskets is accelerated so that the stacked shopping baskets are lifted a certain distance, and the rotation of the stacked shopping baskets is decelerated so that when switching from the forward rotation to the reverse rotation or from the reverse rotation to the forward rotation, the stacked shopping baskets that have been lifted a certain distance are lowered to their original position, thereby alternately repeating acceleration and deceleration of the rotation of the stacked shopping baskets.

3. The shopping basket cleaning device includes a shopping basket holder that holds down the top shopping basket of the stack of shopping baskets placed on the rotating body in a vertical direction, 3. A shopping basket cleaning method according to claim 1, wherein in the main cleaning step, when the stacked shopping baskets are lifted by the predetermined distance, the shopping basket holding means holds down the top shopping basket with a force smaller than the lifting force.

4. The shopping cart cleaning device further includes a rinse liquid supply means for supplying a rinse liquid into the cleaning tank, A shopping basket cleaning method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that after the main cleaning process, a rinsing process is provided in which the cleaning liquid is discharged from the cleaning tank, the stacked shopping baskets are rotated via the rotor by the rotor rotation means, and the rinsing liquid is sprayed onto the stacked shopping baskets by the rinsing liquid supply means to rinse the stacked shopping baskets.

5. 5. A shopping basket cleaning method according to claim 4, further comprising a dewatering step, after the rinsing step, in which the rotor rotating means rotates the stacked shopping baskets at high speed via the rotor, thereby removing the rinsing liquid adhering to the stacked shopping baskets.

6. A shopping cart washing device comprising: a washing tank having an opening; a lid for closing the opening; a rotor attached to the washing tank; rotor rotating means for rotating the rotor; a washing liquid tank for storing washing liquid; a washing liquid supply means for supplying the washing liquid from the washing liquid tank into the washing tank; and a washing control means, A basket holder is attached to the rotating body to hold the bottom shopping basket of a stack of shopping baskets, in which multiple shopping baskets are stacked vertically, so that it does not move in the rotational direction relative to the rotating body, The cleaning control means controls the operation of the cleaning liquid supply means and the rotor rotation means so that the cleaning liquid is supplied to the cleaning tank by the cleaning liquid supply means, the stacked shopping baskets held by the basket holder and placed on the rotor are immersed in the cleaning liquid, the rotor rotation means rotates the stacked shopping baskets via the rotor, and the speed of the rotation of the stacked shopping baskets is alternately increased and decreased to perform a main cleaning of the stacked shopping baskets, a basket holding means for holding down the top shopping basket of the stacked shopping baskets placed on the rotating body in a vertical direction is attached to the lid portion; The shopping basket washing device is characterized in that, during the main washing, the basket holding means lifts the stacked shopping baskets a certain distance when the rotation speed of the stacked shopping baskets increases, and holds down the top shopping basket so that the stacked shopping basket that has been lifted a certain distance returns to its original position when the rotation speed of the stacked shopping baskets decreases.

7. 7. The shopping basket cleaning device according to claim 6, wherein the cleaning control means controls the operation of the rotor rotation means so as to alternately increase and decrease the speed of rotation of the stacked shopping baskets by alternately repeating forward rotation, which rotates the stacked shopping baskets clockwise, and reverse rotation, which rotates the stacked shopping baskets counterclockwise.

8. 8. The shopping basket cleaning device according to claim 6, wherein the basket pressing means comprises a pressing member that is movable relative to the underside of the lid portion, and an elastic member that presses the pressing member against the top shopping basket.

9. The shopping cart cleaning device further includes a cleaning liquid discharge means for discharging the cleaning liquid from the cleaning tank and a rinsing liquid supply means for supplying a rinsing liquid into the cleaning tank, The shopping basket cleaning device described in claim 6, characterized in that the cleaning control means controls the operation of the cleaning liquid discharge means, the rotor rotation means, and the rinsing liquid supply means so that after the main cleaning, the cleaning liquid discharge means discharges the cleaning liquid from the cleaning tank, the rotor rotation means rotates the stacked shopping baskets via the rotor, and the rinsing liquid supply means sprays the rinsing liquid onto the stacked shopping baskets to rinse the stacked shopping baskets.

10. The shopping basket washing device according to claim 9, characterized in that the cleaning control means controls the operation of the rotor rotation means so that after the rinsing, the rotor rotation means rotates the stacked shopping baskets at high speed via the rotor, and performs dehydration to remove the rinsing liquid adhering to the stacked shopping baskets.

Images