Container Cleaner Nozzle Control for Targeted Internal Washing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing container cleaners face issues such as complex mechanical designs, excessive water consumption, risk of fluid leakage, and inefficient cleaning due to non-even water jet power and manual intervention requirements.
Innovation Solution
A container cleaner with a nozzle that can independently pan and tilt, controlled by drives located away from the nozzle, using a support structure and fluid pipe mechanism to facilitate precise cleaning paths without hydraulic or electrical components inside the container.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If complex mechanical designs with sealed joints are used to control nozzle direction, then the nozzle can be positioned and directed precisely, but the device complexity and risk of leakage increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system separates pan control (rotation of support structure) from tilt control (linear movement of fluid pipe), with each controlled by independent drives. This segmentation simplifies the mechanical design at the nozzle end while maintaining precise positioning capability through coordinated control of the two degrees of freedom.
Solution Approach 2:
The fluid pipe acts as an intermediary element that connects the support structure to the nozzle. By allowing linear movement of the fluid pipe relative to the support structure, the system achieves tilt control without complex mechanical joints at the nozzle, reducing both complexity and leakage risk.
2Reliability
If continuous rinsing of all container surfaces is performed, then thorough cleaning is achieved, but water consumption increases excessively
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the nozzle position and direction based on the specific cleaning requirements. By enabling independent pan and tilt control, the nozzle can be precisely directed at dirty areas only, allowing the cleaning system to adapt to varying contamination patterns and reduce water consumption on already clean surfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
The cleaning system applies water jets locally to specific contaminated areas rather than uniformly across all surfaces. The independent control of pan and tilt angles enables targeted delivery of cleaning fluid to problem areas, maintaining cleaning effectiveness while reducing overall water usage.
3Ease of operation
If hydraulic actuators are placed at the nozzle end for control, then precise nozzle direction control is achieved, but the risk of fluid leakage and maintenance complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts the actuators from the nozzle end and places them at the inlet end, outside the container. The support structure drive rotates the support structure for pan control, and the fluid pipe drive moves the fluid pipe linearly for tilt control. This extraction eliminates hydraulic components from the container interior, removing the risk of hydraulic fluid leakage and simplifying maintenance.
Data Source
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AI summary
A container cleaner (10) is provided, comprising a fluid pipe (30) and a nozzle (33) tiltably mounted on the fluid pipe to eject cleaning fluid. The fluid pipe is rotationally fixed to a support structure (20) so that the fluid pipe rotates with the support structure. Further, the fluid pipe is slidably supported by the support structure so that axial displacement of the fluid pipe relative to the support structure is possible. A support structure drive (21) is arranged to rotate the support structure and the fluid pipe, and a fluid pipe drive (31) is arranged to slide the fluid pipe relative to the support structure. The tiltably mounted nozzle is connected to the support structure via a mechanical transmission (50). A controller (40) is arranged to control the support structure drive to control nozzle pan (61) and to control the fluid pipe drive to control nozzle tilt (66).