CN109414736B

CN109414736B - Bottle cleaning device and method for cleaning bottles using same

Info

Publication number: CN109414736B
Application number: CN201780039309.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: G·舒
Original assignee: Krones AG
Current assignee: Krones AG
Priority date: 2016-09-29
Filing date: 2017-05-10
Publication date: 2021-10-01
Anticipated expiration: 2037-05-10
Also published as: EP3519114A1; EP3519114B1; BR112018074766A2; CN109414736A; WO2018059746A1; DE102016218885A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a bottle cleaning device comprising a hot water injection zone (41), the hot water injection zone (41) being arranged downstream of a main lye tank (3) in the bottle transport direction, and the hot water injection zone (41) comprising at least one injection zone (5, 6, 7), each injection zone (5, 6, 7) comprising a paired collection tank (11, 12, 13) arranged below the injection zone. Overflow openings (18, 19) for conveying water out of the collection basins in the water conveying direction are provided between pairs of collection basins (11, 12, 13) arranged one behind the other in the bottle conveying direction. The bottle cleaning device is further provided with a clean water injection area (42, 43) arranged downstream of the hot water injection area and comprising a first clean water injection area (8) and a second clean water injection area (9) and a collecting device (14, 15, 39) arranged below the injection areas, and a further overflow opening (17, 40) between the collecting device and the next collecting basin, which overflow opening conveys water out of the collecting device in the water transport direction. The coolant in the cooling circuit (21) is cooled by means of a heat pump (23) having an evaporator (22) and a condenser (28), the coolant travels through the collecting device and the collecting sump, and the lye of the main lye sump is heated.

Description

Bottle cleaning device and method for cleaning bottles using same

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a bottle cleaning device according to claim 1 and a method of cleaning bottles using the bottle cleaning device according to claim 15.

Background

DE 1930328U discloses a bottle treatment machine with a stepped tempering soak and a spray station and with a collecting vat for the treatment liquid, wherein a corresponding tube register (tube register) acted on by returning water sprays is arranged between the spray station and the collecting vat, so that the liquid flowing in the tube register is reheated or aftercooled by the water sprays.

DE 102013114607 a1 discloses a container cleaning machine in which the containers are moved in the conveying direction through at least one first treatment zone for treatment with a heated treatment medium and at least one second treatment zone, the medium temperature of which is lower than that of the first treatment zone, the second treatment zone serving as a cooling zone for the containers and the container conveyor. The thermal energy of the medium uses the thermal energy of the at least one second treatment zone by means of a heat pump for heating the medium of the at least one second treatment zone.

EP 2361697 a1 discloses a cleaning assembly for containers and a method of operating the same, wherein the cleaning assembly comprises a conveying line for conveying the containers through different cleaning stations. The cleaning station comprises a main alkali liquor station, a front alkali liquor station, a rear alkali liquor station and a flushing station.

Disclosure of Invention

Purpose(s) to

The object of the invention is to optimize a bottle cleaning device with regard to its water and heat consumption.

Scheme(s)

This object is achieved by a bottle cleaning device according to claim 1 and a method according to claim 15. Preferred embodiments and developments are disclosed in the dependent claims.

The bottle cleaning device includes: a main lye tank for holding lye; a hot water injection area arranged downstream of the main lye pool in the bottle transport direction. The hot water spray area comprises a spray area and a collecting basin associated with and arranged below the spray area, or several spray areas arranged one after the other downstream in the bottle transport direction, each spray area comprising an associated collecting basin arranged below the spray area, wherein an overflow adapted to transport water out of the collecting basins in a water transport direction opposite to the bottle transport direction is arranged between two respective collecting basins arranged one after the other in the bottle transport direction. The bottle cleaning device further comprises a fresh water injection zone arranged downstream of the hot water injection zone in the bottle transport direction, the fresh water injection zone having a first and a second fresh water injection zone and a collecting device arranged below the first and second fresh water injection zones. A further overflow opening is additionally provided between the collecting sump and the collecting device downstream of the collecting sump in the bottle transport direction, wherein the further overflow opening is adapted to transport water out of the collecting device in the water transport direction. Furthermore, the bottle cleaning device comprises a heat pump with an evaporator and a condenser and a closed cooling circuit in which coolant circulates from the evaporator through a collecting device, through a collecting sump or sumps back to the evaporator, wherein the evaporator is adapted to cool the coolant in the cooling circuit. In addition, the bottle cleaning device comprises a lye circulation in which lye circulates from the main lye tank through said condenser back into the main lye tank, wherein the condenser is adapted to heat the lye.

The spraying zone can be provided in a hot water spraying zone where the water spraying temperature is 45 to 65 ℃. If several injection zones are provided, the water injection temperature of the first injection zone may be in the range of 55 ℃ to 60 ℃, in particular the temperature may be about 58 ℃, in the second injection zone the temperature may be in the range of 50 ℃ to 55 ℃, in particular the temperature may be about 53 ℃, and in the third injection zone the temperature may be in the range of 40 ℃ to 45 ℃, in particular the temperature may be 43 ℃. For the respective water spray temperature, it should be ensured that the water spray temperature decreases in the bottle transport direction in the spray zones downstream of one another one after the other. In each spray zone, water can be sprayed by means of nozzles into the bottles being transported upside down in order to clean the bottles.

The term "arranged below" for the hot water spray zone means that the collecting tank is in such a position with respect to the spray zone: in this position, the collection basin is able to collect water discharged through the nozzles of the spray zone. The water collected in the collecting basin and the water entering the collecting basin by means of an overflow of the collecting basin arranged downstream in the bottle conveying direction or by means of another overflow of the collecting device arranged downstream in the bottle conveying direction are supplied to a spray zone associated with the collecting basin. A collection sump "associated with" a spray zone means that the collection sump only collects water from the spray zone. Thus, a collecting basin or a plurality of collecting basins can be provided to collect the water discharged by means of the nozzles and to make the water available for subsequent work processes. For this purpose, the water collected in the collecting basin can be supplied to the nozzles of the respective spray zones via a feed line with a pump.

The first and second fresh water injection zones are disposed in the fresh water injection zone, wherein the water injection temperature of the first fresh water injection zone can be about 35 ℃ and the water injection temperature of the second fresh water injection zone can be about 12 ℃. Pure fresh water can be used for the second fresh water injection zone and water from the collection means can be used for the first fresh water injection zone.

The term "arranged below" for the clean water injection zone means that the collecting device is in such a position with respect to the first and second clean water injection zones: in this position, the collecting means are able to collect the water discharged through the nozzles of the first and second clear water injection zones. The water collected in the collecting means can be supplied to the first clean water injection zone. Thus, the collecting device can be arranged to collect the water discharged by means of the nozzle and make it available for subsequent work processes. For this purpose, the water collected in the collecting device can be supplied to the first fresh water injection zone via a feed line with a pump. In addition to water, the water can include additives such as lye. The clear water contains no additives.

The terms "overflow" and "further overflow" are used to distinguish an overflow between two collecting basins from an overflow between a collecting device and a collecting basin.

The bottle conveying direction can be from main lye pond to the hot water injection region and clear water injection region. The pre-soak tank can be arranged upstream of the main lye tank, viewed in the conveying direction.

The water transport direction results from the volumetric flow of water entering the collecting tank from the collecting device by means of a further overflow or, if several collecting tanks are present, from the volumetric flow of water flowing from one collecting tank to another by means of an overflow between two successive collecting tanks. Due to the arrangement of the further overflow and the one or more overflow openings, the water flows from the fresh water injection zone to the hot water injection zone.

In the known bottle cleaning device, the bottles are guided upside down through several spray zones, in which the interior is sprayed with water with reduced dirt concentration and temperature. Finally, cool, clear water was sprayed into the bottle to ensure the desired bottle dispensing temperature and to completely remove residual lye and surfactant from the cleaned bottle. Three spray bars for fresh water are often provided for this purpose. With the optimized nozzle size and the optimized adjusted spray pressure, approximately three 50ml of fresh water per bottle are used. In order to save fresh water, the rinse water from the last fresh water spray operation can be disposed of and reused in the penultimate spray operation. The fresh water to be replaced is usually taken from the overflow of the hot water zone, for example about 1/3, and recovered before the last injection operation. However, the use of fresh water cannot be reduced further because the required re-cooling of the bottle cannot be achieved.

The active re-cooling employed in the bottle cleaning device according to the invention enables the supply of treated water to both spray pipes. The water for treatment is taken not from the hot water spray area but from the clean water spray area in order to prevent the decrease in water throughput in the direction of water transport from causing an increase in the concentration of alkali and surfactant (alkali and surfactant carried in the bottle transport direction) in the spray area.

The bottle cleaning device can be configured as a single-ended machine or as a two-ended machine (also referred to as a double-ended machine). In single-ended machines, the receiving and dispensing ports for the bottles are typically located on the same side of the bottle cleaning apparatus. However, in a two-terminal machine, the receiving and dispensing openings for the bottles are typically provided on different sides of the bottle cleaning device.

The bottle cleaning device can further comprise an additional heat exchanger downstream of the condenser and adapted to heat the lye. The additional heat exchanger can be heated with steam or hot water. If the heating of the lye by means of the condenser is insufficient, the temperature of the lye can be raised to the desired temperature by means of the additional heat exchanger.

The bottle cleaning device can also include a circuit that travels through the evaporator, compressor, condenser, and expansion throttle valve (expansion throttle) back to the evaporator. The compressor and the expansion throttle valve can be components of the bottle cleaning device.

The bottle cleaning device can also include a pre-soak tank. The temperature of the pre-soak medium can be between 35 ℃ and 45 ℃. The bottle can be dipped into the pre-soak medium of the pre-soak tank to separate any dirt that adheres to the bottle.

An additional overflow can be provided between the collecting tank and the pre-soaking tank and adapted to supply water from the collecting tank to the pre-soaking tank, wherein the collecting tank is arranged downstream of the main lye tank in the bottle transfer direction.

The bottle cleaning device can comprise a post-lye device (post-lye device) which is arranged downstream of the main lye tank in the bottle conveying direction.

The post lye device can comprise a post lye pool. The bottle can be immersed in the post-lye tank prior to entering the hot water spray zone. The temperature of the post-lye may be in the range of 60 ℃ to 65 ℃.

The post-lye device can further comprise a post-lye injection zone, wherein the post-lye tank is associated with the post-lye injection zone and the post-lye tank is disposed below the post-lye injection zone. In the rear lye injection zone, water from the rear lye tank can be injected onto the bottle by means of the nozzle. The term "arranged below" for the post-lye injection zones means that the post-lye tank is in such a position relative to the post-lye injection zones: in this position, the rear lye tank is able to collect water which is discharged through the spray nozzles of the spray zone. The water collected in the post-lye tank and the water entering the post-lye tank by means of the overflow opening of the collecting tank downstream in the bottle conveying direction are supplied to a post-lye injection zone associated with the post-lye tank. By "associated with" the post-lye tank with the post lye injection zone is meant that the post lye tank only collects water from the post lye injection zone. In addition to water, the water can also include additives such as lye.

Another overflow opening can be provided between the rear lye tank and the collecting tank, wherein the collecting tank is arranged downstream of the rear lye tank in the bottle conveying direction and the rear lye tank can be adapted to supply water from the collecting tank to the rear lye tank. The term "further overflow port" is used to distinguish this overflow port from other overflow ports of the bottle cleaning device.

The additional overflow port can be arranged between the back alkali liquor pool and the pre-soaking pool and is suitable for supplying back alkali liquor to the pre-soaking pool from the back alkali liquor pool.

The bottle cleaning device can also include a squirting device (gushing device). The flushing device can be arranged downstream of the main lye tank in the bottle conveying direction. After the bottle has emerged from the main lye tank, the label or label residue can be separated from the bottle using a gush.

In a first embodiment, the collection means can comprise a basin. The spray water of the first clean water spray zone and the spray water of the second clean water spray zone are collected by this one tank. This means that a single common tank is provided for the first and second fresh water injection zones. The collected water is supplied to the first clean water injection zone and the second clean water injection zone is supplied with pure clean water. Since the collected water of the first fresh water injection zone is supplied from the collecting device, the first fresh water injection zone does not apply pure fresh water to the vessel; the water discharged from the first fresh water injection zone can include additives such as lye in addition to the pure fresh water discharged through the second fresh water injection zone and into the collection means. The first fresh water injection zone thus represents a so-called first fresh water injection zone, since it is not supplied with pure fresh water.

In a further embodiment, the collecting device can comprise a first basin and a second basin, wherein the first basin is arranged below the first clean water injection zone, the second basin is arranged below the second clean water injection zone, and a further overflow opening is provided between the collecting basin and the first basin of the collecting device, downstream of which collecting basin the collecting device follows in the bottle transport direction. This means that one tank is provided for each of the first and second clean water injection zones. By using these two tanks, the clean water requirement of the bottle cleaning device can be reduced by up to 50%.

Further, a water recovery device is provided which is adapted to recover the water of the collection device and supply the regenerated water to the first clear water injection zone. The water recovery device can be configured for particle separation, neutralization, surfactant separation and/or disinfection.

Additionally, the present invention includes a method of cleaning bottles using a bottle cleaning device as described above or below.

The method can include the steps of:

-immersing the bottle in a pre-soak tank with water,

-allowing the bottles to emerge from the pre-soaking bath,

-transferring the bottles from the pre-soaking tank to the main lye tank in the bottle transfer direction,

-immersing the bottle in a main lye tank with lye,

-allowing the bottles to float out of the main lye tank,

-transferring the bottles from the main lye tank to the hot water injection zone in a bottle transfer direction,

-spraying the inside of the bottle in a spraying zone of the hot water spraying zone and collecting the spray in a collecting tank associated with and arranged below the spraying zone

Or

Spraying the interior of the bottles in several spraying zones of the hot water spraying zone arranged downstream one after the other in the bottle conveying direction, wherein the water spray in each spraying zone is collected by a collecting basin associated with the spraying zone and arranged below the spraying zone and the water is conveyed in the water conveying direction opposite to the bottle conveying direction by means of overflow openings which are respectively provided between two collecting basins arranged one after the other in the bottle conveying direction,

-transferring the bottles in a bottle transfer direction from the hot water injection zone to a fresh water injection zone with a first fresh water injection zone, in which the interior of the bottles is sprayed with water from the collecting means, a second fresh water injection zone, in which the interior of the bottles is sprayed with fresh water, and collecting means arranged below the first fresh water injection zone and the second fresh water injection zone, and the spray water from the first fresh water injection zone and the spray water from the second fresh water injection zone are collected by the collecting means,

-transferring water by means of a further overflow between the collecting device and a collecting basin, wherein downstream of the collecting basin in the bottle transfer direction is the collecting device,

-cooling the coolant in the closed cooling circuit by means of the evaporator of the heat pump, wherein the coolant circulates in the cooling circuit from the evaporator through the collecting device, through the collecting sump or sumps back to the evaporator,

heating the lye in a lye cycle by means of a condenser of a heat pump, wherein the lye circulates from the main lye tank through the condenser back into the main lye tank,

heating the lye with an additional heat exchanger downstream of the condenser,

-circulating a medium in the cooling circuit, the medium returning to the evaporator via the evaporator, the compressor, the condenser and the expansion-throttle valve,

-supplying water from the collecting basin to the pre-soaking basin by means of an additional overflow between the collecting basin and the pre-soaking basin, wherein the collecting basin is arranged downstream of the main lye basin in the bottle transport direction,

-flushing the bottles in a flushing device,

-collecting water from the first and second clean water injection zones with a basin of a collecting device, or

Collecting water from the first clean water injection zone with a first basin of the collecting means and collecting water from the second clean water injection zone with a second basin of the collecting means,

-treating the water of the collecting device by means of a water recovery device and supplying the regenerated water to the first clean water injection zone.

Drawings

For a better understanding and illustrative purposes, the accompanying drawings show aspects of the invention by way of example, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a first embodiment of a bottle cleaning device;

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of a second embodiment of a bottle cleaning device;

FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of a third embodiment of a bottle cleaning device; and is

Fig. 4 shows a block diagram of a fourth embodiment of a bottle cleaning device.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 shows a block diagram of a first embodiment of a bottle cleaning device 1, the bottle cleaning device 1 comprising a pre-soaking tank 2, a main lye tank 3, a flushing device 4, a hot water injection zone 41 with three

different injection zones

5, 6, 7 and a fresh water injection zone 42 with a first fresh water injection zone 8 and a second fresh water injection zone 9.

The bottle cleaning device 1 can be supplied with bottles to be cleaned by means of a conveyor belt (not shown). These bottles can be placed in a bottle unit of a bottle carrier, wherein the bottle carrier is used for transporting the bottles through the bottle cleaning device 1. The bottles are supplied to a pre-soak tank 2 and immersed in pre-soak lye. The bottles can be pre-cleaned to remove attached dirt and heated in the pre-soak tank 2. The pre-soak tank 2 can have a temperature of about 35 ℃ to 45 ℃.

The bottle is then allowed to float out of the pre-soak tank 2 in a manner that allows liquid to drain from the bottle. The bottle is then supplied to the main lye tank 3 and immersed in the lye. The lye of the main lye pool 3 can have a temperature of about 70 ℃ to 85 ℃ or a temperature of about 78 ℃ to 80 ℃. The labels detached from the bottles in the main lye pool 3 are selectively separated and removed from the lye by the current applied in the main lye pool 3 to keep the contamination low. After the bottles have emerged from the main lye tank 3, they are further assisted by flooding onto the bottles by means of the flooding device 4.

The bottles in the inverted manner can then pass through the three

different spray zones

5, 6, 7 of the hot water spray zone 41, wherein the bottles are sprayed inside and/or from the outside by means of the nozzles 10.

The water spray of the first spray zone 5 can have a temperature of 55 ℃ to 60 ℃, in particular, the temperature can be about 58 ℃, the water spray temperature in the second spray zone 6 can be in the range of 50 ℃ to 55 ℃, in particular, the temperature can be about 53 ℃, and the water spray temperature in the third spray zone 7 can be in the range of 40 ℃ to 45 ℃, in particular, the temperature can be about 43 ℃. For the respective water spray temperature, it is ensured that the water spray temperature in the three

spray zones

5, 6, 7 which follow one another in succession in the bottle transport direction decreases.

Thereafter, the bottle in the inverted manner passes through the fresh water injection zone 42, wherein the water injection temperature of the first fresh water injection zone 8 is in the range of 32 ℃ to 38 ℃, in particular, the temperature is about 35 ℃, and the water injection temperature of the second fresh water injection zone 9 is in the range of 10 ℃ to 14 ℃, in particular, the temperature is about 12 ℃.

The reduction of the water spray temperature in the three

successive spray zones

5, 6, 7 and in the first and second clean water spray zones 8, 9 causes the bottle to cool gradually. As a result, stresses in the bottle material are minimized, and the bottle is therefore ready for subsequent cold filling.

The first injection zone 5, the second injection zone 6 and the third injection zone 7 are associated correspondingly with a first collecting basin 11, a second collecting basin 12 and a third collecting basin 13, wherein the collecting basins 11, 12, 13 are each arranged below the corresponding

injection zone

5, 6, 7. The collection tanks 11, 12, 13 are used to collect the water spray applied to the bottles and make it available for subsequent spraying processes. For this purpose, the collected water is supplied to the nozzles 10 of the

respective injection zone

5, 6, 7 via a feed line with a pump 36.

Arranged below the first clean water injection zone 8 and the second clean water injection zone 9 are collecting means 14, 15, which collecting means 14, 15 comprise, in the embodiment shown, a first basin 14 and a second basin 15 for collecting the water spray applied to the bottles from the first clean water injection zone 8 and the second clean water injection zone 9, respectively. Water is discharged from the first and second basins 14, 15 and supplied together to a water recovery device 16. The water after recovery is used as water spray in the first clean water spray zone 8. Recovery of water may require particle separation, neutralization, surfactant separation and/or disinfection. Since unrecovered water is removed from the clean water injection zone, it is possible to omit particle separation and sterilization measures, since the bottles are rinsed with clean water in the second clean water injection zone 9.

The different amounts of water spray used are illustrated in a simplified manner in fig. 1, three nozzles 10 being shown in a first spray zone, a second spray zone and a third spray zone, respectively, only two nozzles 10 being shown in the first clean water spray zone 8 and only one nozzle being shown in the second clean water spray zone 9.

It is known from the prior art to provide bottle cleaning devices in a cascade fashion (cascading maner) so that the fed water can overflow from one collecting sump to the next, so that the fed water can also be used there as a water spray. Preferably, fresh water is fed at the beginning of such a cascade.

Without further measures, this cascade arrangement would cause the temperature increase in the downstream first basin 14 and the downstream collection basins 11, 12, 13 in the bottle cleaning device 1 described here, due to the described reduction in the amount of fresh water that needs to be supplied in the second fresh water injection zone 9.

The bottle cleaning device 1 comprises an overflow 17 between the first basin 14 and the third basin 13, an overflow 18 between the third basin 13 and the second basin 12 and an overflow 19 between the second basin 12 and the first basin 11. The overflow port 20 of the first collecting tank 11 is communicated with the pre-soaking tank 2. Filters can be provided at each

overflow

17, 18, 19, 20 to filter the overflow water. The

overflow ports

17, 18, 19, 20 can be supplied with water via the overflow valve 37.

It is undesirable to have a connection between the second basin 15 and the first basin 14 through an overflow. As described above, water is discharged from each of the first and second ponds 14 and 15 and supplied together to the water recovery device 16.

In order to take account of the heat surplus resulting from the reduced fresh water supply, active cooling of the water is provided in the first basin 14, the third collecting basin 13, the second collecting basin 12 and the first collecting basin 11, wherein the first basin 14, the third collecting basin 13, the second collecting basin 12 and the first collecting basin 11 are each equipped with a heat exchanger and have a coolant which circulates continuously through in the cooling circuit 21. The heat which has previously been removed by the higher fresh water throughputs of the cascade arrangement of the prior art bottle cleaning device can be recovered from the water in the first basin 14, the third collecting basin 13, the second collecting basin 12 and the first collecting basin 11 by means of this cooling circuit 21.

The coolant in the cooling circuit 21 passes in a flow co-current to the direction of flow of the water, i.e. the direction of transport of the water, which flows through the

overflow

17, 18, 19, 20.

The heated coolant leaving the first collection sump 11 is supplied to a first inlet 24 of the evaporator 22 of the heat pump 23. The temperature of the coolant may be in the range of 57 ℃ to 63 ℃, in particular, the temperature can be about 60 ℃. The coolant is cooled in the evaporator 22 and leaves the evaporator 22 through a first outlet 25. The temperature of the coolant can then be in the range of 38 ℃ to 42 ℃, in particular, the temperature can be about 40 ℃. From there the coolant passes through a cooling circuit 21 to the first tank 14 and is then cooled in the first tank 14 by means of heat absorption of the coolant. Thus, the water is cooled in the third collecting tank 13, the second collecting tank 12 and the first collecting tank 11, respectively, and the cooling circuit 21 similarly passes through the third collecting tank 13, the second collecting tank 12 and the first collecting tank 11.

The lye heat exchanger arranged upstream of the additional heat exchanger 29 of the main lye pool 3 functions as a condenser 28 of the heat pump 23. The lye is supplied from the main lye pool 3 to the first inlet 30 of the condenser 28 and is cooled due to the immersion of the bottle carrier with the bottle unit and the bottle, so that the lye is colder than the intended temperature of the main lye pool 3. The colder lye can have a temperature of about 74 ℃. The lye is heated in the condenser 28 and leaves the condenser 28 through the first outlet 31. The heated lye can have a temperature of about 76 ℃. If the desired temperature of the main lye tank 3 has been reached due to the heating of the lye in the condenser 28, there is no need to further heat the lye in the main lye tank 3 by means of the additional heat exchanger 29. The additional heat exchanger 29 can be heated with steam or hot water. If the heating of the lye in the main lye tank 3 by means of the condenser 28 is insufficient, the temperature of the lye can be raised to the desired temperature by means of the additional heat exchanger 29.

The lye is heated in the condenser 28 by means of the heat dissipation of the medium which enters the condenser through the second inlet 32 and is liquefied there. The medium leaves the condenser 28 through a second outlet 33; the temperature of the medium there can be in the range of 78 ℃ to 82 ℃, in particular, the temperature can be about 80 ℃. The medium enters the evaporator 22 through the expansion throttle 34 and through the second inlet 26. After passing through the expansion throttle, the temperature of the medium may be in the range of 33 ℃ to 38 ℃, in particular, the temperature can be about 35 ℃. The medium leaves the evaporator 22 via the second outlet 27 and passes through a compressor 35 before the medium returns to the condenser 28 via the second inlet 32.

When the bottles have passed the bottle cleaning device 1, the cleaned bottles can be removed from the bottle units of the bottle carrier and transported to, for example, a filling device using a conveyor belt.

Fig. 2 shows a block diagram of a second embodiment of the bottle cleaning device 38. The bottle cleaning device 38 of the second embodiment differs from the bottle cleaning device 1 of the first embodiment in that: only one tank 39 is provided for the first clean water injection zone 8 and the second clean water injection zone 9 instead of two tanks.

The bottle cleaning device 38 includes an overflow 40 between the sump 39 and the third collection sump 13. Similar to the first embodiment, the bottle cleaning device 38 further comprises an overflow 18 between the third collection tank 13 and the second collection tank 12 and an overflow 19 between the second collection tank 12 and the first collection tank 11. The overflow port 20 of the first collecting tank 11 is communicated with the pre-soaking tank 2. Filters can be provided at each

overflow port

40, 18, 19, 20 to filter the overflow water.

The collected water is drained from a sump 39 and supplied to the water recovery device 16. The water is used as water spray in the first clean water spray zone 8 after recovery. Recovery of water may require particle separation, neutralization, surfactant separation and/or disinfection. Since unrecovered water is removed from the fresh water injection zone, it is possible to omit particle separation and sterilization measures, since the bottles in the second fresh water injection zone 9 are rinsed with fresh water.

In order to take account of the heat surplus resulting from the reduced fresh water supply, active cooling is also provided in the bottle cleaning device 38 of the second embodiment, by means of which the water in the one tank 39, the third collecting tank 13, the second collecting tank 12 and the first collecting tank 11 can be cooled. One tank 39 and three collecting tanks 11, 12, 13 are each equipped with a heat exchanger and have a coolant circulating continuously through in the cooling circuit 21. The heat which has previously been removed by the higher fresh water throughputs of the cascade arrangement of the prior art bottle cleaning devices can be recovered from the water in the one basin 39 and the three collecting basins 11, 12, 13 by means of this cooling circuit 21.

The coolant in the cooling circuit 21 passes in a flow co-current to the flow direction of the water, which flows through the

overflow

40, 18, 19, 20.

The heated coolant leaving the first collection sump 11 is supplied to a first inlet 24 of the evaporator 22 of the heat pump 23. The temperature of the coolant can be about 60 ℃. The coolant is cooled in the evaporator 22 and leaves the evaporator 22 through a first outlet 25. The temperature of the coolant can then be in the range of 38 ℃ to 42 ℃, in particular the temperature can be about 40 ℃. From there, the coolant passes through the cooling circuit 21 to a sump 39, and then the water is cooled in the sump 39, the third collecting sump 13, the second collecting sump 12 and the first collecting sump 11.

Fig. 3 shows a bottle cleaning device 44 of a third embodiment, the bottle cleaning device 44 corresponding to the bottle cleaning device 1 of the first embodiment shown in fig. 1, with the exception of the first spray zone 5 and the associated collecting sump 11. In the third embodiment, the bottle cleaning device 44 comprises a post-lye injection zone 46, which post-lye injection zone 46 is arranged downstream of the main lye pool 3 in the bottle conveying direction and supplies liquid from the post-lye pool 47 to the nozzles 10 of the post-lye injection zone 47 by means of the feed line using the pump 36. The rear lye tank 47 is arranged below the rear lye jet zone 46. The term "arranged below" means that the post-lye pool 47 is in such a position relative to the post-lye injection zone 46: in this position, the rear lye tank 47 is able to collect the water discharged through the nozzle 10. The temperature of the post-lye may be in the range of 60 ℃ to 65 ℃.

The liquid from the rear lye tank 47 can be sprayed onto or into the bottles guided past by means of the spray nozzle 10. In another embodiment of the bottle cleaning device, not shown, provision can be made for the bottles to be immersed in the post-caustic bath 47 without any spraying. In this case, the nozzle 10 provided and the feed line with the pump 36 can be omitted; however, it is also possible to provide the nozzle 10 and the feed line with the pump 36 to obtain alternative alternatives, for example depending on the type of bottle currently being treated.

A further overflow 48 is provided between the second collecting reservoir 12 and the rear lye reservoir 47 and is adapted to supply water from this collecting reservoir 12 to the rear lye reservoir 47. This additional overflow 49 between the post-lye tank 47 and the pre-soaking tank 2 is adapted to supply post-lye from the post-lye tank 47 to the pre-soaking tank 2.

In order to take account of the surplus of heat generated due to the reduced fresh water supply, in the third embodiment, active cooling of the water is provided in the first basin 14, the third collecting basin 13, the second collecting basin 12 and the post-alkali basin 47, wherein the first basin 14, the third collecting basin 13, the second collecting basin 12 and the post-alkali basin 47 are each equipped with a heat exchanger and have a coolant which is continuously circulated through the cooling circuit 21. The heat which has previously been removed by the higher fresh water throughputs of the cascade arrangement of the prior art bottle cleaning device can be recovered from the water in the first basin 14, the third collection basin 13, the second collection basin 12 and the post-lye basin 47 by means of this cooling circuit 21.

overflow

17, 18, 48, 49.

Fig. 4 shows a bottle cleaning device 50 of a fourth embodiment, which corresponds substantially to the third embodiment, wherein only one tank 39 is provided for the first fresh water injection zone 8 and the second fresh water injection zone 9, instead of two tanks.

Claims

1. A bottle cleaning device, comprising:

-a main lye tank (3) for holding lye,

-a hot water injection area arranged downstream of the main lye tank (3) in the bottle transport direction, the hot water injection area having:

a spray zone and a collecting basin associated with and arranged below the spray zone

Or

A plurality of injection zones (5, 6, 7) arranged downstream in succession in the bottle transport direction and associated collection basins (11, 12, 13) arranged below the injection zones (5, 6, 7),

-a fresh water injection zone (42, 43) arranged downstream of the hot water injection zone in the bottle transport direction, the fresh water injection zone (42, 43) having a first fresh water injection zone (8),

-a heat pump (23) having an evaporator (22) and a condenser (28),

-a closed cooling circuit (21),

-a lye circulation in which lye circulates from the main lye pool (3) through the condenser (28) back into the main lye pool (3), the condenser (28) being adapted to heat the lye,

it is characterized by also comprising:

-a further overflow outlet (17, 40) arranged between the collecting means (14, 39) and the collecting sump, downstream of the further overflow outlet (17, 40) in the bottle transport direction being the collecting means (14, 39), and the further overflow outlet (17, 40) being adapted to transport water out of the collecting means (14, 39) in a water transport direction,

wherein the fresh water injection zone (42, 43) further comprises a second fresh water injection zone (9) and the collecting means (14, 15, 39) arranged below the first fresh water injection zone (8) and the second fresh water injection zone (9),

in the closed cooling circuit (21), coolant is circulated from the evaporator (22), which is adapted to cooling the coolant in the cooling circuit (21), through the collecting device (14, 39), through the collecting sump or sumps back to the evaporator (22), and

overflow openings (18, 19) adapted to convey water out of the collecting basins (11, 12, 13) in the water conveying direction opposite to the bottle conveying direction are provided between two respective collecting basins (11, 12, 13) arranged one after the other in the bottle conveying direction.

2. Bottle cleaning device according to claim 1, further comprising an additional heat exchanger (29) arranged downstream of the condenser (28) and adapted to heat the lye.

3. Bottle cleaning device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it further comprises a circuit returning to the evaporator (22) through the evaporator (22), a compressor (35), the condenser (28) and an expansion throttle (34).

4. Bottle cleaning device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it further comprises a pre-soaking bath (2).

5. Bottle cleaning device according to claim 4, characterized in that an additional overflow (20) is provided between the collecting basin (11) and the pre-soaking basin (2) and is adapted to supply water from the collecting basin (11) to the pre-soaking basin (2), wherein the collecting basin (11) is arranged downstream of the main lye basin (3) in the bottle transport direction.

6. Bottle cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that it further comprises a rear lye device (46, 47), which rear lye device (46, 47) is arranged downstream of the main lye pool (3) in the bottle conveying direction.

7. Bottle cleaning apparatus according to claim 6, characterized in that the rear lye unit (46, 47) comprises a rear lye tank (47).

8. Bottle cleaning apparatus according to claim 7, characterized in that the post-lye device (46, 47) further comprises a post-lye injection zone (46), the post-lye tank (47) being associated with the post-lye injection zone (46) and the post-lye tank (47) being arranged below the post-lye injection zone (46).

9. Bottle cleaning device according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that a further overflow opening (48) is provided between the collecting basin (12) and the rear lye tank (47) and is adapted to supply water from the collecting basin (12) to the rear lye tank (47), the collecting basin (12) being arranged downstream of the rear lye tank (47) in the bottle conveying direction.

10. Bottle cleaning apparatus according to claim 7 or 8, further comprising a pre-soaking tank (2), an additional overflow outlet (49) being provided between the post-lye tank (47) and the pre-soaking tank (2) and being adapted to supply post-lye from the post-lye tank (47) to the pre-soaking tank (2).

11. Bottle cleaning device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it further comprises a flushing device (4).

12. Bottle cleaning device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the collecting device (39) is constituted by a basin (39).

13. Bottle cleaning device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the collecting device (14, 15) is constituted by a first basin (14) and a second basin (15), wherein the first basin (14) is arranged below the first fresh water injection zone (8), the second basin (15) is arranged below the second fresh water injection zone (9), and a further overflow opening (17) is arranged between the collecting basin (13) and the first basin (14) of the collecting device (14, 15), downstream of the collecting basin (13) in the bottle transport direction being the collecting device (14, 15) in succession.

14. Bottle cleaning device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a water recovery device (16), said water recovery device (16) being adapted to recover the water of the collecting device (14, 15, 39) and to supply regenerated water to the first clean water injection zone (8).

15. A method of cleaning bottles using a bottle cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 14.