DE9306403U1 - Rotary crate washer - Google Patents

Description

LUDWIG WIEGLEB

475 Unna-Massen, 25.4.93

Karlstr. 28

DESCRIPTION
ROTARY BOX WASHER

1.) Preliminary remark

Reusable plastic crates for beer and soft drinks bottles, but also for meat products, fruit crates and crates for milk bottles - or bags - have to be washed again and again before each filling. This is done in crate washing systems built specifically for this purpose. Conventional systems work according to the flow principle. The crates either pass through an immersion station with cleaning solution and then various spray stations, or they only pass through a large number of spray stations, where cleaning agents are also used. The last station is often a high-pressure spray station.

2.) Need for a new invention

Increased demands on the cleaning effect and the need to remove adhesive labels applied by retailers mean that conventional flow-through crate washers have to use stronger detergent concentrations and higher pump pressures. These in turn require more electricity. Since more water than usual is needed to rinse the stronger detergents off the crates, this resource is also being used more frequently.

The invention now also uses the time factor to achieve the required high cleaning effect with minimal use of cleaning agents and without the use of high pressure.

3.) Novelty

The rotary crate washer I invented now makes it possible to achieve approximately three times the processing time on the same or smaller footprint as the conventional crate washer.

The reason for this is the vertical rotation principle, in which the height above the base area is fully utilized for cleaning. This is achieved by the crates being cycled into a fixed, vertical ring cage module and then transported in a circular motion by means of carriers through a cleaning bath with subsequent spray stations until, after one rotation, they leave the crate washing system at the level of the loading point.

By stringing together a large number of ring cage modules, a rotary crate washer can be assembled for any system output.

4.) Technical data

Diameter inner ring: " outer ring: Module width:

Holding positions per revolution: of which treatment positions: Treatment time:
Treatment time per
Treatment position: 120 : 8 = Rotation speed: 12 x 15 =

Power per module: (15:180)x3600 =

5.) Design of a rotary crate washer for a bottling plant of 60,000 bottles/h

Required capacity: 60 000 Fl/h + 20 % = 72 000 Fl/h 72 000 Fl/h = 12 modules 20 Fl/Kx300 K/h =============

required dimensions of the rotary crate washer: Length: 12 modules x 400 mm = 4800 mm Width: 2880 mm + 1000 mm handling space = 3880 mm Height: 2880 mm + 120 mm bath depth = 3000 mm

1950 mm 2880 mm 400 mm 12 8th 120 lake 15 lake 180 sec/rev 0 ,33 rpm 300 boxes/h

6.) Structure

(Please refer to Figures 1 and 2)

The supporting structure is limited by two vertically opposing rings made of U-profile, the so-called support rings (1).

The center of the circle that each support ring encompasses absorbs all forces via radial bracing. These forces are transferred to the foundation via supports (2) attached to the sides.

Flat irons (3) distributed around the circumference firmly connect the two Targ rings together.

The 2 inner guide rings (4) required for each module are firmly attached to these flat iron connections.

All guide rings are made of either steel tube or thin solid material.

Additional flat iron connections (5) are provided on the support rings, to which 2 outer (6) and 2 lateral guide rings (7) are attached for each module.

In the U-profiles of both support rings, 12 rollers (8) run at the same distance, each of which is connected to the corresponding roller of the opposite support ring via an axle (9). The radius of each roller is larger than the U-profile depth.

One box driver (10) is attached to each axis per module.

The distance between the 12 rollers is ensured by segment connectors (11), which have the same radius as the support rings. On the outside of one of the support rings there is a gear ring (12) which is attached to the ends of the driver axles. The pinion of a gear motor (13) engages in this gear ring, which sets the entire driver system in motion.

The rotary crate washer is immersed over its entire module length in a cleaning bath (14), the side of which is lower than the radius of the outer support ring. Only the supports of the support rings are located outside the basin.

Nozzles (15) are installed below the liquid level in the opposite direction to the direction of rotation, through which cleaning liquid is injected in order to move the bath contents mechanically.

The pump (16) required for this sucks the cleaning liquid from the cleaning bath via a sieve system (17) attached to the side of the tank. Above the cleaning bath, in the rotational path for each module, several spray nozzles (18) are attached one behind the other, both inside and outside, for spraying cleaning agent from the cleaning tank using a pump (not shown here). They are set up so that they also spray the side box surfaces. At the apex of the rotary box washer, further cleaning nozzles (19) are attached one behind the other, both inside and outside. They are fed with circulating water from the internal circulating water tank (20) via a pump (also not shown).

In the pumping process, the entire circulating water is passed through an external neutralization system (not shown), in which the rinsed-off alkalinity is neutralized and the salts are removed and disposed of.

Dirty waste (21) in the form of empty and tipped out boxes is fed to the Rotatipns box washer via an internal, axially running roller belt (22) in a synchronized manner depending on the number of modules. Pushers (23) that move between the rollers push the boxes into the respective module, whose guide rings have corresponding recesses on the loading and unloading sides.

The cleaned boxes (24) that have reached the delivery position in the module are pushed out from the inserted dirt boxes to the outside and reach a roller conveyor (25), with which they are transported away.

In order to protect the surroundings from escaping splash water and fumes, the rotary box washer is given an external casing made of sheet metal or plexiglass. In the area of the nozzles, this casing has sufficiently large access openings.

7.) Technological process

A üf_/_Ab_gab ejp£ s i_ t i_on

( no treatment position )

a.) Supply of dirty waste

The dirty boxes are fed into the internal roller conveyor according to the number of modules available.

b.) Delivery of cleaned crates

When the cleaned boxes have returned to position I, the dirt boxes are pushed in, forcing the cleaned boxes onto an external roller conveyor.

Eintau£hp_o_Siticm_;Q ,

( no treatment position )

The boxes are immersed in the cleaning liquid. Temperature approx. 50 degrees G, concentration approx. 0.6 % NaOH

TaUChp£SitlOn III.-V

The boxes pass through the cleaning bath. The liquid is moved by a jet to achieve an additional mechanical cleaning effect.

On t£U£h£os_i;tic>n_VI

( no treatment position )

The boxes leave the cleaning bath and drip dry.

Laug_es£r_it_zp£si_t_ionen VII _- -VII ₁ I _-

The boxes are sprayed with lye. The dirt dissolved in the cleaning bath is rinsed off here. Cleaning fluid containing dirt flows back into the bath.

The bath contents are constantly pumped through a self-supporting sieve system to remove and dispose of all dirt.

The boxes are rinsed with circulating water to remove the alkalinity. The draining water drips into a collecting basin. From there it is pumped to the spray nozzles.

The circulating water tank is connected to a neutralization system. A p" value of 7 is set using CCu gas or sulfuric acid. The salts are disposed of.

Drip position XII &iacgr;%^^~ (no treatment position)

The boxes can drain here.

The dripping water flows into the cleaning basin and replenishes the liquid that was removed with the boxes at the surfacing station VI.

Cleaning agents must be continually replenished.

(This is followed by the loading/unloading position I as described above),

Z.us _- amme.ns _- t_ell.ung_

the treatment options

Immersed in cleaning fluid: III, IV, V

Lye flushing: VII, VIII Circulating water flushing: IX, X, XI

i.e. a total of 8 treatment positions

Claims (2)

LUDWIG-WIEGLEB Reference number: G 93 06 403.9 i ' Protection claims 1. Rotary crate washer for cleaning reusable plastic crates in the beverage and food industry, consisting of one or more vertical ring cage modules with their lower third immersed in a cleaning agent container; characterized, that inside each ring cage module there are box drivers (10) at equal distances, which are attached to horizontal axes (3) which have rollers (8) and segment connectors (11) at both ends, which move in U-profile rings and are set in rotation by a fixed electric motor (13) via a gear ring (12). 2. Loading and unloading of the boxes according to the protection claim characterized by that the feed conveyor runs axially inside the space that the ring cage module encloses, and where the dirt boxes pushed in with a pusher (23) push out the cleaned boxes at the same height on the opposite side at a lateral break in the guide rings (4).