EP3248699B1 - Device for cleaning of container pumps with a pump lance for flowable media - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a device for cleaning container pumps with a pump lance for flowable media, according to the preamble of claim 1.

Such a solution is already out of the DE 89 02 050 U1 forth. This relates to a high-pressure spraying system in which cleaning takes place by immersing the container pump used there in a cleaning agent and circulating it through the interior of the pump.

Another device for cleaning other conveyor units is from the DE 19741 242 C1 previously known. There, a system for cleaning a filling system is described, such as is used in the catering industry. This solution provides for a cleaning agent to be removed from a cleaning agent tank instead of the otherwise conveyed beverages and to be drained off via the dispensing system. This will clean the bottling plant. Conveyor units are used in numerous areas of trade and industry. In principle, liquids of different viscosities can be conveyed that are to be transferred from one container to another. For example, delivery units can be equipped with pump lances and thus protrude into a barrel, for example, the delivery unit taking the liquid contained in the barrel through the pump lance and conveying it on.

Conveying units are often used in industry for different media, so that it is necessary to return the conveying units to an internal and external cleaning in order to completely remove a first conveyed medium before a conveying unit is used to convey a second medium. This is the only way to ensure that contamination of the conveyed media is effectively avoided.

As a rule, however, the careful cleaning of a delivery unit, in particular also a pump lance, represents a complex work step that is often forgotten or saved by user personnel. In addition to contamination of the media to be conveyed, this also leads to contamination and, in the long term, damage to the conveying units, the remedy of which then becomes much more complex and cost-intensive and also ensures a longer failure of the conveying unit.

Against this background, the present invention is based on the object of providing a device for cleaning container pumps with a pump lance for flowable media, which can be used very simply and effectively in order to keep the associated expenditure as low as possible on the part of the users.

This is achieved by a device for cleaning container pumps with a pump lance for flowable media according to the features of claim 1. Further, useful configurations of such a device can be found in the subclaims.

A device for cleaning conveying units for flowable media can initially form a fluidic cleaning circuit in which a cleaning agent is pumped in a circle between a cleaning agent tank and the conveying unit to be cleaned. The cleaning agent is also a flowable medium which, due to the passage through the conveying unit, reaches wherever the flowable media conveyed during operation of the conveying unit also reaches. In a simple case, the cleaning agent can be simple water, but effective substances such as soaps or other chemical, disinfectant or solvent-containing substances can also be added to the water. Other hydrocarbon-based cleaning agents such as alcohols, benzenes and the like can also be used or form the basis for a cleaning agent.

First the cleaning agent tank is filled with the cleaning agent and then the circulation in the cleaning circuit thus formed is started. The circulation takes place here with the aid of the conveyor unit to be cleaned itself, which conveys the cleaning agent originating from the cleaning agent tank through itself and returns it to the cleaning agent tank. This provides the user with an opportunity to clean the conveyor unit by simply hooking it into the cleaning circuit described and operating it. In addition, after a rinsing process, the cleaning agent can be exchanged for a rinsing agent which also largely rinses away the substances in the cleaning agent. It is also possible to dispose of the conveying unit with the cleaning agent in it Leave overnight, between the rinsing step and the rinsing step, so that the substances in the detergent can work. The pump can also be left to stand overnight in the rinsing step in order to remove even intensive dirt.

In any case, this eliminates the need for time-consuming cleaning steps to clean the conveyor units, so that careful cleaning becomes more attractive, simple and effective for the user.

The structure of such a cleaning circuit depends somewhat on the conveyor units to be cleaned. A dosing pump has, for example, an inlet and an outlet, which can be connected directly to the detergent tank, so that the dosing pump, as a delivery unit, conveys directly from the detergent tank into the detergent tank. The inlet is then connected to an outlet of the detergent tank via an inlet line and the outlet is connected to an inlet of the detergent tank via an outlet line.

According to the invention, the delivery unit is a container pump with a pump lance. I.e. the pump lance is inserted directly into the detergent tank, which is designed as a dip tank. Then the tank pump will pump cleaning agent out of the immersion tank and feed it directly via an inlet.

According to the invention, the immersion container provided for cleaning the container pump is formed separately from the detergent tank. The cleaning circuit then provides an immersion container with an upper insertion opening for inserting the pump lance of the container pump. The container pump then sucks the detergent out of the immersion container and conveys it back into the detergent tank, from where it can flow back into the immersion container via an inlet line.

With some advantage, the immersion container can have a taper in its upper region, that is to say around the insertion opening, so that the pumping action becomes stronger in the upper region and the flow caused by the pump flows faster there. This also improves the cleaning effect.

The immersion container can furthermore have an insertion funnel on its upper insertion opening, which extends upwards and by means of which the positioning of the pump lance of a container pump to be connected to the immersion container is simplified. In addition, such an insertion funnel can possibly catch medium dripping from the conveying unit and let it run into the immersion container, so that no contamination arises around the device.

A drip guard can also be attached to this insertion funnel, which, for example, has a channel-shaped design and can be releasably connected to the upper edge of the insertion funnel by clamping, plugging, screwing and the like. While the insertion funnel provides a more local drip protection, the drip protection plate can cover the entire way out of a container up to the immersion container and catch any falling drops and introduce them into the insertion funnel. For this purpose, the drip protection plate can also be placed on the insertion funnel and the container in which the container pump was previously operated, but in order to ensure that the dripping liquid runs into the insertion funnel, the drip protection plate must be at least horizontal, preferably at an angle between 0 ° and 10 °, be inclined down to the upper edge of the insertion funnel and particularly preferably project from this upper edge in a self-supporting manner.

After inserting the pump lance with the attached tank pump into the immersion tank, the tank pump is switched on for cleaning. This can cause vibrations that cause noise and unsafe storage of the tank pump in the immersion tank. A fixing device can therefore be provided in the area of the insertion opening of the immersion container be with which the pump lance and thus the container pump connected to the pump lance are fixed relative to the immersion tank.

Such a fixing device can be formed from a plurality of clamping screws distributed over the circumference of the outer wall of the immersion container, which can be screwed through the outer wall with the aid of a thread cut into or placed in front of the outer wall towards the center of the insertion opening. You then hit the pump lance and fix it from several sides until the pump lance is immobile. The clamping screws can be provided with terminal handwheels so that they can be fixed with the bare hand, i.e. without tools.

An essential aspect of the invention is a cleaning of container pumps with a pump lance from the inside, in that the cleaning agent is pumped through the container pumps with a pump lance. According to the invention, this also cleans an outer area of the pump lance, namely the area of the pump lance that projects into the medium to be pumped. In order to effect external cleaning, according to the invention, a plurality of feed lines are assigned to the outer wall of the immersion tank in the area of the insertion opening, via which cleaning agents are injected into the immersion tank from the immersion tank or from the cleaning agent tank. When the pump lance is immersed, it is injected and externally freed of dirt while it is being inserted into the immersion tank.

According to the invention, a sleeve chamber is formed around the insertion opening, on the inner wall of which one or more, preferably uniformly over the inner circumference of the inner wall of the sleeve chamber, have inlet openings in the direction of the pump lance. By pressurizing the cuff chamber, the cleaning agent can release the pressure through the inlet openings dismantle, via which the cleaning agent is injected into the interior of the pipe.

It may also be useful to assign an auxiliary pump to the inlet line, which is connected to the cuff chamber, since otherwise the container pump cannot pump a cleaning agent into the circuit when it is first introduced. If necessary, the auxiliary pump can support the delivery unit to be cleaned or only work alternately with it.

In the floor area, the inlet line or, alternatively or additionally, the outlet line has a floor outlet, which is preferably formed at a geodetically lowest point and allows the cleaning circuit to be emptied due to gravity. A drain valve prevents the accidental loss of cleaning agent and can therefore switch back and forth between an open and a closed position.

A filter arrangement can also be assigned to the floor drain, with the aid of which substances of the cleaning agent can be separated and / or neutralized. This prevents pollutants contained in the cleaning agent from escaping and being an environmental toxin.

A heating element can also be assigned to the cleaning circuit. With the aid of such a heating element, which can be configured as a continuous-flow heater or the like, the temperature of the cleaning agent can be increased in order to also use thermal reaction forces for an improved cleaning effect.

During operation, the cleaning agent is continuously pumped in a circle, so that there is almost no change in the amount of cleaning agent during a cleaning process. For an initial filling, however, the detergent tank or, if applicable, the immersion container can have a filling opening at which a filling line to a detergent source such as a water pipe or a detergent container. Additives that have an effect on cleaning can preferably be added to the cleaning agent, for example with the aid of a metering pump assigned to the filling line, preferably a proportional metering.

The entire cleaning cycle works in a very simple arrangement, initially with a single conveyor unit. However, it is also possible to connect a plurality of conveying units in series in terms of flow, so that the cleaning agent flows through the individual conveying units one after the other. In this case, however, only one of the conveying units should be actively operated, while the other conveying units are at most driven by the flowing cleaning agent. If several conveying units were operated at the same time, a pressure could build up between several conveying units with different delivery rates, which could damage the conveying units.

Finally, it is a particularly preferred embodiment if the cleaning circuit with its elements is arranged as a mobile construction on a transport vehicle, such as a hand truck. Thus, the device according to the invention can always be brought to the place where the conveyor units are to be cleaned and it is not necessary to bring the sometimes heavily soiled conveyor units to a specific location and thus also to pollute the environment or a great deal of effort for packaging or even have to do a pre-cleaning.

The invention described above is explained in more detail below using an exemplary embodiment.

Figur 1

eine Vorrichtung zur Reinigung von Förderaggregaten für fließfähige Medien in einer schematischen seitlichen Querschnittsdarstellung,

Figur 2

ein Detail der Vorrichtung gemäß Figur 1 in einer schematischen seitlichen Querschnittsdarstellung, sowie

Figur 3

einen Reinigungskreis in einem prinzipiellen Blockschaltbild.

Show it

Figure 1

a device for cleaning conveying units for flowable media in a schematic lateral cross-sectional view,

Figure 2

a detail of the device according to Figure 1 in a schematic cross-sectional side view, as well

Figure 3

a cleaning circuit in a basic block diagram.

Figure 1 shows a handcart 26 which is mounted on wheels and is therefore designed to be mobile. This handcart 26 is set up in the immediate vicinity of a barrel 25, from which a delivery unit 1 with a pump lance 7 has just been removed and inserted into an immersion container 8. The conveying unit 1 was previously used in the barrel 25 as a container pump in order to convey the contents of the barrel 25 and to carry out its determination. Now that the delivery unit 1 is no longer required in the barrel 25, the delivery unit 1 with its pump lance 7 is pulled out of the barrel 25 and introduced into the immersion container 8 for cleaning.

So that the pump lance 7 of the delivery unit 1 can be introduced more easily into the immersion container 8, the immersion container 8 has an insertion funnel 10. On this insertion funnel 10, a drip protection plate 24 is releasably attached to the edge of the insertion funnel by jamming or screwing, so that the pump lance 7 leaves no impurities when it is pulled out of the barrel 25 and brought into the immersion container 8. The pump lance 7 is always above the barrel 25, the trough-shaped drip protection plate 24 or the insertion funnel 10 until it passes through an insertion opening 9 in the Center of the insertion funnel 10 was introduced into the interior of the immersion container 8.

Also arranged on the handcart is a detergent tank 4, which sprays detergent onto the pump lance via an auxiliary pump 16 through a sleeve ring 14 of the immersion container 8, as will be explained later Figure 2 described. The detergent tank 4 is also connected to the immersion tank 8 via an inlet / outlet line 5, 6 close to the floor and to an outlet of the delivery unit 1 via an outlet line 6. The cleaning agent held in the cleaning agent tank 4 is then introduced during operation of the arrangement described from the cleaning agent tank 4 via the feed lines 5 into the immersion tank 8 and there clean the pump lance 7 from the outside. The conveyor unit 1 is operated for this purpose, so that detergent contained in the immersion container 8, for example water with a cleaning additive, is sucked in at the free end of the pump lance 7 and pumped through the pump lance 7 and the conveyor unit 1 back into the detergent tank. Due to the flow through the conveyor unit 1 and the flushing of the immersed parts, the conveyor unit 1 is cleaned from the inside and from the outside.

For an initial filling of the cleaning circuit, an additional tank 22 is also arranged on the trolley 26, in which the cleaning additive is kept. Connected to this is a proportional metering 21, which is also connected to a cleaning agent source 23, for example a water pipe or another tank. The proportional dosing ensures that an exact mixture of the desired cleaning agent is available and that the ratio between cleaning agent and cleaning additive remains the same even in the case of a pure refill.

To drain the cleaning circuit, a floor drain 17 is provided, which is arranged in an inlet / outlet pipe near the floor between the cleaning agent tank 4 and the immersion container 8. By opening the drain valve 18, both the detergent tank 4 and the immersion container 8 can be completely emptied due to the force of gravity, which, depending on the application, the medium last conveyed and the detergent and cleaning additives used, can take place in a collecting container or in the sewage system.

Figure 2 shows as a detail the Figure 1 the area of the insertion opening 9 of the immersion container 8. This is assigned a cuff ring 14 which surrounds the insertion opening 9. With the help of an auxiliary pump 16, cleaning agent is conveyed from the cleaning agent tank 4 during the introduction of the pump lance 7 of the delivery unit to be cleaned into the immersion container 8, which first fills a cavity in the sleeve ring 14 and then via inlet openings 15 on the inside of the sleeve ring 14 onto the pump lance 7 sprays. As a result, an external cleaning of the pump lance 7 into the immersion container 8 already takes place before an internal cleaning is also added by starting up the delivery unit 1. The pump lance is clamped with the aid of clamping screws 13, which are arranged on a fixing device 12 and distributed over the circumference of the neck of the immersion container, so that when the conveyor unit 1 is operating, it does not swing up to strong movements, but is held securely.

Figure 3 finally shows a schematic arrangement of the elements of the cleaning circuit for the case of simultaneous cleaning of three conveying units 1, 2 and 3 to be cleaned. These are connected in series in terms of flow technology, so that firstly, the conveying unit 1, then the conveying unit 2 and finally the conveying unit 3 passes through before it is conveyed back to the detergent tank 4 via an outlet line 6. Only the first is an active conveyor unit 1, while the other two are passive conveyor units 2 and 3, which are driven by the active conveyor unit 1.

As already described, for the initial filling of a proportional metering 21 connected to the cleaning agent tank 4 via a filling line 20, a cleaning agent source 23 and an additional tank 22 are supplied with a cleaning additive, these components are mixed with the cleaning agent used and the cleaning agent tank 4 is thus filled for the first time.

After use, the drain valve 18 is opened and the dirty cleaning agent is cleaned via a filter arrangement 19 and removed from the system via a floor drain.

A device for cleaning conveying units for flowable media is thus described above, with which simple and effective cleaning is ensured by circulating cleaning agent through one or more conveying units.

REFERENCE SIGN LIST

1

active conveyor unit

2nd

passive conveyor unit

3rd

passive conveyor unit

4th

Detergent tank

5

Inlet pipe

6

Drain pipe

7

Pump lance

8th

Immersion tank

9

Insertion opening

10th

Insertion funnel

11

rejuvenation

12th

Fixing device

13

Clamping screws

14

Cuff ring

15

Inlet opening

16

Auxiliary pump

17th

Floor drain

18th

Drain valve

19th

Filter arrangement

20th

Filling line

21

Proportional dosing

22

Additional tank

23

Source of detergent

24th

Drip guard

25th

barrel

26

Handcart

Claims (12)

1. A device for cleaning container pumps, with a pump lance (7) for flowable media that forms a fluidic cleaning circuit in which a cleaning agent tank (4) and at least one container pump to be cleaned are successively flowed through by a cleaning agent that is contained in the cleaning circuit and circulated by the conveying action of at least one of the container pumps to be cleaned, characterized in that a dip tank (8) is associated with an upper-side insertion opening (9) for introducing the pump lance (7) that is connected to a container pump to be cleaned, and an outlet of the tank pump to be cleaned is connected via a discharge line (6) to an inlet of the cleaning agent tank (4), wherein a plurality of inlet openings (15) that are distributed over the periphery of the outer wall surrounding the insertion opening and form the inlet of the dip tank or belong thereto are associated with the dip tank (8), and wherein the inlet openings (15) are formed in an inner wall of an at least partially encircling cuff ring (14) into which cleaning agent can be conveyed from the cleaning agent tank (4) via a feed line (5) and injected under pressure via the inlet openings (15) into the dip tank (8).
2. The device as set forth in claim 1, characterized in that the dip tank (8) tapers upward in at least one portion.
3. The device as set forth in any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that an upwardly widening inlet funnel (10) is associated with the dip tank (8) at the upper-side inlet opening (9) thereof.
4. The device as set forth in claim 3, characterized in that a preferably groove-shaped drip protection plate (24) that is detachably connected to an upper edge of the inlet funnel (10), preferably via a plug or clamp connection, and projects in a self-supporting manner from the inlet funnel (10), is associated with the inlet funnel (10).
5. The device as set forth in any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the a fixing device (12) for fixing the pump lance (7) of the container pump to be cleaned is associated with the dip tank (8) in the vicinity of the inlet opening (9) thereof.
6. The device as set forth in claim 5, characterized in that the fixing device (12) is formed by a plurality of clamp screws (13) that are preferably provided with handwheels and are distributed over the periphery of the outer wall surrounding the insertion opening (9).
7. The device as set forth in claim 5, characterized in that an auxiliary pump (16) conveying a cleaning agent from the cleaning agent tank (4) or the dip tank (8) is associated with the feed line (5) to the cuff ring (14).
8. The device as set forth in any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a floor drain (17) via which the cleaning circuit can be emptied by gravity via a discharge valve (18) is associated with the feed line (5) and/or the discharge line (6).
9. The device as set forth in claim 8, characterized in that a filter arrangement (19) for separating and/or neutralizing pollutants from the cleaning agent is associated with the floor drain (17).
10. The device as set forth in any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a continuous-flow heater for temperature-controlling the cleaning agent is associated with the cleaning circuit.
11. The device as set forth in any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cleaning agent tank (4) has a fill port that can be connected to a cleaning agent source (23) for the purpose of initial filling by means of a filling line (20), it being preferably possible for additives that are effective for cleaning to be added to the cleaning agent in the context of the initial filling, for example with the aid of a metering pump, preferably a proportional metering (21), that is associated with the filling line (20).
12. The device as set forth in any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a plurality of container pumps that are fluidically connected in succession belong to the cleaning circuit, only one active container pump of which is used as a circulation pump and actively operated.

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