JP2001233442A - Belt cleaning device and belt conveyor with it - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a belt cleaning device and a belt conveyor equipped with it without requiring a big change in a structure of the belt conveyor itself and without redepositing filth removed from the belt thereon. SOLUTION: This belt cleaning device is provided with an ultrasonic cleaning device 55, wherein a vibration part 55a is close to a lower surface of a belt 12, capable of forming a thin layer of cleaning fluid between a surface of the vibration part and the lower side surface of the belt 12, a cleaning fluid feeder 14 feeding the cleaning fluid to the vibration part 55a of the ultrasonic cleaning device 55, and a scraper 16 contacted and arranged on the lower surface of the belt 12 and scraping out the filth on the rotating belt surface. Furthermore, the belt conveyor 50 is constituted with the belt 12 formed coating PTFE on cloth or metal, and equipped with the belt cleaning device.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a belt cleaning apparatus for cleaning and removing dirt and germs adhered to a belt of a belt conveyor for transporting such foods in a process of manufacturing a lunch box or a sandwich, and a belt provided with the same. Conveyor related.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, cloth and vinyl are generally used as a material of a belt of a belt conveyor for conveying foods and the like. In some cases, it is necessary to use a cutter or the like to cut objects on a belt made of these materials, but the belt will be damaged, and stains on food such as cream and sauce will enter the belt, and bacteria will propagate. As a result, the food or the like conveyed thereafter may be contaminated. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7, usually, the surface of the belt 74 wound around the pair of rollers 72, 72 is occasionally manually wiped with a cloth impregnated with alcohol. In addition, it is difficult to completely wipe off the dirt remaining in the wound, and there is a problem that the remaining dirt causes bacteria to propagate again.

For this reason, a method as shown in FIG. 8 is performed. That is, the lower belt 74 is extended downward and wrapped around the roller 76, and the ultrasonic vibrator 78
A cleaning liquid 82 is put in a cleaning tank 80 equipped with a cleaning liquid, and a belt 74 wrapped around a roller 76 passes through the cleaning liquid 82 so that various bacteria and dirt attached to the belt 74 are removed by ultrasonic cleaning. I have to.

[0004]

However, in the case of this method, since the cleaning liquid is contaminated, if the cleaning liquid is not replaced frequently, the dirt may adhere to the belt again, and the maintenance work becomes complicated. In addition, since the belt is extended downward, the structure as a belt conveyor is not common, and there is a problem in terms of manufacturing cost.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a belt cleaning apparatus which does not require a major change in the structure of the belt conveyor itself and which does not cause the waste removed from the belt to reattach to the belt, and a belt conveyor provided with the same. Is to do.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention employs the following means. A belt cleaning device according to claim 1 of the present invention is provided with a spraying means arranged close to a lower surface of a rotating belt for spraying a cleaning liquid onto the lower surface of the belt, and a cleaning liquid supply device for supplying the cleaning liquid to the spraying means. And a scraper that is disposed in contact with the lower surface of the belt and scrapes off dirt on the rotating belt surface.

A belt cleaning device according to a second aspect of the present invention is an ultrasonic atomizer that is provided in proximity to a lower surface of a rotating belt and sprays a cleaning liquid on the lower surface of the belt. And a scraper for contacting the lower surface of the belt and scraping off the surface of the rotating belt.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the belt cleaning apparatus according to the first or second aspect, the vibrating portion is provided below the belt at a position downstream of the ultrasonic atomizer or the spraying means in the rotational direction of the belt. The ultrasonic vibration device is provided in contact with the surface.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a belt cleaning apparatus, wherein an ultrasonic vibrator provided below the rotating belt is sandwiched between a vibrating portion of the ultrasonic vibrator and a lower surface of the belt. A sponge, a cleaning liquid supply device for supplying a cleaning liquid to the sponge, and a scraper that is disposed in contact with the lower surface of the belt and scrapes off dirt on the rotating belt surface.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the belt cleaning apparatus, wherein the vibrating portion is close to the lower surface of the belt, and a thin film of the cleaning liquid can be formed between the vibrating portion surface and the lower surface of the belt. An ultrasonic vibrating device, a cleaning liquid supply device for supplying a cleaning liquid to the upper surface of a vibrating portion of the ultrasonic vibrating device, and a scraper that is disposed in contact with a lower surface of the belt and scrapes dirt on a rotating belt surface. It is characterized by that.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the belt cleaning device according to the fifth aspect, the vibrating portion is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape orthogonal to the belt rotation direction, and vibrators are connected near both ends thereof. The ultrasonic vibration is configured to travel as a traveling wave in a direction perpendicular to the rotation direction of the belt, and a V groove perpendicular to the rotation direction of the belt is formed on the upper surface of the vibration part. And

A belt conveyor according to a seventh aspect of the present invention is a belt conveyor for rotating a belt made of a stainless steel or a metal belt or a cloth belt having a surface coated with polytetrafluoroethylene to transport foods and the like. A belt cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 6 is provided.

Since the belt cleaning device according to the present invention is constructed as described above, for example, when cleaning the belt of a belt conveyor for transporting foods and the like, the cleaning liquid is supplied from the cleaning liquid supply device while rotating the belt conveyor. The cleaning liquid is supplied to the attaching means or the ultrasonic atomizer or the ultrasonic vibration device. The supplied cleaning liquid is applied to the lower surface of the rotating belt,
Sprayed or sprayed, or as a thin film between the lower surface of the belt and the vibrating part of the ultrasonic vibrator, exhibits a melting effect accompanied by ultrasonic vibration, soaks into the dirt of food etc. attached to the belt and dissolves Or soften. The softened dirt is scraped off by a scraper with the rotation of the belt and stored in a container for storing dirt. In addition, if isopropyl alcohol is used as the cleaning liquid, it functions not only as a solvent for dissolving the dirt but also as a disinfectant, and can sterilize the belt surface.

Further, since the belt conveyor according to the present invention is constructed as described above, it is easy to remove dirt from the belt, and even if a work such as food is processed on the belt, the belt is hard, so that the belt is damaged. It is difficult to adhere and it is possible to further reduce the propagation of various bacteria.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to the drawings, embodiments of a belt cleaning apparatus according to the present invention and a belt conveyor having the same will be described below. FIG. 1 schematically shows a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the belt conveyor 10 has a pair of rollers 11, 1
A belt 12 made of cloth or metal and coated with a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE, trade name: Teflon) is wrapped around the belt 12, and the tension of the belt 12 is adjusted by a pair of tensions. This is performed by the rollers 13 and 13. An alcohol dropping device 14 is disposed above the belt 12 as a cleaning liquid supply device.
A nozzle (corresponding to a blowing means according to the present invention) 15 connected to an attached air blowing device 18 is provided in close proximity.

The alcohol dropping device 14 has an upper portion serving as a tank 14a for storing alcohol, and a lower portion of the tank 14a has a tube 14c having a valve 14b.
Is connected to a nozzle 15 disposed below. Further, scrapers 16 and 16 are disposed in contact with the belts 12 upstream and downstream (in the direction of rotation of the belt) of the nozzle 15, respectively. Below the scrapers 16 and 16, scrapers 16 and 16 are disposed. Containers 17, 17 for storing dirt and cleaning liquid scraped off from the surface of the belt 12 are provided. In addition, the scraper 16 provided on the upstream side has a function of scraping large adhered substances adhered to the belt 12.

Here, when isopropyl alcohol is put into the tank 14a of the alcohol dropping device 14 as a cleaning liquid and the valve 14b is opened, the alcohol stored in the tank 14a is dropped and supplied to the nozzle 15 through the tube 14c in a drip manner. The nozzle 15 is sprayed together with air onto the lower surface of the belt 12. When the belt 12 is rotationally driven, alcohol is sprayed on the entire surface of the belt. If dirt such as food adheres to the surface of the belt 12, the alcohol penetrates the dirt and dissolves or softens the dirt. This softened dirt is transferred to the belt 12
Is scraped off by the scraper 16 and stored in the container 17 with the rotation of. At this time, isopropyl alcohol not only dissolves dirt but also sterilizes the surface of the belt 12, so that propagation of various bacteria can be suppressed.

Further, since the belt conveyor 10 is formed by coating the belt 12 with a Teflon coat on a cloth or metal belt base material, the belt conveyor 10 has a high hardness. It is possible to reduce the amount of dirt that is not easily scratched and that easily remains in the wound, and the propagation of various bacteria can be suppressed in combination with the cleaning effect of the belt cleaning device described above. The material of the belt 12 is not limited to this, but may be formed of stainless steel itself, although the cost is high.

The above-described alcohol dropping device 14, nozzle 15, and scraper 16 constitute a belt cleaning device of the present invention.

Next, a second embodiment of the belt cleaning apparatus according to the present invention and a belt conveyor having the same will be described. FIG. 2 schematically shows a second embodiment of the present invention. This belt conveyor 20 is the first
The difference from the belt conveyor 10 according to the first embodiment is that, in the first embodiment, a nozzle 15 for spraying alcohol on the lower surface of the belt is provided as one of the components of the belt cleaning device. In this embodiment, an ultrasonic atomizer 25 is used instead. Since other parts are the same or equivalent, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

The ultrasonic atomizer 25 contains therein an ultrasonic oscillation circuit and an ultrasonic vibrator, and a horn 25a is formed so as to protrude upward in connection with the ultrasonic vibrator.
At this horn 25a, the alcohol dropping device 14
It is configured such that alcohol is dripped from the.

Also in this case, isopropyl alcohol is put into the tank 14a of the alcohol dropping device 14 and dropped on the horn 25a of the ultrasonic atomizer 25. The alcohol dripped on the horn 25a becomes a mist and becomes a belt 1
2 sprayed on the lower surface. When the belt 12 is driven to rotate, alcohol is sprayed on the entire surface of the belt. If dirt such as food adheres to the surface of the belt 12, the alcohol penetrates the dirt and dissolves or softens the dirt. The softened dirt is scraped off by the scraper 16 with the rotation of the belt 12 and stored in the container 17. The alcohol cleaning device 14, the ultrasonic atomizer 25, and the scraper 16 constitute a belt cleaning device according to claim 2 of the present application.

In the above embodiment, the alcohol is dropped from the alcohol dropping device 14 into the ultrasonic atomizer 25, but instead of the water tank of the ultrasonic humidifier used in a normal home, It is also possible to install a tank for storing alcohol in the ultrasonic atomizer 25.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 3 schematically shows a third embodiment of the present invention. The difference between the belt conveyor 30 and the belt conveyors 10 and 20 according to the first and second embodiments is that, in the first embodiment, alcohol is applied to the lower surface of the belt as one of the components of the belt cleaning device. The nozzle 15 to be sprayed is provided, and the ultrasonic atomizer 25 is provided in the second embodiment. However, in this embodiment, an ultrasonic vibration device 35 is additionally provided downstream of the nozzle. The other parts are the same as or equivalent to those of the first and second embodiments.

The ultrasonic vibration device 35 contains an ultrasonic oscillation circuit and an ultrasonic vibrator therein, and a horn 35a is formed to protrude upward in connection with the ultrasonic vibrator. The horn 35a is in close contact with the lower surface of the belt 11.

Here, as in the previous two embodiments, isopropyl alcohol is put as a cleaning liquid into the tank 14a of the alcohol dropping device 14, and when the valve 14b is opened, the alcohol stored in the tank 14a is dripped like a drip. The liquid is supplied dropwise to the nozzle 15 or the ultrasonic atomizer 25, and is sprayed from the nozzle 15 (atomizer 25) together with air onto the lower surface of the belt 12. When the belt 12 is rotationally driven, alcohol is sprayed on the entire surface of the belt. If dirt such as food adheres to the surface of the belt 12, the alcohol penetrates the dirt and dissolves or softens the dirt.

Then, the belt 12 at that portion rotates, and the horn 3 of the ultrasonic vibrating device 35 disposed on the downstream side is rotated.
When it reaches 5a, the vibration of the horn 35a is applied,
The softened dirt becomes softer. The softened dirt is scraped off by the scraper 16 with the rotation of the belt 12 and stored in the container 17. In this embodiment, the cost is higher than that of the belt cleaning device in the first or second embodiment, but the dirt removal ability is improved. The alcohol cleaning device 14, the ultrasonic vibration device 35, and the scraper 16 constitute a belt cleaning device according to claim 3 of the present application.

Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 4 schematically shows a fourth embodiment of the present invention. This belt conveyor 40 is the second
The second embodiment differs from the belt conveyor 20 of the second embodiment in that an ultrasonic atomizer 25 is provided on the lower surface of the belt as one of the components of the belt cleaning device. In this embodiment, the ultrasonic atomizer 2
5, an ultrasonic vibration device 45 is provided, and a sponge 46 is sandwiched between the horn 45a and the lower surface of the belt 12. Then, isopropyl alcohol is dropped on the sponge 46 from the alcohol dropping device 14. Since other parts are the same or equivalent, the same reference numerals are given to the same parts and the description is omitted.

The ultrasonic vibration device 45 has an ultrasonic oscillation circuit and an ultrasonic vibrator housed therein, and a horn 45a is formed to protrude upward in connection with the ultrasonic vibrator. The sponge 46 is sandwiched between the horn 45a and the lower surface of the belt 12. When alcohol is dripped from the alcohol dripping device 14 onto the sponge 46 and the ultrasonic vibration device 45 is operated, the belt 12
The alcohol-containing sponge 46 in contact with the lower surface of the is vibrated. When the belt 12 is driven to rotate, dirt such as food adhered to the surface of the belt 12 is absorbed by the alcohol absorbed and held by the sponge 46, and is further melted and softened by intermittent pressing due to the vibration of the sponge 46. At the same time, a part thereof is wiped off by the sponge 46. The remaining dirt is scraped off by the scraper 16 with the rotation of the belt 12 and stored in the container 17.

As a modification of the ultrasonic vibration device 45,
A radial sonic type may be used. Radial Sonic is a cylindrical horn connected to a bolted Langevin type vibrator with a joining screw.The horn has a hollow tip, and the axial vibration transmitted to the horn is the Poisson of the horn itself. It is of the type that is converted into radial (radial) vibration by the effect. That is,
The diameter increases as the axial direction contracts, and decreases as the axial direction extends.

The radial sonic cylindrical horn is placed horizontally with the side surface of the horn in contact with the sponge 46. When the ultrasonic signal is applied to the radial sonic, the alcohol liquid absorbed and held by the sponge 46 similarly exudes from the sponge 46 to wet the lower surface of the belt 12 due to the radial vibration of the horn. Become.

By using the radial sonic device, the vibrator portion can be arranged laterally from the belt 12, and even if the alcohol solution or the dirt attached to the belt is dropped, the vibrator portion is not applied, thereby reducing maintenance work. be able to.

The alcohol dropping device 14, the ultrasonic vibration device 45, and the scraper 16 are used in the present invention.
Of the belt cleaning device of the present invention.

Next, a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 5 schematically shows a fifth embodiment of the present invention. This belt conveyor 50 is the fourth
The fourth embodiment is different from the belt conveyor 40 according to the fourth embodiment in that an ultrasonic vibration device 45 is provided on the lower surface of the belt as one of the components of the belt cleaning device. Although the sponge 46 is sandwiched between the sponge 46 and the lower surface of the ultrasonic vibration device 5, the ultrasonic vibration device 5
5 and its horn (vibrating part) 55a is
When alcohol is dropped from the alcohol dropping device 14 on the upper surface of the horn 55a near the surface, a thin film of alcohol is formed between the horn 55a and the lower surface of the belt 12. Horn 55a upper surface and belt 1
2, the horn 55a itself is slightly inclined downward from the side where the alcohol is dropped toward the opposite side, and the supplied alcohol is connected to the upper side of the horn 55a to the opposite side. It is configured to run down.

As one example of the ultrasonic vibration device 55, as shown in FIG. 6, a V-groove 55a1 is provided in the longitudinal direction of the surface of the horn 55a of the ultrasonic vibration device 55, and the horn 55a
BLT type ultrasonic transducers 55
b and 55c, an oscillator 55d is connected to one ultrasonic transducer 55b, and a load resistor R is connected to the other ultrasonic transducer 55.
May be connected to generate a traveling wave of ultrasonic vibration in the longitudinal direction of the horn 55a. By doing so, the V-groove 5 of the horn 55a can be used without tilting the horn 55a itself.
The alcohol supplied to the end of 5a1 naturally flows to the opposite side and is discharged, and does not flow in the other direction. The alcohol dropping device 14, the ultrasonic vibrating device 55, and the scraper 16 are used in the present invention.
Of the belt cleaning device of the present invention.

[0035]

As described above, according to the present invention,
There is no need to manually wipe the bells of the belt conveyor that conveys foods, etc., which saves labor and improves the efficiency of cleaning because it can be carried out even during the work of conveying foods. It is also clean because it does not reattach. In addition, the apparatus is simple and can be implemented without changing the structure of the belt conveyor itself, and costs can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a perspective view showing an example of the ultrasonic vibration device shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a conventional belt cleaning method by hand.

FIG. 8 is a view showing a conventional belt cleaning device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 Belt conveyor 11 Roller 12 Belt 13 Tension roller 14 Alcohol dripping device 15 Nozzle (spraying means) 16 Scraper 17 Container 18 Air blowing device 18a Air regulating valve 25 Ultrasonic atomizer 35 Ultrasonic vibrator 45 ultrasonic vibration device 46 sponge 55 ultrasonic vibration device 55a horn (vibrating part)

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) B08B 3/12 B08B 3/12 D 11/00 11/00 A B65G 45/10 B65G 45/10 B 45 / 22 45/22 C (72) Inventor Norihisa Takahashi 3-chome, 3-chome, Sakaemachi, Hamura-shi, Tokyo (72) Inventor Yoshiki Hashimoto 3-1-1, Sakaemachi, Hamura-shi, Tokyo 5 c. 72) Inventor Yasumasa Tsuruoka 5-36 33 Shimomeguro, Meguro-ku, Tokyo F-term (reference) 3B116 AA08 AB53 BA03 BA22 BB22 BB85 BB88 3B201 AA08 AB53 BA03 BA22 BB22 BB85 BB25 BB95 CB25

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A spraying means disposed in proximity to a lower surface of a rotating belt for spraying a cleaning liquid on the lower surface of the belt;
A belt cleaning apparatus, comprising: a cleaning liquid supply device for supplying a cleaning liquid to the spraying means; and a scraper that is disposed in contact with a lower surface of the belt and scrapes dirt on a rotating belt surface. 2. An ultrasonic atomizer disposed adjacent to a lower surface of the rotating belt and spraying a cleaning liquid on the lower surface of the belt.
A belt cleaning apparatus, comprising: a cleaning liquid supply device that supplies a cleaning liquid to the ultrasonic atomizer; and a scraper that is provided in contact with a lower surface of the belt and scrapes dirt on a rotating belt surface. 3. An ultrasonic vibration device is provided at a position downstream of the ultrasonic atomizer or the spraying means in the rotation direction of the belt in a state where the vibration portion is in contact with the lower surface of the belt. The belt cleaning device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: 4. An ultrasonic vibration device provided below a rotating belt, a sponge sandwiched between a vibration part of the ultrasonic vibration device and a lower surface of the belt, and a cleaning liquid applied to the sponge. A belt cleaning device, comprising: a cleaning liquid supply device to be supplied; and a scraper that is disposed in contact with a lower surface of the belt and scrapes off dirt on a rotating belt surface. 5. An ultrasonic vibrator configured to have a vibrating portion close to a lower surface of a belt and capable of forming a thin film of a cleaning liquid between the surface of the vibrating portion and a lower surface of the belt; A belt cleaning apparatus comprising: a cleaning liquid supply device that supplies a cleaning liquid to an upper surface of a vibrating section of an ultrasonic vibration device; and a scraper that is provided in contact with a lower surface of the belt and scrapes dirt on a rotating belt surface. . 6. The vibrating part is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape orthogonal to the belt rotation direction, and vibrators are connected near both ends thereof, and the ultrasonic vibration is a traveling wave in a direction orthogonal to the belt rotation direction. The belt cleaning device according to claim 5, wherein a V-shaped groove is formed on the upper surface of the vibrating portion, and a V-groove perpendicular to the rotation direction of the belt is formed. 7. A belt conveyor for transporting food or the like by rotating a belt made of a stainless steel or a metal belt or a cloth belt having a surface coated with polytetrafluoroethylene, and transporting food or the like. A belt conveyor provided with any one of the belt cleaning devices described in (1).