JP2002273367A - Container cleaning device and container cleaning method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a container cleaning method by which a sufficient cleaning effect upon even a part which is hard to clean of a container is ensured. SOLUTION: The face, on a conveyance path 10 side, of a belt 5 arranged along one side of the conveyance path 10 to a guide 4 arranged on the other side of the conveyance path 10, is pressed gainst the outer wall face 2a of the container 2, midway during conveying the container 2. Then the container 2 is cleaned by a cleaning solution spewed from a brush 6 and a nozzle 7 while the container 2 is held and rotated.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for cleaning a container filled with a liquid such as yogurt, jelly, pudding, juice or a viscoelastic substance (hereinafter simply referred to as "content").

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When a container is filled with yogurt or the like and packaged, a part of the contents may spill out and adhere to the outer wall surface of the container in a filling step or a sealing step. To cope with this, after the filling of the container and the sealing of the container opening are completed, a cleaning step is provided to clean the surface of the container.

As a conventional method of cleaning the surface of a container, there is a method of spraying a cleaning liquid or compressed air from a nozzle, or a spray of a mixed fluid of a cleaning liquid and compressed air to remove deposits attached to the outer wall surface of the container. .

[0004]

However, due to the structure of the container, it may not be possible to completely clean the deposits at locations where the cleaning liquid or the like does not sufficiently reach, and the product may be shipped with insufficient cleaning. For example, in the case of a cup-shaped container, it is common to seal the opening on the upper surface with a seal. However, there is a tendency that deposits remain on the lower surface of the flange at the upper end of the cup formed for joining the seal. Met. For containers filled with food, there is a risk of inducing the occurrence of microorganisms, etc.,
It is not sanitary for the container to be shipped with the contents attached even on the outer surface of the container. Further, if the contents remain attached to the container other than food, the commercial value is reduced.

[0005] The present invention has been proposed in view of the above,
An object of the present invention is to provide a container cleaning apparatus and a container cleaning method capable of sufficiently obtaining a cleaning effect even in a place where the container is difficult to be cleaned.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a transport mechanism for transporting a container on a transport path by placing the container on the transport path, the transport mechanism being capable of contacting a part of an outer wall surface of the container transported by the transport mechanism. A horizontally long guide disposed on one side of the transport path, a plurality of nozzles that eject cleaning liquid toward the container and are disposed along the transport direction, and a surface on the transport path side that is disposed along the other side of the transport path. A belt provided in a state of pressing the outer wall surface of the container, and a brush arranged along the other side of the transport path and provided with a tip in contact with the container surface, and guides the container being transported. A cleaning device for a container, characterized in that the container is cleaned while rotating between the belt and a belt.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, while the container is being conveyed on the conveying path by the conveying mechanism, the outer wall surface of the container being conveyed to the horizontally long guide disposed on one side of the conveying path is
The belt is arranged along the other side of the conveying path and brought into contact by pressing the surface of the belt on the conveying path side against the outer wall surface of the container, from a plurality of nozzles arranged along the conveying path, the cleaning liquid is ejected toward the container, A container cleaning method characterized by contacting the tip of a brush arranged along the other side of the conveyance path with the surface of the container, and cleaning the container being conveyed while rotating between the guide and the belt while rotating. is there.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view of a container cleaning device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side view of the cleaning device 1,
FIG. 3 is an enlarged plan view showing a state in which the brush 6 is brought into contact with the rotating container 2 during conveyance, and FIG. 4 is a front view of the cleaning device 1 as viewed from the upstream of the conveyance path 10. In FIG. 2, the illustration of the brush 6 is omitted.

[0009] As shown in FIG.
Transport mechanism 3 for transporting the container 2 from the entrance to the exit of the transport path 10 and the outer wall surface 2a of the container 2 transported by the transport mechanism 3
And a guide 4 provided along one side of the transport path 10 (in the present embodiment, on the right side in the transport direction) in contact with a part of the transport path 10 and arranged along the other side of the transport path 10 (on the left side in the transport direction). And
Along the belt 5 provided in a state where the surface on the side of the transport path 10 presses the outer wall surface 2a of the container 2, along the left side of the transport path 10,
A brush 6 installed with its tip in contact with the surface of the container 2, a nozzle 7 installed in a state of spraying the cleaning liquid toward the outer wall surface 2a of the container 2, and a guide 4 having at least the length of the guide 4. A lifting prevention guide 8 that is disposed on the conveyance path 10 between the belt 5 and the container 2 and that prevents the container 2 from floating is roughly configured.

The transport mechanism 3 includes a transport member 9 having a substantially horizontal surface on which the container 2 is placed, and a drive unit (not shown) for moving the transport member 9 from upstream to downstream in the transport direction. The transport mechanism 3 includes, for example, as shown in FIG. 1, an endless belt as a transport member 9 having a width sufficient to place the container 2 thereon, and rollers (not shown) at both ends of which the endless belt is hung. A belt conveyor having a motor (not shown) for rotating the rollers as a main component is suitable. If the endless belt is a wire mesh belt, the cleaning liquid hardly remains on the belt, so that the bottom surface of the container 2 can be conveyed without being stained. In addition, when the surface is subjected to a smooth surface treatment such as a fluororesin coating, and a plurality of these are connected and used for the transport member 9, the container 2 can be easily rotated. The method of rotating the container 2 will be described later.

The guide 4 is made of a long plate extending horizontally along the transport path 10 from the entrance to the exit of the transport path 10, and is provided by a bracket 11 erected from the right side of the transport mechanism 3. As shown in FIG. 4, the surface of the guide 4 and the outer wall surface 2 a of the container 2 are supported at a height of about one third of the container 2 so as to be in contact with each other. The guide 4 is rotatably mounted on the bracket 11 so that the contact angle can be adjusted in the vertical direction, or the guide 4 can be mounted so as to be vertically movable so that the contact position with the container 2 can be adjusted vertically. Then, a plurality of types of containers 2 having different sizes and different angles of the outer wall surface 2a can be handled.

When the guide 4 is made up of a plurality of horizontally long bars having a substantially circular cross section and each bar can be adjusted in the vertical position, for example, the outer wall 2a having a generatrix curve is provided. The guide 4 can also correspond to the container 2.

When a friction material such as rubber or resin is joined to the surface of the guide 4 described above, the container 2 becomes less slippery on the surface of the guide 4 and the container 2 can be easily rotated.

On the other hand, the belt 5 is an endless rubber belt wound around a drive roller 13 provided in the vertical direction near the entrance on the left side of the transport path 10 and a driven roller 14 provided near the exit. 4, the surface on the side of the transport path 10 located at the same height as that of the container 2 is installed so as to press against the outer wall surface 2a of the container 2, and the surface on the side of the transport path 10 runs in the same direction as the transport direction of the container 2. Thus, the container 2 can be rotated while being moved in the transport direction.

When the belt 5 is an endless belt having a plurality of substantially circular cross sections, and each belt 5 is wound around a driving roller 13 and a driven roller 14 having different diameters, for example, the outer wall 2a having a generatrix curve is formed. Even if the container 2 has, it can be reliably contacted and pressed.

The drive roller 13 is provided on an output shaft of a drive motor 15 such as a servo motor, as shown in FIG.
The belt 5 can be rotated. The drive motor 15 may be activated by detecting that the container 2 has been conveyed to the entrance of the washing zone by the container detector 16, or may be activated by turning on the power.

As described above, since the guide 4 and the belt 5 are arranged on both sides of the transport path 10, as shown in FIG. 4, the outer wall 2a of the container 2 can be sandwiched from both left and right sides. As described above, the container 2 sandwiched between the guide 4 and the belt 5 is prevented from being lifted by the lift prevention guide 8.

The brush 6 is attached to a support member 17 provided along the left side of the transport path 10 as shown in FIGS. The flange 2b is set so as to enter from below.

In the present embodiment, the brushes 6 are arranged continuously on the surface of the support member 17 in the transport direction, but may be arranged discontinuously.

If the vertical position of the brush 6 is adjustable, the brush 6 can easily cope with a change in the position of the flange 2b of the container 2. When the inclination angle in the vertical direction can be adjusted, it is possible to cope with a complicated shape of the flange 2b of the container 2.

The nozzle 7 is installed horizontally on the upper side of the support member 17 to which the brush 6 is attached, toward the transport path 10.
The cleaning liquid sent from the pump (not shown) through the pipe 20 is jetted toward the flange 2b and the outer wall surface 2a of the container 2.

The lifting prevention guide 8 is supported by a bracket 11 erected from the right side of the transport mechanism 3 as shown in FIG.

The cleaning liquid to be jetted may be a liquid containing a detergent component, or may be cold water or hot water.

Next, a method of cleaning the container 2 having the above-described configuration will be described. First, when the drive motor 15 is activated and the belt 5 starts rotating and traveling, when the container 2 approaches the cleaning zone entrance by the transport mechanism 3, the container detector 16 detects the container 2 and the cleaning liquid is ejected. I do. With this configuration, it is possible to save the amount of the cleaning liquid used.

After that, the container 2 entering the washing zone by the transport mechanism 3 is sandwiched between the rotating belt 5 and the stationary guide 4, the lifting of which is regulated by the lifting prevention guide 8. It is rotated clockwise in plan view while being sandwiched (FIGS. 1 and 3). At this time, in order to prevent the container 2 from being congested at the entrance of the washing zone, the moving speed of the rotation axis of the container 2 in the transfer direction should be equal to or slightly higher than the transfer speed of the container 2 by the transfer mechanism 3. desirable.

The brush 6 fixed to the support member 17
Comes into contact with the rotating container 2, so that the surface is swept,
Deposits attached to the flange 2b and the outer wall surface 2a of the container 2 can be removed. When the above-described brush 6 that can be tilted upward is attached, the cleaning effect on the lower surface of the flange 2b of the container 2 is further ensured.

At the same time, since the cleaning liquid is jetted from the nozzle 7 to the flange 2b and the outer wall surface 2a of the container 2, it is easy to remove the adhering matter by the brush 6, and therefore, the cleaning liquid No deposits remain on the lower surface or the outer wall surface 2a.

In a section where the belt 5 rotates and travels, that is, in a section where the container 2 is rotating, the container 2 can be transported by sandwiching the belt 5 and the guide 4. Therefore, without providing the belt conveyor, the transport path 10 may be configured with a mere flat floor, and the belt 5 and the guide 4 may function as the transport mechanism 3.

In the above embodiment, the cup-shaped container 2 with a flange, such as yogurt, has been described as an example.
The container 2 is not limited to this shape, and the contents are not limited to food.

[0030]

As described above, according to the present invention,
In the middle of transporting the container, the container is rotated on both sides with the horizontal guide provided on one side of the transport path and the belt provided on the opposite side, sandwiching the outer wall surface of the container from both sides, and the horizontal brush and cleaning liquid are used. Since the container is washed, for example, even in a place where cleaning is difficult such as the lower surface of the flange of the container, the brush can be wrapped around, and the container can be reliably washed.

Therefore, there is no adhesion of the contents to the container washed in this way, and it is possible to solve the inconvenience of lowering the commercial value. In particular, when the content is food, a clean state can be maintained, which is preferable in terms of sanitary management.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a container cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the cleaning device.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged plan view showing a state in which a brush is brought into contact with a rotating container being conveyed.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the cleaning device as viewed from the upstream of the transport path.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cleaning device 2 Container 2a Outer wall surface 2b Flange 3 Transport mechanism 4 Guide 5 Belt 6 Brush 7 Nozzle 8 Lifting prevention guide 9 Transport member 10 Transport path 11 Bracket 13 Drive roller 14 Follower roller 15 Drive motor 16 Container detector 17 Support member 20 Piping

Claims (2)

[Claims] A transport mechanism for placing the container on the transport path and transporting the transport mechanism on the transport path; and a laterally elongated guide disposed on one side of the transport path so as to be able to contact a part of the outer wall surface of the container transported by the transport mechanism. A plurality of nozzles are provided along the transport direction by spraying the cleaning liquid toward the container, and are disposed along the other side of the transport path, and the surface on the transport path side is provided so as to press the outer wall surface of the container. A belt is provided along the other side of the transport path, and a brush is provided in a state in which the tip is in contact with the surface of the container. The container being transported is sandwiched between the guide and the belt, and is washed while rotating. A cleaning device for containers, characterized in that: 2. While the container is being conveyed on the conveyance path by the conveyance mechanism, the outer wall surface of the container being conveyed along the other side of the conveyance path with respect to the horizontally long guide arranged on one side of the conveyance path. The surface of the arranged belt on the conveyance path side is brought into contact by pressing against the outer wall surface of the container, and a plurality of nozzles arranged along the conveyance path squirt the cleaning liquid toward the container, along the other side of the conveyance path. A method for cleaning a container, comprising: bringing a tip of an arranged brush into contact with a surface of a container, and cleaning the container being transported while rotating the container while holding it between a guide and a belt.