JPH08257519A - Cleaning tank - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a simply structured, compact cleaning tank which has a high cleaning effect for a material to be cleaned regardless of the magnitude of specific gravity of the material and is free from generating or intruding foreign matters by constituting a tank consisting of an internally installed guide cylinder and a jet nozzle formed at a cleaning liquid inlet part, in such a manner that the tank is inversible. CONSTITUTION: A cleaning tank 1 consists of a tightly closable lid 2 with a cleaning liquid outlet part 3 which is firmly fastened to a main tank system by a fixture such as a bolt. In addition, a support 6 for bracing a bellmouth-like diameter-expanded guide cylinder 5 is fitted in an intratant part. Further, a jet nozzle 9 is installed at the conical tip of a conical bottom wall part 8. On the other hand, a clamp joint 10 for attaching/detaching an elbow part 11 which discharges a finished product after cleaning is attached. Besides, the cleaning tank 1 is inversible so that the supply, cleaning, sterilization, drying and delivery of a rubber stopper are rationally performed, and at the same time, these procedures can be applied to even a material to be cleaned with a smaller specific gravity than that of a cleaning liquid.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cleaning tank for efficiently cleaning, sterilizing and drying small molded parts made of rubber or plastic, such as various rubber stoppers or medical joints, which require a high degree of cleaning. It is about. In particular, the cleaning tank of the present invention is a rubber component having a complicated shape having an air vent hole such as a rubber foot stopper for tapping and a rubber stopper for infusion used as a stopper for a medical bottle for medicines, chemicals and the like. It is effective for cleaning small molded parts such as and plastic joints for blood circuits.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional method for cleaning small molded articles such as rubber stoppers for medical bottles, articles to be cleaned (hereinafter referred to as "objects to be cleaned") are immersed in water and washed by stirring. Agitation cleaning method that only requires a high-pressure jet, high-pressure jet cleaning method in which a high-pressure jet is sprayed, pulsation cleaning method in which pulsation of air is generated from a double mesh structure disperser, or an object to be cleaned is stored in an ultrasonic cleaner. There is known an ultrasonic cleaning method in which ultrasonic cleaning is performed.

However, simply immersing in water or a chemical solution,
Since it is difficult to uniformly flow the cleaning liquid just by stirring, cleaning spots are likely to occur, and there is a possibility that the articles may be damaged by friction between the articles, or the separated foreign matter may reattach to the article. Satisfactory cleaning effect is not obtained.

Further, even in the case of a rubber plug, in the case of an article having a complicated shape having an air hole or the like such as a half-length stopper rubber plug for half-capping or a rubber plug for infusion, details such as recesses and inner surfaces of small holes are required. Is difficult to clean, and even with a high-pressure jet cleaning method, when a large number of molded articles are cleaned at one time, there is no uniform jet jet flow over the entire article, and even if one article is taken, the jet flow Not only is it difficult to evenly wash the surface due to the difference in the contact condition, it is also impossible to completely remove fine air bubbles under the epidermis and fine air adhering to the rough surface.

Further, in the ultrasonic cleaning method, when the object to be cleaned is an article having elasticity such as a rubber plug, the soft surface absorbs sound waves, and the cleaning effect is hardly obtained. Further, in the pulsating cleaning method utilizing the pulsation of air, a disperser for generating the pulsation of air is provided in the lower part of the cleaning device. However, the cleaning effect is not sufficient and other cleaning methods must be used. As described above, in the cleaning of various small molded products made of rubber or plastic, which require a high level of cleaning property, it is the actual situation that no satisfactory cleaning effect is obtained by any method. There has been a long-felt demand for a cleaning tank that can be efficiently cleaned in one tank regardless of the difference in material and specific gravity, and that can perform sterilization and drying in the same tank.

[0006]

Since various conventional rubber products are brittle in terms of material, the rubber plug itself was damaged by the jet flow, and contamination was frequently observed, but recently the rubber quality has improved, Jet cleaning is now applicable. In view of such a situation, the inventors of the present invention have invented, as a cleaning device for solving the above problems, a cleaning device in which a guide cylinder having an enlarged upper end and a lower end is provided in a container. Filed as an issue. According to this apparatus, it is possible to effectively remove foreign matters and clean the object to be cleaned by circulating the object to be cleaned in and out of the guide cylinder.

In order to perform more effective cleaning, one of the inventors invented a cleaning device in which a cylindrical rotary drum is contained in a closed container, and filed an application as Japanese Patent Application No. 60-104736. This device is a cleaning device in which a cylindrical rotating drum is installed in a closed container, and a cleaning device with a large cleaning effect that utilizes the jet cleaning effect by generating a powerful jet in the rotating drum with a water jet pump. Is.

However, Japanese Patent Application No. 57-229881
The apparatus described in No. 5 has only a cleaning function, and when the specific gravity of the object to be cleaned is large, the cleaning effect is large, but when the specific gravity is small, the sufficient cleaning effect cannot be obtained. On the other hand, in the cleaning device described in Japanese Patent Application No. 60-104736, which has a high cleaning effect and is well-received and delivered, the seal of the rotating part is indispensable because the rotating drum is contained in the closed container. Of foreign matter and mechanical
It cannot be said that there is no invasion of foreign matter from the cable part. Further, as described above, the device itself becomes complicated and the device becomes large, so that there is a problem in that it is too expensive to manufacture. Therefore, an object of the present invention is a highly practical cleaning tank of a compact type that has a high cleaning effect regardless of the specific gravity of the object to be cleaned, has a simple structure, and is free from the risk of foreign matter generation or intrusion, and the same. It is to provide a cleaning tank that can be sterilized and dried in the tank.

[0009]

Means for Solving the Problems The inventors of the present invention have earnestly studied to achieve the above-mentioned object, and arrived at the present invention. That is, it comprises a sealable lid having a cleaning fluid outlet, a conical bottom wall portion having a cleaning fluid inlet, and a cylindrical side wall portion, and has a guide tube with a lower end and an upper end expanded in a trumpet shape inside. However, the cleaning fluid inlet is provided with a jet nozzle, and the tank is constructed so as to be able to fall over.

[0010]

In the cleaning tank of the present invention, since the rotating part is not provided internally, no foreign matter is generated or invaded. Further, according to the cleaning tank of the present invention, a high cleaning effect can be obtained by the synergistic effect of the jet flow from the jet nozzle provided at the cleaning fluid inlet and the guide cylinder provided inside the cleaning tank. Further, since the tank is configured to be tumblable, it is possible to rationally carry out supply, cleaning, sterilization, drying, and discharging of rubber stoppers, etc. The same can be applied to the case where the specific gravity is smaller than that of the cleaning liquid.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the cleaning tank of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a sectional view of the cleaning tank of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 1 is a cleaning tank. Reference numeral 2 denotes a sealable lid having a cleaning fluid outlet 3, which is fastened to the tank body with a fixture such as a bolt. 4 is a cylindrical side wall,
A support body 6 is provided for supporting the guide tube 5 having a trumpet-like diameter provided inside the tank. The support may be a simple rod-shaped support or a radial support plate, and is not particularly limited as long as it securely supports the guide cylinder.

Although the side wall portion is usually a cylinder, it may have a slightly deformed cylindrical shape as long as the flow in the tank is symmetrical with respect to the central axes of the tank and the guide cylinder. Further, the side wall portion may have a shape in which a conical bottom wall portion is continuous to the top of the tank instead of the cylindrical shape. In this case, for the purpose of adjusting the space between the lower expanded portion of the guide cylinder and the side wall portion, and in view of the design, the middle portion of the side wall portion may be bent once or several times. 7 is a partition plate such as a net or a perforated plate for preventing the outflow of the object to be cleaned.

Reference numeral 8 denotes a conical bottom wall, and a jet nozzle 9 is provided at the top of the cone. The bottom wall is preferably a perfect cone, but in a broad sense it can be a cone. The jet nozzle 9 is configured as a circular gap or as a circular hole provided on a disc in a circular shape. FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a case where a circular gap is formed between a butterfly valve type valve and a casing. In the gap, the jet flow is evenly applied to the object to be cleaned, and the cleaning fluid circulates inside and outside the guide cylinder 5 so that the object to be cleaned does not pass through the gap due to the circulating flow. Although it depends on the required cleaning degree of the object, it is generally preferable to set the ejection speed from the nozzle portion to be 2 m to 20 m / sec.
Normally, the gap is set to about 0.5 mm to 3 mm.

The jet nozzle in FIG. 3 is an example of a multi-hole nozzle provided at equal intervals along the circumference of the disc.
When cleaning, the disc is placed on the top of the bottom wall of the cleaning tank with an air cylinder.
The cleaning liquid is ejected from the nozzle portion by being pressed in the axial direction by a nozzle. As described above, the diameter of one hole forming the nozzle is such that the jet flow is evenly applied to the object to be cleaned, and the cleaning fluid circulates inside and outside the guide cylinder 5 and rides on the circulating flow. The ejection speed is set so that the object to be cleaned will flow. Normally the nozzle diameter is 3m
It is set to about m to 5 mm.

The use of such a jet nozzle is one of the features of the present invention, and the jet nozzle and the upper and lower ends provided inside the tank are arranged in a guide tube and a guide tube whose diameter is expanded like a trumpet. Due to the synergistic effect with the partition plate, the foreign matter is well separated, and the jet flow creates a good flow state that evenly hits the object to be cleaned, and a high cleaning effect is obtained.

It is preferable from the viewpoint of cleaning effect that the central axis of the inlet of the cleaning fluid in which the jet nozzle is provided and the central axis of the guide tube expanded in a trumpet shape are aligned, and the jet port of the nozzle is a guide. It is preferable that the guide tube is provided closer to the center than half the inner diameter of the straight pipe portion of the guide cylinder with reference to the central axis of the straight pipe portion. By making the jet outlet of the jet nozzle like this,
There is little energy loss in the flared enlarged part (inflow side), and the cleaning liquid is efficiently flown into the guide cylinder from the outside of the guide cylinder to increase the flow velocity and liquid volume of the confluence of the jet flow and the circulation flow in the guide cylinder. Therefore, the cleaning effect can be enhanced.

Generally, the object to be cleaned has various shapes. When the volume of the object to be cleaned is v, the diameter d of the object to be cleaned is
Can be represented by the equivalent spherical diameter represented by (6v / π) ^1/3 . In the cleaning tank of the present invention, when the inner diameter of the straight pipe portion of the guide cylinder is 6d to 14d, the cleaning effect becomes large,
preferable. The inner diameter of the cleaning tank is preferably 4 to 7 times the inner diameter of the straight pipe portion of the guide cylinder in order to enhance the cleaning effect and to manufacture a compact cleaning tank. A gap of 3d or more between the enlarged diameter portion of the guide cylinder and the bottom wall portion is preferable in order to prevent blocking of the object to be cleaned and to smoothly circulate.

Reference numeral 10 is a clamp joint for attaching and detaching the elbow portion 11 for discharging the product after cleaning. Of course, by opening and closing the jet nozzle, the object to be cleaned can be put into or removed from the cleaning tank.

[0019] The size of the cleaning tank can be various manufactured in accordance with the amount of the cleaning object to be processed, 0.1 m ³ to 2 m ³ approximately is easy to handle those, it is practical. The filling rate of the object to be cleaned is usually in the range of 30 to 60%. It is preferable in terms of work to provide a peep window in the washing tank so that the state of washing inside can be confirmed.

Usually, distilled water, pure water,
Sterilized water such as UF water and RO water and dust-removed water are used, but steam is also used for sterilization and air is also used for drying. It is also effective to heat the cleaning liquid in order to improve the cleaning effect.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart when cleaning, sterilizing and drying an object to be cleaned using the cleaning tank of the present invention. The system using the cleaning tank of the present invention includes the cleaning tank of the present invention, a separation tank for storing a cleaning liquid, a charging tank for charging a slurry of an object to be cleaned and a cleaning liquid into the cleaning tank, and the inside of the tank. A vacuum pump (not shown) for reducing the pressure and a circulation pump for circulating the cleaning liquid are used. In addition, the cleaning fluid inlet pipe and the cleaning fluid outlet pipe pass through the hollow shaft for tipping over the tank so that the entire washing tank can be turned over. It has a swingable structure. The upright state of the cleaning tank refers to the state of the cleaning tank shown in FIG. 4, and the inverted state refers to a state which is upside down from that of FIG. 1 to 3 show an upright state. The jet nozzle in FIG. 4 is an example of a multi-hole nozzle provided at equal intervals along the circumference of the disc.

Next, a method of using the cleaning tank of the present invention for cleaning, sterilizing and drying an object to be cleaned will be described with reference to the flow chart of FIG.

(1) Preparation for cleaning In the product preparation tank 34, the object to be cleaned and the water supply valve 3 for transportation
Water for transportation is charged from 5 to make the inside of the charging tank into a slurry state. The air cylinder 13 is operated to open the disc pressed against the top of the bottom wall of the cleaning tank, and then the motor 15 is operated to bring the cleaning tank 1 into a state upside down from that shown in FIG.

Slurry transport pipe valve 19, cleaning water supply valve 20, sterilization steam supply valve 21, drying air supply valve 22, cleaning liquid circulation valve 23, cleaning liquid drain valve 26, drain drain valve 27, separation tank drain valve Three
3 and the water supply valve 35 for transportation are closed, and the evacuation line 2
From 9, the cleaning tank and the separation tank system are depressurized. The slurry transport pipe valve 19 is opened, and the slurry-like material in the product preparation tank is charged into the cleaning tank 1 via the collecting pipe 18 by utilizing the pressure difference between the product preparation tank 34 and the cleaning tank 1. . Since the collecting pipe 18 needs to pass solids, liquids and gases,
Slurry material passes through the center, and fluids such as cleaning and transportation water, sterilizing steam, drying and water expelling air can pass from the surroundings, and the inner cylinder is reticulated so that the product cannot pass to the outside. I am using a double tube.

When the slurry-like material in the product preparation tank cannot be transported to the cleaning tank 1 at one time, the transportation water is separated via the partition plate 7 and the cleaning liquid outlet pipe 12 provided in the cleaning tank. It is sufficient to repeat the operation of opening the transportation water return valve 24 and operating the circulation pump 31 to return the water extracted to the storage tank 30 to the product preparation tank 34. After throwing the slurry-like material into the cleaning tank 1, after releasing the negative pressure in the system, the cleaning liquid drain valve 26 and the separation tank drain valve 33 are opened,
Drain. Next, the air cylinder 13 is operated to press the disc-shaped lid forming the jet nozzle toward the top of the bottom wall of the cleaning tank, and the cleaning tank 1 is returned to the upright state.

(2) Washing After confirming the opening and closing of each valve, water is supplied from the washing water supply valve 20, the washing tank 1 is filled with water, and until the predetermined liquid level of the separating tank 30 is reached by overflow water. Water is supplied while checking with the liquid level gauge 37, the circulation pump 31 is operated, and the cleaning liquid is circulated. If necessary, a filter may be provided after the circulation pump 31. In addition to the liquid level gauge 37 of the separation tank, a pressure gauge, a thermometer, and a peep window for observing the inside of the cleaning tank are installed in the cleaning tank 1 to check the situation at the preparation stage, a guideline for steady operation, It is convenient for detecting abnormalities. In the steady state, as shown in FIG. 4, a circulation flow is circulated inside and outside the trumpet-shaped guide cylinder, and it can be confirmed that the object to be cleaned is well cleaned from the viewing window. The washing time is not particularly limited, but is usually 5 to 20 minutes.

When the specific gravity of the object to be cleaned is larger than that of the cleaning liquid, the cleaning tank is erected, and the object to be cleaned is placed on the circulation flow inside and outside the trumpet-shaped guide cylinder for cleaning. If the specific gravity of the object to be cleaned is smaller than that of the cleaning liquid (if the object to be cleaned floats), the object to be cleaned is placed on the circulating flow inside and outside the trumpet-shaped guide tube with the cleaning tank inverted. To do. As described above, the cleaning tank of the present invention can be applied regardless of whether the specific gravity of the object to be cleaned is larger or smaller than the cleaning liquid, and particularly when the specific gravity of the object to be cleaned is smaller than the cleaning liquid, the cleaning tank is inverted. By using it, it is possible to perform the same cleaning as in the case of a large specific gravity.

Further, water is supplied and drained simultaneously while washing, and continuous rinsing and washing are performed, or circulation is stopped to make the washing tank upside down and drained, and new water is supplied to fill the washing tank. It is also possible to circulate again after irrigation and to rinse.

It is preferable to intermittently or continuously shake the entire cleaning tank during cleaning to further improve the uniformity of cleaning.
The swinging is performed by activating a motor 15 which is configured so that a hollow shaft through which the inlet pipe and the outlet pipe of the cleaning fluid can pass is rotatably supported by a rotating bearing 14 such as a bearing.

The swinging angle is not particularly limited, but it is preferable to swing within the range of ± 40 to 50 degrees with reference to the upright state or the inverted state in terms of high cleaning effect and low energy consumption. . For the angle of swinging, for example, a disc is attached to the rotating shaft, and a through hole is set at a predetermined position of the disc,
It may be controlled by detecting the through hole at the set position with a photoelectric tube. It is desirable that a part of the pipe is made of a flexible tube in order to smoothly swing and prevent the pipe from being broken. 16 and 17 are such flexible tubes.

After washing for a predetermined time, the circulation pump 31 is stopped. After the motor 15 is operated and the cleaning tank 1 is turned upside down, the liquid in the cleaning tank is withdrawn from the cleaning liquid return valve 25 to the separation tank 30 via the cleaning liquid outlet pipe 12. The liquid in the separation tank 30 is the separation tank drain valve 3
Remove from 3 to outside the system. Drainage air supply valve 2 for drying
Open 2 and push out while supplying air. During the drainage operation, shake the washing tank to drain the water that has accumulated in the object to be washed as little as possible.

(3) Sterilization In order to perform sufficient drainage and effectively perform the sterilization operation, the washing tank 1 is kept upside down and the valves 19 and 22 are kept.
Is closed and the water is exhausted from the vacuum line 29 to the outside of the system.
At this time, it is more effective to rock the cleaning tank. After sufficiently draining, the vacuum line 29 is closed and the valve 25 is closed, the sterilization steam supply valve 21 is opened, steam is introduced into the cleaning tank, and the air in the tank is replaced with sterile steam.
After opening the drain drain valve 27 and raising the temperature to a predetermined temperature, sterilization is performed for a predetermined time.

The sterilization is carried out at a temperature of 1 in order to carry out a predetermined moist heat sterilization.
Hold the temperature at 21 degrees for 20 minutes. The steam drain is discharged from the steam trap 28 to the outside of the system.
It is effective to intermittently or continuously rock the entire washing tank in order to uniformly perform sterilization. Drain collects in the object to be sterilized during sterilization to lower the temperature, but since it effectively flows down due to rocking, it is possible to prevent the temperature from lowering and sterilize at a more uniform temperature. Furthermore, since a large amount of heat is consumed because the residual drain after sterilization is re-evaporated,
Dripping as much as possible by shaking to reduce residual water greatly contributes to shortening the drying time.

(4) Drying Drying air is introduced from the drying air supply valve 22 into the cleaning tank in an inverted state, and the cleaning liquid drain valve 26 is opened and discharged to the outside of the system. It is more effective to close the valve 26, open the valve 25, and perform vacuum drying or vacuum drying in which drying is performed while forcibly exhausting from the vacuum line 29 with a vacuum pump or the like. It is more effective to intermittently or continuously oscillate the washing tank during the drying in order to uniformly perform the drying.

The moisture adhering to the material to be dried and the cleaning tank and the residual water inside the material to be cleaned are evaporated by the use of residual heat after the sterilization operation in the early stage of drying, and as a dry air, a low dew point air is used in the middle to late stages of drying. Can be effectively discharged to the outside of the system by lowering the equilibrium moisture content in the tank by using a vacuum pump or by forcibly exhausting with a vacuum pump, or by heating the cleaning tank from the outside with a steam etc., and accelerate the drying operation. can do.

(5) Taking out the product After the drying is completed, the washing tank 1 is placed in the upright state, and when the jet nozzle shown in FIG. 1 is used, the clamp joint 10 is removed and the elbow pipe 11 at the washing liquid inlet is connected. Then, the butterfly valve type jet nozzle 9 is swung 90 degrees. Further, when the jet nozzle shown in FIG. 4 is used, the elbow pipe 11 is removed, and the valve body constituting the jet nozzle 9 is actuated and pulled up by the air cylinder 13. Since it is discharged from the outlet, it is received by the product container. When the product is discharged, it is preferable to use a clean room to prevent recontamination of the product. In this case, it is needless to say that the product receiving container needs to be cleaned, sterilized, dried and clean.

[0037]

According to the present invention, a cleaning tank provided with a jet nozzle is provided. A rubber part with a complicated shape having an air vent hole such as a long rubber stopper for tapping, which is used as a stopper for medical bottles such as drugs and chemicals using such a cleaning tank, and a rubber stopper for infusion. When small molded parts such as plastic joints for blood circuits and blood circuits are washed, uniform washing can be performed due to the synergistic effect of the jet flow of the washing liquid from the jet nozzle and the circulation of the guide cylinder inside the washing tank. Highly effective. Further, the cleaning tank of the present invention has a simple structure and can be applied to a product having a large specific gravity and settling in the cleaning liquid and a product having a small specific gravity and floating in the cleaning liquid. It is inexpensive and highly practical. In addition, the structure of the sterilization and drying system is simple, and hygiene management is easy.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of a cleaning tank of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of an embodiment of a jet nozzle used in the cleaning tank of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of an embodiment of a jet nozzle used in the cleaning tank of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an example of a flow sheet when cleaning is performed using the cleaning tank of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Cleaning Tank 2 Sealing Lid 3 Cleaning Fluid Outlet 4 Cylindrical Side Wall 5 Guide Tube 6 Support 7 Partition Plate 8 Conical Bottom Wall 9 Jet Nozzle 10 Clamp Joint 11 Elbow Piping 12 Cleaning Fluid Outlet Piping 13 Air Cylinder-14 Bearings for rotation 15 Motor 16 Flexible tube 17 Flexible tube 18 Collecting pipe 19 Slurry transportation pipe valve 20 Washing water supply valve 21 Sterilization steam supply valve 22 Drying air supply valve 23 Cleaning liquid circulation valve 24 Transportation Water return valve 25 Cleaning liquid return valve 26 Cleaning liquid drain valve 27 Drain drain valve 28 Drain trap 29 Vacuum line 30 Separation tank 31 Circulation pump 32 Check valve 33 Separation tank drain valve 34 Product preparation tank 35 Transport water supply Valve 36 Check valve 37 Liquid level indicator

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A sealable lid having a cleaning fluid outlet,
It has a conical bottom wall and a cylindrical side wall with a cleaning fluid inlet, and has a guide tube with a lower end and an upper end expanded in a trumpet shape inside, and a jet nozzle is provided at the cleaning fluid inlet. A cleaning tank, wherein the cleaning tank is constructed so that it can be turned over.