US3838473A

US3838473A - Apparatus for cleaning glasses or like vessels

Info

Publication number: US3838473A
Application number: US00427559A
Authority: US
Inventors: H Remih
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1972-04-07
Filing date: 1973-12-26
Publication date: 1974-10-01
Anticipated expiration: 1991-10-01

Abstract

An apparatus for cleaning hollow vessels, such as glasses, of the kind which comprises a washing housing having outer and inner washing brushes, arranged respectively to come into contact with the outside and inside of a vessel to be cleaned, a rinsing housing, means for supplying fresh water to said housings and means for removing dirty water therefrom. The washing and rinsing housings are connected together by rigid tie members to form a single rigid structural unit. The housings are preferably of cylindrical shape, open at the top.

Description

United States Patent 1191 Remih mi 3,838,473 1 Oct. 1,1974

[ APPARATUS FOR CLEANING GLASSES OR LIKE VESSELS [76] Inventor: Harry Remih, 2 Hierzigsberg,

Remich-Luxembourg, Luxembourg 22 Filed: Dec. 26, 1973 21 App]. No.: 427,559

Related US. Application Data [63] Continuation-impart of Ser. No. 241,969, April 7,

1972, abandoned,

[52] US. Cl 15/105, 15/76, 15/104.92,

134/55 [51] Int. Cl A471 15/40, B08b 3/02 [58] Field of Search 15/4, 56, 58, 65.69, 71,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 686,984 11/1901 Mason 15/76 1,397,846 11/1921 Walker 134/191 X 1,706,189 3/1929 Schmidt 15/75 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 659,913 10/1951 Great Britain 15/76 14,533 7/1905 Great Britain 15/69 1,251,134 12/1960 France 15/75 1,040,375 5/1963 France 15/75 362,646 12/1931 Great Britain 15/75 2,928 2/1898 Great Britain 15/76 Primary Examiner-Daniel Blum Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Robert W. Beach 57 ABSTRACT An apparatus for cleaning hollow vessels, such as glasses, of the kind which comprises a washing housing having outer and inner washing brushes, arranged respectively to come into contact with the outside and inside of a-vessel to be cleaned, a rinsing housing, means for supplying fresh water to said housings and means for removing dirty water therefrom. The washing and rinsing housings are connected together by rigid tie members to form a single rigid structural unit. The housings are preferably of cylindrical shape, open at the top.

3 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures APPARATUS FOR CLEANING GLASSES OR LIKE VESSELS respectively to come into contact with the outside and inside of a glass to be cleaned, a rinsing housing, means for supplying fresh water to said housings, and means for removing dirty water therefrom. Various apparatus for washing drinking glasses, for example beer glasses, wine glasses or the like are known which are used primarily in hotels and public houses, in order to be able to clean dirty glasses ready for re-use. In the known apparatus, disadvantages have been found in cases where water is supplied to brushes to clean the inside and outside of a glass, because the glass is not rinsed afterwards so that, for example, washing powders and the like cannot be completely removed, and sometimes even nondissolved dirt remains stuck to the glass which results in a hygienically unsatisfactory use of the glasses.

It is an object of the invention to produce apparatus for cleaning glasses and the like in which both washing and rinsing are possible. The apparatus thus should be simple in its construction and cheap to manufacture.

Accordingly, the invention consists in apparatus for cleaning a glass or the like vessel, consisting of a washing housing having outer and inner washing brushes, arranged respectively to come into contact with the outside and inside of a glass to be cleaned, a rinsing housing, means for supplying fresh water to said housings and means for removing dirty water therefrom, wherein the washing and rinsing housings are connected together by rigid tie members to form a single rigid structural unit.

Advantageously, the housings are of cylindrical shape open at the top.

In one embodiment of the invention, the housings each have at their bases a water inlet orifice, the two orifices being connected by connecting pipes to a main fresh water line, the washing housing has an outlet adjacent its upper edge and the rinsing housing an outlet at its base, said outlets being connected to a common dirty water pipe.

Preferably, a valve is arranged in the fresh water supply to the rinsing housing, said valve being openable by pressure from above.

The inner washing brush may be reciprocable in the washing housing and be held under the pressure of a resilient member, and its lower edge may cooperate with a valve rod for opening and closing a fresh water supply valve.

In another embodiment, the floor of the rinsing housing is higher than the floor of the washing housing, and has an outlet orifice which is connected via a connecting pipe to an inlet orifice adjacent the floor of the washing housing.

An upwardly projecting pipe is advantageously arranged in the rinsing housing and is connected at its lower end to a fresh water supply, a rod being reciprocable in said pipe and cooperating with the valve rod and the upper end of which projects beyond the pipe. Futhermore, said pipe may have lateral water outlet orifices and be connected to a jet pipe which is arranged close to the inner wall of the rinsing housing.

In order that the invention may be more clearly understood, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings showing two embodiments thereof by way of example, and in which:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a first embodiment of apparatus according to the invention.

FIG. 2 shows an axial section through the apparatus shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 2a is a detail section of the washer valve structure and FIG. 2b is a detail section of the rinser valve structure.

FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of a second embodiment, and

FIG. 4 shows a cut-away view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 3.

Referring now to the drawings, the apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 consists of a washing housing 1 and a rinsing housing 2. Both housings l, 2 are rigidly conneeted by connecting bars 3 to form a single structural unit. Both housings l, 2 are of cylindrical shape, open at the top.

An outer brush 4 is arranged in the washing housing 1 and rests against the inner wall of the container and the bristles of which project towards the interior of the housing. The outer brush 4 surrounds an inner brush 5 which is designed as a vertically standing cylindrical brush. A glass to be cleaned can be inserted upside down from above onto the roller brush 5, so that its interior can be cleaned by the inner brush 5 and its exterior by the outer brush 4.

An inlet orifice 7 is provided on the floor 6 of the housing 1, and is connected to a fresh water supply pipe 8 via a valve 9 arranged in the inlet orifice 7, having a valve rod 10 which projects upwardly and carries a seal 11.

The lower end of the cylindrical brush 5 is resiliently carried and engages over the upper end of the valve rod 10. By means of pressure on the cylindrical brush 5, by a glass to be cleaned, the valve rod 10 is urged downwardly thus to remove the seal 11 from its seat and open the water supply from pipe 8, as shown in FIG. 2a, whereby water flows into the housing 1. An outlet 12 is provided adjacent the upper edge of the housing 1 and is connected to a dirty water pipe 13.

An upwardly projecting jet pipe 14 is arranged in the housing 2 and a rod 15 is reciprocable therewithin, the upper end of the rod 15 projecting beyond the pipe 14. The lower end 16 of the rod 15 cooperates with a valve rod 17 which corresponds to the valve rod 10 of the washing housing 1. The valve rod 17 also carries a seal 17a which normally cuts off the supply of fresh rinsing water into the housing 2 as shown in FIG. 2b. By pressing down the rod 15 by an inverted glass, the valve rod 17 is operated to remove the seal 17a from its seat and thus opens the fresh water supply. The fresh water can then rise upwardly in the pipe 14 and escape laterally through appropriate orifice openings. The pipe 14 is also connected to jet pipes 18 which are arranged close to the inner wall of the rinsing container 2 and the jet orifices 19 of which ensure an approximately horizontal flow of water towards the center of the housing. Each pipe 18 has an upright portion and a substantially semicircular portion connected to the upper end of the upright portion.

An outlet 21 is provided on the floor 20 of the housing and is connected to a dirty water outlet 22.

After washing in the housing 1, the glass to be cleaned can be put into the rinsing housing 2 as described above, and inverted on the pipe 14 to release the fresh water supply by pressure on the upper end of the rod 15. The flow of water issuing from the jet orifices effects rinsing of the glass.

The apparatus according to FIGS. 3 and 4 similarly comprises a washing housing la and a rinsing housing 211 which are both cylindrical and rigidly connected by connecting bars 3a to form a single structural unit.

Furthermore, an outer washing brush 4a abutting the inner wall of the container is arranged in the washing housing 1a together with an inner cylindrical brush 5a which is vertically arranged in the center. In contradis tinction to the apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, however, the inner cylindrical brush 5a is fixed. The housing also has a water inlet orifice 7a adjacent its floor 6a and a water outlet 12a adjacent-its upper edge.

The rinsing housing 2a has a container floor 20a which is arranged above the level of the floor 6a and disposed adjacent to the top of the washing housing 1a. Therefore, the casing of the rinsing housing 2a is significantly taller than that of the housing 1a. The space below the floor 20a is used for connecting the appropriate pipes.

The housing 20a has an outlet orifice 21a which is connected by a pipe 23 to the inlet orifice 7a of the housing 1a. Thus, the water for the rinsing housing 2a can be supplied to the washing housing 1a which has the great advantage that no fresh water has to be used for the washing stage since the rinsing water, which is required in any event, is used for this purpose, and which, according to experience, is relatively clean,

The fresh water supply to the rinsing housing 2a has an upwardly projecting pipe 14; the reciprocable rod 15 therein, the valve rod 17 and the jet tube 18 are all similar to like parts referred to in connection with the embodiment according to FIGS. 1, 2 and 2b.

Advantageously, the housing in both embodiments are made from a plastics material. Suction feet may be provided on the base, as shown at 24 in FIGS. 3 and I claim: I

1. Apparatus for cleaning a hollow vessel comprising a washing housing having an open top, a non-rotative inner; brush within said washing housing, a fixed annular outer brush within said washing housing and encircling said inner brush, said inner and outer brushes being arranged to come into contact with the inside and outside walls, respectively, of a vessel to be cleaned in inverted position, means for supplying washing liquid to said washing housing, a washing liquid inlet valve for controlling the supply of washing liquid through said supplying means, valve control means engageable by a vessel in inverted position lowered over said inner brush for opening said washing liquid inlet valve, outlet means in said washing housing adjacent to the upper ends of said brushes for removing washing liquid from said washing housing while enabling said brushes to be substantially submerged in washing liquid, a rinsing housing rigidly connected to said washing housing and having an open top, an inner upright jet pipe in said rinsing housing over which a vessel to be rinsed can be 4 inverted for supplying rinsing liquid to the inside of such vessel, a plurality of outer jet pipes arranged around said inner jet pipe and each including an upright portion and a generally horizontal arcuate portion at an angle to its upright portion for supplying rinsing liquid to the outside wall and to the outer side of the bottom of such an inverted vessel to be rinsed, a rinsing liquid inlet valve for controlling flow of rinsing liquid to said jet pipes, and an upright rod lengthwise reciprocable by engagement therewith of an inverted vessel to be rinsed for opening said rinsing liquid inlet valve.

2. Apparatus for cleaning a hollow vessel comprising a washing housing having an open top, a nonrotative inner brush within said washing housing, a fixed annular outer brush within said washing housing and encircling said inner brush, said inner and outer brushes being arranged to come into contact with the inside and outside walls, respectively, of a vessel to be cleaned in inverted position, a rinsing housing rigidly connected to said washing housing, having an open top and having its bottom disposed adjacent to the top of said washing housing, an inner upright jet pipe in said rinsing housing over which a vessel to be rinsed can be inverted for supplying rinsing liquid to the inside of such vessel, a plurality of outer jet pipes arranged around said inner jet pipe and each including an upright portion and a generally horizontal arcuate portion at an angle to its upright portion for supplying rinsing liquid to the outside wall and to the outer side of the bottom of such an inverted vessel to be rinsed, means for supplying rinsing liquid to said jet pipes, means for draining liquid from the bottom of said rinsing housing to a portion of said washing housing below the bottom of said rinsing housing to be used as washing liquid, and outlet means in said washing housing adjacent to the upper ends of said brushes for removing washing liquid from said washing housing while enabling said brushes to be substantially submerged in washing liquid.

3. Apparatus for cleaning a hollow vessel comprising a washing housing having an open top, an inner brush within said washing housing, an outer brush within said washing housing outwardly of said inner brush, said inner and outer brushes being arranged to come into contact with the inside and outside walls, respectively, of a vessel to be cleaned in inverted position, a rinsing housing rigidly connected to said washing housing, having an open top and having its bottom disposed adjacent to the top of said washing housing, an inner upright jet pipe in said rinsing housing over which a vessel to be rinsed can be inverted for supplying rinsing liquid to the inside of such vessel, an outer jet pipe for supplying rinsing liquid to the outside of such vessel, a rinsing liquid inlet valve for controlling flow of rinsing liquid to said jet pipes, an upright rod lengthwise reciprocable by engagement therewith of an inverted vessel to be rinsed for opening said rinsing liquid inlet valve, means for draining liquid from the bottom of said rinsing housing to a portion of said washing housing below the bottom of said rinsing housing, and outlet means in said washing housing adjacent to the upper ends of said brushes for removing washing liquid from said washing housing while enabling said brushes to be substantially submerged in washing liquid.

Claims

1. Apparatus for cleaning a hollow vessel comprising a washing housing having an open top, a non-rotative inner brush within said washing housing, a fixed annular outer brush within said washing housing and encircling said inner brush, said inner and outer brushes being arranged to come into contact with the inside and outside walls, respectively, of a vessel to be cleaned in inverted position, means for supplying washing liquid to said washing housing, a washing liquid inlet valve for controlling the supply of washing liquid through said supplying means, valve control means engageable by a vessel in inverted position lowered over said inner brush for opening said washing liquid inlet valve, outlet means in said washing housing adjacent to the upper ends of said brushes for removing washing liquid from said washing housing while enabling said brushes to be substantially submerged in washing liquid, a rinsing housing rigidly connected to said washing housing and having an open top, an inner upright jet pipe in said rinsing housing over which a vessel to be rinsed can be inverted for supplying rinsing liquid to the inside of such vessel, a plurality of outer jet pipes arranged around said inner jet pipe and each including an upright portion and a generally horizontal arcuate portion at an angle to its upright portion for supplying rinsing liquid to the outside wall and to the outer side of the bottom of such an inverted vessel to be rinsed, a rinsing liquid inlet valve for controlling flow of rinsing liquid to said jet pipes, and an upright rod lengthwise reciprocable by engagement therewith of an inverted vessel to be rinsed for opening said rinsing liquid inlet valve.