WO2003079879A1

WO2003079879A1 - Quick washing machine for knife

Info

Publication number: WO2003079879A1
Application number: PCT/IT2003/000179
Authority: WO
Inventors: Anastasio Artipoli
Original assignee: Artipoli, Alessandra
Priority date: 2002-03-27
Filing date: 2003-03-26
Publication date: 2003-10-02
Also published as: ITRM20020173A1; AU2003219546A1; ITRM20020173A0

Abstract

An automatic machine equipped with a plurality of self-cleaning rotating brushes where each washing step is carried out in a very short time under absolute safety conditions for the user because of a housing that prevents the knife to come out of the washing room and starts the washing cycle only if the housing is grasped by the hand of the user. During such washing cycle the rotating brushes are brought to rub sideways both faces of the knife and are then removed therefrom during the rinsing step.

Description

Quick washing machine for knife

The present invention relates to the electromechanical field and, more particularly, an automatic machine able to wash a knife at a time perfectly and safely by using hot water mixed with a cleansing liquid as well as causing a plurality of rotating brushes to rub sideways the blade of the knife to be washed. Such machine finds a particular application in food retailing and public catering where a continuous use of knives for cutting foodstuffs (cheese, salami, meat, etc.) is made.

From a market survey in such specific field relative to the cleaning of knives used to cut several foods, it has been found that continuously operating devices able to clean a knife in a short time, i.e. a few seconds, between cuttings following one another are missing at all. In order to get out of such lack, traditional systems are used such as paper rolls, clothes, and basins filled with suitably heated water where the dirty knives are left to soak. However, such systems suffer from a lot of drawbacks. Dry cleaning systems such as rolls or clothes seem to be not suitable for dealers working at sight of customers accepting against their will that knives used to cut foods are not washed every time, and the use of basins implies the evaporation of the hot water and the risk of burning as well as a considerable waste of energy without providing remarkable results . Therefore, there is a strong demand of providing a valid solution to such daily problem for dealers and foodstuff industries.

The present invention seeks to give a suitable response to such demand by providing a continuously running, compact size washing machine equipped with a plurality of self-cleaning rotating brushes where each washing step is carried out in a very short time under absolute safety conditions for the user because of a housing that prevents the knife to come out of the washing room and starts the washing cycle only if it is grasped by the hand of the user. During such cycle the rotating brushes are brought to rub sideways both faces of the knife and are then removed therefrom during the rinsing step.

Further advantages and features of the invention will be more readily apparent frpm the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings that show by way of a not limiting example a preferred embodiment thereof. In the drawings :

Fig. 1 is a general electric diagram of the machine;

Fi - 2 is a diagram of the plumbing;

Fig. 3 is a diagram of the waterworks in case of knife washing machines in cascade for industrial applications; Fig. 4 is a perspective view from the outside of the machine ;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the inner brush driving system;

Figs . 6 and 7 are front elevation views of the brush assembly in washing and rest positions, respectively,-

Fig. 8 is a view in enlarged scale of the front portion of the washing machine showing the housing and the safety system connected thereto;

Figs. 9 and 10 show the driving system of the input doors of the knife washing room;

Fig. 11 is a perspective view of the washing machine with a plurality of additional modules;

Fig. 12 shows a variation of the washing machine provided with knife holder cabinet.

With reference to the figures, the washing machine according to the invention includes a box-like housing which is provided on the upper side with a control console having on/off buttons and warning lights as well as a central slot receiving the blade of knife to be washed into such housing to such a position as to be washed by means of a cleansing liquid contained in a small basin 27 and a rotating assembly consisting of two pairs of upper 37, 37a and lower 38, 38a rubbing brushes parallel to each other which are brought to rub sideways both faces of the knife.

More particularly, with reference to figs. 5, 6 and 7 the brushes are pivotable inside the washing room 17 about a pair of horizontal axes connected at their ends to two vertical arms 90, 92 which are both hinged at their lower ends to a lower horizontal crossbar 94 which is stationary with respect to the knife washing machine. In their operating position, the two arms 90, 92 are vertically disposed, and the two brush assemblies 37, 38 and 37a, 38a on the right hand and left hand sides of the knife, respectively, are driven through idle gears 31 and 32 by a pair of driving gear wheels 29 and 30 in mesh to each other. As can be seen in fig. 5, a plunger 28 is positioned under the lower brushes 38, 38a and' is driven to put the two arms 90, 92 away from each other, thus disengaging the idle gears 31 and 32 from the driving gear wheels 29 and 30.

The ^■ operation of the invention will now be described starting from the main switch of the electric diagram of fig. 1 and highlighting every time all of the components used for the construction of the washing machine.

With reference to such electric diagram, the switching on of main switch 1 puts on warning light 2 indicating the voltage is on. At the same time resistance 3 controlled by the maximum temperature thermostat 4 calibrated at 75°C heats the water in boiler 5 (fig. 2) .

When water reaches 60°C under the control of thermostat 6, it is necessary to fill basin 27 with the cleansing liquid (fig. 4) the level of which is monitored by a float 8 (fig. 1) .

If additional modules as those shown in fig. 11 are present, a second float 9 is provided for monitoring the overflow of the discharge module indicated at 81 in fig. 11. Upon energizing coil 11, contact 12 is switched over so that the block warning light 13 is turned off and cycle starting warning light 14 is turned on. The machine is now ready for the washing cycle. Under such condition, as can be seen in figs. 9 and 10, the two doors 15 and 16 for the access to the washing room 17 are open and the blade of the knife to be washed can be put into such room with its cutting edge directed downwards and its handle located into the proper handle housing 18 (fig. 8) . According to a feature of the invention, the end of a lever 19 is hinged under the handle housing 18, as can be seen in fig. 8. Such lever can be rotated upwards by the user with his free fingers of the hand grasping the knife handle at housing 18. Lever 19 has the r double function of closing the two safety doors 15 and 16 that prevent the knife from escaping from its washing room 17 as well as starting the washing operation. The knife blade is now completely closed in its washing room. Upon operating safety lever 19, contacts 20 and 21 are switched over at the same time (fig. 1) . Contact 20 operates servomotor 22 and at the same time energizes coil 23 that turns off cycle-on warning light' 14 and turns on warning light 24 indicating washing in progress .

Servomotor 22 is provided with five cams as follows:

- Cl -.switches over end-of-stroke contact 45 (fig. 1) that stops the rotation of servomotor after a predetermined time; - ^' C2 switches over contact 41 that controls the delivery of the cleansing liquid through three-way electrovalve 40 in the washing step (fig. 1) for a time less than one second;

- C3 switches over contact 46 that starts the washing timer for a predetermined time (fig. 1) ;

- C4 drives arm 55 (fig. 9) to close door 16;

- C5 drives arm 56 (fig. 9) to close door 15. Contact 21 closes the electric circuit of cleansing liquid pump 25 and at the same time energizes electrovalve 26 that drives plunger 28 of fig. 2.

Electrovalve 26 driving hydraulic plunger 28 is a three-way valve: ways B and C are open and way A is closed in the rest position. Upon energizing the coil, electrovalve 26 opens way A and closes way C. Plunger 28 is supplied with the hydraulic pressure and causes the two small plungers sliding out of one cylinder to drive the rotating assembly of fig. 5 until the engaging position (fig. 3) between driving gears 29, 30 and gears 31, 32 connected to the two upper brushes 37, 38 is reached (fig. 5) .

As can be seen in figs. 5, 6 and 7 the two lower brushes 37a, 38a are rotated through intermediate transmission gears 33, 34 by driving gears 31, 32 and transmit a reverse rotation to lower gears 35, 36.

Accordingly, the two lower brushes 37a, 38a are pivotably connected to gears 35 and 36, and rotate in the same direction as upper brushes 37, 38. At the end of the rubbing step by brushes 37, 38 and 37a, 38a, electrovalve 26 is deenergized and returns to its rest position by closing way A and opening way C, thus allowing the plunger to be released through way B and retracted by spring 39 in fig. 5. The direction of rotation of all brushes is such as to rub the blade so that the brushes do not meet the cutting edge, as can be seen in fig. 6.

The cleansing liquid sucked by cleansing liquid pump 25 flows back and forth to tank 27 in fig. 2 through three-way electrovalve 40, i.e. it leaves tank 27 through way B and flows back thereto through way C. This ^fis the rest position.

When contact 41 of cam 2 in fig. 1 is closed, it energizes the coil of electrovalve 40 for a time less than one second, thus closing way C and opening way A so that a little charge of cleansing liquid is deposited into storage tank 42 (fig. 2) . Contact 43 (fig. 1) controls the right closure of doors 15 and 16 (figs. 9 and 10) for the access to washing room 7 (fig. 5) . If the latter are not perfectly closed, the washing does not take place so that motor 44 (fig. 5) and electrovalve 48 (fig. 2) do not operate. This prevents the user from scalding himself and touching the rotating brushes. As mentioned above, cam 1 causes servomotor 22 (fig. 1) to reach the end of stroke by switching over contact 45 that stops the rotation thereof. Meanwhile, servomotor 22 closes contact 46 through cam 3 and energizes washing timer 47 regulated at 6 seconds that drives motor 44 (fig. 1) by the energization of two- way electrovalve 48 (fig. 2) that causes hot water to enter cleansing-liquid tank 42 to produce a washing mix which is supplied through two hoses 49 to the two spout arrays 50 (fig. 2) . After'" the predetermined washing time is elapsed, timer 47 (fig. 1) deenergizes motor 44 and electrovalve 48 and energizes two-way electrovalve 51 of the cold water (fig. 2) . At the same time it energizes coil 52 that opens contact 53, thus stopping cleansing liquid pump 25 and electrovalve 26 which deenergizes and releases plunger 28, thus allowing the rotating assembly in fig. 6 to come to the rest position in fig. 7. The cold water rinsing is started now by electrovalve 51. The duration of the rinsing is selected by the user. Cold water arrives through hoses 49 (fig. 2) to the two spout arrays 50.

Spout arrays 50 are moved by doors 15 and 16 for the access to washing room 17. Such spout arrays are provided with slope adjusters 84 that allow the cleansing liquid jets to be directed exactly to the knife blade. The rinsing ends when the user opens his hand and releases his hold of lever 19 which returns then to its rest position and at the same time doors 15 and 16 are opened, thus allowing the blade of the knife to be extracted from the washing room 17.

The opening of doors 15 and 16 is carried out by a return spring 57 acting on the ends of two arms 55 and 56 which are pivotable on one hand about fixed pins 74 and 75 and are hinged on the other hand at the ends 72, 71 of rods 55a, 56a, respectively.

Pins 58, 59, 60 and 61 of fig. 9 are fixed and allow rods 62 and 63 which are integral with the supports 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69 to rotate. Ends 70, 71, 72, 73 are hinge points between rods 55 and 56.

It should be noted that such system is anti-deflection as the closing thrust is produced by four springs 76, 77, 78 and 79; if an' obstacle to the closure is created, there will be a light pressure because of the greater compression of the above-mentioned springs.

Advantageously the knife washing machine of the invention has a limited overall dimension as its size does not overcome about 25x30x60 cm. Only by way of example the working times used in a preferred embodiment will be as follows:

- closure of doors,

- supply of the cleansing liquid quantity,

- approaching of brushes to blades : 5 seconds

- washing: 2 to 6 seconds - rinsing (at will) : about 3 seconds - opening of doors : 5 seconds

A complete cycle lasts then 19 seconds on average. As an alternative, according to a variation of the invention, use is made of an electronic circuit avoiding the use of servomotor 22 in fig. 3 and providing as a replacement the use of a new plunger 80 for opening the access doors. Such circuit modifies the working times as follows:

- closure of doors, - supply of the cleansing liquid quantity,

- approaching of brushes to blades : 2 seconds

- washing : 2 to 6 seconds

- rinsing (at will) : about 3 seconds

- opening of doors : 2 seconds A complete cycle is then reduced to 13 seconds.

The disclosed invention has been conceived for commercial purposes to be used with a modular system suitable for operating in the following cases: a) self-supplying with hot water; b) lower pressure of the tap water or tank supply; c) lack of hot water; d) lack of water drain.

In case a) , the machine can operate with centralized hot and cold water at a minimum pressure of 3 kP and with a water drain (for industry) according to the hydraulic circuit of fig. 3, thus reducing the cost as boiler 5 is avoided.

In such hydraulic circuit that allows several machines to be connected in parallel to one another, D indicates the hot water flow, E the water backflow, G is a one-way valve, H indicates the drain-trap for direct circulation.

In cases b) , c) and d) the knife washing machine is provided with boiler 5, a storage tank 82, a surge tank 83, and a water drain 81 (fig. 11) . In addition, two side pockets for holding knives 85 are provided.

Claims

1. A knife washing machine according to sanitary regulations, characterized in that there is provided a housing or room for washing with water and/or a cleansing liquid mix where the blade of the knife to be washed is put in, said washing room including a plurality of self-cleaning rotating brushes provided with a drive- system able to put them near and away from the knife during the washing and the rinsing steps, respectively.

2. The knife washing machine according to sanitary regulations of claim 1, characterized in that the rotating brushes are disposed in two assemblies at the opposite sides of the knife so as to be brought to rub sideways both faces of the knife blade during the washing step .

3. The knife washing machine according to sanitary regulations of claim 1, characterized in that the location of the blade into the washing room and the starting of washing cycle are servo controlled by the operation of a safety lever that the user should grasp together with the handle of the knife, means being provided that allows or prevent the blade of the knife from entering the washing room.

4. The knife washing machine according to sanitary regulations of the preceding claim, characterized in that said means consists of two doors for closing the washing room.

5. The knife washing machine according to sanitary regulations of claim 3, characterized in that said safety lever has four functions: blocking the knife blade in the washing room, switching on/off the normal washing cycle and, in case of release during the washing, stopping the washing cycle and all of the devices of the machine .

6. The knife washing machine according to sanitary regulations of claim 3, characterized in that the duration of the washing cycle is controlled by a timer that starts the rinsing step.

7. The knife washing machine according to sanitary regulations of claim 4, characterized in that there is provided an anti-deflection system of the two closing doors and the washing room.

8. The knife washing machine according to sanitary regulations of any preceding claim, characterized in that there is provided a natural circulation drain- trap that ensures, in case of a prolonged stop of the machine, the delivery of hot water to the water injection spouts in the washing room.

9. The knife washing machine according to sanitary regulations of the preceding claim, characterized in that said spouts are located on two slopes which can be oriented against the blade of the knife to be washed.

10. The knife washing machine according to sanitary regulations of the preceding claim, characterized in that said slopes are moved by said closing doors .

11. The knife washing machine according to sanitary regulations of claim 1, characterized in that it includes a box-like housing which is provided on the upper side with a control console having on/off buttons and warning lights as well as a central slot receiving into such housing the blade of the knife to be washed in the washing room (17) to such a position as to be washed by means of a cleansing liquid contained in a small inner basin (27) and a rotating assembly consisting of two pairs of upper (37, 37a) and lower (38, 38a) rubbing brushes parallel to each other which are brought to rub sideways both faces of the knife, the blade of the knife to be washed being put into said washing room (17) with its cutting edge directed downwards through two safety doors (15, 16) and its handle being located into the proper handle housing (18) .

12. The knife washing machine according to sanitary regulations of claim 11, characterized in that the brushes are pivotable inside the washing room (17) about a pair of horizontal axes connected at their ends to two vertical arms (90, 92) which are both hinged at their lower ends to a lower horizontal crossbar (94) which is stationary with respect to said knife washing machine, said two arms (90, 92) being vertically disposed in their operating position, and the two brush assemblies (37, 38) and (37a, 38a) disposed on the right hand and left hand sides of the knife, respectively, being driven through idle gears

(31, 32) by a pair of driving gear wheels (29, 30) in mesh to each other, a plunger (28) being positioned under the lower brushes (38, 38a) and being driven to put the two arms (90, 92) away from each other, thus disengaging the idle gears (31, 32) from the driving gear wheels (29, 30) .

13. The knife washing machine according to sanitary regulations of claim 11, characterized in that the end of a^Λ lever (19) is hinged under the handle housing

(18) and can be rotated upwards by the user with his free fingers of the hand grasping the knife handle at housing (18) , said lever (19) having the double function of closing the two safety doors (15, 16) that prevent the knife from escaping from its washing room

(17) as well as starting the washing operation.

14. The knife washing machine according to sanitary regulations of claim 13, characterized in that upon operating safety lever (19) , two contacts (20) and

(21) are switched over at the same time, contact (20) operating servomotor (22) and at the same time energizing coil (23) that turns off cycle-on warning light (14) and turns on warning light (24) indicating washing in progress .

15. The knife washing machine according to sanitary regulations of the preceding claim, characterized in that said servomotor (22) is provided with five cams as follows:

- cam (Cl) switching over end-of-stroke contact (45) that stops the rotation of the servomotor after a predetermined time;

- cam (C2) switching over contact (41). that controls the delivery of the cleansing liquid through three-way electrovalve (40) in the washing step for a time less than one second;

- cam (C3) switching over contact (46) that starts a washing timer (47) for a predetermined time;

- cam (C4) driving an arm (55) to close door (16) ;

- cam (C5) driving an arm (56) to close door (15) .

16. The knife washing machine according to sanitary regulations of claim 11, characterized in that contact

(21) closes the electric circuit of cleansing liquid pump (25) and at the same time energizes electrovalve (26) that drives plunger (28) , said electrovalve (26) being a three-way valve that keeps ways (B) and (C) open and way (A) closed in the rest position, and way

(A) open and way (C) closed in the energized position.

17. The knife washing machine according to sanitary regulations of claim 11, characterized in that the two lower brushes (37a, 38a) are rotated through intermediate transmission gears (33, 34) by driving gears-- (31, 32) and transmit a reverse rotation to lower gears (35, 36) .

18. The knife washing machine according to sanitary regulations of claim 16, characterized in that the cleansing liquid sucked by cleansing liquid pump (25) flows back and forth to tank (27) through three-way electrovalve (40) that keeps both entrance way (B) and way (C) back to tank (27) open..

19. The knife washing machine according to sanitary regulations of claims 15 and 18, characterized in that when contact (41) of cam (2) is closed, it energizes the coil of electrovalve (40) for a time less than one second, thus closing way (C) and opening way A so that a little charge of cleansing liquid is deposited into storage tank (42) .

20. The knife washing machine according to sanitary regulations of claim 15, characterized in that servomotor (22) closes contact (46) through cam (3) and energizes washing timer (47) that drives motor (44) by the energization of two-way electrovalve (48) that causes hot water to enter cleansing-liquid tank (42) to produce a washing mix which is supplied through two hoses (49) to two spout arrays (50) , after a predetermined washing time is elapsed said timer (47) deenergizing motor (44) and electrovalve (48) and energizing a two-way electrovalve (51) of the cold water, while energizing at the same time coil (52) that opens contact (53) , thus stopping cleansing liquid pump (25) and electrovalve (26) which deenergizes and releases plunger (28) , thus allowing the rotating assembly to come to the rest position.

21. The knife washing machine according to sanitary regulations of the preceding claim, characterized in that the cold water rinsing is started by electrovalve (51) and comes to an end when the user opens his hand and releases his hold of lever (19) which returns then to its rest position, and at the same time doors (15, 16) are opened, thus allowing the blade of the knife to be extracted from the washing room (17) .

22. The knife washing machine according to sanitary regulations of the preceding claim, characterized in that cold water arrives through hoses (49) to the two spout arrays (50) that are moved by doors (15, 16) for the access to washing room (17) , such spout arrays (50) being provided with slope adjusters (84) that allow the cleansing liquid jets (54) to be directed exactly to the knife blade.