WO2006037333A2

WO2006037333A2 - A washing machine

Info

Publication number: WO2006037333A2
Application number: PCT/DK2005/000638
Authority: WO
Inventors: Martin Volf Petersen
Original assignee: Martin Volf Petersen
Priority date: 2004-10-05
Filing date: 2005-10-05
Publication date: 2006-04-13
Also published as: DK200401518A; WO2006037333A3; DK176204B1

Abstract

A washing machine (1), for washing an object (6, 4) having a first and a second side, such as whelp nets for fur cages, the washing machine comprising, washing means (45, 51, 71, 75) and an inlet and an outlet for the object to be washed and means (11, 63) for guiding the object from the inlet through a washing process to the outlet. Said washing machine makes it possible to clean objects, e.g. whelp nets, more efficiently.

Description

A washing machine

A washing machine, for washing an object having a first and a second side, such as whelp nets for fur cages, the washing machine comprising, washing means and an inlet and an outlet for the object to be washed and means for guiding the object from the inlet through a washing process to the outlet

Fur cages for fur farming are normally made with a floor made out of net, so dirt from the animals can escape the elevated cage. The holes in those nets are normally too large for newly born whelps, who would fall through the holes and out of the cages. To prevent the whelps from falling through the nets it is custom to insert a net with smaller holes to cover the floor in the cages. When the whelps are old enough, they are placed in their own cages and the whelp net is removed. The whelp nets become very dirty and filled with the remains from the animals. The whelp nets are usually cleaned be¬ fore they are used again.

In the known washing machines, the whelp nets are guided through the washing machine in a horizontal position and moved through an area, where fixed nozzles spray high pressure water on the nets from above. When using the known washing machine, the whelp nets do not get clean and it is there¬ fore necessary to pass the nets through the washing machine at least two times. To get a better result, and thus a quicker cleaning, it is necessary to turn the net around so that during the second passage it is sprayed from the other side. In other words, the known washing machine can, in principle, wash the whelp nets properly. However, several work steps are required, as the whelp nets have to be turned over and inserted in the machine for at least one additional passage.

It is the aim of the invention to provide a washing machine as mentioned in the introduction, which can clean objects, e.g. whelp nets, more efficiently. According to the invention, this is achieved with washing means, which gen¬ erate a fluid jet from at least one nozzle, which is mounted on a rotating plate.

When mounting the nozzle on a rotating plate, the fluid jet is moved in circles over the area, to be cleaned. When the jet hits the object, the object gets clean in that specific area. The washing machine has two relative motions, namely one from moving the object through the machine and another from the rotating plate, meaning that the fluid jet hits almost all parts of the object, cleaning it in a highly efficient way. Further, in the designs known, it is diffi¬ cult to make the cleaning nozzles work efficiently as they are stationary. Con¬ trary to this, the invention enhances efficiency of the nozzles. A smaller number of nozzles are sufficient to covering a larger area. Using fewer noz¬ zles is cost efficient and it is more economic to provide high pressure fluid to a reduced number of nozzles.

By washing the objects on both sides at the same time, it is not required to turn the objects either while passing through the washing machine or manu¬ ally turning the object outside the washing machine for a second passage.

When arranging the object vertically, it is very easy to control the position of the object as it only has to rest on a bar when guided through the machine. Additionally the dirt can fall down and not land on the object making it easier to get the object clean. Vertically is to be understood as the first and the sec- ond sides being arranged vertically. If the object is rectangular in shape, ver¬ tically means that either sides of the rectangle is vertically arranged.

Advantageously, the washing means comprise at least two nozzles, so that each fluid jet from those nozzles hits different areas. Thus, the object can be cleaned several times through the washing machine. This can be made in a two step process having a first step with special nozzles for pre-rinsing that removes the large dirt parts and a second step for fine washing making the objects clean with only one passage through the machine .

By mounting the nozzle on the rotating plate in a nozzle holder fitted with a hose for the supply of fluid to the nozzle and that the nozzle holder is mounted on the rotating plate via a rotating member. Using this setup a fluid pressure on a moving part can be prevented, in other words there is no pas¬ sage of fluid through the rotating member. Having high pressure on rotating parts gives high demands on the quality of the rotating member, making the setup very expensive. The hose can be made of a deformable material mak¬ ing it easy to attach the hose to a fluid supply and directly to the moving noz¬ zle holder. Ultimately making the suspension of the nozzles both inexpensive and durable.

Preferably, guiding rails are mounted for holding the object in the desired po¬ sition and guiding the object from the inlet, through the washing process and out through the outlet. This is a way of keeping the objects in position while exposed to the high pressure fluid jets. It also makes the insertion of the ob¬ jects through the inlet effortless.

Having at least two propelling wheel grouped in pairs as means for leading the object and having one wheel guiding on each side of the object, gives the advantage that the objects are only in touch with the guid ing means in small areas in the machine, not including the areas, in which the object is sub- jected to fluid jets. Also, using wheels is an inexpensive form of guiding means that do not grab the objects by other means than friction, making it less likely to damage the objects than guiding means grabbing the objects like spikes through the holes in the object.

Advantageously, there are three wheel pairs; a rear, a central and a front pair, and a first cleaning means being located between the front and the central wheel pairs and a second cleaning located between the central and the front wheel pairs. This is a very compact way of making the guiding means fo r the objects, if one desires two separate cleaning areas with their separate nozzle cleaning units.

If the wheels run synchronously it is possible to control the speed of the ob¬ jects through the washing machine in an efficient way.

Making the means for guiding the object from the inlet to the outlet be pro¬ pelled by an electric motor which is controlled by a frequency converter <gives the advantage that it is possible to change the speed of the objects through the washing machine in a quick and effortless way, either during operation or by presetting the speed to a desired value before operation.

Preferably, the washing process also comprises mechanised brushes. Hav- ing brushes can facilitate the cleaning when dealing with particularly dirty whelp nets or when washing other objects for fur breathing such as plates used to place the fur from the newly skinned animals.

A suspension for a nozzle comprising a rotating object and a nozzle holder fitted with a hose for supply of fluid to a nozzle that is placed in the nozzde holder so that the nozzle holder is connected to the rotating object via a ro¬ tating member.

Using a suspension as mentioned is advantageous in areas having high pressure on rotating parts, as this gives high demands on the quality of the rotating member, which makes the setup very expensive. By mounting the nozzle in said way fluid pressure on a moving part can be prevented, in other words, there is no passage of fluid through the rotating member. The hose can be made of a deformable material, making it easy to attach the hose to a fluid supply and directly to the moving nozzle holder. In this way only the hose moves relative to the fluid flow, hoses of this type are largely inexpen¬ sive. In the following, the invention is explained in detail on the basis of the figures, showing:

Figure 1 the complete washing machine in a view towards the left side. Figure 2 the front view of the washing machine towards the right side with whelp net in guide rails. Figure 3 the placing of a nozzle on circular disc for a washing step.

Fig. 1 shows the washing machine 1 built up on a frame support comprising a bottom profile 2 with cross profiles 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8. Further shown are wheel suspensions 9 for rear transport wheels 1OA and front transport wheels 10B. On top of the washing machine 1 is the top profile 11 with upper cross profiles 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17. Rear propelling wheel pair 19 is mounted on lower cross profile 8 and a upper cross profile, not shown, cen¬ tral propelling wheel pair 20 is mounted on lower cross profile 5 and upper cross profile 15, whereas the front propelling wheel pair 21 is mounted on lower cross profile 3 and upper cross profile 12. In the embodiment shown, the propelling wheel pairs 19, 20 and 21 are driven by the hydraulic motor 22 with chain wheel 23. Via the chain 24, the chain wheel 23 drives chain wheel

25 on shaft 26 for the rear propelling wheel pair 19, which is also provided with a toothed wheel 27 with chain 28 for chain wheel 29 driving shaft 30 on the central propelling wheel pair 20 and via chain wheel 31 , chain 32 and chain wheel 33 for shaft 34 driving the front propelling wheel pair 21. The hy- draulic motor 22 drives the left propelling wheels of the propelling wheel pairs 19, 20 and 21 , which again drive the right propelling wheels by means of fric¬ tion between rubber tyres.

When the hydraulic motor 22 is under oil pressure, the speed of the propel- ling wheels 19, 20 and 21 can be adjusted by means of priority valve 35.

Connecting the three propelling wheel pairs by means of chains ensures synchronous operation of the propelling wheel pairs 19, 20 and 21. Instead of a hydraulic motor 22 it is also possible to use an electromotor for driving the propelling wheels. In this setup it is advantageous to use a fre¬ quency converter.

On the washing machine 1 are mounted upper rail profile 62 and lower rail profile 63 for guiding whelp net 64. The distance between the upper 62 and the lower 63 rail profile is set so it can hold the whelp net in position having a distance equal to the height of the whelp net 64. The upper 62 and the lower 63 rail profiles are u-shaped, thus preventing that the whelp net 64 from get¬ ting jammed in the washing machine 1 , or leaving the guiding profiles.

When operating the washing machine 1 the whelp net 64 is inserted through the inlet B and pushed until the rear propelling wheel pair 19 grabs the whelp net 64 and pulls it on to the central propelling wheel pair 20 which pulls it fur¬ ther to the front propelling wheel pair 21 , that leads the whelp net 64 out through the outlet A. The distance between the propelling wheel pairs is set relative to the length of the whelp net 64 in such a way that, when the whelp net 64 is about to leave the rear propelling wheel pair 19, it is grabbed by the central propelling wheel pair 20 and correspondingly for the last propelling wheel pair.

The propelling wheel pairs 19,20,21 use rubber wheels, because this gives a gentle and well controlled propelling of the whelp nets 64 in the washing ma- chine 1. Using rubber wheels also prevents damaging the whelp nets 64.

For additional support of the whelp nets 64 are mounted guiding straps 67. These are thin metal bars which are v-shaped and welded to the upper rail profile 62 and to the lower rail profile 63 in each of its ends, in a way so that the angle is pointing in the direction of the whelp net 64 movement. The washing machine 1 has two separate areas for washing, the first wash¬ ing area being between the rear propelling wheel pair 19 and the central pro¬ pelling wheel pair 20, and the second washing area being between the cen¬ tral propelling wheel pair 20 and the front propelling wheel pair 21. The first 5 washing is a rough washing or a pre-rinse, the nozzles 51 , 71 being high pressure nozzles e.g. turbo nozzles, supplied with high pressure water, which can be either cold or hot. In the second washing a fine washing takes place, the fine washing nozzles 45, 75 in this example being in fact two noz¬ zles placed with a short distance between them in the plates 44, 52, these o nozzles are also supplied with cold or hot water with a very high pressure. Having this setup of nozzles gives a very good result when cleaning whelp nets 64.

Figure 2 is a diagonal view of the right front side of the washing machine 1. A 5 whelp net 64 is on its way through the fine washing step. The hydraulic motor 36 drives chain wheel 37, connected via chain 38 with chain wheel 39 on shaft 40, on which is also mounted chain wheel 41 , driving via chain 42 a chain wheel on shaft 43, on which is mounted left fine washing disc 44 for fine washing nozzle 45. On shaft 43 is mounted a second chain wheel, not 0 shown, for chain 47, driving via chain wheel 48 on shaft 49 the right rough washing disc 50 for turbo nozzle 71 , for the initial rough washing of whelp net 64. Via chain wheel 37, chain 38 and chain wheel 39, the hydraulic motor 36 drives the shaft 40 on which is mounted chain wheel 53 with chain 65 for shaft 55 with right fine washing disc 52 and chain wheel 54 and an additional 5 chain wheel for driving chain wheel 57 on shaft 58 via chain 56 to right rough washing disc 59. Similary on the left side of the washing machine 1 , the left fine washing disc 44 is driven by chain 44 on a chain wheel, not shown, on shaft 43, which is connected with chain wheel 41 on shaft 40 for driving the left fine washing disc 44, whereas a chain wheel, not shown, on shaft 43 is o connected via chain 47 with chain wheel 48 on shaft 49, on which the left rough washing disc 50 is mounted. Thus, the four washing discs 44, 50, 52 and 59 are driven synchronously, which can be changed by using several hydraulic motors, and at the same time the chain wheels can have different sizes in accordance with requirements.

It is also important that the whelp nets 64 are aligned vertically when washed, as the dirt is blown away from the net from both sides at the same time, the dirt is thus moved away from and not landing on the net.

On washing machine 1 is mounted a hydraulic station 61 supplying the hy¬ draulic motors 22 and 36 with oil flow and pressure, as it is connected by means of hoses via priority valve 35 with hydraulic motor 22 and via priority valve 60 with hydraulic motor 36. Further, water hoses 66 are mounted for the supply of washing water. Connection of high pressure cleaner 77 and 78 to nozzle 51 , which can be a turbo nozzle, and fine washing nozzle 75 on the right side, and similar on the left side, not shown. The washing machine is supplied with cold or hot water from a high-pressure cleaner.

The speed of the left 44 and the right 52 fine washing discs and the left 50 and the right 59 rough washing discs can be adjusted by means of the prior¬ ity valve 60.

The hydraulic motors 22 and 36 can be substituted with an electromotor, which can advantageously be controlled by a frequency converter.

The washing machine 1 is supplied with water from a high-pressure cleaner (not shown) through the connections 77 and 78. In the design shown, there is one nozzle e.g. 75, on a rotating disc e.g. 52, but also another number is possible, as the number of nozzles and the flow are adapted to the pump output of the water supply.

The method of guiding the whelp nets 64 gives a safe guiding while the whelp nets are led by propelling wheel pairs through the first and the second washing steps under heavy flushing from the rotating nozzles 51 ,45,71 ,75, which ensures that the whelp nets 64 can be washed in only one passage of the washing machine 1.

Figure 3 shows a preferred design of the left rough washing disc 50. Shown are rough washing disc 50 and chain 47. On the rough washing disc 50 is mounted a nozzle 71 with connected water hose 66. The nozzle 71 is mounted on nozzle holder 68, which is fixed in a rotating member 69. The rotating member 69 is fixed to the washing disc 50 in a way so that the noz¬ zle holder 68 is rotating, when the disc 65 is rotating, as the nozzle 71 is fixed in relation to horizontal and vertical by the water hose 66. A counter¬ weight not shown is mounted on all the washing discs 44,52,50,59, which gives the machine a smooth operation.

Additionally the invention can also wash other objects used in connection with fur breathing such as plates used to place the fur from the newly skinned animals. These plates are lower, so a small modification of the washing machine 1 must be made. The modification consists of moving the upper rail profile 62 and the lower rail profile 63 closer together so it fits the height of the plates.

During operation the washing machine 1 is enclosed in plates, not shown, to prevent the person operating the washing machine from getting injured or wet.

Claims

Patent Claims

i . A washing machine, for washing an object having a first and a second 5 side, such as whelp nets for fur cages, the washing machine compris¬ ing, washing means and an inlet and an outlet for the object to be washed and means for guiding the object from the inlet through a washing process to the outlet characterised in that the washing means generates a fluid jet from at least one nozzle (45,51 ,71 ,75) o which is mounted on a rotating plate (44,50,52,59).

2 . Washing machine according to claim 1 , characterised in that the ob¬ ject is washed on the first and the second side at the same time.

5 3 . Washing machine according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the object is arranged vertically during the washing process.

4 . Washing machine according to claim 1 , 2 or 3, characterised in that the washing means comprises at least two nozzles so that the fluid o jets from those nozzles hit the object at different times.

5 . Washing machine according to claim 1 , 2, 3 or 4, characterised in that at least one of the nozzles mounted on the rotating plate is mounted in a nozzle holder fitted with a hose for the supply of fluid to 5 the nozzle and that the nozzle holder is mounted on the rotating plate via a rotating member.

6. Washing machine according to any of the previous claims, character¬ ised in that guiding rails are mounted for holding the object in the de- o sired position and guiding the object from the inlet and out through the outlet.

Washing machine according to any of the previous claims, character¬ ised in that the means for guiding the objects comprise at least two propelling wheels grouped in pairs, having one wheel guiding on each side of the object.

Washing machine according to claim 7, characterised in that there are three wheel pairs; a rear, a central and a front pair, and a first cleaning means being located between the front and the central wheel pairs and a second cleaning located between the central and the front wheel pairs.

Washing machine according to claim 7 or 8, characterised in that the wheel pairs run synchronously, as they are driven by a motor that is connected to the wheel pairs via chains and gear wheels.

Washing machine according to any of the previous claims, character¬ ised in that the means for guiding the object from the inlet to the out¬ let is propelled by an electric motor which is controlled by a frequency converter.

Washing machine according to any of the previous claims, character¬ ised in that the washing means also comprises mechanised brushes.

A washing machine (1 ) for use when washing whelp nets for bearing nets for fur cages, such as mink, the washing machine being designed around a support of assembled bar profiles fitted with wheels for transport purposes, the washing machine being supplied with cold or hot water from a high-pressure cleaner, characterised in that the washing machine is built up on a support of assembled bar profiles, on which are mounted guiding rails for guiding vertically arranged whelp nets, which are led through the washing machine (1) by rear (19), central (20) and front (21 ) propelling wheel pairs for a rough washing in a first washing step with a left rough washing disc (50) and a right rough washing disc (59) and in a last fine washing step with a left fine washing disc (44) and a right fine washing disc (52) by means of rotating nozzles, such as turbo nozzles (51 ) and fine washing noz- 5 zles (75).

13 . Washing machine according to claim 12, characterised in that turbo nozzles (71) are suspended in bearings (69) on both sides of the right (59) and the left (50) rough washing disc, and are retained in relation o to vertical and horizontal by the water hose (66), while the turbo noz¬ zle (71 ) rotates with the left rough washing disc (50), as the turbo noz¬ zle water jet performs a superposed circular movement during the ro¬ tation of the rough washing discs (50, 59). The same principal design applies for the right (44) and the left (52) fine washing discs, as the 5 fine washing nozzle water jet performs no superposed circular move¬ ment.

14 . Washing machine (1) according to claims 12 and 13, characterised in that the propelling of the whelp net (64) takes place by means of 0 propelling wheels (19, 20, 21 ) grouped in pairs and covered with rub¬ ber.

15 . Washing machine (1 ) according to claims 12, 13 and 14, character¬ ised in that the propelling wheel pairs (19, 20, 21 ) run synchronously, 5 as they are driven by the same hydraulic motor (22) and as the shafts

(26, 30, 34) are connected via chains and toothed wheels having equal dimensions.

16 . A suspension for a nozzle comprising a nozzle holder fitted with a o hose for supply of fluid to a nozzle that is placed in the nozzle holder characterised in that the nozzle holder is connected to a rotating ob¬ ject via a rotating member.