JP7716663B2 - washing machine - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to a washing machine for cleaning containers and the like.

As a technique for cleaning bottles such as those used for beverages, Patent Document 1 discloses a sterilizing and cleaning method in which a plastic bottle is held upside down by its neck, and a spiral nozzle inserted into the plastic bottle sprays the sterilizing and cleaning solution in a conical shape while applying a swirling force to the solution, causing the droplets to directly hit the entire bottom and inner surface of the plastic bottle.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-102813

The germicidal cleaning method described in Patent Document 1 involves spraying the germicidal cleaning solution as mist droplets, which has the problem of weak mechanical cleaning power per unit area.

This disclosure provides technology for improving the cleaning power of a washing machine.

The cleaning machine disclosed herein comprises a holding unit that holds the container so that the opening of the container is lower than the bottom surface of the container, a nozzle that injects cleaning liquid into the container to clean the inside of the container, and an injection unit that injects the cleaning liquid from the nozzle so that the cleaning liquid hits the inside surface of the container, then travels along the inside surface of the container and reaches the inside bottom surface of the container.

This disclosure can improve the cleaning power of a cleaning machine.

Configuration diagram of a cleaning machine according to the first embodiment A diagram showing a schematic diagram of a cleaning liquid being ejected into the container. A diagram showing the relationship between the water flow along the inner surface of a container and dirt FIG. 10 shows another example of a nozzle A diagram showing the process of cleaning the inner surface of a container. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic view of cleaning a container having a shoulder portion; FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic view of cleaning a container having a shoulder portion; FIG. 10 shows another example of a nozzle FIG. 10 shows another example of a nozzle 9 is a top view of the nozzle shown in FIG. 8 cleaning the container.

Embodiments will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. However, more detailed explanations than necessary may be omitted. For example, detailed explanations of matters that are already well known or redundant explanations of substantially identical configurations may be omitted.

The accompanying drawings and the following description are provided to enable those skilled in the art to fully understand the present disclosure, and are not intended to limit the subject matter described in the claims.

(Embodiment 1)
Hereinafter, a first embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 9. The washer according to the first embodiment is primarily intended to wash beverage containers.

[1-1. Configuration]
1 shows the configuration of a washer 1 according to embodiment 1. The washer 1 includes a nozzle 3, a holder 5, a pump 9, piping 13, and a rotation driver 15.

Nozzle 3 injects cleaning liquid into container B to clean the inside of container B. Holder 5 holds container B so that opening D of container B is lower than bottom surface M of container B. This allows the cleaning liquid injected into container B to be discharged to the outside of container B by gravity. In the example shown in Figure 1, holder 5 holds container B in an inverted position. Holder 5 may also hold container B in an inclined position.

The holding unit 5 is arranged to be able to move up and down along the guide 6. The user can grasp the handle 7 attached to the holding unit 5 to move the holding unit 5 up and down. A configuration may also be provided to automatically raise and lower the holding unit 5 along the guide 6.

Pump 9 draws up cleaning liquid from a tank (not shown) that stores the cleaning liquid, and sprays it from nozzle 3 via piping 13. As described below, pump 9 functions as an ejection unit that ejects cleaning liquid from nozzle 3 so that after hitting the inner surface of container B, the cleaning liquid travels along the inner surface of container B and reaches the inner bottom surface of container B.

Nozzle 3 is rotatable about a vertical axis due to a reaction force acting on nozzle 3 when cleaning liquid is ejected from nozzle 3. Since washer 1 cleans the inside of container B with a linear flow of cleaning liquid ejected from nozzle 3, nozzle 3 is rotated to clean the entire inner surface and inner bottom surface of container B. Container B may be rotatable about a vertical axis due to a force acting on container B when cleaning liquid ejected from nozzle 3 hits its inner surface. A rotation drive unit 15 may be provided to rotate nozzle 3 or container B about the vertical axis using an electrical drive force.

Figure 2 shows a schematic diagram of how cleaning liquid is sprayed into container B. After hitting the inside surface of container B, the cleaning liquid sprayed from nozzle 3 flows along the inside surface of container B to reach the inside bottom surface of container B. Pump 9 sprays cleaning liquid from nozzle 3 with a liquid pressure and volume that will cause a linear water stream 14 flowing along the inside surface of container B to reach the inside bottom surface of container B. In order to ensure that water stream 14 reaches the inside bottom surface of container B, it is advantageous for the vertical incident angle θ1 of the cleaning liquid sprayed from nozzle 3 onto the inside surface to be as acute as possible.

Figure 3 shows the relationship between the water flow 14 flowing along the inner surface W of container B and dirt. Dirt adhering to the inner surface W of container B is peeled off by the water flow 14 flowing along the inner surface W. This allows for efficient cleaning of dirt adhering to the inner surface W, thereby shortening the time required for cleaning. Furthermore, by making the water flow 14 linear, dirt on the inner surface W of container B can be cleaned with a strong mechanical force, thereby improving cleaning power. By rotating the nozzle 3 or container B around a vertical axis, dirt can be peeled off not only vertically but also horizontally. The nozzle 3 and container B may also be rotated in opposite directions relative to each other. In order to peel off dirt adhering to the inner surface W using the water flow 14, it is advantageous to have acute angles of incidence θ1 in the vertical direction and θ2 in the horizontal direction of the cleaning liquid sprayed from the nozzle 3 onto the inner surface.

The closer the incident angle θ1 of the cleaning liquid is to 0°, the greater the vertical component of the force that container B experiences when the cleaning liquid hits the inner surface of container B or when the water flow 14 reaches the inner bottom surface. Therefore, by setting the incident angle θ1, the vertical force that container B experiences can be weakened, thereby preventing container B from being blown away by the force from the cleaning liquid. Note that if container B is fixed by the holder 5, the force that container B experiences from the cleaning liquid does not need to be taken into consideration.

In view of the above, the vertical incident angle θ1 of the cleaning liquid sprayed from the nozzle 3 onto the inner surface of container B may be greater than 0° and less than 60°. The upper limit of the incident angle θ1 may be 60°, 50°, 40°, 30°, 25°, 20°, 15°, 10°, 9°, 8°, 7°, 6°, 5°, 4°, 3°, 2°, or 1°. Furthermore, the horizontal incident angle θ2 of the cleaning liquid sprayed from the nozzle 3 onto the inner surface of container B may be greater than 0° and less than 60°. The upper limit of the incident angle θ2 may be 60°, 50°, 40°, 30°, 25°, 20°, 15°, 10°, 9°, 8°, 7°, 6°, 5°, 4°, 3°, 2°, or 1°.

Figure 4 shows another example of the nozzle 3. While the nozzle 3 of the washer 1 shown in Figure 1 was linear, the nozzle 3 shown in Figure 4 has a spiral shape. This allows the spiral water flow 14 to clean the inner surface of the container B. The upper part of the container B (the lower part in Figure 4) is often the dirtiest because the waterline of the contents, such as beverages, is easily formed there. By using a nozzle 3 with a spiral shape, the water flow 14, which has a strong mechanical force immediately after being ejected from the nozzle 3, can be used to clean the container B, starting from the top (bottom in Figure 4), which is the dirtiest part. This improves cleaning efficiency. Furthermore, by ejecting the cleaning liquid obliquely upward from the nozzle 3, the nozzle 3 can be rotated by the reaction force. When rotating the container B, the rotation of the container B can be assisted by applying the cleaning liquid obliquely to the inner surface of the container B.

Figure 5 shows a schematic diagram of cleaning the inner surface Wa of container B. In Figure 5, the portion of the inner surface Wa that has been cleaned by the water flow 14 is indicated by diagonal lines in the developed view of the inner surface Wa. The water flow 14 is ejected from the spiral-shaped nozzle 3 and flows diagonally upward along the inner surface Wa of container B. When the nozzle 3 is rotated around a vertical axis by the rotation drive unit 15, the position of the ejection outlet moves horizontally, and the position of the water flow 14 also moves horizontally. This allows the entire inner surface Wa of container B to be cleaned as if scanning the surface.

Figures 6A and 6B schematically show how a container B having a shoulder S is cleaned. As shown in Figure 6A, if the cleaning liquid ejected from the nozzle 3 directly hits the inner surface of the shoulder S, it will bounce off the inner surface of the shoulder S, making it difficult for the water flow 14 to flow upward along the inner surface of the container B. Therefore, as shown in Figure 6B, the height and orientation of the ejection outlet 3a of the nozzle 3 are adjusted so that the cleaning liquid hits the inner surface of the container B at a position higher than the shoulder S (above in Figure 6B). For example, the height h2 of the ejection outlet 3a may be higher than the height h1 of the shoulder S.

Figure 7 shows another example of a nozzle 3. The nozzle 3 shown in this figure has a branched flow path structure and has two injection ports. Nozzle 3b functions as the spiral-shaped nozzle 3 shown in Figure 4. Nozzle 3c is positioned so that it hits the inner surface of container B at shoulder S or a position lower than shoulder S of container B having shoulder S. Therefore, the nozzle 3 shown in this figure can simultaneously clean positions higher than shoulder S with nozzle 3b, and shoulder S and positions lower than shoulder S with nozzle 3c.

Figure 8 shows another example of a nozzle 3. The nozzle 3 shown in this figure also has a branched flow path structure and two ejection ports. Nozzle 3d functions as the linear nozzle 3 shown in Figure 1. Nozzle 3e is positioned so that the cleaning liquid hits the outside of the drinking spout D of container B. Therefore, the nozzle 3 shown in this figure can simultaneously clean the inside of container B with nozzle 3d and the outside of the drinking spout D with nozzle 3e.

Figure 9 is a top view of container B being washed with nozzle 3 shown in Figure 8. When water stream 14 is ejected from nozzle 3e, a reaction force F acts on nozzle 3e. Reaction force F has a tangential component to a circle centered on the rotation axis of nozzle 3, and this tangential component can rotate nozzle 3.

Nozzle 3 may have three or more branched flow paths and may have three or more ejection ports. For example, nozzle 3 may have three or more of nozzles 3b, 3c, 3d, and 3e, or may have a nozzle with another shape or function.

[1-2. Operation]
The operation and function of the washer 1 configured as above will now be described.

The user places the container B to be cleaned in the holder 5. The user grips the handle 7 and moves the holder 5 so that the nozzle 3's injection port is inside the container B. The washer 1 drives the pump 9 to inject cleaning liquid from the nozzle 3 into the inside of the container B, cleaning the inside of the container B. After a predetermined amount of cleaning liquid has been injected for a predetermined time or period, the washer 1 stops the pump 9. Once the cleaning liquid inside the container B has been discharged outside the container B, the user removes the container B from the holder 5.

[1-3. Effects, etc.]
As described above, in this embodiment, the washer 1 includes a holder 5 that holds the container B so that the opening E of the container B is lower than the bottom surface M of the container B, a nozzle 3 that injects a cleaning liquid into the container B to clean the inside of the container B, and a pump 9 that injects the cleaning liquid from the nozzle 3 so that the cleaning liquid hits the inner surface of the container B, then travels along the inner side surface of the container B to reach the inner bottom surface of the container B. This improves the cleaning power and cleaning efficiency of the washer 1.

In addition, in this embodiment, the nozzle 3 has a spiral structure, which improves the cleaning power and cleaning efficiency of the washer 1.

In addition, in this embodiment, the container B or the nozzle 3 is rotatable about a vertical axis by the force acting on the container B or the nozzle 3 when the cleaning liquid is ejected from the nozzle 3, or by an electrical driving force. This improves the cleaning power and cleaning efficiency of the washer 1.

In addition, in this embodiment, container B has a shoulder portion S, and the cleaning liquid sprayed from nozzle 3 hits the inner surface of container B at a position higher than shoulder portion S. This improves the cleaning power and cleaning efficiency of the washer 1.

In addition, in this embodiment, the nozzle 3 has two or more outlets, and the cleaning liquid ejected from at least one outlet hits the inner surface of the container B at the shoulder S or a position lower than the shoulder S. This improves the cleaning power and cleaning efficiency of the washer 1.

In addition, in this embodiment, the nozzle 3 has two or more outlets, and the cleaning liquid ejected from at least one outlet hits the outside of the drinking spout D of the container B. This improves the cleaning power and cleaning efficiency of the washer 1.

(Other embodiments)
As described above, the first embodiment has been described as an example of the technology disclosed in the present application. However, the technology in the present disclosure is not limited to this, and can be applied to embodiments in which modifications, substitutions, additions, omissions, etc. are made. Furthermore, it is also possible to combine the components described in the first embodiment to create new embodiments.

Therefore, other embodiments are illustrated below.

In embodiment 1, we have mainly described beverage containers, but the technology of this embodiment can be applied to containers for any purpose.

In the first embodiment, an example was shown in which the nozzle 3's outlet hole shape was circular, but the nozzle 3's outlet hole may also be a slit hole. This makes it possible to clean a wide area inside the container B in a short time while minimizing the reduction in mechanical force.

Note that the above-described embodiments are intended to illustrate the technology disclosed herein, and various modifications, substitutions, additions, omissions, etc. may be made within the scope of the claims or their equivalents.

The present invention can be used in washing machines for cleaning containers, etc.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Cleaning machine 3, 3b, 3c, 3d, 3e Nozzle 3a Injection port 5 Holding part 6 Guide 7 Handle 9 Pump 13 Piping 14 Water flow 15 Rotation drive part

Claims (5)

a holder that holds the container so that an opening of the container is lower than a bottom surface of the container;
a nozzle having two or more ejection ports for ejecting a cleaning liquid for cleaning the inside of the container into the inside and outside of the container , the nozzle rotating around a vertical axis and branching into two or more flow paths ;
Equipped with
Injecting the cleaning liquid from the nozzle so that the cleaning liquid injected from at least one of the injection ports of the nozzle hits the inner surface of the container and then travels along the inner side surface of the container to reach the inner bottom surface of the container;
A cleaning machine in which the nozzle rotates around the vertical axis by ejecting cleaning liquid from the nozzle so that the cleaning liquid ejected from at least another ejection outlet of the nozzle hits the outside of the drinking spout of the container. The nozzle has a spiral structure
The cleaning machine according to claim 1 . The cleaning machine according to claim 2, wherein the container or the nozzle is rotatable about a vertical axis by a force acting on the container or the nozzle when the cleaning liquid is ejected from the nozzle, or by an electrical driving force. the container has a shoulder;
3. The washer according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning liquid ejected from the nozzle strikes the inner surface of the container at a position higher than the shoulder portion. the container has a shoulder;
2. The cleaning machine according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning liquid ejected from at least one ejection port strikes the inner surface of the container at the shoulder or at a position lower than the shoulder.