Patent Application
20210259513
The invention relates to a cleaning device for food vessels, in particular mixing containers or mixing container parts, according to the preamble of claim 1.
A generic cleaning device is known from DE 20 2005 015 103 U1, for example. Being a generic cleaning device, it comprises a rinsing rod which is disposed in an upwardly open receptacle. An actuating device can control a valve in a valve support in order to regulate the flow rate of the cleaning liquid from the valve support into the rinsing rod. The rinsing rod itself is provided with horizontal nozzles for cleaning the inner circumferential surface of the food vessel and vertical nozzles for cleaning the bottom surface of the food vessel.
When a vessel is cleaned in a generic cleaning device, the cleaning liquid, for example water, is rinsed through the horizontal nozzles onto the inner circumferential surface of the vessel and thus, the inner circumference of the vessel is cleaned. Simultaneously, the cleaning liquid is rinsed through the vertical nozzles onto the bottom surface of the food vessel and thus, the bottom surface is cleaned.
The known cleaning devices are disadvantageous in the sense that portioning vessels, in particular mixing container parts without a bottom, cannot be cleaned. Since no bottom is present, the cleaning fluid would exit upwards upon emerging from the vertical nozzles and would cause a contamination or drenching of the environment. This problem occurs in particular when cleaning mixing container parts, which are used for mixing mixed drinks using disposable containers. When mixing the mixed drink, these mixing container parts are put over the lateral surface of the disposable container and form a sturdy vessel rim and a sturdy vessel wall during the mixing. At the end of the mixing process, the disposable container having the mixed drink is removed and, after an appropriate cleaning, the mixing container shell can be used along with a succeeding disposable container for mixing a mixed drink. The known cleaning devices are not suitable for cleaning such mixing container shells because the mixing container shells do not have a bottom. This is because the bottom is realized by the bottom of the disposable container which is no longer present during the cleaning of the mixing container shell.
The object of the present invention is to propose a cleaning device for food vessels in which food vessels with and without a bottom can be cleaned according to choice.
This object is attained by a cleaning device according to the teachings of claim 1.
Advantageous embodiments of the invention are the subject matter of the dependent claims.
The cleaning device according to the invention is based on the idea that the cleaning device is provided with a blocking device which prevents cleaning liquid from exiting through the vertical nozzles and/or the horizontal nozzles. By activating the blocking device, water can be prevented from exiting through the vertical nozzles or the horizontal nozzles, such that vessels without a bottom can easily be cleaned by means of the water exiting through the horizontal nozzles, without water uncontrollably being spouted upwards. In turn, if a vessel with a bottom is to be cleaned afterwards, the blocking device can be opened such that the cleaning liquid in turn exits through the vertical nozzles and ensures an appropriate cleaning of the bottom surface of the vessel. If only the bottom of a vessel is to be cleaned while the inner circumference is not to be cleaned, the horizontal nozzles can be blocked such that the cleaning liquid can exit through the vertical nozzles only.
In general, any design can be used for realizing the blocking device. For example, valves which can block the supply of the cleaning liquid to the vertical nozzles and/or the horizontal nozzles can be envisaged for this. Alternatively, a particularly simple solution is to realize the blocking device in the manner of a blocking member which is mounted so as to be adjustable on the rinsing rod. The blocking member itself can be adjusted between an open position and a blocking position. The blocking member is provided with passage openings such that, when the blocking member is in the open position, the cleaning liquid can exit and clean the bottom surface of the vessel to be cleaned. In contrast, when the blocking member is in the blocking position, the vertical nozzles and/or the horizontal nozzles are covered by the wall of the blocking member such that the cleaning liquid can be prevented from exiting upwards through the horizontal nozzles.
In general, any design can be used for mounting the blocking member on the rinsing rod and for disposing it so as to be adjustable between the open position and the blocking position. According to a preferred embodiment, the blocking member has at least two attachment arms which engage at least partly around the lateral surface of the rinsing rod. The rinsing rod itself is provided with one recess in which fixing protrusions, which are formed on the attachment arms, can engage in a fixing manner.
In general, any geometrical design can be used for realizing the recess for fixing the blocking member on the rinsing rod. Preferably, said recess should be realized in the manner of an attachment groove which is disposed on the circumference of the rinsing rod, the blocking members having the attachment arms, which engage in the attachment groove, being mounted so as to be rotatable on the rinsing rod in this manner. By rotating the blocking member relative to the rinsing rod, the user can put the blocking member into the open position or into the blocking position according to choice in order to clean food vessels with and without a bottom using the cleaning device according to the invention.
For using the cleaning device according to the invention in the most uncomplicated manner possible, it is advantageous if the user can easily set the blocking position or the open position of the blocking member. This can easily be achieved by forming at least one blocking end stop or one rinsing end stop on the attachment groove. In this case, the blocking end stop defines the blocking position of the blocking member, such that the blocking position of the blocking member can easily be set by rotating the blocking member to the blocking end stop. In contrast, the rinsing end stop of the attachment groove defines the open position of the blocking member, such that the horizontal nozzle can easily be opened by rotating the blocking member to the rinsing end stop.
How many vertical nozzles and/or horizontal nozzles are provided on the rinsing rod for cleaning the bottom surface of a food vessel depends on the particular use. By increasing the number of the vertical nozzles and/or the horizontal nozzles, the cleaning efficiency can be increased.
If several vertical nozzles and/or several horizontal nozzles are provided for jointly cleaning the bottom surface of the food vessel, each vertical nozzle and/or horizontal nozzle is assigned one section of the blocking member by means of which cleaning liquid can be prevented from exiting through the assigned vertical nozzle and/or horizontal nozzle by disposing the blocking member in the blocking position. Additionally, for each vertical nozzle and/or horizontal nozzle, the blocking member has one recess through which the cleaning liquid can exit upwards or sideways when the blocking member is disposed in the open position and can cause the cleaning of the bottom surface and/or the inner circumferential surface of the food vessel.
For facilitating the adjustment of the blocking member between the blocking position and the open position, it is advantageous for the blocking member to be provided with an actuating element for manual adjustment.
Furthermore, in view of the necessary hygiene and the thus regularly required cleaning of the entire cleaning device, it is especially advantageous for the blocking member to be detachably mounted on the rinsing rod. In this manner, the blocking member can easily be dismounted for cleaning and, after cleaning, can be remounted on the rinsing rod.
For the blocking member to be easily dismountable from the rinsing rod, it is advantageous for the attachment groove to have one recess for each fixing protrusion by means of which the fixing protrusions can be removed from the attachment groove and, in the course of remounting the blocking member on the rinsing rod, can be inserted again into said attachment groove.
In order to further facilitate mounting or dismounting of the blocking member on the rinsing rod, it is particularly advantageous for the attachment groove to have at least one assembly stop. This assembly stop defines the assembly position of the blocking member in which the fixing protrusions can be removed from the attachment groove and, in the course of remounting the blocking member, can be inserted again into said attachment groove.
An embodiment of the invention is schematically illustrated in the drawings and is described in an exemplary manner hereinafter. In the figures:
Food vessels with and without a bottom can be cleaned according to choice in cleaning device 01. In
The function of blocking member 05 when it is disposed in its open position, its blocking position and its assembly position is explained in further detail by means of the drawings in
As can be seen from the top in the middle view, an actuating element 19 on which blocking member 05 can be manually rotated relative to rinsing rod 03 by the user is formed on the upper surface of blocking member 05. In the position shown in
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 2018 104 170.3 | Jul 2018 | DE | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/EP2019/067149 | 6/27/2019 | WO | 00 |
