GB2155825A

GB2155825A - Cleaning plates

Info

Publication number: GB2155825A
Application number: GB08504392A
Authority: GB
Inventors: John Cowper Barford; John Burford Wilson
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1984-03-17
Filing date: 1985-02-20
Publication date: 1985-10-02
Also published as: GB2155825B; GB8504392D0

Abstract

The present invention relates to plate cleaners, and more particularly cleaners for heavily soiled corrugated branding plates used for cooking meat. Apparatus in accordance with the invention comprises a support for supporting a plate 1 during cleaning, a rotatable brush member 2 to be arranged, in use, to contact the plate 1 with its axis of rotation extending across the plate 1, and a spray 10 for spraying cleaning fluid towards the plate 1 and/or onto the brush 2, means being provided to cause relative movement between the plate 1 and the brush member 2 in a direction transverse to the axis of rotation, and to cause rotation of the brush member 2 during its passage across the plate 1. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Plate cleaner Field of the invention The present invention relates to plate cleaners, and more particularly cleaners for heavily soiled plates.

One example of plates suitable for use with the present invention are those plates known as branding plates which are used mainly, but not exclusively, in the catering industry for cooking meat such as steak. They comprise a cast aluminium plate of which one face is corrugated. The plate is placed corrugated face upwardly, when it is desired to cook a piece of meat, the steak is placed on the corrugated face and heated. This cooks the steak from both sides and brands it with a characteristic parallel-lined pattern. Fats, oils and greases from the meat, not to mention particles of meat themselves, deposited onto the plate. When the plate is heated in the absensce of meat the deposits become carbonised. As the plate is used successive layers of deposits become hardened until the layer can become half an inch thick.This layer insulates the plate from the heat and destroys partially its usefulness.

The layer is baked on and is difficult to remove.

Because of the corrugations, the layer is even more difficult to remove. In theory, it should be easy to clean the face of the plate using soap, water and hard work. However, in intensive use situations it is not always possible to provide the necessary amount of hard work. Thus, the plates become more and more dirty.

Review of art known to applicant It has up until now been found that the only effective answer to this build up of dirt is to have the plates shot-blasted or sand-blasted after one or two days in service. This process suffers from several disadvantages. Firstly, it is expensive. Secondly, the plates have to be taken from their point of use to a shot-blasting site which requires that other plates are provided in their absence. Thirdly, the shot-blasting process, while effective, roughens the surface of the plate so that the next time in use finds the dirt and grease sticking ever more firmly to the plate. Finally, the shot or sand-blasting process wears away the plates, especially when they are of such a comparatively soft material as aluminium.It is an object of the present invention to overcome the above disadvantages and provide a method and apparatus for cleaning plates which is simple and convenient to use.

Summary of the invention According to the present invention, there is provided a plate cleaning apparatus comprising a support for supporting a plate during cleaning, a rotatable brush member arranged in use, to contact the plate with its axis of rotation extending across the plate, and a spray for spraying cleaning fluid towards the plate andlor onto the brush, means being provided to cause relative movement between the plate and the brush member in a direction transverse to the axis of rotation, and to cause rotation of the brush member during its passage across the plate. The spray means may be a spray bar disposed adjacent to the brush member and movable therewith.

Alternatively or additionally, the spray means may be a spray bar connected to a source of cleaning fluid under comparatively high pressure and about which spray bar the brush member is journailed, a spindle of the brush member being apertured to correspond with the apertures in the spray bar.

The brush member may comprise an elongate cylinder of bristles formed of stainless steel, nylon or carborundum filled nylon.

The preferred cleaning fluid is water, preferably hot, and optionally containing detergent.

The brush member may be movable, either by translation or by pivotting, towards and away from the plate, whereby cleaned plates may be removed from the apparatus and the soiled one inserted. In this case, the brush member is preferably biassed by spring means toward the plate.

The means to rotate the brush member may be a belt attached to a motor remote from the apparatus and running round a pulley attached to the brush means.

Each end of the brush member may be carried on a respective one of a pair of screwjacks, rotation of which cause movement across the plate of the brush means.

Alternatively the means to cause the brush to move across the plate may comprise a rack and pinion drive.

More preferably each end of the brush member is rotably mounted on a mounting fixed to an endless belt. The endless belt is moved by pulleys and a motor which causes the brush member to move with the mounting across the plate. The advantage of this system is that the belt lies at the edge of the brush mechanism and forms a seal between the brushing and cleaning area and the rest of the machine which contains the motor to move the belt and to rotate the brush member. Thus the belt prevents water from escaping to this area of the machine.

The brush member may be so mounted as to reciprocate axially as it moves across the plate. This reciprocation may be produced by providing cam means acting on one end of the brush members whereby the brush member moves axially against the bias of a spring or other resilient means once or more times every revolution of the brush means.

The apparatus may also comprise valve means to initiate and cut off the supply of cleaning fluid at the beginning and end respectively of each cleaning cycle.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of cleaning corrugated plates comprising passing a rotating brush across the plate in a direction transverse to its axis of rotation, and spraying a jet of water at at least 700C and 2,500 psi, along the line of each cor rugation.

Brief description of the drawings Embodiment of the invention will now be more particularly described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of two examples of a plate cleaning apparatus embodying the invention, being divided vertically by chain line, Figure 1A to the left hand side of the chain line is the first example, and Figure 16 to the right hand side of the chain line is the second example; Figure 2 is a schematic cross-section through the brush means according to a third embodiment of the invention; and Figure 3 is a schematic perspective view of a fourth example of a plate cleaning apparatus embodying the invention.

Description of the preferred embodiments The apparatus is intended primarily for the cleaning of specialised plates 1 which have one face formed as a series of longitudinal corrugations. This face is extremely difficult to clean by conventional methods. A brush member comprising a cylindrical brush 2 having bristles which are sufficiently hard for them not to wear out easily but not so hard as to wear out the plates cleaned by them. They may be stainless steel or carborundum filled nylon. The brush is driven through a pulley 3 which is itself driven through a belt 4 by a motor (not shown) which may be disposed at any convenient location.

The brush is long enough to stretch from one side of the plate to the other. It is also adapted to traverse slowly across the plate in a direction normal to the direction of its longitudinal axis, i.e. up and down. In the first example of the apparatus this movement is caused by the brush rotating on an axle 5 mounted to a pair of screw jacks 6. Rotation of the threaded rods 7 by a motor disposed remote from the apparatus causes the brush 2 to move either downwardly or upwardly.

The brush must be kept in initmate contact with the plate 1 and accordingly the entire brush assembly is resiliently biassed toward the plate 1. In order to remove the clean plates and insert soiled ones, the entire brush assembly may be removed away from the plate. Such movement is preferably pivotting in the direction of arrow A.

Water is sprayed onto the plate (and preferably also onto the brush to keep it clean) from a spray bar (not shown) located near the brush 2 and similarly extending across the face of the plate 1. It may move with the brush up and down or may remain stationary. The cleaning fluid supplied through the spray bar is warm water containing a metered amount of detergent. The detergent is introduced into the water supply either by a Venturi nozzle or by a small pump (neither shown). The water supply may be controlled by a valve which automatically switches on the water supply at the beginning of a cleaning cycle and switches it off at the end. The beginning and end of the cycle can be determined automatically from sensing the position of the brush, which in the preferred cycle travels once down the plate from top to bottom.

The apparatus and plate are housed in a container (not shown) which consists essentially of a large waterproof box. The container forms a support for the plate. At the base of the container is a collector in which the solid waste removed from the plates is collected while the water is extracted therefrom through a filtered outlet.

In a second example the screw jack is replaced respectively by a power driven motor M and an elongate linear rack R.

The power driven output shaft (not shown) of the motor M carries and rotates a pinion P which engages the teeth of rack R to move the brush 2 across the corrugated surface of the plate 1.

The embodiment illustrated could be reversed in that a rack similar to the rack R could carry the brush 2 and could move up and down (when viewed as in the drawings) in meshing engagement with the power driven pinion P of a non moving motor such as the motor M.

The substitution of a rack and pinion drive for a screw jack mechanism brings with it advantages of simplicity and strength which are particularly important in the kinds of environment in which these apparatus will operate.

A third embodiment of the invention is shown in Figure 2. In this embodiment the axle 5 on which the brush 2 rotates is at least partially hollow and is provided with a plurality of apertures 8. Inside the hollow axle fits s spray bar 9 which remains stationary. The spray bar 9 fits inside the axle 5 so closely that they are substantially in sealing engagement while still allowing the axle 5 to rotate about the spray bar 9. The spray bar 9 has a plurality of apertures 10 which corresponds to the aperture 8 in the axle and which are directed toward the plate.

The spray bar is supplied with water and detergent at a high pressure, such as 1,000 psi. Once in every revolution of the brush, apertures 8 and 10 align and a number of jets of high pressure cleaning fluid are produced. If it were desired that these jets occur more often, it would be possible to provide two or even more series of apertures 8 in axle 5. These sets of apertures could either be equi-angularly spaced or may be spaced to give two series of jets in quick succession followed by a pause.

The jets have the purpose of cleaning not only the plate, but also the brush. If so desired, there may be left gaps in the bristles forming the brush 2 in the region of these apertures 8 to allow the jet to reach the plate with more force.

A fourth example of apparatus embodying the invention is shown in Figure 3 of the drawings. In this apparatus a brush member 11 is rotatably mounted at each of its ends to a mounting 12.

Each mounting 12 is fixed to an endless belt 13.

The endless belt 13 pass along the edge of the brush member 11 over pulleys 14 and into the back of the machine where they are driven by a motor. At one end of the brush member 11 is the means 15 to rotate the brush member 11. One the mounting 16 is a pulley wheel 17 with an endless belt 18 passing over the pulley. The endless belt 18 passes through two slots 19 in the mounting 16 through the belt 13 and onto a driven pulley 20 in the back of the machine.

When the motor behind the machine (not shown) drives the endless belt 13 the brush member reciprocates across the plate 1 to clean it. The endless belt 18 which rotates the brush member 11 is long enough to accommodate this movement of the brush member 11.

The endless belt 13 seals the gap between the front of the machine where the cleaning of the plate is being carried out and the back of the machine where the motors for driving the endless belts 13 and 18 are situated. Thus the presence of the belt 13 prevents any water escaping from the cleaning area to the back of the machine.

A fifth embodiment of the invention has the brush 2 reciprocating from side to side by a distance at least equal to one corrugation of the plate as it moves down the plate. This avoids undue wear on any particular point of the brush and also causes more agitation and therefore better cleaning. The reciprocation is achieved by providing a cam which acts on the brush or on pulley 3 once in every revolution thereof to push the brush and pulley the desired distance. The brush is returned to its first end position by means of a spring resiliently biassing it against the cam action. The cam may be made of nylon and the spring of stainless steel.

The above embodiments have shown the plate mounted for cleaning in a vertical or substantially vertical postion. However, in a final embodiment, it would be possible to position the plate horizontally with the corrugated face downwards and spray from the underneath.

It would be course be possible in any of the embodiments to maintain the brush and spray bar stationary and mount the plate 1 to the screw jacks 6 so that it moves past the brush. This arrangement is true of both the vertical plate position and the horizontal plate position.

The rotating threaded rods 7 may be driven by the same motor through a gear train and, in fact, this may be the same motor which drives pulley belt 4.

Claims

1. A plate cleaning apparatus comprising a support for supporting a plate during cleaning, a rotatable brush member arranged, in use, to contact the plate with its axis of rotation extending across the plate, and a spray for spraying cleaning fluid towards the plate and/or onto the brush, means being provided to cause relative movement between the plate and the brush member in a direction transverse to the axis of rotation, and to cause rotation of the brush member during its passage across the plate.

2. Apparatus according to Claim 1 in which the brush member includes a spindle having apertures along its length, and in which the spray comprises a spray bar on which the brush member is mounted, the spray bar being connected to a source of cleaning fluid under high pressure and having apertures corresponding with the apertures in the spindle of the brush member.

3. Apparatus according to Claim 1 or 2 in which the brush member comprises an elongate cylinder of bristles formed of stainless steel, nylon or carborundum filled nylon.

4. Apparatus in accordance with any one of the preceding Claims in which the cleaning fluid is hot water.

5. Apparatus in accordance with any one of the preceding Claims in which the brush member is movable towards and away from the plate, whereby cleaned plates may be removed from the support and soiled ones inserted.

6. Apparatus according to Claim 5 in which the brush member is spring biassed towards the plate.

7. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding Claims in which the relative movement between the plate and the brush member is effected by a pair of screwjacks.

8. Apparatus according to any one of Claims 1 to 6 in which the relative movement between the brush member and plate is effected by a rack and pinion drive.

9. Apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, in which the relative movement between the brush member and plate is effected by an endless belt drive; each end of the brush member being rotatably mounted on a mounting attached to an endless belt, movement of the belt moving the brush member.

10. Apparatus in accordance with any one of the preceding Claims in which the brush member is mounted so as to reciprocate axially during its relative movement across the plate.

11. Apparatus in accordance with any one of the preceding Claims, also including valve means to initiate and cut off the supply of cleaning fluid at the beginning and end of each cleaning cycle.

12. A method of cleaning corrugated plates comprising passing a rotating brush across the plate in a direction transverse to its axis of rotation, and spraying a jet of water at at least 70 and 2,500 psi, along the line of each corrugation.

13. A plate cleaning apparatus arranged substantially as described herein with reference, and as illustrated in Figure 1A of the accompanying drawings.

14. A plate cleaning apparatus arranged substantially as described herein with reference to, and as illustrated in Figure 1A, when modified in accordance with Figure 1B on the accompanying drawings.

15. A plate cleaning apparatus arranged substantially as described herein with reference to, and as illustrated in Figure 2 of the accompanying drawings.

16. A plate cleaning apparatus arranged substantially as described herein with reference to, and as illustrated in, Figure 3 of the accompanying designs.