Cleaning agent for cleaning commercial cooking devices

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for cleaning a commercial cooking device (100, 100), in which a container (B, B) with a solid cleaning agent (1R), in particular a firm gel, is accommodated in a connection unit (101, 102) of the commercial cooking device (100, 100), and in which the solid cleaning agent (1R) is liquefied in the cleaning process in the container (B, B) by means of heat and/or a solvent, preferably water and/or steam, in order to generate a liquefied cleaning agent. In addition, the invention relates to the use of a container (B, B) with a solid cleaning agent (1R) for cleaning a commercial cooking device (100, 100). Finally, the present invention relates to a corresponding container (B, B) with a solid cleaning agent (1R) for cleaning commercial cooking devices.

Claims

1. A method for cleaning a commercial cooking device, in which a container with a solid cleaning agent comprising a solid gel, is accommodated in a connection unit of the commercial cooking device, and in which the solid cleaning agent is liquefied in the cleaning process in the container by means of heat and/or a solvent, in order to generate a liquefied cleaning agent, wherein, after the cooking chamber has been cleaned with liquefied cleaning agent, expended cleaning agent is removed, and a rinsing cycle is performed, in which rinsing takes place by means of a rinsing agent, and wherein a combination container is accommodated in the connection unit of the cooking device, the combination container has parallel arranged compartments with separate outlet openings, one of the compartments is a cleaning compartment with the solid cleaning agent, and another compartment is a rinsing compartment with a rinsing agent.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the container with the solid cleaning agent is accommodated in a bracket fastened in the cooking chamber of the cooking device.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the rinsing agent is supplied in a container, with a sealing layer being arranged on its outlet.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the solid cleaning agent is liquefied in the cleaning process in the container by water and/or steam.

5. A method for cleaning a commercial cooking device, in which a container with a solid cleaning agent comprising a solid gel, is accommodated in a connection unit of the commercial cooking device, and in which the solid cleaning agent is liquefied in the cleaning process in the container by means of heat and/or a solvent, in order to generate a liquefied cleaning agent, wherein the container with the solid cleaning agent is accommodated in a connection unit that is separate from the cooking chamber, and has an allocated liquefaction device including a heating device and/or rinsing nozzle, and the liquefied cleaning agent is transferred into the cooking chamber of the cooking device via a line system comprising a pump.

Description

(1) The invention will be explained in more detail once again with reference to the attached figures based on exemplary embodiments. The same components are here provided with identical reference numbers on the various figures. As a rule, the figures are not to scale. Shown on:

(2) FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a commercial cooking device for explaining a first exemplary embodiment of a method for cleaning the cooking device;

(3) FIG. 2 is a schematic longitudinal section through a combination container with two compartments for a solid cleaning agent and a rinsing agent (the combination container is here overhead);

(4) FIG. 3 is a schematic top view of the upper side of the combination container according to FIG. 2;

(5) FIG. 4 is a schematic top view (similar to FIG. 3) of an upper side of a variant of a combination container with two chambers separated by a web;

(6) FIG. 5 is a schematic top view (similar to FIG. 3) of an upper side of a variant of a combination container with two separate chambers that can be coupled to each other;

(7) FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a commercial cooking device for explaining another exemplary embodiment of a method for cleaning the cooking device.

(8) FIGS. 1 and 4 each show a cooking device 100, 100, here a commercial combination steamer, with a cooking chamber 9, in which the product to be heated, in particular cooked, or the meals are introduced during operation through a door (not depicted). The cooking chamber 9 usually also contains (possibly removable) built-in components, such as rail systems, brackets or the like, so as to hold baking trays, casserole pans, etc. having a matching design. To improve clarity, these built-in components are not shown here.

(9) A line system 15 can be used to expose the cooking chamber 9 to water, generate steam in the cooking chamber 9 or expose it directly to steam. Both the cooking chamber 9 itself, with or without built-in components, and the line systems 15 for the water or steam must be regularly cleaned.

(10) The figures each only show the components essential for the method according to the invention. Such a method clearly can have all other conventional components, such as fans, heating devices for the walls of the cooking chamber, overhead grills, steam generators, along with a suitable controller to control the entire device in use while preparing the meals, but also when cleaning with the method according to the invention.

(11) FIG. 1 shows a first exemplary embodiment with a cleaning device completely integrated into the cooking device 100. The cleaning device here has a connection unit 101 in the form of a bracket 101 fixedly mounted to a cooking chamber wall in the cooking chamber by means of screws 103 for accommodating a container with a cleaning agent 1R. This case can involve a bracket 101 into which the commercially available cartridges can be placed, for example.

(12) In the present case, a combination container B, here a bottle B, with an alkaline solid cleaning agent 1R and a rinsing agent K is used for a cleaning process in this bracket 101. This combination container B here has two, as defined above as parallel, compartments, specifically a cleaning compartment RK with the solid cleaning agent 1R and a rinsing compartment KK with the rinsing agent 1K. The combination container B here also has two separate bottle necks RH, KH respectively allocated to the compartments for the exit of the cleaning agent 1R or rinsing agent 1K.

(13) Potential, more specific assemblies of such a combination container B, or here a combination bottle B, will be explained in greater detail below based on FIGS. 2 and 3, 4, 5.

(14) FIG. 2 here presents a strictly schematic view of the combination bottle as a longitudinal section through the two parallel compartments RK, KK in an overhead position (i.e., as during use in the cooking chamber according to FIG. 1 or in the connection piece according to FIG. 6), and FIG. 3 in a schematic top view.

(15) As evident from these figures, the combination bottle B is essentially shaped like a cylinder with an elliptical bottom surface. The two compartments KK, RK here form a right and left part of the bottle, which are separated from each other by a partition running from the floor up to an upper end wall of the combination bottle B. On FIGS. 2 and 3, 4, 5, the rinsing agent compartment KK for the rinsing agent 1K is here respectively located on the left side, and the cleaning agent compartment RK for the solid cleaning agent 1R of the upper side is located on the right side (below on FIG. 2).

(16) The cleaning compartment RK is here larger than the rinsing compartment KK, because more cleaning agent than rinsing agent is as a rule required for a cleaning cycle followed by a rinsing cycle.

(17) As mentioned, the cleaning compartment RK and rinsing compartment KK are each provided with a separate bottle neck RH, KH with opening, i.e., the combination container B has two parallel bottle necks RH, KH. As a consequence, both compartments RK, KKas opposed to previous cartridgesare parallel-accessible, and can in principle be filled and emptied independently of each other, and especially in parallel.

(18) In one variant, the combination container B or combination bottle B can preferably be manufactured by casting a container B with two outlet openings or necks into a mold in a blowing process in such a way as to create two closed chambers with a central web ST, which separates the chambers KK, RK or compartments KK, RK from each other.

(19) FIG. 4 presents a schematic top view of the upper side of such a dual chamber bottle with two chambers KK, RK separated by a web ST. The web ST runs from the upper side of the bottle down to the bottom side, so that no connecting opening is present between the two chambers KK, RK anymore. Therefore, a kind of dual chamber bottle B with two partial bottles is ultimately generated in this way, which are mechanically connected with each other by the web ST.

(20) FIG. 5 presents a principle top view of another preferred alternative for a combination container B with two separate partial containers or bottle parts. In order to manufacture such a combination container B, the bottle parts with their outlet openings are each separately manufactured, and in the process molded in such a way as to have prefabricated, matching plug connections. A plug connection in the form of a tongue-in-groove or dovetail connection is here shown by way of example. For example, a dovetailed groove N is molded into the one partial container, the cleaning compartment RK, and a matching dovetailed tongue F is molded onto the other partial container, the rinsing compartment KK. This is only shown in principle on FIG. 5. In reality, the free space depicted on the figure is clearly not present between the groove N and tongue F; rather, any kind of plug connection elements, here the groove N and tongue F as an example, are designed in terms of their dimensions and fit relative to each other so as to engage relatively tightly into each other after put together, and can preferably only be detached from each other again by a greater expenditure of force, if at all. In particular, the shape and fit of the plug connection elements along with the material of container B are here selected in such a way that even increasing the temperature does not cause the partial containers to detach from each other again. In this exemplary embodiment, both partial containers can be manufactured and/or filled in separate production lines, and need only be assembled at the end of the production line.

(21) After the two compartments RK, KK have been filled, the bottle necks RH, KH are each provided with covers. A sealing layer VS is here located in the cover D of the rinsing compartment KK in the bottle neck, preferably in the form of a film, or in the form of a gel/wax plug. In order to protect the sealing layer VS, it is initially outwardly covered by a sealing film (not shown).

(22) On FIGS. 2, 3, 4 and 5, the cover of the bottle neck RH of the cleaning compartment RK has already been unscrewed, and the sealing film has already been removed from the sealing layer VS on the cover D of the rinsing compartment KK. In other words, the operator has already prepared the combination bottle B for use in the cooking device 100.

(23) In this case, the rinsing agent 1K is a liquid, which in the overhead position as depicted on FIG. 2, i.e., even when in a state where it is being used in the cooking device, flows downwardly and is only held back by the sealing layer VS. This sealing layer VS is designed in such a way that it can be dissolved by increasing the temperature and using steam at a suitable point in time to initiate the rinsing process, as explained below.

(24) Since the solid cleaning agent 1R or solid cleaning agent mass is here designed as a firm gel, it remains in its original position in the bottle B in the overhead position, even with the cover open.

(25) The combination bottle B with the alkaline solid cleaner 1R is then introduced into the bracket 101 in the overhead position with one of the two bottle necks RH, here that of the cleaning compartment RK.

(26) As mentioned, the alkaline solid cleaner 1R is here liquefied in the bottle B with steam, which is introduced into the cooking chamber 9 by way of a line system 15 and nozzles 8, and which dissolves the solid cleaning agent 1R. The line system 15 incorporates a circulation container 6, with which fresh water can also be supplied by means of a fresh water supply 4. An (optional) trace heater 60 (here a flow heater) is additionally arranged on the line system 15, and can be used to generate the steam. The circulating system present in the cooking device and the trace heater 60 can also be used to set the cleaning solution or subsequently the rinsing agent to the desired temperature.

(27) While and after cleaning the cooking chamber 9, the expended cleaning solution can drain out of the cooking chamber 9 through an outlet opening 10 (the conventional outlet sieve) arranged in the floor of the cooking chamber 9, and can continue to be pumped thereafter by means of a pump 110. An outlet valve 11 setting can be adjusted to determine whether the cleaning solution coming out of the cooking chamber 9 is to be pumped back into the circulation container 6 for another pass, or removed through an outlet line 14 and properly disposed of. Additionally or alternatively, the cleaning solution can also be pumped out of the circulation container 6 via the pump 5, an outlet valve 50 and an outlet line 14. Once the cleaning process has ended, rinsing can optionally take place with fresh water, and the rinsing process can be subsequently performed.

(28) To this end, the sealing layer VS is dissolved through a continued temperature increase and exposure to steam, so that gravity moves the rinsing agent 1K into the cooking chamber 9. Similarly to the cleaning agent, the rinsing agent 1K can then be carried by a circulating system, and then disposed of after use similarly to the expended cleaning agent.

(29) FIG. 6 shows another exemplary embodiment for a method with a cleaning device 200 integrated into the cooking device 100, in which the combination container B is docked to a connection unit 102 in the form of a connection piece 102 fixedly mounted in the cooking device outside of the cooking chamber 9.

(30) Here as well, the combination container B is designed in the form of a combination bottle, and also comprises a respective cleaning compartment RK with a solid cleaning agent 1R, in the present case a firm gel, as well as a rinsing compartment KK with a rinsing agent 1K. However, the combination container here has only a shared bottle neck in the schematic illustration. The bottle neck of the combination container B is divided into two separate bottle opening parts by a partition, and thereby allows the liquefied cleaning agent 1R or rinsing agent 1K to exit separately. A sealing layer VS is again located inside of the bottle opening part for the rinsing agent. In principle, such a combination container with only one shared bottle neck is possible. However, in terms of practical implementation, the bottle can for the sake of simplicity be designed like a dual chamber bottle with two chambers or partial bottles and separate neck openings, as described above. In this case, the connection piece 102 is correspondingly adjusted to the dual chamber bottle.

(31) The combination bottle B is here introduced into the connection piece 102 with a bottle neck in an overhead position. Prior to placement in the connection piece 102, a usually present cover of the bottle neck of the combination bottle B is removed.

(32) The liquefaction device for liquefying the alkaline solid cleaner 1R in the bottle B here has a heating device 2a around the connection piece 2, with which the container B along with the solid cleaning agent 1R can be heated. In particular, such a heating device 2a can be electrical, designed for warm water or condensing steam. In addition, the liquefaction device is here equipped with a rinsing nozzle 2b, so as to expose the solid cleaning agent 1R (alternatively or additionally to heating the solid cleaning agent 1R) to a jet of solvent through the bottle neck (without loss of generality, it is assumed below that the solvent is water and/or steam), which dissolves the solid cleaning agent 1R.

(33) The connection piece 102 is here arranged at an upper end of the supply tank 6, which here is formed by the circulation container 6, so that the liquefied cleaning agent 1R is moved out of the container B and into the supply tank 6 by gravity as a kind of cleaning concentrate.

(34) Furthermore, a fresh water supply 4 can be used to feed additional fresh water into the supply tank 6 to further dilute the liquefied cleaning agent 1R. In order to better dissolve and mix the liquefied cleaning agent or rinsing agent for obtaining a cleaning solution with the desired homogeneity or alkalinity, the supply tank 6 has a mixing device 3, here an agitator unit 3. In order to clean the cooking chamber 9 and line system 15, a pump 5 can be used to introduce the cleaning solution provided in the supply tank 6 into the cooking chamber 9 through the line system 15 and via inlet openings 8, in particular nozzles 8.

(35) An (optional) trace heater 60 (here a flow heater) is here additionally arranged on the line system 15, and can be used to set the cleaning solution to a desired temperature.

(36) While and after cleaning the cooking chamber 9, the expended cleaning solution can here as well drain out of the cooking chamber 9 through an outlet opening 10 (the conventional outlet sieve), and can continue to be pumped thereafter by means of a pump 110. An outlet valve 11 setting can again be adjusted to determine whether the cleaning solution coming out of the cooking chamber 9 is to be pumped back into the circulation container 6 for another pass, or removed through an outlet line 14 and properly disposed of. Additionally or alternatively, the cleaning solution can also be pumped out of the circulation container 6 via the pump 5, an outlet valve 50 and an outlet line 14. Once the cleaning process has ended, rinsing can optionally take place with fresh water.

(37) Once the cleaning process is complete and the expended cleaning agent has been removed, the rinsing agent 1K is released in a second step by dissolving the sealing layer VS, i.e., the film or the like, by increasing the temperature and/or using rinsing nozzles, and essentially transferred into the supply tank 6 or circulation container 6. The rinsing agent 1K is subsequently further liquefied in the supply tank 6, if necessary while supplying fresh water via a fresh water supply 4 and using an agitator unit 3. In the rinsing cycle, the rinsing agent is then introduced as needed into the cooking chamber 9 by means of a pump 5 via the line system and nozzles 8. After the rinsing process is over, the expended rinsing agent is disposed of via the outlet opening 10 and pump 110, the valve 11 and the outlet line 14. Here as well, the rinsing agent could be initially returned from the cooking chamber 9 into the circulation container 6 for another pass.

(38) Finally, let it be noted once again that the devices described in detail above only involve exemplary embodiments, which can be modified by the expert in a wide variety of ways, without departing from the area of the invention. In particular, for example, the supply tank could also be omitted, and the liquefied cleaning agent and/or rinsing agent could also be guided directly in the line system 15, if necessary in a circuit. In like manner, for example, even when using the container B directly in the cooking chamber, a liquefaction device could be used in the cooking chamber for liquefying the solid cleaning agent in the container, for example a rinsing nozzle, with which solvent can be sprayed directly into the container, e.g., from below. As in the variant according to FIG. 6, a combination container B with only one bottle neck could also be placed directly in the cooking chamber in the procedural variant according to FIG. 1 or vice versa. In principle, the solid cleaning agent, in particular the solid gel, could also be combined with known rinsing agent variants, e.g., rinsing agent tabs, which are added via a dispenser drawer, or rinsing agent tabs in a temperature-controlled, water-soluble film, which can be placed in the cooking chamber. Furthermore, use of the indeterminate article a or an does not mean that the respective features cannot also be present repeatedly. Likewise, the term unit does not mean that the latter cannot also consist of several, potentially even spatially separated, subunits.

REFERENCE LIST

(39) 1K Rinsing agent 1R Solid cleaning agent 2a Heating device of the liquefaction device 2b Rinsing nozzle of the liquefaction device 3 Mixing device/agitator unit 4 Fresh water supply 5 Pump 6 Supply tank/circulation container 8 Inlet openings/nozzles 9 Cooking chamber 10 Outlet opening 14, 14 Outlet line 15 Line system 50 Outlet valve 60 Trace heater 100, 100 Cooking device 101 Connection unit/bracket 102 Connection unit/connection piece 103 Screws 110 Pump 200 Cleaning device B Combination container/combination bottle B Combination container/combination bottle RK Cleaning agent compartment KK Rinsing agent compartment RH Bottle neck, cleaning agent compartment KH Bottle neck, rinsing agent compartment VS Sealing layer D Cover ST Web F Tongue N Groove