CONVEYOR DISHWASHER FOR CLEANING WASHWARE

Abstract

A conveyor dishwasher for cleaning washware, in particular in the form of drinking vessels, wherein the conveyor dishwasher has at least one treatment zone and a housing, wherein the conveyor dishwasher also has a dirty-side feed -in region, by way of which washware which is to be cleaned in the at least one treatment zone is fed in manually, and a clean-side discharging region by way of which washware cleaned in the at least one treatment zone is discharged and removed manually, and a transporting apparatus for transporting washware from the feed-in region, through the at least one treatment zone, to the discharging region. The feed-in region and the discharging region are formed in one and the same side of the housing of the conveyor dishwasher or in directly adjacent sides of the housing.

Claims

1. A conveyor dishwasher for cleaning washware, in the form of drinking vessels, wherein the conveyor dishwasher has at least one treatment zone and also a housing, in which the at least one treatment zone is accommodated, wherein the conveyor dishwasher also has a dirty-side feed-in region, by way of which washware which is to be cleaned in the at least one treatment zone of the conveyor dishwasher is fed in manually, and a clean-side discharging region, by way of which washware cleaned in the at least one treatment zone of the conveyor dishwasher is discharged and removed manually, wherein the conveyor dishwasher also has a transporting apparatus for transporting washware from the dirty-side feed-in region, through the at least one treatment zone, to the clean-side discharging region, wherein the dirty-side feed-in region and the clean-side discharging region are formed in one and the same side of the housing of the conveyor dishwasher or in directly adjacent sides of the housing of the conveyor dishwasher.

2. The conveyor dishwasher as claimed in claim 1, wherein the dirty-side feed-in region and the clean-side discharging region, at least in part, are arranged one above the other and are possibly offset laterally in relation to one another.

3. The conveyor dishwasher as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one treatment zone has at least one wash zone and at least one final rinse zone, and wherein the wash zone and the final rinse zone, at least in part, are arranged one above the other and are possibly offset laterally in relation to one another; and/or wherein the at least one treatment zone has at least one wash zone and at least one final rinse zone, and wherein the final rinse zone is arranged, at least in part, above the wash zone such that final rinse liquid sprayed in the final rinse zone flows under gravitational force to the wash zone and is used there as wash liquid.

4. The conveyor dishwasher as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one treatment zone has at least one wash zone and at least one final rinse zone, and wherein the final rinse zone and the wash zone are arranged in the same horizontal plane and are separated from one another via a splash guard, in the form of a curtain.

5. The conveyor dishwasher as claimed in claim 1, wherein the conveyor dishwasher has a control device which is designed to activate the transporting apparatus such that, by means of the transporting apparatus, the washware which is to be cleaned is transported in a discontinuous manner from the dirty-side feed-in region of the conveyor dishwasher, through the at least one treatment zone, to the clean-side discharging region of the conveyor dishwasher; or wherein the conveyor dishwasher has a control device which is designed to activate the transporting apparatus such that, by means of the transporting apparatus, the washware which is to be cleaned is transported in a continuous manner, at a previously defined or definable transporting speed, through the at least one treatment zone.

6. The conveyor dishwasher as claimed in claim 1, wherein the transporting apparatus has a spiral or a helix conveyor and/or a carousel conveyor.

7. The conveyor dishwasher as claimed in claim 1, wherein the dirty-side feed-in region has an access opening with a guideway which corresponds to the drinking vessel which is to be cleaned and is intended for predetermining an orientation of the drinking vessel when the drinking vessel is introduced manually into the dirty-side feed-in region.

8. The conveyor dishwasher as claimed in claim 1, wherein the clean-side discharging region is designed in the form of a storage region for the interim storage of a previously defined or definable number of cleaned drinking vessels; and/or wherein the dirty-side feed-in region is designed in the form of a storage region for the interim storage of a previously defined or definable number of drinking vessels which are to be cleaned.

9. The conveyor dishwasher as claimed in claim 1, wherein the conveyor dishwasher has a storage region for the interim storage of a previously defined or definable number of cleaned drinking vessels, and wherein the transporting apparatus is designed so that drinking vessels which are stored on an interim basis as required in the storage region are transported to the clean-side discharging region of the conveyor dishwasher.

10. The conveyor dishwasher as claimed in claim 1, wherein the conveyor dishwasher is designed in the form of a reverse vending machine for reusable drinking vessels, has a money-return device.

11. The conveyor dishwasher as claimed in claim 1, wherein the conveyor dishwasher has a control device for activating the transporting apparatus and/or for activating activatable components assigned to the at least one treatment zone, wherein the control device is designed so that the transporting apparatus and possibly the activatable components assigned to the at least one treatment zone are activated in dependence on a presence or absence, or in dependence on a number, of drinking vessels in the dirty-side feed-in region and/or clean-side discharging region.

12. An arrangement having a drinks machine, and a conveyor dishwasher as claimed in claim 1.

13. The arrangement as claimed in claim 12, wherein the final rinse zone of the conveyor dishwasher and the drinks machine are assigned a common water heater.

14. The arrangement as claimed in claim 12, wherein the drinks machine and the conveyor dishwasher are assigned a common fresh-water connection and/or a common connection for electrical energy.

15. The arrangement as claimed in claim 12, wherein the conveyor dishwasher and the drinks machine are combined in the form of an overall system; or wherein the conveyor dishwasher is designed in the form of a separate, modular functional unit in relation to the drinks machine.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0046] The invention will be described in more detail hereinbelow with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0047] FIG. 1 shows, schematically, an isometric view of an exemplary embodiment of the conveyor dishwasher according to the invention; and

[0048] FIG. 2 shows, schematically, an isometric view of an arrangement comprising the exemplary embodiment of the dishwasher according to the invention from FIG. 1 and a hot-drinks machine.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0049] FIG. 1 shows, schematically, an isometric view of an exemplary embodiment of the conveyor dishwasher 1 according to the invention. The conveyor dishwasher 1 has a housing 3, in which a wash zone and also a final rinse zone are accommodated.

[0050] The final rinse zone is a fresh-water final rinse zone, in which fresh water with final rinse agent possibly added is sprayed onto the washware 2 which is to be treated.

[0051] It is conceivable here for yet another treatment zone, in the form of a pump-assisted final rinse zone, to be provided between the wash zone and the final rinse zone. In this pump-assisted final rinse zone, the liquid sprayed previously in the fresh-water final rinse zone is sprayed onto the washware 2 with recirculating action.

[0052] The individual treatment zones of the conveyor dishwasher 1 are spatially separated from one another, wherein a corresponding splash guard, for example in the form of a curtain, can be provided between the treatment zones in order to prevent excess splashing of liquid and to prevent the washware from becoming dirty again.

[0053] The exemplary embodiment of the conveyor dishwasher 1 according to the invention, as is illustrated by way of example in FIG. 1, is distinguished in that it has a feed-in region 4, into which the washware 2 which is to be cleaned in the conveyor dishwasher 1 can be fed in/inserted manually. Also provided is a discharging region 5, which is separate from the feed-in region and via which the washware 2 treated/cleaned in the treatment zones of the conveyor dishwasher 1 is discharged.

[0054] The feed-in region 4 and the discharging region 5 are formed, in particular, in one and the same side of the housing 3 of the conveyor dishwasher 1. Specifically, the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 1 makes provision for the discharging region 5 to be above the feed-in region 4.

[0055] The conveyor dishwasher 1 also has a transporting apparatus (not shown in the drawings), by means of which the (dirty) washware 2 fed into the feed-in region 4 is conveyed through the treatment zones of the conveyor dishwasher 1 to the discharging region 5. The transporting apparatus is designed here such that the washware 2 can be conveyed along a curved three-dimensional route. This design allows the entire volume of the housing 3 of the conveyor dishwasher 1 to be utilized effectively, as result of which a particularly compact construction of the conveyor dishwasher 1 can be realized.

[0056] In order for the washware 2 to be transported through the treatment zones of the conveyor dishwasher 1, the transporting apparatus has, for example, a helix conveyor or a spiral conveyor.

[0057] It is also conceivable here in principle, however, for the treatment zones (wash zone and final rinse zone) of the conveyor dishwasher 1, rather than being arranged one above the other, to be arranged one beside the other, i.e. in one and the same plane. In the case of this embodiment, the transporting apparatus has, for example, a carousel conveyor or turntable conveyor, in order thus also to ensure that the washware 2 is transported in the X and Y directions.

[0058] The compactness of the conveyor dishwasher 1 means that the loading opening of the feed-in region 4 can be correspondingly small. If—as is the case with the exemplary embodiment shown in the drawings—the conveyor dishwasher 1 serves to clean drinking vessels, in particular reusable drinking vessels such as coffee cups, the loading opening of the feed-in region 4 can be a little higher than the drinking vessel which is to be treated.

[0059] Although not illustrated in FIG. 1, the access opening of the feed-in region 4 of the conveyor dishwasher 1 can be assigned a guideway which corresponds to the drinking vessel which is to be cleaned, in order to predetermine an orientation of the drinking vessel when the drinking vessel is introduced into the feed-in region 4.

[0060] The discharging region 5 of the conveyor dishwasher 1 according to FIG. 1 is designed in the form of a storage region and serves for the interim storage of a previously defined or definable number of cleaned drinking vessels. In the same way, the feed-in region 4 of the conveyor dishwasher 1 can likewise be designed in the form of a storage region, for the interim storage of a previously defined or definable number of drinking vessels which are to be cleaned. This allows so-called batch operation of the conveyor dishwasher 1.

[0061] The conveyor dishwasher 1 preferably has a control device for correspondingly activating the transporting apparatus and the activatable components assigned to the wash zone and final rinse zone. The control device is designed so that the transporting apparatus of the conveyor dishwasher 1 and possibly the activatable components of the wash zone and final rinse zone are activated in dependence on a presence or absence, or in dependence on a number, of drinking vessels in the feed-in region 4 and/or discharging region 5.

[0062] FIG. 2 shows an arrangement of the conveyor dishwasher 1 from FIG. 1 on a hot-drinks machine 6. The conveyor dishwasher 1 and the hot-drinks machine 6 can be combined in the form of an overall system. As an alternative, however, it is also conceivable for the conveyor dishwasher 1 to be designed in the form of a separate, modular functional unit in relation to the hot-drinks machine 6.

[0063] The conveyor dishwasher 1 and the hot-drinks machine 6 are advantageously assigned a common water heater. The same applies to the water connection and the connection for electrical energy.

[0064] Although not illustrated in the drawings, it is conceivable for the conveyor dishwasher 1 to be designed in the form of a reverse vending machine for reusable drinking vessels, in particular coffee cups, and preferably to have a corresponding money-return device.

[0065] If used in combination with a drinks machine, in particular hot-drinks machine 6, the conveyor dishwasher 1 according to the invention can use reusable crockery and therefore avoids waste, etc.

[0066] Although not illustrated in the drawings, preferred realizations of the solution according to the invention make provision for the dirty drinks containers to be conveyed into the lower feed-in region 4 with their opening facing downward and to be conveyed upward via a rotary helix mechanism. The containers here undergo washing, rinsing and, optionally, drying steps until they reach an upper endpoint, where the clean-side discharging region 5 is located.

[0067] A further conceivable solution is a straightforward carousel solution, in which the feed-in region 4 and the discharging region 5, although located on one side, are not at different heights.

[0068] The solution according to the invention can save time in respect of handling. Dirty washware 2 (drinking vessels) passes directly into the conveyor dishwasher 1, i.e. there is no need for dirty drinking vessels to be transported into a kitchen and for cleaning drinking vessels to be transported back from the kitchen to the hot-drinks machine 6.

[0069] Furthermore, the invention saves space, since there is no need for any space around the hot-drinks machine 6 for the purpose of storing clean and dirty drinking vessels.

[0070] Finally, the area around the hot-drinks machine 6 can be kept in better order, since there is no need to provide any storage for dirty drinking vessels. The only space for cups or drinking vessels is in the conveyor dishwasher 1 and/or in the corresponding discharging region 5 or storage region.

[0071] The above-described conveyor dishwasher facilitates a method in which washware is fed into a feed-in region on one side of the conveyor dishwasher housing, transported from the feed-in region through at least one treatment zone within the housing, such as through a wash zone and a final rinse zone, and the washware is then fed out at a discharging region that is on the same side of the housing as the feed-in region. In one implementation the feed-in region is below the discharge region, and at least one treatment zone is spaced vertically between the two regions.

[0072] Rather than being restricted to those exemplary embodiments which are shown in the drawings, the invention is a combination of all the features disclosed therein.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

[0073] 1 Conveyor dishwasher [0074] 2 Washware/drinking vessels [0075] 3 Housing [0076] 4 Feed-in region [0077] 5 Discharging region [0078] 6 Drinks machine