APPARATUS FOR CLEANING OF CONVEYING UNITS FOR MEDIA CAPABLE OF FLOW

Abstract

Many conveying units for media capable of flow are used for products that are harmful to the environment and at least attack the conveying units themselves over time or deposit in them and clog them. Cleaning of the conveying units is therefore recommended, but such cleaning represents an effort that is preferably not made, because of the effort involved. Against this background, an apparatus for cleaning of conveying units, which apparatus can run both in simple manner and practically without supervision, uses a cleaning circuit in which the conveying unit to be cleaned is short-circuited with a cleaning agent tank and thereby constant circulation of cleaning agent through the conveying unit to be cleaned is pumped and the unit is thereby cleaned.

Claims

1. A cleaning apparatus comprising: (a) at least one conveying unit for media capable of flow having a drain; (b) a cleaning agent tank comprising an immersion container having a top introduction opening connected with the at least one conveying unit to be cleaned; (c) a pump lance for introduction through the top introduction opening; and (d) a drain line connecting the drain with a feed of the immersion container; wherein a cleaning circuit is formed in terms of flow technology so that a cleaning agent passes through the cleaning agent tank and the at least one conveying unit to be cleaned and the at least one conveying unit circulates the cleaning agent in the cleaning circuit.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the drain is connected with a feed line of the cleaning agent tank by way of the drain line, and wherein the feed of the immersion container is connected with a cleaning agent tank drain of the cleaning agent tank by way of a feed line.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the immersion container narrows upward at least in one section.

4. The apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising an introduction funnel assigned to the immersion container at the top introduction opening, wherein the introduction funnel widens upward.

5. The apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising a drip protection plate is assigned to the introduction funnel.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the drip protection plate comprises a gutter and is releasably connected with a top edge of the introduction funnel and projects away from the introduction funnel in self-supporting manner.

7. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the gutter is releasably connected with the top edge of the introduction funnel by an insertion connection or a clamping connection.

8. The apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising a fixation device assigned to the immersion container in a region of the introduction opening, for fixation of the pump lance with respect to the at least one conveying unit to be cleaned.

9. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the fixation device is formed from a plurality of clamping screws distributed over a circumference of an outer wall that encloses the introduction opening.

10. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the screws are provided with hand wheels.

11. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein a plurality of feed openings distributed over the circumference of the outer wall that encloses the introduction opening are assigned to the immersion container in the region of the introduction opening, wherein the openings form or belong to the feed of the immersion container.

12. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the feed openings are formed in an inner wall of a cuff ring that runs around the circumference at least in certain sections where the cleaning agent is brought up from the cleaning agent tank by way of the feed line, and introduced into the immersion container by way of the feed openings.

13. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the cleaning agent is sprayed under pressure into the immersion container.

14. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the feed line to the cuff ring has an associated auxiliary pump, wherein the auxiliary pump conveys cleaning agent from the cleaning agent tank or the immersion container.

15. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein at least one of the feed line and the drain line has an associated bottom drain for emptying via gravity the cleaning circuit by way of a drain valve.

16. The apparatus according to claim 15, further comprising a filter arrangement assigned to the bottom drain for at least one of separation and neutralization of harmful substances from the cleaning agent.

17. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a heating element assigned to the cleaning circuit for tempering the cleaning agent.

18. The apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the heating element comprises a flow-through heater.

19. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning agent tank has a filling opening for connection with a cleaning agent source via a filling line for a first filling purpose, wherein active cleaning additives can be metered into the cleaning agent during the first filling using a metering pump comprising a proportional metering unit assigned to the filling line.

20. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning circuit comprises a plurality of conveying units placed one behind the other, in terms of flow technology, wherein only one of the conveying units is an active conveying unit used as a circulation pump and actively operated.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are designed as an illustration only and not as a definition of the limits of the invention.

[0031] In the drawings,

[0032] FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional representation from the side of an apparatus for cleaning of conveying units for media capable of flow;

[0033] FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional representation from the side of a detail of the apparatus according to FIG. 1; and

[0034] FIG. 3 is a fundamental block schematic of a cleaning circuit.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0035] FIG. 1 shows a hand cart 26 that is mounted on wheels and is thereby equipped to be mobile. This hand cart 26 is set up in the immediate vicinity of a barrel 25, from which a conveying unit 1 having a pump lance 7 has just been removed and pushed into an immersion container 8. The conveying unit 1 was previously used in the barrel 25 as a container pump, in order to convey the content of the barrel 25 out and pass it along to its destination. Now that the conveying unit 1 is no longer needed in the barrel 25, the conveying unit 1 with its pump lance 7 is pulled out of the barrel 25 and introduced into the immersion container 8 for cleaning.

[0036] In order to make it easier to introduce the pump lance 7 of the conveying unit 1 into the immersion container 8, the immersion container 8 has an introduction funnel 10. A drip protection plate 24 is releasably attached to this introduction funnel 10, at the edge of the introduction funnel, so that the pump lance 7 does not leave any contaminants when it is pulled out of the barrel 25 and placed into the immersion container 8. The pump lance 7 is always situated above the barrel 25, the drip protection plate 24, configured as a gutter, or the introduction funnel 10, until it has been introduced into the interior of the immersion container 8 through an introduction opening 9 in the center of the introduction funnel 10.

[0037] Also disposed on the hand cart is a cleaning agent tank 4, which sprays cleaning agent onto the pump lance by way of an auxiliary pump 16, through a cuff ring 14 of the immersion container 8, as will be described below with regard to FIG. 2. Also, the cleaning agent tank 4 is connected with the immersion container 8 by way of a feed/drain line 5, 6 close to the floor/ground, and with a drain of the conveying unit 1 by way of a drain line 6. The cleaning agent kept on hand in the cleaning agent tank 4 is then introduced into the immersion container 8, during ongoing operation of the arrangement as described, from the cleaning agent tank 4, by way of the feed lines 5, and there cleans the pump lance 7 from the outside. The conveying unit 1 is operated for this purpose, so that cleaning agent contained in the immersion container 8, for example water with a cleaning additive, is drawn in at the free end of the pump lance 7 and pumped back into the cleaning agent tank, through the pump lance 7 and the conveying unit 1 itself. Cleaning of the conveying unit 1 from the inside and from the outside takes place because of the flow through the conveying unit 1 and the flow around the immersed parts.

[0038] For first filling of the cleaning circuit, an additive tank 22 is furthermore disposed on the hand cart 26, in which the cleaning additive is kept on hand. A proportional metering unit 21, which is also connected with a cleaning agent source 23, for example a water line or a further tank, is connected with this tank. The proportional metering unit ensures that a precise mixture of the desired cleaning agent is available and also, in the case of pure refilling, that the ratio between cleaning agent and cleaning additive remains the same.

[0039] To empty the cleaning circuit, a bottom drain 17 is provided, which is disposed in a feed/drain pipe close to the floor/ground between the cleaning agent tank 4 and the immersion container 8. By opening the drain valve 18, complete emptying of both the cleaning agent tank 4 and the immersion container 8 using gravity can take place; depending on the application case, the last medium conveyed, and the cleaning agent and cleaning additives used, this emptying can take place into a collection container or into the sewer system.

[0040] FIG. 2 shows the region of the introduction opening 9 of the immersion container 8 as a detail of FIG. 1. The immersion container 8 may have a narrowing 11 in its upper region, in other words around the introduction opening 8, so that the pumping effect becomes stronger in the upper region and there the flow caused by the pump flows more quickly. A cuff ring 14 that surrounds the introduction opening 8 is assigned to this immersion container 8. Using an auxiliary pump 16, cleaning agent is conveyed out of the cleaning agent tank 4 during introduction of the pump lance 7 of the conveying unit to be cleaned into the immersion container 8; this cleaning agent first fills a cavity in the cuff ring 14 and then sprays onto the pump lance 7 by way of feed openings 15 on the inside of the cuff ring 14. As a result, external cleaning of the pump lance 7 already takes place during its introduction into the immersion container 8, before internal cleaning is also added by means of startup of the conveying unit 1. The pump lance is clamped in place using clamping screws 13, which are disposed on a fixation device 12 and distributed over the circumference of the neck of the immersion container, so that during operation of the conveying unit 1, it does not vibrate to produce strong movements, but rather is securely held.

[0041] FIG. 3, finally, shows a schematic arrangement of the elements of the cleaning circuit for the case of simultaneous cleaning of three conveying units 1, 2, and 3 to be cleaned at the same time. These conveying units are placed in series, one behind the other, in terms of flow, so that cleaning agent that is brought in from a cleaning agent tank 4 by way of a feed line 5 first passes through the conveying unit 1, then the conveying unit 2, and finally the conveying unit 3, before it is conveyed back to the cleaning agent tank 4 by way of a drain line 6. In this regard, only the first is an active conveying unit 1. The other two are passive conveying units 2 and 3, which are driven by the active conveying unit 1.

[0042] As has already been described with regard to first filling of the cleaning circuit, a proportional metering unit 21 is connected with the cleaning agent tank 4 by way of a filling line 20 and is supplied from a cleaning agent source 23 and an additive tank 22 with a cleaning additive. The components are mixed, and the cleaning agent tank 4 is filled with this mixture for the first time.

[0043] After use, the drain valve 18 is opened and the soiled cleaning agent is cleaned by way of a filter arrangement 19 and removed from the system by way of a bottom drain.

[0044] What is described above is therefore an apparatus for cleaning of conveying units for media capable of flow, which guarantees simple and effective cleaning by means of circulation of cleaning agents through one or more cleaning units.

[0045] Although only a few embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it is to be understood that many changes and modifications may be made thereunto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.