Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
2~s~
CASE 3773
METAL MESH GLC V~ CL~ANSING APPARATUS
Description
Ba~g~ound and Description of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an
apparatus for cleansing metal glove~ of che type that
are used in the meat proce~sing industry or the like.
~.ore particularly, the invention relate~ to a cleansing
5 apparatus having at least two generally parallel
elongated rollers or brushes. A glove i8 passed at
least partially into an entry 810t area where the rolls
counter-rotatingly engage the glove to cleanse it,
preferably in cooperation with the flow of cleansing
10 fluid directed onto at lea~ one o~E the rollers.
In the meat packing and meat proces~ing
industries, as well as in related industries ~uch a~
fish proces~ing and th~ like, variou~ cutting operations
are performed ei~cher manually or se~i-manually. In
15 thQse instance~, ~afety concern~ dictate tha~ the
operator of the cutting equipment or device wear gloves
that are made of a metal mesh material. While this
metal mesh material does provide an e~tremely
advantageouQ mea~ure of safety, the metal ~esh structure
20 does create a difficult çleaning proble~. Becau~e of
the e~pense of metal me~h gloves, it is unde~irable to
discard them until after they have bee~ worn for long
periods o~ 'cime. Because the glove~ are con~tantly in
contact with food, it ic~ important that they be
25 effectively cleaned on a regular basis. EffectiYe
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cleaning includes having meat and fish particles and the
like displaced from out of the many crevices and spaces
between the metal strips or fibers which make up the
metal mesh gloves. This task is made more difficult by
virtue of the fact that the meat or fish particles or
the like tend to be or become sticky and thus have a
strong tendency to remain lodged within the crevices or
space-~.
In the past, high-pressure jets or flows of
fluids such as air or pressurized water have been
utilized in an attempt to force the particles out of the
gloves by having the high pressure fluid dislodge the
particles from these crevices. Often these cleaning
operation~ are the responsibility of the user of the
~loves, and there is a tendency for each user to use
whatever means are available, such as sources of house
air or pressurized water directed through high pressure
nozzles, in an attempt to dislodge particles from within
the mesh. Usually, these cleaning operations also
include detergent cleansing and treatment with a
chlorine solution or the like. ~nles~ the meat
particles are effectively removed, however, these liguid
cleaning operations will be rendered potentially less
effective if substantial quantities of meat or fish
particles or the like remain in the groves at, for
example, the time of treatment with a chlorine solution.
Accordingly, there is a need for an apparatus
for clean&ing metal me~h gloves or the like. It i~
preferred that ~uch an apparatu~ be capable of being
easily operated by the u~er of the metal me~h gloves and
that the operation proceed in a safe and efficient
manner. Also, while the use of high pressure fluid~
does have significant potential and has achieved a
certain amount of succes~ in the past, high pre3sure
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fluids do create a complication in having to provide the
high pressure source and in having to handle the high
pressure fluid during the cleansing operation. Hiqh
pres~ure devices can lead to additional handling
S problems, such as how to handle particulate debris which
can become airborne when subjected to a high pressure
fluid. Therefore, it would be advantageous if an
approach can be taken which avoids the need for high
pressure fluids.
In summary, the metal mesh glove cleansing
apparatus according to this invention includes a
plurality of generally counter-rotating elongated roller
brushes which provide an entry slot area for receiving
metal mesh glove~. This entry slot area ic provided and
arranged such that the u~er of the metal mesh gloves can
easily insert the gloves into the entry 810t area.
Then, the cleansing apparatus directs low-pres~ure fluid
such as water to the entry slot area, and th~
combination of the fluid with the counter-rotating
elongated roller members effectively removes the meat or
fish particles or the like from the intersticies of ~he
metal mesh glove, at which time the glove is suitable
for treatment with a chlorine solution or the like in
order to treat the thus cleansed metal in order to
effectively reduce the chance of contamination or the
onset of microbial growth.
It i8 accordingly a general object of the
pre~ent invention to provide an improved apparatus for
cleansing metal mesh gloves.
Another object of this inven~ion is to provide
an improved means for removing particulate food
materials fro~ metal me~h gloves u~ed in handling these
types of materials at processing plants.
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~nother object of the present invention i8 to
rovide an improved apparatus which accomplishes
cleansing of metal mesh gloves and the like without
~equiring the use of high pressure fluid sources.
Another object of the present invention is to
provide means or w~shing steel mesh glove~ and the like
in a very short time period and with minimal effort on
the part of the operator of the device.
These and other objects, features and
advan~ages of the present invention will be clearly
understood through a consideration of the following
detailed description.
Brief_Description of _he Draw~e~
lS In the course of this description, reference
will be made to the attached drawings, wherein:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of an apparatus
in accordance with this invention, illustrating the use
thereof;
Figure 2 is a transverse cross-~ectional view
of the apparatus illustrated in Figure l;
Figure 3 is a longitudinal, vertical
cross-sectional view of the apparatu3 illu~trated in
Figure l; and
Figure 4 is a longitudinal, horizontal
cross-sectional view of the apparatus illustrated in
Figure 1.
Descri~tion of_the Particular Embodiments
The device according to this invention iB
generally illu3trated at 11 in Figure 1. ~etal mesh
~loves 12 are in erted into the devic~ by a worker who
suspends the gloves in an appropriate manner, such as by
holding same by a glove wrist band or by any other
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convenient means such as by using a qrasping device.
Alternatively, the yloves 12 can remain on the worker's
hands during the washing operativn, in which event the
gloved hands themselves are inserted directly into the
device. In a typical operation, the gloves 12 are first
dipped into a soap solution (not shown), they are
cleanse~ within the device 11, and then they are dipped
into a chlorine solution (not shown) which typically
contains about 50 ppm of chlorine.
Device 11 includes a frame as~embly 13 for
supporting the various components of the device 11.
Elongated rollers 14 are mounted on the frame assembly
13 in a manner such that the elongated rollers 14 are
easily removable for cleaning and replacement as needed.
A typical arrangement in this regard i8 to incorporate
spring loaded shaft couplers 15. Suitable mean~ are
provided for driving each elongated roller. A suitable
arrangement in this regard include the drive motor~ 16
and V-grooved drive belts 17.
It is important that the elongated rollers 14
be counter-rotating and preferably in the orientation of
the arrow~ ~hown in Figure 2. With tbis arrangement,
the elongated roller~ 14 define an entry 810t area 18 in
which inwardly and downwardly oriented cleansing forces
are exerted on each glove 12 present at the entry slot
area 18.
It i~ preferred that each elongated roller 14
be in the form of a roller brush having generally
radially extending nylon filament bri~tles or the like.
It has been determined that, with elongated rollers of
this general type, escellent and efficient cleanQing i~
carried out when the counter-rotating elongated roller~
each rotate at a speed of between abou~ 400 and about
500 revolutions per minute. This has been found to be
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especially effective for removing poultry and red meat
particles from steel mesh glove6.
The cleansing action of the counter-rotating
elonqated rollers 14 is enhanced by the inclusion of a
low-prèssure fluid supply assembly 19 which direc~s a
fluid such as house water onto at least one of the
rotating elongated rollers. A typical fluid supply
assembly includes a plurality of exit opening~ or
low-pressure nozzles 21~ internal conduits 22 and a
supply conduit 23 for communication with a desired
supply of fluid (not shown~ to be directed out of the
exit openings 21.
For convenience, a di~charge chute 24 is
provided to collect the cleansing fluid discharged from
the elongated rollers 14. Fluid overflow and the like
is contained within the device 11 by providing removable
stainles~ steel covers 25 which can be periodically
disassembled and cleaned in accordance with standard
industry procedures.
Use of the device according to the present
invention, when initiated by immersion within a wa6hing
or detergent ~olution and when completed by immersion
within a solution of chlorine or the like, accomplishes
a cleansing function which is supecior to previously
used high pressure operations. Also, since the device
takes a low-pressure approach, substanti~lly less water
or other cleansing fluid is needed than when
high-pre~ure procedures are followed. In addition, the
device i8 easily used, and a pair of ~teel ~esh gloves
can be fully cleansed within approximately ~hree
seconds. m e invention signi~icantly minimize~ the
spread of any possible contamination within a food
processing plant such as a turkey proces~ng plant.
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It will thus be seen that the present
invention provides a new and useful device for cleansing
metal me~h gloves, which device has a number of
advantageous characteristics, including those pointed
S out herein and others which are inherent in the
invention. Preferred embodiments of the invention have
been described by way of example, and it is anticipated
that modifications may be made to the described form
without departing from the spirit of the invention or
the scope of the appended claims.
