A cleaning apparatus

The invention relates to an apparatus for the cleaning of objects, of the kind that is seen in the preamble of the appended claim 1.

Cleaning apparatuses are previously known from the practice, which comprise a container for a cleaning liquid, and a basket for the objects that is received in the container, the basket being immersable in a mass of liquid received in the container.

Functions of certain devices, for instance winches, such as snubbing winches for sailing boats, are deteriorated after a surprisingly short time so that the handling of the device runs slower and slower and/or requires greater and greater effort, which may be troublesome, particularly in manually driven devices. A reason to this may be that the apparatus is heavily exposed to environmental influences, for instance splashing of seawater in the case of a snubbing winch, whereby the apparatus is subjected to corrosion, formation of dirt layers and rinsing of lubricant.

Therefore, it is well known to frequently clean and then re-lubricate such apparatuses, for instance winches, between competition rounds and competition days. These opera- tions are frequently carried out for natural reasons under primitive conditions that leave much to be desired in respect of environmental and health risks, there being a risk that the operation will be impossible to carry out with desired level of care. Furthermore, the cleaning liquid, particularly used cleaning liquid, is an environmental problem if it is discharged into the nature or runs out into the limited spaces in a ves- sel, such as a sailing-boat. But the apparatus is naturally generally useful also in other environments, for instance in a workshop, in a garage etc.

Therefore, an object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of a simple design, which enables a simple, fast and thorough accomplishment of the outlined cleaning operation.

An additional object is to provide an apparatus containing the cleaning agent and fumes thereof during the storage or during a cleaning operation. A special object is to provide an apparatus that with minimized risks may be carried onboard a vessel, such as a sailing-boat, together with cleaning agent contained therein, so that the apparatus does not entail any risk of unintentional discharge of cleaning agent contained therein but still simply can be used for its purpose, when the conditions permits so.

The object is attained by the invention.

The invention is defined in the appended independent claim.

Embodiments of the invention are defined in the appended dependent claims.

The apparatus according to the invention can, at least in the standing position, with the container opening facing upward, offer a cleaning operation for objects, for instance snubbing- winch parts, while the lid is fitted on and tightly sealed. Possible movements of the apparatus, for instance by the fact that it is conveyed in a vessel, for instance a sailing-boat, during journey, so that cleaning liquid is in motion, offers an improved cleaning of the objects. After a chosen period of time, then the container lid may be removed and the basket including the objects raised to a stable seating level, on which remaining liquid can run off from the objects and the basket.

Fig. 1 shows an apparatus according to the invention.

In Fig. I ₅ a container is shown having a substantially horizontal standing surface and an upwardly facing container opening, which is shown tightly sealed having a removable lid 2, which is detachably mounted. The container 1 is shown receiving a basket 3 having handle loops 4. The basket 3 is shown having a square cross section.

The container 1 has two different bottom areas, viz. a first deeper bottom area 11, in which the mass of liquid 5 is received, and a shallower bottom area 12, which is positioned on a level above the surface of the mass of liquid, the shallower bottom part

being drained toward the deeper bottom part in order to allow liquid from the basket 3', when the same is located on the shallower bottom area 12, to run off to the deeper bottom part 11. The lid 2 has a sealing member 20 for tight connection to the opening verge of the container 1. Preferably, there are also securing members provided in order to hold the lid 2 steady but detachably in place on the container 1. In Fig. 1, it can also be seen that the lid 2 of the container 1 has a countersink 21 having an appurtenant cover 22, which by means of sealing members 23, for instance a sealing strip, can be mounted tightly and detachably on the lid 2 over the countersink 21 for the delimitation of a tight storage space 24 for cleaning tools, for instance cleaning brushes and the like.

The container and the lid thereof are preferably shaped so that there is room for the basket 3, as positioned on the upper level, in the container 1 sealed by the lid 2. In this way, it is guaranteed that the cleaning agent, for instance a degreasing agent or an evaporated fume thereof, cannot be released from the container while the basket is on any of said levels, as long as the container lid 2 is correctly and tightly mounted.