At present, several systems for steam washing and making cutting blades more hygienic exist in the market, but said systems generally involve several problems for maintaining good cleanliness conditions of said blades ; moreover conventional systems are used in said tools with poor results and long washing times.

Furthermore, the most widespread systems in the cited field, involve considerable consumptions of lots of water as well as of electricity to produce hot water.

It is the object of the present invention to supply a device that allows the operator to be able to wash and make more hygienic said cutting blades, such as knife blades, in short times and with excellent results, directly at the work place.

A further advantage of the subject device consists in the fact that the blade is cooled immediately after steam washing and making it more hygienic ; it follows that the consumptions of steam ad water are reduced to the minimum.

The essential features of the invention will be made

clear in the following claims.

The subject device will be now described in detail with particular reference to the attached drawings, supplied as non limiting example, in which the cutting blade is a knife blade: figure 1 is a perspective view of the subject device showing, as an indication, the movement of a knife blade to be cleaned; figure 2 is a perspective view of the device of figure 1 open, the device closing and guiding of the knife blade to be cleaned element having been removed; figure 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the different elements the device of figure 1 is composed of.

The subject device 1 substantially consists of a chamber 3 containing two conveyors 5 and 7, and exactly a steam conveyor 5 and a cold water conveyor 7.

Body 9 that contains said chamber 3 is made of a thermally insulating and wear resistant material, due to the fact that inside, within chamber 3, considerable sudden changes of temperature occur and, moreover, due to the fact that said body is subject to mechanical shocks caused by the introduction and by the extraction of the blades 11 of knife 13 to be cleaned.

Said steam and cold water conveyors 5 and 7, inside chamber 3, at the real washing area itself, reach a

connection terminal 15, wherein each of said steam and cold water conveyors 5 and 7 engages into two dispensers, for steam 17 and 19, and for cold water 21 and 23, arranged on the opposite sides of the blade 11 of knife 13.

It is to be noted that said terminal 15 is substantially placed on the support line along which the blades 11 of knife 13, side on, are made to slide.

Body 9 of the washing chamber 3, consisting of two half-shells joined together at 10, at the real washing area itself 25 of the blade 11 of knife 13, is externally closed by an inverted U-shape element 27, of silicone rubber, provided with a longitudinal slot 29, corresponding to the washing area 25 of the body 9 of the chamber 3.

Said inverted U-shape element 27 is fastened at 31 at the basis of the active area of said body 9 and it is closed at the bottom by appropriate transversal elements 33, which define too the above-mentioned passing and support line of the blade 11 of knife 13, in line with the terminal 15.

In its turn, said body 9 is fastened with suitable means 35, for instance screws, to a suitable work support (not shown), support that contains the water discharge of the chamber 3 as well as the other elements considered to be suitable for producing steam and for feeding cold water.

Steam is fed from either steam generating single units or centralised plants.

The subject device works in two steps: in the first step, blade 11 is hit by steam at close distance from dispensers 17 and 19, said supply taking place through an electric or mechanical control, not shown, activated by the operator (washing step); in the second step, blade 11 is hit by cold water at close distance from dispensers 21 and 23, said supply taking place similarly to the steam supply through an electric or mechanical control, not shown, activated by the operator (cooling step), afterwards the operator can keep on with work.