DEVICE FOR WASHING THE SURFACES OF INTERNAL CHAMBERS OF VARIOUS

APPARATUSES

DESCRIPTION

This invention relates to a device for washing the surfaces of internal chambers of various apparatuses usable both in the industrial and domestic field such as 5 the internal chambers of ovens, refrigerators, dishwashers or other apparatuses.

Applications of devices for washing the internal surfaces of the walls of both industrial and domestic apparatuses and the possible objects contained therein are well io known. These devices essentially consist of an impeller made from a limited number of arms that deliver the washing liquid at relatively low pressure, then rotating at low speed so that they never succeed in performing efficient washing of the surfaces of the corresponding

15 chamber and/or of the surfaces of the corresponding chamber and/or of the objects contained therein. These types of washing devices normally operate at very low rotation speeds (from approximately 5 to 10 revolutions a second), so that they require a significant quantity of

20 washing liquid and a significantly long operating time. As is known from the various known and widely used washing devices, unsatisfactory results are obtained above all for cleaning, which is always incomplete, further, they always require significant consumption of

25 water, detergents and energy.

I n addition to the aforesaid drawbacks and defects, there are various and further drawbacks and defects in the solutions known and used hitherto.

The object of the present invention is thus to overcome the aforesaid known drawbacks and defects and this is obtained by means of the washing device that is the object of this invention .

I n order to understand better the features and advantages of function and use of this device, everything, in a preferred embodiment, and merely by way of non-limiting example is disclosed below with reference to the attached drawings in which :

- figure 1 shows in an exploded perspective view the various elements constituting the device in question ;

- figure 2 shows in a perspective view the entire device in question taken from the delivery side of the washing liquid ;

- figure 3 is a side view of the device; - figure 4 is a front view taken from the delivery side of the washing liquid, again of the same device;

- figure 5 is a section view taken along line l-l in figure

3.

It is pointed out that in the aforesaid figures all the common details will be given the same references. With particular reference to figure 1 , it can be noted that the washing device 1 in question consists basically of on ly th ree basic elements, namely:

- a sleeve 10;

- a diffusing body 12 ;

- an ejecting unit 13.

Thus, making reference to all the aforesaid figures from 1 to 4, these three basic elements 1 0 , 20 , 30 will be disclosed in detail.

Said sleeve 1 0 fundamentally consists of a suitably shaped hollow cylindrical body. The internal cylindrical cavity 11 can be noted therein (see fig ure 5) that traverses it longitudinally, on a correspond ing end of which there is obtained a suitable threaded portion 12 (see figu res 1 and 5). As noticeable particularly from figure 1 , the particular external shape of said sleeve 1 0 is substantially defined by three cylindrical portions 13 , 14, 1 5 having progressively increasing diameters followed by a further fourth portion 16 with a diameter that is practically the same as the first portion 13 and therefore as the smallest of the preceding cylindrical portions 1 3 , 14, 1 5 , which ( 16) is provided with a suitable external thread . As can be clearly noted from the

aforesaid figures from 1 to 4, the first cylindrical portion extends for a length that is approximately equal to the diameter thereof and on which (13) suitable holes F are obtained that penetrate the corresponding cylindrical cavity 11 . The second cylindrical portion 14 has a diameter that is significantly greater than the preceding one (13) and extends for a length that is significantly less than the preceding one ( 13). Lastly, the third cylindrical portion 15 also has a diameter that is greater than the preceding one (14) and extends for only a few millimetres, creating only an annular elevation for the purpose disclosed below. It should be noted in particular that the annular surfaces 131 , 141 , 151 found at the ends of the corresponding cylindrical portions 13, 14, 15 are perpendicular to the surfaces thereof (13, 14, 15). Said sleeve 1 0 will be completed by a corresponding threaded element 10a comprising a V "screw" suitable for engaging in the aforesaid threaded portion 12 and a suitable "head" T for manoeuvring it. The particular diffusing body 20 is now disclosed. It (20) fundamentally consists of a disk element 21 from the centre of which a hollow cylindrical element 22 leads away coaxially, and from the extreme circumference of which there leads away, still facing the same side as the preceding one (22), the suitably shaped cylindrical strip

23 thereof. The hollow cylindrical element 22 has a coaxial cylindrical hole 221 with a diameter that is equivalent to, or better, slightly greater than the diameter of the corresponding second cylindrical portion 14 of said sleeve 10 on which the entire diffusing body 20 will be positioned , the length thereof will moreover be slightly less than that of said cylindrical portion 14. The envisaged tolerances will be such as to enable said diffusing body 20 to rotate freely when mounted on the corresponding cylindrical portion 14. Said cylindrical strip 23, as noticeable not only from all the aforesaid figures from 1 to 5 , but especially from figure 3, has a suitable thickness suitable for containing a suitable plurality of transverse recesses 24 obtained on the internal surface thereof. Said transverse recesses 24 consist of grooves of suitable width having a first portion with the two walls opposite one another parallel that are connected at the bottom to each another by a corresponding circular portion, said first portion penetrating to a depth equal to the radius of the corresponding connection. Further, said recesses 24 are equidistant from one another and are mutually distanced with portions that are equivalent to the width thereof. As is noticeable especially from figures 1 , 2 , and 4, at regular intervals each comprising an equal number of

said transverse recesses 24, on each of the resulting transverse recesses (24) corresponding incisions 25 are made that pass completely through from the internal surface to the external surface of said cylindrical strip 5 23. Said incisions 25 have a width that is the same as that of the corresponding transverse recesses 24 and penetrate from the free edge of the cylindrical strip 23 for a length that is equal to half thereof. Lastly, said ejecting unit 30 will be disclosed . As io noticeable particularly from figures 1 , 2, 3 and 4, this ejection body 30, in the possible embodiment to which reference is made by way of example, fundamentally consists of a body 31 with a parallelepipedon shape with a square base that for the reasons disclosed above has a

15 thickness (width) that is slightly greater or slightly less than the corresponding first cylindrical portion 1 3 of said sleeve 10. This parallelepipedon body is provided with a coaxial hole 32 having a diameter that is slightly greater than the diameter of the aforesaid first cylindrical portion

20 13 of said sleeve 10 and centrally to this hole 32 there is obtained a suitable annular recess 33. In the centre of the four sides of the aforesaid parallelepipedon body 31 four corresponding threaded holes are further obtained in which the corresponding internal ends of suitable four

25 "L"-shaped tubular elements 34 engage that each consist

of two portions that are orthogonal to each other that end at the respective free ends with corresponding portions that are tangential to the axis of this paralleiepipedon body 31 , which are provided with corresponding nozzles 35. Said nozzles 35, as clearly noticeable especially from figures 1 and 5, are further discretely directed to the delivery side in such a way that the axes of the corresponding jets of washing liquid meet the inside surface of said cylindrical strip 23 near the external edge thereof.

After the detailed conformational description of the single components of the device 1 explained above, the corresponding assembly will be disclosed , which is clear and simple only by observing the various attached figures and in particular figure 1 . First, the sleeve 10 is inserted into the cylindrical hole 221 obtained centrally on said diffusing body 20 that will then be positioned on the second cylindrical portion 14 of said sleeve 10, abutting on the annular elevation consisting of said third cylindrical portion 1 5 of said sleeve 10. The first cylindrical portion 13 of the sleeve 10 is then inserted into the coaxial hole 32 obtained in the paralleiepipedon body 31 of said ejecting unit 30. Lastly, the screw V of the threaded element 10a is inserted onto the corresponding threaded portion 12 of said sleeve 10 and

by acting suitably on the corresponding head T the progressive tightening of the aforesaid screw V is brought about. At this point, the reason is explained according to which,

5 as previously said, the thickness of the parallelepipedon body 31 with a square base of the corresponding ejecting unit 30 may be either slightly greater or less than the corresponding first cylindrical portion 13 of the sleeve 10 on which said body 31 engages. io It is clear that if the thickness of this parallelepipedon body 31 is greater than said first cylindrical portion 1 3, by completely tightening the screw V of the threaded element 1 0, the corresponding head T abuts on the respective surface of said parallelepipedon body 31 so

15 that the latter (31 ) remains clamped between said head T and the corresponding annular surface 141 and thus clearly the entire ejecting unit 30 remains fixed on the corresponding sleeve 10 without any possibility of rotating.

20 On the other hand, if the thickness of the parallelepipedon body 31 is slightly less than the first portion 1 3, the head T of the threaded element 10 abuts on the annular surface 131 so that the parallelepipedon body 31 and therefore the resulting entire ejecting unit

25 10 remains free to rotate on the corresponding sleeve.

Now that the description of the assembly of the entire device 1 has been completed, the corresponding operation thereof is disclosed below. On a wall of a corresponding apparatus in which the suitably threaded end of a supply conduit of the washing liquid penetrates, the entire device 1 disclosed above is applied by tightening thereupon said fourth threaded portion 16 of the corresponding sleeve 10. The washing liquid, at pressure of at least approximately two atmospheres, first penetrates into the cylindrical cavity 11 of the sleeve 1 0 from which through the holes F it passes into the annular recess 33 obtained centrally to the coaxial hole 32 of the parallelepipedon body 31 and from there, through the suitable tubular elements 34, it reaches the corresponding nozzles 35 from which it finally flows at high speed, producing jets that by possessing equally high energy are particularly effective for the envisaged purpose. It should be noted that said jets, by meeting, or rather impacting, the internal surface of said cylindrical strip 23 of the diffusing body 20 and of the surfaces of the various transverse recesses 24 obtained on the internal part of said cylindrical strip 23, rotate said diffusing body 20. The continuous variation of position of said transverse recesses 24 and of the through incisions 25 together with the discrete

orientation of said nozzles 35 on the delivery side produces a very effective diffusion of the washing liquid that enables optimal results to be obtained that are greater than those that are normally obtained with the various known devices that have been widely used for some time.

At this point it should be pointed out that, as previously said and disclosed , said ejecting unit 30 can also be made free to rotate on the sleeve 10 and in this case the reaction action generated by the jets of washing liquid delivered by the nozzles 35 will cause the rotation thereof that will occur in a direction opposite to that of the corresponding diffusing body 20. This dual rotation in mutually opposite directions of the aforementioned elements 20 and 30 enables particular effects to be obtained that in some cases achieve greater efficacy in the washing action.

The aforementioned washing device, owing to the particular shape thereof, enables rotation speeds to be reached that are significantly greater than those of the known devices usually used for the same purposes, which consequently enables a better and more effective diffusion of the washing liquid acting on the surfaces of the internal chambers of corresponding apparatuses and of the various elements possibly arranged therein to be

obtained and thus greater and better cleaning of said surfaces to be obtained. In addition to this it has been found that the device in question needs, in order to be used, a very reduced quantity of water and detergent compared with what is needed in the other known systems, which together with the noticeable reduction of operating time achievable therewith enables a noticeable overall reduction also of the energy used to be obtained, which all enables a consistent reduction in operating costs to be achieved. Moreover, the significant reduction in the consumption of detergent that is obtained with the use of the device in question also enables the beneficial effect of a significant reduction in environmental pollution to be achieved . It should be noted that the number of nozzles 35 can be different from those indicated by way of example in the aforementioned description and also said sleeve 1 0, if the corresponding components 20 and 30 are free to rotate thereupon (10), can have, instead of two cylindrical portions 13 and 14 with different diameters, a single portion with a total length that is the same as the sum of both such cylindrical portions 13 and 14. It is clear that these and other variations can be made to the present invention without thereby falling outside the scope of what has been disclosed and is claimed below

with reference to the attached drawings and without therefore falling outside the legal protection of this invention.