BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION There exists a well-known need for an efficient method for polishing kitchen utensils.

This is particularly so in the case of cutlery, for which a polished finish has importance both for aesthetic appearance as well as for cleanliness and hygiene.

Currently, the most common method for polishing kitchen utensils is manual polishing involving the use of a hand-held cloth with or without a polishing medium.

This method, however, suffers from many disadvantages including the excessive amount of man-hours required to achieve a good result, a factor of particular importance when handling large quantities of kitchenware, such as in restaurants, hotels and function halls.

It is a purpose of the present invention to provide an efficient method for polishing kitchen utensils.

It is another purpose of the invention to provide an efficient method that may be used for polishing large quantities of kitchen utensils.

It is a further purpose of the invention to provide a method and apparatus for polishing kitchen utensils that leave said utensils in a dry condition at the end of the process.

It is a still further purpose of the invention to overcome the problems associated with prior art methods for polishing kitchen utensils.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent as the description proceeds.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It has now been unexpectedly found that it is possible to provide an automatically- operated apparatus for polishing kitchen utensils that is both simple and quick to use and that leaves said utensils in a polished and dry state.

The present invention is primarily directed to an apparatus for automatically polishing kitchen utensils comprising: i) one or more conveyor tracks for transporting said utensils from one or more entry ports, through which said utensils are loaded onto said tracks, to a collection point, from which utensils are retrieved in a dry, polished state, wherein each of said one or more conveyor tracks comprises a plurality of rotatable drive wheels for moving said utensils along said tracks together with means for causing said drive wheels to rotate, and a plurality of rotatable brushes together with means for rotating said brushes, such that the rotating brushes dry and polish said utensils; and ii) means for spraying polishing medium onto said utensils.

The term"kitchen utensils"refers to all of the various types of tools, vessels and implements commonly used in preparing, serving and consuming food and beverages, including, but not limited to plates, bowls, dishes, saucers, cups, mugs and glasses made of porcelain, earthenware, other ceramic materials, glass, wood, metals, metal alloys and plastic materials. The term also includes within its scope pans, pots and other utensils intended for cooking and heating food that are generally constructed of various metals and metal alloys or toughened glass. More particularly, in a preferred embodiment, this term is used, within the context of the present invention to refer to cutlery such as knives, forks, spoons, teaspoons, serving spoons, spatulas and the like, which are generally constructed of metals and metal alloys, and various types of wood.

In another aspect, the present invention is directed to a method for automatically polishing kitchen utensils comprising conveying said utensils from an entry port to a collection point, spraying a polishing medium onto said utensils and drying and polishing said utensils by means of contacting the utensils with rotating brushes whilst said utensils are being conveyed from said entry port to said collection point.

It is to be noted that the term"automatically polishing"as used hereinabove refers to the fact the method disclosed does not require any human effort or intervention, either in order to spray the utensils with the polishing medium, or to cause rotation of the brushes.

In a preferred embodiment of the method of the invention, the utensils to be polished are items of cutlery.

While particular embodiments of the apparatus of the invention have been described in detail, further embodiments of the invention comprising combinations of a first such apparatus with one or more additional units of apparatus, as disclosed hereinabove and described in greater detail hereinbelow, are within the scope of the present invention.

All the above and other characteristics and advantages of the present invention will be further understood from the following illustrative and non-limitative examples of preferred embodiments thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 presents a general three-dimensional view of one embodiment of the apparatus of the invention.

Fig. 2 illustrates the form of the rotatable brushes in one embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention. Fig. 3 illustrates the form of the drive wheels in one embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a three-dimensional representation of one embodiment of the collection bin of the apparatus of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The main components of the utensil-polishing apparatus of the present invention, as disclosed hereinabove, are the conveyor track system comprising both rotatable brushes and drive wheels, together with means for causing rotation thereof, and means for spraying polishing medium onto said utensils.

One preferred embodiment of the apparatus of the invention is depicted generally in Fig. 1. by numeral 10. In this embodiment, the apparatus comprises four parallel but distinct conveying tracks. The utensils (which in the case of this embodiment are items of cutlery) are introduced into conveying tracks by means of the four identical entry ports 12 situated in the front wall of the apparatus. Although the height of the apparatus above the ground or work surface may be set to any convenient value, in a preferred embodiment, the ports 12 are located at a height of about one meter above the ground, in order to permit convenient loading of the items of cutlery by an operator in a standing position. Located immediately above said ports are the spray device nozzles 14, one nozzle for each of said ports. In this embodiment of the invention, the nozzles 14 are situated toward the end of the entry ports 12, such that the polishing medium emitted through said nozzles makes contact with the items of cutlery immediately before they enter the conveyor track system. Any suitable polishing medium may be used in conjunction with the apparatus of the present invention, including those that are based on detergents and soaps, and those that are supplemented with wax-type polishing compounds. Most preferably, the spray device nozzles 14 are situated approximately 50 mm upstream of the center point of the first rotatable brush. (The terms"upstream"and"downstream"are used herein to indicate directions towards the entry port and collection point, respectively. ) The nozzles may be directed at any desired angle with respect to the horizontal conveyor track plane.

The most suitable angle for producing optimal coverage of the utensils with the polishing medium will be readily determined by the skilled artisan. In the preferred embodiment depicted in Fig. 1, however, the desired angle is approximately 55 Any suitable spray system may be used in the construction of the apparatus of the present invention. One example of such a system is the model known as"Flat-Spray" that is produced by the Spray-System company. This spray system is able to supply a polishing medium spray at a rate of 0.15 liters per minute, corresponding to a fluid pressure of between 0.3 and 1.0 bar. In this embodiment of the invention, it is desirable to install a one-way solenoid valve and manual reducing valve before the spray nozzles 14, in order to more precisely regulate the working pressure and aerosol flow rates. In order to generate the desired polishing medium spray through the ends of the spray nozzles 14, said nozzles are supplied with polishing medium from a polishing medium tank by means of a pumping device. Any suitable pump capable of transferring the liquid polishing medium at flow rates sufficient to deliver a spray at the spray nozzles 14 having the fluid pressure and flow rate parameters mentioned hereinabove, may be used. In one preferred embodiment of the apparatus of the invention, the pumping device is a double diaphragmatic pump. Many different pumps of this type are well known to the skilled man of the art. One example thereof is the Duplex diaphragm pump (model Flojet 235F-2100) producing a fluid output of 5 liters per minute at a pressure of 4 bars. The fluid connections between the various components of the spray system may be achieved with several different types of tubing, one preferred example of which being stainless-steel tubing having an external diameter of 12 mm.

In order to construct the conveyor track system of the apparatus of the present invention, many different arrangements of drive wheels and rotatable brushes will be readily apparent to the skilled artisan; all of these different arrangements and combinations are to be considered as falling within the scope of the present invention, as disclosed hereinabove and claimed hereinbelow. In one preferred embodiment, however, the conveyor track system is constructed in the form of a cassette (indicated generally in Fig. 1 by the numeral 16), comprising two identical layers-positioned one above the other-each of which layers consists of a series of drive wheels and rotatable brushes that structurally and functionally interact with each other. In a more preferred embodiment of the apparatus of the invention, each layer of the conveyor cassette comprises an alternating arrangement of five drive wheels 18 and four rotatable brushes 20. These wheels and brushes may be of any suitable size and material. In one preferred embodiment, the drive wheels are constructed of stainless steel and have a diameter of 90 mm, whilst the rotatable brushes are constructed with a diameter of 108 mm.

In the multiple-track embodiment of the apparatus depicted in Fig. 1, each of the five drive wheels and four brushes is divided into four separate regions, each of said separate regions corresponding to one track and one entry port 12, a clear separation intervening therebetween. Fig. 2 shows the structure of one of the four rotatable brushes 20 mounted on its axle 30 in more detail. Similarly, a drive wheel 18 of the type used in this multiple-track embodiment is shown in Fig. 3. In one preferred embodiment of the apparatus, each inter-track separation zone 32 has a width of about 20 mm. The division of the conveyor track system into four parallel tracks in this preferred embodiment of the apparatus, which begins at the entry port 12, is maintained along the length of said track system by means of a parallel array of four partitions located in the space between the upper and lower layers of the conveyor track cassette 16, each of which partitions is arranged longitudinally such that it lies in the separation zone between two of the abovementioned four separate regions. Thus, items of cutlery that are loaded into a given entry port 12, pass into the corresponding conveyor track in the space between the upper and lower layers of the cassette 16, to be finally deposited in the corresponding compartment of collection bin 22. A typical collection bin 22 for use in a multiple track system is illustrated in Fig. 4 It is to be noted that in this preferred embodiment, the distance between the upper and lower layers of cassette 16 is fixed such that items of cutlery are able to freely pass between the drive wheels 18 whilst being subjected to the optimal amount of pressure by the resilient surface of the rotatable brushes 20. The brushes may be made of any suitable material that permits them to function as efficient means for polishing the items of cutlery. In a preferred embodiment, the body of each brush is constructed of Ocalon, said body bearing along its surface Nylon 6: 6 fibres each of which has a diameter in the range of 0.3 to 0.35 mm. For more delicate polishing tasks, finer nylon fibres having a diameter of 0.25 mm may be employed.

Each of the five drive wheels and four rotatable brushes is mounted on an axle 30 constructed of any suitably strong metal or non-metallic material. Each of the axles of the upper and lower cassette halves is supported in the upper and lower axle bases, 24 and 26, respectively, by means of stainless-steel bearings, 28.

As described hereinabove, both the drive wheels and the rotatable brushes are equipped with means for causing their rotation. In one embodiment of the invention, a single motor unit is used to rotate both the drive wheels and the brushes. In another more preferred embodiment, separate motor units are used to turn the drive wheels and brushes, thus allowing for independent control of the rotational speed of each of these elements. Thus, in the last-mentioned preferred embodiment, a motor such as an MVF49 motor with a gear having a gear ratio of 1: 70 and rotational speed of 1400 rpm may be used to turn the drive wheels. One example of a suitable motor unit for driving the brushes in this embodiment is the motor of type LA 100 having a maximum working speed of up to 900 rpm.

The transmission system for the drive wheels in this embodiment is provided by a timing chain 34 connecting the motor main gear wheel 36 with the main toothed drive wheel 38. hi the case that a separate motor is used to turn the rotatable brushes, a similar combination of timing chain and toothed wheel is used.

A number of different electrical control systems may be used for operating the apparatus of the present invention. These may range from systems having simple on- off switches for operating the motor (s) and spray system to fully-automated microprocessor-operated control systems providing for optimal rotational speeds of both the drive wheels and brushes, and optimal flow rate of the polishing medium aerosol at the spray nozzle outlet. Such control systems are well known in the art, and may be easily designed without the need for any undue experimentation by an artisan skilled in the fields of mechanical or electrical engineering.

In contradistinction to most prior art methods for polishing and drying cutlery, the method and device of the present invention requires human intervention only to switch on the apparatus, to load the cutlery thereon, and to retrieve the dry, polished cutlery therefrom. The actual processes of polishing and drying are performed entirely automatically, thereby contributing to a significant reduction in the man- hours required to achieve the desired result.

In one preferred embodiment, as described hereinabove, the apparatus of the invention comprises several, parallel conveyor tracks. In this embodiment, a single operator is required for loading the utensils to be polished via the entry ports onto the various conveyor tracks. The decision as to which track is to be used for a given piece of cutlery is made by the operator, either according to the type of utensil (e. g. whether it is a fork, spoon or knife) or according to the relative loading of each of the tracks.

Once the items of cutlery have been loaded into the apparatus, said items receive a pre-determined amount of the polishing medium. The first drive wheel then propels the cutlery along the track corresponding to the entry port used to load said cutlery, in the space between the upper and lower halves of the conveyor track cassette. During its journey along the conveyor track, the items of cutlery are alternately in contact with the upper and lower drive wheels, and the upper and lower brushes. The combination of the presence of the polishing medium and the pressure exerted by the soft fibers mounted on the surface of the rotating brushes imparts a durable shine onto the surface of the cutlery. An additional advantage of the arrangement of the rotating brushes used in the present apparatus is that the squeezing effect that occurs when the cutlery is passed between upper and lower brushes ensures that all liquid is removed from the items, thus leaving them in a dry, polished state. Finally, when the items of cutlery reach the end of the conveyor track, they pass into the collection bin, from which they may be removed for further use or storage in another container.

While specific embodiments of the invention have been described for the purpose of illustration, it will be understood that the invention may be carried out in practice by skilled persons with many modifications, variations and adaptations, without departing from its spirit or exceeding the scope of the claims.

It should be understood that some modification, alteration and substitution is anticipated and expected from those skilled in the art, without departing from the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, it is appropriate that the following claims be construed broadly and in a manner consistent with the scope and spirit of the invention.