Conveying and Cleaning Systems and Methods for Cleaning and Stacking Trays and/or Layer Pads

摘要

The invention comprises a steam cleaning system that can rapidly handle multiple objects in an efficient and useful way. For example, objects used for shipping or moving food products in the food manufacturing or food services industries must either be new, clean and used once and then discarded, or re-used and thus cleaned to ensure no contamination is present. Layer pad objects or other separating surfaces are often used in these industries and often when these objects are used in stacking and pelletizing large shipments of food products, where the payer pad or other separating or container objects or surfaces help contain or maintain the integrity of the food products during shipment. In an important aspect of the invention, a plastic layer pad cleaning system is described. In other aspects, other surfaces, containers, or other separating objects used in shipping or distribution or food products are efficiently cleaned using a steam cleaning and conveying system. The system can comprise a steam generator, one or more steam cleaning units where optionally an individual object or layer pad is cleaned one at a time, one or more drying units, and specialized conveying and holding units for moving objects through a cleaning apparatus, and then subsequently drying and handling or storing the objects for future use.

主权项

1. A system for conveying, inspecting, and steam cleaning plastic layer pads comprising:
one or more conveying and vertical handling devices for moving a single layer pad from a supply stack to a steam cleaning station, the one or more conveying and handling devices capable of orienting the single layer pad into a vertical or horizontal/parallel position where the flat surfaces of the layer pad are perpendicular to the ground; a steam cleaning station connected to a steam generator for providing steam of at least 160 degrees F. on the surface of the layer pad, the steam cleaning station containing one or more steam treating units oriented toward each vertical side of the layer pad, where steam is directed toward the layer pad from multiple sources of the steam treating unit, and wherein the one or more steam treating units substantially seal a section of the layer pad surface within the steam region defined by the unit, whereby the steam can contact and treat said section of the layer pad surface for a desired amount of time to bring said section of the layer pad surface into a desired sterilized condition; an optional drying station for removing excess moisture on the pads after the cleaning process through the operation of one or more air knives as well as multiple consecutive wiper sections, whereby the combined effect of wiping and blowing air on the pads sequentially dry the layer pads until all moisture is removed for stacking purposes; an inspection station comprising at least one visual detection device for inspecting each of the surfaces of the layer pad and a system for evaluating the surfaces of the layer pad and tracking the movement of the layer pad associated with both surfaces; and a sorting station for sorting individual layer pads after they have passed through the steam cleaning station and the inspection station, the sorting station capable of responding to the tracking the movement of the layer pad from the inspection station in order to direct each layer pad into one or multiple sort stacks.