EP3272431B1 - Device for cleaning balls - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a device for the independent cleaning of large diameter balls, especially footballs.

In ball games, such as football, handball, basketball, etc., the players use balls. When using the balls, especially when using the balls outside of sports halls, it comes to attachments of various types of contamination depending on the surface of the playground. These impurities sometimes adhere very strongly to the surfaces of the balls, so that they can look unsightly after a short game time. Cleaning the soiled balls by hand is very time-consuming and tedious.

From the DE 2828120 A1 a device for the independent cleaning and care of footballs is known, in which a Zulaufrinne is arranged with adjacent and projecting into the path of the football shift lever and a locking lever for subsequent football is provided. Behind and below the inlet channel a washing and drying room is arranged, in which falls to be cleaned football. Football comes to rest on two rollers driven by a motor. The driven rollers are annularly surrounded by a water supply pipe provided with inwardly directed holes and are surrounded by check valves which can be closed by hot air supply ducts which are in communication with a hot air blower. At this washing and drying room is followed by a Ballpflegeraum in which a leather care product is sprayed by means of nozzles. The passage of the footballs through the washing and drying room and the care room, which are separated by flaps or closed, is controlled by actuated by electromagnet lever. The cleaning of the footballs takes place here only by the washing water, which is conveyed through the holes in the water inlet pipe in the direction of football.

From the DE 2705302 A1 is a ball washing, drying and maintenance machine known. The machine is provided with a washing zone, a drying zone and a care zone, whereby the balls are transported through the zone by means of a pair of rails or by means of a chain drive in conjunction with a driver. The cleaning is done by washing water, which emerges from a nozzle ring, which is provided with obliquely emerging nozzles or holes.

From the DE 30 49229 A1 is a fully automatic machine for washing, drying and impregnation of foot and Handlederbällen known, which consists of a compact housing in which the tub for receiving the wash water is and receives the balls to be washed, which is closed by means of a cover of commissioning. The balls to be cleaned are taken up by a lattice frame and fixed and rotated by the drive axle.

These known devices have the disadvantage that they are too expensive and the cleaning is insufficient only by the use of emerging from nozzles or holes washing water.

Furthermore, from the DE 10 2011 001 407 A1 a device for cleaning a ball is known, comprising a housing, wherein the housing has at least one first opening, at least one first cleaning element and a second cleaning element, which are arranged in the housing and rotatably mounted about a first and a second rotation axis, and a drive, which is connected to at least one of the cleaning elements and the second cleaning element is coupled to transmit a rotational movement with the first comprises.

The disadvantage here is that in ball washing the ball moves evenly and two-dimensionally rotating, causing the ball is not cleaned all around, but can not remain cleaned strips on the Balloberfläche.

The WO 2007/091775 A1 describes a bowling ball surface treatment device for abrading, polishing or cleaning a bowling ball comprising a housing, a ball adjustment device which is movably mounted on the housing to rotatably support the bowling ball, and a back and forth adjustment of the bowling ball between a temporary waiting area and a surface processing area a surface treatment disk for holding and rotating the bowling ball in the surface processing area, the surface processing disk having a surface working member for making a cleaning contact with the bowling ball; a temporary holding disk for temporarily holding the bowling ball in the temporary waiting area when the bowling ball has been moved away from the surface working area; and a disk drive unit for rotationally driving the surface processing disk and the temporary mounting disk.

The GB 2430382 A relates to a device for cleaning golf balls and comprises a container, a first brush, which is rotatably mounted relative to the container about the first axis, a second brush, which is rotatably mounted relative to the container about a second axis transverse to the first axis, wherein the define a ball receiving space and means connecting the brushes such that rotation of one brush causes rotation of the other. The container has inside a ball support, for example, a brush, which is resiliently biased by an element to the first and second brush out. The second brush is mounted on an axle which extends out of the container and is provided with a handle or golf cart attachment.

The JPS48-92989A shows a device for treating spherical bodies, which is held in a device with drivable waves, which is also rotatable about its vertical axis, and is processed by means of two circumferentially opposed rotating discs.

The object of the invention is to provide an apparatus for cleaning large diameter balls, in particular footballs, which overcomes the drawbacks of the prior art and permits improved removal of soils completely from the surface of the ball, completely eliminating the contaminated balls to clean and care for and reduces the burden on the Balloberfläche. The device should Simply be in their structure and when cleaning the balls this inevitably to twist and thus effectively clean.

Due to the features specified in claim 1 the object is achieved. Further embodiments of the invention can be taken from the subclaims and from the following description.

The inventive device for cleaning a ball, in particular a football, consisting of a housing and an opening with a lid for inserting and removing a ball in a washing tub with attached nozzles for injecting cleaning, rinsing and care agents and cleaning elements, wherein in the upper area of the housing a cleaning space is provided with a washing tub in which two rotating at different speeds cleaning elements are arranged, wherein the rotating cleaning elements are provided on its outer side with a cleaning layer. Due to the design of the device, the balls are moved so that a surface cleaning of the balls is given.

The cleaning elements are formed like a roller and provided with a cleaning layer. This cleaning layer consists of bristle material and / or microfiber material and / or other textile materials and / or other cleanable coatings. The cleaning elements are arranged above the bottom of the washing tub. On these the ball to be cleaned comes to rest. Formed are the cleaning elements in roll form, wherein on the surface of a segmented cleaning layer is arranged in helical form. The cleaning layer may consist of bristle material and / or microfiber material and / or other textile material and / or other cleanable layers. This special cleaning layer, preferably a brush attachment, as well as the different rotational speeds of the cleaning elements with the brush attachment cause the ball to be cleaned is not uniformly and two-dimensionally rotating around its axis, but randomly moved unevenly and three-dimensionally rotating, so that thereby all surface areas of Balls are cleaned.

In order to avoid jumping of the ball on the rotating cleaning elements, two fixed flat brushes are arranged in the lid. After inserting the ball into the cleaning room and closing the lid, the ball to be cleaned is guided between the rotating cleaning elements and the flat brushes arranged in the cover and put in rotation. Due to the rotating at different speeds and provided with helically segmented cleaning layers cleaning elements the ball to be cleaned is given a chaotic movement / rotation. A chaotic motion is said to be when the equation of motion is such that minute changes in the initial conditions result in large changes in the resulting motion.

The device includes injection nozzles integrated in the washing tub and metering pumps which serve for metering the wash water, the cleaning fluid and the care agent. Furthermore, replaceable tank containers for the cleaning and care products are provided in the housing of the device below the washing tub. In addition, containers for fresh and waste water can also be provided in the housing of the device.

The device for cleaning balls can be used both as fixed as well as mobile device. In the fixed version, the device is provided with a fresh water and a dirty water connection. In the mobile version additional containers for fresh and waste water are provided in the housing below the support element with the washing tub. In a further embodiment of the mobile device, the drain of the washing tub is provided with a filter device, wherein the purified washing water is fed back into the fresh water tank.

Figur 1

- Vorrichtung zum Reinigen

Figur 2

- Schnitt durch die Vorrichtung

Figur 3

- Trägerelement

Figur 4

- Reinigungselement

Reference to an embodiment of the invention will be explained in more detail. Show it:

FIG. 1

- Device for cleaning

FIG. 2

- Section through the device

FIG. 3

- Carrier element

FIG. 4

- Cleaning element

The FIG. 1 shows a device for cleaning soiled footballs 7. This consists of the housing 1 with the cleaning chamber 12 closing lid 5. The cleaning chamber 12 is bounded at the bottom by the washing tub 2 . Above the washing tub 2 , two roller-like cleaning elements 3 are arranged, such as from the sectional view in FIG. 2 seen. The two cleaning elements 3 are driven by means of a drive unit 8 via a V-belt 9, wherein the cleaning elements 3 rotate at different rotational speeds.

The FIG. 3 shows as a detail of the device, the support member 10. The support member 10 takes on the one the washing tub 2 with the integrated injection nozzles for the washing water and the cleaning or care agent. On the other hand, the drive unit 8 and corresponding metering pumps for washing water, cleaning and care products are arranged on the carrier element 10 / washing tub 2 . Below the support element 10 / washing tub 2 , the container 6 for receiving cleaning and care liquids are arranged in the remaining space of the housing 1 .

The embodiment of the invention is designed as a permanently installed device and connected to the water and sewage connections located in the building.

The FIG. 4 shows a preferred embodiment of the cleaning elements 3. The cleaning elements 3 are formed like a roller and have on their body a cleaning layer 4 . In a preferred embodiment, the cleaning layer 4 consists of bristles. The cleaning layer 4 is formed segmented, wherein the segments extend helically over the circumference of the body and alternate areas with bristles and areas without bristles.

To clean the dirty football 7 , the lid 5 is opened on the housing 1 and the football 7 is inserted into the cleaning room. The football 7 comes to rest on the cleaning layers 4 of the cleaning elements 3 . By closing the lid 5 , the football 7 is fixed between the cleaning elements 3 and the flat brushes 11 by means of arranged on the interior of the lid 5 flat brush 11 in such a way that when switching on the device of the football 7 by the rotational movement of the cleaning elements a jumping movement safely is avoided. By rotating at different rotational speeds cleaning elements 3 of the football 7 is subjected to a chaotic movement, so that a cleaning of the entire surface is made possible. The cleaning effect is additionally supported by the flat brushes 11 arranged in the interior of the lid 5 .

REFERENCE NUMBERS

1

- Casing

2

- Wash tub

3

- Cleaning element

4

- Cleaning layer

5

- Lid

6

- Container

7

- ball

8th

- Drive unit

9

- V-belt

10

- Carrier element

11

- flat brush

12

- Cleaning room

Claims (4)

1. Device for cleaning a large-diameter ball (7), in particular a football, comprising a housing (1) and an opening with a cover (5) for inserting and removing a ball (7) into and from a washing tub (2) with attached nozzles for injecting cleaning, rinsing and care agents and cleaning elements (3),
   wherein a cleaning chamber (12) with a washing tub (2) is provided in the upper section of the housing (1), in which are arranged two cleaning elements (3) rotating at different speeds, these cleaning elements (3) being roller-like and having a segmented cleaning layer (4) on their base body, whose segments extend helically over the circumference of the base body and have alternating regions with and without bristles.
2. Device according to claim 1,
   characterised in that
   two fixed flat brushes (11) are arranged in the cover (5).
3. Device according to claims 1 and 2,
   characterised in that
   the washing tub (2) is held inside the housing (1) by a carrier element (10) on which the drive unit (8) and the metering pumps for washing water, cleaning agents and care agents are arranged, the metering pumps being connected both to the injection nozzles arranged in the washing tub and to the respective containers (6) for washing water, cleaning agent and care agent.
4. Device according to claims 1 to 3,
   characterised in that
   exchangeable tank containers (6) for the cleaning and care agents are provided in the device housing (1) below the washing tub (2).

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