IE86667B1

IE86667B1 - Apparatus for sterilising a knife

Info

Publication number: IE86667B1
Application number: IE20130291A
Authority: IE
Inventors: Heathwood Adair Robin
Original assignee: Airtech Distrib Ltd
Priority date: 2012-09-24
Filing date: 2013-09-23
Publication date: 2016-07-13
Also published as: GB201216991D0; GB2506168B; GB2506168A; IE20130291A1

Abstract

An apparatus for sterilising a knife comprising a housing having at least one opening permitting the insertion of knife blade into the housing, at least one spray nozzle located within the housing for delivering a spray of hot water or steam onto the blade of a knife inserted into the housing, control means being provided for controlling the discharge of heated water or steam from the at least one spray nozzle, said control means including a timer and a control switch, said control means being adapted carry out a sterilising operation comprising spraying hot water or steam from said at least one spray nozzle onto the blade of a knife inserted into the housing for a pre-programmed period of time in order to sterilise the knife between uses. <Figure 1>

Description

Apparatus for Sterilising a Knife This invention relates to an apparatus for sterilising a knife, particularly in a meat processing plant.

In many meat processing factories and abattoirs there is a requirement to rapidly clean and sterilise or sanitise knives and other cutting tools between uses in order to reduce the risk of cross contamination, for example between operations on different carcases and between different operations on the same carcase, particularly where the knife has been used for removing the hide of an animal. In order to sterilise a knife between uses it is known to provide a water bath adjacent a work station, wherein water is electrically heated to a temperature of at least 82°C, into which the blade of the knife is immersed for a short period of time, typically while the operator performs other tasks. A rack may be provided above or in an upper region of the water bath for supporting one or more knives by the handle with the blade immersed in the water within the bath.

A disadvantage of such known knife sterilising devices is the large amount of energy required to heat the water in the bath to the required temperature and to maintain such temperature during use. Also such known devices require frequent draining and replacement of the water once contaminated following a sterilising operation, leading to high water consumption and high energy consumption in relation to the energy required to heat the fresh water once the bath has been drained.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved apparatus for sterilising a knife having reduced energy and water consumption.

According to the present invention there is provided an apparatus for sterilising a knife as claimed in claim 1.

Preferably at least one pair of opposing spray nozzles is provided for directing respective sprays of water or steam onto opposite sides of the knife blade.

Preferably the control switch is activated to initiate said sterilising operation upon insertion 5 of a knife blade into the housing.

Preferably said support member comprises an elongate element having a first end extending on a first side of the pivot axis, the first end of the support member incorporating knife supporting means, such as one or more slots or openings through which the blade of a respective knife may be inserted, and a second end extending on a second side of the pivot axis, opposite the first side, the biasing means comprising a counterweight mounted on the second end of the support member, wherein said elongate member may tilt about said pivot axis to displace the support member from its upper to its lower position when the first end of the support member is pushed down.

A distal end of the first end of the support member may be located between a pair of vertically spaced stop members mounted in the housing for delimiting the upper and lower positions of the support member Preferably the knife support comprises one or more elongate slots for receiving the blade of a respective knife such that the handle of the respective knife rests on an upper side of the respective slot to support the knife within the housing with the blade positioned adjacent one or more of said at least one spray nozzles.

In one embodiment, said at least one spray nozzle is adapted to generate a cone or fan shaped spray pattern of water to direct water along the length of the blade of at least one knife located in the housing.

In one embodiment said housing comprising a sterilising chamber, a respective spray nozzle being mounted on opposite sides of the sterilising chamber for directing a spray of hot water onto the sides of the blades of one of more knives located within the sterilising chamber, a drain being provided in a lower side of the sterilising chamber. Preferably said knife support is mounted in an upper region of the housing such that one or more knives mounted therein extend into the sterilising chamber. The at least one opening of the housing may be provided in a lid provided on an upper side of the housing.

The housing may incorporate electrical heating means for heating water to be supplied to the at least one spray nozzle. Alternatively the at least one spray nozzle may be connectable to a source of heated water via a control valve controlled by the control means.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which :- Figure 1 is a side view of a knife sterilising apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention showing hidden detail for clarity; Figure 2 is a front view of the apparatus of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a top plan view of the apparatus of Figure 1; and Figure 4 is a perspective view of the apparatus of Figure 1.

A knife sterilising apparatus in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in the drawings. The apparatus comprises a housing 2, a front portion of the housing defining a cleaning chamber 4 having a hexagonal cross sectional body 5 and a conical lower portion 6 leading to a drain 8, and an upper opening closable by a lid 10. A paii· of knife receiving openings 12,13 are provided in the lid 10 to allow a pair of knives 14,16 to be inserted into the cleaning chamber 4. A knife support member 18 is provided in an upper region of the housing 2 for supporting a pair of knives 14,16 in tandem manner with the blades of the knives 14,16 supported vertically within the cleaning chamber 2.

A pair of spray nozzles 20,22 are located on opposite sides of the cleaning chamber 4 for directing respective sprays of hot water (at a temperature in excess of 82°C) onto opposite sides of the blades of the knives 14,16 supported in the knife support member 18. The spray nozzles 20,22 are mounted at distal ends of respective water supply tubes 24 located within the housing 2 terminating in a coupling 26 for attachment to a supply of hot water. A control valve (not shown) is provided between the coupling 26 and the spray nozzles 20,22 to control the flow of water to the spray nozzles 20,22.

The knife support member 18 is located in an upper region of the housing 2 in the form of an elongate plate pivotally mounted within the housing 2 on a fulcrum defining a horizontal pivot axis substantially coincident with a rear wall of the cleaning chamber 4. A pair of knife mounting slots 28,30 are provided in a front section 32 of the support member 18 for supporting respective knives 14,16 in the cleaning chamber 4 with the blade of each knife inserted through a respective mounting slot 28,30 and the handle supported by the upper side of the respective slot 28,30, as best seen from Figure 1.

A counterweight 34 is mounted on a rear section 36 of the knife support member 18 for biasing the front section 32 of the support member 18 to an upper position, as shown in Figure 1, with a distal edge of the front section 32 of the knife support member 18 resting against an upper stop 38 mounted on a front wall of the cleaning chamber 4. A lower stop 40 delimits a lower position of the front section 32 of the support member 18, the support member 18 being pushed against the lower stop 40 when a knife is inserted into a respective knife mounting slot 28,30 thereon.

A control switch 42 is provided in a rear part of the housing 2 engaging the rear section 36 of the knife support member 18 when the front section 32 is in its lower position.

The apparatus includes a controller including a timer, the controller being programmed to supply heated water to the spray nozzles for a pre-programmed time period (for example 6 seconds) when activated by the control switch 42.

In use, one or two knives 14,16 are inserted through the opening 12,13 in the lid 10 into respective mounting slots 28,30 in the knife support member 18 and pushed down to tilt the knife support member 18 about its pivot axis to its lower position against the lower stop 40 such that the rear section 36 of the knife support member 18 engages the control switch 42 to initiate a sterilising operation, where hot water is supplied to the spray nozzles 20,22 for a pre-programmed time period, the spray nozzles 20,22 directing the heated water against the sides of the blade of each knife 14,16 to wash and sterilise them.

The invention is not limited to the embodiment(s) described herein but can be amended or modified without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims

I. An apparatus for sterilising a knife comprising a housing having at least one opening permitting the insertion of a knife blade into the housing, at least one spray nozzle located within the housing for delivering a spray of hot water or steam onto the blade of a knife inserted into the housing, control means being provided for controlling the discharge of heated water or steam from the at least one spray nozzle, said control means including a timer and a control switch, said control means being adapted carry out a sterilising operation comprising spraying hot water or steam from said at least one spray nozzle onto the blade of a knife inserted into the housing for a pre-programmed period of time in order to sterilise the knife between uses, wherein a knife support is mounted within the housing adjacent said opening, for supporting a knife within the housing, said control switch being associated with said knife support such that the control switch is operated to initiate said sterilising operation when a knife is placed into the knife support and wherein the knife support comprises a cantilevered support member for supporting a handle portion of the knife, said support member being pivotally mounted within the housing for pivotal motion about a substantially horizontal pivot axis between an upper position and a lower position, biasing means being provided for biasing the support member to its upper position, said control switch being associated with said support member such that the control switch activates the control means to initiate a sterilising operation when the support member is displaced to its lower position when the support member is pushed down by the action of placing a knife therein.
2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one pair of opposing spray nozzles is provided for directing respective sprays of water or steam onto opposite sides of the knife blade.
3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein said support member comprises an elongate element having a first end extending on a first side of the pivot axis, the first end of the support member incorporating knife supporting means, such as one or more slots or openings through which the blade of a respective knife may be inserted, and a second end extending on a second side of the pivot axis, opposite the first side, the biasing means comprising a counterweight mounted on the second end of the support member, wherein said elongate member may tilt about said pivot axis to displace the support member from its upper to its lower position when the first end of the support member is pushed down.
4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein a distal end of the first end of the support member is located between a pair of vertically spaced stop members mounted in the housing for delimiting the upper and lower positions of the support member
5. An apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the knife support comprises one or more elongate slots for receiving the blade of a respective knife such that the handle of the respective knife rests on an upper side of the respective slot to support the knife within the housing with the blade positioned adjacent one or more of said at least one spray nozzles.
6. An apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said at least one spray nozzle is adapted to generate a cone or fan shaped spray pattern of water to direct water along the length of the blade of at least one knife located in the housing.
7. An apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said housing comprises a sterilising chamber, a respective spray nozzle being mounted on opposite sides of the sterilising chamber for directing a spray of hot water onto the sides of the blades of one of more knives located within the sterilising chamber, a drain being provided in a lower side of the sterilising chamber.
8. An apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein a knife support is mounted in an upper region of the housing such that one or more knives mounted therein extend into the sterilising chamber.
9. An apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the at least one opening of the housing is provided in a lid provided on an upper side of the housing.
10. An apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the housing incorporates electrical heating means for heating water to be supplied to the at least one spray nozzle.
11. An apparatus as claimed in any of claims 1 to 9, wherein the at least one spray nozzle is connectable to a source of heated water via a control valve controlled by the control means.
12. An apparatus for sterilising a knife substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.