A conveyor belt cleaning apparatus includes a debris-removal stage, a washing stage, a rinsing stage, and a water removal stage all positioned in a multi-chambered drawer with each of the four stages is provided with an isolated bin within that drawer. The various stages within the conveyor belt cleaning apparatus provide for the continuous or on-demand cleaning of a conveyor belt in order to remove any debris and fluids from the belt thereby providing a clean belt surface for use by the grocery store customer. The device may be installed as a new element in a check stand, or it may be retrofitted to an existing check stand.
A first embodiment of this invention is a cleaning apparatus for a commercial conveyor belt that is mounted on a conveyor table. The cleaning apparatus is a housing that includes a spraying tube for dispensing a cleaning solution and a novel wiping device. The wiping device is constructed to apply a disposable towel, such as a paper towel, to the conveyor belt to remove the solvent including any contaminants while the conveyor belt is in motion. The used disposable towels are deposited into a waste container thereby requiring very little cleaning maintenance. By a second embodiment the spraying tube is eliminated and the disposable paper towels include a solvent (wet wipes) for removing the contaminants. The cleaning apparatus is preferably mounted on the underside of the conveyor belt next to a crumb tray so that the cashier can easily operate the cleaning apparatus.
A method for washing conveyor belts, according to the invention, is characterized in that the drive of the conveyor belt (2) is transferred via rollers (3) and a cleaning element is driven, preferably having the form of a rotating brush (9), and the shield (4) is sprayed by a spraying system (7), and the cleaning element is wetted by a wetting system (8).A device for washing conveyor belts, comprising a cleaning element and spraying nozzles, is characterized in that the conveyor belt (2) is situated between a pressuring element and a washing-cleaning assembly (1).
Cleaning equipment for cleaning a moving surface particularly in a paper machine includes a washing head with a chamber in it opening onto the surface to be cleaned and nozzle elements arranged inside the chamber. The cleaning equipment also includes vacuum means and removal means. The vacuum means are arranged in the washing head. In addition, the washing head is arranged to be movable relative to the removal means that are fitted in a fixed manner.
A conveyor suitable for use, e.g., in food processing apparatus, includes particular procedures and arrangements for decontaminating the surface of the conveyor. The conveyor surface is subject first to a mechanical cleaning, e.g., by spraying of liquid followed by brushing in a rinse/clean unit. This step displaces gross debris from the conveyor surface. In a second step, the surface is subjected to UV irradiation to sterilize the cleaned surface. This UV irradiation may be provided by banks of UV lamps between which the conveyor passes. Detectors for residual organic material may be used to monitor the cleanliness of the surface.
