Brush assembly for cleaning bread pans
OwnerDouglas R. Hansoninventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A brush assembly is utilized for cleaning pans in which loaves of bread are baked after the pans have been emptied of the bread. The brush assembly is mounted above a conveyor carrying the pans, and includes long bristle brushes rotating about axes oblique with respect to the direction of travel of the pans, and generally parallel to the plane of movement of the pans. The brush assemblies are oscillated up and down as they are rotated so that the brush tips tend to be repeatedly jabbed longitudinally into the corners of the pans to loosen seed, crumbs and other materials left in the pans.
Claims11
A cleaning apparatus for a pan to be cleaned, and wherein such pan is movable by a conveyor, said cleaning apparatus comprising a frame, said pan to be cleaned being moved generally in a plane along said frame from a first end to a second end, at least one brush means mounted on said frame and having elongated bristles extending outwardly in position to engage a pan moving along the plane, means to rotate said brush means about an axis so that the bristles engage a pan moving in the plane and move material from a pan, and power means to oscillate the brush means toward and away from a pan being moved in the plane at the same time as the brush means rotates, said means to oscillate causing the bristles to be moved in longitudinal direction so the ends of the bristles are moved against the pan intermittently as the brush means rotates.
A cleaning apparatus for a generally rectilinear pan forming a receptacle, said cleaning apparatus comprising a frame, means on said frame to support and move a pan to be cleaned generally in a plane along said frame from a first end to a second end, a housing mounted on said frame, brush means mounted on the housing comprising two rotary brushes having rotational axes and having bristles extending outwardly to engage pans moving along the plane, means to rotate said brushes about their axes, said axes being generally parallel to the plane and each brush axis being inclined with respect to the direction of movement of a pan moving along said plane in opposite direction from the other brush axis so that the respective axes of rotation are oblique to sides of such a pan and the bristles tend to engage such a pan and remove material from such a pan, and means to oscillate both of the brushes toward and away from said plane as the brushes are rotated.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.