Cleaning and sterilizing machine

Abstract

This invention relates to a cleaning and sterilizing machine for small articles such as closure elements for pharmaceutical containers consisting of a treatment tank (1) which is supported by a horizontal shaft (3) in a carrier (2) and is mounted so it can rotate about the axis of the shaft (3) and has a funnel-shaped upper part (6) with a loading and unloading opening (8) arranged in it, said treatment tank being closeable by a valve (7) and having inlet and outlet lines (13, 14) for at least one treatment medium such as water, steam or compressed air connected to it and supported by the shaft (3). To prevent reloading of the cleaned small articles into a container so that the articles from the treatment tank (1) can be processed further, it is provided according to this invention that the shaft (3) has a supporting device (4) in which the treatment tank (1) is held detachably, and the inlet and outlet lines (13, 14) are detachably connected by couplings (10, 11) to valves (9, 10) arranged on the treatment tank (1). In this way the treatment tank itself can be transported to the machine for further processing, and the articles can be fed directly from it to this machine.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.