Apparatus and method for washing balls
First Claim
1. An apparatus for washing plastic balls with a fluid, comprising:
- a housing comprising an elongated chamber suitable for receiving the balls and the fluid, said chamber having ball inlet and outlet openings spaced longitudinally in said chamber;
conveyor means for conveying balls within the housing from the ball inlet towards and eventually into the ball outlet;
a conveyor-free volume located between the ball inlet and ball outlet openings for permitting the balls to rub against each other in a washing action;
the conveyor means including a first screw conveyor means disposed in said chamber between the ball inlet and conveyor-free volume for conveying balls from said ball inlet opening and into the conveyor free volume and a second screw conveyor means disposed between the conveyor-free volume and the ball outlet opening and away from said first screw conveyor means, for conveying balls from said conveyor free volume to said ball outlet opening for discharging the balls from the chamber through said ball outlet opening.
5 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus and method for washing balls in a fluid is disclosed which includes a container for storing soiled balls and a wash unit having an elongated cylindrical housing suitable for containing the fluid and having a lower end adapted for receiving balls and an upper end adapted for discharging balls. The container serially dispenses balls via a transfer chute to the lower end of the housing. The transfer chute includes means for separating regular and irregular balls. Inside the housing, balls are conveyed from the lower end to the upper end by a screw conveyor system which agitates and scrubs the balls. The screw conveyer system includes an first screw conveyor located near the lower end, and a second screw conveyor located near the upper end. The first and second screw conveyors are spaced to form a conveyor free wash cell. Balls are discharged at the housing'"'"'s upper end to a ramp having a plurality of overlapping flights, where the balls are rinsed.
24 Citations
61 Claims
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1. An apparatus for washing plastic balls with a fluid, comprising:
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a housing comprising an elongated chamber suitable for receiving the balls and the fluid, said chamber having ball inlet and outlet openings spaced longitudinally in said chamber; conveyor means for conveying balls within the housing from the ball inlet towards and eventually into the ball outlet; a conveyor-free volume located between the ball inlet and ball outlet openings for permitting the balls to rub against each other in a washing action; the conveyor means including a first screw conveyor means disposed in said chamber between the ball inlet and conveyor-free volume for conveying balls from said ball inlet opening and into the conveyor free volume and a second screw conveyor means disposed between the conveyor-free volume and the ball outlet opening and away from said first screw conveyor means, for conveying balls from said conveyor free volume to said ball outlet opening for discharging the balls from the chamber through said ball outlet opening. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. An apparatus for washing balls in a fluid, comprising:
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an elongated cylindrical housing suitable for receiving the fluid, said housing having a first end adapted for receiving balls, and a second end adapted for discharging balls; a first screw conveyor coaxially disposed in said housing near said first end for conveying balls toward said second end; and a second screw conveyor coaxially disposed in said housing near said second end for conveying balls toward said second end, and spaced apart from said first screw container to form in conjunction with said first screw conveyor a conveyor-free volume in said housing located between said first and second screw conveyors and along a portion of the longitudinal extent of said housing, said conveyor-free volume being of a size sufficient to hold a plurality of balls to allow balls disposed in said volume to rub against each other in a washing action; wherein said first and second screw conveyors comprise a first and a second sequence, respectively, of continuous spiral flights mounted to a common shaft, said first and second sequence of flights being spaced apart along said shaft; wherein said first and second sequences each define a spiral planar surface extending widthwise from said common shaft to said cylindrical housing. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. An apparatus for washing balls in a washing liquid, comprising:
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a first container for storing balls to be washed, said first container having a ball input for placing soiled balls into the conveyor and ball output means for discharging balls from said container; a housing comprising an elongated cylindrical chamber suitable for receiving the washing liquid, said chamber having at a first longitudinal end a ball input adapted for receiving balls from said container, and having at a second longitudinal end a ball output; screw conveyor means disposed in said chamber for conveying balls along the longitudinal extent of said conveyor from said ball input to said ball output thereby washing the balls in the washing fluid, said conveyor means comprising a set of flights; and a second container for storing cleaned balls, and means for conveying balls from said discharge point to said second container; wherein said cylindrical housing is transparent along at least a portion of its longitudinal extent so that balls passing through said housing are visible to an external observer. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. An apparatus for washing balls in a liquid, comprising:
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an upwardly inclined housing comprising an elongated chamber suitable for receiving the liquid, said chamber having at a lower longitudinal end a ball input, and having at an upper longitudinal end a ball output; screw conveyor means disposed in said chamber for conveying balls along the longitudinal extent of said conveyor from said input to said output thereby washing the balls in the liquid; ramp means for rinsing the balls while the balls are being conveyed from said output to a discharge point that is below said output; and a container for storing clean balls, and a pneumatic conveyor means for conveying balls from said discharge point to said container. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. An apparatus for washing balls in a fluid, comprising:
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a housing suitable for receiving the fluid including a lower end adapted for receiving balls, an upper end adapted for expelling balls and a portion between said upper and lower ends that is transparent; a screw conveyor disposed in said housing to convey the balls through the fluid in a washing action from said lower end to said upper end; and a ramp having an upwardly extending ball input positioned for receiving balls expelled from said upper end of said inclined housing, a downwardly extending ball output for depositing balls at a discharge point; said ramp including a plurality of at least partially overlapping flight. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51)
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52. A system for washing balls in a fluid, comprising:
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a container for storing balls to be washed, said container having a ball input for placing soiled balls into the container and ball output means for discharging balls at one or more predetermined time intervals from said container; an inclined, elongated cylindrical housing suitable for receiving the fluid, said housing having a lower receiving end adopted for receiving balls, and a upper discharge end adopted for discharging balls; screw conveyor means disposed in said housing for conveying balls through the fluid in a washing action from said receiving end to said discharge end; and transfer means for conveying balls from said container output to said receiving end, said transfer means comprising means for separating regular and irregular balls; wherein said transfer means comprising a downwardly extending track having two parallel rails having a space therebetween, said space being a distance slightly less than the diameter of a regular ball, whereby the regular balls roll downwardly over said track, and irregular balls fall through said space. - View Dependent Claims (53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58)
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59. An apparatus for washing balls with a fluid, comprising:
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a housing comprising an elongated chamber suitable for receiving the balls and the fluid, said chamber having ball inlet and outlet openings spaced longitudinally in said chamber wherein said elongated chamber is inclined so that said ball input opening is near a lower portion of said chamber and ball outlet opening is near an upper portion of said chamber; conveyor means for conveying balls within the housing from the ball inlet towards and eventually into the ball outlet; a conveyor-free volume located between the ball inlet and ball outlet openings for permitting the balls to rub against each other in a washing action; the conveyor means including a first conveyor means disposed in said chamber between the ball inlet and conveyor-free volume for conveying balls from said ball inlet opening and into the conveyor-free volume and a second conveyor means disposed between the conveyor-free volume and the ball outlet opening and away from said first screw conveyor means, for conveying balls from said conveyor-free volume to said ball outlet opening for discharging the balls from the chamber through said ball outlet opening; and a ramp having an upwardly extending ball input positioned for receiving balls expelled from said ball outlet, and a downwardly extending ball outlet, said ramp having a plurality of overlapping flights and a means for allowing a rinse fluid to flow from a higher flight onto a lower flight.
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60. An apparatus for washing balls with a fluid, comprising:
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a housing comprising an elongated chamber suitable for receiving the balls and the fluid, said chamber having ball inlet and outlet openings spaced longitudinally in said chamber; conveyor means for conveying balls within the housing from the ball inlet towards and eventually into the ball outlet; a conveyor-free volume located between the ball inlet and ball outlet openings for permitting the balls to rub against each other in a washing action; the conveyor means including a first conveyor means disposed in said chamber between the ball inlet and conveyor-free volume for conveying balls from said ball inlet opening and into the conveyor-free volume and a second conveyor means disposed between the conveyor-free volume and the ball outlet opening and away from said first screw conveyor means, for conveying balls from said conveyor free volume to said ball outlet opening for discharging the balls from the chamber through said ball outlet opening; and container means for storing balls to be washed, said container means comprising a ball input and a ball output, wherein said ball output includes means for separating defective balls, said ball output being operatively connected to the ball inlet opening of said elongated chamber.
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61. An apparatus for washing balls in a fluid, comprising:
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an elongated cylindrical housing suitable for receiving the fluid, said housing having a first end adapted for receiving balls, and a second end adapted for discharging balls; a first screw conveyor coaxially disposed in said housing near said first end for conveying balls toward said second end; a second screw conveyor coaxially disposed in said housing near said second end for conveying balls toward said second end, and spaced apart from said first screw container to form in conjunction with said first screw conveyor a conveyor-free volume in said housing located between said first and second screw conveyors and along a portion of the longitudinal extent of said housing for permitting balls disposed in said volume to rub against each other in a washing action; a container for storing balls to be washed, said container having a ball input for placing balls into the container and a ball output connected to said first end of said cylindrical housing; said output further comprises means for successively expelling balls from said container at a predetermined rate; and said output further comprises means for separating defective balls from non-defective balls.
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Specification