Cleaning and sanitizing system

• US 7,188,632 B2
• Filed: 09/15/2005
• Issued: 03/13/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 01/09/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Ozone International LLC
• Original Assignee: Ozone International LLC
• Inventors: Lynn, Daniel W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kornakov; M.
• Application Number:
  US11/226,990
• Publication Number:
  US 20060005864A1
• Time in Patent Office: 544 Days
• Field of Search: 134/94.1, 134/95.1, 134/95.2, 134/95.3, 134/98.1, 134/102.2, 134/34, 134/37, 134/99.1, 134/103.2, 134/198, 422/292
• US Class Current: 134/198
• CPC Class Codes: A23B 4/24 Inorganic compounds
• CPC Class Codes: A61L 2/183 Ozone dissolved in a liquid
• CPC Class Codes: A61L 2/22 Phase substances, e.g. smokes, aerosols or sprayed or atomised substances
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 7/02 Spray pistols; Apparatus for discharge for spraying particulate material B05B7/14; with means for heating the material to be sprayed B05B7/16; with means for supplying fluent material to a discharge device B05B7/24
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 7/066 with an inner liquid outlet surrounded by at least one annular gas outlet
• CPC Class Codes: B08B 2203/005 the liquid being ozonated
• CPC Class Codes: B08B 3/026 Cleaning by making use of hand-held spray guns; Fluid preparations therefor

Abstract

A high pressure water stream (14) is discharged onto a surface to be cleaned. An ozone/water stream (16) is discharged on the same surface for sanitizing the surface. The high pressure water and ozone/water streams (14, 16) are discharged simultaneously along closely adjacent paths that are either parallel (FIG. 3) or concentric (FIG. 2). The water pressure is at least about 100 p.s.i. and is preferably between 100 p.s.i. and 1000 p.s.i. The nozzles that discharge the streams (14, 16) may be movable relative to the object(s) that receives the high pressure water and ozone/water (FIG. 1) Or, they may be fixed and the object may be movable relative to them (FIG. 4).

Claims

1. A cleaning and sanitizing system, comprising:

a first discharge nozzle;

a first conduit for delivering water to the first discharge nozzle to be discharged by the first discharge nozzle as a first stream;

a second discharge nozzle;

a second conduit for delivering ozone/water to the second discharge nozzle, to be discharged from the second discharge nozzle as a stream of ozone/water;

a source of water connected to the first conduit for delivering ozone/water into and through the first conduit and out from the first discharge nozzle as a stream of high

pressure water;

a source of ozone/water connected to the second conduit for delivering ozone/water into and through the second conduit and out from the second discharge nozzle as a stream of ozone/water;

said first and second nozzles being positioned relative to each other so that the water and ozone/water streams are contiguous but the ozone is not delivered into the high pressure water stream, and;

wherein the high pressure water stream is discharged at a pressure that exerts a cleaning force on a surface to be cleaned and ; and

wherein the second discharge nozzle concentrically surrounds the first discharge nozzle and wherein the system is configured to discharge an ozone/water stream that concentrically surrounds a high pressure water stream that is discharged from the first nozzle.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the pressure of the high pressure water stream is at least about 100 psi.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the pressure of the high pressure water stream is between about 100 psi and about 1000 psi.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the pressure of the ozone/water stream is lower than the pressure of the high pressure water stream and is sufficiently low that the ozone does not convert to oxygen.

5. A cleaning and sanitizing system, comprising:

a first discharge nozzle;

a first conduit for delivering water to the first discharge nozzle to be discharged by the first discharge nozzle as a first stream;

a second discharge nozzle;

a second conduit for delivering ozone/water to the second discharge nozzle, to be discharged from the second discharge nozzle as a stream of ozone/water;

a source of water connected to the first conduit for delivering water into and through the first conduit and out from the first discharge nozzle as a stream of high pressure water;

a source of ozone/water connected to the second conduit for delivering ozone/water into and through the second conduit and out from the second discharge nozzle as

a stream of ozone/water;

said first and second nozzles being positioned relative to each other so that the water and ozone/water streams are contiguous but the ozone is not delivered into the high pressure water stream, and;

wherein the system is configured to discharge simultaneously the ozone/water stream and the high pressure water stream at a pressure to exert a cleaning force on a surface to be cleaned; and

wherein the second discharge nozzle is positioned to discharge the stream of ozone/water along a path that is laterally adjacent the path of the high pressure water stream that is discharged from the first discharge nozzle.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the first and second discharge nozzles are a part of a single wand that has a first end that includes inlets for sections of the first and second conduits that are in the wand and a second end that includes the first and second discharge nozzles.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein said first conduit includes a first hose section and said second conduit includes a second hose section.

8. The system of claim 7, comprising a hose reel on which the two hose sections are wound, said hose reel allowing the hoses to be pulled off from the reel and functioning to rewind the hoses back on the reel when a pull force is removed from the hoses.

9. The system of claim 7, further comprising a single wand that has a first end that includes inlets for sections of the first and second conduits that are in the wand, and a second end that includes the first and second discharge nozzles, wherein the hose sections are connected to the inlets for the sections of the first and second conduits that are in the wand.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the second discharge nozzle concentrically surrounds the first discharge nozzle and discharges an ozone/water stream that concentrically surrounds a high pressure water stream that is discharged from the first nozzle.

11. The system of claim 5, comprising a closed loop flow path for ozone/water, wherein the second conduit extends from the closed loop path to the second discharge nozzle, and a source of make up ozone/water for adding ozone/water to the system to replace the ozone/water that leaves the path through the second conduit and second discharge nozzle.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the high pressure water stream discharging from the first nozzle is used to aspirate ozone/water from the second discharge nozzle.