Recirculating parts washer

A recirculating parts washer is disclosed that features a vertically mounted base and a sink and lid rotatably connected to the base. The recirculating parts washer features a cleaning fluid supply container which is separate from the sink but connected to it via a supply line and a drain line. Cleaning fluid is circulated to the sink via the supply line by means of a submersible pump submerged within the cleaning fluid inside the cleaning fluid supply container. Cleaning fluid returns to the supply container via the drain line, thus enabling the cleaning fluid to be reused over and over again until it is exhausted. By having the sink and lid rotatably mounted to the base of the recirculating parts washer, the bulk of the assembly can be conveniently pivoted upwards and back against the wall when not in use. The recirculating parts washer also features a direct current power supply assembly.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
This invention relates to the equipment used to wash small machine parts by 
hand using cleaning solutions. More particularly, this invention relates 
to a novel recirculating parts washer for accomplishing this purpose. 
2. Description of Related Art 
Wherever machines are made, used or repaired, the need to clean small parts 
is present. Although, in some circumstances, the need is readily met, in 
others it is met only with difficulty and at a substantial cost. 
For example, many machine shops around the world labor under the burden of 
extremely small work environments. In these constricted work areas, space 
is at a premium. Large parts washing areas, while convenient, are 
inefficient in that they impede the ability of workers to utilize the 
space around them for other equally important tasks. 
Furthermore, under such conditions, safety issues become increasingly 
important. When numerous kinds of machinery are operated in close 
proximity, the dangers associated with having open containers of 
potentially volatile chemicals increase. 
Smaller sinks and increased policing of chemical handling practices do not 
really solve the problem. They simply make the washing of parts less 
efficient in the interest of safety. 
What is needed is a parts washing facility that is spacious when in use and 
compact when idle. Preferably, such a station would facilitate the 
handling of the cleaning fluid, both from the standpoint of cleaning the 
parts and from the standpoint of replacing the cleaning fluid when it has 
exhausted its useful life. Furthermore, it would be extremely desirable 
for the facility to promote (rather than undermine) safe and 
environmentally sound workplace practices. 
Finally, the parts washing station's utility would be greatly increased if 
it featured some measure of portability, so that work vehicles would have 
the same access to an efficient parts washing facility that the main 
office does. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
A recirculating parts washer is disclosed that features a vertically 
mounted base and a sink and lid rotatably connected (i.e., hinged) to the 
base. Importantly, the recirculating parts washer features a cleaning 
fluid supply container which is separate from the sink but connected to it 
via a supply line and a drain line. 
Cleaning fluid is circulated to the sink by means of a submersible pump 
submerged within the cleaning fluid inside the cleaning fluid supply 
container. This arrangement permits the user to utilize the actual 
container in which the cleaning fluid was delivered as the supply 
container, instead of transferring the cleaning fluid from one container 
to another. The cleaning fluid is recirculated to the supply container via 
the drain line, thus enabling the cleaning fluid to be reused until it is 
no longer serviceable. 
By having the sink and lid rotatably mounted to the base of the 
recirculating parts washer, the bulk of the assembly can be conveniently 
pivoted upwards and back against the wall when not in use. Furthermore, in 
this configuration, workplace exposure to potentially volatile fumes is 
minimized. 
The recirculating parts washer is equipped with a fusible link which 
facilitates rapid closure of the lid in the event a volatile cleaning 
fluid should unexpectedly catch fire. It also features a power supply 
assembly that facilitates use with either an AC-to-DC converter or a 
battery.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
Referring to FIG. 1, a recirculating parts washer 10 is shown. The 
recirculating parts washer 10 comprises a base 12; a sink 14 rotatably 
connected to the base; and a lid 16 rotatably connected to the base as 
well. In the particular embodiment shown in FIG. 1, both the sink 14 and 
the lid 16 are hinged about pins 18 to the base 12. As is apparent from 
the general purview of FIG. 1, the base 12 may be mounted to any 
convenient flat, stable, and vertical surface. 
The recirculating parts washer 10 also comprises a separate cleaning fluid 
reservoir 20 containing a cleaning fluid 22. The separate cleaning fluid 
reservoir 20 communicates with the sink 14 by means of a drain line 24. 
This drain line 24 has a drain line inlet end 26 communicating with the 
sink 14 and a drain line exit end 28 communicating with the separate 
cleaning fluid reservoir 20. 
The recirculating parts washer 10 further comprises a submersible pump 30 
submerged in the cleaning fluid 22. The submersible pump 30 has a suction 
opening 32 communicating with the cleaning fluid 22 and a discharge 
opening 34 communicating with the sink 14 by means of a supply line 36. 
The supply line 36 is a length of tubing defined by its supply line inlet 
end 38 (which communicates with the discharge opening 34 of the 
submersible pump 30) and its supply line exit end 40 (which communicates 
with either the sink 14 or a washing brush 70 as shown in FIG. 1). The 
submersible pump 30 also comprises a power cable 42 transferring power 
from a power supply assembly 44, which is attached to the base 12, to the 
submersible pump 30. 
In practice, centrifugal submersible pumps have been found to be useful, 
although other types of pumps would likely be effective as well. Supply 
and drain lines featuring a 3/8" diameter have been found to provide a 
sufficient flow rate for cleaning and recirculation. 
It will be appreciated at this point that important advantages stem from 
the use of the separate cleaning fluid reservoir 20 and the submersible 
pump 30. One advantage stems from the fact that the separate cleaning 
fluid reservoir 20 is preferably the container in which the cleaning fluid 
22 is shipped to the user. one-gallon containers of cleaning fluid have 
been found to have a neck large enough to accommodate a properly sized 
submersible pump 30. Whenever cleaning fluid 22 is too dirty to be of 
further effective use, the submersible pump 30 is simply removed from the 
current separate cleaning fluid reservoir 20 and placed inside a new one. 
This allows for an almost "hands off" replacement of cleaning fluid 22, 
frequently a desirable safety feature. 
The recirculating parts washer 10 preferably comprises at least one 
adjustable support arm 46 attached to the base 12. A comparison of FIGS. 
1, 2, and 3 reveals that the adjustable support arm 46 is preferably 
adapted to hold the sink 14 in at least two temporarily fixed positions. 
This is effected in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-4 by means of an 
adjustable support arm 46 that comprises telescoping concentric tubes, 
although concentric members of any convenient cross-sectional shape (e.g., 
square, rectangular) would also likely be effective. 
Referring now to FIG. 2, adjustable support arm 46 comprises two 
telescoping concentric tubes, inner concentric tube 48 and outer 
concentric tube 50. Each concentric tube has an engaged (i.e., 
telescopically engaging) end and a free end. As depicted in FIG. 2, the 
free ends are outer free end 50a (connected to the sink 14) and inner free 
end 48a (connected to the base 12). The engaged ends are outer engaged end 
50b and inner engaged end 48b. 
As depicted in FIG. 2, when the recirculating parts washer 10 is not in 
use, the sink 14 may be elevated to the maximum extent allowed by the 
apparatus, dramatically reducing the space the invention occupies in the 
places where it is used. Furthermore, in this configuration, exposure of 
workers and the workplace to potentially volatile cleaning fluids 22 and 
their fumes is minimized. Note how, in this position, the lid 16 is 
tightly and safely sealed against the sink 14. The use of the adjustable 
support arms 46 makes this possible. In particular, the telescoping 
concentric tubes 48 and 50 of the adjustable support arms 46 extend so 
that the distance between the free ends 48a and 50a is extended as far as 
the apparatus will allow. Note that locking means 78 (in FIG. 2, a 
spring-activated catch or button) releasably holds the sink 14 in one of 
at least two positions. In FIGS. 1, 3, 4, and 5 the locking means holds 
the sink 14 in a substantially horizontal position ready for use. In FIG. 
2, the locking means 78 holds the sink 14 in an elevated position for 
short- or long-term storage. 
Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4, the recirculating parts washer 10 
preferably comprises a fusible link 52 suspending the lid 16 in an open 
position at an ordinary operating temperature (as depicted in FIG. 3) but 
releasing the lid 16 to cover the sink 14 at a higher temperature 
determined by the melting point of the fuse material (as depicted in FIG. 
4). Most preferably, the fusible link 52 comprises a fuse 54 and a chain 
56, so that, if a volatile cleaning fluid 22 in the sink 14 should 
unexpectedly ignite, the ambient heat would raise the fuse 54 to its 
melting temperature, allowing the chain 56 to drop lid 16 forward, so as 
to quickly cover the sink 14 and smother the fire. 
Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the fusible link 52 
may be designed to activate at whatever temperature is appropriate under 
the circumstances surrounding use of the invention. In the interest of 
safety, the inventors and their assignee frequently set their fusible 
links 52 to engage at a temperature of about one hundred fifty eight (158) 
degrees Fahrenheit (about seventy (70) degrees Centigrade). 
Returning now to FIG. 1, the recirculating parts washer 10 preferably 
employs a power supply assembly 44 comprising a jack 58 suitable for 
receiving a DC (i.e., direct current) power cable 64 from either an 
AC-to-DC (i.e., alternating current to direct current) converter 66 (as 
shown in FIG. 1) or a battery (not shown), a resetable thermal fuse 60, 
and an on-off switch 62. Such a power supply assembly 44 allows the 
recirculating parts washer 10 to be used both in a conventional shop 
environment (where a conventional alternating current (AC) power supply is 
likely close at hand) or at a remote location where a vehicular battery 
can provide a useful local source of direct current (DC) power. In the 
event of a pump motor burnout, the resetable thermal fuse 60 prevents 
burnout of the power supply. 
It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that according 
to a preferred embodiment of the recirculating parts washer 10, the 
surfaces of the sink 14 are angled in such a way that the force of gravity 
urges the cleaning fluid 22 to the drain line inlet end 26 (see, e.g., 
FIG. 1). According to a particularly preferred embodiment, lid 16 is 
equipped with magnets 72, as depicted in FIG. 1, to secure small, newly 
cleaned parts to the lid 16 (allowing them to air dry more quickly and 
allowing the user a greater amount of room in the sink 14 to clean the 
remaining parts). 
Affixing an appropriately sized shelf 74 to the base 12 (see FIG. 5) 
ensures proper positioning of the separate cleaning fluid reservoir 20 and 
helps to prevent accidental disruption of the container. Similarly, a 
separate cleaning fluid reservoir cap 76, fitted with appropriately sized 
holes 80 to accommodate the power cable 42, drain line 24, and supply line 
36, also helps to prevent accidental spillage and unnecessary evaporation 
of the cleaning fluid 22 (see FIGS. 1 and 5). 
While several embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, 
other variations (which are in reality equivalents) will be readily 
apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. Thus, the invention is not 
limited to the embodiments shown and described herein but, rather, is 
intended to cover all such variations as may be within the scope of the 
following claims.