SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR IMPROVED CLEANING AND SANITIZING OF SURFACES USING ELECTROLYZED SOLUTIONS

A system for cleaning and sanitizing a surface using electrolyzed solutions is provided including a first container holding an electrolyzed base cleaner and a second container holding an electrolyzed acid sanitizer. A spray device is in communication with the first container and with the second container. The spray device has a spray nozzle and an actuator for effecting discharge of the electrolyzed base cleaner and the electrolyzed acid sanitizer via the spray nozzle. A controller is in communication with the actuator and configured to successively and alternately direct the discharge of the base cleaner and the acid sanitizer from the spray nozzle of the spray device upon actuation of the actuator.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Cleaning and sanitizing surfaces on a regular basis can help prevent the spread of infectious diseases. Fats and proteins on surfaces can shelter pathogens and provide them with a source of food. Surfaces cannot be effectively rid of pathogens without removing these fats and proteins. Accordingly, most cleaning and sanitizing processes are two steps, first removing and/or denaturing of fats and proteins through cleaning and then sanitizing. Each of these steps requires spraying and then wiping, which is time consuming and leads to increased labor costs. Chemicals that can both clean and disinfect in a single step are often toxic and expensive to produce and maintain.

Systems and methods are known that electrolyze water containing alkali salts to produce acidic electrolyzed water and alkaline electrolyzed water. Acidic electrolyzed water, which typically has a pH between about 5.0 and about 6.0, generally comprises a disinfectant that is increasingly used in a variety of sanitizing applications including in the medical, agricultural and food processing industries and in other institutional environments. The alkaline (i.e., basic) electrolyzed water, which typically has a pH between about 12.0 and 12.5, also has a sanitizing as well as a detergent and denaturing effect and is useful in cleaning a variety of stains, including oil and grease stains. As with conventional cleaning solution, acidic electrolyzed water and alkaline electrolyzed water must be applied in separate steps when cleaning and sanitizing a surface. When the two solutions are mixed together so that they can be applied in a single step, the resultant solution typically has a pH of about 10.0 to about 10.5 which greatly reduces its ability to saponify or denature fats and proteins and kill pathogens. Thus, the resultant mixed solution is less effective as both a cleaner and a disinfectant.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, in view of the foregoing, a general object of the present invention is to provide an improved system and method for cleaning and sanitizing a surface that can be performed using a single spray and single wipe thus allowing the cleaning and sanitizing operation to be performed more quickly and easily than existing cleaning and sanitizing systems.

A related object of the present invention is to provide a system and method for cleaning and sanitizing a surface of the foregoing type than reduces labor costs.

A further object of present invention is to provide a system and method for cleaning and sanitizing a surface that is easier to operate and perform.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a system and method for cleaning and sanitizing a surface of the foregoing type that is at least as effective as two spray/two wipe systems.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a system and method for cleaning and sanitizing a surface that helps reduce repetitive motion injuries associated with cleaning and sanitizing operations.

A further object of present invention is to provide a system and method for cleaning and sanitizing a surface that allows for use of safer and lower cost chemicals.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a system and method for cleaning and sanitizing a surface that is usable on a variety of surfaces.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a system and method for cleaning and sanitizing a surface that only requires a single spray and single wipe to both clean and sanitize the surface. The system and method may use electrolyzed solutions including, for example, an alkaline electrolyzed water solution as the cleaning solution and an acidic electrolyzed water solution as the sanitizing solution. Advantageously, the system and method minimizes mixing of the cleaner and sanitizer, which helps maximize effectiveness of the individual solutions. Additionally, as discussed further below, the capability of automatically discharging both a cleaner and a sanitizer with a single actuation of the system makes the system much easier for an operator to use. Thus, the system and method of the present invention can be operated and/or performed considerably more quickly than existing cleaning systems which can result in substantially lower labor costs in commercial cleaning operations.

The cleaning and sanitizing of the present invention uses electrochemically activated solutions including, for example, electrolyzed water solutions. In particular, the electrolyzed water solutions may be the result of a process in which a solution of water and an alkali salt is electrolyzed to produce acidic electrolyzed water and/or alkaline (i.e., base) electrolyzed water. Both acidic electrolyzed water (i.e., acid sanitizer) and alkaline electrolyzed water (i.e., base cleaner) have beneficial sanitizing and cleansing properties making them useful in a variety of applications including medical, agricultural, food processing and institutional. According to one embodiment, the water and salt solution is a saline or brine solution comprising water and sodium chloride. Depending on the process conditions, electrolysis of a brine solution comprising water and sodium chloride produces aqueous hypochlorous acid solution (e.g., an acid sanitizer) and aqueous sodium hydroxide solution (e.g., a base cleaner), each being an aqueous chemical solution. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the present disclosure is not limited to electrolysis of any particular solution or use in any particular application.

To provide improved cleaning and sanitizing of a surface, the cleaning and sanitizing system of the present invention is operable to separately store and then sequentially discharge the electrolyzed base cleaner and electrolyzed acid sanitizer upon a single actuation of the system. To this end, the system may include a single spraying device with a spray nozzle that is configured such that the spray nozzle is automatically fed alternately with the electrolyzed base cleaner and then the electrolyzed acid sanitizer upon triggering of an actuator on the spraying device. The system may be configured such that the time gap between the discharge of the electrolyzed base cleaner and the electrolyzed acid sanitizer may be electronically adjustable.

Referring toFIG. 1of the drawings, an exemplary embodiment of a cleaning and sanitizing system10according to the present invention is shown. The illustrated cleaning and sanitizing system10is configured as a backpack12with attached shoulder straps14although it should be understood that other configurations may also be used. The cleaning and sanitizing system10ofFIG. 1includes a spray device16that is operatively connected to a base unit18that can be carried on the back of an operator. The interior of the base unit18can be configured to house an electrolyzed base cleaner container20and an electrolyzed acid sanitizer container22. In this case, the cleaner container20and the sanitizer container22are arranged on opposite sides of the interior of the base unit18.

To drive movement of the electrolyzed solutions from the base unit18to the spray device16, a first cleaner feed pump24is provided in the base unit18that is arranged and configured to draw cleaner out of the cleaner container20and direct it through a cleaner feed line26. Additionally, a second sanitizer feed pump28is provided in the base unit18that is arranged and configured to draw sanitizer out of the sanitizer container22and direct it through a sanitizer feed line30. The cleaner and sanitizer feed pumps24,28may each be driven by an associated electric motor32,34that are powered by a power source36that is carried in the base unit18. The power source36may be, for example, a rechargeable battery. The base unit18may further include a controller38that is configured to direct operation of the pumps24,28and the spray device16as further described below. The pumps24,28, power source36and controller38may be arranged together in a casing40having a removable cover42that can be arranged between the cleaner container20and the sanitizer container22as shown inFIG. 1.

For directing the electrolyzed base cleaner and electrolyzed acidic sanitizer to the spray device16, the cleaner feed line26and the sanitizer feed line30extend from the base unit18to the spray device16. More specifically, in the illustrated embodiment, the cleaner and sanitizer feed lines26,30are secured together to form a single cord44attaching the spray device16to the base unit18as shown, for example, inFIG. 2. In addition to the feed lines26,30, the cord44to the spray device16may also include attached control leads46that extend from the controller38in the base unit18to the spray device16in order to direct control signals between the controller and the spray device. In an alternative embodiment, at least a portion of the cleaner feed line262and the sanitizer feed line30between the base unit18and the spray device16may be configured as a single tube that is divided into two separate fluid passages one of which carries the cleaner and one of which carries the sanitizer.

In the illustrated embodiment, the spray device16is configured as a hand-operated spray wand with an actuator, in this case, an actuator switch48arranged on a side thereof. The wand-like configuration of the spray device16helps the spray device to be easily gripped and aimed by an operator. The actuator switch48may be in communication with the controller38, such as through the control leads46. Moreover, the controller38may be configured such that upon actuation of the actuator switch48on the spray device16the controller38successively directs first the cleaner feed pump24to direct base cleaner from the cleaner container20to the spray device16and then directs the sanitizer feed pump28to direct acidic sanitizer from the sanitizer container22to the spray device. According to one embodiment, the actuator48may be configured as an electronic trigger which along with the controller38is configured such that once the actuator48is depressed once the spray device16will alternately spray cleaner and sanitizer as long as the actuator is depressed. Thus, spray is discharged automatically and in a continuous alternating sequence of cleaner and sanitizer (or vice versa) upon a single actuation of the actuator48. This can significantly reduce the risk of repetitive motion injuries caused by repetitive squeezing of a trigger of, for example, a spray bottle.

For shaping and directing the discharging electrolyzed base cleaner and the electrolyzed acid sanitizer, the spray device16may be equipped with one or more removable and replaceable spray nozzles50. InFIGS. 3A-C, a single spray nozzle50is shown which has a spray tip58configured to produce a cone-shaped discharge pattern. The single spray nozzle50has an elongated body54that defines, in this case, a single fluid passage56for directing fluid introduced into the spray device16to the spray tip58. This nozzle body54is removably attached to the spray device16such as shown inFIG. 1. Upon actuation of the actuator switch48on the spray device16, the system10may be configured to sequentially discharge first cleaner and then sanitizer through the single spray tip58. While the illustrated embodiment uses a cone-shaped discharge pattern (see, e.g.FIG. 3C), the spray tip58may be configured to produce any desired discharge pattern.

A spray nozzle50with a dual configuration that also may be used with the spray device16ofFIG. 1is shown inFIGS. 4A-C. As in the embodiment ofFIGS. 3A-C, the spray nozzle50ofFIGS. 4A-Cincludes an elongated body54, however in this case the body comprises two separate fluid passages56, one for directing cleaner and one for directing sanitizer. Each fluid passage56of the nozzle body54terminates in a separate spray tip58, which in the illustrated embodiment is configured to produce a flat fan-shaped discharge pattern. The system10may be configured such that upon actuation of the switch48on the spray device16, the system will first spray cleaner out of one spray tip58and then sanitizer out of the other spray tip58in a side-by-side arrangement. While examples of possible spray nozzle50and spray tip52,58configurations are shown, it should be appreciated that different nozzle and tip arrangements could also be used. In particular, the nozzles can be configured to produce different effects as desired.

An alternative embodiment of a cleaning and sanitizing system10according to the present invention is shown inFIG. 5. In the embodiment ofFIG. 5, the cleaning and sanitizing system10is configured as a waist belt-supported unit that is otherwise very similarly configured to the backpack unit ofFIG. 1. The system10ofFIG. 5includes a belt carrier60having two external side pockets62, one to support the electrolyzed base cleaner container20and one to support the electrolyzed acid sanitizer container22. In the illustrated embodiment, the base unit18containing the controller38, pumps24,28and power source36is supported in a central pocket64defined by the belt carrier60. Like in the embodiment ofFIG. 1, the spray device16of theFIG. 5embodiment is configured to receive interchangeable spray nozzles50and tips52and is connected to the base unit18via the cleaner and sanitizer feed lines24,30. While backpack and belt type units are shown in the drawings, the present invention is not intended to be limited to systems having such configurations. Rather, the present invention is intended to cover any system configuration capable of separately storing electrolyzed base cleaner and electrolyzed acid sanitizer and then separately discharging upon a single actuation of the system the base cleaner and the acid sanitizer.

In use, according to one embodiment, an operator moves the spray device16across a surface to be cleaned and sanitized while triggering the actuator switch48on the spray device16. Upon actuation of the switch48, the electrolyzed cleaner and the electrolyzed sanitizer are discharged so as to produce side-by-side discharge patterns of the cleaner and sanitizer. This process can be repeated as the operator moves the spray device16across the surface. This results in substantially separate, but adjacent, discharge patterns of the electrolyzed base cleaner and the electrolyzed acid sanitizer. One example of the resulting discharge patterns of the cleaner and sanitizer are shown inFIG. 6. InFIG. 6, an array of alternating flat fan-shaped discharge patterns of base cleaner (referenced as66) and acid sanitizer (referenced as68) are shown. Once the base cleaner and acid sanitizer have been laid down on the surface to be cleaned, the user can then wipe (in a single wiping action) the discharged cleaner and sanitizer in the same direction (referenced inFIG. 6by the arrow70) that the spray device16was moved across the surface to be cleaned. Depending upon the number and/or type of spray nozzles50provided on the spraying device16, the cleaner and sanitizer may be discharged sequentially, such as when a single spray nozzle50is used, or simultaneously, such as when two or more spray nozzles50are provided. As noted above, the actuator switch48on the spray device16and the controller38may be configured such that a single press of the switch produces one dual burst of cleaner and sanitizer or the switch48may be held down for repeated bursts of cleaner and sanitizer until the switch is released.

With embodiments of the invention producing simultaneous discharge of the cleaner and sanitizer (e.g., the embodiment ofFIGS. 4A-C), it may be advantageous to configure the spray device such that both the cleaner and sanitizer have a droplet size of greater than approximately 100 microns. In such a case, the liquid nozzle pressure can be adjusted and controlled such that most of the disinfectant will not mix with the cleaner. Thus, the system can produce independent, yet simultaneous, discharges of cleaner and disinfectant that can then be wiped in a single wipe, allowing a surface to be both cleaned and disinfected in a single step.

As compared with existing cleaning and sanitizing processes that utilize separate cleaners and sanitizer, the process and system of the present invention allows the cleaning and sanitizing process to be performed more quickly and with less repetitive motion stress on the user because of the ability to discharge both the cleaner and sanitizer with a single actuation of the system. The dual dispensing of the cleaner and sanitizer also allows both to be captured in a single wiping action, which again saves time during the cleaning and sanitizing process. These time savings can help reduce labor costs in institutional or commercial cleaning and sanitizing operations. As compared to existing cleaning and sanitizing systems and processes that use a cleaner and sanitizer mixture, the system and process of the present invention allows for the use of lower cost and safer electrolyzed cleaning and sanitizing solutions that are useable on a wide variety of different surfaces. Additionally, the electrolyzed cleaning and sanitizing solutions allows for the use of reusable containers to store the cleaner and sanitizer, which again can result in a cost savings.