Patent ID: 7455067

Claim:
A portable food tray pre-wash and water recycling apparatus for use in kitchen and scullery areas aboard marine vessels, and in industrial, commercial, and institutional cafeterias for pre-washing reusable food trays prior to placement in a separate cleaning and sanitizing unit, comprising: a portable cabinet having side walls, end walls, a bottom wall, and a top wall; a slot in said top wall for receiving a food tray inserted generally vertically into said cabinet; a water reservoir in said cabinet including heater means for heating water therein, water temperature sensor means for sensing the temperature of water therein, water level sensor means for sensing the level of water therein, and drain means for draining water therefrom; pump means including a motor and having an intake connected in fluid communication with said water reservoir for receiving water therefrom, and a discharge outlet for discharging water under pressure; at least one pair of spray nozzles connected with said pump means discharge outlet and disposed beneath said slot in laterally opposed relation to spray opposed sides of the tray simultaneously; at least one pair of laterally opposed brushes rotatably disposed beneath said spray nozzles and each having a shaft connected with said motor to be rotated thereby and spaced apart a sufficient distance such that their bristles will engage and scrub opposed sides of the tray simultaneously upon rotation, tray support means disposed adjacent to said brushes to support the tray in a vertical position; a series of filter members removably received in said cabinet in horizontal vertically spaced relation between said brushes and said reservoir, each having filtering surfaces of a different gauge or porosity and arranged in incrementally decreasing gauge or porosity from the uppermost to the lowermost; wherein water in said reservoir is heated and pumped therefrom through said spray nozzles while said brushes are rotated to clean opposed sides of the supported tray simultaneously and thereafter passes through said filter members and back into said reservoir.