DEVICE FOR CLEANING MILL ROLLERS, AND METHOD OF USE
A cleaning tool for cleaning rollers of a mill, which comprises a body with an underside defining a plurality of curved channels and an attachment assembly to releasably secure a cleaning element to the body so as to cover the underside thereof when secured. Also, a method of cleaning a plurality of rollers of an ointment mill, which comprises attaching a cleaning element to a cleaning tool with an underside having curved channels conforming to a surface of the rollers; pressing the cleaning tool against the rollers to cause the cleaning element to capture residue from the rollers; removing the cleaning element from the cleaning tool; and attaching a new cleaning element to the cleaning tool for re-use of the cleaning tool.
1 . A cleaning tool for cleaning rollers of a mill, comprising:
a body with an underside defining a plurality of curved channels; and
an attachment assembly to releasably secure a cleaning element to the body so as to cover the underside thereof when secured.
2 . The cleaning tool defined in claim 1 , wherein the attachment assembly is affixed to the body.
3 . The cleaning tool defined in claim 2 , the body having an upper side opposite the underside, the attachment assembly projecting from the upper side of the body.
4 . The cleaning tool defined in claim 1 , the body having an upper side opposite the underside, the cleaning tool further comprising a handle attached to the upper side of the body.
5 . The cleaning tool defined in claim 1 , the body having an upper side opposite the underside, wherein the upper side has an undulating surface with troughs between the channels.
6 . The cleaning tool defined in claim 5 , wherein the upper side includes at least one aperture in at least one of the troughs for allowing liquid dispensed into the trough to reach the underside of the body.
7 . The cleaning tool defined in claim 1 , the body having an upper side opposite the underside, the attachment assembly being integral with the upper side of the body.
8 . The cleaning tool defined in claim 1 , the attachment assembly being absent from the underside of the body.
9 . The cleaning tool defined in claim 1 , wherein the plurality of curved channels are parallel and shaped to accommodate a corresponding plurality of parallel spaced-apart rollers.
10 . The cleaning tool defined in claim 1 , wherein the underside has an undulating surface.
11 . The cleaning tool defined in claim 1 , wherein the plurality of channels includes at least three channels in a common plane.
12 . The cleaning tool defined in claim 1 , wherein the channels have a common radius of curvature and have a depth that that is less than the radius of curvature.
13 . The cleaning tool defined in claim 12 , wherein a ratio of the depth of the channels to the radius of curvature is between 50% and 95%.
14 . The cleaning tool defined in claim 13 , wherein a ratio of the depth of the channels to the radius of curvature is between 60% and 80%.
15 . The cleaning tool defined in claim 1 , wherein the channels have a common radius of curvature and wherein adjacent ones of the curved channels are spaced apart by more than 200% and less than 400% of the radius of curvature.
16 . A device for cleaning rollers of a mill, comprising:
a cleaning tool comprising a body;
a cleaning element configured to conform to a shape of a top portion of the rollers; and
an attachment assembly to releasably secure the cleaning element to the body so as to cover an underside thereof when secured.
17 . The device defined in claim 16 , wherein the underside of the body comprises a plurality of parallel curved channels corresponding to the top portion of the rollers.
18 . The device defined in claim 17 , wherein the cleaning element comprises a flexible layer of material.
19 . The device defined in claim 16 , wherein the body of the cleaning tool comprises a periphery between the underside and the upper side, wherein the cleaning element folds around at least part of the periphery to attach to the attachment assembly.
20 . The device defined in claim 19 , wherein the attachment assembly of the cleaning tool comprises a plurality of pegs and wherein the cleaning element comprises a plurality of holes configured to receive the pegs to secure the cleaning element to the body.
21 . The device defined in claim 20 , wherein when the upper side is divided into a matrix of 4×4 parts of equal area, each of the four extreme corners of the matrix includes at least one of said pegs.
22 . The device defined in claim 16 , wherein the cleaning element has a greater surface area than the underside of the body.
23 . The device defined in claim 16 , wherein the cleaning element is a cloth.
24 . The device defined in claim 23 , wherein the cloth has a thickness of between 2 and 10 mm.
25 . The device defined in claim 23 , wherein the cloth comprises microfiber material made of a combination of polyester and polyamides.
26 . The device defined in claim 16 , wherein the attachment assembly is integral with the body of the cleaning tool.
27 . The device defined in claim 16 , wherein the attachment assembly is not part of the body of the cleaning tool.
28 . The device defined in claim 16 , wherein the attachment assembly comprises a first component that affixes to a first part of the cleaning element and a second component that affixes to a second part of the cleaning element.
29 . A method of cleaning a plurality of rollers of an ointment mill, comprising:
attaching a cleaning element to a cleaning tool with an underside having curved channels conforming to a surface of the rollers;
pressing the cleaning tool against the rollers to cause the cleaning element to capture residue from the rollers;
removing the cleaning element from the cleaning tool; and
attaching a new cleaning element to the cleaning tool for re-use of the cleaning tool.
30 . The method defined in claim 29 , further comprising introducing a solvent through apertures in a body of the cleaning tool.
31 . The method defined in claim 30 , further comprising applying solvent to the cleaning element through the apertures.
32 . The method defined in claim 29 , further comprising:
attaching the cleaning tool to the ointment mill after the attaching of the cleaning element to the cleaning tool; and
detaching the cleaning tool from the ointment mill before the removing of the cleaning element from the cleaning tool.
33 . A device for cleaning rollers of a mill, comprising:
a cleaning tool comprising a body with an underside;
a cleaning element with an upper surface and a lower surface; and
an attachment assembly to releasably secure the upper surface of the cleaning element against the underside of the body;
wherein the lower surface of the cleaning element defines a plurality of curved channels when the upper surface of the cleaning element is secured against the underside of the body.
34 . The device defined in claim 33 , wherein the lower surface of the cleaning element is preconfigured to include the plurality of curved channels.
35 . The device defined in claim 34 , wherein the upper surface of the cleaning element is flat, including when the upper surface of the cleaning element is secured against the underside of the body.
36 . The device defined in claim 33 , wherein the underside of the body is flat.
37 . A kit, comprising:
a mill comprising a plurality of parallel rollers with an exposed portion; and
a cleaning tool with a releasably securable cleaning element, the cleaning element having a lower portion with a shape corresponding to a shape of the exposed portion of the rollers.
38 . The kit defined in claim 37 , wherein the mill is an ointment mill.