DESC:FIELD OF INVENTION:
The present invention relates to an automated system for cleaning containers utilized during ink manufacturing process for any type of ink. The present invention particularly relates to an automated cleaning system and an eco-friendly cleaning solution which is a blend of eco solvent and surfactants, and said cleaning system and eco-friendly cleaning solution used for cleaning ink-cladded containers during the ink production process, specifically cleaning the ink transferring cylinders, the ink recovery containers, and any other container used in the process of ink manufacturing.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION:
The background information hereinbelow relates to the present disclosure but is not necessarily prior art.
The current cleaning system employed in the industry consists of various stages such as flushing, scrubbing, rinsing, drying, etc. The containers used in the manufacturing process are flushed with a suitable cleaning solution or solvent to remove any residual ink. The majority of industries use manual or mechanical scrubbing with cotton rags method follows to remove the ink residuals or any dried ink. After scrubbing, the containers are thoroughly rinsed with water or another appropriate cleaning solution to remove any traces of the cleaning solution and then by using air drying or hot air blowers method used to dry the containers.
The present cleaning system is time-consuming. The multiple cleaning stages such as flushing, scrubbing, rinsing, and drying can result in longer cleaning cycles, potentially impacting production timelines.
Cleaning ink containers often require the use of cleaning solutions, solvents, water, and energy for drying. These resources can add to the operational costs and environmental footprint of the ink manufacturing process. Proper disposal or recycling of used cleaning agents and wastewater also needs to be considered.
Cleaning of tub manually was a tedious task, as it required a lot of operator effort and time.

Furthermore, this activity was also affecting the ergonomics of the operator as it required continuous bending motion of the operator. Taking into consideration all these aspects, a customized washing system was required for this application which would solve the purpose.

In view of the shortcomings and deficiencies described above, it is particularly important to develop a cleaning solution which reduces the VOC’s and cleaning process that is simple in operation, energy-saving and labor-saving, has a good cleaning effect, is eco-friendly, is safe, and is efficient in nature.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION:
The present invention is directed towards an automated system and solution for cleaning ink cladded containers used for ink production.
The main object of the present invention is to provide an eco-solvent-based cleaning solution and automated cleaning system for cleaning containers of the ink dispensing machine, specifically cleaning the ink transferring cylinders, the ink recovery containers, the various parts of the inking components and any other containers used in the process of ink production.
Flash points of all the solvents used for cleaning system are above 1000C.
An object of the present invention is to provide an eco-solvent-based cleaning solution and system that simplifies the cleaning operations of the containers which are used in the process of ink manufacturing.
An object of the invention is to provide a cleaning system wherein the ink-cladded containers are cleaned with the help of safe solvents or eco-friendly solvents.
Further object of the present invention is to provide an automated cleaning system which eliminates manual washing of the cleaning ink cladded containers used during the ink production process.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an eco solvent cleaning solution wherein the said safe solvents used for the cleaning process are recycled, filtered and utilized in the said cleaning system.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a solvent-based cleaning system that is eco-friendly, user-friendly, speedy, and competent means of cleaning ink dispensing machines and ink containers used during the ink manufacturing process.
The further object of the present invention is to provide an automated cleaning system that eliminates manual, tedious means of washing the printing ink containers which are used during the ink manufacturing process.
DESCRIPITON OF FIGURE:
Figure 1 describes the solvent recycling process used for cleaning the ink-clad containers in which :
Part list:
• two secondary tanks i.e. tank 1(101) and tank 2 (102)
• primary tank (tank 3) (103),
• an additional filter of 50-micron size installed before the primary tank (103),
• bottom valves (104),
• a tub /container (105),
• high pressure nozzle(106),
• a second pump (107)

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS:
The present invention is best understood by the description set forth herein.
Embodiments of the invention are discussed below. However, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the detailed description given herein is for explanatory purposes as the invention extends beyond these limited embodiments.
The terminology used in the present disclosure is only for the purpose of explaining a particular embodiment, and such terminology shall not be considered to limit the scope of the present disclosure. As used in the present disclosure, the forms "a,” "an," and "the" may be intended to include the plural forms as well unless the context clearly suggests otherwise. The terms "comprises," "comprising," “including,” and “having” are open-ended transitional phrases and therefore specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, modules, units and/or components, but do not forbid the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. The particular order of steps disclosed in the method and process of the present disclosure is not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance as described or illustrated. It is also to be understood that additional or alternative steps may be employed.
As used herein, the term "and/or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed elements.
In a preferred embodiment, an eco-solvent-based automated cleaning system is described in Figure 1. The present invention provides for cleaning the containers/tubs used during the ink manufacturing process. The invention is detailed hereafter by means of a non-limitative example illustrated in the attached drawing in which i.e. Figure 1 describes the solvent recycling process used for cleaning the ink-clad containers. In the said system, the tub/ container is cleaned with the help of safe solvents or eco-friendly solvents. As per Figure 1, there are two secondary tanks i.e. tank 1(101) and tank 2 (102) for safe solvent collection at the top of the primary tank (tank 3) (103). The elevation of all three tanks i.e. tank 1 (101), tank 2(102) and tank 3(103) is in such a way that the flow of safe solvent is by gravity. There is an additional filter of 50-micron size installed before the primary tank. The chemical is filtered to ensure there are no solid deposits before entering the primary tank (103) and then the nozzle. The deposited sludge is later on collected by opening the bottom valves (104) of secondary tanks manually.
Operating Principle:
• As shown in Figure 1, the said safe solvent is transferred from tank 3(103) to the tub(105) via a high-pressure nozzle(106)
• After completion of the said cleaning cycle, the contaminated safe solvents are transferred to tank 1(101) by a second pump(107) for sludge deposition.
• From tank 1(101) the said safe solvent is transferred to tank 2(102) for remaining sludge deposition.
• After that the safe solvent is transferred to tank 3(103) via a 50-micron size SS/mesh filter unit.
• This safe solvent is sprayed inside the tub/ containers using a high-pressure pump(106)
• A spray nozzle(106) that rotates at 360 deg is used for spraying high-pressure safe solvents at a pressure of around 2-3 bar.
• The spray nozzle(106) is designed in such a way that it covers the entire inside portion of the tub/ container(105) in the spray cycle.
• This high-pressure safe solvent is sprayed using a flameproof centrifugal pump which can pump a volume of 66.67 liters/min.
• The safe solvent used for cleaning of the tub/ container is again sent to the second collection tank for the collection of contaminated safe solvents.
The present invention describes a cleaning solution which is a blend of eco solvents and surfactants.
The present invention describes an eco-solvents cleaning solution which comprises a solvents which is selected from the group consisting of ester based solvents, ether based solvents, and glycol ethers based solvents such as butyl glycol ether, texnol, dipropylene glycol methyl ether, isopropyl oxital, DIBK ketone, Dimethyl glutarate, Dimethyl adipate, Dimethyl succinate, and alike In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the eco solvent are Di-basic esters.
The present invetion describes an eco-solvent cleaning soltuion which comprises a surfactants which may contains anionic, cationic, combined anionic-cationic, nonionic based surfactant.
The system is an eco-friendly, user-friendly, speedy, and competent means of cleaning the ink containers used during the ink manufacturing process. To validate the said eco-friendly, user-friendly, speedy, solvent consumption, effective labor cost nature of solvent-based cleaning system, experimental trials in the form of Illustrations are provided herein.
The illustrations provided herein are not to be taken as limiting rather to be considered as expanding and validating the scope of the invention mentioned.

Illustration 1: Table 1 covers experimental trials conducted over a time period of 8 months using the said solvent recycling system and process for cleaning the ink cladded containers. Table 1 provides data of manual and the machine cleaning to validate the solvent utilization, validate the cleaning duration and quantity of cleaning containers and to validate the cost reduction in overall cleaning process.
Table 1: Automatic pot cleaning machine performance data
Period under review - 8 months -(23/3/23-30/11/23) 27-12-2023 11:53
Sr. No Parameters under consideration Manual cleaning Machine cleaning % Gain or Loss
1 Average daily no of tubs with 400-600 kgs capacity per day at full production load 3 5 67
2 Total time required for manual cleaning - big tubs in minutes 40 25 38
3 Thinner used for big tubs cleaning in kg 12 10 17
4 No of casual operators working per day per shift 4 2 50
5 Average wages of one casual per day @ 8.5 hours shift in INR at Rs. 450/- 450 450 0
6 Savings per shift of casual wages in INR 1800 900 50
7 Savings per shift casual wages in INR per shift per month at 22 working days 39600 19800 50
8 Savings per casual in GBP per shift per month at 22 working days per month 378 189 50
9 Annual savings in wages of casuals at one shift working in GBP 4541 2270 50
10 Material cost of thinner used for manual cleaning of tubs & machine cleaning of tubs resp is Rs. 200/- & Rs.160/- 200 150 25
11 Thinner used in kgs per month at 22 working days 264 220 17
12 Monthly savings of material cost of thinner used for manual cleaning of tubs & machine cleaning of tubs resp is INR - Rs. 200/- & Rs.160/- 52800 33000 38
13 Monthly savings of material cost of thinner used for manual cleaning of tubs & machine cleaning of tubs resp in GBP 505 315 38
14 Annual savings of material cost of thinner used for manual cleaning of tubs & machine cleaning of tubs resp in GBP 6054 3784 38
15 Total savings in INR - Casual wages + Thinner cost 10595 6054 43

Result and analyses of table 1 thereby validates the increased efficiency of cleaning the tubs, as stated in the above trail 67% increased efficiency is observed for average daily no of tubs with 400-600 kgs capacity per day at full production load with a 38% cleaning time reduction per day and 17% reduction in consumption of thinner as against manual, thinner used per month at 22 working days is 220 kg as against 264, apparently reducing the costing in terms of material cost of the thinner, to state precisely annual savings of material cost used for manual cleaning of tubs and machine cleaning is Rs.10,595 and Rs. 6054, thereby amounting to 43% cost reduction annually.

Illustration II: Another set of experimental trails conducted over a time period of 8 months using the said solvent recycling system and process for cleaning the ink cladded containers. Table 2 provides data of manual and the machine cleaning to validate the solvent utilization, validate the average residue waste generated per tub during the said process, validate the cleaning duration and quantity of cleaning containers and to validate cost reduction in overall solvent cleaning process.

Table 2: Consolidated Report - Automatic Pot Cleaning Machine
Period Under review:- 23rd March 2023 to November 2023
Sr. No Parameters under consideration Manual cleaning Machine cleaning % Gain or Loss
1 Number of months under consideration - Eight months - - -
2 Average daily tubs cleaned under auto pot cleaning machine in numbers - (Sizes varies between 400 / 500 / 600 kg) 5 5 0
3 Average number of tubs cleaned per month under auto pot cleaning machine in numbers @ 22 working days 110 110 0
4 Total number of tubs cleaned till November 2023 - Eight months Period @ 22 days working per month on auto pot cleaning machine 880 880 0
5 Average daily tubs cleaned manually in numbers - (Sizes between 50/80/100/200 & upto 300 kg). Those small tubs are cleaned manually and no auto pot cleaning is used 5 5 -
6 Average number of tubs cleaned per month manually @ 8-10 tubs per day 110 110 -
7 Total number of tubs cleaned manually till November 2023 - Eight months Period @ 22 days working per month. (For manual cleaning of tub period considered are before March 2023) 880 880 -
8 Average time required per tub cleaning in minutes 40 20 50
9 Thinner used for big tubs cleaning in kg 3520 1760 50
10 No of casual operators working per day per shift 4 2 50
11 Total solvent used in kg for automatic pot cleaning machine - 8 months period 3520 1100 69
12 Average solvent waste in kg per tub (squeezed cotton rag + ink residue) in kg per tub @ 0.300 kg for eight months period - Approx 180 days. 0.80 0.300 63
13 Average solvent waste in kg per tub @ 0.300 kg for eight months period - Approx 180 days 704 264 63
14 Average Residue waste in kg per tub @ 0.300 kg for eight months period - Approx 180 days 704 264 63
15 Total number of tubs cleaned till November 2023 - Eight months Period @ 22 days working per month on auto pot cleaning machine 880 880 -
16 Thinner used for big tubs cleaning in kg 12 10 17
17 No of casual operators working per day per shift 4 2 50
18 Average wages of one casual per day @ 8.5 hours shift in INR at Rs. 450/- 450 450 0
19 Savings per shift of casual wages in INR 1800 900 50
20 Savings per shift casual wages in INR per shift per month at 22 working days 39600 19800 50
21 Savings per shift casual labour wages in INR per shift per month at 22 working days for eight months period 316800 158400 50
22 Savings per casual in GBP per shift per month at 22 working days per month - Eight Months Period 3027 1514 50
23 Material cost of thinner used for manual cleaning of tubs & machine cleaning of tubs resp is Rs. 200/- & Rs.160/- 200 140 30
24 Thinner used in kgs for eight months period 3520 1760 50
25 Total material cost of thinner used for manual cleaning of tubs & machine cleaning of tubs resp is INR - Rs. 200/- & Rs.140/- 704000 246400 65
26 Monthly savings of material cost of thinner used for manual cleaning of tubs & machine cleaning of tubs resp in GBP 6727 2355 65
Total savings in INR - Casual wages + Thinner cost 9754 3868 60

Result and analyses of table 2 thereby validates the solvent recycling cleaning system. The cleaning trail was conducted over a period of 8 months, keeping the total no. of daily tubs to be cleaned constant, following are the observations:
50% reduction in average time required per tub cleaning in minutes,
50% reduction in thinner used for big tubs cleaning,
50% reduction in the no. of casual operators,
69% reduction in total solvent used in kg for automatic pot cleaning machine,
63% reduction in average solvent waste in kg per tub (squeezed cotton rag + ink residue) in kg per tub @ 0.300 kg for eight months period,
50% reduction in savings per shift casual labour wages in INR per shift per month at 22 working days for eight months period,
and a significant reduction of 65% in Monthly savings of material cost of thinner used for manual cleaning of tubs and machine cleaning of tubs.

It is understood that many modifications and variations may be devised given the above description of the principles of the invention. The system parameters can vary depending on the size of the machinery.

ADVANTAGES OF THE PRESENT INVENTION:
The present invention envisages a solvent-based automatic cleaning solution and system which is an eco-friendly, user-friendly, speedy, and competent means of cleaning the ink containers used during the ink manufacturing process.
The present invention minimizes manual intervention of cleaning the ink cladden containers which is a tedious and detrimental process for the individuals or labours and /or individuals involved in / handling the cleaning process of the ink containers used during the ink production process, specifically cleaning the ink transferring cylinders, the ink recovery containers.
The present invention provides an effortless, clean, speedy and systematic way for washing the ink cladden containers and thereby proves to be a boon for the individuals or labours and /or individuals involved in / handling /responsible for cleaning ink claden containers used during the ink manufacturing process.
The present invention provides an eco-friendly means of efficient cleaning of the ink claden containers using safe solvents used for the cleaning process since the said safe solvents are recycled, filtered and utilized in the said cleaning system.
The present invention ensures safe, fast, consistent, and competent way for cleaning the ink clad containers which are used during ink manufacturing process.
,CLAIMS:CLAIMS
We claim;
1) An automated cleaning system and an eco-friendly cleaning solution which is a blend of eco-solvents and surfactants, the said cleaning system and eco-friendly cleaning solution are used for cleaning ink-cladded containers during the ink production process, specifically cleaning the ink transferring cylinders, the ink recovery containers, the various parts of the inking components and any other containers used in the process of any type of ink production comprising:
two secondary tanks i.e. tank 1(101) and tank 2 (102) for safe solvent collection at the top of the primary tank (tank 3) (103), an additional filter of 50-micron size installed before the primary tank (103), bottom valves (104), a tub /container (105), high pressure nozzle(106), a second pump (107), 50-micron size SS/mesh filter unit, (ref. figure 1) the entire system is in fluid channel connection with each other, the said system functioning as:
a) as shown in figure 1, the said safe solvent is transferred from tank 3(103) to the tub(105) via a high-pressure nozzle(106)
b) after completion of the said cleaning cycle, the contaminated safe solvents are transferred to tank 1(101) by a second pump(107) for sludge deposition
c) from tank 1(101) the said safe solvent is transferred to tank 2(102) for remaining sludge deposition
d) after that the safe solvent is transferred to tank 3(103) via a 50-micron size SS/mesh filter unit
e) this safe solvent is sprayed inside the tub/ containers using a high-pressure pump(106)
f) a spray nozzle(106) that rotates at 360 deg is used for spraying high-pressure safe solvents at a pressure of around 2-3 bar
g) the spray nozzle(106) is designed in such a way that it covers the entire inside portion of the tub/ container(105) in the spray cycle
h) this high-pressure safe solvent is sprayed using a flameproof centrifugal pump which can pump a volume of 66.67 liters/min
i) the safe solvent used for cleaning of the tub/ container is again sent to the second collection tank for the collection of contaminated safe solvents

2) A claim as claimed in claim 1, wherein the said eco friendly cleaning solution preferbly comprises a blend of solvents and surfactants wherein a) the said eco solvent is in an amount in the range of 85 % to 95 % with respect to the total mass of the composition b) surfactant in an amount in the range of 5% to 15% with respect to the total mass of the composition

3) A claim as claimed in claim 1, wherein the said eco-friendly cleaning solution comprises solvents which are selected from the group consisting of ester based solvents, ether based solvents, and glycol ethers based solvents such as butyl glycol ether, texnol, dipropylene glycol methyl ether, isopropyl oxital, DIBK ketone, Dimethyl glutarate, Dimethyl adipate, Dimethyl succinate preferably the eco solvent is Di-basic esters

4) A claim as claimed in claim 1, wherein the said eco solvent cleaning solution comprises surfactants preferbaly Anionic, cationic, combined anionic-cationic and nonionic based surfactant

5) A claim as claimed in claim 1 wherein, in the said auto cleaning system the elevation of all three tanks i.e. tank 1 (101), tank 2 (102) and tank 3 (103) is in such a way that the flow of safe solvent is by gravity, the chemical is filtered to ensure that there are no solid deposits before entering the primary tank (103) and then the nozzle ,the deposited sludge is later on collected by opening of the bottom valves (104) of secondary tanks manually, the said safe solvents used for the cleaning process are recycled, filtered and utilized

6. A claim as claimed in claim 1, wherein that the said cleaning solution and auto cleaning system is used to clean all types of ink system which include solvent based, water-based, UV, LED, and oil-based ink system

7. A claim as claimed in claim 1, wherein the said cleaning solution and auto cleaning system provides design flexibility in terms on multiple size of tub cleaning is possible

8. A claim as claimed in claim 1, wherein the said cleaning solution expediates the cleaning process and due to their higher boiling point eliminates the risk of fire
Dated this 21st day of June, 2024
For Fujifilm Sericol India Pvt.Ltd
Signature:
Motupalli Prasanna Raghav Rao
Name: MOTUPALLI PRASANNA RAGHAV RAO
(Authorised Signatory)