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3 General Description
3.1
General description
The “Vernacare ” disposal unit is designed to operate within a 2-minute cycle
using 24 litres +/-
10% of water. The machine can dispose of up to four ‘Vernacare”
disposable single- use products, at one time.
Disposable single-use products are placed within the hopper. Activation of the foot
sensor causes the lid to descend and lock when in the fully closed position. The lid is
closed against a moulded silicone section which gives an effective seal whilst
maintaining an abrasion resistant face.
Sensors in the lid actuator and lid lock ensure that the lid is fully closed & physically
locked. Failure or loss of signal from either sensor will prevent / stop the cycle. Once the
lid is fully closed and locked the cycle is initiated automatically, at which point the
machine will give an ‘audible sound’ and the cycle will commence
The display screen will then indicate the machine is ‘Running’ and the icons at the
bottom of the screen will show the status of operation. (See section 2.7)
In the event of low water level, blocked blades or power failure, the fault will be clearly
indicated upon the display screen and the cycle stopped. The will remain in this
condition until the fault is cleared by following the instructions on the display screen.
The 2-minute cycle is controlled by a microprocessor, which controls the operation and
timing of the water pump, the cutter motor and the inlet, outlet and deodoriser solenoid
valves.
Shortly after commencement of the cycle, the water pump starts to take water
from the reservoir tank and pumps it to the following areas:
a)
The lid spray
, which provides a curtain of water, which washes over the lid and tub
sides and provides the bulk of the ‘tub fill’ water.
b)
The mechanical seal flush
, which flushes and lubricates the faces of the
mechanical seal to prevent ingress of pulp fibres into the mechanical seal cavity.
c)
The drain diaphragm valve
, where water is fed through the non-return and inlet
solenoid valve to the back of the drain diaphragm valve, water outlet is shut off by the
normally closed outlet solenoid valve, thus developing pressure expands the drain
diaphragm valve to form a seal.
The combined water from a, b and c above enters the tub whilst the pump runs for a
pre-set time period to put 12 litres (+/- 10%) of water into the tub.
When the outlet valve has closed and the volume of water is building up in the tub, the
displaced air is vented away through the drain via the vent valve and non-return valve
arrangement, i.e. the non-return valve prevents the egress of foul air from within the tub
into the atmosphere.
With the pump switched off, the diaphragm valve remains sealed as the water behind
It is restrained by the non-return and solenoid valves.
During the period when the pump is running, the cutter motor starts up via the inverter unit,
and breaks up the products by a combined mechanical and hydraulic action into
