Shopping cart “washing-bay“

The challenge

Dozens of different people use the same shopping cart in the supermarket every day. Especially in the age of the Covid-19 pandemic, questions arise about hygiene and how surfaces can be cleaned and disinfected to avoid health risks.
The frequent touching of the handles makes them a veritable reservoir for pathogens such as bacteria, germs and viruses. About 110,000 pathogens per square centimeter can be found on the handle of a shopping cart. The current conventional solutions, such as the use of disinfectant wipes, are cost-intensive and neither environmentally-friendly nor customer-friendly. The company SAIKO Maschinentechnik GmbH from Herford (Germany) has tackled the problem and developed a sophisticated and spectacular device for disinfecting shopping carts as well as users' hands in just a few seconds. However, before the "washing-bay“ for shopping carts could be realized, numerous technical problems regarding the spraying process, the refueling of the disinfectants and, in particular, corrosion protection had to be solved due to the outdoor installation and use of the equipment.

Key features

• Corrosion protection by using high-quality stainless steel wherever there is contact with the disinfectants.
• Two separate disinfectants are used for disinfecting shopping carts and hands
• All lines are protected in sheet metal ducts against sabotage
• The punched and edged sheets do not require any welding seams.
• The housing roof is stabilized with cross edging to provide lateral drainage of rainwater, preventing it from penetrating into the unit.

The häwa solution

The engineers at häwa quickly recognized the ingenious idea and the benefits of the product, but faced some highly challenging technical questions. Since the systems are installed and operated outdoors, corrosion protection of the used materials is of the utmost importance.

But the engineers benefited from experience gained in a previous project. They were aware that a simple powder coating of the surfaces would be extremely exposed to damage or even salts in winter. Cracks in the surface very easily become visually unattractive and above all can easily result in corrosion. The problem was solved by using high-quality stainless steel wherever there is contact with the disinfectants.

The engineers were thus able to kill two birds with one stone. In addition to corrosion protection, the smooth surfaces also impress with their clean, high-quality appearance.

Two separate disinfectants are used for disinfecting shopping carts and hands, and the tanks are significantly different in size. The arrangement of the pumps underneath the tanks enables a trouble-free pumping process. After the lines were damaged by sabotage in an earlier test model, all lines are now protected in sheet metal ducts. The disinfectants are filled via nozzles that can be reached from the outside without any problem, but which are also protected against sabotage by special locks.

Other solutions make the product a real highlight. The punched and edged sheets do not require any welding seams. The housing roof is stabilized with cross edging to provide lateral drainage of rainwater, preventing it from penetrating into the unit. Once the shopping cart is placed in the DESO CUBE, it is also secured against possible rolling away.

With dimensions of 1,050 x 1,350 x 1,400 millimeters, the DESO CUBE is space-saving and transportable. Thanks to the innovative spraying process and a special nozzle technology, the device also saves on operating costs: one filling can disinfect approx. 3,500 shopping carts. The use of the DESO CUBE is very easy for the end user: The shopping cart is pushed into the DESO CUBE and within a few seconds the hands of the user as well as the surfaces of the cart are disinfected and ready for a carefree shopping. Last but not least, the DESO CUBE also appeals optically. It is a real eye-catcher for every market. häwa is not only responsible for the complete mechanical production, but also for the final assembly of the system.

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