JP7620457B2 - Granular material handling equipment - Google Patents

Description

One embodiment of the present invention relates to an apparatus for performing a process in which particulate material is immersed in a liquid.

As an example of a rotating drum type cleaning device, Patent Document 1 discloses a cleaning device that cleans finely crushed waste plastic containers. This cleaning device has a plastic crusher, a rotating drum, and a water supply device. In this cleaning device, waste plastic containers are crushed by the plastic crusher and supplied to the rotating drum, and water is supplied to the rotating drum from a water supply mechanism to wash away mud and food residue adhering to the crushed waste plastic pieces. The main body of the rotating drum is formed of a mesh or a perforated panel.

JP 2007-136936 A

When processing finely crushed material or granular materials by immersing them in liquid, it is convenient to place the granular materials in a mesh container and process them all at once. However, as the mesh becomes finer, depending on the viscosity of the liquid, it becomes more difficult for the liquid to penetrate into the mesh container, which can result in longer processing times.

The objective of one embodiment of the present invention is to provide an apparatus that can efficiently process granular material by immersing it in a liquid.

The granular material treatment device according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a treatment tank in which a treatment liquid is stored, a housing having a mesh-like main body with a partition plate provided inside the main body and in which the granular material is sealed, and a rotating support having a rotating shaft and rotating together with the rotating shaft to hold the housing. The rotating support is provided on the upper part of the treatment tank, and as the rotating support rotates around the rotating shaft, the housing is repeatedly immersed in the treatment liquid and pulled out of the treatment liquid.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, in an apparatus in which a housing revolves around a rotating support and is repeatedly immersed in and pulled out of a processing solution, the housing in which the granular material is sealed is made of a mesh-like material and has a partition plate installed inside, so that even small particles can be processed uniformly and the processing time can be shortened.

1A and 1B are diagrams illustrating the configuration of a particulate material treatment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which (A) is a front view and (B) is a side view. 1A to 1C are diagrams illustrating the configuration of a housing used in a particulate material treatment device according to one embodiment of the present invention, where (A) shows a side view, (B) shows a plan view, and (C) shows a front view. 1A and 1B are diagrams illustrating the internal state of a housing used in a particulate material treatment device according to one embodiment of the present invention, in which (A) shows a schematic side view and (B) shows a schematic cross-sectional view between A1 and A2. FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the operation of a granular material treatment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and shows a schematic diagram of the rotation of the housing and the state of the granular material sealed inside the housing. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a rotating support used in a particulate material treatment device according to an embodiment of the present invention; 1A and 1B are diagrams showing the configuration of a rotating support and a housing used in a particulate material treatment device according to one embodiment of the present invention, in which (A) is a front view and (B) is a side view.

The following describes the embodiments of the present invention with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention can be implemented in many different ways, and should not be interpreted as being limited to the description of the embodiments exemplified below. In order to clarify the explanation, the drawings may show the width, thickness, shape, etc. of each part in a schematic manner compared to the actual embodiment, but these are merely examples and do not limit the interpretation of the present invention. In this specification and each figure, elements similar to those described above with respect to the previous figures may be given the same reference numerals, and detailed explanations may be omitted as appropriate. Furthermore, the letters "first" and "second" attached to each element are convenient labels used to distinguish each element, and have no further meaning unless otherwise specified.

Figures 1(A) and (B) show a granular material treatment device 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention. Here, Figure 1(A) shows a front view of the granular material treatment device 100, and (B) shows a side view. In the following description, Figures 1(A) and (B) will be referred to as appropriate.

The granular material treatment device 100 includes a treatment tank 102 in which treatment liquid 110 is stored, a housing 106 in which fine particles are sealed, and a rotating support 104 that holds the housing 106. The treatment tank 102 is supplied with treatment liquid 110 at a depth that allows the entire housing 106 to be submerged. The treatment tank 102 may be appropriately provided with a liquid level sensor, heater, water thermometer, etc. (not shown) to manage the treatment liquid 110. In addition, although not shown, the treatment tank 102 is provided with a supply port for supplying the treatment liquid and a discharge port for discharging the treatment liquid.

At least a portion of the upper surface of the treatment tank 102 is open. A rotating support 104 is provided to fit this open portion. The rotating support 104 is provided so that its upper portion is exposed from the treatment tank 102 and its lower portion is submerged in the treatment liquid. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the rotating support 104 includes a rotating shaft 1041 in the upper central portion of the treatment tank 102 and a disk-shaped member 1042 provided so that the axis of the rotating shaft 1041 coincides with the center of the circle. By providing the rotating shaft 1041 at a position equal to or higher than the liquid level of the treatment tank 102, the upper side of the disk-shaped member 1042 is positioned higher than the liquid level of the treatment liquid 110 and the lower portion is submerged in the treatment liquid 110.

The housing 106 is attached to the rotating support 104 along the circumference of the disk-shaped member 1042. The housing 106 is supported by the disk-shaped member 1042 to reduce rotation of the main body. The rotating support 104 rotates the disk-shaped member 1042 as the rotating shaft 1041 is rotated by the drive mechanism 116, and the housing 106 revolves accordingly. The drive mechanism 116 has the function of applying a rotational force to the rotating shaft 1041, and is composed of an electric motor and a control circuit that controls the rotation of the electric motor.

The housing 106 is immersed in the treatment liquid 110 as the disk-shaped member 1042 rotates, passes through the treatment liquid 110 for a certain period of time, and is then pulled up from the treatment liquid 110. The housing 106 is repeatedly immersed in the treatment liquid 110 and pulled up from the treatment liquid 110 while the rotating support 104 rotates. When the granular material treatment device 100 is installed in the atmosphere, the housing 106 is repeatedly immersed in the treatment liquid 110 and exposed to the atmosphere. The housing 106 has a main body 1061 formed of a mesh-like member. The housing 106 may further include lids 1062a and 1062b that cover the openings of the main body 1061.

The rotation speed of the rotating support 104 is set appropriately depending on the type of processing. If the rotation speed of the rotating support 104 per unit time is increased, the time during which the housing 106 is immersed in the processing liquid 110 and exposed to the atmosphere is shortened, and the cycle is shortened. Also, if the rotation speed of the rotating support 104 is too fast, the processing liquid 110 is less likely to penetrate into the inside of the housing 106 formed of a mesh, and this tendency becomes more pronounced as the viscosity of the processing liquid 110 increases. If the rotation speed of the rotating support 104 is decreased, the time during which the housing 106 is immersed in the processing liquid 110 and exposed to the atmosphere is lengthened, and the cycle is lengthened. The rotation speed of the rotating support 104 per unit time can be set, for example, in the range of 1 rpm to 50 rpm.

The granular material is sealed inside the housing 106. The main body 1061 of the housing 106 is formed of a mesh. When the housing 106 is immersed in the processing liquid 110, the processing liquid 110 penetrates into the inside through the mesh. When the housing 106 is immersed in the processing liquid 110 with the granular material sealed inside, the granular material is also exposed to the processing liquid 110. In this way, the processing device 100 for processing granular material according to this embodiment can perform processing with the granular material sealed inside the housing 106. That is, according to the processing device 100 for processing granular material according to this embodiment, the rotation (revolution) motion of the housing 106 allows the granular material to be repeatedly immersed in and pulled out of the processing liquid 110 (and exposed to the atmosphere).

1A and 1B, a partition plate 108 is provided inside the housing 106. The partition plate 108 is arranged so that the plate surface is parallel to the radial direction of the disk-shaped member 1042. In other words, the plate surface of the partition plate 108 is arranged parallel to the radial direction when the rotating support 104 rotates. Since the partition plate 108 is fixed inside the housing 106, and the housing 106 revolves while being held by the disk-shaped member 1042, a force acts in a direction that pushes the processing liquid 110 in the traveling direction when the processing liquid 110 advances through the processing tank 102. In other words, when the housing 106 advances through the processing liquid 110, the partition plate 108 causes the processing liquid 110 to flow, and acts so that the processing liquid 110 flows more into the housing 106. In order to provide such an action to the housing 106, it is preferable that the partition plate 108 is provided so that its plate surface intersects with the traveling direction of the housing 106. The partition plate 108 may be disposed so that its plate surface is oblique to the direction of movement of the housing 106 in order to provide resistance when the housing 106 moves through the processing liquid 110. The partition plate 108 is preferably disposed parallel to the rotation radius of the rotating support 104 or at an angle of ±30 degrees.

The height that the partition plate 108 protrudes inside the main body 1061 (the height that it protrudes inward in a cross-sectional view) is preferably 0.7 to 1.3 times the radius of the housing 106. By having the partition plate 108 protrude from the outside of the housing 106 to near the center, the granular material enclosed in the housing 106 can move with the rotation of the rotating support 104, while allowing the processing liquid 110 to flow into the housing 106.

2A, 2B, and 2C show the configuration of the housing 106. In FIG. 2, 2A shows a side view of the housing 106, 2B shows a plan view of the housing, and 2C shows a front view of the housing 106. The housing 106 includes a main body 1061 having an opening, and a lid 1062 that closes the opening. FIG. 2 shows a case where the main body 1061 has a cylindrical shape with both ends open. Lids 1062a and 1062b that close the open ends are provided on both sides of the main body 1061. It is preferable that one or both of the lids 1062a and 1062b provided on both ends are detachably provided from the main body 1061 in order to seal the granular material in the housing 106 and remove it after processing. In addition, the lids 1062a and 1062b may be provided with small lids for putting and taking out the granular material from the housing 106.

The main body 1061 is formed of a mesh so that the processing liquid 110 can penetrate into the housing 106. The size of the mesh is appropriately selected according to the particle size of the granular material to be enclosed. For example, the main body 1061 is formed of a mesh all around, and can be made of mesh ranging from 10 mesh to 500 mesh, with the standard being based on the number of meshes between vertical and horizontal lines of 25.4 mm (1 inch).

The mesh is selected to have a mesh size finer than the particle size of the granular material so that the granular material to be enclosed does not spill out through the mesh. As the particle size of the granular material becomes smaller, the mesh size must also become smaller. However, as the mesh size becomes smaller, the conductance decreases, making it difficult for the processing liquid 110 to penetrate into the housing 106. This effect is particularly noticeable when the processing liquid 110 is a viscous solution or a colloidal solution. As a result, it becomes necessary to prolong the time that the housing 106 is immersed in the processing liquid 110, and the increased processing time leads to a problem of reduced productivity.

2(A), (B) and (C), a partition plate 108 is provided to provide resistance when the housing 106 moves in the processing liquid 110, making it easier for the processing liquid 110 to penetrate into the housing 106. The partition plate 108 is provided from one end to the other end of the cylindrical main body 1061. The height that the partition plate 108 protrudes into the main body 1061 (the height that the partition plate protrudes into the inside in a cross-sectional view) may be approximately the same as the radius of the cylindrical body. By providing the partition plate 108 in this form on the main body 1061, the processing liquid 110 can pass through the housing 106 while allowing the granular material enclosed in the housing 106 to move with the rotation of the rotating support 104.

The shape of the partition plate 108 is not limited to a plate shape, and may be a spiral shape. By providing a spiral partition plate 108, the granular material 112 can be moved not only up and down the housing 106 but also back and forth during rotation. This allows the granular material 112 to be uniformly liquid-treated, and prevents an increase in the treatment time.

A rotating body may be enclosed in the housing 106 together with the granular material. The rotating body may be spherical, cylindrical, polyhedral, or the like. The rotating body may have multiple protrusions on its surface. Alternatively, a rotating body having multiple protrusions combined therewith may be used as the rotating body. Alternatively, a brush may be used as the rotating body. By enclosing the rotating body in the housing 106, the particulate material adhering to the inner surface of the mesh of the main body 1061 can be removed during rotation, and the processing liquid 110 can easily flow into the inside of the housing 106. Furthermore, by enclosing the rotating body in the housing 106, the effect of stirring the granular material can be obtained. This prevents an increase in processing time even if the granular material 112 becomes fine, and increases productivity.

Figure 3 (A) is a side view of the housing 106, and (B) shows a cross-sectional view between A1 and A2, which show a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the housing 106 and the enclosed granular material 112. The granular material 112 is enclosed so that a space remains inside the housing 106. As described above, the partition plate 108 does not completely divide the inside of the housing 106, but is provided so as to divide half of the cylindrical space so that the granular material 112 is stirred inside the housing 106 while receiving resistance from the partition plate 108.

Figure 4 shows the rotation of the housing 106 and the state of the granular material enclosed inside the housing 106. In Figure 4, as shown in (1), when the housing 106 starts to be immersed in the treatment liquid 110, the granular material 112 accumulates at the bottom of the housing 106 and enters the treatment liquid 110 as if being pushed from the top by the partition plate 108. As shown in (2), when the housing 106 moves inside the treatment liquid 110, the partition plate 108 acts as a resistance and generates a force pushing the treatment liquid 110, so that the amount of the treatment liquid 110 that penetrates into the inside of the housing 106 through the mesh of the mesh increases. As a result, the granular material 112 is exposed to the treatment liquid 110 more. (3) is the stage where the housing 106 is pulled up from the treatment liquid 110, and part of the granular material is scooped up by the partition plate 108. (4) is the state in which the housing 106 has reached the top, and the granular material scooped up by the partition plate 108 falls onto the underside of the housing 106.

As shown in FIG. 4, the granular material treatment device 100 can repeatedly immerse the granular material 112 in the treatment liquid 110 and then pull it out (and expose it to the atmosphere). Furthermore, by providing a partition plate 108 in the housing 106, the treatment liquid 110 can easily penetrate into the inside of the housing 106 even if the mesh size becomes small, and the partition plate 108 can also agitate the granular material 112. This allows for uniform liquid treatment even if the granular material becomes fine, and prevents an increase in the treatment time.

If the mesh size of the main body 1061 constituting the housing 106 is made smaller, the thickness of the mesh itself becomes thinner, and the rigidity of the housing 106 decreases. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, it is preferable to place a first disk-shaped member 1042a on one end of the housing 106, a second disk-shaped member 1042b on the other end, and a third disk-shaped member 1042c between the first disk-shaped member 1042a and the second disk-shaped member 1042b as a support member to prevent the housing 106 from bending. There is no limit to the number of disk-shaped members to be installed, and they can be appropriately installed depending on the rigidity and length of the housing 106. The first disk-shaped member 1042a, the second disk-shaped member 1042b, and the third disk-shaped member 1042c may be provided with through holes 1043, and the housing 106 may be installed so as to be inserted through the through holes 1043.

1 to 5 show a configuration in which the partition plate 108 is provided inside the housing 106, but a member having the same function as the partition plate 108 may be provided outside the housing 106. An example of this will be described with reference to FIGS. 6(A) and (B). FIG. 6(A) shows a front view of the rotating support 104, and (B) shows a side view thereof. The rotating support 104 shown in FIGS. 6(A) and (B) shows a configuration in which the blade plate 114 is provided so as to be sandwiched between disk-shaped members. It is preferable that the blade plate 114 is provided adjacent to the housing 106. As shown in FIG. 6(B), when a first disk-shaped member 1042a, a second disk-shaped member 1042b, and a third disk-shaped member 1042c are provided, it is preferable that the blade plate 114 is provided between each of the disk-shaped members.

The blades 114 are provided radially from the center of the rotating support 104 to the outside. The plate surfaces of the blades 114 are arranged parallel to the radial direction of the disk-shaped member 1042. Such blades 114 can also push the processing liquid 110 to penetrate into the inside of the housing 106, so that even if the mesh is fine, a large amount of processing liquid 110 can be taken into the inside of the housing 106. In other words, by providing the blades 114, even if the mesh size of the mesh that constitutes the main body 1061 is small, the processing liquid 110 can easily penetrate into the inside of the housing 106, and even if the granular material 112 is fine, an increase in processing time can be prevented and productivity can be increased.

In this embodiment, the rotating support 104 is configured to support the housing 106 with a disk-shaped member 1042, but this may be replaced with another member that can support and revolve the housing 106. For example, the rotating support 104 may be configured to support the housing 106 with rod-shaped members that extend radially from the rotating shaft 1041.

A variety of granular materials can be processed by the granular material processing device 100 shown in this embodiment. For example, granular materials include resin particles such as beads, metal parts such as coins, screws, bolts, nuts, and washers, plant seeds, and grains such as rice and wheat. In addition, the processing can be used for applications such as cleaning, coating, and sterilization.

100: Granular material treatment device, 102: treatment tank, 104: Rotating support, 1041: Rotating shaft, 1042: Disk-shaped member, 1043: Through hole, 106: Housing, 1061: Main body, 1062: Lid, 108: Partition plate, 110: Treatment liquid, 112: Granular material, 114: Blade, 116: Driving mechanism

Claims (7)

a processing tank having at least a part of an upper surface thereof open and configured to store a processing liquid;
A housing having a mesh-shaped main body, a partition plate provided inside the main body, and a granular substance sealed inside;
A rotary support having a rotary shaft, rotating together with the rotary shaft, and holding the housing;
Including,
the rotating support has at least one disk-shaped member, the disk-shaped member being provided in the open portion of the top surface of the treatment tank such that an upper portion thereof is exposed from the treatment tank and a lower portion thereof is submerged in the treatment liquid ;
The housing is provided along a circumferential direction of the disk-shaped member,
the partition plate is disposed so that a plate surface is parallel to a radial direction of the disk-shaped member,
A granular material treatment device characterized in that the disk-shaped member of the rotating support rotates around the rotation axis, causing the casing to revolve and repeatedly being immersed in the treatment liquid and pulled out of the treatment liquid. The granular material treatment device according to claim 1, wherein the housing has a cylindrical shape and the partition plate extends from one end to the other end along the longitudinal direction of the cylindrical shape. The granular material treatment device according to claim 2, wherein the plate surface of the partition plate is arranged parallel to the radial direction in which the rotating support rotates. The apparatus for treating granular material according to claim 2 , wherein a through hole for passing through said housing is provided on a surface of said at least one disk-shaped member. the at least one disk-shaped member comprises a plurality of disk-shaped members;
The apparatus for treating granular material according to claim 4 , wherein the housing is supported by the plurality of disk-shaped members inserted therethrough. The granular material treatment device according to claim 5, wherein the plurality of disk-shaped members include a first disk-shaped member disposed on one end side of the housing, a second disk-shaped member disposed on the other end side of the housing, and a third disk-shaped member between the first disk-shaped member and the second disk-shaped member. a processing tank having at least a part of an upper surface thereof open and configured to store a processing liquid;
A housing having a mesh-like main body and having granular material sealed therein;
A rotary support having a rotary shaft, rotating together with the rotary shaft, and holding the housing;
Including,
the rotating support has a first disk-shaped member and a second disk-shaped member, the first disk-shaped member and the second disk-shaped member being provided in an open portion of the top surface of the treatment tank such that an upper portion of the first disk-shaped member and a lower portion of the first disk-shaped member are exposed from the treatment tank and are submerged in the treatment liquid;
the first disk-shaped member is disposed on one end side of the housing, and the second disk-shaped member is disposed on the other end side of the housing;
a blade is provided between the first disk-shaped member and the second disk-shaped member , the blade extending outward from the side of the rotation shaft and along the housing;
the housing is provided along a circumferential direction of the first disk-shaped member and the second disk-shaped member,
The blades are arranged such that the blade surfaces are parallel to the radial direction of the first disk-shaped member and the second disk-shaped member,
A granular material treatment device characterized in that the first disk-shaped member and the second disk-shaped member of the rotating support rotate around the rotation axis, causing the housing to revolve and repeatedly being immersed in the treatment liquid and pulled out of the treatment liquid .

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