JPH068595B2 - Magnetic agglomerator - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a magnetic agglomerate collecting apparatus for collecting magnetic agglomerates of manganese or the like by using magnetic force, and particularly to a so-called manganese nodule existing on the seabed. The present invention relates to an improvement of a magnetic agglomerate collecting apparatus suitable for collecting.

[Prior Art] Manganese nodules are half-buried on the surface of a very soft deep-sea sedimentary layer in the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, etc., and have a size of 1 to 10 cm as if they were laid with pebbles. It is a hamburger-like or potato-like black-brown mass with a certain depth. This manganese nodule is mainly composed of manganese, and is rich in various useful metals such as nickel, copper and cobalt. Therefore, in recent years, exploration and mining technology development are being actively carried out by each country against the backdrop of the rise of resource nationalism and the tendency of resources to dry.

Heretofore, as a method for collecting such manganese nodules, a method has been proposed in which, for example, an air pump or other various pumps are used to suck in the manganese nodules existing on the sea floor and pump them up to a ship at sea.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the above-mentioned prior art, when pumping the manganese nodules on the seabed at the same time, a large amount of the seabed deposits are pumped up at the same time. Marine pollution occurs due to the treatment of seawater, and about 4 km of piping is required from the offshore ship to the seabed. The connection of pump piping for pumping a large amount of seabed sediment along with manganese nodules on the seabed, or those There are many problems that must be solved in practical use, such as life span.

Therefore, in view of the above-mentioned problems in the prior art, the present invention does not cause marine pollution associated with the treatment of marine sediments, can efficiently collect only manganese nodules, and the components of the manganese nodules to be collected are changed. Another object of the present invention is to provide an extremely practical and efficient magnetic particle agglomerate device that can also reliably collect magnetic agglomerates.

[Means for Solving the Problem] An object of the present invention is to dispose a plurality of electromagnets on the outer circumference of a rotatably supported cylindrical iron core, and to collect magnetic particles by the magnetic force generated by the electromagnets. In the magnetic agglomerate collection device, the outer circumference of the cylindrical core is covered with a flexible film, and a magnetic fluid is filled between the outer circumference of the cylindrical core and the flexible film. Magnetic agglomerate collection device.

[Operation] That is, according to the above magnetic particle agglomerating device, about 5 to 4
The manganese nodule containing 0% iron (Fe) component can be selectively collected by the electromagnet, and
The manganese nodule adsorbed on the outer periphery of the cylindrical iron core is filled between the outer periphery of the cylindrical iron core and the flexible film even if the iron (Fe) component content is small and the adsorption force is small. By the action of the magnetic fluid, it becomes possible to wrap the manganese nodules and increase the contact area thereof, reduce the gap between the manganese nodules and the electromagnets, and reliably adsorb and collect the manganese nodules.

EXAMPLES Examples of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In FIG. 1, a magnetic particle collecting apparatus according to the present invention has a cylindrical iron core (yoke) 10 formed of a ferromagnetic material such as iron, and a plurality of electromagnets 11 on its outer peripheral surface. 1
1s are arranged concentrically. In addition, as shown in the drawing, a support frame 12 of a cross shape is attached to the inside of the cylinder of the cylindrical iron core 10, and a hole 13 into which a rotary shaft is inserted is formed in the center thereof. So,
The iron core 10 is rotatably supported. That is, as shown by the arrow in FIG. 1, the manganese nodules 15 move while rotating the seabed surface 16 existing on the surface.

Further, in the figure, reference numeral 17 is a manganese nodule digging machine, for example, a rotary machine with a blade having a substantially "<" shape used for raising rice fields, etc., which is buried in sediment on the surface of the seabed. It has a function of digging up the manganese nodule 15 to make it easy to collect. Further, in FIG.
It is a saucer for accommodating the manganese nodules 15 selected and collected by the magnetic agglomerate collecting device according to the present invention, and is arranged so as to be in contact with the surfaces of the electromagnets 11, 11.

To explain the magnetic agglomerate collecting device in more detail,
A thin outer wall 19 of a non-magnetic material such as aluminum is coated on the outer peripheral surfaces of the plurality of electromagnets 11, 11 arranged concentrically on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical iron core 10.
Further, according to the present invention, the outer peripheral surface of the outer wall 19 is covered with a flexible film 20 such as silicon rubber, and a magnetic film is provided between the outer periphery of the outer wall 19 and the flexible film 20. The fluid 21 is filled. This magnetic fluid 21
Is a liquid such as oil containing a ferromagnetic material such as iron (Fe) as fine particles, and has a property of moving in the direction of the magnetic force line when a magnetic field is generated. Further, in the embodiment of FIG. 1, the flexible film 20 covering the outer periphery of the outer wall 19 is partitioned in the outer peripheral direction by a plurality of partitions 22, whereby a fan-shaped chamber filled with the magnetic fluid 21 is formed. A plurality of fan-shaped chambers are formed in the outer wall 19 and are formed in plural.
Covers the outer circumference of. That is, in this embodiment, since the chamber filled with the magnetic fluid 21 is divided into a plurality of parts, even if a part of the flexible film 20 is broken, the flexible film 20 is broken. Only a part of the chamber formed by the above is destroyed, and the magnetic fluid 21 covering the outer circumference of the outer wall 19 starts to flow out to the outside, which may lead to the loss of all of its functions. it can.

FIG. 2 shows the iron core 10 of the magnetic particle agglomerating apparatus, a plurality of electromagnets 11 and 11 arranged on the outer peripheral surface thereof, an outer wall 19, and a magnetic fluid layer 21 filled between the flexible membranes 20. Details are shown. That is, a plurality of substantially "I" -shaped main magnetic circuit iron cores 23, 23 forming the electromagnets 11, 11 are arranged on the surface of the iron core 10, and coils are provided around the iron cores 23, 23. 24, 24 are wound so that the polarities of the adjacent electromagnets 11, 11 are opposite to each other. A flexible film 20 is attached to the outer walls 19 provided on the outer circumferences of the electromagnets 11 so as to cover the surface thereof, and a part of the flexible film 20 forms the partition 22. It is shown that it is divided into.

The operation of the magnetic agglomerate sampling apparatus described above will be described below. First, as shown in FIG. 1, the manganese nodules 15 excavated on the surface 16 of the sedimentary layer on the seabed by the manganese nodule digging machine 17 are formed by the magnetic force generated by the electromagnets 11, 11 to cause the cylindrical magnetic particles to move. Aspirated around the lump collector. At this time, among the electromagnets 11, 11 arranged in a tubular shape, the electromagnets 11, 11 in the range shown by the alternate long and short dash line A in the figure (that is, the electromagnets 11, 1 in the figure)
Only the coils 24, 24 of the left half of 1) are energized, and the coils 24, 24 of the electromagnets 11, 11 (right half) in the range shown by the dashed line B in the figure are not energized. Then, with the rotation of the magnetic agglomerate collecting apparatus, the energization states of the coils 24, 24 of the electromagnets 11, 11 are also controlled,
Always, the electromagnet 11 in the range (left half) indicated by the one-dot chain line A,
11 generates a magnetic force, and the range shown by the one-dot chain line B (right half)
The electromagnets 11 and 11 are controlled so as not to generate the magnetic force.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 1, the dug up manganese nodules 15 are electromagnets 11, 11 in the range (left half) indicated by the one-dot chain line A with the rotation of the magnetic agglomerate collecting apparatus.
Sucked by. Further, FIG. 3 (a) shows a state where the manganese nodule 15 is attracted by the electromagnets 11, 11. As also shown in this figure, when the manganese nodules 15 are attracted by the electromagnets 11, 11, a part of the flexible film 20 is dented, and the magnetic fluid 21 filled between them is filled with the manganese nodules 15. Surround it and wrap it to increase its contact area.
At the same time, the gap between the manganese nodule 15 and the electromagnet is reduced. Due to the functions of the flexible film 20 and the magnetic fluid 21 as described above, the manganese nodules 15 can be reliably adsorbed and collected even when the content of the iron (Fe) component of the manganese nodules 15 changes. Becomes Further, in the drawing, the state of the magnetic force generated by the electromagnets 11, 11 is shown by a magnetic force line φ.

Further, in the range (right half) indicated by the alternate long and short dash line B of the magnetic particle agglomerating device, as shown in FIG. 3 (b), the electromagnets 11, 11 do not generate magnetic force, so the manganese nodules 15 are The suction is not performed, and a part of the dent of the flexible film 20 is restored. Therefore, as shown in FIG.
The manganese nodules 15 on the surface of the flexible film 20 are easily peeled off and housed in the saucer 18,
Only will be collected in the pan 18.

[Effects of the Invention] As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, only manganese nodules can be efficiently collected without the marine pollution associated with the treatment of marine sediments as in the prior art, and An excellent effect of being able to provide an extremely practical and highly efficient magnetic particle agglomerate device that can surely collect even if the composition of the manganese nodule to be collected changes.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a magnetic agglomerate collecting apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged sectional view showing details of a part of the magnetic agglomerate collecting apparatus, and FIG. ) And (b) are operation explanatory views for explaining the operation of the magnetic particle agglomerate collecting apparatus. 10 ... Iron core (yoke) 11 ... Electromagnet 12 ... Support frame 13 ... Hole 15 ... Manganese nodule 16 ... Submarine surface
17 ... Manganese nodule digging machine 18 ... Saucepan 19 ...
Outer wall 20 ... Flexible film 21 ... Magnetic fluid 22 ... Partition 24 ... Coil 23 ... Main magnetic circuit core

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A magnetic particle agglomerating device, wherein a plurality of electromagnets are arranged on the outer periphery of a cylindrical iron core rotatably supported, and magnetic agglomerates are sampled by magnetic force generated by the electromagnets. An outer periphery of the magnetic core is covered with a flexible film, and a magnetic fluid is filled between the outer periphery of the cylindrical iron core and the flexible film.