AU5418901A - Press for matter such as the grape harvest - Google Patents

Abstract

The presser has a cage (2) with a cylindrical wall (6) and end flanges (7), containing a supple membrane (8) covering half the cage's inner cavity to form a pressure chamber (11) and actuated by compressed air. The membrane has a tear strength under standard NFT 46002 of at least 35 MPa, and an elongation at rupture of at least 400 per cent.

Description

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act COMPLETE SPECIFICATION

(ORIGINAL)

Class Int. Class Application Number: Lodged: Complete Specification Lodged: Accepted: Published: Priority Related Art: Name of Applicant:

SOMAVI

Actual Inventor(s): Didier Pera, Jean Pera Address for Service: PHILLIPS ORMONDE FITZPATRICK Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys 367 Collins Street Melbourne 3000 AUSTRALIA Invention Title: PRESS FOR MATTER SUCH AS THE GRAPE HARVEST Our Ref: 647019 POF Code: 11188/366460 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to applicant(s): -1- 1A The invention relates to presses for separating the solid and liquid parts of matter such as the grape harvest.

Such a press is already known, in particular from the French patent application 2 336 241, which comprises: a cage having a cylindrical side wall and two plates closing said cage at one end and at the other end respectively of said side wall; a flexible deformable membrane arranged in said cage, fixed in a tight manner to the side wall of the latter along two opposite longitudinal edges and fixed in a tight manner to the plates along two respective transverse edges each situated between one end of a longitudinal edge and one end of the other longitudinal edge in such a way that said membrane separates the internal volume of said cage into a pressing chamber delimited 'by said membrane, by a first half of said side wall situated between said two opposite transverse edges and by a first half of each of said plates located, e* *relative to the respective transverse edges, to the side of the first half of the side wall, and into a control chamber delimited by said membrane, by the second half of said side wall and by the second half of each of said plates, said flexible membrane having when at rest more or less the form of a half of the cage: means of drainage fitted in said first half of the side wall of the cage: means of introducing said matter into the pressing chamber: means of recovering said liquid part of this matter leaving the pressing chamber by said drainage means: means of admitting a pressure agent into said control chamber and means of removing said pressure agent by suction out of said control chamber; means of mounting said cage in rotation about its axis in a position where the latter is disposed horizontally; and means of selectively rotating said cage about its axis.

2 In practice, in order to create the flexible membrane, a canvas is used of the type used to make inflatable boats, which is particularly solid as it is reinforced by a polyester fibre fabric.

Before filling the pressing chamber with material such as the grape harvest, the means of removing the pressure agent by suction out of the control chamber are activated, in such a way that a vacuum forms in the control chamber and the membrane is flattened against the second half of the side wall and plates of the cage, the membrane being made slightly larger than half of the cage in order to facilitate assembly.

To carry out pressing, once filling is carried out, the means of admitting a pressure agent into the control chamber are activated, in such a way that the matter present in the pressing chamber is forced against the means of drainage and placed under pressure, which results in the liquid part of this matter flowing through the means of drainage. In general, the matter such as the grape harvest is placed under pressure in several phases, the pressing phases being separated by breaking up phases in which the cage is turned around its axis to break up the cake of matter which forms under the action of the pressure.

During the breaking up phases, the membrane, thanks to the means of suction, is flattened against the second half of the side wall and plates of the cage, to prevent it being damaged.

To empty the cage once pressing has been carried out, a door generally provided in the first half of the side wall is opened and the cage is turned in such a way that the solid part remaining in the pressing chamber drains out progressively through the opening uncovered by the door. Of course, in order to avoid damaging the membrane, a vacuum is created in the control chamber during the emptying phase.

In the same way, during filling of the cage, it is possible to turn it around its axis in order to distribute the matter evenly, a vacuum also having been created in the control chamber.

In general this type of press gives every satisfaction, but sometimes the membrane can tear, in particular during pressing phases.

The invention aims in a general manner to increase the reliability of this type of press and in particular to avoid tears in the membrane.

To this end it proposes a press of the same type but characterised in that said membrane is elastic, has a resistance to rupture, measured according to the standard NF T 46002, at least equal to 35 Mpa, and a stretching before rupture, measured according to the same standard, at least equal to 400%, and when at rest has a surface area of between 80 and 98 of the surface area of said second half of the side wall and plates of the cage.

In the press according to the invention, the membrane is elastic and therefore does not contain polyester fibre fabric to reinforce it in such a way that it would normally have been less resistant than the membrane used in practice until now in this type of press.

15 However, in a quite surprising manner, when the above-mentioned characteristics of dimension and elasticity are combined, a very small rate of tearing of the membrane and even a total suppression of this phenomenon is in fact obtained.

The exact reasons for how this surprising result is obtained are not completely clear, but the applicant believes that the characteristics of o dimension and elasticity of the membrane according to the invention allows it free itself to a certain extent from the sticking effect of the liquid part such as grape juice, which has a tendency to make the membrane retain, in places, S. the form taken during the breaking up phase.

More precisely, the applicant believes that the combination of the characteristics of dimension and elasticity of the membrane according to the invention, allows the membrane to have, during the breaking up phases, a degree of tension and distension such that the contraction, then the redistension of the membrane during the passage from a breaking up phase to a pressing phase, greatly reduces the effects of the sticky film on the membrane, which is because the membrane according to the invention can behave, when it is in contact with the matter such as the grape harvest, in a more homogenous manner than the previous membrane reinforced by a polyester fibre fabric, this more homogenous behaviour allowing the membrane to adopt the shape of the matter to be pressed, and more generally to avoid the concentrations of stress which cause the tears in the previous membrane.

According to preferred characteristics, by virtue of the results that they make it possible to obtain: the said membrane has a warp and weft structure with a resistance to rupture and stretching before rupture which are similar in warp and weft; and/or the said membrane has resistance to rupture and stretching before rupture, measured according to said standard, of 40 Mpa and 400 respectively; or said membrane has resistance to rupture and stretching before rupture, measured according to said standard, of 35 Mpa and 450 respectively.

According to other preferred characteristics, for the same reasons: said membrane has a thickness, measured according to the 20 standard NF EN ISO 2286-3, of between 0.8 and 1.2 mm; said membrane has a spread length between said longitudinal edges at least equal to 1 m; said membrane has a hardness measured according to the standard NF T 46052, of between 80 and 95 ShA; said membrane is made of polyurethane polycarbonate; said means of suction are suitable for producing a vacuum value in the control chamber which is at most 0.08 bars below atmospheric pressure; and/or said means of admitting a pressure agent are suitable for producing in said control chamber a pressure value which is at most 2 bars above atmospheric pressure.

The description of the invention will now be followed by the description of an example of an embodiment, given hereafter by way of illustration in a non-limitative manner, with reference to the attached drawings. In these: Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view in elevation section along a longitudinal plane of a press according to the invention, the membrane being in the rest position; Figure 2 is a diagrammatic view of the cage of this press and of the membrane with which it is equipped, an elevation section along a transverse plane, the membrane being at rest; Figure 3 is a similar view to figure 2 showing the position of the membrane during a filling phase or a breaking up phase; and Figure 4 is a similar view to figure 1, showing the press during a pressing phase.

The press 1 illustrated in the drawings comprises a cage 2 mounted in rotation around its axis 3 on supports 4 resting on the ground, these supports also supporting, just above the ground, a tank 5 for collecting the liquid part of the matter treated, in this case collection of grape juice when this matter is the grape harvest.

The cage 2 has a cylindrical side wall 6 and two plates 7 closing the cage 2 respectively at one end and at the other end of the side wall 6.

Arranged the inside cage 2, is a flexible deformable membrane 8, fixed in a tight manner, on one hand to the side wall 6 along two opposite longitudinal edges 9, and on the other hand, to the plates 7 along two respective transverse edges 10 each located between one end of the edge 9 and one end of the other edge 9, the membrane 8 having when at rest (figures 1 and 2) more or less the form of one half of the cage 2.

Its internal volume is subdivided by membrane 8 into a pressing chamber 11 and a control chamber 12.

The pressing chamber 11 is delimited by membrane 8, by the half of the side wall 6, located between the longitudinal edges 9, that is seen on top 6 in figures 1 and 2, and by the half of each of the plates 7 that is seen above the transverse edges 10 in figures 1 and 2.

The control chamber 12 is delimited for its part by membrane 8 and by the other half of the side wall 6 and plates 7.

To allow the assembly in rotation of the cages 2 on the supports 4, this cage comprises, in the centre of each of the plates 7, a trunnion 13 which also serves as a pipe to the pressing chamber 11 or to the control chamber 12.

More precisely, the pipe 13 that is seen on the left in figure 1 serves as a tube for introducing matter such as the grape harvest into chamber 11, the means of pumping this matter and of connection to pipe 13 being symbolised in figure 1 by arrow 14.

The pipe 13 that is seen on the right in figure 1 is in communication e *with the control chamber 12 and allows either the aspiration of the air 15 contained within it, or the admission into this chamber of compressed air, the connection and the tubing connected to the pipe 13 as well as the compressor and the vacuum pump allowing the aspiration or the admission of compressed air being symbolised in figure 1 by arrows 15 and 16 respectively.

To allow the separation between the solid and liquid parts of the matter introduced into the pressing chamber 11, the side wall 6 has perforations 17, illustrated in figure 1 only, which allow the drainage of the matter.

To evacuate from the cage, and more precisely from the pressing chamber 11 the solid part of the matter which remains after pressing, wall 6 is provided with an evacuation outlet 18 which can be shut by a door 19 (illustrated in figure 4 only).

Before introducing the matter such as the grape harvest into chamber 11, the means of suction 16 are activated in order to produce the vacuum in the control chamber 12, for example by reducing the pressure in this chamber to a value 0.05 bars below atmospheric pressure.

The result of this is that the membrane 8, which is elastic, distends and flattens itself, being perfectly smooth, onto the wall 6 located on the side of chamber 12, as illustrated in figure 3.

The means of rotating the cage 2, symbolised in figure 3 by the double arrow 20, are activated and then the matter such as the grape harvest is fed into chamber 11 through the corresponding pipe 13. the rotation of cage 2, alternately in one direction then the other, during this filling phase, allows the relatively regular distribution of the matter in chamber 11.

Once filling is carried out, cage 2 is placed in a position where the drainage perforations 17 face the tank 5 collecting the liquid contained in the matter and the means of admitting compressed air 15 into the control chamber 12 are activated, until the latter is at a predetermined pressure, for example between 0.2 and 2 bars above atmospheric pressure.

The membrane 8 then presses against the matter 21 introduced into 15 chamber 11 by adopting its shape as best it can, so that the matter 21 is raised to the pressure in the chamber 12.

Under the effect of this pressure and under the effect of gravity, the liquid part of the matter 21 flows through drainage perforations 17, as shown by arrows in figure 4, and rejoins the collection tank 5 from which it is evacuated by the bung hole 22 located at the lowest point of the tank Once the liquid ceases to flow, the means of suction 16 are activated ooe° until the membrane 8 is again flattened against the side wall 6 and the plates 7 of the cage, then the latter is turned in one direction and the other in order to carry out a breaking up, that is to say of the cake of matter which had formed under the effect of the pressure.

A number of pressing and breaking up phases are then carried out, then, when it is considered that all of the liquid part of the matter 21 has been extracted, the door 19 is opened and the cage 2 is turned, the membrane 8 of course being flattened against the side wall 6 and the plates 7, so that the solid part of the matter 21 which has remained in the chamber 11 progressively drains through the opening 18.

It is to be noted that, in the example illustrated, the membrane is made from a sheet of polyurethane polycarbonate having a warp and weft structure, the resistance to rupture and stretching before rupture being similar in warp and weft and being equal to 35 Mpa and equal to 450% respectively, measured according to the standard NF T 46002, the thickness of this sheet, measured according to the standard NF EN ISO 2286-3, being of the order of 1 mm, the spread length of the membrane 8 between the longitudinal edges 9 being at least equal to 1 m, the hardness of this sheet, measured according to the standard NF T 46052, being 85 ShA, the membrane 8 having when at rest a surface area in the order of 90% of the surface area of the half of the side wall 6 and plates 7 that is seen below edges 9 and 10 in figures 1 and 2.

Thanks to these characteristics, the membrane 8 presents an extremely small risk of tearing during pressing phases such as those 0 0' illustrated in figure 4.

15 In non-illustrated variants, the membrane has when at rest a surface of different proportions relative to the cage, of between 80 and 98 of the .0 surface area of the above-mentioned half; the thickness of the membrane, measured according to the above-mentioned standard, is between 0.8 and 1.2 mm; the hardness, measured according to the above-mentioned standard, is between 80 and 95 ShA; the membrane is made from a material other than polyurethane polycarbonate; and/or the resistance to rupture and the stretching before rupture, measured according to the above-mentioned standard, are 35 Mpa and 450 respectively or more generally at least equal to 35 Mpa and at least equal to 400 respectively.

In other non-illustrated variants, the admission of the matter to be pressed is by means other than the trunnion-pipe 13 is used, for example by the opening 18, a pressure agent other than compressed air, for example an inert gas, even a liquid, and for example water; means of drainage other than the perforations 17 are used, for example perforated channels arranged inside the cage 7; and/or a matter other than the grape harvest is treated, in particular fruit other than the grape.

9 More generally, it is noted that the invention is not limited to the examples described and represented.

a

Claims (10)

1. Press for separating the solid and liquid parts of a matter (21) such as the grape harvest, comprising: a cage having a cylindrical side wall and two plates (7) closing said cage respectively at one end and at the other end of said side wall a flexible deformable membrane arranged in said cage fixed in a tight manner to the side wall of the latter along two opposite longitudinal edges and fixed in a tight manner to the plates along two respective transverse edges (10) each situated between one end of a longitudinal edge and one end of the other longitudinal edge so that said membrane divides the internal volume of said cage into a pressing chamber (11) delimited by said membrane by a first half of said side wall located between said two opposite transverse edges and by 15 a first half of each of said plates situated, relative to the respective transverse edges on the side of the first half of the side wall and a control chamber (12) delimited by said membrane by the second half of said side wall and by the second half of each of said plates said flexible membrane having when at rest more or less the form of one half of the cage .**means (17) of drainage fitted to said first half of the side wall (6) of the cage; means (13, 14) of introducing said matter into the pressing .chamber (11); means of collecting said liquid part of this matter (21) leaving the pressing chamber (11) by said means (17) of drainage; means (13, 15) of admitting a pressure agent into said control chamber (12) and means (13,16) of sucking said pressure agent out of the control chamber (12); means 13) of assembling said cage in rotation around its axis in a position where the latter is arranged horizontally; and 11 means (20) of selectively rotating said cage around its axis characterised in that said membrane is elastic, has a resistance to rupture, measured according to the standard NF T 46002, at least equal to 35 Mpa, and a stretching before rupture, measured according to the same standard, at least equal to 400 and has when at rest a surface area of between 80 and 98 of the surface of said second half of the side wall (6) and plates of the cage

2. Press according to claim 1, characterised in that said membrane has a warp and weft structure with a resistance to rupture and stretching before rupture which are similar in warp and weft,

3. Press according to any one of claims 1 or 2, characterised in that said membrane has a resistance to rupture and stretching before S'rupture measured according to said standard, of 40 Mpa and 400% respectively.

4. Press according to any one of claims 1 or 2, characterised in that said membrane has a resistance to rupture and a stretching before rupture, measured according to said standard, of 35 Mpa and 450 ;'respectively.

5. Press according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterised in that said membrane has a thickness, measured according to the standard o NF EN ISO 2286-3, of between 0.8 and 1.2 mm.

Press according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterised in that *6°04 said membrane has a spread length between said longitudinal edges (9) at least equal to 1 m.

7. Press according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterised in that said membrane has a hardness, measured according to the standard NF T 46052, of between 80 and 95 ShA.

8. Press according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterised in that said membrane is made from polyurethane polycarbonate.

9. Press according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterised in that said means (13, 16) of suction are suitable for producing in the control chamber (12) a vacuum value which is at most 0.08 bars below atmospheric pressure.

10. Press according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterised in that said means (13, 15) of admitting a pressure agent are suitable for producing in said control chamber (12) a pressure value which is at most 2 bars above atmospheric pressure. DATED: 2nd July, 2001 PHILLIPS ORMONDE FITZPATRICK Attorneys for: SOMAVI go* O *eoo 0. S S 0 o