CA3056107C

CA3056107C - Modular pulverizer

Info

Publication number: CA3056107C
Application number: CA3056107A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Jaroslaw Lutoslawski
Original assignee: Torxx Kinetic Pulverizer Ltd
Current assignee: Torxx Kinetic Pulverizer Ltd
Priority date: 2017-01-13
Filing date: 2017-04-10
Publication date: 2021-08-10
Anticipated expiration: 2037-04-10
Also published as: CA2963654C; CA3056107A1; CA2963654A1

Abstract

A pulverizer comprising: a top having an inlet; a bottom having an outlet; a modular drum comprising: a drum housing wall comprising a plurality of panels extending between the top and the bottom and connected together, each panel comprising: a pair of planar panel portions disposed in side-by-side relation to each other to form a seam therebetween, the pair of planar panel portions being angled with respect to each other; brace portions configured about a perimeter of the pair of planar panel portions for securing the same together; and a drum liner disposed inside the drum housing wall and including a plurality of drum liner portions; and a rotating shaft mounted within the drum housing wall and having radially extending arms creating flow currents within the pulverizer for reducing the size of product input fed into the inlet and producing a sized reduced material that is discharged through the outlet.

Description

I
MODULAR PULVERIZER
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present relates to a pulverizer also known as a vertical grinding mill which are normally provided with a rotating shaft with a plurality of arms spinning thereabout which generate a series of air currents inside of a cylinder to pulverize, aerate, homogenize and/or separate material.
BACKGROUND
Solid materials such as garbage, rubbish or other solid materials have been collected by trucks and transported for disposal for many years.
Burkett developed a centrifugal mill sometime around in the mid-1970s and ended up with U.S. Patent No. 3,987,970 and others. The applicant's predecessor-in-interest filed Canadian Patent Application Nos. 2,125,797 and 2,147,666 for use with various equipment and methods for pulverizing rock and remediating soil utilizing an improved pulverizer configuration.
Still others have commercialized an embodiment of the Burkett mill and are trying to sell that design in the marketplace today. However, when attempting to build a Burkett mill with improvements, the applicant discovered there were components of that basic design which could be improved.
SUMMARY
According to one aspect, there is provided an improved vertical gyroscopic mill or .. pulverizer having advanced capabilities.
According to another aspect, there is provided a modular construction for a pulverizer mount so that the pulverizer can be made to be relatively simple in

2 construction and fabrication characteristics to potentially reduce costs of the unit as well as to simplify the building and/or maintenance processes.
According to another aspect, there is provided an ability to replace certain parts of a pulverizer drum without having to replace all the parts should some part fail or .. wear excessively.
Accordingly, a modular pulverizer is provided. Specifically, instead of the housing being a rolled piece of metal of a sufficient thickness to withstand impacts from extremely rapidly rotating materials thrown around the body of the pulverizer, the body is instead divided into a series of modular segments or panels, and for many embodiments those panels can be interchangeable. Additionally, the panels can have lips which cooperate with lips of adjacent panels to provide a location for connecting adjacent panels together. Additionally, these lips can provide many secondary functions that may or may not be critical to the process.
Additionally, a series of drum liner attachments can be attached internally to the panels and/or housings of other embodiments so that should any of the drum liner panels be compromised or worn out, a single panel and/or individual panels could be swapped out with others without a need to replace the entire housing. These easily accessible liners can also be retained by the shelves or other internal components.
.. Additionally, a discharge from the pulverizer can be made as a single component so that panels can possibly be substantially identical above the discharge. In fact, one panel may hingedly connect to another for some embodiments so that the panel provides internal access.
According to one aspect, there is further provided a pulverizer comprising: a top .. having an inlet; a bottom having an outlet; a modular drum including a plurality of planar panel portions extending between the top and the bottom and connected together to define a drum housing wall; a rotating shaft having radially extending arms creating flow currents within the pulverizer for reducing the size of product

3 input fed into the inlet, the reduced product input being discharged through the outlet; a drum liner disposed inside the drum, the drum liner including a plurality of drum liner portions attached to the planar panel portions, each drum liner portion being planar and extending along a corresponding planar panel portion, each drum liner portion being detachable from the planar panel portion independently from the other drum liner portions.
According to another aspect, there is also provided a pulverizer comprising: a top having an inlet; a bottom having an outlet; a modular drum comprising: a drum housing wall comprising a plurality of panels extending between the top and the bottom and connected together, each panel comprising: a pair of planar panel portions disposed in side-by-side relation to each other to form a seam therebetween, the pair of planar panel portions being angled with respect to each other; brace portions configured about a perimeter of the pair of planar panel portions for securing the same together; a drum liner disposed inside the drum housing wall and including a plurality of drum liner portions; a rotating shaft mounted within the drum housing wall and having radially extending arms creating flow currents within the pulverizer for reducing the size of product input fed into the inlet and produce a sized reduced material that is discharged through the outlet.
According to another aspect, there is also provided pulverizer comprising: a top having an inlet; a bottom having an outlet; a modular drum comprising: a drum housing wall comprising a plurality of panels extending between the top and the bottom and connected together, each panel comprising: a pair of planar panel portions disposed in side-by-side relation to each other to form a seam therebetween, the pair of planar panel portions being angled with respect to each other; a shelf extending across the seam defined between the pair of planar panel portions; a drum liner disposed inside the drum housing wall and including a plurality of drum liner portions; a rotating shaft mounted within the drum housing wall and having radially extending arms creating flow currents within the pulverizer for reducing the size of product input into the inlet and produce a sized material that is discharged through the outlet.

4 According to another aspect, there is also provided a method for producing a sized-reduced material, comprising: feeding a material into a pulverizer as defined hereinabove to reduce a size of the material and thereby produce the sized-reduced material within the modular drum of the pulverizer; discharging the sized-reduced material from the outlet of the pulverizer.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The particular features and advantages of the invention as well as other objects will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:
Figure 1 is a pulverizer construction of the presently preferred embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 2 is an exploded construction view showing the components of a pulverizer shown in Figure 1; and Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of a pulverizer drum with drum liner attachments as used with a presently preferred embodiment of the invention as shown in Figures 1 and 2.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Figure 1 shows a pulverizer 10, in accordance with one embodiment. The pulverizer may be constructed with a modular drum configuration. Specifically, a series of panels 12,14,16,18,20,22, many if not all of which, may be similarly constructed may be connected together with adjacent lips 24,26 to form a drum 11. Specifically, the first lip 24 may connect to a second lip 26 of an adjacent panel 22 either internally or externally relative to the inside of the drum 11. The panels 12-22 may have bores such as a series of bores 28,30 etc. to allow for a connection to be made. Bolts may connect many adjacent panels 12-22 or the lips 24,26 may be otherwise connected for many adjacent panels 12-22 such as by welding, etc.

5 The bores 28,30 may also be used for other features as will be described in further detail below, and additionally, there may be external connectors which may connect at shoulders 32,34 to assist in connecting adjacent panels such as 16,18 as well as feet 36,38 which may also connect together, possibly to a bottom portion 40. The feet 36,38 can connect to discharge piece or bottom portion 40 such as at perimeter bores 42,44. Furthermore, perimeter bores 46,48 of bottom portion 40 may be useful to connect to perimeter bores 150,151 of the panels 12-22. A top can be similarly or dissimilarly connected.
In one embodiment, the panels 12-22 can be made similarly or even identically and so that the six panels 12-22 can come together to form a circumference about the perimeter 50 of the bottom portion 40. This way, the panels 12-22 need not be rolled after forming to a precise circumference. Instead, each of the panels may have first and second portions 52,53 which may angularly meet together such as at about 30 degrees so that the six panels 12-22 can come together to form a complete circumference about the perimeter 50 of the bottom portion 40 so that no material escapes between the adjacent panels 12-22 during operation by connecting lips such as lips 24,26 to one another or alternatively either in a permanent manner such as by welding or using connectors such as through bores 28,30 and/or other connection. It may also be alternatively possible that at least one of the panels 12-,-22 is configured as a door relative to the other panels and may selectively lock in position during use in a locked configuration and then be able to be hingedly connected to an adjacent panel such as having panel 16 be hingedly connected to panel 14 while having the capability of locking the panel 18 during operation while also allowing the panel 16 to rotate open to an open configuration during periods of non-use as one of ordinary skill in the art would understand to perform service internal to the drum 11.
Lips 24,26 are shown extending perpendicular to panel portions 52,53 and/or along radius of the drum (if thought of as round) and/or housing 61 to facilitate connection and/or construction.

6 Generally, a consistent circumference about a large diameter cylindrical housing has been found to be expensive particularly when utilizing AR 400 or other metal.
Few machine shops have been found to be willing to roll unitary drums to the desired shape. By providing the panel construction, the cost to form the housing or drum would significantly decrease.
Furthermore, by providing six separate panels 12-22 to provide a drum 11, possibly modular in nature, if any one of the panels 12-22 is damaged, they could simply be replaced without having to replace the entire housing. Furthermore, shipment of panels 12-22 as opposed to a unitary drum is generally easier as well. The amount of steel can be decreased and assembly is believed to be greatly improved in efficiency compared to other options. While six panels 12-22 are shown each having two portions, such as the planar portions 52,53, other embodiments may have other numbers of panels 12-22, possibly with other numbers of portions 52, 53 and/or meeting at other angles. Furthermore, not all panels 12-22 need necessarily be similarly constructed for all embodiments.
While AR 400 or other high strength metal can be utilized, the various improvements disclosed herein can provide a design providing more panels than the six panels 12-22 illustrated and still other improvements.
Additionally, while making a modular drum construction, it is further anticipated that drum liner attachments could be modular in nature for at least some embodiments.
Figure 3 shows first, second, third and fourth drum liner attachment portions 54,56,58,60 forming a drum liner 59 which can be located against drum 11 or housing wall 61, i.e. along any of the panels 12-22 shown in Figure 10, or against a drum or housing wall of any other pulverizer as is known in the art. Housing wall 61 may be curved (such as cylindrical) or angled (i.e. made of planar panel portions meeting at an angle) as described above or otherwise along insides of the drum 11. Specifically, the drum liner attachment portions 54-60 can have seams 62,66,67 as well as 68,70 which may be protected from contact such as by shelves 72,74,76 as well as guards 78,79 at the top 80 and bottom 82 respectively.

7 By providing a drum liner 59 in the form of portions such as the portions 54,56,58,60 it may be possible to test different materials other than just rolled steel as has traditionally been utilized as a drum housing wall 61 in the past.
It may be that there is a low cost wear product whether a fiberglass, an HDPE
high density polyethylene, a ceramic, some steels, chromium carbide overlays, ceramic overlays and/or other materials that may benefit from being utilized as any of the drum liner attachment portions 54-60. As would be understood by the reference to Figure 3 and Figure 2, if four portions 54,56,58,60 were utilized per panel, then a total of twenty-four total portions 54,56,58,60 (four times six) could then be utilized.
Of course, the drum 11 could be less wear resistant than prior art designs (or not) and the liner(s) 59 could address impact internal to the drum 11 and/or address other concerns. Internal surfaces 55 of the drum liner 59 could be curved, like a cylinder or otherwise, or be planar regardless of the curvature or planar nature of the housing wall 61 depending upon the design objectives of the pulverizer 10.
Of course, other constructions could provide fewer or more portions 54-60.
Utilizing the shelves 72,74,76 it has been found that they provide a particularly efficient way to cover over the seams 62,66,67 of adjacent portions as described above white other methods could connect in different ways. Additionally, the deflectors and/or shelves themselves may also be made in modular sets such as could be connected to each of the respective panels 12-22 such as in the form of portions 54-60 illustrated in Figure 3 possibly only extending the width 84 of a single panel such as 18. Other portions 54-60 for other embodiments may be made to extend circumferentially about the entire drum. Other portions may extend vertically from top 80 to bottom 82 or anywhere in between.
Deflectors and/or shelves as shown in Figure 1 may also be provided in modular form for at least some embodiments. The first and second planar portions 52,53 may be representative for each of the panels 12-22 or it may be that additional or fewer portions 52,53 would be provided for a respective panel. Portions 52,53 may be planar and connect with an interface such as at interface 86 which may define

8 a consistent angle from a top 88 to a bottom 90 of the panel 12. Other embodiments could be constructed differently.
Furthermore, an intermediate lateral brace 92 could be provided for structural support and can be in addition to a bottom base 94 as well as an upper extension 96 for structural integrity of each of the panels 12-22. The brace 92, the bottom base 94 and the upper extension 96 are shown extending from lip to lip 24,26 of each panel, for at least some embodiments.
By constructing panels 12-22 and/or drum liner attachment portions 54-60 in such a way that the scalability can be increased, modularity can be made more efficient and the cost can be dropped to provide easier assembly for at least some embodiments in the presently preferred embodiment of the present invention.
Accordingly, a pulverizer 10 may comprise a top 80 having a perimeter 81, a bottom 82 having a perimeter 83, and a plurality of planar panel portions 52,53 connected together between the top 80 to the bottom 82 to provide a modular drum 11 construction. The pulverizer 10 also has a rotating shaft 190 having radially extending arms 191,192,193 creating flow currents within the pulverizer 10 thereby reducing the size of product input 194 near the top and discharged at the bottom as output 195. Unlike prior art constructions, the panel portions 52,53 can be planar, and preferably modular, rather than being formed of a single cylindrically rolled drum, which can be rather expensive to produce.
The pulverizer 10 can connect the top 80 to the plurality of panel portions 52,53 as well the bottom 82. The top 80 can have an inlet 196 while the bottom has an outlet 197 whereby material to be pulverized is fed in the inlet 196 as input 194, broken into smaller pieces, and then discharged from the outlet 197 as output 195.
Panels 12,14,16,18,20,22 and/or others can have multiple panel portions 52,53, such as first and second panel portions 52,53. Some, many or even all of the panels 12-22 may be similarly constructed. The panels 12-22 can have feet 36,38 which connect to the bottom 82, such as with respective bores 150,151 etc. and

9 46,48, etc. in each receiving connectors therethrough, or otherwise. The panels 12-22 can have lips 24,26 whereby adjacent lips 24,26 may connect with one another to assist in forming the drum 11. The lips 24,26 may also have shoulders 32 which can provide connection locations on an external surface of the drum 11.
For some embodiments, at least one panel portion 52,53, if not a panel 12-22, forms the door as shown in Figure 1 or otherwise by being hingedly connected to another panel portion 52 or 53 (if not another panel 12-22) and having a locked shut configuration and an open configuration as described above, or otherwise.
Internal to the drum 11 can be at least one drum liner 59, if not a plurality of drum liner portions 54-60. The drum liner 59 can meet the top 80 and bottom 82 at seams 68,70, and drum liner portions 54-60 can meet one another at seams 62,66,67.
The seams 62,66,67,68,70 can be covered with at least one of shelves 72,74,76 and/or guards 78,79. Shelves 72,74,76 can assist in directing flow in the pulverizer

10.
Numerous alterations of the structure herein disclosed will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art. However, it is to be understood that the present disclosure relates to the preferred embodiment of the invention which is for purposes of illustration only and not to be construed as a limitation of the invention.
All such modifications which do not depart from the spirit of the invention are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A pulverizer comprising:
a top having an inlet;
a bottom having an outlet;
a modular drum comprising:
a drum housing wall comprising a plurality of panels extending between the top and the bottom and connected together, each panel comprising:
a pair of planar panel portions disposed in side-by-side relation to each other to form a seam therebetween, the pair of planar panel portions being angled with respect to each other;
brace portions configured about a perimeter of the pair of planar panel portions for securing the same together; and a drum liner disposed inside the drum housing wall and including a plurality of drum liner portions; and a rotating shaft mounted within the drum housing wall and having radially extending arms creating flow currents within the pulverizer for reducing the size of product input fed into the inlet and producing a sized reduced material that is discharged through the outlet.

2. The pulverizer of claim 1, wherein the pair of planar panel portions are angled relative to each other at an angle of 30 degrees.

3. The pulverizer of claims 1 or 2, wherein the brace portions define lips which are angled relative to the planar portions and which extend inwardly into an interior chamber of the modular drum.

4. The pulverizer of claim 3, wherein the lips include a first side lip and a second side lip opposite the first side lip, the first side lip of each panel being connected to the second side lip of an adjacent panel.

5. The pulverizer of claim 4, wherein the first side lip of each panel and the second side lip of the adjacent panel are angled relative to each other to form a wedge-shaped projection extending inwardly into the interior chamber of the modular drum.

6. The pulverizer of claims 4 or 5, wherein the first side lip of each panel and the second side lip of the adjacent panel are welded to each other.

7. The pulverizer of claims 4 or 5, wherein the first side lip of each panel and the second side lip of the adjacent panel include a plurality of bores for receiving connectors to connect together the adjacent panels.

8. The pulverizer of any one of claims 4 to 7, wherein the first and second side lips extend parallel to a central axis of the modular drum.

9. The pulverizer of claim 8, wherein the first and second side lips extends along an entire height of the panel.

10. The pulverizer of any one of claims 1 to 9, further comprising at least one shelf, each shelf being disposed over a seam defined between adjacent ones of the drum liner portions to cover the seam.

11. The pulverizer of claim 10, wherein the at least one shelf is further configured for directing flow inside the pulverizer.

12. The pulverizer of any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein each planar panel portion includes feet connected to the bottom.

13. The pulverizer of claim 12, wherein the feet include a plurality of bores and the bottom includes corresponding bores, the bores of the feet and the bores of the bottom being configured for receiving connectors therethrough for connecting the feet to the bottom.

14. A method for producing a sized-reduced material, comprising:
feeding a material into a pulverizer as defined in any one of claims 1 to 13 to reduce a size of the material and thereby produce the sized-reduced material within the modular drum of the pulverizer;
discharging the sized-reduced material from the outlet of the pulverizer.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising replacing at least one of the panel portions of the drum of the pulverizer after said at least one panel portion has experienced wear or damage, while leaving at least one other panel portion unreplaced.

16. The method of claim 14 or 15, wherein the material comprises garbage.