CN117681481A - Pressure regulating device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates generally to a pressure regulating device, and more particularly to a pressure regulating device for an oil press. Accordingly, the pressure regulating device (100) comprises: a) A movable sleeve (110); b) A turbine (120) in contact with the scroll bar (130); c) A drive shaft (140) connecting the scroll rod (130) and the motor (150); wherein the movable sleeve (110) is threadably engaged with the turbine (120) to form a rotary screw mechanism (115), the rotary screw mechanism (115) being capable of adjusting pressure toward the fixed position cone point such that the movable sleeve (110) is capable of moving forward or backward toward the fixed position cone point to achieve an optimal or desired compaction pressure for higher oil or fiber extraction.

Description

Pressure regulating device

Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to a pressure regulating device, and more particularly to a pressure regulating device for an oil press.

Background

Screw presses or presses are known in various designs for dewatering or extracting oil from fibrous materials, compressible materials or other solid materials in chips or loose form. Embodiments of such screw presses or presses are disclosed, for example CN102442011a discloses a continuous hydraulic dehydrator. Thus, such a hydraulic dewatering machine comprises a hydraulic cylinder and a back pressure regulating cone, wherein the hydraulic cylinder is connected to a pusher located in the dewatering pressure compartment. The cone portion of the backpressure regulating cone is inserted into one end of the dehydration pressure tank to press against the feed tank, and the pushing member and the cone portion are located at opposite ends of the dehydration pressure tank.

CN2478763Y discloses a screw oil press comprising a frame, a driving device, an oil pressing screw assembly, a press cage and a feeding frame with a hopper. The two ends of the oil pressing spiral component are respectively arranged on the gear box and the feeding bracket. The pressing cage is sleeved on the outer side of the oil pressing screw rod to form a pressing chamber, and two ends of the pressing cage are respectively fixed on the feeding bracket and the cake outlet end plate. Two tightening sleeves with electric heating devices are arranged on the outer circle of the pressing cage of the oil press. The oil press is also provided with a positioning ring which changes the original inner cone and outer cone into an inner cone and outer circle.

CA2710265C discloses a compression apparatus and method thereof wherein the apparatus is provided for compressing a bulk solid feedstock. The apparatus includes a two-stage compressor, wherein the first compression stage is a screw compressor and the second compression stage is a reciprocating compressor. A throttle cone is provided for maintaining pressure in the discharge from the compressor stage. A reciprocating compressor includes a piston driven by a pair of hydraulic rams. The reciprocating compressor, screw conveyor and throttle cone can all be adjusted in real time to control the compression of the feedstock according to a preprogrammed schedule that does not require equal compression and retraction strokes. The operation of the throttle cone may be actively controlled to obtain a fit with the compressor stage.

US 5516417 discloses a screw dehydrator. Thus, the screw extractor comprises an inner sleeve and an outer sleeve, an annular space chamber defined between the inner sleeve and the outer sleeve, a helical screw rotatably arranged in the annular space chamber and a drainage screen arranged on the inner sleeve and/or the outer sleeve, and is characterized in that a support ring is attached to the outer circumference of one end of the helical screw, which support ring is rotatably supported by the outer sleeve.

MY-121530-A discloses a continuous extraction of palm oil and palm kernel. Accordingly, the present invention provides a continuous process for producing a string of fresh oil palm fruit based on continuous sterilization, the process comprising: crushing fresh fruit strings by using a double-roller crusher; heating a conveying system in the continuous sterilization chamber by using steam to perform continuous sterilization; peeling the fruit from the bundle stem using a drum peeler; and heating the fruit to complete the cooking.

A typical problem with these and other well known screw presses or presses is that manual adjustment is required to adjust the lock nut or adjustment sleeve to a fixed position cone point located at the discharge end of the press. The manual hammering is performed in order to maximize or optimize the throughput of the screw press or oil press. Thus, in order to provide sufficient pressure to the press mechanism in the machine for extracting palm oil, palm kernel oil and palm fibers, the distance between the lock nut or adjustment sleeve and the cone point is traditionally manually adjusted by a person. In order to obtain a proper pressing pressure to obtain a greater oil or fiber extraction, a manual hammering is sometimes necessary.

Several attempts have been made to adjust the adjustment lock nut or adjustment sleeve to obtain the proper press pressure. However, such adjustment or adjustment of the adjustment lock nut or adjustment sleeve is not entirely satisfactory due to certain drawbacks, such that the optimum or ideal pressing pressure required for a high oil or fiber extraction is not effectively achieved. Furthermore, it may involve significant costs in reducing complexity to ensure proper function and operating efficiency. Other attempts may require great care or attention in operation, thereby requiring expensive costs in regular maintenance.

In view of the foregoing, it would be desirable to provide a pressure regulating device for an oil extraction machine that overcomes and/or reduces one or more of the above-described limitations or disadvantages. The pressure regulating device for an oil press according to the present invention and the combination of its elements will be described and illustrated in the detailed description.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention relates to a pressure regulating device, and more particularly to a pressure regulating device for an oil press. Thus, the pressure regulating device comprises: a) A movable sleeve; b) A turbine in contact with the scroll bar; c) A drive shaft connecting the scroll bar and the motor; wherein the movable sleeve is threadably engaged with the turbine to form a rotary screw mechanism that is capable of adjusting pressure toward a fixed position cone point (not shown) such that the movable sleeve is capable of moving forward or backward toward the fixed position cone point to achieve the optimum or desired compaction pressure required for higher oil or fiber extraction.

In a preferred example of the invention, the movable sleeve is an adjustable conical sleeve.

Preferably, but not limited to, the drive shaft is connected to the motor by a worm drive train coupling or any other form of coupling deemed suitable by the device.

By way of example and not limitation, the motor is a bi-directional scroll brake gear motor, an electric motor, a hydraulic motor, a servo motor, a combination of a gearbox and motor, or other type of motor as deemed suitable by the device.

It should be noted that the motor rotates the scroll rod via the drive shaft, which in turn rotates the turbine wheel in threaded engagement with the movable sleeve, thereby enabling the movable sleeve to move forward or backward toward the fixed position cone point.

Thus, the threaded engagement between the movable sleeve of the rotary screw mechanism and the worm gear performs a tightening or loosening movement similar to the rotation of two screws.

It should be noted that the movable sleeve in the protruding position can be moved forward or rotated towards the fixed position cone point, which protruding position will be locked and fixed to avoid further pressure drop once the optimal or desired pressing pressure is reached.

It should be noted that the movable sleeve in the retracted position can be moved back or rotated away from the fixed position cone point by rotating the turbine in the opposite direction.

By way of example and not limitation, the pressure regulating device for an oil press is suitably shaped to enable pressing of materials such as oil palm fresh fruit or empty fruit clusters, palm kernel, coconut leaf, coconut shell or other oil-containing agricultural products.

It should be understood that the pressure regulating device of the present invention may be programmed to operate manually or automatically. Thus, the manually or automatically operated components are controlled by the control system.

By way of example and not limitation, the control system may include one or more load detection portions, at least one controller, at least one computing unit, and an adjustment driver in communication with the motor. Preferably, but not limited to, the control system uses a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) to regulate the rotation of the assembly.

The invention comprises several novel features and combinations of parts which are fully described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings and description which follows, it being understood that various changes in the details may be made without departing from the scope of the invention or sacrificing any of the advantages of the present invention.

Drawings

The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given herein below and the accompanying drawings, which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not limiting of the present invention, wherein:

fig. 1 is an exploded view of a pressure regulating device for an oil press according to a preferred example of the present invention.

Fig. 2 shows an assembled perspective view, a top view, a front view and a side view of a pressure regulating device for an oil extraction machine according to a preferred example of the present invention.

Fig. 2a shows an assembled perspective view of a pressure regulating device according to another preferred example of the present invention, on which a motor is horizontally arranged at the top of a housing.

Fig. 3 shows an enlarged perspective view of a rotary screw mechanism of a pressure regulating device according to a preferred example of the present invention.

Fig. 4a and 4b are schematic cross-sectional views illustrating the effect of a movable sleeve according to a preferred example of the present invention, which is movable forward or backward toward a fixed position cone point for pressure adjustment.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a control system of the pressure regulating device that can be programmed to operate manually or automatically by using a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) to regulate the rotation of the components.

Detailed Description

The present invention relates generally to a pressure regulating device, and more particularly to a pressure regulating device for an oil press. Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in accordance with preferred examples of the present invention. It is to be understood, however, that the description is limited to the preferred examples of the invention only for the purpose of facilitating the discussion of the invention, and that various modifications and equivalents may be envisaged by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appended drawings is intended as a description of various examples of the present invention and is not intended to represent the only methods or embodiments in which the present invention may be practiced. The detailed description includes specific details for providing an understanding of the system of the present invention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments. The acronyms and other descriptive terminology may be used merely for convenience and clarity and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

The present invention is directed to a pressure regulating device for an oil extraction machine, which is adapted to overcome one or more of the above-mentioned limitations or disadvantages. The pressure regulating device for an oil extraction machine according to the present invention is thus able to provide a rotary screw mechanism that is able to regulate the pressure towards the fixed position cone point, so that the movement of the adjustable cone sleeve or the moving sleeve is moved forward or backward towards the fixed position cone point in order to achieve the optimal pressure required for extracting oil or fibres, thus eliminating the use of manual hammering of the cone point for pressure regulation.

In order to achieve the above object, a pressure regulating device for an oil extraction machine is provided, which pressure regulating device according to a preferred mode for carrying out the invention will now be described with reference to the figures in fig. 1-5 (alone or in any combination thereof).

Referring to fig. 1 and 2, the pressure regulating device 100 of the present invention generally includes a movable sleeve 110, a turbine 120, a scroll 130, a driving shaft 140, a motor 150, and a housing 200.

In the preferred example of the present invention, the movable sleeve 110 is threadably engaged with the turbine 120 to form a rotary screw mechanism 115, which rotary screw mechanism 115 is capable of adjusting pressure toward a fixed position cone point (not shown) so that the movable sleeve 110 can be moved forward or backward toward the fixed position cone point to achieve the optimum or desired compaction pressure required for higher oil or fiber extraction (see fig. 3). Thus, the threaded engagement between the movable sleeve 110 of the rotary screw mechanism 115 and the worm gear 120 can function similarly to two screw rotations for tightening or loosening movement.

By way of example and not limitation, the movable sleeve 110 is an adjustable conical sleeve or other form deemed suitable by the assembly. Accordingly, the movable sleeve 110 is preferably circular, protruding, and has an external thread circumference. The movable sleeve 110 is threadedly engaged with the turbine 120, and the turbine 120 has a circular recess and an internal thread circumference to enable the movable sleeve 110 to be moved forward or backward while the turbine 120 is firmly rotated in a fixed position. It should be noted that the movable sleeve 110 and turbine 120, while exemplary, will be used herein to illustrate possible components that the present invention may be used with. However, other types of sleeves and gears suitable for achieving different optimal effects and functional characteristics are also contemplated. Accordingly, the movable sleeve 110 and turbine 120 described herein should not be construed as being limiting in any way.

In a preferred example, the turbine 120 may rotate in contact with the scroll bar 130, and the drive shaft 140 is used to connect the scroll bar 130 and the motor 150. Thus, the drive shaft 140 is connected to the motor 150 via a worm drive train coupling 160 or any other form of coupling deemed suitable by the assembly. It should be appreciated that the motor 150 is adapted to rotate in two directions, e.g., clockwise or counterclockwise for a step-up or step-down mechanism, and may rotate at different predetermined speeds. Thus, the motor 150 serves to rotate the worm 130 through the driving shaft 140, thereby rotating the turbine 120 screw-engaged with the movable sleeve 110, so that the movable sleeve 110 can be moved forward or backward toward a fixed position cone point (not shown).

In the preferred example of the present invention, the movable sleeve 110 in the protruding position can be moved forward or rotated toward the fixed position cone point, which will be locked and fixed once the optimal or desired pressing pressure is reached, to avoid further pressure drop. When in the retracted position, the movable sleeve 110 can be moved back or rotated away from the fixed position cone point by rotating the turbine 120 in the opposite direction. Fig. 4a and 4b illustrate the effect of the movable sleeve 110 according to the preferred example of the present invention, the movable sleeve 110 being capable of being moved forward or backward toward the fixed position cone point for pressure adjustment.

It should be appreciated that sensors may be employed in the assembly. The motor 150 driving the turbine 120 may desirably be responsive based on feedback of the main drive motor operating current of the press. Therefore, if the current of the main drive motor of the press is high, the pressure in the press is also liable to become high. A low pressure inside the press indicates a low current of the main drive motor of the press. A programmable logic controller (PLC: programmable logic controller) can be used to regulate the rotation of the assembly if desired. A sensor is employed in the mechanism to detect the distance traveled by the movable sleeve 110 during current fluctuations of the motor 150.

As a safety measure, if the oil press is not operating at load or full load, or any errors or imperfections are detected during operation, a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) will activate the movable sleeve 110 away from the cone point and back to the zero setting. This is to prevent the pressure in the oil press from increasing, causing greater wear on the parts of the oil press. Preferably, a sensor is employed in the pressure regulating device 100 to prevent the movable sleeve 110 from moving further away from the maximum allowable movement distance of the movable sleeve 110. This will prevent the movable sleeve 110 from being damaged by any movable parts in the operating oil extraction machine.

By way of example and not limitation, the pressure regulating device 100 of the present invention may be programmed to operate manually or automatically. Thus, manually or automatically operated components are controlled by the control system 300. In a preferred example of the present invention, the control system 300 may include one or more load detection portions 310, at least one controller 320, at least one computing unit 330, and an adjustment driver 340 in communication with the motor 150. Preferably, but not limited to, the control system 300 uses a programmable logic controller PLC to regulate the rotation of the components. Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a control system 300 of the pressure regulating device 100, which control system 300 may be programmed to operate manually or automatically by using a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) to regulate the rotation of the components.

In a preferred example of the invention, current is collected from the motor 400 of the main press and the amount of pressure required to extract oil from the fibrous material, compressible material or other solid feedstock during operation is estimated. Now, a simple unloading scheme is automatically achieved when and during emptying of the hopper by adjusting the controller device, to enhance and prevent premature failure of the screw shaft 420. As a safety precaution, the movable sleeve will automatically position back to zero when the hopper is empty or the machine is running empty. This is accomplished by adjusting the controller device to prevent premature machine failure.

The amount of adjustment is carefully applied to the scroll collar 440 by the motor 400 of the main press in an effective proportional/linear manner to the required current. A position limiter and gear counting device may be installed in the sensor port to determine the number of steps required to provide optimal hold down performance. The maintenance record is also printed in the controller memory in the computing unit 330 for retrieval.

In the initial phase, when the motor 400 of the main press is running with an empty hopper, the PLC will detect the current reading and wait for the warm-up time. The warm-up phase is calculated using the time and current limit settings. Once all criteria for entering the next step are met, the operating current setting will be activated and begin to increase the active sleeve 110 position toward the fixed position taper point in the machine to add steps. This step will automatically increase with the action command of the PLC controller until the current set point is reached. The second step of the operation is based on the higher and lower current set point settings. In the third part of the step, the increasing movement of the movable sleeve 110 will be refined in slow motion, in which the set time and gear count are much less.

The setpoint of these trimming steps needs to be within the operating range setpoint. Once the current reading exceeds the trimming phase, slow descent movements will also occur in these operations. In case the current reaches above the operating set point, a momentary descent movement will be initiated to reduce the current of the press motor. The bevel adjustment gear does not move when the current reading is within the operating and trim set points. The adjustment of the movable sleeve 110 will continue until the maintenance period and will be in the zero position each time the press motor is stopped or the motor is tripped.

It will also sense events of no material in the hopper by current readings below the operating set point and also set a time for bringing the cone back to zero position and send an alarm event to record the alarm event in the PLC. The limiter sensor will detect the cone position, whether the cone is at the lowest step or highest step position.

By way of example and not limitation, the motor 150 may be a bi-directional scroll brake gear motor, an electric motor, a hydraulic motor, a servo motor, a combination of a gearbox and electric motor, or other type of motor where the assembly deems suitable. It should be appreciated that the motor 150 can be desirably assembled on top of the machine housing 200. However, the motor 150 can also be assembled at the right or left side of the housing 200 of the machine, depending on the installation space. It should also be appreciated that a compact size turbine reducer gear motor may also be used, eliminating space limitations. By way of example, and not limitation, according to another preferred example of the present invention, the motor 150 may be horizontally disposed on top of the housing 200 of the pressure regulating device 100 (see fig. 2 a).

It will be appreciated that the pressure regulating device 100 for an oil extraction machine is suitably shaped to enable the squeezing of materials such as oil palm fresh fruit or empty fruit clusters, palm kernel, coconut leaf, coconut husk or other oily agricultural products.

The implementation and use of the pressure regulating device 100 of the present invention can eliminate the use of manual hammer cone points for pressure regulation, thereby eliminating the use of hydraulic pistons that consume more power. Furthermore, the elimination of the use of hydraulic pistons will enable the machine to be installed in areas of limited space, as the hydraulic hoses, hydraulic assemblies and their panels are eliminated. The pressure regulating device 100 of the present invention may have very little maintenance since it involves only the turbine 120 and the adjustable conical sleeve or movable sleeve 110, the turbine 120 and the adjustable conical sleeve or movable sleeve 110 being mechanical parts with less wear than hydraulic movements.

It should also be noted that the devices, elements or components used to implement the above-described invention are merely illustrative and exemplary and are not limiting of the present invention. Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the devices, elements, or components used herein may be altered in some manner to achieve different optimal effects or desired operating characteristics. Therefore, the foregoing should not be construed as limiting, but rather as the best mode contemplated by the inventors for carrying out the invention.

The word "exemplary" is used herein to mean serving as an example, instance, or illustration. Any embodiment described herein as "exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments. Likewise, the term "embodiment" of a method, system, apparatus, device, or article of manufacture does not require that all embodiments of the invention include the described component, structure, feature, function, process, advantage, benefit, or mode of operation.

With respect to the use of substantially any plural and/or singular terms herein, those having skill in the art can translate from the plural to the singular and/or from the singular to the plural as is appropriate to the context and/or application. For clarity, various singular/plural permutations may be explicitly set forth herein. Furthermore, as used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms "comprises" and/or "comprising," if used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or groups thereof.

Having thus described the invention, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.

Claims (13)

1. A pressure regulating device for an oil extraction machine, wherein the pressure regulating device (100) comprises:

a movable sleeve (110);

a turbine (120) in contact with the scroll rod (130); and

a drive shaft (140) connecting the scroll rod (130) and the motor (150),

wherein the movable sleeve (110) is threadedly engaged with the turbine (120) to form a rotary screw mechanism (115), the rotary screw mechanism (115) being capable of adjusting pressure toward a fixed position cone point such that the movable sleeve (110) is capable of moving forward or backward toward the fixed position cone point to achieve an optimal or desired compaction pressure for higher oil or fiber extraction.

2. The pressure regulating device according to claim 1, wherein the movable sleeve (110) is an adjustable conical sleeve.

3. Pressure regulating device according to claim 1, wherein the drive shaft (140) is connected to the motor (150) by means of a worm drive train coupling (160) or any other form of coupling deemed suitable by the device.

4. The pressure regulating device of claim 1, wherein the motor (150) is a bi-directional scroll brake gear motor, an electric motor, a hydraulic motor, a servo motor, a combination of a gearbox and an electric motor, or other type of motor as deemed suitable by the device.

5. The pressure regulating device of claim 1, wherein the motor (150) rotates the scroll bar (130) via the drive shaft (140) to thereby rotate the turbine (120) threadedly engaged with the movable sleeve (110) such that the movable sleeve (110) is movable forward or rearward toward the fixed position cone point.

6. The pressure regulating device according to claim 5, wherein the threaded engagement between the movable sleeve (110) and the turbine (120) of the rotary screw mechanism (115) performs a tightening or loosening movement similar to two screw rotations.

7. Pressure regulating device according to claim 5, wherein the movable sleeve (110) in the protruding position can be moved forward or rotated towards the fixed position cone point, which protruding position will be locked and fixed to avoid further pressure drop once the optimal or desired pressing pressure is reached.

8. The pressure regulating device of claim 5, wherein the movable sleeve (110) in the retracted position is movable back or away from the fixed position cone point by rotating the turbine (120) in an opposite direction.

9. Pressure regulating device according to claim 1, wherein the pressure regulating device (100) for an oil press is suitably shaped to enable pressing of material such as oil palm fresh fruit or empty fruit clusters, palm kernel, coconut leaf, coconut shell or other oil-containing agricultural products.

10. The pressure regulating device according to claim 1, wherein the pressure regulating device (100) is programmable to be operated manually or automatically.

11. Pressure regulating device according to claim 10, wherein the manually or automatically operated device is controlled by a control system (300).

12. The pressure regulating device of claim 11, wherein the control system (300) comprises one or more load detection sections (310), at least one controller (320), at least one computing unit (330), and a regulating driver (340) in communication with the motor (150).

13. The pressure regulating device of claim 12, wherein the control system (300) uses a programmable logic controller to regulate rotation of the assembly.