EP4000734A1 - Roller mill with improved product collection - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a roller mill (1), comprising a product inlet (2), a grinding chamber with grinding rollers (3, 4) into which bulk material to be ground can pass from the product inlet (2), and a product outlet unit (P ), into which product from the grinding chamber can get, with the product outlet unit (P) comprising a trimelle (5) which has a screw conveyor (10) in its lower area facing away from the grinding chamber, the screw conveyor (10) having two sections conveying in opposite directions (10a, 10b) for conveying product from the lower portion of the trimelle (5) to an outlet opening (7) in the bottom portion of the trimelle (5).

Description

The present invention relates to a roller mill for the production of food and animal feed with improved product collection.

Roller mills and their application are well known. An example of a prior art roller mill is in 1 shown, with only the most important components being identified in more detail. The roller mill 1' comprises an inlet 2' (for example a funnel) through which the material to be ground is fed to pairs of rollers 3' and 4'. The ground material then leaves the roller mill 1' through trimelles 5', into which it falls due to gravity. The trimels 5', which can be outlet funnels, for example, are guided through a floor 6' on which the roller mill 1 is arranged. Below the floor 6', the trimelles 5' open into a transport device (not shown), with which the material is conveyed further mechanically or pneumatically.

Such a roller mill has some disadvantages. Since the trimelle 5' protrude through the floor 6' on which the roller frame 1' is located, an additional building floor must be provided below the floor 6', in which the removal device described above can be arranged.

Roller mills are also known in which the product is conveyed away via direct suction. In these roller mills, two collecting trimmels for the product are arranged on each roller mill side within the roller mill. A vacuum-pneumatic transport is then arranged for each collecting trimelle, ie four riser pipes are to be provided. In addition, with larger roller mills (e.g. a length of 1500 mm) in the ground on which the roller mill stands to provide bulges for the collecting trimellae.

In the US-2,717,124 a roll mill with a closed trimelle (hopper) was described. A suction pipe is guided into the Trimelle, into which the product is sucked and conveyed upwards through the roller mill.

None of the variants from the prior art can achieve constant product removal with large mass flows.

It was the object of the present invention to overcome the disadvantages described above and to provide a roller mill for the production of foodstuffs and animal feed, with which a constant product removal can be achieved even with large mass flows.

The present object is achieved by the roller mill according to the invention for the production of foodstuffs and animal feed.

The present invention relates to a roller mill for the production of food and animal feed, comprising a product inlet, a grinding chamber with grinding rollers, into which bulk material to be ground can pass from the product inlet, and a product outlet unit arranged below the grinding chamber, into which product from the grinding chamber can pass. characterized in that the product outlet unit comprises a Trimelle, which has a conveyor screw in its lower area facing away from the grinding chamber, the conveyor screw having two sections conveying in opposite directions in order to convey product from the lower area of the Trimelle to an outlet opening in the bottom area of the Trimelle.

The present invention is characterized by a special product outlet unit. This product outlet unit includes a Trimelle. Trimelles and their use in roller mills are well known. According to the invention, a trimelle is a prism-shaped unit with an essentially triangular cross-section, the base area being oriented towards the grinding chamber and the end facing away from the base area being rounded off.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the roller mill according to the invention for the production of foodstuffs and animal feed has a single trimelle, which extends over the entire width of the roller mill. Particularly preferably, the base of this Trimelle is completely open with respect to the grinding chamber of the roller mill, so that ground product can get from the grinding chamber into the Trimelle over the entire width of the Trimelle.

Alternatively, several corresponding trimelles can be arranged next to one another and together extend over the entire width of the roll mill.

In its lower area facing away from the grinding chamber, the Trimelle has a screw conveyor, i.e. at the end facing away from the base. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the end of the trimelle facing away from the base is rounded in order to be able to optimally accommodate the screw conveyor.

The auger runs the full length of the lower section of the Trimelle. It is rotatably mounted on the two lateral ends of the Trimelle. A motor for moving the auger is operatively connected to the auger.

According to the invention, the motor is preferably arranged at a lateral end of the trimelle, preferably fastened in a detachable manner. According to the invention, any motor commonly used for the movement of screw conveyors can be used. It is preferably a geared motor, particularly preferably an electric motor.

The screw conveyor arranged in the Trimelle has two sections that convey in opposite directions. For example, screw elements are arranged on one section of the screw conveyor which effect product conveyance from left to right, while screw elements which effect product conveyance from right to left are arranged in another section of the conveyor screw.

The provision of two counter-feeding sections of the auger serves to feed product from the bottom of the Trimelle to an outlet opening in the bottom of the Trimelle. With the help of the contra-conveying sections of the screw conveyor, product is conveyed to the outlet opening from areas of the Trimelle located on both sides of the outlet opening.

The screw elements are arranged at least in the area of the Trimelle which is open to the grinding chamber. According to the preferred embodiment according to the invention, the base of this trimelle is completely open to the grinding chamber of the roller mill, so that ground product from the grinding chamber can enter the trimelle over the entire width of the trimelle. According to this embodiment, screw elements are arranged over the entire width of the trimelle, except for the area in which the outlet opening is located.

It is particularly preferred according to the invention that the sections of the screw conveyor conveying in opposite directions are connected to one another via an uninterrupted shaft, i.e. that only a single screw conveyor is provided. Compared to a variant in which two separate, counter-rotating conveyor screws would be provided in the Trimelle, a single conveyor screw is subject to significantly less vibration.

As stated above, product falling into the Trimelle is conveyed by the auger from both lateral portions of the Trimelle to a single outlet opening. This outlet opening has dimensions that ensure a continuous discharge of the product from the Trimelle, even in mass flow operation, without clogging and blockages occurring. The exact dimensions can be routinely determined by one skilled in the art.

The outlet opening is most preferably located in the middle of the bottom surface of the trimelle, i.e. it is equidistant from both lateral ends of the trimelle. However, it is also possible to arrange the outlet opening at a certain distance from the center of the bottom surface of the trimelle, for example in the middle third of the longest dimension of the bottom surface (referred to here as width) of the trimelle.

According to a further preferred embodiment, a component can be provided in the area of the outlet opening, which is intended to prevent product accumulation in this area. For example, this can be a pen.

The outlet opening opens into a pipeline, ie the outlet opening is arranged with a below the outlet opening pipe connected. The product is conveyed away from the roller mill through this pipeline.

According to the invention, the outlet opening is preferably connected to the pipeline in such a way that the product gets from the outlet opening into the pipeline with the gentlest possible deflections. This reduces the risk of the outlet opening becoming clogged or blocked. The outlet opening is preferably designed in the form of a so-called feed shoe, in which an opening in the bottom area of the trimelle is connected to an opening in the top area of the pipeline via vertical or slightly inclined or curved side walls. In this embodiment, a transfer of product from the trimelle into the pipeline in a substantially vertical direction is ensured.

In this respect, it is preferred according to the invention that the pipeline is arranged at an angle of approximately 90° to the trimelle, i.e. in the area of the outlet opening there is an imaginary line along the longest dimension (i.e. the width) of the trimelle and an imaginary central axis through the pipeline that they enclose an angle in the range of 60 ° to 120 °, particularly preferably 90 °.

The pipeline for transporting the product away from the roller mill is constructed analogously to conventional pipelines for transporting product away from a roller mill. The product is preferably removed pneumatically, particularly preferably pneumatically by suction. In this case, the pipe is preferably connected to an air suction unit. Such units are known and need not be explained in more detail here.

According to an embodiment according to the invention, the pipeline is arranged in a section below the trimelle and has an upward bend beyond the trimelle in order to be guided upwards past the trimelle at the side. The pipeline thus has a vertically upwardly arranged section which is connected via a bent element to the section of pipeline arranged under the trimelle.

According to a preferred embodiment, the pipeline is arranged on the trimelle in a removable manner, for example with one or more screw connections. The pipeline can also have additional attachment means for attachment to the roller mill itself, for example one or more additional screw connections.

With the present invention, the product can be transported away without providing additional structural height within the machine. The roller mill can be placed directly on the floor. It is not necessary to provide an additional building floor as required in the prior art.

In addition, according to the invention, in the case of a roller mill for the production of foodstuffs and animal feed with direct suction, the number of required trimelles can be reduced to one trimelle per side (and correspondingly one pneumatic pipe per side).

The present invention thus provides significant technical advantages.

In principle, the product outlet unit according to the invention can be used with any conventional roller mill. However, the use for roller mills for the production of food and animal feed is preferred. The present invention thus relates to a product outlet unit comprising a Trimelle, which has a conveyor screw in its lower area facing away from its base area, the conveyor screw having two sections conveying in opposite directions, in order to feed product from the lower area of the Trimelle to an outlet opening in the bottom area of the Trimelle carry.

The product outlet unit according to the invention is constructed as described above.

Depending on the design of the roller mill, the roller mill can have one or two of the product outlet units according to the invention.

The roller mill according to the invention for the production of food and animal feed is preferably used for the production of flour from grain and from the processing of grain milling products and grain end products from milling (in particular milling soft wheat, durum, rye, corn and/or barley) or special milling (in particular hulling and/or or milling soya, buckwheat, barley, spelt, millet/sorghum, pseudocereals and/or legumes), this being in particular bread wheat, durum wheat, corn or buckwheat. Bread wheat is also known as Triticum aevestivum and durum wheat as Triticum durum. For the purposes of the application, rice is also understood to be grain. The roller mill according to the invention is also suitable for producing feed for livestock and domestic animals, fish and crustaceans.

The roller mill is characterized by at least one grinder. Such roller mills are, for example, from EP-0 944 433 A1 , EP-0 991 473 A1 , WO 2019/224 399 A1 and the WO 2019/229 014 A1 known, to whose corresponding content reference is made.

1. a) Einführen von Schüttgut in den Produkteinlass;
2. b) Vermahlen des Schüttguts im Mahlraum mit Hilfe der Mahlwalzen und Überführung des gemahlenen Produkts in die Trimelle;
3. c) Förderung des gemahlenen Produkts durch die in der Trimelle angeordnete Förderschnecke zu einer Auslassöffnung.

The present invention further relates to a method for grinding bulk material with a roller mill according to the invention, comprising the steps

1. a) introducing bulk material into the product inlet;
2. b) Grinding of the bulk material in the grinding chamber using the grinding rollers and transfer of the ground product to the Trimelle;
3. c) Conveyance of the ground product through the conveyor screw arranged in the Trimelle to an outlet opening.

The introduction of bulk material into the product inlet and the grinding of the bulk material in the grinding chamber with the aid of the two grinding rollers takes place in a conventional and known manner analogous to the process in conventional roller mills.

The ground product is then transferred to the Trimelle of the roller mill according to the invention. This occurs through the influence of gravity, in that the product from the milling chamber falls through the open base of the Trimelle into the Trimelle.

In the Trimelle, conveyance of the ground product is performed by the auger located in the Trimelle to an outlet opening as described above. The oppositely conveying sections of the screw conveyor cause the product to be conveyed from both areas to the side of the outlet opening in the bottom of the Trimelle to the outlet opening. The product conveyed into the outlet opening is transferred into the pipeline. As described above, this is preferably done with deflections that are as gentle as possible, ie the direction of movement of the product changes as little as possible during the transfer. The product is simply brought together from the left and right into the center of the Trimelle. From there it leaves the Trimelle downwards (horizontal movement is converted into vertical movement, or via the inclined geometry of a feed shoe) into the suction pneumatics pipeline. This is preferably accomplished with the aid of the dispensing shoe described above.

In the pipeline the product is conveyed away from the roller mill as described above. This is preferably done pneumatically, particularly preferably pneumatically.

Fig. 1

eine schematische Ansicht eines Walzenstuhls zur Herstellung von Nahrungsmitteln und Tierfutter aus dem Stand der Technik

Fig. 2

eine schematische Ansicht eines erfindungsgemässen Walzenstuhls zur Herstellung von Nahrungsmitteln und Tierfutter

Fig. 3

eine schematische Ansicht der erfindungsgemässen Produktauslasseinheit

Fig. 4

eine weitere schematische Ansicht der erfindungsgemässen Produktauslasseinheit

The present invention is explained in more detail below with reference to non-restrictive drawings and preferred embodiments. Show it:

1

a schematic view of a roller mill for the production of food and animal feed from the prior art

2

a schematic view of an inventive roller mill for the production of food and animal feed

3

a schematic view of the product outlet unit according to the invention

4

a further schematic view of the product outlet unit according to the invention

1 FIG. 12 shows a schematic view of a roller mill for the production of foodstuffs and animal feed from the prior art Technology, with only the most important components being identified in more detail. The roller mill 1' comprises an inlet 2' (for example a funnel) through which the material to be ground is fed to pairs of rollers 3' and 4'. The ground material then leaves the roller mill 1' through trimelles 5', into which it falls due to gravity. The trimels 5', which can be outlet funnels, for example, are guided through a floor 6' on which the roller mill 1 is arranged. Below the floor 6', the trimelles 5' open into a transport device (not shown), with which the material is conveyed further mechanically or pneumatically.

2 shows a schematic view of a roller mill 1 according to the invention for the production of food and animal feed, with only the most important components being identified in more detail. The roller mill 1 comprises an inlet 2 (for example a hopper) through which the material to be ground is fed to pairs of rollers 3 and 4 . The ground material then leaves the roller mill 1 through trimelles 5, into which it falls due to gravity. The trimelles 5 have in their center an outlet opening 7 in the form of a feed shoe, through which product enters the pipeline 8 . The components 5, 7 and 8 together form a product outlet unit P. The pipelines 8 of the two in 2 trimelles shown, are arranged such that the vertical portion 8a of one of the ducts 8 is juxtaposed with the vertical portion 8a of the other duct 8.

The roller mill 1 stands on a floor 6 with the help of legs 9.

In 3 a schematic view of the product outlet unit P according to the invention is shown. In the Trimelle 5 is an auger 10 arranged, which has a conveying from left to right section 10a and a conveying from right to left section 10b. Between these sections 10a and 10b, in the area of the outlet opening 7, there is a section 10c without screw elements. The screw conveyor 10 is rotatably mounted on the lateral ends of the trimelle 5. The auger 10 is connected to a motor 11 by which it is driven. The pipeline 8 runs horizontally below the trimelle. Behind the trimelle 5, the pipeline 8 has a bend and merges into a vertical area 8a.

In 4 is a longitudinal section through the product outlet unit P according to 3 shown, with like reference numerals denoting like components. In 4 the shape of the feed shoe 7 can be seen, which connects the opening in the bottom of the trimelle 5 with the opening in the top of the pipeline 8 in such a way that the product is transferred from the trimelle 5 into the pipeline 8 with the gentlest possible deflections.

Claims (14)

Roller mill (1) for producing food and animal feed, comprising a product inlet (2), a grinding chamber with grinding rollers (3, 4) into which bulk material to be ground can pass from the product inlet (2), and a product outlet unit ( P), into which product from the grinding chamber can get, characterized in that
the product outlet unit (P) comprises a trimelle (5) which has a conveyor screw (10) in its lower area facing away from the grinding chamber, the conveyor screw (10) having two sections (10a, 10b) conveying in opposite directions in order to extract product from the lower To convey area of the Trimelle (5) to an outlet opening (7) in the bottom area of the Trimelle (5). Roller mill (1) according to Claim 1, characterized in that the outlet opening (7) is arranged in the middle of the trimelle (5). Roller mill (1) according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the outlet opening (7) is connected to a pipeline (8) arranged below the outlet opening (7). Roller mill (1) according to one of the preceding claims,
characterized in that the outlet opening (7) is connected to the pipeline (8) in such a way that product passes from the outlet opening (7) into the pipeline (8) with the gentlest possible deflections. Roller mill (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the trimelle (5) has an opening to the grinding chamber over its entire width. Roller mill (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the screw conveyor (10) extends over the entire length of the lower region of the trimelle (5) and the oppositely conveying sections (10a, 10b) of the screw conveyor (10) via a uninterrupted shaft are connected to each other. Roller mill (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the pipe (8) is connected to an air suction unit. Roller mill (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the pipeline (8) has a section (8a) arranged vertically upwards, which is connected via a curved element to the section of the pipeline (8) arranged under the trimelle (5). connected is. Roller mill (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the pipeline (8) is arranged on the trimelle (5) so that it can be removed. Product outlet unit (P), comprising a trimelle (5), which has a conveyor screw (10) in its lower region facing away from its base, the conveyor screw (10) having two sections (10a, 10b) conveying in opposite directions in order to remove product from the lower area of the Trimelle (5) to an outlet opening (7) in the bottom area of the Trimelle (5). Product outlet unit (P) according to Claim 10, characterized in that it is a product outlet unit (P) according to one of Claims 2 to 9. Process for grinding bulk material with a roller mill (1) for the production of foodstuffs and animal feed according to one of Claims 1 to 9, comprising the steps a) introducing bulk material into the product inlet (2); b) grinding of the bulk material in the grinding chamber with the aid of the grinding rollers (3, 4) and transfer of the ground product to the Trimelle (5); c) conveyance of the ground product through the conveyor screw (10) arranged in the trimelle (5) to an outlet opening (7). Method according to Claim 12, characterized in that the ground product is transferred through the outlet opening (7) into a pipeline (8) and conveyed away therein. Method according to Claim 13, characterized in that the conveyance in the pipeline (8) takes place pneumatically.

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