FR2633507A1 - Flameproof suction device for picking up debris and waste in grain storage silos - Google Patents

Abstract

Flameproof suction device for picking up debris and waste in grain storage silos, a reversible flow motor, a dust collector and a separator. Device characterised in that the separator 5 is a cyclone separator connected to the dust collector 4 by way of a filter, connected to a bag 15 and cooperating with a sequencer 10 automatically controlling the reversal of the motor 3. The invention applies to suction devices for picking up debris and waste.

Description

"Explosion-proof slag and waste suction device in grain storage silos".

 The present invention relates to an explosion-proof suction device for slag and waste in grain storage silos, of the type comprising a motor making it possible to create a vacuum in a storage container for suctioning dust or the like.

 There are already known suction devices constituted by traditional vacuum cleaners provided with a series or asynchronous motor. These vacuum cleaners are provided with a tank having a slag storage function and simultaneously a dust collector role.

According to this vacuum cleaner design, the motor is arranged in the center of the vacuum chamber. This results in a certain number of drawbacks such as, for example, improper handling when emptying the slag stored in the tank.

 In addition, in the event of a perforation of the filter placed between the engine and the tank, the dust enters the turbines where there is a risk of damage or premature wear of the engine. Finally, these conventional vacuum cleaners are not suitable for working in grain silos where a gaseous atmosphere is formed from the fermentation of waste, resulting in a high risk of explosion.

 Finally, these traditional vacuum cleaners have no limited capacity of around one hundred liters of material.

 The purpose of French patent N 83 OS 446 is to create an explosion-proof slag and waste suction device in grain storage silos, of a design adapted to existing grain silos, of easy handling and highly efficient while providing the maximum security necessary in a high-risk environment, such as a grain storage silo.

 French patent N 83 05 446 also aims to create an explosion-proof suction device capable of being handled very easily and making it possible to efficiently suck up large quantities of slag and waste over long distances between the suction brush and the storage bin.

 To this end, French patent N 83 OS 446 relates to an explosion-proof slag and waste suction device in grain storage silos of the type comprising a motor making it possible to create a vacuum in a storage container for the dust or other aspiration.

 According to French patent N 83 05 446, this device consists of a self-supporting structure receiving an explosion-proof motor with reversible flow ensuring either a vacuum suction effect or a blowing effect, integral with a turbine via an axis, without transfer or coupling, and to which is connected a dust collector forming a separate unit isolated from the motor as well as a separator provided with a suction brush, the motor, the dust collector, the separator and the suction brush being interconnected by a network of antistatic hoses.

 This device is particularly advantageous, in particular thanks to the direct coupling, in line of shafts, of a centrifugal turbine and an explosion-proof motor, which gives any satisfaction from the point of view of safety.

 Another advantage of this configuration is linked to the vertical design of the self-supporting structure, the dust collector being arranged above the engine.

 Despite these advantages mentioned above, the device in accordance with French patent N 83 OS 446 has proved to be inconvenient to use, in particular given the configuration of the separator which is constituted by a large cylindrical storage bin mounted on wheels. of a type similar to conventional urban trash cans: in fact, to empty this bin at the end of the suction cycle, it is necessary, first of all, to remove its cover, then close the waste bag located in its part internal, before tilting it, and removing the bag which is relatively heavy. It is easy to understand that these are particularly inconvenient operations.

 The object of the present invention is to remedy these drawbacks by creating a device of the aforementioned type, in which the separator can be emptied in a particularly simple manner.

 According to the present invention, this device is characterized in that the separator is a cyclonic separator connected to the dust collector by means of a filter, associated with a removable bagging machine mounted at its lower end, and cooperating with a sequencer automatically controlling the reversing the motor in accordance with a predetermined adjustable sequence, on the one hand, of suction cycles and, on the other hand, of emptying cycles intended to transfer into the bagger the waste or other accumulated on the filter during suction phases and perform automatic cleaning of the latter.

 Of course, the length of the suction and emptying cycles can be arbitrary without departing from the scope of the invention; however, particularly satisfactory results have been obtained by opting for suction cycles of the order of fifteen minutes, giving the operator the time necessary to remove the full bagger and replace it with another. empty. This bagger can also be arbitrary, in particular made of paper or synthetic material and its mode of connection to the lower part of the separator can also be arbitrary, in particular constituted by a set of straps.

 The advantage of this configuration compared to that described in French patent N 83 OS 446, is easy to imagine since the operations of removal and exchange of the bagger are almost immediate.

 According to another characteristic of the present invention, the separator consists of a cylindrical tank mounted vertically open at its lower end so as to receive the bagger and closed at its upper part by a removable cover on which the filter is mounted.

 According to this configuration, the separator has, in fact, a shape close to that of a dust collector conventionally used in devices of the type described in French patent N 83 05 446. According to the present invention, it is on the contrary possible to replace the dust collector with a body of considerably smaller size, the only role of which is to act as a safety chamber between the separator and the engine-turbine assembly.

 In order for the above-mentioned device to function optimally, it is necessary to isolate the separator from the bagger during the suction cycles.

 To this end, and according to another characteristic of the present invention, the separator is provided, at its lower end, with an emptying valve which closes automatically during the suction cycles under the effect of the vacuum created in the separator to isolate the latter and the bagger and opens automatically during the emptying cycles so as to allow the transfer into the bagger of waste or other accumulated on the filter during the suction cycles.

 This valve can be constituted by a conventional and inexpensive member.

 Another problem which may be encountered during the implementation of the device according to the present invention is linked to the risk of "bursting" of the bagger during the reversal of the flow of the engine and of the emptying cycles, by following air blowing.

 To overcome this drawback, in accordance with another characteristic of the present invention, the walls of the tank constituting the separator are provided at their lower part with filtering decompression openings.

 These organs must, of course, be located below the automatic valve so as not to interfere with the suction cycles.

 According to another characteristic of the present invention, the separator is provided with a grounding device.

 According to another characteristic of the present invention, the turbine engine assembly and the dust collector on the one hand, as well as the separator on the other hand, are mounted on a single chassis provided with transport wheels.

 This is again a particularly advantageous feature of the present invention, since it allows, when using the device, to have only one part to move.

This movement can be carried out in an extremely simple and inexpensive manner, and the device can particularly easily be mounted in an elevator.

The characteristics of the device which is the subject of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings in which
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the device,
- Figure 2 is a schematic section of the separator.

 According to Figure 1, the suction device according to the present invention consists schematically of a chassis 1 provided with wheels 2 and carrying an assembly 3 consisting of an explosion-proof motor and a centrifugal turbine coupled directly in line with shafts, a dust collector 4 mounted directly above the assembly 3 and a separator 5. The dust collector 4 and the turbine assembly 3 on the one hand, as well as the separator and the dust collector 4 on the other hand, are respectively connected by hoses antistatic 6, 6 '.

 The separator 5 is moreover connected by a very long flexible hose 6 "to a rigid sleeve 7, the free end of which is provided with a suction brush 8.

 The assembly thus formed can easily be moved to carry out cleaning work, in particular inside grain silos by means of two rigid handles 9, 9 ′ secured to the chassis 1.

 The motor 3 is an explosion-proof motor with reversible flow, capable of ensuring either a vacuum suction effect or a blowing effect. A sequencer 10 shown diagrammatically in FIG. 1 automatically controls the motor 3 in an adjustable predetermined succession of suction cycles in which the air moves in the device according to arrow A from the sleeve 7 to the separator 5 and to the dust collector 4, and emptying cycles in which the air moves along the arrow B from the dust collector 4 to the separator 5. The suction cycles which generally last on the order of fifteen minutes, are used to carry out the cleaning operation properly said while, as will be mentioned in more detail in the remainder of this description, the emptying cycles serve to rid waste or other accumulated in the separator 5 during the suction phases.

 According to Figure 1, the separator 5 is a cyclonic type separator consisting of a cylindrical tank mounted vertically, which is closed, sealingly at its upper part, by a removable cover 11 held by means of clamps 12 which receives the end of the hose 6 'ensuring the connection of the separator 5 and the dust collector 4.

 According to FIG. 2, the cover 11 carries, moreover, a cylindrical filter 13 serving to retain the waste or other aspirated according to arrow A at the sleeve 7 and the suction brush 8 during the suction cycles, so as to prevent reaching the dust collector 4 and the turbine engine assembly 3. It is clear that the role of the dust collector 4 is, in a way, to act as security to prevent waste from reaching the engine.

 According to FIGS. 1 and 2, the separator 5 cooperates at its open lower end 14 with a bagger 15 held by means of a set of straps 16.

 According to FIG. 2, the separator 5 is moreover provided at its lower part with an emptying valve 17 mounted so as to close automatically according to the arrow a during the suction cycles (air circulation according to the arrows A) under the effect of the vacuum created inside the separator 5 to isolate the latter and the bagger 15, and to open automatically upon reversing the flow of the motor 3 (emptying cycle - air circulation according to arrow B) in the position shown in the figure, so as to connect the internal part of the separator 5 and the bagger 15, and to automatically transfer, into the latter, the waste or other accumulated during the suction phases on the filter 13 and to carry out an automatic cleaning of the latter.

 Filter decompression vents 18 are provided on the walls of the separator 5, below the valve 17, to prevent the bagging machine 15 from bursting during the emptying cycles.

 It is clear, in view of the above, that the succession of suction and emptying cycles controlled by the sequencer 10 takes place automatically and that, during each suction cycle, the operator has only 'to remove the bagger 15 filled during the previous emptying cycle and replace it with a clean bagger.

Claims (6)

 1) Slag and waste suction device, explosion-proof in grain storage silos of the type comprising a motor making it possible to create a vacuum in a storage container for the suction of waste or the like, device consisting of a structure self-supporting receiving an explosion-proof motor with reversible flow ensuring either a vacuum suction effect or a blowing effect, integral with a turbine via an axis, without transfer or coupling, and to which a dust collector is connected forming a separate unit isolated from the motor as well as a separator provided with a suction brush, the motor, the dust collector, the separator and the suction brush being connected together by a network of antistatic hoses, device characterized in that the separator (5) is a cyclonic separator connected to the dust collector (4) via a filter (13), associated with a removable bagger (15) mounted its lower end (14), and cooperating with a sequencer (10) automatically controlling the reversal of the motor (3) in accordance with a predetermined adjustable sequence, on the one hand, of suction cycles and, on the other hand, of emptying cycles intended to transfer into the bagger (15) the waste or other accumulated on the filter (13) during the suction phases and to carry out an automatic cleaning of the latter.  2) Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the separator (5) consists of a cylindrical tank mounted vertically open at its lower end (14) so as to receive the bagger (15) and closed at its upper part by a removable cover on which the filter (13) is mounted.  3) Device according to any one of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the separator (5) is provided, at its lower end (14), with an emptying valve (17) which closes automatically during the cycles suction under the effect of the vacuum created in the separator (5) to isolate the latter and the bagger (15) and opens automatically during emptying cycles so as to allow transfer into the bagger ( 15) waste or other accumulated on the filter (13) during the suction cycles.  4) Device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the walls of the tank constituting the separator (5) are provided at their lower part with filtering decompression openings (18) intended to prevent bursting of the bagger (15) during the emptying cycles.  5) Device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the separator (5) is provided with a grounding device.  6) Device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the turbine engine assembly (3) and the dust collector (4) on the one hand, as well as the separator (5) on the other hand, are mounted on a single chassis (1) provided with transport wheels (2).