FR3059088A1 - PRODUCT DRAINING DEVICE AND PRODUCT PROCESSING PLANT INCLUDING SUCH DRAINAGE DEVICE - Google Patents

Abstract

Device (1) for dewatering products comprising a conveyor (2) comprising a frame (3), two structures (4) for returning, and a band (5) motorized endless conveyor which wraps around the structures (4) deflector, said conveyor belt (5) comprising an upper strand (51) supporting the products and a lower strand (52). The endless conveyor belt (5) is a transversely flexible strip for deforming between a flat transverse configuration and a curved, so-called tubular configuration, in which the longitudinal edges (6) of the endless conveyor belt (5) are raised and moved closer to each other, the device (1) comprises means (9) for shaping the upper strand (51) of the endless conveyor belt (5) in said tubular configuration over at least part of the trajectory followed. by said upper strand (51) between said return structures (4), and the endless band (5) is a dewatering band provided with through openings (7).

Description

(57) Device (1) for draining products, comprising a conveyor (2) comprising a chassis (3), two return structures (4), and a motorized endless conveyor belt (5) which is wound around the structures (4) return, said conveyor belt (5) comprising a strand (51) upper product support and a strand (52) lower.

The endless conveyor belt (5) is a transversely flexible belt in order to be able to deform between a flat transverse configuration and a curved configuration, called tubular, in which the longitudinal edges (6) of the endless conveyor belt (5) are raised and brought closer to each other, the device (1) comprises means (9) for conforming the upper strand (51) of the endless conveyor belt (5) in said tubular configuration on at least part of the path followed by said upper strand (51) between said return structures (4), and the endless strip (5) is a drip strip provided with through openings (7).

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FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a device for draining products, in particular in bulk, such as harvested products, and a product processing installation comprising such a device for draining.

It relates more particularly to a device for draining products comprising a conveyor, said conveyor comprising a frame, two return structures and a motorized endless conveyor belt which is wound around the return structures, said conveyor belt comprising an upper strand intended to support the products and a lower strand.

PRIOR ART

Many drainage devices are known. The applications of these drainage devices are numerous. Thus, these draining devices can be used to eliminate washing water, a liquid having been used to carry out a densimetric sorting, the free juices of liquid / solid or other products. A traditional draining device is for example in the form of a grid arranged above a tank. Such a draining device has various drawbacks. It operates in a static draining. In addition, when the products to be drained are bulk products, such as harvested berries, such as from the harvest, water or free juices tend to remain inside the mass formed by said products and the draining is not effective.

PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

An object of the invention is to provide a device for draining products whose design allows draining with improved performance.

To this end, the subject of the invention is a device for draining products, in particular in bulk, such as harvested products, comprising a conveyor, said conveyor comprising a frame, two return structures, and an endless motorized conveyor belt. which is wound around the return structures, said conveyor belt comprising an upper strand intended to support the products and a lower strand, characterized in that the endless conveyor belt is a flexible belt transversely so as to be able to deform between a plane transverse configuration and a curved configuration, called tubular, in which the longitudinal edges of the endless conveyor belt are raised and brought towards one another, in that the device comprises means for shaping the upper strand of the conveyor belt without end in said tubular configuration on at least part of the path followed by said upper strand between said structures d e return, and in that the endless band is a drip band provided with through openings.

The use of a perforated or perforated conveyor belt with an upper strand portion having, on part of its path, a tubular configuration, that is to say a configuration in which the longitudinal edges of said upper strand of the belt conveyor are raised and brought close to each other whether joined or not, that is to say by maintaining a free space between said longitudinal edges, promotes mixing of the bulk products conveyed at the level of the tube formed and, as a result, an improvement in drainage which can take place in parallel with stirring, thanks to the presence of the through openings of the endless conveyor belt.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the endless conveyor belt comprises reinforcing elements extending transversely to the longitudinal axis of the endless conveyor belt. Indeed, the endless conveyor belt must be sufficiently flexible transversely while retaining the rigidity necessary to be shaped. Such reinforcing elements therefore favor the tubular configuration in the form of an open tube, that is to say split longitudinally or closed from the upper strand of the endless conveyor belt.

Preferably, the reinforcing elements comprise elastically deformable cleats distributed along the endless conveyor belt, on the side of the surface for transporting the products of said conveyor belt.

More preferably, the cleats extend substantially parallel to each other, and each cleat forms with the longitudinal axis of the endless conveyor belt an angle different from 90 ° to form a tubular configuration of the endless conveyor belt. coil section of a helical winding. Again, this arrangement improves the conveying and draining of the products.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the means for shaping the upper strand of the endless conveyor belt in said tubular configuration comprise a tubular body open at each of its ends inside which the upper strand of the conveyor belt without end is able to circulate.

Preferably, the through openings of the conveyor belt have a dimension in the range [1 x 1 mm to 5 x 5 mm].

Preferably, the conveyor belt has a thickness in the range [2 mm - 5 mm],

The invention also relates to an installation for treating products, in particular in bulk, such as harvested products, said installation comprising a tank intended to receive a liquid capable of separating the products by flotation and a draining device, characterized in that the draining device is of the aforementioned type, the endless conveyor belt of the draining device is configured to occupy at least one so-called working position, in which it extends at least partially inside the tank inclined between a low point formed by the lower return structure called upstream and a high point formed by the upper return structure called downstream, with the upper strand of the conveyor belt intended to transport the products falling into the bottom of the tank forming a lifting riser from the bottom of the tank towards the outside of the tank.

Thanks to such an installation, it is possible when the harvested products are harvested, that is to say a mixture consisting of healthy grape berries and undesirable components, in particular damaged or not sufficiently ripe grape berries. or impurities, such as leaves, petioles, twigs, to convey, at the level of the conveyor belt, only the healthy and ripe berries fallen at the bottom of the tank and to proceed, in parallel with their conveying, to their draining.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the bin has, in the working position of the endless conveyor belt, a filling level or a range of so-called operational filling levels corresponding to the filling level or the range of filling levels. recommended filling and, on the path followed by the upper strand of the conveyor belt between said return structures, the zone, at which the upper strand of the conveyor belt is in tubular configuration, is in the working position of the belt conveyor, arranged at least at said filling level or the range of operational filling levels. This results in the possibility of preventing the elements floating on the surface of the tank filling liquid from polluting the content of the conveyor belt by joining, at this level, the conveyed products.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the installation comprises a device for collecting the products floating in the container, this collection device comprising at least one container placed near the container for communication between container and container by overflow of the content. from the container into said container.

Preferably, the container is equipped with liquid / solid separation means and the collection device comprises a circuit for returning the separated liquid to the tank. This results in an optimization of the sorting and automatic recycling of the liquid contained in the tank.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the collection container takes the form of a perforated trough at least partially arranged inside an enclosure connected to the tank by the return circuit of the separated liquid, said trough accommodating a member, such as a screw, for evacuating products from the trough, the evacuation member and the perforations in the trough forming the liquid / solid separation means of the container.

Preferably, the installation comprises, placed under the conveyor belt 15 of the conveyor of the draining device, perpendicular to at least part of the path followed by the lower strand of the conveyor belt, an inclined ramp with a slope. descending towards the ferry.

This ramp makes it possible, at the part of the conveyor belt which is not located directly above the tank, to direct the liquids from the drainage to the tank.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The invention will be clearly understood on reading the following description of exemplary embodiments, with reference to the appended drawings in which:

Figure 1 shows a schematic side view of an installation according to the invention in the working position of the conveyor belt, a single through opening of the belt having been shown so as not to weigh down the representation.

2 shows a schematic side view of an installation according to the invention in a position in which the conveyor belt extends horizontally, only a few through openings of the belt having been shown so as not to weigh down the representation .

FIG. 3 represents a perspective view of an installation in accordance with the invention and a detail view B of the perforations of the trough housing the worm, only a few through openings of the conveyor belt and perforations of the trough having been represented so as not to weigh down the representation.

FIG. 4 represents a perspective view of a conveyor belt with cleats, the means of shaping the belt not being shown, said view being associated with a detail view D of the through openings of the belt, the through openings being partially represented so as not to weigh down the representation.

FIG. 5 represents a partial perspective view of the conveyor belt with the means for shaping the upper strand of the belt and a detail view C of the through openings of the belt, the through openings being partially shown so as not to weigh down the representation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As mentioned above, the subject of the invention is a device for draining products, in particular in bulk, in particular harvested products, which may be any, as well as a treatment installation including such a device 1 for draining .

The invention is more particularly described here for an application to the treatment of a harvest mixture consisting of healthy grape berries and undesirable components and to the draining of healthy and ripe reason berries of said mixture. However, the invention can be applied to a large number of other types of products.

To this end, the draining device 1 comprises a conveyor 2 comprising a frame 3, two return structures 4 and an endless conveyor belt 5 which is wound around the return structures 4, said endless conveyor belt 5 being motorized , that is to say driven in displacement following an endless loop path around the return structures 4 using a motor 18.

In the examples shown, the return structures 4 are each formed by a drum around which the conveyor belt 5 is partially wound. One of the drums is rotated by the motor 18 in a manner known per se to generate an endless loop movement of said conveyor belt 5.

This endless conveyor belt 5 is a transversely flexible belt and is made for example of polyester fabric and / or PVC, as shown and has a thickness here close to 3 mm. This conveyor belt 5 can thus be deformed between a planar transverse configuration and a curved configuration, called tubular, in which the longitudinal edges 6 of the upper strand 51 of the conveyor belt are raised and brought towards each other to a position where either they remain further apart from one another to form a longitudinally split tube, or they are brought into contact with one another in a contiguous or overlapping fashion to form a tube with closed perimeter.

To allow such a conformation of the upper strand 51 of the conveyor belt 5 in this tubular configuration, on a part of the path followed by the upper strand 51 between the return structures 4, the device comprises means 9 of conformation formed here by a cylinder 91 open at each of its ends. This cylinder forms a passage inside which the upper strand 51 of the conveyor belt 5 passes by being deformed by pressing the so-called lower face or the underside of said upper strand 51 on the internal surface of the cylinder. If necessary, additional guide members can be provided between the cylinder and the underside of the upper strand 51. This cylinder can, in an equivalent manner, be replaced by other shaping means, such as diabolos or rollers arranged one after the other on the path to be followed by the upper strand 51 of the conveyor belt 5 and acting by rolling bearing contact with said conveyor belt 5. The upper strand 51 of the endless conveyor belt 5 thus comprises, from a return structure 4 to the other return structure 4, a flat loading section then a tubular section then a flat section.

To allow the drainage of the products transported by the upper strand 51 of the conveyor belt 5, the endless conveyor belt 5 also has through openings 7 which, in the example shown, have a dimension of 3 mm × 3 mm. These through openings 7 are distributed evenly or not on the surface of the conveyor belt 5. The number of through openings 7 per cm ² depends on the dimensions of the openings.

To optimize the transport of the products and their stirring in the tubular zone, the endless conveyor belt 5 comprises reinforcing elements 8 here being in the form of cleats 81 extending transversely to the longitudinal axis XX ′ of the conveyor belt 5 endless and parallel to each other as illustrated in FIG. 4. These cleats 81 are flexible cleats, elastically deformable, in order to be able to follow a deformation of the strip. These cleats 81 form with the longitudinal axis XX ′ of the endless conveyor belt 5, an angle A different from 90 ° and here close to 130 °. Thus, these cleats 81 each form, in tubular configuration of the upper strand 51 of the endless conveyor belt 5, a turn section of a helical winding.

A draining device 1, as described above, can be used alone or in connection with a tank 10 to form a product processing installation, as illustrated in FIG. 1. Thus, in the case where the products are, as mentioned above, a harvest mixture consisting of healthy grape berries and unwanted components, the purpose of the installation is to allow the separation of healthy berries from unwanted berries and impurities.

To this end, the invention therefore comprises a tank 10 intended to receive a liquid suitable for separating the products, in this case the harvest mixture by flotation. This tank 10 is therefore able to be filled with a sweet liquid whose density is chosen so that the unwanted berries and the impurities, such as the leaves, the petioles, the twigs, float on the surface of the liquid while the berries healthy and ripe fall to the bottom of tray 10.

The endless conveyor belt 5 of the draining device 1 is in the working position corresponding to the configuration of use of the installation partially arranged in the tank 10. Thus, in the work position, the endless conveyor belt 5 extends partially inside the tank 10 in an inclined manner between a low point formed by the lower return structure 4, said upstream, and a high point formed by the upper return structure 4, said downstream, with the upper strand 51 of the conveyor belt 5 intended for transporting the products falling into the bottom of the tank 10 forming an ascending strand 51 rising from the bottom of the tank 10 towards the outside of the tank 10. The structure 4 of the bottom return therefore extends to the bottom of the tray or near the bottom of the tray 10. The upper return structure 4 extends above the tray 10 and generally, as illustrated in a laterally offset manner relative to the tray 10.

In the example shown, the tray 10 has, in the working position of the endless conveyor belt 5, a filling level 11, said to be operational and corresponding to the recommended filling level, represented in 11. The zoneο zone of the belt 5 endless conveyor, at which the upper strand 51 is in tubular configuration, is arranged at least at the level 11 of operational filling of the tank 10. Thus, the floating elements on the surface of the liquid do not mix with the products transported by the conveyor belt and which come from the bottom of the tank, the raised edges of the upper strand of the conveyor belt being able to form an obstacle.

The installation also includes a device 12 for collecting floating products in the tray 10. This device 12 for collecting comprises a container 13 placed near the tray 10 for communication between tray 10 and container 13 by overflowing the contents of the tray 10 in said container 13. This collection container 13 takes the form of a perforated trough housing a rotary screw 141 arranged longitudinally inside the trough. This screw 141 makes it possible to evacuate the solid products from the trough. This evacuation takes place at one end of the trough. The solid products here are all the products which floated on the surface of the tank 10 and which ended up in the trough due to the communication by overflow or overflow between the tank 10 and trough. This trough is perforated and is housed in an enclosure 16 connected to the tank 10 by a return circuit 15 so that the liquid, coming from the trough via the perforations 142 of the trough and collected in the enclosure 16, can be driven using a pump 152 disposed on the return circuit 15 to be recirculated in order to be brought back to the tank 10. Thus, a closed circuit circulation of the liquid is established to obtain a substantially constant level of liquid in the tray 10 and guarantee a circulation of the liquid allowing communication by overflow between tray 10 and container 13 for collection, said container 13 being equipped with means 14 for liquid / solid separation constituted by the screw 141 and the perforations 142 of the trough.

To complete the assembly, a buffer tank 151 is placed on the return circuit 15 between the enclosure 16 and the pump 152.

Finally, the installation comprises, disposed under the conveyor belt 5 of the conveyor of the draining device 1, plumb with at least part of the path followed by the lower strand 52 of the conveyor belt 5, an inclined ramp 17 with a downward slope towards the tank 10 in the configuration of use of said ramp. This ramp 17 extends below the part of the conveyor belt which is disposed outside of the tank 10 to direct the liquid from the drainage towards the tank 10. When the endless conveyor belt 5 is in working position, the upper part of the endless conveyor belt 5, which is equipped with the upper return structure 4, called downstream, is extended by a hopper responsible for recovering the products from the endless conveyor belt 5. Thus, thanks to such a processing installation, in which the harvest mixture to be treated is poured into the tank 10, the ripe healthy berries which have fallen to the bottom of the tank are recovered using the endless conveyor belt 5. that all the solid elements of the mixture, considered as impurities and floating in the tank, are discharged at one end of the trough adjacent to the tank, the liquid separated from these floating elements being recirculated in the tank as well as the liquid from of draining ripe healthy berries transported by the endless conveyor belt 5.

Claims (10)

1. Device (1) for draining products, in particular in bulk, such as harvested products, comprising a conveyor ( 2), said conveyor (2) 5 comprising a chassis ( 3), two return structures (4), and a motorized endless conveyor belt (5) which is wound around the return structures (4), said conveyor belt (5) comprising an upper strand (51) intended to support the products and a lower strand (52), characterized in that the endless conveyor belt (5) is a flexible belt transversely to be able to deform between a planar transverse configuration and a curved configuration, called tubular, in which the edges ( 6) longitudinal of the endless conveyor belt (5) are raised and brought together, in that the device (1) comprises means (9) for conforming the upper strand (51) of the belt ( 5) endless conveyor 15 in said tubular configuration on at least part of the path followed by said upper strand (51) between said return structures (4), and in that the endless strip (5) is a drip strip provided with openings (7) through. 2. Drainage device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the endless conveyor belt (5) has reinforcing elements (8) extending transversely to the longitudinal axis of the belt (5) endless conveyor. 25 3. Drainage device (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that the reinforcing elements (8) comprise cleats (81) elastically deformable distributed along the endless conveyor belt (5), surface side of transport of the products of said conveyor belt (5). 4. Drainage device (1) according to claim 3, characterized in that the cleats (81) extend substantially parallel to each other, and in that each cleat (81) forms with the longitudinal axis of the endless conveyor belt (5) at an angle different from 90 ° to constitute in tubular configuration the endless conveyor belt (5) a section of coil of a helical winding. 5. Device (1) for draining according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the means (9) for shaping the upper strand (51) of the endless conveyor belt (5) in said tubular configuration comprise a body (91) tubular open at each of its ends, inside which the upper strand (51) of the endless conveyor belt (5) is able to circulate. 6. Installation for processing products, in particular in bulk, such as harvested products, said installation comprising a tank (10) intended to receive 15 a liquid capable of separating the products by flotation and a draining device (1), characterized in that the draining device (1) conforms to one of claims 1 to 5, in that the strip ( 5) endless conveyor of the drip device is configured to occupy at least one so-called position 20 of work, in which it extends at least partially inside the tank (10) in an inclined manner between a low point formed by the structure (4) of the lower return referred to as upstream and a high point formed by the structure ( 4) of upper return referred to as downstream, with the upper strand (51) of the conveyor belt (5) intended to transport the products falling into the bottom of the tank (10) forming a 25 strand (51) ascending lift from the bottom of the tank (10) towards the outside of the tank (10). 7. Treatment installation according to claim 6, characterized in that the tank (10) has, in the working position of the strip 30 (5) endless conveyor, a filling level (11) or a range of so-called operational filling levels corresponding to the recommended filling level or range of filling levels and in that, on the path followed by the strand (51) upper of the conveyor belt (5) between said return structures (4), the zone, at which the upper strand (51) of the conveyor belt is in tubular configuration, is in the working position of the conveyor belt (5), arranged at 5 at least at said filling level (11) or the range of operational filling levels. 8. Treatment installation according to one of claims 6 or 7, characterized in that it comprises a device (12) for collecting the products îo floating in the tank (10), this device (12) for collection comprising at least a container (13) disposed near the container (10) for communication between container (10) and container (13) by overflowing the contents of the container (10) in said container (13). 15 9. Treatment installation according to claim 8, characterized in that the container (13) is equipped with means (14) of liquid / solid separation and in that the device (12) for collection comprises a return circuit (15) to the tank (10) of the separated liquid. 20 10. Treatment installation according to claim 9, characterized in that the collecting container (13) takes the form of a perforated trough at least partially disposed inside an enclosure (16) connected to the tank (10) by the circuit (15) for returning the separated liquid, said trough (13) housing a member (141), such as a screw, for evacuating the products of 25 the gauge, the evacuation member (141) and the perforations (142) of the trough forming the means (14) of liquid / solid separation of the container (13). 1/5