GB2068015A - Lautering apparatus, etc. - Google Patents

Abstract

Material treatment apparatus, such as for example a lauter tub for the treatment of the grain mash in brewing, comprises a vessel having a floor provided with a discharge outlet and having a series of parallel linear troughs, preferably of V-form cross section, which is in contrast to the prior art arrangement which employed annular troughs. This linear trough floor form considerably conveniences the manufacture of vessels catering for different operating parameters, and benefits the liquid collection and pipework installation and also vessel maintenance generally. The floor may be made from a number of linear sections welded together and consolidated by backing strips and support bars.

Description

SPECIFICATION Improved floor for lautering apparatus and the like The present invention relates to lauter tuns or tubs and like apparatus comprising a vessel for material to be treated with a floor provided with a discharge outlet.

A lauter tun is used in brewing for filtration and lautering of grain mash and includes a circular vessel for receiving the mash and a rotary lautering machine within the vessel, the vessel being provided with real and perforated false floors to facilitate drainage of liquid.

In the Applicants previous design of lauter tun the real floor had a series of annular concentric troughs of shallow V-form, which troughs were built up from a series of arcuate plate sections.

The formation of these arcuate troughs by plate bending and joining is relatively difficult and expensive, and it has been necessary to use different sized troughs for tuns of varying size so that substantial standardisation of the trough sections and the false floor has not been possible up till now. This has inconvenienced the batch manufacture of tuns and has added to the cost of apparatus.

It is an object of the present invention to obviate or mitigate these disadvantages.

According to the present invention a lauter tun or like apparatus includes a vessel for material to be treated with a floor provided with a discharge outlet, the floor comprising a series of parallel substantially linear troughs.

Preferably the troughs are of shallow Form.

In a preferred embodiment the floor is formed from a series of individual linear elements joined along adjacent edges. The troughs can be shaped so that the floor has a circular profile.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 shows a plan view of a floor for a lauter tun; Fig. 2 shows a side elevation of the floor of Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 shows a detail of Fig. 2 to a larger scale.

Referring to the drawings, a lauter tun comprises a vessel having an annular wall 1 and a real floor 2 comprising a series of parallel linear troughs 3 of shallow V-form (see Fig. 2) these troughs being shaped so that the floor has a circular profile, and the periphery of the floor is welded to wall 1. The floor 2 is constructed from a series of linear plate elements 4, 5 which are welded together along their adjoining edges, plates 4 being of plain form while plates 5 are corrugated. The plates 4, 5 can be dimensioned for ease of transport for on-site erection. The plate weld joins 6 are reinforced by backing strips 7 and bottom support bars 8 are welded to the floor 2.

Discharge outlets (not shown) can be suitably located on the floor 2.

Conveniently a standard straight trough section of fixed width can be provided, and variation in size of the tun bottom can be achieved simply by welding together a greater or smaller number of these standard sized straight sections. As will be appreciated this conveniences the batch production of tuns and assists the stocking of parts since basically only a single sized section need be used for the floor of tuns of varying size.

In previous tuns having circular troughs, each size of tun generally required its own size of arcuate trough section and this necessitated individual plate sizing and manufacture for each section to cater for the different section width, this width being dependent on the number of troughs or valleys employed in the tun.

Also, due to the use of straight trough sections of standard width, the manufacture of the false bottom for the tun can be considerably convenienced since it is possible to build the bulk of the floor (say 80%90%) from plates of a standard size irrespective of the size of the tun, with only the remaining peripheral part of the false floor requiring particular sizing: again this facilitates batch production and stocking. In the previous tun with circular troughs of varying width for varying tun size, the false bottom plates which are mainly supported on the tops of the troughs had to be individually made to suit the tun sizing.

Further, the tun bottom according to the present invention will be as operationally effective as the previous arrangement. Indeed the present system should have the following additional benefits: (a) The proposed method of formation by simple bending allows simple variation of the valley angles, or depth, to suit differing draining parameters.

(b) With straight troughs or valleys, collection of the run off material can be more accurately zoned thus enabling greater control of run off over discreet areas of the fun floor for uniformity of process and also allowing more discreet sampling facilities.

(c) The straight troughs or valleys also allow the use of straight collection pipes, flushout channels etc. which are of simpler construction than the circular units employed in the previous circulartrough tuns and also allow a much simpler process for periodic major cleaning and servicing.

Modifications are of course possible; in particular the precise arrangement of the linear plate elements could be altered. It is submitted that the construction of the floor in the form of parallel linear troughs, particularly by simply joining plate elements, provides for considerable ease of construction in comparison with the previous annular concentric trough arrangement.

It will be appreciated that the present invention could be used in treatment vessels other than lauter tuns.

1. A vessel for material to be treated, having a floor provided with a discharge outlet, the floor comprising a series of parallel substantially linear

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims (8)

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. SPECIFICATION Improved floor for lautering apparatus and the like The present invention relates to lauter tuns or tubs and like apparatus comprising a vessel for material to be treated with a floor provided with a discharge outlet. A lauter tun is used in brewing for filtration and lautering of grain mash and includes a circular vessel for receiving the mash and a rotary lautering machine within the vessel, the vessel being provided with real and perforated false floors to facilitate drainage of liquid. In the Applicants previous design of lauter tun the real floor had a series of annular concentric troughs of shallow V-form, which troughs were built up from a series of arcuate plate sections. The formation of these arcuate troughs by plate bending and joining is relatively difficult and expensive, and it has been necessary to use different sized troughs for tuns of varying size so that substantial standardisation of the trough sections and the false floor has not been possible up till now. This has inconvenienced the batch manufacture of tuns and has added to the cost of apparatus. It is an object of the present invention to obviate or mitigate these disadvantages. According to the present invention a lauter tun or like apparatus includes a vessel for material to be treated with a floor provided with a discharge outlet, the floor comprising a series of parallel substantially linear troughs. Preferably the troughs are of shallow Form. In a preferred embodiment the floor is formed from a series of individual linear elements joined along adjacent edges. The troughs can be shaped so that the floor has a circular profile. An embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 shows a plan view of a floor for a lauter tun; Fig. 2 shows a side elevation of the floor of Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 shows a detail of Fig. 2 to a larger scale. Referring to the drawings, a lauter tun comprises a vessel having an annular wall 1 and a real floor 2 comprising a series of parallel linear troughs 3 of shallow V-form (see Fig. 2) these troughs being shaped so that the floor has a circular profile, and the periphery of the floor is welded to wall 1. The floor 2 is constructed from a series of linear plate elements 4, 5 which are welded together along their adjoining edges, plates 4 being of plain form while plates 5 are corrugated. The plates 4, 5 can be dimensioned for ease of transport for on-site erection. The plate weld joins 6 are reinforced by backing strips 7 and bottom support bars 8 are welded to the floor 2. Discharge outlets (not shown) can be suitably located on the floor 2. Conveniently a standard straight trough section of fixed width can be provided, and variation in size of the tun bottom can be achieved simply by welding together a greater or smaller number of these standard sized straight sections. As will be appreciated this conveniences the batch production of tuns and assists the stocking of parts since basically only a single sized section need be used for the floor of tuns of varying size. In previous tuns having circular troughs, each size of tun generally required its own size of arcuate trough section and this necessitated individual plate sizing and manufacture for each section to cater for the different section width, this width being dependent on the number of troughs or valleys employed in the tun. Also, due to the use of straight trough sections of standard width, the manufacture of the false bottom for the tun can be considerably convenienced since it is possible to build the bulk of the floor (say 80%90%) from plates of a standard size irrespective of the size of the tun, with only the remaining peripheral part of the false floor requiring particular sizing: again this facilitates batch production and stocking. In the previous tun with circular troughs of varying width for varying tun size, the false bottom plates which are mainly supported on the tops of the troughs had to be individually made to suit the tun sizing. Further, the tun bottom according to the present invention will be as operationally effective as the previous arrangement. Indeed the present system should have the following additional benefits: (a) The proposed method of formation by simple bending allows simple variation of the valley angles, or depth, to suit differing draining parameters. (b) With straight troughs or valleys, collection of the run off material can be more accurately zoned thus enabling greater control of run off over discreet areas of the fun floor for uniformity of process and also allowing more discreet sampling facilities. (c) The straight troughs or valleys also allow the use of straight collection pipes, flushout channels etc. which are of simpler construction than the circular units employed in the previous circulartrough tuns and also allow a much simpler process for periodic major cleaning and servicing. Modifications are of course possible; in particular the precise arrangement of the linear plate elements could be altered. It is submitted that the construction of the floor in the form of parallel linear troughs, particularly by simply joining plate elements, provides for considerable ease of construction in comparison with the previous annular concentric trough arrangement. It will be appreciated that the present invention could be used in treatment vessels other than lauter tuns. CLAIMS

1. A vessel for material to be treated, having a floor provided with a discharge outlet, the floor comprising a series of parallel substantially linear troughs.

2. A vessel according to claim 1 , wherein the troughs are of shallow V-form.

3. A vessel according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the floor is formed from a series of individual linear elements joined along adjacent edges.

4. A vessel according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the troughs are shaped so that the floor has a circular profile.

5. A vessel according to claim 2, wherein longitudinally extending support bars are provided below crests of the V form troughs.

6. A vessel according to claim 3, wherein adjoining edges of sections are welded together and consolidated by backing strips.

7. A vessel according to claim 1, 2 or 5, wherein the vessel comprises a lauter tun.

8. A material treatment vessel substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.