JP2001088943A - Slide gate - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a slide gate capable of surely performing closing operation without catching powder and granular material therein with an easy structure and excellent sealing property. SOLUTION: A supplying side slide gate 19 provided between a loader hopper 6 and a vacuum hopper is formed by an upside base member 20, a downside base member 21, and a gate member 22 slidably put therebetween to slide, and the gate member 22 is formed with a gate opening part 27 and also formed with an upside recessed part 28 on the upper surface and a downside recessed part 29 on the lower surface so as to be opposed to each other with continuing from the gate opening part 27.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to a slide gate,
More specifically, the present invention relates to a slide gate to be attached to a processing device for a granular material such as a resin pellet.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a processing system for processing resin pellets or the like has been known in which a loader hopper and a vacuum hopper are connected. In such a system, a slide gate is provided between the loader hopper and the vacuum hopper, and the resin pellets received by the loader hopper by pneumatic transportation are supplied to the vacuum hopper by opening and closing the slide gate. Have been.

However, during the closing operation of the slide gate, for example, as shown in FIG. 12, an opening edge 52 of a closing gate member 51, a guide member 53a for guiding the gate member 51 from above and below, and If the resin pellets are sandwiched between the opening edge portions 54a and 54b of the 53b, the space between the loader hopper and the vacuum hopper cannot be completely closed, and the degree of vacuum in the vacuum hopper cannot be maintained.

Therefore, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-2397
In the gazette of Japanese Patent No. 30, as shown in FIG.
A scraper 55 is provided on the upper part of the groove, and a groove 5 for receiving the scraper 55 is formed on the upper guide member 53a.
6, when the gate member 51 is in the closing operation, as shown in FIG.
A good closing operation is ensured by letting the resin pellet in contact with 2 escape into this groove 56.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION However, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 9-2
In the slide gate disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 39730, it is necessary to provide a scraper 55 on the upper part of the gate member 51 and a groove 56 corresponding to the scraper 55 on the upper guide member 53a. The structure becomes complicated. In particular, in order to maintain the degree of vacuum in the vacuum hopper, it is necessary to process each of these members with high accuracy, and therefore, considerable work is required.

In the slide gate disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-239730, an opening edge 52 of a gate member 51 and an opening edge 54b of a lower guide member 53b are provided.
In between, the resin pellets may be interposed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and has as its object the purpose of being able to reliably perform a closing operation with a simple configuration without pinching a granular material, and to provide a sealing property. It is to provide a slide gate which is excellent in the above.

[0008]

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a slide gate for opening and closing a passage of a granular material, wherein the gate is opened and closed by a sliding operation. The gate member, the gate member, on at least one of the upstream surface and the downstream surface with respect to the passage passage, at the time of the closing operation of the gate member, powder particles passing through the passage passage. It is characterized by having a recess that can be received.

According to such a configuration, at the time of closing operation of the gate member, even if the granular material passing through the passage passage comes into contact with the closing gate member, it is received in the recess provided in the gate member. Therefore, the sandwiching of the granular material by the gate member is prevented.

[0010] The invention described in claim 2 is the same as the claim 1.
In the invention according to the above, an upstream base member that guides an upstream surface of the gate member with respect to the passage passage, and a downstream base member that guides a downstream surface of the gate member with respect to the passage passage, At least one of the upstream base member and the downstream base member is provided with a seal member for sealing between the gate member and the upstream base member.

According to such a configuration, the seal member provided on the upstream base member and / or the downstream base member seals the gap between the gate member and the upstream base member and / or the downstream base member. So
Thereby, the space between the upstream side and the downstream side of the passage that sandwiches the gate member is more airtightly closed.

Further, the invention described in claim 3 is the first invention.
In the invention described in (2), in the gate member, the concave portion is formed on each of an upstream surface and a downstream surface with respect to the passage passage so as to face each other, and the concave portion is formed on the upstream surface. Is formed so as to communicate with the upstream side of the passage when the closing operation of the gate member is completed, and a concave portion formed on the downstream surface is closed when the closing operation of the gate member is completed. It is characterized in that it is formed so as not to communicate with the downstream side of the passage passage.

[0013] According to such a configuration, when the gate member is closed, the recess formed in the downstream surface ensures that the particulate matter passing through the passage passage is caught on the downstream surface. When the closing operation of the gate member is completed, the recess formed on the downstream surface is not in communication with the downstream passage, so that the upstream and downstream sides of the passage that sandwiches the gate member are closed. Is reliably closed by the gate member, while the concave portion formed on the upstream surface communicates with the passage on the upstream side. Can be reliably prevented from being caught by the end of the recess.

The invention described in claim 4 is the first invention.
In the invention according to any one of (1) to (3), the gate member is formed with a penetrating opening for communicating an upstream side and a downstream side with respect to the gate member in the passage in an open state, The recess is formed continuously in the opening so as to extend in a direction substantially perpendicular to a direction in which the opening penetrates.

According to such a configuration, at the time of the closing operation of the gate member, the powder or granular material that comes into contact with the opening edge of the closing gate member is received as it is in the concave portion formed continuously to the opening. Can be

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing a powder / particle processing system provided with an embodiment of a slide gate according to the present invention.

In FIG. 1, the processing system includes a vacuum drying device 1, a storage tank 2 for storing powder and granules, and a supply side for pneumatically transporting the powder and granules from the storage tank 2 to the vacuum drying device 1. It includes a pneumatic transport unit 3, a processing device 4 such as a molding machine or a mixer, and a discharge-side pneumatic transport unit 5 for pneumatically transporting the granular material discharged from the vacuum drying device 1 to the processing device 4. .

In such a processing system, for example, the resin pellets as powders are pneumatically transported from the storage tank 2 to the vacuum drying apparatus 1 by the supply-side pneumatic transport unit 3, and a predetermined moisture content is generated in the vacuum drying apparatus 1. After drying to an amount, the dried resin pellets are pneumatically transported from the vacuum drying device 1 to a molding machine as the processing device 4 by the discharge-side pneumatic transport unit 5.

The supply-side pneumatic transport unit 3 includes a loader hopper 6 connected to the vacuum dryer 1 from above, a supply-side transport pipe 7 connecting the storage tank 2 and the loader hopper 6, and a supply-side transport pipe 7. And a supply-side ejector 8 for pneumatically transporting the granular material. The inner peripheral wall of the loader hopper 6 is formed by a cylindrical body 6a and a funnel-shaped lower part 6b formed below the body 6a, and a supply port 6 is formed below the lower part 6b.
c is formed.

The discharge-side pneumatic transport unit 5 is provided with a receiving member 9 for receiving the granular material discharged from the vacuum drying device 1.
A receiver 12 connected to the processing device 4, a discharge-side transport pipe 10 connecting the receiving member 9 and the receiver 12,
A discharge-side ejector 11 is connected to the discharge-side transport pipe 10 and pneumatically transports the granular material.

The vacuum drying apparatus 1 includes a vacuum hopper 13 for receiving the granular material, a vacuum pump 14 for reducing the pressure in the vacuum hopper 13, a vacuum hopper 13 and a vacuum pump 14.
, And an atmosphere release valve 41 provided in the middle of the vacuum line 15.

The vacuum hopper 13 includes a hopper body 16 and an upper lid 17 for closing an upper opening of the hopper body 16. In the upper lid 17, a receiving port 18 having substantially the same shape as the supply port 6c is formed at a position facing the supply port 6c of the loader hopper 6. The hopper body 16
The inner peripheral wall has a cylindrical body 16a and the body 16
a of a funnel-shaped lower portion 16b formed below the lower portion 16a, and a discharge port 16c is formed below the lower portion 16b.
Are formed.

The loader hopper 6 and the vacuum hopper 13
A supply-side slide gate 19 is provided between the two. This supply-side slide gate 19 is shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 2, an upper base member 20 as an upstream base member, a lower base member 21 as a downstream base member arranged opposite to the upper base member 20 at a predetermined interval, and an upper base member Gate member 22 slidably sandwiched between member 20 and lower base member 21
And an air cylinder 23 for sliding the gate member 22.

The upper base member 20 has a rectangular flat plate shape, and is formed with an upper opening 24 having substantially the same shape as the supply port 6c of the loader hopper 6, so that the upper opening 24 coincides with the supply port 6c. The upper surface is joined to the lower surface of the loader hopper 6.

The lower base member 21 has a rectangular flat plate shape, and has a lower opening 25 substantially identical in shape to the receiving opening 18 of the upper lid 17.
8, the lower surface thereof is joined to the upper surface of the upper lid 17. The lower base member 21 is provided with a gate member 22 so as to surround the lower opening 25.
An O-ring 26 is embedded as a seal member for pressing the O-ring 26 toward the upper base member 20.

In the present embodiment, a space vertically passing through the supply port 6c, the upper opening 24, the lower opening 25, and the receiving port 18 forms a connection passage 40 as a passage passage. Although not directly shown in FIG. 2, between the upper base member 20 and the lower base member 21,
Guide members 34 a and 34 b for guiding the sliding movement of the gate member 22 are provided on both sides in the width direction of the gate member 2 along the sliding direction of the gate member 22.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the gate member 22 has a rectangular flat plate shape, and has substantially the same shape as the upper opening 24 and the lower opening 25 on the front side (right side in the drawing) in the sliding direction. In this case, a circular gate opening 27 is formed. The gate member 22 has an upper surface 30.
An upper concave portion 28 and a lower concave portion 29 on the lower surface 31 thereof are formed in a continuous shape opposite to the gate opening 27.

That is, the upper concave portion 28 is
2 is formed as a groove having a substantially rectangular cross section and opening in the upper surface 30 of the gate opening 27.
Therefore, it is formed in a rectangular shape so as to extend rearward in the sliding direction continuously from the gate opening 27. The rear end portion 44 of the upper concave portion 28 in the sliding direction is curved and formed in an arc shape.

The lower recess 29 is formed as a groove having a substantially rectangular cross section which opens on the lower surface 31 of the gate member 22. Like the upper recess 28, the rear end 42 of the gate opening 27 in the sliding direction is formed. Therefore, it is formed in a rectangular shape so as to extend rearward in the sliding direction continuously from the gate opening 27. The rear end 45 of the lower recess 29 in the sliding direction is curved in an arc shape.

The upper concave portion 28 and the lower concave portion 29
Are provided so that their groove widths (groove widths in a direction perpendicular to the sliding direction) are substantially the same on the upper surface 30 and the lower surface 31 of the gate member 22 and are opposed to each other, but the length in the sliding direction is The lower recess 29 is shorter than the upper recess 28 (the length from the rear end 42 of the gate opening 27 in the sliding direction to the rear end 45 of the lower recess 29 in the sliding direction is smaller than that of the gate opening 27). From the rear end 42 in the sliding direction of the upper concave portion 28 to the rear end 44 in the sliding direction (shorter than the length of the rear end 44 in the sliding direction). Thereby, as described later, when the closing operation of the gate member 22 is completed, the lower recess 29 does not communicate with the lower opening 25, and
The upper recess 28 is configured to communicate with the upper opening 24. In this manner, the length in the sliding direction is such that the lower concave portion 29 is formed shorter than the upper concave portion 28, so that the lower concave portion 29 is firstly set during the closing operation as described later. A time difference between the upper surface 30 and the lower surface 31 is generated when the upper surface 30 and the lower surface 31 are closed, so that the upper surface 30 and the lower surface 31 are prevented from being pinched on the lower surface 31 by the upper concave portion 28. In each case is reliably prevented from being caught.

At the rear end of the gate member 22 in the sliding direction, a mounting portion 33 for mounting to the air cylinder 23 is formed.

The air cylinder 23 includes the air cylinder body 4
7 and a plunger shaft 46 protruding from the air cylinder body 47 so as to be able to advance and retreat. The air cylinder body 47 is disposed behind the gate member 22 in the sliding direction, and is fixed to the upper lid 17 via a bolt 48 by the holder member 35. The plunger shaft 46 is provided with a joint member 36 at the tip thereof, and a fixing pin 37 inserted through the joint member 36 is attached to the gate member 2.
The plunger shaft 46 and the gate member 22 are connected by being inserted into a mounting hole formed in the second mounting portion 33. The gate member 22 is guided by the upper base member 20, the lower base member 21, and the guide members 34a and 34b as the plunger shaft 46 of the air cylinder 23 advances and retreats. The slide operation is performed between them.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the loader hopper 6 provided with the supply-side slide gate 19 is provided.
A spacer 38 is provided between the vacuum hopper 13 and the vacuum hopper 13.

Further, as shown in FIG.
The discharge side slide gate 39 is also provided at the discharge port 16c of the hopper main body 16 in FIG. The discharge-side slide gate 39 has the same configuration as that of the supply-side slide gate 19. In FIG. 1, the same members as those of the supply-side slide gate 19 are denoted by the same reference numerals. However, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the O-ring 26 is connected to the upper base member 20 and the lower base member 2.
The O-ring 26 of the upper base member 20 is embedded so as to surround the opposing positions of the upper opening 24 and the gate opening 27 when the closing operation is completed in the upper base member 20, and The O-ring 26 of the base member 21 is embedded so as to surround the position facing the gate opening 27 when the closing operation is completed.

In such a processing system, first, the granular material stored in the storage tank 2 is pneumatically transported by the supply-side ejector 8 to the loader hopper 6 through the supply-side transport pipe 7. At this time, the supply side slide gate 19 is in the closed state. Next, when the supply side slide gate 19 is opened, the loader hopper 6 is opened.
Is supplied to the hopper body 16 of the vacuum hopper 13 through the connection passage 40. At this time, the discharge side slide gate 39 is in a closed state.
When the supply operation of the granular material from the loader hopper 6 to the hopper body 16 is completed, the supply-side slide gate 1
9 is closed again, whereby the inside of the hopper body 16 is hermetically sealed in a state where the granular material is received. Thereafter, the vacuum line 1 is operated by the operation of the vacuum pump 14.
The pressure in the hopper main body 16 is reduced through 5, and the granular material is vacuum-dried. At this time, the atmosphere release valve 41 is closed. When the vacuum drying of the granular material is completed, the open-to-atmosphere valve 41 is opened and the discharge-side slide gate 39 is opened, and the dried granular material is discharged to the discharge port 16 c of the hopper body 16. Is discharged from After the granular material discharged from the hopper body 16 is received by the receiving member 9, it is pneumatically transported to the receiver 12 via the discharge-side transport pipe 10 by the discharge-side ejector 11,
The data is supplied from the receiver 12 to the processing device 4.

In such a process, the closing operation of the supply side slide gate 19 is performed as follows. That is, first, as shown in FIG. 7, when the gate member 22 is in the open state, the upper opening 24, the gate opening 2
7 and the lower opening 25 are in communication with each other, so that the granular material falls from the loader hopper 6 toward the hopper body 16 by its own weight. Then, the closing operation of the gate member 22 is started, and as shown in FIG. 8, the rear end 42 in the sliding direction of the gate opening 27 is slid to the peripheral ends of the upper opening 24 and the lower opening 25. Then, since the connection passage 40 is closed by the gate member 22, the supply of the granular material from the loader hopper 6 to the hopper main body 16 is stopped. At this time, the powder particles falling down the connection passage 40 are
Even if the powder is sandwiched between the rear end 42 of the gate opening 27 in the sliding direction and the peripheral ends of the upper opening 24 and the lower opening 25, the powder particles continue to the gate opening 27. As a result, the gate member 2 escapes so as to be received in the upper concave portion 28 and the lower concave portion 29 which are formed.
The pinching of the granular material during the closing operation of 2 is prevented.
In particular, at this point, the powder and particles that have escaped to the lower recess 29 fall into the hopper body 16 by their own weight as they are, so that pinching of the powder and particles on the lower surface 31 of the gate member 22 is reliably prevented. Then, as shown in FIG.
When the closing operation of the gate member 22 is completed, the lower recess 29 is not in communication with the lower opening 25, so that the space between the loader hopper 6 and the hopper body 16 is securely closed, while the upper recess 28 is closed. 8 is in communication with the upper opening 24, so that during the sliding operation after the state shown in FIG. It is not sandwiched between the opening 24 and the peripheral end thereof, and further from the upper recess 28 toward the space 43 surrounded by the upper base member 20, the lower base member 21, and the gate opening 27. As a result, the gate member 2
Entrapment of the powder or granular material on the upper surface 30 of the second member 2 is reliably prevented.

As described above, first, during the closing operation, the lower recess 29 prevents the lower surface 31 from being caught, and then, when the closing operation is completed, the upper recess 28 prevents the upper surface 30 from being caught. Therefore, the sandwiching of the granular material on each of the upper surface 30 and the lower surface 31 is reliably prevented with a time lag.

As a result, in the supply-side slide gate 19, when the gate member 22 is closed, the gate member 2 of the granular material passing through the connection passage 40 is closed.
2 can be reliably prevented from being pinched,
A reliable closing operation of the gate member 22 can be ensured. In such a supply-side slide gate 19,
The upper concave portion 28 and the lower concave portion 29 can be connected to the upper surface 30 and the lower surface 31 of the gate member 22 without increasing the number of parts.
With a simple configuration that only forms the particles, the sandwiching of the granular material is reliably prevented.

Further, as shown in FIG.
In the closed state, the space between the lower base member 21 and the gate member 22 is sealed by the O-ring 26 provided on the lower base member 21, and the O-ring 26
As a result, the gate member 22 is pressed, and the space between the upper base member 20 and the gate member 22 is sealed. Therefore, the space between the loader hopper 6 and the vacuum hopper 13 is more airtightly closed, so that the degree of vacuum in the vacuum hopper 13 can be better maintained.

It should be noted that such a supply-side slide gate 1
Since the closing operation of No. 9 is the same in the discharge side slide gate 39, the description of the closing operation of the discharge side slide gate 39 is omitted. However, as shown in FIG. 11, when the gate member 22 is closed, the space between the upper base member 20 and the gate member 22 is sealed by the O-ring 26 provided on the upper base member 20, and the lower base member 20 is closed. An O-ring 26 provided on the member 21 seals the space between the lower base member 21 and the gate member 22.

The supply-side slide gate 19 and the discharge-side slide gate 39 of the present embodiment are arranged so that the gate member 22 slides horizontally because the loader hopper 6 and the vacuum hopper 13 are arranged vertically. However, the slide gate of the present invention may be arranged such that the gate member slides vertically, for example, regardless of the arrangement direction. Further, the supply-side slide gate 19 and the discharge-side slide gate 39 of the present embodiment are used for supply and discharge of the granular material in the vacuum hopper 13 having an airtight structure for reducing the pressure. The gate is not limited to this, and may be attached to any processing device such as a known processing device having an airtight structure for pressurizing or a known processing device open to the atmosphere. Further, the O-ring 26 may be provided on both or both of the upper base member 20 and the lower base member 21 depending on its purpose and application.
The seal member of the present invention is not limited to the O-ring 26, and may be a known seal member, and may not be provided depending on the purpose and application, particularly the degree of airtightness.

The upper concave portion 28 and the lower concave portion 29
May be formed not only in a rectangular shape but also in any shape, and the rear ends 44 and 45 in the sliding direction may be formed in any shape without being limited to the arc shape. It is not always necessary to provide both the upper concave portion 28 and the lower concave portion 29, and only one of them may be provided depending on the purpose and use.

Further, the type of the powdery material is not limited, for example, resin pellets and ceramic particles.

[0044]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to prevent the particulate material passing through the passage passage from being caught by the gate member during the closing operation of the gate member. Reliable closing operation can be ensured.
Further, since it is only necessary to provide the recess in the gate member, it can be realized with a simple configuration, and the number of parts does not increase.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the space between the upstream side and the downstream side of the passage that sandwiches the gate member can be more airtightly closed by the seal member. Even if a device having an airtight structure is connected to at least one of the sides, a good airtight state in the device can be ensured.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the upstream side and the downstream side of the passage that sandwiches the gate member can be reliably closed by the gate member, while the upstream side and the downstream side of the passage passage are shifted from the upstream side to the downstream side. It is possible to more reliably prevent the powder or the granular material to be flown from being caught.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, during the closing operation of the gate member, the powder particles contacting the opening edge of the closing gate member are formed continuously at the opening. Since the powder is directly received in the recess, it is possible to more reliably prevent the granular material from being caught by the gate member, and to ensure a more reliable closing operation.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing a processing system for a granular material provided with an embodiment of a slide gate of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the supply-side slide gate shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the supply-side slide gate shown in FIG. 1 in an open state.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the supply-side slide gate shown in FIG. 1 in a closed state.

FIG. 5 is a top view of the gate member shown in FIG. 2;

6 is a cross-sectional view of the gate member shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory cross-sectional view of an essential part for explaining a sliding operation of a gate member, and is a view showing an open state.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory sectional view of a main part for explaining a sliding operation of a gate member, and is a view showing a state in the middle of a closing operation.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory cross-sectional view of a main part for explaining a sliding operation of the gate member, showing a state where the closing operation is completed.

FIG. 10 is a top view of the discharge-side slide gate shown in FIG.

11 is a sectional view of the discharge-side slide gate shown in FIG. 10 in a closed state.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory sectional view of a main part for explaining a sliding operation of a conventional slide gate.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory sectional view of a main part for explaining a sliding operation of a slide gate described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-239730, and is a view showing an open state.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory cross-sectional view of a main part for describing a sliding operation of a slide gate described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-239730, showing a state where a closing operation is completed.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 19 supply side slide gate 20 upper base member 21 lower base member 22 gate member 26 O-ring 27 gate opening 28 upper recess 29 lower recess 30 upper surface 31 lower surface 39 discharge slide gate 40 connection passage

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A slide gate that opens and closes a passage of a granular material, comprising a gate member that opens and closes the passage by a sliding operation, wherein the gate member is an upstream side of the gate member with respect to the passage. A slide gate, characterized in that at least one of the surface and the downstream surface is provided with a concave portion capable of receiving the granular material passing through the passage when the gate member is closed. An upstream base member for guiding an upstream surface of the gate member with respect to the passage passage; and a downstream base member for guiding a downstream surface of the gate member with respect to the passage passage. 2. The slide gate according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the upstream base member and the downstream base member includes a seal member that seals between the upstream base member and the downstream base member. 3. 3. The gate member has the concave portion formed on each of an upstream surface and a downstream surface with respect to the passage passage, and the concave portion formed on the upstream surface is provided with a concave portion of the gate member. When the closing operation is completed, the recess is formed so as to communicate with the upstream side of the passage passage, and the recess formed in the downstream surface is formed with the downstream side of the passage passage when the closing operation of the gate member is completed. The slide gate according to claim 1, wherein the slide gate is formed so as not to be communicated. 4. The gate member has a penetrating opening for communicating an upstream side and a downstream side of the passage passage with respect to the gate member in an open state. The slide gate according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the slide gate is formed continuously so as to extend in a direction substantially perpendicular to a direction in which the opening penetrates.