JP2005132528A - Hopper device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a hopper device capable of discharging granular and powder materials without leavings. <P>SOLUTION: A rotating shaft 24 is disposed in the hopper 12 of the hopper device 10 so as to be extended along the rotating axis of the hopper 12. The rotating shaft 24 is formed such that is rotated by driving a motor 22, and that gas is supplied into the rotating shaft 24 by driving a blower 34. A nozzle part 28 is connected to the rotating shaft 24 through an air supply tube 26, and the gas supplied to the rotating shaft 24 is jetted from the nozzle part 28 toward the inner surface of the hopper 12. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a hopper device, and more particularly, to a hopper device that temporarily stores and discharges powder particles such as wet crystals.

  In the hopper device, a discharge port is provided at a lower end portion of a hopper that temporarily stores the granular material, and the granular material is discharged by its own weight by opening the discharge port. However, in the hopper device, when the granular material forms a lump by compaction or moisture absorption, or adheres to the inner surface of the hopper, there is a problem that the granular material is not smoothly discharged from the discharge port.

In order to eliminate this problem, a method has been proposed in which the bottom surface of the hopper is made into a mesh shape, and pressurized air is jetted upward through this bottom surface to cause the powder particles to flow and be discharged. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).
JP-A-10-101228

  However, the method described above has a problem in that once the granular material adheres to the bottom surface, air is ejected from other than the adhered portion, and thus the adhered granular material cannot be peeled off. For this reason, the conventional hopper device has a problem that the powder particles remain inside the hopper, and there is a problem that the cost is significantly increased when the powder particles are expensive.

  Furthermore, the conventional hopper device has a problem that since the powder particles remain in the hopper, the hopper needs to be cleaned when handling different types of powder particles, and the cleaning work is troublesome.

  This invention is made | formed in view of such a situation, and it aims at providing the hopper apparatus which can discharge | emit, without leaving a granular material.

  In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention according to claim 1 is provided with a discharge portion at a lower portion of a hopper for storing powder particles, and the powder material is discharged from the discharge portion. , A nozzle portion for injecting gas toward the inner surface of the hopper, and a rotating means for rotating the nozzle portion with respect to the central axis of the hopper.

  According to invention of Claim 1, since gas is injected toward the inner surface of a hopper from a nozzle part, gas is sprayed on the granular material adhering to the inner surface of a hopper, and a granular material is peeled. Moreover, according to invention of Claim 1, since a nozzle part is rotated, gas can be sprayed on the wide range of the inner surface of a hopper, and a granular material can be peeled. Furthermore, according to invention of Claim 1, since a gas is injected, rotating a nozzle part, the big fluid effect is acquired by a granular material. Thereby, since a granular material is discharged | emitted smoothly from a discharge part, without adhering to the inner surface of a hopper, it can prevent that a granular material remains in a hopper.

  A second aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the first aspect of the invention, the nozzle portion injects a gas upstream and / or downstream with respect to a rotation direction of the nozzle portion. When gas is jetted upstream with respect to the rotation direction of the nozzle portion, the effect of separating the granular material by the gas increases, and the granular material firmly adhered to the inner surface of the hopper can also be separated. In addition, when the gas is injected downstream with respect to the rotation direction of the nozzle part, not only the effect of peeling off the granular material by the gas is obtained, but also the rotational force is applied to the nozzle part by the reaction when the gas is injected. Can be given. Therefore, it is possible to rotate the nozzle portion without using a rotational drive source such as a motor, or to control the rotation speed of the nozzle portion by adjusting the gas injection flow rate.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the nozzle portion is formed in a spiral shape so as to maintain a substantially constant distance with respect to the inner surface of the hopper, and the feed pipe. The nozzle hole is formed in a trachea and injects the gas flowing through the air supply pipe toward the inner surface of the hopper.

  According to invention of Claim 3, since a nozzle part is comprised by the spiral air supply pipe | tube which has a nozzle hole, a structure is very simple and it can reduce cost.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the cleaning fluid supply means for supplying a cleaning fluid to the nozzle portion according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the cleaning fluid supply means is the cleaning fluid. By supplying a fluid, the cleaning fluid is ejected from the nozzle portion, and the inside of the hopper is cleaned.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the cleaning fluid can be sprayed onto the inner surface of the hopper by injecting the cleaning fluid (for example, cleaning liquid, cleaning steam, etc.) from the nozzle portion, and the inside of the hopper can be easily formed. Can be washed.

  According to the hopper device of the present invention, the gas is jetted toward the inner surface of the hopper while rotating the nozzle portion. Therefore, the powder particles adhering to the inner surface of the hopper can be efficiently peeled off. It is possible to prevent the particles from remaining inside the hopper.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a hopper device according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the internal structure of the hopper device of the first embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the hopper device of FIG.

  A hopper device 10 shown in FIG. 1 is a device that temporarily stores a granular material 14 such as a wet crystal in the hopper 12 and discharges it as necessary.

  The hopper 12 is formed in a vertical substantially cylindrical shape, and its bottom is formed in a funnel shape. A discharge portion 16 is provided at the lowermost end portion of the hopper 12, and opening / closing means (not shown) such as a valve is provided in the discharge portion 16. And the granular material 14 stored in the hopper 12 is discharged | emitted by opening an opening-closing means.

  Further, the hopper 12 is provided with a discharge assist device that is a characteristic part of the present invention. The discharge assisting device mainly includes a motor 22, a rotating shaft 24, air supply pipes 26, 26..., And nozzle portions 28, 28.

  The rotating shaft 24 is disposed along the central axis of the hopper 12, and an upper end portion of the rotating shaft 24 protrudes outside the hopper 12. A motor 22 is connected to the upper end of the rotating shaft 24, and the rotating shaft 24 is rotated at a predetermined rotational speed (for example, 30 to 2500 rpm) by driving the motor 22.

  The rotating shaft 24 is formed in a cylindrical shape or a double tubular shape, and a gas supply path is formed therein. The air supply path is connected to an air supply pipe 32 via a joint 30 provided at the upper part of the rotating shaft 24. The joint 30 is formed in a substantially ring shape, and rotatably supports the rotary shaft 24 and communicates with an air supply path in the rotary shaft 24 through a hole 24 </ b> A formed in the rotary shaft 24. . The air supply pipe 32 is provided with a blower 34. By driving the blower 34, the gas from the gas supply source or the cleaning fluid from the cleaning fluid supply source causes the air supply pipe 32 and the joint 30 to move. Through the rotary shaft 24. As the gas supplied from the gas supply source, a gas that does not adversely affect the granular material 14 is selected. For example, an inert gas such as nitrogen gas is selected. Or dry air is used in order to dry the granular material 14 and to improve fluidity | liquidity. Further, as the cleaning fluid, a cleaning liquid for cleaning the inside of the hopper 12, warm water, water, steam, or the like is used. Note that switching between the gas supply and the cleaning fluid supply is performed by a control device 40 described later.

  .. Are connected to the rotary shaft 24. These air supply pipes 26, 26... Are connected at regular intervals in the height direction, and are alternately connected so as to be 180 ° opposite to the rotating shaft 24.

  Further, each of the air supply pipes 26, 26... Is attached so as to incline so as to be lowered toward the outside of the hopper 12. Therefore, when the air pipes 26, 26,... Are rotated together with the rotary shaft 24, the powder particles 14 deposited on the air pipe 26 are blown off by centrifugal force. It can be prevented from remaining.

  The air supply pipe 26 communicates with an air supply path in the rotary shaft 24 and also communicates with a nozzle portion 28 attached to the tip of the air supply pipe 26. Therefore, the gas supplied to the air supply path in the rotating shaft 24 is supplied to the nozzle portion 28 via each air supply pipe 26.

  The nozzle portion 28 is disposed with a slight clearance C with respect to the inner surface of the hopper 12 (that is, the bottom surface 12A or the side surface 12B of the hopper 12). Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the nozzle portion 28 includes a chamber 36 attached to the tip of the air supply pipe 26 and a nozzle 38 provided in the chamber 36. The nozzle 38 is attached in the same direction as the rotation direction of the nozzle portion 28, that is, in a state facing the upstream side in the rotation direction. Specifically, the nozzle portion 28 is attached in a state tangential to the rotation trajectory of the nozzle portion 28 and facing the upstream side in the rotation direction. As a result, the gas supplied to the nozzle portion 28 is jetted from the nozzle 38 through the chamber 36 to the upstream side in the rotational direction and blown to the inner surface of the hopper 12.

  The chamber 36 is formed with nozzle holes 36A and 36A. The nozzle holes 36A and 36A are formed in the radial direction of the hopper 12 and slightly downward as shown in FIG. Thereby, a part of the gas fed into the chamber 36 is blown out slightly toward the inner surface of the hopper 12. Therefore, the granular material 14 adhering to the inside of the hopper 12 is peeled off by blowing the gas, and further guided downward by the gas jetted from the nozzle holes 36A and 36A.

  2 shows the box-shaped chamber 36, the shape of the chamber 36 is not limited to this. For example, the upstream side in the rotation direction is formed in a spherical shape or a conical shape, or the entire chamber 36 is formed. May be formed in a streamline shape to reduce the resistance during rotation.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a nozzle portion 42 is also provided at the lower end portion of the rotating shaft 24. The nozzle portion 42 is configured to inject the gas supplied to the rotary shaft 24 downward, that is, toward the discharge portion 16. Thereby, the granular material 14 can be sent out to the discharge part 16 compulsorily, and the discharge efficiency of the granular material 14 can be improved.

  In addition, the code | symbol 46 of FIG. 1 is a gas recovery pipe | tube, and the gas injected from the nozzle parts 28 and 42 mentioned above can be collect | recovered from the gas recovery pipe | tube 46 now. The recovered gas may be exhausted, or supplied again to the rotating shaft 24 for circulation.

  By the way, the discharge unit 16, the motor 22, and the blower 34 described above are controlled by the control device 40. When the control device 40 opens the opening / closing means of the discharge unit 16 and discharges the granular material 14, the control device 40 drives the motor 22 to rotate the rotating shaft 24 and drives the blower 34 to supply gas to the rotating shaft 24. Air up. As a result, the nozzle portion 28 is rotated together with the rotating shaft 24 and the air supply pipe 26, and further, the gas supplied to the rotating shaft 24 is supplied to the nozzle portion 28 and injected from the nozzle portion 28. That is, gas is injected while the nozzle portion 28 rotates, and the injected gas is sprayed onto the inner surface of the hopper 12.

  Next, the operation of the hopper device 10 configured as described above will be described.

  When the viscosity of the powder 14 stored in the hopper 12 is high, the powder 14 adheres closely to form a lump, or the powder 14 adheres to the inner surface of the hopper 12. . For this reason, even if the opening / closing means of the discharge unit 16 is opened, the powder particles 14 may not be discharged smoothly by their own weight, and may remain in the hopper 12.

  On the other hand, since the discharge assist device is provided in the present embodiment, the granular material 14 in the hopper 12 can be discharged efficiently. That is, in the present embodiment, the gas is injected while rotating the nozzle portion 28, and the gas is sprayed on the inner surface of the hopper 12. Therefore, the granular material 14 attached to the inner surface of the hopper 12 can be peeled off. . In particular, in the present embodiment, since the gas is injected in the tangential direction of the rotation orbit of the nozzle portion 28 and the gas is blown at a low angle with respect to the inner surface of the hopper 12, the powder particles adhered to the inner surface of the hopper 12. The body 14 can be efficiently peeled off. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, since the gas is injected toward the upstream side with respect to the rotation direction of the nozzle portion 28, the effect of peeling off the granular material by the gas becomes very large, and the inner surface of the hopper 12 is Even the granular material 14 adhered firmly can be peeled off.

  Moreover, in this Embodiment, since gas was injected from several nozzle part 28,28 ..., the granular material 14 can be peeled by spraying gas on the inner surface of the hopper 12 over a wide range.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, by rotating the air supply tube 26 and the nozzle portion 28, the granular material 14 in the hopper 12 can be mechanically stirred by the air supply tube 26 and the nozzle portion 28, and the powder The fluidity of the granules 14 can be improved.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the granular material 14 attached to the inner surface of the hopper 12 can be peeled or the fluidity of the granular material 14 in the hopper 12 can be improved. The body 14 can be efficiently discharged from the discharge portion 16. Further, in the present embodiment, since the gas is injected from the nozzle portion 42 at the lower end of the rotating shaft 24 toward the discharge portion 16, the discharge effect from the discharge portion 16 can be further improved. Therefore, according to this Embodiment, the granular material 14 can be discharged | emitted from the discharge part 16 efficiently, and it can prevent that the granular material 14 remains in the hopper 12. FIG.

  Moreover, this embodiment can reduce the angle of the bottom surface 12A of the hopper 12 due to the improved discharge efficiency. In other words, conventionally, the angle of the bottom surface 12A of the hopper 12 is set to be equal to or larger than the repose angle of the granular material 14 in order to prevent the granular material 14 from accumulating. Can be made to flow, so that the granular material 14 can be discharged even if the angle of the bottom surface 12A is equal to or smaller than the angle of repose. Therefore, even when the highly granular material 14 is used, the angle of the bottom surface 12A can be reduced, and the hopper 12 can be reduced in size.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the inside of the hopper 12 can be cleaned using the nozzle portion 28. That is, by switching the fluid supplied to the rotating shaft 24 from the gas to the cleaning fluid, the cleaning fluid is ejected from the nozzle portion 28 toward the inner surface of the hopper 12, and the inside of the hopper 12 is efficiently cleaned.

  In the first embodiment described above, the nozzle portion 28 is configured to inject gas to the upstream side in the rotational direction, but may be configured to inject gas to the downstream side in the rotational direction. In this case, since the rotational force is applied to the nozzle part 28 by the reaction when the gas is injected, the nozzle part 28 is rotated at a high speed to increase the stirring effect of the granular material 14 by the nozzle part 28. Can do. Further, the rotational speed of the nozzle unit 28 can be controlled by adjusting the air volume of the gas injected from the nozzle unit 28, or the nozzle unit 28 can be rotated without driving the motor 22.

  Moreover, you may comprise so that the nozzle part 28 may inject a gas to both the upstream and downstream of a rotation direction depending on the kind of the granular material 14. FIG.

  Furthermore, the structure and shape of the nozzle part 28 are not limited to the embodiment described above, and any structure that injects gas toward the inner surface of the hopper 12 may be used. Therefore, the number, arrangement, orientation, shape, and the like of the nozzles 38 and the nozzle holes 36 </ b> A are not particularly limited, and may be changed according to the type of the granular material 14. For example, the diameter of the nozzle 38 may be changed according to the type of the granular material 14, or the direction (attachment direction) of the nozzle 38 may be changed. Moreover, you may attach to the chamber 36 so that the direction of the nozzle 38 may be variable. Furthermore, the entire nozzle part 28 may be detachable from the air supply pipe 26, and the nozzle part 28 having a different structure or shape may be attached to the air supply pipe 26 according to the type of the granular material 14.

  In the above-described embodiment, the five nozzle portions 28 are provided. However, the number of the nozzle portions 28 may be four or less, or may be six or more. By increasing the number of the nozzle portions 28, the air blowing area to the inner surface of the hopper 12 is increased, so that the peeling effect of the granular material 14 attached to the hopper 12 can be improved. However, since the resistance during rotation increases as the number of nozzle portions 28 increases, the number of nozzle portions 28 is preferably eight or less.

  In the above-described embodiment, the five nozzle portions 28 are alternately arranged on the opposite side of 180 ° with respect to the rotation shaft 24. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, in the plan view of FIG. The nozzle portions 28 may be arranged at equal angular intervals.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the nozzle portions 28, 28... Are arranged at regular intervals in the height direction, but the present invention is not limited to this. ... may be arranged densely. Thereby, peeling of the granular material 14 can be more effectively prevented in the lower part of the hopper 12 where the granular material 14 is likely to adhere. Note that the same effect can be obtained by increasing the air volume of the gas injected from the nozzle portion 28 toward the lower portion of the hopper 12 instead of arranging the nozzle portions 28 densely.

  FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the internal structure of the hopper device of the second embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a plan view of the hopper device of FIG.

  In the hopper device according to the second embodiment, the air supply pipe 44 is formed in a spiral shape. The air supply pipe 44 is disposed in the bottom portion of the hopper 12 (that is, the funnel-shaped portion), and is always formed at a constant interval with respect to the bottom surface 12A. Further, the upper end portion of the air supply pipe 44 is connected to the lower end portion of the rotary shaft 24, and the gas supplied to the rotary shaft 24 is supplied to the air supply pipe 44.

  As shown in FIG. 4, nozzle holes 44 </ b> A, 44 </ b> A. The nozzle hole 44 </ b> A is formed toward the bottom surface 12 </ b> A of the hopper 12, and is configured to blow out the gas supplied to the air supply pipe 44 toward the bottom surface 12 </ b> A. Further, the nozzle holes 44A are formed at regular intervals (for example, 90 ° intervals) in the plan view of FIG. If the nozzle hole 44A is formed so as to be inclined slightly upstream with respect to the rotation direction of the air supply tube 44, a large separation effect of the powder 14 can be obtained, and the nozzle hole 44A is formed with respect to the rotation direction of the air supply tube 44. In this case, a rotational force can be applied to the air supply pipe 44 by the reaction when the gas is injected from the nozzle hole 44A.

  In the second embodiment configured as described above, by rotating the rotating shaft 24 while supplying gas to the rotating shaft 24, the spiral air supply pipe 44 is rotated and formed in the air supply pipe 44. Gas is injected from the nozzle hole 44A. Thereby, gas is injected from the rotating nozzle hole 44 </ b> A, and gas is blown to the bottom surface 12 </ b> A of the hopper 12, so that the granular material 14 attached to the bottom surface 12 </ b> A of the hopper 12 can be peeled off. Therefore, according to the second embodiment, similarly to the first embodiment, it is possible to peel off the granular material 14 attached to the inner surface of the hopper 12 and improve the discharge effect. It is possible to prevent the body 14 from remaining.

  Further, according to the second embodiment, the peeled granular material 14 can be guided to the discharge unit 16 by rotating the spiral air supply tube 44. That is, the spraying position of the gas injected from the nozzle hole 44A is gradually lowered by rotating the air supply pipe 44, so that the separated granular material 14 can be guided downward and discharged. The effect can be improved.

  Furthermore, according to the second embodiment, the manufacturing cost can be reduced because of the simple structure in which the nozzle holes 44A, 44A,.

  Also in the case of the second embodiment, the cleaning fluid is ejected from the nozzle holes 44A, 44A,... Toward the bottom surface 12A of the hopper 12 by supplying the cleaning fluid to the air supply pipe 44. The inside of the hopper 12 can be easily cleaned.

  In the second embodiment described above, the nozzle holes 44A, 44A,... Are formed at regular intervals. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the nozzle holes 44A, 44A,. You may form in.

  In the second embodiment described above, the upper end portion of the air supply pipe 44 is connected to the lower end portion of the rotary shaft 24. However, as shown in FIG. It is good also as a structure to connect. Thereby, the support strength of the air pipe 44 can be improved.

  In the second embodiment described above, gas is blown only to the bottom 12A of the hopper 12. However, the present invention is not limited to this. As shown in FIG. By extending to the top of the gas, it is possible to blow gas also to the side surface 12B.

  Further, in the above-described second embodiment, when the air supply tube 44 is detachably attached to the rotating shaft 24 and the type of the granular material 14 is changed, the air supply tubes 44 having different shapes (for example, air supply tubes having different winding angles) are used. 44, or an air supply pipe 44) having a different nozzle hole 44A arrangement or diameter.

Sectional drawing which shows typically the structure of 1st Embodiment of the hopper apparatus which concerns on this invention Top view of the hopper device of FIG. Sectional drawing which shows the structure of the hopper apparatus of 2nd Embodiment typically Plan view of the hopper device of FIG. Sectional drawing which shows typically the structure of the hopper apparatus different from FIG. Sectional drawing which shows typically the structure of the hopper apparatus different from FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Hopper apparatus, 12 ... Hopper, 14 ... Granule, 16 ... Discharge part, 22 ... Motor, 24 ... Rotating shaft, 26A-26E ... Air supply pipe, 28 ... Nozzle part, 30 ... Joint, 32 ... Air supply pipe, 34 ... Blower, 36 ... Chamber, 38 ... Nozzle, 40 ... Control device, 42 ... Nozzle section, 44 ... Air supply pipe, 46 ... Gas recovery pipe

Claims (4)

In the hopper device in which a discharge part is provided at the lower part of the hopper for storing powder particles, and the powder particles are discharged from the discharge part,
A nozzle part that is provided inside the hopper and injects gas toward the inner surface of the hopper; and a rotating means that rotates the nozzle part with respect to the central axis of the hopper;
A hopper device comprising:   2. The hopper device according to claim 1, wherein the nozzle portion injects a gas upstream and / or downstream with respect to a rotation direction of the nozzle portion.   The nozzle portion is formed in a spiral shape so as to maintain a substantially constant distance with respect to the inner surface of the hopper, and the gas that is formed in the air supply tube and flows through the air supply tube to the inner surface of the hopper. The hopper device according to claim 1, wherein the hopper device includes a nozzle hole that injects the water toward the hopper device. A cleaning fluid supply unit configured to supply a cleaning fluid to the nozzle unit, and the cleaning fluid supply unit supplies the cleaning fluid so that the cleaning fluid is ejected from the nozzle unit; The hopper device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the inside is cleaned.

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