JP2006297291A - Method for cleaning transport pipe of air transport apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for cleaning a transport pipe of an air transport apparatus capable of cleaning the inside of the transport pipe effectively and efficiently. <P>SOLUTION: In the air transport apparatus 10 supplying a transport substance 8 in a hopper 30 to the transport pipe 40 by a powder supply means 32, also supplying compressed air 4 from a blower 22 to the transport pipe 40 and carrying out the air transport of the transport substance 8 to a cyclone 50 by the compressed air 4 through the transport pipe 40, the cleaning of the transport pipe 40 is carried out if a detected result exceeds a preset value by detecting a change in electric power of the blower 22 and/or a change in pressure in the transport pipe. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for cleaning a transport pipe of an air transport device, and in particular, supplies powder in a hopper to a transport pipe by a powder supply means and supplies compressed air from a blower to the transport pipe. The present invention relates to a method for cleaning a transportation pipe of an air transportation apparatus for pneumatically transporting powder to a cyclone via the transportation pipe.

  Conventionally, in a sanitary plant such as pharmaceuticals and foods, in order to transport transportation materials such as powdered materials and products, the transportation materials are supplied from the hopper to the transportation piping, and this is supplied to the cyclone by compressed air from the blower. Pneumatic transportation devices are used for pneumatic transportation.

  When this pneumatic transport device is continuously operated, air transport is generated in transport pipes and joint steps and bends in the middle of the transport piping, and transported goods are easily adhered to the inner surface. When the transport amount of the deposited deposit adhering to the inner surface is increased, the inner diameter of the pipe is decreased, resulting in a decrease in the transport capability, and microorganisms are generated from the deposited deposit as a nutrient source, resulting in a sanitary problem. For this reason, it is necessary to periodically clean the inner surface of the transport pipe. As a cleaning method, stop the transport, disassemble the transport pipe, clean it manually, and after the cleaning is completed, A street assembly method is commonly used.

Further, as in Patent Document 1, a method of cleaning the inner surface of the transport pipe by injecting a cleaning nozzle into the transport pipe and injecting cleaning water is also used.
JP-A-5-111679

  However, the method of dismantling the transportation piping and manually cleaning it requires a lot of manpower, labor, and time, and thus has the disadvantage of increasing the cost of the cleaning operation. In addition, if the transportation pipe is provided at a high place, there is a danger of workers during dismantling and assembling work.

  Further, in the cleaning apparatus described in Patent Document 1, since cleaning is performed automatically and periodically, there are cases where there is little or a lot of adhesion and deposition, and there are cases where the timing of implementation is not always appropriate.

  This invention is made | formed in view of such a situation, and it aims at providing the transportation piping washing | cleaning method of the pneumatic transportation apparatus which can wash | clean the inside of transportation piping effectively and efficiently.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the powder in the hopper is supplied to the transport pipe by the powder supply means, and the compressed air from the blower is supplied to the transport pipe, and the powder is supplied by the compressed air. In a pneumatic transportation apparatus for pneumatically transporting a body to a cyclone via the transportation pipe, a change in power of the blower and / or a pressure change in the transportation pipe is detected, and when the detection result exceeds a preset set value, It is characterized by cleaning the transportation piping.

  The deposits adhere to the transport pipe due to the transport of the transported material, and the inner diameter of the transport pipe decreases due to the deposited deposit. This decrease in the inner diameter of the transport pipe can be understood by increasing the numerical value detected by the power meter provided in the blower and / or the pressure gauge provided in the transport pipe. Then, it is possible to grasp the set value in a state where cleaning is necessary in advance by preliminary experiments, and to perform cleaning when the detected numerical value is equal to or greater than the set value.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to detect a change in the power of the blower and / or a change in the pressure in the transport pipe, and when the detection result exceeds a preset value, the transport pipe can be washed efficiently. The inside of the transportation piping can be cleaned.

  Invention of Claim 2 is a case where the inside of the said transportation piping is air-washed in the invention of Claim 1, Comprising: The compressed air is supplied from the said blower in the said transportation piping in the state which stopped the said powder supply means At the same time, the number of particles contained in the compressed air separated by the cyclone is detected by a particle counter, and the air washing state is monitored based on the detection value of the particle counter when the transport pipe is vibrated by a vibrator. It is characterized by that.

  This is because when cleaning is performed with the detection result according to the first aspect of the invention, even if the detection result exceeds a preset set value, it may be simply cleaned without performing full-scale cleaning. is there. Among the cleaning methods, air cleaning of an air transport device is simple because it can be performed with compressed air from a blower.

  According to the invention of claim 2, the inside of the transport pipe is cleaned by supplying compressed air from the blower into the transport pipe with the powder supply means stopped. In this case, the number of particles contained in the compressed air separated by the cyclone is detected by the particle counter, and the air washing state is monitored based on the detection value of the particle counter when the transportation pipe is vibrated by the vibrator. Washing can be performed efficiently.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, the bent portion and the joint portion of the transport pipe are vibrated by the vibrator.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the air cleaning can be effectively performed by vibrating the bent portion and the joining portion of the transport pipe to which the deposit easily adheres with the vibrator.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the inside of the transport pipe is cleaned with warm water, and the cleaning portion of the transport pipe is removed from the pneumatic transport device while the powder supply means is stopped. A pair of cleaning units are attached to both sides of the removed transport pipe, hot water is pressurized and supplied from one side of the pair of cleaning units into the transport pipe, and hot water is then supplied from the other side to the transport pipe under pressure. It is characterized by washing.

  This is a case where when the cleaning is performed with the detection result according to the first aspect of the invention, the detection result exceeds a preset set value and the cleaning is performed in earnest.

  According to the invention of claim 4, the hot water tank in one cleaning unit of the pair of cleaning units is pressurized with compressed air, supplied with hot water into the transport pipe and washed, and then added with the hot water tank in the other cleaning unit. Supplying and washing hot water with pressure can change the supply direction of the hot water to the transport pipe, so that the deposited deposits can be easily peeled off. Further, by repeating this bidirectional cleaning, the adhered deposits can be further easily peeled off, and the transport piping can be cleaned effectively.

  The invention of claim 5 is the invention of claim 1, wherein the inside of the transport pipe is washed with warm water, and a pair of washing units are attached to the hopper and the cyclone with the powder supply means stopped. When hot water is pressurized and supplied from one of the pair of washing units into the transport pipe via the hopper or cyclone, the hot water is pressurized from the other into the transport pipe via the hopper or cyclone. It is characterized by supplying and washing.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the pair of cleaning units are attached to the hopper and the cyclone, it is not necessary to remove a part of the transport pipe, so that the transport pipe can be easily cleaned.

  According to the transportation piping cleaning method of the pneumatic transportation apparatus according to the present invention, the inside of the transportation piping can be cleaned effectively and efficiently.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of a method for cleaning a transportation pipe of a pneumatic transportation device according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing an example of a general pneumatic transport apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

  The pneumatic transport apparatus 10 uses the compressed air 4 from the blower 22 installed in the blower chamber 20 to transport the transported goods 8 that are granular foods such as materials and products, and the transported goods 8 put into the hopper 30. Is supplied by the rotary feeder 32 and transported to the cyclone 50 at the transport destination by the transport pipe 40 and stored in the tank 52 or supplied to the manufacturing apparatus. The cyclone 50 separates the transported goods 8 and the compressed air 4, and the separated compressed air 4 can be discharged out of the system as a discharge air 6 through a dust collector 56.

  When this pneumatic transport device 10 is operated continuously, the transported goods 8 that are transported by generating air resistance at the transported pipe 40 and its bent and joined parts are likely to adhere to the inner surface of the transported pipe 40. When the amount of transported deposits on the inner surface increases, the inner diameter of the pipe is reduced, leading to a decrease in transport capacity, and microorganisms are generated in the deposited deposits, resulting in sanitary problems. For this reason, it is necessary to periodically clean the inner surface of the transport pipe 40.

  Next, the method for cleaning the transportation pipe of the pneumatic transportation apparatus of the present invention will be described in detail.

  FIG. 2 shows a configuration of a detection example of the cleaning time applied to the present invention. In FIG. 2, the configuration of the pneumatic transport device 10 is the same as that of the general pneumatic transport device described above, but the blower 22 is provided with the wattmeter 12 and the transport pipe 40 is provided with the pressure gauge 14 so that each numerical value can be detected. ing. Although the inner diameter of the transportation pipe 40 decreases due to the deposits due to transportation of the transportation material, the numerical value detected by the power meter 12 provided in the blower 22 and / or the pressure gauge 14 provided in the transportation piping 40 increases. . The set value in a state where cleaning is necessary is grasped in advance, and cleaning is performed when the detected numerical value is equal to or greater than the set value. As a result, the cleaning time can be detected in a timely manner, and the transport pipe 40 can be cleaned in a timely manner.

Next, when the cleaning time comes, it is necessary to clean the inside of the transport pipe 40. As cleaning modes, there are air cleaning and hot water cleaning. First, the case of air cleaning will be described.
(1) Air Cleaning FIG. 3 shows the configuration of a method for cleaning adhered deposits by air cleaning applied to the present invention. In FIG. 3, the configuration of the pneumatic transport device 10 is the same as that of the general pneumatic transport device described above. However, a valve 54 is provided at the outlet of the cyclone 50 to stop the blowing of air to the dust collecting device 56 and the particle counter 16. Can be measured with. Moreover, the vibrator 18 is provided in the bending part and joining part (not shown) in the transport piping 40, and the part can be vibrated now. While increasing the volume of the compressed air 4 from the blower 22, the particle counter 16 measures the number of particles (range A in FIG. 4). If the measured value rises at that time, it can be determined that there is a deposit. Therefore, the vibrator 18 provided at the bent portion and the joint portion of the transport pipe 40 continues to be vibrated for a certain time. When the value of the particle counter 16 shows a sharp rise and falls sharply, it is judged that there is no more deposits and the cleaning is completed (range B in FIG. 4).

  Thus, the frequency of full-scale cleaning can be reduced by air cleaning.

However, the numerical value detected by the wattmeter 12 provided in the blower 22 and / or the pressure gauge 14 provided in the transport pipe 40 even in the air cleaning described above is the value for the transport pipe 40 having no adhered deposits. When the temperature does not drop to the maximum, the hot water cleaning described below is performed.
(2) Warm water cleaning FIG. 5 is an overall configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a method for cleaning an attached deposit by hot water cleaning applied to the present invention. Although the structure of the pneumatic transport apparatus 10 is the same as that of the general pneumatic transport apparatus described above, a cleaning unit 60 and a cleaning unit 60 ′ are configured. The cleaning unit 60 includes a sealed hot water tank 62, a pressure valve 64, an air vent valve 66, a heater 68, a connecting pipe 70, and a water stop valve 72. A drain valve 74 is also provided.

  When performing cleaning, a part of the transport pipe 40 in the pneumatic transport apparatus 10 is removed, and the connection pipe 70 of the cleaning unit 60 is connected. The cleaning unit 60 'includes a sealed hot water tank 62', a pressurizing valve 64 ', an air vent valve 66', a heater 68 ', a connecting pipe 70', and a water stop valve 72 '.

  Then, the water stop valve 72 and the water stop valve 72 ′ of the cleaning unit 60 and the cleaning unit 60 ′ are opened, and further, the air vent valve 64 and the air vent valve 64 ′ are opened, so that the transport pipe 40 is installed at a high place. The hot water 90 stored in the hot water tank 62 of the washing unit 60 ′ that flows is flowing. Note that the same action can be obtained by closing the water stop valve 72 and opening the drain valve 74 instead of opening the air vent bubble 64 of the cleaning unit 60.

  When cleaning is performed by the cleaning unit 60, the pressure valve 64 of the cleaning unit 60 is opened, and the air vent valve 66 and the drain valve 74 are closed. At this time, the air vent valve 66 'of the cleaning unit 60' is opened and the pressurizing valve 64 'is closed. The hot water 90 heated by the heater 68 in the hot water tank 62 of the cleaning unit 60 is pressurized by compressed air and supplied from the connection pipe 70 to the transport pipe 40 to clean the inside.

  Further, when cleaning is performed by the cleaning unit 60 ', the pressurizing valve 64' of the cleaning unit 60 'is opened, and the air vent valve 66' is closed. At this time, the air vent valve 66 of the cleaning unit 60 is opened, and the pressurizing valve 64 and the drain valve 74 are closed. The hot water 90 heated by the heater 68 'in the hot water tank 62' of the cleaning unit 60 'is pressurized by the compressed air and supplied from the connecting pipe 70' to the transport pipe 40 to clean the inside.

  Thus, by repeating the cleaning using the cleaning unit 60 and the cleaning unit 60 ′, the supply direction of the hot water 90 can be changed, and the attached deposits can be easily peeled off.

  And when draining the warm water 90, the drain valve 74 with which the connection pipe 70 of the washing | cleaning unit 60 was equipped is opened and drained. At this time, the water stop valve 72, the air vent valve 66, and the pressure valve 64 of the cleaning unit 60 are closed, the air vent valve 66 'and the water stop valve 72' of the cleaning unit 60 'are opened, and the pressure valve 64 is opened. 'Is closed. Thereby, the hot water 90 of the transport pipe 40 is drained through the drain valve 72. When it is desired to drain quickly, the pressurization valve 64 and the water stop valve 72 of the cleaning unit 60 ′ are opened, and the air vent valve 66 is closed.

  Further, when the transport pipe 40 is dried, the cleaning unit 60 and the cleaning unit 60 ′ can be removed, the disassembled transport pipe 40 can be restored, and air can be blown and dried by the blower 22. Further, as another aspect of drying the transport pipe 40, the blower chamber 20 is heated with air conditioning, heated with the air temperature controller 24, or blown with a blower valve 26, and dried with warm air. Also good. Alternatively, drying may be performed by supplying pressurized air from the cleaning unit 60 or the cleaning unit 60 ′ with the cleaning unit 60 and the cleaning unit 60 ′ attached thereto, or by drying the hot air by heating the pressurized air. Also good.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of the transportation piping washing | cleaning method of the pneumatic transportation apparatus which concerns on this invention was described, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, Various aspects can be taken.

  For example, in the embodiment of the method for cleaning adhered deposits by hot water cleaning in FIG. 5, the example in which the cleaning unit 60 is connected to the transport pipe 40 in the vicinity of the hopper 30 has been described. Partial cleaning may be performed.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 6, the hopper 30 may be provided with a sealing lid 76, the cyclone 50 may be provided with a three-way valve 58, a drain valve 59, and a closing valve 55, and a drain valve 28 may be provided between the blower 22 and the hopper 30. When cleaning is performed, the hot water unit 60 and the hot water unit 60 ′ are connected to the hopper 30 and the cyclone 50 through the connection pipe 70 and the connection pipe 70 ′.

  At this time, the drain valve 59 and the closing valve 55 are closed, and the three-way valve 58 is opened in the direction of the drain valve 59. Further, the drainage valve 28 and the blower valve 28 provided between the blower 22 and the hopper 30 are also closed. The operations of the pressure valves 64 and 64 'and the air vent valves 66 and 66' during cleaning are the same as those in the above-described embodiment. The drainage after washing is performed by opening the drainage valve 28 provided between the blower 22 and the hopper 30 and draining also by the drainage valve 59 of the cyclone 50. By attaching the cleaning unit 60 in this way, it is not necessary to remove a part of the transport pipe, so that the transport pipe can be easily washed with warm water.

  Further, in each embodiment, the valve operation and the connection of the piping have been described by a manual method. However, this operation may be performed automatically by using a valve that operates by electric / pneumatic pressure or the like.

  In addition, although each embodiment was shown separately for description, each embodiment is the same system. Because it is the same system, it is possible to detect the cleaning time and clean the adhered deposits by vibration, clean the adhered deposits by the cleaning unit, or wash by combining the vibration and the cleaning unit. Therefore, cleaning can be performed timely and effectively and efficiently.

Overall configuration diagram showing an example of a general pneumatic transport apparatus to which the present invention is applied Configuration diagram showing an example of detection of cleaning time applied to the present invention Overall configuration diagram showing one embodiment of a method for cleaning adhered deposits by air cleaning applied to the present invention Diagram showing the relationship between time and number of particles in air cleaning Overall configuration diagram showing one aspect of a method for cleaning adhered deposits by hot water cleaning applied to the present invention Overall configuration diagram showing another embodiment of a method for cleaning adhered deposits by hot water cleaning applied to the present invention

Explanation of symbols

2 ... Air, 4 ... Compressed air, 6 ... Discharged air, 8 ... Transported goods, 10 ... Pneumatic transport device, 20 ... Blower chamber, 22 ... Blower, 30 ... Hopper, 32 ... Rotary feeder, 40 ... Transport piping, 50 ... Cyclone, 52 ... Tank, 54 ... Three-way valve, 56 ... Dust collector, 60, 60 '... Cleaning unit, 70, 70' ... Connection pipe, 80 ... Air, 90 ... Hot water

Claims (5)

Air for supplying the powder in the hopper to the transport pipe by the powder supply means and supplying the compressed air from the blower to the transport pipe, and pneumatically transporting the powder to the cyclone through the transport pipe by the compressed air In transportation equipment,
The transportation piping cleaning of the pneumatic transportation device, wherein a power change of the blower and / or a pressure change in the transportation piping is detected, and the transportation piping is cleaned when the detection result exceeds a preset value. Method. When the inside of the transportation pipe is air cleaned,
While supplying the compressed air from the blower into the transport pipe with the powder supply means stopped,
A particle counter detects the number of particles contained in compressed air separated by the cyclone,
The method for cleaning a transport pipe of an air transport apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the air cleaning state is monitored based on a detection value of the particle counter when the transport pipe is vibrated by a vibrator.   The method for cleaning a transportation pipe of an air transportation apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the bent part and the joint part of the transportation pipe are vibrated by the vibrator. When the inside of the transport pipe is washed with warm water,
With the powder supply means stopped, the cleaning portion of the transport pipe is removed from the pneumatic transport device and a pair of cleaning units are attached to both sides of the removed transport pipe,
2. The air according to claim 1, wherein hot water is pressurized and supplied from one of the pair of cleaning units into the transport pipe, and then hot water is pressurized and supplied from the other into the transport pipe for cleaning. Transportation piping cleaning method for transportation equipment. When the inside of the transport pipe is washed with warm water,
A pair of cleaning units is attached to the hopper and the cyclone with the powder supply means stopped, and hot water is pressurized and supplied from one of the pair of cleaning units into the transport pipe via the hopper or the cyclone. 2. The method for cleaning a transport pipe of an air transport apparatus according to claim 1, wherein after the cleaning is performed, hot water is pressurized and supplied into the transport pipe from the other side through the hopper or the cyclone.

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