JP2008272703A - Method of cleaning inside of piping of pneumatic conveyor and pneumatic conveyor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To clean transportation piping without performing the work of disassembling the transportation piping and without filling a cleaning liquid inside the transportation piping. <P>SOLUTION: The method of cleaning the inside of the piping of the pneumatic conveyor is for cleaning the inside of the transportation piping 12 of the pneumatic conveyor 10 which transports particulates by forced feed air or suction air, air and the cleaning liquid are simultaneously supplied into the transportation piping 12, and the inside of the transportation piping 12 is cleaned by the air and the cleaning liquid. The pneumatic conveyor 10 comprises, for instance, a motor-driven valve 36 for the air for switching whether or not to supply the air into the transportation piping 12, a motor-driven valve 46 for the cleaning liquid for switching whether or not to supply a cleaning liquid amount into the transportation piping 12, and a control part 50 for controlling the motor-driven valve 36 for the air and the motor-driven valve 46 for the cleaning liquid and simultaneously supplying the air and the cleaning liquid into the transportation piping 12. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for cleaning an inside of a pipe of an air transportation device and an air transportation device, and more particularly, to the inside of a piping of an air transportation device that transports a granular material such as granular food to a transportation destination such as a cyclone or a tank by compressed air or suction air The present invention relates to a cleaning method and a pneumatic transportation device.

  FIG. 5 shows an example of a conventional pneumatic transport device 910. The pneumatic transport device 910 includes a transport pipe 12, a blower 22 installed in the blower chamber 21, a hopper 23, a rotary feeder 24, a cyclone 26, a tank 27, and a dust collector 28.

  In order to transport the granular material 8 such as a material or product which is a transported material, the transport pipe 12 is supplied from the hopper 23 via the rotary feeder 24 using the pressurized air supplied from the blower 22 installed in the blower chamber 21. The granular material 8 to be supplied to is transported to the cyclone 26 of the transport destination. The granular material 8 and the compressed air are separated by the cyclone 26, and the compressed air is discharged out of the system as the discharge air 9 through the dust collector 28. The granular material 8 transported to the cyclone 26 is stored in the tank 27 in this example, but may be supplied to a manufacturing apparatus (not shown).

  When such an air transport device 910 is continuously operated, as shown in FIG. 6, as shown in FIG. 6, air resistance is generated in the transport pipe 12 or a joint step, a bend or the like in the middle of the transport pipe 12. It adheres to the inner surface of the transport pipe 12. When the transport amount increases and the granular material 8 attached to the inner surface of the transport pipe 12 is deposited, microorganisms are generated using the attached deposit 92 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 12. As a cleaning method, the transport of the powder 8 is temporarily stopped, the transport pipe 12 is dismantled and cleaned manually, and the cleaning is completed. A method of reassembling a pipe disassembled later is generally used.

  Patent Document 1 describes a method of cleaning the inner surface of a transport pipe by closing one end or both ends of the transport pipe and then filling the inside of the transport pipe with a cleaning liquid and pumping it.

Patent Document 2 describes an air transportation method in which liquid or water vapor is added to a granular material moving in a transportation pipe in pneumatic transportation of the granular material.
JP 2004-244206 A JP 2005-231753 A

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

  On the other hand, in the method in which one end or both ends of the transport pipe is closed and then the cleaning liquid is filled and pumped in the transport pipe, a large capacity pump is required to pump the cleaning liquid filled in the transport pipe. There is a drawback that the apparatus becomes large.

  The present invention eliminates the disadvantages of the prior art, and does not disassemble the transport pipe, and can clean the interior of the transport pipe without filling the cleaning liquid with the cleaning liquid. The purpose is to provide a method for cleaning the inside of a pipe.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is a method for cleaning an in-pipe of an air transport device for cleaning an inside of a transport tube of an air transport device for transporting a granular material by compressed air or suction air. A method for cleaning a pipe in an air transportation apparatus is provided, wherein air and a cleaning liquid are simultaneously supplied into the transport pipe and the inside of the transport pipe is cleaned with the air and the cleaning liquid.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the amount of cleaning liquid supplied to the transport pipe is 6 to 18 times the mass ratio of the air amount. In-pipe cleaning method.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, at least one of the flow rate of the air and the flow rate of the cleaning liquid is detected and adjusted to a cleaning liquid amount suitable for the flow rate of the air. Provided is a method for cleaning a pipe of a pneumatic transport device.

  The invention according to claim 4 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the transportation is performed from a position closer to the air supply side than a hopper for supplying the granular material into the transportation pipe. Provided is a method for cleaning a pipe of an air transportation device, wherein a cleaning liquid is supplied into the pipe.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the cleaning liquid is supplied into the transport pipe from a hopper for supplying the granular material into the transport pipe. An in-pipe cleaning method for a pneumatic transport device is provided.

  The invention according to claim 6 is a transport pipe for transporting the granular material by compressed air or suction air, a first switching means for switching whether to supply air into the transport pipe, and the transport The second switching means for switching whether or not the cleaning liquid amount is supplied into the pipe and the first switching means and the second switching means are controlled to supply air and cleaning liquid into the transport pipe at the same time. And a control means, wherein the inside of the transport pipe is cleaned by the air and the cleaning liquid.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the inside of transport piping can be wash | cleaned, without carrying out the operation | work which disassembles transport piping and filling a cleaning liquid in the inside of transport piping.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of 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 an embodiment of a pneumatic transport device according to the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, an air transportation device 10 as an example of the present embodiment is similar to the conventional air transportation device 910 illustrated in FIG. 5, and includes a transportation pipe 12 and a supply source of compressed air (hereinafter simply referred to as “air”). As a blower 22 installed in the blower chamber 21, a hopper 23 as a supply source of the granular material 8, a rotary feeder 24 for sending the granular material 8 in the hopper 23 to the transport pipe 12, and the transport pipe 12 The cyclone 26 that separates the granular material 8 transported with the air from the air, the tank 27 that stores the granular material 8 separated by the cyclone 26, and the air that is released by removing dust from the air separated by the cyclone 26. 9 includes a dust collector 28 that discharges to the outside of the system.

  Hereinafter, the pipe from the hopper communication port 14 (powder inlet) communicating with the hopper 23 to the cyclone 26 is referred to as a transport pipe 12, and the pipe from the blower 22 to the hopper communication port 14 is referred to as an air supply pipe 30. . As described above, the transport pipe 12 and the air supply pipe 30 are described separately with the hopper communication port 14 as a boundary for the sake of convenience of explanation. In practice, however, the transport pipe 12 and the air supply pipe 30 are configured as a series of pipes from the blower 22 to the cyclone 26. .

  The pneumatic transport apparatus 10 of the present embodiment is provided in the cleaning liquid supply unit 16 and the air supply pipe 30 provided at a position on the air supply side (on the upstream side of the air flow) before the hopper 23. The air flow meter 34 and the air motor operated valve 36, the cleaning liquid supply pipe 40 through which the cleaning liquid flows, the cleaning liquid flow meter 44 and the cleaning liquid electric valve 46 provided in the cleaning liquid supply pipe 40, the cleaning liquid storage tank, etc. It includes a cleaning liquid supply source 48, a control unit 50 such as a microcomputer, and a storage unit 52 such as a memory.

  The cleaning liquid supply pipe 40 is a pipe from the cleaning liquid supply source 48 to the cleaning liquid supply unit 16. The cleaning liquid passes from the cleaning liquid supply source 48 through the cleaning liquid supply pipe 40, is injected into the air supply pipe 30 near the hopper communication port 14 via the cleaning liquid supply unit 16, and is supplied to the transport pipe 12.

  In this example, the cleaning liquid supply unit 16 is provided in the vicinity of the hopper communication port 14, but is not particularly limited to such a case, and the air supply side (upstream side of the air flow) in front of the hopper communication port 14 is not limited thereto. ).

  The air flow meter 34 and the air motor operated valve 36 are disposed further in front of the cleaning liquid supply unit 16.

  The air flow meter 34 detects the amount of air supplied to the transport pipe 12 (that is, the flow rate of air in the transport pipe 12) by measuring the flow rate of air in the air supply pipe 30.

  The air motor-operated valve 36 functions as an air supply switching unit that switches whether air is supplied to the transport pipe 12 by opening and closing the air supply pipe 30 and adjusts the flow rate of air in the air supply pipe 30. This functions as an air flow rate adjusting means for adjusting the amount of air supplied to the transport pipe 12 (that is, the flow rate of air in the transport pipe 12).

  The cleaning liquid flow meter 44 detects the amount of cleaning liquid supplied to the transport pipe 12 (that is, the flow rate of cleaning liquid in the transport pipe 12) by measuring the flow rate of the cleaning liquid in the cleaning liquid supply pipe 40.

  The cleaning liquid motor-operated valve 46 functions as a cleaning liquid supply switching unit that switches whether or not the cleaning liquid is supplied to the transport pipe 12 by opening and closing the cleaning liquid supply pipe 40 and adjusts the flow rate of the cleaning liquid in the cleaning liquid supply pipe 40. Thus, it functions as a cleaning liquid flow rate adjusting means for adjusting the amount of cleaning liquid supplied to the transport pipe 12 (that is, the flow rate of the cleaning liquid in the transport pipe 12).

  The control unit 50 opens and closes the air supply pipe 30 using the air motor operated valve 36 and opens and closes the cleaning liquid supply pipe 40 using the cleaning liquid motor operated valve 46. Further, the control unit 50 adjusts the air flow rate by the air motor-operated valve 36 and / or based on at least one of the air amount detected by the air flow meter 34 and the cleaning liquid amount detected by the cleaning liquid flow meter 44. The cleaning liquid flow rate is adjusted by the cleaning liquid motor-operated valve 46.

  The storage unit 52 stores a program executed by the control unit 50 and information necessary for processing of the control unit 50.

  FIG. 2 shows details of the cleaning liquid supply unit 16 in the present embodiment. The cleaning liquid supply unit 16 includes a cleaning liquid nozzle 70 on the side opposite to the side where the cleaning liquid is supplied to the transport pipe 12. The cleaning liquid nozzle 70 is fixed by a clamp 72 via a packing 71. The cleaning liquid nozzle 70 is connected to the cleaning liquid supply pipe 40 by a fastening portion 73.

  First, the pneumatic transportation process of the granular material 8 is demonstrated using FIG.

  When pneumatically transporting the granular material 8, the cleaning liquid motor-operated valve 46 is closed and the air motor-operated valve 36 is opened, and the air supplied from the blower 22 is used as a carrier by the rotary feeder 24 from the hopper 23. The granular material 8 supplied into the transport pipe 12 is transported to the cyclone 26. The granular material 8 and air are separated by the cyclone 26, and the air is discharged out of the system as the discharge air 9 through the dust collector 28. Although the granular material 8 is stored in the tank 27 in this example, it may be supplied to a manufacturing apparatus (not shown).

  Next, the cleaning process in the transport pipe 12 will be described with reference to FIG.

  When cleaning the inside of the transport pipe 12, the supply of the granular material 8 by the rotary feeder 24 from the hopper 23 is stopped, the air motor valve 36 and the cleaning liquid motor valve 46 are opened, and the air supply pipe from the blower 22 is opened. At the same time as supplying air into the transport pipe 12 through 30, the cleaning liquid is supplied from the cleaning liquid supply unit 16 into the transport pipe 12 through a part of the air supply pipe 30. That is, air and a cleaning liquid are simultaneously supplied into the transport pipe 12, and the inside of the transport pipe 12 is cleaned with the air and the cleaning liquid.

  Here, based on the flow rate detected by at least one of the air flow meter 34 and the cleaning liquid flow meter 44, the flow rate of the cleaning liquid in the transport pipe 12 is adjusted to an amount suitable for the air flow rate in the transport pipe 12. adjust.

  For example, first, air is blown from the blower 22, and the control unit 50 opens and closes the cleaning liquid motor-operated valve 46 so that the flow rate of the cleaning liquid matches the flow rate of air detected by the air flow meter 34. Then, the cleaning liquid is supplied into the transport pipe 12. Further, the flow rate of the cleaning liquid is detected by the cleaning liquid flow meter 44, and when there is an excess or shortage, the cleaning liquid motor-operated valve 46 is used for adjustment. Such an adjustment operation is performed until a suitable cleaning liquid amount is obtained.

  When information indicating the appropriate range of the air amount and table information indicating the correspondence between the flow rate of air and the flow rate of the cleaning liquid adapted thereto are stored in the storage unit 52 in advance, the control unit 50 stores the storage unit. With reference to the information stored in 52, the air flow rate and the cleaning liquid flow rate are adjusted. As a result, air having a flow rate within an appropriate range and a cleaning liquid having a flow rate suitable for the flow rate of the air are simultaneously supplied into the transport pipe 12 so that the transport pipe 12 can be cleaned.

  The example of the washing | cleaning condition in the transport piping 12 is shown to Fig.3 (a)-(c). When the flow rate of the cleaning liquid in the transport pipe 12 is smaller than the flow rate of air in the transport pipe 12, the cleaning liquid flows to the bottom of the transport pipe 12 as shown in FIG. The cleaning liquid does not flow on the top. When the flow rate of the cleaning liquid in the transport pipe 12 is larger than the flow rate of air in the transport pipe 12, the cleaning liquid flows backward in the transport pipe 12 as shown in FIG. When the flow rate of the cleaning liquid in the transport pipe 12 matches the flow rate of air in the transport pipe 12, as shown in FIG. 3C, a part of the cleaning liquid supplied into the transport pipe 12 is liquid. In addition to droplets, a forward flow of the cleaning liquid (in the direction from the hopper communication port 14 toward the cyclone 26) is generated at the bottom and top of the transport pipe 12, thereby enabling good cleaning. The amount of such a suitable cleaning liquid (for example, water) is about 6 to 18 times as a mass ratio with respect to the amount of air. Here, the specific gravity of water is “1”, and the specific gravity of air is “0.00129”.

  The correspondence between the flow rate detection in the transport pipe 12 and the flow rate adjustment in the transport pipe 12 can be summarized as follows. First, the air flow rate detection and the cleaning liquid flow rate detection, the air flow rate adjustment and the cleaning liquid flow rate adjustment A mode in which all of the above are performed, secondly, an air flow rate detection and cleaning liquid flow rate detection, and an air flow rate adjustment, and third, an air flow rate detection and a cleaning liquid flow rate detection, and a cleaning water flow rate adjustment 4th, the mode in which the flow rate of air is substantially constant, the flow rate detection of the cleaning liquid and the flow rate adjustment of the cleaning liquid are performed, and the fifth mode, the flow rate of cleaning water is substantially constant, the flow rate detection of air and air And sixth, there is a mode in which the air flow rate and the washing water flow rate are substantially constant, and the flow rate detection and flow rate adjustment are omitted, and the valve is only opened and closed.

Experiments were conducted with various powders (sugar, wheat flour, whole egg powder). The conditions are shown below.
Cleaning liquid: Water (warm water 40 ° C)
Air flow rate: 1.6 m ³ / min (1.92 kg / min)
Flow rate of cleaning liquid: 20 liters / minute (20 kg / minute)
Cleaning time: 2.5 minutes In addition, a cleaning liquid is not specifically limited when it is water, A chemical | medical solution may be used.

  FIG. 4 is an overall configuration diagram showing an example of another embodiment of the pneumatic transport device according to the present invention.

  In FIG. 4, the same components as those of the pneumatic transport device 10 shown in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description of the contents already described is omitted.

  The pneumatic transport apparatus 100 of this example shown in FIG. 4 omits the cleaning liquid supply unit 16, the cleaning liquid supply pipe 40, the cleaning liquid flow meter 44, the cleaning liquid electric valve 46, and the cleaning liquid supply source 48 shown in FIG.

  In the present embodiment, when the granular material 8 is transported, the granular material 8 is placed in the hopper 23, and the granular material 8 is transported to the cyclone 26 via the transport pipe 12 using the air supplied from the blower 22 as a carrier. On the other hand, at the time of cleaning the transport pipe 12, a cleaning liquid is put in the hopper 23 instead of the granular material 8, and the air from the blower 22 and the cleaning liquid from the hopper 23 are supplied into the transport pipe 12 at the same time for transport. The inside of the pipe 12 is washed.

  As described above, in this embodiment, when the transport pipe 12 is cleaned, the cleaning liquid is supplied from the hopper 23 into the transport pipe 12 using the hopper 23 as a cleaning liquid supply source and the rotary feeder 24 as a cleaning liquid supply unit. Further, the rotary feeder 24 functions as a cleaning water supply switching unit that switches whether to supply cleaning water to the transport pipe 12.

  The case where the amount of cleaning liquid supplied from the hopper 23 to the transport pipe 12 by the rotary feeder 24 is substantially constant will be described as an example. The control unit 50 uses the air flow rate based on the air flow rate detected by the air flow meter 34. By controlling the motor-operated valve 36 and adjusting the amount of air supplied to the transport pipe 12, the flow rate of air in the transport pipe 12 and the transport pipe so that the cleaning liquid state shown in FIG. The ratio with the flow rate of the cleaning liquid in 12 is adjusted.

  In this embodiment, since the cleaning liquid is supplied from the hopper 23, when the granular material 8 is soluble in the cleaning liquid, not only the inside of the transport pipe 12 but also the rotary feeder 24 can be cleaned at the same time. Further, the inside of the hopper 23 may be cleaned together.

  However, when the granular material 8 is insoluble in the cleaning liquid, the rotary feeder 24 tends to remain. For example, when the granular material 8 is wheat flour, a so-called lumpy residue is likely to occur. In such a case, the inside of the transport pipe 12 is cleaned after the hopper 23 and the rotary feeder 24 are separately cleaned.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the simple configuration in which the detection of the cleaning liquid amount supplied from the hopper 23 by the rotary feeder 24 and the adjustment of the cleaning liquid amount are not described has been described as an example, but the present invention is particularly limited to such a configuration. Needless to say, it may be configured to detect the amount of cleaning liquid supplied from the hopper 23 and adjust the amount of cleaning liquid.

  1 and 4 show an example of an air transportation device using compressed air, but it goes without saying that the present invention can also be applied to an air transportation device using suction air. When suction air is used, suction is performed on the cyclone 26 side.

  Moreover, although the case where valve operation is performed using an electric valve has been described as an example with reference to FIGS. 1 and 4, the method for cleaning a pipe of an air transportation device according to the present invention uses a manual valve to perform valve operation. It can also be applied in the case of performing. Thereby, the apparatus configuration can be made compact.

  The present invention is not limited to the examples described in the present specification and the examples illustrated in the drawings, and various design changes and improvements may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

The whole block diagram which shows the example of one Embodiment of the pneumatic transport apparatus which concerns on this invention Configuration diagram showing an example of cleaning liquid supply unit A diagram showing an example of the cleaning situation in the transportation piping The whole block diagram which shows the example of other embodiment of the pneumatic transport apparatus which concerns on this invention Overall configuration diagram showing an example of a conventional pneumatic transport device The figure which shows the adhesion situation of the granular material

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 12 ... Transport piping, 14 ... Hopper communication port, 16 ... Cleaning liquid supply part, 22 ... Blower, 23 ... Hopper, 24 ... Rotary feeder, 26 ... Cyclone, 27 ... Tank, 28 ... Dust collector, 30 ... Air supply piping, 34 ... Air flow meter, 36 ... Electronic valve for air, 40 ... Cleaning liquid supply piping, 44 ... Flow meter for cleaning liquid, 46 ... Electronic valve for cleaning liquid, 48 ... Cleaning liquid supply source, 50 ... Control unit, 52 ... Storage unit

Claims (6)

A method for cleaning the inside of a piping of an air transportation device for cleaning the inside of a transportation piping of an air transportation device that transports the granular material by compressed air or suction air,
A method for cleaning the inside of a pipe of an air transportation apparatus, wherein air and a cleaning liquid are simultaneously supplied into the transportation pipe and the inside of the transportation pipe is cleaned with the air and the cleaning liquid.   The method for cleaning a pipe of an air transportation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the amount of cleaning liquid supplied to the transportation pipe is 6 to 18 times the mass of air with respect to the amount of air.   The method for cleaning an in-pipe of an air transportation device according to claim 2, wherein at least one of the flow rate of the air and the flow rate of the cleaning liquid is detected and adjusted to a cleaning liquid amount suitable for the flow rate of the air.   The cleaning liquid is supplied into the transport pipe from a position closer to the air supply side than a hopper for supplying the granular material into the transport pipe. A method for cleaning the inside of piping of pneumatic transportation equipment.   The pipe cleaning of the pneumatic transport apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a cleaning liquid is supplied into the transport pipe from a hopper for supplying the granular material into the transport pipe. Method. A transport pipe for transporting the granular material by compressed air or suction air;
First switching means for switching whether to supply air into the transport pipe;
Second switching means for switching whether or not to supply the cleaning liquid amount into the transport pipe;
Control means for controlling the first switching means and the second switching means to simultaneously supply air and cleaning liquid into the transport pipe;
With
An air transport apparatus characterized in that the inside of the transport pipe is cleaned with the air and the cleaning liquid.

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