LT4872B - Apparatus for preparing cocoa beans - Google Patents

Abstract

A device for coffee bean grinding consists of the ball mill and a pump, which grinds coffee mass up to the state of dense mass and in advance, transfers it to the mill. While grinding coffee bean mass, the temperature is increasing and the mass starts climbing to the openings of the filter (12) walls. For filter opening cleaning, in the dispenser chamber (14) there is a wiper installed. The wiper is made of a number of scrapers (19), their tips (20) are found in the openings of the filter, and the other tips are attached to the plate (18), which is attached to the ring (16), the ring is equipped on the shaft of the mill disc (5). Shifting the ring (16) along the shaft (5) it is possible to change the scraper's (19) depth in the openings.<IMAGE>

Description

Roll mills using slit filters are used to grind cocoa beans to a stable state. Such mills are described in SU 528081; A 23G 1/18 (Sep 76, 1976) and EP 0455023; A 23G 1/04 (11.11.1991).

The closest analog of the present invention is a rotary mill 292 C Schpindelmuhle. This equipment is described in the VEB MASCHINENFABRIK Technical Passport. The mill is used in technology for sterilizing cocoa mass, which is described in Lithuanian patent LT 4360; A 23G 1/2 (July 18, 1996).

The duration of all of the above-mentioned devices is that the mass is heated above 220 ° C during frictional life and in contact with the filter surface it glides and adheres to the crack walls of the filter. Clogging of the filter slots causes pressure in the unit and risks breaking the equipment. The process of cleaning the filters is stopped every 400 - 500 Operating hours.

The present invention seeks to eliminate filter clogging and frequent interruption of the process.

For this purpose, a squeegee consisting of at least one row of scrapers, which are inserted into the slits of the filter, continuously cleans the cacao mass which is attached to the rotor shaft above the filter. The ends of the squeegee scrapers coincide with the shape of the filter slits, and the depth of entry of the scrapers into the slots is adjustable.

The invention is explained in the drawings.

Figure 2 is a general view of the unit, Figure 2 is a view of the interaction between filter and squeegee.

The machine for grinding cocoa beans comprises a ball mill 1 and a pump 2 for feeding pre-milled cocoa beans to the mill 1.

The mill 1 has a housing consisting of an outer wall a and an inner wall b, between which is a space c for circulating steam. At the top of the wall a is a pipe 3 for supplying steam to cavity c, and at the bottom a pipe 4 for discharging steam.

Inside the housing 1 is a shaft 5, on which discs 6 are mounted, and between them are balls 7 for rubbing cocoa mass.

At the top of the housing 1 is a filter consisting of a base plate 9 with a circular recess 10. The recess 10 is provided with concentrically mounted rings 11 between which are slits 12 for filtering cocoa mass. The rings 11 are attached to the plates 13 and the latter are attached to the base plate 9. The filter is enclosed in a chamber 14 having a nozzle 15 for discharging cocoa mass. In the chamber 14, above the filter, a shaft 10 and a squeegee 12 are mounted on the shaft 5. The squeegee consists of a ring 16, the latter of which is secured to the shaft 5 by a screw 17 (Fig. 2). A plate 18 is attached to the ring 16 and a chain 19 is attached thereto. The ends 20 of the rods 19 are tapered, the conicity of which corresponds to that of the slots 12.

Device Operation.

The ground cocoa beans are pumped into a mill 1 by means of a pump 2, where they are milled in discs 6 and balls 7 to a suitable level for further processing. By uniformly feeding the milled cocoa beans to the mill 1 by means of the pump 2, a pressure is created inside the mill which causes the cocoa mass to be raised and squeezed through the slits 10 and 12 of the filter cut-out into the chamber 14.

The friction in the mill raises the temperature of the cocoa mass and starts to adhere to the walls of the notch 10 and the slots 12, but the rotating scrapers 19 of the shaft 5 clean the slits and thereby ensure the continuous operation of the machine. If necessary, the recesses of the scrapers 19 are changed into slots by loosening the screw 17 and sliding the ring 16 along the shaft 5, then tightening it again with the screw 17.

With the filter cleaning mechanism installed, the process runs uninterrupted for 6000 - 7000 hours.

Claims (2)

Definition of the Invention 1. Device for grinding cocoa beans, consisting of a pump for feeding the milled cocoa mass to a ball mill consisting of a housing, a spindle on which discs are mounted between balls, and a filter mounted on the housing of the housing and a distribution chamber for cocoa mass. characterized in that the spreader chamber is provided with a filter slot cleaner on the shaft consisting of at least one row of scrapers having the same shape as the filter slots. 2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the scrapers are mounted in such a way that their recesses can be altered.