RU2121398C1 - Thermomechanical grain crusher - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: agriculture, cereal processing and feed mill industry. SUBSTANCE: grain crusher has frame, drive and crushing device with heating member. Crushing device has heat-insulated inner shell mounted on drive disk. Roll mounted within inner shell in cantilevered position has bearing whose body is fixed on frame through spring. Wedge adapted for regulating gap between tool working surface and shell inner surface is moved by screw pair along guides in roll bearing body and along guides on projection rigidly attached to frame. EFFECT: increased efficiency and simplified construction. 2 cl, 2 dwg

Description

 The invention relates to a device for flattening grain and can be used in agriculture, grain processing and animal feed industry.

 Known roller conditioner for feed grain (see, for example, A.S. N 1301487, B 02 C 9/00), containing a frame with a drive roller mounted on it, the mechanism of the blade and blade with a bracket that can be rotated and connected to a movable roller a metering auger, and a roller is mounted on the frame kinematically connected to the metering body and frictionally connected to the pulley of the movable roller, while in the position, the axis of rotation of the bracket, roller and pulley are in the same plane.

 The disadvantage of the existing design is the low quality of the products.

 The closest in technical essence is a device for processing feed grain (see, for example, a.s. N 1782526, A 23 N 17/00, B 02 C 4/42), including a drive, two kinematically connected rollers mounted on top of each other another with a gap, while the longitudinal axis of the rollers lie in different vertical planes, and to improve the quality of feed it is equipped with heating elements installed inside the rollers, and the gap between the rollers is 0.2-1 mm, while the diameters of the rollers have a ratio of 0.8 - 1.5, and the gear ratio of the kinematic connection rolls is 0.9 - 1.1.

 A disadvantage of the known device is the inability to process grains of various sizes, for example wheat and soya on the same device. Due to the fact that strictly specified parameters provide only capture, pinching and crushing of only wheat grains, the same device is not able to process larger grains (for example, soybeans), i.e. each grain needs its own device.

 The larger the grain, the greater the bulkiness of the device due to the adopted ineffective method of capturing grain by the outer surfaces of the rotating rollers.

 The high energy consumption for heating the rollers and the low coefficient of its use are also a major drawback.

 The task is to create a small-sized conditioner that provides the processing of grain of various crops (wheat, soy, peas, buckwheat, etc.) and provides each type of grain with an individual processing technology to produce a high-quality product with minimal energy consumption. The problem is solved as follows.

 - The flaking device is made by a shell of internal conditioning, thermally insulated mounted on the drive disk, a roller is installed inside the shell.

 This technical solution provides the minimum size flattening device on grains of different sizes due to the fact that the "capture" and "jamming" of the grain is carried out in a tapering channel. Thermal insulation of the shell from the drive reduces the consumption of thermal energy for heating the shell and allows you to maintain the required temperature in a given mode according to the technology of grain processing.

 - The roller inside the shell is mounted cantilever, and the roller bearing housing by means of a flat spring (spring) is mounted on the frame.

 This technical solution ensures the placement of the drum in the volume of the shell in a strictly specified place, which ensures reliable "capture" of grain, flattening and delivery of flattened grain.

 Mounting the roller bearing by means of a spring mounted on the frame ensures strict movement only in one plane while maintaining the necessary regulated clearance between the roller and the inner working surface of the shell, which ensures the quality of processing of any grain.

 - To regulate the gap between the working surface of the drum and the inner surface of the shell there is a wedge moved by a screw pair along the guides made in the roller bearing housing and the wedge guide made on a ledge rigidly fixed to the frame.

 This technical solution allows you to smoothly move the roller by bending the spring, providing a strictly defined gap between the roller and the inner surface of the shell, which improves the quality of grain processing.

 Moving the wedge with a screw pair allows you to strictly fix the position of the wedge, ensuring the minimum complexity of adjusting the conditioner clearance, simplifies maintenance technology.

 - The heating element is mounted in a casing outside the shell.

 This technical solution allows to reduce the consumption of thermal energy, to ensure that the shell is heated, which will increase the quality of grain processing, reduce the dimensions of the device, and create safe conditions for maintenance of the conditioner.

 The essence of the proposed technical solution.

 The grain is clamped and crushed in a converging channel formed by the inner surface of the shell and the outer surface of the roller. The size of the gap between the working surfaces of the shell and the roller is smoothly adjustable and rigidly fixed, which ensures high-quality grain processing of various crops.

The working surface of the shell is heated above 100 ^o C.

During the crushing of grain on a hot surface, instantaneous evaporation of the water in the grain occurs, which leads to a material change in the composition of the grain and a change in physical condition. Since grain processing is carried out at a temperature above 100 ^o C, then, as studies have shown, up to 97% of pathogenic microflora is destroyed, which significantly improves the sanitary condition of the resulting heat-treated product.

 Depending on the size of the grain, its material composition, the method of further use of flattened grain, the conditioning mode is determined, i.e. shell heating temperature, exposure time, conditioning value.

 The proposed conditioner provides a controlled impact of the above parameters, which allows to obtain high-quality conditioning of the grain. Along with the mechanical effect, the temperature effect also has a significant effect, therefore the name of the conditioner contains the term “thermomechanical” conditioner for grain.

 An example of a thermomechanical grain conditioner is shown in the drawings.

In FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a thermomechanical conditioner for grain, a vertical projection;
figure 2 is the same in plan.

 Thermomechanical grain conditioner consists of a frame 1 (Fig. 1, 2), an electric motor 2, through a V-belt drive 3 connected to a shaft 4 installed in the bearing assembly 5. A disk 6 is mounted on the shaft 4, to which the inner conditioning shell 7 is rigidly connected with a working surface 8. Inside the shell 7, a roller 9 is cantilevered, the bearing housing 10 of which is fixed to the frame 1 by means of a flat spring 11. The greater the spring stiffness, the more reliable the bearing housing 10 will be fixed, and the more stable the operation will be lyuschilki. The drum 9 of the shell 7 is installed with a gap between the working surface 8 of the shell 7 and the working surface 12 of the drum 9.

 Depending on the grain size, processing technology, the gap value "h" may be equal to 0.05 - 3 mm or more. For smooth adjustment of the gap there is a wedge 13, moved by a screw pair 14 along the guides made in the protrusion 15, rigidly mounted on the frame 1.

 Guides for the wedge 13 are also made on the bearing housing 10. When it moves, the bearing housing 10 is deflected in one direction or another due to the bending of the spring 11.

 When constructing a conditioner, the gap "h" varies from 0.05 to 6 mm, not more.

 The conditioner design allows you to move the wedge 30 - 50 mm. The distance from the frame 1 to the place where the roller 9 comes in contact with the shell 7 is 200 - 500 mm. Under such conditions, the stiffness of the spring 11 can be very high, which ensures the reliability of the mounting of the bearing housing 10.

 When moving the bearing housing 10, the roller 9 moves, i.e. the gap value "h" changes.

 An arrow can be installed on the wedge 13, and on the ledge 15, a scale with divisions graduated in the values of the gap "h". Moreover, there may be several scales for different temperatures of the conditioner, i.e. taking into account the change in size of the shell 7 and the drum 9 when heated.

 Spring 11 during installation is set "preloaded" to ensure stability of movement of the drum 9 when moving the wedge 13.

 The shell 7 on the outside is covered with a heat-insulating casing 16, in which the heating elements 17 are placed.

 As heating elements can be electric, gas and steam. Temperature control is carried out by the built-in thermocouple "t". For feeding grain there is a hopper 18, equipped with a grain distribution device 19 in the form of gutters. The movement of grains in the gutters is carried out by a roller 9.

 Flattened grain with a scraper 20 is issued through the pipe 21. Through it is also possible suction flattened grain. To ensure stable operation during fine crushing of grain, the roller 9 rotates from the electric motor 2, for which an elastic coupling 22 is rigidly attached to the V-belt pulley (shown by dashed lines).

 The elastic coupling 22 is connected to the power take-off shaft 23 mounted in the bearings 24.

 The power take-off shaft 23 through an additional V-belt transmission 25 is connected to the shaft of the drum 9 installed in the bearing housing 10.

 V-belt transmission 25 allows for the rotation of the drum 9 with the required number of revolutions for the technology of grain processing. To ensure trouble-free operation in the presence of solid inclusions in the grain volume by automatically increasing the gap, the protrusion 15 with the wedge device can be performed on the opposite side of the relative axis of the drum 9 (in comparison with the depicted embodiment in figure 1).

 In this case, the spring 11 during installation should provide zero pressure in the pre-loaded state, and the introduction of the wedge 13 bends the spring 11, providing the necessary clearance. The stiffness of the spring 11 in this embodiment is limited, and must be equal to the amount of force at which it bends if solid inclusions pass through the gap "h". This option ensures trouble-free operation in the presence of solid inclusions in the grain volume, but at the same time reduces the quality of the resulting product. In most cases, it is more rational to exclude solid inclusions before flattening and using the first option, depicted in figure 1.

 Thermomechanical conditioner grain works as follows.

Pre-cleaned from impurities, wheat grain with a moisture content of 17 - 18% is poured into the receiving hopper 18. The heating elements are turned on and the shell 7 is heated to a temperature of 240-260 ^o C; observation is carried out in the built-in thermocouple "t".

 To ensure reliable trouble-free start, the wedge 13 is withdrawn, increasing the gap to two to three millimeters.

 The motor 2 is turned on. A torque through the V-belt drive 3 drives the disk 6 and the shell 7 attached to it. From the hopper 18, individual spilled grains by the rotating shell 7 are drawn into the gap "h" and wedged between the stationary roller 9 and the shell 7. For due to wedging, roll 9 begins to rotate, adding new grains; the slippage of the drum 9 relative to the shell 7 decreases. The drum 9 picks up speed and starts to rotate synchronously with the shell 7. By means of the screw pair 14, the wedge 13 is moved and the clearance value “h” set by the technology for processing this grain is set.

The grain is captured between the moving work surfaces 8 and 12, and as they approach it, it is compressed, the grain is intensively heated to 140 - 160 ^o C.

 The water in the grain boils, an intensive process of vaporization takes place, the pressure inside the grain fiber rises, the active process of transformation begins.

Studies have shown that the most profound changes in wheat grain during thermomechanical processing occur in the carbohydrate complex by converting starch grains into dextrins, maltose, and sucrose. Sugar content increases 2 - 3 times in comparison with crushed grain. The level of sugar accumulation depends on the mode of conditioning and the degree of moisture of the grain. The maximum sugar level is achieved at a grain plate thickness of 0.05 - 0.10 mm with a grain moisture content of 18 - 20%, a temperature of heated surfaces of 240 - 250 ^o C, exposure time (exposure) of 0.03 - 0.25 seconds. For other crops, the value of the parameters of thermomechanical effects is different, the technical capabilities of the proposed design provides these effects. The finished product is a dry flake, in appearance resembling foam flakes with a highly developed microstructure and with a low content of flour fraction.

 After conditioning, the grain plates with a scraper 20 are sent to the pipe 21 and protruded from the conditioner. The pipe 21 can be connected to a suction device.

 To ensure stable operation during thin crushing of the grain, the roller 9 rotates from the electric motor 2 through the elastic coupling 22 of the power take-off shaft 23. A two-way “pushing” action ensures the movement of the grain plate in the minimum gap without tearing, and also increases the crushing productivity. To ensure trouble-free operation in the presence of solid inclusions in the grain, the protrusion 15 is located on the right side. The spring 11 during installation provides in a compressed state a zero gap between the working surface 12 of the drum 9 and the working surface 8 of the shell 7. The gap "h" is provided by the wedge. When passing through the gap of solid inclusions, the roller 9 is squeezed out, bending the spring 11. After passing the solid inclusion due to the elastic properties of the spring 11, the roller 9 returns to its initial state limited by the wedge.

Grain processing is carried out at temperatures above 100 ^o C on an internally accurate macrostructure, while, as shown by studies, up to 97% of pathogenic microflora is destroyed, which significantly improves the sanitary condition of the resulting product.

 Thus, the proposed thermomechanical grain conditioner provides the processing of grain of various crops and provides each type of grain with an individual processing technology to produce a product of high quality and with a minimum energy consumption.

Claims (2)

 1. Thermomechanical conditioner for grain, including a frame, drive, conditioner with a heating element, characterized in that the conditioner is made in the form of a thermally insulated shell of internal conditioning mounted on the drive disk, a roller is mounted cantilever inside the shell, the bearing housing of which is fixed by means of a spring to frame, and to regulate the gap between the working surface of the drum and the inner surface of the shell a wedge is installed, moved by a screw pair along the rails, flax in the roller bearing housing, and a guide made in the protrusion, rigidly mounted on the shaft.  2. Thermomechanical conditioner according to claim 1, characterized in that the roller shaft through a V-belt drive and a power take-off shaft is kinematically connected to the rotational drive of the shell.

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