RU2243652C2 - Apparatus for cooling of milk with natural cold - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: agriculture, in particular, dairy equipment.

SUBSTANCE: apparatus has reservoir, air-to-water heat-exchanger equipped with fan and spraying device and arranged above reservoir, expansion tank and plate cooler, which are communicated with reservoir. Water circuit change-over device is arranged at plate cooler outlet end and provided with slide. Water circuit change-over device is adapted for communicating plate cooler through pneumatic cylinder with piston to heat-exchanger spraying device. Water circuit change-over device is controlled by means of pulsed pipe through expansion tank serving as sensor and preventing reservoir from water freezing and, accordingly, from breaking down. Expansion tank is equipped with hermetically sealing closure having return valve and vacuum-gauge and is further equipped with scale 17.

EFFECT: enhanced reliability in operation and reduced water loss.

3 cl, 1 dwg

Description

The invention relates to agriculture and can be used on dairy farms for cooling milk using natural cold.

A device for cooling milk is known, including a sprinkler with a nozzle, a drain pan with a drain pipe, a cooling water tank, a pump, a heat exchanger, an artificial cold source and three-way valves and pipes connecting them. To increase reliability and performance, a container with elastic walls and air ducts for flow-through connection with the environment is inserted into the sump below the drain pipe (Avt. St. USSR No. 1591891, class A 01 J 9/04, 1990).

However, this device is complex in design and operation, since in the event of a tank malfunction, it is necessary to interrupt operation and release the pallet from water or ice for repairs. In addition, water in open sections of pipelines and in the nozzle may freeze, making the device inoperative.

A known installation for cooling milk with natural cold, containing an outdoor water tank, above which is placed an air-water heat exchanger with a fan and a spray, an external and internal water circulation circuits with a pump, a water freezing sensor in communication with the water tank, an expansion tank and a milk cooler installed indoors. (Aut. St. USSR No. 1762817, class A 01 J 9/04. 1992 - prototype).

The disadvantages of the known invention are the complexity of the design and operation, low reliability and loss of cooling water.

The technical result provided by this invention is to simplify the design and operation of the installation, increase its reliability in operation and reduce water losses.

This is achieved by the fact that the installation for cooling milk with natural cold, containing an outdoor water tank, above which there is an air-water heat exchanger with a fan and a spray device, an expansion tank installed in the room with a water level scale connected to the water tank and a milk cooler connected through a pump to a water intake pipe and a water tank, and through a switch, a return pipe with a spray device and an internal the pipeline with the bottom of the tank is equipped with a pneumatic cylinder with a piston and an impulse tube connecting the expansion tank to the pneumatic cylinder, while the expansion tank has a sealed cover with a check valve and a vacuum gauge, and the switch has a slider for closing the return and internal pipelines under the influence of the pneumatic cylinder piston when a vacuum occurs in the expansion tank, transmitted through a pulse tube. The volume of the expansion tank is 5-9% of the volume of the tank. The heat exchanger in the lower part has a plate device made of porous material for freezing ice, and a spray device is installed above it, and the fan is located in the side of the heat exchanger with the possibility of supplying air to the spray water.

The drawing schematically shows an installation for cooling milk with natural cold (general view).

An installation for cooling milk contains an open-air tank 1 for water with an air-water heat exchanger 2 placed above it, in the lower part of which a plate device 3 of porous material for freezing ice is built-in. The walls of the tank 1 are made of metal and have good thermal conductivity. Water is used as a heat carrier.

The reservoir 1 through the filter 4 and the intake pipe 5 is connected to the pump 6. The intake pipe 5 passes through the insulated opening in the wall of the building. In turn, the outlet pipe of the pump 6 through the plate cooler 7, the switch 8 with the slider 9 and the pipe 10 is connected to the spray device 11 of the heat exchanger 2. The slider 9 is in the left position. The heat exchanger 2 has a fan 12, which is located in the side of the heat exchanger with the possibility of supplying air towards the spray water from the spray device 11. The air after the spray device is released into the atmosphere. To drive the switch 8, a pneumatic cylinder 13 is installed with a piston 14. The switch 8 is connected by an internal pipe 15 to the tank 1. The output pipe of the internal pipe 15 in the tank 1 is directed to the upper part of the tank, and the pipe 15 itself is located in an insulated opening next to the intake pipe 5.

An expansion tank 16 having a scale 17 for controlling the water level is installed in the building premises. A cap 18 is sealed on the expansion tank 16, provided with a non-return valve 19, a vacuum gauge 20, and a pulse tube 21, which connects the expansion tank to the pneumatic cylinder 13. The volume of the expansion tank is 5-9% of the volume of the tank 1, depending on climatic conditions. The expansion tank 16 is connected to the tank 1 by means of a water intake pipe 5.

Installation for cooling milk works as follows. With the onset of the autumn-winter period, when the air temperature becomes close to zero, the tank 1 is filled with water, which is cooled through the walls of the tank under the influence of ambient temperature. Turn on the pump 6, and cold water from the tank 1 through the filter 4 and the intake pipe 5 is pumped by the pump 6 through the cooler 7. In this case, the milk is cooled. The heated water through the return pipe 10 is supplied to the spray device 11, is cooled in an air-water heat exchanger 2 and enters through the plate device 3 on the water surface of the tank 1. From the tank 1, water is taken by the pump 6, and the cycle repeats. The check valve 19 in this mode of operation of the installation is closed under the action of its own weight and low vacuum created by the pump 6 when the water is sucked.

With a strong decrease in ambient temperature on the walls of the tank 1 and on the surface of the water ice freezes, the thickness of which can reach a significant amount. When water freezes, the volume of ice increases by 9% compared with water. Due to the ice frozen on the water surface and on the walls inside the tank, pressure increases and water from the middle part of the tank is displaced through the pipe 5 into the expansion tank 16, the check valve 19 opens and the pressure in the tank 16 and the tank 1 decreases, which prevents the tank 1 from rupture.

When a thick ice layer is frozen on the surface of the water in the tank 1 and when the pump 6 is turned on, a vacuum forms inside the tank, which is transmitted through the intake pipe 5 to the expansion tank 16. The check valve 19 is closed under its own weight and vacuum. The vacuum along the impulse tube 21 from the tank 16 is transferred to the pneumatic cylinder 13 and, under the action of the piston 14 of the pneumatic cylinder 13, the slider 9 of the switch 8 will go to the right, open the internal pipe 15 and close the return pipe 10. In this case, water will circulate from the tank 1 through the filter 4 through the intake pipe 5 to the pump 6 and then through the cooler 7, the switch 8 through the internal pipe 15 to the tank 1. The insulated water in the tank 1 is directed towards the ice located in the upper part of the tank.

The water level in the expansion tank on a scale 17 determines the amount of ice frozen in the tank 1. According to the readings of the vacuum gauge 20, you can also manually control the switch 8, letting water through the return or internal pipelines.

Supply of the installation with a pneumatic cylinder with a piston and an impulse tube connecting the expansion tank with the pneumatic cylinder when the tank has a sealed cover with a check valve and a vacuum gauge; a switch with a slider for shutting off the return and internal pipelines under the action of the pneumatic cylinder piston when a vacuum occurs in the expansion tank transmitted through the impulse tube, simplifies the design and operation of the installation, increasing its reliability and reducing water losses.

Claims (3)

1. Installation for cooling milk with natural cold, containing an outdoor water tank, under which an air-water heat exchanger with a fan and a spray device is placed, an expansion tank with a water level scale connected to the water tank and a cooler installed in the room milk, connected through a pump with an intake pipe to a water tank, and through a switch by a return pipe with a spray device and an internal pipe from the bottom part of the tank, characterized in that the installation is equipped with a pneumatic cylinder with a piston and a pulse tube connecting the expansion tank to the pneumatic cylinder, while the expansion tank has a sealed cover with a check valve and a vacuum gauge, and the switch has a slider for shutting off the return and internal pipelines under the influence of the pneumatic cylinder piston when a vacuum occurs in the expansion tank, transmitted through a pulse tube. 2. Installation according to claim 1, characterized in that the volume of the expansion tank is 5-9% of the volume of the tank. 3. Installation according to claim 1, characterized in that the heat exchanger in the lower part is made of a plate made of porous material, and a spray device is installed under it, and the fan is located in the lateral part of the heat exchanger with the possibility of supplying air to the spray medium.