RU2792630C2 - Complete emptying system - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: production of malt.

SUBSTANCE: malting box with a grain receiving tank containing a bottom is claimed. There is a beam inside the tank. A conveyor device is located on the beam horizontally with respect to the bottom, in particular an auger, for loading and unloading the tank, the conveyor device being movable in the vertical direction. In addition, several auger agitators are fixed on the beam vertically relative to the bottom and work in pairs in opposite directions to agitate the grain. Scrapers are located at the bottom end of each of the auger agitators. The auger agitators are also configured to operate in the same direction to empty the malt box. The invention also provides a method for emptying the malt box according to the invention and a method for retrofitting the malt box.

EFFECT: invention makes it possible to ensure complete emptying of the malting box.

13 cl, 6 dwg

Description

The present invention relates to a malt box, in particular to a device and method for emptying a malt box.

Malting boxes are used in the malting industry to germinate grain. To do this, the grain is stored in a malting box under conditions of controlled temperature and humidity. It is usually rectangular or round in shape, a round malting box can have a diameter of 15–40 m. For this, a beam is usually provided, on which vertically located auger agitators are mounted. Screw agitators work in pairs, moving in opposite directions. On some auger tedders, the end edge of the auger tedder that faces the bottom may have tools that do not extend across the entire end edge of the auger tedder and are used to loosen the grain during tedding. Without this loosening and the resulting rise of grain residue or green malt residue from the bottom of the malting box, the grain or green malt will stick to the bottom and harden.

In the case of a fixed grate, the beam inside the malting box is movable to allow the entire grain to be ted. As a support and fastening of the beam, for example, a device known from DE 10 2004 032 442 is used.

For loading and unloading the malt box, a horizontal conveyor device is usually also provided, which is attached to the beam and can be moved in a vertical direction. With its help, grain or green malt after germination is delivered to the unloading station. The unloading station can be an opening or an unloading shaft. The unloading station can be located in the center or on the outer wall inside the malting box.

The auger agitators must not reach the bottom, otherwise the auger agitator metal will rub against the bottom metal. Here it is preferable to provide a gap of 2 to 3 cm, because, given the dimensions of the malting box, manufacturing tolerances and thermal expansion can lead to uneven bottoms. To prevent the auger tedders from catching on the bottom, or to prevent damage to the bottom by the auger tedders, the auger tedders must be positioned at a predetermined distance from the bottom. However, when the malt box is unloaded, grains or green malt residues inevitably remain on the auger tedders and auger conveyor or at the bottom of the malt box. Depending on the size of the malting box, several hundred kilograms can remain in the malting box. In traditional malts, leftover grain or green malt leftovers are left in the malt box, resulting in contamination of the new batch, or the malt box is cleaned by hand. This requires a lot of time and an increase in the number of personnel, as well as the adoption of special safety measures when working on the machine and in the corresponding technological room.

Therefore, the aim of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and a method which enables the complete emptying of the malting box.

The invention is defined by the features of the independent claims 1, 11 and 14; dependent claims define embodiments of the invention.

The invention includes a malting box with a tank for receiving grain or green malt, the tank having a bottom. There is a beam inside the tank. On the beam there is a conveyor device arranged horizontally with respect to the bottom, in particular an auger, for loading and unloading the tank, the conveyor device being able to move in a vertical direction and essentially parallel to the bottom. In addition, several screw agitators are fixed on the beam, located vertically to the bottom, which work in pairs in opposite directions and serve to agitate grain or green malt. At the lower end, i.e. the bottom end of each of the screw agitators, there are scrapers. The auger agitators are also configured to operate in the same direction to empty the malt box.

The distance between the scrapers and the bottom is preferably 0 to 2 mm, particularly preferably 0.5 mm. The scrapers can extend radially beyond the edge of the respective auger agitator. In addition, the scrapers may be curved or inclined. The bottom preferably contains a metal sieve.

The malting box can be made in the form of a fixed or rotating grate. The scrapers can be arranged in such a way that the circles described by the scrapers of adjacent auger agitators are in contact with each other. Scrapers can also be made of plastic or metal.

With the help of scrapers, grain or green malt residues on the bottom can be moved in the direction of the unloading station with the same direction of rotation of the augers.

In addition, the malting box preferably includes a high pressure sprayer that is attached to the body of the conveyor device and is configured to remove grain or green malt residue from the auger augers by spraying the auger agitators. The high pressure atomizer can preferably be supplied with water.

The invention also provides a method for emptying a malt bed and a method for retrofitting a malt bed, in particular a malt bed, in accordance with the preamble of claim 1.

The invention is explained in more detail with the involvement of graphic materials. The graphics show:

fig. 1 is a general perspective view of the device according to the invention;

fig. 2 is a detailed view of the screw agitators according to the invention in area A of FIG. 1;

fig. 3 is a detailed view of the conveyor device according to the invention;

fig. 4 is a side view of the device according to the invention;

fig. 5 is a schematic view of screw agitators according to the invention;

fig. 6 is an additional schematic view of augers according to the invention.

In FIG. 1 shows a general perspective view of a device according to the invention. It consists of a malting box with a tank containing a bottom 7. It can be designed as a slatted bottom. The tank can be rectangular or round. The tank is filled with grain, and the batch size can be several hundred tons, for example 400 tons of barley as green malt. The malting box is set to a certain temperature and humidity to provide optimal conditions for grain germination. In addition, a CO ₂ removal device may be provided. Inside the tank there is a beam 4, on which screw agitators 3 are fixed, oriented vertically relative to the bottom 7, and a conveyor device 1, oriented horizontally relative to the bottom 7. The conveyor device 1 is movable in the vertical direction. While the beam 4 is made with the possibility of movement inside the tank. In rectangular malt boxes, the beam 4 moves linearly inside the malt box, and in round malt boxes, in a radial direction around the center of the malt box. This is called a fixed grid. Alternatively, in the case of a round malt box, the bottom 7 is movable and the beam 4 is non-movable. This is also called a rotating grate.

The conveyor device 1 is intended for loading and unloading grain or green malt from the malting box and is preferably made in the form of an auger. In addition, a sprayer can be placed on the conveyor device 1 to moisten the grain in the malting box (not shown). In addition, a floor washer 7 may be provided. The augers 3 operate in pairs in opposite directions, and either the floor 7 or the beam 4 moves within the malt box to completely agitate the grain or green malt during germination. Tedding ensures uniform germination, prevents germination of sprouts, thereby simplifying transportation.

The germination process usually takes 3-5 days, with the grain or green malt being mechanically ted at least once a day. After completion of the germination process, the grain or green malt is moved by means of a conveyor device 1 towards one end of the beam 4 and unloaded there via an unloading station 9, for example a discharge channel. In the case of a round malt box, the discharge station 9 is usually located in the center, in the case of a rectangular malt box, usually along one side of the malt box. However, when emptying, grain residues or green malt residues 2 inevitably remain on the bottom 7, on the augers 3 or the conveyor device 1, or fall from the conveyor device 1 to the bottom 7. As a rule, the screw conveyor of the conveyor device 1 does not ensure complete emptying. The amount of these grain residues or green malt residues can be up to several hundred kg, depending on the size of the malting box and the lot in it. Based on the annual production, this can lead to losses in the amount of 300–400 tons of the final product.

In conventional systems, these grain residues or green malt residues either remain in the malt box and thus contaminate the new batch, or have to be manually removed from the augers 3, conveyor device 1 and bottom 7 using a brush or similar device. However, manual cleaning requires high safety standards, since working in the malting box under the conveyor 1 is dangerous, and therefore the safety of the conveyor 1 is necessary. systems.

Therefore, means are provided on the device according to the invention to enable the system to be completely emptied in an automatic manner. As shown in FIG. 2, scrapers 6 are provided at the lower end of each of the augers 3. The distance between the bottom 7 and the scrapers 6 is preferably 0 to 2 mm, particularly preferably 0.5 mm. In addition, there is practically no gap between the scrapers 6 adjacent auger agitators 3. That is, the circles described by the scrapers 6 of two adjacent screw agitators 3 are in contact with each other. A circle is to be understood here as an imaginary line which forms the radially outer end of the scraper 6 as the auger agitator 3 rotates. The scrapers 6 may be made of plastic, metal or other suitable material. Scrapers 6 can be retrofitted to existing systems without any significant cost.

To empty the bottom 7, the surfaces of the spirals of the auger agitators 3 are first cleaned with a jet of water from a high-pressure sprayer 5, and the product remaining on them falls to the bottom of the malt box. Screw agitators 3 can rotate in the same or opposite directions. The auger agitators 3, which normally operate in pairs in opposite directions to agitate grain or green malt during malting, are then set to rotate in the same direction (see arrows for the direction of rotation in FIG. 2), the speed preferably remaining practically without changes. As a result, grain residues or green malt residues on the bottom 7 are moved by means of the scrapers 6 from the auger agitator 3 to the adjacent auger agitator 3 and towards one end of the beam 4 on which the unloading station 9 is located. This is shown in FIG. 2 with an arrow indicating the direction. In other words, by changing the direction of rotation or putting the augers 3 into rotation in the same direction, as opposed to working in pairs in opposite directions, instead of vertical conveying or loosening grain or green malt, horizontal conveying can be realized. Moving the beam 4 through the entire malt box or rotating the bottom 7 allows the entire bottom 7 of the malt box to be emptied. The device for changing the direction of rotation of the auger agitators 3 can be made, for example, in the process of software adaptation and with the help of reversing contactors.

In FIG. 3 shows a detailed view of a conveyor device 1 according to the invention. A high-pressure sprayer 5 is fixed on it. At least one nozzle is directed towards one of the auger agitators 3. It is also possible to install several nozzles for each auger agitator. For this purpose, it is possible to use the existing water supply, designed to moisten the grain during malting and to clean the bottom 7 with high pressure, by connecting an additional high pressure sprayer 5 to it. As indicated by the double arrow in FIG. 3, the conveyor device 1 is movable in the vertical direction. Moving the conveyor device 1 up and down and the simultaneous rotation of the auger agitators 3 and the use of a high pressure sprayer 5 allows the auger agitators 3 to be freed from grain residues or green malt residues along their entire height. The high pressure sprayer 5 is preferably operated with a small amount of water and at high pressure. The fallen grain residues or green malt residues are then transported towards the unloading station 9 by means of the scrapers 6 described above and can be further processed.

In FIG. 4 is a side view of the apparatus according to the invention, showing the cleaning of the agitators 3 by moving the conveyor 1 up and down and the high pressure sprayer 5 attached thereto. The conveyor device 1 is shown in the most upright position and in the lowered position. The water jet 8 of the high pressure sprayer 5 is shown in solid lines. The auger agitators 3 are cleaned with a high-pressure atomizer 5 of grain residues or green malt residues, which then fall to the bottom 7. Grain or green malt remaining in the conveyor device 1 can also fall and accumulate on the bottom 7 in the form of grain residues or residues. 2 green malts. Then the grain residues or green malt residues 2 are transported, as described above, towards one end of the beam 4 to the unloading station 9 by means of screw agitators 3 operating in the same direction, and scrapers 6 fixed to them (not shown).

In FIG. 5 shows a diagram of the auger tedders 3 according to the invention as a top view of the malt box. The scrapers are fixed on the underside of the last profile of the side surface of the respective auger agitator 3, that is to say, on the side of the respective auger agitator 3 facing the bottom 7. In particular, in FIG. 5 shows that the scrapers 6 can rest against the shaft 10 of the agitators 3. In addition, the scrapers 6 can be curved. In particular, the scrapers 6 may be concave with respect to the direction of rotation. Alternatively, scrapers 6, as shown in FIG. 6 can be attached to the auger 3 at an angle with respect to the radial direction. In addition, the scrapers 6 may protrude beyond the perimeter of the auger tedders 3. The scrapers 6 are preferably designed in such a way that the imaginary circles that are formed in the radial direction by the outer end of the scrapers 6 during the rotation of the auger agitators 3 are in contact with the circles of the corresponding adjacent scrapers 6. In other words, in In the event of a collision between adjacent scrapers 6, there is practically no gap between them. The arrows in Fig. 5 show the rotation of the augers 3 in the same direction to empty the malt box. As described above, the grain residues or green malt residues are moved in a horizontal direction along the bottom by means of scrapers 6. The double arrow shows the direction of transport of the grain lying on the bottom or green malt residues 2 towards the unloading station 9, which can be performed, for example, as an unloading channel.

The invention further includes a method for emptying the malting box as described above. In particular, the method according to the present invention includes emptying the malt box by transporting grain or green malt by means of a horizontal conveyor device to the discharge station 9 and operating the augers in the same direction so that the grain or green malt residue remaining at the bottom of the tank after emptying , with the help of scrapers were transported in the direction of the unloading station 9.

Preferably, by high-pressure spraying, in particular water, from a high-pressure sprayer placed on the conveyor device onto the auger agitators, grain residues or green malt residues are removed from the auger agitators.

In the method according to the invention, the conveyor device 1, and thus also the high-pressure sprayer 5, preferably moves in a vertical direction during spraying. The movement includes, in particular, the movement along the entire height of the auger tedders 3 to enable the complete removal of grain residues or green malt residues from them.

The invention also includes a method for retrofitting a malt box, in particular a malt box, with a grain receiving tank, the tank comprising a bottom and a beam located inside the tank. The malt box to be upgraded can preferably also comprise a conveyor device located horizontally with respect to the bottom, in particular an auger, for loading and unloading the tank, the conveyor device being vertically movable and attached to the beam. Screw agitators are fixed on the beam, located vertically with respect to the bottom. To retrofit an already known malt box according to the retrofit method according to the invention, the scrapers are attached to the lower end of each of the auger tedders and the auger tedders are adjusted so that they can work in the same direction.

In addition, the method preferably includes the installation of a movable high pressure atomizer 5 for cleaning the auger agitators 3, and the high pressure atomizer 5 contains several nozzles and at least one nozzle of the high pressure atomizer 5 is directed to the auger agitator 3. The high pressure atomizer 5 can be moved in a vertical direction. If there is a conveyor device 1 as described above, the high pressure sprayer 5 can be attached to the conveyor device 1.

The devices described, that is, the scrapers 6 in combination with the operation of the augers 3 in the same direction and the high pressure atomizer 5, can be installed in existing systems independently of each other. This requires only minor design changes, such as installing reversing contactors or adjusting the software. Grain residue or green malt residue can be removed from the auger 3 with a high pressure atomizer 5 that uses the existing high pressure system. By changing the direction of rotation of each second auger 3 in combination with the scrapers 6 fixed to each auger 3, the remaining grain residue or green malt residue 2 can be transported from the bottom 7 towards one end of the beam 4 to the unloading station 9. Thus, the grain can be moved with the help of screw agitators 3 in the mode of operation in pairs in opposite directions vertically, and in the mode of operation in the same direction - horizontally. This results in a more economical operation of the system and a significant reduction in grain residue after the malt box is emptied by the conveyor 1. In addition, personnel no longer need to be in the danger area under the conveyor 1 to clean or empty the malt box.

The invention can be used both in a fixed grate, that is, in a system with a fixed bottom but a movable beam, and in a rotating grate with a fixed beam and a movable bottom.

While the invention has been described and detailed with the aid of the figures and the accompanying description, this summary and this detailed description are to be regarded as illustrative and exemplary and not to be construed as limiting the invention. Of course, changes and adjustments can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the following claims. In particular, the invention also includes embodiments with any combination of features that are mentioned or shown above for various aspects and/or embodiments.

The invention also includes individual features in the figures, even if they are shown in connection with other features and/or not mentioned above.

Hereinafter, the term "include" and its derivatives do not exclude other elements or steps. Similarly, the indefinite article ("ein", "eine") and its derivatives do not exclude large numbers. The functions of several features listed in the claims can be performed by one block. The terms "substantially", "about", "approximately", etc. in connection with a property or value, one also defines, in particular, exactly the property or exactly the value. All references in the claims are not to be understood as limiting the scope of the claims.

List of symbols

1 conveyor device 2 Grain or green malt 3 Screw agitator 4 Beam 5 High pressure sprayer 6 Scraper 7 Grating bottom 8 Water jet 9 unloading station 10 Auger shaft

Claims (25)

1. Malting box containing: a tank for receiving grain, and the tank contains a bottom (7), beam (4) located inside the tank, and a conveyor device (1) located horizontally with respect to the bottom (7), in particular an auger, for loading and unloading the tank, wherein the conveyor device (1) is movable in the vertical direction, and the conveyor device (1) is fixed to beam (4), and several auger agitators (3) located on the beam (4) vertically with respect to the bottom (7), and the auger agitators (3) are used in pairs in opposite directions to agitate the grain, characterized in that at the end of each of the screw agitators (3) facing the bottom, there is a scraper (6), and the distance between the scrapers (6) and the bottom (7) is from 0.01 to 2 mm, and for emptying the malting box, the auger agitators (3) are installed with the possibility of rotation in one direction, and the malt box contains a high-pressure atomizer (5), which is fixed on the body of the conveyor device (1) and is configured to remove grain from the auger agitators (3) by spraying auger agitators (3). 2. Malting box according to claim 1, wherein the distance between the scrapers (6) and the bottom (7) is 0.5 mm. 3. Malting box according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the scrapers (6) protrude radially beyond the edge of the respective auger agitator (3). 4. A malting box according to any one of the preceding claims, the scrapers (6) having a curved shape. 5. A malting box according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the bottom (7) contains a metal sieve. 6. A malting box according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the scrapers (6) are arranged in such a way that the circles described by the scrapers (6) of adjacent auger tedders (3) are in contact with each other. 7. A malting box according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the scrapers (6) are made of plastic or metal. 8. Malting box according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the scrapers (6) move the grain at the bottom (7) towards the unloading station (9) when the augers (3) rotate in one direction. 9. A malting box according to claim 1, wherein the high pressure atomizer (5) is supplied with water. 10. The method of emptying the malting box according to any one of paragraphs. 1-9, including the steps: - emptying the malting box by transporting the grain with a conveyor device (1) to the unloading station (9), - use of auger agitators (3) in the rotation mode in one direction so that after emptying the grain at the bottom (7) of the tank is transported towards the unloading station (9) using scrapers (6). 11. The method according to claim 10, moreover, by spraying under high pressure, in particular, water from a high-pressure sprayer (5) located on the conveyor device (1), on auger agitators (3), grain residues or green malt residues are removed from screw agitators (3). 12. Method according to claim 11, wherein the conveyor device (1) and thus also the high-pressure atomizer (5) is moved vertically during spraying. 13. Method for retrofitting a malting box with a grain receiving tank, wherein the tank contains a bottom (7), a beam (4) located inside the tank, and several auger agitators (3) located on the beam (4) vertically with respect to the bottom (7) , including the steps: - installation of scrapers (6) at the lower end of each of the auger agitators (3), wherein the distance between the scrapers (6) and the bottom (7) is from 0.01 to 2 mm, - setting the auger agitators (3) so that they work in the same direction, - installation of a movable high pressure atomizer (5) for cleaning the auger agitators (3), wherein the high pressure atomizer (5) contains several nozzles and at least one nozzle of the high pressure atomizer (5) is directed to the auger agitator (3).

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