US2995096A

US2995096A - Pelleting machine

Info

Publication number: US2995096A
Application number: US839760A
Authority: US
Inventors: John K Roskamp
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1959-09-14
Filing date: 1959-09-14
Publication date: 1961-08-08
Anticipated expiration: 1978-08-08

Description

Aug. 8, 1961 .1. K. ROSKAMP PELLETING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 14, 1959 INVENTOR JOHN K. ROS/(AMP BY /ZMLZ M ATTORNEY 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 14, 1959 INVENTOR J OHN K. ROS/(AMP ATTORNEY Aug. 8, 1961 J. K. ROSKAMP 2,995,096

PELLETING MACHINE Filed Sept. 14, 1959 I5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR JOHN K. ROS/(AMP BY W ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 8, 1961 2,995,096 PELLETING MACHINE John K. Roskamp, 616 Grand Blvd., Cedar Falls, Iowa Filed Sept. 14, 1959, Ser. No. 839,760 7 Claims. (Cl. 10714) This invention relates to pelleting machines for processing suitable mixes of ground grains and the like to provide pellets, by extruding such mixes through dies under suflicient pressure to cause the materials to be discharged in rod-like continuous form, which are thereafter severed into short pieces or pellets as they leave the die. More particularly, the invention consists in new and useful improvements in a machine of this character including a perforated die ring adapted for rotation about a vertical axis and a coacting pellet pressing roller therein, mounted on a parallel but eccentric axis, the die ring being radially supported by a series of peripherally spaced idler rollers which sustain the pressure exerted on the inner periphery of the die ring by the pellet pressing roller.

An object of the invention is to provide a pelleting machine having a relatively large internal pellet pressing roller supported in an adjustable mount, whereby the pressure exerted by the revolving roller against the die ring may be varied as required.

Another object of the invention is to provide a pelleting machine of this type including a freely rotatable internal pellet pressing roller which rotates with a minimum loss of torque due to friction between the die ring and the pellet pressing roller.

A further object of the invention is to provide a pelleting machine including vertical. auger type means to facilitate the even distribution of the mixture being processed, along the vertical surfaces of the die ring and pellet pressing roller adjacent their points of contact.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a pelleting machine wherein the components are supported in a structural steel frame work to provide a heavy duty machine with a minimum of weight.

Another object of the invention is to provide a machine of this character having a maximum capacity with a minimum sensitiveness of feed and wherein the large internal pellet pressing roller is designed to require less power input than conventional machines, while maintaining a highly satisfactory rate of production.

With the above and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention con sists in the novel features herein set forth, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings in which numerals of like character designate similar parts throughout the several views:

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of the pelleting machine of the present invention, taken on line 11 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the machine;

FIG. 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is a front elevational view of the machine.

Briefly, the invention comprises a suitably supported die member in the form of a cylindrical die ring having extrusion apertures extending through the wall thereof. A single, relatively large pressure applying roller is positioned within, and in axial eccentric relation to, the bore of the ring to thereby provide between the roller and ring, a space bounded by converging surfaces into which a mass of moldable materials is introduced. The die ring which revolves about a vertical axis is held in place by three idler rollers, preferably spaced 120 apart around the circumference of the ring to thereby provide the necessary restraint in opposition to the pressure imposed on the die by the large pellet pressing roller located therein. The axis of the pellet pressing roller may be shifted to adjust the pressure of the roller against the inner periphery of the die ring. Means is provided for rotating the die ring which in turn, through frictional engagement with the periphery of the pellet pressing roller, causes the rotation of the latter so that the material in the space where the roller and die meet, will be compressed between converging surfaces thereof and forced through the die apertures to form solidified rods which, upon emergence from the discharge end of each aperture, are broken or cut into fragments to form pellets of predetermined size. A hopper is located in position to feed the material to be processed into the space between the roller and die ring and a suitable agitator is installed in this space to facilitate the even distribution of materials being treated.

More specifica1ly, the machine of the present invention consists of a unit which is supported at its four corners by vertical angle irons 5, between which is secured a ring gear drive housing having side walls 6, closed by a cover plate 7 and a removable bottom plate 8 secured in place by nuts and bolts 9. The walls and plates of the housing are preferably constructed of steel plate and adapted to contain oil to a level sufficient to lubricate and cool the drive gear mechanism located therein. The cover plate 7 is of sufiicient strength to support the various mechanisms hereinafter referred to.

A main top plate 10 of heavy steel plate covers the upper portion of the frame, providing a rigid chassis for mounting the various pellet mill components hereinafter referred to and depending side skirts 11 of similar steel plate are secured to the bounding edges of the top plate and the uprights 5, providing added support for the top plate and the entire frame structure.

Within this supporting frame structure, there is provided a pellet forming die 12 comprising a relatively thick walled cylindrical body, having a series of radial perforations 13 arranged in annular rows throughout its entire peripheral area. This ring-like body 12 is removably supported on a die ring platen 14 by means of bolts 15 which extend through a supporting flange 16 carried by the platen 14. The platen in turn is supported on the upper end of a vertical drive shaft 17, rotatably mounted in suitable bearings 18 carried by the housing top plate 7, the lower end of said drive shaft extending through said top plate 7 and having mounted thereon a bevel ring gear 19, lying within the confines of the lubricating housing. Preferably, additional support for the platen 14 is provided by radial brace members 20 welded to the periphery of the drive shaft 17 and the underside of the platen.

As Will be seen in FIG. 1, the bevel gear 19 is in the form of an outer bevel ring which is removably secured to a circular disc 19a which in turn is fastened to the vertical drive shaft 17. Thus, the gear portion of this device can be removed and replaced as required.

A complementary bevel gear 21 is mounted on a horizontal drive shaft 22 supported in suitable bearings 23 in opposite side walls 6 of the lubricating housing, one end of said shaft 22 being extended to receive a V belt pulley 24 for driving the shaft 22 and in turn the vertical shaft 17.

A single, relatively large pellet pressing roller 25 of smaller diameter than the inner diameter of the pellet forming die 12, is mountedwithin the latter for rotation about a parallel but eccentric axis. This roller 25 is integral with a vertical shaft 26 which is supported by heavy duty pillow block bearings 27 carried by an 4411. 5?

able bearing mounting frame 28 on the main top plate 10. As seen in FIG. 2, the frame 28 is supported at both ends by plates 28a, having slots 28b for accommodating adjusting and locking bolts 28c in top plate and is shiftable fore and aft on the top plate by means of an adjusting screw 29 and nut 30. The screw extends through a crossbar 31 on the frame 28 and a laterally spaced bracket 32 fastened to one of the skirts 11 of the supporting structure. Thus, the pressure exerted on the inner periphery of the die 12 by the pellet pressing roller may be governed by the position of the bearing mounting frame 23 on the top plate 10 and after a selected pressure adjustment has been attained by tightening or loosening the nut on screw 29, the bearing frame 28 can be locked in position by bolts 28c and by applying a second or lock nut 30:: on the adjusting screw 29. The vertical spacing of the two pillow block bearings 27 as shown in the drawing, resists the horizontal force imposed at the lower end of the roller shaft 26.

Lateral support for the pellet forming die 12 is supplied by three appropriately spaced idler rollers 33 mounted on vertical idler shafts 34, the lower ends of which are supported in sockets 35 welded solidly to the cover plate 7 of the lubricating housing, their upper ends being rotatably supported in openings 36 in the main top plate 16 Preferably, the die 12 is provided with a radially extending flange 37 extending around its upper end for engagement with a complementary recess 38 in each of the idler rollers 33, as best seen in FIG. 1 of the drawings.

It will be apparent that the eccentric mounting of the large pellet pressing roller 25 within the die 12, practically fills the internal area of the latter and provides a substantially crescent-shaped chamber 39 in the die, to receive the material undergoing treatment, as best seen in FIG. 3. The introduction or feed of material to this more or less confined chamber 39 is eifected by a hopper 40, the lower end of which is supported in a feed opening 41 in a cover plate 42 which fits over the cavity in the forming die 12. The cover plate proper 42 is slightly inset with respect to a radially projecting flange 43 carried thereby, which in turn, fits flush within a complementary circular opening 44 in the main top plate 10. The flanged cover plate 42 is retained in place by means of a series of lugs 45, bolted as at 46, to the top plate 10 and overlying the flange 43 at annularly spaced intervals.

-It will thus be seen that by removing the bearing frame 28 and the flanged cover plate 42, the pellet forming die and the pellet pressing roller can be easily removed. In this connection, it is to be noted that various die rings having perforations of selected sizes can be used in connection with this apparatus, due to the arrangement for removably connecting the die ring 12 to the platen 14.

In order to insure the uniform distribution of material being treated, as it is fed into the crescent-shaped chamber 39 in the die, 1 provide a helical-type agitator 47 located within the chamber 39 anterior to the converging surfaces of the die and roller. This agitator is carried by a vertical shaft 48 which projects upwardly through the top plate 10 and is operativelyconnected to the roller shaft 26 by means of a belt 49 and pulley 50. The belt 49 passes over the upper end ofthe shaft'26 and when the latter rotates, the pulley 50 causes the agitator shaft 48 to rotate, thus causing an upward distribution of the material in the chamber 39 to provide a uniform layer of material along the contact surfaces of the roller and die.

The pellets which are extruded through the perforations 13 in the die 12 are severed at the outer periphery of the die, by two adjustable pellet scraper blades located at 90 apart. One of these blades 51, as seen in FIGS. 1 and 3, is mounted on the end of an adjusting screw52 which is supported for longitudinal sliding movement in a fixture 53 which in turn is fixed to a sleeve 54,'rotatably mounted on one of the idler shafts 34, the outer threaded end of the screw 52 projecting through a slot in the adjacent skirt 11 of the supporting frame.

Nuts

56 and 57, en-

iii

gaging the outer and inner faces of the skirt 11 adjacent the slot, maintain a selected adjustment of the scraper 51 with respect to the periphery of the die 12.

A similar arrangement is provided at from the assembly just described, including a scraper 51a carried on the end of an adjusting screw 52a which is slidably supported in a fixture 53a, rotatably mounted on a vertical shaft 58 by means of a sleeve 54a. A slot 55a in the skirt 11 receives the end of the adjusting screw 52a and outer and inner nuts 56a and 57a complete the assembly. Thus, the position of either blade can be advanced and the distance away from the die face can be controlled, so that one scraper can be spaced a greater distance from the periphery of the die than the other, to provide different lengths of pellets.

The severed pellets are collected below the scrapers 51 and 51a in a sheet metal box 59, formed to fit around the entire die ring and provided on one side with a discharge spout 60. The opposite side of the box 61, having a cleanout door 62, facilitates the purging of fines which fall from the die ring after passing the pellet scrapers.

In operation, the die ring 12 is rotated in counterclockwise direction as viewed from the top, by the action of drive pulley 24 and the gear assembly 21-19. The frictional engagement of the outer periphery of the pellet pressing roller 25 at one point on the inner periphery of the forming die 12, causes the roller 25 to correspondingly rotate in counterclockwise direction, thus aifecting a progressive squeezing action between the opposed converging surfaces of the roller and die which define the pressure chamber 39. It will also be noted from FIGS. 1 and 3 that one of the idler rollers 33 is disposed in direct opposition to the area of frictional contact and pressure of the pressure roller 25 and die ring 12, thus absorbing the peripheral pressure at this point. The properly prepared meal or other material to be pelleted, is fed into the machine through the hopper 40, entering the chamber 39 anterior to the agitating screw 47 which is caused to constantly rotate with the pressure roller 25 through the medium of the connecting belt 49.

The action of the helical screw 47 causes a uniform vertical distribution of the material in the chamber 39, as it is fed to the converging surfaces bounding the chamber, and the material is extruded through the perforations 13 in the die 12, by the pressure of the roller 25. As before explained, the pressure exerted by the roller 25 on the inner periphery of the die 12 may be regulated by adjustment of the bearing mounting plate 28 on the top plate 10.

As the pellets emerge from the perforations 13 at the outer periphery of the die 12, they are scraped off or cut by the scrapers 51 and 51a, dropping into the receiving box 59 from which they are discharged through chute 60 into suitable bags or containers.

It will be apparent that the apparatus of this invention is designed to facilitate assembly and disassembly of the various components and the ability to adjust the pressure exerted by the roller 25 as well as the interchangeability of the die ring proper, renders the apparatus highly versatile in performing its required functions. Furthermore, the free turning pellet pressing roller operated by friction between the die ring and roller, causes the latter to rotate with a minimum loss of torque.

The particular design of the supporting structural steel frame work provides a heavy duty machine with a minimum of weight and by restraining the lateral stresses on the vertical axis die ring by the three idler rollers spaced at apart around the periphery of the ring and at the same time resisting the horizontal force imposed at the bottom of the roller shaft 26 by means of the spaced pillow block bearings 27, .the die is capable of operating under maximum pressures.

From the foregoing, it is believed that the invention may be readily understood by those skilled in the art without further-description, it being borne in mind that numerous changes may be made in the details disclosed without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A pelleting machine comprising a supporting frame, an annular die member having a series of radially directed, peripheral perforations, rotatably mounted on a vertical axis in said frame, means for driving said die member, a relatively large, single pressure roller disposed within and filling the major internal area of said die member, said pressure roller being freely rotatable on a vertical shaft parallel with but eccentric to said last-named axis, with one side of the periphery of said roller progressively in frictional driving engagement with the inner periphery of said die member, said roller and the adjacent area of said die member defining a single material receiving chamber having walls which converge at the point of said frictional engagement, means for feeding material to be pelleted to said chamber, material distributing means in said chamber, driven by said roller shaft, means for laterally adjusting the axis of said roller to regulate the pressure of its peripheral engagement with said die member, 21 series of annularly spaced idler rollers engaging the outer periphery of said die member to absorb said peripheral pressure, scraper means engaging the outer periphery of said die member for severing pellets extruded from said chamber through said perforations, and means for collecting the severed pellets.

2. A pelleting machine comprising a supporting frame, an annular die member having a series of radially directed, peripheral perforations, rotatably mounted on a vertical axis in said frame, means for driving said die member, a freely rotatable pressure roller mounted within the confines of said die member on an axis parallel with but eccentric to said last-named axis, with one side of its periphery progressively in frictional driving engagement with the inner periphery of said die member, said roller and the adjacent area of said die member defining a material receiving chamber having walls Which converge at the point of said frictional engagement, means for feeding material to be pelleted to said chamber, an arm'- tator in said chamber for effecting a uniform vertical distribution therein of material fed to the chamber, means for laterally adjusting the axis of said roller to regulate the pressure of its peripheral engagement with said die member, means embracing the outer periphery of said die member to absorb said peripheral pressure, scraper means engaging the outer periphery of said die member for severing pellets extruded from said chamber through said perforations, and means for collecting the severed pellets.

3. A pelleting machine as claimed in claim 2, wherein said agitator comprises a helical screw member, rotatably mounted on a vertical axis in said chamber, anterior to the point of frictional engagement of said die and roller, and means for rotating said screw.

4. A pelleting machine comprising a supporting frame, an annular die member having a series of radially directed, peripheral perforations, rotatably mounted on a vertical axis in said flame, means for driving said die member, a freely rotatable pressure roller mounted within the confines of said die member and supported at the lower end of a vertically extending shaft, the axis of which is parallel with but eccentric to said last-named axis, one side of the periphery of said roller being progressively in frictional driving engagement with the inner periphery of said die member, said roller and the adjacent area of said die member defining a material receiving chamber having walls which converge at the point of said frictional engagement, bearing means carried by said frame for supporting said shaft, means for laterally adjusting said bearing means to regulate the pressure of the peripheral engagement of said roller with said die member, an idler roller embracing the outer periphery of said die member in direct opposition to the force of said pressure roller, to absorb said peripheral pressure, scraper means engaging the outer periphery of said die member for severing pellets extruded from said chamber through said perforations, and means for collecting the severed pellets.

5. Apparatus as claim in claim 4, including means for adjusting the relative position of said scraper means with respect to the periphery of said die member.

6. A pelleting machine comprising a supporting frame of heavy sheet material including a rigid top plate, an annular die member having a series of radially directed, peripheral perforations, rotatably mounted on a vertical axis in said frame, means for driving said die member, a freely rotatable pressure roller mounted within the confines of said die member on a vertical shaft, the axis of which is parallel with but eccentric to said last-named axis, said shaft extending vertically through said top plate and being supported in vertically spaced bearings carried by said top plate, one side of the periphery of said roller being in progressive frictional driving engagement with the inner periphery of said die member, said roller and the adjacent area of said die member defining a material receiving chamber having walls which converge at the point of said frictional engagement, means for laterally adjusting said shaft bearings for shifting the axis of said roller to regulate the pressure of its peripheral engagement With said die member, means for feeding material to be pelleted, to said chamber, a series of idler rollers embracing the outer periphery of said die member, one in direct opposition to the force of said pressure roller, to absorb said peripheral pressure, scraper means engaging the outer periphery of said die member for severing pellets extruded fromsaid chamber through said perforations, and means for collecting said severed pellets.

7. Apparatus as claimed in claim -6, including an agitator in said chamber, mounted on a vertical shaft parallel with said roller shaft and driven by the latter.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,869,492 OHalloran Aug. 2, 1932 2,073,064 Ireland et al. Mar. 9, 1937 2,252,900 Shafer Aug. 19, 1941 2,642,011 Sizer June 16, 1953 2,798,444 Meakin July 9, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 526,292 Great Britain Sept. 13, 1940