Method and device for crushing and discharging granular clump material in flexible container

Abstract

The device and method for crushing and discharging a granular clump material in a flexible container includes a hanging step for hanging from above a flexible container containing a compacted granular clump material, a thrusting step for thrusting top portions of contact units against a bottom wall of the flexible container in regions on opposite sides of a discharge tube extending downward from a central region of the bottom wall, and a pushing step for pushing side portions of the contact units in regions from the bottom wall to side portions of the flexible container. The method and device are capable of crushing the granular clump material in the flexible container and of discharging substantially whole amount thereof.

Claims

1. A method for crushing and discharging a granular clump material comprising the steps of: hanging down a flexible container containing the granular clump material and having a bottom wall with a discharge tube extending downward from a central region of the bottom wall; providing opposing pairs of contact units below the bottom wall and outside the discharge tube of the flexible container, the contact units including upstanding swing plates, respectively, which have respective thrusting portions along horizontal upper ends thereof and which arc swingable between vertically extending upright attitudes and open attitudes in which the swing plates are swung horizontally outward with the thrusting portions moved away outward from the flexible container; moving the swing plates of the contact units to the open attitudes in which the swing plates are swung horizontally outward from the flexible container; and then raising the contact units relative to the flexible container while the swing plates are being swung horizontally inward relative to the flexible container to cause the swing plates to be pressed to the flexible container against portions of the flexible container in regions from the bottom wall to side walls of the flexible container, thereby to force the granular clump material in peripheral regions of the flexible container toward a central region of the flexible container to be discharged through the discharge tube, wherein, prior to the steps of moving and raising the contact units, the swing plates are swung to the vertically extending upright attitudes, respectively, and moved upward while the swing plates are at the vertically extending upright attitudes to cause the thrusting portions to be thrust vertically upward top against the bottom wall of the flexible container in regions of the bottom wall adjoining the discharge tube, thereby to crack and disintegrate the granular clump material and to cause the granular clump material in the central region of the flexible container to fall to be discharged through the discharge tube.

2. The method for crushing and discharging a granular clump material according to claim 1, wherein the step of raising the contact units relative to the flexible container while the swing plates are being swung horizontally inward toward the flexible container and the step, in which the swing plates arc swung to the vertically extending upright attitudes, respectively and moved upward while the swing plates are at the vertically extending upright attitudes to cause the thrusting portions to be thrust vertically upward against the bottom wall, are performed respectively a plurality of times.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a front view showing the device for crushing and discharging a granular clump material according to the present invention and a flexible container hung down by a hook;

(2) FIG. 2 is a side view of a contact unit;

(3) FIG. 3 is an inside elevational view of the contact unit (as viewed in the direction of III in FIG. 2);

(4) FIG. 4 is a front view of the device for crushing and discharging a granular clump material in an operational stage in which the flexible container is hung down and a crushing operation is about to be carried out;

(5) FIG. 5 is a plan view of the device for crushing and discharging a granular clump material in an operational stage in which the flexible container is hung down and the crushing operation is about to be carried out;

(6) FIG. 6 is a front view of the device for crushing and discharging a granular clump material in a thrusting stage;

(7) FIG. 7 is a plan view of the device for crushing and discharging a granular clump material in the thrusting stage;

(8) FIG. 8 is a front view of the device for crushing and discharging a granular clump material immediately before a pushing stage;

(9) FIG. 9 is a plan view of the device for crushing and discharging a granular clump material immediately before the pushing stage;

(10) FIG. 10 is a front view of the device for crushing and discharging a granular clump material in the pushing stage;

(11) FIG. 11 is a plan view of the device for crushing and discharging a granular clump material in the pushing stage;

(12) FIG. 12 is a front view of the device for crushing and discharging a granular clump material in a different operational condition in the pushing stage; and

(13) FIG. 13 is a plan view of the device for crushing and discharging a granular clump material in the different operational condition in the pushing stage.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

(14) A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 13.

(15) A device 1 for crushing and discharging a granular clump material according to an embodiment of the invention has a lift table 5 supported on upwardly extending cylinder rods 3r of four air cylinders 3, which are arranged on a table feeder 2.

(16) Referring to FIG. 5, the lift table 5 is of a rectangular shape and has a circular opening 5h at the center.

(17) Referring to FIG. 1, the hollow rectangular lift table 5 is adapted to be elevated and lowered by the operation of the air cylinders 3 as a lift mechanism 24, maintaining a horizontal attitude in which the four sides of the table 5 are oriented perpendicular to and parallel to the sheet of the figure.

(18) Four vertical walls 6 are erected on the lift table 5 so as to surround the central circular opening 5h of the table 5 and in an arrangement parallel to the four sides of the table 5. A swingable contact unit 10 is provided on each of the vertical walls 6 with the lower end of the contact unit 10 pivotally mounted on each the vertical wall 6.

(19) With reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, each of the contact unit 10 includes a swing plate 11 made up of a pair of side portions 11a having lower ends mounted by pivot pins 7 on the vertical wall 6, and a horizontal portion 11b connecting the upper free ends of the side portions 11a. The horizontal portion 11b of the swing plate 11 has a thrusting rod 12 of elongated, circular cylindrical shape attached horizontally on the top surface of the horizontal portion 11b. An elongated pressing roller 13 of circular cylindrical shape is supported horizontally on a horizontally intermediate region of the inside surface of the horizontal portion 11b. A pair of short pressing rollers 14 are supported horizontally on the inside surface of each of the side portions 11a.

(20) The thrusting rod 12 is disposed at the highest position, the elongated pressing roller 13 at an intermediate position, and the short pressing rollers 14 at the lowest positions.

(21) On the lift table 5 are provided two air cylinders 21 in side-by-side disposition on the outside of each of the four vertical walls 6 in rectangular arrangement.

(22) Each of the air cylinders 21 has its lower end supported by a pivot pin 20 on the lift table 5 so as to be swingable, while a cylinder rod 21r extending upward from within each of the air cylinders 21 has a free end thereof connected by a pivot pin 22 to the outer wall of the swing plate 11.

(23) When the cylinder rod 21r of the air cylinder 21 moves fully upward, the swing plate 11 (contact unit 10) is caused to be erected vertically as indicated in solid line in FIG. 2, while when the cylinder rod 21r is retracted into the cylinder, the swing plate 11 (contact unit 10) is caused to obliquely incline to the outside as indicated in chain line in FIG. 2, so that the upper edge of the swing plate 11 is shifted to the outside. Thus, each of the contact units 10 is adapted to swing about the pivot pins 7 by means of a swing mechanism 23 including the pivot pins 20, the air cylinders 21 and the pivot pins 22.

(24) As will be understood, the sets of one contact unit 10 and the air cylinders 21 are arranged in the front, rear, left and right sides of the lift table 5 in mutually symmetrical arrangement.

(25) The contact units 10 in the front and rear sides are concurrently moved in unison to take the vertical and inclined attitudes, which are closed and opened attitudes, respectively. In the vertical or closed attitude, the front and rear contact units 10 are erected in mutually parallel relation, while, in the inclined or opened attitude, the front and rear contact units 10 are in a relation wherein the upper edges thereof are shifted outward apart from each other.

(26) A similar relation exists for the left and right side contact units 10.

(27) A circular-cylindrical hopper 25 extends from below through the central circular opening 5h of the lift table 5.

(28) Below the lift table 5, the hopper 25 has a portion expanding in diameter, which is connected to the table feeder 2.

(29) A hook 30 is provided above the swingable contact units 10, to serve as a hanger for hanging a flexible container 40 containing a granular clump material. As shown, the flexible container 40 is hung down by the hook 30.

(30) The flexible container 40 is a rectangular bag container which can be deformed flexibly. The material in the flexible container 40 is compacted and solidified to reduce its volume for efficient transportation and storage thereof.

(31) In the preferred embodiment of the invention, zinc oxide material in granular clump state is supposed to be used, but any material other than zinc oxide, which can be solidified when compacted, can be used under the principle of the invention.

(32) It is preferred that the flexible container is in the form of a rectangular bag. A rectangular bag is more efficient in the use of the material-containing space for transportation and storage, than a cylindrical bag.

(33) Referring to FIG. 1, the flexible container 40 has front, rear, left and right sides 40a, and an upper rectangular opening is surrounded and formed by the four sides 40a, to take in the granular clump material into the container 40. A lower rectangular opening is formed through a rectangular bottom wall 40b continuous with the four sides 40a, and a flexible discharge tube 41 extends downward from a central region of the bottom wall 40b.

(34) In the upper region of the discharge tube 41 are provided a binder code 42, which is used to bind the upper part of the discharge tube 41 to close the outlet of the discharge tube 41.

(35) When transporting and storing the flexible container, the upper part of the discharge tube 41 is closed by binding the binder code 42, and the discharge tube 41 is deformed or bent into contact with the bottom wall 40b of the container 40. When granular clump material is to be discharged from within the flexible container 40, the discharge tube 41 is stretched downward and the binder code 42 is released to open the discharge opening of the discharge tube 41.

(36) The flexible container 40 is provided with two hanger belts 45 with which the container 40 is hung.

(37) One hanger belt 45 has its ends sewed on two end portions of the upper edge of the front lateral side 40a of the flexible container 40, while the other hanger belt 45 has its ends sewed on two end portions of the upper edge of the rear lateral side 40a of the flexible container 40.

(38) These two hanger belts 45 are passed on the hook 30 to hang the flexible container 40 containing granular clump material at a position above the contact units 10.

(39) Below the table feeder 2 of the device 1 for crushing and discharging a granular clump material is put a flexible canvas hopper 50 with a cone-shaped bottom, and a discharge pipe 2a extends downward from the table feeder 2 into the canvas hopper 50.

(40) How the crushing and discharging device 1 as described above operates will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 13. These figures are sets of a front view and a plan view showing the operation of the crushing and discharging device 1 in the order of operational stages thereof.

(41) In the front views (FIGS. 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12), the contact unit 10 in the front is removed to provide a clear front view of the flexible discharge tube 41 extending downward from the bottom wall 40b and of the circular-cylindrical hopper 25. It will be understood that the removed front contact unit 10 has a structure symmetrical with the rear contact unit 10 with respect to the front-to-rear direction and operates in a similar way to the rear contact unit 10 in symmetrical fashion.

(42) In these figures, lattice-like broken line hatchings are applied to the flexible container 40 and the discharge tube 41.

(43) FIG. 4 shows the same operational stage as that shown in FIG. 1. In this operational stage, the flexible container 40 containing a granular clump material therein is hung on the hook 30 at a height level above the front, rear, left and right contact units 10 located on the lift table 5, which is at a lowered position. This is a hanging step.

(44) In this hanging step, all the front, rear, left and right contact units 10 are in the closed attitudes in which all the swing plates 11 are in vertically extending upright attitudes.

(45) Then, the discharge tube 41 connected to the central region of the bottom wall 40b of the flexible container is stretched downward and inserted into the upper opening of the circular-cylindrical hopper 25. The binder code 42 is then untied to open the discharge opening of the discharge tube 41.

(46) Even when the discharge opening of the discharge tube 41 is opened, the granular clump material in the flexible container 40 is not discharged automatically because the granular clump material is compacted and solidified.

(47) In this state, the air cylinders 3 are operated to raise the lift table 5 and the front, rear, left and right contact units 10 on the lift table 5.

(48) As a result, the four thrusting rods 12 in rectangular arrangement, which are on the top portions of the front, rear, left and right contact units 10 in closed attitudes, are caused to be moved and thrust against the bottom wall 40b of the flexible container 40.

(49) The four thrusting rods 12 are moved and struck against the bottom wall 40b of the flexible container 40 in regions adjoining the front, rear, left and right outer edges of the discharge tube 41, whereby the granular clump material in the flexible container 40 is subjected to shocks and impacts in its bottom region. This creates cracks in the granular clump material, and the cracks lead to crushing of the material.

(50) The front, rear, left and right contact units 10, which have been thrust up against the bottom wall 40b of the flexible container 40, are then lowered apart from the bottom wall 40b, and are thereafter raised again to be thrust against the bottom wall 40b. Such raising and lowering operation is repeated several times and completed. This is a thrusting step.

(51) The thrusting step is useful in promoting crushing of the granular clump material by repetitively thrusting up the bottom wall 40b of the flexible container 40 by means of the front, rear, left and right contact units 10 taking the closed attitudes.

(52) Cracks initially produced in the granular clump material in the flexible container 40 gradually develop upward, extending from the regions of the bottom wall 40b corresponding to the regions of the front, rear, left and right outer edges of the discharge tube 41. Cracks developing as a result of the thrusting operation of the four thrusting rods 12 in rectangular arrangement against the bottom wall 40b of the flexible container are, for example, as indicated by reference characters c shown in FIGS. 6 and 7.

(53) The granular clump material, as indicated by the two-dot chain lines in the plan view of FIG. 7, in the flexible container 40 are thrust up by the four thrusting rods 12 against the container bottom wall 40b in the regions where the front, rear, left and right sides of the discharge tube 41 extend from the container bottom wall 40a. The cracks c shown develop upward from the regions against which the four thrusting rods 12 are thrust. The cracks c divide the mass of the granular clump material into nine blocks consisting of three front-to rear rows of blocks and three left-to-right rows of blocks as viewed in plan view.

(54) Crushing of the granular clump material proceeds in each of the blocks, and the crushed material in the central block is first discharged or drop through the discharge tube 41 in the center of the container bottom wall 40b.

(55) As the thrusting operation by the thrusting rods 12 is repeated against the container bottom wall 40b, crushed material in the central block is first discharged, and then clump material masses in the front, rear, left and right four blocks surrounding the central block are induced to move into the vacant central block and discharged through the discharge tube 41.

(56) Therefore, when the thrusting step is completed, crushed material mass in the central block and crushed material masses in the front, rear, left and right four blocks adjoining the central block are discharged through the discharge tube 41, with clump material masses remaining only in the four bottom corner parts of the container. More particularly, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the flexible container 40 is entirely in a shrunk shape in which the front, rear, left and right sides 40a thereof are in an inwardly concave state with the four bottom corners of the container 40 protruding outwardly, while the central part of the container bottom wall 40b is deformed downwardly into a funnel shape, accompanied by downward stretch of the discharge tube 41. When the thrusting step is completed, the air cylinders 21 are operated to retreat the cylinder rods 21r, and, as shown in FIG. 8, the swing plates 11 of the contact units 10 are swung by the air cylinders 21 to the open attitudes in which the upper edges of the swing plates 11 are shifted outward.

(57) Clump material masses still remain in the four corners of the container 40. Therefore, a pushing step (shown in FIGS. 10 to 13) is carried out in which the contact units 10 are moved from the open attitudes against the sides of the flexible container 40 in inclined oblique directions to push the flexible container sides, by gradually moving the opposing pairs of the contact units 10 toward each other into the closed attitudes while elevating or raising the contact units 10.

(58) As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the pair of the front and rear contact units 10 are initially in the inclined or opened attitudes. In this state, the lift table 5 is raised while the pair of the left and right contact units 10 are being moved from the inclined or opened attitudes toward the erected or closed attitudes. During this operation, the thrusting rod 12, the elongated pressing roller 13 and the short pressing rollers 14 on the pair of the left and right contact units 10, are caused to move upward and abut, in inclined attitudes, with the flexible container 40 in the boundary regions between the funnel-shaped bottom wall 40b and the left and right sides 40a of the flexible container 40, so that the lower part of the flexible container 40 is subjected to an upwardly directed squeezing action to the left and right sides.

(59) For this reason, the outwardly protruding four bottom corners of the flexible container 40, which corners have been somewhat deformed inwardly by the pushing step, are subjected to pressing actions from below and from the left and right sides toward the center. Consequently, clump material masses remaining in the corners are caused to be moved from the left and right sides to the center, so that the clump material masses are permitted to flow downward through the funnel-shaped bottom wall 40b and then discharged through the discharge tube 41.

(60) Thereafter, as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the pair of the left and right contact units 10 are moved to the inclined or opened attitudes, and the front and rear contact units 10 are moved toward the erected or closed attitudes. The front and rear contact units 10 are raised while being moved toward the erected or closed attitudes. During this operation, the thrusting rod 12, the elongated pressing roller 13 and the short pressing rollers 14 on the pair of the front and rear contact units 10, are caused to move upward and abut, in inclined attitudes, with the flexible container 40 in the boundary regions between the funnel-shaped bottom wall 40b and the front and rear sides 40a of the flexible container 40, so that the lower part of the flexible container 40 is subjected to an upwardly directed squeezing action to the front and rear sides.

(61) Therefore, the outwardly protruding four bottom corners of the flexible container 40 are subjected to pressing actions from below and from the front and rear sides toward the center. Consequently, clump material masses remaining in the corners are caused to be moved from the front and rear sides toward the center, so that the clump material masses are permitted to flow down through the funnel-shaped bottom wall 40b and then discharged through the discharge tube 41.

(62) When the pushing step of forcing the clump material in the flexible container 40 by means of the pair of the left and right contact units 10 and the pushing step of forcing the clump material in the container 40 by means of the pair of the front and rear contact units 10 are carried out alternately and a plurality of times, clump material masses remaining in the four corners of the flexible container 40 are discharged repetitively through the discharge tube 41. When the pushing step thus performed repetitively is completed, substantially full amount of the clump material in the flexible container 40 is crushed and discharged through the discharge tube 41.

(63) It will be understood that the above-described steps obviate the need for manual crushing of granular clump material and provide a safe crushing operation with a high dust collecting effect.

(64) The discharge tube 41 extending downward from the central region of the container bottom wall 40b is inserted into the upper opening of the cylindrical hopper 25. Therefore, crushed material discharged through the discharge tube 41 drops onto the table feeder 2 through the cylindrical hopper 25 and is conveyed into the canvas hoper 50 through the discharge pipe 2a.

(65) Crushing operation is performed in the table feeder 2 if there remains clump material therein.

(66) The flexible container 40 used in the above-described embodiment has no inner bag therein. However, a flexible container having an inner bag can also be used in the granular clump material crushing and discharging device 1.

(67) When the pushing step is performed after the thrusting step with the use of the flexible container with an inner bag, the inner bag is forced to be drawn by the downward flow of the crushed material at a time when the pushing step is going to be completed, with a result that the inner bag is hung down from within the flexible container and finally leaves the flexible container to drop off the flexible container.

(68) Substantially entire crushed material continues to be discharged through the discharge tube 41 until the inner bag drops off the flexible container.

(69) If a net is installed below the lower opening of the cylindrical hopper 25, the inner bag that has dropped can be collected by trapping the inner bag by the net.

REFERENCE CHARACTERS

(70) 1 . . . Device for crushing and discharging granular clump material, 2 . . . Table feeder, 3 . . . Air cylinder, 5 . . . Lift table, 6 . . . Vertical wall, 7 . . . Pivot pin, 10 . . . Contact unit, 11 . . . Swing plate, 12 . . . Thrusting rod, 13 . . . Elongated pressing roller, 14 . . . Short pressing roller, 20 . . . Pivot pin, 21 . . . Air cylinder, 22 . . . Pivot pin, 23 . . . Swing mechanism, 24 . . . Lift mechanism, 25 . . . Cylindrical hopper, 30 . . . Hook, 40 . . . Flexible container, 41 . . . Discharge tube, 42 . . . Binder code, 45 . . . Hanger belt, 50 . . . Canvas hopper.