Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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MANURE SEPARATOR
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to separation of solids from liquids in
materials such as
manure or the like. More particularly, the present invention relates to a
press for
squeezing moisture out of materials such as manure or the like, for separating
the solids
and liquids from the material.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Previous machines used to separate solids out of materials such as manure
using rollers
either are bulky, complex and requiring regular maintenance or do not squeeze
out
enough liquid from the material.
US Pat. No. 6,044,980 discloses an apparatus for extracting liquids from a
slurry formed
of liquids and fibers, like diluted manure or paper mills residue. The
apparatus has a
rotatable drum covered with a resilient layer and two draining rolls which are
pressed
against the drum so that the slurry passing in between is squeezed. Each
draining roll has
a hollow cylindrical shell with a uniform distribution of openings. The
apparatus also has
a pair of wipers in order to wipe the fibers out of the draining rolls and
guide the liquids
collected in the shells towards a liquids outlet. A reservoir can be mounted
above the
drum and upper draining roll for receiving the slurry, storing it to build-up
a constant
pressure, and supplying it in a continuous manner. The apparatus of US Pat.
No.
6,044,980 is substantially vertical and the draining rolls are not linked
together,
therefore, suceptible to stall.
It is necessary to provide for a device useful for separating moisture out of
materials such
as manure that are simple and designed to be a "walk away" unit meaning that
once it is
installed it does not require regular manitenance.
It is therefore an object of the invention to obviate or minimize the
disadvantages of the
known presses, and to provide a machine in which stalls are avoided.
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SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In one aspect, the present invention relates to a device for separating
moisture out of a
material, such as manure, paper pulp or the like, said device comprising:
(a) two or more perforated draining rollers having a main longitudinal axis,
wherein said
draining rollers are linked together by a first linking means;
(b) two or more pressing rolls having an axis parallel to the main
longitudinal axis of the
draining rollers, wherein said pressing rolls are linked together by a second
linking
means; and
(c) a positive drive system for rotating the draining rollers about the main
longitudinal
axis by engaging the first linking means,
wherein each pressing roll is pressed against only one draining roller thereby
forming a
pressing way between the pressing rolls and the draining rollers to press the
moisture out
of the material flowing through the pressing way, and wherein the pressing
rolls are
driven by a friction with the draining rollers, thereby ensuring that the
device does not
stall.
In another aspect of the present invention, the press device for separating
moisture out of
a material further comprises an elongated frame inclined longitudinally, said
frame
including a bottom portion and an upper portion, wherein the draining rollers
are
mounted to the bottom portion of the frame and the pressing rolls are mounted
to the
upper portion of the frame.
In a further aspect, the device of the present invention further comprises a
spray cleaning
system for cleaning the draining rollers and pressing rolls.
In yet a further aspect, the device of the present invention further includes
a draining pipe
for discharging the moisture separated out of the material.
Advantages of the device of the present invention inlcude a device that is
simple, small,
and designed for easy maintenance. The linking of the rollers ensures that the
device
does not stall, plug or over flow.
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed
description
given herein and from the accompanying drawings, which are given by way of
illustration only and do not limit the intended scope of the invention.
Figure 1 a illustrates a side view according to one aspect of the device of
the invention.
Figure lb illustrates a bottom view according to one aspect of the device of
the
invention.
Figure 1 c illustrates a bottom view according to one aspect of the device of
the invention
Figure id illustrates a bottom perspective view according to one aspect of the
device of
the invention.
Figures 2a, b and c illustrate a torsion arm in front, side and top views
according to one
aspect of the device of the invention.
Figure 3a illustrates an upper view of a frame according to one aspect of the
device of
the invention.
Figure 3b illustrates a side view of a frame according to one aspect of the
device of the
invention.
Figure 4 illustrates a stripping means assembly.
Figure 5a illustrates a cross section along the longitudinal axis of a
pressing roll
according to one aspect of the present invention.
Figure 5b illustrates a cross section of a pressing roll according to one
aspect of the
present invention.
Figure 6a illustrates a cross section of a draining roller according to one
aspect of the
present invention.
Figure 6b illustrates a cross section along the longitudinal axis of a
draining roller
according to one aspect of the present invention.
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is useful, without limitation, in livestock industries
to receive
animal waste usually carried in a slurry with water, to separate liquids from
the solids
within the waste. The liquids can then be used for further wash purposes or
fertilizer. The
solids can be sufficiently dried for further use, for example, as bedding. The
present
invention is also useful in the paper industry for separating moisture out of
paper pulp.
The present invention relates to a device for separating moisture out of a
material, such
as manure, paper pulp or the like, said device comprising:
(a) two or more perforated draining rollers having a main longitudinal axis,
wherein said
draining rollers are linked together by a first linking means;
(b) two or more pressing rolls having an axis parallel to the main
longitudinal axis of the
draining rollers, wherein said pressing rolls are linked together by a second
linking
means; and
(c) a positive drive system for rotating the draining rollers about the main
longitudinal
axis,
wherein each pressing roll is pressed against only one draining roller thereby
forming a
pressing way between the pressing rolls and the draining rollers to press the
moisture out
of the material flowing through the pressing way, and wherein the pressing
rolls are
driven by a friction with the draining rollers, thereby ensuring that the
device does not
stall.
With reference to Figures 1 to 6 the press device 1 according to the present
invention
comprises of a frame having a bottom portion on which draining rollers 10 are
mounted,
and an upper portion on which pressing rolls 20 are mounted. The number of
draining
rollers and pressing rolls may vary. In one aspect of the present invention,
the number of
pressing rolls is equal to the number of draining rollers.
With reference to Figure 5, a pressing roll 20 is depicted. The pressing roll
comprises of
a shaft 227 and a drum 220. The drum 220 may take the form of a cylinder
having an
outer surface 222, two opposite ends 223 and a bore 224 running through the
drum 220
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along the longitudinal rotating axis X of the upper drum assembly from one end
to the
other. The shaft 227 runs along the bore 224 and extends beyond the ends 223
of the
drum 220 to form the drum's 220 extensions 228. The extensions 228 of the
shaft 227
serve to mount the pressing roll to the frame 300. The outer surface 222 is
coated with
a resilient film, such as a rubber film. In one aspect, the pressing roll is a
gum roller,
wherein the surface is coated with a gum coating.
With reference to Figure 6, a draining roller is depicted. Each draining
roller comprises
of a shaft 127 and a hollow drum 120 having perforations 125 on its outer
surface 122.
The hollow drum 120 may take the form of a cylinder having two opposite ends
123 and
a bore 124 running along the longitudinal rotating axis 126 of the drum. The
shaft 127
runs along the bore 124 and extends beyond the two ends of the drum to form
the shaft's
extensions 128. The extensions 128 of the shaft 127 serve to mount the
draining rollers
to the bottom portion of the frame 300. The perforations 125 should be of a
size that
allows the liquid squeezed from the material being pressed into the draining
rollers,
while retaining in the descending way the dry components of the material.
Each pressing roll is pressed against only one draining roller, and the main
longitudinal
axis of pressing rolls 20 is parallel to the main longitudinal axis of the
draining rollers
10.
The draining rollers are mounted and extend on a same first plane, while the
pressing
rolls are mounted and extend on a same second plane, wherein the first plane
is parallel
and below the second plane. This means that a pressing way is formed between
the
pressing rolls on the upper portion of the frame 300 and the draining rolls on
the bottom
portion of the frame 300.
The draining rollers 10 are linked together by a first linking means and their
rotation is
driven by a positive drive system, such as a motor. Linking means include
chains, belts
or the like forms of linking. Alternatively, the perforated drums may be
linked directly
to the positive drive system.
While the pressing rolls 20 are also linked together by a second linking
means, the
pressing rolls 20 are not driven by a positive system. The pressing rolls 20
are driven by
a friction with the inner drums driving by the positive system. This
arrangement of the
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press device of the current invention ensures that press device does not stall
and it allows
for the material to be pressed to flow between the pressing rolls 20 and the
draining
rollers 10 and the liquid is pressed out from the material to be pressed. The
liquid departs
from the material being pressed, through the perforations in the inner drums
and out of
the press device 1.
With reference to Figure 3, the draining rollers 10 and pressing rolls 20 are
mounted to
an elongated frame 300. The frame 300 can be better described as a frame
inclined
longitudinally between a top end 310 and a lower end 320. The top end 310
includes an
in-feed opening for feeding the material to be pressed into the press device
1. A
substantially parallel discharge opening is included in the lower end 320 of
the frame 1
and serves for discharging a substantially dried material. A longitudinal
descending way
formed between the top end 310 and the lower end 320, runs between the press
rolls 20
on the upper portion of the frame 300 and the draining rollers 10 on the
bottom portion to
the frame, communicates the in-feed opening with the discharge opening.
The frame 300 includes a bottom floor 340 and two sidewalls 350. A series of
main slots
360 are defined in the sidewalls 350. The main slots 360 run down the
sidewalls, from
and perpendicular to the top of the sidewalls 350. The bottom end of said main
slot 360
serves to accommodate the shaft extensions 228 of the draining rollers. About
an upper
portion of the main slot 360 a retaining groove 362 is defined. The retainer
groove 362
serves to accommodate shaft extensions 128 of the pressing rolls. A series of
secondary
slots 365 are connected to the main slots 360 and serve to accommodate torsion
arms 40.
The bottom floor 340 may include one or more draining pipes 370.
With reference to Figure 4, the press device may also include a stripping
means 50 for
stripping the draining rollers 10 off the material being processed by the
press device 1.
The stripping means 50 may extend across the frame from one sidewall to the
other
sidewall to engage the main slots 360 formed on said sidewalls and being
longitudinally
movable relative to said sidewalls by an actuator connected to said stripping
means 50.
The bottom floor of the frame 300 may also include a draining pipe for
discharging the
liquid or moisture separated out from the material.
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The press device 1 may also include a spray cleaning system for cleaning the
draining
rollers and press rolls.
In operation, material dropped to the infeed opening will be guided to the
desending
longitudinal way. A first set of a rotating pressing roll and draining roller
then compress
the material received between their converging surfaces and squeeze the
contained
moisture, liquids through the perforations on the outer surface of the
draining roller. The
material then continues on to a second, third or more sets of pressing rolls
and draining
rollers along the longitudinal descending way 330, and at each set more liquid
is
squeezed out of the material and drained through the draining roller. The
dried material
then continues downwardly to the discharge opening to drop gravitationally
therefrom.
The above disclosure generally describes the present invention. Changes in
form and
substitution of equivalents are contemplated as circumstances may suggest or
render
expedient. Although specific terms have been employed herein, such terms are
intended
in a descriptive sense and not for purposes of limitation.
