Claims
- 1. An apparatus for pressing a heterogenous mixture for separating therefrom solid and liquid fractions intimately associated therein, comprising;
- a longitudinal vessel having side walls pierced with a plurality of fine openings for passing liquid therethrough, said vessel having opposite open ends, one end of said vessel being an upstream inlet end and provided with an opening for admission into said vessel of a heterogenous mixture of intimately associated solid and liquid fractions, the other end of said vessel being an open downstream outlet end for the evacuation of solid fractions from said vessel;
- a piston means situated at the upstream inlet end opening of the vessel and coaxially with respect to a longitudinal axis of said vessel, for imparting axial pressing forces upon said heterogenous mixture in said vessel; and
- central conical shield means accommodated coaxially in the downstream outlet end opening of the vessel, for receiving and reacting thrust forces acting upon said heterogenous mixture in said vessel and, in conjunction with said vessel, for providing an annular discharge passage around said shield means at said downstream outlet end opening for evacuation of said solid fractions therethrough;
- said piston means, said shield and said vessel being mounted for relative movement between said piston means and said shield and vessel for pressing the liquid and solid fractions in said heterogenous mixture between the shield and the piston means for forcing the liquid fractions of said mixture to pass through the vessel side walls via the fine openings therethrough and for forcing the solid fractions of said mixture to be discharged around said shield means through said annular discharge passage.
- 2. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:
- means for elastically mounting said shield means for movement in the longitudinal direction of said vessel whereby said shield may be moved coaxially relative to said downstream outlet end opening of said vessel for enlarging or decreasing said annular discharge passage; and
- means for effecting relative linear movement between said vessel and said piston means.
- 3. An apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising;
- a tank provided proximate the upstream end opening of said vessel, said tank having a hopper for the introduction thereinto of said heterogenous mixture, said tank including a hollow sleeve situated at one end of the tank adjacent said vessel upstream end opening and coaxial therewith, said hollow sleeve having a front wall facing said vessel upstream end opening which front wall is provided with a central opening passing therethrough; and
- rotatable axial worm screw means provided in said tank and situated facing said hollow sleeve front wall central opening, and including an axial screw for conveying said heterogenous mixture introduced into said tank through said tank and said hollow sleeve front wall central opening and into said vessel with rotation of said worm screw means, a free end portion of said axial screw being adjacent said front wall central opening and being provided with at least one vane substantially perpendicular to the axis of said screw.
- 4. An apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said piston means is comprised of said front wall of said hollow sleeve of said tank and said at least one substantially perpendicular vane of said free end portion of said axial screw of said worm screw means.
- 5. An apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said piston means is axially stationary and said vessel is mounted for movement along the longitudinal axis of the vessel.
- 6. An apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said axial screw of said worm screw means is provided at the free end portion thereof with at least one screw thread independently rotatable relative said axial screw and substantially perpendicular with respect to the axis of said axial screw, and which at least one screw thread is kinematically connected with respective means for driving only said at least one screw thread for rotational and axial translation, respectively, independently of said axial screw.
- 7. An apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said axial screw of said worm screw means has a hollow stem, and wherein said axial screw further comprises a screw shaft passing coaxially and freely through said hollow stem, said at least one screw thread of said axial screw being provided on a free end of said screw shaft extending from free end of said hollow stem, said screw shaft being kinematically connected with respective means for driving said screw shaft for rotation and axial translation independently of the hollow stem of said axial screw.
- 8. An apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said hollow sleeve front wall central opening is provided with a non-return valve for preventing return of said heterogenous mixture from said vessel to said tank.
- 9. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said vessel side walls have a selectively deformable profile.
- 10. An apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the selectively deformable profile of said vessel side walls has at least one inflexion point.
- 11. An apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the profile of said vessel side walls may be selectively concavely deformed.
- 12. An apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the profile of said vessel side walls may be selectively convexly deformed.
- 13. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said conical shield means has a selectively deformable profile.
- 14. An apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the selectively deformable profile of said conical shield means has at least one inflexion point.
- 15. An apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the profile of said conical shield means may be selectively concavely deformed.
- 16. An apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the profile of said conical shield means may be selectively convexly deformed.
- 17. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a restraining means disposed at the downstream outlet end opening of the vessel for selectively restraining the discharging of material therefrom.
- 18. An apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the restraining means comprises a skirt provided in the annular discharge passage.
- 19. An apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the restraining means comprises at least one annular rotary extension member disposed at the vessel downstream outlet opening, and means for driving said rotary extension member for rotation.
- 20. An apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the rotary extension member comprises an annular crown provided internally with at least one helicoidal vane, the direction of rotation said annular crown and the pitch of said at least one internal helicoidal vane thereof being adapted for discharging solid fractions of said heterogenous mixture through said annular discharge opening without compressing said solid fractions.
- 21. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the vessel is provided internally with longitudinal ribs.
- 22. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the shield means is of the filtering type, being perforated with passages for enabling the escape and separation therethrough of liquid fractions of the heterogenous mixture present at the downstream outlet end opening of the vessel.
- 23. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the vessel and shield means have polygonal cross-sections.
- 24. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the vessel and shield means have circular cross-sections.
- 25. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said shield comprises;
- a solid fraction evacuator means disposed in the open downstream outlet end of the vessel and coaxially with respect to the longitudinal axis of the vessel for evacuating solid fractions of said heterogenous mixture from said downstream outlet end of said vessel, said solid fraction evacuator means comprising an evacuator screw having a diameter which increases from an upstream portion thereof towards a downstream portion thereof, said solid fraction evacuator means further including means for imparting a relative rotational movement between said evacuator screw and said vessel.
- 26. An apparatus according to claim 25, wherein said evacuator screw has a sharp outer edge thereon.
Priority Claims (3)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
85 9689 |
Jun 1985 |
FRX |
|
85 15712 |
Oct 1985 |
FRX |
|
85 17905 |
Dec 1985 |
FRX |
|
Parent Case Info
This is a continuation-in-part of prior application Ser. No. 07/273,712 filed Nov. 17, 1988, (now abandoned) which in turn was a continuation of prior application Ser. No. 07/139,107 filed Dec. 22, 1987, (now abandoned), which in turn was a continuation of prior application Ser. No. 06/877,307 filed June 23, 1986, (now abandoned) and the contents of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference thereto.
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Continuations (2)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
139107 |
Dec 1987 |
|
Parent |
877307 |
Jun 1986 |
|
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
273712 |
Nov 1988 |
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