Patent Grant
11987018
The present invention relates to a dust solidification apparatus.
Dust containing fumes generated during laser processing, plasma processing, and welding, etc. of metallic materials and the like can cause serious health hazards if inhaled by workers. Therefore, in order to keep the working environment clean, a dust collector is operated to remove the dust from the working environment. The dust collected in the dust collector is in a state with a small bulk density, and since it is difficult to handle dust in this state, the dust is compressed, solidified, and processed into a body that is easy to handle.
Regarding the solidification of dust, Patent Document 1 discloses an apparatus for solidifying waste. In this document, waste stored in a hopper is supplied into trough-type compression chambers provided below the hopper and solidified by being compressed from the upper and side portions of the compression chambers. Thereafter, Patent Document 1 describes that the compression chambers move laterally and the solidified substance is pushed out and discharged by means of a pushing means.
Patent Document 2 discloses a processing apparatus that supplies captured fine powder to a forming chamber by means of a screw conveyor, and compresses and solidifies the fine powder by lowering a compression slider when the fine powder reaches a prescribed amount. Compression is performed several times by additionally supplying fine powder, and when the solidified and formed item reaches a prescribed size, a discharge hole provided below the forming chamber is opened and the compression slider is lowered to discharge the formed item.
Patent Document 3 discloses a solidifying apparatus that supplies powder particles collected by a dust collector to a forming chamber provided below a hopper, and solidifies the powder particles by a forming member and an opening and closing member. Patent Document 3 describes that the forming chamber is arranged horizontally and the solidified powder particles are moved outside the forming chamber by the forming member, and the solidified powder particles that adhere to the tip of the forming member are caused to fall by a cleaning member that descends from above.
In actuality, collected dust does not necessarily have a homogeneous constitution across the entirety thereof, and there are cases when there is localization of components that are easy to solidify and components that are difficult to solidify. For example, a component that is easy to solidify is a portion including a large amount of fumes and a component that is difficult to solidify is a portion where metal is precipitated in a size larger than the fumes and becomes particulate. Supplying dust with such localized variations as is, applying pressure, and trying to solidify leads to cases where solidification is not readily possible with portions including a large amount of metal particles in the dust.
In the solidification apparatuses described in Patent Documents 1-3 mentioned above, the dust that is the target of solidification is captured or collected and the collected dust is then supplied as is to mechanisms for performing the solidification processing of the apparatuses. Accordingly, in cases where there is localization of components that solidify and components that do not solidify easily, there is a risk with these solidification apparatuses that desired solidification is not possible.
The present invention is provided in view of the above circumstances and the problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a dust solidification apparatus that, with a simple structure, homogenizes dust components and that can stably solidify the dust.
The present invention employs the means indicated below in order to solve the above-mentioned problem.
Specifically, a dust solidification apparatus of the present invention comprises: a storage tank that stores dust; a forming member provided within the storage tank, the forming member having a forming hole; and a pressurizing rod that is configured to freely advance and withdraw with respect to the inside of the forming hole, wherein the pressurizing rod is made to advance into the forming hole to solidify dust filled therein, thereby obtaining a solidified substance, the forming hole has an entry section and a discharge section for the pressurizing rod and is in communication with the inside of the storage tank, and a stirring passage is provided in the outside of the discharge section to guide dust pushed out from the discharge section by the advancement of the pressurizing rod into the entry section in a direction different from the discharge direction and to stir the dust.
With such a structure, because a stirring passage is provided to guide dust pushed out from the discharge section in a direction different from the discharge direction and to stir the dust, it is possible to uniformly stir the dust components by means of the back and forth movement of the pressurizing rod.
In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the stirring passage is formed from a return passage provided with a first guide wall that guides the dust discharged from the discharge section in a direction intersecting the discharge direction and a second guide wall that guides the dust guided in the intersecting direction in a direction that is opposite the discharge direction.
According to such a configuration, it is possible to adopt an efficient structure as the stirring passage.
In one embodiment of the present disclosure, in the storage tank, a shaft body is rotatably supported in the vicinity of the entry section of the forming hole, a stirring body that extends outwardly in the radial direction of the shaft body is fixed to the shaft body, and a protrusion that abuts the pressurizing rod, when said rod advances into the entry section, to rotate the shaft body and the stirring body is provided.
According to such a configuration, a stirring body that operates in tandem with the rod is provided, so it is possible to further stir the dust well by adopting a simple structure.
In one embodiment of the present disclosure, in the storage tank, a second shaft body that is rotatably supported and stirring blades that are fixed to the second shaft body are provided, and the dust solidification apparatus comprises a drive source that rotates the second shaft body and the stirring blades.
According to such a configuration, dust can be stirred with the stirring blades connected to the drive source, so it is possible to efficiently and reliably stir the dust.
In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the stirring passage is a pipe passage that passes the dust through a certain section and a certain cross-sectional area.
According to such a configuration, it is possible to adopt an appropriate structure for the stirring passage.
A dust solidification apparatus according to a different viewpoint of the present invention comprises: a storage tank that stores dust; a forming member provided within the storage tank, the forming member having a forming hole; and a pressurizing rod that is configured to freely advance and withdraw with respect to the inside of the forming hole, wherein the pressurizing rod is made to advance into the forming hole to solidify dust filled therein, thereby obtaining a solidified substance, the forming hole has an entry section and a discharge section for the pressurizing rod and is in communication with the inside of the storage tank, and in the storage tank, a shaft body is rotatably supported near the entry section of the forming hole, a stirring body that extends outwardly in the radial direction of the shaft body is fixed to the shaft body, and a protrusion that abuts the pressurizing rod, when the pressurizing rod advances into the entry section, to rotate the shaft body and the stirring body is provided.
According to such a configuration, a stirring body that operates in tandem with the rod is provided, so it is possible to efficiently stir the dust by adopting a simple structure.
A dust solidification apparatus according to another viewpoint of the present invention comprises: a storage tank that stores dust; a forming member provided within the storage tank, the forming member having a forming hole; and a pressurizing rod that is configured to freely advance and withdraw with respect to the inside of the forming hole, wherein the pressurizing rod is made to advance into the forming hole to solidify dust filled therein, thereby obtaining a solidified substance, and in the storage tank, a second shaft body that is rotatably supported and stirring blades that are fixed to the second shaft body are provided, and the dust solidification apparatus comprises a drive source that rotates the second shaft body and the stirring blades.
According to such a configuration, dust can be stirred with the stirring blades connected to the drive source, so it is possible to efficiently and reliably stir the dust.
According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a dust solidification apparatus that, with a simple structure, homogenizes dust components and that can stably solidify the dust.
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
As illustrated in
The forming hole 4 has an entry section 42 and a discharge section 41 for the pressurizing rod 6 and is in communication with the inside of the storage tank 3, and the closing rod 7 is configured to freely advance into and withdraw from the discharge section 41 of the forming hole 4 and the pressurizing rod 6 is configured to freely advance into and withdraw from the entry section 42 of the forming hole.
A first wall 31 and a second wall 32 of the apparatus body 2 are provided facing the discharge section 41 and the entry section 42 of the forming hole 4, respectively. In addition, in the first wall 31 and the second wall 32, a first hole 21 and a second hole 22, positioned on the axial line of the forming hole 4, in which one or both of the closing rod 7 and the pressurizing rod 6 move back and forth, are formed. The solidified substance K solidified in the forming hole 4 is conveyable to the outside of the storage tank 3 through the first hole 21 along with the closing rod 7 and the pressurizing rod 6. Additionally, the first wall 31 and the second wall 32 may also constitute side walls within the storage tank 3.
In the apparatus body 2, a discharge hole 23 that intersects with the first hole 21 and that extends in a vertical direction is formed near the outside of the storage tank 3. When the solidified substance K sandwiched between the closing rod 7 and the pressurizing rod 6 moves to the inside of the discharge hole 23, the solidified substance K is made to drop and be discharged from the discharge hole 23.
Additionally, in the apparatus body 2, dust-proof holes 24 and 25 that intersect with the first hole 21 and the second hole 22 and that extend in a vertical direction are formed near the storage tank 3 and the discharge hole 23.
Additionally, as indicated above, the discharge hole 23 intersects the first hole 21 and extends in the vertical direction. An upper portion of the first hole 21 functions as a weight applying member arrangement section 26. The lower portion of the first hole is formed to function as the discharge hole 23. Weight applying members 28 are arranged in the weight applying member arrangement section 26. The weight applying members 28 are freely rollable on the pressurizing rod 6 and the closing rod 7 when the pressurizing rod 6, the closing rod 7, and solidified substance K sandwiched therebetween move inside the first hole 21 and discharges the solidified substance K to the side of the discharge hole 23 when positioned on the solidified substance K. In the present embodiment, the weight applying members 28 are cylindrical members having a weight equal to or greater than a certain value, wherein two of them are stacked vertically in the weight applying member arrangement section 26.
On the outside of the discharge section 41, a stirring passage r is provided to guide the dust D pushed out from the discharge section 41 by the advancement of the pressurizing rod 6 into the entry section in a direction differing from the discharge direction h and to stir the dust.
The stirring passage r in the embodiment as illustrated in
Next, the operations of the thus configured dust solidification apparatus 1 are explained. As there are cases when the composition of the dust D may be localized in the storage tank 3 in a portion containing a large amount of a component that is easily solidified and a portion containing a large amount of a component that is difficult to solidify, the dust solidification apparatus 1 in the present embodiment performs a step of stirring the dust D before performing a solidification step.
In the step for stirring the dust D, as indicated above, the tip portion 72 of the closing rod 7 is fixed at a position that is substantially flush with the side wall 31 and the pressurizing rod 6 is moved back and forth from the outer side of the forming hole 4 through the entry section 42 and to the discharge section 41 as indicated by the dashed line. Along with the back and forth movement of the pressurizing rod 6, the dust D is pushed into the forming hole 4, moves in the forming hole 4 in the discharge direction h, and pushed out from the discharge section 41. As the dust D is a powder having flowability, the dust D pushed out from the discharge section 41 moves to the upper side along the first guide wall 81 as seen in
The abovementioned return passage r1, as explained concerning the top plate 82a in
After the abovementioned stirring step is performed sufficiently and the dust D is homogenized, the solidification step is performed. As illustrated in
As indicated above, the dust solidification apparatus 1 in the present embodiment adopts the stirring step before the solidification step, so even if the constitution of the dust D is uneven and localized with portions that solidify easily and portions that do not solidify easily, the constitution of the dust D is homogenized and solidification processing is possible. Accordingly, the solidification processing can be achieved stably. The dust solidification apparatus 1 in the present embodiment provides the conventional structure with the simple structure of the second guide wall 82, making it possible to achieve a stirring mechanism that homogenizes the dust D constitution without greatly modifying the conventional structure. In addition, in the stirring step, by only appropriately controlling the static position of the closing rod 7 and the back and forth movement of the pressurizing rod 6, it is possible to achieve a stirring step with control that is substantially the same as that of the pressurizing step. Accordingly, with a simple structure and control, the dust constitution is homogenized and it is possible to stably solidify the dust.
As illustrated in
Stirring plates 93d are provided in the bottom portion of the side frames 93b to stir dust D. The stirring plates 93d are provided so as to extend in the direction of the pressurizing rod 6 at a constant angle from the bottom portions of the side frames 93b in order to be capable of scooping up dust D.
Next, with reference to
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
Accordingly, in addition to the stirring of the dust D by the return passages r1, which are the actions and effects obtained in the first embodiment, with the pivoting of the stirring bodies 93, the dust D can be further stirred and this makes it possible to improve stirring efficiency. The operations of the stirring bodies 93 are in tandem with the back and forth movement of the pressurizing rod 6, so it is possible to improve the stirring efficiency by adopting a simple structure without providing a new drive source and without adding any great changes to the conventional structure.
In the present embodiment, in order to form the return passages r1, only the top plate 82a is employed as the second guide wall 82, but as with the first embodiment, it is possible to employ the side plates 82b.
In the present embodiment, a torsion spring is employed as the biasing means, but the biasing means is not limited to this, and any biasing means that biases the stirring bodies 93 to the position illustrated in
In the present embodiment, the stirring plates 93d are provided at the bottom portions of the side frames 93b to scoop up dust D, but they are not limited to this, and it is possible to provide a plurality of stirring plates 93d that extend to the pressurizing rod 6 side from any position of the side frames 93b. The shape of the stirring plates 93d, the positions where they are provided, as well as the number thereof can be appropriately selected by considering stirring efficiency.
Next, a modified example of the second embodiment is explained with reference to
More specifically, as illustrated in
Next, with reference to
In the present embodiment, during the stirring step, the stirring blades 96s are rotated in the orientation of arrow Q illustrated in
Accordingly, in the present embodiment, in addition to the same actions and effects as those in the first embodiment, the stirring effects of the stirring blades 96c are added, making it possible to achieve efficient stirring of the dust D. The rotation driving of the stirring blades 96c by means of the rotary actuator 96d is independent of the operations of the pressurizing rod 6 and the closing rod 7. Through this, it is possible to continuously carry out the stirring operations at the same time as the solidification process of the pressurizing rod 6 and the closing rod 7, making it possible to efficiently homogenize the constitution of the dust D.
In the present embodiment, the orientation of arrow Q is adopted as the rotation direction of the stirring blades 96c, but is not limited to this, and it is possible to rotate the stirring blades 96c in the opposite direction of the arrow Q. It is also possible to add the rotation of the arrow Q and the opposite rotation thereof to each other. Rotation control of the stirring blades 96c can be appropriately selected while considering the stirring situation.
As illustrated in
In the abovementioned embodiments, the dust D is defined as filling the storage tank 3, but regardless of the amount of the dust D, that is, even if the dust D in the storage tank 3 is not so large as to fill the storage tank, the actions and effects of the present invention can be effectively exerted.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-124095 | Jul 2020 | JP | national |
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5611268 | Hamilton | Mar 1997 | A |
| 20090126533 | Yamaguchi et al. | May 2009 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| H04-123898 | Apr 1992 | JP |
| 2002126967 | May 2002 | JP |
| 2010-069536 | Apr 2010 | JP |
| 2011-156560 | Aug 2011 | JP |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20220024168 A1 | Jan 2022 | US |
