Incinerator with a dryer and a control unit for controlling temperature in the dryer

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6619216
  • Patent Number
    6,619,216
  • Date Filed
    Wednesday, April 24, 2002
    22 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, September 16, 2003
    21 years ago
  • Inventors
  • Examiners
    • Lazarus; Ira S.
    • Rinehart; K. B.
    Agents
    • Sheridan Ross PC
Abstract
An incinerator includes a furnace, a heat-insulating shield, an air conduit, an air blower, and a dryer. The heat-insulating shield has a top wall, a vertically extending peripheral wall that extends downwardly from the top wall and that surrounds and that is spaced apart from the furnace by a gap, and an open bottom end. The peripheral wall of the heat-insulating shield has an air outlet that is disposed adjacent to the top wall and that is in fluid communication with the gap. Atmospheric air is introduced via the open bottom end through the gap and the air conduit and into the dryer. A feed motor is used to deliver solid waste into the furnace. A control unit controls rotating speed of the feed motor based on temperature in the dryer so as to adjust the temperature in the dryer.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




This invention relates to an incinerator, more particularly to an incinerator with a dryer and a control unit for controlling temperature in the dryer.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




The object of the present invention is to provide an incinerator with a heat-insulating shield that surrounds a furnace for heating air in a gap therebetween. The heated air is then used for drying crops in a dryer. The temperature in the dryer is controlled by using a temperature sensor and a control unit which controls a feed motor, a rake motor, and an air-flow controller of the incinerator.




According to the present invention, an incinerator comprises: a furnace adapted to incinerate solid waste and including a vertically extending peripheral wall having a bottom section defining a main combustion chamber, an intermediate section extending upwardly from the bottom section to define an auxiliary combustion chamber, and a top section extending upwardly from the intermediate section and formed with an effluent outlet for exit of a combustion gas generated in the main and auxiliary combustion chambers; a feeding unit including a feed motor for delivering solid waste into the furnace; a cyclone separator connected to the effluent outlet for receiving the combustion gas from the furnace; a heat-insulating shield having a top wall, a vertically extending peripheral wall that extends downwardly from the top wall and that surrounds and that is spaced apart from the peripheral wall of the furnace by a gap, and an open bottom end, the top section of the peripheral wall of the furnace extending outwardly through the top wall, the effluent outlet being disposed outwardly of the heat-insulating shield, the peripheral wall of the heat-insulating shield having an air outlet that is disposed adjacent to the top wall and that is in fluid communication with the gap; an air conduit connected to the air outlet and in fluid communication with the gap via the air outlet; a dryer connected to and in fluid communication with the air conduit; an air blower disposed downstream of the air outlet for introducing atmospheric air via the open bottom end through the gap and the air conduit and into the dryer such that the introduced atmospheric air is heated in the gap by virtue of heat flow from the peripheral wall of the furnace into the gap; a temperature sensor mounted in the dryer for measuring temperature in the dryer and for generating an electrical signal that corresponds to the temperature in the dryer; and a control unit electrically connected to the temperature sensor for receiving the electrical signal and further connected to the feed motor for controlling rotating speed of the feed motor based on the temperature in the dryer so as to adjust the temperature in the dryer.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS




In drawings which illustrate an embodiment of the invention,





FIG. 1

is a schematic view of an incinerator embodying this invention;





FIG. 2

is a schematic top view of the incinerator of

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 3

is a schematic top view to illustrate how an air-flow controller of the incinerator of

FIG. 1

is operated to open a control valve;





FIG. 4

is a schematic top view to illustrate how the air flow controller of

FIG. 5

is operated to close the control valve; and





FIG. 5

is a block diagram showing a dryer, a feed motor, a rake motor, and a driving unit controlled by a control unit upon receiving an electrical signal from a temperature sensor that is disposed in the dryer.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT





FIGS. 1

to


5


illustrate a preferred embodiment of an incinerator of this invention for combustion of solid waste, such as hull or shell waste of agricultural crops.




The incinerator includes: a furnace


10


having a vertically extending peripheral wall


11


with a bottom section


111


defining a main combustion chamber


121


, an intermediate section


112


extending upwardly from the bottom section


111


to define an auxiliary combustion chamber


122


, a cooling section


113


extending upwardly from the intermediate section


112


, and a top section


114


extending upwardly from the cooling section


113


and formed with an effluent outlet


44


for exit of a combustion gas generated in the main and auxiliary combustion chambers


121


,


122


, a partition plate


15


being disposed in the furnace


10


to separate the main and auxiliary combustion chambers


121


,


122


and being formed with a channel


151


that is in fluid communication with the main and auxiliary combustion chambers


121


,


122


; a feeding unit including a feed motor


35


for delivering solid waste into said furnace


10


; a cooler


14


disposed in the cooling section


113


for cooling the combustion gas passing therethrough; a cyclone separator


40


connected to the effluent outlet


44


for receiving the combustion gas from the furnace


10


; a heat-insulating shield


20


having a top wall


211


, a vertically extending peripheral wall


21


that extends downwardly from the top wall


211


and that surrounds and that is spaced apart from the peripheral wall


11


of the furnace


10


by a gap


101


, and an open bottom end


212


, the top section


114


of the peripheral wall


11


of the furnace


10


extending outwardly through the top wall


211


, the effluent outlet


44


being disposed outwardly of the heat-insulating shield


20


, the peripheral wall


21


of the heat-insulating shield


20


having an air outlet


213


that is disposed adjacent to the top wall


211


and that is in fluid communication with the gap


101


; an air conduit connected to the air outlet


213


and in fluid communication with the gap


101


via the air outlet


213


; a dryer


90


connected to and in fluid communication with the air conduit; an air blower


86


disposed downstream of the air outlet


213


and mounted on the air conduit for introducing atmospheric air via the open bottom end


212


through the gap


101


and the air conduit


213


and into the dryer


90


such that the introduced atmospheric air is heated in the gap


101


by virtue of heat flow from the peripheral wall


11


of the furnace


10


into the gap


101


; a temperature sensor


200


(see

FIG. 5

) mounted in the dryer


90


for measuring temperature in the dryer


90


and for generating an electrical signal that corresponds to the temperature in the dryer


90


; and a control unit


300


electrically connected to the temperature sensor


200


for receiving the electrical signal and further connected to the feed motor


35


for controlling rotating speed of the feed motor


35


based on the temperature in the dryer


90


so as to vary feeding rate of solid waste into the furnace


10


and so as to adjust the temperature in the dryer


90


.




The heat-insulating shield


20


is formed with a plurality of baffles


23


,


24


interconnecting the peripheral wall


21


of the heat-insulating shield


20


and the peripheral wall


11


of the furnace


10


so as to form a tortuous channel


102


thereamong for passage of the hot air flowing in the gap


101


.




Referring to

FIGS. 2

to


4


, the air conduit has first and second sections


81


,


82


. An air-flow controller


80


is disposed between the first and second sections


81


,


82


, and includes a control valve


83


, a pinion-and-rack unit


84


, and a driving unit


843


mounted on the air conduit. The first section


81


has one end connected to the air outlet


213


, and an opposite end connected to the second section


82


. The second section


82


has an enlarged end


821


which has an inner wall


822


, which receives the opposite end of the first section


81


, and which converges in a direction toward an opposite end of the second section


82


opposite to the enlarged end


821


. The control valve


83


is disposed in the enlarged end


821


of the second section


82


, and includes a lower disc


85


that extends radially and inwardly from the inner wall


822


around the opposite end of the first section


81


, and an upper disc


87


that is rotatably stacked on the lower disc


85


. The upper and lower discs


87


,


85


are formed with angularly spaced apart upper and lower slots


871


,


851


around the opposite end of the first section


81


. The pinion-and-rack unit


84


includes a rack


841


secured to the upper disc


87


, and a pinion


842


coupled to the driving unit


843


and meshing with the rack


841


so as to permit rotation of the upper disc


87


relative to the lower disc


85


between an open position (see FIGS.


3


and


4


), in which, the upper and lower slots


871


,


851


overlap, thereby permitting atmospheric air to be introduced into the enlarged end


821


of the second section


82


via the upper and lower slots


871


,


851


upon actuation of the air blower


86


, and a closed position, in which, the upper and lower slots


871


,


851


are offset from each other and are closed by the lower and upper discs


85


,


87


, respectively, thereby preventing atmospheric air from flowing into the enlarged end


821


of the second section


82


via the upper and lower slots


871


,


851


. The control unit


300


is electrically connected to the driving unit


843


for moving the upper disc


87


between the open and closed positions based on the temperature in the dryer


90


so as to vary flow rate of atmospheric air into the air conduit via the upper and lower slots


871


,


851


and so as to adjust the temperature in the dryer


90


.




A feeding device


30


is connected to the furnace


10


for feeding the solid waste into the furnace


10


, and includes a hopper


31


with a bottom outlet


332


, a rotary wheel


352


driven by the feed motor


35


and rotatably disposed in the hopper


31


for feeding the solid waste to the bottom outlet


332


, a pipe


33


interconnecting the bottom outlet


332


and the furnace


10


, and a blower


32


connected to the bottom outlet


332


for delivering the solid waste into the furnace


10


via the pipe


33


.




A main blower


71


is connected to the furnace


10


via an air pipe


72


for delivering air into the furnace


10


.




A perforated supporting plate


13


is disposed in the bottom section


111


of the furnace


10


for supporting the solid waste, and is formed with a plurality of holes


131


for passage of ash therethrough. Ash falling from the supporting plate


13


via the holes


131


is transferred to a bottom exit


115


of the furnace


10


via a second rotary wheel


51


driven by a motor


52


. Another blower


53


is connected to the bottom exit


115


for delivering the falling ash into the cyclone separator


40


via a pipe


54


. A rake


552


is disposed rotatably over the supporting plate


13


for stirring ash on the supporting plate


13


and for facilitating falling of ash through the holes


131


so as to increase combustion efficiency of the furnace


10


. A rake motor


55


is connected to the rake


552


for rotating the rake


552


. The control unit


300


is electrically connected to the rake motor


55


for controlling rotating speed of the rake motor


55


based on the temperature in the dryer


90


so as to adjust the temperature in the dryer


90


.




With the invention thus explained, it is apparent that various modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. It is therefore intended that the invention be limited only as recited in the appended claims.



Claims
  • 1. An incinerator comprising:a furnace adapted to incinerate solid waste and including a vertically extending peripheral wall having a bottom section defining a main combustion chamber, an intermediate section extending upwardly from said bottom section to define an auxiliary combustion chamber, and a top section extending upwardly from said intermediate section and formed with an effluent outlet for exit of a combustion gas generated in said main and auxiliary combustion chambers; a feeding unit including a feed motor for delivering solid waste into said furnace; a cyclone separator connected to said effluent outlet for receiving the combustion gas from said furnace; a heat-insulating shield having a top wall, a vertically extending peripheral wall that extends downwardly from said top wall and that surrounds and that is spaced apart from said peripheral wall of said furnace by a gap, and an open bottom end, said top section of said peripheral wall of said furnace extending outwardly through said top wall, said effluent outlet being disposed outwardly of said heat-insulating shield, said peripheral wall of said heat-insulating shield having an air outlet that is disposed adjacent to said top wall and that is in fluid communication with said gap; an air conduit connected to said air outlet and in fluid communication with said gap via said air outlet; a dryer connected to and in fluid communication with said air conduit; an air blower disposed downstream of said air outlet for introducing atmospheric air via said open bottom end through said gap and said air conduit and into said dryer such that the introduced atmospheric air is heated in said gap by virtue of heat flow from said peripheral wall of said furnace into said gap; a temperature sensor mounted in said dryer for measuring temperature in said dryer and for generating an electrical signal that corresponds to the temperature in said dryer; and a control unit electrically connected to said temperature sensor for receiving said electrical signal and further connected to said feed motor for controlling rotating speed of said feed motor based on the temperature in said dryer so as to adjust the temperature in said dryer.
  • 2. The incinerator of claim 1, wherein said furnace further includes a perforated supporting plate disposed in said main combustion chamber for supporting solid waste thereon, said supporting plate being formed with a plurality of holes for passage of ash therethrough, said furnace further including a rake that is disposed rotatably over said supporting plate for stirring ash on said supporting plate and for facilitating falling of ash through said holes so as to increase combustion efficiency of said furnace, said incinerator further comprising a rake motor for rotating said rake, said control unit being electrically connected to said rake motor for controlling rotating speed of said rake based on the temperature in said dryer so as to adjust the temperature in said dryer.
  • 3. The incinerator of claim 2, wherein said air conduit has first and second sections, said incinerator further comprising an air-flow controller which is disposed between said first and second sections and which includes a control valve, a pinion-and-rack unit, and a driving unit mounted on said air conduit, said first section having one end connected to said air outlet, and an opposite end connected to said second section, said second section having an enlarged end which has an inner wall, which receives said opposite end of said first section, and which converges in a direction toward an opposite end of said second section opposite to said enlarged end, said control valve being disposed in said enlarged end of said second section, and including a lower disc that extends radially and inwardly from said inner wall around said opposite end of said first section, and an upper disc that is rotatably stacked on said lower disc, said upper and lower discs being formed with angularly spaced apart upper and lower slots around said opposite end of said first section, said pinion-and-rack unit including a rack secured to said upper disc, and a pinion coupled to said driving unit and meshing with said rack so as to permit rotation of said upper disc relative to said lower disc between an open position, in which, said upper and lower slots overlap, thereby permitting atmospheric air to be introduced into said air conduit via said upper and lower slots upon actuation of said air blower, and a closed position, in which, said upper and lower slots are offset from each other and are closed by said lower and upper discs, respectively, thereby preventing atmospheric air from flowing into said air conduit via said upper and lower slots, said control unit being electrically connected to said driving unit for moving said upper disc between said open and closed positions so as to adjust the temperature in said dryer.
Priority Claims (1)
Number Date Country Kind
90220597 U Nov 2001 TW
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