Star feeder

Abstract

This invention provides a star-shaped feeder, comprising a housing, an impeller, and a valve body transition portion disposed between the two. The housing is sequentially formed from top to bottom with an internally connected feed hopper, a valve body cavity, and a discharge hopper. The valve body cavity is formed into a transverse cylindrical space for mounting the impeller. The valve body transition portion is disposed on the inner wall of the feed hopper, so that the feed inlet and the axis of the impeller are offset vertically in space. This controls the material to fall into the first half of the feed hopper as the impeller rotates past the bottom of the feed hopper. This solves the problem that the tip of the impeller blades and the periphery of the feed hopper opening easily jam and trap products during operation, ensuring that the star-shaped feeder stably and quantitatively conveys materials at a uniform speed, while effectively avoiding losses caused by impeller jamming.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of rotary conveyor technology, and more specifically to star feeders. Background Technology

[0002] The rotary feeder (also known as a rotary valve, ash discharge valve, or airlock) utilizes the advantages of advanced unloading technology and is a uniform and continuous material batching, conveying, and unloading device in mechanized and automated control systems. The machine is characterized by its small size, light weight, high production capacity, and convenient maintenance and operation. It is widely used in environmental protection, metallurgy, chemical, refractory materials, power, cement, grain, and pharmaceutical industries, and is an ideal device for controlling the conveying of materials such as pulverized coal, cement, raw and clinker, and grains.

[0003] Currently, star feeders play an irreplaceable role in the quantitative and uniform feeding of materials. A star feeder consists of a shell, impeller, impeller drive shaft, sealing device and drive device. The structure is that an impeller driven by a drive motor is installed inside a horizontal cylinder. Under the action of gravity, the rotation of the impeller feeds the powder and granular products from the top into the cavity inside the shell. Then, by rotating the impeller, the material in the cavity is rotated to the discharge hopper at the bottom for output.

[0004] It is worth noting that the structure of the aforementioned star-shaped feeder dictates that the blade tip of the impeller must engage with the cylindrical inner wall of the internal cavity of the housing to achieve quantitative and uniform conveying. Therefore, there is a "pinch point" between the blade tip of the impeller and the periphery of the opening of the feed hopper. During operation, this can easily cause the product to get stuck, resulting in damage to the product shape, affecting product quality, and even damaging the blade. Summary of the Invention

[0005] In view of the above, the present invention provides a star feeder to solve the problem that the blade tip of the impeller and the periphery of the opening of the feed hopper are prone to jamming and trapping products during operation, thereby ensuring that the star feeder can stably and quantitatively convey materials at a uniform speed, while effectively avoiding losses caused by impeller jamming.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides a star-shaped feeder, comprising a housing and an impeller. The housing, from top to bottom, sequentially comprises an internally connected feed hopper, a valve body cavity, and a discharge hopper. The valve body cavity is formed into a transversely cylindrical space for housing the impeller. The star-shaped feeder further comprises: the housing, with two convex inner corners formed at the junction of the valve body cavity and the feed hopper, the edges of which extend along the axial direction of the impeller; the two convex inner corners are a first convex corner and a second convex corner, respectively; the impeller has a plurality of spaced blades; and a flow guiding structure, along the first... A convex angle is provided on the inner wall of the feed hopper. The top and bottom of the flow guiding structure are respectively formed with a top inclined surface and a concave arc surface. The side edges of the top inclined surface and the concave arc surface are connected to form a valve body transition portion extending toward the second convex angle. The feed inlet of the feed hopper is formed between the valve body transition portion and the second convex angle. The feed inlet is offset vertically from the axis of the impeller in space. The impeller rotates in the direction that the blades first pass through the second convex angle and then through the first convex angle, so as to control the material to fall into the first half of the feed hopper when the impeller rotates through the bottom of the feed hopper.

[0007] A further improvement of the star-shaped feeder of the present invention is that the top inclined surface of the flow guiding structure forms a top edge and a bottom edge, and the concave arc surface of the flow guiding structure forms a first side edge and a second side edge; the top edge of the top inclined surface is connected to the top of the inner wall of the feed hopper, the first side edge of the concave arc surface is connected to the corner edge of the first convex angle, and the second side edge of the concave arc surface is connected to the bottom edge of the top inclined surface to form the valve body transition part.

[0008] A further improvement of the star-shaped feeder of the present invention is that the blade tip of the impeller is tangent to the inner wall of the valve body cavity; and there is a gap between the blade tip of the impeller and the concave arc surface of the flow guide structure.

[0009] A further improvement of the star-shaped feeder of the present invention is that the gap S gradually decreases from large to small from the second side edge of the concave arc surface toward the first side edge.

[0010] A further improvement of the star feeder of the present invention is that the maximum distance of the gap is 1.5 times the particle size of the material input to the star feeder.

[0011] A further improvement of the star feeder of the present invention is that the feed hopper inlet has a width (D); the ends of two adjacent blades of the impeller have a distance (R), the width (D) of the feed inlet is less than the distance (R) between the blades, and the width (D) of the feed inlet is greater than or equal to two-thirds of the distance (R) between the blades (2 / 3R≦D<R).

[0012] A further improvement of the star-shaped feeder of the present invention is that the blade end of the impeller forms a beveled surface, and the beveled surface and the blade surface form a tip; when the impeller rotates in the valve body cavity, the tip is tangent to the inner wall of the valve body cavity; when the impeller rotates, the tip passes the second convex angle before the beveled surface.

[0013] A further improvement of the star feeder of the present invention is that the star feeder further includes a drive device; the impeller is connected to the drive device to be driven to rotate and convey materials.

[0014] A further improvement of the star feeder of the present invention is that the driving device includes a drive motor, a transmission mechanism and a transmission shaft. The drive motor is fixed to the outside of the housing by a frame. The transmission shaft passes through the valve body cavity and is fixedly connected to the axis of the impeller. The drive motor drives the transmission shaft to rotate through the transmission mechanism and drives the impeller to rotate.

[0015] A further improvement of the star-shaped feeder of the present invention is that the interior of the housing forms two inner convex angles at the junction of the valve body cavity and the discharge hopper; the edges of the inner convex angles extend along the axial direction of the impeller, and the discharge port of the discharge hopper is formed between the two inner convex angles.

[0016] Because the present invention adopts the above technical solution, it has the following beneficial effects:

[0017] (1) The star feeder of the present invention achieves effective control of the material falling into the first half of the feed hopper through the impeller rotating through the vertical center line of the feed port and the impeller shaft in space, thereby avoiding the material being stuck between the impeller and the valve body cavity during the feeding process.

[0018] (2) By creating a gap between the blade tip of the impeller and the valve body transition section of the flow guide structure, and gradually decreasing the gap from large to small along the working rotation direction of the impeller until it is finally tangent to the inner wall of the valve body cavity, the problem of shearing material when the impeller rotates to the bottom of the valve body transition section is effectively avoided.

[0019] These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be fully realized by the following detailed description and claims, and may be achieved by the means, apparatus and combinations thereof specifically pointed out in the appended claims. Attached Figure Description

[0020] Figure 1 This is a three-dimensional external view of the star feeder of the present invention.

[0021] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the housing of the star feeder of the present invention and the connection structure of the impeller and the guide structure.

[0022] The correspondence between the reference numerals and the components in the attached drawings is as follows:

[0023] Shell 10; feed hopper 11; valve body cavity 12; discharge hopper 13; inner convex angle at the top of the shell 14; top edge of the cavity wall; second convex angle 142; inner convex angle at the bottom of the shell 15; impeller 20; blade 21; oblique cut surface 211; tip 212; guide structure 30; valve body transition part 301; top inclined surface 31; concave arc surface 32; first side edge 321; second side edge 322; drive device 40; drive motor 41; transmission mechanism 42; transmission shaft 43; gap S. Implementation

[0024] Detailed embodiments of the present invention will be disclosed herein. However, it should be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely typical examples of the invention, and the invention can be implemented in various alternative forms. Therefore, the specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not limiting, but merely representative of different implementation methods for illustrating to those skilled in the art.

[0025] To facilitate understanding of the present invention, the following description is provided in conjunction with the appendix. Figures 1 to 2 The following description is provided, along with examples.

[0026] Please see Figures 1 to 2 This invention provides a star-shaped feeder, comprising a housing 10, an impeller 20, a flow guiding structure 30, and a drive device 40. The housing 10, from top to bottom, sequentially comprises an internally connected inlet hopper 11, a valve body cavity 12, and an outlet hopper 13. The valve body cavity 12 is formed into a transverse cylindrical space for housing the impeller 20. The impeller 20 is connected to the drive device 40 and driven to rotate and convey materials.

[0027] Specifically, such as Figure 1 , Figure 2 The interior of the housing 10 forms two inner convex angles 14 at the junction of the valve body cavity 12 and the feed hopper 11, and two inner convex angles 15 at the junction of the valve body cavity 12 and the discharge hopper 13, respectively. The edges of the inner convex angles 14 at the top and the bottom extend along the axial direction of the impeller 20. The two inner convex angles 14 at the top are a first convex angle 141 and a second convex angle 142, respectively. The discharge port of the discharge hopper 13 is formed between the two inner convex angles 15 at the bottom.

[0028] like Figure 2The impeller 20 has a plurality of blades 21 spaced apart; the ends of the blades 21 of the impeller 20 form a chamfered surface 211, and a tip 212 is formed at the connection between the chamfered surface 211 and the surface of the blade 21; when the impeller 20 rotates in the valve body cavity 12, the tip 212 is tangent to the inner wall of the valve body cavity 12; when the impeller 20 rotates, the tip 212 passes the second convex angle 142 before the chamfered surface 211.

[0029] like Figure 2 The flow guiding structure 30 protrudes along the first convex angle 141 on the inner wall of the feed hopper 11. The top and bottom of the flow guiding structure 30 are respectively formed with a top inclined surface 31 and a concave arc surface 32. The top inclined surface 31 forms a top edge and a bottom edge, and the concave arc surface 32 forms a first side edge 321 and a second side edge 322. The top edge of the top inclined surface 31 is connected to the top of the inner wall of the feed hopper 11. The first side edge 321 of the concave arc surface 32 is connected to the corner edge of the first convex angle 141. The second side edge 322 of the concave arc surface 32 is connected to the bottom edge of the top inclined surface 31 to form a valve body transition portion 301. The valve body transition portion 301 extends obliquely toward the second convex angle 142.

[0030] The feed inlet of the feed hopper 11 is formed between the valve body transition portion 301 and the second convex angle 142. The feed inlet is offset vertically from the axis of the impeller 20 in space. The impeller 20 rotates in the direction that the blades 21 first pass through the second convex angle 142 and then through the first convex angle 141, so that when the impeller 20 rotates through the bottom of the feed hopper 11, the material is controlled to fall into the first half of the feed hopper 11 through which the impeller 20 rotates.

[0031] In embodiments of the present invention, such as Figure 2 The blades 21 of the impeller 20 are tangent to the inner wall of the valve body cavity 12; a gap S is formed between the blades 21 of the impeller 20 and the valve body transition portion 301 of the guide structure 30. In this embodiment of the invention, the gap S gradually decreases in size from the second side edge 322 of the concave arc surface 32 of the guide structure 30 toward the first side edge 321. Preferably, the maximum distance of the gap S is 1.5 times the particle size of the material input by the star feeder.

[0032] In this embodiment of the invention, the feed inlet of the feed hopper 11 has a width (D); the ends of two adjacent blades 21 of the impeller 20 have a distance (R), the width (D) of the feed inlet is less than the distance (R) between the blades 21, and the width (D) of the feed inlet is greater than or equal to two-thirds of the distance (R) between the blades 21 (2 / 3R≦D<R).

[0033] In embodiments of the present invention, such as Figure 1 The drive device 40 includes a drive motor 41, a transmission mechanism 42, and a transmission shaft 43. The drive motor 41 is fixed to the outside of the housing 10 by a frame. The transmission shaft 43 passes through the valve body cavity 12 and is fixedly connected to the axis of the impeller 20. The drive motor 41 is connected to the transmission shaft 43 through the transmission mechanism 42 to rotate and drive the impeller 20 to rotate.

[0034] The above describes specific embodiments of the star feeder of the present invention. Please refer to the following for further details. Figure 2 The working principle of the star feeder of the present invention is explained as follows:

[0035] This invention's star-shaped feeder controls the material to fall into the first half of the feed hopper 11 as it rotates through the impeller 20, by setting the feed inlet to the vertical centerline offset from the impeller 20's axis. Along the impeller 20's rotational direction, the gap S between the valve body transition section 301 and the impeller 20 gradually decreases in size, eventually becoming tangent to the inner wall of the valve body cavity 12. The gap S is preferably limited to 1.5 times the material particle size. Therefore, when the impeller 20 rotates into the area below the valve body transition section 301, the gap S, being larger than the material particle size, effectively prevents material shearing. Simultaneously, as the impeller 20 feeds material into the feed hopper 11, the material settles under gravity as it rotates through the valve body transition section 301, preventing material compression between the impeller 20 blades 21 and the valve body transition section 301. This eliminates the "pinch point" present in traditional straight-through rotary valves, completely preventing material shearing damage.

[0036] The present invention has been described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. Those skilled in the art can make various modifications to the present invention based on the above description. Therefore, certain details in the embodiments should not be construed as limiting the present invention, and the scope of protection of the present invention shall be defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A star-shaped feeder, comprising a housing and an impeller, wherein the housing is formed sequentially from top to bottom with an internally connected feed hopper, a valve body cavity and a discharge hopper, and the valve body cavity is formed into a transverse cylindrical space for mounting the impeller; Its features are, The star feeder also includes: The housing has two convex inner corners formed inside at the junction of the valve body cavity and the feed hopper. The edges of the convex inner corners extend along the axial direction of the impeller. The two convex inner corners are a first convex corner and a second convex corner, respectively. The impeller has a plurality of blades spaced apart; A flow guiding structure is provided on the inner wall of the feed hopper along the first convex angle. The top and bottom of the flow guiding structure are respectively formed with a top inclined surface and a concave arc surface. The side edges of the top inclined surface and the concave arc surface are connected to form a valve body transition part extending toward the second convex angle. The feed inlet of the feed hopper is formed between the transition part of the valve body and the second convex angle; the feed inlet is offset vertically from the axis of the impeller in space; the impeller rotates in the direction that the blades first pass through the second convex angle and then through the first convex angle, so as to control the material to fall into the first half of the feed hopper when the impeller rotates through the bottom of the feed hopper; The top inclined surface of the flow guide structure forms a top edge and a bottom edge, and the concave arc surface of the flow guide structure forms a first side edge and a second side edge; the top edge of the top inclined surface is connected to the top of the inner wall of the feed hopper, the first side edge of the concave arc surface is connected to the corner edge of the first convex angle, and the second side edge of the concave arc surface is connected to the bottom edge of the top inclined surface to form the valve body transition part; The blade tip of the impeller is tangent to the inner wall of the valve body cavity; there is a gap between the blade tip of the impeller and the concave arc surface of the flow guide structure; The gap gradually decreases in size from the second side edge of the concave arc surface toward the first side edge; The maximum distance of the gap is 1.5 times the particle size of the material input by the star feeder.

2. The star feeder according to claim 1, characterized in that: The feed hopper inlet has a width D; the ends of two adjacent blades of the impeller are separated by a distance R, the width D of the feed inlet is less than the distance R between the blades, and the width D of the feed inlet is greater than or equal to two-thirds of the distance R between the blades.

3. The star feeder according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The blades of the impeller have a beveled end, and the beveled end forms a tip at the junction with the blade surface. When the impeller rotates in the valve body cavity, the tip is tangent to the inner wall of the valve body cavity. When the impeller rotates, the tip passes the second convex angle before the beveled end.

4. The star feeder according to claim 1, characterized in that: The star feeder also includes a drive unit; the impeller is connected to the drive unit to be driven to rotate and convey materials.

5. The star feeder according to claim 4, characterized in that: The drive device includes a drive motor, a transmission mechanism, and a transmission shaft. The drive motor is fixed to the outside of the housing via a frame. The transmission shaft passes through the valve body cavity and is fixedly connected to the axis of the impeller. The drive motor drives the transmission shaft to rotate via the transmission mechanism, thereby driving the impeller to rotate.

6. The star feeder according to claim 1, characterized in that: The interior of the housing forms two convex angles at the junction of the valve body cavity and the discharge hopper; the edges of the convex angles extend along the axial direction of the impeller, and the discharge port of the discharge hopper is formed between the two convex angles.

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