Air seal machine
By introducing a coordinated design of cleaning rotor and rotor blades into the air shutter, the problems of long straw blocking and air leakage are solved, and continuous operation and convenient maintenance are achieved under negative pressure conditions, avoiding the economic loss of long fiber cutting.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202510896587.7
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2025-07-01
- Publication Date
- 2025-08-08
AI Technical Summary
Now, the relevant air conditioners are prone to blockage, leak air, and are inconvenient to maintain when handling long straws. They cannot be used continuously under negative pressure conditions. The long fibers are cut short and will affect product quality and increase cost.
A air shutter is designed, using the cleaning rotor and rotor blades to cooperate with the cleaning rotor blades. The surface of the cleaning rotor is made of rough material. The cleaning rotor and the blades are cross-rotated through mechanical actions to avoid the long straw blockage, and the cleaning rotor is installed at the feed port for easy maintenance.
It realizes smooth passage of straw under negative pressure, avoids air leakage and blockage problems, and reduces the need for crushing and replacement of components, improves the continuous working ability and maintenance convenience of the equipment.
Smart Images
Figure CN120440631A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The invention relates to an air lock for straw, which is often used in the fields of agricultural waste straw treatment, papermaking, green methanol straw pretreatment, chemical industry, feed, etc. Background Art
[0002] Current air locks typically feature a feed inlet, a lock housing, a discharge outlet at the bottom, and a rotor mounted in the middle, divided into bucket-shaped containers. Sealing strips are installed between the rotor blades and the inner wall of the cylindrical lock housing, effectively blocking the airflow. During operation, material enters from above and exits from below, while air is blocked by the rotor blades at the inlet and outlet. This type of lock is suitable for short straw fibers, powders, and pellets, but is not suitable for long-fiber straw, such as those 5-20 cm in diameter. As the rotor rotates, some of the long straw can become caught on the blades, causing the material to become lodged in the gap between the rotor blades and the inner wall of the lock housing near the feed inlet, resulting in a blockage.
[0003] There are some improvements, such as increasing the gap between the blades and the inner wall of the airlock, but this results in air leakage and is suitable for positive pressure, not negative pressure. Another approach uses dual rotors rotating relative to each other, which results in a larger gap. Another approach uses air blowing devices, but the airflow is pressure-equalized, which creates resistance where the straw is needed. Air leaks out where there is no straw and no resistance, making the airflow essentially ineffective when the feed port is full of material. Another approach uses an elastic stalk-moving rotor. When the blades encounter material, they elastically deform to prevent sticking and automatically reset after passing. However, due to the uneven thickness of the wheat straw on the blades, the springs can be too tight in some areas, causing sticking, and the loose parts will not provide a good seal. Another improvement involves installing blades on the end faces of the rotor blades. When large straw stalks get caught on the blades and intersect the inner wall of the airlock, they can cut the straw, preventing it from sticking. However, this cutting and shredding process increases the cost of blade consumables and requires frequent replacement, impacting continuous use. Furthermore, in many applications, fiber length requirements are met and cannot be arbitrarily shortened. For example, making corrugated paper from wheat straw requires that the incoming and outgoing straw be of the same length. If the straw is cut short by the air lock blades, the material's properties will change, and the corrugated paper will suffer from a lack of long fibers, leading to a decrease in quality. In the processing of straw as a green methanol raw material, excessively short material is misidentified as dust and wasted, resulting in significant economic losses. In the methanol manufacturing process, agricultural waste straw accounts for millions of tons. If it is cut short by the air lock, losses will increase by more than 3%, and tens of thousands of tons of straw will be wasted, significantly increasing the cost of methanol production. This cost increase can cause multi-billion dollar investment projects to fail due to excessive costs. Furthermore, due to the heavy weight and bulk of large air locks, on-site repair and maintenance is extremely inconvenient. Summary of the Invention
[0004] The purpose of the present invention is to provide an air lock suitable for long straw, which can be used under negative pressure conditions and can solve the following problems: 1. Long straw materials will not get stuck or leak when entering and exiting the air lock.
[0005] 2. The straw cannot be cut short.
[0006] 3. The power consumption of crushing and the consumables of crushing accessories cannot be increased, and there should be no defect of frequent replacement of consumables.
[0007] 4. Easy maintenance.
[0008] The present invention is realized as follows: an air lock, mainly composed of an air lock feed port, an air lock shell, an outlet, a rotor with multiple bucket-shaped containers in the middle, bearings at both ends of the rotor, a reduction motor system for driving the rotor at one end, and a sealing strip between the rotor blades and the inner wall of the air lock shell (or an elastic rod, or a blowing device for blowing toward the blades, or a cutting blade). It is characterized in that: in addition to the rotor, the air lock feed port also has a cleaning rotor, which is installed on the side of the feed port, and its surface is cylindrical and treated with a brushed rough wear-resistant material, with bearings installed at both ends and a reduction motor power system installed at one end. During operation, when long straw enters the rotor bucket container from the air lock inlet, a part of it enters the bottom of the bucket, and a part of it hangs on the blades, and the rotor rotates toward the cleaning rotor (according to the example). Figure 3 is clockwise), clean the rotor and rotate in the opposite direction of the rotor (as in the example Figure 3 (also rotating clockwise), and the linear velocity of the cleaning rotor surface is greater than that of the rotor surface. The preferred speed ratio is 1:1.1-2. If it is less than or equal to this, there will be no cleaning effect and the gap will still get stuck. A speed ratio that is too high is meaningless. The rotor and the cleaning rotor do not touch, and there is a one-millimeter gap. Long material hangs on the blades and moves in the direction of the blades' rotation. When the material hanging on the blades encounters the cleaning rotor, one side of the material is between the smooth blades and the other side is between the rough cleaning rotor. The material obeys the force of the rough side and changes direction. The rough surface of the cleaning rotor cleans the straw hanging on the large rotor blades, so that there is no straw hanging on the large rotor blades and no straw is stuck in the gap of the air shutoff wall, solving the problem of long straw getting stuck. The rotor blades can be welded at an angle, that is, the rotor blades are lengthened and welded at an offset angle to the two side plates of the bucket. The blades can also be made into a herringbone shape and welded, with the angles of the two side plates of the rotor bucket being the same.
[0009] Compared to airflow cleaning, the present invention uses a uniformly pressurized airflow. This has disadvantages: the straw that needs to be blown away is not blown away due to resistance, and the air leaks away in areas without straw or resistance. When the inlet is completely filled with straw, there is no space behind the straw, and the airflow cannot blow. The cleaning rotor in this patent is a mechanical action. The cleaning rotor surface is a straight line that evenly intersects with the blades, clearing all the straw above the blades, completely solving the problem of jamming. Compared with the elastic straw-splitting rotor, it also does not have the problem of elastic straw-splitting getting stuck in thick areas due to material thickness variations, or backflow in thin areas or areas without material hanging. The cleaning is done along the top of the blades. The cleaning rotor rotates in the opposite direction, pushing the material off the blades, and is not affected by the thickness of the material, clearing all the straw above the blades. Compared with blade cutting and shredding, because the cleaning is done by the cleaning rotor rather than blade cutting and shredding, the consequence of long fibers being cut short is avoided. It also avoids defects such as tool consumption, increased power, frequent replacement, and inability to use continuously. The cleaning action of the cleaning rotor is to push the material away and remove the straw, which is almost wear-free and does not need to be replaced. Cutting is a line contact with high pressure, while the cleaning rotor is a circular surface with a large working surface, low pressure, and no contact, so the properties are completely different. A cleaning rotor can be installed on each side of the inlet to meet the forward and reverse rotation requirements of the fan rotor. The blades of the rotor can be lengthened and welded obliquely, or the blades can be made into a herringbone weld. The purpose is to extend and stagger the intersection time of the blades and the edge of the shell to avoid concentrated intersection of straw and prevent motor overload tripping failure. An openable door is installed on the side of the air shutoff, which is equipped with hinges, tension screws and rotary switches. When the rotor needs maintenance and repair, there is no need to remove the air shutoff from the site. Due to its large size and weight of nearly one ton, removal is labor-intensive and time-consuming. Only the side door needs to be opened for easy maintenance and cleaning. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] Figure 1 , is an oblique view of the air lock of the present invention.
[0011] Figure 2 , is a front view of the air lock of the present invention.
[0012] Figure 3 , is a sectional view of the front side of the air lock of the present invention.
[0013] Figure 4 , is an oblique view of the cleaning rotor of the air lock of the present invention.
[0014] Figure 5 , is an oblique view of the rotor of the air lock of the present invention.
[0015] Figure 6 , is an oblique view of the oblique blades of the rotor of the air lock of the present invention.
[0016] Figure 7, is an oblique view of the main blades of the air shutoff rotor. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0017] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention more clear, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention are clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention.
[0018] Example 1, an air lock, mainly composed of an air lock feed port 1, an air lock shell 2, an air lock discharge port 3, a rotor 5 containing multiple bucket-shaped containers, bearings 6 at both ends, an air lock shell end cover 7, a reduction motor system 8 for driving the rotor 5, and a sealing strip between the rotor blades 9 and the inner wall of the air lock shell 2 (or an elastic rod, or a blowing device for blowing toward the blades, or a cutting blade). It is characterized in that: in addition to the rotor 5, the air lock feed port 1 also has a cleaning rotor 11, which is installed on the side of the feed port 1, and its surface is cylindrical and treated with a brushed rough wear-resistant material. Bearings 10 and 12 are installed at both ends, and a reduction motor power system 13 is installed at one end. During operation, when the long straw enters the bucket-shaped container of the rotor 5 from the air lock inlet 1, a part of it enters the bottom of the bucket, and a part of it hangs on the blades 9, and the rotor 5 rotates toward the cleaning rotor 11 (according to the example). Figure 3 It turns clockwise, see Figure 3 ), the cleaning rotor 11 is reversed and rotates in the direction of the large rotor 5 (according to the example Figure 3 It turns clockwise, see Figure 3 ), and the surface linear velocity of the cleaning rotor 11 is greater than the surface linear velocity of the rotor 5, and the preferred speed ratio is 1:1.5 times. The rotor 5 and the cleaning rotor 11 do not contact each other, and there is a gap of one millimeter. The long material is hung on the blades 9 and moves in the direction of rotation of the blades 9. When the material hanging on the blades 9 encounters the cleaning rotor 11, one side of the material is the smooth blades 9, and the other side is the rough cleaning rotor 11. The material obeys the force of the rough side and changes direction. Its rough surface can clean up the straw hanging on the rotor blades 9, so that there is no straw hanging on the rotor blades 9, and the gap on the inner wall of the air shutoff is no longer stuck, which solves the problem of long straw getting stuck.
[0019] Example 2, as in Example 1, is an air shutoff device, wherein a cleaning rotor 11 can be installed on each side of the inlet 1 to meet the forward and reverse rotation requirements of the air shutoff rotor 5.
[0020] Example 3, as in Example 1, is an air shutoff device, wherein the blades 9 can be welded obliquely or in a herringbone shape, so that when the blades 9 intersect with the edge of the shell, the intersection time is extended and staggered, thereby avoiding concentrated intersection of straw, causing excessive transient driving power, and avoiding motor overload tripping failure.
[0021] Example 4, as in Example 1, is an air lock, and an openable door 4 is installed on the side of the air lock, and a hinge 6, a stretching screw and a rotary switch are installed on the door 4. When the rotor 5 needs maintenance and repair, there is no need to remove the air lock from the site. Because it is large and weighs nearly one ton, it is labor-intensive and time-consuming to remove it. It is only necessary to open the side door 4 for convenient maintenance and cleaning, saving time and improving the continuous working capacity of the complete set of equipment.
[0022] The above invention solves the long-standing problems of long straws being stuck, not being cut off, and frequent replacement of parts.
[0023] In summary, the above are merely preferred embodiments of the present invention and do not constitute any form of limitation to the present invention. Any simple modifications, equivalent changes or modifications made to the above embodiments based on the technical essence of the present invention are within the scope of the technical solution of the present invention.
Claims
1. An air lock, mainly composed of an air lock inlet, an air lock housing, an outlet, a rotor with multiple bucket-shaped containers in the middle, bearings at both ends of the rotor, a reduction motor system at one end to drive the rotor, and a sealing strip between the rotor blades and the inner wall of the air lock housing (either an elastic lever, an air blowing device blowing toward the blades, or a cutting blade), characterized by: In addition to the rotor, the air lock feed inlet also has a cleaning rotor. The cleaning rotor is installed on the side of the feed inlet, and its surface is cylindrical and treated with brushed rough wear-resistant material. Bearings are installed at both ends, and a reduction motor power system is installed at one end. During operation, when long straw enters the rotor bucket container from the air lock inlet, part of it enters the bottom of the bucket, and part of it hangs on the blades. The rotor rotates toward one side of the cleaning rotor, and the cleaning rotor rotates in the opposite direction of the rotor, and the surface linear velocity of the cleaning rotor is greater than the surface linear velocity of the rotor. The rotor and the cleaning rotor do not contact, and there is a small gap. The long material hangs on the blades and moves in the direction of rotation of the blades. When the material hanging on the blades encounters the cleaning rotor, one side of the material is the smooth blade and the other side is the rough cleaning rotor. The material obeys the force of the rough side and changes direction. The rough surface of the cleaning rotor cleans away the straw hanging on the rotor blades, so that there is no more straw hanging on the rotor blades, and there is no more straw stuck in the gap of the inner wall of the air lock, which solves the problems of long straw getting stuck, not being cut off, and frequent replacement of parts.
2. The air lock according to claim 1, characterized in that: A cleaning rotor is installed on each side of the inlet to meet the forward and reverse rotation requirements of the main rotor of the fan.
3. The air lock according to claim 1, characterized in that: The linear speed of the cleaning rotor surface is greater than the linear speed of the rotor surface, and the preferred speed ratio is 1:1.1-2 times.
4. The air lock according to claim 1, characterized in that: The rotor blades are welded obliquely, that is, the rotor blades are lengthened and welded at an angle to the two side plates of the bucket. The blades can also be made into a herringbone shape and welded with the two side plates of the rotor bucket at the same angle. The purpose is to extend and stagger the intersection time when the blades intersect the edge of the shell to avoid concentrated intersection of straw.
5. The air lock according to claim 1, characterized in that: An openable door is installed on the side of the air lock, which is equipped with a hinge, a tension screw and a rotary switch. When the large rotor needs maintenance and repair, there is no need to remove the air lock from the site. Just open the side door for maintenance and cleaning, which saves time and enhances the continuous working ability of the complete set of equipment.