Feed conditioning equipment and feed conditioning method

Abstract

The invention discloses feed conditioning equipment and a feed conditioning method, and relates to the field of breeding feed. The equipment comprises a vortex tube device, a crushing device, a conditioner device and a liquid pump. The vortex tube device generates high-temperature gas and low-temperature gas, and the low-temperature gas freezes the to-be-crushed material to embrittle chitin, so that the crushing device can conveniently prepare slurry; and the high-temperature gas and the atomized water vapor are mixed to form saturated vapor. Slurry is fed into the conditioner device through the liquid pump and mixed with materials to be conditioned and saturated steam, and the driving system drives the paddle shaft and the paddle blade with the adjustable angle to conduct stirring. And the steam input quantity and the paddle angle are fed back and regulated through the material temperature sensor, so that automatic tempering is realized. The equipment integrates multiple procedures, omits a boiler and an independent liquid adding pipeline, reduces cost, improves efficiency, is green and environment-friendly, and improves the feed nutrition retention rate and the conditioning consistency.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to livestock feed, specifically to a feed conditioning device and a feed conditioning method. Background Technology

[0002] In the feed conditioning process, the raw materials need to be softened, starch gelatinized, and protein denatured through the mixing of water and steam. Some feeds also require the addition of liquid to optimize pellet quality. In existing processing technologies, the above conditioning and liquid addition functions must be completed in a conditioner, which is achieved by introducing saturated steam into the conditioner and adding liquid through pipelines. The saturated steam is used to heat the raw materials and provide moisture to ensure the smooth operation of subsequent pelleting or extrusion processes; the liquid is used to improve the nutritional value and palatability of the feed. However, this production line requires a steam boiler and a separate liquid addition pipeline, which not only significantly increases the company's initial equipment investment costs, but also incurs additional operating costs due to steam consumption during the later production process, making it difficult to meet the core needs of modern feed companies for cost reduction and efficiency improvement. Summary of the Invention

[0003] This invention provides a feed conditioning device, including a vortex tube device, a pulverizing device, a conditioner device, and a liquid pump;

[0004] The vortex tube device is equipped with a high-temperature gas outlet and a low-temperature gas outlet for generating high-temperature gas and low-temperature gas respectively. The high-temperature gas outlet and the low-temperature gas outlet are connected to the pulverizing device and the conditioning device respectively. The low-temperature gas is introduced into the pulverizing device to freeze the material to be pulverized in the pulverizing device. The high-temperature gas is mixed with atomized water vapor to form saturated steam, which is then introduced into the conditioning device.

[0005] The crushing device is used to crush the frozen material into a slurry. The liquid pump delivers the slurry to the conditioner device, where it is mixed with the material to be conditioned and saturated steam for conditioning to produce feed.

[0006] The conditioner device includes a tubular conditioner body, hot air pipes, steam pipes, slurry addition pipes, material temperature sensors, blade shafts, blades, and a drive system.

[0007] One end of the conditioner body is provided with a feed inlet connected to the hopper, and the bottom side wall of the other end of the conditioner body is provided with a feed outlet for discharging feed. The feed outlet is equipped with a feed temperature sensor.

[0008] The two ends of the hot gas pipe are connected to the side wall of one end of the conditioner body and the high-temperature gas outlet of the vortex tube. The hot gas pipe is also connected to the high-pressure atomizing nozzle at the end of the water vapor pipe, which is used to mix the high-temperature gas with the atomized water vapor to form saturated steam and pass it into the conditioner body.

[0009] The two ends of the slurry addition pipe are connected to the liquid pump and the conditioner body, which are used to transport the slurry into the conditioner body. The hollow blade shaft is located in the conditioner body. One end of the blade shaft is connected to the drive system, which drives the blade shaft to rotate around the shaft. The blade shaft is equipped with several blades with adjustable angles.

[0010] Furthermore, the vortex tube device includes a vortex tube body, which is provided with a compressed air inlet connected to a compressor. The compressed air inlet is equipped with a pressure regulating valve, the pressure control range of which is 0.6-0.8 MPa.

[0011] High-temperature gas outlet and low-temperature gas outlet are respectively located at both ends of the vortex tube body. The low-temperature gas outlet is divided into multiple branches through the steam drum connecting pipe. The other end of each steam drum connecting pipe is connected to the inside of a cold gas jacket tank. The inner and outer walls of the cold gas jacket tank are provided with several through holes that are respectively connected to each steam drum connecting pipe.

[0012] The bottom of the cold air jacketed tank is fixedly connected to the top of the crushing device, and a feed hopper is installed on the top of the cold air jacketed tank.

[0013] Furthermore, the crushing device includes a crusher base, a drive motor, a coupling, a bevel gear transmission component, and a crushing assembly;

[0014] The drive motor is mounted on the crusher base. The drive motor transmits power to the bevel gear transmission component through a coupling. The bevel gear transmission component converts the horizontal power into vertical power to drive the crushing component to rotate.

[0015] The pulverizing assembly includes a perforated base plate, a pulverizing disc, a pressing disc, a clamping block, a pressing top plate, guide rods, and a reciprocating cylinder. The pulverizing disc is mounted on the perforated base plate and is connected to a bevel gear transmission component. The edge of the pulverizing disc is integrally formed with an upwardly protruding retaining ring. The base plate of the pulverizing disc has several slurry outlets and a vortex-shaped protrusion on its upper surface. The pressing disc and the pressing top plate are both annular. The pressing top plate is sealed to the bottom of the cold air jacket tank through a corrugated pipe. The pressing disc floats up and down within the retaining ring area. The top of the pressing disc is fixedly connected to the pressing top plate through a clamping block. The reciprocating cylinder is installed between the pressing top plate and the perforated base plate and drives the pressing disc to move axially up and down. Multiple guide rods are provided between the pressing top plate and the perforated base plate to provide axial guidance.

[0016] The minimum grinding gap between the crushing disc and the pressing disc is 0.5-1mm, and the stroke of the reciprocating cylinder is 5-10mm.

[0017] The bottom of the crushing disc is connected to the slurry collection tank, which is in turn connected to the liquid pump.

[0018] Furthermore, both ends of the blade shaft are fixed with axial shaft heads that rotatably engage with the conditioner body.

[0019] One end of the blade shaft has an opening and is connected to the air compressor through a rotary joint. The other end of the blade shaft has a closed inner wall. The shaft ends at both ends of the blade shaft have axially coaxial first and second sliding grooves. The first sliding groove near the air compressor end is a through hole that runs through both directions, and the second sliding groove at the other end is a blind hole with a single-sided opening. An axially movable rack is installed between the first and second sliding grooves.

[0020] The rack has a tenon on its back, and the inner wall of the blade shaft has a third groove. The tenon on the back of the rack is installed in the third groove, which serves to fix the rack radially and axially, and also serves to guide it axially.

[0021] A spring is installed in the second slide groove, with its two ends abutting against the rack and the bottom of the second slide groove, respectively. The rack has a first rack and a second rack on its upper surface and side, respectively.

[0022] The blade shaft is equipped with two rows of first blades and second blades that pass through the blade shaft laterally and longitudinally, respectively. Both the first blades and the second blades are equipped with gear rods and blades at the ends of the gear rods. Both the first blades and the second blades are sealed and radially penetrate the blade shaft. The gear rods of the first blades and the second blades mesh with the first rack and the second rack, respectively.

[0023] By controlling the air compressor to supply compressed gas, the rack moves axially, which in turn drives the first and second blades on the blade shaft to rotate synchronously.

[0024] Furthermore, the first blade and the second blade are offset from each other in axial position;

[0025] Both the first and second propeller blades have blades only at one end of the gear shaft. The blades of the first and second propeller blades are arranged in an alternating pattern, with the blades of two adjacent first and second propeller blades respectively located at the two ends of the corresponding gear shaft.

[0026] Furthermore, one end of the blade shaft is connected to the drive system via a universal adjustment system. The universal adjustment system includes a housing and a universal joint drive shaft located inside the housing. The housing is connected to the interior of the conditioner body.

[0027] The universal joint drive shaft is equipped with a first universal joint, a second universal joint, and a third universal joint that are hinged in sequence. The first universal joint is connected to the drive system at the top of the housing through the drive shaft, and the third universal joint is connected to the blade shaft for transmission.

[0028] The first universal joint is equipped with fan blades. The first universal joint drives the fan blades to rotate, generating airflow to prevent material leakage.

[0029] Furthermore, the material to be crushed is a live black soldier fly. Freezing treatment makes the chitinous outer skin of the black soldier fly brittle and hard, which facilitates shearing and crushing by the crushing device.

[0030] Furthermore, a spiral auger is provided at one end of the blade shaft near the rotary joint, and the connection ports of the hot air pipe, slurry addition pipe and conditioner body are located on the rear side of the spiral auger.

[0031] A feed conditioning method based on the above-mentioned feed conditioning equipment includes the following steps:

[0032] Compressed air is introduced into the vortex tube device, and high-temperature gas and low-temperature gas are output from the high-temperature gas outlet and the low-temperature gas outlet, respectively.

[0033] The material to be crushed is frozen using low-temperature gas, which makes its outer chitinous layer brittle.

[0034] The frozen material to be crushed is rotary crushed to form a slurry;

[0035] The slurry is pumped to the conditioner unit by a liquid pump. The feed silo is fed into the conditioner body through the feed inlet. High-temperature gas is mixed with atomized water vapor to form saturated steam, which is then introduced into the conditioner unit. The feed raw materials, slurry mixture, and saturated steam are mixed and stirred to generate feed and output.

[0036] Automated conditioning control is achieved by real-time monitoring of the output feed temperature, adjusting the input of saturated steam based on feedback, and adjusting the angle of the paddle blades.

[0037] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0038] 1) This invention relies on a vortex tube device to achieve energy separation and reuse. A single machine can simultaneously generate high-temperature gas and low-temperature gas. The high-temperature gas is mixed with atomized water vapor to directly generate saturated steam for use in the conditioner device, while the low-temperature gas is used for the freezing treatment of the material to be pulverized. The slurry obtained from pulverization can be directly used in the conditioner system, thereby eliminating the need for steam boilers and independent liquid addition pipelines required in traditional feed processing production lines, significantly reducing the initial equipment investment costs for enterprises. During the production and operation phase, only compressed air is required to meet the needs of freezing, pulverization, steam preparation, and conditioning. Compared with the traditional boiler-dependent mode, energy consumption is significantly reduced, while pollutants and carbon emissions are reduced, meeting the requirements of green production.

[0039] 2) This invention integrates multiple processes such as freezing, crushing, slurry addition, saturated steam addition and conditioning into one, achieving seamless process connection; the feed outlet temperature is detected in real time by the material temperature sensor and the saturated steam input is adjusted accordingly, and combined with the online dynamic adjustment of the blade angle, a fully automated closed-loop control is formed, which does not require manual intervention, thereby improving production efficiency and conditioning consistency.

[0040] 3) For materials that are difficult to crush, such as live black soldier fly larvae, low-temperature gas freezing is used to make the chitinous outer skin brittle and hard. Combined with the rotary shearing of the crushing device and the extrusion of the pressing plate, a "shearing + extrusion" compound crushing mode is achieved to ensure uniform particle size of the slurry. The slurry is directly transported to the conditioner device and mixed synchronously with the material to be conditioned, reducing the loss of nutrients in the transportation process and improving the nutrient retention rate of the feed.

[0041] 4) The conditioner unit adopts a universal adjustment system to drive and suspend the blade shaft. On the one hand, it realizes the conversion of vertical power to horizontal power, and on the other hand, it replaces the traditional shaft end bearing and sealing device, simplifying the equipment structure and reducing maintenance difficulty and operation and maintenance costs. At the same time, the fan blades on the first universal joint generate airflow to block material leakage, further improving the equipment's sealing performance and operational reliability. Attached Figure Description

[0042] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0043] Figure 1 This is an overall structural diagram of the feed conditioning equipment of the present invention;

[0044] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the cold air end of the vortex tube device;

[0045] Figure 3 A schematic diagram showing the connection of the vortex tube device to the pulverizing device at the cold gas end;

[0046] Figure 4 A schematic diagram showing the connection of the vortex tube device to the pulverizing device at the cold gas end;

[0047] Figure 5 This is an external view of the crushing device;

[0048] Figure 6 This is a cross-sectional view of the internal structure of the crushing device;

[0049] Figure 7 This is a 3D view of the pulverizing disc;

[0050] Figure 8 A half-sectional schematic diagram of the conditioner device;

[0051] Figure 9 This is a cross-sectional view of the conditioner unit;

[0052] Figure 10 This is a structural diagram of the universal joint drive shaft;

[0053] Figure 11 This is a schematic diagram of a half-section of the blade shaft;

[0054] Figure 12 for Figure 11 Enlarged view of point A in the middle;

[0055] Figure 13 A schematic diagram of a single propeller blade;

[0056] Figure 14 This is a schematic diagram of the blade shaft, rack, and the first and second blades that radially penetrate the blade shaft. Detailed Implementation

[0057] In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a more thorough understanding of the invention. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention can be practiced without one or more of these details. In other instances, certain technical features well-known in the art have not been described in order to avoid obscuring the invention.

[0058] To fully understand this invention, detailed steps and structures will be presented in the following description to illustrate the technical solution of this invention. Preferred embodiments of the invention are described in detail below; however, in addition to these detailed descriptions, the invention may have other embodiments.

[0059] Reference Figure 1 As shown, the present invention provides a feed conditioning device, including a vortex tube device 100, a crushing device 200, a conditioner device 300, and a liquid pump.

[0060] The vortex tube device 100 is equipped with a high-temperature gas outlet 101 and a low-temperature gas outlet 102 for generating high-temperature gas at 127°C and low-temperature gas at -46°C, respectively. The high-temperature gas outlet 101 and the low-temperature gas outlet 102 are connected to the pulverizing device 200 and the conditioning device 300, respectively. The low-temperature gas is introduced into the pulverizing device 200 to freeze the material to be pulverized. The high-temperature gas mixes with atomized water vapor to form saturated steam, which is then introduced into the conditioning device 300. The saturated steam in the conditioning device 300 serves as a heat source and water vapor source for heating the raw materials and replenishing moisture in the conditioning device.

[0061] The crushing device 200 is used to crush the frozen material into a slurry. The liquid pump delivers the slurry to the conditioner device 300, where it is mixed with the material to be conditioned and saturated steam to produce feed.

[0062] The conditioner device 300 includes a tubular conditioner body 301, a hot air pipe 302, a water vapor pipe 303, a slurry addition pipe 304, a material temperature sensor 305, a blade shaft 306, blades 307, and a drive system 308.

[0063] One end of the conditioner body 301 is provided with a feed inlet 309 connected to the silo. The silo feeds feed raw materials (such as corn) into the conditioner body 301 through the feed inlet 309. The other end of the conditioner body 301 has a feed outlet on the bottom side wall for discharging feed. The feed outlet is provided with a feed temperature sensor 305.

[0064] The two ends of the hot gas pipe 302 are connected to one side wall of the conditioner body 301 and the high-temperature gas outlet 101. The hot gas pipe 302 is also connected to the high-pressure atomizing nozzle at the end of the water vapor pipe 303, which is used to mix the high-temperature gas with the atomized water vapor to form saturated steam and pass it into the conditioner body 301.

[0065] The two ends of the slurry addition pipe 304 are connected to a liquid pump and a conditioner body 301, respectively. The liquid pump delivers the slurry pulverized by the pulverizing device 200 to the conditioner body 301 through the slurry addition pipe 304. A hollow blade shaft 306 is located inside the conditioner body 301. One end of the blade shaft 306 is connected to the drive system 308, which drives the blade shaft 306 to rotate around the shaft. The blade shaft 306 is equipped with several blades with adjustable angles.

[0066] In an optional embodiment, the vortex tube device 100 includes a vortex tube body 103. The vortex tube body 103 is provided with a compressed air inlet 104 connected to a compressor. The compressed air inlet 104 is provided with a pressure regulating valve, the pressure control range of which is 0.6-0.8 MPa. A high-temperature gas outlet 101 and a low-temperature gas outlet 102 are respectively located at both ends of the vortex tube body 103. The low-temperature gas outlet 102 is divided into four branches through four steam drum connecting pipes 105. The other end of each steam drum connecting pipe 105 is connected to the inside of a cold gas jacketed tank 201. The inner and outer walls of the cold gas jacketed tank 201 are provided with several through holes that are respectively connected to each steam drum connecting pipe. The bottom of the cold gas jacketed tank 201 is fixedly connected to the crushing device 200, and a feed hopper 202 is installed on the top of the cold gas jacketed tank 201. The through-hole of the cold air jacket tank 201 is inclined downward, which can better achieve rapid freezing treatment of black soldier flies fed into the feed hopper 202.

[0067] In an optional embodiment, the pulverizing device 200 includes a pulverizer base 203, a drive motor 204, a coupling 205, a bevel gear transmission component 206, and a pulverizing assembly 207. The drive motor 204 is mounted on the pulverizer base 203, and transmits power to the bevel gear transmission component 206 through the coupling 205. The bevel gear transmission component 206 converts the horizontal power into vertical power to drive the pulverizing assembly 207 to rotate.

[0068] The crushing assembly 207 includes a perforated base plate 208, a crushing disc 209, a clamping disc 210, a clamping block 211, a clamping top plate 212, a guide rod 213, and a reciprocating cylinder 214. The crushing disc 209 is mounted on the perforated base plate 208 and is connected to the bevel gear transmission component 206. The edge of the crushing disc 209 is integrally formed with an upwardly protruding retaining ring 216. The base plate of the crushing disc 209 is provided with several slurry outlets 215 and the upper surface is provided with a vortex-shaped protrusion 217. The clamping disc 210 and the clamping top plate 214 are also included. All 12 are annular. The top pressing plate 212 is sealed to the bottom of the cold air jacket tank 201 through a corrugated pipe. The pressing plate 210 is floating up and down in the area of ​​the retaining ring 216. The top of the pressing plate 210 is fixedly connected to the top pressing plate 212 through the clamping block 211. The reciprocating cylinder 214 is installed between the top pressing plate 212 and the hollow bottom plate 208. The reciprocating cylinder 214 drives the pressing plate 210 to move up and down axially. Multiple guide rods 213 are arranged axially between the top pressing plate 212 and the hollow bottom plate 208.

[0069] Preferably, the minimum grinding gap between the grinding disc 209 and the pressing disc 210 is 0.5-1mm, and the stroke of the reciprocating cylinder 214 is 5-10mm.

[0070] The working process of the crushing device 200 is as follows:

[0071] After the drive motor 204 starts, it transmits power to the bevel gear transmission component 206 through the coupling 205. The bevel gear transmission component 206 converts the horizontal power into vertical power, driving the crushing disc 209 in the crushing assembly 207 to rotate at high speed.

[0072] The material to be crushed (preferably live black soldier fly larvae) is fed into the feed hopper 202 at the top of the cold air jacket tank 201. Under the action of low-temperature gas, it is rapidly frozen and loses its activity, and the chitinous outer skin becomes brittle and hard. Then, under the combined action of gravity and the downward pressure of the cold air, it enters the grinding area between the crushing disc 209 and the pressing disc 210. Under the centrifugal force generated by the high-speed rotation of the crushing disc 209 and the action of the vortex-shaped protrusions, the material is quickly drawn into the grinding gap. At the same time, the reciprocating cylinder 214 drives the pressing top plate 212 and the pressing disc 210 to move up and down axially along the guide rod 213. Under the squeezing action of the pressing disc 210 and the shearing, impact, and grinding action of the crushing disc 209, the material is crushed and squeezed into a slurry.

[0073] The slurry flows through the slurry outlet 215 at the bottom of the crushing disc 209 into the slurry collection tank 220 below, and is then pumped to the conditioner device 300 by a liquid pump.

[0074] The bottom of the crushing component 207 is connected to the slurry collection tank 220, and the slurry collection tank is connected to the liquid pump.

[0075] In an optional embodiment, the two ends of the impeller shaft 306 are fixed with axial shaft heads 3061 that rotatably engage with the conditioner body 301; one end of the impeller shaft 306 is provided with an opening and connected to the air compressor through a rotary joint 313, and the other end of the impeller shaft 306 is provided with a closed inner wall. The two ends of the impeller shaft 306 are provided with axially coaxial sliding grooves. The first sliding groove 3062 near the air compressor end is a through hole that passes through in both directions, and the second sliding groove 3063 at the other end is a blind hole with a single-sided opening. An axially movable rack 310 is installed between the first sliding groove 3062 and the second sliding groove 3063. A spring 314 is installed in the second sliding groove 3063. The two ends of the spring 314 abut against the rack 310 and the bottom of the second sliding groove 3063, respectively. The upper surface and the side surface of the rack 310 are provided with a first rack 311 and a second rack 312, respectively. The rack has a tenon 315 on the back, which engages with the third groove 3011 on the inner wall of the blade shaft 306 (e.g., Figure 14 As shown, the rack 310 is fixed in the axial and radial directions, and the rack 310 is provided with axial guidance.

[0076] Two rows of first blades 320 and second blades 330 are mounted on the blade shaft 306, respectively, with the first blade 320 passing through the blade shaft 306 laterally and the second blade 330 passing through the blade shaft 306 longitudinally. Figure 12 (As shown). Both the first blade 320 and the second blade 330 are equipped with a gear rod 324 and blades 322 and a tail shaft 321 located at both ends of the gear rod 324. Figure 13 As shown), blade 322 and tail shaft 321 are both fixedly mounted on both ends of gear rod 324 by threads, as shown. Figure 13 As shown. Both the first blade 320 and the second blade 330 are sealed radially through the blade shaft 306, as... Figure 13 As shown, both blade 322 and tail shaft 321 are provided with a smooth section, which passes through the through hole of blade shaft 306 and is provided with a sealing ring in the through hole to prevent feed from entering the interior of blade shaft 306. The gear rod 324 of the first blade 320 and the second blade 330 are provided with tooth grooves, which mesh with the first rack 311 and the second rack 312 respectively.

[0077] By controlling the air compressor to supply compressed gas into the blade shaft 306, the rack 310 moves axially under the action of air pressure, thereby driving the first row of blades 320 and the second row of blades 330 on the blade shaft 306 to rotate synchronously.

[0078] In an optional embodiment, the first blade 320 and the second blade 330 are axially offset from each other. Further optionally, both the first blade 320 and the second blade 330 have blades 322 only at one end of the gear rod 324, and the blades 322 of a row of first blades 320 and a row of second blades 330 are arranged in an alternating pattern. The blades 322 of two adjacent first blades 320 and second blades 330 are respectively located at both ends of the corresponding gear rod 324, that is, the two blades 322 of two adjacent first blades 320 are respectively located at both ends.

[0079] This invention features a unique design where the first and second blades are axially staggered and employ a staggered, single-sided blade distribution (i.e., each gear shaft has a blade at only one end, with adjacent blades located on opposite sides of the gear shaft, forming an alternating left-right arrangement). This optimizes the flow field characteristics within the conditioner. Compared to traditional symmetrical double-sided blades, this design effectively eliminates axial stirring blind spots and radial dead angles, preventing material stratification or localized accumulation. It ensures that the raw materials to be conditioned, saturated steam, and black soldier fly slurry undergo comprehensive and vigorous tumbling and mixing along the entire length of the cylinder, thereby significantly improving conditioning uniformity and consistency, promoting thorough starch gelatinization and protein denaturation, and maximizing nutrient retention. Simultaneously, the staggered single-sided arrangement generates a "push-pull" axial thrust that enhances the continuous forward flow of materials, preventing clogging by sticky feed and improving production throughput. The lighter blades and smaller moment of inertia not only reduce the energy consumption and load of the drive system but also facilitate precise online angle synchronization adjustments by the pneumatic mechanism, adapting to the characteristics of different raw materials and process requirements.

[0080] In an optional embodiment, a spiral auger 3064 is provided at one end of the paddle shaft 306 near the rotary joint 313. The connection ports of the hot air pipe 302, the slurry addition pipe 304, and the conditioner body 301 are located at the rear side of the spiral auger 3064. The continuously rotating spiral auger 3064 conveys the feed raw materials fed in through the inlet to the rear end, while preventing the high-temperature saturated steam conveyed by the hot air pipe 302 from directly impacting the feed raw materials at the inlet, causing local overheating or raw material agglomeration, thus ensuring uniform heating and smooth conveying of the feed raw materials within the conditioner body 301. The design of the spiral auger 3064 also increases the residence time of the material in the conditioner, making the conditioning process more thorough and further improving the conditioning quality of the feed.

[0081] In an optional embodiment, one end of the blade shaft 306 is connected to the drive system 308 via a universal adjustment system 340. The universal adjustment system 340 includes a housing 341 and a universal joint drive shaft disposed within the housing 341. The housing 341 is internally connected to the conditioner body 301. The universal joint drive shaft is provided with a first universal joint 342, a second universal joint 343, and a third universal joint 344 that are sequentially hinged. Both ends of the second universal joint 343 are connected to the first universal joint 342 and the third universal joint 344 respectively via cross joints 346.

[0082] The first universal joint 342 is connected to the drive system 308 on the top of the housing 341 via a drive shaft, and the third universal joint 344 is connected to the blade shaft 306 via a drive shaft. A fan blade 345 is mounted on the first universal joint 342. The first universal joint 342 drives the fan blade 345 to rotate, generating airflow to prevent material leakage. The fan blade 345 is assembled at the end of the first universal joint 342 and generates directional airflow with the synchronous rotation of the first universal joint 342. This airflow blows directly onto the end plate of the device. Under the action of the airflow, a stable air pressure field is formed in the gap between the third universal joint 344 and the top end plate of the housing 341. The air pressure blocking effect effectively reduces the risk of material leakage during the conditioning process and ensures the sealing of the equipment operation.

[0083] The working process of the conditioner device 300 is as follows:

[0084] The 127°C high-temperature gas output from the high-temperature gas outlet 101 of the vortex tube device 100 is transported through the hot gas pipe 302 and fully mixed with the atomized water vapor introduced by the high-pressure atomizing nozzle at the end of the water vapor pipe 303 to form saturated steam, which is directly introduced into the conditioner body 301 to provide heat and moisture for the material to be conditioned. At the same time, the feed hopper transports feed raw materials to the conditioner body 301 through the feed inlet 309, and the liquid pump synchronously transports the pulverized slurry to the conditioner body 301 through the slurry addition pipe 304.

[0085] The power output from the drive system 308 is transmitted to the blade shaft 306 through the universal adjustment system 340, causing the blade shaft 306 to rotate horizontally. During rotation, the first blade 320 and the second blade 330 thoroughly stir and mix the material, saturated steam, and slurry. The first universal joint 342 synchronously drives the fan blade 345 to rotate, generating a directional airflow that blows towards the end of the conditioner body 301, forming a pressure field to prevent material leakage.

[0086] When the mixing effect needs to be adjusted, compressed gas is introduced into the impeller shaft 306 through the rotary joint 313. The gas pressure pushes the rack 310 to overcome the elastic force of the spring 314, causing axial movement. The first rack 311 and the second rack 312 on the rack 310 drive the corresponding gear rod 324 to rotate, so that the first row of impeller blades 320 and the second row of impeller blades 330 adjust their angles synchronously to adapt to the mixing requirements of different materials. The material temperature sensor 305 detects the material temperature at the feed outlet in real time and feeds back the signal to regulate the saturated steam input and the impeller blade angle, realizing automated conditioning control.

[0087] In an optional embodiment, the material to be crushed is a live black soldier fly. Freezing treatment makes the chitinous outer skin of the black soldier fly brittle and hard, which facilitates shearing and crushing by the crushing device 200.

[0088] The conditioning process based on the above-mentioned feed conditioning equipment specifically includes the following steps:

[0089] Compressed air is introduced into the vortex tube device 100, and high-temperature gas outlet 101 and low-temperature gas outlet 102 output high-temperature gas and low-temperature gas respectively.

[0090] The material to be crushed is frozen using low-temperature gas, which makes its outer chitinous layer brittle.

[0091] The frozen material to be crushed is rotary crushed to form a slurry;

[0092] High-temperature gas is mixed with atomized water vapor to form saturated steam, which is then introduced into the conditioner device 300. The slurry is then pumped into the conditioner device 300, where it is mixed and stirred with the material to be conditioned and the saturated steam to generate feed, which is then output.

[0093] Automated conditioning control is achieved by real-time monitoring of the output feed temperature, adjusting the input of saturated steam based on feedback, and adjusting the angle of the paddle blades.

[0094] The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above. It should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, and the devices and structures not described in detail should be understood as being implemented in a conventional manner in the art. Any person skilled in the art can make many possible variations and modifications to the technical solutions of the present invention using the methods and techniques disclosed above, or modify them into equivalent embodiments with equivalent changes, without departing from the scope of the present invention. This does not affect the essential content of the present invention. Therefore, any simple modifications, equivalent changes, and modifications made to the above embodiments based on the technical essence of the present invention without departing from the content of the present invention's technical solutions still fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A feed conditioning device, characterized in that, Includes vortex tube device, crushing device, conditioner device, and liquid pump; The vortex tube device is equipped with a high-temperature gas outlet and a low-temperature gas outlet for generating high-temperature gas and low-temperature gas respectively. The high-temperature gas outlet and the low-temperature gas outlet are respectively connected to the pulverizing device and the conditioning device. The low-temperature gas is introduced into the pulverizing device to freeze the material to be pulverized in the pulverizing device. The high-temperature gas is mixed with atomized water vapor to form saturated steam and introduced into the conditioning device. The crushing device is used to crush the frozen material into a slurry. The liquid pump delivers the slurry to the conditioner device, where it is mixed with the material to be conditioned and saturated steam for conditioning to produce feed. The conditioner device includes a tubular conditioner body, hot air pipes, steam pipes, slurry addition pipes, material temperature sensors, blade shafts, blades, and a drive system. One end of the conditioner body is provided with a feed inlet connected to the hopper, and the bottom side wall of the other end of the conditioner body is provided with a feed outlet for discharging feed. The feed outlet is equipped with a feed temperature sensor. The two ends of the hot gas pipe are connected to the side wall of one end of the conditioner body and the high-temperature gas outlet of the vortex tube. The hot gas pipe is also connected to the high-pressure atomizing nozzle at the end of the water vapor pipe, which is used to mix the high-temperature gas with the atomized water vapor to form saturated steam and pass it into the conditioner body. The two ends of the slurry addition pipe are connected to the liquid pump and the conditioner body, which are used to transport the slurry into the conditioner body. The hollow blade shaft is located in the conditioner body. One end of the blade shaft is connected to the drive system, which drives the blade shaft to rotate around the shaft. The blade shaft is equipped with several blades with adjustable angles.

2. The feed conditioning equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, The vortex tube device includes a vortex tube body, which is provided with a compressed air inlet connected to a compressor. The compressed air inlet is equipped with a pressure regulating valve, and the pressure control range of the pressure regulating valve is 0.6-0.8MPa. High-temperature gas outlet and low-temperature gas outlet are respectively located at both ends of the vortex tube body. The low-temperature gas outlet is divided into multiple branches through the steam drum connecting pipe. The other end of each steam drum connecting pipe is connected to the inside of a cold gas jacket tank. The inner and outer walls of the cold gas jacket tank are provided with several through holes that are respectively connected to each steam drum connecting pipe. The bottom of the cold air jacketed tank is fixedly connected to the top of the crushing device, and a feed hopper is installed on the top of the cold air jacketed tank.

3. The feed conditioning equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, The crushing device includes a crusher base, a drive motor, a coupling, a bevel gear transmission component, and a crushing assembly; The drive motor is mounted on the crusher base. The drive motor transmits power to the bevel gear transmission component through a coupling. The bevel gear transmission component converts the horizontal power into vertical power to drive the crushing component to rotate. The pulverizing assembly includes a perforated base plate, a pulverizing disc, a pressing disc, a clamping block, a pressing top plate, guide rods, and a reciprocating cylinder. The pulverizing disc is mounted on the perforated base plate and is connected to a bevel gear transmission component. The edge of the pulverizing disc is integrally formed with an upwardly protruding retaining ring. The base plate of the pulverizing disc has several slurry outlets and a vortex-shaped protrusion on its upper surface. The pressing disc and the pressing top plate are both annular. The pressing top plate is sealed to the bottom of the cold air jacket tank through a corrugated pipe. The pressing disc floats up and down within the retaining ring area. The top of the pressing disc is fixedly connected to the pressing top plate through a clamping block. The reciprocating cylinder is installed between the pressing top plate and the perforated base plate and drives the pressing disc to move axially up and down. Multiple guide rods are provided between the pressing top plate and the perforated base plate to provide axial guidance. The minimum grinding gap between the crushing disc and the pressing disc is 0.5-1mm, and the stroke of the reciprocating cylinder is 5-10mm; The crushing device is connected to the slurry collection tank, and the slurry collection tank is connected to the liquid pump.

4. The feed conditioning equipment according to claim 3, characterized in that, The blade shaft is fixed at both ends with axial shaft ends that are rotatably fitted to the conditioner body. One end of the blade shaft has an opening and is connected to the air compressor through a rotary joint. The other end of the blade shaft has a closed inner wall. The shaft ends at both ends of the blade shaft have axially coaxial first and second sliding grooves. The first sliding groove near the air compressor end is a through hole that runs through both directions, and the second sliding groove at the other end is a blind hole with a single-sided opening. An axially movable rack is installed between the first and second sliding grooves. The rack has a tenon on its back, and the inner wall of the blade shaft has a third groove. The tenon on the back of the rack is installed in the third groove, which serves to fix the rack radially and axially, and also serves to guide it axially. A spring is installed in the second slide groove, with its two ends abutting against the rack and the bottom of the second slide groove, respectively. The rack has a first rack and a second rack on its upper surface and side, respectively. The blade shaft is equipped with two rows of first blades and second blades that pass through the blade shaft laterally and longitudinally, respectively. Both the first blades and the second blades are equipped with gear rods and blades at the ends of the gear rods. Both the first blades and the second blades are sealed and radially penetrate the blade shaft. The gear rods of the first blades and the second blades mesh with the first rack and the second rack, respectively. By controlling the air compressor to supply compressed gas, the rack moves axially, which in turn drives the first and second blades on the blade shaft to rotate synchronously.

5. The feed conditioning equipment according to claim 4, characterized in that, The first blade and the second blade are offset from each other in axial position; Both the first and second propeller blades have blades only at one end of the gear shaft. The blades of the first and second propeller blades are arranged in an alternating pattern, with the blades of two adjacent first and second propeller blades respectively located at the two ends of the corresponding gear shaft.

6. The feed conditioning equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, One end of the blade shaft is connected to the drive system through a universal adjustment system. The universal adjustment system includes a housing and a universal joint drive shaft located inside the housing. The housing is connected to the interior of the conditioner body. The universal joint drive shaft is equipped with a first universal joint, a second universal joint, and a third universal joint that are hinged in sequence. The first universal joint is connected to the drive system at the top of the housing through the drive shaft, and the third universal joint is connected to the blade shaft for transmission. The first universal joint is equipped with fan blades. The first universal joint drives the fan blades to rotate, generating airflow to prevent material leakage.

7. The feed conditioning equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, The material to be crushed is live black soldier fly larvae. Freezing treatment makes the chitinous outer skin of the black soldier fly brittle and hard, which facilitates shearing and crushing by the crushing device.

8. The feed conditioning equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, A spiral auger is provided at one end of the blade shaft near the rotary joint, and the connection ports of the hot air pipe, slurry addition pipe and conditioner body are located on the rear side of the spiral auger.

9. A feed conditioning method based on the feed conditioning equipment according to any one of claims 1-8, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: Compressed air is introduced into the vortex tube device, and high-temperature gas and low-temperature gas are output from the high-temperature gas outlet and the low-temperature gas outlet, respectively. The material to be crushed is frozen using low-temperature gas, which makes its outer chitinous layer brittle. The frozen material to be crushed is rotary crushed to form a slurry; The slurry is pumped to the conditioner unit by a liquid pump. The feed silo is fed into the conditioner body through the feed inlet. High-temperature gas is mixed with atomized water vapor to form saturated steam, which is then introduced into the conditioner unit. The feed raw materials, slurry mixture, and saturated steam are mixed and stirred to generate feed and output. Automated conditioning control is achieved by real-time monitoring of the output feed temperature, adjusting the input of saturated steam based on feedback, and adjusting the angle of the paddle blades.

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