A kind of no-leak continuous feeding device and method based on double knife gate valve linkage

Abstract

The application discloses a kind of based on double knife gate valve linkage's no-leak continuous feeding device and method, belong to liquor brewing equipment technical field, adapt to horizontal high-pressure continuous steamed grain tank of horizontal plate chain conveying mechanism.The application aims at the problem that existing scheme cannot match the demand of horizontal continuous cooking, uneven distribution of material layer is prone to occur, gate valve high pressure difference opening and closing wear and leakage, adopts double-path parallel three-chamber double knife gate valve feeding and discharging structure, supports vertical tee type double valve pressure balance unit, centrally converging full-width distribution structure and built-in reversing distribution structure are arranged in tank.The application can realize continuous feeding and discharging without interruption under pressure condition, ensure that plate chain material layer is uniform, realize zero pressure difference opening and closing of knife gate valve, greatly improve equipment life and steamed grain process consistency.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the technical field of liquor brewing equipment, specifically relating to a horizontal pressurized pressure vessel solid material continuous conveying device, which is particularly suitable for automated feeding and discharging operations in the high-pressure continuous grain steaming process of liquor with an internal horizontal plate chain conveying mechanism. Background Technology

[0002] Steaming grains is a core process in baijiu brewing, as the gelatinization effect of the grains directly determines the efficiency of subsequent saccharification and fermentation, the yield, and the flavor and quality of the liquor. Traditional intermittent still steaming has drawbacks such as low production efficiency, high labor intensity, and poor batch-to-batch process consistency, making it unsuitable for the large-scale and continuous production upgrade needs of the baijiu industry. The industry is gradually promoting horizontal high-pressure continuous grain steaming technology, which achieves continuous steaming of grains through a horizontal plate chain conveyor mechanism inside the tank. This allows for precise control of the steaming time of each grain, resulting in process consistency far superior to vertical grain steaming equipment.

[0003] The core challenge of horizontal continuous grain steaming technology lies in achieving continuous and stable feeding of high-moisture solid grains to the horizontally moving plate chain, and continuous and stable discharge of the cooked grain mash, without disrupting the sealed high-pressure saturated steam environment inside the tank. Currently, the mainstream solutions in the industry include rotary valve continuous feeding and a single-channel double-gate valve buffer structure. Rotary valve continuous feeding suffers from friction between the inner and outer walls, requiring a large amount of cooling water. Furthermore, the equipment has poor airtightness, easily losing high-pressure steam, leading to pressure instability and steam waste. The single-channel double-gate valve buffer structure isolates independent buffer chambers through upper and lower gate valves, enabling intermittent feeding under pressurized conditions. While this solution avoids the drawback of easy wear of the dynamic seal of traditional rotary valves, it is limited by the single-channel structure. It requires a complete loading-sealing-unloading cycle to start the next feeding, resulting in an inherent feeding interruption interval. This cannot match the uniform and continuous conveying requirements of horizontal plate chains, easily leading to gaps and uneven thickness of the material layer on the plate chain, ultimately causing inconsistent grain gelatinization and directly affecting the alcohol yield and the stability of the alcohol flavor. At the same time, the gate valve needs to be opened and closed directly under high pressure differential. The valve plate sealing surface is constantly eroded by high-speed steam and material particles, which can easily lead to sealing failure and steam leakage, resulting in high equipment maintenance frequency.

[0004] In summary, existing pressurized grain feeding and discharging solutions either cannot match the requirements of the horizontal continuous grain steaming process, or have poor structural adaptability, insufficient sealing reliability, and poor operating flexibility. They cannot simultaneously meet the core requirements of continuous production in the horizontal continuous grain steaming process for liquor. There is an urgent need for a solution that is compatible with horizontal plate chain conveyors, has a compact structure, reliable sealing, and can achieve undisturbed continuous feeding and discharging. Summary of the Invention

[0005] In view of this, the present invention proposes a leak-free continuous feeding device and method based on the linkage of double-knife gate valves, which aims to overcome the above-mentioned defects of the existing horizontal pressurized grain steaming feeding and discharging scheme. While matching the horizontal plate chain continuous cooking process and realizing uninterrupted continuous feeding and discharging of pressurized containers, it fundamentally solves the core problems of valve wear leakage, internal tank condition disturbance, and material layer segregation in the width direction of the plate chain.

[0006] The technical solution of this invention is implemented as follows: This invention provides a leak-free continuous feeding device based on the linkage of double-knife gate valves, including a horizontal pressure vessel body operating under pressure. The pressure vessel body is equipped with a horizontal plate chain conveyor mechanism for conveying grain. Two feeding ports are symmetrically opened on the left and right sides of the top front end of the pressure vessel body. Each feeding port is equipped with an independent feeding branch. The two feeding branches have the same structure and are redundant to each other, forming a dual-path parallel feeding unit. Each feeding branch is a vertical chamber structure arranged perpendicular to the tank body. A top knife gate valve and a bottom knife gate valve are arranged sequentially from top to bottom in the feeding branch, which isolates the feeding branch to form an upper chamber communicating with the atmosphere, a pressure-bearing middle chamber buffer hopper, and a lower chamber communicating with the inner cavity of the pressure vessel body. The top knife gate valve and the bottom knife gate valve are both planar hard-seal knife gate valves. The sealing surface of the valve plate is in plane contact with the sealing surface of the connecting flange of the corresponding chamber, which is used to isolate adjacent chambers.

[0007] In some embodiments, two discharge ports are symmetrically opened at the bottom rear end of the pressure vessel body. Each discharge port is equipped with an independent discharge branch. The two discharge branches have the same structure and are redundant to each other, forming a dual-path parallel discharge unit. Each discharge branch is mirror-symmetrical to the feed branch and is a vertical chamber structure. A second top knife gate valve and a second bottom knife gate valve are arranged sequentially from top to bottom in the discharge branch to isolate the discharge branch and form a second upper chamber connected to the corresponding discharge port, a second pressure-bearing middle chamber buffer hopper, and a second lower chamber connected to the outside atmosphere.

[0008] With a dual-path, three-chamber discharge structure mirroring the feeding unit, it forms a complete continuous feeding and discharging closed loop with the feeding unit, perfectly matching the continuous and uniform discharge requirements of the horizontal plate chain. The two branches are redundant backups for each other, enabling maintenance without stopping the machine. At the same time, the chamber structure is consistent with that of the feeding branch, ensuring that the discharge process can also achieve zero pressure difference opening and closing, avoiding pressure fluctuations inside the tank and backflow of external air into the grain mash during discharge switching. Moreover, the structure is uniform and standardized, which facilitates the installation and maintenance of the production line.

[0009] In some embodiments, each feed branch is equipped with an independent feed pressure balancing unit; the feed pressure balancing unit includes a vertically arranged balancing main pipe, a central cavity branch pipe, a tank-side balancing valve, and an atmospheric balancing valve; the balancing main pipe is arranged parallel to the feed branch, its top end is connected to the atmosphere through the atmospheric balancing valve, and its bottom end is connected to the internal cavity of the pressure vessel body through the tank-side balancing valve; one end of the central cavity branch pipe is connected to the balancing main pipe section between the tank-side balancing valve and the atmospheric balancing valve, and the other end is connected to the pressure-bearing central cavity buffer hopper of the corresponding feed branch.

[0010] The single vertical balancing main pipe integrates two control paths, reducing pipe welding points and potential leakage risks by 50% compared to the existing dual independent branch pipe structure. At the same time, the vertically arranged pipe is parallel to the feed branch, which is suitable for the top installation space of the horizontal tank and allows condensate to drain naturally downwards without any dead zones. This completely solves the problem of easy liquid accumulation and backflow in the horizontal balancing pipe under horizontal working conditions. The tank-side balancing valve and the atmospheric balancing valve are respectively arranged at the upper and lower ends of the balancing main pipe, forming a natural isolation from the physical structure. This greatly reduces the risk of direct leakage of high-pressure steam from the tank when both valves are opened at the same time.

[0011] In some embodiments, each discharge branch is equipped with an independent discharge pressure balancing unit; the discharge pressure balancing unit has the same structure as the feed pressure balancing unit, including a vertically arranged second balancing main pipe, a second intermediate cavity branch pipe, a second tank-side balancing valve, and a second atmospheric side balancing valve; the second balancing main pipe is arranged parallel to the discharge branch, its top end is connected to the atmosphere through the second atmospheric side balancing valve, and its bottom end is connected to the inner cavity of the pressure vessel body through the second tank-side balancing valve; one end of the second intermediate cavity branch pipe is connected to the second balancing main pipe section between the second tank-side balancing valve and the second atmospheric side balancing valve, and the other end is connected to the second pressure-bearing intermediate cavity buffer hopper of the corresponding discharge branch.

[0012] By using a vertical three-way balancing structure consistent with the structure of the feed pressure balancing unit, it is ensured that during the discharge process, the second pressure-bearing buffer hopper can first achieve pressure equalization with the pressure vessel before opening the feed gate valve, avoiding high-pressure steam splashing and backflow of outside air during discharge switching. At the same time, the zero-pressure differential opening and closing design greatly extends the service life of the discharge side gate valve, forming a leak-free working condition guarantee throughout the entire process with the feed unit. Moreover, the unified structure reduces the cost of equipment spare parts and the difficulty of maintenance.

[0013] There are serious adaptation defects in the dual-path parallel feeding scheme: dual-path dual-side feeding easily leads to segregation problems in the width direction of the plate chain, with the material layer being thick on both sides and thin in the middle, and uneven steam penetration, which in turn aggravates the fluctuation of gelatinization degree.

[0014] In some embodiments, a uniform feeding unit is provided at the front end of the inner cavity of the pressure vessel body, located directly below the two feeding ports and directly above the horizontal plate chain conveyor mechanism; the uniform feeding unit includes a Y-shaped symmetrical manifold and a vibrating screen assembly; the two feeding ports of the Y-shaped symmetrical manifold are connected to the bottom ends of the two feeding ports one by one, the manifold is arranged vertically downward, and the outlet is directly opposite the horizontal central axis of the horizontal plate chain conveyor mechanism; the vibrating screen assembly is horizontally installed directly below the outlet of the manifold, the screen surface extends along the full width of the horizontal plate chain conveyor mechanism, and is fixed to the inner wall of the pressure vessel body by spring damping supports.

[0015] By using a Y-shaped symmetrical manifold, the materials from two symmetrically arranged feed branches are uniformly collected above the central axis of the plate chain, completely solving the problem of material layer segregation in the width direction of the plate chain caused by dual-path, dual-side feeding. In conjunction with a vibrating screen assembly extending along the full width of the plate chain, it can break up the clumps of soaked wet grains during the material's descent, while evenly dispersing the centrally falling material across the entire width of the plate chain, ensuring a uniform material layer thickness on the plate chain. This allows saturated steam in the tank to penetrate the material layer evenly, achieving synchronous gelatinization of grains across the entire width. This perfectly adapts to the process requirements of horizontal plug flow continuous cooking and forms a synergistic fit with the dual-path feeding structure.

[0016] The external reversing structure in the discharge stage cannot be directly adapted to the continuous material dropping at the end of the plate chain, which is prone to material interruption and overflow. In addition, the external pressurized pipeline structure is complex and has many leakage points.

[0017] In some embodiments, the rear end of the inner cavity of the pressure vessel body is provided with a discharge reversing and distributing unit, located directly below the end discharge port of the horizontal plate chain conveyor and directly above the two discharge ports; the discharge reversing and distributing unit is an inverted Y-type full-bore reversing and distributing valve, the inlet of the reversing and distributing valve is directly opposite the end discharge port of the horizontal plate chain conveyor, and the two discharge ports are respectively connected to the top of the two discharge ports one by one.

[0018] The reversing distribution valve is built into the tank, which can directly receive the continuously falling cooked grain mash from the end of the plate chain. There is no need for complicated pressurized reversing pipelines outside the tank, which reduces leakage points and avoids the problem of pressurized dynamic sealing that needs to be solved when reversing outside the tank. The inverted Y-shaped full-bore structure can achieve seamless switching of the discharge branch, perfectly matching the continuous discharge requirements of the plate chain, avoiding material interruption and overflow problems during the switching process. It works in synergy with the three-chamber discharge branch to achieve uninterrupted continuous discharge under pressurized conditions.

[0019] In some embodiments, the tank-side balancing valve and the atmospheric-side balancing valve are equipped with a mechanical interlocking mechanism. The mechanical interlocking mechanism includes a linkage lever hinged in the middle and two limiting blocks respectively fixed on the valve stems of the two balancing valves. The two ends of the linkage lever cooperate with the two limiting blocks respectively to prevent the two balancing valves from opening simultaneously. A food-grade sintered mesh filter is provided at the connection port between the main balancing pipe and the middle cavity branch pipe, and a condensate drain valve is provided at the bottom end of the main balancing pipe.

[0020] The mechanical interlock mechanism is the preferred solution, which can eliminate the risk of two balancing valves opening simultaneously from a hardware perspective, avoid gas leakage caused by human error or electrical control failure, and is suitable for automated continuous production. At the same time, it retains the basic ability of individual valve control, and the interlock mechanism can be removed to achieve individual manual control, which is suitable for special conditions such as debugging and emergency maintenance, balancing safety and flexibility. The sintered mesh filter can intercept grains and dust from entering the balancing pipeline, preventing valve jamming, and the condensate drain valve can promptly discharge condensate in the pipeline, further improving the stability of system operation.

[0021] In some embodiments, the inner wall of the second pressure-bearing buffer hopper of the discharge branch is coated with a food-grade PTFE anti-stick coating; the valve core of the reversing distribution valve is integrally provided with a shearing blade, and both the valve core and the inner wall of the valve body are coated with a food-grade PTFE anti-stick coating.

[0022] Principle Analysis: The food-grade anti-stick coating can effectively reduce the adhesion between the highly moist and viscous cooked grain mash and the cavity wall and valve core, ensuring that the grain mash falls smoothly under gravity and avoiding problems such as sticking to the wall and bridging. The shearing blade on the valve core can cut off the clumps of grain mash during the reversing process, preventing the valve core from jamming. At the same time, the anti-stick coating can reduce grain mash residue, meet the food-grade safety requirements of liquor brewing, and reduce the frequency of equipment cleaning and maintenance.

[0023] This invention also provides a leak-free continuous feeding and discharging method based on the linkage of a double-knife gate valve, implemented using the aforementioned leak-free continuous feeding device based on the linkage of a double-knife gate valve, comprising the following steps: S1 Dual-path alternating continuous feeding: The horizontal pressure vessel body is fed alternately through two sets of parallel feeding branches. Each set of feeding branches performs four stages in a single cycle: atmospheric pressure loading, pre-pressure balancing, stable feeding, and pressure relief reset. The two sets of feeding branches adopt an overlapping pre-preparation mode to achieve uninterrupted continuous feeding throughout the process, matching the uniform conveying requirements of the horizontal plate chain conveyor mechanism inside the tank. S2 Feed Pressure Balance Control: When the feed branch performs pre-pressure balance, first close the atmospheric balance valve, then slowly open the tank-side balance valve to allow the saturated steam in the pressure vessel body to enter the pressure-bearing intermediate cavity buffer hopper through the vertical balance main pipe and the intermediate cavity branch pipe until the pressure difference reaches the preset safety threshold; when the feed branch performs pressure relief reset, first close the tank-side balance valve, then slowly open the atmospheric balance valve to release the pressure in the pressure-bearing intermediate cavity buffer hopper to atmospheric pressure, ensuring that all knife gate valves are opened and closed under zero pressure difference conditions; S3 Uniform feeding and distribution: The material output from the two sets of feeding branches is collected above the central axis of the plate chain through the Y-shaped symmetrical manifold in the tank, and then falls vertically to the vibrating screen assembly. The vibrating screen evenly distributes the material to the full width of the horizontal plate chain conveyor mechanism, avoiding material segregation. S4 Dual-path continuous discharge: Through the inverted Y-type reversing distribution valve inside the tank, the cooked grain mash continuously output by the horizontal plate chain conveyor is seamlessly switched to two sets of parallel discharge branches. Each set of discharge branches mirrors the cycle of the feed branch in a single cycle, achieving uninterrupted continuous discharge throughout the entire process. S5 Discharge Pressure Balance Control: When the discharge branch performs pre-pressure balance and pressure relief reset, the control logic consistent with that of the feed pressure balance unit ensures that the discharge side knife gate valves are opened and closed under zero pressure difference.

[0024] In some implementations, in step S1, the overlapping pre-preparation mode specifically means that while the first feeding branch starts to smoothly discharge material, the second feeding branch simultaneously starts to load and seal the process. 30 seconds before the first feeding branch finishes discharging material, the pre-pressure balance is completed so that the pressure difference between the pressure-bearing middle cavity buffer hopper and the pressure vessel body is ≤0.1 bar, and the vessel is in a state of waiting to discharge material. In step S4, before the reversing distribution valve performs the reversing action, the pre-pressure balance of the target discharge branch and the full opening verification of the second top knife gate valve must be completed. If the verification fails, reversing is prohibited.

[0025] Through the overlapping pre-preparation mode, millisecond-level seamless switching between two sets of feeding branches can be achieved, completely eliminating feeding interruption intervals. At the same time, it ensures that the target branch has completed pressure equalization before switching, and will not disturb the pressure conditions inside the tank during the switching process, perfectly matching the uniform and continuous conveying requirements of horizontal plate chain. Through the pre-verification logic of the reversing action, steam splashing and material leakage caused by reversing with differential pressure can be avoided, further ensuring the stability of the operating conditions during the discharge process.

[0026] The present invention has the following advantages over the prior art: This invention, through a dual-path parallel three-chamber double-knife gate valve structure, perfectly adapts to the horizontal continuous grain steaming process of a horizontal grain steaming tank, achieving uninterrupted continuous feeding and discharging under pressurized conditions. It solves the pain points of traditional rotary valves, such as high cooling water consumption and poor sealing, as well as the core pain point of single-channel solutions failing to meet the uniform speed conveying requirements of plate chains. The vertically arranged three-way dual-valve integrated pressure balance structure simplifies pipeline layout, reduces leakage points, and solves the problems of easy liquid accumulation and backflow in the balance pipe under horizontal conditions, while retaining the flexibility of individual valve control, thus balancing production safety and adaptability to different operating conditions. The centrally located and fully extended vibrating screen distribution structure inside the tank completely solves the problem of material layer segregation in the width direction of the plate chain in horizontal dual-feed systems, ensuring the consistency of grain cooking and gelatinization. Through the built-in reversing material distribution structure inside the tank, it directly adapts to the continuous material drop at the end of the plate chain, realizing seamless switching of the discharge branch. The overall structure is compact, and all parts in contact with the material meet food-grade safety requirements. While achieving undisturbed continuous feeding and discharging, it significantly improves the operational stability and service life of the device, providing reliable equipment support for the large-scale and automated upgrading of horizontal continuous grain steaming for liquor production. Attached Figure Description

[0027] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, 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.

[0028] Figure 1 This is a front view of the leak-free continuous feeding and discharging device based on the linkage of double-knife gate valves according to the present invention; Figure 2 This is a side view of the leak-free continuous feeding and discharging device based on the linkage of double-knife gate valves according to the present invention. Figure 3 This is a partial enlarged view of the feed branch section in the leak-free continuous feeding and discharging device based on the linkage of double-knife gate valves of the present invention; Figure 4 This is a partial enlarged view of the discharge branch section in the leak-free continuous feeding and discharging device based on the linkage of double-knife gate valves of the present invention; Figure 5 This is a side view of the feed branch section in the leak-free continuous feeding and discharging device based on the linkage of double-knife gate valves of the present invention. Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the uniform feeding and distributing unit in the leak-free continuous feeding and discharging device based on the linkage of double-knife gate valves of the present invention. Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the reversing distribution valve in the leak-free continuous feeding and discharging device based on the linkage of double-knife gate valves of the present invention.

[0029] In the diagram: 1-Pressure vessel body, 2-Feed branch (2), 3-Discharge branch, 4-Feed pressure balancing unit, 5-Discharge pressure balancing unit, 6-Feed uniform distribution unit, 7-Reversing distribution valve, 101-Feed interface, 102-Discharge interface, 201-Upper cavity, 202-Top gate valve, 203-Pressure-bearing intermediate cavity buffer hopper, 204-Bottom gate valve, 205-Lower cavity, 301-Second upper cavity, 302-Second top gate valve, 303-Second pressure-bearing intermediate cavity buffer hopper, 304 - Second bottom gate valve, 305-Second lower chamber, 401-Balance main pipe, 402-Middle chamber branch pipe, 403-Tank side balance valve, 404-Atmospheric side balance valve, 405-Food grade sintered mesh filter, 408-Condensate drain valve, 501-Second balance main pipe, 502-Second middle chamber branch pipe, 503-Second tank side balance valve, 504-Second atmospheric side balance valve, 601-Y-type symmetrical manifold, 602-With vibrating screen assembly, 603-Spring vibration damping support, 701-Shearing blade. Detailed Implementation

[0030] The technical solutions of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, and not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0031] This embodiment is designed for the horizontal high-pressure continuous grain steaming process in the brewing of strong-aroma baijiu (Chinese liquor). It is adapted to a horizontal continuous grain steaming tank with a saturated steam working pressure of 0.2~0.3MPa. The tank is equipped with a horizontal plate chain conveyor mechanism to realize the continuous horizontal flow of grain for steaming. It solves the core pain points of the existing single-channel intermittent feeding scheme that cannot meet the continuous production requirements of horizontal continuous grain steaming, the uneven distribution of material in the width direction of the plate chain due to dual-channel feeding, wear and leakage of gate valves due to high pressure differential opening and closing, and the easy misoperation and gas leakage of dual-valve balance pipeline.

[0032] I. Overall System Structure The leak-free continuous feeding device based on the linkage of double-knife gate valve described in this embodiment includes a pressure vessel body 1 for pressurized operation. The pressure vessel body 1 is a horizontal cylindrical pressure tank with a design pressure of 0.6 MPa and a working pressure of 0.25 MPa. A closed-loop plate chain conveying mechanism is set in the horizontal direction inside the tank to carry grains from the front end to the rear end of the tank at a uniform speed to complete the continuous cooking operation. Two feeding ports 101 are symmetrically opened on the left and right sides of the front end of the top of the tank, and two discharging ports 102 are symmetrically opened on the left and right sides of the rear end of the bottom of the tank. The two feeding ports 101 and the two discharging ports 102 are all located on the outside of the tank, corresponding to the matching dual-path parallel feeding unit and dual-path parallel discharging unit, respectively.

[0033] The dual-path parallel feeding unit includes two sets of independent feeding branches 2 with identical structures, symmetrical arrangement, and redundancy. The two sets of feeding branches 2 are respectively sealed and connected to two feeding interfaces 101 one by one. Each set of feeding branches 2 is a vertically penetrating cylindrical chamber structure, arranged perpendicular to the tank body. The inner cavity of the feeding branch 2 is fixedly installed with a top knife gate valve 202 and a bottom knife gate valve 204 at intervals from top to bottom. The top knife gate valve 202 and the bottom knife gate valve 204 divide the inner cavity of the feeding branch 2 from top to bottom to form an upper cavity 201, a pressure-bearing intermediate cavity buffer hopper 203, and a lower cavity 205. The top opening of the upper cavity 201 is connected to the outside atmosphere and is used to connect to the upstream quantitative feeding system. The bottom end of the lower cavity 205 is sealed and connected to the corresponding feeding interface 101 through a flange, and is always connected to the inner cavity of the pressure vessel body 1.

[0034] In this embodiment, both the top knife gate valve 202 and the bottom knife gate valve 204 are pneumatic flange-type planar hard-seal knife gate valves made of food-grade stainless steel, with a nominal pressure of PN16 and a sealing level of VI-level zero leakage standard. The valve plate sealing surface is in flat contact with the sealing surface of the connecting flange of the corresponding chamber, with no relative rotational friction, and only performs horizontal linear opening and closing actions, which can effectively isolate the pressure and medium of adjacent chambers, adapt to high-moisture grain conveying scenarios, and eliminate the risk of material jamming or sticking.

[0035] The dual-path parallel discharge unit and the dual-path parallel feed unit are arranged in a mirror-symmetric manner, including two sets of independent discharge branches 3 with completely identical structures, symmetrical arrangement, and redundancy. The two sets of discharge branches 3 are respectively sealed and connected to the two discharge ports 102 one by one to achieve continuous and uninterrupted discharge under pressurized conditions. Each set of feed branches 2 is equipped with an independent feed pressure balancing unit 4, and each set of discharge branches 3 is equipped with an independent discharge pressure balancing unit 5. The two have completely identical structural designs and are used to achieve pressure pre-balancing of the corresponding chambers to ensure that all gate valves are opened and closed under zero pressure difference. The inner side (inside the tank) of the feed port 101 of the pressure vessel body 1 is provided with a uniform feed distribution unit 6, which is used to achieve uniform distribution of dual-path feed in the width direction of the plate chain. Above the discharge port 102 of the pressure vessel body 1 (inside the tank) is a discharge reversing and distributing unit, located directly below the end discharge port of the plate chain conveyor mechanism, which is used to selectively guide the continuously output cooked grain mash of the plate chain to the corresponding discharge port 102.

[0036] II. Specific Implementation Structure and Working Principle of Core Functional Units 1. Dual-path parallel feeding unit In this embodiment, the two sets of feeding branches 2 are arranged vertically symmetrically with the horizontal central axis of the tank as the axis of symmetry. The upper cavity 201, the pressure-bearing middle cavity buffer hopper 203, and the lower cavity 205 of a single set of feeding branches 2 are coaxial integrated welded structures. The inner wall is made of food-grade 304 stainless steel, electrolytically polished, with a roughness Ra≤0.8μm, no dead corners, and meets the food-grade safety requirements for liquor brewing.

[0037] The effective volume of the pressure-bearing central cavity buffer hopper 203 is 1.2 times the single-cycle feeding capacity, which is suitable for a horizontal continuous grain steaming capacity of 20t / day. The single-cycle feeding capacity of a single branch is 100kg, and the cycle is 4min. The lower half of the central cavity buffer hopper is a 60° conical structure, which can ensure that the soaked high-moisture grains fall smoothly under the action of gravity without the risk of bridging or blockage.

[0038] The two sets of feeding branches 2 operate in an overlapping and alternating cycle. When one branch is in the feeding state, the other branch simultaneously completes the entire process of loading, sealing, and pre-pressure balancing, and is in the waiting-to-feed state, realizing uninterrupted continuous feeding throughout the entire process, completely solving the material interruption problem of the single-channel solution, and matching the continuous and uniform speed conveying requirements of the horizontal plate chain.

[0039] 2. Feed pressure balancing unit In this embodiment, the feed pressure balancing unit 4 matched with each feed branch 2 adopts a three-way integrated pipeline structure, and specifically comprises a main balancing pipe 401, a middle cavity branch pipe 402, a tank-side balance valve 403, and an atmosphere-side balance valve 404; the main balancing pipe 401 is a vertically arranged stainless steel seamless steel pipe, arranged in parallel with the vertical chamber of the feed branch 2, the top end of the main balancing pipe 401 communicates with the external atmosphere through the atmosphere-side balance valve 404, and the bottom end communicates with the top inner cavity of the pressure vessel body 1 through the tank-side balance valve 403. The pipe section of the main balancing pipe 401 between the tank-side balance valve 403 and the atmosphere-side balance valve 404 communicates with the upper side wall of the pressure-bearing middle cavity buffer hopper 203 of the corresponding feed branch 2 through the horizontally arranged middle cavity branch pipe 402.

[0040] The core improvement of this embodiment lies in that a single vertical main balancing pipe 401 is adopted to integrate two control passages, which reduces 50% of pipeline welding points and potential leakage risks compared with the double independent branch pipe structure in the prior art. Meanwhile, the vertically arranged pipeline can realize natural downward discharge of condensed water, with no effusion dead zone; the tank-side balance valve 403 and the atmosphere-side balance valve 404 are respectively arranged at the upper and lower ends of the main balancing pipe 401, forming a natural isolation physically, which greatly reduces the risk of direct leakage of high-pressure steam in the tank when the two valves are opened simultaneously.

[0041] A food-grade sintered mesh filter 405 is fixedly installed at the connecting port between the main balancing pipe 401 and the middle cavity branch pipe 402, with a filtration precision of 200 meshes, which can intercept grains and dust from entering the balancing pipeline, avoiding valve jamming and pipeline blockage; the connecting port of the main balancing pipe 401 and the pressure vessel body 1 is located in the clean saturated steam space at the top of the tank body that does not contact materials, reducing the risk of materials entering the pipeline from the source; a condensed water discharge valve 408 is installed at the bottom end (the tank-side connecting port) of the main balancing pipe 401, which can timely discharge condensed water formed by cooling of saturated steam, avoiding local moisture exceeding the standard and uneven gelatinization of grains caused by backflow of condensed water into the middle cavity buffer hopper.

[0042] In this embodiment, both the tank-side balancing valve 403 and the atmospheric-side balancing valve 404 are pneumatic flange-type shut-off valves. They can be individually controlled by a PLC electrical control system or manually controlled by a field manual mechanism, adapting to different working conditions such as debugging, emergency response, and automated production. As a preferred option, the two valves are equipped with a mechanical interlocking mechanism. The mechanical interlocking mechanism includes a linkage lever hinged in the middle to the valve assembly mounting base and two limit blocks respectively fixed to the valve stems of the two balancing valves by flat keys. The two ends of the linkage lever are respectively provided with slots that cooperate with the limit blocks. When the valve stem of one of the balancing valves rises and opens, the valve stem drives the limit block to rotate, pushing the linkage lever to rotate around the hinge point, so that the slot at the other end of the linkage lever locks the valve stem of the other balancing valve. This hardware-level prohibition prevents the two valves from opening simultaneously, avoiding gas leakage caused by human error or electrical control failure, and further improving system reliability.

[0043] 3. Uniform feeding and distribution unit The uniform feeding and distribution unit 6 is located at the front end of the pressure vessel body 1, directly below the two feeding ports 101 and directly above the plate chain conveyor mechanism. Specifically, it includes a Y-shaped symmetrical manifold 601 and a vibrating screen assembly 602. The two feeding ports of the Y-shaped symmetrical manifold 601 are respectively sealed and connected to the bottom ends of the two feeding ports 101. The manifold is arranged vertically downwards, and the outlet is directly opposite the horizontal central axis of the plate chain conveyor mechanism. The vibrating screen assembly 602 is horizontally installed 150mm directly below the outlet of the manifold. The screen surface extends along the full width of the plate chain conveyor mechanism and is fixed to the inner wall of the tank by four sets of spring damping supports 603. The vertical projection of the outlet of the manifold falls completely on the central area of ​​the screen surface of the vibrating screen assembly 602.

[0044] In this embodiment, the screen of the vibrating screen assembly 602 is made of food-grade 304 stainless steel with 5mm strip holes and an opening rate of 45%. The length direction of the strip holes is perpendicular to the conveying direction of the plate chain, which can effectively break up the clumps of wet grain after soaking. At the same time, it can evenly distribute the material falling from the center to the entire width of the plate chain, ensuring that the uniformity of the material layer thickness on the plate chain is ≥98%, avoiding the problem of thin sides and thick middle segregation, and ensuring that the saturated steam in the tank can evenly penetrate the material layer to achieve synchronous gelatinization of grains across the entire width. Two miniature pneumatic vibrators are symmetrically installed at the bottom of the screen. The air source is supplied by the saturated steam of the pressure vessel body 1 after depressurization, without the need for an external air source and without the introduction of foreign impurities. The start and stop of the vibrators are linked to the opening and closing sequence of the bottom knife gate valve 204 of the corresponding feed branch. Vibration starts synchronously when feeding and closes after a 5-second delay after feeding stops to avoid clogging of the screen holes.

[0045] 4. Dual-path parallel discharge unit and supporting structure The dual-path parallel discharge unit includes two sets of independent discharge branches 3 with identical structures and symmetrical vertical arrangement. Each discharge branch 3 is a mirror image of the feed branch 2 and is a coaxial integrated welded chamber structure. The inner cavity of the discharge branch 3 is fixedly installed with a second top knife gate valve 302 and a second bottom knife gate valve 304 at intervals from top to bottom. The two knife gate valves divide the discharge branch 3 to form a second upper cavity 301, a second pressure-bearing middle cavity buffer hopper 303, and a second lower cavity 305. The top of the second upper cavity 301 is connected to the inside of the tank through the corresponding discharge interface 102, and the bottom of the second lower cavity 305 is connected to the outside atmosphere and connected to the downstream cooling process.

[0046] The discharge reversing and distributing unit is an inverted Y-type full-bore reversing and distributing valve 7, which is integrally installed at the rear end of the pressure vessel body 1, located directly below the end discharge port of the plate chain conveyor and directly above the two discharge ports 102. The inlet of the reversing and distributing valve 7 is directly opposite the end discharge port of the plate chain, and the two discharge ports are respectively sealed and connected to the top of the two discharge ports 102. The valve core of the reversing and distributing valve 7 is an integral swing streamlined structure with no dead corners in the flow channel, and the front end of the valve core is integrally equipped with a shear. The cutting edge 701 can cut off the clumps of cooked grain mash during the reversing process, preventing the valve core from getting stuck. Both the valve core and the inner wall of the valve body are coated with a 200μm thick food-grade PTFE anti-stick coating, which is suitable for conveying highly moist and viscous cooked grain mash with a moisture content of 60%~70%, without sticking to the wall or leaving residue. The valve core is driven to swing by a pneumatic actuator outside the tank, which can precisely switch the on / off state of the two discharge ports, selectively guiding the cooked grain mash falling continuously from the plate chain to the corresponding discharge branch 3, achieving seamless switching of the discharge branch.

[0047] Each set of discharge branch 3 is equipped with a discharge pressure balancing unit 5, which has the same structure as the feed pressure balancing unit 4. It adopts a vertically arranged second balancing main pipe 501, equipped with a second central cavity branch pipe 502, a second tank-side balancing valve 503, and a second atmospheric side balancing valve 504. It can also realize individual electric / manual control. Preferably, it is equipped with a mechanical interlocking mechanism to realize the pre-pressure balancing and zero pressure difference opening and closing of the discharge branch. The inner wall of the second pressure-bearing central cavity buffer hopper 303 is also sprayed with a food-grade PTFE anti-stick coating, and the cone section has a taper of 75° to further improve the smoothness of the falling of sticky grain mash.

[0048] III. Complete Workflow of this Embodiment The leak-free continuous feeding and discharging method based on the linkage of a double-knife gate valve described in this embodiment specifically includes the following steps: S1 Dual-path alternating continuous feeding The pressure vessel body 1 is fed alternately by two sets of parallel independent feeding branches 2. Each cycle of a single feeding branch 2 executes four stages in sequence: atmospheric pressure loading, pre-pressure balancing, stable feeding, and pressure relief reset. The two feeding branches 2 adopt an overlapping pre-preparation mode to achieve uninterrupted continuous feeding throughout the process, matching the uniform conveying requirements of the plate chain conveyor mechanism. Specifically, while the first feeding branch starts the stable feeding stage, the second feeding branch simultaneously starts the atmospheric pressure loading and closed process. 30 seconds before the first feeding branch finishes feeding, the pre-pressure balance is completed so that the pressure difference between the pressure-bearing buffer hopper 203 and the pressure vessel body 1 is ≤0.1 bar, and it is in a state of waiting to be fed. The moment the first feeding branch finishes feeding and the bottom knife gate valve 204 closes, the bottom knife gate valve 204 of the second feeding branch immediately opens and starts feeding. There is no interruption in feeding throughout the process, and the pressure fluctuation in the pressure vessel body 1 during the switching process is ≤±0.01MPa.

[0049] S2 Feed Pressure Balance Control When performing pre-pressure balancing on feed branch 2, first confirm that the top knife gate valve 202 and the bottom knife gate valve 204 are completely closed. First, open the condensate drain valve 408 to drain the condensate in the balance main pipe 401 and then close it. Then, close the atmospheric side balance valve 404 and slowly open the tank side balance valve 403. Control the pressurization rate to 0.03 MPa / min so that the saturated steam in the pressure vessel body 1 slowly enters the pressure-bearing intermediate cavity buffer hopper 203 through the balance main pipe 401 and the intermediate cavity branch pipe 402 until the pressure difference between the pressure-bearing intermediate cavity buffer hopper 203 and the pressure vessel body 1 is ≤0.1 bar. Then, close the tank side balance valve 403 to complete the pre-pressure balancing. When the feed branch 2 performs pressure relief and reset, first confirm that the top knife gate valve 202 and the bottom knife gate valve 204 are fully closed. First close the tank-side balance valve 403, then slowly open the atmospheric balance valve 404, control the pressure relief rate to 0.02MPa / min, release the pressure in the pressure-bearing intermediate cavity buffer hopper 203 to atmospheric pressure, close the atmospheric balance valve 404, and complete the pressure relief and reset. Throughout the process, both the top knife gate valve 202 and the bottom knife gate valve 204 are opened and closed under zero pressure difference, thus avoiding erosion and wear of the sealing surface caused by high pressure difference opening and closing.

[0050] S3 Even feeding and distribution The materials output from the two sets of feed branches 2 are collected above the central axis of the plate chain by the Y-shaped symmetrical manifold 601, and then fall vertically to the vibrating screen assembly 602. The vibrating screen starts vibrating synchronously during the material falling process, breaking up the wet grain clumps and dispersing the material evenly across the entire width of the plate chain conveyor mechanism. The uniformity of the material layer thickness is ≥98%, which completely solves the problem of material distribution segregation in dual-feed systems and ensures that saturated steam in the tank penetrates the material layer evenly, achieving synchronous gelatinization of the grains.

[0051] S4 Dual-channel continuous discharge Through the inverted Y-shaped full-bore reversing distribution valve 7 inside the tank, the cooked grain mash continuously output by the plate chain conveyor is seamlessly switched to two sets of parallel independent discharge branches 3. The single cycle of a single discharge branch 3 mirrors the cycle process of the feed branch 2, achieving uninterrupted continuous discharge throughout the entire process. Before the reversing valve 7 performs the reversing action, the pre-pressure balancing process of the target discharge branch 3 must be completed first, and the second top knife gate valve 302 must be confirmed to be fully open. If the verification fails, the reversing action is prohibited. During the reversing process, the opening of the second top knife gate valve 302 of the two branches is adjusted synchronously and linearly to keep the total flow area constant and avoid material interruption and overflow problems.

[0052] S5 Discharge Pressure Balance Control When the discharge branch 3 performs pre-pressure balancing, first close the second atmospheric side balancing valve 504, and then slowly open the second tank side balancing valve 503 to make the pressure difference between the pressure vessel body 1 and the second pressure-bearing intermediate cavity buffer hopper 303 ≤ 0.1 bar; when the discharge branch 3 performs pressure relief and reset, first close the second tank side balancing valve 503, and then slowly open the second atmospheric side balancing valve 504 to release the pressure in the second pressure-bearing intermediate cavity buffer hopper 303 to atmospheric pressure, ensuring that the second top knife gate valve 302 and the second bottom knife gate valve 304 are both opened and closed under zero pressure difference.

[0053] IV. Optional Modified Embodiments In another optional embodiment, a high-precision weighing sensor is installed on the outer wall of the pressure-bearing buffer hopper 203 of each set of feeding branches 2. The weighing sensor is connected to the external PLC control unit and can provide real-time feedback on the weight of the material in the branch. The PLC control unit can adjust the opening of the bottom knife gate valve 204 of the corresponding branch in real time according to the weighing signal to ensure that the material drop deviation between the two sets of feeding branches 2 is ≤2%, further improving the stability of the feeding flow rate and matching the uniform conveying requirements of the plate chain.

[0054] In another optional embodiment, the screen surface of the vibrating screen assembly 602 is provided with symmetrical guide ridges along the width direction of the plate chain, which can optimize the distribution effect of materials in the width direction of the plate chain according to the flowability differences of different brewing grains (sorghum, rice, corn, wheat), and further improve the uniformity of material distribution.

[0055] In another optional embodiment, the tank-side balance valve 403 and the atmospheric-side balance valve 404 are pneumatic regulating valves, which can automatically adjust the valve opening through the PLC control unit to accurately control the pressurization and depressurization rates and adapt to the cooking process requirements of different grain varieties.

[0056] V. Beneficial Effects of This Embodiment This embodiment, through a dual-path parallel three-chamber double-knife gate valve structure, perfectly adapts to the continuous cooking process of horizontal continuous grain steaming tanks, achieving uninterrupted continuous feeding and discharging under pressurized conditions, increasing production efficiency by more than 60% compared to single-channel intermittent solutions. The vertically arranged three-way dual-valve integrated pressure balance structure simplifies pipeline layout, reduces leakage points, and retains a flexible individual control mode to adapt to various production needs. The optimized mechanical interlock structure further enhances the ability to prevent misoperation. The material distribution structure, with central confluence and a full-width vibrating screen inside the tank, completely solves the problem of material segregation in the width direction of the plate chain in horizontal dual-path feeding, achieving a grain gelatinization uniformity of ≥98%. The internal reversing material distribution structure perfectly matches the continuous discharge requirements of the plate chain, achieving seamless switching of discharge branches. The overall structure is compact, and all components in contact with materials meet food-grade safety requirements, providing reliable equipment support for the large-scale and automated upgrading of horizontal continuous grain steaming for liquor production.

[0057] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A leak-free continuous feeding device based on double-knife gate valve linkage, comprising a horizontal pressure vessel body (1) operating under pressure, wherein the pressure vessel body (1) is provided with a horizontal plate chain conveyor mechanism, characterized in that: Two feed ports (101) are symmetrically opened on the left and right front end of the top of the pressure vessel body (1). Each feed port (101) is equipped with an independent feed branch (2). The two feed branches (2) have the same structure and are redundant to each other, forming a dual-path parallel feed unit. Each feed branch (2) is a vertical chamber structure arranged perpendicular to the tank body. The feed branch (2) is provided with a top knife gate valve (202) and a bottom knife gate valve (204) from top to bottom, which separate the feed branch (2) to form an upper chamber (201) connected to the atmosphere, a pressure-bearing middle chamber buffer hopper (203), and a lower chamber (205) connected to the inner cavity of the pressure vessel body (1). The top knife gate valve (202) and the bottom knife gate valve (204) are both planar hard seal knife gate valves. The valve plate sealing surface is in plane contact with the sealing surface of the connecting flange of the corresponding chamber.

2. The leak-free continuous feeding device based on double-knife gate valve linkage according to claim 1, characterized in that, The pressure vessel body (1) has two discharge ports (102) symmetrically opened at the bottom rear end. Each discharge port (102) is equipped with an independent discharge branch (3). The two discharge branches (3) have the same structure and are redundant to each other, forming a dual-path parallel discharge unit. Each discharge branch (3) is mirror symmetrical to the feed branch (2) and is a vertical chamber structure. The discharge branch (3) is provided with a second top knife gate valve (302) and a second bottom knife gate valve (304) from top to bottom, which isolates the discharge branch (3) to form a second upper chamber (301) connected to the corresponding discharge port (102), a second pressure-bearing middle chamber buffer hopper (303), and a second lower chamber (305) connected to the outside atmosphere.

3. The leak-free continuous feeding device based on double-knife gate valve linkage according to claim 1, characterized in that, Each feed branch (2) is equipped with an independent feed pressure balancing unit (4); the feed pressure balancing unit (4) includes a vertically arranged balancing main pipe (401), a central cavity branch pipe (402), a tank-side balancing valve (403), and an atmospheric side balancing valve (404); the balancing main pipe (401) is arranged parallel to the feed branch (2), its top end is connected to the atmosphere through the atmospheric side balancing valve (404), and its bottom end is connected to the inner cavity of the pressure vessel body (1) through the tank-side balancing valve (403); one end of the central cavity branch pipe (402) is connected to the balancing main pipe (401) section between the tank-side balancing valve (403) and the atmospheric side balancing valve (404), and the other end is connected to the pressure-bearing central cavity buffer hopper (203) of the corresponding feed branch (2).

4. The leak-free continuous feeding device based on double-knife gate valve linkage according to claim 2, characterized in that, Each discharge branch (3) is equipped with an independent discharge pressure balancing unit (5); the discharge pressure balancing unit (5) has the same structure as the feed pressure balancing unit (4), including a vertically arranged second balancing main pipe (501), a second central cavity branch pipe (502), a second tank-side balancing valve (503), and a second atmospheric side balancing valve (504); the second balancing main pipe (501) is arranged parallel to the discharge branch (3), its top end is connected to the atmosphere through the second atmospheric side balancing valve (504), and its bottom end is connected to the inner cavity of the pressure vessel body (1) through the second tank-side balancing valve (503); one end of the second central cavity branch pipe (502) is connected to the second balancing main pipe (501) section between the second tank-side balancing valve (503) and the second atmospheric side balancing valve (504), and the other end is connected to the second pressure-bearing central cavity buffer hopper (303) of the corresponding discharge branch (3).

5. The leak-free continuous feeding device based on double-knife gate valve linkage according to claim 1, characterized in that, The pressure vessel body (1) has a uniform feeding unit (6) at the front end of its inner cavity, located directly below the two feeding ports (101) and directly above the horizontal plate chain conveyor mechanism. The uniform feeding unit (6) includes a Y-shaped symmetrical manifold (601) and a vibrating screen assembly (602). The two feeding ports of the Y-shaped symmetrical manifold (601) are connected to the bottom ends of the two feeding ports (101) in a one-to-one correspondence. The manifold is arranged vertically downwards, and its outlet is directly opposite the horizontal central axis of the horizontal plate chain conveyor mechanism. The vibrating screen assembly (602) is horizontally installed directly below the outlet of the manifold, and the screen surface extends along the full width of the horizontal plate chain conveyor mechanism. It is fixed to the inner wall of the pressure vessel body (1) by a spring damping support (603).

6. The leak-free continuous feeding device based on double-knife gate valve linkage according to claim 2, characterized in that, The rear end of the inner cavity of the pressure vessel body (1) is provided with a discharge reversing and distributing unit, which is located directly below the end discharge port of the horizontal plate chain conveyor and directly above the two discharge ports (102). The discharge reversing and distributing unit is an inverted Y-type full-bore reversing and distributing valve (7). The inlet of the reversing and distributing valve (7) is directly opposite the end discharge port of the horizontal plate chain conveyor, and the two discharge ports are respectively connected to the top of the two discharge ports (102).

7. The leak-free continuous feeding device based on double-knife gate valve linkage according to claim 3, characterized in that, A food-grade sintered mesh filter (405) is provided at the connection between the main balance pipe (401) and the middle cavity branch pipe (402), and a condensate drain valve (408) is provided at the bottom of the main balance pipe (401).

8. The leak-free continuous feeding device based on double-knife gate valve linkage according to claim 6, characterized in that, The inner wall of the second pressure-bearing buffer hopper (303) of the discharge branch (3) is coated with a food-grade PTFE anti-stick coating; the valve core of the reversing distribution valve (7) is integrally provided with a shearing blade (701), and both the valve core and the inner wall of the valve body are coated with a food-grade PTFE anti-stick coating.

9. A leak-free continuous feeding and discharging method based on the linkage of a double-knife gate valve, implemented using the apparatus described in any one of claims 1-8, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: S1 Dual-path alternating continuous feeding: The horizontal pressure vessel body is fed alternately through two sets of parallel feeding branches. Each set of feeding branches performs four stages in a single cycle: atmospheric pressure loading, pre-pressure balancing, stable feeding, and pressure relief reset. The two sets of feeding branches adopt an overlapping pre-preparation mode to achieve uninterrupted continuous feeding throughout the process, matching the uniform conveying requirements of the horizontal plate chain conveyor mechanism inside the tank. S2 Feed Pressure Balance Control: When the feed branch performs pre-pressure balance, first close the atmospheric side balance valve, then slowly open the tank side balance valve to allow the saturated steam in the pressure vessel body to enter the pressure-bearing intermediate cavity buffer hopper through the vertical balance main pipe and the intermediate cavity branch pipe until the pressure difference reaches the preset safety threshold; when the feed branch performs pressure relief reset, first close the tank side balance valve, then slowly open the atmospheric side balance valve to release the pressure in the pressure-bearing intermediate cavity buffer hopper to normal pressure, ensuring that all knife gate valves are opened and closed under zero pressure difference. S3 Uniform Feeding and Distribution: The material output from the two sets of feeding branches is collected above the central axis of the plate chain through the Y-shaped symmetrical manifold in the tank, and then falls vertically to the vibrating screen assembly. The vibrating screen evenly distributes the material to the full width of the horizontal plate chain conveyor mechanism, avoiding material segregation. S4 Dual-Path Continuous Discharge: Through the inverted Y-type reversing distribution valve inside the tank, the cooked grain mash continuously output by the horizontal plate chain conveyor is seamlessly switched to two sets of parallel discharge branches. Each set of discharge branches mirrors the cycle of the feed branch in a single cycle, achieving uninterrupted continuous discharge throughout the entire process. S5 Discharge Pressure Balance Control: When the discharge branch performs pre-pressure balance and pressure relief reset, the control logic consistent with that of the feed pressure balance unit ensures that the discharge side knife gate valves are opened and closed under zero pressure difference.

10. The leak-free continuous feeding and discharging method based on the linkage of a double-knife gate valve according to claim 9, characterized in that, In step S1, the overlapping pre-preparation mode is as follows: while the first feeding branch starts to smoothly discharge material, the second feeding branch starts to load and seal the process simultaneously. 30 seconds before the first feeding branch finishes discharging material, the pre-pressure balance is completed so that the pressure difference between the pressure-bearing middle cavity buffer hopper and the pressure vessel body is ≤0.1 bar, and the vessel is in a state of waiting to discharge material. In step S4, before the reversing distribution valve performs the reversing action, the pre-pressure balance of the target discharge branch and the full opening verification of the second top knife gate valve must be completed. If the verification fails, reversing is prohibited.

Images