A material feeder for crystal growth
By designing a feeder with spiral blades and sliding rails to adjust the tilt angle, the problem of existing feeders being unable to uniformly convey powdered raw materials was solved, achieving uniform mixing of raw materials and reducing the risk of agglomeration, thus improving the reliability of crystal growth.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Utility models(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- GUANGDONG YUEKE JINGNENG TECHNOLOGY CO LTD
- Filing Date
- 2025-08-27
- Publication Date
- 2026-07-21
AI Technical Summary
Existing feeders cannot ensure the movement of raw materials along the trough and uniform feeding, and are especially unsuitable for powdery raw materials, and are prone to causing raw material agglomeration, compaction and contamination.
A feeder comprising a trough, a helical blade, a drive unit, a coupling, and a feed cylinder was designed. The helical blades of the helical blade gradually drive the raw material upward to the opening of the trough. Combined with the slide rail and swing component to adjust the tilt angle, it ensures uniform mixing and conveying of the raw material, reducing the risk of equipment vibration and agglomeration.
It enables uniform conveying of granular and powdery raw materials, reduces the risk of equipment vibration and interference from weighing sensors, and improves the purity of raw materials and the reliability of conveying.
Smart Images
Figure CN224531125U_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This utility model relates to the technical field of single crystal growth, and in particular to a material feeder for crystal growth. Background Technology
[0002] Crystals are used in food, chemical, medical, agricultural and other industries that require a continuous supply of silica materials. Crystals are grown in growth equipment, which is equipped with a feeder to transport raw materials to the growth equipment. However, several existing feeders have defects. The first type of feeder is for powdery and bulk raw materials. It consists of a horizontal disc, a feeding hopper installed above the disc and a spiral groove. The spiral groove has a closed central ring and concentric external branches, and the feeding hopper is eccentrically installed outside the closed ring. When this feeder is working, the raw material falls from the feeding hopper into the rotating horizontal disc, forms a pile and rolls along the spiral groove. It is distributed along the groove and pulled into a stream of uniformly distributed particles. It can be used for single crystal growth, but this structure cannot ensure the movement of raw materials along the groove and uniform feeding. It is only suitable for granular raw materials and not for powdery raw materials. The second type of feeder is used for powdery and bulk raw materials. It consists of a fixed hopper, which is tubular in shape. A vertical shaft is installed inside the hopper and connected to it. The lower part of the hopper is equipped with a screw conveyor located inside the hopper. The screw conveyor plays a role in stirring the raw materials. However, there is a minimum gap between the screw conveyor and the side wall of the hopper. This causes the screw conveyor to rub against the raw materials or the raw materials to generate wear products with the side wall of the hopper during operation, which contaminates the raw materials. At the same time, due to the above gap, this feeder is not suitable for raw materials such as crushed crystal fragments, because they are prone to jamming. Utility Model Content
[0003] The technical problem to be solved by this utility model is to provide a material feeder for crystal growth.
[0004] To achieve the above objectives, this utility model discloses a material feeder for crystal growth, comprising a groove, a helical blade, a feed cylinder, a drive unit, and a connector. The groove is a cylindrical shape with an open top and a closed bottom. The bottom wall of the groove gradually slopes upwards towards the opening. The feed cylinder is located below the opening of the groove, with its upper opening facing upwards towards the opening of the groove. The helical blade is fitted against the inner side of the groove. The connector is connected to the outer bottom surface of the groove. The drive unit is mounted on the connector and drives the helical blade to rotate.
[0005] It also includes a slide rail component, which is inclined and extends in a direction parallel to the axial direction of the groove component. The groove component is slidably connected to the slide rail component.
[0006] The driving component is a motor, the connecting component is cylindrical, a bearing is provided on the inner side of the connecting component, the connecting component is connected to the outer ring of the bearing, the rotation shaft of the driving component is connected to the inner ring of the bearing, a sliding seat is fixedly connected to the bottom surface of the connecting component, and the sliding seat is slidably connected to the slide rail component.
[0007] The system also includes a base frame, a swinging component, and a growth chamber. The bottom surface of the slide rail is fixedly connected to the top surface of the swinging component. The base frame is fixedly connected to the growth chamber. The feed cylinder is connected to the growth chamber. The swinging component is rotatably connected to the base frame to adjust the tilt angle of the slide rail.
[0008] The bottom wall of the groove is made of metal, and a gasket is provided on the inner bottom surface of the groove.
[0009] It also includes a bucket, which is connected to the feed cylinder. The lower opening of the bucket is connected to the upper opening of the feed cylinder, and the upper opening of the bucket faces the opening of the trough.
[0010] It also includes a fixing component, which is fixedly connected to the growth chamber. The fixing component has an assembly hole, and the outer side of the feed cylinder is fixedly connected to the inner side of the assembly hole.
[0011] The spiral blade has two sets of blades, which are spaced apart and are spirally arranged with parallel spiral directions.
[0012] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of this utility model are as follows: During use, the raw material enters the inner side of the tank, the driving component drives the tank to rotate, the tank rotates relative to the spiral blades, the spiral gradually drives the raw material upward, and the raw material is continuously stirred, driving the raw material to the opening of the tank, and the raw material falls into the feed cylinder, where the spiral blades drive the raw material. The spiral blades gradually drive the raw material upward to the opening of the tank. This spiral upward drive can reduce the vibration of the equipment driving the raw material, reduce the risk of interfering with the operation of the weighing sensor inside the equipment, reduce the risk of affecting the automatic control system of crystal growth, and reduce the risk of raw material agglomeration and compaction due to continuous stirring. Therefore, it is also suitable for granular raw materials and powdery raw materials. Attached Figure Description
[0013] Figure 1 This is a front view of the present invention; Figure 2 This is a first-view structural diagram of the present invention; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the second-view structure of the present invention; Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the third-view structure of this utility model; Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the groove component of this utility model in a semi-sectional state.
[0014] Markings: 1. Groove; 2. Helical blade; 3. Connecting part; 4. Sliding seat; 5. Driving part; 6. Slide rail part; 7. Screw; 8. Bucket part; 9. Feed cylinder; 10. Base frame; 11. Fixing part; 12. Growth chamber; 13. Swinging part; 14. Inner bottom surface. Detailed Implementation
[0015] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this utility model clearer, the following will be combined with... Figure 1-5 The present invention will be described in further detail below, and with the following: Figure 2 The directional terms "front," "rear," "up," and "down" are defined in this utility model. Figure 2 The graph also shows coordinate axes: the X-axis is horizontal, the Y-axis is vertical, and the Z-axis is vertical.
[0016] This invention relates to the feeding of powdered materials for novel scintillation crystal growth. Existing feeders can only transport raw materials of different diameters, such as granules or powders. It should be noted that feeders can be used not only to transport initial raw materials but also to transport crystal fragments. However, this invention is described using raw materials as an example. Furthermore, existing feeders are prone to agglomeration, compaction, and contamination during transport, affecting the transport of raw materials. To address the problems of existing feeders, this invention provides a material feeding method for crystal growth. The apparatus includes a trough 1, a helical blade 2, a connecting member 3, a driving member 5, a feed cylinder 9, and a growth chamber 12. The trough 1 is cup-shaped, meaning it is a cylindrical structure with an open top and a closed bottom. The trough 1 is the hopper described in the prior art. The axial direction of the trough 1 is inclined, and the bottom wall of the trough 1 gradually slopes upwards towards the opening. The upper opening of the feed cylinder 9 is located below the opening of the trough 1, and the lower opening of the feed cylinder 9 is located inside the growth chamber 12. The axis of the helical blade 2 overlaps with the axis of the trough 1, and the helical blade 2 is located inside the trough 1. The spiral blade 2 is fitted to the inner side of the trough 1, and the spiral blade 2 serves to stir the raw materials. The connecting member 3 is connected between the outer bottom surface of the trough 1 and the driving member 5. The connecting member 3 is fixedly connected to the spiral blade 2. The driving member 5 is installed on the connecting member 3 to drive the trough 1 to rotate. In use, the raw materials enter the inner side of the trough 1, and the driving member 5 drives the trough 1 to rotate. The trough 1 rotates relative to the spiral blade 2, and the spiral blade 2 gradually drives the raw materials upward. The raw materials are continuously stirred and driven to the opening of the trough 1. The raw materials then fall into the feed cylinder 9. The spiral blade 2 drives the raw materials, and the spiral of the spiral blade 2... The spiral blades gradually drive the raw material upwards to the opening of the tank 1. This spiral upward drive can reduce the vibration of the equipment during the raw material driving process, reduce the risk of interfering with the operation of the weighing sensor inside the equipment, and reduce the risk of affecting the automatic control system for crystal growth. Because the raw material is continuously stirred, the risk of raw material agglomeration and compaction is reduced. Therefore, it is also suitable for granular raw materials and powdery raw materials. Furthermore, when the spiral blade 2 rotates relative to the tank 1, the spiral blade 2 is in contact with the inner wall of the tank 1, so there is no gap between the spiral blade 2 and the inner wall of the tank 1, reducing the risk of raw material jamming.
[0017] A further option is to provide a feed inlet on the side wall of the tank 1, which is used to feed in raw materials, which enter the inner side of the tank 1 through the feed inlet.
[0018] The side wall of the trough 1 is made of polypropylene pipe, the bottom wall of the trough 1 is made of metal, specifically stainless steel, and the spiral blade 2 is made of copper.
[0019] When the feeder transports raw materials, the raw materials fall from the opening of the trough 1 into the upper opening of the feed cylinder 9, so that the raw materials can enter the growth chamber 12. However, the trajectory of the raw materials during the falling process is parabolic. But the parabolic shape is affected by the initial velocity of the raw materials. If the initial velocity of the raw materials increases or decreases, the shape of the parabola will also change. Therefore, it is necessary to adjust the distance between the opening of the trough 1 and the upper opening of the feed cylinder 9 accordingly. In order to solve the above problem, this utility model also includes a slide rail 6. The slide rail 6 is inclined and its extension direction is parallel to the axis of the trough 1. The trough 1 and the slide rail 6 are slidably connected. Through the above arrangement, the trough 1 can slide along the slide rail 6, thereby adjusting the distance between the opening of the trough 1 and the upper opening of the feed cylinder 9, so that the raw materials can fall into the upper opening of the feed cylinder 9.
[0020] The driving component 5 of this utility model is a motor, and the connecting component 3 is cylindrical. The connecting component 3 is located on the outer side of the round bottom wall of the slot 1 and is coaxially arranged. The inner side of the connecting component 3 is provided with a bearing for supporting the rotation of the rotating shaft of the driving component 5. The connecting component 3 is connected to the outer ring of the bearing, and the rotating shaft of the driving component 5 is connected to the inner ring of the bearing. The rotating shaft of the driving component 5 passes through the inner ring of the bearing and is fixedly connected to the helical blade 2. The bottom surface of the connecting component 3 is fixedly connected with a sliding seat 4. The sliding seat 4 is slidably connected to the slide rail 6. When it is necessary to lock the sliding position of the slot 1, the sliding seat 4 is fixed to the slide rail 6 by a screw 7. That is, the slide rail 6 is provided with a threaded hole, the sliding seat 4 is provided with a through hole, and the screw 7 passes through the through hole and is threadedly connected to the threaded hole.
[0021] Since different particle size compositions of raw materials will result in different natural angles of repose, such as raw materials with different roughness, hardness, or interparticle adhesion, if the natural angles of repose are different, the tilt angle of the tank 1 needs to be adjusted accordingly. In order to adapt to different specific particle size compositions of raw materials, this utility model also includes a base frame 10 and a swinging component 13. The bottom surface of the slide rail 6 is fixedly connected to the top surface of the swinging component 13. The base frame 10 is fixedly connected to the growth chamber 12. The swinging component 13 is rotatably connected to the base frame 10 to adjust the tilt angle of the swinging component 13 and the slide rail 6. The tilt angle of the slide rail 6 is set according to the natural angle of repose of the raw materials with specific particle size compositions, thereby setting the tilt angle of the tank 1 and improving the uniformity of the stirring and movement of the raw materials from the bottom surface of the tank 1 to the opening.
[0022] Because the bottom wall of the tank 1 is made of stainless steel, if the raw material collides with the inner bottom surface 14 of the tank 1, the stainless steel will be damaged and stainless steel slag will fall off and mix with the raw material, affecting the purity of the raw material. To solve the above problem, a gasket is provided on the inner bottom surface 14 of the tank 1. The gasket is an acrylic gasket. By setting the gasket, when the raw material falls onto the inner bottom surface 14 of the tank 1, the gasket plays a buffering role, preventing the raw material from contacting the metal bottom of the tank 1, reducing the risk of stainless steel damage and falling off, and improving the purity of the raw material.
[0023] This utility model also includes a bucket 8, which is connected to the feed cylinder 9. The lower opening of the bucket 8 is connected to the upper opening of the feed cylinder 9. The axial directions of the bucket 8 and the feed cylinder 9 are both vertical. The upper opening of the bucket 8 faces the opening of the trough 1. By setting the bucket 8, the probability of raw materials falling into the feed cylinder 9 is increased.
[0024] This utility model also includes a fixing member 11, which is fixedly connected to the growth chamber 12. The fixing member 11 has an assembly hole, and the outer side of the feed cylinder 9 is fixedly connected to the inner side of the assembly hole. The fixing member 11 is an observation window flange.
[0025] The base frame 10 is fixedly connected to the fastener 11, and the base frame 10 is then fixedly connected to the growth chamber 12 via the fastener 11.
[0026] The spiral blade 2 has two sets of blades, which are spaced apart. Both sets of blades are spirally arranged and the spiral directions are parallel.
[0027] The working method of this utility model is as follows: the initial raw material or crystal fragments are loaded into the trough 1, the trough 1 is moved along the slide rail 6 to adjust the position of the opening of the trough 1 so that it is aligned with the upper opening of the bucket 8, and the sliding seat 4 is fixed by the screw 7 to lock the relative position of the sliding seat 4 and the slide rail 6. The tilt angle of the trough 1 is set by the rotation of the swing member 13 and the base frame 10, so that when the spiral blade 2 drives the raw material, the raw material is supplied at a sliding speed corresponding to the melt consumption rate.
[0028] When the drive unit 5 drives the trough 1 to rotate, the raw material is pushed towards the opening of the trough 1 along the spiral direction of the spiral blade 2. At the same time, the raw material remaining on the spiral blade 2 slides down to the middle of the inner side of the trough 1 or onto the blade opposite the spiral blade 2. This stirring of the raw material reduces the risk of it being compacted. As the trough 1 rotates, the raw material slides along the spiral blade 2, is pushed towards the opening of the trough 1, and then slides down into the hopper 8 and the feed cylinder 9 in sequence, before falling into the growth chamber 12.
[0029] Of course, the above embodiments are only for illustrating the technical concept and features of this utility model. Their purpose is to enable those skilled in the art to understand the content of this utility model and implement it accordingly. They cannot be used to limit the protection scope of this utility model. All modifications made in accordance with the spirit of the main technical solution of this utility model should be covered within the protection scope of this utility model.
Claims
1. A material feeder for crystal growth, characterized in that, The device includes a groove (1), a helical blade (2), a feed cylinder (9), a drive unit (5), and a connecting member (3). The groove (1) is a cylindrical shape with an open top and a closed bottom. The bottom wall of the groove (1) extends towards the opening of the groove (1) in a gradually upward direction. The feed cylinder (9) is located below the opening of the groove (1), and the upper opening of the feed cylinder (9) faces the opening of the groove (1). The helical blade (2) is attached to the inner side of the groove (1). The connecting member (3) is connected to the outer bottom surface of the groove (1). The drive unit (5) is installed on the connecting member (3) and drives the helical blade (2) to rotate.
2. The material feeder for crystal growth according to claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes a slide rail (6), which is inclined and its extension direction is parallel to the axial direction of the groove (1). The groove (1) and the slide rail (6) are slidably connected.
3. A material feeder for crystal growth according to claim 2, characterized in that, The driving component (5) is a motor, the connecting component (3) is cylindrical, the inner side of the connecting component (3) is provided with a bearing, the connecting component (3) is connected to the outer ring of the bearing, the rotating shaft of the driving component (5) is connected to the inner ring of the bearing, the bottom surface of the connecting component (3) is fixedly connected with a sliding seat (4), and the sliding seat (4) is slidably connected to the slide rail component (6).
4. A material feeder for crystal growth according to claim 2, characterized in that, It also includes a base frame (10), a growth chamber (12), and a swinging component (13). The bottom surface of the slide rail component (6) is fixedly connected to the top surface of the swinging component (13). The base frame (10) is fixedly connected to the growth chamber (12). The feed cylinder (9) is connected to the growth chamber (12). The swinging component (13) is rotatably connected to the base frame (10) to adjust the tilt angle of the slide rail component (6).
5. A material feeder for crystal growth according to claim 1, characterized in that, The bottom wall of the groove (1) is made of metal, and the inner bottom surface (14) of the groove (1) is provided with a gasket.
6. A material feeder for crystal growth according to claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes a bucket (8), which is connected to the feed cylinder (9). The lower opening of the bucket (8) is connected to the upper opening of the feed cylinder (9), and the upper opening of the bucket (8) faces the opening of the trough (1).
7. A material feeder for crystal growth according to claim 4, characterized in that, It also includes a fixing member (11), which is fixedly connected to the growth chamber (12). The fixing member (11) has an assembly hole, and the outer side of the feed cylinder (9) is fixedly connected to the inner side of the assembly hole.
8. A material feeder for crystal growth according to claim 1, characterized in that, The spiral blade (2) has two sets of blades, which are spaced apart. Both sets of blades are spirally arranged and the spiral directions are parallel.