CONSTRUCTION KIT FOR CREATING A TREATMENT UNIT FOR GRANULES

Description

I. Area of ​​application

[0001] The invention relates to the treatment of bulk materials, in particular the removal of dust contained therein, particularly by means of ionization, since the dust often adheres to the granules due to electrostatic charging. More specifically, the invention relates to a modular system for constructing a treatment unit for granules, having the features of the preamble of claim 1. II. Technical background

[0002] Especially in plastics technology, but also in pharmaceuticals and food technology, raw materials in the form of bulk materials—for example, granules, ground materials, coarse powders, etc.—frequently need to be handled, e.g., transported, and treated, e.g., dried and / or dedusted. For the purposes of this application, all bulk materials are referred to by the abbreviated term "granules."

[0003] The transport of these bulk materials is often carried out by means of pneumatic conveying, in particular by means of air conveying, in which the granulate is transported to the desired location through conveyor lines by means of air flow and, for the most part, flying along with it.

[0004] The granulate should be as clean as possible for use in a consumer product, for example, as raw material in a plastic injection molding machine, and in particular, free from dust-like contaminants. These dust-like contaminants can consist of foreign material that was inadvertently added to the granulate during production or transport, or they can also be dust-like particles made of the same material as the granulate itself, which, however, may also be undesirable depending on the subsequent intended use.

[0005] Dust or dust-like impurities within the meaning of the present description should preferably have a particle size whose diameter is at most 1 / 10, better at most 1 / 30, better at most 1 / 100, better at most 1 / 1000 of the diameter of a granulate grain.

[0006] Therefore, the general aim is to separate such granules from the dust they contain before use.

[0007] Different techniques are available for this, from simple sieves to separating the transport air from granules and filtering the transport air to fraction separation using a cyclone.

[0008] One of the problems that arise is the strong adhesion of dust particles and granulate particles to each other, but also the adhesion of dust particles to device parts such as conveyor lines or granulate containers.

[0009] This strong adhesion is often caused by electrostatic charging, so that removal of the dust by mechanical means can usually only be carried out once these binding forces have been removed.

[0010] In principle, this is known to be possible by statically discharging the differently charged and thus mutually attracting particles, in this case dust particles on the one hand and granulate particles on the other, for example by grounding one fraction.

[0011] However, with a very large number of very small particles, as in the present case, this is difficult in practice.

[0012] For example, attempts have already been made to separate the granules by constantly swirling them upwards in a dedusting container sealed at the bottom and bringing them into close contact with ionized air. However, this can cause further abrasion and thus dust simply through the collision of granules.

[0013] Furthermore, an attempt was made to extract the dust-laden air through an air outlet opening and not to force it out by means of overpressure, whereby the air outlet opening was closed by a sieve which a granulate grain could not penetrate.

[0014] Furthermore, the granules often need to be dried before use in a consumer such as an injection molding machine. This is primarily to reduce the moisture content to such an extent that no voids due to vapor formation occur in the molded part during injection molding. If this is necessary, the dryer is the last processing station for the granules before the consumer and is often mounted directly on the consumer's granule inlet. Depending on whether drying of the granules is necessary or not, the dust collector is mounted either on the dryer or directly on the consumer's granule inlet.

[0015] DE 10 2016 119827 A1 discloses a dust extraction system whose components comprise a modular system with the features of the preamble of claim 1.

[0016] EP 2 711 097 A1 discloses a treatment unit for granules comprising: a) a closure unit for a granulate flow flowing through it, with a housing, a granulate inlet opening for the granulate in the upper part of the housing, a granulate outlet opening in the lower part of the housing, a closure element in the housing which is designed such that it can close a granulate flow opening, in particular a granulate outlet opening of a component located above it from its underside, b) a dust extractor for dusting granules, with: a dust removal container which has: -- at least one granulate inlet opening for the granulate, -- a granulate outlet opening in the lower part of the dust removal container, in particular in its base, and -- an air outlet opening which is arranged in particular in the upper part of the dust removal container, an ionizer, a fluidization unit for fluidizing the granulate in the dust removal container, c) a control system which is capable ofto control all relevant components of the treatment unit, d) a granulate dryer.

[0017] US 2734782 A describes a tank for powder or granules in which compressed air is introduced into the lower area of ​​the tank to facilitate the flow of the powder or granules out of the tank through an outlet downwards.

[0018] DE 342 197 C, EP 0 166 959 A2, EP 0 117 397 A1, DE 20 41 230 A1, and US 2015 / 151229 A1 show closure units with a conical closure element pointing upwards from the bottom, which, however, is not pivotably mounted about one or more horizontal axes. Publication WO9002643A1 shows a feed device for bulk material with a conical dam and support body.

[0019] Furthermore, inlet valves in the design with a pivoting, conical valve body are known from US 3799367 A, CN 206857425 U and JP S4719974 U, which, however, are intended for other applications, in the case of the JP document for a dust collection container, in the case of the US document for a blast furnace for melting iron and the CN document for a silo, about whose further design features such as connecting elements to upstream and downstream units or the type of emptying nothing is described. III. Description of the invention a) Technical task

[0020] It is therefore the object of the invention to provide a kit with several modules for creating a treatment unit, which makes it possible, depending on the application and the desired mode of operation of the treatment unit upstream of a consumer, to configure this treatment unit individually in a simple manner and from a few modules and thus with a low stock at the manufacturer and to be able to assemble and assemble it in a simple manner. b) Solution to the task

[0021] This object is achieved by the features of claim 1. Advantageous embodiments emerge from the subclaims.

[0022] Depending on the type of pre-treatment and / or post-treatment of the granulate, the granulate outlet opening of the dust collector must be closable or not, for example to be able to operate it continuously in one case and in batches in the other.

[0023] It has been found that it is not optimal to always install a closure element integrated into the dust extractor at the granulate outlet opening and simply leave it open if the desired type of operation of the treatment unit requires a permanently open granulate outlet opening of the dust extractor.

[0024] According to the invention, the modular system comprises a closure element for the granulate outlet opening of the dust extractor in the form of a separate closure unit that can be mounted under the dust extractor or used elsewhere, which has further advantages, for example because the housing of the closure unit represents an additional intermediate container for granulate, and also with regard to easier maintenance and repair of the entire treatment unit.

[0025] In order to be able to configure the treatment unit individually in a simple manner and from a few modules, and thus with a low inventory at the manufacturer, depending on the application and the desired mode of operation, the invention proposes a modular system that contains the required modules that are specifically designed for free, mutual combinability.

[0026] This means that the individual modules and their connecting elements for mutual connection are specifically designed in such a way that the modules can be quickly and easily fastened to one another, in particular on top of one another, in such a way that they can interact as a treatment unit in this assembled state, i.e. in particular the lower granulate outlet opening of an upper module overlaps with the upper granulate inlet opening of a module mounted below it, in particular they are aligned with one another, whereby the number and order of the modules for the treatment unit are freely selectable depending on the application, whereby at least each of the following three assembly configurations is optionally possible: • Dust extractor on the closure unit, if necessary on a dryer or • Dust extractor on the dryer or • Dryer on the closure unit, Such a treatment unit can be mounted on a consumer.

[0027] The dust extractor has - as is known - a dust extraction container with at least one granulate inlet opening and one granulate outlet opening as well as an air outlet opening for removing, in particular suctioning off, the air together with the dust to be removed.

[0028] If - as is known - the granulate is to be transported to the dust collector by means of a conveying air flow, a conveying flow generator is required, in particular in the form of an ejector compressed air nozzle with a compressed air connection, which can also form a module of the modular system.

[0029] The granulate inlet opening and / or the air outlet opening will preferably be located in the upper region of the dust extractor, in particular in the upper half or in the upper third, one of which, in particular the air outlet opening, will preferably be located in the upper lid of the dust extraction container.

[0030] The granulate outlet opening, on the other hand, will be located in the lower area, particularly in the lower third or preferably in the bottom of the dust extraction container.

[0031] Furthermore, a known dust extractor comprises a fluidising unit for fluidising the granulate in the dust extraction container by injecting compressed air, as well as a control system, in particular an electronic control system, which is capable of controlling the entire dust extractor, in particular an entire treatment unit comprising such a dust extractor, i.e. in particular all moving parts, in particular valves and / or all pneumatically or electrically or electronically functioning parts thereof.

[0032] According to the invention, however, the dust extractor does not comprise an activatable and deactivatable closure element for the granulate outlet opening.

[0033] Instead, the dust extractor comprises connecting elements, in particular screw openings, in the lower area for - preferably direct - connection to a component arranged underneath, for example a closure unit that can close the granulate outlet opening of the dust extractor.

[0034] A separate closure unit accordingly comprises an activatable and deactivatable closure element at one of the granulate openings, in particular at its upper granulate inlet opening for the granulate stream flowing through from the upstream, upstream module - in particular, but not only - a granulate stream flowing through from a dust collector.

[0035] In addition to a granulate inlet opening for the granulate in the upper part of the housing, in particular in its cover plate, the closure unit comprises a granulate outlet opening in the lower part of the housing, as well as connecting elements, in particular screw openings, in the upper and lower areas of the housing, which are designed so that they can be used for quick and easy connection to a component arranged above or below.

[0036] The closure element is designed and arranged in the housing in such a way that it can close a granulate passage opening located in the upper area of ​​the closure unit or above the closure unit, in particular from the underside thereof.

[0037] This granulate passage opening can be the closure unit's own granulate inlet opening in its upper area. This granulate inlet opening is preferably formed in a cover plate, which is arranged on a sleeve-shaped housing part of the closure unit, preferably in a removable manner, for example, to allow the installation of cover plates with granulate inlet openings of different sizes as required.

[0038] In this way, the granulate inlet opening of the closure unit can be adapted to the granulate outlet opening of a module arranged above it. The two openings can, for example, be the same size.

[0039] However, the granulate passage opening can also be directly the granulate outlet opening of a module mounted above, such as the dust collector, which can be closed by the closure element. In this case, the cover plate on the closure unit may not be necessary and can be omitted.

[0040] Preferably, the closure element is an upwardly projecting closure element such as a closure hemisphere or a closure cone, which in the closed state preferably projects upwards through the upper granulate inlet opening of the closure unit and preferably projects into the module mounted immediately above it through a granulate outlet opening there, for example.

[0041] If the upwardly projecting closure element, such as the closure cone, is not intended to close the granulate inlet opening of the closure unit, but rather directly the granulate outlet opening of the module arranged above it, it only needs to have a predetermined contour with a predetermined size range so that it can close the upwardly projecting closure element.

[0042] This makes it easier to combine with different attached modules that have slightly different sized granulate openings to be closed at their lower end.

[0043] For a tight annular arrangement, the upwardly projecting closure element, in particular the closure cone, is pivotally mounted on a closure element base about at least one horizontal axis, better about two intersecting horizontal axes.

[0044] Preferably, the housing has at least one peripheral wall forming the sleeve-shaped housing part, as well as an upper and a lower fastening flange projecting radially outward therefrom, which facilitates the connection to components arranged above and below.

[0045] Furthermore, an air opening is preferably provided in the housing, particularly in its peripheral wall, to which an air filter is attached in a fluid-tight manner to filter the air flowing through. This allows, for example, a gas, preferably air, that enters the closure unit from the module arranged above or below, for example, a granulate dryer arranged below, to flow out, so that the air opening then functions as an air outlet.

[0046] Likewise, ambient air could flow into the closure unit and from there into a module mounted below it and / or, when the closure element is open, into the module mounted above it, if this is necessary for the operation of this adjacent module.

[0047] Typically, the closure unit also has its own, preferably electronic, control unit that controls the closure element. This control unit has signal connections—particularly in the form of a plug / socket connection or a terminal, particularly a screw terminal—for connecting, in particular, to another control unit, for example, the control unit of the dust extractor, in which case this other control unit can function as the master control unit.

[0048] The control of the closure unit and / or the dust collector can also include a mill control: If the treatment unit supplies an injection molding machine as a consumer with granulate, the waste products generated at the injection molding machine should be fed back to the consumer and previously to the treatment unit.

[0049] The waste products are primarily sprue parts or scrap products. These are fed into a mill to be ground to a size not significantly larger than the granules, so that they can be fed back into the dust collector via the granule inlet.

[0050] The mill control system includes an input option for the length of the time interval in which the mill is to be emptied and the ground waste products are to be fed back into the granulate inlet of the dust collector, in particular to ensure that the material in the mill is not ground too finely.

[0051] The mill control unit can also include an actuating element for immediate, one-time emptying of the mill. The actuating element and the input option are preferably located on the housing of the control unit of the closure unit.

[0052] The kit also includes the aforementioned granulate dryer as an additional component.

[0053] This typically has a roughly cylindrical, upright, roughly sleeve-shaped housing with an upper granulate inlet and a lower granulate outlet, as well as an inlet opening in the lower section through which warm and / or dry drying air can be introduced to flow through the granulate inside the granulate dryer and dry it. The lower granulate outlet opening can usually be closed directly or indirectly by a controllable closure element.

[0054] As a rule, the outlet opening on the one hand and the inlet opening on the other hand are arranged in the lower and upper end faces.

[0055] If the granulate dryer is mounted directly below the sealing unit, the granulate outlet opening of the sealing unit, viewed from above, is located completely within the granulate inlet opening of the dryer when mounted; in particular, both should be concentric to each other or identical.

[0056] The granulate dryer also features connecting elements at both the top and bottom of the housing, designed for easy and quick connection to a module sitting on top of it or one below it. The upper connecting elements, particularly in the form of screw openings, should be arranged in such a way that the overlap or overlap of the openings described above is ensured when another module sits on top of it.

[0057] The lower connecting elements should preferably be designed to be as universal as possible, since a granulate dryer often has to be placed and fastened directly onto a consumer, of which there are a large number, and probably not all of them can be fastened with a single universal design of the lower connecting elements.

[0058] In this case, an adapter with the lowest possible axial height, particularly a plate-shaped, especially annular adapter, is useful between the lowest module of a treatment unit, for example, the granulate dryer, and the consumer. The consumer, in turn, has two types of connecting elements, one of which can interact with the connecting elements of the module sitting on it, and the other with the connecting elements of the consumer below it. The two different types of connecting elements can also differ only in their position on or in the adapter.

[0059] The adapter can also be used to be inserted between two modules of the treatment unit, but in the context of a modular system in which all modules of the modular system come from the provider of the modular system itself, an adapter between the modules should not be necessary.

[0060] The modular system can further comprise an intermediate container which essentially consists only of a vertically continuously open, e.g. conical or sleeve-shaped housing with connecting elements in the upper and lower regions for connecting to a component arranged above or below, e.g. a module of the modular system or a consumer arranged below.

[0061] The purpose of such an intermediate container is to provide the interior space as an additional buffer space for granulate, which may be necessary, for example, for a downstream inlet shaft of an injection molding machine, especially if the entire treatment unit does not include a closure unit.

[0062] Naturally, the closure unit also contains such a buffer space, but this is not to be understood as an intermediate container in the context of this description. An intermediate container is to be understood only as one that does not have a closure element in its upper area, in particular, no closure element at all.

[0063] The modular system can further comprise a conveying flow generator as a further module, which can be connected in particular to the granulate inlet opening of the dust extractor and generates an air conveying flow in order to transport granulate flying therein and to introduce it into the dust extractor.

[0064] Such a conveyor flow generator can in particular be an ejector compressed air nozzle operated by compressed air, which accordingly must have a compressed air connection, and can in particular be arranged in a suction lance which can be inserted into a granulate supply in order to suck in granulate therefrom.

[0065] The kit can also include a dust separator as an additional module, which can be used to separate the dust from the exhaust air leaving the dust extractor and can accordingly be connected to the air outlet opening of the dust extractor.

[0066] Such a dust separator can in particular comprise an exhaust air filter.

[0067] Such a dust separator can also have its own vacuum generator to transport the dust-laden air to the dust separator, for example a compressed air-operated ejector compressed air nozzle.

[0068] Such an ejector compressed air nozzle shoots the applied compressed air at a high flow velocity, for example into a conveyor line, whereby ambient air is sucked in by the resulting negative pressure and also entrains and transports any granulate present in the inlet. c) Examples of implementation

[0069] An embodiment of a treatment unit composed of modules of the modular system according to the invention, as well as its modules for separating granules from the conveying air and dedusting the granules according to the invention, is described below by way of example with reference to the figures in various functional states. They show: Figure 1a, b: a closure unit with closed granulate inlet opening in vertical section and in top view, Figure 1c: the locking unit according to Figure 1a, b again in vertical section with open granulate inlet opening, Figure 2a:a treatment unit consisting of a dust extractor mounted on the closure unit with a closed granulate inlet opening of the closure unit, Figure 2b: the treatment unit according to Figure 2a with open granulate inlet opening of the closure unit, Figure 3a: a treatment unit comprising a dust collector mounted on the closure unit and a granulate dryer mounted underneath it, which is mounted on a downstream consumer, with the granulate inlet opening of the closure unit closed, Figure 3b: the treatment unit according to Figure 3a with open granulate inlet opening of the closure unit, but an additional adapter between granulate dryer and consumer, Figure 4a: a treatment unit consisting only of a dust extractor mounted on a consumer located underneath, Figure 4b: a treatment unit according to Figure 4a, but with an additional intermediate container between the dust collector and the consumer, Figure 4c: a treatment unit according to Figure 4b , but with a locking unit between the dust extractor and the intermediate container.

[0070] The Figures 1a until c show the closure unit 40 as an individual part: The housing 41 of the closure unit 40 comprises, viewed in the axial direction 41', generally in the assembled state of the vertical, a circumferential, polygonal, in particular rectangular, or rotationally symmetrical peripheral wall 41a, which surrounds an interior space open at the top and bottom, and from the upper end of which an annular, upper fastening flange 41b projects outwards and from the lower end of which an annular, lower, in particular identical to the upper, fastening flange 41c projects outwards.

[0071] A cover plate 41d - which could also be the fastening flange 41b at the same time - rests on the upper fastening flange 41b and is detachably connected to it, preferably screwed, in which, preferably centrally, a granulate inlet opening 42 is formed, which is significantly smaller, having approximately half the diameter, of the inner free diameter of the peripheral wall 41a.

[0072] The removable cover plate 41b allows the use of cover plates with differently sized granulate inlet openings 42. The screwing of the closure unit 40 to the rest of the housing preferably takes place together with the screwing of the closure unit 40 to a module arranged above it, which is why, in this case, through-openings 49 are provided as connecting elements in both the mounting flange 41b and the cover plate 41b at mutually aligned positions and, in particular, of the same size.

[0073] The lower granulate outlet opening 43 is the lower end of the interior space enclosed by the peripheral wall 41a.

[0074] On the peripheral wall 41a on the right, in the lower area, a fill level sensor 48 is shown, which measures through the peripheral wall 41a any fill level of granulate that may be present in the housing 41.

[0075] On the peripheral wall 41a on the left side in the upper area, an air filter 47 is shown, which is tightly mounted on an air opening 46 in the peripheral wall 41a, and through which a gas, in particular air, which flows out of the housing 41 or flows into the housing 41 is filtered.

[0076] The closure element 44 has the form of a closure cone 44, which is arranged in the housing 41 and is adjustable along its axial direction 41', usually the vertical: Since the particularly rotationally symmetrical closure cone 44, which points with the tip upwards, has a larger diameter when viewed from above than the round granulate inlet opening 42 in the cover plate 41d, closes according to Figure 1a the closure cone 44 closes this granulate inlet opening 42 when it is located so high that its tip protrudes upwards from the granulate inlet opening 42 and its conical surface lies tightly against the inner circumferential surface of the granulate inlet opening 42, the lower circumferential edge of which can preferably be slightly bevelled for this purpose.

[0077] In order to ensure such a tight installation at a corresponding height of the closure cone 44, the latter can be pivoted about all horizontal directions, i.e. directions transverse to the axial direction 41', in particular by sitting with a downwardly open recess which has an approximately hemispherical, correspondingly upwardly pointing, base on a ball 45 which fits into this recess and has a radius analogous to that of its base, which forms the cone base 45.

[0078] The ball 45 is preferably mounted on the upper end of a piston rod 51 projecting from a pneumatic cylinder 50, which is tightly displaceable in the cylinder 52, which extends in the axial direction 41' and is arranged in the housing 41 below the closure cone 44, and is connected to a compressed air connection 53 in the peripheral wall 41a of the housing.

[0079] By applying compressed air, the piston rod 51 and thus the closure cone 44 are brought upwards until they rest against the granulate inlet opening 42, and by venting, this sinks downwards due to gravity into the open position, in which preferably the upwardly pointing tip of the closure cone 44 is also located within the housing 41, as in Figure 1c shown.

[0080] The design of the closure element 44 with an upwardly directed tip, i.e. in particular as a cone, prevents granulate from accumulating on the surface of the closure element 44, especially when it is open.

[0081] In the fastening flanges 41b, c, a plurality of vertically extending through-openings 49 are arranged as connecting elements 49 distributed over the circumference, in particular all on the same circle, which is arranged in particular concentrically around the longitudinal center 41" of the housing 41.

[0082] The Figures 2a , b show the closure unit 40 mounted - according to the gravity-induced flow direction 10 of the granulate 4 - under a granulate separator and dust collector 1, so that the granulate 4 from the granulate outlet opening 8 of the dust collector 1 and the granulate inlet opening 42 of the closure unit 40 arranged directly below it, in this case also of the same size, generally circular when viewed from above, can fall into the interior of the housing 41 of the closure unit 40, if this opening 8 or 42 is open, as in Figure 2b shown.

[0083] Only the closure unit 40 has a closure for this purpose, but not the dust extractor 1.

[0084] In the open state, the closure cone 44 of the closure unit 40 is located completely below these openings and thus completely in the height range of the peripheral wall 41a, so that the granules 4 falling into the closure unit 40 fall onto the tip or the conical surfaces of the closure cone 44 and slide further downwards from there.

[0085] How better in Figure 2a can be seen - in which the closure cone 44 is raised so far that it closes the granulate inlet opening 42 of the closure unit 40 and thus the passage between the dust extractor 1 and the closure unit 40 - the dust extractor 1 initially comprises a dust removal container 9 in the form of an upright cylinder, which is usually made of glass, which is closed at the top and bottom by corresponding parts, which are usually made of metal.

[0086] In the upper area of ​​the dedusting container 9, the inlet nozzle 18, which is guided through from the side and has its free end bent downwards, opens out, the free opening of which is the granulate inlet opening 7 of the deduster 1, through which the conveying air 3, including the granulate 4 conveyed by it, but also the dust 11 contained therein, is supplied in the flow direction 10.

[0087] In the lower area of ​​the dust collection container 9, i.e., in its wall, there is a gas supply opening 21 through which ionized gas 19 is supplied. This gas is usually air, which is supplied via a compressed air connection 22 and flows along an ionizing tip, which is part of an ionizer 20 arranged on the outside of the dust collection container 9.

[0088] Also in the lower area, on the outside of the wall of the dust removal container 9, there is a fill level sensor 13 which emits a signal as soon as a bed of granulate 4 has built up from below to such an extent that it reaches the fill level sensor 13.

[0089] The outlet cone 16 is tightly connected to the lower open end of the glass cylinder, which forms the dedusting container 9. In the inner conical surface 16' of the outlet cone, which narrows from top to bottom, the mouths of so-called swirling nozzles 17 open, into which compressed air can be injected via a compressed air connection 22 in order to swirl up a granulate 4 located in the lower area of ​​the dedusting container 9.

[0090] The agitation nozzles are preferably directed upwards, i.e. at an angle that deviates from the vertical by a maximum of 45°, preferably a maximum of 30°, preferably a maximum of 20°, preferably a maximum of 10°, in order to avoid the granules hitting the side walls of the dust collector as far as possible.

[0091] At the upper end, the upper air outlet opening 12 of the dust extraction container 9 is closed by a lid 15 in which a sieve 5 is located, which can be penetrated by air and dust 11, but not by the grains of the granulate 4. This air outlet opening 12 is followed by a nozzle for discharging the exhaust air 6 laden with dust 11, which is sucked through the sieve 5 by means of a negative pressure generated by an ejector compressed air nozzle 14 arranged downstream of the sieve 5 in the nozzle as a negative pressure generator, and supplied with compressed air via a compressed air connection 22.

[0092] The dust-laden exhaust air 6 is fed to a dust collection container (not shown) and a filter therein as a dust separator.

[0093] All moving parts as well as all valves and / or nozzles of the dust extractor and in particular of the entire treatment unit are controlled by an electrical control unit 2.

[0094] From the lower end of the outlet cone 16, an annular, plate-shaped flange projects outwards and is placed on the cover plate 41d of the closure unit 40.

[0095] Therein are through-openings 23 as connecting elements 23 of the dust extractor 1, preferably in the same circumferential position and radial position as the through-openings 49 as connecting elements 49 at the top of the closure unit 40, so that both screws can be inserted through and the two modules can be tightly connected to one another.

[0096] Such connecting elements 23 / 49 of the dust extractor 1 on the one hand and / or of the closure unit 40 on the other hand can be designed differently or can be located at different radial positions or circumferential positions and thus represent two different types of connecting elements, as shown for example in Figure 1b drawn lying on two different concentric circles or in the form of an elongated hole, either running radially as shown or running in the circumferential direction.

[0097] In this way, the granulate outlet opening 8 of the dust extractor 1 can be closed until a batch 4' of the granulate 4 has been filled in via the granulate inlet opening 7, and the granulate feed is stopped as soon as the fill level sensor 13 emits a corresponding signal and then this batch is dedusted batch by whirling up over a defined time and with defined pressure and volume flow from the whirling nozzles 17 with simultaneous negative pressure at the upper air outlet opening 12 of the granulate 4.

[0098] The Figures 3a , b show a treatment unit which, in addition to the dust extractor 1 and the closure unit 40 mounted underneath, as shown in the Figures 2a , b - further comprises a granulate dryer 30 which is mounted below the closure unit 40.

[0099] This entire treatment unit is mounted on a consumer 100 - here the inlet into its conveyor channel 101, in which a conveyor screw 102 is located - so that the granulate separated from the air stream and dedusted in the dust collector 1 initially falls into the closure unit 40 due to gravity - when the passage in between is released by the closure element 44 as in Figure 3b - and from there into the granulate dryer 30 and the consumer 100.

[0100] Of the granulate dryer 30, only the sleeve-shaped housing 31 with the upper granulate inlet opening 32 - which in this case is identical to the granulate outlet opening 43 of the closure unit 40 located above it - and the lower granulate outlet opening 33 as well as the annular fastening flanges extending radially outwards from the upper and lower ends of the sleeve-shaped housing 31 are shown, in which connecting elements 34, here again in the form of screw openings 34, for connecting to modules arranged above and below are located.

[0101] While in Figure 3a the screw holes 34 in the lower mounting flange are aligned with the screw holes in the consumer 100 arranged below, this is shown in the illustration of the Figure 3bThis is not the case, but the screw openings of the consumer are located on a circle with a larger diameter than those of the granulate dryer 30 and, if necessary, also at other circumferential positions.

[0102] Therefore, in Figure 3b between the granulate dryer 30 and the consumer 100, an adapter 70, in particular an annular one, is arranged, which has screw openings suitable for both the component to be screwed above and below it: Matching the screw openings of the consumer 100, screw openings are preferably arranged in this adapter 70 in the same circumferential position and the same radius, preferably as through openings without a thread.

[0103] Matching the lower screw openings 34 of the granulate dryer 30, threaded blind holes are preferably arranged in the adapter 70, i.e. at the same circumferential position and in the same radial position and in a size so that screws can be inserted through the screw openings 34 of the granulate dryer 30 and screwed into the threaded blind hole of the adapter 70.

[0104] In Figure 3a Furthermore, a suction lance 24 is shown, connected to the granulate inlet nozzle 18, in which a flow generator 90 in the form of an ejector compressed air nozzle 14 is arranged in order to be able to suck in granulate 4 from a granulate supply - not shown.

[0105] Analogous to the Figures 2a , b is also in the Figures 3a , b the locking unit 40 in Figure 3a in closed and in Figure 3b shown in the open state.

[0106] The Figures 4a , b show a treatment unit which comprises neither a granulate dryer 30 nor a closure unit 40 and thus also no closure element 44.

[0107] Thus, the granulate 4 can fall from the permanently open lower granulate outlet opening 8 of the dust collector 1 directly into the consumer 100, on which it is Figure 4a is directly mounted.

[0108] In Figure 4b On the other hand, an intermediate container 80 is mounted between the dust extractor 1 and the consumer 100, which consists only of a cylindrical peripheral wall and, at its upper and lower ends, radially outwardly projecting annular fastening flanges with fastening elements such as screw openings.

[0109] This creates an additional buffer space for granules between the lower granule outlet 8 of the dust collector 1 and the inlet into the consumer 100, which may be necessary, for example, because the consumer works in batches and the amount of granules 4 stored in its conveyor channel 101 is not sufficient for such a batch.

[0110] Figure 4c differs from Figure 4b in that a closure unit 40 is provided directly below the dust extractor 1 and thus between the dust extractor 1 and the intermediate container 80.

[0111] The treatment unit is generally assembled in this combination when the volume for granules within the housing of the closure unit 40 is not sufficient for the consumer 100 and is to be increased by the additional volume of the intermediate container 80. LIST OF REFERENCE SYMBOLS

[0112] 1Dedusting device, dust extractor 2Control 3Conveying air 4Granulate, granulate accumulation, granulate grain 4Batch 5Sieve 6Exhaust air 7Granulate inlet opening 8Granulate outlet opening 9Dust removal container 10Flow direction 11Dust 12Air outlet opening 13Level sensor 14Ejector compressed air nozzle, vacuum generator 15Cover 16Outlet cone 16Conical surface 17Agitation nozzle 18Inlet nozzle 19Ionized gas 20Ionizer 21Gas supply opening 22Compressed air connection 23Connecting element, through opening 24Suction lance 30Granule dryer 31Housing 32Granule inlet opening 33Granule outlet opening 34Connecting element 40Closure unit 41Housing 41'Axial direction, vertical 41"Longitudinal center 41aCircumferential wall 41b, cMounting flange 41dCover plate 42Granule inlet opening 43Granule outlet opening 44Closure element, closure cone 45Closure element base, cone base 46Air opening 47Air filter 48Fill level sensor 49Connecting element, through opening 50Pneumatic cylinder 51Piston rod 52Cylinder 53Compressed air connection 70 adapters 80Intermediate containers 90Conveyor flow generators 100 Consumer 101Conveyor channel 102Conveyor screw

Claims

1. Modular system for constructing a treatment unit for granules (4), which modular system comprises the following modules: a) a closure unit (40) for a stream of granules flowing through, having - a housing (41), - a granule inlet opening (42) for the granules (4) in the upper part of the housing (41), in particular in the cover plate (41d) thereof, - a granule outlet opening (43) in the lower part of the housing (41), - a closure element (44) in the housing (41), which closure element is so configured that it is able to close a granule through-flow opening, in particular the granule inlet opening (42) or a granule outlet opening of a component located above it, in particular is able to close said opening from the underside thereof, - connecting elements (49), in particular screw openings (49), in the lower region of the housing (41) for connection to a component arranged beneath it, and b) a dust extractor (1) for extracting dust, in particular batchwise, from granules (4), having: - a dust extraction container (9) which has: - at least one granule inlet opening (7) for the granules (4), - a granule outlet opening (8) in the lower part of the dust extraction container (9), in particular in the base thereof, and - an air outlet opening (12) which is arranged in particular in the upper part of the dust extraction container (9), - an ioniser (20), - a swirl unit for swirling the granules (4) in the dust extraction container (9), c) a controller (2) which is capable of controlling all the moving parts, in particular valves, of the dust extractor (1), characterised in that - the controller is also capable of controlling the swirl unit, - the closure unit (40) has connecting elements (49), in particular screw openings (49), in the upper region of the housing (41) for connection to a component located above it, - the dust extractor (1) has connecting elements (23), in particular screw openings (23), in the lower region of the dust extraction container (9) for connection to a component arranged beneath it, in particular the closure unit (40), - the modular system comprises a granule dryer (30) as a further module, wherein the granule outlet opening (43) is arranged in the closure unit (40) and the granule inlet opening (32) is arranged in the granule dryer (30) such that, when the closure unit (40) and the granule dryer (30) are mounted directly one on top of the other by means of the connecting elements, in particular screw openings, that are present on both sides, the granule outlet opening (43), when seen in a top view, lies inside the granule inlet opening (32), in particular is concentric therewith or is congruent therewith, - and wherein the modules (1, 40, 30), and their connecting elements for mutual connection, are specifically designed for free mutual combinability such that optionally at least each of the following three mounting configurations is made possible: - mounting of the dust extractor (1) on the granule dryer (30) with the interposition of the closure unit (40) between the dust extractor (1) and the granule dryer (30), - mounting of the dust extractor (1) on the granule dryer (30) without the interposition of the closure unit (40) between the dust extractor (1) and the granule dryer (30), and - mounting of the granule dryer (30) on the closure unit (40).

2. Modular system according to claim 1, characterised in that the granule outlet opening (8) is arranged in the dust extractor (1) and the granule inlet opening (42) is arranged in the closure unit (40) such that, when the dust extractor (1) and the closure unit (40) are mounted one on top of the other by means of the connecting elements (23, 49), in particular screw openings, that are present on both sides, the granule outlet opening (8) of the dust extractor (1) and the granule inlet opening (42) of the closure unit (40) are arranged concentrically, in particular in alignment, one above the other.

3. Modular system according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that - the modular system comprises as a further module an adapter (70), in particular a plate-shaped, in particular annular, adapter, having a vertically open passage opening and in particular as small an axial height as possible in the passage direction of the passage opening, in order to be able to mount the adapter (70) between two modules of the modular system or in order to be able to mount one module of the modular system, in particular the granule dryer (60), on a consumer (100), - in that the adapter (70) has two types of connecting elements, of which one type is so configured that they are able to cooperate with the connecting elements of the module standing thereon, and the other type is so configured that they are able to cooperate with the connecting elements of the module located therebeneath or with the consumer (100).

4. Modular system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that - the modular system comprises as a further module an intermediate container (80) having a vertically open passage opening, in order to be able to mount the intermediate container (80) between two modules of the modular system or in order to be able to mount one module of the modular system, in particular the granule dryer (60), on a consumer (100), - in that the intermediate container (80) has in particular two types of connecting elements, of which one type is so configured that they are able to cooperate with the connecting elements of the module standing thereon, and the other type is so configured that they are able to cooperate with the connecting elements of the module located therebeneath or with the consumer (100).

5. Modular system according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that - the modular system contains a conveying stream generator (90) which can be arranged in particular upstream of the dust extraction container (9) and in particular is in the form of an ejector compressed-air nozzle (14) which has a compressed-air connection and is arranged in particular in a suction lance (24), or / and - the modular system comprises a dust separator, in particular having an exhaust air filter and / or a low-pressure generator, in particular an ejector compressed-air nozzle (14), which can be arranged in particular downstream of the dust extraction container (9).

6. Modular system according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that - the dust extractor (1) does not comprise a closure element for closing its granule outlet opening (8), that is to say is closure-free, - the circumferential walls surrounding the dust extraction container (9) consist, at least on the inner surfaces facing the interior, of a non-electrically conductive material, in particular glass.

7. Modular system according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the swirl unit has upwardly directed swirl nozzles (17), which are in communication with a compressed-air connection, in the lower part of the dust extraction container (9), in particular in or close to the granule outlet opening (8).

8. Modular system according to claim 7, characterised in that - the cross section of the dust extraction container (9) decreases in the lower part towards the granule outlet opening (8), in particular by means of at least one conical surface (16'), - the swirl nozzles (17) are arranged in the surface that tapers the cross section downwards, in particular in the conical surface (16'), - in particular the swirl nozzles (17) are directed upwards, that is to say at an angle that differs from the vertical by not more than 45°, better still not more than 30°, better still not more than 20°, better still not more than 10°, - wherein the swirl nozzles (17) are preferably controllable in respect of pressure and / or flow velocity and / or volume flow, in particular are controllable by the controller (2), - wherein preferably the swirl nozzles (17) together with the controller (2) are capable of generating an upwardly directed counter-flow such that the granule grains (4) swirled up thereby mostly complete their upward movement, due to gravity, before they reach the upper air outlet opening (12).

9. Modular system according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that - the ioniser (20) comprises an ionising tip which is arranged in the free end region of an air supply line and projects into a gas supply opening (21) in the wall of the dust extraction container (9) or even into the interior of the dust extraction container (9), so that the flowing air in particular passes over it, or / and - the gas supply opening (21) with the ioniser (20) attached thereto is arranged in the lower region of the dust extraction container (9), in particular above the outlet cone (16).

10. Modular system according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the air outlet opening (12) is covered by a readily removable screen (5) or is permanently and in particular completely open.

11. Modular system according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that - the height of the dust extraction container (9) is at least 100 mm, better still at least 200 mm, better still at least 300 mm, better still at least 400 mm, or / and - the circumferential wall of the dust extraction container (9) is an upright glass tube that is open at the top and bottom, in particular having a rotationally symmetrical cross section, and the cross section does not change in particular over the entire length.

12. Modular system according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the granule inlet opening (7) is arranged in the upper half, in particular in the upper third, of the height of the dust extraction container (9).

13. Modular system according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the controller (2) has operating modes for batchwise operation and for continuous operation, and the controller (2) can be switched between these two operating modes.

14. Modular system according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that - the dust extraction container (9) has a plurality of granule inlet openings (8), or - the dust extractor (1) has a dust extraction container (9) having only one granule inlet opening (8), and also a conveyor line which has a branch outside the dust extraction container (9).

15. Modular system according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the controller (2) of the dust extractor (1) has signal connections for connection by means of signals to the closure unit (40), in particular to the controller thereof.

16. Modular system according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the controller (2) of the dust extractor (1) has a mill controller for emptying the collecting container of a mill, in which waste parts from an injection-moulding machine are ground, and supplying them to the granule inlet opening (7) of the dust extractor (1).

17. Modular system according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that - the closure element (44) of the closure unit (40) is an upwardly projecting element, in particular a closure cone (44), which in the closing state projects upwards out of the housing (41) through the upper granule inlet opening (42), - the closure element (44), in particular the closure cone (44), is fastened to a component that carries it, in particular to a closure element base (45), so as to be pivotable about at least one horizontal axis, better still about two intersecting horizontal axes.

18. Modular system according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that - the housing (41) of the closure unit (40) has circumferential walls as well as an upper and a lower fastening flange (41b, c), on which the connecting elements (49) are arranged, and / or - there is an air opening (46) in the housing (41), in particular in the circumferential wall (41a) thereof, which air opening is fluidically connected to an air filter (49) which is fastened in particular to the outside of the housing (41).

19. Modular system according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that - the closure unit (40) has a controller, in particular an electronic controller, for the closure element (44), - wherein this controller has signalling connections, in particular for connection to another controller.