An easily cleaned and maintenanced pressure milling apparatus

Abstract

A milling apparatus which uses air pressure zones to pulverize material into smaller components while still being easy to clean and maintenance is disclosed. The pressure zones are created by a lobe-lined chamber defined within a housing containing a rotating plate affixed with vanes. When material is fed into the chamber through an inlet, the rotation of the vanes pushes material from high-pressure zones to low pressure zones causing the product to pulverize into smaller components before exiting the chamber through an outlet. The housing defining the chamber includes separable parts that ride on a system that allows the simple and rapid assembly and disassembly of the housing for cleaning and maintenance. Furthermore, the inclusion of pressure ports and valves allows the mill to be cleaned without opening or disassembly of the mill. These features can be combined to create a self-cleaning cycle that preserves mill hygiene without labor-intensive disassembly.

Description

AN EASILY CLEANED AND MAINTENANCED PRESSURE MILLING APPARATUSPRIORITY

[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. provisional application serial no. 63 / 512,958, filed July 11 , 2023, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein by reference.TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] This invention pertains to an apparatus for milling or grinding matter into particles and powders and methods of using the apparatus.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION AND TECHNICAL PROBLEMS POSED BY THE PRIOR ART

[0003] In the field of material processing, it is often necessary to reduce raw materials (hereafter referred to as “material”), organic or inorganic, to a powder or granular form for use and consumption. The most common form of this grinding process is contact grinding, where the substance being milled is subjected to high amounts of friction or impact force by a hard substance, usually metallic, rock, or ceramic, which smashes the material apart into smaller particle components. Contact grinding, however, is often accompanied with numerous negative side-effects and downsides like product inefficiencies and microbial contamination. The use of a pressure mill addresses these disadvantages of contact milling by using air pressure to pulverize the material being processed. This pneumatic system kills bacteria and reduces production-related milling inefficiencies.

[0004] When a pressure mill is used to grind different substances, the device must be cleaned between pulverization cycles to maintain purity of the substance. Two separate and suboptimal ways exist in the prior art to clean a pressure mill. The first ofthese methods is simply to run water through the mill into the mill’s inlet and then out through the mill’s outlet. While this procedure is relatively simple and not very costly, its effectiveness is limited: while such a water bath will remove loose debris and grime from the mill, it will not have sufficient force or cleaning power to remove any compacted or built-up debris that is attached to the lobes and rotor plate of the mill. Furthermore, this method often leaves puddles of water on the bottom of the mill because it is difficult to dry the mill thoroughly after rinsing the interior of the mill. This residual water can negatively affect the next operational cycle of the mill for substances or products that need to be kept moisture-free.

[0005] The second suboptimal way the prior art discloses to clean a pressure mill is to disassemble the housing to expose the interior o the mill. Although this disassembly process does allow a user full access to clean the interior components of the mill, it is neither an easy nor economical process. Because the mill housing is large and heavy, disassembly requires significant amounts of time and labor. This lengthy disassembly time prolongs the time needed to clean a prior art pressure mill, therefore reducing the amount of time each day that the mill is operational for grinding processes. Furthermore, every time a prior art pressure mill is opened, the expensive seals which help keep the housing plates airtight must be replaced with new seals to prevent leaks from developing, further increasing the cost and complexity of prior art disassembly-style cleaning.

[0006] Despite producing a superior pulverized final product, the same problems which make prior art pressure mills difficult to clean also make them difficult to maintain and repair. Because pressure mills need to withstand powerful pressure shocks and large amounts of kinetic energy, the plates which form the housing of pressure mills are heavy, bulky, unwieldy, and difficult to separate or open. Additionally, the bearings and blades which enable the pressure shocks need regular maintenance and replacement to continue to function optimally. The inability to easily and inexpensively open a prior art pressure mill means that users of prior art pressure mills are disincentivized to regularly clean and maintain their mills, resulting in high rates of pressure mill wear and failure. These increased maintenance / cleaning costs and failure rates can often make prior art pressure milling a difficult, expensive, and time-consuming process. The milling industry has tried for a long time to fix these maintenance and cleaning issues associated withpressure mills, but has so far failed to develop an adequate solution that allows pressure mills to be used in widespread commercial milling.

[0007] The present invention addresses one or mover of the above-discussed disadvantages of the prior art pressure mills by enabling easy and regular access, cleaning, and maintenance of the interior components of the mill while in both the open and closed positions. The inventors of the present invention have discovered how to provide an improved milling apparatus and operation methods that include novel, advantageous features not heretofore taught or contemplated by the prior art, and which can accommodate designs having one or more of aforementioned benefits or features.SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0008] According to broad aspects of one form of the present invention, the claimed invention is an improved pressure mill apparatus for pulverizing wet or dry material into relatively smaller components, wherein the apparatus is easy to clean and maintain.

[0009] The apparatus defines an enclosed chamber, wherein the chamber has at least one inlet through which material may enter the chamber and at least one outlet through which material may exit the chamber. The interior of the chamber is circumferentially arrayed with at least one lobe that extends inward from the chamber walls toward the center of the chamber. The apparatus includes a rotatable shaft crossing from one side of the chamber to the other side and at least one rotor assembly coupled to the rotor shaft, wherein the rotor assembly includes a plate or series of plates. Each plate has a series of vanes which extend across the plate and each terminate in a vane tip that is located adjacent the lobe of the chamber wall. The apparatus includes a motor operatively connected to the rotatable shaft and adapted to spin the rotor assembly.

[0010] In one preferred form of the present invention the chamber is composed of several housing pieces or parts of housing (collectively referred hereto in as “parts”) that separate from each other by sliding on rails which are attached to frames that slide on another set of rails. This combination of sliding frames and rails allows the housing parts to move in two dimensions away from the center of the pressure mill, granting the user ofthe mill easy access to the interior of the mill for deep cleaning and easy maintenance while in an open position of the housing parts.

[0011] In another preferred form of the present invention, the housing chamber contains one or more high-pressure and low-pressure ports that feed a fluent substance such as water or cleaning solution into the pressure mill. These ports, combined with valves over the mill inlet and outlet, allow the operator of a pressure mill to lightly clean the mill between uses without disassembly while in the closed position. The low-pressure ports can also be used to precisely adjust the moisture content of the interior of the mill during material processing to produce better quality final pulverized products.

[0012] According to another preferred form of the present invention, the high- pressure and low-pressure ports can be managed with a controller programmed to clean the pressure mill automatically. The controller is programmed with various wash-cycle pre-sets to clean the apparatus efficiently without disassembling the housing of the mill, each setting having been tailored to different situations by controlling for specific revolutions per minute (“RPM”), temperatures, moisture content, water volume and cleaning solution compositions.

[0013] In another aspect of the present invention, the apparatus includes a grate is positioned beneath the housing covering a means of draining liquid.

[0014] According to another aspect of the present invention, the apparatus includes at least one safety sensor that sends a signal to a locking mechanism that prevents the means of separating the separable parts of the housing from opening when the at least one plate of the at least one rotor assembly is moving. In another form of the present invention, the apparatus includes at least one safety sensor that sends a signal to a locking mechanism that prevents the at least one rotor plate of the at least one rotor assembly from spinning unless the separable parts of the housing are in a closed position. Preferably, the separable parts of the housing have a means of attachment that lock each one of the separable parts to one another.

[0015] In one preferred form of the present invention, the separable parts of the housing are connected to each other by pneumatic locking pin that aligns the separable parts of the housing in a closed position.

[0016] In another preferred form of the present invention, the apparatus includes at least one seal that fits between the separable parts of the housing.

[0017] According to another preferred form of the present invention, the first rail and the second rail have the form of tracks, beams, rods, sliders, chains, tubes, tubes, spindles, or shafts. Preferably, the first rail and the second rail are perpendicular to one another.

[0018] In still another preferred form of the present invention, the apparatus includes at least one port which may be either a low-pressure port or a high-pressure port. In another preferred form of the invention, the at least one port is positioned so that a fluent substance injected through the at least one port into the interior of the chamber is configured to intercept the vanes of the at least one plate. The at least one inlet and the at least one outlet of the chamber are each preferably covered by a valve.

[0019] According to one broad aspect of one form of the present invention, the claimed invention is a method of cleaning a pressure mill apparatus for pulverizing wet or dry material into relatively smaller components, wherein the method includes the steps of obtaining the pressure mill apparatus, obtaining a fluent substance, operating the means of separating the separable parts of the housing of the apparatus in a first direction, operating the means of separating the separable parts of the housing in a second direction that is transverse to the first direction to expose the at least one rotor assembly, applying the fluent substance to the exposed rotor assembly and housing, and drying the interior of the housing.

[0020] According to another broad aspect of one form of the present invention, the claimed invention is a method of cleaning a pressure mill apparatus for pulverizing wet or dry material into relatively smaller components, wherein the method includes the steps of obtaining the pressure mill apparatus, obtaining a fluent substance, closing the at least one inlet and the at least one outlet of the housing, injecting the fluent substance into the housing via the at least one port, turning the rotatable shaft with the motor of the apparatus, opening the at least one inlet and the at least one outlet of the housing, removing the fluent substance from the housing, and drying the interior of the housing.

[0021] It should be appreciated that the invention may include any or all of the above-described features, include only one of the above-described features, more than one of the above-described features, and any combination of the above-described features. Furthermore, other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a review of the entire specification including the appended claims and drawings.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] In the accompanying drawings forming part of the specification, in which like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same,

[0023] FIG. 1 is an isometric view, taken from above, of an embodiment of a milling apparatus according to the present invention shown in a closed position or configuration;

[0024] FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the milling apparatus of FIG.1 ;

[0025] FIG. 3 is a front elevation view of the milling apparatus of FIG.1 ;

[0026] FIG. 4 is a left side elevation view of the milling apparatus of FIG.1 ;

[0027] FIG. 5 is an isometric view, taken from above, of the milling apparatus ofFIG. 1 moved into a partly or half-opened position or configuration;

[0028] FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the milling apparatus of FIG. 5;

[0029] FIG. 7 is a front elevation view of the milling apparatus of FIG.5;

[0030] FIG. 8 is an isometric view, taken from above, of the milling apparatus ofFIG. 1 moved into a fully-opened position or configuration;

[0031] FIG. 9 is a top plan view of the milling apparatus of FIG. 8;

[0032] FIG. 10 is a left side elevation view of the milling apparatus of FIG.8

[0033] FIG. 11 is an enlarged, fragmentary, front elevation view of a portion of the milling apparatus housing of FIG. 1 ;

[0034] FIG. 12 is an enlarged, fragmentary, side elevation view of a portion of the milling apparatus of FIG. 1 , and FIG. 12 shows the bottom locking system for the frame;

[0035] FIG. 13 is an enlarged, fragmentary, isometric view of a portion of the milling apparatus housing of FIG. 1 , and FIG. 13 shows the locating blocks for the housing parts;

[0036] FIG. 14 is an enlarged, fragmentary, front elevation view of a portion of the milling apparatus housing of FIG. 1 , and FIG. 14 shows a pneumatic locking mechanism locking the housing parts in the closed configuration;

[0037] FIG. 15 is an enlarged, fragmentary, isometric view of a portion of the pneumatic locking mechanism of FIG. 14;

[0038] FIG. 16 is an enlarged, fragmentary, isometric view of a portion of a pneumatic locking slide;

[0039] FIG. 17 is an enlarged, fragmentary, isometric view of a portion of the milling apparatus housing of FIG. 1 , and FIG. 17 shows the top locking system for the housing parts;

[0040] FIG. 18 is a top plan view of only the drain try system of the milling apparatus of FIG. 1 ;

[0041] FIG. 19 is a rear elevation view of the drain try system of FIG. 18;

[0042] FIG. 20 is an isometric view from above of the drain try system of FIG. 18;

[0043] FIG. 21 is a left side elevation view of the drain try system of FIG. 18;

[0044] FIG. 22 is an enlarged, fragmentary, isometric view from above of a portion of the milling apparatus of FIG. 1 , and FIG. 22 shows the outlet portion of the housing;

[0045] FIG. 23 is an enlarged, fragmentary, front elevation view of a portion of the milling apparatus housing of FIG. 1 , and FIG. 22 shows the housing in a closed, locked configuration; and

[0046] FIG. 24 is a fragmentary, isometric cross-sectional view of a portion of the milling apparatus of FIG. 1 , and FIG. 24 shows first set or pair of (Y-axis) rails in greater detail.DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0047] With reference to FIGS. 1 -24 an exemplary embodiment of the present invention in the form of an improved pressure mill or apparatus 40 (hereafter referred toas an “easy-clean” mill) that is easier to clean and maintain than pressure mills that exist in the prior art. The claimed invention may be easily cleaned while in its partially open configuration (e.g., FIGS. 5-7), its fully open configuration (e.g., FIGS. 8-10), or in its as closed configuration (e.g., FIGS. 1 -4).

[0048] The pressure mill 40 is an apparatus that uses air pressure to pulverize material into smaller pieces by moving the material between high- and low-pressure areas inside a chamber. The mill 40 includes the following six basic or central components: a housing 44 comprised of separable parts or portions which collectively define an internal cavity or enclosed chamber 46 when assembled in the closed configuration, an inlet 48 at the inlet side of the housing 44 of the mill, an outlet 50 at the outlet side of the housing 44 of the mill, at least one lobe 54 (visible in FIG. 8) on the interior circumference of the chamber (though more than one lobe is preferable), a rotor plate 60 with vanes or vane blades 64 affixed to a rotating shaft 70 that runs through the center of the chamber (collectively known as a rotor assembly 74), and a motor 80 to turn the rotor assembly 74 relative to the lobes 54. The housing 44 preferably is comprised of pieces or parts that are stacked or assembled to enclose the mill. The space between parts or components of the housing 44 has seals 82 which are used to help keep the pressure mill chamber wall airtight or watertight. The pressure mill functions when the rotor plate 60 is spun at about 2,500 to about 15,000 RPM, which creates a relatively high-pressure zone in front of the rotor plate 60 near the inlet 48 and a relatively low-pressure zone behind the rotor plate 60 near the outlet 50. The motor 80 which turns the rotor plate 60 can vary the rotational speed of the plate to match the desired RPM of the operator of the mill. The rotor vanes 64 of the rotor plate 60 should extend from the center of the plate radially towards the edge of the plate. The vanes 64 may extend in a straight line or in a spiraling design, the choice of which affects efficiency depending on the material being pulverized. The vanes 64 should terminate at the radial edge or end of the plate, though in other embodiments of this invention the vanes terminate near the end of the plate or hang off the end of the edge of the plate.

[0049] When raw material is placed or fed into the pressure mill 40, the difference between the pressure zones in the chamber of the mill 40 creates a suction effect that pulls material from the front to the rear of the mill 40. As material is pulled by the suctioneffect from the front to the rear of the mill 40, the rotor plate vanes 64 redirect the flow of material out to the walls of the chamber. This redirection forces the material being processed to flow and circle around the inner surface of the walls of the chamber while simultaneously being drawn towards the rear of the mill 40 by the pressure zone suction. The flow of air from the front of the mill 40 to the back of the mill 40 is measured in cubic feet per minute (CFM), and can be varied to change the properties of the final pulverized product exiting the mill 40.

[0050] As the vanes 64 move the material around the perimeter of the chamber defined by the housing 44, the material regularly encounters lobes 54 extending from or embedded in the inner surface of the periphery of the chamber. These lobes 54 protrude internally from the walls of the housing 44 such that the top point of each lobe 54 is at a height adjacent (but not touching) to the circumference of the tips of the rotating vanes 64 of the rotor plate 60, whichever is further from the center of the chamber. Conversely, the base of the lobes 54 (which is the surface of the chamber wall itself) should be at a relatively large distance from the edge of the vane tips 64.

[0051] The lobes 54 should be sufficiently high so that the top point of each lobe 54 is greater or equal to one one-thousandth of an inch from the tip of the rotating vanes 64 or circumference of the rotating plate 60, but not so low that the top point of the lobe 54 is greater than one inch from the circumference of the rotating vanes 64 or rotating plate 60. Should the lobes 54 fall outside these height limitations, the mill 40 will not pulverize material efficiently.

[0052] Similarly, the base of the lobes 54 (which are at the inner surface diameter of the walls of the chamber) should be at such a distance from the center of the chamber that the base is greater than, or equal to, one quarter of an inch from the tip of the circumference defined by the rotating vanes 64 or the circumference of the rotating plate 60, but not so low that they are greater than fifteen inches from the tip of the circumference defined by the rotating vanes 64 or the circumference of the rotating plate 60.

[0053] The lobes 54 of the mill 40 should have a height between one quarter of an inch and fifteen inches from the base of the lobe (the interior surface of the wall of the housing that defines the chamber) to the topmost point of the lobe 54. This lobe heightshould be selected such that the top of each lobe 54 is within a distance of greater or equal to one one-thousandth of an inch to one inch from the tips of the circumference of the rotating vanes 64 or circumference defined by the rotating plate 60.

[0054] The lobes 54 serve a twofold purpose. First, the narrow distance between the lobe 54 and the vane tips creates a shockwave whenever a vane 64 passes the lobe 54. As material circles the walls of the chamber and enters this space between the lobes 54 and rotor assembly 74, the resulting shockwaves pulverize the material into relatively smaller pieces.

[0055] Second, the angled shape of the lobe 54 redirects the material being pulverized back towards the center of the mill 40. This redirection forces the material back into the vanes 64, which redistributes the material back onto the surface of the chamber walls to be pulverized again by more shockwaves at the lobes 54.

[0056] Eventually, after being pulverized numerous times, the material reaches a fine enough pulverized condition that the suction effect of the mill 40 is sufficient to drag the material beyond the rotor assembly 74 towards the back of the chamber within the housing 44 of the mill 40 (in the direction away from the motor 80 toward the outlet 50). Upon reaching the back of the chamber, the suction effect of the mill pushes the pulverized material out of the rear outlet 50 of the housing 44. This ejected material can then be optionally introduced to subsequent pressure mill chambers for further pulverization.

[0057] Importantly, while the illustrated embodiment of the present invention illustrate a single chamber defined by the housing 44, it will be understood that there is no limit to the number of pressure mill chambers or housings that can be used successively, as each chamber adds to the suction effect of the previous chamber and increases the consistency of the granulate size of the final output of the mill.

[0058] In the preferred illustrated embodiment of the claimed invention, the apparatus or mill 40 includes a first set of tracks or rails 100 (referred to hereto in as “rails”) that lay parallel to each other upon a surface like a floor or a platform 104. Henceforth the directions parallel to this first set of tracks are referred to as the “y-axis” of the claimed invention. Although the preferred embodiment of the claimed inventionpositions the first set of rails 100 parallel to each other, a person skilled in the art will recognize that alternative non-parallel rail configurations will achieve a similar result and are included in the claimed invention.

[0059] Upon the first set of rails 100 is a set or pair of frames 108 which are movably affixed such that the frames may slide or roll throughout the entire length of the y-axis of the first set of rails 100. Between each set of frames 108 there spans a second set of rails 112 positioned horizontally to the ground and transverse or perpendicular in direction to the first set of rails 100. Henceforth directions parallel to this second set of rails 112 is referred to as the “x-axis” of the claimed invention. The shaft 70 of the rotor assembly 74 and the motor 80 are generally parallel to the x-axis. The housing 44 parts or components are movably affixed on the second set of rails 112, such that the parts of the mill housing 44 can move separately and freely along the second set of rails 112 in the x-axis directions. Although the preferred embodiment of the claimed invention positions both sets of rails 100 and 112 perpendicular to each other, a person skilled in the art will recognize that alternative non-perpendicular rail configurations will achieve the similar results and are included in the scope of the claimed invention.

[0060] The rotating shaft 70, rotor plates 60, and motor 80 (collectively referred hereto in as the “central assembly” of the mill 40) are affixed to the floor or platform 104 between the first set of y-axis rails 100. Unlike pressure mills in the prior art, the central assembly is not connected to the housing 44 of the mill 40. Instead, the housing 44 of the mill 40 is suspended from the frames 108 and the set of second x-axis rails 112 to surround and encapsulate the central assembly of the mill 40 in the closed configuration or position as illustrated in FIGS 1 -4.

[0061] The housing 44 of the mill 40 is composed of several individual parts or components that are held together around the central assembly by bolts, alignment pins, and housing alignment chamfers or other securement means 81. If additional alignment is desired, a pneumatic alignment pin 83 may be used to help automate the alignment and securement process. Reusable seals 82 may be used between housing parts to ensure the chamber does not leak. When the housing 44 is properly closed and secured around the central assembly, the claimed invention is in the “closed” position orconfiguration and can be operated to pulverize and grind raw materials. However, when the aforementioned bolts and pins are removed from the mill 40, the housing parts can separate from each other by sliding on the aforementioned sets of rails 100 and 112.

[0062] This separation process of the housing 44 is straightforward. First, the aforementioned alignment pins and bolts are removed from the mill housing 44. Then, the aforementioned sets of frames 108 are slid, rolled, or otherwise moved apart from one another along the first set of rails 100 to split the chamber in half away from the central assembly along the y-axis of the apparatus 40 as illustrated in FIGS. 5-7. Second, the two individual halves of the housing 44 are pulled apart into further sections via the second set of rails 112 along the x-axis of the apparatus 40. When the housing 44 is open and extended via the two sets of rails 100 and 112, the mill is in the “fully open” position as illustrated in FIGS. 8-10.

[0063] In the preferred embodiment of the claimed invention, the final separated state of the housing 44 leaves six housing parts suspended from the x-axis rails 112 away from the central assembly of the mill 40. However, a person skilled in the art will recognize that any number, configuration, or combination of housing parts may be used to accomplish the claimed invention. Furthermore, although the preferred form of the apparatus 40 suspends all parts of the housing 44 along the rail system, the claimed apparatus does include alternative embodiments where at least one of the housing 44 parts or portions is not attached to rails and is instead removed from the housing 44 via alternative means. Examples of these alternative means of removing housing 44 parts include (but are not limited to): manual removal by the mill operator, a lift, a crane, a slide, a ramp, or a at least one mechanical arm or automated mechanical movement mechanism.

[0064] This two-dimensional y- and x-axis splitting of the chamber housing 44 separates the housing parts so the mill operator can easily access both the central assembly and the chamber parts for easy cleaning. The separation of the mill has the additional benefit of making mill maintenance much easier and less time consuming than in the prior art. Because the claimed invention completely exposes the central assembly, mill operators have easy access to repair, maintain, or clean any of the internalcomponents of the mill 40. The two sets of rails 100 and 112 can be replaced with any similar component that allows the housing parts to move relative to one another. Examples of replacement components for the rails 100 and 112 include (but not limited to) racks, beams, sliders, chains, tubes, tubes, spindles, bearings, powered screws, linear actuators, and shafts - any of which may be powered or unpowered. The term “rail” or “rails” in the claims is to be broadly construed to encompass these mechanical and electromechanical equivalents of effecting movement of the housing parts relative to one another.

[0065] In the preferred embodiment of the invention, one or more safety sensors detect whether or not the housing 44 of the mill 40 is in the open position (e.g., partly or fully open) or the closed position, and whether or not the rotor plate 60 is spinning. If the rotor plate 60 is spinning, the sensor sends a signal to a locking mechanism that prevents the user of the mill 40 from separating the housing parts (thus keeping the user safe from accidentally being hit by a potentially moving rotor plate 60 when disassembling the housing 44). Similarly, if the sensors determine that the housing is in the open position, the sensors send a signal to a locking mechanism that prevents the rotor 60 from starting to spin. These locking mechanisms can be any type of device that stop the housing parts or central rotator from moving, including (but not limited to) electromagnets, physical stops, brake pads on a piston, or pneumatic clamps, etc.

[0066] To restore the mill 40 to operation, the user reverses the steps taken to open the mill 40 described above. The housing parts are pushed or driven back together along the x-axis rails 112 until the housing parts combine back into two halves of the housing 44. Then, the frames 108 are pushed back along the y-axis rails 100 to enclose the central assembly of the pressure mill 40. Bolts and alignment pins are reinserted to properly align the housing parts to define the internal chamber of the mill 40, and the mill is then ready for its pulverization operations once more. These bolts and alignment pins can be alternatively substituted for any combination of components that will attach the housing together. Examples of these housing attachment options include (but are not limited to), latches, screws, pins, pneumatic pins, pneumatic bolts, clamps, and locking mechanisms.

[0067] This abovementioned opening apparatus is useful for when a pressure mill 40 needs a deep and thorough cleaning to prevent cross-contamination between products (or, alternatively, when maintenance needs to be done to the interior components or to the chamber walls of the mill 40).

[0068] In the preferred embodiment of the claimed invention, the surface or platform 104 on which the apparatus rests includes a grate 116 or mesh surface. This grate 116 allows any water or liquid associated with cleaning the open mill 40 to drain away from the machine. In this embodiment, the grate 116 surface covers the a means 120 for draining liquid. This means can be accomplished by a variety of methods, including (but not limited to): trays, aqueducts, buckets, or other storage containers that collect liquid and can be removed when full for dumping, and drain piping that allows the liquid to flow into a waste system.

[0069] In another advantageous embodiment of the claimed invention, high- pressure and low-pressure ports 124 (FIG. 11 ) are located in the housing 44 of the mill 40, while valves are arranged across the inlet 48 and outlet 50 to the chamber interior. Any commercially available or specialized valve may be used to temporarily close the inlet 48 and outlet 50 during a cleaning cycle such as gate valves, plug valves, ball valves, flow control valves, butterfly valves, etc. The valves may be manually or automatically opened and closed by way of pneumatic, hydraulic, or electric control by the operator of the mill 40. The ports 124 run through the housing 44 and are connected to an external source of a fluent substance such as a cleaning liquid, water, or gas. The operator of the mill 40 can use the ports 124 to inject water, cleaners, or chemicals into the interior of the mill 40 before or during the operation of the mill 40.

[0070] The high-pressure ports 124 are advantageously positioned on the apparatus housing 40 such that the stream of liquid or gas introduced into the interior from the port 124 makes direct contact with the rotator blades or vanes 164. This rotator- aimed positioning allows for quicker dispersal of injected fluent substances throughout the chamber in the housing 44 while simultaneously cleaning debris off of the rotator blades 64. Low-pressure ports 124 are advantageously positioned on the top and sidesof the housing 44 to provide precise volumes of water and chemicals into the mill 40 for cleaning.

[0071] The inventors have found that the ports 124 have an unexpected secondary benefit of aiding the production capabilities of the mill 40. Often the pulverization of organic materials requires careful control over the internal humidity within the chamber of the housing 44. If the humidity drops too low during the pressure milling process, the organic material being crushed by the mill 40 is transformed into a final product with undesirable consistencies and particulate sizes. The ports 120 are able to address this problem by injecting precise amounts of water or chemicals into the mill 40 during pulverization to control the humidity levels therein. The ports 120 in the chamber walls may have the form of any number of means for injecting water, liquid, and / or gas into the interior of the housing 44. These means may be (but are not lim ited to) jets, valves, hoses, spigots, flaps, gates, faucets, spouts, outlets, vents, and nozzles.

[0072] The ports 120 of the mill 40 of the presently claimed invention are particularly desirable because they dramatically reduce the amount of work needed to clean the mill 40 compared to prior art pressure mills. If the mill 40 only needs a light cleaning (compared to the heavy cleaning associated with disassembling the mill 40), then the mill operator can use the pressure ports120 to run a wash cycle through the mill 40 to clean the internal housing 44 and the plates 60 without disassembly of the separable portions of the housing 44 as described above.

[0073] If both high- and low-pressure ports 120 are used to inject water or other fluent substance into the mill 40 in the closed position, and the mill is run at a predetermined RPM and internal temperature, then the mill 40 can, surprisingly and unexpectedly, self-clean and remove excess debris from the interior of the mill 40. This self-cleaning capability allows the operator of the mill 40 to lightly clean it without the extended labor involved with disassembling the mill 40.

[0074] Advantageously, the claimed mill 40 can be connected to an electronic controller that is pre-programed with a wash cycle that turns on the mill 40 and injects water and cleaning solution into the mill 40 at the selection of a single input like a button.

[0075] According to another preferred form of the present invention, the high- and low-pressure ports 120 can be managed with a controller programed to automatically clean the pressure mill 40. The controller is programmed with various wash cycles that run the mill automatically with specific RPMs, temperatures, moisture content, and cleaning solution compositions that are tailored to most efficiently clean the apparatus without disassembling the mill housing 44. The controller can optionally be programmed to activate the cleaning cycle at the press of a single button or selection of an input by the mill operator.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:1 . An apparatus for pulverizing wet or dry material into relatively smaller components, wherein the apparatus comprises: a housing defining an enclosed chamber, wherein the housing is composed of separable parts and is attached to a means of separating the separable parts, and wherein the chamber has at least one inlet through which material may enter the chamber and at least one outlet through which material may exit the chamber, and wherein the interior of the chamber is circumferentially arrayed with at least one lobe that extends inwards from the chamber walls towards the center of the chamber; a rotatable shaft crossing from one side of the chamber to the other side; at least one rotor assembly coupled to the rotor shaft, wherein the at least one rotor assembly includes at least one plate, wherein the at least one plate has a series of affixed vanes which extend across the plate and terminate in a vane tip; and a motor operatively connected to the rotatable shaft and adapted to spin the at least one rotor assembly.

2. An apparatus for pulverizing wet or dry material into relatively smaller components, wherein the apparatus comprises: a housing defining an enclosed chamber, wherein the chamber has at least one inlet through which material may enter the chamber and at least one outlet through which material may exit the chamber, and wherein the interior of the chamber is circumferentially arrayed with at least one lobethat extends inwards from the chamber walls towards the center of the chamber, and wherein at least one chamber wall has at least one port configured for the injection of a fluent substance into the interior of the chamber: a rotatable shaft crossing from one side of the chamber to the other side; at least one rotor assembly coupled to the rotor shaft, wherein the at least one rotor assembly includes at least one plate, wherein the at least one plate has a series of vanes affixed which extend across the at least one plate and terminate in a vane tip; and a motor operatively connected to the rotatable shaft and adapted to spin the rotor assembly.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the means of separation is: a first rail with a first pair of frames configured to slide along the first rail relative to one another, wherein each one of the first pair of frames has a second rail that spans each one of said first pair of frames4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the first pair of frames is a first pair of frames and a second pair of frames, wherein said second rail is a pair of second rails running between the first pair of frames and a pair of second rails running between the second pair of frames, and wherein the housing is comprised of i) a plurality of separable parts confined to one of the pair of second rails, and ii) a plurality of separable parts confined to the other one of the pair of second rails.

5. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein at least one of the separable parts of the housing is removably attached to one of the first rail or the second rail.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a grate positioned beneath the housing and covering a means of draining a liquid.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising at least one safety sensor that sends a signal to a locking mechanism that prevents the means of separating the separable parts of the housing from opening when the at least one plate of the at least one rotor assembly is moving.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising at least one safety sensor that sends a signal to a locking mechanism that prevents the at least one rotor plate of the at least one rotor assembly from spinning unless the separable parts of the housing are in a closed position.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the separable parts of the housing have a means of attachment that lock each one of the separable parts to one another.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the separable parts of the housing are connected to each other by pneumatic locking pin that aligns the separable parts of the housing in a closed position.11 . The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising at least one seal that fits between the separable parts of the housing.

12. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the first rail and the second rail have the form of tracks, beams, rods, sliders, chains, tubes, tubes, spindles, or shafts.

13. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the first rail and the second rail are perpendicular to one another.

14. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the at least one port is a low-pressure or a high-pressure port.

15. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the at least one port is positioned so that a fluent substance injected through the at least one port into the interior of the chamber will intercept the vanes of the at least one plate.

16. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the at least one inlet and the at least one outlet of the chamber are each covered by a valve.

17. A method of cleaning an apparatus in the form of a pressure mill, the method comprising the steps of: obtaining the apparatus of claim 2; obtaining a fluent substance; closing the at least one inlet and the at least one outlet of the housing; injecting the fluent substance into the housing via the at least one port; turning the rotatable shaft with the motor of the apparatus; opening the at least one inlet and the at least one outlet of the housing; removing the fluent substance from the housing; and and drying the interior of the housing.

18. A method of cleaning an apparatus in the form of a pressure mill, the method comprising the steps of: obtaining the apparatus of claim 1 ; obtaining a fluent substance; operating the means of separating the separable parts of the housing in a first direction;operating the means of separating the separable parts of the housing in a second direction that is transverse to the first direction to expose the at least one rotor assembly; applying the fluent substance to the exposed rotor assembly and housing; and drying the interior of the housing.

Images