Mobile installation for the mechanical processing of agglomerated powdery or pulverulent food products

Abstract

Mobile installation for the mechanical treatment of agglomerated powdery or pulverulent food products The invention relates to a mobile installation (2) for the mechanical treatment of agglomerated powdery or pulverulent food products, comprising a chassis (4) mounted on casters (6) and which carries an electric drive motor, a fixed tank (16) mounted on the chassis, a transmission shaft mounted inside the tank (16), coupled to the drive motor, and capable of carrying and rotating a removable tool for mechanical treatment of products, a conical hopper (24) mounted on the tank in a tilting manner between a tank closing position and a tank opening position, and a discharge conduit (34) for the treated products which is mounted vertically on the chassis and which contains a helical transfer screw driven in rotation by the drive motor and communicating with the interior of the tank,the discharge duct terminating at an upper end in an outlet chute (38). Figure for abstract: Fig. 1.,

Description

Title of the invention: Mobile installation for the mechanical treatment of agglomerated powdery or pulverulent food products Technical field

[0001] The present invention relates to the general field of mechanical processing of agglomerated powdery or pulverulent food products, such as in particular agglomerated dried fruits, biscuits to be recycled, spices, dehydrated vegetables or any other food product to be recycled. Prior art

[0002] In the food industry, it is known to use machines for mechanically processing products to be recycled. These mechanical treatments most often consist of operations of breaking up, husking, sieving or grinding powdery or pulverulent food products which are taken in mass or agglomerated.

[0003] Generally, one machine is provided for each type of mechanical treatment that one wishes to subject the food products to be recycled.

[0004] Also known from publication EP 0,623,288 is an installation intended for the recycling of expired foodstuffs for animal consumption. In this installation, a hopper is used to receive the product to be recycled, which is then successively conveyed through a grinding device and then a separation device (by sieving or screening) by means of helical screws.

[0005] Although multi-tasking, the installation described in this publication is bulky and requires motorization for each operation (crushing and separation) and for the transport of the product. In addition, the dismantling and cleaning time of this installation is particularly high.

[0006] Also known from publication EP 4,019,140 is a machine used for various powder grinding operations, such as grinding, particle size reduction, deagglomeration, pulverization, homogenization, calibration, crushing, etc. This machine has the disadvantage that it does not allow other mechanical product processing operations, in particular granulation or sieving. Statement of the invention

[0007] There is therefore a need to be able to have a multi-task installation for the mechanical processing of products which is compact, mobile and easy to maintain.

[0008] According to the invention, this aim is achieved by means of a mobile installation for the mechanical processing of agglomerated powdery or pulverulent food products, including: - a supporting frame which is mounted on rollers and which carries an electric drive motor; - a fixed cylindrical tank which is mounted on the chassis and which has a longitudinal axis arranged vertically; - a transmission shaft which is mounted on the chassis inside the tank while being centered on the longitudinal axis thereof and which is coupled to the drive motor, said shaft being capable of carrying and rotating a removable tool for mechanical treatment of products; - a conical hopper mounted on an upper end of the tank in a tilting manner between a tank closing position and a tank opening position; and - a discharge conduit for the treated products which is mounted vertically on the chassis and which contains a rotating transfer screw driven in rotation by the drive motor and communicating with the interior of the tank, the discharge conduit terminating at an upper end by an outlet chute.

[0009] The installation according to the invention is remarkable in that it is versatile: it allows the use in turn of different removable tools for mechanical treatment of products such as a grinding tool, a sieving tool, and a lumping / shelling tool. In other words, the same installation is used for grinding, sieving, lumping, etc. In addition, these different tools, as well as the extraction screw, are rotated by a single motor, which limits the cases of breakdown. In addition, the installation is compact, space-saving and mobile thanks to its casters, which allows it to be easily moved to the different production workshops. The presence of a tilting hopper is particularly advantageous for changing tools and for cleaning the tank, which limits the difficulty and risks for the operators of the installation.

[0010] Advantageously, the installation further comprises means for securely locking the hopper in the closed position of the tank.

[0011] The hopper may comprise a cover formed of two parts capable of pivoting around a horizontal axis for filling the tank with food products to be treated.

[0012] In this case, one of the two parts of the cover preferably opens onto a safety grid and the other part is coupled to an electrical cut-off system for the drive motor.

[0013] Also advantageously, the installation further comprises jacks to assist in tilting the hopper and keeping it in the open position.

[0014] Preferably, the transmission shaft and the transfer screw of the discharge conduit are coupled to the drive motor by a transmission belt.

[0015] The transmission shaft may further carry drive blades for transferring the processed products from the bottom of the tank to the transfer screw of the discharge chute.

[0016] Also advantageously, the outlet chute is able to pivot around a longitudinal axis of the discharge duct. Brief description of the drawings

[0017] [Fig.l] [Fig.l] is a perspective view of a mobile installation according to the invention.

[0018] [Fig.2] [Fig.2] is a side view of the installation of [Fig.l].

[0019] [Fig.3] [Fig.3] is a side view of the installation of [Fig.l] with the hopper in tank opening position.

[0020] [Fig.4] [Fig.4] is a top view of the installation of [Fig.3]. Description of the embodiments

[0021] The installation according to the invention is a mobile machine making it possible to carry out various mechanical treatments on agglomerated powdery or pulverulent food products, such as in particular agglomerated dried fruits, biscuits to be recycled, spices, dehydrated vegetables, etc.

[0022] This installation is thus configurable according to the desired mechanical treatment, and in particular for grinding (i.e. reducing an agglomerated product to powder), for sieving (i.e. separating elements from a mixture) or for granulating / clumping (i.e. breaking up the clumps of agglomerated product by crushing them).

[0023] As shown in Figures 1 to 4, the installation 2 according to the invention comprises in particular a frame 4 forming a support which is mounted on casters 6 allowing the installation to be mobile and thus to be easily moved. For example, two fixed casters may be provided at the front and two swivel casters with brakes at the rear.

[0024] On the chassis 4 is mounted a box 8 which contains an electric drive motor 10 powered from a power box 12. The box 8 can include removable inspection hatches 14 for working on the drive motor.

[0025] The chassis 4 also carries a fixed tank 16 made of stainless steel and of cylindrical shape whose longitudinal axis XX is arranged vertically. This tank 16 contains a transmission shaft 18 which is centered on the longitudinal axis XX of the tank.

[0026] As shown in [Fig.3], this transmission shaft 18 is coupled to the engine drive 10 via a pulley and a transmission belt 20.

[0027] Furthermore, the transmission shaft 18 is adapted to carry and rotate a removable mechanical product processing tool. In the example of the figure, this is a grinding tool 22. Of course, depending on the desired use, it is possible to mount other tools on the transmission shaft, for example a demoulding tool.

[0028] The installation 2 according to the invention also comprises a hopper 24 also made of stainless steel and conical in shape which is mounted on an upper end of the tank 16.

[0029] The hopper 24 is mounted so as to be able to pivot between a tank closing position ([Fig.2]) and a tank opening position ([Fig.3]). The tank closing position corresponds to an operating position of the installation, while the opening position corresponds to a tank cleaning position or a change of mechanical product processing tool.

[0030] To facilitate the tilting of the hopper 24 from one position to the other, assistance cylinders 26 are provided. These cylinders 26 also make it possible to secure the holding of the hopper in the open position. Similarly, means 28 are provided for securely locking the hopper on the tank 16 when it is in the tank closing position.

[0031] The hopper 24 is provided with a cover 30 which is advantageously formed of two parts 30a, 30b capable of pivoting around a horizontal axis YY. The opening of the cover 30 makes it possible to ensure the filling of the tank with food products to be treated.

[0032] More precisely, as shown in [Fig.4], one of the two parts 30a of the cover opens into the interior of the tank 16 via a safety grid 32 preventing the operator from injuring himself with the grinding tool 22.

[0033] As for the other part 30b of the cover, it is not equipped with a safety grid but it is coupled to an electrical cut-off system for the drive motor (not shown) to automatically stop the grinding tool in the event of the cover being opened.

[0034] Depending on the products to be treated, the operator will open one or other of the parts of the cover to feed the tank with products to be treated.

[0035] The installation 2 according to the invention also comprises a vertical conduit 34 for discharging the treated products. This discharge conduit 34 is mounted vertically on the chassis of the installation and contains inside a helical transfer screw 36 which is driven in rotation by the drive motor 10.

[0036] In its lower part, the transfer screw 36 communicates with an opening made in the bottom of the tank 16 in order to collect the treated products and the route vertically to an outlet chute 38 mounted at the upper end of the discharge duct 34.

[0037] For this purpose, the transmission shaft 18 also carries drive blades 40 to assist in the transfer of the treated products from the bottom of the tank to the transfer screw 36 of the discharge chute.

[0038] It will be noted that the transfer screw 36 is coupled to the drive motor 10 by means of a pulley (not shown) and the same transmission belt 20 as that used to rotate the transmission shaft 18.

[0039] It will also be noted that the outlet chute 38 is advantageously capable of pivoting around a longitudinal axis ZZ of the discharge conduit 34 so as to direct the outlet of the treated products. As shown in [Fig.4], the outlet of the outlet chute can be protected by a grid 42.

[0040] It will also be noted that a liquid evacuation tapping 44 (see [Fig.2]) may be provided in the lower part of the evacuation conduit 34 in order to facilitate cleaning thereof.

[0041] Similarly, always in order to facilitate cleaning and maintenance, the tank 16 is advantageously provided with a cleaning hatch 46 ([Fig.2]).

Claims

Claims

1. Mobile installation (2) for the mechanical treatment of agglomerated powdery or pulverulent food products, comprising: - a frame (4) forming a support which is mounted on casters (6) and which carries an electric drive motor (10); - a fixed tank (16) of cylindrical shape which is mounted on the frame and which has a longitudinal axis (XX) arranged vertically; - a transmission shaft (18) which is mounted on the frame inside the tank (16) being centered on the longitudinal axis (XX) thereof and which is coupled to the drive motor (10), said shaft being capable of carrying and rotating a removable tool (22) for mechanical treatment of products; - a conical hopper (24) mounted on an upper end of the tank (16) in a tilting manner between a closed position of the tank and an open position of the tank;and - a discharge conduit (34) for the treated products which is mounted vertically on the chassis and which contains a helical transfer screw (36) driven in rotation by the drive motor and communicating with the interior of the tank, the discharge conduit terminating at an upper end by an outlet chute (38).;

2. Installation according to claim 1, further comprising means (28) for securely locking the hopper (24) in the closed position of the tank.

3. Installation according to one of claims 1 and 2, in which the hopper (24) comprises a cover (30) formed of two parts (30a, 30b) capable of pivoting around a horizontal axis (YY) for filling the tank (16) with food products to be treated.

4. Installation according to claim 3, in which one of the two parts (30a) of the cover (30) of the hopper opens onto a safety grid (32) and the other part (30b) is coupled to an electrical cut-off system for the drive motor.

5. Installation according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising jacks (26) for assisting the tilting of the hopper (24) and to keep it in the open position.

6. Installation according to any one of claims 1 to 5, in which the transmission shaft (18) and the transfer screw (36) of the evacuation conduit (34) are coupled to the drive motor (10) by a transmission belt (20).

7. Installation according to any one of claims 1 to 6, in which the transmission shaft (18) further carries drive blades (40) for transferring the treated products from the bottom of the tank (16) to the transfer screw (36) of the discharge chute.

8. Installation according to any one of claims 1 to 7, in which the outlet chute (38) of the evacuation duct is capable of pivoting around a longitudinal axis (ZZ) of the evacuation duct.

9. Installation according to any one of claims 1 to 8, in which the tank (16) is provided with a cleaning hatch (46).

10. Installation according to any one of claims 1 to 9, in which the removable tool for mechanical treatment of products is one of the tools chosen from: a grinding tool, a sieving tool, a lump-breaking / shelling tool.

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