Disposer

Abstract

To provide a disposer capable of suppressing food wastes from being broken down into fine particles.SOLUTION: A disposer 1 comprises: an upper casing 3 and a lower casing 4; a rotary disk 8; a fixed tooth 9 surrounding a periphery of the rotary disk 8; a rotary motor 5 that rotates to drive the rotary disk 8; and swing hammers 10 that are installed on an upper surface of the rotary disk 8 and strikes sides of food wastes that fall onto the rotary disk 8. The disposer 1 has a gap between an outer edge of the rotary disk 8 and inner surfaces of the fixed tooth 9, and a part of each of the swing hammers 10 extends beyond the outer edge of the rotary disk 8 and is positioned between the rotary disk 8 and the fixed tooth 9.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a disposer that grinds food waste to produce a slurry. [Background technology]

[0002] A garbage disposer is a device that crushes food waste generated in kitchens and other areas and mixes it with water to produce slurry. By installing a garbage disposer in a kitchen, the food waste can be quickly discharged into the sewer system every time it is generated, thereby keeping the kitchen clean. However, some municipalities in Japan do not permit the direct discharge of slurry generated by a garbage disposer into public sewer systems, for reasons such as the risk of clogging sewer pipes and producing foul odors. These municipalities require the installation of wastewater treatment equipment that separates and removes solids from wastewater containing slurry discharged from a garbage disposer and then discharges the slurry into the sewer system.

[0003] Therefore, for example, a food waste treatment system has been proposed, as described in Patent Document 1, which is configured by connecting a garbage disposer, a solid-liquid separator, and a dryer. According to the food waste treatment system described in Patent Document 1, solids exceeding a predetermined minimum particle size can be separated from the slurry generated in the garbage disposer using the solid-liquid separator. The solids exceeding the minimum particle size separated from the slurry in the solid-liquid separator are dried in a dryer and then disposed of appropriately. Therefore, the food waste treatment system described in Patent Document 1 can reduce the amount of solids derived from food waste contained in the wastewater discharged into the sewer system, thereby improving the water quality of the wastewater.

[0004] On the other hand, in disposers, it is essential to finely grind the food waste to reduce the average particle size of the solids contained in the slurry, because reducing the average particle size of the solids improves the fluidity of the slurry and reduces the occurrence of clogging of sewer pipes.

[0005] For example, the disposer described in Patent Document 2 includes a rotating plate disposed inside a grinding chamber, a hammer mounted on the rotating plate, and annular fixed teeth spaced apart from each other and surrounding the periphery of the rotating plate to grind food waste in cooperation with the hammer. Numerous teeth are arranged at relatively close intervals on the inner surface of the fixed teeth, i.e., the surface facing the hammer. Therefore, food waste placed in the disposer described in Patent Document 2 remains entangled with multiple teeth at specific locations on the fixed teeth and is repeatedly struck by the hammer. As a result, the food waste is ground and finely ground. Therefore, the disposer described in Patent Document 2 produces a highly fluid slurry. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2021-166978 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2020-131075 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] As mentioned above, conventional garbage disposers are designed to finely crush food waste to reduce the average particle size of the solids contained in the slurry and improve the fluidity of the slurry. However, when such a designed garbage disposer is incorporated into the food waste treatment system described in Patent Document 1, the amount of solids derived from the food waste passing through the solid-liquid separator increases, resulting in a problem of a deterioration in the quality of the wastewater. In other words, a phenomenon occurs that contradicts the purpose of the food waste treatment system. Therefore, the food waste treatment system described in Patent Document 1 is required to have a garbage disposer that suppresses the crushing of food waste into fine particles.

[0008] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and has an object to provide a disposer that suppresses the pulverization of kitchen waste. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] To achieve the above object, the disposer according to the present invention comprises a casing, a rotating disk disposed inside the casing, fixed teeth fixed inside the casing and surrounding the periphery of the rotating disk, a rotary motor disposed below the casing for rotating the rotating disk, and a hammer mounted on the upper surface of the rotating disk for striking the sides of food waste that is thrown into the casing from the outside and falls onto the rotating disk, thereby crushing the food waste and discharging it outside the casing. The disposer according to the present invention also has a gap between the outer edge of the rotating disk and the inner surface of the fixed teeth, and the hammer is configured so that, at least when the disposer is operating, a portion of the hammer extends beyond the outer edge of the rotating disk and is positioned between the rotating disk and the fixed teeth.

[0010] The fixed teeth of the disposer according to the present invention have protruding portions that protrude from the inner surfaces of the fixed teeth toward the rotating disk, and a gap is provided between the outer edge of the rotating disk and the protruding portions. The hammer of the disposer according to the present invention may be configured so that a portion of the hammer extends beyond the outer edge of the rotating disk and is positioned between the rotating disk and the protruding portions, at least when the disposer is in operation.

[0011] The rotating disc provided in the disposer of the present invention may have two of the hammers arranged symmetrically with respect to the rotation axis of the rotating disc, and the fixed teeth may have an odd number of protrusions arranged thereon.

[0012] The fixed tooth may have between 3 and 11 protrusions.

[0013] The hammer provided in the disposer according to the present invention may be fixed to the rotating disk.

[0014] The hammer provided in the disposer of the present invention is a swing hammer that is pivotally supported so as to be freely swingable relative to the rotating disc, and may be configured so that when the rotating disc is driven to rotate, the centrifugal force acting on the swing hammer causes the free end of the swing hammer to swing out toward the fixed teeth, and the free end passes beyond the outer edge of the rotating disc and is positioned between the rotating disc and the fixed teeth.

[0015] The disposer according to the present invention may be equipped with a control means for controlling the rotation speed of the rotating disk. The control means may be configured to rotate the rotating disk at a low speed until a certain time has elapsed since the start of operation of the disposer, and then to rotate the rotating disk at a high speed.

[0016] The control means provided in the disposer of the present invention may be configured to rotate the rotating disk at a low speed for a certain period of time after the disposer starts operating, then rotate the rotating disk at an intermediate speed for another certain period of time, and then rotate the rotating disk at a high speed. [Effects of the Invention]

[0017] According to the present invention, a gap is formed between the outer edge of the rotating disk and the inner surface of the casing. Therefore, small solids, such as rice grains and used tea leaves, fall through the gap and below the rotating disk. Therefore, these solids are not pinched and crushed between the fixed teeth and the swing hammer. In this way, the already small solids are prevented from being further crushed and broken down into smaller particles. As a result, the average particle size of the solid particles contained in the slurry increases. Therefore, when a solid-liquid separator is installed downstream of the disposer, the solid particles can be easily captured and collected by the solid-liquid separator. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0018] [Figure 1] 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a disposer according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2]2 is a cross-sectional view of the disposer shown in FIG. 1 taken along the plane indicated by line AA′ in FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 3] 2A and 2B are explanatory diagrams showing the operation of the disposer shown in FIG. 1 in sequence, and show the cross-sectional shape of the disposer in accordance with FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of an operating pattern of a disposer, illustrating changes in the rotation speed of a rotating disk. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0019] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A wastewater treatment device according to an embodiment of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same or equivalent parts are designated by the same reference numerals.

[0020] (Overall composition) FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a disposer 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, disposer 1 comprises an upper casing 3 fixed to the underside of a sink (not shown) via a coupling pipe 2, and a lower casing 4 fixed to the underside of the upper casing 3. The entire structure obtained by joining the upper casing 3 and the lower casing 4 corresponds to the "casing" of the present invention. In this embodiment, the area surrounded by the upper casing 3 and the lower casing 4 corresponds to the "inside of the casing." The remaining area, excluding the area surrounded by the upper casing 3 and the lower casing 4 from all the areas shown in the figure, corresponds to the "outside of the casing."

[0021] A rotary motor 5 is disposed below the lower casing 4, and a housing 6 of the rotary motor 5 is fixed to the lower casing 4. The lower casing 4 also serves as a load-side bracket for the rotary motor 5, and an output shaft 7 of the rotary motor 5 passes through the lower casing 4 and protrudes into the interior of the lower casing 4. A rotary disk 8 is disposed inside the lower casing 4. The rotary disk 8 is connected to the output shaft 7 of the rotary motor 5, and is driven to rotate around the rotation axis X1 by the rotary motor 5.

[0022] Fixed teeth 9 are fixed to the lower casing 4 and surround the periphery of the rotary disk 8. A gap is formed between the fixed teeth 9 and the rotary disk 8. The size and function of the gap will be described later.

[0023] Furthermore, two swing hammers 10 are pivotally supported on the rotating disc 8 so that they can swing freely around rotation axes X2 and X3, respectively. When the rotating disc 8 is rotated around the rotation axis X1 during operation of the disposer 1, centrifugal force acts on the swing hammers 10, causing their free ends 10a to swing out toward the fixed teeth 9. Figure 1 shows a state in which centrifugal force acts on the swing hammer 10, causing the free ends 10a of the swing hammers 10 to swing out toward the fixed teeth 9. At this time, as shown in Figure 1, the free ends 10a are configured to be located between the rotating disc 8 and the fixed teeth 9.

[0024] 1, the disposer 1 is equipped with a control computer 11. The control computer 11 is an example of the control means of the present invention. The disposer 1 operates in accordance with operation inputs from an operation switch (not shown) and an operation schedule described in a control program installed in the control computer 11.

[0025] Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the disposer 1 taken along the plane indicated by line A-A' in Fig. 1. However, the lower casing 4 is omitted from Fig. 2. As shown in Fig. 2, the fixed teeth 9 are annular members arranged concentrically with the rotary disk 8 in plan view, surrounding the periphery of the rotary disk 8. As shown in Fig. 2, seven protrusions 9a are formed on the fixed teeth 9. The protrusions 9a are portions that protrude from the side of the fixed teeth 9 facing the rotary disk 8, i.e., the inner surface of the fixed teeth 9, and protrude toward the rotary disk 8. The seven protrusions 9a are arranged at equal intervals.

[0026] 2, a gap G1 is formed between the outer edge of the rotary disk 8 and the inner surface of the fixed tooth 9, and a gap G2 is formed between the outer edge of the rotary disk 8 and the tip of the protrusion 9a. A gap G3 is formed between the free end 10a of the swing hammer 10 and the tip of the protrusion 9a. In this embodiment, the width of gap G1 is 7.0 mm, and the width of gap G2 is 4.2 mm. The width of gap G3 is 1.0 mm.

[0027] As shown in FIG. 2, the two swing hammers 10 pivotally supported on the rotary disk 8 are arranged symmetrically with respect to the center of rotation of the rotary disk 8.

[0028] 3(A) and 3(B) are explanatory diagrams showing the operation of the disposer 1 in sequence, and are diagrams showing the cross-sectional shape of the disposer 1 following the same pattern as in FIG. 2. Here, as shown in FIG. 3(A), it is assumed that pieces of food waste S1 and S2 with different external dimensions are placed inside the casing and placed on the rotating disk 8. In this state, the rotating disk 8 rotates counterclockwise. As the rotating disk 8 rotates, centrifugal force acts on the pieces of food waste S1 and S2, causing them to move toward the outer edge of the rotating disk 8 and fly out of the outer edge of the rotating disk 8. In other words, the pieces of food waste S1 and S2 move to the position shown by the dashed line in FIG. 3(A).

[0029] As shown in Figure 3(A), the outer dimensions of the kitchen waste S1 are smaller than the width of the gap G1, so it passes through the gap G1 and falls below the rotating disk 8. When the disposer 1 is operating, water flows inside the casing, and the kitchen waste S1 easily falls along with the water flow. At this time, the original shape of the kitchen waste S1 is almost maintained. In other words, the kitchen waste S1 is hardly crushed. On the other hand, the outer dimensions of the kitchen waste S2 are larger than the width of the gap G1, so it does not pass through the gap G1 and fall below the rotating disk 8. The kitchen waste S2 remains on the upper surface of the rotating disk 8. The kitchen waste S2 then rotates counterclockwise together with the rotating disk 8.

[0030] As the food waste S2 rotates counterclockwise together with the rotating disc 8, it eventually collides with the protruding portion 9a and is stopped there, as shown in FIG. 3(B). As the rotating disc 8 continues to rotate thereafter, the swing hammer 10 eventually catches up with the food waste S2 and collides with it. As a result, as shown in FIG. 3(B), the food waste S2 is sandwiched between the protruding portion 9a and the swing hammer 10, and a shear force acts on the food waste S2. Then, a portion of the food waste S2 is separated and falls below the rotating disc 8 through the gap G1. Thereafter, the fragment S2' of the food waste S2 remaining on the upper surface of the rotating disc 8 is again sandwiched between the protruding portion 9a and the swing hammer 10, and a portion is separated and falls below the rotating disc 8 through the gap G1. The remaining fragments S2″ also pass through the gap G1 and fall below the rotating disk 8.

[0031] Because a gap G1 is thus formed between the rotating disk 8 and the fixed teeth 9, any food waste thrown into the disposer 1 whose outer dimensions are smaller than the width of the gap G1 falls below the rotating disk 8 and is discharged outside the disposer 1 without being crushed. Furthermore, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3(A) and (B), the protrusions 9a are spaced apart at intervals sufficiently larger than the outer dimensions of the food waste thrown into the disposer 1. Therefore, any food waste whose outer dimensions are larger than the width of the gap G1 will partially enter the recess between the two protrusions 9a. When the food waste is caught between the protrusions 9a and the swing hammer 10, only the portion that entered the recess between the two protrusions 9a is cut off, and the cut pieces fall below the rotating disk 8. Therefore, by appropriately selecting the height of the protrusions 9a, it is possible to prevent the pieces that fall below the rotating disk 8 from becoming unnecessarily small. In other words, as explained in the disposer described in Patent Document 2, a single piece of kitchen waste does not get entangled in multiple protrusions 9a, remain in a specific location, and is repeatedly struck by the swing hammer 10, preventing it from being crushed.

[0032] Fig. 4 is an example of an operation pattern of the disposer 1, and is a diagram showing the change in the rotation speed of the rotating disk 8. As mentioned above, the disposer 1 operates under the control of the control computer 11. The operation pattern shown in Fig. 4 is written in a control program installed in the control computer 11, and by reading and executing this control program, operation according to the operation pattern shown in Fig. 4 is realized.

[0033] As shown in Figure 4, in this operating pattern, the rotating disk 8 rotates at a low speed of 800 rpm for 30 seconds after the start of the disposer 1. After that, the speed is increased, and the rotating disk 8 rotates at an intermediate speed of 1200 rpm for 20 seconds until 50 seconds have passed after the start of the disposer 1. Then, for the final 10 seconds, the rotating disk 8 rotates at a high speed of 1800 rpm.

[0034] According to this operating pattern, for the first 30 seconds of operation, the rotating disk 8 rotates at a relatively slow speed, so the impact force applied to the kitchen waste is small. As a result, the kitchen waste is broken down relatively gently, suppressing the breakdown of the kitchen waste. For the next 20 seconds, the rotation speed of the rotating disk 8 is increased to an intermediate speed, so the impact force applied to the kitchen waste is increased. As a result, the kitchen waste that could not be broken down in the first 30 seconds is broken down. For the last 10 seconds, the rotation speed of the rotating disk 8 reaches its maximum, so the kitchen waste that could not be broken down in the previous 50 seconds is broken down. In this way, by gradually changing the rotation speed of the rotating disk 8, it is possible to prevent a large impact force from being applied to soft kitchen waste that can be broken down with a small impact force. As a result, the breakdown of the kitchen waste can be suppressed.

[0035] As explained above, according to the above embodiment, the food waste is prevented from being broken down into finer particles than necessary in the disposer 1. Therefore, when a solid-liquid separator is provided downstream of the disposer 1 and food waste is collected, the amount of fine solid matter passing through the solid-liquid separator can be reduced, improving the quality of the wastewater discharged from the solid-liquid separator.

[0036] However, the above-described embodiments are merely examples of the present invention, and the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. The present invention can be freely applied, modified, or improved within the scope of the technical concept defined in the claims.

[0037] For example, the specific mechanical configuration of the disposer 1 shown in the above embodiment is merely an example, and the technical scope of the present invention is not limited by the specific mechanical configuration of the disposer 1.

[0038] In the above, an example was shown in which the disposer 1 is equipped with a swing hammer 10 that is pivotally supported on the rotating disk 8 so that it can swing freely, but the hammer that the disposer is equipped with in the present invention is not limited to a swing hammer. The hammer that the disposer is equipped with in the present invention may be fixed to the rotating disk and not move relative to the rotating disk.

[0039] Although the above example shows the fixed teeth 9 having seven protrusions 9a, the number of protrusions provided on the fixed teeth is not limited to seven in the present invention. In the present invention, the number of protrusions provided on the fixed teeth can be freely selected. However, as mentioned above, the spacing between the protrusions is preferably larger than the outer dimensions of the food waste to be processed, so the number of protrusions provided on the fixed teeth is limited. Experiments conducted by the inventors have shown that good results are obtained when the number of protrusions provided on the fixed teeth is selected to be between three and eleven. It is also desirable to provide an odd number of protrusions on the fixed teeth, which are equally spaced. By selecting such an arrangement, even if two hammers are arranged symmetrically about the center of rotation of the rotating disk as shown in the above embodiment, two sets of hammers and protrusions will not simultaneously grip food waste, thereby avoiding a large load being placed on the rotary motor.

[0040] In the above example, the widths of the gaps G1, G2, and G3 are set to 7.0 mm, 4.2 mm, and 1.0 mm, respectively. However, these values are merely examples, and the widths of the gaps G1, G2, and G3 are not limited to these values. The widths of the gaps G1, G2, and G3 can be selected as desired depending on the characteristics of the food waste to be processed. According to experiments conducted by the inventors, good results were obtained when the width of the gap G1 was selected within the range of 2.0 mm to 10 mm. Furthermore, good results were obtained when the width of the gap G3 was selected within the range of 0.5 mm to 1.5 mm. Furthermore, good results were obtained when the protrusion of the free end 10a of the swing hammer 10 from the outer edge of the rotating disc 8 in the state shown in Figures 1 and 2 was selected within the range of 1.0 mm to 5.0 mm.

[0041] In the above, an example was given of the operating pattern of the disposer 1 in which the rotation speed of the rotating disk 8 is changed stepwise through three stages: low speed, medium speed, and high speed. However, the operating pattern of the disposer according to the present invention is not limited to one in which the rotation speed is changed through three stages. The medium speed stage may be omitted, and high speed rotation may follow low speed rotation. Also, an example was given in which the rotation speeds of the low speed stage, medium speed stage, and high speed stage are 800 rpm, 1200 rpm, and 1800 rpm, respectively, but these values are merely examples, and the technical scope of the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0042] Furthermore, the disposer to which the present invention is applied is not limited to disposers installed in the kitchens of ordinary households, i.e., household disposers. The present invention can also be applied to commercial disposers, i.e., disposers installed in the kitchens of restaurants, schools, factories, hospitals, and other facilities. [Explanation of symbols]

[0043] 1 disposer, 2 joint pipe, 3 upper casing, 4 lower casing, 5 rotating motor, 6 housing, 7 output shaft, 8 rotating disc, 9 fixed teeth, 9a protrusion, 10 swing hammer, 10a free end, 11 control computer, G1, G2, G3 gap, S1, S2 food waste, S2', S2" fragments, X1, X2, X3 rotating shaft

Claims

1. A casing; a rotating disk disposed inside the casing; fixed teeth fixed to the inside of the casing and surrounding the periphery of the rotary disk; a rotary motor disposed below the casing for driving the rotary disk to rotate; A hammer is installed on the upper surface of the rotary disk and is thrown into the casing from the outside to strike the side of the food waste that has fallen onto the rotary disk. In a disposer that crushes the kitchen waste and discharges it to the outside of the casing, A gap is provided between the outer edge of the rotary disk and the inner surface of the fixed teeth; The hammer is configured so that a portion of the hammer exceeds the outer edge of the rotating disk and is positioned between the rotating disk and the fixed teeth at least during operation of the disposer. Garbage disposal.

2. The stationary tooth includes a protrusion protruding from an inner surface of the stationary tooth toward the rotary disk, a gap is provided between the outer edge of the rotary disk and the protrusion; The hammer is configured so that a portion of the hammer exceeds the outer edge of the rotating disk and is positioned between the rotating disk and the protrusion at least during operation of the disposer. The disposer of claim 1.

3. The two hammers are arranged on the rotary disk symmetrically with respect to the rotation axis of the rotary disk, An odd number of the protrusions are arranged on the fixed tooth. The disposer of claim 2.

4. The fixed tooth has 3 to 11 protrusions arranged thereon. The disposer according to claim 3.

5. The hammer is fixed to the rotating disc. The disposer according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. The hammer is a swing hammer pivotally supported on the rotary disk so as to be swingable, When the rotary disk is driven to rotate, centrifugal force acting on the swing hammer causes the free end of the swing hammer to swing out toward the fixed teeth, and the free end is configured to go beyond the outer edge of the rotary disk and be positioned between the rotary disk and the fixed teeth. The disposer according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

7. a control means for controlling the rotation speed of the rotary disk; The control means is configured to rotate the rotating disk at a low speed until a certain time has elapsed since the start of operation of the disposer, and then to rotate the rotating disk at a high speed. The disposer according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

8. The control means is configured to rotate the rotating disk at a low speed until a certain time has elapsed since the start of operation of the disposer, then rotate the rotating disk at an intermediate speed until another certain time has elapsed, and then rotate the rotating disk at a high speed. The disposer of claim 7.

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