Defoaming device

Abstract

The present invention provides a defoaming device that reduces the influence of air returned to the liquid tank along with the liquid as the bubbles disappear, thereby enabling sufficient suction of bubbles from the suction port. [Solution] The system includes an impeller 17 driven by an electric motor 21, an inlet 13 opening toward the center of the impeller 17, a suction port 14 located vertically below the inlet 13 for sucking up bubbles C that form on the liquid surface T, an inner wall portion 4A of the casing 4 located on the outer circumference of the impeller 17 that collides with the bubbles C to destroy them, and outlets 11A and 11B for discharging the liquid along with air into the liquid tank 1. The casing 4 has an expansion portion 8 that expands horizontally within the liquid tank 1, located vertically below the outlets 11A and 11B and vertically above the suction port 14, with the horizontal tip 8A of the expansion portion 8 located outward from the horizontal position of the outlets 11A and 11B.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a defoaming device that destroys and eliminates bubbles by sucking them, and particularly to a defoaming device that can effectively eliminate bubbles generated on the liquid surface of the liquid stored in a liquid tank.

Background Art

[0002] In a conventional defoaming device, the bubbles generated on the liquid surface of the culture solution in a liquid tank (culture tank) are sucked through a suction port (suction hole) by the rotation of an impeller. These bubbles are transferred to the outer peripheral side of the impeller by centrifugal force and collide with the inner wall portion of the outer peripheral part of the casing on the outer peripheral side of the impeller, where they are destroyed and eliminated. The liquid generated by the elimination of the bubbles is discharged together with air and returned to the liquid tank. The back surface of the casing provided with an electric motor (motor) for rotating the impeller is attached to the outer peripheral part of the casing by engaging the pin of a threaded pin with a hook-shaped locking groove formed on the outer peripheral part of the casing. Therefore, the back surface of the casing can be easily removed from the outer peripheral part of the casing together with the impeller by the operator rotating and disengaging the threaded pin from the locking groove, facilitating the cleaning of the impeller.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, in such a conventional defoaming device, the liquid returned to the liquid tank due to the elimination of bubbles falls straight down together with air from the inner wall portion of the outer peripheral part of the casing where the bubbles collide and is discharged. Therefore, the bubbles on the liquid surface are scattered around by the action of air, and there is a problem that the bubbles cannot be sufficiently sucked from the suction port.

[0005] The object of the present invention is to provide a defoaming device that makes the bubbles on the liquid surface sucked in from the suction port less susceptible to the influence of air returned to the liquid tank along with the liquid when the bubbles disappear, and that can sufficiently suck up bubbles from the suction port. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] To achieve these objectives, the present invention employs the following means: The defoaming device comprises an impeller having multiple blades extending radially from the center, an electric motor that rotates the impeller, a casing that houses the impeller, an inlet on the front side of the casing facing the impeller that opens toward the center of the impeller, a suction port located vertically below the inlet that sucks up bubbles that form on the liquid surface of the liquid tank, a suction channel that leads from the suction port through the inlet into the casing, an inner wall portion of the casing located on the outer circumference of the impeller that collides with bubbles that have been moved from the inlet toward the outer circumference of the impeller due to the centrifugal force caused by the centrifugal action of the impeller so as to destroy them, and a discharge port that discharges the liquid, along with air, into the liquid tank due to the collapse of the bubbles upon collision with the inner wall portion of the casing, wherein the casing has an expansion portion that expands horizontally in the liquid tank at a position vertically below the discharge port and vertically above the suction port, and the horizontal tip of the expansion portion is located outward from the horizontal position of the discharge port.

[0007] In this case, the casing includes a plate-shaped mounting portion for attachment to the liquid tank, and a flow path portion that vertically penetrates the casing, with the inlet opening vertically upward and the suction port opening vertically downward to form a part of the suction flow path. The flow path portion is fixed to the mounting portion with the inlet positioned vertically above the mounting portion and the suction port positioned vertically below the mounting portion. The outlet is formed through the mounting portion horizontally outward from the fixing position of the flow path portion, and the expansion portion may be fixed to the flow path portion at a position vertically below the outlet and vertically above the suction port. Furthermore, the casing may include an enclosing portion having the inner wall portion and surrounding the outer circumference of the impeller, the enclosing portion being substantially square in plan view and opening vertically upward, a cover member that closes the upper opening of the enclosing portion being detachably attached to the casing, the electric motor being disposed on the cover member and the output shaft of the electric motor being attached to the impeller, and the cover member having a contact portion that contacts the enclosing portion of the casing to position it horizontally and prevent rotation in the circumferential direction. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] As described in detail above, the invention described in claim 1 has an expansion section formed in the casing that expands horizontally at a position vertically below the outlet and vertically above the suction port within the liquid tank, with the horizontal tip of the expansion section positioned outward from the horizontal position of the outlet. Therefore, the liquid discharged from the outlet along with the air due to bubble collapse is blown outward horizontally along with the air at the expansion section, so that the bubbles on the liquid surface sucked in from the suction port are less affected by the air returned to the liquid tank along with the liquid due to bubble collapse, and the bubbles can be sufficiently sucked in from the suction port.

[0009] Furthermore, the invention described in claim 2 provides a casing comprising a plate-shaped mounting portion for attachment to a liquid tank, and a flow path portion that vertically penetrates the casing, with an inlet opening vertically upward and a suction port opening vertically downward to form a part of the suction flow path. The flow path portion is fixed to the mounting portion with its inlet positioned vertically above the mounting portion and its suction port positioned vertically below the mounting portion. An outlet is formed through the mounting portion horizontally outward from the fixing position of the flow path portion, and an expansion portion is fixed to the flow path portion vertically below the outlet and vertically above the suction port. As a result, since the suction port, inlet, outlet, and expansion portion are arranged in the casing, the components required for the casing can be consolidated and made compact.

[0010] Furthermore, the invention described in claim 3 provides a casing comprising an enclosing portion having an inner wall portion that surrounds the outer circumference of the impeller, the enclosing portion being substantially square in shape in plan view with an opening at the top in the vertical direction, a lid member that closes the top opening of the enclosing portion being detachably attached to the casing, an electric motor being disposed on the lid member and the output shaft of the electric motor being attached to the impeller, and the lid member having a contact portion that contacts the enclosing portion of the casing to position it horizontally and prevent rotation in the circumferential direction.Therefore, the lid member can be positioned horizontally and prevented from rotating circumferentially by the contact portion contacting the enclosing portion of the casing, so horizontal positioning and prevention of rotation in the circumferential direction of the lid member can be easily achieved.In addition, an electric motor is disposed on the lid member and the output shaft of the electric motor is attached to the impeller. Therefore, by removing the lid from the casing, the impeller housed in the casing can also be removed and exposed to the outside, allowing for easy cleaning of the impeller without compromising the conventional function. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0011] [Figure 1] This is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a defoaming device showing one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] This is a plan view taken from arrow A in Figure 1. [Figure 3] This is an enlarged cross-sectional view along line BB in Figure 1. [Figure 4]This is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a defoaming device showing another embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0012] One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In Figures 1 and 2, 1 is a liquid tank for collecting and storing liquid, formed in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped with an open top, and the top opening is closed by an upper plate 2. An opening 2A, which is roughly square in shape when viewed from above, is formed through the upper plate 2. 3 is a defoaming device, placed on the upper plate 2 of the liquid tank 1, with a portion extending vertically downward from the opening 2A of the upper plate 2 and located inside the liquid tank 1. The defoaming device 3 consists of a casing 4 attached to the upper plate 2 of the liquid tank 1 and a lid member 5 that is detachably attached to the casing 4.

[0013] The casing 4 comprises a mounting section 6, a flow path section 7, an expansion section 8, and a surrounding section 9. The mounting section 6 is a plate-like structure that is roughly square in plan view and is attached to the upper plate 2 of the liquid tank 1 with multiple bolts 10, closing the opening 2A. A mounting hole 6A is formed through the mounting section 6 at its horizontal center, and four outlets 11A, 11B, 11C, and 11D are formed through the mounting hole 6A horizontally outward. As shown in Figure 3, each outlet 11A to 11D is fan-shaped and is formed at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. Each outlet 11A to 11D discharges the liquid into the liquid tank 1 along with air, due to the collapse of bubbles C upon impact with the inner wall section 4A of the casing 4.

[0014] The flow path section 7 is cylindrical and is inserted into the mounting hole 6A and fixed to the mounting section 6 at approximately the center in the vertical direction. A flow path 12 is formed vertically through the flow path section 7. A flexible suction pipe member 15 is connected vertically downward to the flow path 12, with an inlet 13 opening vertically upward and a suction port 14 opening at its tip. The inlet 13 opens on the front side of the casing 4 toward the center of the impeller 17, which will be described in detail later. The suction port 14 is located vertically below the inlet 13 and sucks in bubbles C that form on the liquid surface T of the liquid tank 1. The flow path 12 constitutes a part of the suction flow path K that leads from the suction port 14 through the inlet 13 into the casing 4. A disc-shaped plate member 16 is fixed to the flow path section 7 at approximately the same vertical position as the inlet 13, horizontally outward from the inlet 13, and the plate member 16 faces the horizontally outward side from the center of the impeller 17.

[0015] The expansion section 8 is formed in a disc shape that expands horizontally and is fixed to the flow path section 7, positioned vertically below each of the outlets 11A to 11D and vertically above the suction port 14. As shown in Figure 3, the horizontal tip 8A of the expansion section 8 is positioned outward from the horizontal position of each of the outlets 11A to 11D. The surrounding section 9 is a square shape in plan view, with an opening at the top vertically, and is erected on the mounting section 6 to surround the outer circumference of the impeller 17. As a result, the impeller 17 is housed inside the casing 4. The surrounding section 9 has an inner wall portion 4A of the casing 4, and collides with the bubbles C that have been transferred from the inlet 13 to the outer circumference of the impeller 17 by the centrifugal force caused by the centrifugal action of the impeller 17, causing them to break.

[0016] The lid member 5 is a square shape that is slightly larger than the surrounding portion 9 in plan view, and is placed on the surrounding portion 9 to close the opening of the surrounding portion 9. The lid member 5 has side walls that hang down from each of its four sides, each having a contact portion 5A, which contacts the outer surface of the surrounding portion 9 to position it horizontally and prevent rotation in the circumferential direction. 18 are four fasteners, which engage with the fasteners 19A provided on the surrounding portion 9 on the hooks 19 provided on each contact portion 5A of the lid member 5 to fix the lid member 5 to the surrounding portion 9. When the operator raises the lever 20 provided on the surrounding portion 9, the engagement of the fasteners 19A engaged with the hooks 19 is released, and the lid member 5 is released.

[0017] The lid member 5 is provided with a motor mounting portion 22 for mounting a motor 21 that rotationally drives the impeller 17. The motor 21 is erected and fixedly mounted on the motor mounting portion 22 with a plurality of bolt members 23, and the output shaft 21A of the motor 21 protrudes downward in the vertical direction. The impeller 17 is mounted such that a plurality of blade pieces 17A extend outward in the horizontal direction from the center, and an input shaft 17B protrudes upward in the vertical direction at the center. The input shaft 17B penetrates the lid member 5 in a liquid-tight manner and is coaxially mounted to the output shaft 21A. Thus, if the fixing by the fastener 18 is released and the lid member 5 is removed from the casing 4, the impeller 17 housed in the casing 4 can also be taken out and exposed to the outside.

[0018] Next, the operation of such a configuration will be described. When the impeller 17 is rotationally driven by the motor 21, air is sucked into the casing 4 from the suction port 14 through the suction flow path K due to the centrifugal action of the impeller 17, discharged from each discharge port 11A to 11D, and blown outward in the horizontal direction by the pressure of the air discharged at the expansion portion 8.

[0019] Then, the bubbles C generated on the liquid surface T are guided into the casing 4 through the suction flow path K and collide with the impeller 17. A part of the bubbles C is destroyed and disappears due to this collision, and the liquid droplets generated thereby, together with the remaining bubbles C, are transferred to the outer peripheral side of the impeller 17 under the centrifugal force due to the centrifugal action of the impeller 17 and collide with the inner wall portion 4A of the casing 4. Due to this collision, substantially all of the remaining bubbles C are destroyed and disappear. Then, the liquid droplets generated by the disappearance of the bubbles C are discharged from each discharge port 11A to 11D together with the air, and are blown outward in the horizontal direction by the pressure of the air discharged at the expansion portion 8, and are returned into the liquid tank 1 at a location away from the suction port 14.

[0020] In such an operation, an expansion part 8 that expands horizontally is formed in the casing 4 at a position vertically below the discharge ports 11A to 11D and vertically above the suction port 14 within the liquid tank 1. The horizontal tip 8A of the expansion part 8 is located outside the horizontal positions of the discharge ports 11A to 11D. For this reason, the liquid discharged together with air from the discharge ports 11A to 11D due to the disappearance of the bubbles C is blown outward horizontally together with air at the expansion part 8. Thus, the bubbles C on the liquid surface T sucked from the suction port 14 are less likely to be affected by the air that returns into the liquid tank 1 together with the liquid due to the disappearance of the bubbles C, and the bubbles C can be sufficiently sucked from the suction port 14.

[0021] Further, the casing 4 includes a plate-shaped attachment part 6 for attaching to the liquid tank 1 and a channel part 7 that vertically penetrates and forms a channel 12 that opens the inlet 13 upward in the vertical direction and opens the suction port 14 downward in the vertical direction and constitutes a part of the suction channel K. The channel part 7 has the inlet 13 located vertically above the attachment part 6 and the suction port 14 located vertically below the attachment part 6 and is fixed to the attachment part 6. The attachment part 6 has the discharge ports 11A to 11D penetrating and formed horizontally outside the fixed position of the channel part 7. The expansion part 8 is fixed to the channel part 7 at a position vertically below the discharge ports 11A to 11D and vertically above the suction port 14. For this reason, since the suction port 14, the inlet 13, the discharge ports 11A to 11D, and the expansion part 8 are arranged in the casing 4, the members required for the casing 4 can be aggregated and made compact.

[0022] Furthermore, the casing 4 has an inner wall portion 4A and is equipped with an enclosing portion 9 that surrounds the outer circumference of the impeller 17. The enclosing portion 9 is substantially square in shape in plan view and has an opening at the top in the vertical direction. A cover member 5 that closes the top opening of the enclosing portion 9 is detachably attached to the casing 4. An electric motor 21 is disposed on the cover member 5 and the output shaft 21A of the electric motor 21 is attached to the impeller 17. The cover member 5 is equipped with a contact portion 5A that contacts the enclosing portion 9 of the casing 4 to position it horizontally and prevent rotation in the circumferential direction. Therefore, the cover member 5 can be positioned horizontally and prevented from rotating circumferentially by the contact portion 5A contacting the enclosing portion 9 of the casing 4, thus easily achieving horizontal positioning and preventing rotation in the circumferential direction of the cover member 5.

[0023] Furthermore, an electric motor 21 is installed in the cover member 5, and the output shaft 21A of the electric motor 21 is attached to the impeller 17. Therefore, if the cover member 5 is removed from the casing 4, the impeller 17 housed in the casing 4 can also be removed and exposed to the outside, thus allowing for easy cleaning of the impeller 17 without compromising the conventional function.

[0024] Figure 4 shows another embodiment of the present invention. Parts identical to those in one embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and their descriptions are omitted; only the different parts will be described. The flow channel section 71 extends lower at its vertical lower end than the flow channel section 7 of one embodiment. The flow channel 121, which penetrates the flow channel section 71 vertically, has a suction port 141 opening at its vertical lower end opposite to the bubbles C that form on the liquid surface T. Furthermore, the suction pipe member 15 of one embodiment is not provided. The flow channel 121 constitutes a part of the suction flow channel K that leads into the casing 4 via the inlet 13 from the suction port 141.

[0025] In operation, similar to one embodiment, the electric motor 21 rotates the impeller 17, and the centrifugal action of the impeller 17 draws air into the casing 4 through the suction channel K from the suction port 141. The air is then discharged from the respective outlets 11A, 11B, etc., and is propelled horizontally outward by the pressure of the air discharged at the expansion section 8.

[0026] The bubbles C formed on the liquid surface T are guided into the casing 4 via the suction channel K, where they are destroyed and disappear. The liquid droplets resulting from the disappearance of the bubbles C are discharged along with air from each outlet 11A, 11B, etc., and are blown outward horizontally by the pressure of the air discharged in the expansion section 8, returning to the liquid tank 1 at a point away from the suction port 141.

[0027] In this operation, similar to one embodiment, the liquid discharged from outlets 11A, 11B, etc., along with air due to the disappearance of bubbles C is blown outward horizontally along with the air by the expansion section 8. As a result, bubbles C on the liquid surface T sucked in from the suction port 141 are less affected by the air returned to the liquid tank 1 along with the liquid due to the disappearance of bubbles C, and bubbles C can be sufficiently sucked in from the suction port 141.

[0028] Furthermore, since the casing 4 is arranged in much the same manner as in one embodiment, with a suction port 141, an inlet 13, outlets 11A, 11B and beyond, and an expansion section 8, the components required for the casing 4 can be consolidated and made compact.

[0029] Furthermore, similar to the embodiment, the lid member 5 achieves horizontal positioning and circumferential rotation prevention by the contact portion 5A contacting the surrounding portion 9 of the casing 4, thus easily achieving horizontal positioning and circumferential rotation prevention of the lid member 5. In addition, if the lid member 5 is removed from the casing 4, the impeller 17 housed in the casing 4 can also be removed and exposed to the outside, thus enabling easy cleaning of the impeller 17 without compromising the conventional function.

[0030] In the embodiments described above, the surrounding portion 9 of the casing 4 was formed in a substantially square shape in plan view, but it is not limited to this and may be formed in different shapes such as circles, pentagons, or hexagons. Also, the lid member 5 was fixed to the casing 4 and detachably attached using a fastener 18 that engages the metal fitting 19A with the hook 19, but of course, the lid member 5 may also be fixed to the casing 4 and detachably attached using bolts or the like. [Explanation of symbols]

[0031] 1:Liquid タンク 3: Defoaming device 4:ケーシング 4A: Inner wall portion 8:Zhang Department 11A, 11B, 11C, 11D: Discharge outlets 13: Entrance 14, 141: Suction port 17: Hane-kake 17A: Feather piece 21: Electric motor K: Attraction Flow Path T: Liquid level C: bubble

Claims

1. A defoaming device comprising: an impeller having multiple blades extending radially from the center; an electric motor for rotating the impeller; a casing housing the impeller; an inlet on the front side of the casing facing the impeller, opening toward the center of the impeller; a suction port located vertically below the inlet for sucking up bubbles generated on the liquid surface of a liquid tank; a suction channel leading from the suction port through the inlet into the casing; an inner wall portion of the casing located on the outer circumference of the impeller, which collides with bubbles that have been moved from the inlet toward the outer circumference of the impeller due to the centrifugal force caused by the centrifugal action of the impeller, causing them to break; and a discharge port for discharging the liquid along with air into the liquid tank due to the collapse of bubbles upon collision with the inner wall portion of the casing, wherein the casing has an expansion portion that expands horizontally within the liquid tank, vertically below the discharge port and vertically above the suction port, and the horizontal tip of the expansion portion is located outward from the horizontal position of the discharge port.

2. The casing comprises a plate-shaped mounting portion for attachment to the liquid tank, and a flow path portion that vertically penetrates the casing, with the inlet opening vertically upward and the suction port opening vertically downward to form a flow path that constitutes a part of the suction flow path, the flow path portion is fixed to the mounting portion with the inlet positioned vertically above the mounting portion and the suction port positioned vertically below the mounting portion, the outlet is formed through the mounting portion horizontally outward from the fixing position of the flow path portion, and the expansion portion is fixed to the flow path portion at a position vertically below the outlet and vertically above the suction port, as described in claim 1.

3. The defoaming device according to either claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the casing comprises a surrounding portion having the inner wall portion and surrounding the outer circumference of the impeller, the surrounding portion is substantially square in shape in plan view and has an opening at the top in the vertical direction, a cover member that closes the top opening of the surrounding portion is detachably attached to the casing, the electric motor is disposed on the cover member and the output shaft of the electric motor is attached to the impeller, and the cover member has a contact portion that contacts the surrounding portion of the casing to position it horizontally and prevent rotation in the circumferential direction.

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