Crusher

Abstract

To provide a pulverizer capable of applying strong shear and compressive forces to the material being pulverized. [Solution] The pulverizer, which pulverizes a material to be pulverized to produce pulverized material, comprises a pulverizing chamber 2 having an inlet 21 into which the material to be pulverized flows and an outlet for which the pulverized material flows out; a blade 1 having a shaft portion 11 that rotates around an axis O and pulverizes the material to be pulverized in the pulverizing chamber 2; a pressing member 4 that forms part of the inner wall of the pulverizing chamber 2 and can move in and out along a direction perpendicular to the axis O; and a biasing member 5 that biases the pressing member 4 toward the axis O. The pressing member 4 switches between an advanced state and a retracted state that contacts the blade 1 as the blade 1 rotates.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a pulverizer. [Background Art]

[0002] Conventionally, as a pulverizer that pulverizes a material to be pulverized such as a polymer material to produce a nano-level pulverized product, one in which a screw serving as a rotating body is provided inside a container is known (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 2).

[0003] Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose a pulverizer having a screw rotatably disposed in a heating cylinder. In Patent Document 1, a constant clearance is provided between the outer periphery of the screw and the inner wall of the heating cylinder so that the gap therebetween does not become too small. In Patent Document 2, among the clearances provided between the screw and the heating cylinder, the clearance between the tip end portion of the screw and the heating cylinder can be adjusted by an adjusting means. [Prior Art Documents] [Patent Documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2012-51289 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2013-188671 [Summary of the Invention] [Problem to be Solved by the Invention]

[0005] In the pulverizer described in Patent Document 1, the clearance between the screw and the container (heating cylinder) that accommodates the screw is kept constant. In the pulverizer described in Patent Document 2, although the clearance between the tip end portion of the screw and the container can be adjusted, a constant clearance is provided so that the screw does not interfere with the inner wall of the container. As described above, due to the existence of the constant clearance between the screw and the container, the screw and the container cannot come into contact with each other, so a strong shearing force cannot be applied to the material to be pulverized.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to provide a pulverizer that can impart strong shear force and compressive force to the material to be pulverized. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The characteristic configuration of the pulverizer according to the present invention is a pulverizer that pulverizes a material to be pulverized to produce pulverized material, comprising: a pulverizing chamber having an inlet into which the material to be pulverized flows and an outlet out which the pulverized material flows out; a blade having a shaft that rotates about an axis and pulverizes the material to be pulverized in the pulverizing chamber; a pressing member that forms part of the inner wall of the pulverizing chamber and is able to move in and out along a direction perpendicular to the axis; and a biasing member that biases the pressing member toward the axis, wherein the pressing member switches between an advanced state and a retracted state in contact with the blade as the blade rotates.

[0008] In this configuration, by forming a portion of the inner wall of the crushing chamber with a pressing member that can move in and out along a direction perpendicular to the axis, a portion of the inner wall can be brought into contact with the blade. This eliminates the clearance between the portion of the inner wall and the blade, making it possible to apply strong shear and compressive forces to the material being crushed between them. Furthermore, by biasing the pressing member toward the axis with a biasing member, the biasing force of the pressing member can be maintained at a constant value, thus applying uniform shear and compressive forces to the material being crushed. Moreover, since the pressing member is biased by the biasing member and brought into contact with the blade, it is possible to avoid contact between the inner wall (excluding the pressing member) and the blade, thereby suppressing damage to the inner wall. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] This is an exploded perspective view showing a pulverizer according to the first embodiment. [Figure 2] This is a side cross-sectional view of a pulverizer according to the first embodiment. [Figure 3]This is a cross-sectional view taken along the line III-III in Figure 2. [Figure 4] This is a perspective view showing the blade. [Figure 5] This is a schematic diagram showing the extended state of the pressing member. [Figure 6] This is a schematic diagram showing the retracted state of the pressing member. [Figure 7] This is a side cross-sectional view of the crusher according to the second embodiment. [Figure 8] This is a side cross-sectional view of a crusher according to the third embodiment. [Figure 9] Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IX-IX. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] [First Embodiment] Embodiments of the pulverizer according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. However, the invention is not limited to the embodiments described below, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[0011] Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view showing the pulverizer 100 according to this embodiment, and Figure 2 is a side cross-sectional view of the pulverizer 100. The pulverizer 100 comprises a pulverizing section 10 having a blade 1, a pulverizing chamber 2, and a housing 3 that houses them, a discharge section 8 for discharging the material to be pulverized, and a drive section 9 having a drive mechanism for rotating the blade 1. As shown in Figure 1, the drive section 9, the pulverizing section 10, and the discharge section 8 are arranged in this order in the direction of the material to be pulverized and the X direction, which is the flow direction of the pulverized material. Hereinafter, the direction along the X direction may be referred to as the upstream side on the drive section 9 side and the downstream side on the discharge section 8 side. Also, the direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper in Figure 1 may be referred to as the Z direction.

[0012] As shown in Figure 2, in the crushing section 10, the crushing chamber 2 has an inlet 21 into which the material to be crushed flows in, and an outlet 22 through which the crushed material crushed in the crushing chamber 2 flows out. The crushed material flowing out from the outlet 22 flows through the connecting passage 71 and is accumulated in the internal space 83 of the discharge section 8, and then discharged to the outside from the discharge port 84. The material to be crushed in this embodiment is, for example, biomass raw materials such as wood and plants, or resin. The material to be crushed is preferably crushed to a size of, for example, 1 mm to 10 mm using a cutter mill or the like before being fed into the crusher 100. The crusher 100 crushes the material to be crushed to a size of, for example, 0.1 μm to 100 μm.

[0013] The crushing unit 10 has a housing 3 that houses the blade 1. As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the housing 3 has a first housing 31 that houses the blade 1 inside, and a second housing 32 that houses the first housing 31 inside. The first housing 31 and the second housing 32 are arranged coaxially with the axis O of the blade 1. In this embodiment, the first housing 31 and the second housing 32 are cylindrical bodies with a cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the X direction that is a regular hexagon, and have openings on the upstream and downstream sides in the X direction. The cross-sectional shapes of the first housing 31 and the second housing 32 are not limited to a regular hexagon, but may be circular or polygonal. Also, the shapes of the first housing 31 and the second housing 32 may be different, and the thickness of their side walls can be arbitrarily determined. In this specification, the side of the housing 3 closer to the axis O is referred to as "inside," and the side further away from the axis O is referred to as "outside." Therefore, of the sides of the first housing 31, the side closer to the axis O is called the inner side 31a, and the side opposite to the inner side 31a, which is further from the axis O, is called the outer side 31b. Similarly, of the sides of the second housing 32, the side closer to the axis O is called the inner side 32a, and the side opposite to the inner side 32a, which is further from the axis O, is called the outer side 32b. A certain distance is provided between the outer side 31b of the first housing 31 and the inner side 32a of the second housing 32.

[0014] As shown in Figure 2, the first housing 31 and the second housing 32 are in contact with a plate-shaped member 91 fixed to the drive unit 9 on the upstream side and with a plate-shaped member 7 on the downstream side. The shapes of the plate-shaped members 91 and 7 can be selected arbitrarily. A protruding portion 92 is formed in the center of the plate-shaped member 91, projecting toward the downstream side in the X direction, and a protruding portion 72 is formed in the center of the plate-shaped member 7, projecting toward the upstream side in the X direction. The first housing 31 is fixed to the plate-shaped members 91 and 7 by fitting the protruding portions 72 and 92 into recesses formed on the upstream and downstream surfaces of the first housing 31. The plate-shaped members 91 and 7 and the second housing 32 are connected by bolts or the like (not shown). Therefore, the upstream and downstream openings of the first housing 31 and the second housing 32 are closed by the plate-shaped members 91 and 7, thereby creating space inside the housing 3. In this embodiment, the space enclosed by the first housing 31 and the plate-like members 91 and 7 becomes the crushing chamber 2. In addition, a space enclosed by the plate-like members 91 and 7 is formed between the outer surface 31b of the first housing 31 and the inner surface 32a of the second housing 32.

[0015] A blade 1 is positioned in the crushing chamber 2. As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the blade 1 has a shaft portion 11 that rotates around an axis O, a blade body 12, and crushing blades 13 formed on the outer circumferential surface of the blade body 12. The shaft portion 11 is connected to the drive mechanism (not shown) of the drive unit 9 and is rotated by the drive unit 9. As shown in Figure 4, the shaft portion 11 is connected to the center of the blade body 12, and the blade body 12 rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the shaft portion 11. The crushing blades 13 extend along the axis O on the outer circumferential surface of the blade body 12. Furthermore, the cross-sectional shape of the crushing blades 13 in a view along the axis O is a substantially trapezoidal shape with the outer surface 13b, which is substantially parallel to the outer circumferential surface of the blade body 12, as the shorter side. The outer surface 13b is an arc shape with its center of curvature towards the axis O and has a vertex 13a. In this embodiment, four crushing blades 13 are formed along the outer circumference of the blade body 12 at 90° intervals, but the number of crushing blades 13 is not limited to this and can be determined arbitrarily.

[0016] The dimension of the blade body 12 in the X direction is preferably substantially the same as the dimension of the housing 3 in the X direction. Further, in a state where the blade 1 is housed in the first housing 31, the apex 13a of the crushing blade 13 and the inner side surface 31a of the first housing 31 are configured not to abut against each other. The blade 1 is formed of, for example, resin, ceramic, metal, or the like.

[0017] As shown in FIG. 3, the first housing 31 and the second housing 32 are in the shape of a regular hexagonal cylinder, and thus each have six outer side surfaces 31b and 32b respectively. The outer side surface 31b of the first housing 31 and the outer side surface 32b of the second housing 32 are respectively arranged to be parallel to each other. Through holes 33 and 34 penetrating the side walls are formed in each of the outer side surfaces 31b and 32b of the first housing 31 and the second housing 32, respectively. As shown in FIG. 3, the central axis of each of the through holes 33 and 34 is orthogonal to the shaft center O. Further, the respective central axes of the through holes 33, 33 and the through holes 34, 34 formed in each of the opposing side walls across the shaft center O lie on the same straight line passing through the shaft center O. In the present embodiment, the respective central axes of the six through holes 33 and the six through holes 34 lie on the same plane. The cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the axial direction of the through holes 33 and 34 is circular, and the outer diameter of the through hole 33 and the outer diameter of the through hole 34 are equal to each other respectively.

[0018] Among the through holes 33 and 34, a cylindrical member 35 is inserted into the through holes 33 and 34 located on the upper side in the Z direction. The radial dimension of the cylindrical member 35 is substantially the same as the radial dimension of the through holes 33 and 34, and the axial dimension of the cylindrical member 35 is substantially the same as the dimension from the outer side surface 32b of the second housing 32 to the inner side surface 31a of the first housing 31. The inflow port 21 and the crushing chamber 2 are communicated with each other via the cylindrical member 35.

[0019] A pressing member 4, which forms part of the inner wall of the crushing chamber 2, is inserted into the through-holes 33, excluding the through-hole 33 into which the cylindrical member 35 is inserted. As shown in Figure 3, the pressing member 4 has a cylindrical body 41 and a flange 42 extending radially from one end of the body 41. The radial dimension of the body 41 of the pressing member 4 is slightly smaller than the radial dimension of the through-hole 33, and the radial dimension of the flange 42 is larger than the radial dimension of the through-hole 33. Therefore, when the body 41 of the pressing member 4 is inserted into the through-hole 33 in a position where the flange 42 is located outside the first housing 31, the pressing member 4 can be moved toward the axis O until the flange 42 and the outer surface 31b of the first housing 31 come into contact. In addition, the axial dimension of the body 41 is larger than the thickness dimension of the side wall of the first housing 31. Therefore, when the flange 42 is in contact with the outer surface 31b of the first housing 31, the inner bottom surface 41a of the pressing member 4 is located inside the crushing chamber 2, beyond the inner surface 31a of the first housing 31. Furthermore, in this embodiment, when the flange 42 is in contact with the outer surface 31b of the first housing 31, the pressing member 4 and the crushing blade 13 of the blade 1 are configured to interfere with each other.

[0020] A biasing member 5 and an adjustment member 6 are inserted into the through holes 34, excluding the through hole 34 into which the cylindrical member 35 is inserted. The radial dimensions of the adjustment member 6 are approximately the same as the radial dimensions of the through hole 34. In this embodiment, the inner circumference of the through hole 34 is threaded, and the adjustment member 6 is configured to be screwed into it. Therefore, the position of the adjustment member 6 in the axial direction of the through hole 34 can be adjusted by changing the degree to which the adjustment member 6 is inserted. Note that if the position of the adjustment member 6 in the axial direction of the through hole 34 can be adjusted arbitrarily, the method of fixing the adjustment member 6 to the through hole 34 is not limited to screws, and the adjustment member 6 may be pressed from the outside.

[0021] The biasing member 5 is a spring, such as a coil spring, and is positioned between the adjusting member 6 and the pressing member 4. One end of the biasing member 5 is connected to the adjusting member 6, and the other end opposite to the one end is connected to the pressing member 4. In this embodiment, the biasing member 5 extends from the through hole 34 into the space between the first housing 31 and the second housing 32. When the pressing member 4, biasing member 5, and adjusting member 6 are assembled to the housing 3, the biasing member 5 is in a compressed state. Therefore, the biasing member 5 presses the pressing member 4 toward the axis O along the axial direction of the through holes 33 and 34. The biasing force exerted by the biasing member 5 on the pressing member 4 is adjusted by the adjusting member 6. Since the biasing force changes depending on the position of the adjusting member 6 in the through hole 34, it is advisable to adjust the biasing force, i.e., the position of the adjusting member 6 in the through hole 34, according to the diameter of the material to be crushed. The biasing force increases if the adjustment member 6 is inserted deeply into the through hole 34 to the side of the crushing chamber 2, and decreases if the adjustment member 6 is inserted shallowly. The biasing force may also be adjusted by changing the material, shape, etc., of the biasing member 5.

[0022] Next, the relationship between the pressing member 4 and the blade 1 will be explained. Figure 5 shows the state in which the pressing member 4 has advanced into the crushing chamber 2. In this state, the flange 42 of the pressing member 4 is in contact with the outer surface 31b of the first housing 31. Therefore, the state in which the flange 42 is in contact with the first housing 31 is the state in which the pressing member 4 has advanced the furthest into the crushing chamber 2. In this state, the crushing blade 13 of the blade 1 and the pressing member 4 do not interfere with each other. On the other hand, as the blade 1 rotates and the crushing blade 13 approaches the pressing member 4, interference occurs between the crushing blade 13 and the pressing member 4, as shown in Figure 6. Specifically, when the outer surface 13b of the crushing blade 13 comes into contact with the inner bottom surface 41a of the main body 41 of the pressing member 4, a force acting from the crushing blade 13 on the pressing member 4 acts against the biasing force of the biasing member 5, and the pressing member 4 is pushed radially outward. When the apex 13a of the crushing blade 13 is located on the central axis of the pressing member 4, the pressing member 4 is in its most retracted state from the crushing chamber 2. Contact between the pressing member 4 and the crushing blade 13 is maintained when the pressing member 4 is in its most retracted state from the crushing chamber 2. At this time, the inner bottom surface 41a of the pressing member 4 may be flush with the inner surface 31a of the first housing 31, or it may extend further into the crushing chamber 2 than the inner surface 31a of the first housing 31. As the blade 1 rotates further and the apex 13a moves away from the central axis of the pressing member 4, the force with which the crushing blade 13 pushes up the pressing member 4 weakens, and the pressing member 4 advances into the crushing chamber 2 again. In this way, the pressing member 4 switches between a state where it has advanced into the crushing chamber 2 and a state where it is retracted in contact with the crushing blade 13 of the blade 1 as the blade 1 rotates.

[0023] When the crushing blade 13 and the pressing member 4 come into contact, strong shear and compressive forces are applied to the material to be crushed between the crushing blade 13 and the pressing member 4, resulting in efficient crushing. In particular, because the crushing blade 13 is substantially trapezoidal, the outer surface 13b of the crushing blade 13 comes into contact with the inner bottom surface 41a of the pressing member 4, so the crushing blade 13 does not get caught on the pressing member 4 and the rotation of the blade 1 is not hindered. Furthermore, in this embodiment, since the pressing member 4 is arranged along the rotational direction of the shaft portion 11, uniform shear and compressive forces are applied to the material to be crushed in the rotational direction of the blade 1. In this way, crushing is efficiently carried out by repeatedly applying shear and compressive forces to the material to be crushed.

[0024] If the crushing blade 13 and the first housing 31 interfere with each other, there is a risk of hindering the rotation of the blade 1 or damaging the first housing 31 due to the interference. However, in this embodiment, the crushing blade 13 interferes with the pressing member 4, which can move in and out along a direction perpendicular to the axis O, rather than with the side wall of the first housing 31. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the hindering of the rotation of the blade 1 and the deterioration of the first housing 31 due to interference. As a result, it is possible to apply strong shear and compressive forces to the material to be crushed without placing an excessive load on the first housing 31.

[0025] Furthermore, the shear force and compressive force applied to the material to be crushed can be adjusted by changing the biasing force of the biasing member 5, the axial dimensions of the main body 41, the size of the blade 1, etc. For this reason, the crushing unit 10 should be appropriately designed according to the type of material to be crushed and the desired particle size of the crushed material. For example, the insertion depth of the adjustment member 6 into the through hole 34 may be adjusted by a stepping motor. Therefore, the crusher 100 may be equipped with a control unit that controls the stepping motor. The control unit should control the stepping motor according to the desired particle size of the crushed material and the condition of the material to be crushed. The control unit may also change the rotation speed of the blade 1, etc., by controlling the drive unit 9.

[0026] The pulverized material generated in the grinding chamber 2 flows out from the outlet 22 and flows to the discharge section 8 via a plurality of connecting passages 71 formed in the plate-shaped member 7. As shown in Figure 3, the plurality of connecting passages 71 are formed near the inner surface 31a of the first housing 31 in the grinding chamber 2 when viewed in the X direction. The plurality of connecting passages 71 are also arranged at equal intervals in a circular shape around the axis O when viewed in the X direction, surrounding the blade 1. The radial dimensions of the connecting passages 71 can be arbitrarily determined. The connecting passages 71 may also be arranged between adjacent pressing members 4, 4. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the communication passage 71 has a constant diameter along the X direction, but it may also have a shape that decreases in diameter toward the X direction from the outlet 22.

[0027] The discharge section 8 includes a plate-shaped member 81 connected to the plate-shaped member 7, a collection member 82 provided in the center of the plate-shaped member 81, and a discharge port 84 provided in the collection member 82 (see Figures 1 and 2). In this embodiment, the plate-shaped member 81 is an annular plate shape, but its shape can be arbitrarily determined. The collection member 82 is a cylindrical body with its upstream side in the X direction closed and its downstream side communicating with the opening of the plate-shaped member 81, and the internal space 83 of the collection member 82 is in communication with the communication passage 71. Therefore, the crushed material that flows through the communication passage 71 is collected in the internal space 83 of the collection member 82 and then discharged to the outside from the discharge port 84.

[0028] [Second Embodiment] The crusher 100 according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to Figure 7. The crushing unit 10 according to the second embodiment has a plurality of (three in this embodiment) crushing chambers 2 arranged along the X direction. That is, the crushing unit 10 according to the second embodiment has three housings 3 and three plate-shaped members 7. When distinguishing between the three crushing chambers 2, they are referred to as crushing chambers 2A, 2B, and 2C from the upstream side. Similarly, when distinguishing between the housings 3, they are referred to as housings 3A, 3B, and 3C from the upstream side. Of the three plate-shaped members 7, those sandwiched between the housings 3 are referred to as plate-shaped members 7A and 7B, and the one located furthest downstream is referred to as plate-shaped member 7C. Plate-shaped member 7C has the same configuration as plate-shaped member 7 in the first embodiment.

[0029] As shown in Figure 7, the plate-shaped member 91, housing 3A, plate-shaped member 7A, housing 3B, plate-shaped member 7B, housing 3C, and plate-shaped member 7 are connected in this order from the upstream side to the downstream side in the X direction. Protruding portions 72A and 72B are formed in the central part of the plate-shaped members 7A and 7B, projecting toward the upstream and downstream sides in the X direction, respectively, and a protruding portion 72C is formed in the central part of the plate-shaped member 7C, projecting toward the upstream side in the X direction. The recesses of the first housings 31A, 31B, and 31C are fitted into the protruding portions 72A, 72B, and 72C and the protruding portion 92 of the plate-shaped member 91, respectively, thereby fixing the first housings 31A, 31B, and 31C to the plate-shaped members 7A, 7B, 7C, and 92. In addition, the second housings 32A, 32B, and 32C are connected to the plate-shaped members 7A, 7B, 7C, and 91 by bolts or the like (not shown).

[0030] The cylindrical members 35 are positioned only in the through holes 33 and 34 located on the vertically upper side of the housing 3A, and the inlet 21A of the grinding chamber 2A is in communication with the grinding chamber 2A via the cylindrical members 35. Since the cylindrical members 35 are not positioned in the through holes 33 and 34 of housings 3B and 3C, the pressing members 4, biasing members 5, and adjustment members 6 are positioned in all the through holes 33 and 34 of housings 3B and 3C.

[0031] Furthermore, in this embodiment, in the view in the X direction, the crushing blades 13 of each blade 1 in each crushing chamber 2 are offset by a predetermined angle. This prevents strong shear or compressive forces from being applied to the material being crushed only at specific positions in the rotational direction of the blade 1, and allows for uniform shear or compressive forces to be applied to the material being crushed in the rotational direction.

[0032] In this embodiment, the biasing force of the biasing member 5 in the downstream grinding chamber 2C is adjusted to be greater than the biasing force of the biasing member 5 in the upstream grinding chamber 2A in the X direction. By increasing the biasing force of the biasing member 5 on the pressing member 4 further downstream, it is possible to apply even stronger shear and compressive forces to the pulverized material in the downstream grinding chamber 2 compared to the pulverized material in the upstream grinding chamber 2, making it possible to pulverize the material more finely. The biasing force of the biasing member 5 in grinding chamber 2B may be adjusted to be greater than the biasing force of the biasing member 5 in grinding chamber 2A and less than the biasing force of the biasing member 5 in grinding chamber 2C. Note that the longer the time the material is pulverized, the greater the shear and compressive forces applied to the material; therefore, the biasing force of the biasing member 5 in grinding chamber 2B may be approximately the same as the biasing force of the biasing member 5 in grinding chamber 2A or grinding chamber 2C.

[0033] As shown in Figure 7, the protruding portions 72A and 72B of the plate-shaped members 7A and 7B have connecting passages 71A and 71B similar to the connecting passage 71C of the plate-shaped member 7C. Therefore, the connecting passage 71A connects the outlet 22A of the grinding chamber 2A to the inlet 21B of the grinding chamber 2B, and the connecting passage 71B connects the outlet 22B of the grinding chamber 2B to the inlet 21C of the grinding chamber 2C. The outlet 22C of the grinding chamber 2C is connected to the connecting passage 71C of the plate-shaped member 7C. The cross-sectional area in the Z direction (perpendicular to the axis O) of the connecting passage 71A of the plate-shaped member 7A, which is located upstream in the X direction, is smaller than the cross-sectional area in the Z direction of the connecting passage 71C of the plate-shaped member 7C, which is located downstream. More specifically, the cross-sectional area of ​​the passage 71A of the plate-shaped member 7A located upstream in the X direction, in a plane perpendicular to the X direction, is smaller than the cross-sectional area of ​​the passage 71C of the plate-shaped member 7C located downstream in the X direction, in a plane perpendicular to the X direction. Also, the cross-sectional area in the Z direction of the passage 71B of the plate-shaped member 7B located between plate-shaped member 7A and plate-shaped member 7C is smaller than the cross-sectional area of ​​the passage 71A in the Z direction, and larger than the cross-sectional area of ​​the passage 71C in the Z direction. In other words, in this embodiment, the cross-sectional area in the Z direction of the passage 71 (specifically, the cross-sectional area in a plane perpendicular to the X direction) becomes smaller the further downstream it is. Note that if the cross-sectional area in the Z direction of the downstream passage 71C is smaller than the cross-sectional area in the Z direction of the upstream passage 71A, the cross-sectional area in the Z direction of the passage 71B may be approximately the same as that of the passage 71A or passage 71C. Because the cross-sectional area of ​​the connecting passage 71 differs in the Z direction, only pulverized material of a certain particle size can be passed downstream, making it possible to obtain uniformly pulverized material.

[0034] Thus, the pulverizer 100 according to this embodiment has multiple pulverizing chambers 2, which increases the shear force applied to the material to be pulverized, enabling efficient pulverization. Furthermore, by increasing the biasing force applied by the biasing member 5 to the pressing member 4 towards the downstream side, it becomes possible to apply stronger shear and compressive forces to the material to be pulverized.

[0035] [Third Embodiment] A crusher 100 according to the third embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 8 and 9. In the third embodiment, there is one housing 3, and the blade 1 is housed inside the housing 3. In this embodiment, the housing 3 is a cylindrical body with a cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the X direction that is a regular hexagon, and has openings on the upstream and downstream sides in the X direction. The cross-sectional shape of the housing 3 is not limited to a regular hexagon, but may be circular or polygonal.

[0036] A blade 1 is positioned in the crushing chamber 2. As shown in Figures 8 and 9, the blade 1 has a shaft portion 11 that rotates around an axis O, a blade body 12, a cutting edge portion 15 that can extend and retract along a direction perpendicular to the axis O, and a blade-side biasing member 18 that biases the cutting edge portion 15 toward a direction away from the axis O. The cutting edge portion 15 forms a part of the outer circumferential surface of the blade body 12. Multiple recesses 14 are formed on the outer circumferential surface of the blade body 12 along the radial direction, and the cutting edge portion 15 is inserted into the recesses 14. As shown in Figures 8 and 9, the cutting edge portion 15 has a rectangular prism-shaped body 16 and a crushing blade 17 provided on the radially outer side of the body 16 relative to the blade 1. The recesses 14 are provided along the entire X direction of the blade body 12 and are formed so that the body 16 of the cutting edge portion 15 can be accommodated. The cross-sectional shape of the crushing blade 17 in a view along the axis O is substantially rectangular. The outer surface 17b is arc-shaped and has a vertex 13a. In this embodiment, four crushing blades 17 (blade portions 15) are arranged at 90° intervals along the outer circumference of the blade body 12, but the number of crushing blades 17 (blade portions 15) is not limited to this and can be determined arbitrarily.

[0037] The X-direction dimension of the blade body 12 is preferably approximately the same as the X-direction dimension of the housing 3. Furthermore, when the blade 1 is housed in the housing 3, the top 17a of the crushing blade 17 and the inner surface 3a of the housing 3 are configured to be in contact.

[0038] As shown in Figure 9, the housing 3 is a regular hexagonal tube and therefore has six outer surfaces 3b. The housing 3 has one through hole 34 that opens into one of the outer surfaces 3b. As shown in Figure 9, the through hole 34 is located on the upper side in the Z direction, and the central axis of the through hole 34 is perpendicular to the axis O. The cross-sectional shape of the through hole 34 perpendicular to the axial direction is circular.

[0039] A cylindrical member 35 is inserted into the through hole 34. The radial dimension of the cylindrical member 35 is approximately the same as the radial dimension of the through hole 34, and the axial dimension of the cylindrical member 35 is approximately the same as the dimension from the outer surface 3b to the inner surface 3a of the housing 3. The inlet 21 and the crushing chamber 2 are connected by the cylindrical member 35.

[0040] The dimension of the blade portion 15 in the direction perpendicular to the axis O in the main body 16 is slightly smaller than the dimension of the recess 14 in the direction perpendicular to the axis O. Therefore, when the main body 16 of the blade portion 15 is inserted into the recess 14, the blade portion 15 can be moved toward the axis O until the crushing blade 17 comes into contact with the inner surface 3a of the housing 3. Also, the axial dimension of the main body 16 is the same as the thickness dimension of the blade 1.

[0041] The recess 14 has a bottom surface 14a, and a blade-side biasing member 18 is inserted between the blade portion 15 and the bottom surface 14a. The blade-side biasing member 18 is a spring such as a coil spring and is positioned between the bottom surface 14a of the recess 14 and the body 16 of the blade portion 15. One end of the blade-side biasing member 18 is connected to the bottom surface 14a, and the other end opposite to that end is connected to the body 16 of the blade portion 15. When the blade portion 15 and the blade-side biasing member 18 are assembled in the recess 14, the blade-side biasing member 18 is in an extended state. Therefore, the blade-side biasing member 18 presses the blade portion 15 in a direction away from the axis O along the radial direction of the blade 1. The biasing force exerted by the blade-side biasing member 18 on the blade portion 15 changes according to the diameter of the material to be crushed. If the diameter of the material to be crushed is small, the biasing force will be small, and if the diameter of the material to be crushed is large, the biasing force will be large. The biasing force may be adjusted by changing the material, shape, etc., of the blade-side biasing member 18.

[0042] Next, the relationship between the blade portion 15 and the housing 3 will be explained. Figure 9 shows the state in which the blade portion 15 has advanced into the crushing chamber 2. In this state, the crushing blade 17 of the blade portion 15 is in contact with the inner surface 3a of the housing 3. Therefore, the state in which the crushing blade 17 is in contact with the housing 3 is the state in which the blade portion 15 has advanced the furthest into the crushing chamber 2. In this state, the crushing blade 17 of the blade 1 and the inner surface 3a of the housing 3 interfere with each other. On the other hand, when the blade 1 rotates and there is material to be crushed between the crushing blade 17 and the inner surface 3a of the housing 3 in the crushing chamber 2, the crushing blade 17 and the inner surface 3a of the housing 3 do not interfere with each other. Specifically, when the crushing blade 17 comes into contact with the material to be crushed, a force acting from the material to be crushed on the crushing blade 17 acts against the biasing force of the blade-side biasing member 18, causing the blade portion 15 to retract radially inward. Even when the blade portion 15 has retracted from the crushing chamber 2, contact between the crushing blade 17 and the material to be crushed is maintained.

[0043] When the crushing blade 17 comes into contact with the material to be crushed, strong shear and compressive forces are applied to the material between the crushing blade 17 and the inner surface 3a of the housing 3, thereby enabling efficient crushing. Furthermore, in this embodiment, since the crushing blade 17 (blade portion 15) is arranged along the rotational direction of the shaft portion 11, uniform shear and compressive forces are applied to the material to be crushed in the rotational direction of the blade 1. In this way, crushing is efficiently carried out by repeatedly applying shear and compressive forces to the material to be crushed.

[0044] In this embodiment, fine particles of the crushed material may pass between the blade portion 15 and the recess 14 and enter the housing space 19 of the blade-side biasing member 18. If fine particles of the crushed material enter and accumulate in the housing space 19 of the blade-side biasing member 18, the operation of the blade-side biasing member 18 may be hindered due to the influence of the fine particles of the crushed material. Therefore, in this embodiment, a recess 73 is formed on the surface 72a of the protruding portion 72 of the plate-shaped member 7 that faces the crushing chamber 2, and a recess 93 is formed on the surface 92a of the protruding portion 92 of the plate-shaped member 91 that faces the crushing chamber 2. The recesses 73 and 93 are circular in shape when viewed in the direction of the axis O and are formed in a region surrounding the shaft portion 11, and communicate with the housing space 19 of the blade-side biasing member 18 and the crushing chamber 2. Furthermore, the recesses 73 and 93 are shaped such that the radially inner and radially outer sides of the blade body 12 extend beyond the outer end position of the containment space 19, and gradually deepen towards the radial center (moving away from the grinding chamber 2). As a result, even if fine powder of the material being ground enters the containment space 19 of the blade-side biasing member 18, the fine powder can be discharged from the containment space 19 into the recesses 73 and 93, and the fine powder discharged into the recesses 73 and 93 will either remain in the recesses 73 and 93 or be recirculated into the grinding chamber 2. As a result, the proper operation of the blade-side biasing member 18 is ensured. The recesses 73 and 93 may have other shapes as long as they are shaped in a way that allows fine powder of the material being ground that enters the containment space 19 to be discharged.

[0045] [Other Embodiments] (a) In the above embodiment, a certain gap is provided between the outer surface 31b of the first housing 31 and the inner surface 32a of the second housing 32, but a gap is not required, and the housing 3 may consist of a single housing. If the housing 3 consists of a single housing, the through hole formed in the side wall of the housing 3 may have a portion through which the flange 42 of the pressing member 4 can be inserted and a portion through which only the main body 41 of the pressing member 4 can be inserted. In addition, a different grinding blade than the grinding blade 13 may be formed on the inner wall of the grinding chamber 2.

[0046] (b) In the above embodiment, the main body 41 of the pressing member 4 is cylindrical, but a recess may be formed on the outer surface of the main body 41 that always overlaps with the first housing 31 when viewed in the X direction, by cutting out a part of the outer surface. This allows the pulverized material to adhere to the outer surface of the main body 41 that has advanced into the grinding chamber 2, and even if the pulverized material moves in the direction of the flange 42, the pulverized material can be collected in the recess. Furthermore, a sealing member such as an O-ring for sealing the grinding chamber 2 may be placed in the recess.

[0047] (c) In the above embodiment, the body 41 of the pressing member 4 is cylindrical, but the body 41 may be elliptical or polygonal, such as a rectangular parallelepiped. From the viewpoint of increasing the crushing force, it is desirable that the contact area between the crushing blade 13 and the pressing member 4 be large, and that the body 41 extends along the X direction.

[0048] (d) In the above embodiment, the pressing member 4 has a flange 42, but the pressing member 4 does not need to have a flange 42 as long as the length to which the pressing member 4 advances into the crushing chamber 2 can be restricted. For example, the adjustment member 6 and the pressing member 4 may be connected by a restricting member that does not extend beyond a predetermined length. Also, even if different crushing blades 13 are configured to continuously interfere with one pressing member 4 as the blade 1 rotates, the length to which the pressing member 4 advances into the crushing chamber 2 can be restricted.

[0049] (e) In the above embodiment, the crushing blades 13 of the blade 1 are shown to extend along the X direction, but the crushing blades 13 may be arranged spirally on the outer circumferential surface of the blade body 12 with respect to the axis O. If the crushing blades 13 are arranged spirally, the material to be crushed and the crushed material can be transported downstream as the blade 1 rotates. Alternatively, instead of the connecting passage 71, a screw may be provided to transport the crushed material from one crushing chamber 2 to an adjacent crushing chamber 2. The screw may be provided on the shaft portion 11 of the blade 1 between adjacent crushing chambers 2. Therefore, if a screw is provided, it is preferable that an opening be provided in the center of the plate-shaped member 7.

[0050] (f) In the first and second embodiments, the crusher 100 is said to have five pressing members 4, but the number of pressing members 4 is not limited to this and may be three or fewer, or six or more. The through holes 33, 34 may be provided on either one of the outer surfaces 31b, 32b of the housing 3. Alternatively, multiple through holes 33, 34 may be formed on one of the outer surfaces 31b, 32b of the housing 3. Also, although multiple pressing members 4 are said to be arranged on the same plane, they may be arranged spirally along the X direction, for example. Furthermore, the pressing members 4 may be formed by dividing the first housing 31 into multiple parts. That is, the first housing 31 may be composed of multiple pressing members 4, as long as the pressing members 4 can move in and out of the crushing chamber 2 as the crushing blades 13 rotate. (g) In the third embodiment, the crusher 100 is assumed to have four blades 15, but the number of blades 15 is not limited to this.

[0051] (h) In the first and second embodiments, cylindrical members 35 are positioned in through holes 33 and 34 located on the upper side in the Z direction, but a separate input port for introducing the material to be crushed may be provided. That is, pressing members 4 or adjusting members 6 may be placed in all of the through holes 33 and 34.

[0052] (i) In the second embodiment, the grinding blades 13 of each blade 1 in each grinding chamber 2 are offset by a predetermined angle in the X direction view, but the grinding blades 13 of each blade 1 in each grinding chamber 2 may be at the same angle in the X direction view.

[0053] (j) In the first and second embodiments, an example was shown in which a pressing member 4 that forms part of the inner wall of the grinding chamber 2 and can move in and out along a direction perpendicular to the axis O, and a biasing member 5 that biases the pressing member 4 toward the axis O. In the third embodiment, an example was shown in which the blade 1 has a cutting edge 15 that can move in and out along a direction perpendicular to the axis O, and a blade-side biasing member 18 that biases the cutting edge 15 toward a direction away from the axis O. The grinder 100 may also be configured to include both the pressing member 4 and the biasing member 5 formed in part of the inner wall of the grinding chamber 2, and the blade 1 having the cutting edge 15 and the blade-side biasing member 18.

[0054] The configurations disclosed in the above embodiments (including other embodiments, the same applies hereinafter) can be applied in combination with configurations disclosed in other embodiments, as long as no inconsistencies arise. Furthermore, the embodiments disclosed herein are illustrative, and the embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto and can be modified as appropriate without departing from the purpose of the present invention.

[0055] In the embodiment described above, the following configuration can be envisioned. (1) A pulverizer 100 that pulverizes a material to be pulverized to produce pulverized material, comprising: a pulverizing chamber 2 having an inlet 21 into which the material to be pulverized flows in and an outlet 22 into which the pulverized material flows out; a blade 1 having a shaft portion 11 that rotates about an axis O and pulverizes the material to be pulverized in the pulverizing chamber 2; a pressing member 4 that forms part of the inner wall of the pulverizing chamber 2 and is able to move in and out along a direction perpendicular to the axis O; and a biasing member 5 that biases the pressing member 4 toward the axis O, wherein the pressing member 4 switches between an advanced state and a retracted state that contacts the blade 1 as the blade 1 rotates.

[0056] In this configuration, by forming a portion of the inner wall of the crushing chamber 2 with a pressing member 4 that can move in and out along a direction perpendicular to the axis O, a portion of the inner wall can be brought into contact with the blade 1. This eliminates the clearance between the blade 1 and the portion of the inner wall, making it possible to apply strong shear and compressive forces to the material being crushed between them. Furthermore, by biasing the pressing member 4 toward the axis O with the biasing member 5, the biasing force of the pressing member 4 can be maintained at a constant value, thus applying a uniform shear force to the material being crushed. Moreover, since the pressing member 4 is biased by the biasing member 5 and brought into contact with the blade 1, it is possible to avoid contact between the inner wall (excluding the pressing member 4) and the blade 1, thereby suppressing damage to the inner wall.

[0057] (2) In the crusher 100 of (1), it is preferable to provide a plurality of pressing members 4 arranged along the rotational direction of the shaft portion 11.

[0058] With this configuration, multiple pressing members 4 are arranged on the inner wall of the crushing chamber 2 along the rotational direction of the shaft portion 11 of the blade 1, thereby increasing the shear force and compressive force applied to the material to be crushed, and enabling more efficient crushing.

[0059] (3) In the crusher 100 of (1) or (2), it is preferable to have a plurality of crushing chambers 2 and a connecting passage 71 that connects the outlet 22 and inlet 21 of adjacent crushing chambers 2.

[0060] With this configuration, by providing multiple grinding chambers 2 in sequence, the shear force and compressive force applied to the material to be ground can be increased. Furthermore, by changing the biasing force applied by the biasing member 5 to the pressing member 4 for each adjacent grinding chamber 2, the shear force applied to the material to be ground can be changed in stages, making it possible to proceed with grinding continuously.

[0061] In the crusher 100 of (4)(3), it is preferable that the biasing force exerted by the biasing member 5 on the pressing member 4 is greater in the crushing chamber 2 located downstream of the material to be crushed than in the crushing chamber 2 located upstream in the flow direction of the material to be crushed.

[0062] With this configuration, the shear and compressive forces applied to the material to be crushed can be increased in the crushing chamber 2 downstream of the material's flow direction compared to the upstream side, making it possible to crush the material in stages.

[0063] In the pulverizer 100 of (5)(3) or (4), it is preferable that the pulverizer has three or more pulverizing chambers 2, and that the cross-sectional area of ​​the downstream passage 71 in the direction perpendicular to the axis O of the passage 71 is smaller than that of the upstream passage 71 in the flow direction of the material to be pulverized.

[0064] With this configuration, only pulverized material of a certain particle size can be passed through the pulverization chamber 2 located downstream, thereby maintaining a certain level of shear and compressive force on the material to be pulverized, and enabling the production of uniformly pulverized material.

[0065] (6) A pulverizer 100 that pulverizes a material to be pulverized to produce pulverized material, comprising: a pulverizing chamber 2 having an inlet 21 into which the material to be pulverized flows in and an outlet 22 into which the pulverized material flows out; a blade 1 that pulverizes the material to be pulverized in the pulverizing chamber 2, having a shaft portion 11 that rotates about an axis O, a blade portion 15 that can move in and out along a direction perpendicular to the axis O, and a blade-side biasing member 18 that biases the blade portion 15 toward a direction away from the axis O, wherein the blade portion 15 switches between an advanced state and a retracted state that contacts the inner wall of the pulverizing chamber 2 (inner surface 3a of the housing 3) as the blade 1 rotates.

[0066] In this configuration, the blade 1 has a blade portion 15 that can extend and retract along a direction perpendicular to the axis O, allowing the blade 1 to come into contact with the inner wall of the crushing chamber 2 (the inner surface 3a of the housing 3). This eliminates the clearance between the blade 1 and the inner wall of the crushing chamber 2 (the inner surface 3a of the housing 3), making it possible to apply strong shear and compressive forces to the material being crushed between them. Furthermore, by biasing the blade portion 15 in a direction away from the axis O using the blade-side biasing member 18, the biasing force of the blade portion 15 can be maintained at a constant value, thus allowing a uniform shear force to be applied to the material being crushed. [Industrial applicability]

[0067] This invention can be used in a pulverizer that pulverizes a material to produce a pulverized product. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0068] 1: Blade, 2: Grinding chamber, 2A: Grinding chamber, 2B: Grinding chamber, 2C: Grinding chamber, 4: Pressing member, 5: Biasing member, 11: Shaft, 15: Blade, 18: Blade-side biasing member, 21: Inlet, 21B: Inlet, 21C: Inlet, 22: Outlet, 22A: Outlet, 22B: Outlet, 71: Connecting passage, 71A: Connecting passage, 71B: Connecting passage, 71C: Connecting passage, 100: Grinding machine, O: Shaft core

Claims

1. A pulverizer that pulverizes a material to be pulverized and produces pulverized material, A grinding chamber having an inlet into which the material to be ground flows and an outlet out which the material to be ground flows out; a blade having a shaft that rotates about an axis and grinds the material to be ground in the grinding chamber; and a pressing member that forms part of the inner wall of the grinding chamber and is movable in a direction perpendicular to the axis. The pressing member comprises a biasing member that biases the pressing member toward the axis, The pressing member of the crusher switches between an extended state and a retracted state in contact with the blade as the blade rotates.

2. The crusher according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of pressing members arranged along the rotational direction of the shaft portion.

3. Multiple grinding chambers, The pulverizer according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a connecting passage that connects the outlet and the inlet of adjacent pulverizing chambers.

4. The pulverizer according to claim 3, wherein the biasing force exerted by the biasing member on the pressing member is greater in the pulverizing chamber located downstream of the material to be pulverized than in the pulverizing chamber located upstream in the flow direction of the material to be pulverized.

5. Having three or more of the aforementioned grinding chambers, The pulverizer according to claim 3, wherein the cross-sectional area of ​​the connecting passage located downstream of the connecting passage in the flow direction of the material to be pulverized is smaller in the direction perpendicular to the axis of the connecting passage than the cross-sectional area of ​​the connecting passage located upstream of the connecting passage.

6. A pulverizer that pulverizes a material to be pulverized and produces pulverized material, A grinding chamber having an inlet into which the material to be ground flows and an outlet out which the ground material flows out, The device comprises a blade having a shaft that rotates around an axis, a blade that can extend and retract along a direction perpendicular to the axis, and a blade-side biasing member that biases the blade in a direction away from the axis, and a blade that crushes the material to be crushed in the crushing chamber, The blade portion of the grinder switches between an extended state and a retracted state in contact with the inner wall of the grinding chamber as the blade rotates.

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