Bottom-Drive Agitator Mill for Small Media Separation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing stirred mills face challenges in effectively processing extremely small grinding media without causing operational disruptions, such as clogging or damage to protective screens, especially when dealing with viscous materials, leading to inefficient grinding and process disruptions.
Innovation Solution
A stirred mill design with a vertically oriented process unit and a rotor equipped with activation pins, where the drive shaft extends from below, allowing for gravity-assisted separation of grinding media and easy replacement of parts, combined with interchangeable separating devices and cooling systems, ensuring efficient grinding and media separation without disrupting the process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a protective screen is used to separate grinding media from ground material, then separation reliability is improved, but the screen is prone to clogging and damage when using extremely small grinding media
Solution Approach 1:
The harmful function of the protective screen (causing clogging and damage) is eliminated by replacing it with a centrifugal separation system. Grinding media are separated from ground material through centrifugal force generated by rotating separation elements, completely removing the screen component that caused clogging and damage issues with extremely small grinding media.
Solution Approach 2:
The static mechanical screening system is replaced with a dynamic centrifugal separation system. Instead of using a stationary screen that requires extremely fine mesh for small grinding media (which clogs easily), the invention uses rotating elements that generate centrifugal force to separate media by size and density, eliminating the clogging problem inherent in screen-based systems.
2Productivity
If centrifugal separation is used to remove grinding media, then separation efficiency is improved, but small grinding media may still reach the protective screen and cause clogging over time
Solution Approach 1:
The separation system is designed with multiple functional elements that work together: rotating separation elements provide centrifugal separation, while integrated return channels simultaneously guide grinding media back to the grinding chamber. This multi-functional design ensures complete separation without any media reaching a protective screen, maintaining both high efficiency and operational continuity.
Solution Approach 2:
Grinding media return channels act as an intermediary pathway that intercepts and redirects grinding media before they can reach any protective screen. These channels serve as a middle ground between the grinding chamber and potential screen locations, ensuring media are continuously returned to the grinding zone and preventing clogging at any separation point.
3Ease of operation
If the drive shaft extends from below into the process unit, then gravity-assisted separation and easy part replacement are enabled, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of the conventional configuration where the drive shaft enters from the top, the invention inverts the arrangement by extending the drive shaft from below into the process unit. This inverted configuration allows grinding media to settle naturally at the bottom under gravity, facilitating separation, while also providing easy access to the drive mechanism for maintenance and part replacement from the base side.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables wider application range and efficient grinding of small media with reduced risk of clogging and damage, facilitating easy maintenance and improved throughput by leveraging gravity and interchangeable components.
Implementation Method 1
a drive shaft that extends from below into an interior of the rotor and a rotor that is generally an elongated, round body... A rotor that is equipped with a multitude of activation pins on an outer surface to transfer energy to grinding aids
Implementation Method 2
the drive shaft extends from below into the interior of the rotor... allowing for gravity-assisted separation of grinding media
Data Source
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AI summary
A stirred mill with a container-shaped process unit (2) into which a drive shaft (33) extends, and a rotor (17) with a plurality of tools (30) for transferring energy to grinding aids (31), the process unit (2) having a product inlet (8) and a product outlet (9) through which the product to be ground is fed into and out of the process unit (2), with a motor (3) that drives the drive shaft (33), characterized in that the drive shaft (33) extends from below through a base of the process unit (2) into the vertically oriented process unit (2), and the motor (4) is connected to the drive shaft (33) below the process unit to transfer power to the drive shaft (33), so that the lid can be removed when the process unit (2) is full without having to remove the product or the grinding aids (31).