Screenless Granulator with Rotating Discs and Narrow Gaps
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional powder based granules disintegrating and sizing devices face issues such as screen wear, clogging, inefficient sizing due to impact forces, and instability when processing wet materials, leading to poor yields and operational inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
A device configuration without screens, featuring a rotating body and opposed surface with a narrowest gap area for disintegration, enhanced by circular plates with adjustable gap settings, centrifugal force feeding, and optional gas supply for heating or cooling to prevent adhesion and improve throughput.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a screen is used for granular size control, then sizing can be performed, but the screen becomes worn and damaged by continuous use, and worn particles or damaged pieces of the screen are mixed into the produced powder based granules
Solution Approach 1:
The invention removes the screen component entirely from the granulating system. Instead of using a screen for size control, the system employs a rotating granulating blade that impacts granules against a housing wall, eliminating the screen and its associated wear and contamination problems while maintaining sizing capability through the impact mechanism
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces the mechanical screen-based sizing system with a dynamic impact-based sizing system using a rotating granulating blade. This substitution eliminates the need for static screen structures that are subject to wear, while achieving granular size control through controlled impact forces that break down oversized granules
2Manufacturing precision
If a screen is used for sizing, then granular size control is achieved, but the screen is clogged when wet material adheres thereto, and the processed substance is kneaded inside the screen
Solution Approach 1:
The invention removes the screen component that causes clogging issues. By eliminating the screen and its openings that trap and clog with wet material, the system achieves continuous operation without the productivity losses associated with screen clogging and cleaning
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces the static screen-based sizing mechanism with a dynamic impact-based mechanism using a rotating granulating blade. This substitution eliminates the clogging problem inherent in screen systems by using free-space impact zones where material flows continuously without obstruction
3Adaptability or versatility
If impact force of a granulating blade is used for sizing, then wet material can be processed, but grains of an appropriate grain size are disintegrated, resulting in a large number of fine particles and poor yields
Solution Approach 1:
The invention employs a rotating granulating blade that creates dynamic impact zones, allowing control over the timing and location of granule impact. This dynamic approach enables selective breakdown of oversized granules while allowing properly sized granules to pass through the impact zone without disintegration, thereby improving yield
Solution Approach 2:
The invention creates localized impact zones where the granulating blade contacts granules at specific positions within the housing. This localized approach ensures that only granules in the impact zone are affected, allowing appropriate grain size grains to escape before encountering the blade, thus reducing unnecessary disintegration and improving yield
4Device complexity
If the narrowest gap portion is formed by a lower end circumferential edge of the rotating body and the inner wall of the casing main body in the form of a single line, then the device structure is simple, but a large disintegrating and sizing area cannot be obtained
Solution Approach 1:
The invention transitions from a single-line gap configuration to a circumferential gap configuration by extending the narrowest gap area around the entire circumference of the rotating body. This dimensional expansion from a linear feature to a circumferential feature dramatically increases the disintegrating and sizing area while maintaining structural simplicity through rotational symmetry
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
The solution provides a compact, efficient, and stable disintegration and sizing process, reducing adhesion and increasing throughput, enabling long-term operation even with wet materials and materials of varying softening temperatures.
Implementation Method 1
centrifugal force feeding
Implementation Method 2
optional gas supply for heating or cooling to prevent adhesion
Data Source
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AI summary
A granule disintegrating/granulating device compact,capable of providing a sufficiently wide disintegrating/granulating range, free from deposition of granules to the inner surface of the device, and ensuring a stable operation for an extended time. The granule disintegrating/granulating device (1) comprises a drive shaft (4) disposed in a horizontal direction in a casing body (2), a plurality of discs (23) fixed to and supported on the drive shaft at intervals, and stators (7, 8) installed facing the plate surfaces of the circumferential edges of these discs and having inclined surfaces with their intervals between them and the plate surfaces of the discs gradually decreasing toward the circumferential edges, the plate surface of the discs and the inclined surfaces of the stators constituting a space A where granules stay, the narrowest space between the circumferential edges of the discs and the stators forming a disintegrating/granulating unit B, wherein the stators are disposed throughout the entire circumferences of the discs, a material charging inlet (33) is provided in a side wall in the vicinity of the drive shaft of the casing body, and notches (26) for passing materials are formed in the plate surfaces of the discs.