Viscous Material Emptying Device Segmented Pressing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for emptying highly viscous materials from containers face challenges such as increased force requirements, air entrapment, residual quantities, equipment damage, and pressure drops during transport, especially when dealing with abrasive materials and varying container dimensions.
Innovation Solution
The design features a press cylinder with a conveying piston that moves independently of the press plate, using non-return valves to ensure material flow only in one direction, allowing for higher pressures and reducing seal stress, along with a vacuum system to prevent air inclusion and a flexible hose pump for efficient material transfer.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stress or pressure
If a press plate is used to press viscous material into the conveyer line, then the material can be delivered to the consumer with sufficient pressure, but the force required increases sharply with increasing viscosity
Solution Approach 1:
The system is divided into two independent pressing actions: first the press plate presses material into the conveyer line, then the conveying piston presses material into the conveyer line. This segmentation allows the pressing force to be applied in two stages rather than requiring one extremely high force, resolving the contradiction between achieving sufficient pressure and minimizing required force.
Solution Approach 2:
The press plate performs a preliminary pressing action to fill the conveyer line with material before the conveying piston performs the final pressing action. This preliminary action ensures the conveyer line is adequately filled, reducing the force needed by the conveying piston to achieve the required pressure at the consumer.
2Productivity
If a press plate is placed on the viscous material, then material can be conveyed, but air is trapped under the press plate and enters the conveyer line
Solution Approach 1:
A vacuum is applied to the conveyer line before material conveyance to remove air bubbles. This preliminary action ensures the conveyer line is free of air, preventing air bubbles from entering during the pressing and conveyance process, thus maintaining both productivity and eliminating the harmful air bubble effect.
Solution Approach 2:
The vacuum system converts the harmful effect of air bubbles into a beneficial process by actively removing air from the conveyer line before material insertion, ensuring clean material flow without air contamination.
3Device complexity
If the conveyer line is attached directly to the through opening of the press plate, then material flow is simple, but the seal between the press plate and barrel is penetrated by material under high pressure
Solution Approach 1:
The system separates the press plate from the conveyer line connection by introducing a conveying piston as an intermediate element. The conveyer line is attached to the conveying piston, not directly to the press plate, creating two distinct sealing zones: one between the press plate and barrel, and another between the conveying piston and press plate. This segmentation prevents material from penetrating the press plate seal while maintaining simple overall device structure.
4Productivity
If a pump is used to convey viscous material, then material can be transported, but the pump wears out quickly due to abrasive fillers
Solution Approach 1:
The traditional pump mechanism is replaced with a conveying piston system that uses direct mechanical pressing action. Instead of using rotating pump components that contact abrasive material, the conveying piston pushes material through the conveyer line using a linear reciprocating motion, eliminating the wear-prone pump components while maintaining material transport capability.
5Productivity
If the press plate reaches the bottom of the barrel, then complete emptying is achieved, but the high forces may damage the press plate or drive
Solution Approach 1:
The emptying process is segmented into two phases: the press plate presses material into the conveyer line, then the conveying piston completes the emptying by pressing remaining material. This segmentation prevents the press plate from needing to travel the full distance to the barrel bottom under high load, reducing stress and potential damage while achieving complete emptying.
Solution Approach 2:
The press plate performs preliminary pressing to move the majority of material into the conveyer line before the conveying piston completes the process. This preliminary action reduces the workload on the press plate, preventing it from experiencing excessive forces that could cause damage while still achieving complete barrel emptying.
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
This solution enables reliable, efficient, and complete emptying of highly viscous materials over longer distances without equipment damage, maintaining precise metering and reducing wear on components, while accommodating various container sizes.
Implementation Method 1
it should be possible to empty the barrel as completely as possible without time-consuming manual reworking
Data Source
AI summary
In order to prevent the material (52) from being pressed through the press plate seal between press plate (2) and surrounding barrel (50) by means of a press plate (2) when emptying a barrel (50) in which viscous material (52) is supplied, a two-stage construction is used in accordance with the invention:A press cylinder (22) is connected to the rear side of the press plate (2), in which in turn a conveying piston (24) is guided in a sealing manner, which in turn has a smaller end face than the press plate (2). In addition, non-return valves (19) are arranged in the press plate (2) in the region radially inside the press cylinder (22), which allow the material (52) to flow only in the direction of the conveying piston (24), but not vice versa, when the press plate (2) is pressed in the direction to the bottom (50a) of the barrel (50).After the press plate (2) has come to a standstill, the conveying piston (24) can thus be guided in the direction of the bottom of the press cylinder (22), i.e. in the direction of the press plate (2), and the material (52) can thereby be pressed through the conveying piston (24) into the conveyer line (4) with a pressure, which can also be significantly higher than the maximum pressure with which the press plate seal between the press plate (2) and the inner circumference of the barrel (50) may be pressurised, which, however, does not pose a problem for the much more accurate press cylinder seal between the conveying piston (24) and the press cylinder (22).