Presses – With drain means for expressed liquid – Drainage through or along surface spanning pressure surfaces
Reexamination Certificate
2001-03-26
2004-02-03
Ostrager, Allen (Department: 3725)
Presses
With drain means for expressed liquid
Drainage through or along surface spanning pressure surfaces
C100S116000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06684764
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to compression-operated liquid extraction devices. It is specifically directed to an improved design of the extruder section.
2. Description of Related Art
Batch process, compression-driven liquid extraction devices for dewatering waste material have been well known for many years. The material to be dewatered is a composite mass of liquid and solids which the device compresses to remove much of the liquid, leaving a drier product more suitable for land fill. The liquid in the material to be dewatered is typically not just water but also may include oils, greases, solvents and other liquids. Typical liquid and solid mixtures that require dewatering include paper pulp, garbage, animal hair and follicle solvent from leather manufacture, animal by-products, dairy products, and other wet waste products. The input composite material is typically 5%-15% solids.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,215,007 to Sebright, et al. entitled Apparatus for Extracting Liquid from a Composite Mass and which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses a liquid extraction device that utilizes an extruder section with a bottom wall that is inclined upwardly at an angle from a defined axis and side walls that converge toward the discharge end. The inclined bottom wall enables gravity to assist the end platen in maintaining sufficient compression of the dewatered solids at the discharge end. The output dewatered material from this device can typically be 54% or higher solids, greatly exceeding the dewatering capacity of previous known devices. However, it has been found that an inclined bottom wall and converging side walls inhibit expeditious repair of the main ram. Moreover, any convergence in the extruder sometimes increases friction between the dewatered solids and the extruder walls to an unacceptable degree.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
The foregoing problems are solved by the present invention of an apparatus for extracting liquid from a composite mass of liquids and solids. The appartus comprises a housing having a cavity for receiving a composite mass of solids and liquid. The cavity has a longitudinal axis extending through and open end of the housing.
A powered first platen is mounted in the apparatus relative to the housing for movement from a retracted position away from the open end, along the longitudinal axis through the cavity to an extended position near the open end.
An extruder section is connected to the housing at the open end and has opposed top and bottom walls and opposed side walls. The top, bottom, and side walls define a channel centered on the longitudinal axis, and the extruder extends to an exit opening. Each of the walls has a matrix of apertures therethrough. None of the top, bottom, and side walls converge toward the longitudinal axis in the direction from the open end toward the exit opening, but at least one of them diverges away from longitudinal axis. Any or all of the walls can diverge form the longitudinal axis.
A second platen is mounted to one of the extruder walls near the exit opening for pivotable movement to restrict the cross-sectional area of the channel. Preferably, the second platen is biased toward a position restricting the cross-sectional area of the channel.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3550775 (1970-12-01), Cooley
patent: 4646633 (1987-03-01), Falguieres
patent: 4665817 (1987-05-01), Simpson
patent: 4691628 (1987-09-01), Simpson
patent: 5012731 (1991-05-01), Maisonneuve
patent: 5215007 (1993-06-01), Sebright et al.
patent: 5887516 (1999-03-01), Sebright et al.
Sebright Brent H.
Sebright Stuart L.
McGarry Bair PC
Nguyen Jimmy T.
Ostrager Allen
Sebright Products, Inc.
LandOfFree
Apparatus for extracting liquid from a composite mass does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Apparatus for extracting liquid from a composite mass, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Apparatus for extracting liquid from a composite mass will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3279546