Plastic article or earthenware shaping or treating: apparatus – With apparatus assembly or dismantling means or with idle part – Including support or guide means for disassembled element
Utility Patent
1997-08-08
2001-01-02
Davis, Robert (Department: 1722)
Plastic article or earthenware shaping or treating: apparatus
With apparatus assembly or dismantling means or with idle part
Including support or guide means for disassembled element
C425S190000, C425S381000, C425S466000
Utility Patent
active
06168410
ABSTRACT:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
Not applicable.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
Not applicable.
REFERENCE TO A “MICROFICHE APPENDIX”
Not applicable.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to an improvement in an apparatus for the expansion and/or heat treatment of oleo resinous material, that is, oil seeds, as for example, cotton seed or soybean flakes. The apparatus upon which the present invention is an improvement is an intermediate apparatus or step in oil seed processing and is useful for the preparation of the oil seeds for subsequent extraction of the oils.
2. Information Disclosure Statement
It is often desired to shut down such apparatus for various reasons, and when the prior art apparatus which typically had a die-plate with apertures through which the processed material was expelled was shut down, it created a problem, particularly if the material became caked, hardened, or not usable up in the exit end of the apparatus and cleaning for restarting the apparatus could not be accomplished without removing the die-plate. It will be understood that such down time is costly in that valuable production was lost. It is therefore desirable to have a way to easily and quickly clean out the apparatus with a minimum of down time.
A preliminary patentability search in Class 425, subclasses 133.1, 381, and 382 produced the following patents, some of which may be relevant to the present invention: Reker, U.S. Pat. No. 1,775,735, issued Sep. 16, 1930; McComb et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,097,213, issued Jun. 27, 1978; Otsuka, U.S. Pat. No. 4,255,110, issued Mar. 10, 1981; and Foresman, U.S. Pat. No. 5,366,680, issued Nov. 22, 1994.
Additionally, Schumacher, deceased et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,960,328, issued Oct. 2, 1990, describes apparatus for the extrusion, expansion and/or thermal treatment of substances and substance mixtures. Williams, U.S. Pat. No. 4,901,635, issued Feb. 20, 1990, describes apparatus and method for the continuous extrusion and partial deliquefaction of oleaginous materials. None of these references, either singly or in combination, disclose or suggest the present invention.
BRIEF SUNIMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is an improvement in an apparatus of the type for the expansion and/or heat treatment of oleo resinous material in which the fixed die plate of previous apparatuses of this type is replaced with a hydraulically positioned device that produces virtually the same quality of material as the previous apparatuses and may be remotely started and stopped without operator assistance or care.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved apparatus of the above described type which can be easily and quickly cleaned with a minimum of down time.
A further object is to provide such improved apparatus in which the improved outlet discharge device includes a main ring attached to the housing of the apparatus at the outlet end thereof, a head including a plurality of teeth around the periphery of the head and including a plurality of depressions respectively disposed between the teeth, said main ring including a plurality of teeth around the inner circumference of the main ring and including a plurality of depressions respectively disposed between the teeth, and actuating means attached to the head for selectively moving the head between an operating position and a cleaning position. When in the operating position the teeth are proximate to the ring, and the head with the main ring provides a plurality of passageways for the material to exit the housing, and when in the cleaning position the head is withdrawn from the main ring and the outlet end of the housing to allow cleaning out of said apparatus and expelling of the material.
A further object is to provide an embodiment of such an improved apparatus in which the head is in contact with the main ring when in said operating position.
A further object is to provide another embodiment of such an improved apparatus in which there are no depressions around the periphery of the head, and in which the surface of the head around the periphery thereof is substantially solid. In this embodiment the head is spaced from the main ring when in said operating position.
A further object is to provide such an improved apparatus in which is provided a limiting ring for limiting the amount of space between the head and the main ring when in said operating position.
A further object is to provide such an improved apparatus which includes a hydraulic cylinder/piston combination with the piston thereof being connected to the head for the actuation thereof, and includes hydraulic source means and a control system connecting the hydraulic source means to the hydraulic/piston combination for the selective movement of the head.
REFERENCES:
patent: 1775735 (1930-09-01), Reker
patent: 2979768 (1961-04-01), Nichols
patent: 3191229 (1965-06-01), Vanzo
patent: 3632246 (1972-01-01), Ichikawa et al.
patent: 3807929 (1974-04-01), Moore
patent: 4097213 (1978-06-01), McComb et al.
patent: 4097214 (1978-06-01), Hsu
patent: 4255110 (1981-03-01), Otsuka
patent: 4794011 (1988-12-01), Schumacher
patent: 4901635 (1990-02-01), Williams
patent: 4931237 (1990-06-01), Peelman et al.
patent: 4960328 (1990-10-01), Schumacher et al.
patent: 5271728 (1993-12-01), Froidevaux et al.
patent: 5366680 (1994-11-01), Foresman
Davis Robert
Leyson Joseph
TNL Industrial Mecanica Ltda.
Walker, McKenzie & Walker P.C.
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