Brushing – scrubbing – and general cleaning – Machines – With air blast or suction
Patent
1995-08-22
1997-01-21
Moore, Chris K.
Brushing, scrubbing, and general cleaning
Machines
With air blast or suction
153121, 153161, 134167R, 239227, 239264, 239751, B08B 908, B08B 502
Patent
active
055949738
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to the cleaning of silos used for storing industrial products such as, for example, sodium carbonate.
It relates more particular to a device for cleaning such a silo.
TECHNOLOGY REVIEW
Silos intended for storing industrial products must be cleaned periodically. Thus some industrial products, especially powdered sodium carbonate, have the tendency, under the effect of gravitational forces, to stick together and to form encrustations on the wall of the silo. Depending on the case, these encrustations generally tend to increase in size over the course of time, so that they reduce, sometimes considerably, the working capacity of the silos and run the risk, in the long-term, of blocking up the draw-off chutes.
A first method used for detaching encrustations from the wall of a silo consists in striking them by means of a manually operated percussion tool. This method implies the presence of an operator inside the silo, something which is dangerous and is generally proscribed by safety regulations in the case of large silos.
It has also been proposed to detach the encrustations, by means of a milling cutter which is moved along the wall. A known device, designed for this purpose, comprises a metal frame which can move inside the silo, carrying the milling cutter, the frame being able to rotate through 360 degrees on a circular running track arranged above an opening in the silo [NORTHERN VIBRATOR MANUFACTURING LTD Brochure, Gyro-Whip Bin Cleaning Systems, Northern Vibrator Mfg. Ltd., Georgetown, Ontario, Canada; Patent GB-2,146,264 (NORTHERN VIBRATOR Mfg. Ltd.)]. This known device has the advantage of being able to be operated from outside the silo. However, it is difficult to handle, its productivity is low and the milling cutter risks, moreover, damaging the wall of the silo.
In order to avoid the problems associated with the use of a milling cutter, it has been envisaged to detach the encrustations by means of a compressed-air gun mounted at the end of a jib which can be operated manually inside the silo from a manhole made in the wall of the silo (AIRNESCO Brochure, Technical Information and Operating Instructions, The Airnesco Bunker lances N2, N3 and N4, Airnesco International Limited, Rochester, Kent, England). This known means has the drawback of being difficult, imprecise and tiring to handle.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention remedies the aforementioned drawbacks by providing a novel device for cleaning silos, the handling of which is easy and precise, which is effective and has an optimum productivity and with which the risk of damaging the wall of the silo is a minimum.
The invention therefore relates to a device for cleaning the wall of a silo, comprising a compressed-air gun which can move inside the silo, the gun being suspended for this purpose from two cables which are fixed respectively on either side of its centre of gravity and which are connected respectively to two winches, bearing respectively on two pulleys fastened to a frame which is arranged inside the silo and which is fixed to a rotary plate which can move on a circular track above an opening in the silo.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
The FIGURE shows partially, in vertical axial section, the upper region of a silo whose side wall (1) is pierced in its upper part by a manhole (2). An agglomeration (3) of a solid substance adheres to the wall (1). In order to detach the agglomeration (3) from the wall, a device in accordance with the invention is inserted into the silo via the manhole (2). The illustrated device is described below.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
In the device according to the invention, the compressed-air gun is an apparatus well known from a technical standpoint, which is designed to blast, in a defined direction, a blast of compressed air. The flow rate of the blast of compressed air, its temperature and its pressure may all be regulated as required, using a compressor, valves and a pressure regulator, depending on the magnitude of the encrustat
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Gyrowhip; Northern Vibrator Manufacturing Ltd. Brochure, Gyro-Whip Bin Cleaning Systems, Northern Vibrator Mfg. Ltd., Georgetown, Ontario, Canada.
Airnesco Brochure, Technical Information and Operating Instructions, The Airnesco Bunker lances N2, N3 and N4, Airnesco International Limited, Rochester, Kent, England.
Brusseleers Joseph
Claes Jan
Moore Chris K.
Solvay ( Societe Anonyme)
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