Liquid purification or separation – Filter – Relatively movable members interleaved for cleaning
Reexamination Certificate
2001-05-25
2004-09-28
Lithgow, Thomas M. (Department: 1724)
Liquid purification or separation
Filter
Relatively movable members interleaved for cleaning
C210S396000, C210S397000, C210S360200, C210S398000, C210S402000, C210S488000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06796435
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a solid-liquid separating apparatus for separating solid matter, raw contaminants, etc. from liquid of a solid-liquid mix.
2. Prior Art
Solid-liquid separating apparatus are used in, for example, raw contaminant dehydration treatment devices, etc. installed in kitchen sinks. Such solid-liquid separating apparatus separates the solid matter and liquid from water-containing raw contaminants produced as a mixture of solid matter and liquid by mixing raw contaminants discharged from the kitchen with water and pulverizing this mixture.
One of such solid-liquid separating apparatuses is described in Japanese Patent Application No. H11-133089 (Laid-Open (Kokai) No. 2000-317693) filed by the applicant of the present application.
This prior art solid-liquid separating apparatus will be described with reference to
FIGS. 6 and 7
.
The solid-liquid separating apparatus
10
is comprised substantially of a strainer
12
and a casing
24
.
The strainer
12
is in a cylindrical shape by way of arranging a plurality of flat-plate-form circular ring members
14
adjacent each other with specified gaps in between. The casing
24
has an accommodating section
26
that accommodates the strainer
12
.
The accommodating section
26
is divided by the strainer
12
into two regions: an internal region B that is inside the strainer
12
and an external region C that is outside the strainer
12
. An intake port
28
that introduces a mixture of solid matter and a liquid is formed in the external region C, and an outlet port
30
that discharges to the outside the liquid that passes between the circular ring members
14
and advances into the internal region B is formed in the internal region B.
The solid-liquid separating apparatus
10
further includes a scraper
20
. The scraper
20
is comprised of a plurality of flat-plate-form (fin-form) protruding elements
22
so that the tip ends thereof enter the respective gaps between the circular ring members
14
. The scraper
20
is moved relative to the strainer
12
and the protruding elements
22
thereof scrape away solid matter adhering to the end surfaces (or the flat, side surfaces) of the circular ring members
14
that form the strainer
12
. The flat-plate-form protruding elements
22
enter from the outer circumferential sides of the circular ring members
14
into the gaps. The tip ends of the protruding elements
22
reach the inner circumferential surfaces of the circular ring members
14
and advance into the internal region B of the strainer
12
.
Both end surfaces (flat surfaces) of the respective flat-plate-form protruding elements
22
that enter the respective gaps between the circular ring members
14
, i.e., the spaces between the end surfaces (flat surfaces) of the circular ring members
14
, make rubbing contact with the end surfaces (flat surfaces) of the circular ring members
14
that are positioned on both sides of each flat-plate-form protruding element
22
.
The plurality of flat-plate-form protruding elements
22
are provided on, for instance, a supporting member
32
(see FIG.
7
). The protruding elements
22
protrude from the supporting member
32
toward the strainer
12
. The supporting member
12
is installed parallel to the axis of the strainer
12
and forms a part of the scraper
20
together with the flat-plate-form protruding elements
22
. The flat-plate-form protruding elements
22
are arranged so as to have gaps in between that are substantially equal in size to the thickness of the circular ring members
14
and also have a fixed spacing between adjacent flat-plate-form protruding elements
22
. As one example, the flat-plate-form protruding elements
22
are in a wedge shape (see FIG.
6
). The end surfaces of the protruding elements
22
on the upstream side with respect to the direction of rotation D of the strainer
12
are formed as inclined surfaces with respect to the radial direction of the circular ring members
14
. As a result, the solid matter that has been scraped away from the end surfaces of the circular ring members
14
is gradually moved toward the outer circumferences of the circular ring members
14
as the strainer
12
rotates.
Furthermore, the edge of the end surface of the supporting member
32
on the upstream side with respect to the direction of rotation D (see
FIG. 6
) of the strainer
12
is in contact with the outer circumferential surfaces of the circular ring members
14
so as to function as a scraper that scrapes away the solid matter
16
deposited on the outer circumferential surfaces of the circular ring members
14
. Accordingly, the end surface of the supporting member
32
on the upstream side with respect to the direction of rotation D of the strainer
12
is formed as an inclined surface with respect to the radial direction of the circular ring members
14
. Thus, the solid matter
16
that has been scraped from the outer circumferential surfaces of the circular ring members
14
is gradually moved away from the circular ring members
14
as the strainer
12
rotates.
With the structure above, the scraper
20
scrapes away the solid matter
16
adhering to the end surfaces of the circular ring members
14
by the flat-plate-form protruding elements
22
, and solid matter
16
adhering to the outer circumferential surfaces of the circular ring members
14
is scraped away by the end surface of the supporting member
32
that is located on the upstream side with respect to the direction of rotation D of the strainer
12
. The solid matter
16
that has been scraped away is moved by the flat-plate-form protruding elements
22
, which are formed with inclined surfaces that incline with respect to the radial direction of the scraper
20
, and by the end surface of the supporting member
32
that is located on the upstream side with respect to the direction of rotation D of the strainer
12
. As a result, the solid matter
16
is extracted through a discharge opening
34
disposed in the casing
24
and on the upstream side of the scraper
20
.
The driving device
36
, that is a motor and the like, rotates the strainer
12
. The strainer
12
is rotated continuously during the solid-liquid separation process.
In operation, the strainer
12
acts as a filter. In other words, the liquid
18
passes through the gaps between the stacked circular ring members
14
and advances into the internal region B, and the solid matter
16
that is larger than the gaps is deposited on the outer circumferential surfaces of the circular ring members
14
. Some of the solid matter
16
that can advance into the gaps adhere to the end surfaces of the circular ring members
14
and cannot advance into the internal region B. As a result, the solid matter and liquid are separated.
The liquid
18
that has advanced into the internal region B is discharged to the outside of the casing
24
via the outlet port
30
. The solid matter
16
adhering to or deposited on the circular ring members
14
is scraped away by the scraper
20
and discharged to the outside of the casing
24
via the discharge opening
34
that is opened in the casing
24
. Since the solid matter
16
deposited or adhering on the outer circumferential surfaces and end surfaces of the circular ring members
14
is scraped away by the scraper
20
each revolution of the strainer
12
, no clogging would occur; and solid-liquid separation is continuously performed.
The space of each one of the gaps between the end surfaces of the respective circular ring members
14
that make up the strainer
12
is determined based upon the size of the solid matter that is to be separated from the liquid. More specifically, if it is desired to separate even solid matter
16
of a small size so that the proportion of solid matter contained in the liquid
18
following the separation is reduced and the quantity of contaminants in the liquid
18
is thus reduced, then the spacing of the gaps between the circular ring members
14
is narrowed. For the opposit
Izumi Products Company
Koda & Androlia
Lithgow Thomas M.
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