阅读说明：本技术 用于处理有机产品和其他材料的设备 (Apparatus for processing organic products and other materials ) 是由 R·W·亨德森 J·A·弗洛克 于 2018-02-22 设计创作，主要内容包括：一种用于处理有机材料的设备(10),所述设备将水果和蔬菜的不可食用成分(核、表皮、种籽、木髓材料)分解成具有奶油状稠度的可食用物质。所述设备(10)包括在筒体(13)中的活塞(28),用于对所述有机材料加压并迫使其通过具有多个彼此成直角的端对端节段的通道。每个节段的末端都有一个撞击面,流动的材料会撞击到所述撞击面上。这些节段可以布置在套筒(74)和梭芯(80)之间,所述套筒具有不同直径的节段,所述梭芯具有阶梯状的外表面以匹配所述套筒(74)的内表面。(An apparatus (10) for processing organic material, which decomposes inedible ingredients of fruits and vegetables (kernels, skins, seeds, pith material) into edible substances having a creamy consistency. The apparatus (10) includes a piston (28) in the barrel (13) for pressurizing and forcing the organic material through a channel having a plurality of end-to-end segments at right angles to each other. Each segment has an impact surface at the end thereof against which the flowing material will impact. These segments may be disposed between a sleeve (74) having segments of different diameters and a bobbin (80) having a stepped outer surface to match the inner surface of the sleeve (74).)

1. An apparatus for processing organic products or other materials, the apparatus comprising: a channel having a series of communicating segments, each segment having an inlet end and an outlet end, each segment being inclined at an angle relative to its preceding segment; an impingement wall at an exit end of each segment; and means for pressurising the material so that, in use, the material flows into the inlet end of a first section of the passageway, emerges from the outlet end of the first section, impinges on an impingement wall at the outlet end of the first section, changes direction and then flows into the second section.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the segments are at right angles to each other.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 or 2, wherein the apparatus comprises a sleeve and a bobbin, the sleeve having an internally stepped bore to provide alternating axially facing surfaces and radially inwardly facing cylindrical surfaces, the radially inwardly facing cylindrical surfaces increasing in size from one end of the bore to the other; the bobbin matches the size of the bore and has axially facing surfaces alternating with cylindrical surfaces that increase in size from one end of the bobbin to the other, with an annular gap between each cylindrical surface of the bobbin and a cylindrical surface of the sleeve, the sleeve being located radially outward of the annular gap.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the width of the annular gap decreases in a direction from the smaller ends of the sleeve and bobbin toward their larger ends.

5. Apparatus according to claim 3 or 4, comprising means to force the axially facing surface of the bobbin against the axially facing surface of the sleeve.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the biasing device is a spring.

7. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the high pressure device is a hydraulic cylinder.

8. Apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 7 wherein the bobbin has a seal at its smaller diameter end which fits into the outlet end of a passage leading to the means for pressurising the material, the seal sealing the outlet at one of its locations.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the channel comprises two or more segments, each segment having a cross-sectional area that is less than a cross-sectional area of an upstream segment thereof.

10. An apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 9, wherein the bobbin has deflected slots in its cylindrical surface of maximum diameter, whereby in use material flowing into these slots causes the bobbin to rotate.

11. The apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the means for pressurizing the material comprises: a barrel having an end wall and a side wall; a piston located in the barrel; means for reciprocating the piston in alternating forward pressurization strokes and retraction strokes such that the material is forced from the barrel through an outlet into the flow passage.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the barrel has an inlet positioned in a side wall of the barrel, and wherein the outlet is positioned in an end wall of the barrel, the inlet being positioned between the outlet and the piston when the piston is at the end of its pressurization stroke.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, comprising a feed valve and a control system, the feed valve having an open position to allow organic product to enter the barrel and a closed position to inhibit organic product from flowing into the barrel; the control system keeps the intake valve closed until after the piston has begun a retraction stroke.

14. An apparatus according to claim 11, 12 or 13, wherein the means for reciprocating the piston comprises a hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder having a drive piston therein and a piston rod attached to the drive piston, the piston rod extending through an end wall of the pneumatic or hydraulic cylinder, across a gap and attached to a piston in the barrel.

15. A method of treating organic material, the method comprising pressing the material into a bore at a pressure of 200-.

16. the method as claimed in claim 15, wherein the pressure is between 300 and 1600 bar.

17. The method as claimed in claim 16, wherein the pressure is between 350 and 1200 bar.

18. The method as claimed in claim 16 or 17, wherein the speed is between 2000 and 4000 kph.

19. A method of processing organic material, the method comprising forcing the material through an aperture of between 0.05mm and 8mm in diameter at a pressure of at least 200 bar, flowing the material from the aperture through a channel, the channel comprising a plurality of segments, each segment having an inlet and an outlet and each segment being inclined at an angle to its previous segment such that the material changes direction as it flows from one segment to the next and an impingement wall is provided at the outlet end of each segment such that as the material emerges from each segment, it impinges on the impingement wall at the end of that segment, changes direction and flows into the next segment of the series of segments.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the material is forced through a bore having two end-to-end segments, an upstream segment having a diameter greater than a diameter of a downstream segment.

21. The method of claim 18 or 19, wherein the diameter of the hole is between 0.1mm and 8 mm.

22. A method of treating an inorganic material, the method comprising reducing the inorganic material to particulate form, dispersing the particulate material in a liquid to form a slurry, forcing the slurry into pores at a pressure of between 200 and 2000 bar, causing the slurry to emerge from the bore at a velocity of 500-, and each segment is inclined at an angle relative to its previous segment such that the slurry changes direction as it flows from one segment to the next and provides an impingement wall at the outlet end of each segment, such that as the slurry emerges from each segment, the slurry impinges on an impingement wall at the end of that segment, changes direction, and flows into the next segment in the series of segments.

Technical Field

the present invention relates to apparatus for processing organic products and other materials.

Background

The outer skin of many vegetables cannot be used as food due to its non-digestible nature. Pumpkin and squash are examples of such vegetables. They also have a central core comprising a seed embedded in a filamentary material. The seed, husk and filament materials all have nutritional value, but are currently generally discarded due to inadequate commercial handling.

Apples and pears have a skin and a core with seeds, which are usually discarded even though the skin and core have nutritional value. The reason for this is also that the outer skin and the core cannot be sufficiently commercially handled. Orange and grapefruit are examples of other agricultural products, the rind and seeds of which are discarded because, although they have nutritional value, they do not achieve adequate commercial treatment.

In the production of wine, the skins and seeds of grapes are discarded because current grape pressing methods cannot convert the skins and seeds into a form that can be further used in the wine brewing process.

In addition to the obvious waste of products with nutritional value, this also presents the problem of disposing of waste. In the production of orange juice, for example, tens of thousands of tons of skin and pulp must be disposed of. Likewise, during the relatively short grape plucking period, a large amount of grape skin must be treated.

Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) specification WO2012/162707 discloses an apparatus for pressurizing untreated organic products and causing cell wall rupture of the products. The product obtained has a creamy consistency and, in a suitable form, contains not only the nutrients of those parts of the organic product which have hitherto been considered edible, but also the nutrients of those parts of the organic product which have previously been considered unusable.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved apparatus for processing organic products in a manner that eliminates or at least substantially minimizes waste, and enables one to obtain more of the nutritional value of the original product.

Although it is envisaged that it is preferable to have the whole fruit or whole vegetable treated, it may be that one discards those parts which are otherwise edible and only treats those parts which are not discarded.

In the mineral industry, mineral containing ores are ground using equipment such as ball mills. The ground material is then treated with, for example, an acid to separate the minerals from the ore in a process known as leaching. The efficiency of the leaching process depends on the particle size of the ground ore. The smaller the particles, the more efficient the leaching process.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for reducing the particle size of mineral-containing ores in preparation for further or simultaneous processing to separate the minerals from the rock in which they are dispersed.

Disclosure of Invention

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided an apparatus for processing organic products or other materials, the apparatus comprising a channel having a series of communicating segments, each segment having an inlet end and an outlet end, each segment being inclined at an angle relative to its preceding segment; an impingement wall at an exit end of each segment; and means for pressurising the material so that, in use, the material flows into the inlet end of a first section of the passageway, emerges from the outlet end of the first section, impinges on an impingement wall at the outlet end of the first section, changes direction and then flows into the second section.

The segments are preferably at right angles to each other.

According to the invention, one form of apparatus comprises a sleeve having an internally stepped bore to provide alternating axially facing surfaces and inwardly facing surfaces, the inwardly facing surfaces increasing in size from one end of the bore to the other; the bobbin matches the size of the hole and has alternating axially facing surfaces and outwardly facing surfaces, the outwardly facing surfaces increasing in size from one end of the bobbin to the other, an annular gap being provided between each outwardly facing surface of the bobbin and an inwardly facing surface of the sleeve, the sleeve being located outside the annular gap.

Preferably, the width of the annular gap decreases in a direction from the smaller end of the sleeve and the bobbin towards the larger end thereof.

Means such as a spring, pneumatic or hydraulic cylinder may be provided to urge the axially facing surface of the bobbin against the axially facing surface of the sleeve.

The bobbin may have a seal at its smaller diameter end which fits into one end of a flow passage leading from the chamber where material in use is pressurised to an outlet end where the seal seals at one of the locations.

The flow channel may comprise two or more segments, each segment having a cross-sectional area smaller than the cross-sectional area of the segment upstream thereof.

The bobbin may have deflecting slits in its cylindrical surface of maximum diameter so that, in use, material flowing into these slits causes the bobbin to rotate.

The means for pressurizing the material may comprise: a barrel; a piston in the barrel; (ii) a Means for reciprocating the piston in alternating retraction and forward pressurization strokes during which material is forced from the barrel through the outlet to be pushed into the flow passage.

Preferably the inlet to the barrel is located in a side wall of the barrel and the outlet to the barrel is located in an end wall of the barrel, the inlet being located between the outlet and the piston when the piston is at the end of its pressurisation stroke.

The apparatus may have an inlet valve and a control system, the inlet valve having an open position to allow organic product to enter the barrel and a closed position to inhibit organic product from flowing into the barrel; the control system keeps the intake valve closed until after the piston has begun a retraction stroke.

The means for reciprocating the piston may comprise a hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder having a drive piston therein and a piston rod attached to the drive piston, the piston rod extending through an end wall of the pneumatic or hydraulic cylinder, across a gap and attached to the piston in the cylinder.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of treating an organic material, the method comprising: pressing the material into the bore at a pressure of 200-.

The pressure is preferably between 300-1600 bar, with a pressure of 350-1200 bar providing the best results.

The preferred speed is in the range of 2000-4000 kph.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of processing organic material, the method comprising: forcing the material through an aperture having a diameter of between 0.05mm and 8mm at a pressure of at least 300 bar, flowing the material from the aperture through a channel, the channel comprising a plurality of segments, each segment having an inlet end and an outlet end, and each segment being inclined at an angle relative to its previous segment such that the material changes direction as it flows from one segment to the next and an impingement wall is provided at the outlet end of each segment such that as the material emerges from each segment, it impinges on the impingement wall at the outlet end of the segment, changes direction and flows into the next segment of the series of segments.

Preferably, the diameter of the holes is between 0.1mm and 6mm, and the preferred pressure is between 300 and 1200 bar.

Preferably, the apertures are located in two end-to-end sections, the upstream section having a diameter greater than the diameter of the downstream section.

According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of treating inorganic material, the method comprising reducing the inorganic material to particulate form, dispersing the particulate material in a liquid to form a slurry, forcing the slurry into pores at a pressure of between 200 and 2000 bar, causing the slurry to emerge from the bore at a velocity of 500-, and each segment is inclined at an angle relative to its previous segment such that the material changes direction as it flows from one segment to the next, and providing an impingement wall at the outlet end of each segment, such that as the slurry emerges from each segment, the slurry impinges on an impingement wall at the end of the segment, changes direction and flows into the next segment of the series of segments.