Vertical soak tank with improved levelling and weighing apparatus
AssigneeFrito-Lay, Inc.
InventorsDarrell B. Crimmins, George H. Steinmetz
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A vertical soak tank wherein a downwardly moving compact bed of solids is contacted with liquid which floods the bed, includes mechanical components to level the solids and assure that they are maintained in a first-in first-out basis by an incoming materials distributor having inverted cones and rotating levelling rods and bars. The tank has a unique seal between a rotating bottom disc and the side walls, as well as improved means for access to the internal components. The tank also has a weighing system utilizing an external load cell to weigh the solids independently of the liquid in the tank.
Claims15
A vertical soak tank apparatus for contacting solids and liquids while slowly and continuously moving the solids vertically by gravity plug flow through the tank, the tank including, a central vertical drive shaft extending downward, a rotatable horizontal disc driven by the drive shaft and supported adjacent to the bottom of the vertical tank means, an emptying slot in the disc for emptying materials supported on the disc as the disc rotates in a controlled manner, and improved means for adding solids and liquids to the tank and assuring continuous plug flow, comprising;
- at least one downwardly extending inlet pipe with a deflector spaced below the exit to the inlet pipe adjacent the top portion of the tank so that material entering the inlet pipe is spread by the deflector evenly over the surface of material already in the tank, solids levelling means attached to the drive shaft, at a level below the deflector, below a normal liquid level in the tank, and not above the normal top level of the solids in the tank.
Apparatus for continuously determining the weight of a load of solids supported on a shaft-driven rotatable disc inside a vertical soak tank, comprising;
- a calibration rod extending from within the disc drive shaft to the top of the tank, driving means at the top of the rod, stationary support means, and a load cell contacting the support means, and bearing the load of the calibration rod, shaft, disc, and materials supported on the disc.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.