Vertical drop product cleaner
OwnerKyle D. Ackermaninventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention provides a vertical drop, multi-pass cleaner comprising a housing and first and second panels defining a separation plenum therebetween through which the product drops substantially vertically through an upwardly directed air flow and a plurality of cross air flows. The panels are mounted on tracks within the housing and are separately removable from the housing as desired by the operator for cleaning or repair. The present invention may also includes a velocity control module having metering vanes to control the air flow through individual ones of the plurality of cross flow air passages, the vanes being either manually or automatically adjusted.
Claims21
An aspirator for separating fines and/or foreign matter from dry, free-flowing, granular product, said aspirator comprising:
- a housing;
- a charging hopper;
- a discharge for conducting the granular material from said aspirator;
- a separation plenum formed by spaced inlet and outlet manifolds and spaced end walls contiguous with said manifolds and extending vertically downwardly from said charging hopper to said discharge, said separation plenum adapted to communicate with said charging hopper and said discharge to thereby conduct product from said charging hopper downwardly to said discharge;
- said inlet manifold defining at least one air inlet providing a flow path for air into said separation plenum;
- said outlet manifold defining at least one air outlet providing a flow path for air out of said separation plenum;
- an upper rail for removably mounting at least one removable manifold thereto, said rail extending substantially the entire length of said housing and being rigidly attached therein, said at least one removable manifold including a hook for removably suspending said removable manifold from said rail,
- wherein said at least one removably mounted manifold can be quickly and easily removed for cleaning, maintenance, and/or replacement thereof.
The aspirator of claim wherein 11 said manifolds each comprise a pair of ribs extending substantially vertically and substantially parallel to each other and wherein said inlets and outlets are defined by a plurality of horizontally extending louvers.
An aspirator for separating fines and/or foreign matter from dry, free-flowing, granular product, said aspirator comprising:
- a housing, said housing comprising a pair of upper and lower rails extending horizontally within said housing;
- a charging hopper;
- a discharge for conducting the granular material from said aspirator;
- a separation plenum formed by spaced inlet and outlet manifolds and spaced end walls contiguous with said manifolds and extending vertically downwardly from said charging hopper to said discharge, said separation plenum adapted to communicate with said charging hopper and said discharge to thereby conduct product from said charging hopper downwardly to said discharge;
- said inlet manifold defining at least one air inlet providing a flow path for air into said separation plenum;
- said outlet manifold defining at least one air outlet providing a flow path for air out of said separation plenum;
- and
- means for removably mounting at least one of said manifolds to said upper and lower rails such that such manifold can be quickly and easily removed for cleaning, maintenance, and/or replacement, said means for removably mounting comprising a pair upper and lower rails extending horizontally within and attached to said housing and said at least one removably mounted manifold includes at least one hook for removably suspending said at least one removable manifold from said rails.
An aspirator for separating fines and/or foreign matter from dry, free-flowing, granular product, said aspirator comprising:
- a housing, said housing comprising a pair of upper and lower rails extending horizontally within said housing;
- a charging hopper;
- a discharge for conducting the granular material from said aspirator;
- a separation plenum formed by spaced inlet and outlet manifolds and spaced end walls contiguous with said manifolds and extending vertically downwardly from said charging hopper to said discharge, said separation plenum adapted to communicate with said charging hopper and said discharge to thereby conduct product from said charging hopper downwardly to said discharge;
- said inlet manifold defining at least one air inlet providing a flow path for air into said separation plenum;
- said outlet manifold defining at least one air outlet providing a flow path for air out of said separation plenum;
- and
- wherein said inlet manifold includes a plurality of air inlets and said air outlet includes a plurality of air outlets, said aspirator further including a velocity control module, said module being provided for selectively controlling the air flow through each of said air inlet, said module comprising a plurality of air passages and a plurality of dampers disposed in said corresponding plurality of air passages, said dampers being rotatable so as to vary the air flow through said passages, each of said air passages communicating with one of said air inlets, said dampers each comprising a pair of vanes extending outwardly from a rotatable shaft, said vanes being rotatable with said shaft to control the size of said air passage and the amount of air passing therethrough to its respective air inlet.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.