Wine press with horizontally oriented rotatable platen

An extractor includes a cage which is delimited in the bottom part by a rotating perforated circular platen (1) surmounted by two vertical fixed perforated panels (6) on whose upper edge a cover (7) rests. The cover includes one or more hinged panels, and between which two thrust platens (8 and 9) slide. The thrust platens are displaced by cylinders (10 and 11). The rotating perforated circular platen (1) and the recovery tank (12) are each equipped with a trap (13 and 15). The traps are arranged in vertical alignment with one another and forming, in the open position, a hopper for discharging the residues towards a removal device (14). The process mainly consists in rotating the perforated circular platen (1) during charging and then through 90.degree. between two pressing phases so as to press the cake in two perpendicular directions. Typically, the apparatus is used for pressing grapes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The invention relates to an extractor for substances containing a liquid. 
The extraction of liquids from certain vegetable substances, such as 
grapes, has hitherto been carried out using vertical presses of the screw 
or hydraulic type, or horizontal presses of the type with compression by 
means of an inflatable diaphragm or with compression by means of opposing 
circular platens, displacement being provided by cylinders or screws. 
On vertical presses, each extraction cycle is followed by a manual 
breaking-up operation using shovels and forks. 
On pneumatic horizontal presses, the breaking-up operation is performed 
mechanically, by rotation of the cage, after decompression of the 
diaphragm. 
On horizontal presses with compression by means of opposing circular 
platens, this operation is carried out by rotation of the cage together 
with retraction of the platens, which, in order to make the mixing process 
more efficient, are in some cases joined by rings and chains. 
Although mechanization of the breaking-up operation has dispensed with 
laborious manual interventions, it has introduced crushing and grinding 
processes which impair quality (sludge and turbidity) 
A press is already known which is disclosed as prior art in West German 
Pat. No. 2945254; it is a pneumatic press with a vat rotating about a 
longitudinal and horizontal axis, which has a filling and emptying 
aperture and is closed by a filter cover, while a compression diaphragm, 
similar in shape to the vat and arranged coaxially to the axis of rotation 
of the vat, is mounted inside the vat, the said diaphragm thus dividing 
the vat into a pressure chamber and an extraction chamber. This extractor 
has the advantage of exerting a uniformly distributed pressure on the 
substance, resulting in a gentle pressing at low pressure. This design is 
also suitable for a preliminary extraction by centrifugation, the vat 
being rotated several times without the use of pressure. The extraction 
operation takes place after a 180.degree. rotation of the vat, which 
brings the filling aperture, equipped with a filter, to the bottom 
position; however, when the press-cake is broken up, it is necessary to 
decompress the diaphragm and then rotate the vat, causing the substance to 
be mixed and leaving a relatively high level of sludge and turbidity. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The object of the present invention is to overcome the disadvantages 
exhibited by the presses referred to above, for this invention, as 
characterized in the claims, solves the problem of creating an extractor 
for substances containing a liquid, which makes it possible to obtain a 
good distribution of the substances on the bottom of the cage during 
charging, to carry out the pressing in successive pressure stages until 
the desired degree of extraction is obtained. The invention also makes it 
possible to position the cake perpendicular to the thrust platens while at 
the same time retaining the central part of this cake during the 
breaking-up operations so that this central part can be used as a filter 
mass for reducing the sludge to a very low level, and to remove the 
residues without human intervention. The invention is suitable for 
complete automation of the process, from the charging stage to the residue 
removal stage, allowing for the state of the substances to be pressed. 
The main feature of the extractor according to the invention is that it 
comprises a cage whose volume can be varied by opposing thrust platens and 
which is delimited in the bottom part by a rotating horizontal circular 
platen perforated on the sides by means of perforated vertical fixed 
panels, in the top part by one or more jointed panels forming a cover, and 
at the end by two vertical thrust platens displaced by cylinders or other 
means of this kind. 
The perforated rotating horizontal circular platen is equipped at the 
center with one or more perforated traps jointed in the downward 
direction. 
In vertical alignment with the trap or traps fitted to the rotating 
circular platen, the liquid recovery tank is equipped with a trap hanging 
over a device for discharging the residues and any liquids obtained, which 
are collected and distributed by a selector. 
The perforated rotating circular platen rests on a runway. The platen is 
centered and rotated by wheels, one of which is motorized. 
The characteristic features of the extraction proccess using the device 
described above are that, when the substance is introduced into the cage, 
the perforated rotating horizontal circular platen can be rotated so as to 
ensure the uniform distribution of the substance. After closure of the 
cage, the two thrust platens are brought together in successive pressure 
stages until the desired degree of extraction is obtained. 
The final cake forming the residues is then removed, under its own weight, 
in the direction of the discharge device via the traps located in the 
rotating circular platen and in the recovery tank, the traps being 
arranged in the form of a hopper. 
The advantages obtained by virtue of this invention are essentially that, 
in view of the immobilization of the central part of the cake and the 
permanent retention of a filter mass, the sludge level is very low, and 
that, in view of its design, the device is very easily adaptable for 
mechanization and for programmed automation, according to the state of the 
substance, of all the operations involved in the process.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The device essentially comprises a cage which consists 
of a perforated rotating circular platen 1 resting on rollers 2, which is 
centered and driven by wheels 19 and a pinion 3, a roller chain 4 and a 
motor 5; perforated or seated vertical fixed panels 6 arranged 
horizontally and joined by the upright 6a and surmounted by a cover 7; 
thrust platens 8 and 9 displaced by jacks or cylinders 10 and 11; and a 
flow tank 12 equipped with a trap 13 vertically aligned with the center of 
the circular platen and hanging over a discharge screw 14 comprising a 
removal device. The perforated rotating circular platen 1 has a trap 15 
hinged in the downward direction by the hinge 15a. The liquid flow tank 
12, i.e. the recovery tank, comes out into a distributing collector 16. 
The thrust platens 8 and 9 are guided laterally by slides 17. 
The perforated vertical panels consist of hardwood or plastic boards joined 
by uprights. 
Each thrust platen is covered on its working face with a sheet of hardwood 
or stainless steel. 
The two thrust platens are guided laterally by slides or runways. 
The trap for removing the residues, which is fitted to the recovery tank, 
is jointed in the upward direction by the hinge 13a so that, in the fully 
open position, it comes to rest against the edge of the opening in the 
trap located in the perforated rotating circular platen. 
The leaktightness at the hinge which joints the trap for removing the 
residues is achieved by means of a baffle assembly. 
In the open position, the trap located in the rotating circular platen 
comes to bear against the edge of the opening for the trap for removing 
the waste, thereby forming a discharge hopper with the said trap. 
Referring successively to FIGS. 3 to 6, it is seen that, when the press is 
charged, the substances to be pressed are distributed uniformly by 
rotation of the platen 1, and that, when the thrust platens 8 and 9 are 
retracted, the substance to be pressed has been converted to a cake 18 
having cleavage planes and situated in the middle of the rotating platen 1 
above the discharge trap 15. The cake 18 can then be brought perpendicular 
to the thrust platens 8 and 9 simply by rotating the platen 1 through 
90.degree.. During the next compression, the thrust platens move forward 
simultaneously at high speed, this forward movement being monitored by a 
pressure sensor for transition to a slow pressing speed. During this 
phase, a number of breaking-up operations can be carried out according to 
the fractions to be obtained. During the breaking-up operations, the cake 
is broken up along the cleavage planes around a central filter core. From 
the above operations a compressed part forming a filter mass, will always 
remain at the center of the cake 18. 
With the pressing operations complete, the residues can be directly 
discharged using the hopper temporarily formed by the two traps 13 and 15. 
This is done simply by mechanically maneuvering these two traps in 
succession, starting with the trap 13, the platen 1 being rotated, if 
necessary, to bring its trap 15 above the trap 13 of the recovery tank. 
These operations are combined with the actuation of the screw conveyor to 
ensure that the waste is transferred out of the press. 
While the process has been taken place, the extracted liquid has run into 
the recovery tank 12, passing through the apertures provided in the 
rotating circular platen and through the interstices existing between the 
boards forming the side panels of the cage. 
The main application of the invention is to grape presses.