HEATING AND MELTING APPARATUS FOR MELTING A SUBSTANCE TO BE MELTED

Abstract: A heating and melting apparatus according to the present invention has a housing for receiving a substance to be melted, a heater for heating the housing in order to melt the substance, and a vessel for receiving and storing the resulting liquid. The liquid stored in the vessel is ex­ hausted from the vessel in an effectively utilizable form. The operation of the apparatus is controlled by a processing unit in accordance with the temperatures of the housing and the liquid stored in the vessel.

Description: The present invention relates to an improved heating and melting apparatus and, more particularly to a heating and melting apparatus for quickly melting a substance to be melted such as snow, asphalt or the like and has particular reference to an apparatus of the kind set forth in the preamble of claim 1. An apparatus of this kind is known from US-A-3 405 705. In areas subject to heavy snowfall, a great deal of human effort as well as a large amount of money is required to remove snow from roads, railways, air ports, cemeteries and the like. Traffic conditions on roads and railways, however, remain badly degraded, with the top speed and capacity of cars or trains severely limited, since the width of the cleared surface of the road remains narrow due to snow drifts formed in the snow removal process and due to the adverse effect on the road surface itself. In recent years, the snow removal techniques have improved as have apparatuses for removing snow. A known heating and melting apparatus such as the apparatus of US-A-3 405 705 is provided with oil burners or gas burners for melting a substance such as snow, asphalt or the like. There are however several difficulties associated with the apparatus of US-A-3 405 705. E.g. the snow passed through the screw conveyor has to be melted by a spray of hot water from the boiler. The boiler has in turn to be supplied with water from the liquid receiving means. If this liquid receiving means is empty before the apparatus is taken into use then there is a danger that it will take a long time before sufficient hot water is available to melt snow. If the liquid receiving means is first filled with warm water then this is an added and unnecessary complication. If it is left full of water overnight there is a danger it will freeze up altogether. Moreover, the use of a burner is relatively inefficient since hot exhaust gases are bound to be wasted to some degree. In addition the system proposed does not allow precise control of the energy supplied and is wasteful of energy. The apparatus of US-A-3 405 705 does however include a dispersion unit making it possible to spray hot water over larger areas which can be of assistance when wide areas are to be cleared, or when small pieces of ice are to be cleared from roads, railways and the like. With other prior art apparatus it was impossible to clear a really wide area to cope with snow drifting and to remove snow effectively. It is an object of the present invention to provide a heating and melting apparatus which corrects the abovementioned problems and can quickly melt a substance to be melted and advantageously use the resulting melt. To achieve the above object, the present invention provides an apparatus of the initially named kind and having the characteristic features of claim 1. It should be mentioned that the electrical and inductive heating of asphalt and bitumen melting devices is known per se from US-A-4 028 527 and from Soviet Inventions Illustrated, week J47, Abstract No. A 1810 Q 41. Advantageous further developments of the invention are set forth in the subordinate claims. Features and advantages will be made apparent in the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings: In the drawings: Fig. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a heating and melting apparatus according to the present invention; Figure 2 is a flowchart of operation of the system of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a plan view of a mobile heating and melting apparatus; Figure 4 is a side view of the heating and melting apparatus of Figure 3; Figure 5 shows the other side of the heating and melting apparatus of Figure 3; Figure 6 is a partial plan view of a modification of a mobile heating and melting apparatus; Figure 7 is a side view of a modification of the heating and melting apparatus of Figure 6; Figure 8 is a block diagram of a modification to the heating and melting apparatus of Figure 1; Figure 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IX-IX of Figure 8; Figure 10 is a partial sectional view taken along line X-X of Figure 9; Figure 11 is a flowchart of operation of the heating and melting apparatus of Figure 8; and Figure 12 is a modified flowchart of operation of the heating and melting apparatus of Figure 8. Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 shows a heating and melting apparatus of an embodiment according to the present invention. The heating and melting apparatus comprises substantially a receiving member A for receiving a substance to be melted, a transferring member B for conveying the substance to the receiving member A, a heating member C for heating the receiving member A in order to melt the substance, a heat energy supply member D for supplying heating energy to the heating member C, a liquid receiving member E for receiving liquid from the receiving member A, a liquid exhaust member F for exhausting the liquid stored in the liquid receiving member E, and an operation control member G for controlling the heat energy supply member D and the liquid exhaust member F. The receiving member A includes a container (receptacle) 2 for receiving a solid state substance such as snow from a snow removal vehicle (not show in Figure 1) through a lead pipe 1 and a melt housing in the form of a melting tube 3 of which one end is secured to the container 2 so as to communicate with the container 2. The transferring member B includes a conveyor means in the form of a screw conveyor 4, a drive motor 5 for driving the screw conveyor 4 and a variable speed control device 6 for controlling the drive motor 5. The substance such as snow is transferred from the snow removal vehicle by way of the lead pipe 1 to the container 2. The snow stored in the container 2 is conveyed into the melting pipe 3 by means of the screw conveyor 4. The screw conveyor 4 is driven by the drive motor 5 which is controlled by the variable speed device 6. The heating member C comprises an inductive heating device IH including a heating coil 7 wound around the melting tube 3 and a matching transformer 8. The heat energy supplying member D includes an electric power control unit 9, and a frequency converter 10 which controls the frequency of the electric power to be supplied to the matching transformer 8 of the inductive heating unit IH. A shield 11 surrounds the inductive heating unit. An electric power supply in the form of an engine generator 21 is electrically connected to the power control unit 9. The power control unit 9 is connected to a frequency converter 10. The frequency converter 10 is electrically connected to the induction heating coil 7 by way of the matching transformer 8. The power control unit 9 controls the frequency converter 10, and thereby the heating current of the inductive heating coil 7 is controlled to adjust the heat applied to the melting tube 3. The melting tube 3 is made of a metallic material such as magnetic material and is heated by the induction heating coil 7 to melt the snow in the melting pipe 3. The liquid receiving member E includes a vessel 12 for receiving and storing the liquid from the melting tube 3 of the receiving member A. The vessel 12 is located to the free end of the melting tube 3. In the melting tube 3, the snow is melted and the resulting water is further heated by the melting tube 3. The hot water produced in the melting tube 3 is stored in the vessel 12. The liquid exhaust member F comprises a drain 12a mounted near the bottom of the vessel 12, a drain valve 12b mounted near the top of the vessel 12, a dispersion unit 14 for dispersing the hot water in the vessel 12, and a return line 19 for feeding some of the hot water in the vessel 12 back to the container 2. The dispersion unit 14 comprises a dispersing pump 15 equipped with a motor 16 and an ejection valve 17. The pump 15 is connected to one end of a pipe 18a, the other end of which projects into the vessel 12. The return line 19 includes a recirculating pump 20 driven by a motor 22 connected to a lead pipe 18b. One end of the pipe 18b projects into the vessel 12, and other end of the pipe 18b empties into the top of the container 2 by means of recirculating pump 20. A dust filter 13 in the vessel 12 prevents particulates from the melting tube 3 from entering the pipes 18a and 18b. The motors 5, 16 and 22 are electrically connected to the engine generator 21 by way of switches 28 and 29, and a lead 30. Switches 31a and 31b are power source switches for motors (not shown in the drawings) driving external devices (not shown in the drawings). The operation control member G includes a thermosensor 23 mounted on the melting tube 3 in order to detect the temperature of the melting tube 3, a thermosensor 24 installed in the vessel 12 in order to detect the temperature of the liquid stored in the vessel 12 and a thermal relay 23a for actuating the switch 29 in response to the temperature of the driving motor 5. The operation control member G further includes an input unit 25 receiving detection signals from the thermosensors 23 and 24, a processing unit 26 in the form of a microprocessor which receives signals from the input unit 25, and a setting and indication unit 27. The processing unit 26 uses the detection signals from the thermosensors 23 and 24 and the setting signals from the unit 27 to control the power control unit 9 and the switches 28, 29. The power control unit 9 controls the induction heating member IH in response to instructive signals from the processing unit 26. The operation of the heating and melting apparatus will be described with reference to a flow chart shown in Figure 2. An engine generator is started as shown at block B₁ and thus an output voltage of the engine generator 21 rises to predetermined voltage as shown at block B₂. Thereafter, the apparatus is initialized at a block B₃. In block B₃, various data are set to desired values via the setting unit 27. The various data include ice and snow conditions such as qualities of ice and snow, ambient temperature, control gain, the temperature of the hot water and the feed rate of the conveyor means. After initialization, the induction heating unit IH is activated by means of an instruction from the processing unit 26, as shown in a block B₄. The electric power for the induction heating unit IH is controlled by the power control unit 9, at a block B₅. When the temperature of the melting tube reaches or exceeds a predetermined value, the switch 29 is closed in response to an instruction from the microprocessor 26, and thereby the drive motor 5 is driven to operate the screw conveyor 4 as shown in blocks B₆ and B₇. If the temperature of the melting tube 3 is below the set value, the control loop B₅-B₆ for the electric power of the induction heating unit is repeated. When the screw conveyor 4 is running, the snow supplied by the removal vehicle is conveyed to the container 2 as shown in blocks B₈, B₉ and B₇. The snow stored to the container 2 is transferred to the melting tube 3 by means of the screw conveyor 4. The snow transferred into the tube 3 is melted and thereby the hot water is produced since the melting tube 3 is already heated. The hot water in the melting tube 3 is supplied to the vessel 12 for storage. The temperature of the water in the vessel 12 is monitored by the thermosensor 24. If the temperature is less than the set value, the processing unit 26 proportionally controls the heating current at a block B₁₁ and the operations shown in the blocks B₅, B₆, B₇ and B₁₀ are repeated until the temperature of the water reaches the set value. After the temperature of the water reaches the set value, the switch 28 is closed in response to an instruction from the processing unit 26, which also orders operation of the motors 16 of the dispersion pump 15 and the motor 22 of the recirculation pump 20. The recirculating pump 20 returns hot water from the vessel 12 to the container 2 in order to facilitate melting of the snow in the receiving member A, as is shown in a block B₁₂a. When the water level reaches a predetermined level, the dispersion unit 14 is activated to spray a high pressure hot water jet over snow on roofs, roads or the like at blocks B 12b , B 13b and B 14b , and thereby fulfilling the desired purpose of the apparatus. When the vessel 12 is full, water drains through the overflow pipe 12b, as shown in blocks B 12c and B 13c . The heating and melting apparatus shown in Figure 1 can be mounted on a vehicle such as a truck trailer as is shown in Figures 3 to 5. In Figures 3 to 5, elements identical or corresponding to those shown in Fig. 1 are labelled with the same reference characters. As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the container 2 is mounted on the rear end of a truck trailer 32 (the left-hand side in Figures 3 and 4), and the vessel 12 is mounted on the front end of the truck trailer 32 (the right-hand side in Figures 3 and 4). The electrical generator 21 and the inductive heating unit IH are mounted on the trailer truck between the container 2 and the vessel 12. The container 2 is connected to the vessel 12 by way of a melting tube 3 as shown in the rear view of Fig. 5. The apparatus of Figure 1 can also be used in conjunction with a paving apparatus for paving roads with asphalt. Figures 6 and 7 show a paving apparatus. A paving machine 60 is mounted on a truck trailer 32 in place of the vessel 12 (shown in Figure 1) after removing the vessel 12. The paving machine 60 is provided with the stirring device 61, an extruder 62 and a pressing plate 63. Although Figures 3 to 7 show mobile heating and melting apparatus, the invention is not limited to this type, but rather may be stationarily mounted. By mounting the engine generator 21 on another vehicle, a part of the apparatus is made small and thereby operation can be carried out in the narrower area. Figures 8 to 10 show a modification to the heating and melting apparatus of Figure 1. According to the apparatus of Figures 8 to 10, a hot blast blows continuously through a receiving member receiving a substance to be melted, and thereby the receiving member is heated in order to melt the substance conveyed into the receiving member. The resulting liquid can be employed to melt snow and its melting efficiency can be enhanced by recirculating the heated liquid through the receiving member. As is shown in Figure 8, a receiving member A receiving a substance to be melted includes a melting tube 3A. A heating member C comprises a plurality of heat pipes 32 and associated electric heaters 33 mounted on the heat pipes 32. A heating energy supply unit D includes an electric power control unit 9 and compressors 34 connected electrically to the control unit 9. Each of the compressors 34 is connected to a corresponding heat pipe 32 by way of a corresponding air conduit 36. The electric heaters 33 are electrically connected to the power control unit 9 by power lines 37. The melting tube 3A is connected to a gasoline or diesel generator 21 via a conduit 38 and an inlet port 39. The exhaust gas from the engine generator 21 is conducted to the melting tube 3A by way of the conduit 38 and the inlet pipe 39. The exhaust gas passes through the melting tube 3A and exit via an outlet pipe 40. As is best shown in Figures 9 and 10, the melting tube 3A is formed with a first tubular section 41a, a second tubular section 41b having a smaller diameter than the first tubular section, a third tubular section 41c having a diameter smaller than the second tubular section, and a disc-shaped plate 42 with a central bore 42a fastened to the upstream end of the melting tube 3A. An adiabatic material 43 is inserted between the first tubular section 41a and the second tubular section 41b. A cavity 44 is defined between the second and third tubular sections. A heating medium, specifically exhaust gases from the engine generator, is supplied to the cavity 44 (as described above). As shown in Figure 9, hot jets enter the melting tube 3A through the heat pipes 32 to heat the melting tube 3A and to melt the snow directly. The plurality of heat pipes 32 surround the melting tube 3A in a plurality of heating element groups 32A. As shown in Figure 9, the heating element groups 32A are spaced along the length of the tube 3A and form the heating member C. The heat pipes 32 of each heating element group 32A are connected to corresponding air conduits 36 by way of a common air conduit 46 and individual branch pipes 47. The air conduits 36, the common air conduit 46 and the branch pipes 47 are insulated with the adiabatic material according to need. As shown in Figure 10, each heat pipe 32 is secured by a support 48 disposed between the second and third tubular sections of the melting tube 3A. Adiabatic material 55 fills the gaps between the heat pipe 32 and the support 48. The stainless steel inlet pipe 39 connects the engine generator 21 to the gap 44 between the first and second tubular sections. Each of the heaters 33 is wound around the corresponding heat pipe 32. These heaters 33 are connected to the control unit 9 by leads 37. The use of the heat pipe 32 makes the heating member C of the heating and melting apparatus small size and light weight as well as optimum heat control can be performed ecconomically. As described above, the melting tube 3A is heated by the hot gases from the heat pipe 32 and the engine generator 21. The heat pipes 32 are heated or preheated by the electric heaters 33 and thereby the heating efficiency of the heating member C is considerably enhanced. The operation of the apparatus of Figures 8 to 10 will be explained with reference to Figure 11. The power control unit 9 is activated in response to an instruction from the microprocessor 26 after the output voltage of the engine generator 21 is established. Upon activation of the power control unit 9, operation of the compressors commences as shown in a block B 15 , and compressed air is supplied to the heat pipes 32. The hot jets blow into the melting tube 3A, as is shown by the arrows in Figure 10. Activation of the power control unit 9 also initiates current supply to the heaters 33 as shown in blocks B 16 and B 17 . The exhaust gas from the engine generator 2l is supplied to the melting tube 3A whereby the exhaust gas is employed to heat the melting tube 3A, as is shown in a block B 18 . If the temperature of the melting tube 3A is equal or lower than a set temperature, the heat pipes 32 are continuously heated by adjusting their supply voltage. Moreover, the number of the heat pipes 32 and heaters 33 used is selected in accordance with the temperature of the liquid stored in the vessel 12 and the melting tube 3A. Specifically, the processing unit 26 uses the detection signals from the thermosensors 23 and 24 to control the power control unit 9. The power control unit 9 controls the power of the compressors 34 and the electric heater 33 so as to control the temperature of the melting tube 3A. According to the apparatus of Figures 8 to 10, an inductive heating unit can be added to the heat energy supply unit D if the heating rate due to the hot air jets from the heat pipes 32 must be augmented. An inductive heating unit 70 is provided in each of the conduits 36 as is shown in Figure 8. Electrical power is supplied to the inductive heating units 70 via a frequency converter 10. In the heating and melting apparatus having the inductive heating units 70, the inductive heating units 70 are operated after the air compressor 34 are started as shown in blocks B 15 and B 19 of Figure 12. When the inductive heating units 70 are running, the power control unit 9 controls the frequency converter 10 and thereby controls the inductive heating units 70 as shown in a block B 20 . After controlling the inductive heating unit 70, the electric power is supplied to the electric heaters 33 as shown in a blocks B 16 and thereafter the heater voltage is adjusted (block B 17 ). After adjustment of the heater voltage, power control for the inductive heating units 70 and adjustment of the heater voltage is repeated as long as the temperature of the melting tube 3A remains lower than the set value. The heating and melting apparatus of Figure 8 can be made more compact and lighter as well as being provided enhanced temperature characteristics due to the heat pipes 32 in the heating member C. Moreover, the heating and melting apparatus of Figure 8 can control suitably heat of the melting tube 3A heat control, since the number of using heating elements 33 can be selected according to need. According to the present invention, a receiving member for receiving a substance to be melted is continuously heated without the need for a naked flame. Accordingly, a heating and melting apparatus of the invention is safe to use. According to the present invention, the liquid obtained by melting the substance to be melted can be used effectively. Accordingly, the heating and melting apparatus of the invention is very well adapted for removing snow from roads, railways and the like. In cases where the heating and melting apparatus of the invention is employed for snow removal, various advantageous effects can be obtained. One of these advantages is that the apparatus of the invention can be used in a narrow area such as in a rail-way station, a residential area, a cemetary, etc., since the snow can be removed without spreading the snow. By employing the heating and melting apparatus of the present invention to a snow removing apparatus, following advantageous effects are obtained: Operation can be performed smoothly, since snow is melted by the heating and melting apparatus without transferring the snow to another place. Performance of snow removing is further enhanced since hot water is dispersed after melting the snow. Reduction of working hours for snow removing can be carried out by means of melting the snow. The number of operator for snow removing can be reduced since the apparatus is automatically operated. Another advantage is that the number of operators can be reduced since the apparatus can be operated automatically. In view of the above, it will be seen that the various objects of the invention have been fulfilled and many advantageous results are achieved.

Claims: A heating and melting apparatus comprising: a receiving means (A) for receiving a substance to be melted; a transferring means (B) for transferring the substance to be melted into the receiving means (A); a heating means (C) for heating said receiving means (A) in order to melt said substance in said receiving means; a heat energy supply means (D) for supplying heating energy to said heating means (C); a liquid receiving means (E) including a vessel (12) for receiving and storing the liquid melted in said receiving means (A); a liquid exhaust means (F) for discharging said liquid stored in the liquid receiving means (E); and an operation control means (G) for controlling said heat energy supply means (D) in response to signals derived from a temperature sensor (24) for detecting the temperature of the liquid stored in said liquid receiving means (E), characterised in that said heating means (C) comprises an electrical heating device (IH; 33; 70), in particular an induction heating device; in that said heat energy supply means (D) supplies electrical energy to said electrical heating device (IH; 33; 70); in that a second temperature sensor (23) is provided for detecting the temperature of said receiving means (A); and in that said operation control means (G) further comprises a processing unit (26) for controlling said heat energy supply means (D), said transferring means (B) and said liquid exhaust means (F) in response to temperature indicative signals from said first and second temperature sensors (23, 24). A heating and melting apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said receiving means (A) comprises a container (2) for receiving a solid state substance to be melted and a melting tube (3) for melting the solid state substance. A heating and melting apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein said transferring means (B) comprises a screw conveyor (4) provided rotatably in said melting tube (3) and a drive motor (5) for driving said screw conveyor (4) and for transferring the substance to be melted to the melting tube (3). A heating and melting apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said induction heating device (IH) of the heating means (C) comprises a heating coil (7) surrounding said melting tube (3) and a matching transformer (8). A heating and melting apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said heat energy supply means (D) comprises an electric power control unit (9) for controlling electric power and a frequency converter (10) for controlling the frequency of the current to be supplied to said induction heating device (IH) in response to a signal from said power control unit (9). A heating and melting apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said liquid exhaust means (F) comprises a dispersion pump (15) equipped with a motor (16), an ejection valve (17) and a pipe (18a) communicating between the dispersion pump (15) and the liquid in the vessel (12) forming part of said liquid receiving means (E). A heating and melting apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said liquid exhaust means (F) comprises a return line (19) for feeding some of the liquid in the liquid receiving means (E) to said receiving means (A). A heating and melting apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein said operation control means (G) further comprises an input unit (25) receiving the detection signals from said first and second temperature sensors (23, 24) and a setting unit (27) for setting values of temperatures for the liquid in the vessel of said melting tube (3), said input unit (25) and said setting unit (27) being connected to said processing unit (26) for controlling said transferring means (B), said heat energy supply means (D), and said liquid exhaust means (F) in response to an input signal and a set value of temperature in said setting unit (27). A heating and melting apparatus as claimed in claim 1, said apparatus further comprising a vehicle and an electric power generator (21) mounted on said vehicle. A heating and melting apparatus in accordance with any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that said receiving means comprises a melting tube (3A) which includes an outer tubular portion (41a), an inner tubular portion (41c) having a smaller diameter than that of the outer tubular portion (41a), a first cavity (44) formed axially and longitudinally between the outer tubular portion (41a) and inner tubular portion (41c) of said melting tube (3A) and a second cavity (45) formed in the inner tubular portion (41c), wherein said substance to be melted passes through said second cavity; and in that said heating means (C) comprises a heat pipe (32) provided between said outer tubular portion and said inner tubular portion for blowing hot gas into said second cavity (45) of the melting tube (3A). A heating and melting apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein said heating means (C) comprises at least one heating element group (32a) consisting of a plurality of heat pipes (32). A heating and melting apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein said heating means comprises an electric heater for heating said heat pipes. A heating and melting apparatus in accordance with any one of the claims 10 to 12, wherein said operation control means comprises means for selectively controlling the electrical heating of said gas in accordance with the temperature of said melting tube (3A). A heating and melting apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims 10 to 13, wherein said heat energy supply means includes an air compressor (34) for supplying compressed air to each said heat pipe. A heating and melting apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said heating means (C) further includes a means (38,39) for routing exhaust gases of an internal combustion engine serving as an electrical generator (21) through said receiving means. A heating and melting apparatus as claimed in either of the preceding, claims 14 or 15, wherein said heat energy supply means comprises an inductive heating device (70) for heating said compressed air supplied to said heat pipe.

Inventors: OHNO, JUNICHI
Applicants: KABUSHIKI KAISHA MEIDENSHA
Application year: 1985
Main classification: E01H5
IPC codes: E01C19, E01H5, C10C3