CROSS-FLOW FAN WITH A CLOSED SUCTION ELEMENT, AND SMOOTH FLOWING SUCTION SEPARATION DEVICE

Abstract: The invention relates to a cross-flow fan that may also be operated in suction mode, mainly in air-ducts with a large width, to provide a smooth flow of regulatable air. The invention also relates to a smooth flow suction separation device that is suitable for the regulated suction to a large width of an air amount containing a solid fraction, and for the separation of the solid fraction on the inlet side, and in certain forms of its construction with the flow of air being made to circulate. The smooth flowing suction separation device, is equipped with a curved centrifugal separation device (8), a fraction outlet (9, 10, 11). The characteristic feature of the invention is that it has a cross-flow rotor (2), a house (1) constructed as a pneumatic duct (13) and a closed suction element (3) attached to the internal edge of the centrifugal separation device (12).

Description: Cross-flow fan with a closed suction element, and smooth flowing suction separation device The invention relates to a cross-flow fan that may also be operated in suction mode, mainly in air-ducts with a large width, to provide a smooth flow of regulatable air, and relates to a smooth flow suction separation device that is suitable for the regulated suction to a large width of an air amount containing a solid fraction, and for the separation of the solid fraction on the inlet side, and in certain forms of its construction with the flow of air being made to circulate. The solutions according to the invention may be favourably applied in agriculture, for example, in crop dryers, in grain cleaning machines, in cereals and mill industry processes, in bulk material transportation, but it can also be used in the suction of places that are dangerous to the environment and health, also separating the sucked out fraction. In air engineering practice a frequent problem is the movement of air from large spaces to the intake opening of a relatively small-sized fan. This task is solved with large pipe structure, which is costly and takes up a large amount of space. Such an example of this can be seen on figure 235 in the Process machines and equipment volume of the Hungarian Cereals Industry Handbook, in a grain-drying machine. In other fields, for example, for establishing an air-curtain at a door, a compressed air operating, large width cross-flow fan taking air from outdoors is used favourably. Although cross-flow fans can be favourable constructed with a wide diameter, they are not used in suction operation mode, basically because of their suction operation from the open air. In agriculture and the cereals industry air-extraction separation equipment is used as supplementary equipment to flat screen seed cleaners or on its own, to which, in general, a centrifugal fan is attached from the outside, a separation cyclone and these are connected to each other with a pipe structure. This practise takes up a lot of space and is costly. Mainly in the cereals industry circulation air boxes are also used, as is illustrated on pages 61 and pages between 81-84. On figure 31 it can be seen that a large number of components need to be connected to an external centrifugal fan for a smooth flow to be created in the wide, pneumatic duct and in the deposit chamber The flow pattern is complex The purpose of the invention is to create a large width, smooth flow fan that may also be used in suction mode, and with which the amount of air can be easily regulated, or the creation of a smooth flow suction, separation device that is suitable even at large widths for the suction of a regulated amount of air containing a solid fraction and for the separation of the solid fraction on the suction side, while at the same time retaining economic dimensions The invention is based on the recognition that a cross-flow fan may also be operated in suction mode, if a closed suction element is used that is constructed in harmony with the flow path of the sucked in air and the curve of the mantle of which at the place where it joins the housing is formed at the continuation of the rotor blade, and also on the recognition that in order to separate the solid fraction from the flowing medium it is enough to create a centrifuge effect in a short, curved pipe section, so it is practical to branch off the separated fraction near to the initial separation place The set aim can be reached, if a rotor with a closed suction element is placed in the house of the cross-flow fan constructed as a pneumatic duct, or if the smooth flowing suction separation device according to the invention is equipped with a curved centrifugal separator, fraction outlet, which has a cross-flow rotor, a house constructed as a pneumatic duct and a closed suction element attached to the internal edge of the centrifugal separator In certain constructions of the possible cross-flow fan and smooth flowing suction separation device according to the mvention the suction element external mantle joining the two terminal points of the arc angle of the air enteπng the rotor and the suction element internal mantle have a common tangent line with the rotor blade at the joining point In the case of certain suction separation devices according to the invention, in order to create a fraction outlet a dense-current fraction outlet joins the centrifugal separator tangentially, while in the case of other constructions for the suction of the solid fraction a cellular or screw-system fraction suction device is connected to the part of the closed suction element extended with a deposit chamber In the case of any construction of the suction separation device according to the invention the suction and pressure ducts are arranged beside each other, and they may also have a common dividing wall Favourably, the intake opening and outlet opening of any of the suction separation devices can also be connected to a circulation element In the case of any suction separation device the suction duct has a bulk mateπal feeder to perform, for example, air-flow delivery tasks, or a bulk material feeder and a bulk mateπal outlet, for example, to clean cereals In the case of a possible construction of the suction separation device, between the bulk mateπal feeder and the bulk mateπal outlet, in the side of the intake duct there are shutter elements one after the other, and the horizontally included angle of the shutter elements is bigger than the natural slope angle of the bulk mateπal, and the angle determined by the line of shutter elements is bigger than the angle of the shutter elements to the horizontal level, but a maximum of 90°, the angle of the straight line connecting the lower and upper edges of the successive shutter elements to the hoπzontal level is smaller than the natural slope angle of the bulk mateπal In the interest of controlling the amount and the speed of air, all fans and suction separation devices according to the invention have a dπve mechanism that rotates the rotor with a regulatable number of revolutions per minute Below the invention is descπbed in more detail with construction examples and drawings In the attached drawing Figure 1 is the plan of the centπfugal separation device according to the basic idea of the invention, in cross-section, Figure 2 is the suction separation device according to the invention, with dense-current fraction outlet, in diagrammatic cross-section, Figure 3 is the cross-section drawing of a suction separation device with a cellular fraction outlet, perpendicular to the axis, Figure 4 is the cross-section drawing of the axial section of a screw-system fraction outlet, Figure 5 is the cross-section drawing of the fragmentary section of a cross-flow shutter-type air-blast system, Figure 6 shows a heap of bulk mateπal to demonstrate the natural slop-angle In Figure 1 there is a centπfugal separation device 8 according to the basic idea of the invention, ready to accommodate a cross-flow rotor 2 into the separating internal space In Figure 2 there is a cross-flow fan according to the invention, complete with suction elements, and it can be seen here that the house 1 of the cross-flow fan is constructed as a pneumatic duct 13 at the same time, and the rotor 2 is situated in it, equipped with a dπve mechanism 25 with a regulatable number of revolutions per minute Above the intake opening of the fan, determined by an arc-angle of entry "α", there is a closed suction element 3, with a joining opening 26 The suction element mantle 4 joining the two terminal points of the arc-angle of entry "α" measured on the external side of the rotor and the suction element internal mantle 22 have a common tangent line 6 with the rotor blade 5 at the joining point When completed with further elements, the fan is constructed as a smooth suction separation device, where the centrifugal separation device 8 - which is, for example, a fitting piece of about 90°, with the same width as the axial house size of he fan - is connected to the joining opening 26 The rotor 2 is connected to the internal edge of the centπfugal separation device 12 through the suction element internal mantle 22 The dense- current fraction outlet 9 is placed on the connection line of the centπfugal separation device 8 and the suction element external mantle 4, and at the joining opening 26 it is necessarily of the same width as the centrifugal separation device 8 In the case of the construction of the smooth suction separation device as shown in Figure 3 the closed suction element 3 is extended with a deposit chamber 24, and the cellular solid mateπal outlet 10 is placed under it The rotor 2 is connected to the internal edge of the centπfugal separation device 12 through the suction element internal mantle 22 The suction element internal mantle 22 and the internal mantle inside the deposit chamber 23 are joined to the two terminal points of the arc-angle of entry "α" and the suction element internal mantle 22 and the adjacent part of the internal mantle of the deposit chamber 23 have a common tangent line 6 with the rotor blade 5 at the joining point. In the case of the construction shown in Figure 4, a screw-system solid matenal outlet 1 1 can also be placed under the deposit chamber, with a discharge opening on the one end In Figure 3 it can be seen that the suction duct 7 and the pressure duct 13 are arranged next to each other, and they have a single common dividing wall 14, and the intake opening 15 and the escape opening 16 are connected by a circulation element 17. The bulk material feeder 18 is placed above the intake opening 15 on the suction duct 7, and the bulk mateπal outlet is placed under it In Figure 5 the shutter-type air-blast system of a possible construction of the suction separation device can be seen, where between the bulk material feeder 18 and the bulk material outlet elements 19, in the side of the intake duct 7 there are shutter elements 20 one after the other, and the angle of the shutter elements 20 to the hoπzontal level "β" is bigger than the natural slope angle of the bulk material, and the angle determined by the line of shutter elements "δ" is bigger than the angle of the shutter elements to the hoπzontal level "β", but a maximum of 90°, and the angle of the straight line connecting the lower and upper edges 21 of the successive shutter elements 20 "ε" to the hoπzontal level is smaller than the natural slope angle of the bulk mateπal. The centrifugal separation device 8 is connected to the shutter-type intake duct 7. The further constituents of the equipment are the same as those of the equipment shown in Figure 2 and Figure 3 The part-device shown in Figure 5 is an adapter, and it can be connected to any suction separation device according to the invention In order to rotate the rotor 2, a drive mechanism 25 with a regulatable number of revolutions per minute is constructed on the cross-flow fan and the smooth suction separation device. In order to rotate the cellular 10 or screw-system 11 solid fraction outlet a separate drive unit, not shown in the drawing, is built in. The operation of the cross-flow fan according to the invention is explained on the basis of Figure 2 The air taken in through the joining opening 26 of the closed suction element is guided by the suction element mantles 4, 22 towards the rotor blades 5 of the rotor 2 The speed of revolution of the rotor 2 and the delivered amount of air can be changed with the dπve mechanism of a regulatable number of revolutions 25 Smooth flow is realised in the complete width of the fan and the joining opening 26 The fan according to the invention operates in suction and compression mode The operation of a possible suction separation device according to the invention is explained on the basis of Figure 2 The suction is realised with smooth flow, through the intake duct 7 The mixture of air and solid fraction passes through the centrifugal separation device 8, it is separated, and the solid parts are condensed along the external mantle 4 The dense-current fraction outlet 9 situated at the place of the initial separation lets out the solid fraction and a smaller proportion of the air, and practically a further low-capacity suction separation device can be connected to it A greater part of the transported air passes through the rotor 2 in a clean condition Smooth flow is realised in the whole equipment The equipment shown in Figure 3 is a grain cleaner with a pneumatic duct, which operates as descπbed below From the cereals to be cleaned that entered the intake duct 7 through the bulk mateπal intake element 18, the counter-current air-flow entrains the light solid fraction The mixture of air and solid fraction passes through the centπfugal separation device 8, it is separated, and the solid fraction enters the deposit chamber 24 along the suction element mantle 4, then it leaves through the cellular outlet 10, while the cleaned air is guided towards the rotor blades 5 by the suction element mantle 4, the suction element internal mantle 22 and the suction element internal mantle on the side of the deposit chamber 23 Smooth air-flow is realised along the whole circulation path This equipment, with lengthened suction-pressure air-ducts, operates as an air-flow transportation separation device, for example, in the case of cereal mills it bπdges over two technological levels, when with the rotor's speed of revolution the air amount is set so that the air entrains the complete amount of the input bulk material. The shutter-type air-blast equipment shown in Figure 5 operates as described below. The cereal to be cleaned flows onto the shutter elements 20 through the bulk material intake 18, it is separated, and flows towards the outlet 19. The air sucked in crosswise through the shutter elements and the cereals entrains the solid fraction, which is lighter than the grains. In the following the separation takes place as shown in the case of the equipment as in Figure 2 and Figure 3. The cereals cannot escape through the shutter elements. In the case of the equipment shown in Figures 3, 4 and 5 the amount and the speed of the air can be regulated continuously with the help of the drive mechanism 25. The cross-flow fans according to the invention are actually not more expensive than other type of fans, and the suction separation devices according to the invention are simple and compact, and they can be produced more cheaply than the types used so far. The installation of the cross-flow fans and smooth suction separation devices is cost-saving, because they can be installed directly in the place of suction. The use of the devices has several operational advantages due to the smooth flow of suction or suction and pressure mode. List of references 1 house 2 rotor 3 closed suction element 4 suction element mantle 5 rotor blade 6 common tangent line 7 suction duct 8 centrifugal separation device 9 dense-current fraction outlet 10 cellular solid material outlet 11 screw-system solid material outlet 12 centrifugal separation device 13 pneumatic duct 14 common dividing wall 15 intake opening 16 escape opening 17 circulation element 18 bulk material feeder 19 bulk material outlet elements 20 shutter elements 21 straight line connecting the lower and upper edges of the shutter elements 22 suction element internal mantle 23 internal mantle inside the deposit chamber 24 deposit chamber 25 drive mechanism 26 joining opening α arc-angle of entry β angle of the shutter elements to the horizontal level δ angle determined by the line of shutter elements ε angle of the straight line connecting the lower and upper edges 21 of the successive shutter elements

Claims: Claims 1. Cross-flow fan, with a house 1 constructed as a pneumatic duct 13 with a rotor 2 placed in it, characterised by that it has a closed suction element 3. 2. Smooth flowing suction separation device, which is equipped with a curved centrifugal separation device 8, a fraction outlet 9, 10, 1 1, characterised by that it has a cross-flow rotor 2, a house 1 constructed as a pneumatic duct 13 and a closed suction element 3 attached to the internal edge of the centrifugal separation device 12. 3. Fan as in claims 1 or 2, characterised by that the suction element external mantle 4 joining the two terminal points of the α arc-angle of entry and the suction element internal mantle 22 have a common tangent line 6 with the rotor blade 5 at the joining point. 4. Device as in either of claims 2 or 3, characterised by that it has a dense-current fraction outlet 9. 5. Device as in either of claims 2 or 3, characterised by that it has a closed suction element 3 is extended with a deposit chamber 24 and a cellular fraction outlet 10 or a screw-system fraction outlet 11. 6. Device as in any of claims 2 to 5, characterised by that the suction duct 7 and the pressure duct 13 are arranged next to each other, and they have a common dividing wall 14. 7. Device as in any of claims 2 to 6, characterised by that the intake opening 15 and the escape opening 16 are connected by a circulation element 17. 8. Device as in any of claims 2 to 7, characterised by that the intake duct 7 has a bulk material feeder 18 and a bulk material outlet 19. 9. Device as in claim 8, characterised by that between the bulk material feeder 18 and the bulk material outlet 19, in the side of the intake duct 7 there are shutter elements 20 one after the other, and the β angle of the shutter elements 20 to the horizontal level is bigger than the natural slope angle of the bulk material, and the δ angle determined by the line of shutter elements is bigger than the β angle of the shutter elements to the horizontal level, but a maximum of 90°, and the ε angle of the straight line connecting the lower and upper edges 21 of the successive shutter elements 20 to the horizontal level is smaller than the natural slope angle of the bulk material. 10. Cross-flow fan and device as in any of claims 1 to 9, characterised by that the rotor 2 is rotated by a drive mechanism 25 with a regulatable speed of revolution.

Inventors: KERTESZ ANDRAS, KERTESZ, ANDRAS
Applicants: KERTESZ ANDRAS, KERTESZ, ANDRAS
Application year: 2000
Main classification: A01F12
IPC codes: B07B4, B07B7