U.S. patent number 3,881,663 [Application Number 05/442,462] was granted by the patent office on 1975-05-06 for roll mill for flaking grain and the like.
Invention is credited to Andrew M. Brown.
United States Patent |
3,881,663 |
Brown |
May 6, 1975 |
Roll mill for flaking grain and the like
Abstract
A heavy duty roller mill for flaking feed grain and the like
comprises a housing for enclosing a pair of heavy rollers and
auxiliary equipment such as a steaming chamber. A flexible curved
plate grain flow controlling gate is mounted in the housing above
the rolls. The plate is adjusted by bending effected by cam
pressure. The housing is provided with a pair of horizontal slots
in its side walls and a structural frame for carrying the rollers
mounted in their bearing assemblies. The slots open toward one end
of the mill and a removable door is provided to afford movement of
the rolls into and out of position in the housing. During operation
of the mill the slots are closed by removable closure plates.
Readily released pivotal arms are provided for retaining the
bearing assemblies in operative positions. Upon release of the
bearing assembly retainers and removal of the door and the slot
closure plates the rolls may roll outside the cabinet without
disturbing the flow control, the steaming chamber or other
equipment. A track extension is provided to support the rolls in
position outside the housing.
Inventors: |
Brown; Andrew M. (Denver,
CO) |
Family
ID: |
23756873 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/442,462 |
Filed: |
February 14, 1974 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
241/225; 241/227;
241/285.1; 222/410; 241/230 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B02C
11/04 (20130101); B02C 4/38 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B02C
11/00 (20060101); B02C 11/04 (20060101); B02C
4/00 (20060101); B02C 4/38 (20060101); B02c
011/04 (); B02c 004/38 () |
Field of
Search: |
;241/284,285,287,230,232,285R,285A ;222/410 ;308/34 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Lake; Roy
Assistant Examiner: Goldberg; Howard N.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Edwards; Wm. Griffith
Claims
I claim:
1. A dual roll mill for flaking grain or the like comprising:
a housing having front, rear and side walls;
the side walls of said housing having horizontal slots opening
toward the front wall thereof;
a pair of mill rolls having shafts extending from the ends
thereof;
roll supporting structure adjacent said slots;
means for mounting said rolls in said housing with the shafts
thereof extending through said slots, said means including bearing
assemblies for said shafts and releasable means for locking said
bearing assemblies in position on said supporting structure;
detachable means for closing said slots;
removable closure means at one end of said housing for affording
when removed an open passage for said rolls; and,
means providing tracks adjacent the lower sides of said slots for
affording rolling movement of said roll shafts whereby upon removal
of said locking means and said slot closing means and said front
wall closure means said rolls may be rolled forward and out through
said front wall.
2. A dual roll mill for flaking grain or the like as set forth in
claim 1 wherein said housing includes a base structure and said
releasable bearing locking means includes structural members
rotatably mounted adjacent the front ends of said side walls and
movable from positions engaging the bearings of the front one of
said rollers to positions engaging said base structure whereby the
rolls may be rolled freely out of said slots.
3. A dual roll mill for flaking grain or the like as set forth in
claim 2 including detachable means on said structural member for
providing an extension of said tracks for supporting either of said
rolls during movement out of said housing after removal of said
front wall closure.
4. A dual roll mill for flaking grain or the like as set forth in
claim 1 including front and rear bearing supports pivotally mounted
on said frame on each side thereof for holding said shafts out of
engagement with said tracks in one position and rotatable away from
one another for lowering said shafts to said tracks upon rotation
from said one position, and means for urging the front and rear
bearing support toward one another.
5. A dual roll mill for flaking grain or the like as set forth in
claim 4 wherein said shafts engaging said tracks between respective
ends of said rolls and said bearing assemblies.
6. A dual roll mill for flaking grain and the like as set forth in
claim 1 including a grain feed control assembly mounted in said
housing directly above the adjacent faces of said rolls, said
assembly comprising:
a grain chute, one wall of which is a cylindrical flexible metal
sheet extending across said housing and having its upper face
convex;
said sheet being rigidly secured to said housing along its upper
edge and curving downwardly toward the lower end of said chute;
said chute terminating above said rolls a sufficient distance to
afford clearing said rolls when they are rolled from said housing;
and,
feed adjusting means comprising a camming mechanism for flexing
said sheet from a position of maximum feed to a position of minimum
feed, said sheet being biased toward said maximum feed
position.
7. A dual roll mill for flaking grain and the like as set forth in
claim 6 wherein said chute includes a feeder roll mounted along the
lower edge of said sheet for moving the grain downwardly toward the
bite of said mill rolls.
8. A dual roll mill for flaking grain and the like as set forth in
claim 7 wherein the lower curved portion of said sheet presents a
substantially vertical wall throughout the range of adjustment of
the positions of said sheet.
Description
My invention relates to heavy duty roller mills for flaking grain
and the like and particularly to improved structural arrangements
of the rolls and the grain feeding control.
Roll mills for flaking cattle feed grain and the like commonly
comprise a pair of heavy mill rolls which may weigh around one ton
each, together with grain supplying and steaming equipment. The
removal of the rolls for servicing is necessary from time to time
and requires that the mill be dismantled sufficiently to afford
access for lifting the rolls and removing them. This requires
removal of feed control equipment and steaming chamber and other
auxiliary apparatus. Substantial lost operating time is thus
required for each servicing of the rolls. Accordingly it is an
object of my invention to provide a heavy duty roll mill or the
like including an improved arrangement for removing the rolls for
servicing, repair or replacement.
It is another object of my invention to provide a roll mill for
flaking grains and the like including an improved arrangement for
removing and re-installing the rolls.
It is another object of my invention to provide an improved grain
feeding control of simple and rugged construction for roll mills
and which affords lateral removal of the rolls without adjustment
or removal of the control.
The features of my invention which I believe to be novel are set
forth with particularity in the appended claims. My invention
itself, however, both as to its organization and method of
operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof,
may best be understood by reference to the following description
taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a flaking mill embodying my
invention;
FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the mill of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a side elevation similar to FIG. 2 with the roll
tensioning assembly removed;
FIG. 4 is a side elevation as in FIG. 3 with the front roll in
position outside the mill housing;
FIG. 5 is a side elevation view similar to FIG. 4 with both rolls
removed;
FIG. 6 is a front elevation of the mill in the position of FIG.
4;
FIG. 7 is an enlarged side elevation of a part of the mill as shown
in FIGS. 4 and 6;
FIG. 8 is a top plan view of the part of FIG. 7;
FIG. 9 is a side elevation of the mill on the side opposite that of
FIG. 2; and,
FIG. 10 is a partial sectional elevation view taken along the line
10--10 of FIG. 6.
Referring now to the drawings, the roll mill illustrated in FIGS. 1
and 2 comprises a housing 10 of generally rectangular configuration
and including side walls, one of which is indicated at 11 and front
and rear walls, the front wall being indicated at 12. The side
walls extend upwardly to an attaching flange 13 and the front and
rear walls are sloped toward the flange as indicated at 12a and 14.
When the mill as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 is installed for
operation the steaming chamber (not shown) for steaming the grain
and facilitating the flaking thereof is mounted on top of the
housing 10 in engagement with the flange 13. The heavy duty dual
roll mill comprises front and rear mill rolls mounted on shafts 15
and 16, respectively, the shafts being carried in front and rear
bearing assemblies 17 and 18, respectively. The rollers are carried
on the walls of the housing and longitudinal structural members 20
are provided for facilitating the mounting of the bearing
assemblies in position.
The bearing assemblies 17 and 18 are carried in bearing retainer
arms 21 and 22 respectively, these arms being pivotally mounted on
the housing on bolts or pins 23 and 24 which are securely mounted
in the supporting structure including the member 20 and a
longitudinal reinforcing member 25 which is suitably secured to the
housing wall by welding or bolting or otherwise. The bearing
assembly 17 is held rigidly in position by additional bolts 26 and
27 secured in a longitudinal members 20 and 25 after the retainer
arm 21 is in position in engagement with the assembly 17.
The bearing assemblies 17 and 18 have cylindrical body portions,
this portion of the assembly 18 is indicated at 19 in FIG. 1. These
assemblies include inner plates 17b and 18b, respectively and outer
plates 17c and 18c, respectively. The inner and outer plates of the
assembly 17 and 18 are secured together against the respective
cylindrical body portions by sets of six bolts 29 and 30,
respectively. The cylindrical portions fit in circular or
cylindrical seats in the arms 17 and 18; these seats are shown at
21a and 22a in FIG. 5. When installed on the retainer arms three of
the bolts of each set pass through the arm to secure the bearing
assemblies rigidly in position on their respective arms. These
three bolts are removed when the mill rolls are to be moved out of
the housing for servicing and the bearing assemblies must be
released from the retainer arms.
When securing the retainer arms 21 and 22 in position to hold the
rolls in operating relationship, the arms 21 are first moved into
their upright positions and bolted therein and the bearing
assemblies are bolted to the arms. The front and rear arms 21 and
22 are then clamped in position by the tension bars 28, one on
either side of the housing, and which are attached to the retainer
arms 21 and 22 at their upper ends. The arms are drawn together by
operation of handle 31 which apply tension to the rods 28 against
the pressure of compression springs 32 mounted on the far side of
the retaining arm 22 and of the retainer 21 and which may be
adjusted by nuts 33. Inspection doors are provided in the front
wall 12 in the lower portion of the front wall indicated at 34 and
another in an inclined portion 12a in the front wall indicated at
35.
Scraper bars (not shown) are provided within the housing 10 below
the rolls for clearing the product from the rolls. These bars may
be adjusted by pivoted arms 36 by moving the positions of these
arms with respect to pivoted or swinging posts 37. A suitable feed
roll and flow control described below is provided in the path of
the grain supplied to the rollers and is driven by a feed roll
drive shaft 38. The drive shaft 38 and the shafts 15 and 16 are
connected to be driven by suitable motor or engine (not shown)
through the shaft 15 which extends outwardly a substantial distance
and has a keyway for securing a drive pulley or coupling (not
shown). A suitable reversing drive such as a serpentine double
V-Belt or reversing sheave drive as described below is provided on
the opposite side for driving the rolls in opposite directions of
rotation.
During the operation of the mill when roll replacement repair or
servicing is required it has heretofore been necessary to dismantle
the mill structure in order to gain access to the rolls so that
they may be lifted out of their positions therein. In order to
avoid long shutdown periods during servicing, repair or
replacement, the present invention provides an improved arrangement
whereby the rolls may be moved out from the housing without
dismantling the grain feed control, the steaming chamber or other
equipment mounted on the housing and without dismantling the
housing. For this purpose the housing frame members including the
members 20 have been constructed and arranged so that the rolls may
be moved outwardly along side wall portions as tracks and may be
removed through a front door or panel 40 which is detachable and
removable. The door 40 is provided with handles or hooks 41 by
which the door may be lifted and moved aside. When it is desired to
remove the rolls, the tension rigging including the tension bars 28
and the mounting assemblies for the handle 31 are removed whereupon
the mill appears as shown in FIG. 3. Bolts 26 and 27 are then
removed and the bearing retainer arm 21 is rotated clockwise
downwardly to a position as shown in FIG. 4. An enclosure plate 42
mounted in the front portion of a slot 43 extending longitudinally
of the housing and opening toward the front is removed and a track
extension member comprising an upright column 44 and a transverse
member 45 is attached to the outer end of the arm 21 by bolts 46
which extend through holes also used for attaching the assembly for
the handle 31. The horizontal member 45 when positioned with the
arm 21 in its bottom position lies with its top edge constituting a
continuation of the horizontal structural member or track 20 and
this provides an extended track along which the front roll,
indicated at 17a, may be rolled out with the bearing assemblies
remaining in place thereon at both ends. It will be understood that
the arms 21 and 22 have counterparts on the opposite side of the
housing for retaining the bearing assemblies on the opposite side
of the housing and that the reinforcing plates 20 and slot 43 are
also duplicated on the opposite wall of the housing. The bearing
assemblies and their positions on the housing also can be seen in
FIG. 6 which is a front view of the housing with the door 40
removed as shown in FIG. 4. The closure plates 42 are securely
attached in any suitable manner to the housing wall and provide an
opening adjacent the bearing assemblies when in position which is
somewhat elongated and affords slight movement of the rolls
therein. However, the bearing assembly also closes the opening
adjacent the assembly so that the housing is effectively closed
when the plate is in position. A second plate 47 is provided
between the two bearing assemblies and closes the central portion
of the slot 43. After this plate has been detached from its
position in the slot 43, the second roll, indicated at 18a, may be
rolled out along the tracks indicated at 43a and which are provided
by the bottom edges of the slot 43, and then along the extension
45. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, when the retainer arm is in its down
position its end rests against a flange 48 of the base of the
housing and when in this position locates the track 45 in alignment
with the horizontal slot track 43a.
During normal operation of the rolls the shaft and bearing
assemblies are out of contact with the track 20, a slight lifting
of the assemblies from the track being effected by rotating or
arcuate movement of the arms 21 and 22 into their upright
positions. The rolls are lowered into engagement with the tracks
upon release of the tension rods 28 which allows the arms 21 and 22
to rotate out of their upright positions. The front roll on the
shaft 15 may be removed from the track 46 and the second roll moved
forward along the track 43a to the track 46 for similar removal. It
will thus be seen that heavy rollers which may have weights of the
order of 2,000 pounds each may thus be moved out from the mill
housing without disturbing any of the structure above the rollers,
and dismantling of the mill is therefore not necessary for roll
servicing purposes.
When the rolls 17a and 18a are to be returned to their operating
positions, the rear roll 18a is first placed upon the extended
track 40 and is rolled back into position, the arms 22 being
brought up to receive the bearing assemblies 18 which are then
bolted to the assemblies by three of the bolts 30. Plates 47 are
then returned to their positions in the slot 43 and are secured to
the housing wall, and the front roller 17a is placed on the tracks
45 and rolled back into position along the horizontal slot tracks
43a. The track extension members 44 are then removed from the arms
21 and the arms are rotated upwardly into position about the
bearing assemblies and are pressed to their upright positions thus
lifting the roll 17a. Bolts 26 and 27 as well as the three bolts 29
are secured to firmly attach the retaining arms 21 to the bearing
assemblies and in their operating positions. The tension assembly
is then re-installed and the arms are drawn together to bring the
bearing assemblies 18 also into their required slightly raised
operating positions wherein the roll 18 is free from enagagement
with the horizontal slot track 43a.
The end view, FIG. 6, shows the roller 17a in the same position on
the end supports 45 as shown in FIG. 4. The shaft 15 includes the
left hand extension for coupling to the driving motor and carries
the bearing assembly 17 in position adjacent the housing 10. The
shaft 15 has enlarged portions 50 which rest on the tracks formed
by the edge of the housing adjacent the horizontal slots 43. It is
this portion 50 which rides on the housing track 43a and then moves
out onto the track extension 45 on which the roll is resting in
FIG. 6. The tension riggings including the bars 28 and the driving
mechanism for rotating the rolls in opposite directions do not
appear in FIG. 6 because these parts of the mill have been removed
for the purpose of removing the rolls.
The mechanism for rotating the two rolls 17a and 18a in opposite
directions and for driving the feed roll is shown in FIG. 9. The
so-called "serpintine drive" for effecting opposite rotation of the
two rolls includes a V-belt drive pulley wheel 51 mounted on a
reduced shaft portion 52 which is an extension of the shaft 15. A
second pulley of the same size is indicated at 53 which is secured
on an extended shaft portion 54 of the shaft 16 and an idler pulley
55 is mounted on a support shelf at the back of the mill. A double
V-belt 56 extends around the pulleys 51 and 55 on their top sides
and then is reversed over the pulley 53 so that this pulley is
driven in the opposite direction from pulleys 51 and 55. The
direction of rotation of the pulley 51 and hence the roll 17a is
clockwise as viewed in FIG. 9 and that of the pulley 53
counterclockwise.
A feed roll not shown in FIG. 9 is utilized to facilitate the
movement of the grain or other material toward the feed zone
between the rollers 17a and 18a and is driven by a pulley 57, which
in turn is driven by a belt 58 extending about the pulley 57 and
about a small drive pulley (not shown) on the shaft 54. The pulley
57 is thus driven in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in FIG.
9. Within the sloping upper portion of the housing 10 there is
arranged an adjustable feed control which cooperates with the feed
roller to determine the rate of feed to the rolls. This control is
actuated by a lever 60 movable along a curved guide 62 to effect a
change in the cross section of the supply passage for the grain. A
suitable lock indicated at 62 is slidable into position to lock the
lever 60 in any selected position along the guide 61.
The adjustable control for regulating the rate of feed to the rolls
is illustrated in FIG. 10. This control includes a flexible
resilient metal sheet or baffle 63 which is of generally
cylindrical configuration with its convex side upward toward the
top of the housing. The lower portion of the sheet 63 is arranged
to move toward and away from the feed roll indicated at 64 which,
preferably is grooved or fluted longitudinally and may be spiraled.
The grain supply chute is completed by the side walls of the
housing and a baffle 65 rigidly secured to the housing and
extending from the upper right hand corner of the housing at the
top downwardly to a position adjacent the roll 64 it being slightly
spaced from the roll to prevent frictional engagement. This baffle
is also of generally cylindrical curvature with its convex side up.
The baffles 63 and 65 have reinforcing flanges, 63a and 65a,
respectively, along their lower edges.
The flexible sheet 63 is securely anchored to the upper left hand
corner of the housing as viewed in FIG. 10 where it is welded or
otherwise suitably attached rigidly to the housing structure. The
main portion of the sheet is free to flex and is held in a position
such that it is biased by its own resilience toward the roller 64.
The lever 60 is connected to a shaft 66 on which are eccentrically
mounted a plurality of cylinders 67 at spaced intervals along the
shaft 66. A rectangular guide box or frame 68 is attached to the
flexible sheet 63 adjacent each cylinder and has an internal
passage of the same width as the diameter of the cylinder 67, so
that when the cylinder is turned the sheet 63 is flexed either
toward or away from the roll 64 and changes the spacing between the
sheet 63 and the roll 64, thereby changing the opening through
which the grain is supplied and controlling the rate of flow of
grain. It will be observed that the sheet 63 may move slightly with
respect to the cylinder 67 because the guide 68 does not restrain
the sheet in the vertical direction. The sheet 63 positioned as
shown provides a substantially vertical lower portion adjacent the
roll 64 so that the passage through which the grain flows to reach
the rolls is substantially vertical where the grain moves through
the opening between the sheet 63 and the roller 64 from which the
grain falls vertically to the line of engagement of the rolls, this
zone being called the "knip" or "bite".
During the operation of the feed control, the passage of the grain
induced by gravity and by the rotation of the feed roller and the
resulting driving effect on the grain a downward force is
transmitted to sheet 63. This downward force produces a slight
vertical up or down movement of the flexing sheet and facilitates
the passage of grain through the opening between the feed roll and
the sheet and results in a more uniform rate of feed of the grain.
It has also been observed that the feed passage along the roll 64
tends to clear itself of any "bridging" of the grain between the
roll 64 and the sheet 63. The curvature of the sheets 63 and 65
working in conjunction with the movement of the feed roll appear to
enhance this effect.
The sheet 63 provides a simple and very effective arrangement for
controlling the flow of feed and makes it possible to use a
relatively small area of the housing for the flow control
mechanism. Furthermore, particularly in view of the manner in which
the flow is directed toward the "knip" or zone of entrance or
contact of the rolls, the feed control may easily be positioned
above the top plane of the rolls so that the rolls are free to move
out of the housing without interference with the control mechanism
which thus can remain in place during servicing of the rolls. This
construction requires a minimum of moving parts, the flexible sheet
63 making it possible to eliminate hinged gates or similar valving
arrangements. Improved operation and ease of control by
manipulation of the lever 60 is thus effected.
While the invention has been described in connection with a
specific form of flaker mill, other applications and embodiments
will occur to those skilled in the art. I therefore intend by the
appended claims to cover all modifications which fall within the
spirit and the scope of the invention.
* * * * *