Europäisches Patentamt
(19) European Patent Office *EP000736338B1*
Office européen des brevets (11) EP 0 736 338 B1
(12) EUROPEAN PATENT SPECIFICATION
(45) Date of publication and mention (51) Int Cl.7: B07B 7/083
of the grant of the patent:
15.11.2000 Bulletin 2000/46
(21) Application number: 95306826.9
(22) Date of filing: 27.09.1995
(54) Rotary classifier for a roller mill
Rotierender Klassierer für eine Walzmühle
Classificateur rotatif pour un broyeur à rouleaux
(84) Designated Contracting States: • Iida, Yutaka,
BE DE ES FR GB IT NL SE c/o Nagasaki Shipyard & Mach. Works
Nagasaki-shi, Nagasaki-ken (JP)
(30) Priority: 04.04.1995 JP 7891395 • Yamamoto, Tsugio,
c/o Nagasaki Res. & Dev. Center
(43) Date of publication of application: 5-chome, Nagasaki-shi, Nagasaki-ken (JP)
09.10.1996 Bulletin 1996/41 • Sakota, Shuichi, c/o Nagasaki Shipyard & Mach.
Nagasaki-shi, Nagasaki-ken (JP)
(73) Proprietor: MITSUBISHI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI
KAISHA (74) Representative: W.P. Thompson & Co.
Tokyo 100 (JP) Coopers Building,
Church Street
(72) Inventors: Liverpool L1 3AB (GB)
• Yoshida, Hirohisa,
c/o Nagasaki Res. & Dev. Center (56) References cited:
5-chome, Nagasaki-shi, Nagasaki-ken (JP) EP-A- 0 283 682 FR-A- 2 460 725
GB-A- 1 064 346 US-A- 3 670 886
US-A- 4 257 880
EP 0 736 338 B1
Note: Within nine months from the publication of the mention of the grant of the European patent, any person may give
notice to the European Patent Office of opposition to the European patent granted. Notice of opposition shall be filed in
a written reasoned statement. It shall not be deemed to have been filed until the opposition fee has been paid. (Art.
99(1) European Patent Convention).
Printed by Jouve, 75001 PARIS (FR)
1 EP 0 736 338 B1 2
Description type of arrangement, among other reasons because of
the feed geometry and the generally parallel blade ar-
[0001] The present invention relates to a rotary clas- rangement.
sifier for a roller mill used for a pulverized coal firing boil- [0009] GB 1064346 concerns a selector utilising a ro-
er or the like. 5 tor fed through a tangential pipe and having blades
[0002] FIG. 2 of the accompanying drawings shows a whose outer surfaces are parallel to the rotor axis and
conventional roller mill. In this roller mill, pulverized coal whose inner surfaces are inclined thereto. Here again,
is carried up by an air current, and classified into coarse the problem of variation of collision probability along the
and fine particles by a rotary classifier 2. The fine parti- blade's length is not thought to arise due to the ma-
cles are taken out of the mill as product coal together 10 chine's geometry.
with the air current. The coarse particles are returned to [0010] The present invention seeks to solve the above
a table 5 and ground again. In FIG. 2, reference numeral problem. Accordingly, an object of the present invention
1 denotes a coal feeding tube, 3 denotes a rotating vane, is to provide a conical rotary classifier for a roller mill,
4 denotes hydraulic load equipment, 6 denotes hot gas, which offers an improved classifying property.
7 denotes a classifier driving unit, and 8 denotes a prod- 15 [0011] To achieve the above object, according to the
uct coal outlet. present invention, there is a rotary classifier for a roller
[0003] On the rotary classifier 2, rotating vanes 3 for mill, the rotary classifier having vanes arranged around
providing a classifying force are arranged around the cir- an axis of rotation and inclined to the axis such that to-
cumference as shown in FIG. 3. The width W of the ro- gether they form an upwardly divergent cone, charac-
tating vane 3 is constant vertically as shown in FIG. 4. 20 terised in that the vane width is larger at the upper part
[0004] The primary aim of the rotary classifier 2 is to of the vane than at the lower part of the vane.
provide a sharp classifying characteristic, that is, to min- [0012] This construction prevents the decrease in the
imize the inclusion of coarse particles in the fine parti- collision probability η of the particles carried by air cur-
cles, which are the product. This is because if many rent at the upper part, so that the coarse particle classi-
coarse particles are included when the pulverized coal 25 fying efficiency can be improved.
is burnt in a boiler, the combustion efficiency decreases. [0013] The operation and principle of the conventional
[0005] On the cone-shaped classifier shown in FIG. rotary classifier has been described in detail in the prior
3, the conventional rotating vane 3 has a disadvantage applications of the inventor et al. (Japanese Patent Ap-
that because the width W is constant vertically, the ratio plication No. S62-67907 and No. S62-67908 and EP-A-
of area that the width W of the rotating vane 3 occupies 30 0 283 682); therefore, they are omitted in this specifica-
in the circumferential direction is high at the lower part tion. The important thing is the operation of the classifi-
and low at the upper part. Therefore, the pulverized coal cation zone on the rotating vane (C). The flow of parti-
particles carried by the air current have a high collision cles in the rotating vane is shown in FIG. 8. In this figure,
probability η when passing through the lower part of the the coarse particles, which have a high straight advanc-
rotating vane 3, and a low collision probability η when 35 ing property, tend to enter the zone (C). As described
passing through the upper part of the rotating vane 3. above, the coarse particles mostly pass through the up-
[0006] Regarding the flow of particles around the clas- per part of the rotating vane and concentrate in the zone
sifier, as shown in FIG. 5, the coarse particles S tend to (C) in the rotating vane. Therefore, it may safely be said
pass through the upper part of the rotating vane 3 be- that the operation of the zone (C) at the upper part of
cause of their high straight advancing property due to 40 the vane governs the coarse particle classifying efficien-
high inertia force, while the fine particles M tend to pass cy.
through the lower part of the rotating vane 3. Reference [0014] A lower collision probability η at the upper part
character L denotes the air current. of the vane, described above, means that the ratio of
[0007] As described above, the conventional rotating the zone (C) in FIG. 7 decreases at the upper part of the
vane 3 has a disadvantage that the collision probability 45 conventional classifying vane having a constant width.
η is low at the upper part of the rotating vane, which The rotating vane having a large width at the upper part,
many coarse particles pass through. This greatly hin- in accordance with the present invention, prevents the
ders the improvement in coarse particle classifying decrease in the ratio of the zone (C) at the upper part of
property. the rotating vane, providing an operation for improving
[0008] US Patent 4257880 discloses a centrifugal air 50 considerably the collision probability η of the coarse par-
classifying apparatus comprising a rotary particle reject- ticles colliding with the rotating vane.
or seemingly fed with material to be classified from [0015] As described above, in the present invention,
above through feed tubes. The rotary particle rejector the rotating vane is so configured that the vane width is
has a set of blades arranged around its periphery, the larger at the upper part than at the lower part, so that
inner edges of the blades being parallel to the rejector's 55 the ratio of area that the width of a rotating vane occu-
axis of rotation while the outer edges are slightly in- pies in the circumferential direction increases at the up-
clined. The above described difficulty concerning colli- per part, which increases the collision probability of the
sion probability variation is not thought to arise in this particles, carried by the air current, colliding with the
2
3 EP 0 736 338 B1 4
vane at the upper part, by which the effect of providing can significantly decrease the amount of coarse parti-
a sharp classifying characteristic can be achieved. cles (expressed by 150 µm residual quantity on the or-
Therefore, by use of the present invention, the classify- dinate).
ing characteristic of the rotating vane can be improved. [0021] FIG. 10 shows the result of a test in which the
[0016] The invention is described further hereinafter, 5 level of the collision probability η was changed on a wide
by way of example only, with reference to the accompa- rotating vane. From this figure, it is found that a collision
nying drawings, in which:- probability η not more than 30% considerably increases
the amount of coarse particles and a collision probability
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a rotating vane in η not less than 70% causes the pressure loss to in-
accordance with one embodiment of the present in- 10 crease. Therefore, the optimum range of collision prob-
vention; ability η is 30 to 70%.
FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a conventional roller
mill having a rotary classifier;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the rotary classifier Claims
of Fig. 2; 15
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a conventional rotat- 1. A rotary classifier for a roller mill, the rotary classifier
ing vane; having vanes (3) arranged around an axis of rota-
FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing the flow of par- tion and inclined to the axis such that together they
ticles around the rotary classifier; form an upwardly divergent cone, characterised in
FIG. 6 is a view showing the classification principle 20 that the vane width is larger at the upper part of the
of the rotary classifier; vane than at the lower part of the vane.
FIG. 7 is a view showing classification zones of the
rotary classifier; 2. A rotary classifier for a roller mill as claimed in claim
FIG. 8 is a schematic view showing the flow of par- 1, wherein the width at the upper part of said vanes
ticles in the classifying vane; 25 (3) is 1.5 to 3 times the width at the lower part.
FIG. 9 is a view showing the effect of the present
invention; and 3. A roller mill comprising a rotary classifier as claimed
FIG. 10 is a view showing the optimum range of the in claim 1 or claim 2 and an input (6) for hot gas
present invention. disposed below the rotary classifier such that in use
30 material is carried upwardly to the classifier from be-
[0017] FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b) show embodiments of the low by a gas current.
present invention.
[0018] As shown in FIG. 7, taking the dead zone as
A, the air current classification zone as B, and the clas- Patentansprüche
sification zone on a rotating vane as C, the aforemen- 35
tioned collision probability η is defined as η = zone (C) 1. Rotierender Klassierer für eine Walzenmühle, wo-
/ {zone (A+B+C)} . FIG. 1(a) shows a rotating vane in bei der rotierende Klassierer Schaufeln (3) auf-
which η is almost constant, while FIG. 1(b) shows a ro- weist, die um eine Drehachse herum angeordnet
tating vane in which η at the upper part where the coarse sind und so zu der Achse geneigt sind, daß sie zu-
particles concentrate is nearly the same as that at the 40 sammen einen nach oben divergierenden Kegel bil-
lower part. den, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß die Schaufel-
[0019] In FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b), it is preferable that the breite am oberen Teil der Schaufel größer als am
relationship between the width Wu at the upper part and unteren Teil der Schaufel ist.
the width Wb at the lower part of the rotating vane 3 be
Wu = 1.5 to 3 Wb. If the width Wu at the upper part of 45 2. Rotierender Klassierer für eine Walzenmühle nach
the rotating vane 3 is not larger than 1.5 times the width Anspruch 1, bei dem die Breite am oberen Teil der
Wb, the amount of coarse particles increases undesir- genannten Schaufeln (3) das 1,5- bis 3-fache der
ably. If the width Wu at the upper part of the rotating Breite am unteren Teil beträgt.
vane 3 is not smaller than 3 times the width Wb, the pres-
sure loss of particles increases undesirably. 50 3. Walzenmühle, die einen rotierenden Klassierer wie
[0020] FIG. 9 shows the result of a comparison test in in Anspruch 1 oder 2 beansprucht und einen unter
which a comparison was made between a rotating vane dem rotierenden Klassierer angeordneten Einlaß
having a larger width at the upper part, in accordance (6) für heißes Gas aufweist, so daß in Gebrauch
with the present invention, and the conventional rotating Material durch einen Gasstrom von unten nach
vane having a constant width. From this figure, it is found 55 oben zu dem Klassierer getragen wird.
that even when the degree of fineness of the product
coal (expressed by 75 µm pass quantity on the abscis-
sa) is equal, the rotating vane of the present invention
3
5 EP 0 736 338 B1 6
Revendications
1. Classificateur rotatif pour broyeur à rouleaux, le
classificateur rotatif comportant des pales (3) dis-
posées autour d'un axe de rotation et inclinées par 5
rapport à l'axe de telle sorte qu'ensemble elles for-
ment un cône divergent vers le haut, caractérisé en
ce que la largeur de pale est plus grande au niveau
de la partie supérieure de la pale qu'au niveau de
la partie inférieure de la pale. 10
2. Classificateur rotatif pour broyeur à rouleaux selon
la revendication 1, dans lequel la largeur au niveau
de la partie supérieure desdites pales (3) est 1,5 à
3 fois la largeur au niveau de la partie inférieure. 15
3. Broyeur à rouleaux comprenant un classificateur
rotatif selon la revendication 1 ou la revendication
2 et une entrée (6) de gaz chaud disposée en des-
sous du classificateur rotatif de telle sorte qu'en 20
cours d'utilisation la matière soit acheminée vers le
haut jusqu'au classificateur depuis le bas par un
courant de gaz.
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