FIELD OF INVENTION The invention relates to a mechanical screw press. More particularly, the invention relates to a mechanical screw press suitable for use in pressing palm kernel to extract palm kernel oil.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A mechanical screw press is a type of machine that separates liquids from solids through squeezing or pressing of the solids. The mechanical screw press generally consists of a screw conveyor housed within a chamber, where the screw conveyor is rotatable to move the solids along the chamber while pressing the solids against an inner wall of the chamber to extract liquids from the solids. Mechanical screw presses are often used for materials that are difficult to press, for example those that tend to pack together. The solids are pressed onto a screen, filter or wall and the liquid is extracted for collection and use. However, the currently available mechanical screw press has several drawbacks. As the materials are difficult to press, after a prolonged period of operation the mechanical screw press suffers significant efficiency loss due to wear and tear in the components of mechanical screw press, such as in the screw conveyor and inner wall of the chamber. Furthermore, the screw conveyor and the chamber are often manufactured as a unibody and users have to dismantle the whole screw conveyor and the chamber for maintenance. The screw conveyor and the chamber are often heavy and this requires more manpower to lift the screw conveyor and the chamber from the screw press. In addition, the screw conveyor and the chamber are often mounted on another components, such as gearbox, frame body and base, which makes the user to dismantle the whole screw press machine just to retrieve the screw conveyor and chamber. This is not desirable as this adds on a significant amount of downtime to the kernel processing time.

There are a few patented technologies over the prior art relating to the screw press machine. The US3980013A discloses an interrupted flight screw press, especially in regions of heavier wear, with one or more longitudinal split worm bodies. The bodies have axially extending end flanges which hook underneath flanges of adjacent collars to hold the worm in place. One or both of the worm bodies are keyed or otherwise fastened to the shaft for driving. Relatively slight longitudinal movement of one or both adjacent collars will release the parts of the worm body for repair and/or replacement without disassembling the entire worm-collar-shaft assembly.

Another screw press machine is disclosed in US3583684A. This patent discloses a screw presses for the continuous execution of mixing, homogenizing and reaction processes for flowable, and especially for viscous, materials or mixtures of materials, characterized by at least one screw with a conveying and an adjoining mixing zone in an essentially cylindrical screw passage wherein a helical dividing wall provided with holes, slits or similar perforations is arranged between the webs or flights of a screw or in the hollow end of a screw shaft, the radial distance of said dividing wall from the adjacent portion of the screw core on the one hand and from the internal wall of the cylindrical screw passage on the other hand being variable in the longitudinal direction of the screw or web spiral, and which divides the screw thread into an internal and an external passage of varying depth or cross section in said longitudinal direction.

However, none of the patents as mentioned above discloses a mechanical screw press having a chamber with a detachable wall portions for allowing easy replacement of a worn wall portion. Therefore, the mechanical screw press still suffers from the above- mentioned drawbacks.

Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a mechanical screw press that incorporates a plurality of detachable wall portions of a chamber for allowing replacement of a worn wall portion.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

One object of the invention is to provide a mechanical screw press having a plurality of detachable components within its chamber for allowing easy replacement of a worn component. Another object of the invention is to reduce maintenance time and thereby reducing downtime during replacement of the worn component. Yet another object is to significantly reduce the weight of the mechanical screw press upon removal of all the components for easy transportation of the mechanical screw press.

The invention provides a mechanical screw press apparatus suitable for use in pressing palm kernels, the apparatus comprising a chamber for housing a screw conveyor such that the screw conveyor is rotatable with respect to the chamber to provide unidirectional flow of the palm kernels within the chamber while being pressed against an inner wall of the chamber, wherein the inner wall comprises a series of discrete radially extending replaceable components which together create at least a part of the surface of the inner wall.

Preferably, each component is received by a plurality of corresponding shaped slots extending along a longitudinal axis of the inner wall to form at least partially of the inner wall upon receipt of the components.

Preferably, the inner wall provides a plurality of spaced-apart separators disposed radially on the inner wall, in which a space between two separators defines the slot configured to firmly receive one of the components.

Preferably, the components are in the form of an elongated strip.

Preferably, the chamber provides an inlet for introducing the palm kernels therein and flow unidirectionally along the chamber while being pressed against the inner wall, the chamber being configured to allow palm kernel oil extracted from the pressed palm kernels to pass therethrough and received by a vessel, and an outlet for discharging the pressed palm kernels.

Preferably, the screw conveyor provides a plurality of grooves formed spirally thereon, in which each groove configured to receive a detachable flight.

Preferably, a part of the detachable flight is held within the groove with fastening means and a remaining part of the detachable flight protrudes from the screw conveyor.

Preferably, the remaining part of the detachable flight is angled to push the palm kernel towards the inner wall for pressing against the inner wall.

Preferably, the screw conveyor is coupled to a gearbox through a coupling means and the gearbox is rotatable by a motor through a chain and sprocket arrangement.

Preferably, the chamber comprises a plurality of two-part rings that are held spaced apart from one another in series, in which each two-part ring provides a plurality of through-holes that are concentric with another plurality of through-holes formed on a successively arranged two-part ring for insertion of a column through the respective concentric holes. Preferably, the two-part ring provides a first and a second section that are held to one another together by securing a fastening means through a concentric hole formed on the first and second section respectively.

Preferably, the column provides one spacer in between any two of the successively arranged two-part rings to space apart one two-part ring from another.

Preferably, the chamber and the coupling means are supported by a plurality of frames arranged in series, each frame provides a plurality of holes that are concentric with another plurality of holes formed on a successively positioned frame for aligning the chamber with the coupling means upon receipt of fastening means therethrough.

Preferably, the plurality of frames and the gearbox are fixedly mounted on a base.

Preferably, one of the frames is provided with bearing means for rotatably supporting the coupling means and the screw conveyor.

Preferably, the separators are angled such that the components are held firmly within the spaces upon pressing of the palm kernel against the inner wall with the screw conveyor.

One skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the invention is well adapted to carry out the objects and obtain the ends and advantages mentioned, as well as those inherent therein. The embodiments described herein are not intended as limitations on the scope of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For the purpose of facilitating an understanding of the invention, there is illustrated in the accompanying drawing the preferred embodiments from an inspection of which when considered in connection with the following description, the invention, its construction and operation and many of its advantages would be readily understood and appreciated.

Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating a front view of the mechanical screw press apparatus according to the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a diagram illustrating a top view of the mechanical screw press apparatus according to the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a diagram illustrating a side view of the mechanical screw press apparatus according to the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a diagram illustrating a front view of the chamber according to the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a diagram illustrating a top view of the chamber according to the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a diagram illustrating a side view of the chamber according to the present invention.

Fig. 7 is a diagram illustrating a front view of the chamber with a partially formed inner wall according to the present invention.

Fig. 8 is a diagram illustrating a side view of the chamber with a complete inner wall according to the present invention. Fig. 9 is a diagram illustrating a front view of the screw conveyor with detachable flight according to the present invention.

Fig. 10 is a diagram illustrating a front view of the screw conveyor without detachable flight according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention will now be described in greater detail, by way of example, with reference to the drawings.

Referring to Fig. 1 to Fig. 3, there is provided a mechanical screw press apparatus suitable for use in pressing palm kernels. The apparatus comprises a chamber 1 for housing a screw conveyor 2 such that the screw conveyor 2 is rotatable with respect to the chamber 1 to provide unidirectional flow of the palm kernels within the chamber 1 while being pressed against an inner wall 3 of the chamber 1, wherein the inner wall 3 comprises a series of discrete radially extending replaceable components 4 which together create at least a part of the surface of the inner wall 3.

Preferably, the chamber 1 provides an inlet 7 for introducing the palm kernels therein and flow unidirectionally along the chamber 1 while being pressed against the inner wall 3 and an outlet 8 for discharging the pressed palm kernels. The chamber 1 is configured to allow palm kernel oil extracted from the pressed palm kernels to pass therethrough and received by a vessel. By way of example, the chamber 1 provides a perforated means such as a filter, mesh or net to allow the palm kernel oil passing therethrough while maintaining the pressed palm kernel within the chamber 1. The chamber 1 may also provide a channel for delivering the palm kernel oil from the chamber 1 to the vessel. In one preferred embodiment, a chute is provided at the inlet 7 for receiving the palm kernel through manual filling from an operator or feeding by a conveyor belt. The outlet 8 may provide a sloping channel or slide for discharging the pressed palm kernel from the chamber 1.

In one particular embodiment, the screw conveyor 2 is coupled to a gearbox 12 through a coupling means 13. The gearbox 12 is rotatable by a motor 14 through a chain and sprocket arrangement 28 for bring the screw conveyor 2 into a rotational movement.

Fig. 4 to Fig. 6 illustrate an exemplary embodiment of the chamber 1 according to the present invention. Preferably, the chamber 1 comprises a plurality of two-part rings 15 that are held spaced apart from one another in series. Preferably, the two-part ring 15 is in the form of a two-part hexagonal panel with a hole at its middle defining the inner wall 3. Each two-part ring 15 provides a plurality of through-holes 16 for insertion of columns 17. When the two-part ring 15 is arranged adjacent to another two-part ring 15 in series, the plurality of through-holes 16 on that two-part ring 15 are concentric with another plurality of through-holes 16 formed on a successively arranged two-part ring 15 for insertion of the column 17 through the respective concentric holes 15. Advantageously, this allows proper alignment for the ease of insertion of the series of discrete radially extending replaceable components 4 on the inner wall 3.

Preferably, the column 17 provides one spacer 22 in between any two of the successively arranged two-part rings 15 to space apart one two-part ring 15 from another. By way of example, the spacer 22 is in the form of a hollow pipe or a sleeve that surrounds the column 17. The spacer 22 may be configured with the same length such that each two-part ring 15 is equally spaced apart from one another. One end of the column 17 may be formed with a protruded portion with a larger diameter than the through-hole 16 and another end is secured with a nut to sandwich the two-part rings 15 and the spacers 22 that are stacked in an alternating manner.

In one particular embodiment, the two-part ring 15 provides a first and a second section that are held to one another together by securing a fastening means 18 through a concentric hole 21 formed on the first and second section respectively. By way of example, the fastening means 18 is in the form of the nut and bolt. Preferably, a pair of bars 19 each having a plurality of spaced apart holes 20 are used as a washer, where the pair of bars 19 sandwich each two-part ring 15 by inserting the fastening means 18 through the holes 20 and the concentric hole 21. Such arrangement is advantageous as it help to maintain the rigidity of the chamber 1.

Preferably, the chamber 1 and the coupling means 13 are supported by a plurality of frames 23 arranged in series (with reference to Fig. 1 to Fig. 3), each frame 23 provides a plurality of holes 24 that are concentric with another plurality of holes 24 formed on a successively positioned frame 23 for aligning the chamber 1 with the coupling means 13 upon receipt of fastening means 25 therethrough. Preferably, one of the frames 23 is provided with bearing means 27 for rotatably supporting the coupling means 13 and the screw conveyor 2. By way of example, the bearing means 27 is a spherical roller bearing and spherical roller thrust bearing. In one particular embodiment, the plurality of frames 23 and the gearbox 12 are fixedly mounted on a base 26.

Referring to Fig. 7, the inner wall 3 of the chamber 1 provides a plurality of spaced- apart separators 6 disposed radially on the inner wall 3, in which a space between two separators 6 defines the slot 5 configured to firmly receive one of the components 4. In one example, a part of the separator 6 is held within the inner wall 3 and the remaining part of the separator 6 protrudes from the inner wall 3. The separators 6 may be aligned in such a way that the space formed between two separators 5 allows ease insertion and removal of the components 4 whilst maintaining the components 4 firmly during operation of the screw conveyor 2. Preferably, the separators 6 are angled such that the components 4 are held firmly within the spaces upon pressing of the palm kernel against the inner wall 3 with the screw conveyor 2. In one example, the components 4 can be easily removed from the space by applying impact, such as through hammering of the components 4. In one preferred embodiment, the slot 5 extends along a longitudinal axis of the inner wall 3 and shaped according to the corresponding component 4, in which at least partially of the inner wall 3 is formed upon receipt of the components 4 (Fig. 8). In one preferred embodiment, the components 4 are in the form of an elongated strip.

Referring to Fig. 9 and Fig. 10, the screw conveyor 2 provides a plurality of grooves 9 formed spirally thereon, in which each groove 9 is configured to receive a detachable flight 10. In one particular embodiment, a part of the detachable flight 10 is held within the groove 9 with fastening means 11 and a remaining part of the detachable flight 10 protrudes from the screw conveyor 2. In one preferred embodiment, the remaining part of the detachable flight 10 is angled to push the palm kernel towards the inner wall 3 for pressing against the inner wall 3. Preferably, a plurality of holes are formed within the groove 9 for receiving the fastening means 11 through a plurality of through-holes formed on the detachable flight 10. Preferably, the fastening means 11 is secured within the detachable flight 10 and does not protrude from the detachable flight 10 to prevent damage on the inner wall 3 upon rotational movement of the screw conveyor 2. The present disclosure includes as contained in the appended claims, as well as that of the foregoing description. Although this invention has been described in its preferred form with a degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure of the preferred form has been made only by way of example and that numerous changes in the details of construction and the combination and arrangements of parts may be resorted to without departing from the scope of the invention.