Description:F O R M 2
THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
(39 of 1970)
&
THE PATENTS RULES, 2003

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
[See section 10, Rule 13]

A VOLUMETRIC FEEDER
BY
Buhler India Private Limited
a company registered under the Laws of India,
WHOSE ADDRESS IS 13-D,12-D,13-C AND 13-B KIADB INDUSTRIAL AREA, 562107, ATTIBELE, KARNATAKA, INDIA

THE FOLLOWING SPECIFICATION DESCRIBES THE INVENTION AND THE MANNER IN WHICH IT IS PERFORMED

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to feeders, more particularly to a volumetric feeder for feeding food material having non-uniform shape and size.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Various kinds of feeders providing consistent and constant feed of food materials are known in the food processing industry. However, in conventional feeders, consistent feeding of non-uniform shape and size food material is not possible. Inconsistent shape and size of the food material affects constant and consistent feeding of food material in the conventional volumetric feeder. The non uniform shape and size of the food material leads to material choking also called material locking within the feeder in feeding zone. Hence, the conventional feeders always demand for an operator to perform feeding operation manually with intermittent stop and start action. Particularly, the operator before feeding the food material into the feeder has to segregate the food material based on shape and size and during operation, if choked, has to clear the clogged food material from the paddles for smooth operation of the feeder.
Therefore, there is a dire need for a feeder which can overcome choking of non-uniform shape and size food material while feeding.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a volumetric feeder to facilitate feeding of food material having non-uniform shape and size without being chocked or locked.
Further object of the present invention is to provide a volumetric feeder that enables automatic and consistent feeding of food material.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a volumetric feeder to overcome locking of food material having non-uniform shape and size. The volumetric feeder comprises a hopper configured to receive food material. The hopper has a first end extending into a housing. The housing is positioned with a rotor. The rotor is arranged concentrically and coaxially with a shaft that facilitates rotation of the rotor. The rotor has a plurality of paddles configured along a line of central axis thereof. The paddles extend perpendicularly and equidistantly from an outer surface of the rotor. Each two consecutive paddles define a pocket of predetermined volume. Each paddle has a plurality of openings provided on a free end thereof to facilitate food material with non-uniform shape and size to overflow from a preceding pocket to a next pocket.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the rotor includes paddles in the range of 3-12.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the paddles have uniform size and shape.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the openings have uniform size and shape.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the opening has an inverted triangle profile.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the opening has an included angle in the range of 60°-85°.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the opening has a depth in the range of 25-60 mm.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the paddles with openings fit the diameter of the food material to be processed.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the area defined by the opening of the paddle enclosed by the housing inner wall is 1 to 2 times the area of the average diameter of the food material to be fed.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the food material from the hopper is received in the pocket, when the pocket faces the hopper, and the food material is discharged from the pocket through a chute when the pocket is rotated away from the hopper.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the food material moves from the hopper to the chute through the plurality of pockets before further processed.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the non-uniform shape and size food material is turmeric or ginger.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the volume of each pocket is controlled by varying a speed of the rotor through a Variable Frequency Drive (VFD).
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate an embodiment of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention. They are meant to be exemplary illustrations provided to enable persons skilled in the art to practice the disclosure and are not intended to limit the scope of the appended claims.
Figure 1 is a pictorial representation of a volumetric feeder constructed, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
Figure 2 is a schematic representation of a rotor with paddles used in the volumetric feeder of Figure 1, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
Figure 3 is a side view of Figure 2, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
Figure 4 is a top view of Figure 2, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; and
Figure 5 is a cross sectional view of Figure 2, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
Throughout the drawing, it should be noted that like reference numbers are used to depict the same or similar elements, features, and structures.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The following description with reference to the accompanying drawings is provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of the invention as defined by the description. It includes various specific details to assist in that understanding but these are to be regarded as merely exemplary. In addition, descriptions of well-known functions and constructions are omitted for clarity and conciseness.
The terms and words used in the following description are not limited to the bibliographical meanings but are merely used by the inventor to enable a clear and consistent understanding of the invention. Accordingly, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the following description of the present invention is provided for illustration purpose only.
It is to be understood that the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
Referring to Figure 1 of the drawings, a volumetric feeder is provided in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. The volumetric feeder comprises a hopper (102), a housing (104) and a rotor (110). The hopper (102) is configured to receive food material. The hopper (102) has a first end extending into the housing (104) and the rotor (110) is positioned in the housing (104). The rotor (110) (shown in figures 2-5) is arranged concentrically and coaxially with a shaft (108). The shaft (108) connected to a motor (106) facilitates rotation of the rotor (110). The rotor (110) has a plurality of paddles (112) configured along a line of central axis thereof. The paddles (112) extend perpendicularly and equidistantly from an outer surface of the rotor (110). Each two consecutive paddles (112) define a pocket of predetermined volume and each paddle (112) having a plurality of openings (114) provided on a free end thereof to facilitate food material with non-uniform shape and size to overflow from pocket to next pocket.
In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the rotor (110) includes the paddles (112) having uniform size and shape. The number of paddles (112) mounted on the rotor (110) is in the range of 3-12. The number of paddles (112) is not restricted to the numbers defined as above. The number can vary and determined based on the requirement and capacity of the feeder. However, the arc between the consecutive paddles should be ensured larger than the maximum length of the food material processed. Thus, the size of the volumetric feeder is based on the size of the food material to be processed. Also, the larger the diameter of the paddles, the more the number of paddles and higher the capacity of the feeder.
In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the perimeter, as shown in the figure below, is larger than the max. length of the processed good.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the openings (114) have uniform profile. In a preferred embodiment, the openings (114) can have an inverted triangular profile. The included angle of the profile is in the range of 60°-85°, with a depth in the range of 25-60 mm. Even though the depth of the profile is mentioned here, the depth is not restricted to the aforementioned range. The depth can be determined based on height of the paddle.
In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the openings (114) can be of varying profile to fit the size of food material, such that the area defined by the opening of the paddle (112) enclosed by the housing inner wall is 1 to 2 times the area of the average diameter of the food material to be fed.
In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the non-uniform shape and size food material is turmeric or ginger. Generally, the length of the turmeric is in the range of 50 to 80 mm. To ensure the arc between the consecutive paddles is larger than the maximum length of the turmeric processed, the variables, the combined diameter of the shaft, rotor and paddle and the number of paddles can be varied as per the required.
In operation, the food material moves from the hopper (102) to the chute through the plurality of pockets before further processed. The food material loaded in the hopper (102) is received in the pocket, when the pocket faces the hopper (102), and the food material is discharged from the pocket when the pocket is rotated away from the hopper (102). The locking of turmeric fingers is eased out by providing openings (114) in the pockets to overflow to the next pocket. This eliminates the manual intervention in the feeding process. While this overflow may cause little fluctuations in the feed rate, it eases the problem of material choking. The variations in actual flow rate are within the limits of acceptability for commercial turmeric processing applications and can be considered consistent for the said purpose.
In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the volume of each pocket is controlled by varying a speed of the rotor (110) through a Variable Frequency Drive (VFD).
The volumetric feeder of the present invention overcomes locking of food material which are non-uniform shape and size and enables automatic and consistent feeding of the material.
Although there has been shown and described the preferred embodiment of the present invention, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications may be made thereto which do not exceed the scope of the appended claims. Therefore, the scope of the invention is only to be limited by the following claims.
List of Reference Numerals
Volumetric feeder - 100
Hopper - 102
Housing - 104
Motor - 106
Shaft - 108
Rotor - 110
Paddles - 112
Openings - 114
, Claims:
1. A volumetric feeder (100) to overcome locking of food material having non-uniform shape and size, the volumetric feeder (100) comprising:
a hopper (102) configured to receive food material, the hopper (102) having a first end extending into a housing (104); and
a rotor (110) positioned in the housing (104), the rotor (110) arranged concentrically and coaxially with a shaft (108), the shaft (108) facilitating rotation of the rotor (110),
wherein the rotor (110) having a plurality of paddles (112) configured along a line of central axis thereof, the paddles (112) extending perpendicularly and equidistantly from an outer surface of the rotor (110), each two consecutive paddles (112) defining a pocket of predetermined volume, each paddle (112) having a plurality of openings provided on a free end thereof to facilitate food material with non-uniform shape and size to overflow from preceding pocket to next pocket.
2. The volumetric feeder (100) as claimed in any one of the previous claims, wherein the arc between the consecutive paddles (112) is larger than the maximum length of the food material processed.
3. The volumetric feeder (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the paddles (112) are in the range of 3-12.
4. The volumetric feeder (100) as claimed in any one of the previous claims, wherein the paddles (112) are of uniform size and shape.
5. The volumetric feeder (100) as claimed in any one of the previous claims, wherein the openings (114) have uniform profile.
6. The volumetric feeder (100) as claimed in any one of the previous claims, wherein each of the openings (114) has an inverted triangular profile.
7. The volumetric feeder (100) as claimed in any one of the previous claims, wherein each of the openings (114) has an included angle in the range of 60°-85°.
8. The volumetric feeder (100) as claimed in any one of the previous claims, wherein each of the openings (114) has a depth in the range of 25-60mm.
9. The volumetric feeder (100) as claimed in any one of the previous claims, wherein the openings have varying profile.
10. The volumetric feeder (100) as claimed in any one of the previous claims, wherein the paddles (112) with openings (114) accommodate diameter of the food material to be processed.
11. The volumetric feeder (100) as claimed in any one of the previous claims, wherein the opening (114) of the paddle (112) enclosed by the inner wall of housing (104) defines an area that is 1 to 2 times the area of the average diameter of the food material.
12. The volumetric feeder (100) as claimed in any one of the previous claims, wherein the food material from the hopper (102) is received in the pocket, when the pocket faces the hopper (102).
13. The volumetric feeder (100) as claimed in any one of the previous claims, wherein the food material is discharged from the pocket through a chute when the pocket is rotated away from the hopper (102).
14. The volumetric feeder (100) as claimed in any one of the previous claims, wherein the food material moves from the hopper (102) to the chute through the plurality of pockets before further processing thereof.
15. The volumetric feeder (100) as claimed in any one of the previous claims, wherein the food material is turmeric or ginger.
16. The volumetric feeder (100) as claimed in any one of the previous claims, wherein each pocket has a volume controlled by varying speed of the rotor (110) through a Variable Frequency Drive (VFD).