PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION

FORM 2
THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
(39 of 1970)
(see section 10 and rule 13)

1. TITLE OF THE INVENTION
"An agitator apparatus for filtering and drying solid material from liquid and the process thereof"

2. APPLICANT 1.
(a) NAME
(b) NATIONALITY
(c) ADDRESS

: HLE Engineers Pvt. Ltd. : Indian Company
: HLE Engineers Pvt. Ltd., A-6, Maroli Udyognagar, Post. Maroli - 396 436 Dist
Navsari, Gujrat, India

3.PREAMBLE TO THE DESCRIPTION

PROVISIONAL

Yes

COMPLETE

4. DESCRIPTION


5. CLAIMS
28/01/2009
6. DATE AND SIGNATURE

7. ABSTRACT OF THE INVENTION
Note:
•Repeat boxes in case of more than one entry
*To be signed by the applicant(s) or the authorized registered patent agent
*Name of the applicant should be given in full, family name in the beginning
•Complete address of the applicant should be given stating with postal index no. / code, state and
country
*Strike out the column which is / are not applicable

PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION
"An agitator apparatus for filtering and drying solid material from liquid and the process thereof


The present invention relates to an agitator apparatus for filtering and drying solid from liquid and the process thereof.
Agitated Filter / Agitated Filter Dryer is closed vessel designed for pressure and / or vacuum & the function is solid-liquid separation & subsequent purification & drying.
The equipment generally consists of (I) a closed vessel either welded or joint-closed (2) an internal separation to create a chamber at the bottom to collect liquid (mother liquor) (3) Filter media at the internal separation to act as filter media to hold back product above internal separation. (4) A four cylindrical support drive assembly (5) A mechanical devise to rotate the agitator in clockwise / anti-clockwise / vertical directions (6) A side discharge port to remove the separated material from the closed chamber.
Heating Jackets on the Shell & Bottom are provided for heating. The Agitator is also centrally heated for drying. Drying is effected by circulating heating media in these provisions.
The basic function of the equipment is to allow the mother liquor to pass through the filter media & retain the solid content above the media. This solid content is subsequently purified & dried.
The Agitator has to carryout multiple functions which are required for the process. They are as under:
1. Clockwise rotation
- For smoothening cake surface and compacting it during filtration.
2. Anticlockwise rotation
- For stirring near filter media to keep it clear of sedimentation, re-slurring while
washing and automated discharging.
3. Upward movement
- Operated by hydraulic cylinders at predetermined speed to assist mixing. The
shaft enters the vessel from the top.
4. Downward movement
- Operated by hydraulic cylinders with variable speed to assist squeezing and
discharging. Discharging is particularly effective when combined with the
vertically downward movement of the shaft.
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The agitator performs the additional functions such as mixing the material when in slurry form at any point of process, disallowing sedimentation during filtration, transferring heat effectively by tumbling and agitating the solid material when used as dryer, etc.
Thus the Agitator has to carry out multiple functions. To do this it has to remain stable when the Agitator mechanism which consists of Gearbox, motor, heating pipelines etc., are moved vertically. When we say stable we mean: When Agitator shaft moves vertically and also rotates in either direction it should not deviate from its central axis under load. It also means that the vibration / pulsation / noise should be controlled. Typical vertical movement can be from 150 mm to 600 mm. The shaft enters the vessel from the top. To retain pressure / vacuum in the vessel a sealing mechanism is installed. This also demands vibration / pulsation control.
To achieve this stability for long service life we have invented a stable structure for the Agitator. It consists of four cylindrical pillars arranged in a square or a rectangular fashion and held together at the end by plates. There is also a sliding central plate, having four cylindrical housing at corners, moves precisely along the length of the four cylindrical pillars. The Agitator mechanism is mounted on this sliding central plate. The sliding of the Agitator plate on four pillars is controlled by fixing two hydraulic cylinders between any of the end plates and the central sliding plate symmetrically. Alternatively the sliding movement can also be controlled by converting any of the two or four cylindrical pillars into hydraulic cylinders. In such case hydraulic cylinders are part of the four pillar structure. The movement can also be carried out by mechanical gearing and screw jacks.
Geometrically, the symmetry or equilibrium or balance given by the four pillars at the corners of a square / rectangle is most stable. Any other configuration is not as stable as a square / rectangle for this application. When this stable system, we call it a 'TABLE', mounted on a cylindrical filter, can carry out all the functions described above (or as described in the Annexure-I) very efficiently.
ANNEXURE -1: Process Carried out in Agitated Filter & Dryer
(1) In chemical / pharmaceutical and other manufacturing, a "unit operation" of filtering is carried out along with related process of drying, removing impurities. Sometimes in hot / cold conditions.
(2) Filtering is defined as separating partially or fully, liquid from solids. Also drying is employed to get rid of all the liquid from the solids.


Agitated Filter / Agitated Filter Dryer is used for above (1) & (2) purposes. Also they are used for Reaction or Crystallizing process.
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To start the filtration, mixture of solids and liquid (slurry) is introduced in the vessel from the top. The separation takes place by passage of liquid from the Filter media fixed at the bottom. Gas Pressure or vacuum is applied to the vessel from top or outer passage to assist filtration. Sometimes both Pressure and Vacuum are applied. Without any one of them the filtration process is not carried out.
When most of liquid has passed through the filter media, solid accumulates in the form of thick cake on the filter bed under the influence of pressure/vacuum.
At this point of time cracks develop in the solid cake which opens the path for gas pressure to pass through filter media. This reduces the gas pressure (or vacuum if vacuum is used) ultimately stopping the filtration process.
The Agitator arms are used to stop formation of cracks. The vertical movement of the Agitator is used for this specific purpose. The Arms of the Agitator are moved vertically downwards when they are also rotating to reach the surface of the cake formed on the filter bed. The specific design and direction of rotation of the arms when allowed to penetrate the cake by 5 to 6 mm while rotating will smoothen the cake, thus stopping the formation of cracks. This operation is carried out until a desired result of dryers is achieved in the process.
When drying in Agitated Filter / Agitated Filter Dryer is used:
The Agitator arms have to penetrate in the cake partially or fully to tumble the material. The heated Arms will transfer the heat to material to evaporate the liquid and render the material dry.
When the dry material or the wet cake, as the case may be, is to be discharged from the vessel, the Agitator is used. The Agitator arms are designed in such a way that when rotated in specific direction it pushes the material out of the discharge port. (Discharge port is fixed at the bottom side of the vessel) This is very successfully done when assisted by the vertical movement of the shaft.
The above description of the process will indicate the significance of the Agitator. Hence the stability and balance of the Agitator will give trouble free operation. The following construction of Agitator and its arms are important for the process:
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(1) The specific design of the Arms carryout different functions when rotated in clockwise direction and anticlockwise direction.
(2) The Agitator Arms mix the material when in slurry form at any point of process.
(3) The agitator Arms transfer heat effectively by tumbling and agitating the solid material when used as dryer.
[A] The Agitator Arms smoothed the cake.
(5) The Agitator Arms can push the material through side opening (Discharge valve) to empty the vessel.
Dated this 28th day of January, 2009. (Biswarup Chakraborty)
Agent for the applicants
For ITAG Business Solutions Ltd.
To,
The Controller of Patents, The Patent Office, At Mumbai.
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