TECHNICAL FIELD
The present disclosure is related to a sugar cane mill. More particularly it relates to an under feed roller mounting assembly of the sugar cane mill.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE
Sugar cane mill in a sugar industry may include one or more heavy structures, including but not limited to, mill rollers, conveyors, etc. In a typically arrangement of the sugar cane mill, shredded/chopped cane is passed from one mill to another mill after passing number of compression. A gap in between rollers of the sugar cane mill is referred to a compression gap. The compression gap tends to reduce gradually from first mill to last mill. Accordingly, different rollers have to be located to meet the particular compression gap requirement.

In a typical sugar cane mill (100’) shown in FIG. 1, setting of fourth roller or under feed roller is done by lifting it by means of a hoist/screw and putting some shims as per the requirement beneath a bearing housing to adjust in a vertical plane. Additionally, push screws are used along with the shims for adjusting the under feed roller in a horizontal plane. The entire process of setting the fourth roller / under feed roller is a time consuming process and uses more of factory resources for adjusting the under feed roller.

Therefore, the present disclosure is directed to overcome one or more of the problems as set forth above.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE
The present disclosure relates an under feed roller mounting assembly for a sugar cane mill. The under feed roller mounting assembly includes a pair of hinge brackets spaced apart. The pair of hinge brackets rotatably supporting a shaft member of an under feed roller of the sugar cane mill. The under feed roller mounting assembly further includes an adjusting member disposed at each of the hinge brackets. The adjusting member is adapted to be operated to vary a compression zone of the sugar cane mill.
In an embodiment, the hinge bracket includes a first wall member, a second wall member opposite to the first wall member, and a hollow shaft member disposed between the first wall member and the second wall member.

In an embodiment, a pin member is disposed at a hinging point of the hinge bracket. The hinging point is proximal to a first end of the hinge bracket.

In an embodiment, the first end of the hinge bracket is fixedly connected to a support bracket of the sugar cane mill.

In an embodiment, the adjusting member is disposed at a second end of the hinge bracket.

In an embodiment, the adjusting member includes a nut and a bolt assembly.

In an embodiment, the nut is adapted to be displaced along the bolt to rotate the hinge bracket about an axis of the shaft member and to tilt the hinge bracket at the hinging point for varying a width of the compression zone.

The present disclosure also relates to a sugar cane mill including an under feed roller mounting assembly. The under feed roller mounting assembly includes a pair of hinge brackets spaced apart. The pair of hinge brackets rotatably supporting a shaft member of an under feed roller of the sugar cane mill. The under feed roller mounting assembly further includes an adjusting member disposed at top end of the hinge brackets. The adjusting member is adapted to be operated to vary a compression zone of the sugar cane mill.

The present disclosure also relates to a method for varying a compression zone in a sugar cane mill having an under feed roller assembly. The under feed roller assembly includes a pair of hinge brackets spaced apart. The pair of hinge brackets rotatably supporting a shaft member of an under feed roller of the sugar cane mill and an adjusting member disposed at each of the hinge brackets. The method includes operating the adjusting member to rotate the hinge bracket about an axis of the shaft member and to tilt the hinge bracket at a hinge point of a pin member for varying the compression zone.
In an embodiment, a nut is displaced along a bolt member of the adjusting member for varying a width of the compression zone between a fourth roller or the under feed roller and a first/top roller of the sugar cane mill.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a sugar cane mill having an under feed roller assembly, according to a prior art;
FIG. 2 shows perspective view of a sugar cane mill having an under feed roller assembly, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 3 shows a side view of the portion of the sugar cane mill shown in FIG. 2, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of the under feed roller mounting assembly mounted onto the sugar cane mill shown in FIGS. 2-3, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of the under feed roller mounting assembly shown in FIGS. 2-4, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 6 shows an exploded view of a roller and hinge bracket of the under feed roller mounting assembly shown in FIGS. 2-5, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 7 shows a side view of a portion of the under feed roller mounting assembly shown in FIG. 2, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 8 shows a perspective view of a portion of the sugar cane mill shown in FIG. 2, when hinge brackets are displaced using an adjusting mechanism, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 9 shows a magnified view of a portion “A” indicated in FIG. 4, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and
FIG. 10 shows a magnified view of a portion “B” indicated in FIG. 4, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAIL DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE
Provided below is a non-limiting exemplary embodiment of the present invention and a reference will now be made in detail to specific embodiments or features, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, corresponding or similar reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or corresponding parts. Moreover, references to various elements described herein, are made collectively or individually when there may be more than one element of the same type. However, such references are merely exemplary in nature. It may be noted that any reference to elements in the singular may also be construed to relate to the plural and vice-versa without limiting the scope of the disclosure to the exact number or type of such elements unless set forth explicitly in the appended claims.

FIG. 2 illustrates perspective view of a sugar cane mill (100) of a sugar industry, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Cane milling in the sugar industry is one of a juice extraction process from a raw material, including but not limited to, a cane or sugar cane. The juice extraction by the milling process is carried out by a process of squeezing juice from shredded sugar cane using a high pressure between a pair of heavy iron rollers. The sugar cane mill (100) includes a set of rollers (102) along with other devices such as, but not limited to, a pair of hinge brackets (104), a gear drive or a prime mover (106), hydraulic controls (110), one or more support brackets (112).

In the illustrated figure, one sugar cane mill (100) is considered for the explanation purpose. However, it is to be understood that the present disclosure can also be applicable to other sugar cane mills of similar operating features in a milling tandem (not shown) of the sugar industry. The sugar cane mill (100) is disposed onto a heavy foundation (not shown). The set of rollers (102) of the sugar cane mill (100) can be driven by the prime mover (106) such as, but not limited to, one or more motors (not shown) in connection with the set of rollers (102) through a shaft member (118).

FIG. 3 illustrates a side view of a portion of the sugar cane mill (100) shown in FIG. 2, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In the illustrated example of the sugar cane mill (100) shown in the figures of the present disclosure, the sugar cane mill (100) includes four rollers, i.e. a first/top roller (120), a second/discharge roller (122), a third/feed roller (124) and a fourth/Under Feed Roller [UFR] (126) and are configured with tooth or gears, which would aid in squeezing and crushing process of the sugarcane during the juice extraction process. The roller of the set of rollers (102) typically include a cylindrical drum, made of cast iron / spheroidal graphite iron shell shrunk fit on a carbon steel shaft. It is to be understood that the sugar cane mill (100) may include less than or more than four rollers and it is not meant to be limiting the scope of the present disclosure. The ‘first/top roller (120)’ in the disclosure is interchangeably used with a term ‘top roller (120)’. It is to be understood that both the first roller (120) and the top roller (120) are one and the same. Also, the ‘fourth roller (126)’ in the present disclosure is interchangeably used with a term ‘under feed roller (126)’. It is to be understood that both the ‘fourth roller (126)’ and the ‘under feed roller (126)’ are one and the same. The set of rollers (102) including the first roller (120), the second/discharge roller (122), the third/feed roller (124) and the fourth roller (126) are adapted to be configured in a parallel manner, i.e., axes of each of the rollers are parallel to each other, such that the rollers are configured to form a milling set-up for the cane milling process.

Each of the rollers of the set of rollers (102), i.e., the first roller (120), the second roller (122), the third roller (124) and the fourth roller (126) are provided with a gap (W) for working of the sugar cane mill (100) by allowing the sugarcane raw material to pass through to extract the juice. The gap “W” between the first roller (120) or the top roller (120) and the fourth roller (126) or the under feed roller (126) has to be changed based on the cane crushing capacity variation. This gap is different in all sugar cane mill of the milling tandem having a number of mills. It will be maximum for the first mill and minimum for the last mill, since in the last mill, most of the juice has already been extracted from the shredded cane. The under feed roller (126) is also provided with a scrapper blade member (128) encircling a portion of the under feed roller (126). The gap (W) between the first roller (120) and the under feed roller (126) is referred to as “compression zone” since the shredded cane fed to the sugar cane mill (100) is compressed during the juice extraction process. In an alternate embodiment, the gap or the compression zone exists between the scrapper blade member (128) and the first/top roller (120). The gap “W” or a width of the compression zone needs to be maintained in order to carry out the cane milling process in a more efficient manner. The scrapper blade member (128) helps in scrapping excess cane wrapping on the roller, by a scrapping action. Each roller of the cane sugar mill is provided with at least one scrapper.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5 which illustrates a perspective views of an under feed roller mounting assembly (130) of the sugar cane mill (100) shown in FIGS. 2-3 respectively, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The under feed roller mounting assembly (130) includes the pair of hinge brackets (104) spaced apart. The pair of hinge brackets (104) are rotatably supporting the shaft member (118) of the under feed roller (126). The hinge bracket (104) is supporting on the both sides of the under feed roller (126). A first end (132) of the hinge bracket (104) is resting and fixedly connected on a side cap or the supporting bracket (112) along with a pin member (134) and a second end (136) of the hinge bracket (104) is provided with an adjusting member (138). That is to say, the under feed roller mounting assembly (130) includes the adjusting member (138) which is disposed at each of the hinge brackets (104) and the adjusting member (138) is adapted to be operated to vary the compression zone “W” of the sugar cane mill (100). In an embodiment, the adjusting member (138) includes, but not limited to, a nut and bolt assembly (140).

FIG. 6 illustrates an exploded view of the under feed roller (126) and the hinge bracket (104) of the under feed roller mounting assembly (130) shown in FIGS. 2-5, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Each of the sugar cane mill (100) includes two hinge brackets (104) on either sides of the set of roller (102). For explanation purpose, only one hinge bracket (104) is taken into consideration. In the illustrated figure, the hinge bracket (104) located distal to a gear wheel arrangement (144) is taken into consideration for the explanation purpose.

The hinge bracket (104) disclosed in the illustrated figure is in an assembled state, where it includes a first wall member (146), a second wall member (148) opposite to the first wall member (146) and a hollow shaft member (150) disposed between the first wall member (146) and the second wall member (148) and located at a center (152) of the hinge bracket (104). The first wall member (146) and the second wall member (148) can be metallic plate structures connected to form the hinge bracket (104). The hollow shaft member (150) of the hinge bracket (104) is adapted to rotatably support the shaft member (118) of the sugar cane mill (100). That is to say, the shaft member (118) driven by the gear wheel arrangement (144), is supported onto the hinge bracket (104) and the shaft member (118) is free to rotate inside the hollow shaft member (150) of the hinge bracket (104). Further, the shaft member (118) is fixedly connected with the under feed roller (126), to rotate the under feel roller (126) along a direction of rotation of the shaft member (118).

FIG. 7 illustrates a side view of a portion of the under feed roller mounting assembly (130) shown in the FIG. 2, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In the figure, the hinge bracket (104) on one side of the sugar cane mill (100) which is in a typical position is illustrated. The gap “W” between the first roller (120) or the top roller (120) and the fourth roller (126) or the under feed roller (126) has to be changed based on the cane crushing capacity variation. This gap is different in all sugar cane mill of the milling tandem having number of mills. It is maximum for the first mill and minimum for the last mill, since in the last mill, most of the juice has already been extracted from the shredded cane.

As shown in the FIGS. 7-9, a user or operator (not shown) can operate the adjusting member (138) for adjusting the width of the compression zone. In an example shown in these figures, the width of the compression zone needs to be increased in order to set the width to a preset width value. In this example, the user can carry out a process/method for varying the compression zone. The user has to measure a deviation or variation of the width of the compression zone with respect to the original or preset value of the width of the compression zone. Once the user obtains the values of the changed width of the compression zone, the user has to operate the adjusting member (138) by adjusting the nut and bolt assembly (140) to adjust the width of the compression zone.

That is to say, the adjustment of the width of the compression zone includes a step of operating the adjusting member (138) to rotate the hinge bracket (104) about the axis (X-X’) of the shaft member (118) and to tilt the hinge bracket (104) at a hinging point (154) of the pin member (134) for varying the width of the compression zone, where the hinging point (154) is proximal to the first end (132) of the hinge bracket (104). More specifically, the nut (141) of the nut and bolt assembly (140) is operated (more clearly shown in FIG. 9) to displace along a bolt member (143) of the adjusting member (138) suitably for varying the width of the compression zone between the under feed roller (126) and the first/top roller (120) of the Sugar cane mill (100). When the nut (141) is displaced on the bolt member (143), the hinge bracket (104) hinged at the hinging point (154) using the pin member (134) (clearly shown in FIG. 10) is tilted or rotated to a desired angle. This will cause varying of the width of the compression zone between the under feed roller (126) and the top roller (120).

Advantages
In an embodiment, the under feed roller mounting assembly (130) provides an advantage of easy and quick mounting and dismantling of the under feed roller (126).

In an embodiment, the under feed roller mounting assembly (130) provides an advantage of easy setting up or erection of mill assembly. Further, setting of under feed roller (126) can be done without the help of crane and shims.

In an embodiment, the under feed roller mounting assembly (130) as disclosed in the present disclosure reduces maintenance time. Also, during maintenance, rest of the sugar cane mill (100) remains undisturbed.

In an embodiment, setting of the scrapper blade member (128) with the under feed roller (126) becomes a handy job. This is to be set when the UFR mounting assembly (130) is in open condition.

In an embodiment, the UFR mounting assembly (130) provides easy movement of the scrapper blade member (128) since the entire assembly of UFR assembly is moved and provides better maintenance access.

In an embodiment, mounting and dismantling of the under feed roller mounting assembly (130) is easy with minimum resources.

In an embodiment, the adjustment or controlling of the width of the compression zone can be made by a single operator without the help of crane or hoists or screw and no cumbersome arrangement is required.

In an embodiment the disclosed under feed roller mounting assembly (130) is for an inclined set mill. The pin member (134) at the hinge bracket (104) makes it easy to mount the under feed roller (126) on a head stock of the sugar cane mill (100) and to dismantle as well. As for dismantling, in this assembly one pin and one nut and bolt assembly (140) needs to be opened. The pin member (134) in the mounting assembly makes it a swing type arrangement, allowing the user to set scrapper settings easily. Additionally, the mounting arrangement of under feed roller (126) is made in such a way that it can be easily be used on Grooved Roller Pressure Feeder (GRPF) and Toother roller pressure feeder (TRPF).

Industrial applicability
The disclosed under feed roller mounting assembly finds its potential application in sugar cane mills used in the sugarcane industry. However, it is to be noted that the adjustment member/mechanism disclosed in the present disclosure may also find its application in other technical applications, which may include, but not limited to, a textile industry which includes moving or carrying distances between roller of a textile machine; a steel industry manufacturing sheet metal and other relates products. The steel plant may include various roller arrangement which may be suitably varied based on the requirement of thickness of the metal sheets being manufactured. The disclosed adjustment member may also find its application in paper mills or newspaper industry which include multiple rollers working in tandem with other devices. The rollers may be required to be adjusted after a prolonged pressing and/or printing operations.

While aspects of the present invention have been particularly shown and described with reference to the embodiments above, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various additional embodiments may be contemplated by modification of the disclosed device without departing from the scope of what is disclosed. Such embodiments should be understood to fall within the scope of the present invention as determined based upon claims and any equivalents thereof.

List of Referral numerals
100’: Sugar cane mill of prior art
100: Sugar cane mill
102: Set of rollers
104: Hinge brackets
106: Prime mover
110: Hydraulic controls
112: Support brackets or side cap
118: Shaft member
120: First roller
122: Second roller
124: Third roller
126: Fourth roller or under feed roller
128: Scrapper blade member
130: Under feed roller mounting assembly
132: First end
134: Pin member
136: Second end
138: Adjusting member
140: Nut and bolt assembly
141: Nut
143: Bolt member
144: Gear wheel arrangement
146: First wall member
148: Second wall member
150: Hollow shaft member
152: Centre
154: Hinging point
W: Width of compression zone
X-X’: Axis of shaft member

We Claim:
1. An under feed roller mounting assembly (130) for a sugar cane mill (100), the under feed roller mounting assembly (130) comprising:
a pair of hinge brackets (104) spaced apart, the pair of hinge brackets (104) rotatably supporting a shaft member (118) of an under feed roller (126) of the sugar cane mill (100); and
an adjusting member (138) disposed at each of the hinge brackets (104), the adjusting member (104) adapted to be operated to vary a compression zone of the sugar cane mill (100).

2. The under feed roller mounting assembly (130) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the hinge bracket (104) comprises a first wall member (146), a second wall member (148) opposite to the first wall member (146), and a hollow shaft member (150) disposed between the first wall member (146) and the second wall member (148).

3. The under feed roller mounting assembly (130) as claimed in claims 1 and 2, wherein a pin member (134) is disposed at a hinging point (154) of the hinge bracket (104), the hinging point (154) is proximal to a first end (132) of the hinge bracket (104).

4. The under feed roller mounting assembly (130) as claimed in claim 3, wherein the first end (132) of the hinge bracket (104) is fixedly connected to a support bracket (112) of the sugar cane mill (100).

5. The under feed roller mounting assembly (130) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the adjusting member (138) is disposed at a second end (136) of the hinge bracket (104).

6. The under feed roller mounting assembly (130) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the adjusting member (138) comprises at least one of a nut and a bolt assembly (140).

7. The under feed roller mounting assembly (130) as claimed in claim 6, wherein the nut (141) is adapted to be displaced along the bolt member (143) to rotate the hinge bracket (104) about an axis (X-X’) of the shaft member (118) and to tilt the hinge bracket (104) at the hinging point (154) for varying a width of the compression zone.

9. A sugar cane mill (100) comprising an under feed roller mounting assembly (130), the under feed roller mounting assembly (130) comprising a pair of hinge brackets (104) spaced apart, the pair of hinge brackets (104) rotatably supporting a shaft member (118) of an under feed roller (126) of the sugar cane mill (100); and an adjusting member (138) disposed at each of the hinge brackets (104), the adjusting member (104) adapted to be operated to vary a compression zone of the Sugar cane mill (100).

10. A method for varying a compression zone in a sugar cane mill (100) having an under feed roller assembly (130), the under feed roller assembly (130) comprising a pair of hinge brackets (104) spaced apart, the pair of hinge brackets (104) rotatably supporting a shaft member (118) of an under feed roller (126) of the sugar cane mill (100); and an adjusting member (138) disposed at each of the hinge brackets (104), the method comprising: operating the adjusting member (138) to rotate the hinge bracket (104) about an axis (X-X’) of the shaft member (118) and to tilt the hinge bracket (104) at a hinging point (154) of a pin member (134) for varying the compression zone.

11. The method as claimed in claim 10, wherein a nut (141) is displaced along a bolt member (143) of the adjusting member (138) for varying a width of the compression zone between a fourth roller (126) and a first roller (120) of the sugar cane mill (100).