1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to crushing apparatus and, more particularly, relates to a crushing apparatus capable of obtaining a product in the form of a fine powder by agitating to crush a material to be processed which has been introduced into a crushing tank thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a crushing apparatus is constructed such that an agitator is provided within a crushing tank having the shape of a longitudinal cylinder and, while feeding the material to be processed by means of a pump, the agitator is rotated to agitate the material to crush it.
Here, when the interior of a crushing apparatus is to be washed in the case of the crushing apparatus which crushes a material with media being present in the crushing tank thereof, it is necessary to take out the media in addition to dismantling of the crushing tank and pulling out of the agitator.
Therefore, not only it takes time as the washing operation is laborious but also the operating efficiency is greatly reduced because the crushing operation is suspended during the washing. Further, the recovery rate of the material to be processed is reduced, since the material adhered to respective portions is flushed.
To facilitate its washing, a type of crushing apparatus is provided in which a self-suction type crushing tank is inserted into a processing tank containing a slurry-like material to be processed so that the slurry-like material within the processing tank is circulated through the crushing tank.
In the crushing apparatus having a crushing tank of the type causing a circulation of a slurry-like material to be processed, however, there has been a problem that it can not be efficiently used when the viscosity of the material is relatively high.