AU2002333827B2 - Device for continuously washing dirty and greasy wool - Google Patents

Abstract

A press (15) is usually located at the outlet of a greasy wool washing machine whereby it separates the dirty water arising during washing from the wool web. The wool fibers rinsed out with the press water are led together with the dirty water back into the bath. Only the sludge is removed from the bath, which accumulates in a sludge space (6) underneath the bath. It would have been sensible not to lead the dirty press water back into the bath that, however, is not intended for the rinsed out wool fibers. To avoid this, the press liquor is fed together with the rinsed out wool fibers to the emerging peripheral surface of a rotating sieve drum (3) again, and the dirty press water underneath the sieve drum surface, in the area of which the dirty liquor is fed, is collected once again by a tub (19) placed at that location and is separated from the immediate treatment process in this bath.

Description

04-14-04 08:15 +41 61 6412745 Fleissner ->0061298108200# ECM S. 03 1 Device for continuous washing of dirty, greasy wool SA device of the generic type is known from EP-B-0 603 662. The machine Slay-out comprises in total a series of individual washing machines, as is described for example in the Melliand Textile Reports 1993, page 1152 f.

Each one of these identically configured washing baths comprises a bath Shousing, which has a perforated metal sheet as intermediate base, which Sseparates a treatment chamber from a dirty material discharge chamber.

The dirt detached during washing, such as sand, excrement and grease, falls through this perforation, the sludge is concentrated in the conically downwardly tapering discharge chamber and is drained at intervals into the sewer by opening a valve. The treatment chamber is filled with washing liquid up to a level. Three rotatably mounted sieve drums are immersed here into the latter and are separated from each other I respectively by a short floatation stretch. The driven rotating sieve drums and the wool adhering to them at the bottom are subjected to a flow of the liquid from the exterior to the interior, in the floatation stretch the detached dirt has time to fall to the bottom and then to proceed into the sludge hopper. The throughflow on the sieve drum is effected by a liquid circulation produced in the bath, the liquid which has penetrated into the sieve drum discharging on the end sides thereof as a result of the lower level produced there by a pump and, at the beginning of the bath, being Ssupplied again through a channel extending transversely relative to the Swashing bath into the treatment chamber. A pair of press rollers is disposed at the end of each bath, by means of which pair of press rollers the wool web is freed in total of the dirty water of this preceding bath. The press water is collected underneath the press and is supplied by a pump at the beginning of a bath back to the treatment process.

During squeezing-out of the dirty water, not only the dirty water passes into the collection container but also a number of wool fibres from the web Sis rinsed-out with the press water, which wool fibres must be recovered.

It is known from DE-A-2 142 454 to lead the squeezed-out water together t.

with the wool fibres via a pipe upwards over one of the sieve drums, to discharge them there on the surface of the sieve drum which then leads the fibres with its rotational movement back again into the wool web. In EP-B-0 603 662, it is proposed in contrast for this purpose to supply also the press water with the fibres to be recycled, in addition to the circulated water, back again to the washing process at the beginning of the bath.

These measures respectively have the result that the dirty press water pollutes the bath 0 again.

M Any discussion of documents, acts, materials, devices, articles or the like which

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has been included in the present specification is solely for the purpose of providing a N context for the present invention. It is not to be taken as an admission that any or all of these matters form part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the present invention as it existed before the priority date of each claim of this application.

According to the present invention, there is provided a device for continuous washing of dirty, greasy wool, having a bath housing, which contains the treatment liquid and is subdivided lengthwise by a preferably perforated base for separating a treatment chamber from a dirty material discharge chamber, such as a sludge hopper, having a pair of press rollers, which are disposed at the outlet and the squeezed-out liquid of which is collected together with some fibres separately from the circulating washing water and is led back again into the bath housing, wherein, in the treatment chamber in any case, a sieve drum, which is penetrated by liquid from the exterior towards the interior as a result of a liquid filled up to a specific level in the bath housing, is mounted rotatably, to which sieve drum a floatation stretch is assigned, and wherein a quantity of the liquid discharged from the interior of the sieve drum is suppliable again via a channel to the sieve drum from the exterior, characterised in that, in any case, the liquid, which is squeezed-out of the advancing wool web by the pair of press rollers, with the rinsed-out wool fibres is led back to the circumferential face of the sieve drum which is rotating outwith the level and an additional liquid collection tub is disposed underneath this circumferential face within the sieve drum, wherein the dirty water, which is collected from the squeezed-out liquor, is led separately from the circulated washing water from the bath.

V The thus collected dirty water, which is free of wool fibres, can be supplied to a the sludge hopper, which is present underneath the bath housing, expediently in the lower region where the settled deposition chamber is formed or it can be led separately from the bath immediately and if necessary into the sewer or another cleaning mechanism.

00 Throughout this specification the word "comprise", or variations such as C€3 I"comprises" or "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps, but not the exclusion of any other element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps.

A device embodying the invention is illustrated in the drawing by way of example. There are shown 04-14-04 08:16 +41 61 6412745 Fleissner ->0061298108200# ECM S. 3 Fig. 1 in schematic representation, a raw wool sieve drum washing bath in side view with final press, Fig. 2 the bath according to Fig. I with a different liquid recirculation after the wool recycling, Fig. 3 likewise in side view, a raw wool washing bath as it is used at the beginning of a machine lay-out and SFig. 4 the bath according to Fig. 3 in a section transversely relative to the working direction.

SThe raw wool washing device comprises a plurality of bath housings 1, which contain the liquid up to a level 2, in which bath housings a sieve drum 3 is in any case rotatably mounted. In the example according to Fig. 1, 2, two sieve drums 3 in a bath housing are illustrated, which sieve drums are separated by a floatation stretch 4. The treatment chamber in this bath housing 1 is separated from the dirty material discharge chamber, such as a sludge hopper 6, by a perforated base 7. This base 7 is adapted to the curvature of the sieve drums 3 according to Fig. 3. The perforated base 7 is curved convexly to the exterior in the region of the floatation stretch 4. The dirty material discharge chamber is formed by a hopper 6 in order that the dirty materials, which fall out of the wool fleece and are also on the hopper walls, slide continuously towards the discharge opening 8 which is provided with a valve 9. In order to discharge the sludge, the valve 9 is opened at specific intervals of time which can be determined also by a measurement apparatus, by means of Swhich the sludge is discharged into the sewer.

The liquid, which has penetrated through the perforation of the respective sieve drum 3 into the interior of the same, flows, according to Fig. 4, on the end sides of the sieve drums 3 through openings 10 automatically into longitudinal channels 11, 12 which are flanged outwardly on the end side.

04-14-04 08:17 +41 61 6412745 04-1-04 8:17+41 1 642745Fleissner ->00612981018200# ECMS. 6 S. 06 4 The liquid which has flowed out into the channel I11 passes via a nonillustrated pipe into the channel. 12,- from where the entire washing liquid is pumped by means of the pump 13 into the channel 14 extending at the beginning of the bath housing 1 transversely across the working width, from which channel it flows back again into the treatment chamber Prom there, the washing liquid flows on the one hand through the wool adhering to the sieve drums 3, then along the floatation stretch 4 to the next sieve drum and then to the press 15 disposed at the outlet of the bath.

At the press 15, the wool web is essentially separated from the now dirty washing water. The press water is collected -underneath the press 15 by a tub 16. With the discharging press water, wool fibres are also rinsed out which must be returned back again into the treatment process. For this purpose, a discharge sieve 17 is disposed according to the invention above a sieve drum 3 and extends over a part of the length of the drum 3. A pipe 18 leads from the tub 16 underneath the press 15 to this discharge sieve 17 so that the entire squeezed-out dirty liquor passes by means of a pump 16' again to this sieve drum. The squeezed-out dirty liquor must however be separated from the fibres to be recycled. For this purpose, a further liquid collection tub 19 is disposed within the sieve drum and underneath the discharge sieve 17, which liquid collection tub now collects only the squeezed-out dirty liquor, whilst the wool fibres remain on the rotating sieve drum surface and, as a result of the rotation of the sieve drum 3 in the direction of the arrow are led back into the material of the wool web.

The dirty liquor from the tub 16, which is now freed of the wool, can be led from the tub 19 according to Fig. 1 via a pipe 20 into the sludge hopper 6, expediently into the lower deposition chamber 6' or, according to Fig. 2, via another pipe 21 avoiding the sludge hopper 6 immediately into a sewer or into a different additional cleaning mechanism.

Claims (3)

1. 2. Device according to claim 1, characterised in that the liquid collection tub is connected within the sieve drum to a liquid discharge pipe which discharges into the sludge hopper.
2. 3. Device according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the liquid discharge pipe discharges into the lower region (settled deposition chamber) of the sludge hopper.
3. 4. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that a liquid discharge pipe discharges into a cleaning mechanism whilst avoiding the sludge hopper. Device for continuous washing of dirty, greasy wool, having a bath housing, which contains the treatment liquid substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Dated this fourth day of April 2006 Fleissner GmbH Patent Attorneys for the Applicant: F B RICE CO