US1154447A - Impregnating apparatus. - Google Patents

Description

0. S. SLEEPER.

IMPREGNATING APPARATUS. APPLICATI ON FILED NOV-17.1910.

1,154,44 .Petented Sept. 21, 1915.

4 SHEETS-SHEET I.

- 0. S. SLEEPER.

IMPREGNATING APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED Novx n, isyo.

.PatentedSept. 21, 1915.

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'IMPREGNATING APPARATUS. APPLICATION man Nov n.1 91o. 1,154,447. PatentedSept2L1915.

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0. S. SLEEPER.

.IMPREGNATING APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED NOV, E7. 1910.

- 1,154,441 PatentedSepfi. 21; 1915.

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OLIVER S. SLEEPER, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK, ASSIGNORiTO BUFFALO FOUNDRY & MACHINE COMPANY, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

IMPREGNATING APPARATUS.

1,1 seam.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 21, 1915.

Application filed November 17, 1910. Serial No. 592,836.

To ulZ whom it mag concern:

Be it known that I, OLIVER S. SLEEPER, a

i may also be used for impregnating other fabric, paper or other sheet lik'e material with other kinds of liquids, as for instance, paper used in electrical work and tape for covering electric wires. I

In the accompanying drawings consisting of 4 sheets: Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section, partly broken away, of an impregnating apparatus embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section of the same taken in line 2-2, Fig. 1. Figs. 3, 4, and 5 are horizontal sections in lines 3.3, l4, and 5- -5, Fig. 1, respectively. I

My improved impregnating apparatus embodies a casing or housing which comprises a lower hollow base A and an upper hollow tower A which rises from the central part of the top of the-base. For convcniencc of manufacture this casing is made in sections, as shown in the drawings. Extending upwardly from the bottom of the base and into the tower but stopping short of the top of the latter are two upright partitions a, a which are arranged transversely within the base and tower and fit at their opposite vertical edges against the longitudinal walls I), b of the base and tower,

thereby forming an inlet or front chamber B in the front part of the base, an outlet or rear chamber 13 in the-rear part of the base, an ascending or front well or shaft 13 .in the front part of the tower which connects at its lower end with the inlet chamber, a descending or rear well or shaft B in the rear part of the tower which connects with the outlet chamber B and an intermediate well or tank B which is arranged between the inlet chamber and ascending well and the outlet chamber and descending well and which is closed at its lower end and sides but communicates at its upper end with-the upper ends of both the ascending and the descending wells.

The corresponding vertical side edges of the upright partitions a, a are connected with each other and provided with laterally projecting. vertical ribs a which engage with vertical grooves a in the adjacent side wall of the tower and base, as shown in Figs. 3, 4t and 5. By this means the outer walls of the tower and the partitions are free to expand and contract freely in a vertical direction independently of each other whenaffected bythe differential ,in the temperature to which these parts are exposed, thereby preventing straining of these parts or opening any of the joints in the same which would permit leakage.

In the inlet chamber and ascending well B, B the moisture. is removed from the fabric to be impregnated, in the tank 13*, the fabric is impregnated with the desired compound and in thedescending well and outlet chamber B B the solvents are removed from the impregnated material after the same has permeated the fabric or material under treatment.

The chamber B receives the fabric, cloth or other material tobe treated preparatory to drying and impregnating the same and the chamber B receives the material after.

the same has been impregnated. The ascending and descending wells B 13 may be heated by any suitable means but preferably by means of coils a, 0 through which may be circulated steam, hot water, oil or air or any other suitable heating medium. In the side walls and top of the inlet and outlet chambers the same are provided with observation windows or glasses (Z for admitting light into these chambers and also permitting of observing the operation of the parts within these chambers. At suitable intervals on the front and rear walls of the wells the same are provided with manholes, each of which is fitted with a hinged cover a which is equipped with a transparent pane The top of the tower is closed by a cover composed of two sections f which are removable and hinged to the adjacent part of the tower and each provided with an observation glass f On opposite sides of the tower and communicating with the ascending and descending wells are vapor outlet-nipples g, g which are connected with an exhausting device of any suitable character for producing a vacuum in the casing and through which themoisture and vapors from the cloth and the solvent from the compound are removed.

When a vacuum is produced within the casing an impregnating compound will be drawn through a pipe h from a supply tank H located alongside of the main casing and into the lower part of the impregnating tank which holds the charge of impregnating compound during the operation of treating a web of tire fabric or similar material. The height to which the impregnating compound is drawn into the impregnating tank will be governed by the locality and the barometric pressure where the apparatus is installed. The apparatus is, however, so

constructed as to provide-for considerable leeway or fluctuations in the height'of the level of the impregnating liquid in the im pregnating tank.

The supply tank is fitted with stirrers H for mixing the compound, with a coil H for heating the compound and with a number of transparent panes of glass k for notin the interior of the same and the height of the compound therein. The level of the liquid in the impregnating tank is regulated by the supply tank, inasmuch as liquid added to the supply tank will increase the height of the liquid in the impregnating tank.

I Additional compound may be added to the supply tank so that the same is fed over into the impregnating tank and compensates for the compound which is taken up by .the cloth or fabric under treatment.

The fabric or cloth w to be treated is unwound from a roll mounted horizontally on a supply arbor I arranged transversely in the inlet or receiving chamber B and passes thence inwardly between a pair, of horizontal feed rollers 71, i thence upwardly through the 'front'or ascending well B and adjacent to the heating coils therein,

whereby the fabric is dried and the moisture is carried away under vacuo through the vapor outlets g, thence inwardly and downwardly over a front elevated supporting roller J into one side of the impregnating tank containing the bath or charge of lmpregnating compound,- thence underneath and upwardly around a lower supporting roller K arranged at the lower end of the impregnating tank and through the charge of impregnating compound in the impregnating tank, thence outwardly and downwardly around a rear elevated supporting roller J and through the rear or descendin well B and. {adjacent to the heating coils .t erein, thence,-

underneath and outwardly around a rear lower supporting roller is arranged in the bearings but the roller 2' is movable bodily and held yieldingly against the roller a by means of a weighted lever 6 As the fabric moves downwardly and upwardly in the form of a depending loop through the'compound in the impregnating tank the fabric becomes impregnated with the compound therein.

Projecting downwardly from the top of the tower and into the upper part of the impregnating well is a transverse baflle j which fits at its opposite vertical edges against the adjacent sides of the impregnating tank and divides the upper part of the same into a descending throat 7' through which the fabric passes downwardly and an ascending throat 7' through which the fabric passes upwardly. The level of the liquid impregnating compound is preferably of such height when the machine is in operation that the lower end of the bafile j dips at its lower end into the impregnating liquid, thereby forming a liquid seal between the throats and preventing the vapors from passing from one side to the other. The descending throat 7' is preferably made comparatively narrow this being preferably effected by providing the adjacent sides of the. front partition a and the baffle 1' ings 7' of any suitable material which are I arrangedclose to the opposite sides of the L fabric. By this means the descending throat through which the fabric passes upon entering the impregnating tank is reduced in area to prevent undue evaporation of the compound in the ascending well of the apparatus and also to prevent the liquid compound from creeping upwardly through the descending throat or passage which otherwise would' be liableto occur owing to the action of capillary attractionwhich would tend to carry the impregnating compound or liquid up throughthe cloth or fabric and to the upper supporting roller J on this side of the baffle. As the fabric leaves the upper end of the ascending throat j? the fabric is scraped on both sides by means of scrapers m, m engaging with opposite sides thereof, thereby removing any surplus liquid from the fabric and returning the same to the impregnating tank. The scrapers m, m are mounted respectively on horizontal transverse shafts M, M journaled in the walls of, the tower and provided outsideof the latter with weighted arms M M which operate to hold the scrapers m, m yieldingly in engagement with thefabric.

The underside of the upper rear supporting roller J is also engaged by a scraper m which removes any impregnating compound adhering thereto and returns the same to the impregnating tank, this last mentioned tank being mounted on the adjacent part of the tower wall.

The compound in the impregnating tank is kept heated to the proper temperature by means of a heating coil arranged in the lower part of the impregnating tank below the lower supporting wheel or roller K whereby the heat from the coil 70 together with the heat derived from the coils c, 0 adjacent to the partitions a, a maintain the compound in the impregnating tank at the proper temperature. Each coil is provided with any suitable means Whereby the heating effect of the same may be regulated.

In rolling up the finished fabric on the arbor L a separating Web 'n consisting preferably of oil paper is fed from a roll a in between the, several coils or convolutions of ferent locations for the purpose of determin- L 'ing the temperature of the compound and vapors and for the same reason one or more thermometers 70 are placed in the supply tank H. i

The rollers i, J, K, J 7c and the winding up arborL are driven by power and preferably bygearing located on one side of the apparatus and of any suitable construction but preferably that shown'in the drawings. This gearing, as shown, comprises a worm 0 and worm wheel 0 which intermesh, acone pulley o for driving the worm, a lower longitudinal shaft 0 journaled on the lower part of the casing and carrying the worm wheel. 0 bevel wheels 0*, 0 or", arranged on the shafts of. the rollersi,K and 7c and meshing with bevel wheels 0 0*, 0, on the longitudinal shaft, a friction pinion 0 mounted on the longitudinal shaft and engaging a friction wheel 0 on the outer end of the arbor L, an upper longitudinal shaft 0 journaled on the tower and provided with bevel wheels 0 0 meshing with similar wheels 0 0 on the shafts of the upper supporting wheels J, J and an upright shaft 0" journaled on the casing and con,-

nected by an upper pair of intermeshing bevel wheels 0 with the upper longitudinal shaft and provided with a lower bevel wheel 0" meshing with the bevel wheel 0 The apparatus is so devised that the vacuum is the same in the machine on both sides of the baflle j and cannot be destroyed in the space on one side of the same without similarly affecting the space on the other side of the same. This is preferably effected by connecting the inlet and outlet chambers and associated spaces by a pipe K having a single vent valve K whereby the vacuum in these chambers and the spaces connecting therewith is equalized or balanced and the same may be simultaneously connected with or disconnected from the atmosphere. The

outer ends of the inlet and outlet chambers are provided with doors 0', c to permit of free access to the base for introducing an untreated roll of fabric and removing a treated or impregnated roll of fabric therefrom. Each of the supporting rollers J, J, K is capable of being removed axially out of the casing through an opening in the latter each of these openings being normally closed by'a cover 0 Wherever necessary, manholes are also placed in the casing to permit of stringing a pilot strip through the machine whereby the fabric to be treated is threaded through the machine, manholes of this character being shown for instance on the outer sides'of the inlet and delivery chambers which are normally closed by doors 0*, c and also on the front and rear sides of the impregnating tank at the lower end thereof at which latter place the manholes are closed by covers 0 In operating this machine the same is used in connection withtwo surface condensers Q, Q under vacuum, one dry vacuum pump R, an'expansion pan or chamber S and an atmospheric condenser T which are connected as shown in the drawings and each of which may be of any suitable and well known construction. The purpose of the two surface condensers is to permit of attaching one Q, to the vapor outlets g on the front side or ascending well of the tower for withdrawing the moisture from the cloth and reclaiming the moisture while the other Q is connected with the vapor outlets on the rear side or descending well of the tower for removing the solvents from the compound which may be carried over by the impregnated fabric and thus permit of reclaiming these solvents. These two surface condensers are attached to the same inlet of the vacuum pump above mentioned. Should any solvent enter the condenser Q when reclaiming the moisture from the fabric the same would be again evaporated owing to this condenser being under vacuum and this solvent being more volatile than water. The other condenser Q operates to reclaim some ofthe solvent but part of it will be again evaporated and enter the air cylinder of the vacuum pump. This air cylinder discharges this solvent vapor into the'expansion pan S which latter serves the purpose of equalizing the exhaust of the pump and preventing pulsations thereof. The expansion pan is attached to the atmospheric condenser which operates as an atmospheric seal' to prevent the escape of vapors and cause them to condense and fall back into the expansion pan. The latter and the condensers are water jacketed and are cooled with Water in the usual manner to cause the condensation of the vapors passing through the same. The solvents so recovered may be put back into the compound, if desired, in such amounts as may be necessary to keep the compound of the proper consistency, the solvent being preferably added to the compound in the auxiliary tank H. The fabric to be impregnated is introduced into the inlet chamber through the opening in the casing which is normallyclosed by the door a and the finished fabric is removed from the outlet chamber through the opening thereof which is normally closed by the door 0 vIn order to maintain the fabric at the proper temperature while the same is being wound on the arbor L the outlet chamber is heated preferably by a steam :coil I0 as shown in Fig. 1. By means of the friction gearing for driving the receiving arbor L the variation in the speed of the roll of finished fabric at the periphery thereof due to the constant increase of its diameter as the fabric'winds up is compensated for and the fabric is kept under constant tension.

In the bottoms of the inlet and outlet chambers are arranged drain pipes 39 containing valves ;19 which permit of removing from these chambers any liquid or solvents which may gather therein.

Owing to the impregnating liquid being supported in the form of an upright column the fabric, before entering this liquid at the top of the impregnating tank, may be thoroughly evacuated and as this evacuated fabric descends in the compound it gradually comes under increasing pressure upon approaching the bottom of the impregnating tank, whereby the compound is forced into the evacuated fabric and the latter becomes thoroughly impregnated.

It will be noted that in the construction of this apparatus as shown in the drawings all operations of the apparatus may be controlled from the floor on which the same rests.

I claim as my invention:

1. An impregnating device comprising a vacuum chamber, a tank for holding an impregnating fluid arranged within said vacuum tank, means for supplying an article to be impregnated to said tank and arranged within said chamber and outside. of said said casing, and a. ba e arranged within said casing and projecting from said casing into said tank and forming inlet and outlet throats for the passage of the article to be treated.' a

3. An impregnating apparatus comprising a casing having an inlet chamber, an outlet chamber, upright wells connected at their lower ends with said, chambers, respectively, a tank adapted to hold an impregnating liquid communicating at its upper end with said wells, and means for moving a sheet like material from said inlet chamber upwardly through one of said wells, thence downwardly and upwardly through said tank, and thence downwardly through the other well into said outlet chamber.

4. An impregnating apparatus comprising a casing having an inlet chamber, an

outlet chamber, upright Wells connectedat their lower ends with said chambers, respectively, a tank adapted to hold an impregnat- I pregnating liquid communicating at its upper end with said wells, andmeans for moving a sheet like material from said inlet chamber upwardly through one of said wells, thence downwardly and u wardly through said tank, and thence downwardly through the other well into said outlet chamber comprising supporting rollers arranged in the casing at the lower ends of said wells and tank and at the upper ends of said wells.

6. An impregnating apparatus comprising a casing having an inlet chamber, an outleti chamber, upright wells connected at their ower ends with said chamber, respectively, a tank adapted to hold an impreg- .a sheet'like material from said inlet chamber upwardly through one said wells,

thence downwardly andaupwardly' through said tank, and thence downwardly through the other well into said outlet chamber comprising supporting rollers arranged in the casing at the lower ends of said wells and tank and at the upper ends of said wells,-

which the material is wound.

- 7. An impregnating apparatus comprising a vacuum casing, a tank for holding an impregnating liquid arranged in said casing, and means for slidingly connecting the casing and tank comprising a rib arranged engaging with a groove in the other member and dividing the space within the easing into two wells which communicate at their upper ends with the .upper end of the tank.

8. An impregnating apparatus comprising a casing, a tank arranged wholly within said casing and adapted to hold an impregnating liquid, a well communicating at its upper end with the upper end of said tank, and means for moving a sheet like article upwardly through said well and down-- wardly and upwardly through said tank.

9. An impregnating apparatus comprising a casing, a tank arranged wholly within said casing and adapted to hold an impregnating liquid, a well communicating at its upper end with the upper end of said tank and means for moving a sheet like material downwardly and upwardly through saifi tank and downwardly through said we 10. An impregnating apparatus'comprkinga casing, a tank arranged wholly within said casing and adapted to hold an impregnating liquid, two wells connected at their upper ends with the upper end of said tank, and means for moving a sheet like article upward through one well, thence downwardly and upwardlythrough said tank, and thence downwardly through the other well.

Witness my hand this 9th day of November, 1910.

OLIVER S. SLEEPER.

Witnesses:

Tnnononn L. Porr, ANNA l-lnrers.

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