US1156946A - Agitator. - Google Patents

Description

' A. E. VAN-DERCOOK.

' 'Asnmom APPLICATION FILED MAR. 26. 1914.

,Patented 00h 19, 1915.

" INVENTOR.

"WITNESSES ,c1/BERT 5.' vH/vaE/cooa 1- BY M www:

' ATTORNEYS.

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En sfrnfrizs PATENT oFFicE. y

ALBERT E. VANDERCOOK, 0F ALAMEDAyChALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR, BY-MESNE ASSIGSN- MENTS, T0 CALIFORNIA MACVAN CO., 0F VSANv FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, ACORPO- RAMON or CALIFORNIA,

AGITATOR.

Original application led November .13, v1913, Serial No. 800,721. Divided and this application led March 26, 1914. y Serial No. 827,472.

To all lwhom t may concern:

Be 1t known that I, ALBERT Coon, a cltizen of the United States, and,a

'resident of Alameda, county of Alameda, 'and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Agitatois, of which the following isfa specificaliquid, fluid slimes or pulp discharging within the mass to be agitated@ One object of the invention is to provide a practical and efficient agitator of this type.

Another object of the invention is to prov vide an agitator of this type which is operable in connection with thick slimes and.

pulps.

Another object of the invention is to provide an agitator of this type inwhich the rotating element and its support are ar ranged out of contact with the bottom of the containing vessel. v

A further objectv of the invention is 'to provide an agitator of this type iii which a higher discharge pressureof'the jets is obtainable than has heretofore been practical. i

The invention possesses other advantageous features, which,` with the foregoing, will be setforth at length in the following descriptionwhere I shall oitline in full that ing and forming part of the present gspeciliclaims. l I

Referring to saiddrawings: Figure l is a' vertical section of a tank 'showing 'the agication.. `The novelty of the invention will be included in the claims succeeding said description. From 'this it will vbe apparent' that I dov not limit myself tothe showing made by-said drawings and description, as

I may adopt many variations Within the *scope of 'my invention as set forth in said tator. of.' my invention arranged therein.

Fig. 2-is an elevation, partly in section, of

the bearing arrangedbetween the stationary and rotatable parts'bff/the agitator.l 4 p I A A E. VANDER- v The agitator of my invention is particularly adapted for usein metallurgical operations for agitating or mixingpulps or slimes or for mixing solutions with'pulps or Patented oet.19,1915. i

slimes. The agitator is rotated by the reaction of iets of liquid,` slimes or pulp,

which are discharged t\e fefroin, and such liquid, slimes or pulp, may be withdrawn from` the mass or body being agitated or mixed or may be drawn from an independent source.

A great many manufacturing, metallurgical, chemical and -other processes are now carried or yassisted by the, use of an electric current,- and lin such processes Where the electric current is applied or passed through a liquid or semi-solid, a rotating element is employed foi" various purposes. and this element usually forms oneelectrode or4 terminal of the electric' circuit and a plate ar .eralllelied uponJ to insulate this stationary portion, which, of course, is .in direct contact with the rotating portion, from the plate or electrode arranged in the bottomof the vessel. This method of insulating the twoelectrodes has beenvery unsatisfactory and has presented many difficulties; In 'accordance with my invention, Ispace the entire'bea'ring from the bottom plate or velectrgde, so that there is no liabilitypf short circuiting the current, `which must .pass through the liquid. It is to be understood', however, that the-agitator of my'invention is not limited to use'in connection'with an electric current and that-the. foregoing statement in regard to its use in connection with an electric current simply states one of its advantages.

.submerged-'rotating structures Which are rotated by the reaction of jets of liquid and;

which are. provided with liquid sealed'bearings are usually'of the .underfeed type, that `is, the liquid which is introduced into'. the

rotating structure is introduced 'from below,

through the bottom of the vessel, and this upwardly .flowing stream of liquid exerts an upward pressure on the rotatable part of the bearing which'tends to and often does raise and unseat the rotatable structure to a suiiicient degree 'at least to allow the liquid to gain access to the bearings. These liquids A further advantageous feature of the' agitator of my invention is that therotatable element and'bea'ring may lie removed as a whole from the vessel without allowing or causing the separation or falling apart of the various parts of the bearing, a feature which is of substantial importance. i

In accordance with ,my invention, -I suspend a pipe or lconductor 2 centrally in the vessel 3 by means of a spider l or other suitable structure. This pipe 2 is held firmly against revolution and terminates above thebottom of the vessel. Secured to the lower endof the depending pipe 2 is a cylindrical element 5 which is provided on its-lower end with an outwardly extending flange G..r Secured td the flange 6 or formed integral therewith, and spaced from'the element 5, and preferably arranged parallel therewith, is an upwardlyfextending wall or ring 7, at the upper end of which is arranged the lower bearing race 8. This race may seat on the wall 7 so that it may be removed for the purposes of repair orl replacement, or may be formed integral with the wall 7. The ,anti-friction element of the bearing may consistof a plurality of balls 9, or rollers or any other. suitable construction or arrangement.

The upper bearing race l2'ma-y be formed l separately and attached tothe gland 13 or may be formed integral tlerewith. The gland 13 which forms the 'rotatable part of the bearing consists of a cylindrical struc-` ture, having substantially vertical" walls 14C- 15 which are spaced apart from veach other, forming therebetween a closed /top pocket in which is disposedjat the-upper "portion, the balls 9 and ball races 8 and 12.

The depending wall 15 extends downward adjacent and spacedfrom the'wall 5 and4 terminates adjacent the flange 6. When the bearing is submerged, air is entra-pped in the pockety formed between the walls 14 and 15, thereby preventingthe liquid from com.- ing in Contact with the balls or. races. Formed at the lower end of the gland are conductors 17 ofthe rotating structure are screwed. These pipes 17` are provided with one or more nozzles or outlets 18 which are afranged at an angle to the pipes, so that the 'reaction of the liquid discharging therefrom causes'the structure to rotate, and these nozzles are preferably flattened at their discharge end to cause the liquid, slime or pulp, tov discharge vin flat streams. The nozzles 18 are preferably downwardly inclined so that the discharging streams sweep the bottom of the vessel or are directed toward the bottom of the vessel. The bottom of the gland is closed by the plate 19 whichis preferably formed with an elevated conical center 21, which directs the liquid smoothly to thepipes or hollow arms 17. The plate 19 spaced apart from the bottom of the tank o1' the electrode thereon, so that when an electric current is employed, the current must pass through the liquid. lVhen it is desirable to agitate the entire liquid in order to prevent precipitation, I Iusually` form passages 22 in the plate 19 through which liquid is discharged for the purpose of agitating the liquid directly under the plate.

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tween the outer edge of flange 6 and the wall 14, and while this clearance is made as small as practical the area of the annular opening `thus formed is material and under the pressure of the liquid introduced through pipe 2, a large quantity of the liquid passes through this opening. In order'to dispose of this leakage liquid without allowing it to come in Contact with the bearings, I .provide one or. more apertures 23 through kthe wall 7 preferably at the bottom, through which the leakage liquid passes. r1 his leakage liquid lthen passes' upward through the annular passage 24 between the walls 5 and 15. Covering the upper or discharge end of this 'passage is a cap 2 5,l which slopes down? wardly, conformingto the slope of the upper surface of the gland 13. This cap is .secured to the wall 5 in any suitable manner and is spaced apart slightly from, the upper surface of the gland, to permit the escape of the leakage liquid. This cap not only -acts to`divert the leakage liquid downward, (a feature which yis essential in some 120 processes) but it retards `the low of the leakage` liquid, and thereby 4greatly reduces the amount of the leakage. i The comparatively long, narrow passage between the cap and the gland produces a frictional resistance to the passage of the liquid, without materially increasing the .friction between the station` ary and revolving parts ofV thebearing. In I some instances, where the liquid in the tank is very thick,thereforequiring a great tapped bossesl into which the pipes. or pressure to rotate therotating element, I,

havefound that withthe. cap omitted, the

y amount of leakage is so great that the rotating element would not turn, but byl placing the cap and reducing vvtheleakage, that.

the rotatable element would turn.l Since the li'quid in the vessel is often opaque, 1t 1sl not possible to' observe the rotating element tov4 determine its speed, orv whetherit is rotating at all. In' order that these 'conditions may be noted, I form a boss 26 on the gland 13 to which I attach the vertically extending indi- 4 catin'g rod 27, which projects above the level l leakage liquid passes through holes 23 and I row passages between the walls'illi and 15.

of the liqu/id and indicates the motion of the rotating element.

In operation, liquidI flowed down through the pipe 2 and out through the armsI 17, causing the structure 'to rotate, and the up through passage 2 4 and is discharged through the passage between the cap 25 and gland 135 The liquid 'risesjin thefpocket.' between the walls 14 and 15 until the pres sure 'of the entrapped air is equal to the pressure of the liquid and the pocket is vmadecf 'such height that the level ofthe liquid therein does not reach the bearings. In order toA prevent any sloshing or surging and the wall 7, through which the liquid cannot splash. The liquid which Hows downwardly in the conductor 2 may flow theretofby gravity or -mayfbe driven thereto by a pump.4 In the construction shown in the draw-ings,l theliquid slimes orpulp are withdrawn from the Vtank 3 adjacent its" 11pper portion through Uthe pipe L31 which is vconnected to the suction side4 of the pump '32,'v whence it is forced, through the pipe 33 .into the, depending conductor 2. .The liquid,

slimes or pillppass from the conductor 2 A into the hollow`ar1ned Structure which is -rotatably Amounted on thelower end thereof when they discharge from thelnozzles 18.

While I have specifically described herein the bearing uponwhich I prefer to mount the rotating portion ofthe agitator of my invention, it-.is to be understoodfthatfthe present invention is lnot limited to the specific bearing which is claimed. in my prior application, Serial Number 800,7 21, of

which this application is la. division.

a thorough agitation or mixing of theliquid,

' f slimes'or pulp, may be obtained practically regardlessof the thickness thereof, either by recirculating the liquid, pulp forfslimes, or 'by introducing liquid, pulp "or, `slimes, from an independent source. .On account- -of 'the construction of theagitator, the `ro. tating arms may be driven at a. compara/- A I cla-im:

.- aconductor depe ing extendinggbelow the norm l -level of the tively high velocity and the reaction producedby the discharging streams or -jets is suflicient to produce rotation of the rotating element in very thick `slimes or pulps. t

' 1. In an apparatus of the character described, a vessel, a' stationary conductor depending into said vessel, and a. hollow armed structure Arotatably mounted oli-said conductor.- 1

2. In an apparatus of the characterdescribed, a vessel, a stationary conductor depending into said vessel, anda hollow armed structure" adapted to bev rotated by the reaction of liquid discharging therefrom rotatably supported on the lower .end of said 3I-n an apparatus of the character described, a vessel, a stationary conductor depending into said vessel through which liquid passes downwardly, a hollow armed structure adapted to be rotated by the dis-A charge of liquidvtherefroml arranged -at the lower end of said conductor and arranged to receive liquid therefrom, :and an fantifriction bearing arranged between saidA con-' ductor androtatable structure.

4. The combination with a vessel adapted to contain. a liquid, of a stationary element depending into said vessel and extending below the normal surface of the liquid therein, a.. rotatable element mounted on said stationary element below the/surfacey of the -liqu-id and spaced from the bottom of said vessel, and a liquid sealed bearing arranged between said elements.

ing conductor through which liquid passes downwardly, extending below the surface of said liquid, a rotatable structure adapted f to be rotated by the reaction of the liquid passing therethrough from said conductor, mounted' on said conductor below the surfaceof the liquid in the vessel'and spaced t from the bottom of said vessel, and a liqiid sealed bearing arranged between said structure and conductor. l

y 6; The combination with a vessel adapted to contain a liquid, of a hollow-rotatable Istructure adapted to be rotated by the reaction of the liquid passing therethrough, arranged 1n said vessellbelow the normal ysurface ofthe liquid therein and above and vspacedfrom the bottom of said vessel', a' conductor. on' which saidi'structureis mount- By the use of the agitator of my invention edfand throughgfwhich liquid is conducted -.to'said`structuref'dependiiig; into said ves- 7.- In an apparatus-of the character described, a .vessell adapted' to con-tain liquid,

liquid theeii1, 'and a. hollow armedstructure T@said vessel and rotatablynmounted onV said conductor and disposed below the normal level ofthe liquid. v

i S. In an apparatus of the character del. scribed, a vessel, a stationary conductor depending into said vessel, a rotatable structure mounted on the lower end of said conductor adapted to be rotated by the reaction of liquid discharging therefrom, and an upwardly extending indicator rod' attached to said structure.

9. In an 'apparatus of the character described, a vessel, a stationary conductor 'de' pending into said vessel, a hollow armed structure rotatably mounted on the lower end of said conductor and in communication therewith, a plurality of downwardly linclined nozzles on said structure, and an anti-frlction bearing between sald conductora-nd structure.

l0. In an apparatus ofthe character described, a'vessel, a stationary conductor dedepending into said vessel, a structure adapted to be rotate/d by the discharge of F liquid therefrom arranged to receive such liquid from said conductor and a liquid tight anti-friction bearing arranged .between said conductor and structure.

r l2. In an apparatus of thecharacter described, avessel, a stationary conductor described, a vessel, a stationary conductor de' pending into said vessel through 'which liquid passes downwardly, a hollow armed structure adapted to be rotated by the discharge of liquid therefrom mounted on said conductor at the lower end thereof, and an anti-friction bearing' forsaid structure.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at San Francisco, California, this 21stday of March, 1914.

ALBERT E. VANDERCOOK.

In presence of- II. G.: PRosT,

E. W. KAY.

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