US1230560A

US1230560A - Centrifugal clarifier.

Info

Publication number: US1230560A
Application number: US74715213A
Authority: US
Inventors: Lee Gordon Camp
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1913-02-08
Filing date: 1913-02-08
Publication date: 1917-06-19
Anticipated expiration: 1934-06-19

Description

L. G. CAMP.

CENTRIFUGAL CLARIFIER.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 8. 1913.

Patented June 19, 1917 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1- INVENTOR S V! a E c M n 0 a U m A o G e y B L. G. CAMP.

mm mu Lrf C D LE AL GH U FN Mm T Wm H P A O 6 5 0 3 2 O 1 TNESSES @2% INVENTOR L ee Gordon Cam I By ATTORNEYS LEE GORDONCAMP, or SANTA crIAia'A," cuBA'.

GENTBIFUGAL CLARIFIEB.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J une 19, 1917.

Application filed February 8, 1918. Serial No. 747,152

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, LEE GORDON CAMP, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Santa Clara, Cuba, West Indies, have 1nvented a new and Improved Centrifugal .Clarifier, of which the following is a full,

clear, and exact description.

The object of the invention is to provide a new and improved centrifugal clarifier arranged to insure rapid and efficient separation of the solid foreign matter contained in raw or 'defecated cane or beet juice, syrup, liquor, oil and other liquld, and to continually remove the separated solids from the machine.

In order to accomplish the desired result use is made ofarevoluble vertically-disposed drum, uniformly driven at a high speed, a propeller rotating in the drum independently thereof, and adapted to throw the llqud to be clarified outward by centrifugal force and into contact with the surface of the said drum, the solids contained in the liquid moving downward along the inner surface of the said drum and the clarified liquid moving upward on the inner surface of the said drum, and thrown off on the top of the drum by centrifugal force, and a compensating power-transmitting device for rotating the said propeller from) !the said drum and at a speed governed by the solids accumulating at the inner surface of the drum.

A practical embodiment of the invention is represented in the accompanymg drawings forming a part of this specification, 1n which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a sectional side elevation of the centrifugal clarifier;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional plan view of the compensating power-transmitting device, the section being on the line 2-2 of Fig. l; and

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional side elevation of the upper portion of the drum and the separating lips.

A vertically disposed drum A is mounted at its lower inwardly-inclined end A on the downwardly and outwardly flaring rim B of a spider B secured on the lower end of a shaft C journalecl in a suitable bearing D held on a hanger E attached to a sleeve or othersuitable support. The upper end of the shaft G is provided with a pulley C connected by a belt with othermachinery for rotating the shaft 0 and consequently the spider B and drum A at a high rate of speed. Within the drum A is arranged a propeller F having a bottom disk F, preferably inclined downwardly and outwardly, and terminating in a depending annular flange F inclined inwardly and parallel with the end. A of the drum A. The liquid to be clarified is discharged, by the use of a suitable supply pipe or other means, onto the disk F. The propeller F is further provided with a helix F extending from the bottom of the flange F of the disk F upward along supporting arms F rising from the disk F, the outer edge of the helix F 3 being in close proximity to the inner surface of the drum A and its end A, as plainly shown in Fig. 1. The hub F of the disk F is mounted to turn on a ball bearing G, and the said hub F is secured on a sleeve H through which extends loosely the shaft C.

On the upper end of the sleeve H is secured a disk H on which are fulcrumed at I governor arms I connected with each other by springs J, the tension of which may be regulated by suitable adjusting means J such as nuts and bolts, as plainly indicated in Fig. 2. The governor arms I are provided along their inner edges with friction blocks I adapted to engage the peripheral face of a friction disk C secured on the shaft C, and the free ends of the arms I are provided along their' outer edges with friction blocks I adapted to engage a brake band K attached to the bearing D. By the arrangement described the propeller F is driven from the shaft C as long as the friction blocks I frictionally engage the disk C but the speed of the propeller'F is retarded when the machine is in operation, as hereinafter .more fully explained, so that the propeller F runs at a lower rate of speed than the drum A.

The upper end of the drum A is provided-with an annular lip A slightly inclined upwardly and inwardly, the lip terminating with an outwardly-extending flange A projecting beyond the outer surface of the drum A for delivering the clarified liquid into an annularly inclined trough L held on the inside of a shell N inclosing the drum A and the propeller F.

The trough L is provided with a discharge pipe L for carrying off the clarilied liquid to a suitable place of discharge. In order to permit treating liquids which contain two different grades of suspended matter, one heavier and one lighter, use is made of a second lip O spaced from the inner edge of the lip A to form a passage between the lips A and O for the clarified liquid and to allow the light impurities to travel up the lip '0 and over an outwardlyextcndiug annular flange O to finally pass into a Second annular trough P arranged on the shell N. A pipe P connected with the trough P serves to carry off the light impurities to a place of discharge separate from the clarified liquid.

The flange 0' is attached to vertical bolts Q, adjustably screwing in the lip A to permit of setting the lip O nearer to or farther from the lip A'-. It is understood that the light impurities readily separate at the lips A and owing to the centrifugal action of the drum A and the helix F.-

The operation is as follows, it being assumed that defecated cane juice is to be treated:

When the machine is empty and the shaft C is rotated and with it the drum A, as previously explained, then motion is given to the sleeve H and the propeller F owing to the blocks I of the governor levers I engaging the disk C on the shaft C. Thus the propeller F rotates with the drum A and when near the predetermined operating speed then the supply valve of the supply pipe is opened to allow the defecated cane juice to flow onto the disk F, at or near the middle thereof, whereby the cane juice is thrown outward by centrifugal force, the outward movement being finally arrested by the cane juice striking the inner surface of the drum A. The cane juice, owing to the action of the rotating helix F tends to climb upward on the inner surface of the drum A, thus forming a wall of liquid containing solids on the inner surface of the said drum. The inertia of this juice has a tendency to cause the propeller F to lag or lose speed owing to the fact that power is absorbed or used in setting the juice into motion, while on the other hand the suspended matter, which has been thrown onto the inner surface of the drum A owing to its greater specific gravity, displaces a certain portion of the liquid and creates a frictional contact which within limits counteracts the retarding influence of the incoming liquid on the helix F In the event of the retarding action of the incoming liquid causing a greater lag than has been predetermined as desirable for proper clarification, then the governor continues to clutch the disk C on the shaft C and maintains the proper or somewhat higher rate of rotation until sufiicient solids have accumulated along the inner wall of the drum A so as to maintain the required lag, while on the other hand if the frictional contact of the solids along the inner surface of the drum A is so great as to overcome the resistance of the incoming juice plus the required lag then the governor releases its clutch on the disk (J and brakes against the stationary brake disk K until the speed of the propeller F has the proper relation to the speed of the drum A. When this relation 13 established the propeller F revolves at a relativelv lower speed than the outer drum A and conveys the separated solids which cling to the inner surface of the drum A downward and eventually discharge the same at the open bottom of the drum A at the outwardly flaring rim B of the spider B. In the meantime, the supply of juice contmumg and the solids displacing the liquid along the outer edge, the clarified liquid is forced backward or inward until the vertical plane of the upper lip A of the outer drum A is reached and then the clarified liquid passes over the said lip A and is thrown outward on the top of the lip A and over the flange A to be intercepted by the inner wall of the shell N, and to flow down the same into the trough L, from which the clarified juice is discharged into a tank or other suitable receptacle. From the foregoing it will be seen that by the arrangement described the solid foreign matter is separated from the liquid and the solid matter and the liquid are continually and separately 100 discharged from the machine. In order to prevent any liquid from moving downward with the solids the lower ends of the drum A and helix F are inclined inwardly so that the solids practically form a seal at this point 105 and cause an upward flow of the liquid.

As shown in Fig. 1 the machine is overhead driven but may be driven from below, and may be built self-contained or supported on external structures, as the condi- 110 tions may require. The form of the governor may also be varied and may be made effective for liquids containing a large percentage of solids or for liquids containing only 0.2 per cent. of solid matter.

It is understood that by adjusting the tension of the springs J of the governor the machine can be readily set for treating different defecated cane juices, as the percentage of solids varies in different cane juices.

It will further be noticed that the inertia of the incoming liquid is utilized as a force for the discharge of the separated solids.

It will be understood that where a machine is under driven, for the purpose of simplifying the construction, the outer drum may be carried on the hollow sleeve and the propeller disk on the solid shaft, in which event the belt pulley would be attached to the hollow sleeve.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

-1. A centrifugal clarifier, comprising a vertically-disposed drum provided with a central shaft, means for driving the said shaft at a high rate of speed, a propeller arranged in the said drum and having a bottom disk and a helix, the edge of which extends into close proximity to the inner surface of the said drum, the said disk hav ing a central sleeve through which extends the said shaft, a friction disk on the said shaft, and a centrifugal governor mounted on the said sleeve and having friction blocks engaging the said friction disk.

2. A centrifugal clarifier comprising a vertically disposed drum provided with a central shaft, means for driving the shaft at a high rate of speed, a propeller arranged in the drum and having a bottom disk and a helix, said disk having a central sleeve through which extends the said shaft, a friction disk on said shaft, a brake band disposed concentrically of said friction disk, and ,a centrifugal governor carried by said sleeve and having frictional blocks arranged to normally engage said friction disk and being provided with additional friction blocks for engaging said brake band at a predetermined increase of speed.

3. A centrifugal clarifier comprising a vertically disposed drum provided with a central shaft, means for driving the shaft at a high rate of speed, a propeller arranged in the drum and having a bottom disk and a helix, said disk having a central sleeve through which extends the said shaft, a friction disk on said shaft, a brake band disposed concentrically of said friction disk, a centrifugal governor carried by said sleeve and having frictional blocks arranged to normally engage said friction disk and being provided with additional friction blocks for engaging said brake band at a predetermined increase of speed, and a centrifugal governor comprising a pair of pivoted arms on opposite sides of said shaft, each of said arms being provided with friction blocks arranged to engage said disk,'springs having their ends secured to the opposed arms for holding said friction blocks on said disk, and a shoe carried by each of said arms and arranged to engage the brake band at a predetermined increase of speed.

4. A centrifugal clarifier, comprising a revoluble vertically disposed drum to be driven at a high rate of speed and open at its lower and upper ends, a rotatory propeller in said drum adapted to throw the iquid to be clarified outwardly by centrifugal force into contact with the inner vertical wall of said drum, whereby the solids contained in the liquid move downward along the inner surface of the said drum and the clarified liquid move upward on the inner surface of said drum to be thrown ofi at the top of the drum by centrifugal force of the drum, and an automatic compensating power-transmitting device for rotating said propeller from said drum at a speed governed by the amount of solids accumulating at the inner surface of the drum.

5. A centrifugal clarifier comprising a vertical revoluble drum to be driven at a uniform high rate of speed and open at top and bottom, the upper edge of the drum. having an inwardly extending annular lip, a rotatory propeller in the said drum adapted to throw the liquid to be clarified outward by centrifugal force and into contact with the inner surface of said drum, and an automatic compensating power-transmitting device for rotating the said propeller from said drum at a speed governed by the amount of solids contalned in the liquid and accumulating at the inner surface of the drum, whereby the accumulating solids will move downwardly along the inner wall of the drum and the clarified liquid pass upwardly along the inner surface of the drum and around the said lip to be thrown off by the centrifugal force of the drum.

6. A centrifugal clarifier comprising a vertical revoluble drum to be driven at a uniform high rate of speed and open at top and bottom, the upper end of the drum having an inwardly extending annular lip, a rotatory propeller in the said drum adapted to throw the liquid to be clarified outwardly by centrifugal force into contact with the inner surface of said drum, the said propeller having a bottom disk and helix, the outer edge of which is in close proximity to the inner surface of the said drum, and a compensating power transmitting device for rotating the said propeller from the said drum and at a speed governed by the solids contained in the liquid and accumulating at the inner surface of the drum, whereby the accumulating solids will move downwardly along the inner surface of the drum and the clarified liquid pass upwardly along the inner surface of the drum and around said lip to be thrown off on the top of the lip LEE GORDON CAMP.

B. Caruso, M. VIOLA H. CAMP.