US1520588A

US1520588A - Washing apparatus suitable for the treatment of paper pulp and for other purposes

Info

Publication number: US1520588A
Application number: US673979A
Authority: US
Inventors: Mcrae William Arthur R Michael
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1923-11-10
Filing date: 1923-11-10
Publication date: 1924-12-23
Anticipated expiration: 1941-12-23

Description

W. A. R. M. M RAE WASHING APPARATUS SUITABLE FOR THE TREATMENT OF PAPER PULP AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES Filed Nov. 10, 1923 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jmlinh fnunmr M05120 3 zrmmqak lilkrwgs:

4 1,520,588 W. A. R. M. M RAE WASHING APPARATUS SUITABLE FOR THE TREATMENT OF PAPER PULP AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES Fi led N v 10, 1923 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 n nu PULP W. A R. M. M RAE WASHING APPARATUS SUITABLE FOR THE TREATMENT OF PAPER mm FOR OTHER PURPOSES Filed Nov 10, 192:.

4 Sheets-Sheet 3 [mellow QEZZbrnfls.

I illz'am 'QEMMEQB W. A R. M. M RAE WASHING APPARATUS SUITABLE FOR THE TREATMENT OF PAPER PULP AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES Filed Nov. 10, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 lnlu Patented Dec. 23, 1924.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WASHING APPARATUS SUITABLE FOR THE TREATMENT OF PAPER PULP AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.

Application filed November 10, 1923. Serial No. 678,979.

To all whom it may cancer-n:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM ARTHUR RANKEN MICHAEL MCRAE, a subject of the King of England, residing in London, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Vashing Apparatus Suitable for the Treatment of Paper Pulp and for Other Purposes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention consists, in general, in improvements in or relating to washers for treatin a stream of liquid, which is flowing in or t ilrough a vessel and which contains materials in suspension, for the isolation and removal of certain materials substantially without removing another or others of them. In aparticular application of the invention the present improvements are applied to machines commonly known, amongst other terms, as rag-engines, potchers or breakers such as are used for breaking-in or beating paper-making materials for the production of paper-pulp or half-stuff or for bleaching or otherwise treating such materials.

According to the present invention a washer of the type and for the purpose above described, is characterized byone or more riflies or ribs extending upwardly from the base of the washer to eifect collection in rear thereof, of material which will deposit by. gravity, and an opening in the base of the washer so disposedin relation to each riflle or rib that the material which has so collected, or would so collect, will fall therethrough. Conveniently there is a sump be- The invention includes a method of operating the washer above described, which consists in maintainmg the aforesaid sump full of liquid during suchtimes as the material is passing thereinto through the openmg or openings aforesaid.

A partlcular form of the invention, as applied to a rag-engine or the like having the usual knife-roll or agitating-vanes and drum-washer, is characterized by the combination of a drain grid in the base of the engine in rear of the drum-washer and movable vanes so formed and of such dimensions as, in one extreme position, to extend between the grid spaces and project above the grid, whereby they substantially close the grid spaces and constitute riflies above the surface of the grid and, in the other extreme position, to be withdrawn below the grid to leave the surface of the latter'unobstructed and the grid spaces open.

The grid is in rear of the drum-washer in the direction of travel of the material round the base or container of the engine.

According to a feature of the invention, there is provided, in addition, a sump beneath the grid and a discharge cock controlling the outlet from the said sump, means for moving the vanes into and out from their positions between the grid bars, and means operatively connecting said vanes with said cock so that the latter is not opened until.

the vanes close the grid, and vice versa. Conveniently means may be provided for admitting water to the sump to replace the bulk of water and solid matter withdrawn. This admission may take place either simultaneously with, or subsequently to, the withdrawal of the water and solids from the sump.

The invention will now be described, with the aid of the accompanying drawings, which are given as examples only of the application of the invention and in which- Figure 1 is a diagrammatic illustration of the general application of the invention; Figure 2 is a plan of a rag-engine or the like constructed according to the present invention;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the apparatus shown in plan in Figure 2;

Figure 4 1s an enlarged view, 1n section,

of a detail of the apparatus;

Figure 5 is a detail of parts of the driving connection looking from the right of Figure 3 so as to show those parts in their relative positions;

Figure 6 is a diagrammatic illustration of modified means for operating inlet and outlet cocks for the sump in addition to means for operating the movable vanes; and v Figure 7 is a section on the line VII-VII of Figure 6.

Like reference numerals indicate like parts throughout the drawings.

' In Figure 1 the base of a channel 1 is represented at 2 as being formedwith an o ening 3 in front of which, considered in t e direction of the flow of the fiuidstream indicated by the arrow, is an upstanding rib or riflle 4. Beneath the opening 3 is a sump 5 having an outlet at the base through which material deposited in the sump is removed, for example by a continuously rotating pocket-wheel or pocketed cylinder 6. A conduit 7 is provided for supplying liquid to replace the bulk of liquid and solid material removed by the wheel or cylinder 6 and at the same rate as such liquid and solid is withdrawn so as to prevent any ap- "preciable down-current of liquid into the sump 5. The supply of liquid through the conduit 7 passes into a trough or other receptacle 77 and thence is picked up by a pocket in the member 6 as the latter rotates and is carried into the sump 5.

If, for example, material such as crushed or opened-up bamboo is being washed .with

' agitation in the vessel, diagrammatically represented by 1, it is found that certain of the non-fibrous material, such as the parenchyma or pith, together with the material of the knots or nodes, if present, and cuticular substances, will become deposited in rear of the rib 4 and will settle or fall into and down through the still water contained in the sump 5, while the fibre which vention as illustrated in Figures 24, a rag-.

engine is illustrated of known construction in the form of a comparatively shallow and more or less oval vessel 10 having a mid-,

feather 11 disposed longitudinally therein, a knife-roll 12 and a drum-washer 13, the knife-roll and drum-washer being on o posite sides of the mid-feather 11. The device illustrated in Figure 1 is not employed in its exact form in the construction illustrated in Figures 2 to 4. The corresponding parts, described in detail below, operate, however, to the same or an equivalent effect. In the base of the vessel 10, immediately in rear of the drum-washer, is a grid formed with a series of parallel rectangular slots 14 extending transversely to the direction of the current of the" fluid passing round within the vessel 10, the direction of flow being indicated by the arrow on the left of Figure 2.

As will be seen moreclearly from Figures 3 and 4, aseries of vanes- 15 is provided, one for each grid-space, and of such dimensions that each will slide freely within its appropriate grid-space and when within it will substantially fill and close it. The vanes 15 are carried on a supporting frame, indicated generally at 16, common -to them all, and the frame 16 is located within a sump 17 disposed beneath the grid and adapted to receive the material discharged therethrough as in the case of the sump 5 of Figure 1.

The frame 16 is carried on vertical recip-- rocating plungers 18 which pass through packed glands 19 extending downwardly from the base of the sump, there being one position the vanes will be removed beneath the grid, leaving the grid-spaces open. The rock-shaft 21 has a rocking lever extending rearwardly in Figure 3 and terminating at its outer end in an abutment 22 to be engaged by a snail-cam or the like 23 which is operated by any convenient connection from the main driving-gear. By the action of the cam 23the plungers are periodically reciprocated so as to raise'the vanes between the grid-spaces, then to hold them there for a certain period of time, and thereafter to lower them to the position beneath the gridillustrated in Figure 4.

A drain-cock 24 controls the outlet from the sump 17 the plug of the cock being connected through the

levers

25 and 26 and link 27 to the rock-shaft 21. The connection of the cock-plug is such that the draincock is not opened until the vanes 15 are raised into a position in which they close or substantially close the grid-spaces.

As shown in Figures 3 and 5, the drain- 7 diagrammatically illustrate a modified means for controllmg the inlet and outlet cocks from the sump di' rectly from the cam 23. In the diagram the cam 23 is shown as having cam-grooves parallel with its cam-surface and in the cam-grooves are received two rollers one at the end of an operating-arm for the draincock 24 and the other at the end of the operating-arm for the inlet-cock 43 controlling an inlet-conduit 42 which supplies liquid to the sump. It will be now seen that the cam 23 operates the inlet and outlet cocks similarly to, but lagging in phase behind, the operation of the rock-shaft 21. This lag is such that the cocks are not opened until the vanes have reached positions in which they close the grid-spacesbut they are only opened for a comparatively short time suflicient, however, to permit removal of the liquids and solids from the sump 17. Conveniently the parts are so adjusted that the drain-cock opens as soon as the vanes have moved to a position in which they commence efiectively to close the grid-spaces by entering them and remains open until the vanes have reached their highest position. Shortly after this position is reached the cocks are closed. Water is admitted through the inlet-cock at a sufficient rate to the upper end of the sump so as at all times to maintain the sump full of water.

The driving connections comprise a main shaft 30 on which is mounted the knife-roll 12 from which a belt-connection 31 effects the drive of gearing 32 for the spindle 33 of the drum-washer 13, and another belt-v connection 34 is made to a transverse shaft 35 which is conveniently geared, for exam.- ple by worm and worm-wheel, to the spindle of the cam 23.

The operation of the apparatus is as follows and .will be described in its a plication to the preliminary treatment of bamboo-fibres for the extraction of the parenchyma or pith and any foreign matter which may be present, from the "pecto-ligno-cellulose fibres.

The vessel 10 is furnished with the crushed or opened-up bamboo and water and the knife-roll and drum-washer are set in operation but the belt 34 is thrown on to the loose pulley so that the shaft 35 is not rotated.

The cam 23 is adjusted so that the upper edges of the vanes 15 are flush with the surface of the grid. The drum-washer removes the dirty scum and if the knife-roll is set to the brush-out position in relation to the bed-plate beneath it, it will be found that at the end of from 15-20 minutes the parenchyma or pith will'havebecome separated and reduced to small particles. The shaft 35 is then thrown into gear and the vanes 15 are raised so as to project above thesurface of the grid and in their highest position extend thereabove approximately 1 inch but this height will vary according to circumstances and to material under treatment. Meanwhile the sump is full of water or is filled with water and it is found that the material, in passing round the container 10, becomes balled up (so far as the fibres are concerned) and the ball-like masses roll, partly held in suspension, over the surface of the projecting ribs or riflles constituted by the vanes 15. In so doing the masses receive a certain amount of shaking and this tends to deposit or precipitate the parenchyma or pith together with the material of the knots or nodes, if present, and cuticular substances which settle and collect in rear of the vanes 15. Taking a complete cycle of movement of the vanes, they are held for approximately four-fifths of the cycle in their raised position, then the cam 23 operates to lower them rapidly during approximately one-twentieth of the cycle, to their extreme depressed position, in which they are removed below the grid-spaces to open the latter. At the same time, or preferably immediately the vanes had reached their highest position, as with the arrangement shown in Figure 5, the cook 24 is closed and the parenchyma or pith particles fall through the grid-spaces and settle in still water to the bottom of the sump 5. The period for which it is found necessary to retain the vanes in their lowermost position is approximately one-tenth of the period of the cycle, after which they ascend again rapidly during a period equal approximately to onetwentieth of the cycle period. These figures are approximate only and are used to illustrate the nature of the movement to be imparted to the vanes.

During the upward movement of the vanes the cock 24 is opened as soon as the grid-spaces are closed or substantially closed and the collected parenchyma or pith escapes from the sump. Provision is made, for example the conduit 42 diagrammatically shown in Figures 6 and 7 for running fresh water into the sump either simultaneously with the removal of the water and pith therefrom or, if desired, subsequently there to, by altering the position of the cam-engaging wheel of the inlet-cock operatinglever. The object of this is to refill the a the materials will settle more rapidl or more readily than will some of the ot ers, the settlement being assisted, as is well understood, .by the presence of the ribs or riflle constituted by the vanes such as 15.

It is obvious that in place of vertically reciprocating flat vanes, curved or segmental vanes could be employed operating from a rock-shaft or a series of rock-shafts. As

' a further alternative the grid spaces could be made comparatively wide and vaned wheels could be caried on spindles parallel with theslots. The vanes would be of such length and width that in certain positions of the wheels they serve to close the slots.

The vaned wheels would take the place of the reciprocating vanes described in detail above, and it will be understood that as they are rotated they serve to discharge the matter collected Within the grid spaces or on the grid above the spaces in a manner similar to the discharge which is effected by the reciprocating'ivanes. Further rotation of the vanes would again serve to close the slots or grid spaces until it was again desired to discharge them. The vaned wheels couldbe either rotated always in one direction or the could be reciprocated.

In amo ified form of the invention each grid-space may be partitioned ofi by narrow transverse strengthening ties and the vane slotted to pass the ties.

Whether flat or curved vanes are employed, it is referred that their upper surfaces should be chamfered so that they slope upwardly in the direction of travel of the material past them. Similarly, the rear edges of the grid-bars could also be chamfered so as to be parallel with the chamber of the edges of the vanes. This will materially assist in the quick discharge of the material which has collected behind the vanes. Alternatively, the lateral edges of the grid-bars could be oppositely chamfered or they could be parallel-sided and the upper edgesof the vanes can be flat-topped or wedge-shaped.

It will be understood that the ap aratus described and claimed herein can he employed in processes for removing the pith,

cuticular and other non-fibrous material after boiling for example in a mild alkali solution.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A washer of the type and for the purpose described characterized by one or more riflies or ribs extending upwardly from the base of the washer to efi'ect collection in rear thereof of material which will deposit by gravity, and an opening in the base of the washer so disposed in relation to each rifile or rib that the material which has so collected or would so collect will fall therethrough. 2. A-washer of the kind described having one-ormore movable rifiies or ribs extending upwardly from the base of the washer to eifect collection. in rear thereof of material which will deposit by gravity, and an opening in the base of the washer so disposed in relation to each riiile or rib that the material which has so collected or will so collect will fall therethrough and means to move the rifiies or ribs at will into and out from their upstanding position.

3. A washer of the kind described having one or more riffles or ribs extending upwardly from the base of the washer to effect collection in rear thereof of material which will deposit by gravity, an opening in the base of the washer so disposed in relation to each rifiie or rib that the material which has collected or will so collect will fall therethrough, and a vessel beneath said opening or openings so constructed that it may be filled with liquid and thereby provide a column of still liquid extending from the opening or openings into the vessel from or from near the base of the washer for the purpose described.

4. A washer of the kind described having one or more. movable rifiles or ribs extending upwardly from the base of the washer to eflect collection in rear thereof of ma.- terial which will deposit by gravity, and an opening in the base of the washer so disposed in relation to each riflie or rib that the material which has so collected or will so collect will fall therethrough, means to move the riflies or ribs at will into and out from their upstanding position, and a vessel beneath said openingor openings so constructed that it may be filled with liquid and thereby provide a column of still liquid extending from the opening or openings into the vessel from .or from near the base of the washer, for the purpose described.

5. A washer of the kind described having one or more riiiles or ribs extending upwardly from the base of the Washer to effect collection in rear thereof of material which will deposit by gravity, an opening in the base ofthe washer so disposed in relation to each riflie or rib that the material which has collected or will so collect will fall therethrough, a vessel beneath said opening or openings so constructed that it may be filled with liquid and thereby provide a column of still liquid extending from the opening or openings into the vessel from or from near the base of the washer, means to maintain the vessel full of still liquid during such time as the material is passing thereinto throu h the said opening or openings.

6. K washer of the kind described having one or more movable rifles or ribs extending upwardly from the base of the washer to eifect collection inrear thereof of material which will deposit by gravity, and an open ing in the base of the washer so disposed in relation to each rifle or rib that the material which has so collected or will so collect will fall therethrough, means to move the rifles or ribs at will into and out from their upstanding position, a vessel beneath said opening or openings so constructed that 'it may be filled with liquid and thereby provide a column of still liquid extending from the opening or openings into the vessel from or from near the base of the washer and means to maintain the vessel full of still liquid during such time as the material is passingthereinto through the said opening or openings.

7. A rag-engine or potcher having the usual disintegrating knives or agitating vanes and drum-washer, characterized by the combination of a drain-grid in the base of the engine in rear of the drum-washer, and movable vanes so formed and of such dimensions as, in one extreme position, to extend between and to project above the grid whereby they substantially close the gridspaces and constitute rifles above the'surface of the grid and, in the other extreme.

position, to be withdrawn below the grid to leave the surface of the latter unobstructed and the grid-spaces open.

8. A rag-engine or potcher according to claim 5 characterized in addition by a sump beneath the grid, a discharge-cock controlling an outlet from said sump, means for moving the vanes into and out from their sitions between the grid-bars and means operatively connecting said vanes with said cock so "that the latter is not opened until the vanes close or substantially close the grid-spaces and vice versa, with or without a water-inletfor the sump and an inlet-cock controlled simultaneously, or substantially rear of the drum washer, movable vanes so formed, and of such dimensions as, in one extreme position, to extend between the grid spaces and to project above the grid whereby they substantially close the grid spaces and constitute rifles above the surface of the grid and, in the other extreme position, be withdrawn below the grid to leave the surface of the latter unobstructed and the grid spaces open, a sum beneath the grid, a discharge cock contro ing an outlet from said sump, means for moving the vanes into andout from their positions between the grid bars and means operatively connecting said vanes with said cock so that the latter is not opened until the vanes close or substantially close the grid spaces and vice versa.

10. A rag'engine or potcher having the usual disintegrating knives or agitating vanes and drum washer in combination with adrain grid in the base of the engine in rear of the drum washer, movable vanes so formed and of such dimensions as, in one extreme position to extend between the grid spaces and to project above the grid whereby they substantially close the grid spaces and constitute rifles above the surface of the grid, and in the other extreme position,-be withdrawn below the grid to leave the surface of the latter )unobstructed and the grid spaces open, a sump beneath the grid, a discharge cock controlling an outlet from said sump, means for moving the vanes into and out from their positions between the grid bars, means operatively connecting said vanes with said cock so that the latter is not opened until the vanes close or substantially close the grid spaces and vice versa, and a water inlet for the sump and an inlet cock with means to control it simultaneously or sublitantially simultaneously with the outlet woe In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

WILLIAM-ARTHUR RARKEN MICHAEL McRAE.