US1620164A

US1620164A - Adjustable weir

Info

Publication number: US1620164A
Application number: US80582A
Authority: US
Inventors: Frank A Milliff; John A Milliff
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1926-01-11
Filing date: 1926-01-11
Publication date: 1927-03-08
Anticipated expiration: 1944-03-08

Description

March 8, 1927. 0,164

F. A. MILLIFF ET AL ADJUS TABLE WEIR Filed Jan. 11, 1926 BMW Patented Mar. 8, 1927.

UNITED STATES l? QF F IlC E...

FRANK A. MILLIFF AND JOHN.A. MILLIFZF, 015 LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

ADJUSTABLE .WEIR.

Application filed- January Our invention relates to'adjustable weirs.

It is common in the arts to inter-pose a plateor other solid body in the path of a flowing stream of liquid and to provide a notch or other orifice in the plate through which the liquid flows, and by which the rate oiiflow can be computed or controlled.

It is an object of our invention to provide an enclosed type of weir which may beused under pressure if desired and which may be used to regulate the height of liquid standing in various types of apparatus.

Our invention is very valuable in the petroleum refi'ni'ngindustry where it is common practice to use dephlegmators or bubble towers. Such bubble towers as previously made have a series of condensing pans in which the depth of liquid in each pan is fixedyby the construction ofthe tower and cannot be varied during its operation. We have discovered that the control ofdepth of liquid in each pan is a valuable feature in the bubblet'ower. Such control permits the operator to determine-the pressure to which vapor must rise in order for it-to pass through agivenpan; Control ofthe depth of'condensate in the condensing pans also determines the period of time the bubbles of vapor will be' exposed to the-condensate in each pan. This period of exposure is a function of the absorption of the vapor in the condensateas well: as of the absorption of". heat by the condensate fromthe uncond'ensed} vapor. These factorshave a vital bearing upon the operation of a bubble tower, and the etficiency of our'n-ew tractionating tower as explainedin our co-pending application for U. S. Letters Patent filed January-11, 1.926, Serial No. 80',583,is attributed in no small measure to the condensat'e depth control which is a 'novel feature of this tower. It is for the accomplishment of this condensate depth control that we have invented the novel weir r which comprises the present invention.

Itis an object of this invention to pro vide an. adjustableweir which commands the overflow opening in a condensing pan and communicates with a conduit which leads to the pan next below, said adjustable weir havingnianual control means for. determining the level at which condensate in the upper'panwill overflow through the conduit tethelbwar pan.

It iaanother object to provide an adjustable: weir the housing of which may be 11, 1926. Serial N0. 80;582.

turned: so that the discharge opening thereof may be I angularly adjusted without altering the orientation. between the weir-rotor-and its manual control means.

Further objects and advantages: will? be made evident in the following; description and claims; andinthe: accompanyinggdrawhas a neck 11 projecting therefrom andi through which an inlet passage, 12. is-formed to open, intoacentral chamberi'l3iprovided inthe body 10. At the outer endiofr the neck- 11 a. flange 15. is provided"; integnal therewith andis securedby: bolts? 16w 1 01 flange 17. which iszthreadably' secured at18 upon a discharge pipe 19 which leads horizontally from: a condensing parrot at: fractionating tower (not shown) 1.

Extending from' the body: 10 at. a rightangle to the neck: 11 is'a neck'ZQ throu-gh which is formed an '-outlet1p'assage:21i which opens from the body, chamber? 13: Atthe outer endof: the neck..20 a.;.radia:l flange 22 is formed integrali therewith and is: secured by: bolts 23it0titl18 flange 24. of an interpan draw-off: pipe 25 which. thus connects this pipe tothe outlet passage 21.

Extending from thebody 10,- on-the'opposite side thereof fromt-he neck; 115,..isza neck- 30. Throughi' this. neck? 301 an; assembling opening 31' is :formed: in; cosax-ial alignment: with the inlet. passage 12.- and; communicating between the: chamber 13 and the outerend of the necliBO.

In the annular shoulder, the opening-of the inlet passageway 12; into the body chamber 13*, an annularcounterbore isrturned' and ground to form a cylindrical seat 37'. The mouth of the assembling' opening 31 where; it opens; into the chamber-1'3 is slightly: decreased in: diameter to provide a cylindrical guideseat 3&w hich is equal in diameter and cot-axiallyaligned withthe seat 37.

A weir gate memberin thefor'miofarrotor 39 has a cylindricalshell' 40;. which is open at the inner end attend: closed by a wall: 42 at' its outer end. This rotor 39 is inserted 35 formed aboutv through the assembling passage 31 and slides through the guiding seat 38 until the cylindrical end 41 bears in the seat 37 and contacts the end face 44 of the seat 37. The rotor 39 is thus rotatably disposed in the

seats

37 and 38 and makes a liquid tight contact with each of them.

The rotor 39 has a rectangular weir opening 46 provided in the shell 40 thereof, which is parallelto its axis and which communicates between the cavity inside the shell 40 and the valve body chamber 13. l/Vhen in place as above described, the rotor 39 is contacted by the body 10 only at the

seats

37 and 38. The body 10 is so shaped that the chamber 13 provides a continuous space 48 around the rotor 39 so that no matter what position the rotor 39 might be rotated to, a passageway from the pipe 19 through the passage 12, the interior of the shell 40, the weir opening 46, the chamber 13 and the passage 2.1 to the inter-pan draw-oft pipe 25 will in no case be shut off.

A square recess 50 is formed centrally in the outer face of the shell head 421901 a purpose to be described later.

The outer end portion of the body neck 30 threadably receives a screw cap 52, this cap having a head 54 from the central portion of which a boss 55 projects inwardly almost into contact with the shell head 42. A central bore 56 is provided in the boss 55 which has a stufling box 58 provided at the outer end thereof the follower 60 of which has a bore 61 co-axially aligned with the bore 56 and equal in diameter thereto.

Before applying the cap 52 to the neck 30, a valve stem 64, having a square head 65 of such size as to fit into and engage the walls of the square recess 50, is inserted from the inside through the bores 56 and 61 until the square head 65 rests against the end face of the boss 55. The cap 52 is now screwed upon the neck 30, the valve stem head 65 projecting into the recess 50, as shown in Fig. 2. The outer end of the valve stem 64 is squared to receive an operating hand wheel which is retained in place by a nut 71 screwed down upon a threaded stud 7 2 formed upon the end of the shaft 64.

A mark 75 is made upon the outer rim 7 6 of the hand wheel 70, this mark having the same angular relation to the axis of the rotor 39 as the bottom 78 of the weir opening 46. Suitable stationary indicia 80 are provided upon the periphery of the head 54 oflthe cap 52 upon which the angular position of the mark 75 on the hand wheel 7 0 may be read.

The operation of our improved adjustable weir described above is as follows:

The condensate pipe 19 connects with a condensing pan (not shown) and when the fractionating tower is assembled the flange 15 is secured to the flange 17. After being screwed upon the pipe 19, the flange 17 is given a final part of a revolution to turn the neck 20 to the proper inclination from the body 10 so that it will conveniently attach to the inter-pan condensate tube 25 which must proceed downwardly at a varying angle in different instances to reach the opposite end of the condensing pan next below. This inclination required of the neck 20 varies between its full line position in Figs. 1 and 3 to the vertically downward positions 81 in which it is shown in dotted lines.

Condensate 85 formed in the condensing pans flows through the pipe 19 and the passage .12 into the shell 40. As the weir open- 46 is always unobstructed the condensate will flow out therethrough into the chamber 13 and through the passage 21 into the interpan draw-off pipe 25, as soon as it rises in the condensing pan above the level 86 of the lowermost edge 78 of the weir opening 46. lVhen the rotor 39 is rotated by means of the hand wheel 70 the position of the weir opening 46 and its altitude is changed. Each such change of altitude causes a new level to be maintained in the condensing pan. The range of levels of condensate which may thus be maintained in the condensing pan or;- tends from the lowermost to the uppermost possible positions of the weir opening 46.

Any desired setting of the rotor 39 may be had quickly by turning the hand wheel 70 so that the 'mark 7 5 registers with a predetermined mark of the indicia 80. Thus an efficient control of the levels of condensate in the various condensing pans may be maintained by the operator of the fractionating tower.

We claim as our invention:

1. In an adjustable weir, the combination of: a body having a central chamber, intake and outlet openings therefrom, and a seating surface formed internally upon said body about said intake opening; a gate member disposed in said chamber and having a weir opening therein, and a surface formed thereon which is adapted to contact the seating surface upon said body so that said weir opening commands passage between said intake and outlet openings; and means for manually controlling the position of said. gate member to dispose said weir opening at different levels.

' 2. A combination as in claim 1 having suitable indicia upon said manual control means for indicating the level at which said weir opening is disposed.

3. In an adjustable weir, the combination of: a body which has a central chamber, in-

"take and outlet openings thereform, an annular rotor seat formed about said inlet opening, an assembling opening opposite, said inlet opening, and an annular rotor guiding seat in said assembling opening; a

cylindrical rotor adapted to rotatably seat in said rotor seat and be guided by said guiding seat and having a chamber which communicates with said inlet opening and a weir opening which communicates between said rotor chamber and said body chamber; closure means for said assembling opening; and means mounted upon said closure means for manually rotating said rotor. to dispose said weir opening at different levels.

4. In an adjustable weir, the combination of: a body having a central. chamber, and intake and outlet openings therefrom; a weir gate disposed in said chamber sons to command the passage from said intake opening through said chamber to said outlet opening, said weir gate having a weir opening which sets up communication between said intake and outlet openings; and manual control means for adjusting said weir gate so that said weir opening is disposed atdifferent levels.

5. In an adjustable weir, the combination of: a body having a central chamber, and inlet and outlet openings therein; an adjustable weir gate having a weir opening there in and disposed in said chamber so that passage from said inlet opening to said outlet opening will be through said weir opening and so that such passage will remain open during adjustment of said weir gate; and means for manually adjusting said Weir gate so that said weir opening is disposed at different levels.

6. In an adj ustablc weir, the combination of: a body which has a central chamber, intake and outlet openings therefrom, an an nulairotor seat formed about. said inlet opening, an assembling opening opposite said inlet opening, and an annular rotor guiding seat in said assembling opening; a cylindrical rotor adapted to rotatably seat in said rotor seat and be guided by said guiding seat and having a chamber which con'n'nunicates with said inlet opening and a weir opening which communicates between said rotor chamber and said body chamber; a head formed upon said rotor and having a recess formed therein; a cap for closing id assembling opening and having a central hole therein; a stuffing box formed in said hole; a shaft disposed through said hole and said stuffing box; a head on the inner end of said shaft which is adapted to fit into said recess in said rotor head and lock said rotor to said shaftfor rotation therewith; and means applied to said shaft for manually 1'0- tating it.

In testimony whereof, we have hereunto set our hands at Los Angeles, California, this EZ l day of December, 1925.

FRANK A. MILLIFF. JOHN A. MILLIFF.