US2023986A - Oil reclaimer - Google Patents

Description

. M), 1935. I P. WILLIAMS 8 OIL RECLAIMER Filed March 31, 1933 Patented Dec. 10, 1935 UNITED STATES OIL RECLAHVIER Paul Williams, Detroit, Mich., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Skinner Purifiers, Inc., a corporation of Delaware Application March 31, 1933, Serial No. 663,760

3 Claims.

My invention pertains to features of betterment and improvement in appliances for reclaiming or purifying lubricating oil contaminated by liquid and/or solid foreign matters, such as the used oil of internal-combustion engines.

Owing to the fact that such lubricant usually contains vaporizable gasoline and water, the reclamation of the oil under the action of heat and subatmospheric pressure presents substantial difiiculties, due to the fact that the oil for its purification must be heated to a temperature materially higher than that at which the contained water or moisture is converted into steam, and, unless special provisions are made, the body r of oil is likely to foam and fluff and to be sucked over into the suction-pump and lost.

My invention aims to overcome this and other difficulties and to provide a comparatively simple device for accomplishing the desired results.

According to the principle of my invention, a small portion only of the main body of oil to be treated is directly heated so that there is no substantial body of hot water or moisture which can be suddenly converted into steam, such heating and the partial vacuum present purifying such small quantity of oil which, by thermo-syphon action, is returned to the main supply, the latter being gradually heated thereby, as will be readily understood.

Stated somewhat otherwise, a small part of the oil is continuously purified and returned to the main body which in time gradually becomes completely freed of its detrimental volatile constituents, the solid impurities being subsequently removed by filtering.

To permit those acquainted with this art to understand the invention, both from structural and functional standpoints, in the accompanying drawing I have shown a present, preferred embodiment of the invention which is described in detail below, and for ease in understanding the construction like reference numerals have been employed to designate the same parts throughout the views.

In this drawing:

Figure 1 is a partial, vertical section through the central portion of the reclaimer;

Figure 2 is a detail of the float-controlled switch;

Figure 3 illustrates the electric circuit of the temperature-indicator;

Figure 4 is an enlarged section through the oildelivery valve-mechanism; and

Figure 5 is a detail section through the electric relay or switch.

By reference to this drawing, it will be noted that the new apparatus includes a circular, metal oil-tank ll having a flat top I2 equipped with an upstanding, cylindrical dome l3 ofi-set from, but parallel to, the axis of the tank. 5

As is clearly shown, the bottom it of such tank is of hopper or inverted-cone shape, and it is provided with a downwardly-extended, elongated, cylindrical casing l5 forming a pocket in direct connection with, and parallel to the axis of, the tank and also located directly below the dome i3.

At its bottom, such pocket or supplemental chamber i5 is fitted with a sludge drain-pipe [5 having a controlling valve or faucet ll by means of which the accumulated sludge may be withdrawn from time to time, as occasion requires.

Such tank ll, including its upper dome l3 and also pocket I5, is supported in a suitably-shaped casing or housing 26, and the tank and its associated parts are fully heat-insulated by surrounding mineral-wool l8 or other appropriate material accommodated in the space between the two separated elements.

The tank and its complementary pocket or lower supplemental reservoir hold the oil while it is undergoing the purifying or reclaiming process.

The vaporization portion of the appliance includes a sheet-metal cylinder [9 located in part in the tank l I and with its lower portion accommodated centrally in the pocket i5.

Internally such cylinder He has a concentric, upright tube or elongated chamber 2i opening through the top wall 22 of the cylinder and through the bottom wall 23 thereof.

Just outside of such chamber or tube 2| one or more electric-heaters 24, usually three in number, is or are employed and of which only one is depicted in the drawing, the space between the heater or heaters and the casing l 9 being packed with mineral-wool 25 or its equivalent, whereby practically all of the heat generated in the one or more heater-strips 24 is conducted to the chamber 2| and its contents.

On its top such wall It! has an upstanding, cylindrical baffle 26 of the same diameter open at its top and provided in its side, just above the wall 22, with a slot or delivery-port 21.

As is fully shown, the entrance to the bottom of the inner tube 2| is controlled by a temperatureregulated valve 28, the opening and closing of which is governed by a thermostat 29 located inside of the baflie 26 and connected to the valve 28 by a rod 3| extending down through the tube to the valve, such thermostat, as illustrated,

being below the level of the oil undergoing treatment.

A suitable conduit 32, opening through the top wall 22 and through the top of the dome l3, serves to cover and protect the lead-in wires for the electric-heaters, the latter raising the temperature of the oil in the vaporization-tube 2| and keeping it in circulation. The lead out for the wires also makes a breather to eliminate pressure in this otherwise air-tight chamber when the heaters are turned on.

The upper portion of dome I3 is connected by a conduit 33 to a suction pump or fan 34 driven by an electric-motor 35, the delivery-pipe 39 of the pump or fan connecting with an erect vaporoutlet pipe 37, the upper end of which preferably discharges outside of the building, the lower end of pipe 3! being connected to the top of an elongated, vertically-disposed diluent-tank 38 equipped with a drain-valve 39 at its bottom.

' A bleeder-pipe 4i connects the upper part of the diluent-tank 38 with the interior of the oiltank II above the oil-level therein.

An angular pipe-connection 42 fitted with a removable plug 43 leads from the outside of the casing 29 through the insulation-packing l8 to the interior of the tank II and is supplied for the purpose of introducing the impure oil into the tank for reclamation, the plug being inserted to close and seal the structure after such filling.

The temperature of the oil in tank II is measured and indicated by an appropriate thermometal coil 44 in a pipe or tubular housing 45 extending well into the oil from the outside of the tank, the temperature being shown by a calibrated, semi-circular disc or wheel 46 connected with the coil.

As is illustrated in Figure 3, this indicator closes contact between its two electric terminals 41 and 48 when the desired temperature to complate the reclamation operation has been reached.

In the drawing I have designated such temperature-indicator as a whole by the reference numeral 49.

An upstanding rod of a sheet-metal oil-float 52 in the tank II is adapted to operate an electrio-switch 53 of the tumbler type which has three contacts 54, 55, 56, as shown, for instance, in Figure 2.

A horizontal pipe 51 connects with the top portion of the pocket l5, its outer end being equipped with a valve-casing 58 fitted with a screw-threaded valve 59 operable by an accessible external handle 6| to open and to close the longitudinal port through the casing.

Such valve-member 58 also includes a downwardly-directed port 62 in its lower portion communicating with the main horizontal passage through the casing 58 and adapted to be opened and closed automatically by a ball 63 mounted on a thermostat 64 carried on the lower portion of the valve-casing.

When the valve 59 is closed, the port 62 is also necessarily inoperative, but when the valve 59 is retracted to its open position, the port 62 may or may not be open, depending upon the position of its governing ball 83.

Below the oil-delivery port 62, the appliance incorporates a plurality of registered, verticallyseparated filter racks or screens 65, 65, 65, each of which has a filter-bed 66 of suitable material, so that the oil filtered by the upper bed'66 will be subsequently filtered by the other underlying beds in succession, the completely-filtered oil ultimately being delivered from the lowermost filter-bed into the bottom portion or storage compartment 61 of the casing or housing 29 from which it may be drawn off by a manually-operated valve or faucet 68. 5

The electrical connections are as follows:

The outside electrical conductor lines 69 and H connect through fuses 72, T2, with the terminals I3, 13 of a double-blade electric-switch 14 which has the companion terminals 15 and 16.

One wire 11 of the electric-motor which revolves the suction-fan connects such motor to the single terminal 54 of the float-controlled switch 53, the other Wall '18 of the motor being joined to the specified switch-terminal l6.

One wire 8| of the electric-heater is secured to the switch-terminal 15, which in turn, by a wire 19, is joined to terminal 56 of the float-operated switch.

The companion wire 82 of the heater is directly connected to a terminal 83 of an electro-magnet or relay switch, which terminal, when the movable, U-shaped switch-element 85 on the armature of the switch is closed, is electrically joined to the other relay-terminal 84, which in turn by a wire 86 is united with the switch-termial 16.

One contact 41 of the temperature-indicator 49 is joined, by a wire 81, to the switch-terminal 15, the companion terminal 48 of the indicator, by a wire 88, being united to the electro-magnetcoil terminal 89 of the relay; the other magnetcoil terminal 9| of the relay being joined by a wire 92 to the relay-contact 83, the electro-magnet of such relay or switch being characterized 93.

Another conductor 94 joins the relay-terminal 89 to the remaining contact 55 of the fioatoperated switch 53.

The relay, as is shown more clearly in Figure 5, has a hinged, notched catch or latch 95 tending to swing upwardly under the influence of its coiled spring 96, such latch or catch extending forwardly through a slot in a plate 9! secured to and upstanding from the relay-armature 98 on which the contact-member 85 is insulatingly mounted.

A push-button 98 is connected to the outer end of the latch and by this means such latch may be depressed to allow the armature to rock away from the magnet under the action of its retracting spring 99, thus permitting its contact 85 to engage the terminals 83 and 84, provided the magnet is deenergized.

The appliance operates practically as follows:

Assuming that the valves ll, 39, 68, and 59 are all closed, the operator removes the plug 43 and pours the polluted oil to be reclaimed or refined into the tank ll through the connection 42 until the float 52 rises sufiiciently to close the switch 53; that is, to make electrical contact between the terminals 54 and 56.

As soon as the proper amount of oil has been thus introduced into the tank, the plug is rescrewed into place, thus sealing the system.

Assuming further that the main-switch 14 has been preliminarily closed, as soon as the movable bar contact 59 of switch 53 bridges contacts 54 and 56, the motor operates the suction-pump and the then-completed circuit of the motor is as follows: terminal 16, wire 18, electric-motor 35, wire TI, contact 54, switch-bar 56, contact 56, wire 19, terminal 15.

. Taking for granted that the relay-switch 83-85-84 has been closed by depressing button 98 to release the switch-latch 95, the electricheater is at once put into operation, its circuit being terminal 15, wire 8|, heater 24, wire 82, terminal 83, switch-contact 85, terminal 84, wire 85, terminal 16.

As the temperature of the oil in the vaporization-chamber 2| increases, the small amount of water which the oil contains will be vaporized and the discharged water vapor will be drawn off through the suction-pump and delivered into pipe 31.

Such evolution or discharge of steam or water vapor may cause a small amount of the oil to foam or fluff, but inasmuch as such foaming oil is contained within the bafile 26, the water vapor passes oif without any material loss of oil and without any disturbance in the main body of oil in the tank I Whereas this new appliance may not entirely eliminate foaming or frothing of the oil, it nevertheless reduces it in substantial measure and prevents its interference with the main body of oil.

As the temperature of the oil in the chamber 2| increases, other vapors are discharged and pass into the pipe 3'! in which some or all of them may be condensed and the condensate flows down into the diluent-tank 38.

When the oil in the chamber 2| reaches a temperature above the vaporizing temperature of both the free and entrained water vapors, the thermostat 29 begins to open the valve 28, so that the heated oil may fiow through the port 21 into the tank H, the oil passing into the chamber 2| at its lower end through the now open valve 28.

Valve 28 starts to open desirably at about 260 Fahrenheit and it will have opened sufiiciently not to restrict the thermo-syphon flow of the oil through tube 2| when the oil leaving the port 21 is above 350 Fahrenheit.

The small portion of the total quantity of oil in the appliance in the vaporization chamber 2| may be raised only to the maximum temperature of 400 to 425 Fahrenheit, which assures the eifective removal of the vaporizable contaminating constituent-s and which, at the same time, eliminates the possibility of cracking or injuring the oil.

The hot oil rises in the chamber and by thermo-syphon action is delivered as indicated through the port 21 into the main body of oil below the surface of the latter, thus creating no substantial mechanical disturbance in the oilsupply.

Thus, it will be understood, the continuous heating of the small portion of the oil causes a gradual circulation of the whole body of oil through the vaporization tube 2 it being obvious that temperature and time are factors in eliminating the objectionable dilution.

It is more or less important that the first time that the oil flows through the small tube its entire water content shall be removed, so that on its subsequent travel therethrough at a higher temperature there is no danger of excessive foaming or fiufling by reason of the steam generated.

In actual practice, the whole body of oil usually travels through the relatively-small heated chamber or tube 2| about three times, the entire amount of water and some diluent being driven ofi the first time through and the remainder of the diluent being removed during the subsequent travel of oil through the still.

Thus the operation of the apparatus continues until the whole mass of oil reaches a temperature of approximately 325 Fahrenheit, whereupon the temperature-indicator 49 closes the contacts 47, 48 together, with the result that the electromagnet 93 of the relay becomes energized, its circuit being as follows: Terminal '55, wire 81, contact 41, contact 48, wire 38, terminal 89, electromagnet coil '93, terminal 9|, wire 9-2, relay-contact 8 3, relay contact 85, relay-contact 84, wire 86, switch terminal 16.

Such energization of the relay-coil attracts the relay-armature, thereby opening the switch 83, 85, 84, thus breaking the circuit of the electricheater at this point, but the suction fan or pump remains in operation so as to continue to abstract the vapors which are given off thereafter from the hot oil.

It is not desirable to filter the oil at the high temperature of 325 Fahrenheit, as oil at that temperature will pass too readily through the filter mass, and, accordingly, means are provided to filter the oil at a lesser temperature, not exceeding 315 Fahrenheit.

When the temperature-indicator 46 registers about 315 Fahrenheit, or even 325 Faahrenheit, valve 59 is manually opened and the thermostat 64 will open the delivery-valve 63 if the oil to be discharged is not in excess of 315 Fahrenheit, so that the oil at that or a lower temperature will be fed into the filters through which it passes successively down into the reservoir 51.

It is to be understood that valve 63 and its control thermostat 64 allow the oil to flow out only at a temperature 315 Fahrenheit or less, it being noted that the discharging oil contacts with the thermostat and this in turn regulates the opening of the valve.

Stated somewhat differently, valve 63 controls the discharge of the oil into the filters at a rate substantially equal to the drop in oil temperature; that is to say, as the temperature decreases, the flow increases, and this is roughly proportioned to the speed of flow through the filter-beds.

The sludge which may accumulate in the pocket l5 does not circulate with the thermosyphon travel of the oil, because it is too heavy and there is too great adhesion between it and the walls.

When a temperature of 250 Fahrenheit is shown by the indicator 56, all of the oil will have been delivered to the filters, thus assuring that all oil fed tothe filters is at a proper temperature for most efiicient filtration.

Obviously, as the oil is gradually discharged into the filters, the oil-level in the tank H descends, and when it has reached a predetermined point, the fioat 52 will snap switch-bar 50 away from contact 54, and, while maintaining engagement with contact 55, it will bear on contact 55, breaking the circuit of the electric-motor 35 and thus stopping the suction-fan which could perform no further useful function.

The float is so located that the heaters for the vaporization-chamber are shut off whenever the level of the oil is below port 21, otherwise it would be possible to turn on the unit and not have thermo-syphon action of the oil through the chamber or tube 2|, resulting in overheating the oil in the tube 24.

Pipe 4| permits the hot air in the upper part of the diluent-tank to enter tank hence in a measure satisfying the vacuum but primarily causing a motion of the vapors in the tank and energizing the removal of the vapors rising from the oil; this arrangement of parts also economically taking advantage of the heat of such air matically held in open position by the catch or latch 95 engaging the notched plate 91 and the switch must be closed by releasing such latch through downward pressure on the button 98 before the operation of the appliance can again be started.

Such movement of the push-button depresses the catch or latch and releases the armature and its associated contact 85, so that under the action of spring 99 they unitedly swing away from the magnet-coil, and contact 85 then bridges contacts 83 and 84.

In order to prevent the push-button 98 from closing the switch 83-85-84 and completing the circuit of the heater when there is no oil, or an inadequate quantity of oil, in the apparatus, the connection 94 is employed.

When float 52 descends, as set forth above, switch 53 automatically breaks the connection between terminals 56 and 55 and opens the circuit of the electric-motor, thus stopping the suction-fan, but at the same time switch-bar 58' establishes connection between the terminals 55 and 56, hence energizing the magnet-coil 13 through the members l5, 19, 56, 55, 94, B9, 93, 9i, 92, 83, 85, 84, 86, E5.

The magnet immediately attracts its. armature and opens switch 838584, breaking its own circuit which remains interrupted because the spring-actuated catch or latch 95, by engagement with plate 91, holds the armature of the magnet 83 and 84, the circuit through the relay-coil will be reestablished and the switch 83--85-84 will be immediately automatically opened again and the contact 83 will remain locked in open position.

It will be noted that the movable switch contact 85 is in the circuit of the heater as well as in that of the temperature-indicator, and, as a result, the appliance cannot be set into operation if it has an insufficient amount of oil in it, and if a proper amount of oil is employed, as soon as it reaches the predetermined temperature the heater is automatically cut out.

Those acquainted with this art will understand that various changes may be made in the structure shown and described without departure from the principles of the invention defined by the appended claims and without the loss or sacrifice 01 any of the material benefits or advantages accruing from the employment of the invention.

I claim:

. 1. In an impure oil reclaimer, the combination of a receptacle to hold the oil to be treated, means to admit the oil to be treated into said receptacle, a relatively-small-volume vaporization-chamber in which the impure oil is heated, a conduit con necting the interior of said receptacle to the interior of the lower portion of said chamber, a second conduit connecting the interior of said receptacle to the interior of the upper portion of said chamber, means to heat the contents of said chamber to expel the vaporizable contaminating I constitutents from the impure oil therein and to cause a thermo-siphon circulation of the oil from the receptacle through the chamber and back into the receptacle, means to remove the vapors expelled from the oil from the reclaimer, and means to deliver the purified oil from the reclaimer.

2. The structure presented in claim I in combination with automatically acting means governing the flow of oil through the chamber by the temperature of the oil near the top portion of said chamber.

3. The structure presented in claim 1 in combination with a valve controlling the flow of oil from the eceptacle into the chamber through the first conduit and a thermostat in the oil near the top of the chamber regulating the action of said valve.

PAUL WILLIAMS.

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