US2248841A - Apparatus for handling materials - Google Patents

Description

y 1941- N. R. ANDERSON 2.2 .8

APPARATUS FOR HANDLING MATERIALS Filed June 8, 1938 lWsvilR.flnderson,

Patented July 8, 1941 UNTED STAT APPARATUS OR HANDLING MATE IALS Neville Rupert Anderson, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 9 Application June s, 1938, Serial No. 212,579 In Australia July 14,1937

This invention relates to improved means whereby separated, comminuted, or partlyffl'uid materials may be handled at any desired rate or conveyed from one point to another and subjected, if so desired, to variousforms of processing, such as drying, retorting, calcining, grading, mixing, filtering, evaporating, concentrating, precipitating or the like, during or'between handling or conveying stages.

My invention comprises the combination of an outer member in the form of a relatively straight tube or tubes, trough or troughs of any desired length and width and having at least one material-carrying surface and adapted to be held stationary or to be reciprocated longitudinally and/or turned about an axis parallel to itslength, a coacting inner member in the form of a relatively straight strip, angle-iron, or trough of any desired length and having at least one material-carrying surface and adapted to be turned about an axis parallel to'its length, and suitable power or manually driven mechanism of known construction and operation for effecting the desired movements of the outer and of the inner members at desired intervals and at any desired speed. In addition to being adapted to be turned, the inner member'may be adapted to be reciprocated longitudinally.

The outer j member is provided with feeding and dischargingdevices, of known construction and may be apertured to permit escape of steam, vapour, or the like. The inner member may serve as a scraper for the outer member 'or ma be supported independently thereof or the said inner member may be flexibly attached to the said outer member. The inner member is adapted to be positioned in or flexibly attached to the outer member longitudinally and will usually run the length of and may project beyond either one or both ends of said outer member. In each form of the invention the outer and'the inner members are so arranged and co-ordinated in movements that a substantial quantity of the materials handled is adapted to be transferred alternately from a material-carrying surface of one of the said members to a material-carrying surface of the other member with the resultthat the materials are not pushed but are-carried from point to point. I

The mechanisms employed to effect the desired movements of the outer and the inner members are'indic'ated throughout the specification and the claims by the terms reciprocating mechanism, and turning mechanism, and these terms are intended to represent any suitable known forms of mechanism capable of effecting the desired movements. r

, In order that the invention may be more readily'nnderstood reference will now be'made to the accompanying drawing which illustrates the invention by way of example and wherein- Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a tubular formof outer member;

-Fig. '2 is a perspective view of a portion of another form of outer member;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a. portion of an arcuate form of inner member;

Fig. 4 isa perspective view of a portion of a V -shape 7 form of inner member;

Figs. 5 and 6 are end views of an inner member of the form shown'by Fig. 4 in an outer member of the form shown by Fig. 1; i

Fig. 7-is a longitudinal section of a kiln or the like containing material conveying or shifting means of this-invention and actuating means therefor, associated therewith, some parts being shown inelevation; r

Fig. 8 is-acrosssection ofa tubular form of outer member having a flat inner member there- Figs. 9 to 13, inclusive, are views showing several positions of an inner material moving member and of material moved thereby in a tubular form of outer member the latter being shown in section;

-Fig.*14'is a section 'on line 14-14, Fig. 9.

Principles involved'in operation of means provided 'bythe invention are apparent by reference to Figs. 9-13, in which the outer member [5 is a straight tube, and the inner member I6 is a straight flat strip having opposite flat surfaces H and I8. The inner member is of a length somewhat greater than the outer member and of a width slightly less than the inside diameter or bore of the-outer member, The inner member has scraping contact with the wall of the outer member. It may be assumed, for purpose of explanation, that one end of the outer member, designated by I9, is the feed end, and the other end thereof, designated by 20, is the discharge end.

As seen in-Fig5 9, pieces of material a, b, 0, etc., appearon and supported by one of the flat surfaces of the inner member I6 beyond the feed end ofthe outer member I5. The inner member ing on the inner member, as shown in Fig; 10.

Theinner member next is turned and inverted on its longitudinal axis, the outer member remaining stationary or also turned, depending upon the character of the actuating instrumentality, so that the material is dumped to the bottom of the outer member, as shown in Fig. 11. Thereupon the inner member is shifted to the left or the outer member to the right to the position shown in Fig. 12, in which the inner member extends beyond the feed end of the outer member. The inner member then is turned to the position it had at the beginning of the cycle as shown in Fig. 9. During this cycle, the material is brought to position inside of the outer member on the then upper surface'of the inner member, as seen in Fig. 13, which also shows another and subsequent quantity of material deposited on the inner member.

material therein after it has been scraped up during the turning movement.

In heat treatment of minerals, such as calcining of gypsum or low-temperature carbonizetion of certain coals and shales for example, the invention gives some important advantages, in that time of processing may be decreased substantially and the capital cost of plant reduced.

As an example of employment of elements and principles of the invention, Fig. 7 illustrates an embodiment in association with a retort or comparable apparatus for calcining or otherwise processing material.

Cycles of reciprocations and turns, in the form" of rotations or, oscillations, as just described,

may be continued with the result that material is conveyed, step by step, from the feed end to the discharge end of the outer member.

When it is desired to discharge material from thesame end of the outer member at which it has been introduced, the sequence of movements of the inner member, and of the outer member when it is moved, may be reversed. v

Movements of either or both members may be at any desired speed, speed may vary in a cycle, and movements may be of such forms as vibra tions, sharp movements, movements with pauses,

- or relatively slow action, in accordance withthe nature of the material and the time it should remain under treatment in the outer member. One or more movements may be periodical or continuous; for example, there may be several reciprocations between turning movements and vice versa. In certain circumstances, either or both members may have reciprocating motion While turning movements are impartedto them. As isapparent, material is carried, as distin guished from pushed, into and out of the outer member by being transferred alternately from a carrying surface of one member to the carrying surface of the other by turning-and longitudinal movements as described.

In many applications of the invention, ordinary metal tubes or pipes, as exemplified by the tube l5 in Fig. 1, may be usedwith advantagefor the outer members. In some instances, it is preferable to employ a plurality of transversely arcuate open troughs 2|, such as may be afforded, for example, by a corrugated sheet metal structure such as seen in Fig. 2.

Instead of a flat inner member l6, as seen in Figs. 8-14, the inner member may be of semicircular shape, as designated by 22 in Fig. 3; or it may be substantially V-shape in cross section, as designated by 23 and seen in Figs. 4, 5, and 6, and which may be made by cutting desired lengths from conventional angle-iron stock,

The flat strip form, the semi-circular form and the V-shape form of inner members may be used in the tubular outer member illustrated by Fig. 1 or in the open trough form as illustrated by Fig. 2. These inner members, of whatever form, rest on and have scraping action on the wall of the outer member, as seen, for example, in Figs. 5, 6, and 14.

i The semi-circular and V-shape forms of inner members may be operated, like the flat form, in any desired cycles to move material in the outer members; for example, in the cycle described with respect to the fiat form with reference to Figs. 9-13.

In't'his apparatus, which merely is one example of a number of practical adaptations of the invention, a tubular outer member [5 extends from end to end of the retort chamber 24 and ismounted in end walls 25 and 26, the chamber being heated by combustion in a firebox 21 as by a fluid-fuel burner 28. The inner member, for purpose of explanation, may be assumed to be of the V-shape form 23. It lies along the bore of the tubular outer member, as seen in Figs. 5 and 6. It is shown as extending at each end beyond an end of the outer member l5, at one end projecting into a feed-box 29 and at the other end into a discharge-bin 30. It is in the material receiving and holding position shown in Fig. 6; that is, with its trough uppermost. The member 23, as seen in Fig. 4, at one end has a metal piece 3| fixed to its edges, as by welding. This piece has a hole 32, which is aligned with a hole 33 in the bottom of the trough.

The holes 32 and 33 are to receive a leg 34 of a yoke, the other leg 35 of which is disposed through a shaft 36. This shaft is carried by two bearings 31. on a frame 38 that is mounted on a block 39 slidable on a base 40. It extends into a double-acting hydraulic cylinder 4|, where it is connected to a piston 42. The shaft 36, be-

' tween the bearings 31, has a pinion 43 fast thereon. The pinion coacts with a rack 44 of a rod 45. This rod at its lower end extends into and is guided by the block 39, and at its upper end it extends into a double-acting hydraulic cylinder 46 where it is connected to a piston 41.

Movement of the pistons 42 and 41 in the cylinders 4| and 46, respectively, may be controlled by any suitable and conventional valve gear (not shown) arranged to permit admission and exhaust of fluid to and from the cylinders.

Assuming that the inner member 23 is in the position shown by Figs. 6 and 7, which is comparable to the showing of Fig. 9, and that its end projecting into the feed box contains material therefrom, the control valve gear may be operated to produce a cycle of operation of the inner such as hereinbefore described; for example:

(a) The piston 42 shifts the shaft 36 and thereby the inner member to the left, the frame 38 sliding with the shaft, and the material is brought into the outer member, as comparably shown by Fig. 10.

(b) The piston 41, by means of the rod 45 and the rack-and-pinion gear, turns the shaft 36 and inverts the inner member, whereby the material is dumped to the bottom of the outer member, as exemplified by Fig. 5 and also by Fig; 11.

(c) The piston 42 shifts the inverted inner member back to the position shown in Fig. '7, which is comparable to the position typified by Fig. 12.

(d) The piston 4'! causes the inner member to turn to its load bearing position. During this turning, the inner member scoops up the material first brought into the outer member and at its end either scoops up an additional quantity of material in the feed box or receives a load from material falling into the box. Then the inner member is loaded as typified by Figs. 6 and 13.

Such cycles may be performed serially tomove material through the outer member to its discharge end, at such speed with such pauses between cycles and between motions of each cycle as is required to effect the desired processing of the material.

The outer wall 48 of the discharge bin 30 may be of any suitable flexible sheet material, such as canvas or asbestos, fluted to permit it to stretch, and a central sealing plate 49 through which the shaft 30 extends. The shaft carries two collars 50 secured to opposite sides of the plate. This arrangement is to permit the wall 48 to flex during longitudinal movement of the shaft and to afiord a seal at the shaft.

The outer member l may have openings 51 in its top to permit escape of gases therefrom; or, for that purpose, a flue 52 may lead from the interior of the inner member to the outside of the retort. A fiue 53 leads from the retort chamber for exit of gases therefrom.

Fig. 8 exemplifies a form of the invention that includes means located at the sides of the outer member to reciprocate the inner member l6 therein. The tubular outer member has slots 54 in opposite sides to permit tongues 55 fixed to the inner member to extend outside of the outer member, the slots being of sufiicient length to permit the tongues to impart required longitudinal movements to the inner member. The tongues, may have eyes 56 for connection with means to reciprocate the inner member. Escape of material from the outer member through the slots is prevented by flexible sheet material 51, such as canvas or rubber, attached to the tongues and to the outer member so as to enclose the slots. P 1' l g 3 I claim:

1. Conveyer mechanism comprising an elongated tube member, an elongated inner material carrying member disposed longitudinally therein in contact with the wall thereof, means to reciprocate one of said members longitudinally with respect to the other, and means periodically and independently to turn said inner member on a longitudinal axis in said outer member.

2. Conveyer mechanism comprising an elongated transversely arcuate outer member, an elongated inner material carrying member disposed longitudinally therein with sliding contact with the wall thereof, means to reciprocate one of said members longitudinally with respect to the other, and means periodically to turn said inner member on a longitudinal axis independently of said outer member.

3. Conveyer mechanism comprising an elongated transversely arcu-ate outer member, an elongated inner material carrying member of substantially V-shape in cross section disposed longitudinally therein with sliding contact with the wall thereof, means to reciprocate one of said members with respect to the other, and means periodically to turn said inner member on a longitudinal axis independently of said outer member.

4. Conveyer mechanism comprising an elongated transversely arcuate outer member, an elongated inner material carrying member having opposite flat surfaces in and having sliding marginal contact with said outer member, and means independently to reciprocate and periodically and independently to invert said inner member.

5. Conveyer mechanism comprising an elongated transversely arcuate outer member, an elongated inner material carrying member disposed therein with sliding and rotatably scraping contact with the wall thereof, means to reciprocate one of said members longitudinally with respect to the other, and means to turn said inner member on a longitudinal axis independently of said outer member.

NEVILLE RUPERT ANDERSON.

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