US225600A - Samuel s - Google Patents

Description

2 SheetsSheet 2. S, H EPWOR TH; Centrifugal-Machine.

No. 225,600. 'Patented Mar. 16,1880,

N. PETERS, FHOTO-UTHOGMPIIEH, WASHINGTON. D. a

g UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SAMUEL S. HEPWORTH, OF YONKERS, NEW YORK.

CENTRIFUGAL MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 225,600, dated March 16, 1880.

Application filed June 17, 1878.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL S. HEPWORTH, of Yonkers,in the county of Westchester and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Centrifugal Machines; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, whereby a person skilled in the art can make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

Like letters in the figures indicate the same parts.

My improvement relates to such machines as are used for the separation of liquids from solids by means of centrifugal force, and more particularly to those centrifugal machines that are used for the separation of the crystals of sugar from its sirup, the basket of which is at tached t the spindle, upon which it turns above its bearings, and which is driven from below in the usual manner.

The object of my invention is to provide a means for entirely preventing the jar of the machine when revolving, which can be arranged nnder the basket of the machine without interfering in the least with the discharge of the sugar through the bottom of the basket, or allowing it to come in contact with any of the working parts; also, to provide a better valve for the discharge of the sugar through the bottom of the basket than has heretofore been used.

Machines have been heretofore constructed with valves upon the under side of the basket, as in my present invention; but such machines have had the valve loose upon the spindle, and therefore have been difficult to operate, requiring some means of turning them from the under side, or bolting them to the stationary part of the machine, and turning the basket and spindle when it is desired to open them. i

My invention consists in the construction and arrangement of the several devices that will be hereinafter described.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a vertical section through the middleof my improved machine. Fig.2 is a top view of the "parts to which the elastic disk 12 is attached. Fig. 3 is a top view of the elastic disk 12 detached from the machine. Fig. l is a vertical cross-section of the part 0 of the frame of the machine, forming the outer attachment for the elastic-disk. Fig. 5 is a vertical cross-section of the part a of the upper sugar that may chance to fall upon it from the valve-openings in the basket above it.

C is a cylindrical case or shell for containing and supporting the interior working parts of the machine. It is firmly connected with the base A by means of the arm B.

D is the curb or part which contains the revolving basket. It is connected with and supported by the base A.

E is the revolving basket for containing the magma from which the sugar is to be extracted. F is the annular channel into which the liquid is thrown from the revolving basket. G is the outlet from the channel F for conveying the liquid to some suitable receptacle. H is a column for supporting the brake-lever.

a is the spindle, to which the basket is attached in the manner hereinafter described, and from which it receives its motion.

1) is the valve. This is fixed to the spindle and moves with it.

c is a sleeve and flange, forming the center of the basket.

cl is an interior sleeve for lifting the basket. It has a flange at its lower end, which extends under a part of the sleeve 0.

e is a screw for lifting the sleeve d. It enters a hollow thread in the top of the spindle, and is provided with a circular rim, which engages under the top flange of the sleeve d, so that by turning the screw the basket is lifted from the valve b. v

f is a hand-wheel for turning the screw 0.

d to transmit motion to the machine.

9 is an oil-cup for oiling the spindle. This cup is provided with an interior circular groove near the top, into which a small quantity of oil is thrown by the centrifugal force each time the basket is charged and revolved, and this oil is conducted to the central pipe, so that a few drops of oil descend to oil the bearings of I the spindle each time the machine stops. The oil passes down through a vertical opening in the center of the screw and spindle (shown at a in Fig. 1) and runs out through the transverse hole I) to the circular chamber 0, and then downward, oiling the bearing j, into the chamber of the pulley m. From this it passes through the hole y in the pulley to the chamber 2 in the socket l, oiling the bearing in the ball-and-socket joint lc Z. In case the oil overflows from the chamber cwit falls into the annular space ft and passes through the holes 09 into the cup-shaped flange o, through the hole 'w','and into the chamber 2. From this chamber it is intended to overflow through the pipe g.

h is a copper cone covering the interior parts in the center of the basket. z' is one of the openings in the bottom of the basket, of which there are usually three, covered by the valve 1). j is a sleeve, in which is formed the upper bearing of the spindle. k is a ball, which contains the lower bearing of the spindle, so that the Whole bearing can have a rocking motion in the socket l.

m is a pulley, around which passes the belt This pulley is firmly attached to the spindle above the ball-and-socket joint, but extends downward, so that the belt can pass over the center of motion. a

n is a flange attached to the sleeve j. It is provided with projections or lugs a, (see Fig. 5,) which enter into the holes in the elastic disk 19. (Shown in Fig. 3.)

0 is a ring attached to the frame of the machine, which is likewise provided with projecjections or lugs for entering into the holes in the elastic disk 19.

p is an elastic disk, having a series of holes around its circumference, as shown in Fig. 3,

which is placed upon the lugs on the parts n and 0 in the position shown in section in Fig. 1. This serves as an elastic connection between the bearing of the spindle in the sleeve jand the fixed frame of the machine. This elastic disk is preferably made of rubber, and operates in the same manner as a series of loops placed over the opposite lugs upon the parts a and 0. A better and more equal effect is, however, obtained by making them all in one piece in the form of a disk, as shown in the drawings.

In my improved bearing the rubber operates by tension, and not by compression, as has heretofore been used.

When the rubber is used as a bushing sufficient play cannot be obtained to allow the bearing of the spindle to perfectly accommodate itself to the variation in the axis of motion caused by unequally-balanced charges in the basket.

By means of my improved elastic bearing the basket is allowed to assume its proper axis of rotation and revolve without jar, even when very unequally loaded.

The ball-and-socket support at the bottom of the spindle allows the lower bearing of the spindle to-conform to the motion of the upper bearing and permits of a lateral as well as an end bearing in the journal.

q is the brake, for the purpose of rapidly stopping the revolution of the basket when the operation of purging the sugar has been completed. One end of each side of the brake is hinged to lugs upon the inside of the part 0, and the other endsare connected to the arms of the triple lever V, which serves to draw them together and clamp them upon the pulley m, upon which they act by friction in the usual manner.

w is a hand-lever for operating the brake by means of the crank s and the connectingrod t. p

The operation of my improved machine is as follows: Before starting, the oil-cup g is filled with oil and a few drops are placed in the vertical hole a in the top of the spindle, so as to oil the bearings before the commencement of the automatic oiling before described. The basket is then filled with the semi-fluid sirup containing the crystals of sugar, and is set in motion and rapidly revolved by means of the belt 61. When the sugar is sufficiently drained the machine is'stopped by means of the brake q. The hand-wheel f then receives a quarterturn to the left, which raises the basket slightly from the valve, thus relieving the friction, so that the basket can easily be turned by means of its rim until the openings in the bottom are over the spaces between the leaves of the valve, thus leaving a free discharge for the sugar, which is removed in the usual manner. The openings in the bottom of the basket are then returned over the leaves of the valve, the hand-wheel is turned back to its first position, and the basket recharged.

In filling the basket there is sometimes a greater weight upon one side than the other. In this case the center of gravity does not coincide with the exact center of figure, and if the basket is firmly held in fixed'bearings a great vibration and jar are produced.

Bymeans of my improved elastic bearing and the play allowed at the foot-step of the spindle this jar is entirely avoided, and the basket assumes an axis of rotation accommodated to the unequal load, the bearings yielding sufficiently to permit of its so doing.

What I claim as my invention isl. The basket E, loose upon the spindle, in combination with the valve I), rigidly attached to the spindle and placed underneath the basket, rotating relatively to each other to open the valve, substantially as described.

2. The basket E, capable of turning upon the rings a and 0, provided with projections the spindle, and the Valve underneath the which enter the loops in the disk, substantially same fixed to the spindle, in combination with as and for the purpose herein described. the screw 6 and hand-wheel f, whereby the SAMUEL S. HEPWORTH.

5 basket may be raised to open the valve, sub- Witnesses:

stantially as described. T. H. MILLER,

3. The elastic disk 10, in combination with THEO. G. ELLIS.

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