US2316934A - Barrel filler - Google Patents

Description

April 20, 1943.

R. c. coRsoN 2,316,934

BARREL FILLER Filed Jan. 1'7, 1942 ATTORN EY Patented Apr. 20, 1943 BARREL FILLER Richard C. Corson, Olean, N. Y., assignor to Socony-Vacuum Oil Company, Incorporated, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application January 17, 1942, Serial No. 427,137

2 Claims. (Cl. 226-127) This invention relates to an improvement in automatic barrel fillers in order to adapt the same to the handling of liquids tending to produce substantial quantities of heavy foam on agitation in the presence of air.

Many barrel fillers of the automatic type now on the market and in general industrial use are capable of handling all relatively pure liquids and most liquid products rapidly and efficiently. Such llers normally comprise a filling pipe to be inserted in the bung hole of the barrel and a valve which is spring biased to closed position and lies between the point of attachment of a hose or pipe from a source of supply and the top of the filling pipe. The valve is held open by a crank on connecting rod restrained to open position of the valve by a pin in a notch at the end of a lever fulcrumed between said notch and a float actuated by liquid level in the barrel. The float is placed in a compartment of the lling pipe isolated from the inlowing liquid stream but open to the interior of the barrel and Vented at its upper end. The float compartment is generally continued to the terminus of the filling pipe and constructed by placing a compartment in that pipe, although some types of fillers are known wherein the float compartment constitutes an extension of the filling pipe isolated from flowing iiuid by a generally transverse wall with uid outlet above the wall.

While these previously known fillers are efcient in filling barrels with pure liquids and liquid products which may froth but do not form a stable heavy foam, they are of relatively little value in handling such products as emulsions of petroleum waxes in aqueous media and the like. As such emulsions are supplied to the barrel with known automatic barrel i'lllers, a heavy foam develops, probably as a result of agitation of the fluid with air in the lower part of the barrel. This vfoam is relatively stable and remains on the upper surface of the filled liquid as the filling operation progresses, entering the float chamber before the liquid product. The foam is frequently heavy enough to operate the ioat controlled automatic valve, thus closing the valve while the barrel is far from filled to the desired level. It then becomes necessary for the operator to hold the'valve open manually until the fluid product level appears on the bung hole, thus forcing out the heavy foam with consequent wasting of product and fouling of the barrel eX- terior.

Following such experiences, commercial automatic filling of barrels with the type of liquid product under consideration has been discontinued and manual operated filling valves substituted, requiring constant attention of an operator for each barrel lled.

I have now found that automatic iilling operations are possible, even with products forming very heavy stubborn foams by use of an improved barrel filler as described herein. This highly desirable result seems to be attributable to certain characteristic features of my device. The float chamber is fully open at both top and bottom, permitting rapid flow therethrough of any foams formed without tendency to move the float by reason of viscosity of the foam. The iioat chamber is disposed in a recessed portion of the filling pipe wall whereby the tendency of foams to enter therein is greatly reduced. The oat chamber is completely separate from the filling pipe and from any flow of fluid therefrom. Related to this last aspect but additional thereto is the capability of the device to permit additions of pipe to the lower end of the dlling pipe, thus greatly reducing agitation of the liquid product with air, but avoiding enclosing. the bottom end of the float chamber in the filling pipe thus extended.

These, as Well as other objects and advantages, will be clear from the discussion below of a specic embodiment of the invention shown in the annexed drawing wherein:

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view through a device according to my invention; and

Figure 2 is a horizontal section on line 2--2 thereof.

In common with known automatic barrel filling devices, the ller of the present invention includes a lling pipe IB, a fluid inlet l I and a valve chamber indicated at l2. The valve is constructed in conventional manner with a valve member I3 biased to closed position against the seat I4 by a spring l5, the valve being guided by a stem `H5 extending into a bore in cap I'I and by guides IB in slots in the member I3. A rod. I9 opens the valve against the action of spring i5 when activated by a crank at the end of shaft 20. Said shaft 26 passes through a pipe 2l threaded into the device and bearing a packing gland 22 about the shaft 25 at its outer end. A handle 23 is keyed to the outer end of shaft 20 and carries a pin 24 which engages a notch in the upper side of a lever 25. The handle 23 is so arranged with respect to general assembly that valve I2 will be held open when the pin 24 is engaged in the `notch in lever 25.

The lever 25 is fulcrumed by pivotal attachment to a. bracket 26 at a point on said lever near the notch therein. A much longer arm of the lever carries atthe end thereof a float 21 in a iloat chamber 28.

The design and arrangement of the iloat chamber 28 together with the threadedlower end or illling pipe Lim-part to the device its ability to act as an automatic barrel illler in connection with liquids having pronounced tendencies to form stable heavy foams. As shown in the drawing. oat chamber 2l is, in eilect, simply a section oi pipe open at both ends set in a recessed portion of the wall of lling pipe i0 substantially above the bottom end of the pipe III. 'I'here is, therefore, free ilow of fluids through the iloat chamber but that chamber is protected against influence from the flow of fluids from the iilling pipe and the relationship of the pipe and chamber is such that the chamber will be substantially unaffected by foams from liquids not completely filling the barrel to the bottom end of the iloat chamber. As shown at 29, the chamber 28 may be tack-welded in the recessed portion of illling pipe i0.

Further, the provision of a threaded lower end of the iilling pipe i0 well below the lowest open.. ing to oat chamber 28 makes it possible to couple thereto additional sections of pipe to avoid foaming by reduction of agitation in air, without, however, affecting in any wise the operation of the iloat and oat chamber.

I claim:

l. In a device ofthe class described having a illling pipe, a valve chamber communicating with said illling pipe, means -to admit uid to said chamber, a valve controlling communication between said pipe and said chamber, spring biasing means acting on said valve to close communication between said chamber and said pipe, valve operating means to move said valve to open position, holding Vmeans to maintain said valve operating means to open'valve position. a float and means actuated by said float to release said hold ing means: the improvement which comprises a tllling pipe of generally circular `cross-section having a portion of the wall thereof near the upper end thereof bent inwardly to form a recess to receive a iioat chamber, a iloat chamber of uniform and substantially circular cross section in said recess parallel to said pipe, said chamber being open at both ends, said recess and said iloat chamber being of such dimensions that the chamber is predominantly within the general cross section of said pipe, said recess being gently sloped at each end of said chamber toward the walls of the pipe beyond the ends oi the chamber. said oat being `disposed in said iloat chamber and means at the lower end of said illiing pipe to connect the same to additional lengths of pipe.

2. In a device oi the class described having a filling pipe, a valve chamber communicating with said illling pipe, means to admit iluid to said chamber, a normally closed valve controlling communication .between said pipe and said chamber, holding means to maintain said valve in open position, a float, and means actuated thereby to release said holding means: the improvement which comprises, a illling pipe or generally uniform cross section having a portion of the wall thereof near the upper end thereof bent inwardly to form a recess to receive afloat chamber, and a float chamber of uniform cross section in said recess and extending parallel to said pipe, said float chamber being open at both ends, said recess and said float chamber being oi' lsuch dimensions that the chamber is predominantly within the general cross section of the pipe, said recess :being gently sloped at each end of said chamber toward -the walls of the pipe beyond the ends of the chamber, said oat being disposed in said iioat chamber.

RICHARD C. CORSON.

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