US2344274A

US2344274A - Roller press

Info

Publication number: US2344274A
Application number: US351095A
Authority: US
Inventors: Matthew J Stacom
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1940-08-03
Filing date: 1940-08-03
Publication date: 1944-03-14
Anticipated expiration: 1961-03-14

Description

March 14, 1944.

' M. .J. STACOM I 2,344,274

ROLLER PRESS Filed Aug. 3, 1940 2- Shets-Sheet 1 INVENTO MATHEW .I 5TAc0M I ATTORNEY MATHEW I 5 TA COM BY ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 14, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ROLLER PRESS I Matthew J. Stacom, Flushing, N. Y. Application August 3, 1940, Serial No. 351,005

14 Claims.

This invention relates to roller presses and 'more particularly to an improvement in roller presses whereby better feed acceptance and treatment of the material under high pressures may be obtained.

In the use of roller presses in which the external surface of two rollers or other cylindrical surfaces contact each other, the pressure that may be applied in the use of the press for treating substances is limited due to the component of the pressure that is effective in opposition to advancement into the pressure zone of the material being treated. when that component becomes greater than the frictional force tending to draw the material into the press, the material will slip and so will not be drawn into the pressure zone.

-It is an object of this invention to provide an improved arrangement whereby greater feed acceptance may be obtained in roller presses. It is a. further object to provide an improved press wherein the length and position of the pressure zone may be varied in relation to the line or direction of application of pressure. Other ob jects and advantages of the invention will become apparent.

In describing the invention, reference will be made to the drawings in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of the press with certain portions shown in section and Figure 2 is a section on line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a diagrammatic view of an end elevation of the rings and rollers illustrating their positions iipon introduction of material into the press, and including rollers for resisting such movement.

Figure 4 is a diagrammatic end elevation illustrating a modified form of the invention.

In referring to the drawings, the numeral i indicates a press roller carried on and rotatable with a shaft 2 in fixed bearings in the

supports

3, 3. The upper press roller 4 is rotatable with and carried on a shaft 5, which is supported in bearings that are movable in the

supports

3, 3. The shaft 5 may be moved toward and from the shaft 2 by means of the ram pistons 6, B in the ram cylinders I, l. Piston packing 8 may be provided around the ram pistons 6, 6. The cylinders I, i may be connected through the pipes 9, 9 to a source of resilient force, such as the accumulater of a hydraulic-pneumatic system, as described in my copending applications Serial Nos. 195,776 filed March 14, 1938, and 253,202, filed January 27, 1939, the latter of which has issued as Patent No. 2,229,143, dated January 21, 1941, whereby the movement of the roller 4 away from the roller 7 I may be resisted by a great but yielding pressure. Other means may be provided for applying this resilient force.

Between the rollers l and 4, and each surrounding one of said rollers, are provided the presser rings l0 and H which may be made of steel or other suitable material, depending upon the use to which the mill is to be put. These rings l0 and II are forced against'each other by the pressure appliedto the roller 4, but are not rigidly retained against movement of their axes relative to the line of pressure between the two rollers. The rollers l and 4 are provided with flanges la and 4a, which serve to guide the rings 10 and II.

In the apparatus indicated, the rollers I and 4 are driven by the motor H which may be connected through a flexible coupling I3 to the shaft l4 carrying the spur pinion I5. This pinion I5 drives a spur gear i6 fixed to the shaft I1. The shaft I! may be an extension of or rigidly connected to the shaft 2 but is preferably connected to it by a wobbler or flexible coupling as indicated at 2i. This wobbler coupling includes a shaft with squared ends and sleeves with squared apertures adapted to loosely receive the squared ends of the said shaft and the squared ends of the shafts 2 or ii. Removable pins keep the collars from sliding along the shafts.

A spur gear l8, carried by the shaft 11, contacts with and drives the spur gear l9 fixed to the shaft 20. The shaft 20 is connected to the shaft 5 through a wobbler coupling 2|, whereby the movement of the shaft 5 toward and from the shaft 2 may be accommodated. The ratio of the effective diameters of the gears l5 and IS in the apparatus illustrated is such as to give a 4 to 1 reduction in the speed of rotation of the shaft I! as compared with the shaft M. The gears i8 and I9 are of the same diameter so that these shafts will rotate at the same speed but in opposite directions. Obviously other types of gears and other speed ratios between the shafts i4 and I! may be used and if the rollers l and 4 are of different diameters different speed ratios between the shafts 2 and 5 will be required to give the same peripheral speeds to the rollers at their lines of contact with the rings,

The rings l0 and l I may be driven in a suitable manner such as by the frictional contact of the rollers I and 4 with the rings.

In the operation of the apparatus, the motor i2 may be rotated so that the lower roller and ring will be driven in a clockwise direction and the upper roller-and ring in a counter-clockwise direction, as viewed in Figure 2. As the material enters the curvilinear angle between the rings In and II, it will exert pressure upon the two rings, which are of sufliclently rigid material and construction to pry the roller 4 away from the roller I, as illustrated'by the full line 4' in Figure 3. At the same time the rings I and II will roll along their contacting outer surfaces and the surfaces of the rollers I and 4 to move their line of contact with each other to a position beyond the 'line'of pressure between the rollers I and 4. Thus they will assume a position as indicated by the full lines III and II (Figure 3). This prying apart of the rollers takes advantage of the lever arms formed by the portions of the rings between the lines of contact of the material with the rings Ill and II and the lines of contact of the rings with the rollers, thus permitting a separation of the rollers by application of less pressure than that actually exerted by the roller 4. This change in position of the axes of the rings In and I I and the movement of the apex of the pressure angle to beyond the line of pressure will result in a wider blanket of material being treated at the point of direct line application of the pressure by the roller 4 than at the apex of the curvilinear angle positioned beyond this line and will permit a resilient gripping action of the surfaces of the rings and give a flexibility of the bite of the rolls, which will assist in drawing the material into the high pressure zone. Also, it will alter the position of the pressure zone in relation to the line of pressure from the roller 4 so that the pressure is applied in advance of the converging apex.

If desired, the yielding of either or both rings I0 and I I may be resisted by one or more rollers, as indicated at 22 and 23 in Figure 3. These rollers may be normally positioned on and resiliently pressed against the outer surfaces of the io,

rings I0 and II by means of pistons in the cylinder 24, 25 connected with a hydraulic-pneumatic resilient pressure system similar to that referred to above. A plurality of rollers may be used as illustrated in the aforesaid Patent No. 2,229,143.

Other means, of course, may be used for applying this resilient pressure. The amount of this resilient pressure may be controlled to permit the desired movement of the rings. With this arrangement the magnitude of the flexible or resilient gripping action may be adjusted for dif-', ferent materials, if desired, by varying the re sistance to movement of the rings. 01', if preferred, the

rollers

22 and 23 may be initially spaced from the rings I0 and I I so as not to resist the initial movement of the rings, but to limit and control the extent of movement. Also, the rollers may be actuated to advance them so as to return the rings I0 and II to their original position during the continued operation of the press.

The apparatus described herein may be used to advantage where long flat pieces of material are to be fed into the roller mill, such for example as in the dehydration of pulp sheets, in

many other uses, and will permit better feed acceptance in such uses.

It is obvious that means for feeding, the material to the apparatus and for removing it may be provided and that various types of scrapers, feed means, conveyors, etc., some of which are shown in my application Serial No. 253,202, with proper revision to feed and remove the material from the outer surfaces of the rings, may be used. It is also apparent that many modifications may be made in utilizing the above invention. Different means also may be used for driving the rollers and, if desired, only one of the rollers may be driven and the other moving parts may be driven frictionally or by positive means from it.

Also, instead of having two rings between the rollers, a single ring may be provided and will serve to pry the rollers apart and thus obtain better acceptance of the material. Figure 4 illustrates such a device in which the roller 26 is carried on a fixed axis and the roller 2'! is pressed toward it with great but yielding force. Between the rollers 26 and 21 and surrounding the roller 21, there is positioned the ring 28. With this arrangement it is preferred to have the roller 26 of about the same outside diameter as that of the ring 28. In operating this device, the material entering as indicated by the arrow will contact withthe roller 26 and the outer surface of the ring 28 and serve to pry the roller 21 from the roller 26. If the rollers 26 and 2'! are both driven, it is desirable to have the relative angular speeds of these rollers such that their peripheral speeds will be the same as the peripheral speeds of the inner and outer surfaces of the ring 28.

If desired, means similar to the roller 23, or other suitable means, may be provided for resisting displacement of the ring 28 from its normal position whereby the displacement may be regulated as hereinbefore described.

Also, if desired, the means resisting movement of the axes of the rings in the embodiments illustrated, may be positioned within and in contact with the inner surface of the rings rather than with the outer surface as illustrated.

Althougl'i the apparatus has been illustrated with the rollers one above the other, they may also be used with the rollers in other positions, such, for example, in a horizontal position or at some other angle and may be rotated so that the feed will be from either side of the apparatus.

Cooling or heating means may be provided for maintaining a proper temperature of the rings or rollers. For example, the rollers may be positioned with their axes in a horizontal line and the rings may dip into a cooling or heating fluid. Obviously other means may be provided for cooling or heating the rings or rollers.

Many other variations in the design of the apparatus may be made in utilizing the invention and it is not intended to limit it to the particular embodiments shown and described. The terms used in describing the invention have been used in their descriptive sense and not as terms of limitation and it is intended that all equivalents thereof be included within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A roller press comprising a ring, a roller positioned within said ring, a cylindrical surface normally contacting the outer surface of the ring along a line opposite the line of contact of the inner -roller and in the common plane passing through the axes of the ring, roller and cylin drical surface, said cylindrical surface being of substantially the diameter of the outer surface of the ring, and one of said roller and cylindrical surface being resiliently mounted and the other being mounted on a relatively fixed axis, and

means for forcing said roller and cylindrical surface toward each other with great but yielding force, said ring being sufflciently rigid and free from rigid resistance to movement such as would displace its axis that upon introduction of material into the curvilinear angle between it and the cylindrical surface its axis will move to pry the roller and cylindrical surface apart against the resistance of said yielding force, and to advance the apex of the curvilinear angle, relative to the line of applied pressure, in the direction of travel of material through the roller press.

2. A roller press as defined in claim 1 including resilient means bearing against a surface of the ring for resisting movement of the axis of said ring.

3. A roller press as defined in claim 1 in which the axis of the outer cylindrical surface is fixed and that of the inner roller is parallel to and movable laterally toward and from the said fixed axis.

4. A roller press comprising a ring, a rolle positioned within said ring, a cylindrical surface normally contacting the outer surface of the ring along a lineopposite the line of contact of the inner rollerand in the common plane passing through the axes of the ring, roller and cylindrical surface, one of said roller and cylindrical surface being resiliently mounted and the other being mounted on a relatively fixed axis, and means for forcing said roller and cylindrical surface toward each other with great but yielding force, said ring being sufficiently rigid and free from rigid resistance to movement such as would displace its axis that upon introduction of material into the curvilinear angle between it and the cylindrical surface the ring will serve to pry apart the roller and cylindrical surface against the resistance of said yielding force.

5. A roller press as defined in claim 4 including resilient means bearing against a surface of the ring for resisting movement of the axis-of said ring.

6. A roller press as defined in claim 4 in which the axis of the outer cylindrical surface is fixed and that of the inner roller is parallel to and movable laterally toward and from said fixed axis.

7. A roller mill including a pair of rollers having their axes parallel to each other, one of which is resiliently mounted and the other of which is mounted in relatively fixed bearings, a ring surrounding each of said rollers and means for resiliently forcing said rollers toward each other to maintain the outer surfaces of said rings normally in contact in the common plane of the axes of the rings and rollers with great but yielding force, said rings being suflic'iently rigid and at least one of them free from rigid resistance to movement such as would displace its axis that upon introduction of material into the curvilinear angle between said rings the rings will serve to pry apart the said rollers against the resistance of said yielding force.

8. A roller mill as defined in claim 7 including resilient means, bearing against a surface of the ring free from rigid resistance to movement of its axis, to resiliently resist movement of said ring and its axis.

9. A roller mill including a roller rotating on a fixed axis, a roller rotating on an axis parallel to said fixed axis and movable toward and from it, a ring surrounding each of said rollers, and means for forcing said movable axis toward said fixed axis with great but yieldable force to hold the outer surfaces of said rings initially in contact, said rings being sufficiently rigid and free from rigid resistance to movement such as would move their axes that upon introduction of material into the curvilinear angle between the outer surfaces of said rings th rings will serve to pry apart said rollers against the resistance of said yielding force.

10. A roller mill as defined in claim 9 in which resilient means is provided to resist the movement of the rings to displace their axes.

- 11. A roller mill as defined in claim 9 in which at least one of the rollers is positively driven and the rings are driven therefrom by friction.

12. A roller mill as defined in claim 9 in which the resilient force is applied by a hydraulicpneumatic system.

13. A roller mill comprising a roller rotatable upon a shaft in fixed bearings, a second roller rotatable upon a shaft movable toward and from the shaft of said first roller, a ring surrounding said second roller, and means for forcing said rollers toward each other with great but resilient pressure, said ring being sufficiently rigid 'and free from rigid resistance to movement such as would displace its axis, that upon introduction of material into the curvilinear angle between the ring and outer roller the ring will serve to pry apart the rollers against the resistance of said yielding force.

14. A roller mill comprising a roller rotatable upon a shaft in fixed bearings, a roller of smaller diameter rotatable upon a shaft in bearings movable toward and from said fixed shaft, a ring surrounding said smaller roller and having an outside diameter about equal to that of the larger roller, means for forcing said smaller roller toward said larger roller with great but resilient force to hold said ring initially in contact with said outer roller, said ring being sufficiently rigid and free from rigid resistance to movement such as to displace its axis that upon introduction of material into the curvilinear angle between said ring and outer roller the ring will serve to pry apart the said rollers against the resistance of said yielding force.

MATTHEW J; STACOM.