US2492046A

US2492046A - Apparatus for cleaning filamentary articles

Info

Publication number: US2492046A
Application number: US793706A
Authority: US
Inventors: Fred D Johnston
Original assignee: Western Electric Co Inc
Current assignee: AT&T Corp
Priority date: 1947-12-24
Filing date: 1947-12-24
Publication date: 1949-12-20
Anticipated expiration: 1966-12-20

Description

Dec. 20, 1949 F. D. JOHNSTON 2,492,046

APPARATUS CLEANING FILAMENTARY ARTICLES Filed Dec. 24. 1947 2 Shets-Sheet 1 //v|//v TOR ED. JOHNS TON UN Ia/m ATTORNEY Dec. 20, 1949 F. D. JOHNSTON APPARATUS FOR CLEANING FILAMENTARY ARTICLES F'iled Dec. 24, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 20, 1949 APPARATUS FOR CLEANING FILAMENTARY ARTICLES Fred D. Johnston, Towson, Md, assignor to Western Electric Company, Incorporated, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application December 24, 1947, Serial No. 793,706

Claims. 1

This invention relates to apparatus for cleaning filamentary articles, and more particularly to apparatus for cleaning central conductors of coaxial cable units.

In the manufacture of one type of coaxial cable unit, a plurality of discs of insulating material are positioned upon a central conductor and a tubular conductor is formed over the discs. Each :of the insulating discs has a radial slot formed therein through which the central conductor is forced. When the surface of the central conductor is not clean, a minute film of dirt, metallic dust, or the like is formed upon the edges of the slots in the insulating disc, which comprises a path of low resistance between the central conductor and the outer tubular conductor.

A second source of trouble in such cable units is the presence of slivers on the surface of the central conductors resulting from the wire drawing operation employed to make them. Such slivers may extend from the central conductor toward the outer tubular conductor to form a path or bridge of low resistance. Hence, it is essential that the central conductors of coaxial cable units be thoroughly cleaned to remove any dirt, grease, grit, splinters, etc., that might cause trouble.

An object of the invention is to provide new and improved apparatus for cleaning filamentary articles.

A further object of the invention is to provide new and improved apparatus for cleaning loose particles from the surfaces of central conductors of coaxial cable units.

An apparatus illustrating certain features of the invention includes a tube, means for advancing a filamentary article through the tube in a predetermined direction, and means for directing superheated steam upon a filamentary article advanced through the tube by the articleadvancing means.

A complete understanding of the invention may be obtained from the following detailed description of an apparatus illustrating certain along line 3-3 of Fig. 2, with portions of the apparatus broken away, and h 2 Fig. 4 is an enlarged vertical section taken along line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, there is shown therein a wire drawing machine I!) (Fig.

1) through which a central conductor 12 is advanced by a takeup capstan l4 and the conductor is taken up on a takeup reel It. The capstan l4 advances the conductor 12 from the wire drawing machine It through a wiper 20, which removes any loose particles on the surfaces of the conductor l2 therefrom.

The wiper 2!] includes a tube 22 (Fig. 4) through which the central conductor is advanced from left to right, as viewed in Fig. 4. The tube 22 is provided with a series of steam introducing passages 24-24, 26-26, 28-28, and 30-33. There are four passages 24-24, each from the other and two of the passages 24-24 are in a vertical plane and twoare in a horizontal plane. There are four passages 26-26, each spaced 90 from the other, and the passages 26-26 are rotated 22 around the tube 22 from the passages 24-24. Similarly there are four passages 28-28, which are rotated 22 further than the passages 28-26 and are spaced 90 from each is directed toward the center line of the tube 22' toward the left, as viewed in Fig. 4, at an angle of 45 with respect to the center line of the tube.

A bellmouth entrance guide 32 is positioned at the left end of the tube 22, as viewed in Fig. 4.

. The left end of the tube 22 is designed to be threaded into a socket 33 formed in the guide 32 so that the tube 22 may be easily removed to clean debris out of it. A collar 34 is fixed to the tube near the right end thereof. The guide 32 and packing washers 35-35 close the ends of an annular chamber 36 formed by the tube 22 and a larger tube 38 positioned thereover. A plug 39 is designed to be screwed into a tapped port-ion 4| of the tube 38 to compress the packing washers. A pipe 4!] introduces steam at a temperature around 800 F. into the chamber 36 through an opening 42 formed into the tube 38. The steam flows through th chamber 36 and through the passages 24-24, 26-26, 28-28 and 36-36 at high velocity. These passages direct the steam upon the periphery of the conductor l2 in a direction opposite to that in which the conductor is advanced and the hot steam dislodges loose particles on the surface of the central conductor therefrom. The steam in the chamber 36: is

maintained at its high temperature by superheated steam introduced into a chamber 44 formed by the tube 38, a tube 46 and annular end plates 48 and 50. Exhaust steam flows from the chamber 44 through a drain pipe 52 positioned at the bottom of the chamber 44 and steam is introduced into the chamber 44 by a pipe 54 connected to a source of superheated steam.

The tube 22 has a small diameter so that the steam maintains a high velocity throughout its travel in the tube 22. The superheated steam travellin at high Velocity in the tube 22 carries particles dislodged thereby from the conductor l2 into an expansion chamber 60. The dislodged particles carried by the steam into the expansion chamber 60 are dropped into the bottom of the expansion chamber as the steam expands therein and its velocity decreases. The steam flows from the chamber 66 into a vertical pipe 62 (Fig. 3) and is condensed by cold water sprayed radially by nozzles l6 and i2 in T-

couplings

66 and 68, respectively. Slots 'H'll and 'l3'|3 in the

nozzles

16 and 72, respectively, direct the Water rad ally in sheet-like streams. The cold water and the condensed steam carried therewith flow downwardly through the pipe 62, the lower end of which is connected to an exhaust pipe 14 (Fig. 1) by a T-coupling 16, to which the exhaust pipe 52 is connected. A baffle l8 (Figs. 2 and 3) serves to deflect the condensing water away from the expansion chamber as it fiows downwardly through the pipe 62. This water also condenses any steam which may pass through the pipe 52 from the chamber 44 (Fig. 4)

Operation In the operation of the apparatus described hereinabove, the conductor l2 (Fig. 1) is advanced from the wire drawing machine It! into the tube 22 (Fig. 4). superheated steam introduced into the chamber 36 flows through the passages 24-24, 26-26, 2828 and 30-30 to impinge upon all portions of the periphery of the conductor l2, and this superheated steam dislodges and carries away any loose particles on the surface of the conductor l2, and flashes off any moisture, grease, wax, or other contaminating substances on the conductor. The steam moves the dislodged particles, vaporized moisture and other debris at a high velocity into the expansion chamber 60, in which the velocity thereof slows, and the particles carried by the steam moving at a high velocity are dropped into the bottom of the chamber 60.

The steam in the chamber 44 heats the chamber 36 to prevent cooling of the steam in the chamber 36 so that there is no danger of drops in temperature thereof. The steam flows from the expansion chamber 68 into the pipe 62 and flows upwardly in pipe 62 as viewed in Figs. 2 and 3. The cold water introduced into the T- couplings 66 and E8 in substantially annular sheets condenses the steam and carries it to the drain pipe M.

The cleaner 26 described hereinabove serves to thoroughly clean and dry the conductor [2, and removes any grease, splinters, dislodged particles, or the like, therefrom. This cleaner is simple and inexpensive in construction and operation, and is highly efiicacious in cleaning filamentary articles of any cross-sectional shape.

What is claimed is: I. An apparatus for cleaning filamentary articles, which comprises a tube through which a filamentary article is advanced in a predetermined direction, said tube being provided with series of groups of passages therein directed toward the filamentary article and in a direction opposite to that in which the article is advanced therethrough, means for enclosing the exterior of the tube to form a manifold therewith, means for introducing super-heated steam into the manifold formed by the tube and the tube-enclosing means, means for enclosing the tubeenclosing means to form therewith a second chamber, and means for introducing super-heated steam into the second chamber to heat the firstmentoned chamber.

2. An apparatus for cleaning filamentary articles, which comprises a tube through which a filamentary article is cleaned in advance in a predetermined direction, said tube being provided with series of groups of openings therein directed toward the filamentary article in a direction opposite to that in which the article is advanced therethrough, means for enclosin the exterior of the tube to form a chamber therearound, means for mounting the tube detachably in the tube-enclosing means, means for sealing the tube in the tube-enclosing means, means for introducing super-heated steam into the chamber formed by the tube and the tube-enclosing means, means for enclosing the tube-enclosing means to form therewith a second chamber, and means for introducing super-heated steam into the second chamber to heat the first-mentioned chamber.

3. An apparatus for cleaning filamentary articles, which comprises a chamber having aligned bores in the end walls thereof, one of said bores being tapped, a nozzle tube having a threaded end designed to be screwed into the tapped bore and also being provided with a plurality of jetforming openings extending through the wall thereof, said tube being designed to be mounted concentrically in the chamber with the threaded end thereof screwed into the tapped bore and the other end thereof projecting through the other bore, a stuffing box for sealing the space between the projecting end of the tube and the last-mentioned bore against passage of steam from the chamber therethrough, and means for supplyin steam to the chamber.

4. An apparatus for cleaning filamentary articles, which comprises a tubular chamber haw ing one end open and a tapped bore extending through the other end thereof, a nozzle tube having a threaded end designed to be screwed into the tapped bore and also being provided with a plurality of jet-forming passages extending through the wall thereof, said tube being designed to be mounted concentrically in the chamber with the threaded end thereof screwed into the tapped bore and the other end thereof projecting through the other bore, a collar fixed to the exterior of the tube at a point thereon in the chamber and near to but spaced from the open end of. the chamber, an annular packing, means for forcing the packing against the ring to press the packing against the tube and the chamber, and means for supplying steam to the chamber.

5. An apparatus for cleaning filamentary articles, which comprises a horizontal tube, means for advancing a filamentary article through a tube in a predetermined direction from the entrance end of the tube to the exit end thereof, means for forcing steam through the tube at a high velocity in a direction opposite to that in which a filamentary article is advanced by the article-advancing means, an expansion chamber 5 6 positioned at the entrance end of the tube for UNITED STATES PATENTS collecting material dislodged from the filamentary article by the steam, a vertical tube communicatgg g f i g M 81896 ing with the expansion chamber and offset from 1 51, Minion 1926 the first-mentioned tube and the expansion 1: i 1930 chamber for receiving steam passing from the 5 5 1941 expansion chamber, said vertical tube being open 2304474 PO E 8 1942 at the upper end thereof, and means for spray- 2364752 H 1944 ing water into the upper portion of the vertical y tube so that steam entering the tube from the 10 FOREIGN PATENTS expansion chamber is condensed. Number Country Date FRED JOHNSTON- 14,25 6 Great Britain 1903 1 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the 1 file of this patent: