US2590541A - Dissolving apparatus - Google Patents

Description

March 1.952 LE B-ARON B. JOHNSON ErAL 2,590,541

DISSOLVING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 14. 1947 Zlvwmwbcu hnson LeBaron B 70 Eugene Geh Patented Mar. 25, 1952 DISSOLVING APPARATUS Le Baron B. Johnson, New York, N. Y., and Eugene Geh, Tenafiy, N. J assignors to Oakite Products, Inc., New York, N. Y., a. corporation Application November 14, 1947, Serial N 0. 786,008

2 Claims.

' The invention relates to devices for feeding, dispensing or metering solutions or suspensions of solids in liquids. It is particularly designed for the feeding of a solution of a soapy material at a uniform rate to industrial conveyor chains such as those in breweries, dairies and other food handling plants.

. The proper lubrication of conveyor chains in .such places is particularly important to minimize bottle breakage and deterioration of the chains. At the same time maintenance labor costs are kept as low as possible.

\ Various devices have been suggested in the past for the feeding of small quantities of a solu- .tion or suspension of a solid in a liquid. Such devices have been unsatisfactory either because they have had a tendency to clog up and become useless, or because they have been so complicated as to render them too expensive for practical use. Furthermore the regulation of such devices has been difficult.

1 The principal object of the present invention is to provide an arrangement of this type which is of simple construction while it operates with satisfactory accuracy and without frequent cleaning.

Another object of the invention is to provide an arrangement of this type in which clogging of the outflow for the solution is prevented in a particularly efficient manner.

A further object of the invention is to provide an arrangement in which a solution flowing at a slow rate, and particularly drop by drop, can be distributed evenly between a plurality of outlets so as to obtain even distribution of the solution.

A further object of the invention is to provide an arrangement whereby the concentration or strength of the solution can be maintained as high or low as required without recourse to special apparatus.-

Still another object of the invention is to provide an arrangement in which the control of the rate of feed is extremely simple and requires no special apparatus.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of this type which is easy to clean if cleaning becomes necessary, and which can be readily assembled and disassembled.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will appear more fully from the following description, particularly when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which form a part thereof.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a cross-section through a feeding device embodying our invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof;

Fig. 3 is an end view of the distributing arrangement and Fig. 4 is a cross section, similar to Fig. 1,

through a portion of a modified form of feeding device. I

The device as shown in the drawings consists of a rectangular tank 2. Adjacent one end of this tank is a screen 4 which is formed in a bowed shape with its ends fitting into two of the corners of the tank. This screen is removable so as to be readily cleaned and when in place is held rigid by screw 5, threaded in block is to be described below. This screen is provided with very fine perforations. The screen divides the tank into a chamber 6 adapted to be charged'with a solid material in cake, paste, granulated or powdered form such as hard soap, soft soap or alkaline type cleanser or mixtures of the above, and chamber in which holds solution or particles in suspension, ready for discharge from the apparatus.

Water, flowing through pet cock [6 and globe valve l4 flows from the turned down pipe elbow l3 through a removable pipe l5 into the approximate center of the bottom portion of chamber 6. The pet cock is set to allow the water to flow through in the amount desired, and is thereafter left at such setting. The globe valve is used to open and close the flow of water so as to shut it 01f entirely when the device is not in use.

While we prefer to feed the water in the manner described herein, other methods of controlling the flow might be used within the scope of the invention. The water may, if desired, be allowed to flow only when the conveyor is in motion, such flow being regulated either manually or otherwise.

For some purposes, as will be described below. pipe It should be used. Usually, however, this pipe is removed and water is allowed to flow in drops or a small stream from the end of elbow 13 into the top of chamber 6.

A block [8 is mounted on the end wall of the container within chamber ID by screws 20. This block has a passage 22 extending upwardly from its lower end, and turning at right angles to communicate with the central passage of a pipe section 24 threaded in block [8 through an opening in the wall of the tank. Pipe 24 terminates in a downwardly turned channelled spout 26, the end of which is shaped to permit drops or a small stream to fall off as the solution is fed through pipe 24. Block I8 is also drilled with passage 21 which eliminates the possibility of a syphoning action.

Mounted on the outer end of pipe 24 is a distributor block 28 the vertical wall of which is threaded on the end of the pipe. Block 28 has an inclined bottom wall 30 extending above and below the vertical projection of the tip of spout 26, so that drops or a small stream discharged from the spout will fall on the inclined bottom wall, 80. Below the point of projection of spout 26 on wall 30 there is an upstanding divider 32 extending above the plane of the upper face of wall 30 and located in the same vertical plane as the axis of pipe 24. Extending from the lower end of block 28 are two diverging arms 34 in which are mounted pipes 36 communicating with passages in these arms opening at 38 into the interior of block 28 below the top of divider 32.

This arrangement operates as follows:

When water is discharged into compartment 6, it gradually dissolves or forms a suspension of the solid material therein and flows through the openings in screen 4 into compartment l0. This result is achieved whatever may be the amount of solid in compartment 6 because the openings in screen 4 extend from top to bottom thereof. Compartment l fills up until the solution level 39 in the tank, indicated at 39, reaches the height of overflow passage 24, at which'time drops or a small stream will fall from spout 26 onto wall 30 and will be divided by divider 32 between the two pipes 36. Thus a measured equal feed of solution to two points, such as two separate conveyor chains or two points of a single conveyor chain, can be obtained. Because of the fine mesh of the screen 4, it is impossible for solid particles of any size to pass into compartment l0, and there is thus no tendency to clog pipe 24. One of the most important features of the invention lies in the fact that we cause pure water to be metered into compartment 6 where clogging will not occur and cause solution to pass only through relatively large passages. Were solution to be metered, clogging would occur within the necessarily small metering orifice.

There are frequent uses of the invention where a plurality of discharge pipes 36 are not required. Then block 28 and connecting pipe 24 are not required and a single tube 40 as shown at Fig. 4 is screwed into place; the other end of the tube being placed so that discharged solution will impinge on a conveyor chain where desired.

Flexibility of the invention as to rate of flow of solution and as to securing any desired concentration of solution is shown as follows.

Assuming that the rate of flow of solution is determined, the concentration or strength is maintained low when the charge of soap or other material is tightly packed in chamber 6. pared to this a more loosely packed charge will result in the flow of a more highly concentrated solution. Additional concentration is secured if water entering chamber 6 from the supply line passes through pipe Hi to a point close to the bottom of chamber 6. Screen 4 plays an important part in the delivery of solution and the AS comsubstitution of a screen of larger or finer mesh or larger or smaller area or shape results in the delivery of correspondingly stronger or weaker solution.

While we have described herein some embodiments of our invention, We Wish it to be understood that we do not intend to limit ourselves thereby except within the scope of the claims hereto or hereinafter appended.

We claim:

1. A device for feeding a solution or suspension of a solid material in a liquid, comprising a tank, a substantially vertical wall dividing said tank into compartments, said wall extending from top to bottom of the tank and having small perforations along its whole height to permit communication between such compartments at all levels while preventing the passage of large particles of solid material from one compartment to the other, the first of said compartments being adapted to contain a solid material, and an overflow passage having a first substantially horizontal part through the wall of the tank adjacent the top thereof and having a second part extending downwardly into the second of said compartments and communicating therewith at a point in the upper half of the tank adjacent but somewhat below said first part, said passage including a third part communicating with said first part and with the outside at a point above said first part.

2. In a device as claimed in claim 1, said pipe having at its free end a downwardly turned, channeled spout, a member having an inclined surface below the end of said spout, said member having two openings on opposite sides of a vertical plane normal to such surface and intersecting the end of the spout, and means extending upwardly from such surface below the point of the vertical projection of the spout on such surface and at least partially above said openings for dividing the flow from said spout equally between the two openings.

LE BARON B. JOHNSON.

EUGENE GEH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,733,464 McWilliams Oct. 29, 1929 1,788,404 Murray Jan. 13, 1931 2,287,339 Balcunas June 23, 1942 2,502,726 Horton Apr. 4, 1950

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