US2721359A

US2721359A - Helical textile beater

Info

Publication number: US2721359A
Application number: US273578A
Authority: US
Inventors: James P Morgan
Original assignee: American Viscose Corp
Current assignee: Akzo Nobel UK PLC
Priority date: 1952-02-27
Filing date: 1952-02-27
Publication date: 1955-10-25
Anticipated expiration: 1972-10-25

Description

Oct. 25, 1955 J. P. MORGAN HELICAL TEXTILE BEATER Filed Feb. 27, 1952 n EEEEEEEE E INVENTOR JAME MORGAN ATTO/ EY.

United States Patent O I-IQELICALVv TEXTILE BEATER Iames P. Morgan, Front Royal, Va., assignor to American Viscose Corporation, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Delaware Application February 27, 1952, Serial No. 273,578

Claims. (Cl. 19-94) This invention relates to apparatus for processing a running blanket of loose unconnected fibers, and particularly toequipment for disintegrating the blankety following the application thereto of wet treatments, and reforming the loose fibers into a blanket to facilitate further treatments.

Nearly all types of textile fiber of the lengths. found in natural or artificially produced staple fibers are sub-` jected to wet treatments at some stage or other while being prepared for incorporation into finished manufactured goods. In the preparation of rayon staple fiber, for example, a preferred procedure involvesv cutting a tow comprising perhaps 100,000 or more filaments while in a wet condition into lengths which may vary in length from 1 to 7 inches, and forming the out-put of the cutter into a blanket of uniform depth over the surface of a continuously moving conveyor having a foraminous surface. One type of conveyor preferred by the staple manufacturer is a series of Walking rail machines which are used to advance the blanket through a series of spray stations for applying, for example, bleach solution, acid solution, soap solution, and water in accordance with a desired sequence. The fibers are matted together in passing through these various liquid treatments and prior to entering a continuously conveying dryer, the blanket must be opened or distintegrated and then distributed laterally to such an extent as to cover the width of the conveyor of a dryer at substantially uniform depth.

The fibrous material of the blanket is customarily dispersed or distinegrated by a two-bladed beater into which the blanket is discharged. The beater is a rotor having an axis extending transversely with respect to the path being traversed by the blanket and comprises a shaft to which are attached diametrically-opposing ribbon-like blades having a length preferably equal to or greater than the width of the blanket. A principal disadvantage of a beater of this type is that when the beater is operated at sufficient speed to satisfactorily disintegrate the blanket, considerable breakage occurs thus reducing the average length of the fibers discharged by a staple conveyor. A further disadvantage is the Wrapping of the beater that occurs when the blanket is constituted of fibers of certain lengths. These difficulties have not been overcome by the addition of more blades to the beater or by changing the size and speed of the beater. Although the invention is readily applicable to the handling of blankets formed from any textile fiber, the following description concerns apparatus particularly adapted for manufacturing viscose rayon staple fiber since the invention was made primarily through efforts to improve such apparatus.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a rotary apparatus or beater that opens blankets of fibers of textile length especially blankets comprising wet fibers. It is another object to construct such apparatus in such a. manner as to confine the discharge of fibrous material during operation into a receiving zone having a well dened width measured parallel to the axis of rotation of the beater. It is still another object to construct a rotary blanket-distintegrating device that operates with freedom from the wrapping of fibrous material about blade and' tus for processing staple fiber, comprising a beater in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2, is a view in elevation of the helical bladed beater used in the apparatus of Fig. 1;

Fig'. 3 is a fragmentary view of a modified beater;

Fig. 4 is a diagram illustrating an angular relationship between the path of the blanket and circumference of the beater; and

Fig. 5. is a diagrammatic plan view of the apparatus illustrated in Eig. l.

In brief, the objects of the invention are accomplished by a rotor or beater having its axis extending transversely with respect to the path of a running blanket with the surface of revolution swept by its periphery intersecting suC-h Path and comprising one or more helical blades, each blade having adjacent left-hand and right-hand sections. In a preferred embodiment, the blades terminate in the side surfaces of drums mounted co-axiallywith the blade to prevent wrapping of the shaft portions of the rotor by fibrous material. The rotor is rotated in the direction in which the helical sections apparently advance toward respective end-portions of the rotor at which the sections terminate.

Fig. 1 illustrates a portion of an apparatus such as used in the manufacture of rayon staple'ber wherein a fibrous blanket 4 is discharged from a conveyor 5 of the walking-beam type into the nip of a pair of rolls 6 and 7 which squeeze liquid from theblanket received duringprior liquid-treatments. The rolls are urged together in accordance to the pressure to which the blanket is to be subjected by resilient means such as the spring-loaded bearing 9 which engages a trunnion of the roll 6. The expressed liquid is collected in a receiver 8 which may be drained in any suitable manner. The blanket is discharged through a chute 10 into engagement with the blades of a rotor or beater 11 shown in detail in Fig. 2. The axis of the beater 11 extends transversely of the path of the blanket so that the surface of the revolution swept by the radially outer edgesr of the blades of the beater preferably intersects the path. Preferably, the blades of the rotor have similar lead and pitch, and axially coextensive sections of the blades having the same hand intersect the surface of revolution in parallel lines when the surface of revolution is projected into a plane. The beater of the Present invention will operate satisfactorily at all practicable rotative speeds without the wrapping of fibrous material about portions of the beater. However, it is necessary that the speed of operation be such that the blades of the beater engage the blanket at sufiicient rate to produce satisfactory dispersion of the fibrous material of the blanket. l

In the operation of actual production equipment, equipped with a beater constructed in accordance with the present invention, a blanket of staple fiber, having a thickness of 3 to 4 inches while carried on a Walking beam conveyor, is passed through squeeze rolls at approximately 2 to 3 feet per minute. The action of the rolls reduces the thickness to about 2 inches and the moisture content to about 60% based on the dry weight of the fiber. The blanket then passes into engagement with the revolving blades of the beater. Entirely satisfactory disintegration of the blanket is obtained by a two-bladed beater, such as illustrated by the drawing, having an extreme blade diameter of 151/2 inches and operated at a speed of approximately 300 revolutions per minute. The

speed however, is not critical and may be increased or decreased in accordance with other operating conditions. The bers of the blanket are very effectively separated by the beater and discharged as a stream which forms a pile of dispersed liber within the hopper 14, the floor of which comprises an endles conveyor 15. The conveyor moves in the direction indicated by the arrows to carry fibrous' material into contact with an elevating conveyor 16 provided with teeth or cleats 17 which in conjunction with a comb 18 form` a blanket of uniform depth which is carried upwardly to a region over-hanging a dryer conveyor 20 and discharged thereupon. A dofling rotor 22 having a large plurality of leather strips 23 is mounted adjacent the unloading region for the conveyor 16. The rotor 22 is rotated at a greater peripheral rate than the speed of the conveyor 16 whereby the leather strips are forced between the teeth 17 of the conveyor to forcibly transfer the fiber therefrom onto the dryer conveyor 20. The comb 18 is supported swingably on a pivotal axis which extends transversely and is uniformly spaced with respect to the path of movement of the conveyor 16. As usually mounted, such a comb is permitted to swing through an arc of about 30 degrees. The resulting gap between the teeth of the comb and teeth 17 of the conveyor 16 produces a blanket having an approximately uniform thickness. The

conveyors

15 and 16 have preferably a width equal to the width of the perforated area so that the blanket formed on the

conveyors

15 and 16 will be dried efliciently on the conveyor 20 which constitutes a portion of a conventional convection dryer, such as that manufactured by the Proctor & Schwartz Company.

The beater 11, as shown in Fig. 2, comprises a shaft 24 and two helical blades 25 and 26 attached thereto. Each blade comprises a right hand and left hand section joined midway of the length of the blade. The terms right hand and left hand as used in the present description of the beater are applied in the same manner as when used with respect to the helical threads of screws to identify the angular direction in which the blade extends with respect to the beater axis. spaced coaxial radially extending surfaces provided by members circular in cross-section, such as a pair of

drums

28 and 29 located on the shaft 24 and at opposite ends of the blades. As shown, the diameters of the drums are substantially that of the surface of revolution swept by the outer edges of the blades 25 and 26. The drums are provided primarily to prevent staple from being thrown by the blades in a direction endwise from the beater. The end surfaces of the

drums

28 and 29 are preferably closed to prevent suction air currents from developing in the vicinity of the shaft 24 particularly adjacent those surfaces of the drums facing away from the blades so that ibrous material does not wrap about the shaft 24. As optional equipment, a plurality of ns 30 may be attached to the outer peripheral surfaces of the drums to produce a mild air current directed toward the region surrounding the beater so as to oppose any tendency of the blades 25 and 26 to direct fibrous material beyond the ends of blades. The tins 30 are helical or canted with respect to the axis of the drum surfaces so that the ends of the fins that are furthest away from the blade sections of the rotor are more advanced in the direction of rotation of the beater than the ends of the fins nearer the blade sections. Thus, the fins 20 of either drum are opposite in hand with respect to the right or left handedness of the blade sections nearest that drum. As illustrated, the shaft 24 has portions of reduced diameter near either end, such as the end portion 32, to receive bearings 33 associated with the hopper walls, and a pulley 34 by which rotative power is transmitted to the beater.

The beater 11 illustrated in Fig. 2 is rotated preferably in the direction indicated by the arrows. Rotation in this direction causes the

intersections

36 and 37 of the right and left sections of the blades 25 and 26 to be more advanced in the direction of rotation than the other por- The blades 25 and 26 terminate in tions of the respective blades. Although the blades 25 and 26 are constituted in the embodiment shown so that the helical direction of the blades changes sharply at the

intersections

36 and 37 of the right and left hand sections, the respective sections of each blade may be joined in a smoothly curved portion rather than by the V shaped intersections illustrated. However, the smooth curved construction is more diicult to form.

A beater having helical blades of the type just described may be constructed with ridges extending in a radial direction along the leading surfaces of the blades. Fig. 3 illustrates a modified beater 11a showing the

blades

25a and 26a having radially extending ridges 39 similar to those provided on one beater having helical blades such as hereinabove described and successfully used in practicing the invention.

In Fig. 4, circle 38 indicates the circumference along which the edges of the blades 25 and 26 are revolving. Also indicated is the relationship of the direction of movement of the blanket through chute 10 or line C with respect to the circle 38. Preferably, the blanket approaches the surface of revolution swept by the blade edges along a line of engagement from a direction having an angle with the plane of tangency along the line of engagement between the blanket and the blades. As illustrated by Fig. 3, the blanket passes along path C in the direction of the arrow to intersect the circle of revolution of the beater 11. The path C intersects a portion of the circle to produce some angle, such as angle D, with a plane of tangency represented by the line AB passing through the intersection of the path with surface of revolution.

The edges of the blades in acting on the under surface of the blanket, impart force that is to some extent lateral with respect to the general direction of the blanket advancement because of the inclination of the blades therewith. Consequently, the loose fibrous material produced from the disintegration of the blanket is distributed laterally to some extent with respect to lengthwise movement of the blanket. Consequently, the hopper 14 may have a width somewhat greater than the length of the blades. The formation of a blanket of uniform thickness is promoted by the action of the comb 18 which meters and levels the brous material supplied to the conveyor 16 from the hopper. The side-wise distribution of the loose fibers discharged by the heater is highly advantageous in systems wherein, to facilitate drying or other treatment of the fiber, it is necessary or desirable to reform the fibrous material into a blanket of much greater width and thickness than that of the blanket discharged from less advanced portions of the apparatus such as the wet treatment conveyor 5. In previous installations where the width of the blanket was substantially increased, the fiber entered the dryer as a blanket which was ordinarily thinner and less dense in the marginal portions thereof because of the tendency to form a sloping centrally peaked mass of loose material in the hopper 14.

The beater in accordance with the present invention has the advantage of being operable within a greater range of speeds than beaters heretofore provided for disintegrating wet blankets of fibrous material. Moreover, such a beater may be operated at sufficient speed to disintegrate the blanket Without the breakage of fibers which normally accompanies the operating of conventional beaters. When the beater is constructed with drums at the end of the helical blades as hereinbefore described and operated in conjunction with suitable ancillary equipment, the discharge of brous material into a receiving zone may be accurately controlled in such a manner as to promote the formation of a blanket of uniform thickness and density for further treatments of the fibrous material.

While a single embodiment of the invention has been shown and described, it is to be understood that changes and variations may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A rotor for disintegrating a running blanket of textile fibers comprising helical blades which extend in a direction away from an axis of rotation to a common surface of revolution and lengthwise of the axis, each of said blades comprising right and left-hand helical portions, the intersections of axially coextensive portions of said blades with the surface of revolution being parallel when said surface is projected in a plane, said blades extending along a common section of the axis, and a pair of axially spaced drums mounted coaxially at each end of said section of the axis, said drums having closed side surfaces and a closed circular surface connecting the side surfaces, the blades extending substantially from one drum to the other and being connected therewith for rotation together.

2. A rotor as defined in claim 1 having helically disposed ns mounted on the circular surfaces of the drums, the fins of each drum being opposite in hand to the hand of blade portions attached to the same drum.

3. Apparatus for disintegrating a running blanket comprising a rotor having blades which extend in a direction away from the axis of rotation to a common surface of revolution and lengthwise of the axis, each blade comprising right and left-hand helical sections, the intersections of axially-coextensive sections of the blades with the surface of revolution being parallel when said surface is projected into a plane, and a pair of axially-spaced drum-shaped members disposed at, and connected with, opposite ends of the blades; means for feeding the blanket along a path intersecting the surface of revolution, the width of the path extending substantially lengthwise of the surface of revolution, means for rotatably supporting the rotor with the axis of rotation fixed with respect to the path; and means for rotating the rotor in a direction with respect to which the junction of the right and left-hand sections of each blade is the most advanced portion of the blade.

4. Apparatus for disintegrating a running blanket comprising a rotor having blades which extend in a direction away from an axis of rotation to a common surface of revolution and lengthwise along the axis, each blade comprising right and left-hand helical sections, the intersections of axially-coextensive sections of the blades with the surface of revolution being parallel when said surface is projected into a plane, each blade having laterallyextending axially-spaced ridges on the surfaces of the blades which face forward with respect to the direction of rotation; means for feeding the blanket along a path intersecting the surface of revolution, the width of the path extending substantially lengthwise on the surface of revolution; means for rotatably supporting the rotor with the axis in rotation fixed with respect to the path; and means for rotating the rotor in a direction with respect to which the junction of the right and left-hand sections of each blade is the most advanced portion of the blade.

5. Apparatus for disintegrating a running blanket of fibers comprising a rotor having blades which extend in a direction away from the axis of the rotor to a common surface of revolution and also lengthwise of the axis, each blade comprising right and left-hand sections, the intersections of axially-coextensive sections of the blades with the surface of revolution being parallel when said surface is projected into a plane, and a pair of axially-spaced members circular in cross section having radially-extending surfaces between which the blades extend from surface to surface, the diameters of the radiallyextending surfaces being substantially as large as that surface of revolution, means for feeding the blanket along a path intersecting the surface of revolution, the width of the path being approximately coextensive with the length of the blades, means for rotatably supporting the rotor with the axis of rotation fixed with respect to the path, and means for rotating the rotor in a direction with respect to which the junction of the right and left-hand sections of each blade is the most advanced portion of the blade.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 26,081 Bidwell Nov. l5, 1859 682,193 Heggem Sept .10, 1901 860,757 Maxwell July 23, 1907 1,497,706 Youlten June 17, 1924 1,840,505 Gray Jan. 12, 1932 2,268,429 Shank Dec. 30, 1941 2,312,838 Johnston Mar. 2, 1943 2,341,623 Kern Feb. 15, 1944

Claims

5. APPARATUS FOR DISINTEGRATING A RUNNING BLANKET OF FIBERS COMPRISING A ROTOR HAVING BLADES WHICH EXTEND IN A DIRECTION AWAY FROM THE AXIS OF THE ROTOR TO A COMMON SURFACE OF REVOLUTION AND ALSO LENGTHWISE OF THE AXIS, EACH BLADE COMPRISING RIGHT AND LEFT-HAND SECTIONS, THE INTERSECTION OF AXIALLY-COEXTENSIVE SECTIONS OF THE BLADES WITH THE SURFACE OF REVOLUTION BEING PARALLEL WHEN SAID SURFACE IS PROJECTED INTO A PLANE, AND A PAIR OF AXIALLY-SPACED MEMBERS CIRCULAR IN CROSS SECTION HAVING RADIALLY-EXTENDING SURFACES BETWEEN WHICH THE BLADES EXTEND FROM SURFACE TO SURFACE, THE DIAMETERS OF THE RADIALLYEXTENDING SURFACES BEING SUBSTANTIALLY AS LARGE AS THAT SURFACE OF REVOLUTION, MEANS FOR FEEDING THE BLANKET ALONG A PATH INTERSECTING THE SURFACE OF REVOLUTION, THE WIDTH OF THE PATH BEING APROXIMATELY COEXTENSIVE WITH THE LENGTH OF THE BLADES, MEANS FOR ROTATABLY SUPPORTING THE ROTOR WITH THE AXIS OF ROTATION FIXED WITH RESPECT TO THE PATH AND MEANS FOR ROTATING THE ROTOR IN A DIRECTION WITH RESPECT TO WHICH THE INJECTION OF THE RIGHT AND LEFT-HAND SECTIONS EACH BLADE IN THE MOST ADVANCED PORTION OF THE BLADE.