US2746475A - Consistency regulator - Google Patents

Description

y 2, 1956 c. G. MUENCH 2,746,475

CONSISTENCY REGULATOR Filed Sept. 25, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 22%. a. 4M fa' fli z r rzey.

May 22, 1956 Filed Sept. 25, 1952 c. G. MUENCH CONSISTENCY REGULATOR 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 22L. a. MM

j arrzgy.

May 1956 c. G. MUENCH CONSISTENCY REGULATOR 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Sept. 25. 1952 coNsisrnNcr REGULATOR CaIlG, Muench,'C;hicagQ, .1ll., 'assignor :to; The. Celotex Corporation, ;Chicago, 11]., a corporation of Delaware Applicationseptember 25, 19 52 Serial No. 311,462

2 ,(11annst (c1. gist-.91)v

as consistency regulator for; a, dispersion'or suspension;

in particular where the material; dispersed or suspended is ;a,heavy material, that is,t.of-a density ofiaboutthat-of or. exceeding the: density of water. Regulation of the consistency of relatively highuconsistency stocks is best accomplished by the device hereof, thatiis, it operates more satisfactcrily in regulating; the consistency-of astock, say, of consistency compared to,.say,.a 1% consistency, which conditiomhowever, is:.on1y-relative,:that is, thecpcrationt or degree rofzregulation iszrnoresatisfactory withstocks ofghigher consistencies.

Ordinarily,- consistency regulators fornpaperfiber: stocks are in general quite unsatisfactoryfor use with stocks in which are suspended-materials of a densityhigher than the usual, Woodsv used: for paper fiber, and; likewisewith respect to stocks of consistenciesghigher:thanthoseusually used, in connection with; the. manufacturerof paper ;products; thatis, stocksiunning at thermost to aboutx2%- consistency.

The principle involved in this regulator is I that'zof maintaining, in the line'of flow'of the.;stock to the forming machine, a continuously uniform volume ofsstockr -which can be continuously weighed sotthat as the weight-of such, .volumcvofv stock varies, correction: is made to maintain" such volume of stock; at a uniform weight. Such uniform volume of stock is maintained inthealine but out of physical: connection therewith byproviding a suitable tankgto which the stock is supplied but without physical connection to .the t supplying conduit or the like, i and 'from which the stock flows withoutphysicalconnection between the tank'and' the conduittor like to whichtthe tank discharges. Thev stock continuously flows into and out of ,thewtank, discharge being intoth'e tank atoneend and from'the tank at the otherend over a-lipor weir, so that at all times there is*substantially a uniform-volumeof stockin thetank'. The tank is preferably somewhat elongated, thatis rectangularinyshape and of U-shape cross section,.so that a. slow speed cylindrical agitator-may be revolved in the tank to maintain a uniform. suspension therein. The tank maybe tsetton the'platform of ascale, or: many other suitablemanner connected, so that it is supported'by the scaleand will be continuouslyweighed, and suitable .controlsare positionedwith respect to the weight indicator so that above or below the optimum weight, indicatinghigh consistency orlow consistency, respectively, the appropriatecontrol device willbe actu- United States Patent 0 2,746,475 Eatented May 2 2,

sistency up to withinthe desired range.

The preferred construction of thesconsistency regulator hereof and its: operationawill'fiberrdescribedin detail below in connection with thezdrawings illustrative: thereof, and wherein-- v Figure 1 is aside I elevation, partibeing brokenraway;

Figure 2 is atop plan view;

Figure 3 isanvendt-elevation;

Figurei4 an: elevation ofrthe other endaoflthe device; FigurexS is a cross-section taken'ron'line'i5 -5cff Fig Figure 61 is a crosssectionvtakenron line -6-6-of Fig.- ure 1.

The consistency; regulator hereoftcomprisesavtank 10 which preferably is' rectangular-fin shape andaflleasttwice as.-1ong as it is wide, or in' any-xcase" relatively narrow in comparisonwith length. Thisctank m'iswprefrably of Ushape, cross section for: a purpose: which willbe fully evident in connection with :the: following description of the-device. It i'swto. be understood that thisstank l tltneed not-necessarily be: of the construction .as just -describcd but-that suchmay assume'variouswiformsi solongas the objective thcreofisachieved. Anyformeofztankamemher may be utilized so I long as itvis designed towrnaintainva constant; volume ofi Ethe stockrin the: tank, J whiclr stock may be freely-discharged\into the tank from :awsupply conduit or the :like and freely.-'dischargedifromuthet tanl to arounduitorthedihe in which-provision isEincorporated fonmaintaining a uniform dispersion or suspension of thestock'thereina Thcatank 10 aswillustrated i'sprovided' mounted its respective"v end walls with bearings il l Linv which; bearings 11 there. is mounted atshattizt Mountedx on -shaft? 1'2 thereris provided a vcylindricalrpaddletagitator; the paddles 1 being dcsginated by numerals 13: Theispecifimconstruction of'the: agitator issnot of? importance, and iasgthe :detailsof, the constructionx are clearly evident from the drawings, ity is' believed: sufficient to mention.- that such cylindrical; agitator includesrarms :14 and clamp'ing .mcm bers 15 which, respectively,support-the paddles- 1 3 and serve to clamp the cylindrical agitator to sliaft 12. The

through a coupling 23. It is to be understood; of-fcourse,

that any, other. type ofv drive may be used' and that the only requisite: isi-that it .be adrive-which will' rotate agitator at slow speed. a

It is to be particularly:notedlthat'tank' I10 iris what might" be" termed a I freev member; that is, it: is notiphysically connected to the conduit discharging; into the)" tank? :nor: is it. physically connected tot-the conduit to whichhitv-tdis charges. The conduit 25, ,discharging to thetank, it*will be seen terminates above thewlevel-of thestockqinthe tank anddischarges to the tankatone end-with the stock fallingthrough gravitylfrom the lower; cndofsthercone duit. At the oppositeend of the tanktthe discharge over a ,lip .,2i6r.from which .the,dischargedltstocksf lls gravity into a discharging tank which is entirely separate from the consistency regulating tank 10. The consistency regulating tank with its agitator and drive are mounted on a base '27 which rests on and is supported on the platform 28 of a scale.

, From the foregoing it should be fully evident that when the consistency regulator is in operation, since tank; and its associated drive base and the like are at all times supported only on the platform of the scale, the scale will at all times indicate the then instantaneous weight of such assemblage together with the weight of the constant volume of stock contained in the tank, and as the weight of such volume of stock may vary due to variation of consistency, that the scale 'arm lever or indicator will so evidence. The scale indicating device may be suitably integrated with control mechanisms for adjusting the consistency of the stock in the tank 10 to maintain the weight of the stock in the tank within predetermined limits denoting the desired consistency.

The balance arm of the scale is designated as 31, carrying a pointer or contact member 32 which may be connected to one side of an electrical circuit as by means of wire 33. Contacts are mounted to a support member such as 34, the contacts being designated by numerals 35 and 36 and to which contact members there are connected wires 37. and 38 extending to a suitable electric valve control mechanism 39, which serves to adjust the valve or control 40 in water line or conduit 41. 'It is to be understood, of course, that the water line control valve may be operated by hand or by any one of the numerous valve control devices which are available on the market. Since the construction and controls for such valve control device vary with the various such devices, no attempt has been made in the drawings to do more than diagrammatically indicate a such device with conventional controls whereby, as the pointer 32 contacts one or the other of the contact members or 36, a circuit is closed which causes the valve control mechanism to operate, to open or close the valve as required. The required type of valve control device is one which opens or closes the valve by a small increment and then'cuts out, for an adjustable inactive period, whereupon the control is reactivated and contact of pointer 32 with a contact 35 or 36 will again cause actuation of the valve by a small increment. The specific features of the valve control device are'not of the essence nor a part of the invention hereof.

At the farend of tank 10, or the end provided with discharge 26 but separate from tank 10, there is provided a discharge'tank 44 which is suitably supported and provided with a constant level overflow with intake pipe 45 which discharges to conduit 46 .any overflowing stock back into the system in any appropriate manner. This discharge tank 44 is also provided with valve orgated distributing outlets 47 controlled by gates 48' which can be raised and lowered by means of suitably connected adjusting mechanisms operated by means of hand wheels 50. In the illustration there is shown three distributing outlets 47, each provided with a gate 48 through which distributing outlets stock is supplied to separate conduits 51 which lead to the various cylinder chests of boardforming machine. f Y s In accordance with the foregoing it should be readily apparent that the construction described comprises a rela tively simple apparatus for maintaining st-ockfed to a board-forming .machineati a uniform consistency, that is, at a consistency between certain predetermined, relatively narrowlimits. To accomplish this desiredresult, stock of relatively high consistency is fed, as by conduit 25, for discharge into tank 10 of the consistency regulating apparatus. Water is supplied to the stock in stock conduit 25 by means of waterline or conduit 41, in which there is provided avalve 40. Assume a stock suspension is and diluted from its original consistency to substantially thedesired consistency by water supplied through water line or conduit 41. If the consistency of the stock in tank 10 is above or below the optimum, the scale pointer 32 will move up or down appropriately and complete a circuit through one or the other of contacts 35 and 36 to appropriately operate valve control mechanism 39 to supply less water or more water to the high consistency stock asmay be required to bring up the consistency of the stock or to lower the consistency of the stock in tank 10.

In the foregoing it will be seen that there is provided a relatively simple apparatus for maintaining stock consistency in tank 10 between the limits of a predetermined plus or minus tolerance so that the dilute stock discharged from tank 10 to be supplied to the board machine is at what can be referred to as of uniform consistency. It is believed to be clearly evident that the stock in tank 10 will be maintained at a uniform depth, since the discharge is over a discharge 26, and that this stock will be kept in constant and uniform agitation by the rotation of the agitating structure including paddles 13. Finally, it is believed fully evident that the stock of uniform consistency discharged from tank 10 to separate discharge tank 44 will, through distributing outlets 47 and stock conduits 51, supply stock of uniform consistency to the cylinder chests of the board machine being supplied by the consistency regulator.

While nothing particularly has above been said concerning stock consistencies or the like, the device hereof is well adapted for the regulation or control of the consistency of asbestos and cement suspension supplied as stock to an asbestos-cement board machine. In such case, the asbestos and cement are ordinarily put into suspension in a beater, usually at a consistency of somewhere between 25 and 30%, and which would then be stock of high consistency supplied to the consistency regulator hereof. .Since a consistency of about 15% may be the optimum for the stock supplied to the cylinder chest of an'asbestos-cement board machine, the contacts 35 and 36 would be adjusted so as to control the amount of diluting water supplied through water line or conduit 25 to maintain the consistency of the stock as discharged from the consistency regulator between the limits of 14 and 16%, and to thus supply stock to the cylinder chest at an average consistency of 15 The construction and operation of the consistency regulator having been above described in detail, I claim:

1. A consistency regulating apparatus comprising in combination a fluidreceiving tank, an agitator mounted in the tank and connected means operating the agitator, a stock supply conduit terminating at its end out of contact with but discharging over the tank, a separate secondary tank adjacent the receiving tank, the receiving tank provided with a discharge weir, the discharge weir having its outer end positioned over but out of contact with the secondary tank, a water pipe discharging over the receiving tank, a flow control device mounted in the water line and having associated operating means, a base on which are mounted thefluid receiving tank and agitator operating means, a scale on which such base is mounted, the scale provided with a weight-indicating arm and means associated with the weight-indicating arm and activated by the such arm and controlling operation of the water line flow control device operating means.

2. A consistency regulating apparatus comprising in combination a fluid receiving tank, an agitator mounted in the tank and connected means operating the agitator, a stock supply conduit terminating at its end out of contact with but discharging over the tank, a separate secondary tank adjacent the receiving tank, the receiving tank provided with a discharge Weir, the discharge weir having its outer end positioned over but out of contact with the secondary tank, a water pipe discharging over the receiving tank, a flow control device mounted in the water line and having associated operating means, a base on which are mounted the fluid receiving tank and agitator operating means, a scale on which such base is mounted, the scale provided with a weight-indicating arm the water line flow control device operating means, and

in the separate secondary tank to which the discharge v weir delivers, a fixed overflow conduit to limit the maximum head 'of fluid therein and in a wall of said tank,

gated ports providing controlled feed from said tank.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Stobie July 14, 1896 Kegl et a1 1 Jan. 23, 1934 Poirier Feb. 12, 1935 Bailey July 16, 1940 Trump Oct. 26, 1943 Sisler July 3, 1945 Pecker Oct. 26, 1948 Ullman ...Q Apr. 6, 1954

Claims (1)

1. A CONSISTENCY REGULATING APPARATUS COMPRISING IN COMBINATION A FLUID RECEIVING TANK, AN AGITATOR MOUNTED IN THE TANK AND CONNECTED MEANS OPERATING THE AGITATOR, A STOCK SUPPLY CONDUIT TERMINATING AT ITS END OUT OF CONTACT WITH BUT DISCHARGING OVER THE TANK, A SEPARATE SECONDARY TANK ADJACENT THE RECEIVING TANK, THE RECEIVING TANK PROVIDED WITH A DISCHARGE WEIR, THE DISCHARGE WEIR HAVING ITS OUTER END POSITIONED OVER BUT OUT OF CONTACT WITH THE SECONDARY TANK, A WATER PIPE DISCHARGING OVER THE RECEIVING TANK, A FLOW CONTROL DEVICE MOUNTED IN THE WATER LINE AND HAVING ASSOCIATED OPERATING MEANS, A BASE ON WHICH ARE MOUNTED THE FLUID RECEIVING TANK AND AGITATOR OPERATING MEANS, A SCALE ON WHICH SUCH BASE IS MOUNTED THE SCALE PROVIDED WITH A WEIGHT-INDICATING ARM AND MEANS ASSOCIATED WITH THE WEIGHT-INDICATING ARM AND ACTIVATED BY THE SUCH ARM AND CONTROLLING OPERATION OF THE WATER LINE FLOW CONTROL DEVICE OPERATING MEANS.

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