US2808616A

US2808616A - Mineral wool spinning wheel

Info

Publication number: US2808616A
Application number: US593206A
Authority: US
Inventors: Ernest C Baldasarre; Arthur P Gennari
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1956-06-22
Filing date: 1956-06-22
Publication date: 1957-10-08
Anticipated expiration: 1974-10-08

Description

1957 E. c. BALDASARRE ETAL 2,808,616

MINERAL WOOL SPINNING WHEEL Filed June 22, 1956 Even/57's 5277657 6'. Ba/c/asarre,

United States Patent MINERAL WOOL SPINNING WHEEL Ernest C. Baldasarreand Arthur P. Gennari, West Stockbridge, Mass.

Application June 22, 1956, Serial N 0. 593,206

3 Claims. (Cl. 182.6)

Our invention relates to improvements in mineral wool spinning wheels and has for its object the provision of a spinning wheel having a plurality of advantages including low initial cost, low maintenance cost, long life, ease of replacement, reduction of idle machine time, increased production, more uniform quality of the spun product, and

other advantages that will become evident as the explanation of the invention progresses.

Fig. l is the front elevation of a simple form of the kind of mineral wool spinning machine contemplated by the present invention and having spinning wheels in accordance with the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the improved spinning Wheel in section taken along the line 2-2 of Fig. l; and Fig. 3

'is a perspective view of the Wheel partially taken apart fibers. This stream is seen as being poured on the rotating wheel 13 which partially spreads this stream and throws it at a high velocity as stream 14 to the rotating wheel 15 which in its turn catches and redirects it as spray 14 at a still higher velocity. While Fig. 1 shows only two spinning wheels for illustration, more of them in cascade may be provided if desired.

it will be observed that the velocity of stream 14 and the tangential velocity of wheel 15 are in differentdirections, as a result of which the stream and the wheel strike each other with a relative velocity that is the vectorial resultant of their respective velocities and hence greater than either one. This is advantageous, because a liquid or viscous drop falling slowly tends to assume a spherical shape, and with increasing speed more and more oval, in the limit becoming thread like, especially as the friction between the stream and the surface it hits tends to stretch, streak and shred it. Liquid or viscous fine threads cool off and solidify quickly.

In conventional practice, the wheels to serve as 15 for instance are expensively madecast and machined-from the most durable grades of steel. They are hollow and watercooled with circulating water inside, and yet, due to the physical and chemical action of the hot molten slag on the steel under high impact and friction, and also due to the shot effect of unmolten particles in the slag impinging on the wheel surface at a high velocity, these wheels hecome eroded at a surprisingly high rate. The erosion is not infrequently very uneven and spotty, and the product non-uniform, and the wheel subject to mechanical failure. Replacement of such wheels with new wheels being expensive, the eroded wheels are generally turned down on the lathe to even them, and then they are built up by welding. However, steel suitable for welding lacks the strength and durability of the original steel and additionally introduces into the wheel non-homogeneity and stresses, and such wheels are apt to crack in service.

These and other related troubles of theconventional spinning wheels are greatly mitigated by the present invention through the wheel structure shown in Figs. 2 and 3. Referring to these two figures jointly, the wheel is seen as made up of two end platesa discoidal front plate 19 and an annular rear plate 16these two including between themselves a stack of

annular discs

17 and 18 alternating with each other to produce the desired axial wheel dimension, that is, the width of the spinning surface of the wheel. The two end plates are bolted together tightly, to produce a watertight wheel, by means of a set of bolts 20 which are preferably of the Allenhead type. Although only one bolt 20 is visible in Fig. 2, a dozen may be seen in Fig. 3.

The annular elements 18 are high strength steel rings preferably of the order of a quarter of an inch in thickness, through they may be more or less thick; and the annular elements 17 are preferably of copper and may be of the order of %;2 inch in thickness, or more or less. The outer surfaces of the steel rings provide the spinning surface, while the copper elements 17 serve several purposes. By virture of their relative softness, they serve as gaskets to make the joints between the steel rings watertight. They also permit the steel rings to creep slightly as it becomes necessary to relieve undue stresses and strains arising in the wheel stack. Furthermore, the copper having many times the heat conductivity of steel, these rings help keep the steel rings cooler and therefore harder and stronger. The cooling action of these copper rings on the steel rings is further enhanced by making the copper rings of a smaller central hole than the steel rings so that the copper rings project as cooling fins beyond the steel rings into the water chamber within the wheel as may be seen in Fig. 2.

While the copper and the steel rings are shown on these figures as flush on the outside surf-aces, they may be also staggered or stepped if desired.

All of the rings and plates are shown with bolt holes for bolts 20, and in the case of

parts

16, 17 and 18 these holes :are seen (more clearly in Fig. 2) as having raised rims or flanges for their quick and accurate alignment in assembling. The face plate 19 is shown without this raised portion, its place being taken by a filler piece 19'. It will be obvious to those familiar with machine shop practice that these parts, 16-19 inclusive, may be indexed in various other ways also for quick and accurate alignment in assembling.

The wheel (15) is seen as having a shaft'member 22 (to be supported in an appropriate conventional bearing not shown) with flange portion 22 to which the rear plate 16 of the wheel is made fast by means of screws 21.

Part 23 seen in Fig. 2 is a conventional stationary pipe to carry cooling water to the chamber within the wheel, this water returning through the space 24 surrounding the pipe. No claim of novelty is made as to the means used for water circulation.

In the light of the foregoing explanations, it will be seen that the spinning wheel of the present invention is easily assembled out of simple flat rings and plates that may be kept in stock; that they are economical to produce and replace; that they are well adapted for making from the most desirable varieties of steel; that by virtue of their superior cooling, these rings will maintain their hardness longer and thus last longer and produce more uniform product; and that they are practically crackproof.

While the detailed construction described above is the construction we prefer at this time, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various modifications can 3 be made therein without departure from the spirit of the invention.

Having described the prinicples, organization, preferred structure and mode of operation of our invention, we claim asour invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States the following, =to 'wit:

17 In a mineral wool spinning machine, a spinning wheel having two circular end plates and a stack of fiat steel rings alternating with copper rings, said stack-being assembled axially with said end plates'and bolted watertight between said plates, said plates and said rings forming a water chamber for cooling water, and said copper rings having smaller central holes than the holes of said steel rings so as to project into said water chamber as cooling fins beyond said steel rings.

2. In a mineral wool spinning machine, a spinning wheel having two circular-end plates and a stack of flat plate rings axially aligned with and tightly held between said end plates to form a watertight hollow wheel, said stack of flat rings consisting of thicker rings alternating with thinner rings, said thicker rings being of a harder metal and providing external spinning surface to said wheel, and said thinner rings being of a softer metal and providing watertight joints amongsaid rings and plates, good heat conduction and strain relief among various parts of said wheel.

4 3. In a mineral wool spinning machine, the spinning wheel comprising a plurality of rings tightly stacked together between two end elements to form a hollow cylinder adapted to be cooled from within by means of a cooling fluid introduced into said hollow space, said cylinder being further adapted to Withstand highly nonuniform and variable temperature distributions with fluidtight joints by virtue of said rings comprising axially thicker rings alternating with thinner rings, said thicker rings being harder and providing external spinning surfaces to said wheel, and said thinner rings being softer and providing in contact with said harder rings fluidtight joints under said highly non-uniform and variable temperature distributions, at least one of said two end elements being adapted to rotatably support said wheel and at least one of said end elements providing a passageway for the flow of said cooling fluid through said hollow cylinder.

Powell Nov. 14, 1950 Richardson Nov. 29, 1955