US3063755A

US3063755A - Device for automatically transporting dry granular material

Info

Publication number: US3063755A
Application number: US18152A
Authority: US
Inventors: Wijdeveld Petrus Wilhelm Jozef; Bosters Adrianus Franciscus
Original assignee: US Philips Corp
Current assignee: US Philips Corp; North American Philips Co Inc
Priority date: 1959-03-31
Filing date: 1960-03-28
Publication date: 1962-11-13
Anticipated expiration: 1979-11-13
Also published as: CH382653A; DE1147531B; DK94453C; BE589178A; CA663123A; GB942257A

Description

Nov. 13, 1962 P. w. J. WIJDEVELD ETAL 3,063,755

DEVICE FOR AUTOMATICALLY TRANSPORTING DRY GRANULAR MATERIAL Filed March 28, 1960 mvsu'rons PETRUS W.J.WIJDEVELD FRANS SCHOLTZE ADRIANUS F. BOSTERS United States Patent 3,063,7 55 DEVICE FOR AUTOMATICALLY TRANPORTWG DRY GRANULAR MATERIAL Petrus Wilhelmus Jozef Wijdeveld, Frans Scholtze, and Adrianus Franciscus Boaters, Baarn, Netherlands, assrgnors to North American Philips Company, Inc, New

York, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed Mar. 28, 1960, Ser. No. 18,152 Claims priority, application Netherlands Mar. 31, 1959 2 Claims. (Cl. 302-58) The invention relates to a device for automatically transporting granular material.

It is frequently necessary to transport dry granular material with a minimum of manual handling in order to prevent contamination thereof. This is particularly the case when the material is granulated polyvinylchloride acetate, especially when used for pressing phonograph records. It is also important that the transportation of the material be stopped automatically when the storage vessel to which the material is being conveyed is filled to a predetermined level and then be resumed automatically when the amount of material drops below a certain level.

In accordance with the invention we transport the granular material by means of a device in which the material is agitated and then transported by a stream of gas into the storage vessel through a tubular member which is provided at one end with a closure member by which the how of the material can be readily controlled. More particularly the device, according to the invention, is characterized in that provision is made of a transport duct, which has a mouthpiece provided with a central jet pipe and located at a certain distance from the sucking end of the transport duct and capable of closing completely the mouth of the transport duct against the pressure of a spring, whilst during operation a gas under a comparatively high pressure is conveyed through each jet pipe and the transport duct is furthermore provided with one or more jet pipes arranged in the wall thereof and extending approximately in the direction of transport, which pipes are fed, during operation, also by a gas under a comparatively high pressure.

According to a further aspect of the invention the mouthpiece is secured by means of at least two guides to a sliding piece surrounding the transport duct, one of the guides being used as a supply duct for the gas.

The invention will be described more fully with refer ence to the drawing, which shows one embodiment of the device according to the invention and is a sectional view of the end of a transport duct.

In the drawing, reference numeral 1 designates a transport duct, which has a gland 2, secured rigidly to the duct. At the end of the duct is provided a sliding piece 3, which is adapted to slide along the duct, and between the sliding piece 3 and the gland 2 is provided a pressure spring 4. The duct is provided with a bent-over edge 5, so that the sliding piece 3 cannot be removed fro-m the duct. A mouthpiece 6 is provided with a jet pipe 7 and is secured by a connecting rod 8 to the sliding piece 3. The other connection between the sliding piece 3 and the mouthpiece 6 is formed by a duct 9, to which a duct for compressed air is connected. The air has an overpressure of 3 to 4 atmospheres. In the wall of the duct are furthermore provided a plurality of jet pipes 10, which are housed in a housing 11. This housing has a connection 12, through which also compressed air of 3 to 4 atmospheres can be introduced into the housing 11. If the ice device described above is introduced into a vessel containing, for example, polyvinylchloride-acetate grains, the mouthpiece 6 is urged against the lower end of the duct 1, so that there is no possibility for the lower end of the duct 1 to contain a quantity of grains, which can not be conveyed. As soon as the mouthpiece 6 touches the bottom of the vessel, the spring urges the transport duct 1 upwards, so that a space is formed between the end of the duct 1 and the mouthpiece 6. If air is then introduced into the

pipes

9 and 12, the fiow of air through the jet pipe 7 agitats a quantity of grains. The grains obtain a certain initial velocity and the air flowing through the jet pipes it] sucks up the agitated grains, which already have a certain velocity and transports them further. When such a quantity has been transported that the opening of the transport duct in the vessel, to which the grains to be transported are supplied, is completely closed, no grains are any longer transported, since the opening cannot be blown free, so that no flow of air occurs any longer in the duct. When the opening is again free, the material being removed from the vessel, for example via a drain in the bottom or" the vessel, the transport is automatically resumed. With the device described above, a pipe diameter of 20 mms. and an air pressure of 3 to 4 atmospheres permitted of transporting per hour kgs. of grains of polyvinylchloride acetate with a specific weight of 1.36 up to a height of 4 metres. The air is previously purified by passing it through a filter. Any contamination of the polyvinylchloride is thus avoided. The device itself can be manufactured in a simple manner and it should be noted that, for example, no cyclone is required to separate the material to be transported from the air. Moreover, it is found that a comparatively small quantity of air is required to transport of the aforesaid quantity.

What is claimed is:

1. A device for transporting dry granular material from one storage vessel to a second storage vessel, comprising a tubular transport member having an inlet opening adapted to be imbedded in the material and an outlet opening adapted to be arranged in the vicinity of the second storage vessel, a compressed gas jet mounted on said member with its orifice within the member and directed toward the outlet opening, a closure member movably mounted on said member at the inlet opening, resilient means urging said closure member away from the inlet opening to form a space, and a compressed gas jet mounted on said closure member and directed through said space toward the inlet opening.

2. A device as defined in claim 1 and further comprising a plurality of rod-shaped members slidably mounted on said transport member and supporting said closure member, and means to supply gas to the compressed gas jet on the closure member including a passageway formed in one of said rod-shaped members.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 469,175 Schutte Feb. 16, 1892 528,417 Duckham Oct. 30, 1894 850,639 Gebhardt Apr. 16, 1907 1,305,726 Leonard June 3, 1919 2,561,148 Snow July 17, 1951 2,661,244 Baily Dec. 1, 1953 2,676,852 Kirkbride Apr. 27, 1954 2,703,732 Schutte Mar. 8, 1955 2,774,636 Whitlock Dec. 18, 1956