US3258121A

US3258121A - Separator with automatic discharge

Info

Publication number: US3258121A
Application number: US178114A
Authority: US
Inventors: Ley Bernhard
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1961-04-19
Filing date: 1962-03-07
Publication date: 1966-06-28
Anticipated expiration: 1983-06-28
Also published as: BE616347A; DE1140883B; DK105976C; GB990866A; CH403681A

Description

June 28, 1966 B. LEY 3,258,121

SEPARATOR WITH AUTOMATIC DISCHARGE Filed March 7, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVE/W'OF June 28, 1966 B. LEY 3,258,121

SEPARATOR WITH AUTOMATIC DISCHARGE Filed March 7, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 BER/\IHHRD My United States Patent 3,258,121 SEPARATOR WITH AUTOMATIC DISCHARGE Bernhard Ley, Bollingen, Elisabethfehn, Germany Filed Mar. 7, 1962, Ser. No. 178,114 Claims priority, application Germany, Apr. 19, 1961, L saws; Jan. 23, 1962, L 41,028 2 Claims. (Cl. 209-160) It is known that in the dredging of rivers and harbours, for example, the sand to be dredged out is washed by the dredges into special boats and that the mixture in this case consists of more water than sand, so that the mixture cannot be lifted out of the tow-boat with a load-grab but has to be pumped out of it and washed onto the slimereceiving ground. In this process, considerable time elapses before the water has run off this ground or has evaporated. This method is obviously uneconomical.

To remedy this considerable drawback, an automatic quantity-regulator is suggested, particularly for mixtures of sand and water, and according to the invention this consists of a funnel-shaped container which is situated in a mobile framework and which can be moved in the manner of a weighing-machine, by means, for example, of a bent-lever (toggle) system, and of which the outletaperture can be opened and closed by the valve-cone of a movable rod passing through the central axis of the funnel, the other end of the rod being provided with a stop, such as a disc, against which the loaded lever-arms of the bent-lever system press from below when a certain preselected weight is reached, thus raising the rod and releasing the outlet-aperture of the funnel-shaped container until equilibrium between the contents of the container and the load on the lever-arm is restored by weights. In this system the upper edge of the funnel-shaped container has a collecting-channel which is provided with dischargepipes. The funnel-shaped container is movably suspended on at least three and preferably on four lever-systems. The free upper end of the rod is equipped with a leversystem to enable the rod to be operated. A water-mixing battery with a water-feed and a water-drain pipe is provided on the funnel-shaped container.

The mixture of sand and water is preferably washed into the funnel-shaped container by a suction-pump and via an inlet-pipe. That sand in the mixture which is heavier than the water therein deposits itself in the tip of the funnel-shaped container, and when the valve-cone of the rod is raised the sand is able to emerge through a discharge-pipe and be deposited separately. The lighter sand, on the other hand, flows with the water, via the collecting-channel provided on the. inlet-aperture of the funnel-shaped container, into the discharge-pipe situated in this latter, and when it emerges from there it can likewise be deposited separately. v The automatic quantity-regulator to which the invention relates can be used for a number of purposes, e.g. in thickening washable masses of earth such as occur in the dredging of rivers and harbours and in the building of a solid embankment through the flats.

The sphere of application of the quantity-regulator to which the invention relates naturally extends to dry irrigable substances such as grain, small coal etc. In such cases it is desirable to operate with the use of air.

In a particularly eflicient embodiment, for the use of sand, gravel and water, the valve-rod for feeding the water in from above is also constructed as a tube and is provided with rows of holes at predetermined distances around its periphery, which holes can be closed or opened as desired by the rotation of a tubular star which has a number of arms corresponding to the number of holes in one of the rows, the free ends being connected with a circular distributor-pipe which is provided with outlet- 3,258,121 Patented June 28, 1966 holes at the bottom. The pipe bears a vertically adjustable cylindrical fioat of rhomboid longitudinal section and having a central aperture of a somewhat greater diameter than the diameter of the pipe itself, which float can be aflixed to the pipe by means, for example, of setscrews. The float has an inletand an outlet-aperture which can be closed by screws, and its periphery is fitted, at predetermined distances, with angular struts, of which the free upper ends bear a ring which can be moved up and down them. The float also bears a peripheral ring of an elastic material such as rubber. Damming-up of the material to be processed is avoided by the use of the elastic and thus flexible material for this purpose.

This design ensures accurate separation of the light components of the mixture from the heavy constituents.

One embodiment of the automatic quantity-regulator to which the invention relates is shown in,

FIGURE 1 as a lateral view, and in FIGURE 2 as a view from the top, as schematic diagrams.

FIGURE 3 shows a lateral view, partly in section, of a particularly efficient embodiment, for the use of sand, gravel and water, in a schematic diagram, the individual components of this constructional version being indicated by darker lines than those of the constructional version shown in FIG. 1.

In FIGS. 1 and 2 there is shown mobile stand 1, fitted with rollers 2, and a funnel-shaped container 3 which is suspended, by means of a toggle system comprising four levers 4 and 5, and bearings 6, in the manner of a weighing-machine, so that the container is movable in the vertical plane. The longer lever-arms 5 of the toggle system are provided with slidably adjustable counter-weights 7. The free ends of the lever-arms 5 are provided with segment-shaped plates 8, as abutments for a shoulder stop 9, fixedly mounted on a valve rod 10 which passes through the central axis of the funnel-shaped container 3. The lower end of rod 10 is formed with a valve cone 11 entering the outlet-aperture at the bottom of the container. The upper end of the rod 10 is also provided with another lever-arm 12, which is pivotably mounted on a fulcrum 13, the free end of which is provided with a chain 14.

By means of a suction-pump, not shown in the diagram, the mixture of sand 15 and water 16 is introduced into the funnel-shaped container 3 via an inlet-pipe 17. The sand of the mixture which is heavier than the water of the mixture collects in the tip of the funnel-shaped container, and when the sealing-tip 11 of the rod 10 is raised the said sand can emerge through the outlet-pipe 18 and be deposited separately. The lighter sand flows, with the water 16, and through the collecting-channel 21 provided at the inlet-aperture of the funnel-shaped container, into the discharge-pipes 19 provided in the said channel, and when it emerges from here it can likewise be deposited separately. A feed pipe 23 and a drain pipe conduit 22 are provided, these being interconnected at 20 with a combined water-feed and drain system (not shown) for the selective introduction drainage of water into the container. The upper end of pipe 22 is fitted with a toroidally-shaped apertured head loosely placed around the rod 10.

The quantity-regulator can be used for a number of purposes, eg in the thickening of washable masses of earth such as occur in the dredging of rivers and harbours or in the building of a solid embankment through the flats. In this process, the mixture of relatively little sand 15 and a large quantity of water 16, which mixture is well known to be very fluid, is pumped through the inlet-pipe 17 into the container 3, in which process the heavier sand is collected in the tip of the funnel-shaped container 3,

while the lighter sand flows out again with the water 16 through the collecting-channel 21 and through the outletpipe 19. As soon as a pre-determined weight of sand 15 has collected in the funnel-shaped container 3, the dead weight of the sand 15 presses the funnel-shaped container 3 downwards and the toggle lever-system 46 pushes the segment-shaped plates 8 upwards against the disc 9, which pulls the rod 10 upwards, thus releasing the valve-cone 11 from the outlet aperture of the funnel-shaped container, so that the sand can move from the said aperture into the outlet-pipe 18. Any surplus quantities of water present in the funnel can be tapped off in advance, via drain pipe 22. The rod 10 can also be operated manually by the lever-system 12, 13.

The quaitity-regulator to which the invention relates can also be used for sorting the sand according to grainsizes, as is required in the porcelain industry, the ceramics industry, the concrete industry and in concrete buildings. In these cases the mixture of sand 15 and water 16 is washed into the funnel-shaped container 3, as already described. In addition water 16 is introduced, at a certain pre-selected pressure via the feed-pipe 23, into the sand 15 present in the container 3. The pressure of the water being selected in such a way that the large-grained sand remains in the funnel-shaped container, as a result of its own weight, while the medium-grained, fine-grained and dust-like (very fine-grained) sand with the water 16 flows into the collecting-channel 21 and the discharge-pipes 19, which in this case, however, are connected with a second quantity-regulator of the same kind, in which the introduced water is set at yet a different pressure level so that the medium-grained sand remains in the second container and the fineand very fine-grained sand flow off, as described before, to still a third quantity-regulator, in which, finally, the fineand very fine-grained sand are separated from each other. In all three units, or in four or more as required, the funnel-shaped container 3 functions, with the bent-lever system 4-7, as a weighing-machine, when a certain pre-selected quantity of the large-grained, mediumgrained, fine-grained or dust-like (very fine-grained) sand has collected in the funnel 3, the sand automatically emerging from the outlet-pipe 18 when a certain preselected weight is exceeded. The quantity-regulators connected in series will preferably be of different sizes.

A further example for the application of the quantityregulator according to the invention is the washing and cleaning of dirty sand, as is necessary in the cement industry, the porcelainand ceramics-industry and in the erection of buildings of stones and earth. In such cases, the mixture of sand 15 and water 16 is pumped, as described, through the inlet-pipe 17 into the funnel-shaped container 3, in which case the dirty water flows off via the collecting-channel 21 and the outlet-pipes 19 into the open. As soon as a certain pre-selected quantity of sand is present in the container, the feed from the inlet-pipe 17 is shut off, and the dirty water present above the sand is conveyed away via the drain pipe 22 water feed and drain system is switched over to supply clean water through the feed pipe 23. The pressure of the water-feed must be made such that the sand present in the container 3 is vigorously mixed by a swirling action. In this process the dirty water again emerges, via the collecting channel 21 and the outlet-pipes 19, into the open. This washing process must be continued until the sand in the container is sufficiently cleaned. The clean sand present in the container can be conveyed through the outlet-pipe 18 by manual operation of the lever-system 10-13 or 14.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the valve-rod 10 is at the same time constructed as a tube 10a, and serves to feed in the water from the top. The tube is provided around its periphery and at predetermined distances with rows of holes 24 which can be closed or opened as desired by rotating a tubular star 25, which has a number of arms corresponding to the number of holes in one of the rows, the free ends being connected with a circular distributortube which is provided at the bottom with outlet-apertures 4 27a, so that by rotating the stars about the tube 10a the quantity of water can be regulated. 26 denotes a clip for closing or opening the uppermost row of holes 24a, which clip is only used in case of need, when the stars are to be moved upwards by one row of holes.

The tube 10a bears a cylindrical float 28, which is of rhomboid longitudinal section whose central opening has a somewhat larger diameter than the external diameter of the tube itself, which float can be moved upwards and downwards and affixed to the tube by means, for example, of set-screws. The float is equipped with inletand outlet-apertures 30 and 31, which can be closed by screws, and is provided with a number of angular struts 32 at predetermined distances over its periphery. The upper ends of struts 32 mount a vertically adjustable ring 33 which serves to separate the material in the inletand the outletdirection. The float also has a peripheral ring 34, of elastic material, such as rubber.

The regulator shown in FIG. 3 serves exactly the same purposes as the regulator shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. It merely has special constructional features and is thus somewhat more suitable for separating the sand-mixtures (subdividing into different grain-sizes) than the regulator shown in FIG. 1. The regulator in FIG. 3 is suspended in exactly the same manner and has the

same parts

4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12 and 13, as the regulator shown in FIG. 1. In FIG. 3 these parts have been omitted, in order to make the diagram clearer to refer to.

The pipe 10a is suspended in exactly the same manner as the rod 10 in FIG. 1. The float 28 is not always used as a float but also serves to reduce the effective cross section of the container 3, at the top of the latter. The float can therefore also be filled with water by the aid of the apertures 30 and 31. The ring 34, too, serves to reduce the upper cross section of the container 3.

The regulator shown in FIG. 3 operates, in separating water-and-sand mixtures, in such a way that the mixture of water and sand is stirred up eddy-wise in the lower part of the container, so that the larger grains of sand deposit themselves at the bottom, while the smaller grains of sand flow off at the top, through the pipes 19. The mixture of sand and Water emerges from the pipe 17, flows along the side Wall of the float 28 and the upper side of the ring 34, and flows downwards between the ring 34 and the wall of the container 3. Additional water, which stirs up the sand, is introduced into the container, particularly through the ring conduits 27 and, where necessary, through the pipe 23 as well. The water fed in at the bottom emerges from the top of the container, taking the small grains of sand up with it. The flow of water emerging at the top makes impact-particularly at the narrowest place between the ring 34 and the wall of the containeron the water-and-sand mixture emerging from the pipe 17. Consequently, this narrowest part is likewise the scene of an eddy-action, and most of the small grains of sand entering through the pipe 17 are immediately conveyed into the pipe 19.

The ring 33 is preferably a strip of sheet-metal of determined width. By filling with water, the float 28 can be regulated in such a manner that at any given moment it is floating at that level which is required to ensure that the top of ring 33 is just below the surface of the water. The ring can also be set to this level by means of the clampscrew 29. The purpose of the ring 33 is to obviate any eddying of the water on the surface. The water emerging from the pipe 17 should not be allowed to come in contact, on the surface of the water in the container, with the water flowing upwards from the bottom of the container, for the large grains of sand are required to move quickly downwards, past the ring 34.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for the separation of fluid mixtures, such as mixtures of sand and water, comprising a frame and a funnel-shaped container, said container being provided with an exit aperture and a drain pipe at its apex, a tubular central shaft having a valve member at the end thereof for opening and closing said exit aperture, said tubular shaft having mounted thereon a cylindrical float of rhomboid longitudinal section having a central opening of somewhat larger diameter than the diameter of the shaft itself, said float being adjustable in the vertical direction, said float being further provided with inlet and outlet apertures and a plurality of angular struts at predetermined distances over its periphery, the upper ends of these struts bearing an adjustable annular ring, said tubular shaft having a plurality of inlet ports spaced at predetermined distances over its periphery and means for opening and closing said ports for the selective introduction of fluid into said container, said container being suspended on said frame for vertical movement by a toggle system, said toggle system compsising a plurality of levers mounted radially on said container and pivoted on said frame, each lever having one end connected to the edge of said container and the other end adjacent said central rod, said central rod being provided with an annular shoulder for abutment with the ends of said lever, thereby interconnecting the vertical movement of said container and said central rod in dependence upon the material with which the container is charged.

2. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein the float is provided with a peripheral annular ring of an elastic material.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,109,485 9/1914 Terry 210 113 1,147,356 7/1915 Allen 209-160 1,155,473 10/1915 Dull 210 113 1,271,134 7/1918 Clilford 210 113 1,468,374 9/1923 Burch 210 113 1,841,444 1/1932 Hosking 209-160 2,025,412 12/1935 Handy 209 158 2,150,226 3/1939 Kennedy 209-160 2,598,409 5/1952 Meckenstock 209-l58 FRANK W. LUTTER, Primary Examiner.

HARRY B. THORNTON, ROBERT A. OLEARY,

Examiners.

Claims

1. APPARATUS FOR THE SEPARATION OF FLUID MIXTURES, SUCH AS MIXTURE OF SAND AND WATER, COMPRISING A FRAME AND A FUNNEL-SHAPED CONTAINER, SAID CONTAINER BEING PROVIDED WITH AN EXIT APERTURE AND A DRAIN PIPE AT ITS APEX, A TUBULAR CENTRAL SHAFT HAVING A VALVE MEMBER AT THE END THEREOF FOR OPENING AND CLOSING SAID EXIT APERTURE, SAID TUBULAR SHAFT HAVING MOUNTED THEREON A CYLINDRICAL FLOAT OF RHOMBOID LONGITUDINAL SECTION HAVING A CENTRAL OPENING OF SOMEWHAT LARGER DIAMETER THAN THE DIAMETER OF THE SHAFT ITSELF, SAID FLOAT BEING ADJUSTABLE IN THE VERTICAL DIRECTION, SAID FLOAT BEING FURTHER PROVIDED WITH INLET AND OUTLET APERTURES AND A PLURALITY OF ANGULAR STRUTS AT PREDETERMINED DISTANCES OVER ITS PERIPHERY, THE UPPER ENDS OF THESE STRUTS BEARING AN ADJUSTABLE ANNULAR RING, SAID TUBULAR SHAFT HAVING A PLURALITY OF INLET PORTS SPACED AT PREDETERMINED DISTANCES OVER ITS PERIPHERY AND MEANS FOR OPENING AND CLOSING SAID PORTS FOR THE SELECTIVE INTRODUCTION OF FLUID INTO SAID CONTAINER, SAID CONTAINER BEING SUSPENDED