US935311A - Centrifugal concentrator and glassifier. - Google Patents

Description

F. LAIST. GENTRIFUGAL GONGENTRATOR AND GLASSIFIBR.

APPLIOATION mum 1520. 4, 190a.

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INVENTOR. Dede/Zak La/sf. By M WITNESSES A TTORNE Y.

P. LAIST.

GENTRIFUGAL GONGENTRATOB AND GLASSIFIER.

APPLICATION FILED DBO. 4, 1908.

' Patented Sept. 28, 1909.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

I INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

UNIT D strAtrEs PATENT OFFICE.

FREDERIGK LAIST, or nucorma, uoN'raNA, ASSIGNOR or ONE-HALF TO oscAR MAX KUOHS, or ANACONDA, MQNTANA.

GENTBIFUGAIQ GONGENTRATQR AND GLA SIFIEB.

pecification of Letters Patent. Patented Sept. 28, 1909.

Application filed December 4, 1908. Serial No. 465,959.

To all whom. it may concern:

Be it known that I, F nnnERrcK LAIST, citizen of the United S ates, residing at Ana-v conda, in the county of Deerlodge and State of Montana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Centrifugal Concen? trators and Classifiers, of which the follow? ing is a full, clear, and exact description,. to the accompanying,

reference being had drawings, forming a part hereofr My invention has relation to improvements in centrifugal ore-concentrators and chassis fiers; and it consists in the novel construe? tion and arrangement of parts more fully set forth inthe specification and pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a combined vertical middle section and elevation of one form of my invention; Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional detail showing manner of constructing the outer wall of the c0ncentrat.-'

ing chamber; Fig. 3 is a top plan v.of the 3p.- paratuswith parts broken-away, one of the concentrating chambers being shown in transverse section; Fig. dis a top plan of a section of a modified form of apparatus; and

Fig. 5 is a top plan of a section of another modification. I

The object of the present invention is to construct an apparatus for subjectin .fine (are or slime to the action of centrifugal force for the purposes of concentration and classi.- fication. Centrifugal force is hereby sub.- stituted for gravity when used inconjunetion with rising water currents (a process generally availed of in ore classifiers), the

advantages of centrifugal action being (1) I that by virtue thereof the settling rate of the particles is considerably increased, making it possible to work very much finer ma.- terial than can be treated in a gravity ma.- chine; (2) the centrifugal force itself assists very materially in the concentration and classification; (3) it permits the accurate proportioning to the centrifugal force of the counter or opposing currents of water by which not only the discharge of the concentrates from the vessel in which the pulp is, treated is facilitated, but which exercisean influence in effecting the necessary separation of the concentrates from the tailings;

(4) it permits an accurate distributionand apportionment of the cewlter or opposing currents to the intensity of the centrifugal force developed in the vessel in which the pulp is undergoing treatment; and finall y it presents further and other advantages hotter apparent from a detailed description of the invention which is as follows:

Referring to the drawings, and for the present to Figs. 1 to ,3 inclusive, 1, represents a vertical hollow shaft provided with an upper cylindrical bearing 2 and a bottom journal 3, the shaft having secured thereto a collar 4 resting on the journal, above which collar there .is secured to the shaft a beltpulley 5 to which rotation may be imparted -;t';com' any suitable source of power .(not shown). The rotatable shaft 1 projects a suitable distance below the timber T to which the journal 3 is bolted, a suitable stuifing box 6 serving to bring together the adjacentends .of the shaft and of the stationary feed pipe 7, the latter leading to any source of hydraulic water supply (not shown). Adjacent to the stuffing-box 6 there is mounted in the feed-pipe 7 a rotatable cock or valve 8 having a passage-way a, said valve or cook being of well known and ordinary construction. To the stem of the valve is secured a belt pulley 9 to which rotation may. be imparted from any available source of power (not shown). As the valve rotates: the water which enters the pipe 7 under a head will flow intermittently into the hollow-shaft, being that with every rotation of the valve the passage-way a will have been turned so as to temporarily out off the flow of the water to the shaft, the result being a pulsating or intermittentflow into the shaft. Mounted above the shaft and disposed symmetrically about the guidehearing 2 is a tank or pulp distributer 10 intQ Which discharge one or more pipes 11. 11, conveying pulp thereinto from the usual Sources of supply (not shown). This pulp is eonducted from the distributor through a series of radially disposed pipes 12, 12, each pipe discharging into a suitable concentrating chamber or container 13 through the top of the rear vertical wall thereof as shown, These chambers are coupled to the central shaft 1 by means of supporting castings 14, 1.4, emlopaci the chambers near the .top and bottom an secured to the outer or front inclined walls thereof by means of angle-pieces 15. The castings have respectively formed thereinsuitable openings conforming t0 h ross section .of the chamber I at the plane where the casting envelops the chamber, at which point the parts are riveted together as shown.

pass around the sides of their corresponding concentrating chambers 13, and terminating in an elbow 17 which taps the front or inclined wall of the chamber at a point somewhat below the middle of the chamber.

From the bottom of the rear wall of each concentrating chamber leads a return pipe 13 (for the 'tailings) the inner ends of the pipes discharging into the upper'head of a hollow stufling-box 19, from the bottom head of which lead aseries of tailings-discharge pipes 20 conducting the tailings t and water to any convenient point of dis osition (not shown). At the outer end 0 the bottom wall of the chamber 13 is a slide or valve21 for the discharge of the concentrates c (or sandy component of the slime) the discharge opening being protected by a plate or guard 22 which in the rotation of the chambers about the axis of the shaft 1 traverses the intake mouth of an annular launder 23 (shown dotted in Fig, 1) placed in proper position to receive the concentrates which arebeing constantly and automatically discharged from the series of chambers when the slides 21 are open; The launder is well known and a bare reference thereto is suflicient. i The construction of the concentrating chamber or container 13 is substantially as shown in the'drawings and while I do not ,wish to limit myself to the form shown it is one which will probablyprevail in practice meeting as'it does, the ma ority of conditions imposed-on an apparatus of this character. Spaced a suitable distance m from the outer inclined wall of the chamber is a perforated partition 24, the perforations being closer together. at the bottom than at the top. Againstthe-partition is placed a screen 25 and about a half inch removed therefrom is a second screen 26, the space between the screens being filled with sand or small shot 8. This filling forms a distributer or equalizer for the jets projected through the perforafrom the space m into which the water pipe 17, said the inditions, is initially discharged by the filling breaking up and diffusing vidual force of the jets and producing a 11111- form and evenly distributed current which ugal thus enters the chamber in opposition or counter to, the centrifugal force exerted against the outer wall thereof. Of course, centrifforce affects more strongly the particles of a body farthest removed from 'the axis of rotation. andsince the outer wall of the chamber 13 is inclined inwardly and upwardly, the force at the bottom will be stronger than at the top, and to offset this excess the perforations inthe partition 24 are closer together, thereby discharging a greater quantity of water. The purpose of the opposed current produced by the passage of the water through the perforated wall 24 and the diffusing layer s is identical with, and is a substitute for, the rising current availed of in gravity classifiers, centrifugal force in the present instance being substituted for gravity for reasons previously set forth. This counter or opposed current may be continuous or intermittent (pulsating), and when intermittent, the apparatus becomes virtually a 'pulsion jig. The current is steady or continuous for a permanently open position of the valve 8, and pulsating for a continuous rotation of said valve, and. the choice of current would depend on practical considerations, depending an the com-- position of the pulp treated, and, in the treatment of slimes, depending on the tenacity with which the flocculent component of the slime clings to the sandy constituent thereof. The outer wall of the concentrating chamber 13 is given the slope as shown so as to assist the movement of the sand or concentrates down it toward the discharge opening. Theoretically it might be possib e to slope this wall to such an extent that no opposed water current would be required to secure a continuous discharge of sand or concentrates (it being remembered that this current assists in the washing down of the concentrates crowded against this wall). In' practice such theoretical slope of the outer wall would probably not work out well. a An 1 examination of the cross section of the c'hamber 13 shows that the front inclined wall is somewhat narrower than the rear vertical wall, the chamber thus tapering or converging outwardly. This is done in order to proportion the opposed or counter water currents to the centrifugal force at all points throu hunt the chamber. -With the widening 0% the cross section from front to rear the counter current necessarily dissipates, but in the same proportion does the centrif- 11 al force decrease, that is, it becomes less e ective as the axis of rotation (shaft 1) is approached.- By thus making the counter current proportionately commensurate with the centrifugal force at all points, an ore of given behavior and composition may be successfully treated. But special conditions may arise which would necessitate a change in the relation of the counter current and centrifugal force, and it might become necessary for some purposes to have a greater counter current along the outer inclined wall than at the rear wall, or vice versa, in which event the cross section of the chamber would be modified to brin about such results.

The operation 0 the concentrator is obvious from the drawings, but may be restead of 'posing forces,

imparted e ha e birsli tl a outer wall by the centrifugal force (arrows' Fig, .1). At the same time the pulp runs from the pulp distributer 10' into theseveral chambers 13, where subjected to two opone hand, and

the ier'ceof the opposed or counter water current'on the (libel hand, the two forces jointly separating the constituents of the ore, the ciiarse component or concentrates c settling, against the outer inclined'wall downwhich the run to the discharge opehing, cbntrolled the valve 21, discharg ng continuoiisly behind the guard 22 into the launder 23, and the fine materials or tailing t (flocculent component in the case-of slimes) running backthrough the return pipesl fi into the hollow, stufling box n t through t e p p sze h the action of the machineiscontiniious and the operation maybe carried on for an indefinite period. Thettaature of the separate chamberslfiinounted around a central shaft is important since v with the use of such separate cha' hers the pulp, is in a more quiet condition than when the cylinder or bell iorniffof machine is used.

The for washing and dewatering goldslimes (that slime from cyanid plants)." Infiltering slime the inaterialmay d i my i Q ne, force throwing the fine materialagainst the outer walls of the severalchambers'13, the clear water runningout of the tailings dis charge, while the thick pulp will run out through the concentrate discharge opening.

In thls casev the water introduced through thewa-l-ls acts as wash water, removing the cyanid and go'ld solutions from the slime, the thick pulp being removed from the concentra-ting chambers in as thick condition as possible. A I v v 7 It is apparent that my machine may be changed inminor details without changing itsprincipleor mode of operation, and in E igs. 4 and 5 I show modified forms that wil the series concentrating chambers 13 con nected by interoommunicating pipe sections 27. Again in lieu of having an individual 17 forcmiducting the, clear water into chamber, I

each 17" whichdischarges into a'single pipe 28 encircling the entire series of chambers, the latter receiving the water through branches 29 leading from the encircling pipe 28 0piaayaiiss Restribeing viz. centrifugal force on the above machine is eminently adapted the centrifugal.

said outer wall.

answer. in practice. In Fig. 4 I show *may substitute a sing P 'P positeeach chamber. Again, in lieu of a series of chambers, I may substitute a single annular '(or cylindrical) chamber (Fig. 5 likewise encircled bya feed pipe 28 haying branches 29 tapping the outer inclined wall of such single chamber at oints along the peripherythereof, such plp'e 28 receiving its supply from a pipe l7 passed under thechamber and then bent up to meet such encircling pipe. Other modifications will suggest themselves to the skilled mechanicas must obvious from the specific forms here presented. v

lllh en treating slimes, the term classitier? technically would perhaps not be strictly appropriate, since classification has for its object to separate grains of gangue and mineral into two or more products according to their relative size and specific gravities, the individual particles of which will have as nearly as possible the same settling rate under free settling conditions, and all of which products canbe'concentrated by prevailing methods such as by jigs, tables, and vanners. In the case vof slimes, these will splitup under centrifugal action into a sandy component susceptible of concentration in the usual way, anda flocculent component which is light and can not be treated by Ordinary methods.v So that so far as. the sandy component only is concerned the term classifier as used in designating the present invention would be applicable; and as it is aconcentrator as well, the invention may be termed as aconcentrator and classifier. The rapidity of rotation may ofcoursebe regulated according to the size of material treated andthus has a decided advantage over gravity classifiers which can only avail themselves of gravity as a constant force that can not be varied while centrifugal force may be varied at pleasure. p a V Reverting momentarily again to the matter of proportioning the currents projected through the outer inclined wall of the chamber 13, to the centrifugal force developed within said chamber, it may be stated that these currents have their maximum velocity at this wall not only because at this wall the centrifugal force is greatest, but a higher velocity is here necessary to prevent the sand or concentrates packing against 4 The opposing currents decrease in velocity wall of the chamber since the centrifugal force likewise decreases but, as 7 before stated, the cross secticn of the chamber may as they approach the rear.

be varied so as to secure almost any relation between the centrifugal forceand the opposing or counter currents flowing from the outer wall. The chamber formed between the screens 25, 26', for holding the sand or shot s is not absolutely necessary, and may be dispensed with in cases where the perfo- -acter as not to give rise of the container tapering container,

2d: are of a charto too forcible or penetrating individual jets. The pulsations in the water current need not necessarily be effected through a valve or cook such as 8, but may be brought about by any means known in the art.

Having described my invention, what I claim is 1. In a centrifugal concentrator, a suitable container, means for rotating the same rations in the partition about an axis located exterior thereto, means for diffusing water currents over the outer wall of the container and projecting such currents toward said axis, the cross-section outwardly or away from said axis in order to proportion the force of said currents throughout the container to the opposing centrifugal force developed by the rotation of the container.

2. In a centrifugal concentrator, a, container, means for subjecting the same to rotation about a fixed exterior axis, means for projecting toward said axis water currents (o-extensive with the area of the outer wall of the container in substantially direct opposition to the centrifugal force developed by the rotation of the container, the crosssection of the container tapering outwardly or away from said axis in order to proportion the force of said currents throughout the container to the opposing centrifugal force developed by 'the rotation of the contamer. v

3. In a centrifugal concentrator, one or more containers, means-jfor rotating the same about a commonaxis exterior to the means for introducin thereinto throughout the area of, theoutside wall of each container individualstreams, of water and projecting the same toward andsubstantially at right angles to, such common axis, the cross-section of the container tapering outwardly or away from said axis in order to proportion the force of said streams throughout the container to the opposing centrifugal force developed by the rotation of the container.

4. In a centrifugal concentrator, a container rotating about a fixed vertical axis located exteri'orly thereto, said container having side walls away from said axis, whereby there is formed a narrow outer wall and a wide rear wall, and means for forcing a current of water difi'used over the outer wall toward} the rear wall whereby said current is proportloned at all points to the centrifugal force developed in the rotation of the contamer.

5. In a centrifugal concentratona container, means for rotating the same about a fixed vertical axis located exteriorly thereto, said container being provided with an up wardly and inwardly inclined outer wall,

, outwardly converging outwardly or converging side walls and an inner vertical wall, and having a discharge opening at the base of the inclined wall.

6. In a centrifugal concentrator, a container rotating about a fixed vertical axis located exteriorly thereto, and having an upwardly and inwardly inclined outer wall, outwardly converging side. walls and an inner vertical wall terminating atsaid side walls, and means for projecting counter cur rents in individual jets from the outer wall toward the inner vertical wall.-

7. In a centrifugal concentrator, a container rotating about a fixed vertical axis located exteriorly thereto, means rotating with the container for introducing currents of water in jets disposed throughout the area of the outer wall of the container, and means for maintaining a'maximum velocity in said currents atpoints adjacent to theouter wall whereby the sand accumulating at said outer wall is prevented from packing against it.

8. In a centrifugal concentrator, a con- I tainer provided with an outer inclined wall, a partition located adjacent and substantially parallel thereto and spaced therefrom, said partition having perforations distributed over substantially its full area, side wallsconverging toward theouter wall, and a rear or inner wall for the container, and means for rotating the container about an axis located adjacent to'the inner wall.

9. In a centrifugal concentrator, a container having an outer upwardly and inwardly inclined wall, a perforated'partition spaced a suitable distance therefrom, the

perforations increasing in number toward the bottom, means for delivering counter currents through the perforations in; oppos'ition to the centrifugally impelled material acting against the partition, and means for rotating the container. 1

' 10. In combination'with a vertical hollow water circulating shaft, a container having an outer upwardly and inwardly' inclined wall, a rear vertical wall, and outwardly converging side walls,

rotating about the axis of the shaft, a pulp-distributer disposed about the axis of the shaft, .a pulpconducting pipe conveying pulp from the distributer to a point adjacent the rear wall of the container, a pipe leading from the Shaft and discharging water into the con-- tainer in a direction opposed tothe centrifugally impelled material acting againstthe outer wall, means for diffusing such opposing current over the outer wall, and means for discharging the concentrates at a point.

at the base of the outer wall of the conta ner.

11. In combination with'a vertical hollow water-circulating shaft, a container rotating about the axis of theshaft and prov ded inwardly inclined with an upwardly and outer wall, a pulp distributor disposed about the axis of the shaft, a pipe for conducting the pulp to the-container, a pipe leading from the hollow shaft and tapping the outer Wall of the container and discharging thereinto in a direction substantially in opposition or counter to, the centrifugal force acting against said wall, means co-extensive with the area of said wall for splitting up the counter currents into jets, the container having openings for the discharge respectively of the concentrates at the bottom of the outer Wall, and of the tailings at the bottom of the inner or rear wall.

12. In combination with a vertical hollow shaft, means for circulating therethrough a ulsating water current, a container rotatmg about the axis of the shaft and provided with an upwardly and inwardly inclined outer wall, a pulp distributer disposed about the axis of shaft, means for conducting pulp from the distributer to the container, a pipe leading from the hollow shaft and discharg ing water thereinto in pulsating currents in opposition to the centrifugal force acting against the walls of said containt i.

13. In combination with a vertical hollow water circulating shaft, a container rotating about the axis of the shaft and provided with an upwardly and inwardly inclined outer wall, a pulp distributer disposed about the shaft axis, a pipe for conducting the pulp to the container, a pipe leading from the hollow shaft and tapping the outer Wall of the container and discharging thereinto in a direction opposed to t e centrifugal force acting against said wall, means for diffusing the opposing current over the entire area of said outer Wall, the container having a bottom opening adjacent to the,

outer wall for the escape of concentrates, and a pipe for conducting the tailings from the rear of the container toward a point adjacent to the shaft.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

FREDERICK LAIST. Witnesses:

ARCHIE N. Jam, v HENRY N. THOMSON.

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