USRE9229E - Magnetic grain-separator - Google Patents

Description

C. E. FRITZ. I Magnetic Grain Separator.

No. 9,229. I Reissued June 1, I880.

Ina 621C017? as m PATEN ()FFICE.

CHARLES E. FRITZ, on ONEONTA, new YORK.

MAGNETIC GR'AIN-SEPARATORL srncmcn'rrosr forming part of Beis'sued utm- Patent No. 0,229, time I... 1, mac.

Original No. mm. dated January 27, 183). Application for reissue filed lay a, 1880. l

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, Cinemas E. FRITZ, of Oneontu, in the county of Otsego and. State of New York, hpve invented a new and usefnl Method of Separating Iron or other Magnetic Metals from Grain or other Substances, which method is fully set forth in the following specification.

The invention relates, principally, to the no method and means of removing fragments of iron, whether in the form of wire or otherwise, from wheat or other grain beforegrindlog, or from other substances with which the iron is mingled.

It consists in first passiu g the grain or other substance through screens, sieves, or-other suitahle mechanical means for separating the i larger pieces of iron, if there are any such in the mixtureythen passing it through my elecv trio or magnetic separator, by which the remsinder of the tron is removed.

Heretofore grain has been passed through tron hs containing permanent magnets, to whic the iron would adhere, while the grain :5 passed on. This process is objectionable, he-

cause the pieces of iron require to be removed b hand by an extra operation or process, and a so because the magnets gradually lose their strength by the 'arring, &c., incident to use. There are also ot er objections. '1o avoid all these I employ temporary or induced magnets, which I can charge to any. required strength, and can maguetise and demaguet he as desired. The particular form of ap- -whioh I consider preferable for employiug them in is s revolving cylinder made of wood or other non-magnetic material, having longitudinal strips or lengths of soft iron attachedto the interior surface. These strips are magnetized during one rtion of-the revolution and demagnetised uring another portion, whereby the iron adheres to the strips while magnetized, and is carried to the upper part of the cylinder. The strips are then demaguetised, and the iron drops, falling upon atrough, apron, or receptacle, down the inoliued surfsceof which'it passes to the outlet, while the cleaned grain passes out through the openend of the cylinder, and is caught in :lrfisultuele'apparstus, the nature of which. depend on the disposition which isto be jug againsttthe en aview of the upper hub of the separator, with commutator, brushes, &c. Fig.6isatop'view of an electro-magnet. a a, with two strips, B B, connected with its cores. Fig. 7 illustrates one method of connecting and driving the separator E and generator G from the. drivin -shsft H, with its pulley,

' imilar' letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

The mechanical means forremoving the larg est fragments of iron need not be described, as any apparatus may be used which may be found most convenient, and in some cases the grain may be free from large. pieces, and can bepessed directly through the separator.

A in Fig. 1 represents the shell of the cylinder, which can revolve on hollow journaisat the ends, in the usual manner' but I prefer that hollow hubs h h turn.on f ctiou-rollers r r, Fig. 5. The rollers. not only obviate the frictionpousequent upon the large size of the hub, but the use of the hollow hubs also obviates the following defect: Owing to the inclined' position of thecylinder, if the usual journals were used the oil would drip from the upper bearing into the interior: or run down the outside and into the-spout F, and not only njure the grain, but interfere with the proper working of the apparatus.

At the lower bearing there may be, besides the upright rolle one or more rollers bear or shoulder of the hub, to keep the separatorup to its place and resist its longitudi. ml down ward thrust." These may be advantageously placed at the top or sides of the hollow journal.

When thehubs are properly supported the feed-pipe P and the outlet-pipe p need not touch in their hubs at all,'.but pass loosely through them and be sup mrted by the connecting parts or by the standards 8 o the sepmtot. I

of' the cylinder, and also The inlet-pipe P is connected with a hopper or reservoir containlng the grain to be separated, with a gate or valve by which the supplv can be regulated or shut ofi'. The-inner is not essential, however, as, it the grain is nearly clean or the magnets very strongly charged, the grain can be cleaned in one revolution. The apparatus can therefore be constructed to operate on the material as rapidly as desired, by increasing theinclination of the cylinderand also the strength of the magnets.

The axis of the separator maybe horizontal and the outlet end he made larger than ,the other. to give the necessary inclination for carrying out the-grain.

Tin atrougb, apron, or receptacle f r catching the iron reaching across nearly the entire width of the separator, and from one end there of tothe other, properly supported on the stationnry pipes P and p. The middle of-tliis trough inclines, as shown, from about two thirds of the diameter of the cylinder down to the bottoin of the outlet-pipe p The edges,

however, may be nearly at the same height from end to end. 7

B B are strips of soft iron attached to the interior of the shell A of the cylinder, Figal 2, and 6, longitudinally, being best arran around the cylinderso as to be magnetized oltcrnutcly positively and negativelyn These strips are of any suitable number, depending on the diameter of the cylinder and the'power of the magnets.

The drawings show sixteen strips connected to eight magnets. They may have a smooth surface, but are better to be corrugated, the

edges slightly turned upward, or to have their 7 sin-thee formed in projections of any kind for stirring the grain and insuring contact with the fragments of wire. To thesestrips are fi rmly attached the ends of the" cores of a series of elcctro-magnets, of suitable construction and of equal strength, secured to the shell A. The ends of the wires of the two coils a a are led to and connected with the contactpivccs b b, Figs. 1 and 3, one for each coil".

When the current is sent through the two contact pieces b b and the two coils a a of magnet 1, the two strips 13 B in contact with its cores are, magnetized by induction-one positivcly, the other negatively.

For convenience in showing the connections, Figs. 2, 3, and 4 are divided into eight imaginary scction's, each one having a magnet, two

coils, a, two strips, B B, and two contactpicces, b 1:, corresponding to the coils.

The current is'scnt through the magnets in sections 5, 6, 7, and 8, and is shut of from those in sections 1, 2, 3, and 4.

and in the position shown the brush 0" is'in it had up to that instant been flowing.

magnetized, and any iron adhering to the strips drops into the inclined trough and passes out through the pipe p. v

In order to insure the dropping of the iron at the instant that the currcntis shutofi' from a the magnet 1, it is reversed momentarily, giving the strips an opposite polarity, and having the efl'ect to repel the iron.

The current is sent through the proper magnets by means of two curved brushes, 0 0', ar

ranged in contact with the contact-pieces of. the magnets. the positive wire, c' 'with the negative. The

The brush 0 is connected with current divides in the brushes, going equally through the diiferent, magnets whose-contactpieces are touched by the brushes. In mag net 1 it passes from c to b, to a, to a, thence back to b, and out through c to the battery or other source of electricity; and the same with magnets 6, 7, and 8. Consequently it passes successively through all the magnet-coils as they come into section 5, and continues to ilow through them till they reach section 1, when contact with the brushes ends and the cnrlent is'shut ofifrom them. I

The current is reversed by the means shown responding widening at c for the brush 0, and V electrically connected therewith, but not continuous with it. These widening's are not pr,olonged far enough to reach the other circle either of brushes or contact-pieces, but so that the projection of one can reach over and make good contact with the other, as shown.

The contact-pieces b b of magnet l, Fig. 3, have just gone outof contact with the brushes,

mntact with the side projection, h, and c with b, thus sending the current through the magnet 1 in the opposite-direction to that in which By lengthening the lower-ends of the brushes they will connect soon-er with the magnets, and by shortening the upper ends they will disconnect soonerbut the proportions shown will generally. bevt ound sufficient. v

In practice, however, it will be found better to have the contactpieces on a smaller cylinder or commutator, 0, arranged on the hub of the separator instead of on the end. The cylinder isof ebonite or other suitable nonconducting material, and the contactviews arcproperly fixed in its surface in two circles,

as bcfoie. V

The wires from the magnets, properly insu- Iated, run to the end of the separator-cylinder and inward to connect with their corresponddown its upper edge; or it may ing; contact-pieces. These are not placed in the same sections of the commutator as their magnets, but so that the brushes can occupy the upper half of the circle, as shown in Figs. 5 and 1, whereD is asegmeut of non-conducting material, carrying the two brushes, i nsulated from each other, and arranged to rest in contact with their respective circles of contact-pieces, before described. This segment i) is attached to some adjoining stationary part, so that it can beadjusted in position and nrought up to the commutator as the brushes wear, or readily removed for repairs, or for he substitution of newbrushes, doc. 1

-Fig. 1 shows the contact-pieces b b both in the position of Fi 3, and on the commutator C, as in Fig. 5. magnets and their wires are entirelycovered by the outer casing of the cylinder, so that they cannot be disturbed or injured while the machine is inuse:

In order to test whether the separator is too much inclined for the strength of the magnets, or if the grain is fed in too rapidly I attach a flat plate or supplementary troug ,t, to the lower end of the tron h T, and above the latter. ,Should any considerable quantity of iron drop on this plate the strength ofthe current should beincreased or the feed of the grain be diminished by the gate or valve at the inlet P; but if it catches little or none the working is correct. This plate can be seen through the open lower end of the separator. It is attached by its lower edge to the sides of the trough T, and is held up to its place by a spring or ceunterpoise, so that it can be caused to discharge whatever it has caught by pushing be arranged in any other suitable manner.

The contactpieces must, of course, he kept clean,-t he connectionsof the difl'ereut wires to them and to the magnets unbroken and properly insulated, and the brushes in condition to make good contacts with all the contact-pieces as they come under them. To test whether these points are correct, reach a piece of soft-iron wire in through the open end of the separator, and by touching the strips which are magnetized it can be felt whether thewire is held ornot; or a handful of iron fragments can be thrown in while the separator is turning, and before opening the feed for the grain, to see if they are'promptly gathcred up and caught in the trough T.

If an y particular strips B need to be more strongly magnetized than others, or for any reason it is desirable to divide the current differently, each strip or each set can have its own circle of contact-pieces on the commutator, and the brushes and wires bear-ranged to produce the particular efl'ect desired, in conformiiy with the general system before described. v y

l d o not confine myself to the precise forms and arrangements shown, but any nivalent construction which will accomplish same results may he used For exam is, instead of the magnets being connected th thestrlps ternal one, whether the B at or near the middle, as shown, they may be attached at their ends; but the former method is preferable, unless the strips are quite short. The strips can also be arranged around thecylinder instead of longitudinally; but in that case they should not be longer than can discharge at one time into the trough.

. with insulated wire, making it a large hollow coil, inducing magnetism in the strips when the current passes through the wire. In this case the commutator should be arranged to reverse the direction of the current about three times to eachv revolution of theseparator, sothat as each sectional'one-third of the surfacecameover the trough, it would be caused to discharge the iron it had carried up.

Instead of electro-magnets or a wirecoil for magnetizing the strips, permanent magnets may be used, thepoles of which set on contactpieces connected directly to the strips, substantiallyasshown in Fig. 6. These magnets should either be of the horseshoe form, or at least have their ends or poles bent a little out of straight line. The coils 0. a around the contact or pole pieces are then used to neutralize or reverse the inductive action of the magnets on the strips B B, by sendingacurrent.

through them in the pro'per direction when they arrive in the position shown in Fig. 2, and. thereby cause the discharge of the iron fragments, as already described.

The coils can be dispensed with, if desired, and any suitable means used for neutralizing, preventing, or reversing -the induction action lOC' of the magnets on the soft-iron stripsat the proper times, by removing their poles from the contact pieces or strips, or otherwise.

As the difierent magnets came over the trough, a projecting arm or lever connected with anyconvenient adjacent stationary fixture would cause the magnets to slide on those contact-pieces and onto others, and so reverse the polarity of the strips, or merci y demagnetize them, as preferred. In the latter case another arm or incline would replace the mag nets as they were lowered on the side by the turning of the cylinder.

The magnets can be arranged inside and the strips for attracting the wires be placed on the outside of the separator, and operate in substantially the same way; but Iregard the con-.

structi'on described as better, as an internal surface is more convenient, better adapted to secure a thorough cleaning, and the actionis more under control in every way than an exlatter is cylindrical, curved, or plane.

. The same eflect can be produced in substarr Nelly the same way by using permanent magnets directly for attracting and selling the 1M, and at the proper time causing them to facc'or pass the similar poles of other magnets oi equal or greater strength hear their other end s, thus pruct ically neutralizing or reversing their magnetism, and causing them to release and discharge the iron; but -I do not consider this method as desirable as that with temporary or induced magnets, for the effect will beto more or less rapidly destroy or reverse their permanent magnetism.

It is-an improvement to add .another series of stationary permanent magnets so placed as toad'd to their power during the time they are holdingthe fragments of wire. They will also tend to preserve or increase the strength of the movable magnets. This arrangement can be applied to the trough-separator described farther on".

-fore,'till the current is bro time, when the iron will drop. The wire may in g nearly parallel,

the cylinder the same as theiron strips. The

be laid either to and fro from one end of the cylinder to the other, the difi'erent. lengths beor it may bewound around quasi magnetism of. the wire is reversed by reversing the direction of the current passing through it.

' The commutator described and shown in the drawings, although ver convenient, is'by no means the only avail'a 1e construction; nt any suitable means-for properly making and breaking the connections may be employed for operating the separator.

The separator may be revolved by belting or gearing; but the latter is preferable, as the slight jarring produced by it assists the iron fragments to slide down the trough T; but if purliialieiit magnets are used belting would be better, nuts. The pulley or gearing can be Implied to either end of the separator, or the belt can be run around the separator cylinder itself as a pulley, as shown at E in Fig, 1.

The connection between the separator and the dynamo-electric machine may be direct .hy belting or gearing or be made indirectly through intermediate shafting, &c. The latter is preferable on account of the difiere'nce between the speeds of the two. As the generator G, Fig. 7, makes about seven hundred revolutions per minute, while the separator E will make, say, Eve to ten, it would be difilcnlt to connect them directly, but is easily done by intermediate shafting, as shown in the figure. This connection, as before observed, may be made by bolting, gearing, or any suitable means. it the speeds of the-gcncratorrand the separator lire not to be varied in the same proas the jarring wonld'weaken the mag.

portion, the pulleys, &c., are arranged to produce the desired 'difi'erence.

The electric current for charging the electromugnets may be supplied by a battery or by a dynamo-electric machine of any suitable construction. The machine is preferable, as it is less troublesome, and can better bctaken careof by unskilled, persons, and its speed can be so arranged in proportion to that of the separator as to furnish a current of any strength required. When so arranged, it the separator should be turned faster the machine will also turnproportionately faster, furnishing the same quantity of current to each revolution of the former, by which means the separator may be caused to clean a much greater quantity of grain per hour.

The machine must be arranged to furnish a constant and not an alternating current, so that the strips B on the rising side, when magnetized, shall remain so till. they come over the trough T,'as a break in the current before that time would drop the iron back into the grain.

. There are many other ways, unnecessary to describe, of applying this principle of my invention, which consists in separating and holding the fragments'of iron by means of mag- .nets in the form of'strips, wires, or bars,

whether permanent, temporary, or induced, whose magnetism is then automatically overcome, neutralized, discharged, or reversed at such times that the iron they have seized will be dropped into a suitable receptacle separate from the grain or other substance with which ithad been mixed. It therefore does not include the use of magnets for gathering the iron, for that is old; but only the magnets in connectionwith the means for utilizing them.

substantially-as 1 have described, whether the separator be internal, external, or of any other shape.

The different variations of form and arrangement in the several parts suggested in this specification can, of course, be combined with each other in an operative separator in any particular manner preferred, so long as the principle of my invention is not departed from.

Having thus described my invention, I hereby reserve, as'subie ct of future application, all matters notexpressly claimed herein.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In apparatus for separating iron or other magnetic metals from grain or other non-magnetic substances, the combination of a gravity feed produced by rotarymotion, a series of magnets, and meansfor discharging, overcoming, neutralizing, or reversing theirmagnetisin at the proper times.

2. An internal magnetic separator consisting of a longitlulinally-inclined revolying-cyh inder having soft-metal strips or pieces arranged on its inner surface, means for magnetizing and demagnetizing them at the proper times, and a tmugh within the cylinder for catching the iron fragments and discharging them separately from the grain, all being so constructed and arranged that the strips or pieces seize the iron while in the grain, carry it up over the trough, and discharge it therein, while the clean grain passes on and out at netizing them at the proper times, and a trough for catching the iron fragments, and having the discharge end lower than the other by an amount that will cause the feeding to proceed at the desired rate without requiring mechanical means for forcing the material along.

4. The-combination of a magnetic separator or apparatus for separating iron from grain or other substances, -a magneto-electric or dynamo-electric machine furnishing a current of proper strength, and belting, gearing, or other suitable connection between them, for automatically regulating the speed of 'the electric generator. by that of the separator.

- 5. The combination of a longitudinally-inclined self-feeding internal magnetic separator with a series of soit-metal strips or pieces for seizing the iron, arranged on its innersurface, and meansfor magnetizing and demagnetizing them at the proper times.

6. The combination of a longitudinally-h clined self-feeding internal magnetic separotor, a series of magnets outside of the separater, a series of soft-metal strips or pieces arranged on its inner surface and connected with the les of the magnets, and means for automatically neutralizing, overcoming, discharging, renewing, or reversing the magnetism of the strips or pieces at the proper times.

7. The combination, wit arevolving cylinder, ofaseries of temporary or induced magnets arranged on its interior surface, means for magnetizing and demagnetizing them at the no times, and a trough or receptacle within set iorth.

- 8.- In a separator, the combination of a revolving linder, a series of magnets outside of the cy nder, a series of metal strips or pieces connected with the poles of the mage cylinder for catching the-iron iragments, substantially as and for the purposes on hollow hubs, and having an inlet, P, and

an outlet, 12, a series of magnets outsideof the cylinder, a series of soft-iron strips or pieces connected with the magnets and arranged on.

the interior surface of the cylinder, a circular commutator and segment, with brushes or contact-makers, both -arranged at the same end of the cylinder, a trough within the cylinder, discharging through the outlet p, and a dyname-electric. machine or other source of electricit-y, substantially as and for the purposes set forth. I

10. In a separator, acominutator and a segment, both at the same end of the cylinder, the commutator having two circles'of contactpieces, arranged in pairs, one pair for the magnet or magnets of each soft-iron strip, each contact-piece having one or more side projections toward the other circle, the segment havingtwo insulated brushes corresponding to the two circles connected with the two poles of the source of electricity, and each brush wide enough to touch the projections on the contact-pieces of the other circle, the whole being constructed and arranged substantially as herein described, for sending the current through such wires or coilsjn such directions and for such times as may be desired.

11. The method of sepamtingiron from grain by inducing magnetism in sofli-iron strips or pieces'by means of permanent magnets, which strips 'or-pieces seize and hold the iron fragments while in or near the grain, but are demagnetized and drop the iron after they are out of the grain.

. 12. A. separator-cylinder revolving on hollow hubs, in combination with inlet I, outlet 1), ends trough or receptacle, T.

13. Arevolving magnetic separator having in its interior a stationary troughor receptacle for catching the iron, supported on or by the inlet and outlet pipes, so. that it remains in the same position while the cylinder is revolving around it.

14. The combination, with the trough T, of

a supplementary receptacle, t, for testing the perfection of the cleaning.

CHARLES E. FRITZ. In presence of- Gno. Kmxnami, SEIIOUB Soon.

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