US1710316A - Centrifugal machine - Google Patents

Description

April 23, 1929. w, c, LAUGHUN 1,710,316

CENTRIFUGAL MACHINE Filed March 29, 1927 5 Sheets-Sheet l v I2 mvgok BYQM' ATTORNEY April 23, 1929. w, c, LAUGHUN 1 1,710,316

CENTRIFUGAL MACHINE Filed March 29, 1927 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEY 1 VENTOR. @a zu April 23, 1929. w, c, LAUGHLlN 1,710,316

CENTRIFUGAL MACHINE Filed March 29, 1927 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 58 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY A ril 23, 1929. w. c. LAUGHLIN 1,710,316

CENTRIFUGAL MACHINE Filed March 29, 1927 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Q; 45 45 G 4a 42.

l 45 I a INVENTOR. WW6. BY M ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 23,- 1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WILLIAM C. LAUGHLIN, OF GLENDALE, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR '10 LAUGHLIN FILTER CORPORATION, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

CEN TRIFUG-AL INLACJHZIILTIQ.

Application filed March 29, 1927. Serfal No. 179,208.

This invention relates to centrifugal machines and more particularly to rotary separators for efiiciently separating component parts of complex materials.

Broadly stated the object of the present invention is to provide a constantly driven rotary separator for acting upon materials continuously.

According to one feature of the invention 1 the material to be acted upon is fed through a hollow shaft into a rotating chamber of conical shape and is emitted therefrom by centrifugal force and subsequently separated into parts having different characteristics.

An important feature of the invention relates to the provision of improved means for separating a mixture of solid particles and a plurality of liquids of relatively different specific gravities, in one continuous operation.

Another feature relates to the provision of an improved screw propeller for acting upon the material whereby to expel solid material in one direction and to agitate the emotion of liquid material for the purpose of separating therefrom liquids having different specific gravities.

, Another important feature of the invention is that the liquid component of the material is smoothed thi'ough the mechanism longitudinally in one general direction, the effect of the centrifugal force being to separate the parts having different specific gra-vities, and in the provision of improved means for draining off the fluid of higher specific gravity.

Another feature relates to the provision of a casing operable at a speed relatively different from the rate of movement of the screw propeller, the casing being provided with a plurality of separating chambers for conducting fluids of relatively different specific gravit-ies.

Still another feature of the invention is to provide an improved combination of elements for separating solid material and complex fluid material, and which may be cheaply constructed and readily assembled and disinantled.

Other objects will appear from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which Fig. l is a side elevation of a machine embodying features of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a partial longitudinal section of the machine;

Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line 3--3 of -Fig. 2;

Like reference characters denote like parts in the several figures of the drawing.

In the following description and claims, parts, characteristic features and functions will be identified by specific means for convenience of expression, but they are intended to be as generic in their application to similar parts or equivalentconstruction as the art will permit,

Referring to the drawings and more-particularly to F ig. 1, there is shown a base 10 of conventional form, serving as a mounting for the machine. The separator and its associated parts are mounted upon the upper face of the base 10 by being bolted thereto. As illustrated in Fig. 1, the mechanism comprises generally an inverted hanger 11 secured to the base 10 and supporting a hollow shaft 12, a solid discharge box 13, a liquid discharge box 14, and a power transmitting device 15.

One end of the hollow shaft 12 is provided with an intake 20 with which registers a stationary inlet pipe 21 extending from a suitable eontainer of raw material (not shown) and forming a source of material to be acted upon. The inlet pipe 21 is in communication with a bore 22 of the shaft 12 (see Fig. 2). The bore 22 extends partiallythrough the shaft 12 and into communication with aligned transverse apertures such as 23 shown two in number (see Fig. 4). As clearly seen in Fig. 2, the solid discharge box 13 includes an end plate 24 having an aperture as at 25 sufliciently large to provide ample clearance with respect to the shaft 12, and having an opposed end plate 26 apertured as at 27, andan arcuate wall 28 secured to the end plates 24, 26 along their eripheral edges in any de- -sired manner, t us forming a chamber for the discharge of solid material, as will subsequently appear.

There is mounted upon the shaft 12 in position to discharge into the solid discharge box 13 a rotary screw propeller 30, which may take the form illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6'. As so illustrated, it includes a rotor of frusto conical shape the enlarged end of which may be formed cylindricall as at 31. The propeller also includes a ub portion 32 which 1s provided with an internal bore of such size as to fit snugly upon the shaft 12. The hub 32 has a keyed connection including keys such as 33 positioned in suitable key ways such as 34 on the shaft 12 by which the propeller 30 is fixedly mountedupon the shaft so as to rotate therewith. The propeller 30 is positioned on the shaft 12 so that its smaller .end projects through the aperture 27 of the solid discharge box end plate 26 and thus into the interior of the solid discharge box 13.

The outer face of the propeller 30 between the small endand the cylindrical portion 31 slopes to forma cone shaped surface 35, and

in combination with the hub 32 and end wall 36 there is inclosed within the propeller an annular chamber 37 of triangular section. The hub 32 is apertured as at 38 to form a passage sufliciently large to register with the transverse apertures 23 of the shaft 12.

The end wall 36 of the screw propeller 30 may be provided with a suitable number of core holes as at 41, as for example two in number, to expedite the casting of this ele-' ment, such holes permitting the elimination of the sand after casting. The screw propeller also includes two spiral blades or . fianges 42, 43 extending spirally around the sloping wall 35 and around the cylindrical portion 31. The sloping wall 35 of the chamber 37 is provided adjacent to the end wall 36 with'a plurality of apertures 44..

The spiral blades 42, 43 near the small end of the propeller are provided with transverse passages which may take the form of apertures such as 45, 45,-and will thus'permit the passage of material'between the compartments formed by the blades. The apertures 41 in the wall 36 of the propellerare preferably cast for the reception of suitable lind plugs such as 46 whereby the apertures may be effectively closed during the operation of the machine.

The shaft 12 extends into operative connection with the power transmitting device 15 and thus to a power'source shown in the form of'a sprocket 50 so as to be driven at a redetermined constant speed thereby as has Eeen' fully disclosed in my copending application Serial No. 145,141 filed October 30, 1926. The power transmitting device 15 also drives, but at a slightly differing speed,

a rotor 62 which is mounted on :a conven- I tional frictionreducing element such as a bearing'63 on. the shaft 12 and thus is driven at a speed relatively different from the rate of movement of the shaft. The Zrotor 62 is provided onone lateral face-with an integral annular flan e 65 upon which there is securedan annular aflle plate 66. The bafile is formed of relativel thin metal an tends in spaced para lel relation with the proximate face of the rotor 62 thus forming one ,wall of a pocket 67 for the passage of late fluids. The pocket 67 is in communication. I

near the periphcr of the rotor 62 with radially extendin s ots 68 formed in the rotor. The rotor 62 as secured thereto a tapered by a threaded Wall of the casing 70 is sub- The vblades 42, 43 extend outwardly from the surfaces of the rotor 30 in such a direction as to form with the adjacent inner surface of the outer casing 70 substantially a right angle.

The liquid discharge valve 14 includes end walls 80, 81 and an intermediate transverse wall, or partition 82 thus formin two annular chambers 83, 84. The right-hand chamber 84 is provided with interiorly disposed deflectors 86, 87 which extend from the walls 82, 81 respectively, and which are terminated so as to leaveja passage 88 for the discharge of fluid from the pocket 67 into. the interior. of the chamber 84. The left-hand chamber 83 is similarly provided with-interiorly disposed deflectors 89, 90 which extend from the walls 82 respectivelyand which are terminated so as to leave a passage 91 for the discharge of fluid into the interior of the chamber 83. The annular chamber 84 empties into a discharge pipe 92 for heavy liquids and the chamber 83 empties into a discharge pipe 93 for liquids of lighter specific gravity.

In the wall of the cylindrical portion of the casing 70 therezis mounted a radial tube having it outer surface screw-threaded so as to be adjustable radially with respect to the casing upon which it is mounted."- A

lock nut 101 is provided for maintaining the tube 100 in desired position. The arrange-.

ment is such that by adjusting the position of the tube 100 the space indicated as at 102 be ween the inner end of the tube and the wall of the cylindrical portion 31 of the rotor 30 maybe varied as desired. Theltube 100 and accordingly the flanges 42, 43 arevcut away as at 103 to permit relative movement of the parts without contact. The outer end of the tube 100 registers with the aperture 91 for the discharge of material from between the flanges 42, 43 into the interior of the chamber 83.

The end of the cylindrical portion 31 of the propeller 30 is provided with a baflle plate 110 having its periphery 111 positioned in spaced relation with the inner face of the easing 70 so as to leave a passage 112 for permitting the flow of the'fiuid component of relatively heavy specific gravity.

The hub 31 when cast has a length commensurate with the length of the cylindrical portion of the casing 70 but during the machine operation the hub 31 is ground down to the form shown in Fig. 2. It is understood, however, that in this machine operation only the hub and the portion of the flanges are cut away, and this leaves a projection 113 extending fromthe peripheral portion of each of the flanges 42, 43 for cleaning ofi' sediment which may be deposited near the right-hand termination of the bore of the casing 70. After having been thus machined the baffle 110 is secured to the hub 31 as by being riveted or bolted thereto.

In the operation of the embodiment shown in Figs. 1 to 6 inclusive the power source 50 is actuated to drive the shaft 12 at one predetermined speed and the casing 70 at a slightly differing predetermined speed. Since the inner rotor 30 is driven by the shaft 12 a differential movement is produced between the flanges 42, 43 of the rotor 30 and the adjacent surface of the casing 70. For example, the propeller 30 may be driven at a speed of 1,000 revolutions per minute and the casing 70 at a speed of 996 revolutions per minute or other suitable speeds may be employed.

The material to be acted upon is fed into the pipe 21 and is thrown out from the bore 22 through the aperture 38 into the chamber 37 by centrifugal force. The material is then discharged through the apertures 44 into the space between the blades 42, 43 of the propeller 30. In this space the fluid and solid particles are effectively separated by the ac tion of centrifugal force and by virtue of their relatively difl'crent specific gravities.

The solid component of the material is forced by the screw action of the blades 42, 43 towards the smaller end of the screw propeller 30. Inasmuch as it is being constantly subjected to the action of centrifugal force, moisture is continually separated off from the material and moves along the inner face of the outer casing towards the right of Fig. 2. Thus as the material being acted upon gradually approaches the left-end or smaller end of the propeller it becomes less moist. Furthermore, the driest portion of the material is, at eachstage, nearer the outer ed e of the blade. As it is being pushed town 5 the left of Fig. 2 it finally reaches the part of the blade having the apertures 45. The dr er or outermost portion of the material is uneffected by the apertures, but the inner portion can pass through the apertures 45 towards the right of Fig. 2 where it is acted upon again for additional drying. Thus the moist art of the material at the final stage s acte upon repeatedly when necessary until 1t has become sufliciently dehydrated and is discharged from the end of the propeller into the solid discharge box 13 and thus-into a suitable container. After the fluid component of the material has been separated from the solid component it flows along the wall of the'casmg 7 0 being maintained in contact therewith by the centrifugal force produced by the continuous rotation of the rotor. The fluid thus continues its motion towards the right of Fig. 2, becoming gradually more free of solid particles and taking on the character of an emulsion of oil and water. As this emulsion is acted upon by centrifugal force the water component, having a relatively heavy specific gravity tends to be thrown outwardly radially with greater force than the oil component having a relatively light specific gravity. Thus the oil component floats into proximity to the outer wall. of the right-hand portion of the hub 31 and is drawn. off therefrom through the tube from the outer end of which it is emitted through the passage 91 into the oil chamber 83. The oil component then flows by gravity through the discharge pipe 93. The heavy or water componentof the fluid continues its movement along the inner wall of the outer casing and passes through the space 112 andbetween the baffle plates and 66. The water then escapes over the inner periphery of the annular baffle 66 into the pocket 67 and is thrown out through the slot 68 and the passage 88 into the water chamber 84. It then flows by gravity through the water discharge pipe 92.

In the modified form shown in Figs. 7' and 8 the tube 100 is dispensed with and there is secured to the casing 7 0 a plurality of variously characterized inwardly extending baffle plat-es. A two lip bafiie 200 having a lip 201 of limited extent and a lip 202 extending inwardly to a relatively greater extent is provided with a plurality of radial passages such as 203 (see Fig. 8). The battle 200 is also apertured as at 204 these apertures being inclined towards the center and communicating with that portion of the space between the hub 31 and the outer casing 70 which is proximate to the inner wall of the casing 7 0. A second baffle 205 is provided in spaced relation with the baflle 200 so as to form a recess 206 with which the apertures 204 communicate. The outer peripheries of the bafile 200,

205 are bolted between the flange 62 and the rim of the casing 70 by means of suitable bolts such as 207. The baflle 205 is also in spaced relation with the inner face of the flange 62 so as to form a pocket 208. A plurality of milled slots such as 209 extend outwardly in a radial direction from thep'ockct 208.

The fluid box 14 is divided by means of a part itiou 210 into an oil compartment 211 and a watercompartment 212, the oil compartment 211 having a deflector 213 extending from the end wall inwardly and terminating so as to leave a passage 214 which registers with the passages203 of the baflle 200. Similarly the water chamber 212 is provided with a deflector 215 extending inwardly from the respective end wall of the fluid box and terminated so as tol'eave a passage 216 which registers' with the apertures 209 for the water emitted therethrough. The oil compartment 211 is drained by an oil drain pipe 217 andt similarly the water compartment 212 is drained by a water drain pipe 218.

In operation, the structure of Figs. 7 and 8 separate the fluidcomponent from the solid component as has been described with respect to the embodiment ofvFigs. 1 to 6, and the fluid component is thus in the form of an emulsion upon reaching the'space designated as at 220 in Fig. 7 with the portion of relatively heavy specific gravity tending towards the outer casing 70. and the oil portion of relatively lighter specific gravity tending towards the outer wall of the inner hub 31. Much of the water component is drawn off through the apertures 204 into the pocket 206 from which it escapes around the inner pe-' riphery of the baflie 205 and into the recess 208. The 'oil component flows aroundthe in- .ncr peripheral edge of the lip 201 and is thrown by centrifugal force through the radial passages 203 into the oil chamber 211 from where it flows by gravity into the oil discharge pipe 217=for collection in suitable containers, or for subsequent treatment. In case the oil component as so collected contains an excessive quantity of water it may be again introduced through the feed pipe 21 for repeated action.

' The invention upon which this application is based is broader than the specific embodiment shown and described for the purpose of tion is therefore to be understood as not being hunted by the present specific description. I

intend nolimitation other than those imposed by the 'cla'ims.

1. A rotary separator of the bowl type comprising a frusto conical casing having a discharge opening 'for solids and two discharge openings for fluids, one of said fluid openings having an adjustable nipple forvarying the character of fluid component discharged therethrough, and a rotor within said cas- 1ng havinga'sloping wall substantially parallel with and spaced fromthe inner wall of said casing, said inner rotor having perfoe rated spiral flanges dividing the space between sajid walls into compartments.

2. A rotary separator of the bowl type comprising a casing having .a cylindrical portion and a conical portion, a differentially driven rotor positioned within said casing, having a wall uniformly spaced from the inner wall of said caslng and having perforated spiral flanges dividing the space between said flanges, and an adjustable radial tube mounted in the cylindrical named casing.

3. A rotaryseparator of the bowltype comprising a casing having a cylindrical portion and a conical portion, a differentially portion ofsaid firstdriven rotor positioned within said casing,

having a Wall uniformly spaced from the inner wall of said casing and having perforated spiral flanges dividingv the space between said flanges, a radial tubemounted in the cylindrical portion of said first-named casing, having its inner end extending into spaced relation with the wall of theother casing, and 1 means for locking said tube in fixed predetermined position.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, this 26th day of March, A. 1)., 1927.

' WILLIAM C. LAUGHLIN.

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