US1731443A - Process of impregnating timbers - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 15, 1929;

T. w. SMITH I,

PROCESS OF IMPREGNATING TIMBERS Filed July 27, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Oct. 15, 1929. a w SMITH 1,731,443

v PROCESS OF @MPREGNATING TIMBERS Filed July 27, 1928 2 Sh'etS-Sheet 2 wuen to'a .meoa o 2'6 7. 57212% Patented Oct. 15, 1929 ATENT" orF cE THEODORE W. SMITH, OF INDIANA POLIS,

INDIANA, ASSIGNOR TO PETER INDIANAPOLI S, INDIANA.

o. REILLY, or

rnocnss or mranonsrme mmimns Application filed Jul 27,

This invention pertains to an improved tion shall be equal to-the amount which it is method of impregnating timbers.

same.

Timbers taken from the same tree, as timbers taken from different trees, vary in physical characteristics and hence vary as to the amount of liquid which they will absorb or which may be forced into the same under the like or similar conditions.

Thus, for instance, in the treatment of railroad ties a hard, solid or close grained tie will resist penetration of the impregnating liquid whereas a soft or spongy tie, and which is mechanicall Under the usual specifications as to the preservation of ties'or timbers a given amount of preservative liquid, is required; it will t erefore be seen that wherea number of ties are impregnated at one and the same time-or where the ties are individually treated and subject to the same treatment uniformity not obtain due to the physical differences 0 timber above mentioned; It is, of course, a waste of material to over impregnate a mechanically weak tie and it is likewise detrimental to the longevity of a structurally perfect tie not to sufficiently impregnate the Under the method herein set forth all timbers'say tiesmay be given the desired degree or amount of impregnation with the assurance that each and every tie will have an equal amount of liquid forced into the same.

' Stated in general terms, my method may be said to comprise the following steps:

Placing a tie within i ing an amount of liquid equal to the volume of the empty cylinder into the cylinder inwhich the tie is placed allowing the excess of liquid to flow outwardly therefrom, segregating a as" well short lived, will not only readily receive the liquidbut in some cases as er cubic foot of wood,-

I with the cover t ereof of lmpregnation .do'es f". place therein,

a cylinder, then pass'-' 1928. Serial No. 295,798. portion of the outflowing liquid, which pordesired shall be injected or forced into the tie to secure the necessary or specified impregnation, and finally forcing such amount into the tie.

Stated in another way,=the method may be said to comprise measuring the cubical content of the tie by flowing a, quantity of liquid equal to the cubical capacity of .acontainer in which the tie is placedallowing the excess liquid to overflow from the container, segregating a portion of the outflowing liquid, said portion bearing a fixed ratio to the cubical content of the timber, and thereafter forcing such into the timber.

Various forms of apparatus may be em-.

ployed to carry out the method hereinafter more specifically set forth but in order that the invention ma be more readily understood and avpractical orm thereof set forth reference is had to the annexed drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a treating cylinder and so much of the appurtenant apparatus parts as is necessary to carryout the method,

Figure 2 a erspective 'view of a weir removed which is em segregating a portion of the liquid ployed for the tie is in passing into the cylinder when 3 atop plan view of the weir,

.Figure 4 a vertical sectional view 0 Figure weir, and vFigure 5 a top plan the cover removed showing the relationship of the various parts.

It is to be understood, of course, that the apparatus-hereinafter described is to be taken as merely indicative of one means whereby the method may be practiced.

In another 7 application a more detailed showing of an apparatus, which is automatic in its action, is set forth and claimed,hence f the no claim is made herein" broadly to any suchv mechanism. a

In the drawings, mg 7 may be of any approved form. A single head 1 denotes a cylinder havinto said container,

view of the weir with removable heads or ends 2 and 3 which 60 segregated portion v whereof is rounded and fits into a rounded remay be employed if desired although where the apparatus is employed with tie presenting and removin mechanism the presence of the two heads is found advantageous.

Opening into the cylinder is a valved liquid supply pipe 4 in which is mounted a metering device 5 designed to show the attendant when an amount of impregnating liquid equal to the known cubical content of the cylinder has passed through the pipe 4. The cylinder is also provided with a valved outlet, designated by 6, which opens through a .port 7, Figures 4 and 5, into a weir denoted generally by 8.

The w eir, as will be seen, comprises a c-ylindrical body, the lower end of which is closed except for the ports which enter the same. Extending upwardly from the bottom '9 of the weir is a verticaly disposed partition cess 15 formed in the vertical inner edge of the partition 10. This rounded portion of the blade extends upwardly as at 16 through A the cover 17 ofthe weir and has attached to its upper end a laterallyextending finger 18, the outermost end whereof is bent' downwardly and carries a locking screw 19.' The face of the cover below the indicator arm 18 is raduated so as to show the position of the Elade or vane 15 with reference to the inlet chamber and consequently to indicate the proportionate flow @of the liquid from the inlet chamber to the outlet chambers from which the ports 13 and 14 discharge.

Extending inwardly from the Walls 11 and 12 below the blade or vane 15 is a bafile or partition 20 which acts to prevent upward surge of the liquid as it is flowing into the weir.

Vent pipes 21 and 21 are mounted in the cover to prevent the weir from becoming trapped or air bound.

The port 14 is connected a pipe 22 which leads to the storage tank (not shown) from which the supply of impregnating material is drawn and pumped back as occasion requires through the intake pipe 4 and through the metering device Port 13 is interconnected with a pipe 23, which latter extends to a cylinder 24. The

ward the cylinder 24. A branch line 26 is interconnected with the pipe 23 intermediate the cylinder 24 and the check valve 25, said A check valve 2 is interposed in the line 26, said valve opening in the direction of the cylinder 1, or opposite to that of the check valve 25.

An air line 28 connected to any suitable source of air under pressure and provided with a control valve 29 opens-into the cylinder 24.

A.vent cock 30 is also in communication with the cylinder 24 in order that the air may be allowed to escape therefrom when the impregnating liquor which is to be forced into the tie or timber under treatment flows from the weir into the cylinder 24.

The air entering the pipe '28 may act directly upon the upper face of the liquid contained in the cylinder 24 to force the same outwardly when desired, or it may act upon the upper face of a piston 31 mounted therein and provided with a piston rod 32, which tends to guide and properly position the piston.

A draw-off or drain cook 33 is provided for the cylinder or tank 1 and such draw-01f may,

of course, load to the reservoir where the supply of impregnating liquid is maintained. It is thought that the operation of the apparatus will be fully understood but it may be briefly stated as follows:

A tie being placed within the cylinder 1, the

heads 2 and 3 thereof will be closed. Thereupon liquid to the amount of the cubical content of the cylinder will'be allowed toflow through the intake pipe 4, the..amount being readily ascertainable through the meter 5. An amount of the liquid equal to the cubical content of the tie will, of course, pass through the valved outlet 6 and through the weir. The wing or blade 15 of the weir will have beenadjusted to such a position thatthe desired amount or proportion of the overflow from the tankl will pass from the opening 13 into the line 23 and hence into the cylinder 24. The remaining portion will pass through the line 22 to the storage tank.

Before starting the operation it is necessary to adjust the vane of the weir so that the requisite amount of oil to be injected into the tie or timber will be diverted through the pipeline 23 into cylinder 24 from which the oil San be forced through pipeline 26 into cylin- As will readily be appreciated, by swinging the vane 15 to one or the other side with reference. to the opening 7 the amount of liquid which will pass over the walls ll and 12 may be determined.

By swinging the arm 18 to the right, Figures 3 and 5, the flow over the wall 12 into the outlet 13 will be decreased whereas the flowover the wall 11 and into the discharge opening 14 will be increased. line 23, contains a check valve 25 opening to- When the requisite amount of liquid has been metered into the cylinder 1 the valve in the pi e 4 is cut off as is also the valved outlet 6. a he operator will'then open theair valve in the line 28, the vent valve 30 being meanwhile closed, and air under pressure will displace the liquid from the cylinder 24 and force it through the pipe 26 and past the check valve 27 into the cylinder 1 and the pressure is maintained until the rod 32 is moved inwardly to such an extent as to indicate that the amount of liquid contained within the cylinder 24 has been forced into the cylinder 1 and consequently into the timber placed therein. a

From this it will be seen that irrespective of the physical nature of the timbers or ties each piece will have forced into the same, under the above operation, an equal quantity of liquid. Thus a good tie will obtain its full amount as will a poor tie, considered from its physical structure, and the latter will not be pregnation physical to receive or absorban impregnating impregnated with surplus liquid, which may be looked upon as wastage when it is so applied;

It is to be understood that the apparatus herein illustrated is to be considered more or less as a diagrammatic showing and in ac-' tual practice the opening and closing of the heads 2 and 3 for the introduction and removal of the tie or timber and the manipulation of the valves controlling the introduction and withdrawal of the liquid and the pressure which is applied to the liquid to produce impregnation are automatically controlled and work'in timed relation.

No claim is made herein to the apparatus shown and described as the same forms the subject matter of my copending application filed September 8rd, 1929, Serial Number 390,142.

What is claimed is:

1. That method of effecting uniform im-' of timbers irrespective of their physical characteristics which consists in individually determiningthe cubical content of each timber as it is treated by placing the same in a container of known cubical capacity; thereafter passing liquid into said container in a quantity equal to the cubical conthe container and allowing the excess tent of liquid to flow out of the container; segregating a portion of the outflowing liquid, said portion being in a fixed ratio to the cubical content of the timber; and finally forcing said segregated portion back into the container whereby liquid'in a quantity equal to such equal to the cubical content of the timber to flow out of the container; segregating a proportionate amount of said outflowing liquid and finally forcing said segregated portion back into the container whereb liquid in aportion will flow from the contalner; and thereafter forc ing a predetermined portion of the excess liquid back into the container. v

4. That method of uniformly impregnating pieces of timber having varying physical characteristics in a container of known cubical capacity which consists in determining the cubical volume of each piece of timber by-the immersion thereof in a body of liquid equal to the cubical capacity of the container; and thereafter forcing into each piece of timher an amount of liquid equal to a determinate proportion of the liquid initially displaced from the container by the timber when determining its cubical volume.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

THEODORE W. SMITH.

segregated portion will be forced into the timber.-

2. That method of effecting uniform impregnation of timbers possessing different characteristics affecting their capacity liquid which, COIlS1StS 1I1 individually determining the cubical; content of each timber as' it is treated by placing the sa'mein a container of known cubical capacity;

thereafter passingliquid' into said container in a quantity equal to the cubical content of the container and allowing. the liquid'in an amount

Images