US1785539A - Method and means for storing and removing refuse - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 16, 1930.

F. B. ALLEN METHOD AND MEANS FOR STORING AND REMOVING REFUSE Filed April 13, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet ATTORNEYS Dec. 16, 1930. F. B, ALLEN 1,785,539

METHOD AND MEANS FOR STORING AND REMOVING REFUSE Filed April 15, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEYS Patented Dec. 16, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FRANK B. ALLEN, OF LOWER MERION TOWNSHIP, MONTGOMERY OOUNTY,PENNSYL- VANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE ALI EN-SHERMANJ-IOFF COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA METHOD AND MEANS FOR STORING AND REMOVING REFUSE Application filed April 13,

This invention relates to the art of handling refuse and more particularly such refuse as is produced in the burning of coal,

coke and the like.

solid refuse from the hopper. For certain furnaces including the stoker types and gasproducers, and the like it is desirable that the hopper be maintained full, or substantially full, of water for practically the entire time during which the refuse is retained in the hopper. With the hopper substantially filled with water it is effectually sealed against entry of air through the hopper into the furnace, and is likewise sealed against the escape of any air or gases from the furnace into the basement by way of the hopper. Moreover, the water in the hopper can be utilized for keeping various parts of the apparatus cooled to below a preferred maximum temperature.

There are several serious difficulties, however, in the practicalcarrying out of this desire, among which the following may be noted: (a) The upper portion of the water in the hopper will tend to boil by reason of the heat given up to it by the heated refuse which falls thereinto; (b) The refuse cannot be discharged from the hopper into a sluiceway when the hopper is substantially filled with water and refuse because the discharge would be so rapid and in such volume that the sluiceway capacity would be exceeded and the sluiceway clogged; and (c) The water must be separated quickly from the refuse in the hopper when the refuse is to be removed from the hopper.

By the present inventionI am enabled to employ a hopper maintained substantially full of water without the generation of a material amount of steam, to separate the water from the refuse in the hopper ickly and positively when the refuse is to be removed and, finally to remove the solid refuse from 1929. Serial No. 354,787.

the hopperrapidly and at a rateconsistent with the capacity of the sluiceway to handle 'it. I have accomplished these objects while maintaining the hopper substantially sealed against the entry of air into the furnace or the escape of gases from the furnace into the basement. The method and means by which these desirable objects have been obtained are described herein and apparatus for practicing the invention is shown in the drawings accompanying and forming a part of the specification in which j Fig. 1 is a longitudinal central vertical section taken through a hopper embodying my invention; and

Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section taken substantially on line 2-2 of Fig. 1'; and

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary end elevational View taken on line 33 of Fig. 1.

In the drawings the receptacle or hopper A for receiving and accumulating solid material, as from a stoker B, is formed by upstanding walls 1 and 2 and a bottom wall 3 which is inclined downwardly and provided at its lowest point with an extension 4 pro-. jecting through the walls 1 and a closure for such extension in the form of a movable door 5 operating in slides 6 and actuated by a piston (not shown) in cylinder 7 connected to the closure 5 by a connecting rod 8. In the embodiment of my invention shown, herein the wall 3 slopes from its middle point toward each of the walls 1 and at each end is provided with extensions 4, closures 5 and operating means therefor, as just described.

. The extension lhas an inclined bottom wall for retaining substantially nonfiowing, that is dewatered, solid material in the hopper when the closure 5 is in open position. A substantially horizontal wall would serve the same purpose. This is due to the fact that the bottom wall projects sufficiently far beyond the interior surface of the hopper to exceed the angle of repose of such solid material in the hopper. The angle of repose of substantially nonflowing ashes is about 45. It will be noted that lines drawn downwardly at an angle of 45 from the upper side of the inner. ends of the extensions 4 will intersect the lower sides of the latter some distance from the closures 5. Such a line indicates the position that substantially nonflowing solids will take in the extensions and shows that such material will not'flow out of the hopper under the influence of gravity alone when closures are in open position.

. Beneath the wall 3 is located a sluiceway 9 into which liquid ma be discharged under considerable pressure through nozzles 10 and 11 to form a swlftly moving fluid conveyor onto which solid material discharged from extensions 4 can be conducted to a place of disposal. The sluiceway is covered, as by cover plates 12, except adjacent to the ends of extensions 4 where sizing grids 13 are so positioned that solid materials discharged through extensions 4 may be screened, the smaller size particles passing through the grid into the sluiceway and the larger pieces being retained for subsequent removal or breakage into smaller sizes which will pass through the grids.

Ahousing is provided about each grid 13 in the form of a box 14 connected to the top of the sluiceway andto the walls 1 so that air may be excluded from the hopper and gas may be prevented from escaping to the basement when the closures 5 are open. This box 14 has an access door 15. The cylinder 7 is supported on the top of the box 14, as is also the mechanism for oscillating the nozzles for discharging water on the solid materials on the bottom wall 3. This mechanism consists of a motor 16 which drives a shaft carrying an eccentric pin 17 to which is secured a rod 18 slidably movablethrough and rock- 'able in a bearing 19. The rod 18 is pivoted, as at 20, to an extension on the water tube 21- and serves to pivot the tube 21 about a joint 22. Nozzles 23 in the lower end of tubes 21 are disposed to direct water under pressure in lines substantially parallel with and close to the top surface of the respective portions of walls 3 and back and forth above the walls when'the motor 16 operates the rod 18. The bottom wall 3 is provided at its highest point with an overhanging extension 24 for the purpose of intercepting and directing back onto the wall 3 water discharged through the nozzle 23.

It will be noted that the closures 5 are substantially water-tight when in closed position with' respect to the openings in extensions 4.

Near the upper end of the receptacle or hopper A and preferably disposed above the highest level desired for water in the hopper is located one or more nozzles 25 through which liquid may be delivered into the hopper. One or more overflow conduits 26 are provided .with inlet openings 27 disposed in the top portion of the water in the hopper andwith their lower ends preferably opening into the sluiceway 9, as at 28. By'means of the water inlet 25 and the overflow means 26, cool water may be introduced into the hopper at the point where heated solids first enter the water so as to cool the water and prevent generation of a material amount of steam, the overflow means26 serving to removethe heatedwater from the hopper at the point of greatest heating, or any well known fluid heat extracting means may obviously be employed to prevent marked steaming of the water in the hopper.

Means are provided for de-watering the hopper before the solids in the hopper are to be removed. Such de-watering means in the present embodiment takes the form of one or more conduits 29 within the hopper and secured to the wall 1. These conduits 29 are each formed with a plurality of inlet openings 30 arranged to permit water to flow upwardly from the hopper into the conduit 29,-this arrangement of openings tending to retain in the hopper all except the finer pieces of solids which can readily pass'therethrough and to permit all solids in the hopper to fall away from the openings when the hopper is emptied of solids. As will readily be understood the openings 30 are thus self-cleaning and require practically no attention-to maintain them and the conduit 29 in operating condition.

The bottom end of each conduit 29 is provided with, a substantially. liquid tight closure which, in the present embodiment, may be in the form of a slide plate 31 suitably guided and actuated by a connecting rod 32 attached to a piston (not shown) reciprocable in cylinder 33. When the closure 31 is open, liquid may be discharged through the conduit 29 into the sluice 9 through passageway 34.

It will be understood that the hopper or receptacle thus described may be positioned so as to receive solid material from various sources but particularly from fuel burners such as power house stokers, producer gas machines and the like, the solid refuse from such combustion being received preferably by being allowed to fall under the influence of gravity into the hopper.

In operating the apparatus just described the closures 5 and 31 are brought into closed position with respect to the several openings controlled thereby and water is discharged into the hopper through means 25. When the water level rises to substantially the point shown in Figure 2 it overflows through conduit 26. Preferably water is continually introduced through means 25 and the overflow continuouslyjischarged through conduit 26 until the solids are to be removed from the hopper. Solid materials are brought into the upper endof the hopper and collected on the bottom wall 3 for a considerable period of time during which the solids may fill the hopper substantially to its top. When it is desired to remove the solids the supply of water to nozzles 25 is shut off and the closures 31 are opened and suflicient liquid removed from the hopper thru conduits 29 to render the solids remaining in the hopper substantially non-flowing. It will be understood that if the closures 5 are open while the hopper is substantially filled with solids and water the solids would rush out in great volume into the sliceway in such quantities as substantially to clog the sliuceway and render it inoperative. By removing the liquid first until the solids are in a non-flowing condition this disadvantage is overcome. When sufiicient water has been removed from the hopper the pistons in cylinders 7 are actuated to remove the closures 5 and permit solids to be discharged through extensions 4. Any water remaining in the bottom of the hopper when closures 5 are opened will flow out of the hopper and may carry some solids with it but when such water has escaped, no further flow of solids from the hopper will take place because the solids in nonflowing condition will come to rest on their angle of repose.

When the closures 5 are in open position the motor 16 is actuated and liquid under pressure is discharged through nozzles 23 against the solids on the bottom 3 with the result that the solids are washed or hydraulically fed onto the grids 13 and into the sluiceway 9 where they are rapidly removed to a place of disposal by the fluid flowing therein. When the solids have been removed from the hopper, the water flowing through nozzles 23 is shut off, the closures 5 and 31 are brought into closed position with respect to the extensions 4 and conduits 29 and the discharge of liquid through nozzles 25 is resumed.

As was mentioned above the solid refuse is removed from the hopper rapidly and at a rate consistent with the capacity of the sluiceway to handle the same. This is preferably accomplished by properly proportioning the water discharged thru nozzles 23 against the solids in the hopper and the water discharged into the sluiceway thru nozzles 10 and 11. When properly proportioned, the water from nozzles 23 discharged against solids in the hopper will feed the solids into the sluiceway at such a rate that the maximum carrying capacity of the conveying water flowing in the sluiceway can be closely approximated, thus preventing underloading of the stream of water in the sluiceway with resultant waste of Water or overloading with the possibility of clogging of the sluiceway.

It will be understood that solids may also be conducted into hopper A from a point remote from the hopper either by gravity or by a pump or sluiceway.

Having thus described my invention so that those skilled in the art may be enabled to understand and practice the same what I desire to secure by Letters Patent is defined.

in what is claimed.

What is claimed is:

1. The method of handling refuse which comprises collecting heated refuse in a hopper and, during substantially the entire time of said collection, submerging the refuse under water, maintaining the water below a temperature at which marked steaming occurs, discharging the refuse mixed with water from the hopper into a separately formed moving stream of water 'at a rate consistent with the ability of the latter to handle such discharge, and transporting such refuse to a point of disposal by said separately formed stream.

2. The method of handling refuse which comprises collecting refuse in a hopper and during such collection submerging the refuse under water, discharging sufficient water from the hopper to reduce the major part of the refuse to a substantially nonflowing condition, hydraulically feeding the substantially nonflowing refuse from the hopper into a moving stream of water at a rate consistent with the ability of the latter to handle such discharge, and transporting such refuse to a point of disposal by said moving stream of water.

3. The method of handling refuse which comprises collecting refuse in a hopper and during such collection submerging the refuse under water, discharging sufiicient water from the hopper to reduce the major part of the refuse to a substantally nonflowing condition, opening the lower portion of the hopper for discharge of substantially nonflowing refuse therefrom, retaining the nonflowing refuse in the open hopper against the action of gravity, hydraulically feeding the substantially nonflowing refuse from the hopper into a moving streamof water at a rate consistent with the ability of the latter to handle such discharge, and transporting such refuse to a point of disposal.

4. The method ofhandlingashes which comprises collecting heated ashes in a hopper and during such collection submerging the ashes under water, maintaining the water below a temperature at which marked steaming occurs, discharging suflicient water from the hopper to reduce the major part of the ashes to a substantially nonflowin condition, 0 ening the hopper for the disc arge of non owing ashes, retaining the nonflowing ashes in the opened hopper against the action of gravity, hydraulically feeding the substantially nonflowing ashes from the hopper into a moving stream of water at a rate consistent with the ability of the latter. to handle such discharge, and transporting such ashes to a point of disposal.

5. Ash handling apparatus comprising a hopper disposed to' collect heated refuse from a furnace and adapted to retain water for keeping said refuse submerged during substantially the entire time of collection, fluid means for maintaining the water in the hopper. at a temperature below which marked steaming occurs, a sluiceway disposed to receive refuse discharged from the hopper and provided with means for forming therein a moving stream of liquid, the hopper having a discharge opening in its lower portion for delivery of refuse from the hopper to the sluiceway, a closure for the opening, and means including the closure and a water nozzle, for substantially emptying the hopper of refuse mixed with water into the moving stream of water in the sluiceway at a rate consistent with the ability of the latter to transport the refuse to a point of disposal.

6. Ash handling apparatus comprising a hopper disposed to collect heated refuse from a furnace and adapted to retain water for keeping said refuse submerged during substantially the entire time of collection, fluid means for maintaining the water in the hopper at a temperature below which marked steaming occurs, a sluiceway disposed to receive refuse discharged from the hopper and provided with means for forming therein a moving stream of liquid, the hopper hav-' ing a discharge opening in its lower portion for delivery of refuse from the hopper to the sluiceway, a closure for the o ening, a housing connecting the hopper an sluiceway and forming a passage thru which refuse travels in moving from the hopper into the sluiceway, and means including the closure and a water nozzle, for substantially emptying the hopper of refuse mixed with water into the moving stream of water in the sluiceway at a rate consistent with the ability of the latter to transport the refuse to apoint of disposal.

7. Ash handling a paratus comprisin a hopper disposed to co lect refuse from a r nace and adapted to retain water for keeping said refuse submerged durin substantially the entire time of collection, t e hopper having a discharge openingin its lower portion, a sluiceway disposed to receive refuse discharged from the said opening, means to form in the sluiceway a moving stream of.

water, means communicating with the interior of the hopper for discharging water to reduce the ma or part of the refuse to a substantially nonflowing condition reparatory to discharge of refuse from the opper, and

hydraulic means operable on the nonflowin refuse in the hopper for discharging suc refuse into the sluiceway at a controllable rate consistent with the ability of the sluiceway'to handle and to transport the refuse to a point of disposal. V

8. Ash handling a paratus comprisin a hopper dis osed to co lect refuse from a 511'- nace and a apted to retain water for keeping said refuse submerged during substantially charged from the said opening, means to form in the sluiceway a moving stream of water, means commumcating with the mterior of the ho per for discharging water to reduce the ma]or part of the refuse to a sub stantially nonflowing condition preparatory to discharge of refuse from the hopper, supporting means to retain refuse in such nonflowing condition in the hopper against the action of gravity when the closure is in o ened position, and hydraulic means opera le on the nonflowing refuse in the hopper for discharging such refuse into the slulceway at a controllable rate consistent with the ability of the sluiceway to handle and to transport the refuse to a point of disposal.

9. Ash handling apparatus com rising a hopper disposed to collect heated re use from a furnace and adapted to retain water for keeping said refuse submerged during substantially the entire time of collection, liquid means for maintaining the'water in the hopper at a temperature below which marked steaming occurs, means communicating with the interior 'of the hopper for discharging water to reduce the major part of the refuse to a substantially nonflowing condition preparatory to discharge ofrefuse from the hopper, the hopper having a discharge opening in its lower portion, a water retaining closure for said opening, supporting means to retain refuse in such condition in the hopper against the action of gravity when the said water retaining closure is in open position, a sluiceway positioned to receive refuse discharge from the hopper and provided with means for forming a moving stream of water therein,

' and hydraulic means operable on the refuse retained in the hopper after the closure'is opened for discharging such refuse into the sluiceway at a controllable rate consistent with the ability of the sluiceway to handle and to transport the refuse to a place of disposal.

10. Ash handling apparatus com rising a ho per disposed to collect heated as es from a fiirnace and adapted to retain water therein for keeping said ashes submerged during substantially the entire time of collection, the hopper being formed by upstanding side and end walls and a bottom wall, means including an overflow outlet for predetermining the maximum de'pth of water in the hopper, means for admitting water into' the hopper, dewatering means including an out let communicatin at various elevations with the interior of the hopper for quickly removing sufiicient water to reduce the ma or part of ashes in the hopper to a substant al nonflowing condition, controllable means 1ncluding a valve for opening andclosing the dewatering means, the hop er having in its lower portion an ash -disc arge 0 ening, a movable closure for closing the sai opening against substantial leakage of water, su porting. means to retain such nonflowing as es in the hopper against the action of gravity whenthe closure for the discharge opening is in opened position, a sluiceway disposed to receive ashes discharged thru'the ash discharge,

opening, means including a water nozzle for forming in the sluiceway a swiftly moving stream of liquid capable of transporting to a placeof disposal the ashes as hydraulically fed into the sluicewa a housing constituting a closed passage in W ich the ashes move from the hopper to the sluiceway, means including water nozzles for hydraulically feeding ashes over the supporting means from the hopper into the sluiceway, at a rate consistent with the capacity of the sluiceway to handle such ashes.

11. Ash handling apparatus comprising a' hopper disposed to collect ashes from a furnace, means to discharge water into the hopper, means for withdrawing Water from the hopper, the hopper having an ash discharge opening in its lower portion provided with a controllabl movable closure adapted to retain Water 1n the hop er, a sluiceway disposed to receive ashes discharged thru said opening and provided with means to form a swiftly moving stream of water therein, and means including a water nozzle to discharge water against ashes in the hopper, for discharging substantially all the ashes fromthe hopper into the sluiceway at a rate consistent with the ability of the sluiceway to handle such ashes. y

In testimony whereof I hereunto afix my signature this 21st da of March, 1929.

h RANK B. EN.

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