US783602A - Conveying and pressing apparatus. - Google Patents

Description

No 788,602 PATENTBD FEB. 28, 1905.

. 0. s. WHEELWHIGHT.

CONVEYING AND PRESSING APPARATUS. APPLIOATION FILED NOV. 5. 1904.

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APPLIGATION FILED NOV. 5, 1904.

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ilivirnn Smarts Patented February 28, 1905.

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CHARLES STOREY WHEEL'WRIGHT, OF BRISTOL, ltllOllE .lrtLANl), ASSIGNOR TO AMERICAN EXTRACTUR. COMPANY A UOltPOlt/illON Oh MAINE.

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SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 783,602, dated February 28, 1905.

Original application filed May 24, 1906i, Serial No. 209,553. Divided and this application filed November 5, 1904. Serial No. 231,598.

To all whom. it non/ I; concern.-

Be it known that I, CnAnLns S'ronnv /V'n'nnnwni'on'r, of Bristol, in the State of Rhode Island, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Conveying and Pressing A p paratus, of which the following is a speciiicz tion.

The object of the invention is to convey tankage or refuse from a vessel in which garbage or ofi'al has been subjected to the hot- Water process for the removal of melted grease therefrom to a drying apparatus or platform, where it may be dried for Fuel; but it is obvious that the conveyor and presser is applicable for other uses. The invention, however, will be described as adapted for use with a rendering plant.

The invention consists of a long water-tight cylinder provided with a carrying-screw litting its inner periphery and extending to near the end oi said cylinder, perforations in said cylinder and suction-boxes working in connection with said perforations, an extension to said cylinder, a valve in said extension at some distance from the end of said screw lilling the inner periphery of said extension, and an out let in said extension, whereby material saturated with water and accompanied by water dumped into said cylinder loses its free water through said 'iertorations and suction-boxes and is borne along by said screw until it packs under the influence of said screw in the space between the end of said screw and said valve, when the valve being opened the tanliage as a continually-forining stopper passes under the Force of the screw out of the opening controlled by the said valve.

A device for imparting Frictional resistance to the wet material passing through the conveyer and. presser that it may not merely turn in the screw and fail to be carried along forms an important feature of the invention.

The invention consists, further, in details of construction.

in the drawings hereto annexed and 't'orming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a longitudinal view of the conveyor and presser,

together with so much oi a digester, watertank, pump, and connecting pipes as is necessary for an uiulcrstanding oi the invention and its said use in combination with a rendering plant. Fig. 9. is a longitudinal crosssection oi the conveyor and presser, showing within the cylinder the conveying-screw, the suctionboxes, vibrating plate or fin, and valve, with mechanism for o 'ierating the valve. liig. 3 is a cross-section of said cylinder on a still larger scale, showing, however, only two lins. Figs. 4 and 5 are details.

A represel'its so much of a d igcster as it is necessary to show in a description of the apparatus by which the above-mentioned process as relating to garbage is conducted. A pipe A, by which live steam is fed to the digester, is also shown. The digester has a valved outlet A, near the bottom thereof, oi a diameter as large or even larger than that ol? the cylinder next described and with which the said outlet communicates near the closed end oi the cylinder, as shown.

B is a long cylinder, through the center ol which, closely iitting its inner periphery, is a sixteen-inch screw C. This is the dimension of the screw actually used by me and, from it the dimensions of the remaining parts of the apparatus may be read i ly ascertai n ed ,al though I. do not limit myself to the dimension shown. The cylinder 13, provided with lugs (/(l, sup ported upon standards ll. An extension ol the cylinder beyond the screw is n'iarh'ed it, which may be 01'' dill'erent lengths, but is o t the same diameter as cylimlcr l"), and beyond this extension B is a second extension 15"" oi sub stantiallythesame d iameter, which is provided with an outlet at B. The screw (l is secured to said shai't E by splines and a feather c and revolves with said shalit, which extends out side of the cylinder 1% through the extensions 1B and 13". The said shat't E has bearings or supports at v in the end piece it oi? the cylinder B, (1 being a collar surrournling the shaft and set into the screw, as shown, 1/ being a ring of soft metal between said screw and the end piece B, and a being disks ol sol t metal,

between the shaft E and said end piece B, as

shown, and at e a long box supported upon a standard D outside of the cylinder B and its two extensions B and B The shaft E carries a large beveled gear G, into which takes a small beveled gear (not shown) carried upon the counter-shaft of the driving apparatus. The extreme end of the cylinder B is provided with a head ri in which fits a packing-box I, provided with a gland 1, the office of which is to furnish a suitable packing or bearing for a hollow shaft J, moved on and along shaftE by a hand-wheel J, a nut J rigidly connected with said hand-wheel, and a screw-thread J upon said shaft E, the said movable shaft J carrying with it a valve-disk K, provided with teeth K K, as shown. The valve'disk K has a seat at L in the rim of the extension of the cylinder B, and the peculiar shape of the face of the valve directs material or tankage sent forward by the screw C and packed or packing in extensions B B downward out of the outlet at B at any position of the valve-disk as removed any distance from its seat by manipulating hand-wheel J. The valve, whatever its position longitudinally in extension B constantly revolves with the shaft E, and thereby with the help of the teeth K K breaks up the material forced forward by the screw 0 and directed toward the outlet B M M are two suction-boxes, similar to those used in paper machinery for a like purpose, operated by two suction pipes or outlets N N in connection with perforated plates 0 O, set into and forming a part of the cylinder B. These suction-boxes are of peculiar shape and are hinged to the cylinder B, being so far removable therefrom as to permit of the removal and insertion of the perforated plates 0, as will presently be more particularlydescribed. It is sufficient for the present to point out that the two suction-pipes N N, the principal ofiice of which is to draw water from the cylinder through the plates 0 0, connect with a force-pump N, which feeds a pipe N emptying into the top of the digester A or the top of a water-tan k N, extending lengthwise alongside of the digester, accordingly as valves shown in connection with said pipes are manipulated. This tank N is provided with a pipe Ni opening from the bottom of the tank and communicating with the outlet A from the digester below the valve therein. It is provided with a check-valve and an ordinary valve 1 1 The pipe N has valves N N N and is provided with a branch pipe N communicating with the top of the digester from between valves N and N and in turn provided with a valve N The ofiice of the various valves shown in the drawings is obvious. One of the suction-boxes is shown at Fig. 3 in cross-section, together with the perforated plate and adjacent parts of the cylinder and devices by which the suction-box is hinged to the cylinder, so that the suction-box falling back on the hinge the perforated plate may be removed from the cylinder. one of the suction-boxes, and Q is one of the perforated plates set into the cylinder B. is one of several bars to support or hold up the perforated plate 0, the said bars being cast with the box M. The box M is hinged to the .cylinder B (see Fig. 5) by means of two lugs b 7), cast on the cylinder, afork m m, cast upon the box M so as to fit inside of said lugs 7) b, and a bolt m passing through the said fork and lugs and also through an eccentric of, which [its between the lugs 7) l) and is swung by a lever n TVhen the box is set free at the other end, as will now be described, and the eccentric 12. is loosened by swinging back the lever 02 the box swings back on the bolt m, carrying with it the supporting-bars M. The office of the eccentric 12, is to tighten the box M in its working position. The locking apparatus at the other end of the suction-box (see Fig. 4) consists of two lugs 7/ 6 cast upon the cylinder B, a swivel-pin a, pivoted by a bolt 12 to the said lugs b If and embraced by forked arms a 72, which are cast upon the box M and are held in the position embracing said swivel-pin by a nut a working on a screw-thread on the end of said swivel-pin and operated by a handle a".

The ofice of the screw E, as has perhaps already appeared, is to carry forward in the cylinder or through the cylinder and exterisions thereof the more solid parts of the contents of the cylinder; but this the screw sometimes fails to do, owing to the moist and slippery nature of such material or substance. The greasy mass is apt to turn with the screw without being moved forward. This difficulty is in part remedied by the frictional resistance imparted to the mass by the above mentioned suction-boxes M M, a pull or suction being exerted upon the mass in a direction substantially at right angles to force exerted by the screw. Another device for imparting frictional resistance to the slippery material held in the thread of the screw consists of certain movable pieces of metal, which I term vibrating fins P P, whose movements into and out of the mass are controlled by the screw acting upon their edges automatically. These fins are very numerous and v are placed in pairs about the screw, (see Fig. 1,) so that a separate fin works in each interval between two screw-threads. They are made of soft metal and have their peripheries cam-shaped, as shown, so as to follow with an up-and-down or in-and-out vibrating motion the convolutions of the screw, the points and heels of the fins dipping into the wet and slippery mass forced-forward by the screw between the threads and rising therefrom successively one fin from another, so that the material between the screw-threads is struck l by the fins in various positions. They are so M in this figure, as stated above, is

resets secu red to the cylinder that they and the mechanisms by which they are attached may be readily removed. One form of these fins, with accon'ipzmying parts, is shown in detail at Fig. 3, where P is the fin pivoted upon axis P, as shown. B is the cylinder. P 1. are long guides let into the cylinder, as shown, for two fins and held in place by screw-bolts if P", secured by nuts P P". A long cap P covers the said two guides P P and the space in which the fin works, as shown, being held in place by a lever P, forked at Q where it is pivoted on a pivot-pin q, held in place by nuts The other end of lever P is forked at 7" to embrace a swivel-pin P, pivoted on pivot 1 and held in place in the fork g" of lever P by a nut P working on a screw-thread on the end of swivel-pin l and provided with a hand-leverld". The pivot-pin 1 has bearings in shoulders l and the pivot 17' has bearings in shoulders l the said shoulders P' and 1 being cars or lugs east on the guides P P.

The cylinder l5 has been described as a cylinder with an extension or extensions. it is obvious, however, that the cylinder with its extensions may be considered as a single piece of apparatus or as a cylinder containing a screw which does not reach to its end, but leaves a projection containing a chamber beyond the end of the screw, into which material forced forward by the screw may accumulate and finally be removed by other devices.

As before stated, the conveying and pressing apparatus above described is particularly adapted for use in connection with therendering plant.

The operation is as follows: The digester A is supposed to be full of tankage and hot water and the tank N" is supposed to be full of water more or lessheated and all stean1- pressure has been blown off from the entire apparatus. The handle J is turned and the valve K brought to its seat at L, thereby closing the cylinder and rendering the system consisting of the cylinder and all apparatus heretofore described as connected therewith water-tight. The valve N" is next opened and the cylinder fills with water from the tank N. The screw U is now started and the valve in pipe A is opened, when the tankage or whatever material other than water may be in the digester descends through the pipe A and first (.lisplacing so far as may be the water in the cylinder through the perforated plates and suction-boxes gradually fills the screw (1 and gradually packs in the space B between the end of the screw and said valve K, forming a stopper to the cylinder. The valve l; is finally opened and the pressed material as a continuously-forming stopper passes forward under the force of the screw against the retired valve into the extension l3", whence broken up by the blades K K of the valve it passes out of the conveyor and presser through the outlet at B to a drying mechanism or dryifig-platform. (Not shown.) When the valve in the large pipe A, is opened, the valves N N and N are opened and the pump N is started, and the valve N is opened as often as it may be necessary.

This application is a division of my application, Serial No. 209,553, filed May 2st, 1904:, in which the herein-described conveying and pressing apparatus is shown and described as used with a rendering plant, the object of this application being a separate patent for such conveying and pressing apparatus independent of its use with a rendering plant.

I. claim.

1. In a conveying and pressing apparatus adapted to convey and press material saturated with and accompanied by water, the combination of a water-tight cylinder provided with a long carrying-screw fitting the internal periphery of said cylinder and adapted to re volve therein, perforated plates let into said cylinder, suction-boxes adapted to work in connection with said perforated plates, a projection or extension of said cylinder beyond said carrying-screw, an outlet to said cylin- (101' in said extension, and a valve having its seat in said extension between the end of said carrying-screw and said outlet at some distance from said screw, adapted to open or close said outlet substantially as described.

2. In a carrying and pressing apparatus adapted to convey and press material saturated with and accompanied by water, the combination with a water-tight cylinder provided with a carrying-screw filling the internal periphcry of said cylinder and adapted to revolve therein, perforated plates let into said cylinder, suction-boxes adapted to work in connection with said perforated plates, a projection or extension of said cylinder beyond said carrying-screw, an outlet in said extension and a valve having its seat in said extension between the end of said carrying-screw and said outlet, of vibrating plates or fins adapted to vibrate into and out of the interstices be tween the threads of said earrying-screw, substantially as described.

3. The combination with a water-tight cylinder provided with a carrying-sorewfitting the inner peri )hery thereof and adapted to revolve therein, and perforated plates let into said cylinder, of vibrating plates or fins adapted to vibrate to and from the interstices between the threads of said carrying-screw, substantially as described.

4-. In a carrying and pressing apparatus adapted to operate upon substances saturated with and accompanied by water, the combination of a water-tight cylinder, carrying a screw fitting its internal periphery and adapted to revolve therein, perforated plates let into said cylinder, suction-boxes adapted to draw water from said cylinder through said 1 erforated plates, and vibrating plates or fins adapted to vibrate to and from the interstices between the threads of said screw, substantially as described.

5. In a conveying and pressing apparatus for handling tanliage consisting essentially of a long cylinder and a screw fitting the internal periphery of said cylinder and adapted to revolve therein, the combination with said cylinder of removable perforated plates and removable suction-boxes adapted to drawwater IO from said cylinder through said perforated plates, substantially as described.

CHARLES STOREY WHEELWRIGHT. Witnesses:

WM. B. MOMILLEN, JOHN T. FISHER, Jr.

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