US2574705A - Atomizing apparatus - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 13, 1951 D. D. PEEBLES ATOMIZING APPARATUS Original Filed July 3, 1942 2 SHEETS-SHEET l J/ 6/ 62 INVENTOR.

flamaflPeebZaa Nov. 13, 1951 Original Filed July 3, 1942 D. D. PEEBLES ATOMIZING APPARATUS 2 SHEETSSHEET 2 INVENTOR.

Eel/la Z2 Peeblea,

Patented Nov. 13, 1951 lmrornzme APPARATUS nation.reeblesznillsborou h,'Ga fi, i nor to "Golden State'fCompany, Ltd, San Francisco,

Calif., anorporation of Delaware :Driginal :applica'tion :July 13, '1942, eSerial No. 449,653. .-Divided.am1 thisaDPlication-Jalnuary '30,. 1947,\SerialsNo.- 725,2.34'

--2"Glaims. (Cl. 299- 63) 1 t This invention relates to a new and improved atomizing apparatus.

:It is an objectrofi-sthis inventionlto tprov-idexa new and improved atomizing :apparatus, especiallyz-adaptedfor:theitreatment of viscous-substances in s an vefficient," satisfactory; and relatively .zinexpensive manner."

:Afurther object of thisdnvention is to provide an apparatus that may .zbesusedcfor :OOOling or drying highlyiviscoussubstances, such as, for in stancepcornnsyrupp molasses andr-rtheilike. tWhen used 'foridrying, thisapparatuswutilizes the combinediaction oilzsurfaceievaporati'on;andisimultaneous boiling of moisture from". the :interiorao'f minutesparticles of ssuchlmaterials.

iThesxsubJ' ectematter constituting thisinvention wasaclividedifromzapplicants disclosurezset forth in U. S. Patent'::No. 2115;52'7, issuediEebruary'll, 1947. Fhe atomizing apparatus hererdiscioseo and claimed; iszthe same. as that (disclosedsaid patent butz;not:specifically claimedtherein; ;In said patent, a full description'will be found of a complete atomizing and desiccating apparatus including the chamber} conducting pipes, and similar parts. :For aifull understanding of such apparatus, reference is ma'de to the specification of said patent.

Itsis to be understoorlathat'the'atomizing apparatus here described and claimed isadapted to" be used in conjunction with :differenttypes: of apparatus, but=for 'thedisclosure ofone illustrative form, reference is made "to said patent.

.In' the: accompanying drawings-- l Figrure lis an enlarged elevational view in cross section of the :upper central portion of the drying apparatus shown in such Letters Pattent No.- 23415527, which-more clearly shows the construction of the rotary runner orso-called basket andits associatedparts. V

Figure 2 is a cross sectionalview-takenonfthe line 2 2' of Figure land looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 3 is a slightly-enlarged-viewof-the upper" end of the drier; and I Figure 4 is a fragmentaryplan view showing the upper part of the "drier as it TWOllld appear when looking down uponit. V I f It will be noted that 'thesefigures correspond toFigures 2 -to'-'5,' inclusive, of said patent.

Referring now to thejdrawings it will be-notedj that the runner orrotaryatomizing device "comprises a horizontally clisposed-circular member'il formed of a lowergpart :5|;:-.and;:an upper part 52. At the, periphery of, the. lowerpart 5 Larea plura-lity""o'f spaced 1ugs"53 which are separated one fromthe other by angularlydisposed slots '54 (see Figure 2). "These lugs collectivelyiorm an annular support on which rests the outer edge of'the" upper member *52. The uppermember-52 has a series of similarly formed lugs E i-which are separated by angular-1y disposed slots 55,as more'c'learly shown in Figure 2. It will be-noted particularly that the angularly 'disposed. 'slots- 55 of the inner ring 'attached to the upper member 52;, extend-in a direction ;opposite to that of the slos -'54 of 'the outer ring. It will also-be observed that the" inner series of lugs also form a supporting surface, 'but these'depend from the upper members 5-2= into position for engagement with theepposed or lower member 5|. The upper and -lower-members of the runner are 1 preferably held together by bolts 56 which extend through the peripheries thereof, as clearly-shown in Figures 'l and-2.

From the foregoing}description; it :will be apparent thatthe runner isyprovided with an internal space 51 adapted-toreceive the'material to be desiccatedand thatthe space'el" has communication with the exteriorthrough the slots means ofthe nut 62. The sleeve" BI is heldl onlther shaft by means of the nut .63 which is ,locled in--positionp1bythe nut'62. Thenopening in, the upper member 52, is sufficientl large to" provide a-spacei't i between the innenedge of the runner andnthe sleeve for theflpurpose of. accommodatingaxfee'dingbowl, hereinafter more fully-described.

iiIhe shaftj 6E1 extendslupwardly beyond the upperwall I! of the drying, chamber and is equipped witha pulley 6 5'mounted. on theupper-endthereoffby means .o fithe nut 66. ,The upper endof the shaft is mounted inanlantifriction-l bearing designatedgenerally 61, which v is suitably-mounted serves as a mounting for a collar lznwh-iehg-in turn serves as a mounting for a suitable anti- By means of the foregoing apparatus, it is found that the high speed of rotation which is employed serves to build up a pressure opposing the outward centrifugal feed of the material through the runner; and that the feeding of the material in opposition to such pressure, coupled with the instantaneous and prompt release thereof into the drying atmosphere, causes a rise in temperature from a point slightly below the boilthe drying chamber and it constitutes the inner J wall of an annular feeding passage for hot drying gas.

As more clearly shown in Figure 4, the pulley 85 on the upper end of the shaft 60 may be driven by a suitable motor 8| connected by means of the belt or other gearing element 82. The container '83, shown in Figures 1 and 4, are for lubricant for ing point to a point above the boiling point, with the; result that an instantaneous boiling and drying iseffected at the instant the material is atomized and exists in finely divided form in the drying space.

For purposes of illustration, the following specific examples of actual runs carried out with the apparatus of this invention will now be given.

' These operations involved the treatment of com the upper and lower antifriction bearings, re-

spectively.

From the above description, it will be apparent that the runner is adapted to be mounted in the upper end of the drying chamber, and that it is capable of being given a relatively high speed of rotation by means of the electric motor.

The material to be desiccated is fed to the runner by means of pipes 90-90 which extend downwardly from a point above the upper wall of the desiccating chamber into the annular space defined by the cylindrical wall 80. These pipes extend down below the lower edge of the wall 80, or, in other words, into the upper portion of the drying chamber, and are caused to bend at right angles so as to extend horizontally and then to communicate tangentially with the upper, outer edges of an annular feeding bowl Hi. This feeding bowl fits within the space provided between the inner surface of the upper wall 52 of the runner and the collar 6! of the shaft, and it serves to effectively close. such space. The annular bowl 9| is provided with a series of windows 92 around its outer cylindrical face, which communicate directly with the interior space 51 of the bowl. Any suitable number of windows may be employed, but it is found that goodresults are obtained when six windows are employed.

The tangential feed of the material to be desiccated through the pipes 90-90 acts to give the material being treated a rotary motion within the annular bowl, the direction of which is opposite to that of the direction of rotation of the runner itself. It is to be understood that the runner rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow of Figure 2, or, in other words, a direction opposing the outlet openings at the ends of the slots 53.

The manner of feeding and discharging the material through the runner, according to this invention, is efiective to impart to the material undergoing treatment the energy required to raise its temperature to and above the boiling point in the manner hereinbefore' pointed out; The heated air which comes in at the top through the duct I 4a, passes through the annular air space provided by the sleeve 22 and the inner wall 80, and in passing therethrough it is preferably given at least a slight rotary motion which in most instances will be concurrent with the direction of rotation of the runner. In addition, and as shown in said Patent No. 2,415,257 good results will be obtained when currents of air are introduced at the lower part of the drying chamher, so as to create a swirl rotating in a direction opposite or counter to the direction of rotation of the runner.

syrup, which was sprayed from the nozzle at approximately 385 Baum and Baum, respectively:

Example No. 1

The first run is the 385 Baum run, which was carried out under the following conditions: The temperature of the material fed to the runner was approximately 210 F. The inlet temperature of the air fed int the drying chamber was between 326 F. and 344 F. The temperature of the tangent inlets was approximately 189 F. to 192 F. The temperature of the outlet gas was approximately 229 F. to 238 F. Approximately 71.37% of solids were recovered, and the output of commercial product for the unit as run was 2525 pounds per hour.

The atomizing runner Was 12 inches in diameter and was operated by a horsepower motor, which was operated at 3450 revolutions per minute when the runner was under load.

The atomizer was operated by a 3 inch pulley carried on the runner shaft, which in turn was driven by a 10 /2 inch pulley on the motor.

Example No. 2

A similar run was carried out with 40 Baum syrup in which the material was supplied to the runner at a temperature between 208 F. and 210 F. The inlet temperature of the drying gas was 336 F. to 340 F. The tangent temperature was between 196 F. and 200 F. The outlet temperature was between 228 F. and 236 F.

The runner, motor, and runner drive, as well as the revolutions per minute, were the same as in the first example. In this run, the output of commercial product was 2828 pounds per hour.

Example No. 3

Example No. 4

A run was conducted in all respects like the run of Example No. 1, with the exception, however, that the material was fed to the runner at a temperature of approximately 224 F. A product having a slightly different physical form resulted,

' and the product was in all respects an excellent commercial product.

4 Example No.5

15 A was conducted in all respects like the" run of Example No. 1, with the exception, however, that the material was fed to the runner at a temperature of approximately 228 F. A product having a slightly different physical form resulted, and the product was in all respects an excellent commercial product.

From the foregoing it will be seen that this invention provides an apparatus by which the substance to be desiccated, such as syrup, is brought to the nozzle under a temperature and pressure relationship which is closely approaching the boiling point of the substance treated, and that through the action of the nozzle itself, additional energy derived from the motion of the nozzle is imparted to the material, with the result that heat is added to the material and the temperature thereof is increased; and finally, that the material is suddenly released into the zone of low pressure, whereby an instantaneous flashing and boiling of the water present takes place, which is productive of an instantaneous drying of the material.

It is recognized that it is old to deliver substances of thistype to nozzles under pressure and at temperatures above the boiling point, and applicant does not make any claim to such procedure, but the applicant does contend that it is novel to subject material being treated to the action of a nozzle or atomizing device while the same is undergoing a rapid and extensive movement at a temperature-pressure relationship-below the boiling point of the material, and to impart to the material kinetic energy derived from the motion of the nozzle or atomizing device, and finally to cause the substance to be suddenly released into an atmosphere of lower pressure, with the result that its temperature is instantaneously raised above the boiling point through the energy conversion and a consequent boiling and drying of the product occurred.

The atomizer is also intended to be used in operations other than drying operations. In fact, it can be used wherever an atomization of liquid products is desired. Hence, it can be used in cooling apparatus for molten syrup and the like.

What is claimed is:

1. A centrifugal atomizing device adapted to be mounted on a rotary member, comprising top and bottom Walls fixed to rotate with said rotary member and defining with said rotary member an annular material-receiving space therebetween, an annular member surrounding said space located between said walls and disposed coaxially therewith, substantially straight elongated slots of relatively narrow width extending through said annular member and extending at an angle to the radius of said device and in clined toward the direction of rotation thereof, and a second annular member disposed inside of and coaxially with said first-named annular member and having substantially straight, elongated slots of relatively narrow width extending at an angle to the radius of said device and in the direction opposite to the angular direction of the slots in said first-named annular member.

2. A centrifugal atomizer of the construction defined in claim 1, further characterized in that one of said annular members is formed integral with said top wall and the other of said annular members is formed integral with said bottom .wall, and detachable means are provided for holding said parts in assembled relation.

DAVID D. PEEBLES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,468,118 McLachlan Sept. 18, 1923 2,238,364 Hall Apr. 15, 1941 2,294,221 Bowen Aug. 25, 1942 2,333,150 Bowen Nov. 2, 1943 2,357,050 McCrum Aug. 29, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 761,881 France Jan. 13, 1934

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