US2641028A - Apparatus for fiber collection - Google Patents

Description

June 9, 1953 H. STEELE APPARATUS FOR FIBER COLLECTION Filed July 6. 1948 .l --l 5 254 I I L m U M Gm vwww o .mw m Y Patented June 9, 1953 APPARATUS FOR FIBER COLLECTION Harmon Steele, Somerville, N. J., assignor to Johns-Manville Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application July 6, 1948, Serial No. 37,271 1 Claim. (01. 19-156) The present invention relates to the produc tion of blankets or felts of artificial fibers and is particularly concerned with the production of such articles from mineral wool fibers. The term mineral wool fibers is employed in a sense to include fibers formed from rock, slag, glass, mixtures thereof and like fusible raw materials, and the invention will be specifically described in such connection. However, it will be appreciated that the invention may be employed with fibers of other materials.

Heretofore mineral wool has been made in a number of ways including the conventional method of disintegrating a molten raw material into a multiplicity of fibers by the action of a high pressure steam jet, conveying the fibers into a collection chamber in the gaseous blast set up by the steam jets, and collecting the fiberson a conveyor forming the floor of the chamber. More recently it has been proposed to fiberize the molten material by spinners or rotors rotated at high speed. In this case the fibers are discharged tangentially of the rotors and their collection in the form of a felted layer has presented serious problems.

In the co-pending application of John E. Coleman, S. N. 37,268, filed of even date herewith, now Patent No. 2,561,843, there is described and claimed a method and apparatus for solving these problems. In the operations disclosed a collection chamber is used, the chamber having an entrance opening opposite the fiberizing rotors. Air-streams are set up substantially surrounding the fiberizing means to confine the fibers and carry them through the entrance opening into the collection chamber.

It has been found that, due particularly to the character of the airstreams, difficulty is encountered in securing a substantially uniform distribution of the fibers on the floor of the collection chamber, as is desired for certain products. The principal object of the invention is the provision of a method and apparatus for securing such uniform fiber distribution. More particularly an object of the instant invention is the provision of an apparatus and method for intercepting the airstreams to set up a condition of air turbulence within the chamber from which the fibers are collected.

The invention is employed in conjunction with the apparatus previously briefly described including a collection chamber having an entrance opening through which the fibers are carried directly as they are formed by airstreams which substantially surround the fiberizer and direct the fibers through the entranc opening. The airstreams may be induced by withdrawing air through the floor of the collection chamber. In accordance with the instant invention one or more auxiliary gaseous blasts or drafts are directed into the collection chamber to cause the turbulent condition previously mentioned and from which the fibers settle to the collection chamber floor with substantially uniform distribution.

My invention will be more fully understood and further objects and advantages thereof will become apparent when reference is made to the more detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention which is to follow and to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. l is a longitudinal sectional view taken through an apparatus embodying the instant invention:

Fig. 2 is a sectional view, taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; and,

Fig. 3 is a sectional view, taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown an apparatus including fiberizing means indicated generally at It and which may include a meltin furnace it of any suitable type, such as the cupola illustrated. The furnace includes a discharge trough it, through which a stream of molten slag, rock, glass or other fiber forming material is drawn from the furnace and discharged in position to be contacted by a rotor fiberizing device indicated generally at I6. The latter is of the type including, preferably, a plurality of rotors supported to have their peripheral edges in position to be contacted by the molten material discharged from the trough [4. When the rotors are rotated at high speed fibers are drawn from the material carried thereby under the influence of the centrifugal forces set up. The particular construction of the fiberizing device may vary but typical constructions are shown in patent to Powell, #2,428,8l0, issued October 14, 1947, and in the co-pending application of Edward R. Powell, Serial No. 742,064, filed April 1'7, 1947, now abandoned.

A fiber collection chamber I3 is located adjacent and forwardly of the fiberizing device I 6. Collection chamber l8, which is relatively airtight except for the openings to be described, includes a bottom wall comprising a conveyor 2!!- supported on members 22 and adapted to be driven in the direction indicated by the arrow (see Fig. 1) by any suitable means (not shown). "A suction box 24 is located intermediate the upper and lower reaches of the conveyor with its open side adjacent the upper reach. The suction box may be connected to any suitable airexhausting device (not shown) as by means of duct 26.

The forward wall of the collection chamber is provided with an exit port 30 through which the accumulated fibersiare delivered by the conveyor to any suitable re-handling apparatus. Port 30 is preferably defined in part by a roll 32 adapted to compress and consolidate the fibrous mass to some extent.

The rear Wall of the collection chamber (see particularly Fig. 2) includes amentrrance open.

ing 33 defined by a top edge -34; side-edges and threshold 38.

Surrounding entrance 33 and thefiberizi-ng device is a housing indicated generally at 40, the housing including a rear wall 42 lying behind-the fiberizing device it and extending upwardly and forward-1y to join therear: wall of: the collection chamber, and downwardly and rearwardly to a point'remote' from the fiberizer'; Alsoextending downwardly and preferably rearwardly: from threshold 38. is a front wall l. Walls and M torn-r pocket in whichsuita-ble iii-earls may be located; to remove vunfiherized. particlesandshot collected in the pocket. The. sides ofthe housing are enclosed by, sidewalls; of any suitable type.

R ear walled is provided with openings to re ceive-theshaft and other elements of fiberizing device It; and. also to receive trough I ito permit these elements: to extend into the interior of the housing. The rear wall is also provided with air inlet: openings adapted ta co-act with suction: device 24 toiset' up'airstreams surrounding the fiberirrlng device, and of. a character to control the movement of the fibers formed by the fiberizing device-andptocarry them into the collecting chamber. These air inlets: include an upper inlet. ft comprising a relatively narrow slit extending substantially horizontally above' the fi-berizing. device. and sideinletscomprising slots 5:2-v on opposite. sides. of the fiberizing device and a lower air inlet. remote from therotors and preferably. adjacent the lower edge ofrpocket .45. Air inlet. lit'comprises: a horizontally extending slit of preferably-greater width than the other inlets to permit the entry of a greater quantity oi air. It will-beappreciated that,- although. corn tinuous slits are." shown, thisis notv essential-and that any or all: of the.- inlets may, be made: ofaa series of slits oi: openings of other shapes, if desired.

The. above described apparatusis illustrated and claimed in the said. co-pending, application of John. E. Coleman. In operation the fibers formed by rotation of the rotors. are. diverted from their normal paths substantially tangentially to the rotors and are directed into the collection chamber. This re-directi'on of the fibers is caused. by air-streams entering the air inlets 5t, 52. and. 54 andflowlng past therotor means into the collection cha1nber,,the-airstreams being set up by withdrawal of'air from the. chamber into suction box24; The air currents, in effect, create aeriforlnwalls which divert theifib'ers from their. original paths... As shown in Fla. 1, upon entry, intothe .eollectionchamber the fiber-laden ail-streams may be. said. to flow. inawell-defined arcuate path forwardly and upwardlyandth'en downwardly in the chamber.

In accordance .withthe instant invention. means are providedto b'reaklup. thezrelativelymlearly defined airstreams and create a turbulent condition within the collection chamber. The means for this purpose may take difierent forms but, in a preferred embodiment, includes a series of nozzles 56 located in the rear wall of the collection chamber and preferably substantially below threshold 38. Where a plurality of nozzles are used asshown these are distributed across the width of the collection chamber (see Fig. 2). The nozzles are connected to suitable supplies of agaseous medium under pressure, whereby relatively high initial velocities of the gaseous jets are obtained. For example, these auxiliary blasts may be saturated steam or compressed air. The nozzles. arepreferahly pointed forwardly and upwardly to direct the jets, as illustrated particularly in Fig. 1.

The jets of air streaming from the nozzles 58 are so. positioned and directed that the gaseous blast they emit travels in the same general di rection. of movementv as that taken initially by the fiber-marrying airstreams upon their introduction intothe collection chamber, and they may be said to intercept said fiber-laden airstreams at aregion of their established arcuate path atwhichthe flow has taken a downward course; It will be noted that this occurs at a region removed. from the entrance. opening by a substantial angle of arc and that the interception of thearcuate path by the auxiliary blast occurs on a chord of the are.

In carrying out the fiber. collecting operations with the above describedapparatus, the fiber carr ing air-streams moving in a well-defined arouate path are broken up by the auxiliary blasts. during their travel through the. collection chamber and a turbulent condition is achieved substantially. throughout the collection chamber. As the gaseous medium is withdrawn through the conveyor and into suction box 26, the. fibers are deposited. relatively uniforml'y to obtain a felt or blanket of approximately. uniform thickness transversely of' the collection chamber, as illustrated particularly in Fig. 3'. The felted'layer is carried from the chamber on the. continuously moving conveyor and may thereafter be subjected to any suitable operations required to convert it into a final product.

It iwillbe appreciatedi'that, where a modified product is desired, a treatingmaterial may be sprayed into the suspension of fibers at any suitable. point and, due to the turbulent air conditions, will become substantially uniformly distributed among the fibers and be depositedin such distributed relationship in the felted layer.

Having thus described my invention in rather full detail, it will. be understood. that these details need; not be. strictly adhered to but that various. changes and. modifications may suggest-themselvesto one skilled in. the art, all falling within the scope of the. invention asdefinedby thesubjoined'clai'rn.

What. I. claim is:

In a fiber-collection apparatus including a collection chamber having an entrance opening in awall thereof and meansior introducing airsti'eams carryingv fibers. into said collection chamber through saidv opening, and upwardly and forwardly in said chamber to establish a how thereina well-defined arcuate path, the improvement comprising means. for intercepting and disrupting said" airstream andior causing a condition of turbulence within said chamber, said lastnamed' means including, a plurality of nozzles positioned in the Wall. of the chamber having the entrance opening and located below said References Cited in the file of this patent opening and distributed across the Width of said UNITED STATES PATENTS collection chamber, said plurality of nozzles being pointed forwardly and upwardly to direct a Number Name Date gaseous blast in the same general direction of 5 299,111 Burns l 1334 movement as that taken initially by the fiber- 2 2 s s Sept. 9, 1941 carrying airstreams upon their introduction into 3 1 Page p l3, 1943 the chamber, but so as to intercept said air- 2,317,395 Dr i11 p 2 1943 streams at a region of their established arcuate 2,319,666 131111 -S 13, 1943 path at which the flow has taken a downward 10 course, thereby disrupting said Well-defined flow and creating turbulence Within the chamber, and achieving a relatively uniform distribution of the fibers settling in the chamber, and means for supplying a gas under pressure to said nozzles. 15

HARMON STEELE.

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