US2991499A - Method and apparatus for forming mineral wool - Google Patents

Description

July 11, 1961 HQLCOMB 2,991,499

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FORMING MINERAL WOOL Filed Dec. 29, 1955 INVE TOR. N N ffr/aey 4-? {ta/n6. Q BY ATTORNEY.

1' METHOD AND 2,991,499- APPARATUS FOR FORMING MINERAL WOOL I Harry Edie Holcomb, Stratford, Conn., assignor to Johns- Manville Corporation, New York, N.Y., a corporation I of New York Filed Dec. 29, 1955, Ser. No. 556,113 Claims. (CI. 18-2.6)

The present invention relates to an apparatus for forming and collecting fibrous material and more particularly concerns a device for separating mineral wool fiber from shot during initial collection of the fiber. v.

In theme'thod of producing mineral wool generally known as spinning, fibers are formed by discharging a stream ofv molten material onto aflplurality of rotorsfrom which the material is thrown in. the fOIm'Of fibers. With such devices a substantial quantity of unfiberized material is thrown from the surfaces of the rotors in the form of shot and a particularly difficult problem in the spinning art has been to separate this shot from the fiber.

A primary object of the present invention is to provide a mineral wool spinning apparatus wherein a maximum separation of shot from fiber is attained, without unnecessarily reducing the length of the fibers.

A secondary object of the present invention is to provide a mineral wool spinning apparatus wherein fibrous material is moved away from the rotors in such manner that a minimum amount of fiber is carried back into the path of rotors or the molten stream.

My invention will be more fully understood and further objects and advantages thereof will become more apparent when reference is made to the following detailed description and to the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a view, primarily in section, of the apparatus of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a view of the fiberizing section of the apparatus as seen from the plane 2-2 of FIG. 1; and,

FIG. 3 is a section of a portion of the apparatus, taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown a cupola 2 of conventional construction suspended by a means not shown and having associated therewith a trough 4 for feeding molten material through a rear wall 6 of a collection chamber, generally designated by the numeral 8. Positioned beneath the trough 4 and aligned therewith is a fiberizing unit 10 which may consist of two or more rotors 11, as desired. Details of rotary fiberizing units of the type with which the present invention is concerned are shown in U.S. patents to Powell, Nos. 2,428,810; 2,520,168 and 2,520,169.

The chamber 8 is generally rectangular in horizontal cross section and is open at the top. In the forward wall 12 thereof at a position considerably below the location of the fiberizing unit 10, there is provided a relatively large opening adjacent which is positioned a fiber collecting means 30 later to be described. Cooperating with the fiber collecting means 30 is a seal roll 14 supporting one end of a pivoted extension 16 of the upper portion of wall 12, the seal roll being mounted on walls 13 extending outwardly from wall 12 at each side of extension 16. In the rear chamber wall 6 there is provided an opening 18 in which is pivotally mounted a plurality of parallel louvres 20, the angle of which, relative to the wall 6, may be adjusted by mechanism 22. The arrangement of louvres 20 is such that a controlled amount of air may be admitted to the chamber 8 from the rear wall thereof at a location opposite the upper portion of the opening in the forward wall 12.

Positioned between the openings in the walls 6 and 12 and the fiberizing unit 10 are binder application nozzles 24. Located at the bottom of chamber 8 which, it will tional means.

be noted, extends a substantial'distance below the opening inthe forward wall 12, is a conventional screw'feed device 26 submerged in a water filled tank 28 and so arranged as to permit automatic removal of shot from chamber 8, without admitting additional air to the chamber. .5

The fiber collecting means 30 consists of a rotatable foraminous drum 32 mounted for rotation on any conven- Within the drum there is provided a fixed segment 34 sealed from the atmosphere and communicating with a suction pipe 36. Extending over the drum 32 and a drive roll 38 is a foraminous conveyor belt 40 adapted to move in the direction of the arrows At the dischargeendiof conveyor belt 40 there" is positioned a second conveyor 42- for delivering fibrous materials to .arioven apparatus, schematically illustrated at 44.

In operation, molten fiber forming material is fed from trough 4 in a stream onto the peripheral surface of one of the rotors 11 of fiberizing unit 10. As may be seen in FIG. 2 fiber formed on the rotors of the unit tends to form rings of material around the rotors and, unless removed from the vicinity of the rotors, would obviously :be carried into the path of adjacent rotors or into the path of the stream of molten material. However, by reason of suction applied to the tube 36 of collecting means 30, air is caused to flow into the chamber through the opening in the top thereof and downwardly across the rotors, as illustrated by the arrows in FIG. 2. The suction in collecting means 30 is so adjusted that the fiber, when moved to positions laterally of the rotor unit, is immediately carried fairly rapidly downwardly away from the vicinity of the rotors, and thus no fiber, or substantially no fiber, is carried back into adjacent rotors or into the stream of molten material.

The louvres 22 are adjusted so that a substantial amount of air is drawn through opening 18 toward the collecting means 30 and thus transversely of the initial downward path of the fibrous material and shot. The adjustment of louvres 20 must be such that all fibrous material, or substantially all fibrous material, is urged laterally of the downward path and is hence separated from the shot, which is of such relative mass that it is unaffected by the air currents. The fiber is continuously collected on conveyor belt 40 which, in cooperation with roll 14 and pivoted plate 16, serve to seal the opening of wall 12 of the chamber. The fibrous material collected on conveyor belt 40 is conveyed to belt 42 and oven 44 for curing in the conventional manner.

It will be seen that the present invention provides an apparatus wherein fibrous material may be gently separated from shot and that the apparatus also provides an arrangement wherein a minimum amount of the fiber formed is carried back into the rotors or into the molten stream. The advantageous results which flow from the characteristics just described are that control of the molten stream of material fed to the rotors is made much easier and, consequently, feed of the molten material and, hence, fiberization, is much more uniform. Also, much longer fiber may be produced by the apparatus of this invention since there is a minimum amount of chopping of the fiber by the rotors and breakage of the fiber in separating of shot therefrom.

Having thus described my invention in rather full detail, it will be understood that these details need not be strictly adhered to and that various changes and modifications may suggest themselves to one skilled in the art, all falling within the scope of the invention as defined by the subjoined claims.

What I claim is:

1. A method of forming mineral wool comprising feeding a stream of molten raw material to a rotary fiberizing means, establishing an airstream moving downwardly Patented July ll, 1961 v over said fiberim'ng means to form a suspension of fiber moving downwardly away from said rotary fiberizer, defleeting said suspension of fiber from the path of unfiberized material formed by said rotary fiberizer, and collecting fiber from the thus deflected suspension.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein a second airstream is established to flow into the suspension from one side thereof to aid in deflecting the suspension from the path 4 allel front and rear walls, a fiberizer including a plurality of coacting rotors extending into the chamber from a portion of said rear wall, a trough extending into the chamber above the fiberizer for feeding a stream of molten raw material to said rotors, an air inlet to the chamber above the trough, an opening in said front wall a substantial distance below said fiberizer, a foraminous conveyor extending at least partially across the opening in said front wall, suction means on the side of said conveyor remote from the chamber, an opening in said rear wall generally opposite the opening in said front wall, and means for varying the flow of air through the opening in said rear wall.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, including shot removal means at the bottom of said chamber.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Powell Apr. 30, 1946 Coleman July 24, 1951

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