US434288A - mowbray - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

G.M.MOWBRAY. 4 MACHINE FOR THE CONTINUOUS MANUFACTURE OF NITRO GELLULOSE.

PatentedAug; 12, 1890.

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No. 434,288. Patented Aug. 12,1890.

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.G. M. MOWBRAY.

MACHINE FOR THE CONTINUOUS MANUFACTURE OF NITRO GELLULOSE.

No. 434,288. Patented Aug. 12, 1890.

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1 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GEORGE M. MOWVBRAY, OF NORTH ADAMS, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE AMERICAN ZYLONITE COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

MACHINE FOR THE CONTlNUOUS MANUFACTURE OF- NITRO-CELLULOSE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 434,288, dated August 12, 1890.

Application filed July 8,1889. Serial No. 316,869- NO model.)

.To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE M. MOWBRAY, a citizen of the United States, residing at North Adams, in the county of Berkshire and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Machines for the Continuous Manufacture of Nitrolellulose or Pyroxyline, of which the following is a specification.

In the manufacture of nitrocellulose or pyroxyline compoundssuch as zyloniteby the intermittent processes usually practiced in the art many distinct manipulations are necessary and the careful and constant at tention of a large number of skilled workmen demanded, Which involves considerable expense in the production of the material.

The object of my invention is to reduce the cost of manufacture by dispensing with many of the workmen and attendants heretofore required; to improve the product; to uninterruptedly manufacture the material from a continuous Web of cellulose paper, and economically and efficiently produce the material ready for further manipulation. I aocomplish this by the mechanism hereinafter described and claimed, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which Figures 1, 2, and 3 are broken sectional elevations of portions of the apparatus,which, taken together in the order mentioned, com: prise the complete mechanism. Fig. 4 is a detail view showing a modification of the solvent-distributing devices.

To enable others skilled in the art to use my invention, I will now describe the same in detail, referring to the accompanying drawings, where Numerals 1, 2, and 3 indicate overhanging counter-shafts belted to the shafts 4, 5, and 6, which, respectively, drive the web-roll shaft 7, the compression-roll 8, and the distributing-cylinder 9. The frame 10, in which the drive-shaft 4 and web-roll 7 are mounted, is provided with a series of hollow drying-cylinders 12, arranged one above the other and warmed in any suitable manner, and between the said cylinders and the compression-rolls 8 and 13 is a tank 14 for containing the acid bath of sulphuric and nitric acid, properly ous cellulose sheet into nitro-cellulose or pyroxyline. A coil of pipe 15 is fixed within the acid-tank and at 16 is connected with a steam-pipe 17' and water-pipe 18 for controlling the temperature of the bath, as occasion demands. A guide-roll19 and sheet-support ing roll 20, having a doctor 21, are mounted upon or adjacent to the receiving end of the tank and near the compression-rolls, and between the latter and a drying-chamber 22 are situated a series of -water-containing washingtanks 23, located side by side and each having at its receiving end a sheet-sustaining roller 24, all simultaneously rotated in the same direction by belt or similar connection with the compressionrroll shaft 5 or otherwise. 1

At a point between the shaft 6 and the drying-chamber 22 is a trough or tank 25, containing the liquid acting as solvent, which is distributed upon the traveling web by means of the revolving distributing-cylinder 9, which may be smooth or engraved, as described. The drying-chamber contains an upper and a lower series of rollers 27, around which passes a series of endless traveling tapes 28 for drawing and conducting the nitrated web through the drying-chamben The tapes are caused to continuously travel in any suitable manneras, for example, by

tributing cylinder 9, as shown at 29, said distributing-cylinder being preferably rotated by a belt or other connection with the shaft 6.

The web-delivering roll 7 is supported by boxes adapted to move vertically in slots 30 of the frame 10 directly above the drivingshaft at, and on this shaft or otherwise suitably placed is a web-perforator, composed of a cylinder 31, having its periphery supplied with needle-pointed or lan'cet-tipped pins or cutters for pricking or perforating the cellulose sheet in its passage to the acid bath, so as to give greater surface to and more complete penetration of the acids.

The web receiving and winding cylinder 32 may be tubular 0r hollow and suitably supported to be rotated by the shaft 6.

I do not confine myself to any particular mixed together for converting the continubelting one of the rollers to the solvent-dismeans for applying the solvent bath and winding the web into a roll, as other contrivances for these purposes will be suggested to those skilled in the art. The adherent acid removed by the compression-rolls can be returned to the acid-tank or be received into a suitable vessel 33, located beneath the compression-rolls, to be conveyed by gravity through a pipe-connection 34 to a spent-acid tank.

The sheet-sustaining rollers 24 on the washing-tanks are preferably covered with acidresisting felt or like material and rubber, or rubber alone. By the coil in the acid-tank the temperature of the acids may be raised or lowered.

If desired, suitable pigments may be applied with the solvent either by grinding or mixing such pigments with the solvent or by coloring-matter dissolved in the solvent.

In practice the motion of the. overhanging shafts is transferred to the shafts 4, 5, and 6, and a rolled web 35 of unsized cellulose tissuepaper is mounted on the hollow web-roll shaft 7, so that the web gravitates upon it, is rotated by contact with the rotating perforator 31, which pricks recesses or perforates one or more thicknesses of the fine paper on the roll. The web passes to the uppermost drying-cylinder 12, and alternately between such cylinders to the lowermost one, from whence it passes to the acid-tank over the rollers 19 and 20 and under the doctor 21. At the com mencement of the operation two attendants, one on each side of the tank and each carrying a light rod, guide or direct the web from the rollers 19 20 to the farther end of the acidtank, and thus assist in suitably immersing the web, so as to place the same in the position shown by the irregular up-and-down looped lines of the drawings, this service being useful in preventing entanglement of the outgoing portion of the web with the portions following. That portion of the paper immersed in the acid bath remains at rest therein from twelve to twenty minutes, so that the first portions immersed become nitrated. Subsequently to this the continuous web moves into the bath simultaneously with the removal of the nitrated portion, the removal or withdrawal taking place at a speed nearly uniform with the speed that the paper moves into the bath. The nitrated part of the web moves from the tank over a guide-roll to the compression-rolls 8 and 13, which are acted upon by doctors and compress the excess of adherent acid from the nitrated paper, which excess, as before stated, may be received into thevessel 33 and returned to the tank or carried. to a spent-acid tank by the attendant operating a stop-cock in the pipe 34. The nitrated paper now passes into and through the water contained in the washing-tanks 23 by means of the web-sustaining roll 24, the surplus water being removed by doctors as the paper leaves the last tank, from whence the nitrated web passes to the carrying-tapes 28, which carry the paper around the rolls 27 in the drying-chamber 22. The nitrated pa per being less absorbent than ordinary paper, the very light film ofmoisture on its surface may be removed in a great measure by being brought into contact with an absorbent surface, and finally evaporates in the dryingchamber, the latter being well ventilated. As shown, the endless carrying-tapes,which leave the web at the rollers 36, run outside the drying-chamber to the point of entrance to resume their function of carrying the continuous web of washed nitrated paper through the drying-chamber until the entire rolled web is exhausted. The washed nitrated web proceeds over the solvent distributing-cylinder 9, which as it revolves in the solventtrough touches the liquid and the smooth or engraved surface of the'cylinder applies to the web the correct quantity of liquid. This being effected, the web, which is converted .into nitrocellulose or pyroxyline and uniformly supplied with solvent, is wound upon the hollow cylinder 32 or received into a box in which the solvent diffuses thoroughly through the mass.

The speed at which the web is caused to travel is under control of the attendant by any suitable means which govern the move ment of the motor or the drive-shafts, and hence the time of immersion of the web in the acid bath can be varied by increasing or diminishing the speed of the web.

In Fig. t I exhibit a modification of the solvent-distributing devices, where two rolls 37, arranged, respectively, in front and rear of the solventdistributing cylinder 9, are mounted at each end in an arm 38, engaged by a screw 39, adapted to be rotated to raise or lower the arm, and thereby adjust the rolls 37 relatively to the surface of the cylinder for decreasing and increasing the pressure of the nitrated web 35 on the cylinder, and thus in a measure controlling the amount of solvent applied.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. In a machine for the conversion of cellulose paper into nitro-cellulose, the combina tion of a series of drying-cylinders for drying a continuous web of cellulose paper, an acid containing tank for receiving the dried web from the cylinders and converting the same into nitro cellulose, and compression -rolls which draw the nitrated web from the acidcontaining tank and remove the adhering acid, substantially as described.

2. In a machine for the conversion of cellulose paper into nitro-eellulose, the combination of a series of drying-cylinders for drying a continuous web of cellulose paper, an acidcontaining tank for receiving the dried paper from the cylinders and converting the same into nitro-cellulose, the compression-rolls which draw the nitrated web from the acid containing tank and remove the adhering acid, and a tank or vessel located under the ICC compressionrolls for receiving the acid removed from the nitrated paper, substantially as described.

3. In a machine for the conversion of cellulose paper into nitro-cellulose, the combination of a shaft carrying a rolled web of cellulose paper, a perforator for pricking the traveling web, a series of drying-cylinders, and an acid-containing tank, which receives the dried cellulose paper from the drying-cylinder and converts the same into nitro-cellulose, substantially as described.

4. In a machine for the manufacture of nitro-cellulose, the combination of a perforator for pricking a oontinuoustraveling web of cellulose paper, cylinders for drying the traveling paper, an acid-containing tank through which the web passes, and compression-rolls receiving the nitrated web from the acid-tank, substantially as described.

5. In a machine for the manufacture of nitro-cellulose or pyroxyline the combination of a drying-chamber and tapes and rolls for drying a continuous web of nitrated paper, and a roll serving as a solvent-distributer for applying the liquid acting as a solvent to the traveling web, substantially as described.

6. In a machine for the manufacture of nitro-cellulose, the combination of a dryingchamber, a rotating solvent-distributer for applying the solvent to the nitrated web, and a rotated cylinder for Winding the web into a roll as it leaves the. solvent-distributer, substantially as described.

7. In a machine for the manufacture of nitro-cellulose, the combination of a dryingchamber and tapes and rolls for drying a continuous sheet of pyroxyline, a solvent-distributer which applies the solvent to the web as the latter emerges from the drying-chamber, and a hollow winding-cylinder adapted to be heated internally, substantially as described.

8. In a machine for the manufacture of nitro-cellulose or pyroxyline, the combination of the drying-chamber, the endless traveling 5 tapes entering and emerging from the drying chamber for carrying a continuous web of nitrated paper, and a rotating solvent-distributer, substantially as described.

9. In a machine for the manufacture of nitro-cellulose, the combination of. the acid-. containing tank, the compression-rollers, the Water-tanks having attheir upper portions the web-sustaining rolls, the drying-chamber, through which the nitrated web passes from the water-tanks, and means for drawing said web through the drying-chamber, substantially as described.

10. In a machine for the manufacture of nitro-cellulose, the combination of a series of drying-cylinders, an acid-containing tank which receives the dried paper from the drying-cylinders and converts it into nitro-cellulose, the washing-tanks through which the nitratedweb passes from the acid-containing tank, and means for drawing the web through the acid and washing tanks, substantially as described.

11. In a machine for the conversion of cellulose paper into nitro-cellulose or pyroxyline, the combination of a shaft for the rolled web of cellulose paper,a perforator for the paper, drying-cylinders for drying the paper, an acid-containing tank which receives the dried Web from the drying-cylinders and converts it into nitro-cellulose, the compressionrollers, the washing-tanks, the drying-chamber, means t'orcarrying the nitrated paper through the drying-chamber, a solvent-distributer, and a winding-cylinder, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEO. M. MOWBRAY.

Witnesses:

H. SIDDONS MOWBRAY, FRANCIS B. BAXTER.

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