US3161482A - Fluid distributing apparatus for material treating - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 15, 1964 J. F. GSCHWIND ETAL 3,161,482

FLUID DISTRIBUTING APPARATUS FOR MATERIAL TREATING Filed Feb. 27, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 A c k fl wfl Wm 1- 14 7Q i f;

H at L w 3 JEAN E .81

BY JOSE ,4. V/ZL/JLOBOS A TTOR/VEK New Brunswick, N..l., assiguors to Midland-Ross Cer poratlon, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Qhio Filed Feb. 27, 1961, Ser. No. 91,735 7 Claims. (Cl. 34-54) This invention relates to the drying or treating of material by the use of air or other fluid and more particularly to apparatus for distributing fluid on the material during the drying or treating process.

In the treating of a continuous web of material, such as paper or textiles, it is common practice to use heated air which is distributed by means of' elongated driers or nozzles disposed transversely to the direction ofmovement of the web and delivering air through a multitude of apertures closely spaced longitudinally of the nozzles.

.It is of major importance that the web be dried to produce a uniform moisture content across the entire w th of the web. This can become a difficult problem, particularly when the web is many feet in width. The mois ture content across the width of the web as it reaches the drying area may vary considerably and for that reason, it is desirable to provide for adjustment of the apertures so that the delivery rate of air may be varied. Unfortunately, such adjustments have not been completely satisfactory since they have been incapable of Sllfi'lCiBIlt flexibility to widely and quickly vary the individual volumes of airfdelivered to closely adjacent portions of the web. In addition, the controls are not readily adjustable to accommodate unpredictable changes in the distribution of moisture in the web and wet streaks occur which are very apparent in the finished product.

It is a general object of the invention to provide a fluid United States Patent ice incorporated in a portion of a drier section of a web processing machine having a plurality of drier rolls 11 which carry a web of material 12 from left to right. A plurality of identical fluid distributing devices or nozzles -may be disposed in a variety of locations, for example, at

. it will be apparent that bulk material of various types could be treated by moving it on a belt conveyor rela-' tive to properly located nozzles.

Air is delivered to the nozzles from a conventional source (not shown) through manifold duct works 21 to each of the nozzles from which the air is exhausted upon the web. If desired, the air may be heated or otherwise conditioned by use of conventional heaters or conditioners indicated :at 22.

More specifically, in the preferred embodiment of the invention each nozzle has an elongated tubular body 23 of generally uniform cros -section which extends across the entire width of the web 12. As best seen in FIG. 3,

one end of the nozzle is closed by a cap 24 and the opposite end is provided with a flange 25 by which the distributing device or nozzle for treating material which affords a full range of adjustment to selectively and widely vary the delivery of air or the full length of the nozzle.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a fluid distributing device in which adjacent fluid delivery portions merge into each other without interruption.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a fluid distributing device having a continuous, uninterrupted fluid delivery opening across the entire width of the material to be treated, the opening being controlled by a continuous, uninterrupted closure;

Another object of the invention is to provide a i'luid distributing device in which adjacent portions of a fluid delivery opening may be selectively adjusted to opposite extremes of adjustment independently of each other.

These and other objects are attained by the present invention, various novel features of which will be apparent from the following description and from the accompanying drawings disclosing a' 'preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a portion of a drier section of a Web processing machine as viewed from the side;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 but showing the arrangement as viewed from the top;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged longitudinal view, partially in cross-section, of one of the fluid distributing devices or nozzles;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the nozzle taken on line 4-4; in FIG. 3 but at an enlarged scale;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a portion of the nozzle shown in FIG. 3; and

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5 but showing various parts under diiferent conditions of operation.

' Referring to the drawings and particularly to FIGS. 1 and 2, a'preferred embodiment of the invention is shown nozzle may be secured to the duct 21 in position to receive fluid therefrom. As seen in FIG. 4, the nozzle is provided with a narrow slot 27 which is formed in a cover plate 23 detachably connected to the tubular body 23 in any conventional manner. The slot 27 extends for almost the full length of the nozzle to correspond to the width of the web 12. The nozzle is normally positioned with the slot 27 facing the Web so that air exhausting from the nozzle is directed on the web.

As best seen in H68. 4, 5, and 6, closure means for controlling the amount of air escaping from the slot 27 includes an elongated member 31 of generally tubular cross-section which is made of elastically deformable material. The member 31 is cemented to a channelshaped seat member 33 which is held in uniformly spaced relation to the slot 27 by a plurality of U-shaped brackets 34 fastened to the cover plate 28.

The member 31, the seat 33 and the brackets 34 are held securely together by an elbow 35, a nut 36 and a flanged nipple 3'7 inserted through a wall of the member 31 and threaded into the elbow 35. The nipple and elbow also provide communication with the interior of the tube member 31. v

Referring to FIG. 5, the member 31 is divided into a plurality of hydraulic actuators or air chambers :38 by pinching a continuous tube as at 39 to form a wall by means of a clip 41 bolted to-seat 33. Each chamber is provided with at least one nipple 37 and an elbow 35 which is threaded for connection to an air supplying control line 4-6. If the slot 27 is divided into a plurality of imaginary control zones as indicated at A, B and C in FIG. 3, at least one chamber 38is provided for each of the zones and each chamber is in communication with a separate high pressure line 46. The lines 4-6 may be disrial 51 is disposed between the slot 27 and the actuator member 31. The closure element is wider than the slot and is fastened to the actuator member 31 by way of a tongue 52 molded integrally with the actuator 31 and a longitudinal groove 53 formed in the closure.

A maximum flow of air can be afforded through the slot 27 in any one of the zones, for example at zone B, when the closure 51 is spaced from the slot as shown in FIG. 4. Under these conditions, the member 31 is relaxed in its as molded form with air pressure in the chamber 38 at a minimum. At the same time, air flow through the portion of the slot in an adjacent zone, for example, zone A, can be prevented when the closure member 51 is positioned to completely close the slot as shown in FIG. 6. Under these conditions, high pressure air has been delivered to the associated chamber 38 through the corresponding nipple 37, elbow 35 and line 46 so that the member 31 has been inflated to move the closure into engagement with the slot. It Willbe understood that since the amount of inflation is controlled by the amount of air under pressure delivered to the chamber, that the closure may be moved to any selected position intermediate the extremes shown in FIGS. 4 and 6 to control the amount of air delivered through the slot 27.

Referring now to FIG. 3, it will be seen that since a plurality of chambers are provided axially of the tube, different pressures of control air may be supplied to adja cent chambers to widely vary the volumes of drying air discharged from different portions of the slot. The volumes of drying air may be varied to correspond to the moisture profile of the web, that is, where the web is the most moist, the slot may be fully open and where the web is dry, the slot may be fully closed. It will be noted that these extremes of adjustments may be closely adjacent to each other since each chamber is actuated independently of all other chambers.

The nozzles are extremely flexible and responsive to control and may remain under manual control of an operator stationed in the aisle adjacent the drier. Automatic operation may also be provided by means of a commercially available scanning device 56 which is capable of sensing the moisture content of the web. The device is moved continuously transversely of the web, first in one direction and then the other. As it crosses each drying zone, the reading of the scanning device is transmitted to a relay matrix 57 which in turn actuates control valves 47 in the lines 46 to admit or release the required amount of control air to or from the appropriate actuator chamber thereby adjusting the amount of drying air passing through the slot upon the web. The adjustment remains fixed until the scanning head 56 returns to the control zone under consideration and obtains a different moisture content reading. In FIG. 2, control lines 46 and valves 47 are shown associated with only one of the nozzles but it should be understood that similar lines and valves are associated with all of the nozzles.

It will be appreciated that the continuous, flexible closure member may be moved by a variety of means such as hydraulic cylinders or solenoids. However, the actuators of the preferred embodiment of the invention not only are more simple and economical but also more compact and offer a minimum resistance to the passage of drying air in the nozzles. Furthermore, the arrangement makes it possible to keep the diameter of the nozzles at a minimum so that they are capable of installation in otherwise inaccessible locations.

It will now be seen that a novel fluid distributing device or nozzle has been provided which incorporates a continuous slot for discharging drying air or other fluid without any interruption or interference for the entire width of the web and that the rate of discharge of fluid may be widely varied across the entire width of the web by control means including an exceedingly simple actuator member which is inflatable to vary the discharge of fluid from the nozzle.

It should be understood that it is not intended to limit the invention to the above described forms and details, and that the invention includes such other forms and modifications as are embraced by the scope of the appended claims.

It is claimed and desired to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A fluid conveying apparatus for treating material comprising a conduit member presenting a continuous slot extending longitudinally of said conduit member, a single elongated closure element for said slot normally disposed in spaced relation to said slot and within said conduit, said conduit member receiving fluid for delivery through said slot, a plurality of actuating means disposed in said conduit and operable on longitudinally spaced portions of said closure element for moving selected portions toward and away from corresponding portions of said slot independently of the movement of adjacent portions of said closure element to vary the delivery of fluid across the longitudinal extent of said slot and a plurality of hydraulic control means disposed at a common location exterior of said conduit member, each of said control means being operatively connected .to one of said actuating means.

2. Apparatus for treating material moving in a path of predetermined width comprising a conduit member presenting a continuous uninterrupted slot extending transversely to the direction of material movement and generally coextensive in length to the width of the path of material movement, means for delivering air to said conduit, means for controlling the flow of air through said slot including a plurality of tube-like actuators of elastic material supported in axially aligned, adjacent relation to each other and in uniformly spaced relation to said slot, means for selectively delivering and expelling fluid under pressure to each of said actuators to deform the latter toward and away from said slot, a continuous closure member disposed between said actuators and said slot and being movable into and out of closing relation with said slot upon deformation of said tubular actuators to control the flow of air through said slot.

3. Apparatus for treating material moving in a predetermined path comprising a conduit member presenting a continuous, uninterrupted slot extending transversely to the direction of material movement and generally coextensive in length to the width of said path, said slot forming a plurality of control zones, means for controlling the escape of air from said slot onto said material including an elongated generally tubular member formed of elastic material and supported in uniformly spaced relation to said slot, said member corresponding to the length of said slot and being divided into separate chambers corresponding in number and location to said control zones of said slot, separate means for delivering fluid under selected pressure to each of said chambers, each of said chambers being deformable upon receiving fluid under pressure and in proportion to the pressure to move toward said conduit to selectively vary the degree of opening of said slot in the associated control zone independently of the degree of opening of said slot in the other control zones.

4. In a fluid distributing device, an elongated conduit, means for delivering air to said conduit, a continuous slot formed'longitudinally in said conduit, closure means disposed in said conduit and normally spaced from said slot and movable into engagement with the interior walls of said conduit at either side of said slot to control the effective opening of said slot, a plurality of hydraulic actuators disposed within said conduit and operative on longitudinally spaced portions of said closure means to move the latter, a control means for each of said actuators, and hydraulic lines connected to said actuators and to said control means, said control means permitting operation of selected ones of said actuators independently of each other from a common location exterior of said elongated conduit.

5. A fluid distributing device according to claim 4 in which said plurality of hydraulic actuators are formed by an elongated, resilient member of generally tubular configuration, said resilient member being divided longitudinally thereof by walls forming separate deformable compartments in said member.

6. A fluid conducting device for treating material moving relative to said device comprising an elongated conduit extending transversely to the direction of material movement, means for delivering fluid to at least one end of said conduit, said conduit forming a continuous slot for distributing fluid from said conduit upon said material, a single, flexible closure for said slot, means for moving selected portions of said closure toward and away from said slot and into engagement with the interior wall of said conduit including a plurality of actuators disposed solely in said conduit, each of said actuators being operable to move a corresponding portion of said closure independently of adjacent portions of said closure, and

control means for operating said actuators independently of each other from a point exterior of said conduit and through one end of the latter.

7. A fluid conducting device for treating material according to claim 6 and further including sensing means for detecting the treated condition of said material and in which said control means is responsive to said sensing means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Re: 25,358 Underhay Mar. 26, 1963 2,616,188 Steinfeld Nov. 4, 1952 2,677,390 Davis May 4, 1954 2,781,780 Zahradka Feb. 19, 1957 2,884,711 Parkes May 5, 1959 2,903,015 Erwin Sept. 8, 1959 2,913,147 Johnson Nov. 17, 1959

Claims (1)

1. A FLUID CONVEYING APPARATUS FOR TREATING MATERIAL COMPRISING A CONDUIT MEMBER PRESENTING A CONTINUOUS SLOT EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY OF SAID CONDUIT MEMBER, A SINGLE ELONGATED CLOSURE ELEMENT FOR SAID SLOT NORMALLY DISPOSED IN SPACED RELATION TO SAID SLOT AND WITHIN SAID CONDUIT, SAID CONDUIT MEMBER RECEIVING FLUID FOR DELIVERY THROUGH SAID SLOT, A PLURALITY OF ACTUATING MEANS DISPOSED IN SAID CONDUIT AND OPERABLE ON LONGITUDINALLY SPACED PORTIONS OF SAID CLOSURE ELEMENT FOR MOVING SELECTED PORTIONS TOWARD AND AWAY FROM CORRESPONDING PORTIONS OF SAID SLOT INDEPENDENTLY OF THE MOVEMENT OF ADJACENT PORTIONS OF SAID CLOSURE ELEMENT TO VARY THE DELIVERY OF FLUID ACROSS THE ONGITUDINAL EXTENT OF SAID SLOT AND A PLURALITY OF HYDRAULIC CONTROL MEANS DISPOSED AT A COMMON LOCATION EXTERIOR OF SAID CONDUIT MEMBER, EACH OF SAID CONTROL MEANS BEING OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO ONE OF SAID ACTUATING MEANS.

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