US1403126A - Method of and apparatus for transporting and impregnating material - Google Patents

Description

J. J. 'LYTH. METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR TRANSPORTING AND IMPREGNATING MATERIAL.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 10, I919.

Patented Jan. MT, 11922.,

mmen/or John vii #7 UNHTEID STATES Parent caries.

METHOD or AND APP 1,4Lt13,il26.

Specification of Letters Patent.

TUS FOR TRANSPORTING' AND IMPREGNATING MATIAL.

Patentez'l Jan. 1ND, 11922.,

Application filed February 10, 1919. Serial No. 276,211.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN JAMns LYTH, a subject of the King of Great Britain, and resident of the city of Valleyfield, in the Province of Quebec and Dominion of Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods of and Apparatus for Transporting and Impregnating Material, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to improvements in a process of and apparatus for transporting and impregnating cloth in rope form, and the object of the invention is to provide means for transporting the cloth at a high speed and in such a manner that it is entirely isolated from light, dust or other foreign matter and prevented from contact with objects which would injure the cloth or which would be injured by fluids with which the cloth is impregnated.

It has been demonstrated in connection with the bleaching of cotton cloth that a reat advantage is obtained if the cloth is impregnated with the washing and bleaching liquors before it is placed in the kiers. The advantage is derived from two distinct sources, first, the freedom from kier stains and second, the great possible acceleration of the bleaching process. Vhile the advantages to be derived are well known, it is found impracticable to impregnate the cloth with the washing and bleaching liquors before it is-placed in kiers for the reason that the cloth is diflicult and extremely dangerous to handle in an impregnated condition, owing to the strongly corrosive action of the liquors usually employed for impregnation.

According to this invention, the cloth is handled in rope form by passing it through a tube. In order to overcome friction between the cloth and tube, fluid is introduced under pressure in the form of jets directed in the direction of desired movement. The fluid not only forms a kind of lubricant between the cloth and the tube but also forms an impelling and transporting medium. By this means, it is possible to transport the cloth at high speed through tubes of considerable length and also to pass the cloth easily and without appreciable loss of speed through tubes bending or turning in various directions. The impelling and transporting fluid may be either air or a gaseous or va- V orous substance, with which it is desired to impregnate the cloth, or may be a liquid which serves merely for transporting purposes or both for transporting and impregnatlng.

In the drawings which illustrate diagrammatically apparatus for carrying out the process Fig. 1 is a general diagram of an installation.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional View illustrating the method of introducing the impelling fluid.

eferring more particularly to the drawings, 11 designates a tube of suitable size which may be strai ht or bent to take any desired direction. hanges of direction in the tube may be accomplished by means of bends of large radius continuous until the desired new direction is attained, such as shown at 12, or by a series of slight bends separated by lengths of straight pipe, as shown at 13. Wherever necessary in the length of the pipe, collars 14 are provided each having an annular channel 15 therein surrounding the pipe 11, into which channel the impelling fluid may be introduced through a valve controlled pipe 16. These pipes 16 preferably lead from a fluid supply pipe 17, which parallels the conveyor pipe 11. A series of small passages 18 arranged at an acute angle to the axis of the pipe 11 are provided leading from the channel 15 into the pipe 11, so that jets of fluid may be directed into the pipe, which .je'ts move in the general desired direction of movement through the pipe and which, by their convergence to the axis of pipe, will tend to support an object in the pipe out of contact with the pipe. dency for an object in the pipe is to float in the transporting fluid along the axis of the pipe and out of contact with the wall thereof. For convenience, each collar 14: may have two channels 15 and two sets of passages 18, the passages ofone set being directed oppositely from the passages of the other, so that by emitting fluid from one set or the other movement may be induced in the pipe 11 in either direction. The mouth 19 of the tube is preferably funnel-shaped both for the purpose of facilitating the entry of the cloth and of air.

The operation of the process and apparatus is extremely simple. The end of a rope of cloth to be transported is fed through the pipe in any suitable way and the transporting fluid then admitted. The jets of fluid In other words, the ten tube so that the friction is very little. When the impelling fluid is air or a gas, it is advisable to-have the cloth rope wet during its passage through the tube, in order to avoid heating and static electric discharges in the tube. If it is necessary to pass dry cloth through the tube, any suitable form of static collectors may be provided.

Where the impelling fluid used is a liquid, it will 'be possible to use any liquid with which it is desired to impregnate the cloth and thus an economy 'will be effected bysimultaneously transporting and impregnating the cloth. Under such cofi ditions the impregnation will be very perfect even though the cloth is in rope form. Where it is desired to impregnate the cloth with a liquid, it will preferably be passed into the tube in dry condition, so that it will readily absorb the liquid. The amount of liquid supplied at various points along the tube will naturally be regulated to compensate for the loss of transporting medium by absorption in the cloth. It may develop in certain cases that different transporting media may be used in the length of the tube; that is to say, a liquid may be used in part of the length of the tube for transporting and impregnating the cloth and air or other gas used as a transporting medium in the remainder of the tube or in that portion of the tube through which the cloth passes after it has become thoroughly impregnated. Obviously, the jets of impregnating fluid and transporting fluid may be alternated throughout the length of the tube or in any proportion of the length. Impregnation of the cloth by this means will be very perfect in spite of the rope form in which the cloth is handled, owing to the high pressure at which the fluid impinges on the cloth. Pressures varying from ten to two hundred or more pounds per square inch may be used according to circumstances and according to the speed at which it is desired to handle the cloth. It is obvious that by this process, cloth may be impregnated with a liquid and subsequently with a gas or vice versa, while transportation in other parts of the tube is effected by the introduction of a neutral or inert fluid. v

Considered as a transportation problem alone, the invention oflers great advantages. The cloth may be handled at a much higher speed than is now practicable and the conditions under which it is moved are ideal for many purposes. In other words, the cloth may be handled when containing dye or other materials which are affected by light or ordinary atmosphere. The cloth may be moved very rapidly for long distances and be continuously protected from dust or contact with objects which would injure or be injured by the cloth or any substance with which the cloth is impregnated. Wet cloth may be handled in a mill without having a constant drip from the cloth upon objects below. The cloth is moreover not subject to tearing or other disruption, as it is when handled in the usual manner by winces or the like, so that very delicate fabrics may be handled in this way with perfect safety. The method of handling is quite economical as with a proper relation between the size of the tube and the size of the cloth rope only a comparatively small amount of fluid is required. This is due partly to the fact that unless means are taken for its prevention there is a strong suction of air into the month of the tube along with the cloth, so I that there is a film of fluid under pressure between the cloth rope and the tube wall. This fluid film serves to lubricate the cloth. It is obvious that the tube may be either rigid or flexible.

\Vhile the invention has been described solely as applied to the transporting and impregnating of cloth in rope form, it will be understood that it is equally applicable to the handling of any flexible substance in rope form either for purposes of transportation or impregnation. For example, rope drives which are sometimes of very great length may be supported between buildings in this manner and thus maintained in a uniform condition of temperature, humidity or the like, so that there will be substantially uniform power transmission regardless of atmospheric changes.

I am aware that it is well known to transport individual particles or bodies through a tube by air blast or air expansion and, therefore, make no claim to such but limit this invention to the handling of a continuous body.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. A method of transporting cloth in rope form, which consists in forcing it through a tubeby means of fluid under pressure.

2. A method of transporting a continuous body of great length which consists in forcing it through a tube by means of jets of fluid directed against the body at an incline thereto.

' 3. A method of transporting a continuous body of great length which consists in forcing it through a tube by means of jets of fluid directed against the body at an incline thereto, and at intervals throughout the! length of the body within the tube.

4. A method of transporting a continuous neoaree body of great length which consists in forcing it through a tube by means of jets of fluid directed against the body at an incline thereto, and converging toward the axis of the body.

5. A. method of transporting a continuous body of great length which consists in forcing it through a tube by means of a plurality of series of fluid jets directed against spaced points in the length of the body in' the tube and inclined thereto and at said spaced points converging upon the body.

6. A process of transporting and impregnating cloth in rope form, which consists in forcing the cloth through a tube by means of jets of impregnating fluid.

7. A method of impregnating cloth in rope form, which consists in passing it through a tube and simultaneously directing jets of the impregnating fluid under pressure upon the cloth.

8. A process according to claim 7, in which'the passage of the cloth through the tube is effected by directing fluid jets upon the cloth in the general direction of desired movement.

9. A method of transporting cloth in rope form, which consists in passing the cloth through a tube and introducing fluid under pressure at suitable intervals throughout the length of the tube to form a lubricatingfilm of fluid between the cloth and the tube.

10. A method of transporting cloth in rope form, which consists in exposing the cloth in a tube to a, current of fluid of high velocity moving through the tube in the di rection of desired cloth movement. 7

11. A method of transporting cloth in rope form, which consists in floating the cloth through a tube by means of a current of fluid at high velocity and under pressure.

. 12. A method of transporting a continuous body of great length which comprises, passing the body through a tube by directing jets of diflerentfluids upon the body at different points in the length of the tube.

13. A process of simultaneously transporting and impregnating a continuous body of great length which comprises forcing the body through a tube by means of fluid jets directed upon the body in the general direction of desired movement and simultaneously ldifiecting jets of impregnating fluid upon the 14. A method according to claim 13, in which the, jets of impregnating fluid are directed upon the body in the general direction of desired movement and co-operate with the first mentioned fluid jets in transporting the body.

15. method of transporting continuous bodies of great length which comprises forcing the body through a tube by means of fluid jets directed upon the body around substantially the entire circumference thereof in the direction of desired movement, the velocity of the jets being suflicient to support thg body substantially out of contact with the tu e.

16. An apparatus for transporting continuous bodies of great length comprising a tube through which the body passes, and means for directing jets of fluid upon the body within the tube in either of two substantially opposite directions.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand.

JOHN JAMES LYTH.

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