US242815A - oronk - Google Patents

Description

(ModeL) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.,

0. W. CRONK.

Suction Box for Paper Machines.

Patented June 14,1881.-

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' (ModeL) 0; WfGRONK. Suction Boxfor Paper Machines. No. 242,815.

Patented'june l4,

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' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES W. CRONK, OF BLOOMFIELD, NEW JERSEY.

SU CTlON-BOX FOR PAPER-MACHINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 242,815, dated June 14, 1881.

Application filed January 21, 1881. (Model) To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHAS. W. GRoNK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bloomfield, in the county of Essex, State of New Jersey, have invented anew and useful Suction-Box for Paper-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to ainimprovement in suction-boxes for paper-machines; and it consists in a novel construction for operating the revolving perforated shell sometimes used for removing the friction of the wire apron upon the suction-box.

It also consists in forming the perforated shell of hard rubber, as a substance far more durable and anti-friction in its character than the brass hitherto used.

' It also consists in combining witheach of the long and short felts commonly used for carrying the new paper to the pressing-rolls a suction-box to aid in clearing the paper of its water, and especially to remove from the felts the pulp auddirt which ordinarily accumulate upon them to such a degree that they need removal from the machine daily for washing, thus entailing a great loss of timeover two hours daily. By the use of my improved suction-box the pulp and dirt can be drawn completely through the felt, and they can be run continuously upon the machine until worn out, thus saving about fifteen hours time weekly in the operating of the machine. As any friction upon the felt would tend to destroy them very soon, an anti-friction surface must be provided upon the suction-box and a powerful suction to operate through the sheet of paper and felt and affect the foreign matter upon its upper surface.

The revolvin g covers hitherto employed upon suction-boxes have involved the use of complicated constructions and many air-tight joints, and the mechanism for regulating the width of the sucking apertures has usually been applied to the interior of the perforated shell for the purpose of closing all the openings around the end portionsof the same. My invention obviates this necessity, with the risk of leakage and frequent need of water'packin g which it entails, by mounting the perforated shell it upon a cylindrical suctionbox, which itself closes all the openings provided in the shell,

except a limited number along the top of the box, where the box is slotted or drilled to place the wire cloth or felt upon the shell in communication with the sucking apparatus.

' The row of apertures in the top of the suc- -tion-box body is easily closed at pleasure to any extent by a sliding plate at each end, the two being operated simultaneously to narrow the suction-openings equally at each side of the sheet. By limiting the area upon which the suction operates to one side of the shell upon a narrow line, instead of diffusing itover a large area, the force of the suction is greatly increased, and I am able to produce the effects described in cleaning the felt.

My method of construction will be understood from the annexed drawings,in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of my suctionbox; Fig. 2 is a view of the shellA detached;

Fig. 3, a section of the box on line as w in Fig. 7.

Fig. 4 is an end view of the box; Fig. 5, asection on line 3 y in Fig. 7, and the latter figure is a top view of the box with the perforated shell removed'to show the ports or apertures formed in one side of the body; Fig. 7, a longitudinal sectionof the box. Fig. 8 is a side view of that part of the Fourdrinier paper-machine upon which the felts are mounted, showin g the arrangement of the suction-boxes as I apply them to the felts and wire.

A is the revolving perforated shell, adapted to be rotated by the movement of the wire or felt over it.

B is the stationary body of the suction-box, formed of atube fitted air-tight to permanent heads B, which project above the tube the thickness of the shell A, as shown at S, and the shell is mounted upon the body B so as to revolve air tight between the flanges S. Openings k k are formed in a row upon the top of the box B, and one of the heads B is provided with a tubular neck having a union,J, at the end for connecting with-the ordinary ejector. With this construction it is obvious that the vacuum acts solely through the ports 7c 75 and operates upon any body applied to the openings a a of the shell A which happens to be opposite or over the ports.

To close the ports at each end of the box, slides O are applied to the inside of the box and operated by cross-heads G, fitted to the slides, and provided with a right-and-left-hand screwinserted through the head B. The screw is mounted in a standard, I, in the middle of the box, and the cross-heads kept from turning around by feathers H upon the side opposite the slides, and, a square being provided upon the outer end of the screw, the slides can be set with perfect case while the machine is in operation, and the width of the ports exposed indicated exactly by a scale, L, marked upon one of the slides outside of the head B.

To make a tight joint where the slides pass through the heads stuffing-boxes D are provided, and a neck, F, is formed upon each ofv the heads to mount the stationary body of the box in suitable bearings upon any part of the paper-machine where it may be required.

The application of my improved box to the machine is made by placing the box near the couch-roll in the place of the guide-roll usually employed to lead the wire from the common suction-boxes to the couch-roll.

The suction-power of my box is so great that I am able to substitute it for both the ordinary suction-boxes, and by locating it at the point named the water is carried the whole length of the wire, and having the action of the vibrator the whole length, the fibers are closed up into a closer sheet, and much better paper is produced. In Fig. 8 this-arrangement is shown, the location of the ordinary boxes replaced by mine being indicated at P, and the location of my suction-box close behind the couch-roll T being indicated at M, where it may be mounted in the bearings commonly provided for the guide-roll by clam ping it fast, so that the body B cannot turn.

As my suction-box removes much more water than usual from the pulp, the upper couchroll can be dispensed with and the sheet be carried to the felts without any injury from the upper roll to the water-marks made in laid papers.

In Fig.8 the long felt is indicated by the dotted lines K, and the short felt by similar lines, K. To clean each of these felts and still further remove the moisture from the paper, I

apply a suction-box, N, to the long felt at any convenient point, preferably substituting it for the roll behind the first pressing-rolls W by clamping it fast in the bearings of such roll, and I apply a suction-box, O, to the short felt in theplace of the paper-roll, in similar manner.

The stands commonly provided for the guiderolls are lettered R, and by utilizing them I am able to apply my invention with great facility and economy to the machines in present use.

Having thus described the construction and application of my devices, their operation will be very plain.

The valves or slides 0 being all set to the required width of opening, the machine is started and the motion of the wire cloth and felt revolves the perforated shell upon each of the suction-boxes without any appreciable fric- V tion or wear. The pulp will be sucked almost dry as the wirepa-sses over the box M and the water withdrawn from the body B by the hollow neck F, suitably connected to the ejector. Between boxes M and N the sheet is carried forward by the long felt K, and the suction of the latter box has the effect of removing all the air blisters or blubbers formed under the sheet as it falls upon'the felt. As the box N is in advance of the first pressing-rolls W, the sheet is delivered to them very dry and free from the blowing now so common, and the felt is also made so clean by the action of the suction that it requires no washing at all, but may be worn out before removal from the machine. The suction-box O cleanses the short felt in similar .manner.

That the slides C may adjust the width of the suction accurately, the ports k k in the body of the box are preferably made long and narrow, and arranged intwo lines to overlap on one another.

I am aware that a perforated revolving shell has been used before in combination with many devices for restricting the operation of the vacuum to one part of surface, as a surrounding water-box, A, in Patent No. 83,617, of 1868, and a sectionalsuction-chamber operating upon a part of the interior circumference, as in the same patent, and in No. 92,596, of 1869, and No. 83,616, 01'1868; but in all such devices a water-packing and constant supply of thatfluid was required, or numerous packings upon the inside or outside to secure an effective vacuum at the desired point and where interior heads were employed to vary the length of the cylinder internally, telescopic or sliding tubes were required to convey the water from the inner chamber to the outer end of the box. My invention dispenses with all these needful arrangements by supplying the perforated shell with an internal cylindrical support, which closes all the apertures to the action of the suction except any one desired point.

The essential feature of my construction is therefore the mounting of the perforated shell upon a cylindrical body having aline of ports at one side capable of regulation, as by the slides or valves herein described. These valves might be made with inclined edges and rotated to gradually close the inner ends of the ports, or operated in other modes to effect the same object. The projection of the slides affords, however, an exact means of setting them correctly, and as they do not move' when in use there is no risk of leakage through the bonnets D.

Having thus described myinvention, it will be seen that the construction adapts it peculiarly to replace the guide-roll under the wirecloth, and that its great suction-power enables me to dispense with the upper couch-roll and to lighten the weights required upon the pressin g-rolls W W. I have also found that a very material difference exists between the friction and rate of wear of the perforated shell and inner cylinder when made of brass or hard india-rubber. I therefore construct the same of plain tubes of that material, making the outer tube seven inches diameter and three-eighths of an inch thick for the suction-box at M, while for those employed in contact with the felt'I employ an outer tube five inches diameter and the same thickness. This material revolves with great smoothness when wet with water, and consequently wears a very long time. The heads are fitted over the inner tube tight, and the working parts all made of composition excepting the shell A.

The standard 1 and feathers H are riveted to the tube B, and the valve-slides to the crossheads G.

Round holes may be used in the tube B if arranged alternately, as the ports k k are shown in Fig. 6.

Having described my invention so that otherscan practice it,I claim the same, as follows:

1. The method of restricting the operation of the vacuum to a particular part of a revolving perforated shell in 'a suction-box for a paper-machine, consisting in mounting the same between flanges, as S, upon a smooth cylinder, as B, and forming a row of apertures in the cylinder, as at k k, to communicate with the perforations, as a a, in the shell, as A.

2. The method of cleaning the feltsin a paper-machine, consisting in the application to the surface ofthe felt of suction box or boxes provided with perforated anti-friction shells adapted to be rotated by the movement of the gelts, substantially as and for the purpose set orth.

. 3. The combination of a revolving perforated shell, as- A, with a stationary cylinder provided with a row of ports, as B, and valves adapted to cover the ports to any desired extent, as G O, the whole operating substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. The combination of the shell A, body B, provided with heads B, and valve-slides G 0, operating through bonnets or stuffing-boxes D D, substantially as herein described.

5. The means for moving the valve-slides G 0, consisting of the cross-heads G G, standard I, and screw E,inserted inside the box and projecting from one end, substantially as shown and described.

6. The arrangement of the vacuum-box M and its combination with the wire-cloth close behind the couch-roll for dryingthe pulp at the extreme end of its passage over the wirecloth, for the purpose herein set forth.

7. A revolving perforated shell for anti-friction suction-boxes, constructed of hard rubber and revolved upon a cylinder of hard rubber or brass, substantially as herein described.

CHARLES W. OBONK.

Witnesses:

ALBERT F. W001), LOUIS T. MCNAIR.

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