US1974789A - Means of charging solid material into a confined zone - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 25, 1934. l c. H. ANGELI.v 1,974,789 MEANS FOR CHRGING SOLID MATERIAL INTO A CONFINED ZONE 4 Filed sept. 2Q. 195o www Patented Sept. 25, 1934 PATENT oFFIcE MEANS F CHARGING SOLID MATERIAL A CONFINED ZONE Y' charles n. Angell, chicago, nl., assignor to Universal Oil Products Company, Chicago, Ill., a o,

corporation of South Dakota i Applicationseptemberzo, 1930, Serial No. 483,308

3 Claims. (Cl. 214-18) This invention relates to a means of charging solid, semi-'solid or like materia1^to a confined zone which may. be maintainedL at atmospheric, sub-atmospheric orfsuperatmospheric pressure.

One of the difficulties encountered. in the commercial application'of the many recently developed processes, in which solid or semi-solid materials are themselves treated or utilized to assist in the treatment of other materials, has been the problem of continuously or intermittently supplying such materialor mixtures thereof to the zone of treatment without interrupting or interfering with the continuous operation of the process. It is the primary object of the present invention to provide a simple and reliable means for this purpose. As examples of processes wherein my improvements find useful application, I may'mention those lin which coal, coke, peat, lignite, pitches, tars or mixtures of these alone or with oils or other liquids are treated.

Primarily'the invention comprises an apparatus for introducing a solid or semi-solid material, or

mixtures containing such materials, from an external zone into a confined zone by introducing it rst into an intermediate zone and intermittently isolating said intermediate zone from said external zone, during which isolation period the material is introduced from said intermediate ,n

zone into said conned zone.

It willbe understood that many modified forms of apparatus incorporating the broad principles of the invention may be devised. One specific embodiment ofthe apparatus, employing reciprocating pistons to move the material, is shown diagrammatically in the attached single drawing to more clearly illustrate the principles of the invention, although the invention is not limited to this or any other specific form of apparatus.

Referring to the drawing, the following description of which'will embrace both the apparatus. and its mode of operation, the solid or semi-solid material which may be, for example, coal, petroleum coke, gilsonite, fullers earth, diatomaceous earth, adsorbent clays, catalytic materials, metal particles, or any other solid or semi-solid material or mixtures containing the same, is fed into hop-- per 1 by any suitable means, not illustrated, such asa belt or bucket conveyor or similar device. Hopper 1 is in direct communication through port 2 with cylinder 3, which in turn is conn'cted at one end through wall 4 with a zone. of treatment 5 which may be at substantially the same pressure but may be at an increased or decreased pressure relative to that in hopper 1. Pistons 6 and 7, 6 being dened as the front piston and 7 the rear piston, are mounted upon a reciprocating shaft 8 which may be driven by any suitable means (not shown) such as, for example, a steam engine such as used on reciprocating pumps or an electric motor actuating the shaft through a crank and connecting rod or rack and pinion. `With rod 8 at the extremity of its backward stroke, at which point the space between pistons 6 and 7 is directly opposite port 2, material may be discharged from hopper 1 into the space betweeny` the pistons and as the pistons move forward, upon` the forward stroke of shaft 8, shield 9, which is attached in this case to piston 7 and moves with the pistons and shaft, closes port 2 preventing further discharge of material from hopper 1 into 711 cylinder 3. The material between pistons 6 and 7 may be carried forwardly by the forward movement of shaft' 8 and as piston 6 over-rides the endof cylinder 3 into zone 5 the material con- ,ned between the pistons is discharged into this zone. As piston 6 recedes from zone 5, upon the backward stroke of rod 8 after the material has been discharged from-between the pistons, it is guided to assist its entrance into cylinder 3 by the are l0 at the end of said cylinder which in- 80 sures the-proper compression of piston rings 11 as they enter the cylinder.

It will be understood that any form of piston' rings or piston packing may be used to maintain a tight seal between the pistons and the walls4 85 of cylinder 3, and it will also be obvious that the walls of cylinder 3 may be lubricated in any well known manner, not illustrated in the drawing.

It is evident that the pressure in the space between pistons 6 and 'I will be equalized with that in zone 5 as the material is discharged into this zone and that substantially this same pressure will be maintained in the space between the pistons as they recede into cylinder 3. For this reason vent 12, in cylinder 3, may be provided so that the pressure in the A space between pistons 6 and 'i may be equalized with that in cylinder 3 and in hopper 1, both of which, in this casefare open to the atmosphere, upon stroke of piston 7 as it passes vent 12.

It will be understood that substantially atmospheric pressure or any pressure above or below atmospheric may be maintained upon `zone 5 with substantially atmospheric pressure or any 105 pressure above or below atmospheric upon hopper 1. Normally, there will be a differential pressure between hopper 1, from which the materialis supplied, and zone 5, to which the material' is supplied although they may be at the same ,110

the 'backward 100 pressure, in which latter case the device illustrated functions as a means of conveying the material from one zone to the other without permitting contaminationv in the treating zone by the outside atmosphere.

I claim as my invention:

1. In combination with a treating chamber, a

feeding hopper, a cylinder communicating saidv hopper with the chamber, frontward and rear-A ward pistons slidably mounted within said cylinder and a shield carried by the rearward piston.

2. I'n combination with a treating chamber,

CHARLES H. ANGELL.

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