Constant vacuum felt dewatering system
AssigneeAlbany International Corp.
InventorJoseph A. Bolton
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A constant vacuum felt dewatering system including first and second suction pipes with a slot in each pipe. A felt is positioned to pass over the slots of the pipes. A liquid ring pump is connected by conduits to the first and second suction pipes. Drive structure is provided to operate the liquid ring pump and apply suction to the first and second suction pipes. The felt is advanced over the pipes whereupon suction is applied thereto to dewater the felt. Controls are responsive to change in felt conditions to vary the dwell time of the felt with respect to the slots in order to maintain a substantially constant vacuum.
Claims12
A constant vacuum felt dewatering system comprising;
- a first and a second suction pipe each having a slot therein, a felt positioned to pass over the slots, vacuum means including a positive displacement pump which provides a relatively constant volume of air flow at the pump, conduit means connecting the suction pipes to the vacuum means, means to advance the felt over the pipes whereupon vacuum is applied thereto to dewater the felt, and means for sensing a demand for increased vacuum and control means for maintaining a substantially constant vacuum under varying air flow conditions through the felt including an automatic control valve positioned in the conduit means between the second suction pipe and the vacuum means, a vacuum controller connected to the control valve, and wherein the means for sensing the demand for increased vacuum is operatively connected to the first suction pipe and the vacuum controller.
A method of providing a constant vacuum felt dewatering system comprising;
- providing first and second suction pipes each having a slot therein, connecting the suction pipes to a source of vacuum including a positive displacement pump which provides a relatively constant volume of air flow at the pump to apply suction to the suction pipes, advancing a felt over the slots of the suction pipes whereupon suction is controlling the suction by an automatic control valve in the conduit between the second suction pipe and the vacuum means, and a controller for the control valve whereby the sensed demand for increased vacuum in the first suction pipe actuates the control valve and correspondingly changes the suction applied to the slot of the second suction pipe in order to maintain a constant vacuum under varying air flow conditions through the felt.
A constant vacuum felt dewatering system comprising;
- first and second suction pipes each having a slot therein, a felt positioned to pass over the slots, vacuum means including a positive displacement pump which provides a relatively constant volume of air flow at the pump, conduit means connecting the suction pipes to the vacuum means, means to advance the felt over the suction pipes whereupon vacuum is applied thereto to dewater the felt, means for sensing a demand for increased vacuum and means responsive to the sensed demand for increased vacuum for automatically controlling slot width adjustment and/or arrangement to vary the dwell time in order to maintain a substantially constant vacuum under varying air flow conditions through the felt, the second suction pipe having means for adjusting the slot width, slot drive means attached to said adjusting means to open and close the slot as desired, said sensing means connected to the slot drive means and to the first suction pipe.
A method of providing a constant vacuum felt dewatering system comprising;
- providing first and second suction pipes each having a slot therein, connecting the suction pipes to a source of vacuum including a positive displacement pump which provides a relatively constant volume of air flow at the pump to apply suction to the suction pipes, advancing a felt over the slots of the pipes whereupon suction is applied thereto to dewater the felt, sensing a demand for increased vacuum and automatically controlling the slot width adjustment and/or arrangement in response to the sensed vacuum demand to vary the dwell time in order to maintain a substantially constant vacuum under varying air flow conditions through the felt, the suction at the second suction pipe is controlled by an adjustable slot on the second suction pipe and slot drive means attached to the slot to open and close the slot in response to the sensed demand for increased vacuum.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.