Process and plant for vulcanizing a continuous length of curable material
AssigneeGeneral Engineering Radcliffe 1979 Limited
InventorGustavo Caser
Life of this patent
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Abstract
In an apparatus and a method for the curing of a continuous length of curable material, the length of material is passed through a curing chamber defined by a tubular body 47. This body 47 is disposed in the upper part of another heated tubular body 2 which contains a heat exchange liquid. This liquid is fed to one or more injectors disposed at one or both ends of the body 47, injected along the chamber and then allowed to drain back therefrom into the body 2. The body 2 contains a further tubular body 58 downstream of and partitioned from the tubular body 47. Body 58 also has an injector 60 through which water is injected to cool the length of material. With this relatively compact arrangement curing may be achieved while thermal stresses in the apparatus are reduced.
Claims12
Apparatus for curing a continuous length of curable material comprising a first tubular body which defines a chamber for a heat exchange liquid, a second tubular body disposed inside the first tubular body and defining a curing chamber, inlet means leading into the tubular bodies, and outlet means leading from the tubular bodies arranged by permit a length of material to be cured to pass through the tubular bodies, first and second sealing means placed upstream and downstream respectively of the inlet and outlet means and operative to sealingly cooperate with a length of material, at least one tubular injector for injecting a heat exchange liquid into said second tubular body, heat exchange liquid supply means for the supply of heat exchange liquid to the or each tubular injector, means for heating at least a part of the first tubular body, means for feeding a pressurized fluid to the first tubular body and means for cooling the continuous cured length of curable material emerging in operation from the second tubular body.
A method of curing a continuous length of curable material including the steps of supplying a heat exchange liquid to a first tubular body, pressurising the first tubular body, heating the heat exchange liquid in the first tubular body, feeding the heat exchange liquid from the first tubular body to an injector, injecting the liquid so fed into a second tubular body disposed within the first tubular body, simultaneously passing the continuous length of material through the second tubular body disposed within the first tubular body so that the heat exchange liquid passes over it, allowing the heat exchange liquid to drain back from the second tubular body to the first tubular body, and subsequently cooling the continuous length of material.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.