Abstract:
Rotating vessels that are heated or cooled, often utilize stationary syphons, which provide an outlet passage for the liquid/gas media. The syphon may be supported by adding a syphon support flange to the existing stationary syphon system to provide additional support for the syphon, which helps to add service life time to the syphon and the rotary joint.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
         [0001]    This present application is related to U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 06/370,479, filed on Apr. 5, 2002, entitled “Syphon Support Flange,” and the benefit of the earlier Apr. 5, 2002 filing date is claimed for the present application in accordance with 35 U.S.C. § 119 (e)(1).  
         FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    The invention pertains to syphon systems and more particularly to support techniques in syphon systems.  
         BACKGROUND  
         [0003]    Rotating vessels, dryers, or cylinders are utilized to heat or cool a moving web of material. These vessels are often used in the manufacture of paper, corrugated containers, rubbers, plastics, steel, textiles, and the like. The vessels are typically horizontal cylinders, supported at both ends by journals mounted on bearings and have at least one hollow journal, through which heating media, such as steam or condensate, or cooling media, such as cold water or compressed air, is passed.  
           [0004]    When rotating vessels were first used for this purpose, the heating or cooling media flowed into the journal, filled the cylinder to a half full state, and flowed back out the same journal. This flow added a tremendous amount of liquid weight to the vessel, thereby stressing and causing the drive components that make the vessel rotate and the bearing components to fail more frequently and require more frequent maintenance. Additionally, as the rotational speed of the rotating vessel is increased, the failure rate of the drive and bearing components increased.  
           [0005]    To relieve the stresses on a cylinder and its bearing and drive components, it has been known to implement a syphon system, which allows the liquid level to be lowered inside the vessel, thereby decreasing the weight carried in the vessel. The known syphon system is either a rotary syphon system or a stationary syphon system. In a rotating syphon system, the syphon turns with the cylinder and is braced inside the cylinder, making for a more rugged syphon construction. In a stationary syphon system, the syphon does not turn with the cylinder and is held in place by the rotary joint. One known syphon system is a slow speed system which typically consists of a rotating joint with a simple bent pipe syphon.  
           [0006]    As a vessel&#39;s rotational speed is increased and due to centrifugal forces, the media attempts to rotate inside the vessel and causes stresses to be exerted on the slow speed stationary syphon. These stresses, which cause deflection in the syphon pipe and failures of the syphon pipe, are due to the touching of the media and rotating items in the cylinder and may create short circuiting points, breakage of hinged syphon parts, or the snapping off of the syphon pipe where it is held in the rotary joint.  
           [0007]    At even faster rotational speeds, high speed stationary syphons are installed because of their lesser differential pressure requirements. Slow speed stationary syphons and high speed stationary syphons differ in the way the syphons are supported. Slow speed stationary syphons have only one point of support, where they are threaded into the rotary joint. A high speed stationary syphon has an intricate cantilever support tube which provides support for the syphon throughout the vessel&#39;s journal, i.e., along the syphon&#39;s entire horizontal distance.  
           [0008]    Slow speed stationary syphons may come in several styles, including, simple bent pipes; substantially straight pipe pieces with a hinged elbow; substantially straight pipe pieces with a hinged elbow and an elbow brace support; substantially straight pipe pieces with a rigid elbow and a flexible dangling hose; and substantially straight pipe pieces with a flexible hose, rigid elbow, and an elbow brace support. While all of these types of syphons have traditionally been supported only from the attachment point inside the rotary joint, additional support mechanisms have been created for the hinged elbow style more recently. However, such support mechanisms are only available for the hinged elbow style syphon, require the use of proprietary straight syphon pipes with modifications for bearing support, and cannot be utilized with any of the other syphon styles. Further, known support mechanisms allow wear on both the inner diameter and outer diameter of a support bearing. Thus, there is a need for an improved support mechanism for use in all slow speed stationary syphon systems.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0009]    The above-identified problems are solved, and a technical advance is achieved in the art by providing an apparatus and method for supporting a stationary syphon pipe. Providing a secondary support relieves the rotary joint from carrying the entire weight of the syphon or syphon pipe and may provide improved service life for the syphon and rotary joint.  
           [0010]    In one embodiment of the present invention, a syphon is supported by a bearing snout having at least one snout stop and a bearing housed in the bearing snout. The bearing rests against the snout stop. The present invention is applicable in all stationary syphon systems, regardless of the syphon pipe type.  
           [0011]    Other and further aspects of the present invention will become apparent during the course of the following description. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0012]    [0012]FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a bent pipe syphon system containing an exemplary  20  syphon support flange.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the exemplary support flange in the bent pipe syphon system of FIG. 1.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of another exemplary support flange.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a hinged elbow pipe syphon system containing the support flange of FIG. 2.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a braced hinged elbow pipe syphon system containing the support flange of FIG. 2. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS  
       [0017]    An embodiment of a syphon support mechanism or syphon support flange is illustrated in connection with an exemplary syphon system  100  of FIG. 1. A syphon support flange  105  assists the rotary joint  110  in supporting the syphon or syphon pipe  115 . The syphon pipe  115  is usually made of steel or stainless steel. The syphon may be of any type. Some syphon types include bent pipes, hinged elbow pipes, or braced hinged elbow pipes.  
         [0018]    Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference numbers refer to like parts, FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a bent pipe syphon system  100  containing a syphon support flange  105 . As shown in the bent pipe syphon system  100  of FIG. 1, a shaft  120  is a part of a rotary joint  110 . A first or back end of the shaft  120  floats within the rotary joint  110 . A second or front end of the shaft  120  is received by a first or back end of a shaft connection  125 . A second end of the shaft connection  125  is preferably a quick release style or any style which may be securely fastened in the journal flange, such as with the use of a slip flange  130  and the shaft  120  passes through the slip flange  130 . In a quick release style connection, the shaft connection is held in place by a slip-ring or nipple flange. The shaft  120  may be made of steel, ductile iron, brass, or stainless steel. In an alternative embodiment, the second end of the shaft connection may be threaded or machined to mate with a threaded connection on the shaft.  
         [0019]    The slip flange  130  is attached to a first or front side of a journal flange  135 . The slip flange  130  is preferably made of steel, but it may be made of any other machinable, hard, strong material, such as brass, cast iron, or ductile iron. The slip flange  130  may be attached to the front side of the journal flange  135  using any number of fastening or first attachment means, such as by screws or other fasteners  140 .  
         [0020]    The front side of the journal flange  135  is machined to fit the shaft connection  125 . A second or back side of the journal flange  135  is machined, preferably on the centerline, to accept a bearing snout  5 . The back side of the journal flange  135  attaches to a cylinder journal  145  by a known second attachment means, such as bolts  150 .  
         [0021]    The journal flange  135  is preferably made of steel, but it may be made of any other machinable, hard, strong material, such as brass, cast iron, or ductile iron. The journal flange  135  may be flat faced, female counterbored, or male piloted to help secure the journal flange  135  to the journal end of a vessel on center. To obtain a snug fit between the cylinder journal  145  and the journal flange  135 , the journal flange  135  is preferably machined.  
         [0022]    The backside of the journal flange  135  contains a recessed cavity which mates with a first or back end a bearing snout  155 . The bearing snout  155  is preferably manufactured from steel or stainless steel. As shown in the embodiment of FIG. 2, the journal flange  135  may be secured to the back end of the bearing snout  155  by any number of attachment means such as by welds  200 .  
         [0023]    Referring to FIG. 1, while the journal flange  135  is preferably attached to the bearing snout  155  with welds  200 , the journal flange  135  may be manufactured in an alternative fashion to attach to the back end of the bearing snout  155  without welds, such as by bolting or tightly securing or squeezing the bearing snout between the journal flange  135  and an end of the cylinder journal  145  of a cylinder or dryer or cooling roll or vessel  160 . In such an embodiment, the bearing snout  155  is an additional component to known syphon systems, and such systems would require no modification.  
         [0024]    Referring to FIG. 3, the bearing snout  300  is mounted or attached to a plate or lip  305  which rests against a shoulder of the journal flange  310 . To prevent the bearing snout  300  from sliding into the cylinder journal  145  of cylinder  160 , the lip  305  may be secured into place by sandwiching the lip  305  of the bearing snout  300  in place between the journal flange  310  and cylinder journal  145  of cylinder  160 .  
         [0025]    Referring to FIG. 1, the syphon  110  extends from the rotary joint  115  and passes through the shaft  120 , the slip flange  130 , the shaft connection  125 , the syphon support flange  105 , the bearing snout  155 , a secondary syphon support or bearing  165  housed in the bearing snout  155  and the cylinder journal  145  and extends downward into the cylinder  160 .  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the syphon support flange  105 . The bearing snout  155  contains at least one media flow hole or aperture  205  through which media passes. The media flows through the rotary joint  115 , through the shaft  120 , and out of the media flow hole  205 . The media may be steam, hot oil, water, or glycol. Preferably, the number of media flow holes  205  have a flow area greater than or equal to the flow area of a syphon system without a bearing snout  155 . The media hole  205  is preferably machined into the bearing snout area closest to the backside of journal flange  135  and in front of a snout stop or bearing stop  210 , as seen in FIG. 2.  
         [0027]    The bearing snout  155  has at least one bearing stop  210 . The bearing stop  210  may be attached to the bearing snout  155  using any number of attachment means, such as one or more bolts, welds, and screws, or keying. The bearing stop  210  may also be formed on the inner wall of the bearing stout  155 , such as by machining. The length between the bearing stop  210  and a second or front side of the bearing snout  155  is sufficient to house the bearing  165 . One or a first end of a bearing  165  may be keyed to mate with the bearing stop  210 .  
         [0028]    The bearing  165  is preferably a driven bearing and held substantially stationary within the bearing snout  155  in order to minimize wear on the bearing snout  155 . The bearing  165  may be held substantially stationary by any number of holding means, such as by designing the bearing  165  to snugly or tightly fit against the inner wall of the bearing snout  155 .  
         [0029]    Alternatively, the bearing may have at least one notch or cutout which interconnects or mates with at least one protrusion on the inner wall of the bearing snout  155 . The bearing rest against the bearing stop  210 .  
         [0030]    The bearing  165  has an inside diameter of sufficient width through which the syphon  115  may pass. The bearing  165  preferably snugly or tightly fits around the syphon  115 . The bearing  165  is preferably manufactured of a sacrificial bearing material capable of withstanding high temperatures and wear, such as carbon graphite or other material in the form of TFE-fluorocarbon and other inert ingredients. One such material is known as Rulon® and is marketed by Dixon Industries Corporation.  
         [0031]    The bearing  165  is secured and prevented from falling out of the bearing snout  155  by a securing means. The securing means may be any number of components, such as stops on the front side of the bearing snout, bolts, or welds. Preferably, an internal snap ring  215  secures the bearing  165  in place, such as by fitting into a recessed cavity or snap ring groove  220  on the inside of the wall of another or second end of the bearing snout  155 . The snap ring  215  is preferably made of steel or stainless steel but may be made of other rigid material.  
         [0032]    In one alternative embodiment of the syphon support flange  105 , the syphon support flange has the same features as the syphon support flange  105  in FIG. 2 but is one continuous machined piece.  
         [0033]    In yet another embodiment of a syphon support flange, the bearing is mounted or attached directly to the journal flange  135 . The mounting means or attachment means may be any number of securing methods, such as glue or bolts.  
         [0034]    The syphon support flange  105  may be manufactured as follows. Media flow holes  205  are machined into the bearing snout  155 , and the bearing stops  210  are welded to or formed on the inside wall of the bearing snout  155  prior to mounting the bearing snout  155  to the journal flange  135 . The journal flange  135  is secured to the bearing snout  155  by welds  200 . The inside diameter of the bearing snout  155  is then machined to attain concentricity on the inside diameter, i.e., machined to correct the true center of the inside diameter. The internal snap ring groove  220  may be machined on the inner wall of the bearing snout  155 . It should be noted that the steps enumerated above may be performed in any order and not necessarily in the order described.  
         [0035]    The bearing  165  is then inserted into the bearing snout  155  through the backside of the bearing snout  155  until it rests against the bearing stop  210  and passes the snap ring groove  220 . An internal snap ring  215  is then preferably inserted into the snap ring groove  220  to secure the bearing  165  in place.  
         [0036]    Referring to FIG. 1, to install the syphon support flange  105  in the bent pipe syphon system  100 , the rotary assembly, which consists of the rotary joint  110 , syphon  115 , and journal flange  135 , is detached from the cylinder journal  145 . The syphon  115  is then detached from the rotary joint  110 . The bearing snout  155  is attached to the journal flange  135 , and the bearing  165  is inserted into the bearing snout  155 . The bearing  165  is then secured against the bearing stop  210  by the securing means. Alternatively, the bearing may be inserted and secured in the bearing snout  155  prior to attaching the bearing snout  155  to the journal flange  135 .  
         [0037]    One or a first end  170  of the syphon  115  passes through the shaft  120 , the slip flange  130 , the shaft connection  125 , the syphon support flange  105 , the bearing snout  155 , the bearing  165  housed in the bearing snout  155  and the cylinder journal  145 , preferably in an inside to outside fashion. The syphon support flange  105  and syphon  115  are inserted into the cylinder journal  145 , and another or second end  175  of the syphon  115  extends downward into the cylinder  160 .  
         [0038]    The syphon support flange  105  is attached to the cylinder journal  145  by the second attachment means  150  that extends through a cavity in the syphon support flange  105 . The second attachment means  150  may be any type of fastener, such as socket head cap screws or hex head bolts, and is preferably made of steel. The first end  170  of the syphon  115  is then secured to the syphon connection  180  inside the rotary joint  110 . Securing the first end  170  of the syphon  115  may be accomplished by any number of known methods such as with bolts. The first end  170  of the syphon  115  may also be threaded to mate with threads in the rotary joint  110 .  
         [0039]    The rotary joint  110  may then be secured to the syphon support flange  105  by inserting the shaft  120  into a recess in the shaft connection  125  and by a slip flange  130  attached by a first attachment means  140 . The first attachment means  140  may be any type of fastener, such as socket head cap screws or hex head bolts, and is preferably made of steel. Alternatively, the shaft  120  may be threaded and secure to the journal flange with mating threads. It should be noted that the steps enumerated above to assemble the syphon support system may be performed in any order and not necessarily in the order described.  
         [0040]    [0040]FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a hinged elbow pipe syphon system  400  containing the syphon support flange  105 . To install the syphon support flange  105  in the hinged elbow pipe syphon system  400 , the rotary joint  110 , syphon  405 , and journal flange  135  are removed from the cylinder journal  145 . The bearing snout  155  is attached to the journal flange  135 , and the bearing  165  is inserted into the bearing snout  155 . The bearing  165  is then secured against the bearing stop  200  and prevented from falling out of the bearing snout  155  by a securing means. The securing means may be any number of components, such as at least one stop on the front side of the bearing snout, bolts, or welds. Preferably, an internal snap ring secures the bearing  165  in place, such as by fitting into a recessed cavity or snap ring groove on the inside wall of the second end of the bearing snout  155 . The snap ring is preferably made of steel or stainless steel but may be made of other rigid material. Alternatively, the bearing may be inserted and secured in the bearing snout  155  prior to attaching the bearing snout  155  to the journal flange  135 .  
         [0041]    The syphon  405  has a first or substantially straight or horizontal portion  410  and a second portion  415 . The first and second portions  410 ,  415  each connect to an elbow hinge  420  at a first end. The elbow hinge  420  may be made of a sturdy material, such as ductile iron, cast iron, brass, steel, or stainless steel. The second portion  415  dangles or hangs down into the cylinder  160 .  
         [0042]    The first portion  410  of the syphon  405  is inserted through the bearing  165  of the syphon support flange  105 , preferably in an inside to outside fashion. The syphon support flange  105  and syphon  405  are inserted into the cylinder journal  145 . The syphon support flange  105  is attached to the cylinder journal  145  by the second attachment means  150  that passes through the syphon support flange  105 . The second attachment means  150  may be any type of fastener, such as socket head cap screws or hex head bolts, and is preferably made of steel. A second end of the first portion  410  of the syphon  405  is secured to the syphon connection  180  inside the rotary joint  110 . The rotary joint  110  may then be secured to the syphon support flange  105  by inserting the shaft  120  into shaft connection recess  125  and by a slip flange  130  attached by a first attachment means  140 . The second attachment means  150  may be any type of fastener, such as socket head cap screws or hex head bolts, and is preferably made of steel.  
         [0043]    [0043]FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a braced hinged elbow pipe syphon system  500  containing the support flange  105 . To install the syphon support flange  105  in the braced hinged elbow pipe syphon system  500 , the rotary joint  110 , syphon  405 , and journal flange  135  are removed from the cylinder journal  160 . The bearing snout  155  is attached to the journal flange  135 , and the bearing  165  is inserted into the bearing snout  155 . The bearing  165  is then secured against the bearing stop  200  prevented from falling out of the bearing snout  155  by the securing means. The securing means may be any number of components, such as at least one stop on the front side of the bearing snout, bolts, or welds. Preferably, an internal snap ring secures the bearing  165  in place, such as by fitting into a recessed cavity or snap ring groove on the inside wall of the second end of the bearing snout  155 . The snap ring is preferably made of steel or stainless steel but may be made of other rigid material. Alternatively, the bearing may be inserted and secured in the bearing snout  155  prior to attaching the bearing snout  155  to the journal flange  135 .  
         [0044]    The syphon  405  has a first or substantially straight or horizontal portion  410  and a second portion  415 . The first and second straight portions  410 ,  415  each connect to an elbow hinge  420 . The elbow hinge  420  may be made of sturdy material, such as ductile iron, cast iron, brass, steel, or stainless steel. The second portion  415  dangles or hangs down into the cylinder.  
         [0045]    The syphon  405  also has a brace  505 . One end of the brace  505  is attached to the first straight portion  410  of the syphon  405 , and a second end of the brace  505  is attached to the second straight portion  415  of the syphon  405 . The brace  505  provides additional support for the elbow hinge  420 .  
         [0046]    The first portion  410  of the syphon  405  is inserted through the bearing  165  of the syphon support flange  105 , preferably in an inside to outside fashion. The syphon support flange  105  and syphon  405  are inserted into the cylinder journal  145 . The syphon support flange  105  is attached to the cylinder journal  145  by the second attachment means  150  that passes through the syphon support flange  105 . The second attachment means  150  may be any type of fastener, such as socket head cap screws or hex head bolts, and is preferably made of steel. A second end of the first portion  410  of the syphon  405  is secured to the syphon connection  180  inside the rotary joint  110 . The rotary joint  110  may then be secured to the syphon support flange  105  by inserting the shaft  120  into shaft connection recess  125  and by a slip flange  130  attached by a first attachment means  140 . The first attachment means  140  may be any type of fastener, such as socket head cap screws or hex head bolts, and is preferably made of steel.  
         [0047]    The many features and advantages of the present invention are apparent from the detailed specification, and thus, it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such features and advantages of the invention which fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.