Improvements in Rag Engines.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application; 7th July, 1891
Complete Specification Left, 7th Apr., 1882-Accepted, 4th June, 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Rag Engines.
A communication from ADOLF KARGER, of Aloisthal, in the Empire: of Austro-
Hungary, Paper Manufacturer.
I, ALFRED JULIUS BOULT of 323 High Holborn in the County of Middlesex,
M.I.M.E., do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
-
"
This invention relates to improvements in what is known as the " Umpberston
rag engine and its object is to render the circulation and feed' of the material
steady and uniform without however allowing the material' to be raised to an
excessive height. The invention also enables the material to be more evenly
out than hitherto in the lower knife meclianism.
The material is caused rapidly to circulate through the machine and to be
conveyed to the roller in a uniform manner without excessive lifting by the
arrangement of a feeding and breasting wheel.
The lower work is provided with curved knife-edges arranged to facilitate the
oonveyance of the material towards the centre of the lower work while at the
same time preventing its being whirled round as it generally is by the usual
broken knives. The grinding of the rags is thus made regular and even.
"
For the rest the ordinary arrangement of the "Umpherston rag engine is
retained. The machine thus improved may be used for the manufacture of paper
of any quality from the finest to the coarsest being equally capable of producing
fine and coarse pulp (whole or half stuff) and of washing and bleaching the same.
The advantage of this improved rag-engine consists in a considerable amount
of motive power boing saved the speed of the fibres being the same whatever
their size in section. Besides the feeding wheel by acting at the same time as
& mixer supplies material' so well prepared that it requires but little further
treatment and allows of a great saving of labor.
The roller is operated by means of a strap or cord passed over a pulley.
Another strap or chain or suitable gearing transmits motion to the feeding or
mixing wheel
This wheel similar in shape to a large ratchet wheel consists of a' roller or drum
upon the circumference of which are provided curved teeth' or 'blades. This feeding
wheel acts upon the stuff by its convex side and to prevent clogging thero should be
as little play as possible between the breasting and the side walls. The shape of
the breasting should correspond to the arrangement of the feeding wheel and of the
roller. The material is only raised sufficiently to enable it to reach the lower work
or knife mechanism. A's the stuff is driven away on one side a fresh supply
arrives on the other side so that the roller is never steeped or made to move in the
pulp
The charging apparatus is of the usual construction as is also the elevating
arrangement for the washing drum which enables the material to be lifted only as
far as said drum. The water reservoir and feed-pipe are arranged at the front part
of the machine..
The lower work consists of curved or arc-shaped knives or blades made of bronze
or steel and so arranged that the material first reaches their concave surfaces and
slowly moves towards the centre without any tendency to form lumps Buch'as is
observed where broken knives are employed.
Over the feeding wheel and the roller a lid is removably fitted!
D
1001

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Rag Engines.
A communication from ADOLF KARGER, Paper Manufacturer, of Aloisthal, near
Eisenberg on the March, in the Empire of Austro-Hungary.
I, ALFRED JULIUS BOULT of 323 High Holborn in the County of Middlesex,
Member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, do hereby declare the nature of
this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to improvements in that class of rag engines in which
the circulating material takes a vertical course and which are known as "under-
ground" engines.
The object of the invention is
(1) To obtain a thorough mixture of the paper mass in all parts of the vat or
tank and also.a uniform and accelerated reduction of the material.
(2) To enable the feed of the material to the rag-engine-roller to be controlled or
adjusted as required, and
(3) To permit the thorough evacuation and cleansing of the vat or tank.
The first result is obtained by means of a conveyor-wheel or mixer provided with
curved blades with wholly or partly undulated surfaces.
The material is fed by means of the said conveyor or mixer arranged in a peculiar
manner in front of the rag-engine roller. For cleaning or cleansing purposes a
nanhole, tightly closed by a preferably binged lid or cover, is provided.
The accompanying drawings represent an "underground" rag-engine embodying
these improvements.
Fig. is a sectional elevation, Fig. 2 a plan, and Fig. 3 a cross section on
line Fig. 1 of the improved rag-engine showing one-half of the roller in
.elevation.
Fig. 3 illustrates a modification of the undulated or corrugated blades of the
conveyor-wheel.
Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the surface of a blade with tapering undulations or
-grooves on an enlarged scale.
Fig. 5 illustrates the preferred mode of attachment of the blades, to the curved
arms of the conveyor.
In the drawings a designates the couveyor-wheel or mixer, b the rag-engine
roller, receiving rotary motion through the medium of the cord or strap-pulley c,
from which motion (suitably retarded) is also conveyed by means of a strap or
chain d or through gearing, to the conveyor a. fis. the bed-plate or block
provided with knives bent or curved in arcs of circles; g is the washing drum with
the usual elevating mechanisin, h is the water-reservoir, and i the man-hole..
16
"
The arrangement and construction of the conveyor-wheel a are clearly illustrated
in Fige. 1.and 3. It consists of two wheels or hubs a mounted upon one shaft and
provided with curved arms a' to which similarly-curved or bent (cast or moulded)
blades a² of undulated or corrugated shape in section are attached. The undulations
or corrugations extending over the whole or the greater part of the blade-surfaces,
may assume either the usual shape shown in Fig. 3, or be in zig-zag shape and
have sharp angles, somewhat as indicated in Fig. 34. The grooves formed by the
corrugations preferably taper and become more shallow inwardly so that they
gradually dwindle away into a plain flat surface as clearly illustrated in Fig..4.
These undulated or corrugated blades are secured to the arins a' of wheels a
preferably by means of screws in as shown in Fig. 5, and are adapted when in
operation thoroughly to mix the paper mass, both longitudinally and transversely.
By such means not only is the material reduced and mixed in a very effective and
uniform manner but the reduction may besides be completed in a shorter time and

page_text: with a decreased expenditure. of power, owing to the fact that, both the material
slowly moving along the sides of the rag-engine (the motion being retarded by
friction), and the material passing between the roller and the side walls (but which
has not yet passed between the roller and the bed or block) is continuously and
uninterruptedly moved along by the joint action of the side walls and the undulated
blades towards the centre of the engine, i.e. where it should pass between the roller
and the bed or block.
In the old arrangements the conveyor or mixer used to be arranged behind,
instead of in front of the roller and the material had to be raised to the full extent
of the breasting so that the material passed over the most elerated portion k (see
the dotted lines Fig. 1) and from thence fell under a small roller arranged on
the side opposite to the feed whence it further dropped into the tank.
The drawback of this arrangement is that the quantity of material conveyed to
the roller is so large that in order to prevent accidents impeding the operation, it
was necessary to provide grooves or channels capable of conducting the surplus
material back into the tank. In addition to this the rag-engine roller hitherto
merely performed the reduction of the material.
According to this invention the object of which is to obtain a uniform feed to
dispense with the return channels and to provide for a satisfactory beating or
agitating of the mass taking place at the same time as it is ground or reduced
(which is very important considering the desirability of as flexible fibres as possible),
the conveyor or mixer-wheel (Fig. 1) is arranged on the same side of the breasting
where the rag-engine is situated, ie. in front of it, so that the material is raised up
to the lower horizontal portion k¹ of the breasting, and is therefore conveyed in a
practically horizontal direction to the lower part of the roller (i.e. between it and
the bed or block), which roller then has to carry the material over the highest
point of the breasting k. Owing to this arrangement the operation of the machine
cannot be disturbed by an excessive accumulation of material, and both in front of
and behind the block a beating and stirring operation takes place. Besides the
operation of the roller is by these means made quite independent of that of the
conveyor wheel.
It will be understood that this arrangement need not be necessarily carried out
with an undulated conveyor to the employment of which it is by no means limited,
being applicable to any usual type of similar wheels.
For cleaning purposes the man-bole i is provided in the wall directly facing the
conveyor. This hole may be tightly closed by means of the lid or door hinged
at i so as to open downwardly and provided with an indiarubber packing ³.
This manhole enables the rag-engine to be quickly and casily evacuated and
thoroughly cleaned in all parts, and any material (in a reduced condition) which
may happen to have adhered to the wall can readily be removed by suitable
appliances or washed off by means of a flush-pipe or hose connected to the discharge
orifice. In this manner the lower part of the rag-engine need not be entered at all
which it had to be hitherto.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent, and in what manner the.
same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is,-
1. In a rag engine such as described a conveyor or mixer such as a having
undulated or corrugated blades such as a substantially as and for the purpose
described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
2. In a rag engine such as described the arrangement of the conveyor-wheel in
front of the roller in such a manner that the material from the conveyor is first
compelled to pass between the roller and the block and then raised by the roller
over the highest point of the breasting for the purpose of ensuring an even and
uniform flow or feed of the material and leaving behind no surplus requiring special
channels to carry it back substantially as described and illustrated in the accom-
panying drawings.

page_text: 3. In a rag engine such as described the arrangement of a Hole such as i for
cleaning or cleansing purposes tightly closed by means of a hinged lidand
situated opposite the conveyor wheel in the wall of the tank for the ready and
thorough cleaning of the rag-engine without the necessity of entering the lower
part thereof substantially as described and illustrated in the accompanying
drawings.
4. The combination and arrangement of parts constituting the complete rag-
engine substantially as described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings:
וית
W. P. THOMPSON & BOULT,
Agents for the Applicant.