Slurry delivery conduit of mixer and slurry delivery method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11565439-B2
Application number	US-201816644051-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 1, 2018
Priority date	Sep 19, 2017
Publication date	Jan 31, 2023
Grant date	Jan 31, 2023

Abstract

An object of the invention is to prevent differences in the flow rate and the specific gravity of a gypsum slurry from being caused between slurry discharge ports, to divide a current of the slurry into streams without a factor of stagnation of the slurry provided at a branch part, and also, to ensure a sufficient distance between the discharge ports.The slurry delivery conduit (10) has a rectilinear tube segment (14), a branch part (15) and branch tube segments (16). A tube-wall joint portion (20) of the branch tube segments configures a counter-flow splitting element (22) in a form of V-letter at the branch part. The slurry is introduced from a mixing area (51) into the rectilinear tube segment, which configures a straight rectilinear fluid passage. The rectilinear tube segment rectifies a flow of the slurry to be an axial or rectilinear current (S), and the axial or rectilinear current is split into branch streams (S1, S2) by the counter-flow splitting element.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A slurry delivery conduit for a mixer having a mixing area for mixing of a gypsum slurry to be fed onto a continuously conveyed sheet of paper for gypsum board liner, the conduit configuring a curved or L-shape fluid passage to discharge the slurry introduced from the mixing area, onto said sheet through a slurry discharge port, comprising:
a tube having a center axis extending along a vertical direction, into which the slurry prepared in the mixing area is introduced,
a rectilinear tube segment, which is in fluid communication with a fluid passage in said tube so that the slurry is introduced from the tube into the rectilinear tube segment,
a branch part for branching the rectilinear tube segment, and
a plurality of branch tube segments connected to the rectilinear tube segment through the branch part,
wherein said rectilinear tube segment extends straightly on a downstream side in a conveying direction of said sheet to configure a rectilinear fluid passage for said slurry;
wherein adjacent tube wall portions of said branch tube segments join together at said branch part to configure a V-shaped transverse or horizontal cross-section, and the adjacent branch tube segments extend from the branch part on the downstream side in the conveying direction, while diverging toward the downstream side at an angle in a range from 20 degrees to 150 degrees as seen in a plan view; and
wherein said branch part splits an axial or rectilinear current of said slurry flowing out through said rectilinear tube segment and introduces branched streams of the slurry into said branch tube segments respectively, and each of the branch tube segments is provided with said slurry discharge port at a terminal end part of the branch tube segment on the downstream side, so as to discharge the branched stream through the port onto said sheet.

2. The slurry delivery conduit as defined in claim 1 , wherein said rectilinear tube segment has a fluid passage length in a range from 30 mm to 200 mm.

3. The slurry delivery conduit as defined in claim 1 , wherein a tube-wall joint portion of said branch tube segments connected to each other to configure the V-shaped transverse or horizontal cross-section, configures a counter-flow splitting or dividing element in an intratubular area of said branch part in such a manner that a tapering point of the splitting or dividing element is directed against said axial or rectilinear current in said rectilinear tube segment to be oppositely faced against the current.

4. The slurry delivery conduit as defined in in claim 1 , wherein a center axis of said rectilinear tube segment is oriented in a direction substantially parallel with the conveying direction as seen in a plan view, said branch tube segments are positioned bilaterally symmetrically with respect to said center axis, each of the branch tube segments includes a discharge tube portion at its terminal end part, the discharge tube portion extends, while bending widthwise inward of said sheet, and each of the discharge tube portions has said slurry discharge port, which is directed to discharge the slurry in a direction substantially parallel with the conveying direction as seen in the plan view.

5. The slurry delivery conduit as defined in claim 1 , further comprising a supporting mechanism for supporting said branch tube segment or its discharge tube portion, wherein the supporting mechanism includes an annular member entirely enclosing an outer circumferential surface of the branch tube segment or the discharge tube portion, a suspending device for suspending the annular member, and a supporting device positioned in an area above the branch tube segment or the discharge tube portion and supporting an upper part of the suspending device, and wherein the suspending device is integral with the annular member so that an angular position of the annular member is changed, depending on a rotational position of the suspending device, the supporting device rotatably supports the suspending device, and a slurry discharge direction of said slurry discharge port is changed in accordance with the angular position of the annular member in relation to rotation of the suspending device.

6. The slurry delivery conduit as defined in claim 5 , wherein a vibration element of a vibrator is connected to a vibration transmission member for transfer of a vibration, and the vibration transmission member is integrally connected to said annular member, whereby the vibration of the vibration element transmits to said discharge tube portion through the vibration transmission member and the annular member.

7. The slurry delivery conduit as defined in claim 1 , further comprising a tube-wall pushing mechanism or member which presses a tube wall of said tube or said rectilinear tube segment to locally deform the tube wall, so as to locally deform an intratubular fluid passage of the tube and/or the rectilinear tube segment.

8. The slurry delivery conduit as defined in claim 1 , wherein centers of said slurry discharge ports adjacent to each other are spaced apart from each other, at a distance of at least 150 mm in a widthwise direction of said sheet.

9. The slurry delivery conduit as defined in claim 1 , wherein said branch tube segments have different diameters for adjustment of a flow rate of each of said slurry discharge ports.

10. A slurry delivery method in which a gypsum slurry is introduced into a slurry delivery conduit from a mixing area of a mixer for mixing of the gypsum slurry, the conduit configuring a curved or L-shaped fluid passage, and the gypsum slurry is discharged through slurry discharge ports of the slurry delivery conduit onto a continuously conveyed sheet of paper for gypsum board liner, so that the slurry is continuously poured and spread on the sheet, comprising:
introducing said slurry prepared in the mixing area, into a tube of the slurry delivery conduit having a center axis extending along a vertical direction,
introducing the slurry from said tube into a straight rectilinear fluid passage of a rectilinear tube segment which is in fluid communication with a fluid passage in the vertical tube and which has a circular cross-section, thereby rectifying a flow of said slurry so as to be an axial or rectilinear current,
introducing the axial or rectilinear current of the slurry into a branch part to split the current into branched streams of the slurry by a tube-wall joint portion of branch tube segments connected to each to form a V-shape thereby introducing the slurry into the branch tube segments respectively, which extend divergently at an angle in a range from 20 degrees to 150 degrees as seen in a plan view, and
discharging the slurry onto said sheet through said slurry discharge ports provided at downstream end portions of said branch tube segments, respectively.

11. The slurry delivery method as defined in claim 10 , wherein said rectilinear tube segment has a fluid passage length in a range from 30 mm to 200 mm.

12. The slurry delivery method as defined in claim 10 , wherein a said tube-wall joint portion configures a counter-flow splitting or dividing element in an intratubular area of said branch part, and a tapering point of the splitting or dividing element is directed against said axial or rectilinear current in said rectilinear tube segment to be oppositely faced against the current.

13. The slurry delivery method as defined in claim 10 , wherein a center axis of said rectilinear tube segment is oriented in a direction substantially parallel with the conveying direction as seen in a plan view, the branch tube segments are positioned bilaterally symmetrically with respec

Assignees

• Yoshino Gypsum Co

Inventors

• Niimi Katsumi
• Kaneko Shinobu

Classifications

• B05B1/14

  with multiple outlet openings (B05B1/02, B05B1/26 take precedence); with strainers in or outside the outlet opening · CPC title

• B28B19/0092 Primary

  to webs, sheets or the like, e.g. of paper, cardboard · CPC title

• B28C7/16 Primary

  Discharge means {, e.g. with intermediate storage of fresh concrete} · CPC title

• B28C5/0881

  having a stator-rotor system with intermeshing teeth or cages · CPC title

• B28B13/02

  Feeding the unshaped material to moulds or apparatus for producing shaped articles · CPC title