Textiles: braiding – netting – and lace making – Processes and products – Intertwisted strands
Reexamination Certificate
2001-10-25
2003-03-25
Calvert, John J. (Department: 3765)
Textiles: braiding, netting, and lace making
Processes and products
Intertwisted strands
Reexamination Certificate
active
06536323
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a column packing filled in a device which is divided in a plurality of chambers or channels connected to one another and performs material transfer, heat exchange or mixing between gases, liquids or gas and liquid. The invention relates also to a method for manufacturing such column packing.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. Hei 3-203976 discloses a column packing of this type. This column packing is made up of a plurality of permeable sheets which are disposed in parallel to one another and extend in the direction of a main stream of fluid. Projecting portions of these permeable sheets are disposed in the direction that crosses the main stream of fluid and these projections function as spacers between the adjacent permeable sheets. This packing (hereinafter referred to as “X-packing” because the cross section of a joint portion between two adjacent permeable sheets assumes the shape of the letter X) is beneficial in that fluid flowing down along the permeable sheets is repeatedly joined, mixed, horizontally dispersed and redistributed at each joint of the permeable sheets. Thus, fluid flow which was not uniform when it was charged in the device gradually becomes uniform resulting in an optimum material transfer or heat exchange. Moreover, gas charged in the device passes through the liquid flowing along the inclined surfaces of the permeable sheets and necessary contact between the gas and the liquid is achieved by contacting the gas with the liquid while the gas passes through the permeable sheets, so that material transfer or heat exchange can be effected efficiently with a minimum pressure loss.
For manufacturing this X-packing, the inventor of this application proposed the method described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,673,726. According to this method, as shown in
FIG. 22
, permeable sheets
51
in plural layers and joints
51
b
of adjacent permeable sheets
51
are simultaneously produced and a three-dimensional woven packing
50
thereby is produced.
In a case where this X-packing manufactured by the above described prior art method is used as a packing loaded in, e.g., a gas-liquid mixing device, the packing
50
of
FIG. 22
is erected in the device and liquid from a distributor is caused to flow from the top to the bottom, i.e., in the direction of arrow A. It is, however, actually difficult to maintain the packing
50
strictly horizontally in the device by reason of an error in installation or other causes and, as a result, the threads that run crosswise of the separated portions
51
a
and the joints
51
b
of the packing
50
are disposed in a somewhat inclined relationship to the horizontal direction. For this reason, when the operation of the device is started and liquid is caused to flow in the direction of the arrow A, the liquid flows concentrically along a lower portion of the threads that run crosswise with the result that collection, horizontal distribution and downward redistribution of the liquid are not performed uniformly but flow of the liquid tends to concentrate on the lower portion of the inclined threads running corsswise.
It is, therefore, an object of the invention to provide an X-packing capable of accurately achieving uniform collection and redistribution of liquid at joints of the X-packing.
It is another object of the invention to provide a method for manufacturing such X-packing at a low cost and in a large scale.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
For achieving the above described objects of the invention, there is provided a method for manufacturing a packing made of a three-dimensional net-like structure which constitutes an internal structure of a device which performs material transfer, heat exchange or mixing between gases, liquids or gas and liquid, said internal structure being divided in a plurality of chambers or channels connected to one another and said three-dimensional net-like structure being made of a plurality of unit structures which are arranged continuously in vertical and horizontal directions of the three-dimensional net-like structure, each of the unit structures being formed by conversion and dispersion of three line elements, said method comprising a step of forming a converging section of the unit structure where the three line elements converge by twisting the three line elements together.
According to the invention, there is also provided a method for manufacturing a packing made of a three-dimensional net-like structure which constitutes an internal structure of a device which performs material transfer, heat exchange or mixing between gases, liquids or gas and liquid, said internal structure being divided in a plurality of chambers or channels connected to one another and said three-dimensional net-like structure being made of a plurality of unit structures which are arranged continuously in vertical and horizontal directions of the three-dimensional net-like structure, each of the unit structures being formed by conversion and dispersion of three line elements, said method comprising steps of:
(A) preparing a packing manufacturing space by forming a predetermined number of hypothetical channels of a regular triangular cross-section without leaving spaces between them so that six hypothetical channels having one common apex of a triangle form a regular hexagon, said hypothetical channels consisting of hypothetical channels C
1
which share one apex of a triangle but do not share a side of a triangle with adjacent hypothetical channels and hypothetical channels C
2
which share a side of a triangle with the hypothetical channels C
1
, and disposing, in the packing manufacturing space, a plurality of rotors each having a circular shape in the radial section, being formed with three recesses in the periphery thereof at an interval of 120° for respectively receiving a line element and being connected to a rotor control unit and rotatable by a predetermined angle by operating the rotor control unit, said rotors consisting of rotors R
1
each being disposed in one of the hypothetical channels C
1
, rotors R
2
each being disposed in one of the hypothetical channels C
2
and rotors R
3
each being disposed in a space defined by three of the rotors R
1
disposed in three of the hypothetical channels C
1
which share one apex of a triangle and three of the rotors R
2
disposed in three of the hypothetical channels C
2
, in such a manner that the line element can be moved between the recess of the rotor R
3
and the recess of the rotor R
1
, and between the recess of the rotor R
3
and the recess of the rotor R
1
and that the rotors R
1
do not contact the rotors R
2
,
(B) inserting the line elements unwound from bobbins in the respective recesses of the rotors R
1
and thereafter rotating the rotors R
1
by one revolution or over to twist the three line elements inserted in the respective recesses of each of the rotors R
1
and thereby forming a first knot K
1
in each of the hypothetical channels C
1
downstream of the rotors R
1
in a feeding direction of the line elements,
(C) feeding the line elements by a predetermined length, moving the line elements from the recesses of the rotors R
1
to the recesses of the rotors R
3
and thereafter rotating the rotors R
3
by one revolution or over to twist the three line elements inserted in the recesses of the rotors R
3
and thereby forming a second knot K
2
upstream of the first knot K
1
in each of the spaces in which the rotors R
3
are disposed,
(D) feeding the line elements by a predetermined length, rotating the rotors R
3
and the rotors R
2
respectively by 60° in opposite directions to each other, moving the line elements from the recesses of the rotors R
3
to the recesses of the rotors R
2
and thereafter rotating the rotors R
2
by one revolution or over to twist the three line elements inserted in the recesses of the rotors R
2
and thereby forming a third knot K
3
downstream of the rotors R
2
and the upstream of the second knot K
2
in each of the hypothetical channels C
2
,
(E) feeding the line ele
Calvert John J.
Hedman & Costigan ,P.C.
Hurley Shaun R
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