Fluid sprinkling – spraying – and diffusing – Distributor continuously moves relative to support during...
Reexamination Certificate
2002-06-12
2004-01-06
Hayes, Michael J. (Department: 3763)
Fluid sprinkling, spraying, and diffusing
Distributor continuously moves relative to support during...
C239S222110, C239S550000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06672518
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an improvement in the methods used to apply resin to raw materials such as wood chips used in the manufacture of construction material such as oriented strand board (OSB). More specifically, to a mechanism that applies the liquid resin that is less susceptible to the common problems of excessive wear and clogging that are associated with such resin application devices and also which are mounted within an application assembly in a manner that allows for their easy removal and replacement in the case of necessary maintenance.
In the construction industry today it is very common to use composite materials in the manufacture of such things as housing and other types of buildings where they are used most commonly as outer sheathing in place of more expensive materials like plywood. In the manufacture of these composite products, a large number of small particles of raw material is fed into a rotating drum where they are suspended within its interior. Additionally, the interior of the drum contains a plurality of resin atomizer units which disperse a fine fog of atomized resin into the interior of the drum. This resin fog entirely coats the exterior surface of the individual pieces of raw material so that they may be bound together in a specific form in a later manufacturing process upon being removed from the drum.
While this process produces quality OSB and other similar products, there are a number of problems specifically associated with the resin atomizer units that are commonly encountered during the manufacturing process. The first of these is that the resin, by its nature, has high adhesion properties which causes it to stick to the interior surfaces of the atomizer unit. One solution to this problem was offered in U.S. Pat. No. 5,914,153 issued to Swink et al. which provided a method of introducing a solvent into the atomized unit at specific time intervals during operation. While this system does reduce the adhesion problems, it does not entirely eliminate them partially due to the fact that the current atomizer units are constructed of aluminum or other metallic alloy to which the resin easily bonds. Additionally, the most commonly used resin in the industry is phenol-formaldehyde which has a very high alkaline content and is very corrosive and tends to corrode the critical components of the atomizer unit. These two factors create a situation in which the resin coating drums must periodically shutdown for cleaning and/or parts inspection or replacement. This is obviously an undesirable condition as it tends to increase downtime to the production line which lessens profits.
Another problem in the prior art is the manner used to attach the atomizer units in the proper location within the drum. The method commonly employed to attach the resin atomizer to the header pipe within the rotating drum is to use a plurality of bolts to secure it to a mounting plate extending from the header pipe. While this provides a secure method of resin atomizer attachment, it makes servicing the units troublesome and time consuming as a technician must at times extend himself into the drum to gain access to the mounting bolts. This makes the servicing procedure cumbersome at best and can add to the overall downtime of the production line, not to mention the unnecessary addition of difficulty and danger to the person actually performing the servicing operations.
From the forgoing discussion it can be seen that it would be desirable to provide a mechanism by which the raw materials for the manufacture of composite construction materials such as OSB can be effectively coated with adhesion resin in a manner that would reduce the production line down time associated with the necessary cleaning and maintenance required by today's resin atomizers and extend the useable life of their critical components. Additionally, it can be seen that it would be advantageous to provide a means by which the resin atomizers could be easily removed and reinstalled to their point of attachment within the rotating drum to facilitate easy maintenance. These improvements in the design of resin atomizers would lead to greater efficiencies in the production of construction materials such as OSB which would in turn lead to better products and improved operator profits.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is the primary objective of the present invention to provide a method of constructing resin atomizers that would decrease the tendency of the resin to adhere to the surfaces of the operational components of the atomizer and also limit the resin's tendency to erode the critical resin passageways of the resin cone and housing.
It is an additional objective of the present invention to provide such a method of constructing resin atomizers in a manner that would facilitate their easy removal and reinstallation from their point of attachment within the rotating drum used to coat the raw materials prior to their final assembly into OSB sheathing.
It is a further objective of the present invention to provide such a method of constructing resin atomizers of a material that not only resists the adhesion and wear problems associated with the applications of such resins, but also is of a light weight which enhances a technician's ability to handle and manipulate them during maintenance.
These objectives are accomplished by constructing a resin atomizer unit from a variety of ultra high molecular weight (UHMW) plastics. The use of these materials benefits in the construction of a resin atomizer both in its natural resistance to the adhesive qualities of the resin and in its relatively low weight when compared to the metallic alloys that were previously used in their construction.
The construction of OSB and other similar composite building materials is accomplished by introducing a large amount of small individual pieces of a raw material such as non-uniformly sized wood chips into a large rotating drum. The interior of the drum is lined with a plurality of inwardly extending fins which protrude uniformly a short distance from their point of attachment to the interior wall of the drum. The purpose of the fins is to agitate the pieces of raw material contained within the drum so that they are constantly tumbling through its center. With the wood chips so suspended and tumbling in this manner, the resin atomizer can evenly apply the adhesive resin to the exterior of the chips without the chips having to contact the surface of the application device. Once the application process has been completed, the wood chips are removed from the drum and processed into their final configuration.
The interior of the rotating drum also contains the header pipe which enters it from one end and which serves two purposes for the operation of the drum. The first of these is to provide a point of attachment for the plurality of resin atomizers contained within the drum. The second purpose of the header pipe is to provide a protected conduit through which the resin and other necessary chemicals or solvents can be piped to supply the resin atomizers during the operation of the resin coating operation in the production of OSB.
The plurality of resin atomizers are attached to the header pipe by the use of an equal plurality of attachment pipes which extend from the header pipe into the interior of the rotating drum. The inward edge of the attachment pipes are fitted with ring-shaped mounting flanges that contain an inner passageway and are machined in a manner so that their outer edges match the outside diameter of the atomizer units. Additionally, the mounting flanges are equipped with a plurality of bolt mounting holes which provide a mechanism by which the atomizer mount can be securely attached.
The mounting of the atomizer unit within the rotating drum is accomplished by separately bolting the atomizer mount flange to the pipe mount flange. The lower edge of the atomizer mount flange is equipped with a raised mount ring shoulder which matches in form and diameter to the body ring shoulder o
Harr Curtis
Hayes Michael J.
Kontos Lina R
LandOfFree
Spinning disc resin atomizer does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Spinning disc resin atomizer, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Spinning disc resin atomizer will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3185579