Tosco Corporation

Other

Donald Firth

A solid material pump or conveyance apparatus and method including a pump housing an inlet and an outlet with a passageway between them. The passageway is formed and defined by a friction drive wall which is movable relative the pump housing towards the outlet and a wall stationary relative the pump housing. The friction drive wall has a greater surface area for contacting the solid material than the stationary wall. The friction drive wall exerts frictional forces upon the solids material introduced through the housing inlet which exceed the frictional drag exerted upon the material by the stationary wall, so that the net frictional force drives the material in a forward direction toward the housing outlet. The solid material is compacted or compressed prior to or upon entry into the pumping apparatus to a sufficient level so that the solid material exhibits some of the properties of a liquid. Due to the semi-hydrostatic behavior of the solid material, the frictional forces exerted by the drive wall conveys the entire mass of material through the passageway. This provides a convenient method and apparatus for conveying solid materials which is non-jamming. Additionally, since there is little or no slippage between the friction drive wall and the semi-hydrostatic solid mass, the amount of solid material flowing through the passageway may be metered according to conventional techniques.

Method and apparatus for conveying and metering solid material

An improved rotating retort seal having integral bearings for aligning the retort seals relative the sealing surface on the rotating vessel portion of the retort. The sealing function and bearing or seal alignment function are separated to extend seal life and improve sealing. Radial alignment bearings and axial alignment bearings are provided for continually positioning the seal assembly housing during sealing surface nutation. The sealing elements, which are fixed relative to the alignment bearings, is thereby continually aligned and realigned in response to sealing surface nutations during retort rotation. The alignment bearings are extended radially outward from the seals on the sealing surface to prevent damage of the bearings by materials processed in the retort. A lubrication passageway is placed between the alignment bearings and seals to provide for common lubrication of both alignment bearings and seals.

Retort seal mechanism with integral bearings

A hydrostatic retort seal for sealing to a seal disc on the rotating vessel portion of a rotating retort. An annular caliper assembly is mounted concentrically around the seal disc. The annular caliper assembly includes a body portion having two arms. Each arm on its interior surface includes an annular sealing channel which is filled with liquid under pressure to provide a liquid interface seal layer between the caliper assembly arms and the seal disc. The sealing channels are movable laterally relative each other and are biased inward so that the distance between the two channels or seal layers may be adjusted continually to accommodate nutations and other variations of the rotating seal disc. The caliper assembly is mounted to the stationary retort portions by way of gimbals to allow universal movement of the caliper as it responds to sealing disc nutations. To complete the retort seal, a flexible seal boot is provided between the caliper assembly and stationary retort portion. This provides a complete retort seal where the sealing disc is sealed to the annular caliper assembly by an interface sealing layer with the caliper assembly being in turn sealed to the stationary retort portion by the flexible boot.

Growing community of inventors

Los Angeles, CA, United States of America

Donald Firth