Claims
- 1. A feed accelerator system for use in a centrifuge, the system comprising:
- a conveyor hub rotatably mounted substantially concentrically within a rotating bowl, the hub having an inside surface and an outside surface,
- at least one helical blade mounted to the outside surface of the conveyor hub, the blade having a plurality of turns,
- a feed pipe mounted substantially concentrically within the conveyor hub for delivering
- a feed slurry to the centrifuge,
- at least one feed slurry passageway between the inside surface of the conveyor hub and the outside surface of the conveyor hub, and
- a vane apparatus associated with the passageway and disposed between two adjacent turns of the helical blade, the vane apparatus including an accelerator vane extending outwardly from the passageway such that the accelerator vane is forwardly curved in the direction of rotation of the conveyor hub, thereby defining a feed slurry exit having a forward angle up to and including 75 degrees from a radial direction.
- 2. The feed accelerator system of claim 1 further comprising:
- a flow guiding skirt disposed circumferentially about the conveyor hub and attached to a first turn of the helical blade at an angle; and
- a smoothener apparatus disposed generally circumferentially about the conveyor hub and attached to a second turn of the helical blade adjacent to the first turn at an angle so that feed slurry exiting the vane apparatus is directed onto the smoothener apparatus by the flow guiding skirt.
- 3. The feed accelerator system of claim 1 further comprising a smoothener apparatus disposed generally circumferentially about the conveyor hub and attached to one turn of the helical blade so that feed slurry exiting the vane apparatus impinges upon the smoothener.
- 4. A feed accelerator system for use in a centrifuge, the system comprising:
- a conveyor hub rotatably mounted substantially concentrically within a rotating bowl, the hub having an inside surface and an outside surface,
- at least one helical blade mounted to the outside surface of the conveyor hub, the blade having a plurality of turns,
- a feed pipe mounted substantially concentrically within the conveyor hub for delivering a feed slurry to the centrifuge,
- at least one feed slurry passageway between the inside surface of the conveyor hub and the outside surface of the conveyor hub, and
- a vane apparatus associated with the passageway and disposed between two adjacent turns of the helical blade, the vane apparatus including an accelerator vane extending outwardly from the passageway such that the accelerator vane is forwardly curved in the direction of rotation of the conveyor hub, thereby defining a feed slurry exit having a forward angle between 60 and 75 degrees from a radial direction.
Parent Case Info
This is a divisional of application Ser. No. 08/481,043 filed on Jun. 7, 1995 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,551,943, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 08/110,324, filed Aug. 20, 1993, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 07/815,432 and filed on Dec. 31, 1991 now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (5)
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
3723864 |
Jan 1989 |
DEX |
Divisions (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
481043 |
Jun 1995 |
|
Continuations (2)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
110324 |
Aug 1993 |
|
Parent |
815432 |
Dec 1991 |
|