IMPROVEMENTS IN MECHANISM OR APPARATUS FOR DRYING WHEAT IN THE SHEAF AND OTHER VEGETABLE MATTERS
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Alfred Gibbs, of Gillwell Park, in the
County of Essex, Esquire, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MECHANISM OR APPARATUS FOR DRYING WHEAT IN THE SHEAF AND OTHER
VEGETABLE MATTERS."
Sealed the 21st July 1868, and dated the 28th January 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Alfred Gibbs
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 28th January 1868.
I, WILLIAM ALFRED GIBBS, of Gillwell Park, in the County of Essex,
Esquire, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MECHANISH OR APPARATUS FOR DRYING WHEAT IN THE
SHEAP AND OTHER VEGETABLE MATTERS," to be as follows:-
My Invention applies, firstly, to the drying of sheaves, and for this
purpose I force hot or dry air into covered chambers. A number of
tubes project in the chamber, and I place sheaves on these tubes so that
the air is forced through their heads.
Secondly. My Invention applies to the drying of vegetable products,
such as leaves or roots. For this purpose I place the objects to be dried
in cylindrical segments mounted on an axis which is made to revolve

page_text: slowly in a chamber. The sides of the segments are made of porous
material, and hot or dry air being forced into the chamber plays upon
the matters contained in the segments. I prefer to use a rotating
brush adjusted so as to keep the exterior segments clear from the
clogging of the grated roots, facilitating the rapid working of the 5
mechanism or apparatus.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Alfred Gibbs in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 28th July 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ALFRED GIBBS, of Gilwell Park, in the County of Essex, Esquire, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of January, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-cight, in the
thirty-first year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Ier heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said William Alfred Gibbs, Her special
licence that I, the said William Alfred Gibbs, my exccutors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Alfred
Gibbs, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MECHANISM OR APPARATUS FOR DRYING WHEAT
IN THE SHEAF AND OTHER VEGETABLE MATTERS," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said William Alfred Gibbs, my executors
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or
one of their hands and scals, should particularly describe and ascertain
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was
to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent
Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date
of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Alfred Gibbs, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the

page_text: same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement:-
My Invention applies, firstly, to the drying of sheaves, and for this
purpose I force hot or dry air into covered chambers. A number of tubes
project in the chamber, and I place sheaves on these tubes so that the
air is forced through their heads.
Secondly. My Invention applies to the drying of vegetable products,
such as leaves or roots. For this purpose I place the objects to be dried
in cylindrical segments mounted on an axis which is made to revolve
slowly in a chamber. The sides of the segments are made of porous
material, and hot or dry air being forced into the chamber plays upon
the matters contained in the segments. I prefer to use a rotating brush
adjusted so as to keep the exterior segments clear from the clogging of
the grated roots, facilitating the rapid working of the mechanism or
apparatus.
Fig. 1 represents a section of apparatus constructed according to my
Invention for drying sheaves.
a is the drying chamber, and 6 is a chamber under its floor into which
hot air or gaseous matter is forced; c, c, are tubes passing through
the floor and projecting upwards. I prefer these tubes to be made
of tapering form and to be perforated with numerous holes, as indicated
by the dotted lines. When sheaves are placed on theso tubes the
currents of hot air or gascous matter which are forced through them
and chiefly through the heads of the sheaves serve to dry them. For
obtaining these heated currents it is convenient to arrange a portable
engine d in connection with a fan e driven by it, the supply of the
fan being taken from the smoke box of the engine as I have described
in the Specification of a Patent previously obtained by me for "Improve-
ments in Apparatus for Drying Hay and other Cut Crops, also in
Apparatus for Raising or Elevating the same," the said Patent being
No. 3036, dated 10th November 1866. By this means the heated
products of combustion from the flues of the boiler either tempered by
fresh air drawn in by the fan through a valve provided for that purpose
or having their temperature increased by the products of combustion
from an auxiliary furnace communicating with the indraught of the fan

page_text: are forcibly driven by the fan into the lower chamber b, whence they
pass through the tubes c, c, as above described.
It is also convenient to arrange in connection with the drying
apparatus the apparatus described in the Specification of the Patent
above referred to for projecting the dry sheaves to the top of the stack
on which they are to be placed. This apparatus consists of a fan f
driven by the engine, and an inclined trunk or spout forming the
outlet from the fan sloping upwards to a height sufficient for the
discharge of the sheaves; on the top of the stack h is a valve or door
opening inwards into the trunk for admitting sheaves into it and
preventing them from sliding down into the fan. The workman
presses this door down and places the sheaf in the trunk, the air
forced by the rotation of the fan raises the door and propels the
sheaf up the trunk, discharging it at the upper mouth, where it is
received by the workman who places it on the stack.
Fig. 2 represents a section of apparatus for drying matters placed
in cylindrical segments. k is a chamber supplied with a hot gaseous
current forced in by an aperture ; near the bottom m is a drum
or revolving chamber mounted on an axis and divided into several
segmental compartments.
I prefer to construct this drum in the following manner:-I fix two
discs or circular sides upon a central shaft, and between them I fix
sheets of wire gauze or other suitable perforated material bent so as
to form the segmental compartments n, n, with intervals for the passage
of air between their radiating sides. The circular faces of these
segmental compartments are fitted with doors which are also of
perforated material, and which can be opened for charging or emptying
the several compartments, the discs or circular sides may be also
perforated. The drum thus constructed is caused to rotate slowly on
its axis, while a heated current is forced into the chamber k in which
it is mounted. The rotation of the drum causes the matter contained
in its compartments to turn over and over and expose fresh surfaces to
the porous sides, and the heated currents passing through these porous
sides absorb the moisture from the matter contained in the segments.
o is an aperture near the top of the chamber for the escape of the air or
gascous matter and vapour when it has passed the drum; p is a
revolving brush for clearing the periphery of the segments.
Fig. 3 is a section of a chamber with segmental drum as above

page_text: described, with the addition of a drying floor above, which may occa-
sionally be used for partial drying. Thus when the matter contained in
the segments has been for some time exposed to the heated current and
is nearly dried, the gaseous matter on leaving the drum is not saturated
with moisture and may be utilised for partial drying as follows:-q
is a chamber formed above the ceiling of the chamber k, and q' is a
perforated floor on which the matter to be partially dried is laid; " is
an aperture at the top of the chamber k communicating with the
chamber q; the two apertures o and are fitted with valves or doors,
which may be opened or closed at pleasure; while the matter
contained in the segments is moist the valve o is kept open, and the
valve is closed, thus the moistened current escapes; but when the
matter in the segments has been nearly dried the valve o is closed, and
is opened, and thus the current escaping from k only partially moistened
is made to pass through the porous floor q' and the matter placed thercon
so as partially to dry it.
Having now particularly ascertained and described the nature of the
said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I
hereby declare that I claim the Invention the nature whereof has been
set forth in the outset of this Specification by the words preceding the
words "Description of the Drawings," the said Invention being illustrated
by the Drawings accompanying these Presents and herein described with
reference thereto.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Alfred Gibbs, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of July,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-
eight.
Witness,
GEORGE SEWELL,
70, Milton Street,
London, E.C.
WILLIAM ALFRED GIBBS. (L.S.)