Improvements in Apparatus for " Withering" or Drying Tea.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 26th Jan., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 22nd Oct., 1892-Accepted, 26th Nov., 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for " Withering" or Drying Tea.
I, DAVID ROWELL, of 5 Victoria Street, in the City of Westminster, Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention has for its object the production of apparatus whereby the
"withering," as it is technically termed, or drying of tea is made more quickly
effective, while the economy and convenience attending its removal after being
dried is much increased.
The apparatus consists of a number of quadrilateral or other suitably shaped
frames cach about a quarter or half an inch broad, and 3 feet long by 34 feet
wide, more or less. Each frame is filled in with wire gauze or netting of suitably
sized mesh, and so stretched as to cover the whole of the frame and form a tray.
At each corner of the frame there is fastened a ring which is capable of passing
over one of a number of hooks attached to walls or vertical supports placed in
parallel rows, at appropriate distances apart. These frames or withering trays or
as they are technically called may be thus suspended horizontally one above
the other so as to form a series of any convenient number. Although the mode of
attaching is here described as by rings and hooks, any other suitably hinged form
of attachment may be employed.
tats
The trays being hooked up to their supports, the tea leaf is spread upon them,
and is then subjected to the drying influence of the air. When sufficiently
"withered or dried each frame is unhooked on one side when it will assume the
perpendicular, the tea falling on to the floor or into any suitable receptacle placed
to receive it. When the tea from the whole of any series is thus removed, the
trays may be again hooked to their supports, a fresh supply of ten spread upon
them and the operation repeated.
The trays and netting are preferably made of metal, but any suitable material
may be employed.
Dated this 26th day of January 1892.
W. H. BENNETT,
Agent for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Withering or Drying Tea.
I, DAVID ROWELL, Engineer, of 5 Victoria Street, in the City of Westminster,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to
be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
This invention has for its object the production of apparatus whereby the
withering or drying of tea is made more quickly effective while the economy and
convenience attending its removal after being dried is much increased; and consists
essentially of a series of parallel openwork trays or frames supported one above
the other in such manner that starting from the bottom tray they can readily be
revolved successively about any side as an axis into a vertical frame or approxi-
mately so.
In the accompanying sheet of illustrative drawings:
Figure 1 is a plan of a single tray,

page_text: shown in their horizontal or raised position and the others in their vertical or
lowered position, and
Figure 3 is a sectional elevation of a room fitted with my apparatus for
withering tea.
The apparatus consists of a number of rectangular frames a filled in or covered.
with wire gauze or netting of suitably sized mesh to form a tray for withering
tea. At each corner of the frame there is fastened a hook e capable of passing
either into the links of chains d suspended from the ceiling or into other suitable
fastenings secured to vertical supports placed in parallel rows at appropriate
distances apart.
These sets of trays are arranged to completely fill a room or other given area
sufficient space being left at the bottoin to allow the bottom trays to revolve into
the vertical position. This void space also allows of the sets being examined to
see if the tea is sufficiently withered or for other purpose.
The mode of use is as follows:-Supposing all the trays to be in their vertical
position supported by one edge only, the top tray of the desired set is revolved
into a horizontal position and fixed and the tea to be withered is spread uniformly
over it to the desired thickness, the next tray is then raised fixed and covered with
tea in a similar manner, and so on until all the trays of that set are covered;
the trays of the next desired set are then covered in a similar manner and so on
until all the trays in the room are covered. When more convenient, the trays may
be partially raised, then covered with tea and finally completely raised to the
horizontal position and fixed.
When the tea in any set is sufficiently withered, the bottom tray is released and
allowed to revolve about the desired edge into the vertical position to deposit the
withered tea on to the floor; the next tray is then operated in a similar manner
and so on until this set and all the other sets have been made to deposit the
withered tea on to the floor.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is :-
1. A series of parallel openwork trays or frames supported one above the other
in such manner that starting from the bottom they can readily be revolved succes-
sively about any side as an axis into a vertical plane substantially as described for
the purpose specified.
2. Apparatus for withering tea consisting of the frames a covered with wire
gauze band provided with hooks and of vertical supports d substantially as
described and for the purpose specified.
3. Apparatus for withering or drying tea substantially as described with reference
to the drawings.
Dated this 21st day of October 1892
WHEATLEY & MACKENZIE,
40, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Agents.