MACHINE FOR DRYING MOIST SHEETS OF PAPER, BOARD, PASTE-BOARD AND OTHER LIKE MATERIAL
Year: 1884

page_text: I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincolns-Inn-Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for a
"MACHINE FOR DRYING MOIST SHEETS OF PAPER, BOARD, PASTE-BOARD AND
OTHER LIKE MATERIAL" and in what manner the same is to be performed, to
be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:—
This Invention consists in a new machine for drying sheets of paper, board,
paste-board or other like material, which have been pasted together, or coated
with color, enamel, gum, gelatine, or varnish, or otherwise imbued with any kind
of moisture.
A machine constructed according to the Invention is represented on the annexed
two Sheets of Drawings. Fig. 1 is a side-view showing the general-system of the
machine. Fig. 2 is a plan corresponding thereto. Fig. 3 is a plan of a modified
arrangement. Fig. 4 is a side-view drawn to a larger scale and showing the
different operating parts; a portion of the machine between D and E being broken
away. Fig. 5 is a plan corresponding to Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a detail side-view of a
part of the machine, and Fig. 7 a top view of the part 12, 13.
The machine comprises three different sections or apparatuses. By the first
apparatus A B, the sheets to be dried are laid on flat trays or tray-boards, such
as G, Fig. 5 and 6. The second apparatus B C serves to put the trays with the
wet sheets into boxes or cages T and to remove them therefrom. In the third
section or apparatus C D E F, which is the main part of the machine, the cages
are raised from the tray-exchanging-station at C to the upper horizontal guiding-
ways 46, conveyed along on them in a heated room to the end of the machine,
then lowered to the under guiding-ways 49, and finally, transported back on these
and on the ways 50, 51 to the exchanging-station at C. Instead of conveying the.
cages along one upper and one under track, they may be caused to take their
course successively along two or more tracks, arranged parallel to each other, or
otherwise, on the same level, and connected by curves. Fig. 3 shows an

page_text: arrangement of this kind in which the cages travel on each level in three parallel
lines, alternately in opposite directions.
The trays G may consist in wooden frames covered with cloth, wire-gauze, sheet
iron, boards or other suitable material, and they are provided on either lateral edge
with two pins, a long one, 4, and a short one, 9. The boxes or cages T have on
both sides a number of parallel ledges adapted to carry the trays by the said
pins 4 and 9, and they are fitted with wheels or rollers with which they run on
the guiding-ways.
are
The apparatus A B, or feeding-apparatus, consists in a frame with two rollers
over which runs or endless travelling-cloth 38. On this cloth the sheets to be
dried are laid by hand or otherwise. The apparatus B C, or tray-exchanging
apparatus is composed of the guiding-bars 10 and 5; the sprocket-wheels 1, 2
driven by machinery, and two chains 40, Fig. 7, running over these wheels and
provided at equal distances with tappets or catches 3. The bars 10 and
arranged to serve as supports for the pins 4 and 9 of the trays, while the tappets 3,
in moving along with the chains, act on the pins 9 in the direction of the arrows
shown in Figs. 1 and 4. A wet sheet carried by the cloth 38, on passing over the
roller 39, drops with its edge on the tray which is then under the roller; and as
the cloth and the tray move with like speed, the sheet will be transferred from the
former to the latter. (With the arrangement of the roller 39 in the position
relatively to the tray-exchanging apparatus shown in the Drawing, the wet sheet
has to be drawn forward a certain distance by hand, in order to be brought
completely on the tray; but, by extending the feeding-apparatus somewhat farther
over the apparatus B C, it may be adapted to lay the sheets on the trays altogether
automatically.)
The tray with the sheet on it is then conveyed by a pair of the tappets 3
towards the cage T which is at the time opposite to the tray-exchanging apparatus,
and is pushed, first with the pins 9, and then with the pins 4, on the ledges of the
cage being on, or about on a level with the bars 10. The cage meanwhile rising
slowly, the following tray will be pushed on the next lower pair of ledges, and so
.on until the cage is filled.
Simultaneously with the loading of the cage the removal of the trays with dry
sheets takes place. This is brought about by the tappets 3 while passing around
-the-lower-portion-of-the-sprocket-wheels-1, the tappets being then in a position to
act obliquely from the back against any tray-pins 9 which are within its path, and
to push them from the ledges of the cage on the bars 5, and, thus to reconvey the
tray from the cage to the exchanging-apparatus. Hereafter the tray is transferred
from the lower bars 5 to the upper ones 10. This is brought about by the
switching-device shown in detail by Figs. 6 and 7, and which consists of the two
switch-tongues 12 having on their outer sides the arms 13, of the switch-tongues 14,
and of the curved pieces 7, 8, fixed to, or formed on the ends of the bars 5. The
tongues 12 are pivoted at 15 to the bars 10, and rest with their bevelled ends on
the bars 5, while the arms 13, which also bear on the bars 5, or extend down to
the level thereof, are curved upwards at their ends. The tongues 14 are pivoted
to the bars 10 at 16, and rest with their bevelled ends on the tongues 12.
When, with this arrangement, the tray is pushed with its pins 4 towards the
tongues 12, these pins, being of a length as to extend with their ends beyond the
arms 13, will pass under the curved part of the said arms, thereby lift the
tongues 12, and slide along under them, the tongues thereupon dropping into their
normal position. The pins 9, however, which do not reach to the arms 13, will
slide upward on the tongues 12; and, on coming in contact with the tongues 14,
they will lift these and pass away under them, so as to be then prevented from
sliding back on 12. Meanwhile the pins 4 have been driven by the tappets 3 into
the curved tracks formed by the rims of the sprocket-wheels 2 and the curved
guiding-pieces 7, 8, concentric therewith; and, while they are carried through the
upper portion of the said tracks, the pins 9 will be pushed upward on the
tongues 14. Finally, as the pins 4 leave the curved track and move along

page_text: •
the bars 10, the pins. 9 slide from the tongues 14 to the bars 10, whereby
the transferring operation of the tray is completed. The tray-exchanging apparatus
then automatically stops for a moment so as to allow the dry sheet to be removed
from the tray. On its being started again, a fresh sheet is laid on the tray by the
feeding-apparatus, and the tray conveyed to the cage as hereinbefore described..
The cage-carrying apparatus C D E F comprises the guiding-ways or bars 46
to 51, the endless chains 41 to 45 (one on either side of the machine), having
tappets or catches with which they act against the pivots of the cages T, and
passing over chain-pulleys 17, 19, 20, 21 &c. Such of the latter as serve to drive
the chains, are furnished with teeth to form sprocket-wheels.
In the part C D of the apparatus, the vertical chains 41, running each over two
pulleys 17 and having tappets 18 to carry the cages, slowly move one cage after
the other upward while its trays are being exchanged. Hereafter the chains 42,
conducted by the pulleys 19, 23, 22, 21 and 20, and running faster than the
chains 41, take the cage by their tappets 24 up to the upper horizontal guiding-
ways 40, convey it along on the same to the pulleys 23, and then pass downward
over these pulleys, while now the chains 44 come into action on the cage by means
of the tappets 33. These chains run over the pulleys 30 (coinciding in Fig. 4 with
the pulleys 23), 31 and 32, and back along the guiding-ways 49 and over the
pulleys 29 to the pulleys 30. They travel at such a rate, and there are so many
tappets on them that the cages, as they are brought by the tappets 24 of the
chains 42 into the path of the tappets 33, will be engaged one after the other by
the consecutive pairs of these tappets, and slowly transported in close succession
through the whole length of the part D E of the apparatus. The chains 44 then
passing downward over the pulleys 31, leave the cages in the order as they arrive,
to be conducted farther by the double tappets 37 of the chains 45, that ran over'
the small pulleys 36 and 34 (coinciding in Fig. 4 with pulleys 32 and 31) and
over the large pulleys 35. The said tappets 37 convey the cages along the inclined
ways 47, subsequently around the pulleys 35, and then along the inclined ways 48
to the pulleys 32 and 36, where the tappets 33 of the chains 44 again coine into
action on the pivots of the cages.
The chains 45 travel with a greater speed than the chains 44, so that the cages
will be conveyed from the upper tier to the lower one without coming into collision
with each other, whereas this would be the case if they were conveyed over the
pulleys 35 by the chains 44. Besides, the chains 44 and 45 must be so actuated
by their driving-pulleys, which are provided with teeth to form sprocket-wheels,
and the tappets 37 must be fixed on their chains in such relative positions to the
tappets 33, that the said tappets 37 will always engage with the pivots of the
cages as these are brought towards them by the tappets 33, in order that the cages
may not roll down unchecked on the inclined ways 47. For preventing the cages
from dropping off the tappets 37 while they move with their pivots around the
lower portion of the periphery of the pulleys 35, the curved guide-bars 52 are
arranged. The ways 47 and 48 may be parallel, provided the pulleys 35 be made
of a size as to correspond to the distance between the ends of the ways; or,
instead of one pulley 35 on either side, there may be two small ones, one above the
other. After any cage has been conveyed by the tappets 33 along the ways 49 to
the pulleys 26, the double tappets 28 of the chains 43, running over the pulleys
25, 26 and 27, receive it, guide it down the inclined way 50, and then deliver it to
the tappets 24 of the chains 42, to be conducted by them on the ways 51 to a
concave resting-place 53, where it is in the path of the tappets 18. These
thereupon again carry the cage upward in front of the tray-exchanging apparatus.
In the described apparatus the guiding-ways 49 have been placed higher than
the ways 51, for the purpose of obtaining room for heating-tubes under the lower
tier of cages without being compelled to make the tray-exchanging-apparatus of
inconvenient height, this arrangement requiring the inclined ways 50 to be
introduced. The ways 49 and 51 may, however, be arranged in a line if preferred,
in which case the part 50 will be horizontal.

page_text: Instead of chains other suitable means for conveying the cages may be used,
such for instance as woven straps.. Besides it is to be observed that it is not in all
cases necessary to have a chain or strap, &c., on either side of the cages or the
trays. Thus a single propelling medium acting on one side of the cages will be
sufficient for the part D E of the apparatus if both wheels of the cages are fixed on
one axle, or if the cages are guided laterally in a suitable manner. The propulsion
of the cages in the part D E may also be effectuated by two endless chains, or
their equivalents, running in the middle of the apparatus, one above the upper tier
and the other above the lower tier."
The machine, or at least the part D E thereof, is placed in a suitably heated and
ventilated room, so that the sheets after having passed through the apparatus, will
be dry.
In case the part D E contains on each level two or more tracks or divisions
connected by curves, as shown in Fig. 3, certain known mechanisms have to be
used for conveying the cages through the curves from one division to the other.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
1. A machine for drying sheets of paper, board, paste-board and other, like
material, in which trays or tray-boards carrying the sheets, are automatically
inserted into and removed from cages T, that are conveyed forward and backward
in a heated room, substantially as and for the purpose described.
2. In a machine for drying sheets of paper, board, paste-board and other like
material, substantially as described, the tray exchanging apparatus B C consisting
of the bars 10, bars 5, with curved bars 7, 8, tongues 12 with arms 13, tongues 14,
chains 40, with tappets 3, and pulleys 1, 2 and cooperating with the pivots 4 and 9
of the trays; as and for the purpose specified.
3. In a machine for drying sheets of paper, board, paste-board, and other like
material, the cage-carrying and transporting apparatus C D E F consisting of
guiding-ways on which the cages run with their wheels, and of endless chains or
their equivalents, passing over pulleys, and having tappets adapted to raise and
lower the cages and to convey them forward and backward on the guiding-ways,
substantially as and for the purpose described.