other Fibrous or Granular Material.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 28th Apr., 1887
Complete Left, 28th Jan., 1888
Complete Accepted, 9th Mar., 1888
other Fibrous or Granular Material.
Wo JOHN DALBY SUTCLIFFE of Duchy Street Pendleton in the county of
Lancaster, Engineer and BENJAMIN THOMPSON O'BRIEN of Kingsley Road Liverpool
in the said county, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
In the process of preparing for manufacture or in the process of manufacture it is
at times necessary to dry cotton and other inaterials of a fibrous or granular structure.
The apparatus usually employed for the purpose is one with externally applied heat
and heated floors known as a "kiln "upon the floors of which the material is spread
and occasionally turned until the moisture is driven off. In such an apparatus the
material is at times more or less damaged through over heating of the floors and it is
to obviate this and provide a means for drying such materials at a low temperature
that this invention is designed.
In carrying out the invention a series of platforms or floors are constructed or
arranged one above another to receive the material to be operated upon. These are
mado perforated, or of wire or lattice work or otherwise to allow a free current of air
to pass through and so that as far as practicable an equal current will rise from all
parts of the surface of the material. The platforms or floors may be made stationary
and the material turned thereon by hand or power or they may be made with a
reciprocating or longitudinal movement so that the material may be automatically
displaced or turned thereon. The room or structure in which the platforms are
placed is heated by means of pipes with steam, hot water or hot air preferably the
former. These are placed in any suitable position so that a current of air passing
through the tables and the material will be heated thereby. The best position will
probably be found beneath the lowest of the platforms though some may be placed
beneath each. A current of air is induced by means of a suitable fan or other air
propelling apparatus that known as the "Blackman Air propeller" being well suited
to the purpose. The air propeller or fan is so placed and connected by means of
ducts or shafts with the space above and below the material that by it the air is
r D 937

page_text: continually circulated through the material. The best results will probably be
obtained by placing the propeller below and forcing the air through the material to
the top a duct with a trumpet or hooded end carrying the air back again to the fan
whence it is again projected through the material. It will be obvious however that
the fan may be placed in any suitable position and the air led to and from it by
means of pipes or ducts or otherwise. By thus circulating the heated air through
and through the material better and more economical results are obtained than by
merely allowing a heated current of air to rise through the material or by drawing or
forcing the air through once and then allowing it to escape. When the material is
partially dried the air passing quickly through it does not become saturated with
water, so that an economy is effected by circulating the air again and again through
the material until it becomes saturated or nearly so. The temperature of the air is
_ maintained as it at each circulation passes over the heated pipes. The air when
saturated with or heavily-charged-with-water may be either treated to remove the
water or allowed to escape and fresh air brought in to supply its place-at-present_we
consider the former will be the more economical and for this purpose to cause the
current of air to pass through a chamber or condenser in which the air will be cooled
down to a certain degree the moisture with which it is charged being thereby
condensed. Instead of condensing the moisture out of the air the air when charged
may be allowed to escape through suitable valves. These may be merely pressure
valves which will open when the atmosphere in the structure has been raised to a
given pressure. It is intended always to maintain a slight pressure in excess of
atmospheric pressure in the structure and to this end the air propeller or fan is
connected hy suitable inlets with the external air. Instead of pressure valves
hygrometric valves might be employed which would open when the air had become
charged with a certain amount of moisture_and_allow it to escape until its place was
taken up by dryer air forced-in-by-tho-propeller.__

page_text: Improvements in Apparatus Applicable for Drying Cotton and
other Fibrous or Granular Material.
We, JOHN DALBY SUTCLIFFE of Duchy Street, Pendleton, in the County of
Lancaster, Engineer, and BENJAMIN THOMPSON O'BRIEN, of Kingsley Road,
Liverpool, in the said County, Engineer, 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 :-
In the process of preparing for manufacture or in the process of manufacture it is
at times necessary to dry cotton and other materials of a fibrous or granular structure.
The apparatus usually employed for the purpose is one with externally applied heat
and heated floors known as a "kilu" upon the floors of which the material is spread
and occasionally turned until the moisture is driven off. In such an apparatus the
material is at times more or less damaged through over heating of the floors and it is
to obviate this and provide a means for drying such materials at a low temperature
that this invention is designed.
Referring to the annexed drawings Fig. I is a sectional elevation of drying
apparatus constructed in accordance with our invention. Fig. 2 sectional plan taken
at three different levels showing the wire top of the floor, the pipes under the wire
and the fan or air propeller below the pipes.
A series of platforms or floors are constructed or arranged one above another to
receive the material to be operated upon. The floors a are made perforated or so as
to allow a free current of air to pass through the floors. The upper surface or
covering a is preferably of fine moshed wire netting though perforated plates or
lattice work may be employed. The floor a is placed or arranged so that as far as
practicable an equal current will pass through all parts of it.
Beneath each of the floors or platforms a are placed pipes B heated by means of
steam, hot water or hot air preferably the former. A current of air induced by means
of a suitable fan C or other air propelling apparatus (that known as the "Blackman
Air propeller" being well suited to the purpose) is propelled or drawn between the
floors a and ceilings A and another portion of the air is carried up duct E to feed
the other floors with a fresh supply, passing down in the direction of the arrows
through e. The air propeller or fan C is preferably placed as shown below the lower
floor and the air forced upward therefrom through the several floors.
The chamber D in which the fan C is placed communicates by means of the
passages E with the space above the top floor (or it may be made to communicate
with the space above any of the floors if desired) so that as the air is forced up from
below and drawn down from above a regular circulation of air through the floors and
material thereon takes place. By thus circulating the heated air through and through
the material better and more economical results are obtained than by merely allowing
a heated current of air to rise through the material or by drawing or forcing the air

page_text: through once and then allowing it to escape. When the material is partially dried
the air passing quickly through it does not become saturated with water, so that an
economy is effected by circulating the air again and again through the material until
it becomes saturated or nearly so. The temperature of the air is maintained as it at
each circulation passes over the heated pipes. The air when saturated with or
heavily charged with water may be either allowed to escape and fresh air brought
in to supply its place or treated to remove or condense the water. When it is
intended to remove the moisture from the air by condensation the current of air is
passed through a chamber or coil of pipes forming a condenser in which the air will
be cooled down to a certain degree the moisture with which it is charged being
thereby condensed. Instead of condensing the moisture out of the air the air when
charged may be allowed to escape through suitable valves. These may be merely
_ pressure valves which will open when the atmosphere in the structure has been
raised to a given pressure-or-hygrometric valves which will open when the air has
become charged with a certain amount of moisture and allow it to escape-until-its
place is taken up by dryer air forced in by the propeller.
The platforms or floors a are preferably made stationary as shown and the material
as it dries turned thereon by band but they may be made with a reciprocating or
longitudinal movement so that the material may be automatically displaced or turned
thereon.
It will be obvious that the heating pipes may be placed in any suitable position
and beneath any required number of floors and the air propeller may be placed in
any convenient or suitable position so that the air may continually be circulated
through the material. The best results will probably be obtained by placing the
propeller below as shown and forcing the air through the material to the top a duct
with a trumpet or hooded-end-carrying the air back again to the fan whence it is
again projected through-the-material.-
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
we claim is :-
1. Apparatus for drying cotton and other material having perforated floor or floors
to receive the material, a fan or air propeller to cause a current of air through the
material, and passages or ducts through which the air passes between the top floor
and the fan to allow the air to be circulated through the material substantially as
described.
2. In apparatus for drying cotton the combination of the perforated or wire
covered floors, the heating pipes, the fan or air propeller, and the air passages
connecting with the fan substantially as and for the purposes described.
Dated this 26th day of January 1888
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of 6, Bank Street, Manchester,
Patent Agents.