Improvements in Apparatus for Drying Refuse, Swill, Grain, and the like.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 24th Jan., 1891-Accepted, 11th Apr., 1891
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by HENRY DAVID WINTON, of Wellesly Hills,
Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States of America, Mechanical Engineer.]
Improvements in Apparatus for Drying Refuse, Swill, Grain, and
the like.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent Agents,
45, Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, 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 relates to improvements in rotary steam drying apparatus, and
appertains to that class of driers which have an external cylinder set slightly
inclined and provided with internal steam heating pipes.
The object of my invention is to obtain a greater amount of contact heating-
surface upon the interior, and a more perfect means of retaining the material to be
dried in contact with said heating-surface, and at the same time to provide oppor-
tunity for the material to be disturbed and showered through heated air, so that a
more rapid and thorough drying is accomplished, and a material containing a great
per cent. of moisture can be handled profitably and to advantage.
This apparatus is particularly adapted to the drying of refuse, garbage or what is
termed "swill"; also for wet and heavy malts or grain, or for the extraction of
moisture from any soggy material. I accomplish these objects by means of the
apparatus as hereinafter described and set forth.
In the accompanying drawing,
Figure 1 represents a perspective view of the apparatus with all its accessories.
Figure 2 represents a part sectional view of the steam supply end, the same being
duplicated for use as an exhaust end.
Figure 3 represents a section or portion of the internal heating-pipes with the
buckets attached thereto.
Figure 4 represents one of the buckets and its method of application to the
heating pipe.
Figure 5 represents the method of attaching the coil of pipe to the external
cylinder.
Referring to Figure 1, I represents the external cylinder, which is made
of sheet iron or steel riveted together in sections, and it may be of dimen-
sions suited to the amount of material to be handled. 2 and 3 represent
rings which are secured to the outside of the cylinder, and which form a guide
or running surface for the rotation of the cylinder upon its trucks. 4 represents a
gear secured to the outside of the cylinder in such a manner that it can rotate said
cylinder by means of a pinion which meshes into the gear on the under side of the
cylinder, and which forms part of the shaft 12, so as to be controlled by the
pulley 13.
11 and 11 represent frames which carry the truck wheels. These
wheels, as indicated in the drawings, are arranged so that there are two of them
upon each frame, and they swing upon a pivot on the frame, that they may
adjust themselves to the ring. 113 represents a wheel mounted upon the same
frame that carries the adjustable wheels, but placed at right angles thereto, so that
it comes against the side of the ring 2 and forms a bearing which prevents the
cylinder from settling forward from its proper location upon the trucks. 11 and 115
represent frames of the same general construction as those just described, but which
are set a little higher, so that they cause the cylinder to be slightly inclined.
5 represents a coil of pipe, which is secured to the interior of the cylinder and
which extends throughout its length to within a few feet of either end.
This coil terminates at both ends, as indicated at 10, in a bend which brings the

page_text: pipe at its extremity to a central point, whereby it can be attached to the supply
and exhaust ends. 7 represents the frame-work, which is secured to the interior of
the cylinder and which forms the support for the supply and exhaust ends.
This frame-work and end, as shown in the front open end of the cylinder, is
duplicated at the rear. 8 is the body, which forms part of the supply and exhaust
end, and 9 is the pipe which communicates through said body with the coil of pipes
in the interior of the cylinder.
I will here refer to Figure 2 for a better understanding of the supply and exhaust
ends. They are duplicated, one at the steam-inlet end of the drier and the other
at the outlet end.
Referring to Figure 2, 7 represents the frame, which is secured to the interior of
the cylinder, in the centre of which is an 'anular space into which is secured a
casting 19. It is held centrally within the frame by means of set-screws,
as indicated at 22 and 23. Into the end of this casting 19 is secured a
pipe 20, which forms the terminal or point of connection of the coil in the
interior of the cylinder. To the other end of the casting 19 is bolted the
body or main casting 8. Through the interior of the latter is a pipe 9,
which is held from withdrawing therefrom by means of a collar and
nut. This pipe 9 is closely packed by means of the stuffing-box shown at 18.
The operation of this steam-supply end is as follows: Steam being admitted to
the pipe 9, it passes through it to the hollow chamber formed in the casting 19,
from hence into pipes 20, and 21 which directs it through the coil to a similarly-
constructed end at the back of the cylinder by which the exhaust-steam is conducted
away. The stuffing-box 18 prevents the steam which leaks from the chamber in
the casting 19 into the annular space in the casting & from escaping.
It will be seen by this construction that when the device is secured within the
cylinder, as indicated in Figure 1, as the cylinder rotates upon its trucks the body
or main casting & revolves around the pipe 9, which is held stationary, maintaining
a perfect steam connection with the coil of pipes..
Referring now to Figure 3, which represents a section of pipes which forms a
part of the coil secured to the interior of the cylinder 6 6 6 represent buckets or
wings secured to the pipe and which are intended to pick up the material which is
in process of drying and hold it in contact with the heated pipes that is, as the
cylinder revolves the material is picked up from the bottom of the cylinder and
carried around with it in contact with the pipes to a point where it slides off the
buckets and is showered through the heated air to the bottom of the cylinder, to be
picked up and carried around again. These buckets are secured to the pipes in the
manner shown in Figure 4, 6 representing the bucket, which is cast in two parts and
clamped to the pipe with bolts, as indicated at 28 and 29. These can be arranged
to form a continuous longitudinal bucket throughout the length of the cylinder, or
they can be arranged in sections overlapping each other, or in any desired position
to best hold and convey the material to the best advantage.
To fully understand the manner in which the coil is secured to the cylinder,
reference will be had to Figure 5. 5 represents the pipe; 1 the cylinder. To
the interior of the cylinder are secured angle-bars, as shown at 25, and corre-
sponding angle-bars are secured to the pipes. These are held to the pipes by
means of strips running along the inside of the coil, as at 24, which are clamped to
the angle-bars by bolts, as at 27, so as to secure them firmly to the pipes. The
two angle-bars are then secured together by bolts, as indicated at 26. In this
manner the coil of pipe is secured firmly to the cylinder, leaving a space between it
and the pipes, so that the material has access to the full heating-surface of the pipe.
Referring to Figure 1, 14 represents a pipe, to which is attached at any con-
venient point an exhaust blower or fan, which conducts away the moist air from
the interior of the drier, so that there is at all times a dry heated air, through
which the material is showered, effecting the greatest possible drying efficiency.
15 represents a chute, through which the material is supplied to the cylinder.
16 represents a striking-bar arranged to ride over projections, as indicated at 17,

page_text: which causes a quick rapping on the outside of the cylinder to-jar off any material
that has a tendency to adhere to the interior. This is arranged on the drier at a
point where the material is in a moist condition and is most liable to stick.
Having thus described the several portions of the machine which go to make up
the complete working apparatus, I now proceed to explain the manner in which it
operates.
Having put the cylinder in operation by applying power to the pulley 13, the
material which is to be dried, and which is preferably ground or cut and passed
through a series of rolls to extract a portion of the moisture, is fed into the cylinder
through the chute 15. The material is caught upon the pipes which are charged
with steam, and held in contact with the same by means of the carrying-buckets
until it has reached an elevation sufficient for it to slide from the buckets and be
showered through the hot air.
This continuous movement, together with the inclined position of the cylinder.
causes the material to gradually travel toward the open end of the cylinder where
it is emptied in a perfectly dry condition.
Having thus fully described the construction and operation of my improved
machine, it is clear that modifications may be made in the details of construction,
such, for instance, as the use of sheet-iron angle-buckets in lieu of the cast clamp-
buckets, and the same may be attached to the cylinder instead of to the pipes.
Other methods of fastening the pipe to the cylinder, other constructions of steam
inlet and exhaust ends, and the use of wooden external cylinders in lieu of steel and
iron, as it is sometimes advisable in the case of drying sand, salt, or material of
like nature, which readily cuts away steel or iron, are obviously included in my
invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. The drying apparatus comprising a slightly inclined rotary cylinder, a coil
of steam-pipe within the cylinder, having spaces between the coils and secured to
said cylinder to rotate therewith, adjustable lifting-buckets secured to said coil, the
steam inlet and exhaust attachments connected with the terminals of said coil in a
manner to permit of the rotation of the coil relatively to them, and anti-friction
trucks or carriages arranged to support said cylinder, substantially as set forth.
2. The herein described drying apparatus composed of a horizontally inclined
cylinder adapted to be rotated upon trucks by means of a gear and pinion, and
having a coil of pipe located centrally within it and attached thereto, said coil
having secured to it buckets or wings adapted to lift and maintain the material to
be dried in contact with the pipes, and steam supply and exhaust attachments
adapted to make connection with the terminals of said coil so that steam communi-
cation can be maintained during the continued rotation of the cylinder, substantially
as herein set forth and described.
3. The combination in a steam drying apparatus of a cylinder having rings
mounted upon its exterior to form running surfaces for the rotation of said cylinder
upon trucks, and a gear ring secured to the exterior of said cylinder in such a
manner that it can cause the rotation of said cylinder by means of a pinion engaging
with it when it is operated by power, a feed pipe at one end of said cylinder to
admit the material to be dried, an exhaust pipe arranged to withdraw the moist air
from the interior of said cylinder, a rapping device to prevent material from
sticking to the interior of the cylinder, a coil of pipe secured centrally within said
cylinder, arranged with spaces between the pipes, and having mounted thereon
buckets adapted to hold the material in contact with the pipes during a portion of
the rotation of the cylinder, steam supply and exhaust ends adapted to maintain
steam connection with said coil during its continued rotation with the cylinder,
substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth and described.
4. The combination in a rotary steam drier of an external cylinder 1, mounted

page_text: upon adjustable trucks 111, 112, 11 and 115, the forward trucks having retaining
wheels as at 113, gear 4 arranged to engage with a pinion mounted upon a driving
shaft 12, feed box 15, exhaust pipe 14, striking bar 16, and a coil of pipe 5 secured
centrally within said cylinder by means of angle bars 25 and 26, clamped buckets
secured to said pipes, steam supply and exhaust ends as indicated at Figure 2, the
whole arranged to have an inclined position and to be operated substantially as
herein set forth and described.
Dated this 24th day of January 1891.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicant.