Improvements in Apparatus for Drying Grain and other Materials.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 5th May, 1891-Accepted, 13th June, 1891
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by JOSEPH WILLIS Fox, of Easton, in the County
of Northampton and State of Pennsylvania, United States of America.]
Improvements in Apparatus for Drying Grain and other Materials.
I HENRY EDWARD NEWTON of the Office for Patents, 6 Bream's Buildings,
Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex Patent Agent, 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 :-
The invention relates to improvements in grain driers in which provision is made
for efficiently drying grain, malt, brewer's grains, and other substances from which
it is desired to remove a considerable quantity of moisture.
The object of the present invention is to provide for introducing the hot dry
products of combustion beneath the endless aprons which convey the material to be
dried, at such points as to render the drying effect most efficient, and to provide for
tempering the hot products of combustion taken directly from the furnace, by
means of air freed to a great extent from its moisture.
A further object is to provide for freeing the receptacle at the base of the drier
from the material which may have fallen through or over the sides or ends of the
aprous, and thus preventing any liability of choking.
A practical embodiment of the invention is represented in the accompanying
drawings, in which,
Fig. 1 represents a view of the apparatus in vertical section, the section being
taken longitudinally through the endless belts.
Fig. 2 is a view in vertical section taken through line
of Fig. 1; and,
Fig. 3 is a horizontal section, taken through line y y of Fig. 2.
The apparatus consists of an upwardly extending trunk or casing, preferably of
oblong rectangular shape in cross section, as shown, in which are located endless
belts arranged in vertical series, and in staggered relation to one another, for the
purpose of carrying the material back and forth across the interior of the trunk, to
thoroughly expose it to the current of dry hot air.
The dry hot air is supplied from the furnace located in proximity to the base of
the trunk or casing, and communicates therewith through suitable flues. The top
of the trunk or casing is left open, so as to induce a draft through the furnace, and
upwardly through the trunk or casing.
Provision is made at the top for introducing the material to be dried in a finely
subdivided or disintegrated condition to the carriers, and provision is made at the
base for keeping the bottom of the casing free from the material which may have
dropped from the sides or ends, or through the aprons, as well as for that which is
discharged from the last apron.
The front and rear of the upwardly extending trunk or casing are denoted
respectively by A and B, and may be built of brick or any suitable masonry, or of
any other well known material adapted for the purpose. They are preferably made
quite thick, in order to form a stable structure, and the front wall A is provided
with a series of upwardly extending flues a, which communicate at intervals with
the interior of the trunk or casing through branch flues a', a², a³, etc.; in the present
instance, three such communications being provided for each flue. The flues <
connect at their lower ends with the combustion chambers C of a furnace D,
preferably divided into two sections by a central partition d. In the present
instance, four flues a are shown, with their branch openings leading to the interior
of the trunk at different heights, and in addition thereto, a series of short flues c
are provided, leading directly from the combustion chambers Cthrough the front A,
o points beneath the lower endless aprons.

page_text: This distribution of heat at intervals along the base, accomplished in the present
instance by the series of flues e, is an important feature of the present invention, in
effectually preventing the over-heating of the material under treatment, at any one
point.
The several endless aprons are denoted by E, and are supported at their ends
upon suitable rollers e.
The rollers e at one end are geared together either by spur wheels F, as herein
shown, intermeshing with each other, or by any other well known or approved
means, whereby they are caused to travel alternately in opposite directions, that is
to say, suppose the upper apron to travel from the left to the right, as represented
in Fig. 1, the next one below it would be caused to travel from the right to the
left, and so on.
The flues a to which reference has before been made, are led upwardly to a point
half the height of the series of the endless aprons, more or less, and the discharge
openings a¹ a a³ at their upper ends, and intermediate thereof, are so located as to
discharge the hot air therefrom between the upper and lower members of the
respective endless belts, so that the hot dry air is brought into direct contact with
the under sides of the layers of material being carried by the belts, at different
points in its travel. The material of which the endless belts are formed, is pre-
ferably of perforated sheet metal or wire cloth, the meshes of which are intended to
be as large as practical for the purpose of conveying the material, in order to allow
the heat to come in contact with the material as freely as possible. The upper and
lower members of the belts are prevented from sagging by means of suitable sup-
porting rollers e¹ and e².
g
The material is fed to the upper belt from the mouth of a suitable hopper G, a
toothed roller being journalled at the mouth of the hopper, and arranged so that
its teeth g¹ will pass between teeth 92 at the base of the hopper, in order to dis-
integrate any lumps or adhering mass of the material, and distribute it as evenly as
may be upon the surface of the belt. The toothed roller g may be conveniently
driven by gear on its shaft intermeshing with the gear F which drives the
upper belt.
In order that the hot products of combustion may be tempered, and at the same
time kept as free from the moisture as possible, doors or dampers H are provided in
the bridge wall I of the furnace beneath the grate, so that air may be admitted to
the combustion chambers C from beneath the grate of the furnace, where it will
have become previously dried to a considerable extent. The end walls of the
trunk or casing are preferably formed of sheet metal, and are provided at intervals
with doors K, which may be swung open to conveniently gain access to the several
belts of the series, for purposes of cleaning, and for examining the condition of the
material.
At the base of the trunk or casing, at one end, there is provided a shute L,
adapted to receive the dried products from the end of the last endless belt, and
carry it out of the casing, and at the bottom of the trunk or casing, throughout its
entire width, there is formed a receiving trough M, the sides of which preferably
converge, as herein shown, and in the bottom of which there is located a screw con-
veyor m, for keeping the lower portion of the casing free from such portions of the
material as may fall through the belts or over the sides or ends thereof. The
conveyor m may be driven from a source of power in any well known or approved
manner.
By the above construction it is possible to introduce the air in its hot dry con-
dition at such intervals, throughout the progress of the material from the top to
the bottom of the trunk, as to secure a thorough drying of the mass without raising
the temperature of the heated products to such degree as to bake or scorch the
mass, and at the same time it is possible to examine its condition throughout its
travel, and to temper the hot products of combustion from the furnace without
introducing any considerable amount of moisture.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed as communicated to me
from abroad I declare that what I claim is :-
1. The combination with a suitable trunk or casing and a series of carrying
aprons for transporting the material to be dried, back and forth across the interior
of the trunk or casing, of a furnace, its combustion chamber and flues leading from
said combustion chamber to different points throughout the height of the trunk or
casing, to distribute the hot air at intervals therein, substantially as set forth.
2. The combination with a suitable trunk or casing provided with a series of
endless aprons for conveying the material to be dried back and forth within the
trunk or casing, of a furnace the combustion chamber of which is in communication
with the interior of said trunk or casing, and doors or dampers placed in openings
through the bridge wall beneath the grate, for admitting air beneath the grate to
the combustion chamber, and thence into the interior of the casing, for tempering
the hot products of combustion, substantially as set forth.
3. The combination with the trunk or casing provided with its heavy front and
rear walls, the means for transferring the material to be dried gradually from the
upper to the lower portion of the casing, and means for supplying hot dry air to
the interior of the casing, of the ends of the casing formed of thin metal, and pro-
vided at intervals with doors for gaining access to the material during its progress
within the trunk or casing, substantially as set forth.
4. The herein described drying apparatus comprising the trunk or casing, the
vertical series of carriers located therein, the furnace having its combustion chamber
in communication with the interior of the trunk or casing at intervals throughout
its height, a shute for discharging the material, and a conveyor for preventing the
accumulation of displaced material within the trunk or casing at its base, substan-
tially as set forth.
5. The combination with the trunk or casing, and means for conveying the
material to be treated gradually from the upper to the lower portion of the interior
of the trunk or casing, of a furnace having its combustion chamber in communi-
cation with the interior of the base of the trunk or casing, through a series of
openings located at intervals along the margin of the base, substantially as set
forth.
Dated this 5th day of May 1901
NEWTON & SON,
Agents for the Applicant.