IMPROVEMENTS IN KILNS AND FLOORS FOR DRYING ROOTS AND GRAIN
Year: 1877

page_text: "
LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake,
& Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for the Invention of
IMPROVEMENTS IN KILNS AND FLOORS FOR DRYING ROOTS AND GRAIN."
A communication from abroad by James Henry Brodie, of Richmond, Victoria,
Australia. Miller.
Sealed the 9th November 1877, and dated, the 24th September 1877.
$
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said William Robert Lake at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 24th September 1877.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. "IMPROVEMENTS IN KILNS AND FLOORS FOR
DRYING ROOTS AND GRAIN." A communication from abroad by James Henry Brodie,
of Richmond, Victoria, Australia, Miller.
This Invention consists in making kilns for drying roots and grain circular and
rotatory, and in the introduction of mechanically worked levellers and scoops or
shovels into such kilns for the purpose of turning the material under treatment.
The principal object of the said Invention being to dispense with manual labour in
the process of drying, at present the workmen have to enter the kiln and turn
over the material with shovels in order to change its surface, and so facilitate the
the
process of drying. Whilst thus engaged the doors of the kiln have to be closed;
result is that the work becomes most exhaustive, and the gases evolved by the
combustion of the fuel underneath are very injurious to the men. The rapidity
with which this operation has to be performed sometimes results in the grain or
other substance being unevenly or irregularly turned. My Invention is intended
to overcome these objections by mechanically turning the grain or other material, so
as to dispense altogether with manual labour inside the kiln, and ensure a more
even drying of the material than heretofore.
My turners are equally applicable to floors for the drying of roots and grain.

page_text: DBCMVE LION
THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 is a vertical sectional elevation of a kiln built according to my
Invention; Figure 2 is a sectional plan on the line a, a, Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a sectional elevation of part of the said kiln.
Figure 4 is a plan of gearing for driving the turner shaft.
Figure 5 is a side view of one of the said turners.
Figure 6 is a face view of sliding bearings for the turner shaft.
Figure 7 shews the rods under the kiln floor, as herein-after described.
Figures 8 and 9 shew in plan and section an alternative method of supporting
the turner shaft.
Figures 3 to 7 are drawn to a larger scale than the other Figures.
A is the fire-place; B is a central hollow shaft fitting at the bottom into a step
B¹, and at the top into a bracket B2, bolted to the cross beam C. On the said shaft
is a collar B³ supporting a short beam D, to each end of which is bolted a beam E;
these beams reach to and support the rim F of the kiln floor. Four iron bars G are
placed across the kiln transversely with the beam E, and rest in slotted brackets
E' in the said beans. On the upper side of each of these bars G is a series of semi-
circular slots or grooves to receive a series of rods H, placed transversely across them,
as shewn in Figure 7. Lying on these rods is the kiln floor J consisting of
interlaced wire, a small, portion of which is shewn in Figure 2. The rim F of the
kiln has a number of teeth F¹ cast on its outer periphery, into which gear a pinion
K driven by bevel gearing L, as shewn. The lower flange F of this rim fits into
a circular channel formed by the set off from the wall, and a circular iron band M,
which is bolted to or otherwise fastened to the wall. This channel is filled with
sand to form a tight joint, and prevent the escape of the heat. N is an iron tubular
shaft carrying the turners N1, N2, and N³, one end of which shaft rests in a
swinging bearing N', and the other in a sliding bearing No, which slides in a slot or
guide No. To the sliding end of the bearing is attached a chain N', which, passing
over pulleys NB and N°, terminates in a rod N10, the lower end of which has a screw
thread to allow of its adjustment by a nut or other equivalent contrivance. The said
shaft N carries a sliding plate or door N" for the purpose of closing the spring P in
the wall of the kiln, necessitated by the raising of the said shaft, as shewn in dotted
lines in Figure 1. Q is the bevelled gearing for driving the turner shaft; R, R, are
fast and loose pulleys; S is a sheet iron leveller supported at each end in a piece of
angle iron S¹, and having chains S³ attached to it for adjusting its height from the
kiln floor.
In order to avoid having the openings P in the kiln wall I have devised an
alternative method of arranging the turner shaft, as shewn in outline in Figures 8 and
9. This method it will be seen dispenses with the bevelled gearing Q, the fast and
loose pulleys being placed immediately on the end of the turner shaft, which passes
through the walls of the kiln in close bearings, and has a union joint just inside,
from which to its inner extremity it is adjustable, as shewn. In this case it will be
seen that the shaft passes quite across the kiln and works in a slot in its wall.
The kiln is always rotating, but the turners revolve only at intervals, and when
they are revolving it is only during one rotation of the kiln. The speed at which
the kiln works is about sixty revolutions per hour, whilst for roots, say, chicory,
about once in every hour would be sufficient for the turners to be set at work.
The speed of the kiln however is of little moment except as a matter of expen-
diture, so long as it does not move the roots or grain thereon, and the frequency of
the application of the turners must depend partly upon the heat of the kiln and
partly upon the nature of the material under treatment.
When the turners are lowered they must be lowered gradually, and when at
work it will be seen that only one plate of one turner strikes the grain at once,
and that the brush behind each one sweeps forward ready for the next plate,
whatever would otherwise pass between the plate and the floor.

page_text: The leveller is stationary and can be set to any height required; thus, if the
operator requires a thickness of one foot of material it can be set at that height
from the kiln floor. The material to be treated may be fed to the centre of the
kiln in any suitable manner, and as it rotates the leveller pushes all the material
above the required height towards the periphery of the floor."
Turners, such as I have herein described and illustrated, may be applied by any
competent mechanic to what are technically termed "floors" for drying grain.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondent, and the manner of performing the same, I wish it understood
that without confining myself to the precise details above set forth, so long as the
essential features of my Invention are retained, I claim,-
First Making kilns for drying roots and grain circular and rotatory.
Second. The use of mechanically worked turners in kilns for drying roots and
grain.
as
Third. The use of mechanically worked turners in what are technically known
floors" for drying roots and grain.
EL
Fourth. The use of levellers S in rotatory kilns for drying roots and grain.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of September, in the year of our
Lord, One thousand eight hundred and seventy-seven.
TIM DADT TATT
TIM
WM PODT
ADT TAT
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