Apparatus therefor.
Year: 1886

page_text: Apparatus therefor.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co, Patent Agents,
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 apparatus for causing the germination of barley in the
manufacture of malt and for drying the grain after such germination, and it
comprises the improvements hereinafter described.
In the accompanying drawing.
Figure 1 represents a sectional elevation of a building provided with apparatus
constructed according to this invention.
Figure 2 is a view in horizontal section upon the line x, x of Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a horizontal section upon the line y, y of Figure 1 and a plan view
of the parts below said line.
Figure 4 is a horizontal section upon the line z, z of Figure 1 and a plan view of
the parts below said line.
•
Figure 5 is a view in side elevation of one of the fingers of a scraper or stirrer
used in the said apparatus.
Figures 6, 7 and 8 are views illustrating modifications and bereinafter described.
The building in which the process is conducted has four floors. The upper
story has three longitudinal bins A A' A' Figure 1 which occupy substantially the
whole of the floor; The bins A A¹ are for the storage of grain, and the bin A³ in
the centre is for the storage of malt. An elevator C of ordinary form extends
through the various floors of the building from bottom to top, and grain is
delivered into the chamber ct, at the foot of the elevator chute, from cars D
brought up alongside the building. The grain is then carried by the elevator into
the chamber A2, on the upper floor of the building, and is there delivered into a
box, c from which chutes c c³ conduct it to the chambers A A¹.

page_text: Another distributor c³ is at the bottom of the box c, and either one of the three
chutes c, c², c³ may be shut off from the box c by appropriate slides of usual
construction.
The storage bins A, A¹ being filled with grain, the tanks E on the floors below
the chambers A A¹ are partially filled with water, and grain is set to soak therein
the said grain being admitted into these tanks through chutes a which are
provided, as shown, with slide valves. Water pipes and cocks w, admit water
from some source of supply into these tanks.
The barley having been properly soaked in the tanks E, which soaking will take
a longer or shorter time, according to the quality of the grain, usually, however,
about two days and a half, and always, according to my experience, not less than
two days, is discharged upon the couching floor F, immediately beneath the tanks,
or on to other portions of the same or other floors, where it is allowed to germinate.
This germination may be assisted by starting fires on the lower or furnace floor G,
thus furnishing artificial heat to hasten the germination, instead of requiring the
barley to be heated entirely by heat generated within itself.
After the barley has been properly forwarded upon the couching floor F, it is
dropped through holes ff onto the sprouting and drying floor h'. This floor is
surrounded as shown in Figure 3, by a circular wall h which may be of any
convenient height; usually about two feet will be enough, but it may be much
higher, or constitute the wall of the room H, if desired. The floor of this room H
is perforated like the ordinary malt-floor, and beneath it is arranged the furnace
shown in Figure 1, which I prefer shall be a furnace which generates steam heat,
because for such purposes the steam heat is perhaps more uniform than heat from
other sources, and better under-control. But I may in lieu of steam heat use hot
air generated from an adjacent hot air furnace G¹ which should, however, be
provided with an apparatus for moistening the air, if necessary, at the first stage of
the process on the sprouting and drying floor; and I provide a branch w¹ of the
water pipe, which branch is perforated in various places from end to end, and can
be turned around the centre of the circular wall h so as to thoroughly sprinkle the
partially made malt upon the floor, if it is in danger of getting too dry.
When the germination has gone sufficiently far, or before that time, the heat
from the furnace G or G¹ is shut off, and cold air is introduced to stop the
germination. This air is drawn through an ice box I, or other refrigerating
apparatus such as the radiators of an ice machine; and, for the purposes of
economy to render the cold air as dry as possible, a circulation is established
between the chamber H and the ice chamber I, by which the same air is used over
and over again. This is accomplished by the arrangement of the pipe i, proceeding
from the ice chamber and terminating below the perforated floor of the chamber H,
and by means of the pipe i¹ connected with the exhaust blower J, which sucks air
from the chamber H and delivers it through the pipej into the ice chamber I¹ or a
chamber adjacent to it, where the moisture from the air will be dried out of it by
coming in contact with the ice or other refrigerating apparatus.
In order that the malt may be thoroughly aerated and uniformly exposed to the
air, either hot or cold, which comes through the perforated floor, there is erected at
the centre of this floor a revolving shaft K, which has mounted upon it a horizontal
scraping stirrer k the foremost edge of which is close to the floor of the chamber
and, in the revolution of the shaft K, inserts itself beneath the malt. As the
surface of the stirrer / is inclined to the floor of the chamber H, the malt will slide
up the blade of the stirrer k and fall over its rear edge or side, thus always making
a clear space, at the place which the foremost edge of the stirrer has just passed,
for air to rise through the perforated floor and pass through the falling malt, which
is dropped down at the rear of the stirrer.
In the sprouting of malt, the barley being pretty closely piled, the rootlets of the
barley will project and entwine themselves together so that the barley will be
matted together almost as if it were felted. In order to break up this mat the rear
edge of the scraper is made, as shown in Figure 1, with teeth, and these teeth are

page_text: somewhat bent upward and forward, so as to make the slope of the surface of the
scraper k, at its rear side, a curvature towards the direction in which the scraper is
moving. The malt being thus detained and held by these teeth at certain intervals
in the line of its ascent, and being constantly pushed by the other masses of malt
against which the scraper is constantly pushing and which are constantly being
lifted by it, the malt will meet with less resistance at the intervals between these
teeth than at the teeth themselves, and consequently the motion of the stirrer will
tear asunder the intertwined rootlets and the malt will be loosened, so that after a
few revolutions of the stirrer, the individual grains of the sprouted barley will be
quite separate from each other, and can be aërated upon all sides. The teeth of
the stirrer, by causing a loosely following shower of barley, insure the presentation
of more separate barley grains to the action of the air forced through the same
than heretofore, and when the rootlets become dry, the teeth break and separate
them from the grain, so that they may be removed or winnowed out from the malt
by means of the exhaust blowers. The scraping stirrer may be used, however,
without teeth, when desirable.
When the germination has been checked by the chilling and cold drying process,
the exhaust blower J is stopped, and the malt is then dried either by drawing warm
air through it by the exhaust blower, which warm air is to be discharged out of doors
instead of into the ice-box; or by allowing warm air to rise through it without the
aid of a blower or exhaust to remove it recourse being had to natural ventilation all
through the time of drying, the shaft K and its stirrer k being kept in revolution.
When the malt is being dried, a gradually increasing temperature is applied to it,
until very hot dry air obtained from the hot air furnace G¹ is used which hot air
gives the plump and brittle quality to the malt, and makes it of bright appearance.
When the malt is quite completed it is discharged by the scraping stirrer through
the man-hole h² in the floor of the chamber H, into the chute 3, which conducts
into the pocket c at the bottom of the elevator shaft. It is thence lifted to the
pocket c, and delivered through the chute c³ into the storage chamber A³, from
which it may be taken when desired by the chute b and delivered into the car D.
By this arrangement of apparatus the four stages in the production of malt may
be carried on at once, i.e.-steeping, couching, germination and drying and a load
of barley can be taken from the car and the car immediately loaded up with malt
and sent away. These processes, too, can all be compressed into a space of time
not exceeding six days, instead of the fourteen days or more required in the old-
fashioned way, as the steeping seldom requires more than two and a half days, and
usually less, the couching on floor F not more than two days, and usually much
less, the completion of the germination upon the sprouting and drying floors of the
chamber H less than two days, and never more; the checking of the germination
by the blast of cold and dry air usually less than an hour and the drying very
much less time than usual.
.
It will be seen by this arrangement that the process is a continuous one and that
the handling of grain from one stage of the process to another is done almost
altogether by gravity, the use of power for handling the grain being confined to
the elevation of the grain, before the malting process is entered upon, and of the
malt after the malting process is completed, and to keeping it in motion at appro-
priate times under the aeration of cold and heat upon the floor of the sprouting and
drying chamber H. The elevator may of course be entirely on the outside of the
building instead of inside as represented, if desired.
To free the malt from rootlets and dust as it is being delivered to the chamber A³
I have connected the exhaust blower therewith by means of a pipe J, arranged to
extend from the exhaust pipe into close proximity to the elevator in the chamber A²
and elevator casing, as represented. The suction of air through this pipe causes
the dust and rootlets to be drawn through it and to be discharged by the exhaust
blower into the outer air.
In Figures 6, 7 and 8 I show a modified form of the invention above described;
and it comprises a wall or casing M separated into several chambers M¹by perforated'

page_text: •
horizontal partitions or floors m. A channel or gutter m² m² is arranged about the
edge of each partition, for conducting or carrying off moisture or liquid which may
escape from the grain while it is being treated. Each partition has a central
hole m² and an upward extension wall m³ about it, and each is preferably crowned
or made higher at the centre and inclined gradually and regularly therefrom to its
outer edge. The vertical shaft m' extends through the said hole, and is revolved
in any desired way. It has attached to it in one or more of the chambers a malt-
lifting and separating device N, comprising a thin plate n, preferably of galvanized
iron, having a front edge n' substantially parallel with the upper surface of the
partition or floor, and arranged in close proximity thereto. The surface of this
plate extends upward from its edge to its back end n and projecting horizontally
from this end are the separator teeth n³. Each lifting or separating plate is
fastened to the shaft m' and revolved thereby. Its operation is like that of the
separator or stirrer above described.
I have arranged below the surface of the lifting plate a supply pipe n through
which steam, or hot, cold, dry or moist air is introduced into the apartment, so that
it shall be forced through the malt or again while it is falling from the back edge
of the separator. This pipe is arranged to be revolved with the stirrer or separator,
and it is provided with perforations. The shaft mt also may be hollow, and used
for the purpose of supplying steam or air to the chamber. These pipes may be
used for exhausting air from the chambers instead of injecting it therein, in which
case instead of being connected with a source of supply they are attached to an
exhaust pump.
They may also be used with the chambers air inlets O and o. The inlets receive
air through the ducts o¹ which extend to the top of the casing, and the outlets
enter the ducts 02. Fan or exhaust blowers may be used with these passages for
increasing the circulation of air.
Malt is introduced into the various chambers through doors formed in the side
of the casing.
I consider that the form of invention first described is the best adapted for
general use.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention 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:-
First The combination of the elevated soaking vats E, with the couching
floor F above which they are elevated, and with the grain bins A. A¹, substantially
as described.
Second:The combination of the receiving elevator pocket c with the malt
chamber A³, and with the grain chamberз A A¹ connected with the said pocket by
means of separate chutes, substantially as described.
Third-
The combination of the elevator pocket c with its two collecting
chute sd, by which it receives grain from a car or the like the chute h³ by which
it receives malt from the chamber H, substantially as described.
Fourth-The combination of the chamber H with the couching floor F and
with the furnace room G substantially as described.
Fifth The combination of the chamber H with the ice chamber I and the
circulating pipes i, and j, substantially as described.
Sixth The combination of the chamber H with two sources of heat, one G
furnishing a moderate and moist heat and the other G¹ a higher and drier heat,
substantially as described.
Seventh The combination of the water pipe w' with the revolving shaft K and
chamber H, substantially as described.
Eighth-The combination in one apparatus, of a single elevator having two
supply chutes 3 d, delivering into one pocket, c' and one pocket c³ delivering into
two or more delivery chutes c1, c2, c³ which delivery chutes are on the highest level
of the apparatus, with a series of elevated soaking tanks E upon the middle floor.

page_text: of the building; the couching floor, beneath said elevated soaking tanks E, or other
portions of the same or other floors; with a sprouting or drying chamber H, having
combined therewith appropriate sources of supply for hot and cold air and proper
means for the circulation thereof through the chamber, and with a revolving stirring
blade k, substantially as described.
Ninth The revolving stirring blade k, placed upon an incline to the floor of the
chamber H, and formed with teeth upon its back and upper edge, which teeth are
curved upwards and forwards from the general slope of said blade k, substantially
as, and for the purposes, described.
Tenth: The combination of the elevator C, with an exhaust blower for cleansing
the malt from rootlets, dust &c., as it is fed to the chamber A², substantially as
described.
Eleventh The improved malt drying apparatus, containing a casing divided
into superposed chambers, by the perforated floors or diaphragins, pierced at the
centre as shown at m³, and having this central hole surrounded by the walls m³,
the said diaphrams or floors, and their central wall m³, and the lifting and separating
plate N, having an edge parallel with each diaphragm or floor, and rising gradually
back from the line and then ending abruptly, substantially as described, in each
chamber, in combination with an air injection pipe located beneath the said plate,
substantially as, and for the purposes, described.
Twelfth The revolving share-shaped blade N, broad at its outer edge and
nearly triangular in plan, its forward edge n¹, and upper surface n² being in
substantially parallel planes, said upper surface being of a substantially rectangular
form and provided with backwardly projecting teeth n³, while the forward part of
the blade, between the upper surface and the front edge, is of a slope lessening in
steepness from centre to circumference, whereby the malt is evenly distributed over
the floor of the chamber when said share-shaped blado is revolved therein, and the
entanglement of the rootlets broken up substantially as described.
Thirteenth-The combination with a chamber, of the revolving plate N, and
the revolving perforated pipe within said chamber and beneath the rear part of
said plate, substantially as described.
Fourteenth :-The combination within a casing, of a series of superposed
chambers formed by diaphragms inclined downward from centre to circumference,
and perforated as described and each having a central wall around a central hole,
with a share-shaped blade as described, and a perforated pipe arranged beneath the
rear of said blade in each of said chambers, said blade and pipes being revolved
within said casing by a common shaft, substantially as described.
1
10UR
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London,
Agents for the Applicant.