An Improved Machine for Drying Grain after Washing.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 4th Dec., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 3rd Oct., 1891-Accepted, 7th Nov., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Machine for Drying Grain after Washing.
I, JAMES COMERFORD of the firm of James Comerford and Sons, Rathdrum, in
the County of Wicklow, Ireland, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
My invention relates to a machine for drying washed grain, and particularly for
completing the drying of wheat which has been partially drained by the action of a
"whizzer or centrifugal hydro-extractor.
"
My invention consists in the combination of a centrifugal or beater drum with an
external cylinder having a plain smooth surface and with one or more scrapers
whereby the moisture deposited upon the surface of the cylinder by the contact of
the moist grain therewith is continually removed so that the cylinder constantly
presents a fresh dry surface.
For this purpose a continual relative motion is maintained between the scrapers
and cylinder preferably by the slow revolution of the latter whilst the scrapers
remain stationary, or it may be vice versa, the scraper being, in either case, covered
by a guard forming a channel to carry off the moisture collected by the scraper
and preventing contact of the grain with the scraper or the moisture.
The machine may be arranged vertically, horizontally, or in an inclined
position.
It is preferred, especially when the machine is horizontal or inclined, to
employ only one scraper and to place it at or near the upper side of the outer
cylinder, and, in order to obtain sufficient room for it between the beaters and the
cylinder, the latter may be made slightly eccentric to the former.
For the purpose of assisting in carrying off the moisture collected and keeping
the gutter of the scraper guard clean and free from obstruction by pieces of chaff.
straw, or other foreign particles, an endless band scraper would be made to travel
continuously through the said channel.
The beaters would generally be spiral so as to carry the wheat. slowly upwards
or otherwise through the cylinder or retard its descent therein as the case
may be.
Dated this 4th day of December 1890
J. COMERFORD.
By A. M. & Wm. Clark,
53, Chancery Lane, London, Patent Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Machine for Drying Grain after Washing.
1, JAMES COMERFORD, of the firm of James Comerford and Sons, Rathdrum,
in the County of Wicklow, Ireland, 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 :-
My invention relates to a machine for drying washed grain or seeds, and
"whizzer "
particularly wheat which has been partially drained by the action of a
or centrifugal hydro-extractor.
"
I would have it understood that by the expression "drying grain I do not
mean to convey that the grain is completely dried, but only that the moisture is so
far removed that the grain may be allowed to completely dry spontaneously by
exposure for a few hours.

page_text: The machine comprises a centrifugal or beater drum rotating within a cylinder
having a plain smooth surface against which the grain is projected, in combination
with a scraper whereby the moisture deposited upon the surface of the cylinder by
the contact of the moist grain therewith is continually removed so that the cylinder
constantly presents a fresh dry surface.
For this purpose a continual relative motion is maintained between the scraper and
cylinder preferably by the slow revolution of the latter whilst the scraper remains
stationary, the scraper being covered by a guard forming a channel to carry off the
moisture collected by the scraper and preventing contact of the grain with the
moisture so collected.
The machine may be arranged horizontally or in an inclined position or it might
be vertical.
It is preferred, when the machine is horizontal or inclined, to place the scraper
at or near the upper part of the cylinder and, in order to obtain sufficient room for
it between the beaters and the cylinder, to mount the former slightly eccentrically
within the latter.
For the purpose of assisting in carrying off the moisture collected and keeping
the gutter of the scraper guard clean and free from obstruction by pieces of chaff,
straw, or other foreign particles, an endless chain scraper is made to travel
continuously through the said channel.
The beaters may either be straight or slightly spiral so as to retard or hasten the
passage of the wheat through the cylinder or carry it upwards therein as the case
may be.
Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this
Specification, wherein
Figure 1 is a central longitudinal section and Figure 2 is a cross-section on
line 1-1 Figure 1, of my improved grain-drying machine.
Figure 3 is a cross-section, on a larger scale, of the scraper, taken on line 2--2
Figure 1.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the figures.
A are the beaters fixed in heads A¹, forming the centrifugal beater drum fixed on
a shaft A mounted in an inclined position in bearings B B₁ on brackets
fixed to the end plates D D¹ of the casing. This casing is formed of the
stationary end plates D D', connected together by the side frames D' and also by
tie rods d, and a revolving cylinder C turned smooth internally and supported by
sets of rollers c¹ mounted on the rods d. Upon these rollers the roller paths of
the cylinder C run, the beater drum being slightly eccentric within the cylinder to
leave room at the upper part for the scraper. The cylinder c may be driven by
an encircling chain or band or may be surrounded by a ring of teeth 1 in gear
with a pinion on a counter-shaft F driven by belt from the drum shaft A³.
g
G is a channelled guard or holder having a rounded back and tapered edges
made of iron and sufficiently stiff in the longitudinal direction to cause the scraper
to be pressed closely against the cylinder throughout its whole length. This
channelled holder passes through apertures in the end frames and is held in position
by screwed staples y passing through the cylindrical parts of the end plates D D¹,
the necessary pressure being applied to the scraper by wing nuts acting through
springs g'. In a longitudinal dovetail groove in this channelled holder is held a
strip of caoutchouc I in such position as to be pressed close against the cylinder,
the front edge G' of the guard being held clear of the cylinder by feet g² which
take a bearing against the ends DD', to admit of the moisture passing to the
caoutchouc by which it is arrested and is collected in the channelled holder.
Through this channel runs an endless chain K passing over guide rollers & and
receiving a slow motion by a band, the purpose of the chain being to prevent
clogging of the channel.
L is a feed hopper at the upper end of the machine, at which the grain is
supplied to the drum and M is the outlet for the dried grain at the other end of the
machine.

page_text: The beater drum should be driven at such a speed (say between 300 and 360
revolutions per minute) as to project the grain against the cylinder with sufficient
force to cause the moisture adhering to the grain to be detached but not so violently
as to injure the grain, whilst the cylinder revolves only fast enough to present a
sufficiently dry surface to the grain.
The machine might be mounted on gudgeons capable of revolving in the side
frames D' to admit of the angle of inclination of the machine being varied and thus
more or less quickly pass the grain through the machine.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is-
1. The herein described machine for drying washed grain, constructed and
arranged to operate substantially as specified.
2. In the herein described machine for drying washed grain, the combination,
with the revolving beater drum, of the surrounding impact cylinder mounted to
revolve eccentrically to the beater drum and of the scraper and channelled guard
for rubbing off and carrying away the moisture deposited by the grain, substantially
as described.
3. In the herein described machine for drying washed grain, the combination, with
the scraper and channelled guard arranged to operate as described, of the endless
chain travelling through the channel of the scraper guard, as and for the purpose
specified.
J. COMERFORD.
By A. M. & Wm. Clark,
53, Chancery Lane, London, Chartered Patent Agents.