Improvements in Apparatus for Drying and Disinfecting Grain and other Granular or Pulverulent Materials.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 4th Sept., 1891
Complete Specification Left, 16th May, 1892-Accepted, 18th June, 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Drying and Disinfecting Grain and
other Granular or Pulverulent Materials.
I, PAOLO BORGARELLI of Turin, Italy Land Surveyor and Agriculturist, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention relates to improvements in the construction and arrangement of
apparatus for drying by means of hot air in which the air circulates from below
upwards in a vertical cylindrical or prismatic chamber containing the material to
be dried, which is introduced through one or more hoppers at the upper end and
which is removed through one or more openings at bottom, so that the material
passes slowly down through the apparatus, being in its course brought in contact
with fixed obstacles or diaphragms formed with double inclined planes and so
arranged that the material in descending is repeatedly divided, mixed and spread
out thereby, so as to offer considerable and continually changing surfaces to the
action of the heated air. This arrangement is described in the Specification to my
application for a Patent dated 28th March 1891, No. 5486.
My present improvements upon this construction are shewn on the accompanying
drawing in which
Fig. 1 shews a vertical section of the apparatus,
Fig. 2 a vertical section taken at right angles to that at Fig. 1 ;
Fig. 3 is a horizontal section at the lower end of the drying chamber, and
Fig. 4 is a section through the withdrawing chamber below.
In these figures, which only shew the essential parts, C C is the desiccating
chamber containing fixed diaphragms D D each one of which is formed with a
double inclined plane, the sides being either made full or with openings; these
diaphragms, of bar shape, are arranged in superposed layers, crossing each other at
right angles and arranged in alternating positions, so that the diaphragms of one
layer are situated above and below the spaces in the contiguous layers. A is the
charging hopper at top, F the lower hopper which conducts the materials to the
discharge opening f.
It is surrounded by a chamber E into which air either enters freely from the
atmosphere, or is forced in by any suitable means. This air may be previously
heated or dried by any known means, or it can be heated in the chamber E itself,
by arranging therein pipes heated by hot gases, steam or water. The incoming air
may also be mixed with antiseptic gases or vapours, in order to disinfect the
material simultaneously with the drying thereof, as is frequently done with
cereals.
The air passes from the chamber E up through the chamber C C, and issues
thence into the exhaust chamber B formed round the hopper A, being drawn thence
by a fan or by chimney draught through the opening b. These several arrange-
ments are already described in my above named previous application; my present
improvements are as follows.
In the charging hopper A. I arrange diaphragms of the same construction and
arrangement as those in the chamber C C, forming as it were a continuation of
these.
They have for their object to effect a regular distribution of the material to be
dried at its entrance into the drying chamber.
In the same way, I arrange similar diaphragms in the bottom hopper F, forming
a continuation of those in C, the object of these being to continue the mixing
operation and to facilitate the passage of the air through the materials until the
moment when they issue from the apparatus. For this purpose air inlet opening.

page_text: are formed at e in the sides of the hopper through which the air enters from E,
such openings being if necessary provided with regulating slides or flaps.
For the same purpose of facilitating the entrance of air, the whole or part of the
hopper F can be made of a series of overlapping bars like louvre blades, leaving
spaces between them for the inlet of air, as shewn on the drawing. This arrange-
ment may be employed either alone or in combination with the before mentioned
openings e in the solid part of the hopper.
Another improvement consists in the application at the discharge opening ƒ of a
device for automatically regulating the discharge of the materials.
The opening is for this purpose formed in the side of the hopper and beyond it
is a channel the inclination of which can be varied, and which is adjusted so
that the material treated will rest upon it by cohesion as long it is still moist,
but will run off it as soon as the drying has become sufficient to destroy the
cohesion.
Thus the material will be automatically prevented from escaping until it has
attained the required degree of dryness.
Dated this 4th day of September 1891.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Drying and Disinfecting Grain and
other Granular or Pulverulent Materials.
I, PAOLO BORGARELLI of Turin, Italy, Land Surveyor and Agriculturist 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 improvements in the construction and arrangement of
apparatus for drying by means of hot air, in which the air circulates from below
upwards in a vertical cylindrical or prismatic chamber containing the material to
be dried, which is introduced through one or more hoppers at the upper end and
which is removed through one or more openings at bottom, so that the material
passes slowly down through the apparatus, being in its course brought in contact
with fixed obstacles or diaphragms formed with double inclined planes and so
arranged that the material in descending is repeatedly divided, mixed and spread
out thereby, so as to offer considerable and continually changing surfaces to the
action of the heated air. This arrangement is described in the Specification of my
Patent dated 28th March 1891, No. 5486.
My present improvements upon this construction are shewn on the drawings
accompanying my Provisional Specification, in which
Figure 1 shews a vertical section of the apparatus.
Figure 2 a vertical section taken at right angles to that at Figure 1;
Figure 3 is a horizontal section at the lower end of the drying chamber, and
Figure 4 is a section through the withdrawing chamber below.
In these figures, which only shew the essential parts, CC is the desiccating
chamber containing fixed diaphragms D D each one of which is formed with a
double inclined plane, the sides being either made full or with openings; these
diaphragms, of bar shape, are arranged in superposed layers, crossing each other at
right angles and arranged in alternating positions, so that the diaphragms of one
layer are situated above and below the spaces in the contiguous layers. A is the
charging hopper at top. F the lower hopper which conducts the materials to the
discharge opening f.
It is surrounded by a chamber E into which air either enters freely from the
atmosphere, or is forced in by any suitable means. This air may be previously
heated or dried by any known means, or it can be heated in the chamber Ę itself,

page_text: by arranging therein pipes heated by hot gases, steam or water. The incoming air
may also be mixed with antiseptic gases or vapours, in order to disinfect the
material simultaneously with the drying thereof, as is frequently done with
cereals.
The air passes from the chamber E up through the chamber C C, and issues
thence into the exhaust chamber B formed round the hopper A, being drawn
thence by a fan or by chimney draught through the opening b. These several
arrangements are already described in my above named previous Specification; my
present improvements are as follows:-
In the charging hopper A I arrange diaphragms of the same construction and
arrangement as those in the chamber C C, forming as it were a continuation of
these.
They have for their object to effect a regular distribution of the material to be
dried at its entrance into the drying chamber.
In the same way, I arrange similar diaphragms in the bottom hopper F, forming
a continuation of those in C, the object of these being to continue the mixing
operation and to facilitate the passage of the air through the materials until the
moment when they issue from the apparatus. For this purpose, air inlet openings
are formed at e in the sides of the bopper through which the air enters from E,
such openings being, if necessary, provided with regulating slides or flaps.
For the same purpose of facilitating the entrance of air, the whole or part of the
hopper F can be made of a series of overlapping bars like louvre blades, leaving
spaces between them for the inlet of air, as shewn on the drawing. This arrange-
ment may be employed either alone or in combination with the before mentioned
openings e in the solid part of the hopper.
Another improvement consists in the application at the discharge opening of a
device for automatically regulating the discharge of the materials.
The opening is for this purpose formed in the side of the hopper and beyond it
is a channel the inclination of which can be varied, and which is adjusted so
that the material treated will rest upon it by cohesion as long as it is still moist,
but will run off it as soon as the drying has become sufficient to destroy the
cohesion.
Thus the material will be automatically prevented from escaping until it has
attained the required degree of dryness.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim, in respect of drying apparatus of the kind described in the Specification
No. 5486 of 1891, is :-
1. The arrangement in the charging hopper of diaphragms in continuation of
those in the dessicating chamber, substantially as described.
2. The like arrangement of diaphragms in the discharge hopper, substantially as
described.
3. The construction of the walls of the discharge hopper with louvre blades
having interstices for entrance of air, substantially as described.
4. In combination with the discharge mouth an automatic regulator consisting of
the spout of variable slope, substantially as described.
Dated this 16th day of May 1892.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.