IMPROVED DESICCATING APPARATUS
Year: 1881

page_text: A com-
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Alexander Melville Clark at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 1st December 1881.
munication from abroad by Philibert Schlosser, of Paris, France.
ALEXANDER MELVILLE CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of
Middlesex, Patent Agent. "IMPROVED DESICCATING APPARATUS." [A communi-
cation from abroad by Philibert Schlosser, of Paris, France.]
This Invention relates to apparatus for effecting the desiccation of liquid and
viscous matters under the most favorable conditions.
The operations for which this apparatus is more particularly adapted are, the
drying of matters of animal origin and of a viscous or liquid nature, whether in
their natural condition or in solution, fabrics, rags, waste, wools, bristles, hair,
feathers, horn, leather, blood, albumen, gelatine, fecal, and other refuse matters.
In order that the Invention may be more readily understood, I have illustrated
an example of the drying apparatus in the accompanying Drawing, and will
proceed to describe it with reference thereto.
Figure 1 is an elevation of the drying_apparatus; Figure 2 is a horizontal
section of the same on line A, B, Figure 1; Figure 3 is a vertical section of part of
the apparatus in the plane of the axis.
In these Figures the same letters of reference indicate the same parts.
a, a, is a hollow drum mounted on gudgeons b, b', in a frame r, and dipping into
a trough c containing the matters to be dried. The drum in revolving in the
direction of the arrow at the upper part of Figure 1 receives a coating of such
matters from the trough, which coating after being dried upon the surface of the
drum is removed by a scraper d and falls into a hopper e by which it is conducted
to an archimedean screw g, which elevates and discharges it into a hopper r to be
sacked or filled into any other receptacle or heaped on the ground. Within the
drum a is mounted another horizontal drum k, which by filling the central portion
of the drum a causes the heated air, gases, or steam to circulate in contact with the
surface of the drum a. The drum is braced by the diagonal stays m, and is also
mounted upon the hollow gudgeons of the drum a, and is traversed by a hollow
sbaft & forming a continuation thereof; p is a hood enclosing the upper part of
drum a; it is perforated at p', p', and these perforated portions are enclosed by
casings p³, p³, connected by pipes p³ with an orifice o communicating with the
suction pipe of a fan pump or other apparatus to exhaust the vapors produced by

page_text: the drying and facilitate evaporation. The perforations being distributed over
a considerable area of surface at p, p, ensures uniformity of action in all parts of
the apparatus.
In order to render the action of the hot gases or steam circulating between the
drums a and k uniform over the whole width of the apparatus, the heating agent
is introduced alternately at the one and the other of the two hollow gudgeons b, b',
the direction of circulation being changed at regular intervals.
In order to effect the automatic reversal of the circulation of heat in the
apparatus, a box 1 is placed, say, above the hood, from which radiate 4 tubes
3, 4, 5, 6, of which pipe 3 is the supply pipe, pipe 4 the exhaust pipe, and pipes
5 and 6 are connected respectively with the gudgeons b, b'. The box 1 contains a
valve 2 rotating on a vertical spindle which controls the communications of these
pipes. In the position indicated in the Drawing, the steam or other fluid passes
through tube 5 and enters the drum a by the gudgeon b, and after circulating
around the drum leaves it by the gudgeon b' and passes through pipe 6 to the
exhaust pipe. If the valve 2 be turned round 90°, pipe.6 and gudgeon 6¹ become
the induction, and pipe 5 and gudgeon b the eduction passages.
In order to alter the position of the valve at regular intervals, any suitable
means of transmitting motion from the driving shaft may be employed. The means
shown in the Drawing consists of a pulley 7 fixed on the valve spindle, an endless
cord or chain 8, and a pulley 9 upon a vertical spindle 12 having a fork 11 at its
lower end in position to be struck by a tappet or stud 10 on the wheel S and
turned a quarter round at each revolution of the latter. In the Drawing the
drum a is driven by pulleys, shafts, bevel and worm gear 8, 8, 8, 8; t, t, are
manholes for inspection and cleaning of the interior of the drum.
The form and dimensions of the apparatus and the details of the gearing for
driving the drum may be varied without departing from the Invention.
In certain cases the matters to be dried require to be strongly heated in order
to render them sufficiently viscous and agglutinated to enable them to adhere to
the surface of the drum; and to this end, they may, before entering the trough c, be
passed through a suitable heating apparatus placod on the same frame as the
drying apparatus, or in other convenient locality.