Improvements in or relating to Apparatus for Drying Sugar-cane Trash.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 26th Mar., 1890-Accepted, 4th Oct., 1890
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Apparatus for Drying Sugar-cane
Trash.
A communication from LEOPOLD Box, of Guantanamo, Cuba, Manufacturer.
ALFRED JULIUS BOULT of 323 High Holborn, in the County of Middlesex,
M.I.M.E.. 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 whereby green sugar cane trash may be rapidly
dried, that is to say freed from moisture and thus made available for immediate uso
as fuel.
In the accompanying drawing
Figs. 1 and 1 are longitudinal sections of the complete apparatus fitted within
the furnace, the latter figure being a continuation of the former.
Fig. 2 is a vertical section on the line ab of Fig. 1.
Fig. 3 is a horizontal section of part of Fig. 1.
Fig. is a side view of one of the teeth of the "comb
"
or rack.
Fig. 5 is a front view of one of the cross pieces fitted with rack teeth.
Fig. 6 is a transverse section on the line c d of Fig. 1, and
Fig. 7 is a pair of weighted sectors enabling the traps, through which the trash is
to be allowed to fall, to be opened by means of ropes.
The apparatus consists of a tunnel-shaped furnace P with the furnace grate or
hearth at the back, while its front part is connected by a flue It to the chimney
through which escapes the steam given off by the material that is being dried.
Within the tunnel 1' there is an iron frame consisting of beams G connected by
means of cross pieces I, each of which is provided with a certain number of pivoted
teeth J, so arranged as to be capable of pivoting in one direction only as shown in
Fig. 1. Upon this frame a sheet of metal K is placed, having an opening at V.
Rollers fixed to the walls of the tunnel support the said frame work, which,
being operated by a connecting rod or link M, receiving motion from any suitable
motor is thereby caused to move backwards and forwards upon the rollers just
mentioned. The metal sheet or plate K is provided with a projection or stop o,
which, at each stroke (as will be explained further on) opens the weighted door B
which is arranged to prevent external air from entering the apparatus.
Above the said frame fixed cross pieces Q are arranged, being firmly fixed or built
in the masonry, and having teeth N, similar to the teeth J, pivoted thereto, but so as
to be capable of pivoting in the opposite direction, the metal sheet or plate L placed
directly underneath the frame fulfils the office of a bed plate or floor.
The apparatus is also fitted with a hopper A through which the green trash to be
dried is fed, and with a double set of doors or traps C, E, which, when open, allow of
the trash falling onto the grate or hearth at the same rate as it is dried; while, when
closed, the said doors permit the trash to be discharged through the end of the tunnel
into a suitable collector or equivalent provided outside.
The operation is as follows:-
:-
The waste heat issuing from the hearth F after having heated the boiler S of the
plant, first passes through the pipe or conduit T, then Hows through the tunnel P
from end to end, and finally escapes through the flue R and the chimney connected
therewith.
When the apparatus is in operation, or in other words when the movable frame is
reciprocated, the green trash is placed in the hopper A and by the stop O acting on
the lever arm B the door B is opened and the trash falls on to the metal plate K." As

page_text: the frame moves to the left as in Figs. 1 and 1' the door B closes again under the
action of its counterweight, and the trash, in raising the teeth of the first rack or
comb above it, takes up its position between that and the second comb or rack.
When the frame moves back to the right, it receives a fresh batch of material to be
dried, which, at the next stroke of the frame to the left, will in its turn enter the space
between the first two racks, while the preceding batch, in raising the teeth of the
second rack passes betwen this and the third rack. The operation may thus continue
indefinitely, the succeeding batches of material to be dried always moving from one
row of teeth to the following row, at each stroke of the framework; and subsequently
reaching the opening V in the plate K, through which opening it falls onto the
floor L
It is there operated on by the lower racks or combs, which, acting in succession, in
the same manner as indicated above, cause the successive batches of trash to be moved
iowards the right as in Figs. 1 and 1 at the same time continually turning them
round so as to uniformly and thoroughly expose all parts thereof to the action of heat.
The dried trash may finally be discharged and collected outside, and conveniently
stored up for use when required.
When it is desired to use it in the hearth, it is only necessary to pull the ropes X Y
(Figs. 6 and 7) attached to weighted sectors, mounted on the same pivots as the
doors C and E, which latter, being thus opened, enable any amount of dry material
to fall directly into the fire.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to mo
by my foreign correspondent, 1 declare that what I claim is :-
1. An apparatus for drying sugar cane trash consisting of a tunnel shaped furnace
receiving the waste heat from the hearth, and in which reciprocates a frame with;
movable teeth such as J the frame being covered over with a metal plate K whereon'
the successive batches of the material to be dried are allowed to fall and the batches
moving forward at each stroke in succession owing to the alternate rising and failing
motion of the teeth of the racks on combs N and then falling each in its turn through
an opening or the like in the plate K, on to a floor L on which they are moved
along by movable teeth J substantially as herein described and illustrated in the
accompanying drawings.
2. In an apparatus for drying sugar cane trash, a weighted door such as B opening
automatically under the pressure or pushing action of a projection such as o, as the
movable frame advances substantially as herein described and illustrated in the
accompanying drawings.
3. In an apparatus for drying sugar cane trash, a series of doors or traps such as ()
and E arranged so that they may be, opened from the outside of the apparatus by
means of weighted sectors and ropes, substantially as described and illustrated in the
accompanying drawings.
4. The combination and arrangement of parts constituting the complete apparatus
for drying sugar cane trash substantially as herein described and illustrated in the
accompanying drawings.
Dated this 26th day of March 1890.
W. P. THOMPSON & BOULT,
Agents for the Applicant.