IMPROVEMENTS IN KILNS OR APPARATUS APPLICABLE TO THE DRYING OR Manion on arvon AD MATM
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Seck, of No. 46, Schöne Aussicht
Bockenheim, Frankfort-on-the-Maine, in the Kingdom of Prussia,
but temporarily residing at No. 22, Richmond Terrace, Clapham
Road, in the County of Surrey, Engineer, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN KILNS OR APPARATUS APPLICABLE TO THE DRYING OR
Manion on arvon AD MATM "
Sealed the 28th October 1868, and dated the 23rd May 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Seck at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
23rd May 1868.
I, WILLIAM SECK, of No. 46, Schöne Aussicht Bockenheim, Frankfort-
on-the-Maine, in the Kingdom of Prussia, but temporarily residing at
No. 22, Richmond Terrace, Clapham Road, in the County of Surrey,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN KILNS OR APPARATUS APPLICABLE TO THE DRYING OR TREATING
OF GRAIN FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF MALT," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in kilns or apparatus,
applicable to the drying or treating of grain for the manufacture of malt

page_text: and relates to an arrangement of apparatus in which the grain after having
been steeped or moistened in the ordinary manner is laid upon a series
of shelves or trays and subjected to a current or currents of heated air, as
herein-after explained. For this purpose I make use of a double or hollow
sided casing or receptacle provided with a tube or passage or tubes or
passages heated by the products of combustion from a suitable fire which
pass through the same. Within the casing are arranged a series of trays or
shelves one above the other, but so nevertheless that a current or currents
of air actuated as herein-after explained may be caused to traverse the
entire series. The trays or shelves may be constructed so as to measure
the quantity of grain passed through the apparatus. The bottoms of
these trays or shelves consist of a number of separate parts or "louvre "
pieces, each capable of partial rotation in such manner that when
partially rotated or tilted a space is left between each piece through
which the grain under treatment may fall. The grain to be treated for
the manufacture of malt after having been steeped or moistened as
usually practised is fed to the upper tray or shelf through a hopper or
equivalent contrivance.
The action of the apparatus is as follows:-The apparatus being
charged with grain a current or currents of air actuated by a fan or
other suitable contrivance is or are drawn down through the hollow sides
of the casing or receptacle and becoming heated by contact with the
tubes or passages herein-before mentioned the air subsequently passes
upward through the interior of the casing in such manner as in its
progress to come in contact with and dry the grain on the trays or
shelves. The rotating parts or pieces of the trays or shelves are tilted
at regulated intervals, the bottom of each tray or shelf being actuated.
separately, commencing from the lower part of the apparatus. The
tilting may be regulated by clockwork or otherwise. Each tray or
shelf when the tilting is effected discharges its contents on to the next,
so that the grain which has passed down by stages to the lower part of
the apparatus is subjected to the more highly heated air, thus extracting
a portion of heat therefrom before such air comes in contact with the less
dried grain on the upper trays or shelves. In this manner the drying is
effected gradually and thoroughly, the grain being well turned over in
its downward fall from one tray or shelf to the other.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Seck in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 21st November 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
SECK, of No. 46, Schöne Aussicht Bockenheim, Frankfort-on-the-Maine,
in the Kingdom of Prussia, but temporarily residing at No. 22, Rich-
mond Terrace, Clapham Road, in the County of Surrey, Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-third day of May, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the thirty-
first year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said William Seck, Her special license
that I, the said William Seck, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others, as I, the said William Seck, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no
others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
KILNS OR APPARATUS APPLICABLE TO THE DRYING OR TREATING OF GRAIN FOR
THE MANUFACTURE OF MALT," upon the condition (amongst others) that
I, the said William Seck, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said
Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and
cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Seck, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement, reference being had to the accompany Sheets
of Drawings, which form parts of this Specification.
This Invention has for its object improvements in kilns or apparatus
applicable to the drying or treating of grain for the manufacture of malt,

page_text: and relates to an arrangement of apparatus in which the grain after
having being steeped or moistened in the ordinary manner is laid upon
a series of shelves or trays and subjected to a current or currents of
heated air, as herein-after explained. For this purpose I make use
of a double or hollow sided casing or receptacle provided with a tube
or passage or tubes or passages heated by the products of combustion
from a suitable fire which pass through the same. Within the casing
are arranged a series of trays or shelves one above the other, but so
nevertheless that a current or currents of air actuated as herein-after
explained may be caused to traverse the entire series. The trays or
shelves may be constructed so as to measure the quantity of grain
passed through the apparatus. The bottoms of these trays or shelves
consist of a number of separate parts or louvre pieces each capable of
partial rotation in such manner that when partially rotated or tilted
a space is left between each piece through which the grain under
treatment may fall. The grain to be treated for the manufacture of
malt after having been steeped or moistened as usually practised is
fed to the upper tray or shelf through a hopper or equivalent contrivance.
Having thus stated the nature of my said Invention, I will now
proceed to more fully describe the same in order to enable persons of
competent skill to carry it into effect.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Fig. 1 represents a transverse section of the apparatus taken through
the line A, B, of Fig. 4; Fig. 2, a longitudinal vertical section through
the line C, D, of Fig. 4; Fig. 3, a longitudinal vertical section through
the line E, F, of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 a sectional plan view taken through
the line G, H, of Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is a plan of the apparatus; and Fig. 6,
a front view shewing the levers for actuating the bottoms of the trays
or shelves. The same letters of reference relate to corresponding parts
in all the views.
a is the casing of the apparatus, made in this case of wrought iron;
a' are its hollow sides provided with tubes or passages 6 for heating the
air to be used in drying the grain; these tubes 6 in the present
instance communicate at their lower ends with a chimney shaft b', and
a damper is provided for regulating the passage from the chimney
of the products of combustion by which the tubes are heated. It
will be obvious that if desired the tubes or passages b may be so

page_text: arranged as to be wholly or partially heated by a separate stove or
fire-place specially provided for the purpose instead of by the products
of combustion from a chimney such as I have chosen for the purpose of
illustrating my Invention. The upper ends 6 of the tubes 6 communi-
cate with a fan or exhauster (not shewn in the Drawings) for pro-
moting the circulation of the products of combustion through them, as
will be readily understood. a are the openings by which air to be
heated enters the hollow sides; a¹ and as are guide plates for keeping
it in contact with the outer surfaces of the heated tubes b in its course
towards the regulating chamber a*; this chamber is provided with slides a
for admitting cold air from without when necessary in order to regulate
the temperature of the hot air as it passes from the hollow sides a¹ to
the interior of the casing a. x is a thermometer for ascertaining the
temperature of the heated air, and openings are formed through the front"
of the casing so as to communicate with the spaces between the
respective trays or shelves for ascertaining the temperature of the grain
under treatment; these openings may be closed by metal screws, doors,
or plugs of suitable material. c are the trays or shelves arranged
within the casing; they stop short of the casing at each end alternately
so as to leave spaces c' for the upward passage of the heated air which
enters the lower part of the casing from the regulating chamber already
described; these trays or shelves are composed of a number of separate
parts or louvre pieces made of iron and capable of partial rotation,
and each such part or louvre piece is provided with a short lever c³ ;
furthermore the whole of the levers of each tray or shelf are connected
together by a horizontal bar c. c are bell-crank levers provided with
weights for keeping the louvre pieces edge to edge while the grain
is being dried; c are handles by which the whole of the louvre pieces
of each tray or shelf may simultaneously be partially rotated, so as
to permit the grain to fall down between them on to the next lower
tray or shelf; a is the pipe or passage by which heated air leaves the
interior of the casing a after having passed up from the regulating
chamber and in its course traversed the trays or shelves c and dried
the grain thereon; this pipe or passage is provided with a powerful
fan or exhauster, which is not shewn in the Drawings, but its appli-
cation will be readily understood by competent persons, the object
being to create continuous and powerful currents of air through the
hollow sides a', regulating chamber a*, and interior of the casing.
d are angular iron bars forming a grating, and d' is a perforated iron

page_text: sliding plate for closing the interstices between the bars d for
receiving the grain as it falls from the lower tray or shelf c; ds is a
measuring chamber having a removable bottom d*, so that after the
chamber has been filled with grain through the interstices & and
when those interstices have been closed by the sliding plate d' the
bottom d may be drawn out in the direction of the arrows, and thus
allow the grain to fall through the hopper or funnel e into the receptacle
provided to receive it. In some cases it may be found convenient
to hinge the bottom d' or to provide it with doors instead of arranging
it to slide out as shewn in the Drawings.
The action of the apparatus is as follows:-It is first charged, for
which purpose the top tray or shelf c is covered with a layer of the grain
about 2 inches thick; its handle is then moved in the direction
of the arrow so as to tilt the louvre pieces and allow the grain to
fall down on to tray No. 2, when on the handle c of No. 1 tray being
released its louvre pieces will by the action of its weight resume
their position edge to edge ready to receive a fresh supply of grain;
subsequently the contents of No. 2 tray are to be dropped by a similar
operation on to No. 3 tray, then the contents of No. 1 tray are to be
transferred to No. 2 tray, and so on, until the whole of the trays
or shelves have been charged with grain. The apparatus being charged
with grain, and the tubes or passages 6 heated by the products of
combustion from the chimney 6', air actuated by the powerful fan or
exhauster with which the pipe or passage a communicates is drawn
through the openings a² into the hollow sides a', where it is heated
by contact with the tubes b in its course towards the regulating
chamber a, from whence it enters the space between tray No. 14 and
tray No. 15, which space it traverses towards the space or opening c
between the front of the casing and the end of tray No. 14, through
which opening it passes up into the space between trays Nos. 13 and 14
to the opening c¹ of tray No. 13, and so on, coming in contact with
and drying the grain in its progress, until having traversed the entire
series of trays or shelves c it is finally drawn from the casing by
the fan or exhauster through the pipe or passage a". I prefer on
first starting the apparatus to so regulate the slides of the regulating
chamber that the heated air may enter the space between the two lower
trays at a temperature of about 25 degrees of Réaumur's thermometer
(say about 88-25° Fahrenheit), which temperature may be afterwards

page_text: increased as required by properly regulating the slides provided for that.
purpose.
It will be understood that according to my Invention the grain on
the bottom tray or shelf is the first to become sufficiently dry, and
when it has attained this state the handle of the bottom tray is
actuated so as to tilt the pieces constituting the bottom of the tray,
and thus transfer its contents on to the bars d, the spaces d² between
which are previously closed by the sliding plate d. The contents of
each tray are then transferred on to the next lower tray in the manner
already described, so that the grain which has passed down by stages
to the lower part of the apparatus is subjected to the more highly
heated air, thus extracting a portion of heat therefrom before such
air comes in contact with the less dried grain on the upper trays or
shelves.
In this manner, by the novel arrangement of moveable or tilting trays.
or shelves described, the drying is effected gradually and thoroughly,
the grain being well turned over in its downward fall from one tray'
or shelf to another. This tilting of the trays or shelves is to be effected
periodically, say at intervals of from a quarter to half an hour, or there-
about, and may be regulated by clockwork or otherwise, it being understood
that the length of time during which the grain is to remain under treat-
ment will depend to a considerable extent upon the temperature of the
heated air. For the purpose of fully developing its aroma in a warm..
atmosphere the malt may be allowed to remain on the closed grating
for from about two to six hours, more or less, the length of time being
varied to suit the requirements of each particular case, and when the
grain is ready to be transferred into the receptacle provided for its
reception the sliding plate d' is to be drawn out until its openings
come opposite to those between the bars d, so that the grain may fall
through into the measuring chamber d; when it is full the plate d' is to
be moved back so as to close the interstices d³, and the bottom d' of
the measuring chamber is to be opened so as to allow the grain to
fall through the hopper or funnel e into its proper receptacle, after
which the bottom d' may be again closed, the sliding plate d' again
withdrawn, and the operation of measuring and transferring the malt
repeated as before.
I would remark that the details of the apparatus as illustrated in
the accompanying Drawings are capable of being modified to suit the

page_text: requirements of particular cases so long as the distinguishing features
of my Invention are retained; among these I may mention the peculiar
arrangement of the moveable or tilting trays or shelves which enables
the grain under treatment to be evenly turned over, and the combined
arrangements for exhausting the products of combustion from a chimney
stove or fire-place as described, and heating and regulating the tem-
perature of the air as required for drying the grain. By the means
described the draught of the chimney is improved, while a rapid and
uninterrupted stream of heated gases is caused to pass through the
apparatus thereby creating a considerable change in temperature, which
for the production of malt is very desirable.
I would farther state that I do not lay claim to any of the mechanical
parts separately, but what I consider to be new and desire to claim
as the Invention secured to me by the herein-before in part recited
Letters Patent is, the combination of parts forming kilns or apparatus
constructed, arranged, and operating substantially as herein-before
described for the purpose specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Seck, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Ninth day of November, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight.
WILLIAM SECK. (L.8.)