An Improvement in Machines for Drying Textile Materials.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 16th Jan., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 9th Oct., 1890-Accepted, 22nd Nov., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Improvement in Machines for Drying Textile Materials.
I, WILHELM ALBERT, of Schmölln in the Duchy of Sachsen Altenburg, Engineer
in the works of the firm Schulze & Co., do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
My invention relates to machines for drying textile materials, such as woollen
and cotton fibres and yarns, after having been washed or dyed, and its object is to
carry out the drying-operation more speedily and with less heat, motive power and
labour than is possible in the machines at present in use.
For this purpose I pass the material in thin layers several times through a drying-
chamber, while a current of warm air is driven through the layers, so that the one
which is dryest is first acted upon by the air and the freshly introduced layer last.
The machine for carrying out this process comprises, in addition to the said
drying-chamber, a number of continuous flexible sieves conducted by parallel rollers
with equal speed transversely through the said chamber. These rollers are arranged
and actuated in such manner that the parts of the neighbouring sieves being
opposite to each other, run in the same direction and one by the side of the other,
so as to be susceptible of holding between them and conveying the material to be
dried. At the discharge end of the machine is placed a fan which drives warmed
air lengthwise into the drying-chamber and consequently through the successive
layers of wool, &c., while another fan is or may be arranged in the path of the
air so as to act by suction, or partly by suction and partly by pressure. The air
may be heated in any suitable manner, but preferably an apparatus for this purpose
is located inside of the drying-chamber close to the first fan.
At the inlet end of the machine a travelling-apron is arranged, by which the
material spread out thereon, is forwarded to the first pair of co-operating sieve-parts,
belonging to the first and second sieve. After these have taken the material upward,
the second sieve carries the same across the upper guiding-roller or rollers thereof to
the second pair of co-operating sieve-parts, belonging to the second and third sieves,
which pass it downward again, and so on. In order that the material arriving at the
end of its downward course, may with certainty be brought into the grip of the next
upward pair of conducting sieve-parts, an auxiliary conducting apron is arranged
below the lower guiding-roller or rollers of the third sieve. At the end of the
machine, the material is detached from the last sieve by a doffer.
Dated the 16th day of Januar 1800
J. H. JOHNSON & Co.,
A gents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improvement in Machines for Drying Textile Materials.
I, WILHELM ALBERT, of Schmölln, in the Duchy of Sachsen Altenburg, Engineer
in the works of the firm Schulze & Co., 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 machines for drying textile materials, such as woollen and
cotton fibres and yarns, after having been washed or dyed, and its object is to carry
out the drying-operation more speedily and with less heat, motive power and labour
than is possible in the machines at present in use.
For this purpose I pass the material in thin layers several times through a drying-

page_text: chamber, while a current of warm air is driven through the layers, so that the one
which is dryest, is first acted upon by the air, and the freshly introduced layer last.
The machine for carrying out this process comprises, in addition to the said
drying-chamber, a number of continuous flexible sieves conducted by parallel rollers,
with equal speed, transversely through the said chamber. These rollers are arranged
and actuated in such manner that the parts of the neighbouring sieves being opposite
to each other, run in the same direction and one by the side of the other, so as to be
susceptible of holding between them and conveying the material to be dried. Within
the drying-chamber is placed a fan which drives warmed air, partly by suction and
partly by pressure, through the successive layers of wool, &c., while at the discharge
end of the machine is or may be placed another fan, acting by pressure alone. The
air may be heated in any suitable manner, but preferably an apparatus for this
purpose is located inside of, or brought in close connection with, the drying-chamber.
At the inlet end of the machine a travelling-apron is arranged by which the material
spread out thereon, is forwarded to the first pair of co-operating sieve-parts belonging
to the first and second sieve. After these have taken the material upward, the second
sieve carries the same across the upper guiding-roller or rollers thereof to the second
pair of co-operating sieve-parts, belonging to the second and third sieves, which pass
it downward again, and so on. In order that the material arriving at the end of its
downward course may with certainty be brought into the grip of the next upward
pair of conducting sieve-parts, an auxiliary conducting apron is arranged below the
lower guiding-roller or rollers of the third sieve. At the end of the machine, the
material is detached from the last sieve by a doffer.
In the annexed drawings a machine comprising my improvement is shown by
Fig. 1 in side elevation, by Fig. 2 in plan, by Fig. 3 in a transverse section taken on
line 1—1, Fig. 1, and by Fig. 4 in longitudinal section.
Within a suitable framing A is placed the drying chamber J composed of two
divisions between which is inserted a cylinder K¹ containing the fan K, the said fan
being arranged and operated to drive air through the chamber J from the right to the
left, relatively to the drawing. BCDF, Figs. 1 and 4, are the continuous travelling
sieves, made of wire gauze or other suitable material. The sieve B is conducted by
the rollers 6 61, the sieve C by the rollers c c¹ c² c³, the sieve D by the rollers d d¹ and
the sieve F by the rollers fff2f3, the said rollers being so arranged that the parts
of the sieves being vertically extended by the rollers, pass through slits in the top and
the bottom of the chamber J and consequently transversely through the latter, with
exception only of the outer vertical part of the sieve F. Moreover, the vertical parts
of the neighbouring sieves, viz. of B and C, C and D, D and F, are disposed in close
proximity to each other, and they are impelled by the respective systems of rollers to
move with equal speed in the same direction, the juxtaposed parts of sieves B and C
moving upward, the juxtaposed parts of sieves C and D running downward, and the like
parts of sieves 1) and F again upward, as indicated in Fig. 4 by arrows. The said
juxtaposed sieve-parts thus form conveyers for the wool or other fibrous material
placed between them. For introducing the material between the first pair of con-
veying sieve-parts, a feeding-apron O is attached to the machine, and in view of
guiding the said material from the second pair of conveying-parts to the third, an
auxiliary travelling apron E, conducted by the rollers e e is arranged below the
roller d. The material spread out on the apron Ois thus first conveyed upward
through the first division of the chamber J by means of the sieves BC, thereupon
horizontally from roller c to roller c² by sieve C, to pass downward through the
second division of the chamber between sieves C D and upward again between
sieves D F. From the roller ¹ it is conducted along on top of the sieve F to the
roller, whence it is taken off by a doffer P.
To the end of the drying-chamber directed towards the discharge-end of the
machine, is attached the tubular air-warming apparatus L, to be supplied with steam
by pipe and fitted with drain-pipe . The temperature to which the air is warmed,
is preferably not above 45° Centigrade.
Under the described conditions air will be drawn in by the fan K through the

page_text: apparatus L, and after having become warmed therein, it will pass in succession
through the layers of wool, &c., which are being conveyed by the sieves F D and DC,
and which are moreover turned on passing around the roller d, so as to be exposed
first with one side and then with the other side to the air current impinging on the
same. The fan K will thereupon force the air by pressure through the layer con-
ducted by the sieves C and B. A portion of the water contained in the material, is
thus first driven out in the form of spray, while the remaining moisture is converted
into vapor and removed by the air-current during the two following passages of the
material through the chamber J.
For the purpose of increasing the efficiency of the machine, a fan M is placed in
front of the warming-apparatus L and arranged to force air through space N into the
same, this fan thus assisting the fan K in its operation. Besides, for warming the
wool, &c., during its first passage along the top of the machine, flanged sieam heating
pipes Q have been arranged below the horizontal upper part of sieve C.
The machine is driven by means of the shaft H. To the fans K and M motion is
conveyed therefrom directly by pulleys and straps, as will be seen without further
description from the drawing. For the operation of the rollers an auxiliary shaft H'
is employed, connected to the shaft H by pulleys and a strap, and carrying two
worms G and G¹ that engage with worm-wheels keyed on the shafts of the rollers c
and f. By means of other wheels motion is transmitted from the roller c to the
roller band to the driving roller of the apron O, and from the roller f to the rollers d
and e.
Moreover, the rollers serving to conduct the individual sieves, viz. b and b',
ccc and c, d and d', ff' f' and f³, are respectively connected together at both
ends by sprocket-wheels and the chains B', C, D, F, Fig. 2, and finally the doffer P
is worked from the shaft H¹ by a pair of bevel-wheels, shaft P¹, a strap and pulleys.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:
1. In a machine for drying textile materials, the combination of a drying-chamber J,
a number of continuous flexible travelling sieves, such as B C D F, conducted by
parallel rollers and passing transversely through the said chamber so that the parts of
the neighbouring sieves being opposite to each other, run in the same direction, one
by the side of the other, thus forming conveyers for the material to be dried; a fan K
placed in the chamber J between the conveying-parts of one of the sieves, and an
apparatus for warming the air drawn in by the fan K, substantially as described.
2. The combination, with the machine defined in claim 1, of a fan M placed
outside of the warming apparatus L and arranged to force air into the latter,
substantially as set forth.
Dated the 9th day of October 1890.
J. H. JOHNSON & Co.,
Agents.