Improvements in Apparatus for Drying or Conditioning Spent Hops, Grain, and other Substances or Materials.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 28th May, 1895
Complete Specification Left, 28th Feb., 1896-Accepted, 4th Apr., 1896
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Drying or Conditioning Spent Hops,
Grain, and other Substances or Materials.
I, DAVID RUSHWORTH, of 13 Manchester Old Road, Heaton Chapel, near
Stockport, in the County of Lancaster, Mechanical Engineer, do hereby declare
the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
The object of my invention is to construct an apparatus for efficiently and
expeditiously drying or conditioning spent hops, grain, and other substances or
materials.
My invention consists essentially of an apparatus constructed with a heated
trough along which the substance or material is forced by means of a suitable
conveyor which by preference is of such construction as to permit of the circulation
or passage of the heating medium through its shaft or core.
The apparatus may be constructed in several ways.
In one construction the trough to receive the material or substance to be dried or
treated may be jacketed or enclosed in a suitable cylindrical or other casing,
between which casing and the trough the hot air, steam or other heated gas or
liquid will be circulated; or the trough may be totally enclosed by the cylindrical
cr other casing and supported therein by suitable arms or brackets. The trough
will be provided with a suitable cover and valves or openings therein to permit of
the escape of any steam generated owing to the presence of the moisture in the
substance under treatment.
At one extremity of the trough or casing a hopper or shoot is mounted or
carried into which the spent hops, grain or other substance or material to be dried
or conditioned is introduced. This hopper will preferably be provided with two
valves or sliding doors, one for shutting off the connection of the hopper with the
trough whilst it is being filled and the other for closing the hopper when a fresh
supply of the material has been fed into it to prevent the free passage of air
through the trough.
The worm or conveyor employed may be of any suitable or convenient con-
struction. I might employ one built up of any requisite number of segments of
two, three or more threads carried by a hollow shaft or spindle or it may have the
form of the ordinary spiral segmental worm or conveyor, or I might even employ
in some cases the ordinary form of scraper conveyor.
The worm or screw will be mounted in suitable bearings or journals at either
extremity or intermediate parts of the trough.
I prefer to employ a worm or screw which will permit of the circulation or the
passage of the heating medium through its shaft or core in order to radiate or
transmit the heat to the material under treatment through the worm in addition to
the heating of the trough. Where this construction of worm is employed one
extremity of its shaft will preferably communicate direct with the boiler or other
source where the heating medium is generated, and will be provided with suitable
stuffing boxes or glands to permit of the rotation of the shaft. The worm may be
driven by means of sprocket wheel and chain, or any other suitable mechanism.
In another construction instead of jacketing or encasing the trough, I might
build the trough in a furnace or flue through which the waste gases say from a
boiler furnace may be passed to avoid the necessity for especially generating a

page_text: heating medium. In this construction the trough might also be provided with
a mechanical scraper or means for removing the soot or other accumulation deposited
thereon.
This apparatus might be employed as an addition to, or in combination with the
machine or apparatus now employed for these purposes. The trough might
conveniently be introduced in the tubular connection between the hot air boiler or
generator and the rotating drying cylinder in which case the material would be
transferred from the hopper at one extremity of the trough to the rotating cylinder
at the other extremity and in its progress be subjected to the influence of the hot
air in its passage from the boiler being delivered into the rotating cylinder from
which it would be withdrawn or exhausted by the fan in the ordinary way.
In
this construction it will be obvious that the cylindrical connection between the
boiler and the rotating cylinder would form the jacket to enclose the trough. One
end of the shaft of the screw or worm may be perforated to allow the circulation
of the hot air through the conveyor or it might be independently fed from the
boiler.
Dated this 27th day of Mar 1905
DAVID RUSHWORTH.
•
Improvements in Apparatus for Drying or Conditioning Spent Hops,
Grain, and other Substances or Materials.
I, DAVID RUSHWORTH, of 92 (late of 13) Manchester Old Road, Heaton
Chapel, near Stockport, in the County of Lancaster, Mechanical Engineer, 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 :-
The object of my invention is to construct an apparatus for efficiently and
expeditiously drying or conditioning spent hops, grain and other substances or
materials.
My invention consists essentially of an apparatus constructed with a heated
trough along which the substance or material to be dried or conditioned is forced
by means of a suitable screw or other conveyor which by preference is of such
construction as to permit of the circulation or passage of the heating medium
through its shaft or core.
The invention will be fully described with reference to the two annexed sheets
of drawings in which like letters of reference so far as they apply indicate like
parts in the several figures.
Fig. 1 shews in longitudinal part sectional elevation the general arrangement
and construction of an apparatus constructed in accordance with this invention.
Fig. 2 a transverse section of same (enlarged scale).
Fig. 3 a transverse section of a modified form of construction.
Fig. 4 a transverse section of a further modification.
Fig. 5 a longitudinal part sectional elevation of the apparatus as applied to
or in combination with one form of machine or apparatus now employed for these
purposes.
Fig. 6 a transverse section of same (enlarged scale).
The apparatus more particularly as shewn in Figs. 1 and 2 is constructed with a
trough A to receive the substance or material to be dried or treated. This
trough A is jacketed or enclosed in a suitable cylindrical or other casing B between
which casing and the trough the hot air steam or other heated gas or liquid is
passed or circulated. Instead of the trough being only partially jacketed as shewn
in the drawings it may be totally enclosed by the casing B and supported therein

page_text: by suitable arms or brackets. The trough A is provided with a suitable cover a
bolted or otherwise attached thereto.
The preferably hollow shaft of the worm or screw conveyor C is carried or
supported in bearings or journals c at each extremity or intermediate parts of the
trough A. The hollow shaft 6 of the screw C at the receiving end is passed into
or otherwise placed in communication with the boiler D or other source where the
heating medium is generated and the heating medium thereby allowed to circulate
or pass through it. A suitable stuffing box or gland is provided to permit of
the rotation of the shaft. The worm is driven by means of sprocket wheel ' and
chain or by any other suitable mechanism.
The hollow shaft b at the extremity remote from the boiler D communicates
with the atmosphere or open or with an exhaust duct or passage into which the
heating medium is delivered after traversing the length of the screw.
The piped connects the space between the trough A and jacket or casing B with
the boiler D or communication between the two may be otherwise established and
after the heating medium has traversed the length of the trough it passes through
the pipe e to the atmosphere or open or to an exhaust duct or passage.
The cover a of the trough A inay be formed with valves or openings therein to
permit of the escape or extraction of any steam generated owing to the presence
of the moisture in the substance under treatment or a pipe or conduit such
as E connected if desired with a fan blower or the like may be provided for the
same purpose.
The delivery end of the jacket or casing B is fitted with a pipe F which is
preferably connected with a steam trap or other similar suitable appliance to draw
off therefrom any condensed steam or vapours.
At the receiving end of the trough A the hopper or shoot G is mounted or
carried into which the spent hops grain or other substance or material to be dried
or conditioned is introduced. This hopper G is preferably provided with two
valves or sliding doors gl and g³ the one g¹ for shutting off the connection of the
hopper with the trough whilst it is being filled and the other one g² for closing the
hopper when a fresh supply of the substance or material has been fed into it
in order to prevent the free passage of air through the trough when the apparatus
is in operation.
The trough at the delivery end is provided with a shoot pipe or other opening K
through which the substance or material is delivered in a dried condition into any
receptacle placed under it for its removal or otherwise.
In operating the apparatus the valve or sliding door g' is closed and opened
and a supply of the substance or material to be dried or conditioned is fed into the
hopper G. The valve 92 is then closed and g' opened and the screw C caused to
rotate forcing forward the material along the heated trough A until it reaches the
shoot or pipe K through which it is delivered for removal.
The worm or screw conveyor employed may be of any suitable or convenient
construction. I prefer to employ one constructed in accordance with the Specifi-
cation of my Patent No. 5544 dated 16th March 1895. The screw could then be
built up of any requisite number of sections of one two three or other like desired
number of pitches or convolutions of the screw keyed or otherwise attached to a
hollow driving shaft to produce it to the desired length.
Whilst I prefer to employ a worm or screw with a hollow shaft or core as this
will permit of the circulation or the passage of the heating medium therethrough
and so transmit or radiate the heat to the material under treatment through the
worm or screw in addition to the heating of the trough I might employ the
ordinary form of spiral segmental worm or conveyor or even in some cases
the ordinary form of scraper conveyor.
The apparatus may be constructed of any desired length and dimensions according
to the substances or materials to be treated and the degree of moisture present
therein.
•
In Fig. 3 a trough A containing two screws or worms C and provided with a

page_text: common jacket or casing B is shewn. The cover a of the trough A is provided
with openings a¹ for the escape of steam.
In Fig. 4 instead of jacketing or encasing the trough it is shewn built in a
boiler or other flue H through which the waste gases say from a boiler furnace are
passed to avoid the necessity for especially generating a heating medium. In this
construction the trough might be provided with a mechanical scraper L or means
for removing the soot or other accumulation deposited thereon.
In Figs. 5 and 6 the apparatus is shewn as applied to or in combination with one
form of machine or apparatus now employed for these purposes. The tubular or
cylindrical connection M between the hot air boiler or generator and the rotating
drying cylinder N into which drying cylinder the substances to be dried are now
usually directly introduced might form the jacket B to enclose the trough A. The
heating medium passes through holes or perforations n formed in the trough A
from the space between it and the jacket or casing B and intermingles with the
material in the trough as it is forced forward by the sciew from the hopper G and
delivered into the rotating cylinder N from which it is withdrawn or exhausted by
the fan or blower in the ordinary way. The trough and casing may however be
constructed as before described and shewn in Figs. 1 and 2 without communicating
the one with the other in which case the substance or material would meet the
heated current as it was being delivered into the rotating drying cylinder N. The
shaft b of the screw C may be constructed hollow as before described and may be
perforated at the receiving end where it passes through the cylindrical connection M
to allow of the circulation of the hot air or other heating medium through it, or it
might be fed independently from the boiler.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is.
1. An apparatus for drying or conditioning spent hops, grain and other
substances or materials constructed with a heated trough along which the substance
or material to be dried or conditioned is forced by means of a screw or other
conveyor substantially as described and shewn.
2. An apparatus for drying or conditioning spent hops, grain or other substances
or materials comprising a heated jacketed trough A along which the substance or
material to be dried or conditioned is forced by means of a worm or screw
conveyor C, a hopper G for introducing the material into the trough A provided
with two sliding doors or vàlves g¹ g² a cover a for the trough A provided with
valves or openings a¹ or a pipe or conduit E for extracting the steam generated in
the trough and a shoot or pipe K through which the material is delivered all
constructed and arranged substantially as described and shewn.
3. In apparatus for drying or conditioning spent hops, grain or other substances
or materials the combination with the hot air boiler and rotating drying cylinder
from which the material is withdrawn by means of a fan or the like of a heated
jacketed trough along which the material to be treated is forced by means of a
screw or other conveyor provided with a hopper for feeding the materials thereto
substantially as described and shewn with reference to Figs. 5 and 6 of the
drawings.
4. An apparatus for drying or conditioning spent hops, grain or other substances
or materials constructed substantially as described and shewn with reference either
to Figs. 1 and 2 Fig. 3 or Fig. 4 of the drawings.
Dated this 27th day of February 1896.
DAVID RUSHWORTH.