IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR DRYING AND CLEANING COFFEE AND OTHER MATERIALS
Year: 1884

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
:
I JOAQUIN DIAZ DURAN, of 71 Broadway, New York, in the United States
of America, Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of my Invention for
IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR DRYING AND CLEANING COFFEE AND
OTHER MATERIALS, 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 certain improvements in apparatus for drying and
cleaning coffee, rice, grain and other materials. The peculiar and novel
construction of my apparatus is pointed out in the following Specification, and
illustrated in the accompanying Drawing, in which
Fig. 1 represents a vertical section in the plane x x Fig. 2.
Fig. 2 is a horizontal section in the plane y, y, Fig. 1.
Fig. 3 is a plan or top view. .5 .0
Fig. 4 is a vertical section in the plane z, z, Fig. 3.
Fig. 5, is a detached view of the device for adjusting the brushes.
Similar letters.indicate corresponding parts.
In this Drawing the letter A designates the drying chamber which is by
preference made cylindrical and which is closed at top and bottom. This chamber
is divided by a transverse partition B.into two chambers C, D, the central portion
of which forms an open vertical cylinder F.
Between this cylinder and the wall of the chamber A is secured' an annular
sieve G, which is slightly concave, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4. From the bottom of
the chamber A rises an open cylinder H and between 'this. cylinder and the wall of
the chamber is secured an annular sieve I also concave like the sieve G.
Through the centre of the drying chamber A extends a vertical shaft K which
has its bearings in a suitable box L below, and in a box M above and to which a
revolving motion can be, imparted by a steam engine or other suitable motivé
power. On this shaft are firmly mounted four arms N O P Q, the arms N O,
being situated close above the open cylinder F and the arms PQ, close above the
open cylinder H. On the ends of all these arms are firmly secured agitators R and
on the ends of the arms N and P are also secured brushes S in front of the
agitators R. The agitators Rare suspended from screw rods a a so that they can
be adjusted in relation to the sieves G I respectively, and the brushes S are secured
to rods b which are suspended from levers T and round which are wound spiral
springs c which serve to depress the brushes with a yielding force. The levers T
+

page_text: have their fulcra in standards & secured to the arms N and P respectively, and
their inner ends connect by rods e with hand levers U which have their fulcra in
standards frising from a disk V which is firmly mounted on the shaft K and
revolves with the same. On the circumference of this disk are secured adjusting
devices W, a detached view of one of which is shown in Fig. 5.
They consist each of a lever g which has its fulcrum on a point h and to the
free ends of which is secured a weight i. From this lever rises a rack the teeth
of which serve to retain the corresponding hand lever U in the required position.
The weights counteract to some extent the action of the springs c, but by moving
the outer ends of the hand lever U up, the brushes are permitted to bear down
firmly upon the sieves G and I. Said brushes move in guides secured to the
arms N and P (see Fig. 1) or they may be fastened to the heads of the agitators.
The agitators are so adjusted that they move close over the sieves.
On the side of the drying chamber A is a hot air furnace X the heating coil ¹ of
which connects by a pipe m with a fan blower Y and by a pipe m' with a pipe n
which is provided with two spouts o, p, one of which enters the upper and the
other the lower compartment of the drying chamber. When the fan blower is set
in motion, air is forced through the coil of the hot air furnace and after having
been heated, it enters the compartments of the drying chamber. Opposite to the
spouts o, p of the hot air blast pipe n, are openings r, 8, (Fig. 1) which can be
closed by caps t or other suitable means. On one side of the chamber A is fastened a
trunk Z which communicates through openings, u, v with the two compartments of
the chamber, and which is provided with a gate w (Fig. 4). Through this trunk
the material to be dried is introduced into the drying chamber. If the gate w is
in the position shown in Fig. 4, the material dumped into the trunk Z passes into
the upper compartment of the drying chamber, but if the gate w is drawn out, the
material passes into the lower compartment. The sieves G I are provided with
openings which can be closed by gates g¹, i¹ respectively (see Fig. 4) and which
when opened, communicate with the discharge trunk A¹.
After the apparatus has been charged with the material to be dried the shaft K.
is set in motion and by the action of the agitators, said material is turned over and
over on the sieves G I, so that each bean or kernel is exposed to the action of the
hot air blast and quickly dried. The dust or impurities which become detached
from the beans or kernels, are worked through the sieves by the action of the
brushes S, and when the openings r, s are opened, such impurities are blown out by
the blast entering through the spouts o, p. The dried material is discharged
through the trunk A¹ into bags or suitable receptacles. By providing two
compartments in the drying chamber, I am enabled to continue the work of drying
without interruption, since during the time one compartment is discharged and
recharged, the work in the other compartment need not be interrupted. Having
now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said Invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I claim is
1. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore described, of the drying
chamber A, the open cylinder F, the annular sieve G, the air blast pipe o entering
the chamber below the sieve, and the agitators R, secured to a rotating shaft K.
2. The combination, substantially as herein before described, of the drying
chamber A, the open cylinder F, the annular sieve G, the air blast pipe o entering
the chamber below the sieve, the agitators R, and the brushes S, both the agitators
and the brushes being secured to the rotating shaft K. and the opening r.
3. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore described, of the drying
chamber A, the open cylinder F, the annular sieve G, the air blast pipe o entering
the chamber below the sieve, the shaft K which carries the agitators and the
brushes, the disk V mounted on this shaft, and the levers U for adjusting the
brushes.
4. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore described, of the drying
chamber A, the transverse partition B, the open cylinders F, H rising from this
partition and from the bottom of the chamber. respectively. the sieves GL.the

page_text: blast spouts. o p, the trunk Z for introducing the material, said trunk being
common to both compartments, the gate w in the trunk, the discharge trunk A¹
common to both compartments, and the gates g¹, i¹.
5. The combination, with the hand levers U, the brushes S, and the springs b
acting upon these brushes, of weighted levers g, and racks k, substantially as, and
for the the purposes set forth.