Improvements in Apparatus for Drying Textile, Fibrous, and other Materials.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 9th Feb., 1895-Accepted, 15th June, 1895
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Drying Textile, Fibrous, and other
Materials.
I, GUSTAV KAISER, of Zschopauerstrasse, ('hemnitz, Germany, 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 :-
This invention relates to apparatus for drying travelling bands or webs of fibrous
and textile materials paper, paper pulp and the like, characterized by the combined
arrangement of a drying or heating device consisting of spiral or coiled tubing and
of a ventilating pipe or other suitable air-supplying device arranged to project
into the space enclosed by the coiled piping and the end walls thereof. The coiled
tubing is supplied with steam or hot water, and is arranged in the form of a
cylinder or drum spaces being left between each longitudinal length of tube and
the lengths on either side thereof.
The combination of heat-radiating tubing of this kind with a ventilating pipe
that delivers fresh air continually between the convolutions of the tubing, results in
very considerably increasing the output capacity as compared with the output of
the drying apparatus heretofore in use, because the fresh air which is continually
being supplied, carries the moisture-saturated air away from the drying element.
The band or web of material to be dried is led round the heat-radiating coiled
tubing (which is stationary) by means of conveying rolls arranged in a circle
around the tubing, and rotated by means of a chain, or a belt or rope, in such a
manner that the web of textile or other material to be dried is caused to travel
round the heat radiating tubing at a speed depending on the drying process or on
the degree of moisture contained in the material being dried.
In drying apparatus as heretofore constructed it has always been difficult, at the
commencement of the drying process, to convey the paper or other band or web
through the apparatus in such a manner as not to damage it, or to avoid danger to
the operator having charge of the apparatus, owing to their feeding devices being
mechanically connected to the web-conveying mechanism.
In order to obviate this drawback I combine with my drying apparatus a feeding
device which acts independently of the rotating parts of the drying apparatus, that
is to say, which is placed in operation only when it is requisite to convey the
forward end of the band or web around the heating or drying apparatus, and which
when such forward portion has been conveyed around the latter, is thrown out of
action, thus entirely excluding the possibility of causing damage to the web, or
injury to the operator. To effect such conveyal of the forward end of the web
around the heating apparatus, necessary at the commencement of the drying process,
I arrange between the heating apparatus and the framing of the apparatus, two
suitably guided endless bands between which on the forward end of the band or
web being inserted between them it is seized and gripped, and, on the further
rotation of the feeding device, is carried around the heating apparatus without
further manipulation, after which the feeding apparatus is again disconnected from
the shaft that drives the conveying rolls.
The heat-radiating tubing arranged as before described constitutes a sort of
grating of pipes between which the fresh air is caused to pass by a fan or the like,
becoming uniformly heated to a high temperature by the heat radiated from the
said grating; and coming in contact with the band or web to be dried which is

page_text: carried round the heating device at a small distance therefrom. The moisture
contained in the band or web is absorbed by the heated air and is carried up by it
and caught in a vapor-receiver situated above the apparatus, being thence
discharged into the atmosphere by means of an exhausting fan or other suction
apparatus.
Fig. 1 illustrates drying apparatus according to my invention in end elevation.
Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section thereof;
Fig. 3 is a section shewing the heat-radiating tubing and illustrating diagram-
matically the endless bands for carrying the forward end of the band or web around
the heating device.
Fig. 4 is a plan shewing the rolls by means of which the band or web is carried
round the heating device and also illustrating how the forward end of the band or
web is caught by the endless bands and carried round the conveying rollers, that is
to say, round the heating device.
Fig. 5 is a plan view showing part of the heat-radiating tubing and the connection
thereto of the steam supply pipe; and
Fig. 6 is a similar view showing the connection of the steam exit pipe with said
beating device.
a is a hollow shaft carried in fixed bearings in a framing, and on which are
mounted two circular end cheeks R', K2, which are also stayed together by means
of several screw stays s.
On the periphery of these circular cheeks there is fixed
the heating device which is composed of a coil of piping S of any suitable metal.
The steam enters the piping S at its highest point at E', and diverges to the right
and to the left as shown in Figs. 3 and 5, and after flowing through the coil, and
giving up its heat to the same, converges again at the lowest point, where there is
a common exit pipe E2 whence the steam escapes (see Figs. 3 and 6).
Valves provided, one at the inlet, and one at the outlet of the coil, allow of the
temperature of the heat radiated from the coil being controlled within wide limits
as desired. The left hand circular end cheek (R') is cast solid or full, but the
right hand cheek R² is formed with an opening through which the pipe venters,
(Fig. 2). This pipe is provided with a valve r, and is connected with a fan, and
serves to convey a continual supply of fresh air necessary for the drying process
into the space enclosed by the heating coil and the end cheeks.
Around the heating device there are grouped a number of rotating guide
rollers H H H which constitute the conveying device by means of which the
web to be dried is caused to pass round the heating device at a short distance
therefrom.
The bearings for the rollers H are arranged in the end cheeks R1, R2; and the
bearings for the rollers Hand H2 are arranged in the framing of the apparatus.
These conveying rollers are driven by means of small chain wheels k keyed on
the journals at the driving end of the apparatus. All the conveying rollers are
rotated by means of an endless chain in combination with a guide pulley k¹,
the chain-wheel K situated on the driving shaft of the apparatus. The
apparatus may however if desired be driven by means of a belt, or a rope or cord
instead of by a chain.
from
The driving shaft O is rotated by means of the belt pulley M. The mechanism
employed for the purpose of automatically carrying or conveying the band or web
to be dried around the rollers H, H¹ H² and around the heating apparatus, at the
commencement of the drying process consists of a flanged pulley L of a diameter
corresponding to the size of the heating-apparatus which is loosely mounted on the
hollow shaft a between the left-hand frame of the apparatus and the end cheek R',
(Fig. 2) so that it can be readily rotated. The pulley L has cast on it a ring of
internal teeth Z, in which there gears a pinion z which is fixed on the same stud as
the chain wheel T¹.
On the left hand end of the driving shaft O is arranged a friction clutch F on
the loose conical part of which is fixed a chain wheel T, which is connected by a
driving chain with the aforesaid chain wheel T¹, so that when the clutch F

page_text: is thrown into gear, the flanged pulley L will be rotated by means of the aforesaid
driving mechanism. Around the pulley L and also around the guide-pulleys 111
to, situated in the same vertical plane as the pulley L (Figs. 1 and 3,) there are
passed two endless bands C1 and C2 arranged in such a manner as to come together
or converge in front of the heating device and the roller H', and grip between them
the forward end (which is fed to them by hand) of the band or web to be dried,
and thus carry it around the conveying rollers H, H' H' and consequently around
the heating device.
Both bands the downwardly converging hand C', and the upwardly converging
band C2-after passing round the guide pulleys and 12, come together in front of
the guide pulley 18, where they pass together one on top of the other around the
guide pulley 18, and the flanged pulley L as far as the guide pulley 1. Here the
two bands separate, the one C passing around the pulleys 16, 18, 1, 13, to 1', and
the band C2 passing over the pulleys 1°, 110, 111 to 12.
The forward end of the web or band to be dried, drawn off the winding off
roll W, is fed in between the two bands C'C', just before the latter come together
that is to say in front of the pulley 18, is gripped by these bands and is carried
without further help around the heating device. The forward end of the web or
band on reaching the guide pulley H2, is caught with the hand and guided on to
the winding on roll W upon which the forward end (now dried) of the web or band is
wound.
At this moment the mechanism for automatically carrying the web round, is
thrown out of gear by disconnecting the friction clutch F, and it is only thrown
into gear again when starting to dry a fresh web or band.
According to the desired evaporating capacity, my drying apparatus may be
variously modified. For instance it may be composed of several heating drums of
any desired dimensions, which may be grouped in one or several superposed rows.
Furthermore each heating drum may be composed of one or more superposed coils
of piping. It will also be evident that the heating tube instead of being arranged
longitudinally of the axis may be arranged concentrically thereto.
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. Apparatus for drying webs or bands of fibrous textile or other material,
comprising one or more heating devices, consisting or each consisting of one or
more coils of tubing S, arranged so as to form a tubular grating of cylindrical or
drum form, and an air pipe extending into the space enclosed by the coiled
tubing for the purpose of supplying fresh air to be heated by the said coiled tubing,
the arrangement being such that the web or band to be dried is carried round the
heating device or devices and at a short distance therefrom substantially as
described.
2. Providing apparatus of the kind referred to in Claim 1, for effecting the first
convolution of the web to be dried around the heating element or elements with
belt gear CC arranged to be driven independently of the driving gear of the
conveying rollers for the web or band to be dried so that it can be driven at times
only, said belt gearing serving to carry the leading end of the web or band around
the drying device or devices and being adapted to be thrown out of gear by the
disconnection of means such as a friction clutch F substantially as described.
3. For drying textile, fibrous and other material, apparatus constructed arranged
and operating substantially as described and shown.
F. WISE HOWORTH,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Agent for the Applicant.