IMPROVEMENTS IN THE METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR DRYING MALT
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Frank Wirth, of the Firm of Wirth and Company,
Patent Agency, at Frankfort on the Main, in the Empire of
Germany, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE METHOD OF
AND APPARATUS FOR DRYING MALT."-A communication from August
Von Schlemmer, residing at Hochheim on the Main, Germany.
Sealed the 17th March 1874, and dated the 10th October 1873.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Frank Wirth at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
10th October 1873.
I, FRANK WIRTH, of the Firm of Wirth and Company, Patent Agency,
at Frankfort on the Main, in the Empire of Germany, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE METHOD OF AND
APPARATUS FOR DRYING MALT,” a to be as follows, that is to say :
'
This Invention consists in the construction and application of appa-
ratus to kilns for drying malt, whereby the malt is continuously turned

page_text: over in opposite directions and the drying of the same thereby effected
in a more regular, easy, and perfect manner than hitherto.
The apparatus or devices for turning over the malt consists of two
horizontal shafts of a length equal to the interior width of the kiln, one
of these shafts has a number of shovels or scoops fixed round it helically,
and serves to turn over the green or moist malt. Around the second
shaft are fixed oblong iron hoops also arranged helically, these hoops
are provided with pieces of split quills so as to form a brush which serve
for turning over the dry malt.
In a kiln with two floors the first turning apparatus is placed over the
upper floor and the second apparatus or brush over the lower floor, and
they are caused to continually revolve backwards and forwards from
one end of the kiln to the other, the two apparatus moving in opposite
directions. To effect this reciprocating and rotary motion of the two
turning apparatus or devices, a rack is fixed to each side of the kiln a
short distance above each floor, at each end of the shafts of the turning
apparatus is fixed a small toothed wheel, and these toothed wheels gear
into the said racks.
The two turning apparatus are connected together by chains passing
over guide pulleys and also over chain drums fixed on a shaft in a
chamber outside the kiln. Motion is communicated to this shaft by
gearing actuated by a shaft having a fast and two loose pulleys, and two
driving belts passing over a pulley on the main shaft. Rails are fixed
from end to end of the kiln and serve as runners for the middle of the
turning apparatus. At each end of the kiln is a lever or bolt fixed on a
reversing rod for changing the driving belts so as to reverse the motion
of the chain drums at the termination of each forward and backward
motion of the turning apparatus.
The alternate forward and backward motion of the turning apparatus
may also be effected by rods actuating worms gearing with worm {
wheels on the ends of the shafts of the turning apparatus, or by means
of an endless chain and chain pulleys.
In kilns having only one floor the two turning apparatus are on the
same level and do not work together, the first apparatus being set in
motion when the malt is green or moist, and the second apparatus or 3
brush when the malt is dry.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Frank Wirth in the Great Seal Patent Office of
on the 31st March 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, FRANK
WIRTH, of the Firm of Wirth and Company, Patent Agency, at
Frankfort on the Main, in the Empire of Germany, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Tenth day of October, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the
thirty-seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Frank Wirth, Her special
licence that I, the said Frank Wirth, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Frank Wirth, 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
THE METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR DRYING MALT," (a communication from
August Von Schlemmer, a person resident at Hochheim on the Main,
(Germany), upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Frank
Wirth, my executors or administrators, by an instrument 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 Frank Wirth, do hereby declare the
nature of the 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 Drawing hereto annexed
and to the figures and letters marked thereon, that is to say :-
This Invention consists in the construction and application of appa-
ratus to kilns for drying malt, whereby the malt is continuously turned
over in opposite directions, and the drying of the same thereby effected
in a more regular, easy, and perfect manner than hitherto.

page_text: The apparatuses or devices for turning over the malt consists of two
horizontal shafts of a length equal to the interior width of the kiln; one
of these shafts has a number of shovels or scoops fixed round it helically,
and serves to turn over the green or moist malt. Around the second
shaft are fixed oblong iron hoops also arranged helically; these hoops 5
are provided with pieces of split quills so as to form a brush which
serves for turning over the dry malt.
In a kiln with two floors the first turning apparatus is placed over the
upper floor, and the second apparatus or brush over the lower floor, and
they are caused to continuously move backwards and forwards from one 1
end of the kiln to the other, the two apparatuses moving and revolving in
opposite directions. To effect this reciprocating and rotary motion of
the two turning apparatuses or devices a rack is fixed to each side of the
kiln above each floor; at each end of the shafts of the turning appa-
ratus is fixed a small toothed wheel, and these toothed wheels gear into
the said racks..
The two turning apparatuses are connected together by chains passing
over guide pulleys, and also over chain drums fixed on a shaft in a
chamber outside the kiln. Motion is communicated to this shaft by
gearing actuated by a shaft having a fast and two loose pulleys, and two
driving belts passing over a pulley on the main shaft. Rails are fixed
from end to end of the kiln and serve as runners for the middle of the
turning apparatus. At each end of the kiln is a lever or bolt fixed on a
reversing rod for changing the driving belts so as to reverse the motion
of the chain drums at the termination of each forward and backward
motion of the turning apparatus.
The alternate forward and backward motion of the turning apparatuses
may also be effected by rods actuating worms gearing with worm wheels
on the ends of the shafts of the turning apparatuses or by means of an
endless chain and chain pullies.
In kilns having only one floor the two turning apparatuses are on the
same level and do not work together, the first apparatus being set in
motion when the malt is green or moist, and the second apparatus or
brush when the malt is dry.
Having thus described the nature of the Invention communicated to
me, I will now proceed to more particularly describe the same, and the
best means I am acquainted with for carrying it into effect, by reference
to the accompanying Drawing in which Figure 1 is a plan of the interior

page_text: In Figures 1 and 2 A is the upper floor of the kiln, and B the lower
floor of the kiln. A rack O is fixed along each side of the kiln above
each floor; in the teeth of these racks gear the toothed wheels at the
ends of the shafts of the turning apparatuses, as herein-after described.
The first turning apparatus or that employed for turning over the
green or moist malt is placed over the upper floor A, and is constructed
of a shaft a extending from side to side of the kiln; this shaft has a
number of shovels or scoops b and c fixed round it helically; these
shovels or scoops are shewn on a larger scale in front and end elevations
at Figures 7, 8, and 9.
The second turning apparatus or that employed for turning over the
dry malt and placed over the lower floor of the kiln is constructed of a
shaft & similar to the shaft a of the first turning apparatus; around this
shaft d are fixed oblong iron hoops e also arranged helically; these hoops
are provided with split quills e¹ so as to form a brush, as shewn in
detached enlarged sectional view at Figure 10. At each end of the shafts
a and d is fixed a small toothed wheel or pinion g; the teeth of these
pinions gear into the teeth of the herein-before described racks C; close
to each wheel is a projecting bearing h; in the central holes of these

page_text: bearings h the ends of the shafts a and d rest and move each of the
bearings; h is provided with draw rods i, ¹, and oil chamber j, as shewn
in the detached view at Figure 11. Or if found desirable the outer ends
of the shafts may work in sliding carriages running on rails behind the
racks. At each end of the kiln, over the angles formed by the floors and
the walls, are fixed curved sheets of iron k (seen in detail at Figure 19)
to allow of the turning apparatus acting over the whole of the floors of
the kiln; 1, 1, are rails extending from end to end of the kiln and
suitably supported. More than one rail to each floor may be employed.
for large kilns. The parts of the shafts of the turning apparatus over the
rails are provided with sockets, and over each socket is a strickle or
strike m, as seen in detail at Figure 12 for clearing the malt away from
the rails; n, n, levers at each end of the kiln actuating a reversing rod
for reversing the direction of motion of the chains driving the turning
apparatus, as herein-after described.
Figure 13 is a section of a covering or roof of sheet iron fixed to the
joists for covering or protecting the racks C, the wheels g, and the draw
rods from dust, and to prevent the malt from falling into the teeth of
the rack a chain X is provided formed of pieces of sheet iron jointed
together, as shewn in Figure 14. The shaft of the turning apparatus
raises this chain in its passage, the chain closing down behind the shaft
after it has passed.
The driving mechanism consists of a shaft D provided with fast and
loose pullies D¹, D³, driven by a strap D³ from the steam engine or other
motive power. The shaft is also provided with a large pulley or drum E
communicating by two straps G and H. (the latter being crossed) with
three pullies c¹, d³, e¹, on the small shaft F'; the pullies c¹ and e¹ are loose
and the pulley d is fixed. The straps G and H are placed in the forks
of the reversing rod connected with the levers n, n; the reversing rod is
provided with a weight u. On the end of the shaft F is a bevil wheel a¹
gearing with another bevil wheel a³ on an arbor carrying a worm p
driving a worm wheel q, through which passes the drum shaft J passing
as seen in Figure 1 from wall to wall of the kiln in the same direction
as the turning apparatus. At each end of the shaft J is a chain
drum K. Over each of these drums K. passes a chain L carried over the
pullies L' through the end wall of the kiln, one end being connected as
shewn to the front draw rod i of the upper turning apparatus, and the
other end to the front draw rod of the lower turning apparatus; a con-

page_text: necting chain L³ also connects the two apparatuses together from the back
draw rods ¹ passing over pullies L at the other end of the kiln, as seen
in Figure 2, so that the draw rods thus form links of the chain.
The operation of the driving mechanism is as follows:-The shaft D
being set in motion by the strap D³ from the steam engine or other
motive power, the strap G drives the shaft F by means of the pulley d
whereby the bevil wheel a¹ drives the bevil a³, and worm p, moving the
worm wheel q, and thereby the shaft J carrying the chain drums K.
The chains L being thus set in motion and the parts being in the position
shewn in the Drawing, the lower turning apparatus will be revolved and
moved forward over the floor towards the right hand end of the kiln,
whilst the upper turning apparatus will be revolved and moved in the
opposite direction over the upper floor of the kiln. The turning appa-
ratuses having reached the end of the kiln the draw rods i will strike
against the levers n, thereby moving the reversing rod, the fork of which
moves the strap G from the fixed pulley & on to the loose pulley c³, and
moves the crossed strap H from the loose pulley e¹ on to the fixed pulley d¹,
thus reversing the direction of motion of the shaft J, drums K, chains L,
and of the turning apparatus. This reversing motion takes place at each
forward and backward motion of the turning apparatuses, whereby the
malt on the floors is continuously turned over in opposite directions, and
the drying of the same is effected in a more regular, easy, and perfect
manner than hitherto.
In Figure 3 the interior arrangement of the kiln and of the turning
apparatuses is nearly similar to that shewn in Figures 1 and 2, except
that the draw rods i are not required, one of them being replaced by an
iron frame shewn in detail at M, Figure 15, for keeping the turning appa-
ratus against the rack, and the other draw rod is replaced by a worm or
crown wheel N into the teeth of which gears the worm N¹, Figure 15;
this worm slides on an arbor or shaft O, Figure 15, placed behind one of
the racks and passing through a chair or carriage P. The arbors or
shafts O pass through both ends of the kiln and have at one end three
pullies c, d, e¹, and straps G, H, driven from the main shaft, as
described in Figures 1 and 2, the reversing mechanism being also
similar to that herein-before described.
Instead of employing pullies for driving each of the arbors or shafts O,
the lower arbor may be driven by the upper arbor (or vice versa) by
means of bevil gearing, as shewn at 8, 8, Figure 3,

page_text: In Figure 4 the turning apparatuses are shewn driven by an endless
chain and chain disc arrangement. One end of the shaft of cach turning
apparatus is provided with a sliding bearing M, Figure 15, and the other
end with a chain disc Q placed behind the rack C and fitted in a carriage
R, as seen in detail at Figure 16; S is an endless chain passing through
the carriage R under the guide rollers T and over the chain disc Q of
each turning apparatus. This chain 8 passes through the end walls of
the kiln and over the chain disc U having bevil teeth into which gear
the teeth of a bevil wheel t on the shaft V having the pullies c¹, d¹³, e³,
similar to those herein-before described and driven by the straps G and
H, passing over the pulley E driven from the main shaft.
The reversing mechanism is the same as that herein-before described,
it follows therefore that the direction of motion of the chain disc U and
chain S will be reversed at each forward and backward movement of the
turning apparatuses, thereby giving the required rotary and backward
and forward motion to the turning apparatuses.
Figures 5 and 6 shew the interior arrangement of the kiln similar to
that herein-before described, except that in place of the curved sheets of
iron K, the flaps W are employed hinged to and forming with the pieces
W chambers W³, into which the turning apparatuses can be passed:
when not in use. Both the turning apparatuses are placed on one floor
and are used alternately, and they may be driven by either of the
arrangements of mechanism herein-before described and shewn re-
spectively in Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4. If the chain drum arrangement
be employed the chain passes back above the draw rod of the turning a
apparatus and passes behind the flap W, as seen in Figure 18.
When the worm and worm wheel arrangement is employed the worm
arbor must be reduced in size at the part u¹ inside the chamber W*, as
shewn in Figure 18, so as to put the worm out of action when the
turning apparatus is placed within the said chamber.
Having thus described the nature of the said Invention communicated
to me I wish it to be understood that I do not confine myself to the
precise details herein laid down, but what I claim is,--
E
Firstly. The mechanical turning over malt during the process of
drying as and for the purposes herein-before described.
3
Secondly. The construction of turning apparatuses arranged and
Secondly. The construction of turning apparatuses arranged and

page_text: operating substantially as herein-before described and represented in the
accompanying Drawing.
Thirdly. The employment of split quills to form the brushes of the
turning apparatus for the dry malt, as herein-before described.
In witness whereof I, the said Frank Wirth, have hereto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of March, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four.