Improvements in the Method of and Apparatus for Hop Drying.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 14th Aug., 1899
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Method of and Apparatus for Hop Drying.
I, ALFRED BLACKIE, of 50, Grove Hill Road, Tunbridge Wells, in the County of
Kent, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to improvements on the invention described in the speci-
fication of my prior Patent No. 7087 dated 23rd March 1898 in which a method
of and apparatus for drying hops are described and the essential feature of which
is that the hops are placed in frames of suitable construction in which the drying
takes place, such frames for convenience of manipulation being preferably placed
on carriers in the drying chamber.
The present invention refers to appliances for an improved method of manipulat-
ing the frames without the use of carriers and it consists in fitting such frames
with suitable handles placed centrally in the end pieces of same, so that they can
be used either as handles for lifting the frames by hand or as trunnions whereby,
by the employment of a cord or pulley as hereinafter described. the frames
may be raised from the floor of the drying chamber, turned for a half revolution
on the trunnions, and then again lowered into the exact position which they
previously occupied, but reversed.
The pulley is fixed in a suitable position relative to the wall or slope of the
roof of the oast house, a cord being looped round the trunnion at one end of the
frame and passed over the pulley and carried within reach of the operator at
the other end of the frame, being then if desired looped round the handle at
the other end of the frame.
By pulling on this cord with one hand the operator raises the end of the frame
next the wall, while with the other hand he lifts the end next him by the handle
provided. When the frame is raised to a suitable height it is gently caused to
make a half revolution so as to reverse it, and thereby bring the hops at the
upper part of the frame into position for being acted on by the heat, and is
then by means of the cord and handle replaced in its former position. The
cord is provided with a suitable handle to enable the operator to grasp it properly.
It is also provided with a suitable stop placed on the cord between the handle on
the end of the frame next the wall and the pulley so that when the cord is pulled
the frame is arrested at a suitable height for being conveniently turned without
fouling anything.
To enable the operator to freely manipulate the movable lids of the frames and
to examine the hops nearest the wall which he could not otherwise conveniently
reach. the frame is raised by the cord and pulley as already described and the
operator then gently swings it on top of the next frame thus clearing the space
previously occupied by the frame so that he can pass in and easily reach any
part of it.
The lids of the frames are fitted so that they can be easily raised or lowered
and fixed in any position at will by the following means:-Each end of the lid
is fitted with a convenient spring latch and the corresponding ends of the frame
with suitable racks in which the latches engage, so that the lid can be easily

page_text: pressed downwards to any point, but cannot be drawn upwards again without
the latches being first released by means of handles provided for the purpose.
The lid, is arrested at any point desired by means of pins which can be inserted
into any one of a series of holes corresponding with the rack. By this means
either end of the lid can be raised, the hops examined and the lid refixed with
a minimum of trouble.
One end of the box is constructed in the form of a door, which by means of
cross, bars and a bolt is so fitted that when the bolt is withdrawn the end can
be entirely removed, leaving a free passage for shooting out the hops.
The arrangement of turning the frames by means of cords and pulleys as
described enables the operation to be easily performed by one man, and if care-
fully carried out may enable the partitions described in my previous Patent
No. 7987 of 1898 above referred to to be dispensed with, as, the turning being
performed quickly and without any jarring, the hops will not be so able to
lump together, but such partitions can still be employed if desired.
To prevent escape of heat between the frames and to ensure their being placed
in exact position I arrange suitable slips of wood (which may be covered with
felt) on the sparred floor of the drying chamber in such position that they shall
come immediately below the joints between the frames, and a small fillet may
be fixed down the centre of each slip to act as guides when placing the frames
in position.
In round kilns the unoccupied space left in the centre of the kiln is boarded
over to prevent heat rising and in this space the operator stands when manipulat-
ing the frames. Part of this boarding however is made movable so that it
can be lifted and so allow the heated air to rush up through the centre. This
may be used as a reek dissipator or as a means of quickly. reducing the tem-
perature below the drying floor.
In square kilns the operator may, while manipulating one set of frames, stand
on a board slipped on top of another set of frames, and practically no space
need necessarily be left occupied, but if desired a space may be left, and fitted
with removable boarding to act as a reek dissipator etc., as in the case of round
kilus.
The porous cloth employed for the bottoms and tops of frames may advan-
tageously be rendered fireproof by treating with suitable chemicals, so as to
prevent risk from sparks.
Dated this 12th day of August 1899.
ALLISON BROS.,
Agents for the Applicant.
Improvements in the Method of and Apparatus for Hop Drying.
I, ALFRED BLACKIE, of 50, Grove Hill Road, Tunbridge Wells, in the County of
Kent, Gentleman, 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 improvements on the invention described in the speci-
.fication of my prior Patent No. 7087 dated 23rd March 1898 in which a method
of and apparatus for drying hops are described and the essential feature of which
is that the hops are placed in frames of suitable construction in which the drying
takes place, such frames for convenience of manipulation being preferably placed
on carriers in the drying chamber.

page_text: 1
The present invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:
Fig. 1 is a plan view of the floor of a round kiln suitably prepared to receive
the frames containing the hops to be dried, and
Fig. 2 is a similar view showing such floor with the frames in position thereon.
Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing one method of manipulating the frames.
Fig. 4 shows a number of the frames as arranged on the cooling floor after
drying when it is desired to cool the hops quickly, and
Fig. 5 shows the manner of arranging such frames when the cooling is to take
place more gradually.
Fig. 6 is a plan view of a square kiln with frames suitably arranged thereon,
and
Fig. 7 shows an arrangement which may be used in connection therewith for
manipulating the frames.
Fig. 8 shows a modification of such arrangement.
Fig. 9 is a sectional view showing one method of attaching the lids or covers
of the frames in position, and
Fig. 10 illustrates a modified arrangement for the same purpose.
Fig. 11 is a plan view and
Fig. 12 a transverse section illustrating the method I prefer to employ for
attaching the porous cloth or other suitable material to the lids or covers and
bottoms of the frames.
Fig. 13 is a sectional view illustrating another arrangement for carrying out
my invention and which may be employed for manipulating either the lids of the
frames or the frames themselves.
Fig. 14 is a similar view of a modified application of this arrangement.
In carrying out the present invention I arrange on the ordinary sparred floor 1
of the kiln of whatever shape it may be a series of strips 2 of wood or other
suitable material such strips being if desired covered with felt or other suitable
material. The strips 2 are arranged in such positions that they come immediately
below the joints between the frames 4 when the latter are placed in position in
the kiln, and also close the end spaces between the frames and the inside of
the wall of the oast house, so that escape of heat between or round the frames
will be avoided. If desired small fillets or guide pieces may be secured to
each strip 2 and extend for any desired distance along same, to act as guides when
placing the frames 4 in position on the drying floor.
The central part 7 of the drying floor is preferably boarded over as shown,
to provide a space for the operator to stand when attending to the frames as
hereinafter described, and to prevent escape of heat.
By the means described the heat will be able to pass upwards through the
frames only and consequently the whole of same will be utilized in drying the
hops, as the whole of the floor space except the part beneath the frames is entirely
closed or sealed.
Part of the boarding 7 is preferably made removable as shown at S, so that
it can be lifted to allow the heated air to rush up through the opening thus
left and so act as a reek dissipator or as a means of quickly reducing the tem-
perature below the drying floor.
The frames 4 are provided with handles or trunnions 5, 6, of any suitable form
placed centrally in the end pieces of same, so that they can be used either as
handles for lifting the frame by hand, turning them on the drying floor or
when passing through doors or when shooting out the hops, or as trunnions
whereby. by the employment of cords or chains and pulleys as hereinafter described
the frames 4 may be raised from the floor of the drying chamber turned for a
half revolution on the trunnions, and then again lowered into the exact position
which they previously occupied, but reversed.
The arrangement. shown in Fig. 3 for effecting this manipulation of the.
frames 4 by means of cords and pulleys is as follows:-

page_text: It is
It will be seen that one end of the cord or chain 9 is looped over the handle 6
next the wall of the oast house, and retained in position by a groove provided
for the purpose, or by means of a hook and eye or other suitable means.
then passed over a pulley 10, fixed at a suitable height on the wall or roof of
the kiln, directly above the handle 6, and carried to the centre space, where it is
retained in position by looping over the other handle 5. The cord 9 is provided
with a handle 11, to enable the operator to grasp it properly, and a small stop 12
is placed upon it between the handle 6 at the wall end of the frame 4 and the
pulley 10 above, to arrest the frame when it has been raised to a suitable height
for turning. When it is desired to turn the frame, the operator releases the end
of the cord 9 in the centre space, and by pulling on it with one hand, and lifting
the end of the frame nearest him with the other, raises it till the stop 12 acts,
when by a movement of the wrist he causes the frame to revolve on the handles
or trunnions 5 and 6 till it is reversed, and then lowers it into its former position.
The arrangement of turning the frames by means of cords and pulleys as
described enables the operation to be easily performed by one man, and if care-
fully carried out may enable the partitions described in my previous Patent
No. 7087 of 1898 above referred to to be dispensed with, as, the turning being
performed quickly and without any jarring, the hops will not be so liable to
Jump together, but such partitions can still be employed if desired.
To enable the operator to freely manipulate the movable lids 18 of the frames 4
and to examine the hops nearest to the wall which he could not otherwise con-
veniently reach, a plank may be placed on top of the adjoining frame on which
the operator may stand while manipulating the lids, or the frame 4 may be
raised by the cord and pulley as already described and the operator then gently
swings it on top of the next frame, thus clearing the space previously occupied
by the trame, so that he can pass in and easily reach any part of it.
Or again the lid of any frame may, as shown in full lines in Fig.. 13, be raised
by means of a pole 26 provided with a suitable hook or T piece at the end
which can be caused to engage eyes formed on the stems of the bolts or on the
lids. This pole 26 may be supported by a cord 27 slung from a swivel pulley 28
mounted in the centre of the cross bars at top of the kiln, and one end of such
cord may be attached by a spring catch 33 to an eye in the pole near its fore part
while its other end is similarly attached near the rear part of the pole, so that
(when the pole engages the eyes on the lid) by depressing the rear end of, the
pole with one hand, the other end of the lid will be raised. The inner end of
the lid may then be raised with the other hand and the lid swung round and placed
in position on any of the frames described, the bolts being subsequently shot into
position by means of the T piece on the swinging pole. This arrangement
permits of any of the lids being placed in position and the bolts fastened succes-
sively with facility by means of a pole attached to a cord supported from a
central swivel pulley.
When the hops in the frame 4 have been sufficiently dried, such frames are
taken from the drying chamber and arranged on the cooling floor, the hops still
remaining in the-same. The removal of the frames is facilitated by the cords and
pulleys, the operator slightly raising the frame by means of the cord and pulling
it towards him, so leaving a space between the frame and the wall for an assistant
to enter, unfasten the cord and lift his end of the frame by the handle. If it
is desired to cool the hops quickly the frames are arranged on their edges on
the cooling floor, with a space between each pair, as shown in Fig. 4, the rapidity
of the cooling being to a certain extent regulated by the space left between
the frames. If however, it is desired to retard the cooling such frames may be
arranged one upon another as shown in Fig. 5, a cover being if necessary placed
over the top. When time is an object, the hops may at once be carefully shot from
the frames in a heap close to the pocket mouth and allowed to cool in the
lump.

page_text: In the case of square or oblong kilns prefer to construct and arrange the
frames 4 as shown in Fig. 6, a space 7 being left down the centre between the
two sets as shown, in which the operator can stand to manipulate the frames
when required. Such frames are provided with handles or trunnions 5 and 6
as described in connection with those for use in circular kilns, and the same
arrangement of cords and pulleys for operating same may also be employed,
and further a portion of the boards covering the central space may be made
removable so that it can be lifted and allow heated air to rush through and act as
a reek dissipator or as a means to quickly reduce the temperature below the
drying floor if desired.
When the frames used are of large size, in the case of either square, oblong
or circular kilns, I prefer however to employ the arrangement shown in Fig.
for the purpose of operating the frames, such arrangement consisting in looping
the cord 9 over the handle 6 at the wall end of the frame 4, then passing it over
pulley 10 and down round a second pulley 13 and then below the frame to a
third pulley or roller 14 mounted on the floor. A hinged catch 15 is arranged so
that when the cord is pulled upwards as shown at the left hand side of Fig. 7
a stop 16 on the cord will lift such catch 15 and pass same, the catch dropping
behind it, while when the pull on the cord is subsequently relaxed the stop will
come in contact with the back of the catch and so prevent the further return move-
ment of the cord. The action of pulling on the latter having raised the back of the
frame 4 to the position shown on the left hand side of Fig. 7, such frame will
therefore be retained in this position, and the operator, having thus both hands
free, can then by grasping the handle 5 with one hand lift the inner end of
the frame and with the other hand turn it over on the trunnions formed by
its handles. He then places the inner end of the frame down in position again,
releases the catch 15, and lowers the frame by means of the cord to its original
position but with its other side uppermost, so as to expose the undried hops to
the action of the heat.
A further modification of this arrangement is shown in Fig. 8, in which it
will be seen that the cord 9 after being looped over the handle 6 at the wall end
of frame 4 passes over pulley 10, thence down round pulley 13 and then along
below the frame to pulley 17, whence it passes to and is looped over handle 5.
With this arrangement it is only necessary for the operator to grasp handle 5
and raise the inner end of the frame 4, when this motion will also through the
cord and pulleys act on the handle 6. so that the force used will operate equally
on both ends of the frame which will thus be raised and remain in a horizontal
position, when it can be turned over so as to bring its lower side uppermost
and then be replaced in its original position on the floor.
The arrangement shown in Fig. 13 may as shown in broken lines be used also
for successively raising and reversing the frames, for which purpose the cord 27
is detached from the pole and one end attached to the cord 9, just behind the
handle 11, by the spring catch 33 referred to, and the other end of cord 27 is
then pulled downwards thus raising the rear end of the frame. The end of
the cord 27 may then be attached to a hook 29 provided on the boarded floor
of the central space, and the rear end of the frame thus retained in a raised
position. By then grasping the inner handle of the frame desired to be reversed,
the operator can readily raise the inner end of such frame and then turn same
over on the handles as trunnions, replace the inner end, and lower the rear
end by releasing the cord from the hook. Or. as shown in Fig. 14, the end
of the cord 27, instead of being attached to a hook in the floor may be passed
through a hole in the boarding and connected with a suitable weight 34 beneath
the floor, so that by easing cord 27 upwards or downwards the rear end of the
frame may be readily, raised or lowered, the weight acting as a counterpoise
and retaining the frame in position for turning, leaving the operator free to
employ both hands in effecting, the turning. The weight is retained in position

page_text: and prevented from acting when desired by an automatic catch 30 attached to
the floor, similar to that shown at 15 in Fig. 7, and which engages the stop 31
on the cord. When the weight 34 is not in use it is drawn up till the catch 30
engages the stop 32, and the cord 27 is then disconnected at the spring catch 33.
It will be readily understood that the arrangements of cords and pulleys
described for manipulating the frames and lids might be modified without depart-
ing from the spirt of my invention, any suitable arrangement being employed
which would enable the lids to be manipulated or the frames to be raised from
the drying floor at will so as to permit same to be reversed when necessary.
Or, when convenient, instead of employing cords and pulleys, a man at each
end of the frames might by seizing the handles raise such frames directly for
the purpose of reversing them on the drying floor or transporting them from
place to place as desired.
The movable lids 18 of the frames 4 are fitted so that they can be easily
raised or lowered for the purpose of examining the hops and either end lifted
without unfastening the other end, and so that the lids can be fixed in any
position at will either as shown in Fig. 9 or as shown in Fig. 10, so as to
permit of the height of the lid being adjusted as the bulk of the hops diminishes
in drying.
In Fig. 9 the lid 18 carries three or more bolts 19 adapted to enter a series of
holes 20 formed in the ends or sides of frame 4, such bolts being made or
provided with a spring 21 which will tend to keep them in the position in which
they are placed, while in Fig. 10 the bolt 19 is acted on by a coiled or other
spring 22 which keeps it normally in engagement with the hole in Figure 4.
When the latter arrangement is employed it will therefore only be necessary
to place the lid in the required position in the frame when the springs of the
bolts will at once lock it and prevent it from moving either up or down.
The holes may be formed as shown slightly bevelled outwards and downwards
to prevent the end of the bolts at one extremity of the frame jamming when the
other extremity is raised.
Instead of the arrangement above described the lids of the frames may be
fitted so that they can be easily raised or lowered and fixed in any position at
will by the following means: -Each end of the lid is fitted with a convenient
spring latch and the corresponding ends of the frame with suitable racks in
which the latches engage, so that the lid can be easily pressed downwards to
any point, but cannot be drawn upwards again without the latches being first
released by means of the handles provided for the purpose. The lid is arrested
at any point desired by means of pins which can be inserted into any one of
a series of holes corresponding with the rack. By this means either end of the
lid can be raised, the hops examined and the lid refixed with a minimum of
trouble.
For the purpose of clamping the porous cloth 23 (which if desired may be
rendered fireproof by chemical or other suitable means) to the bottom and
movable lids of the frames, I prefer to employ the means shown in Figs. 11
and 12, consisting in securing same between two strips 24, 25, of wood or other
material provided with a corresponding groove or grooves and projection or
projections, between which such cloth will be securely clamped, whereby the
cloth can be stretched. without fear of tearing same, and when the two strips of
wood are suitably connected together by screws or other means, every strand
is firmly held.
The great advantages presented by this method of fastening the cloth is that
the cloth is not directly held by nails, and so does not tear or become rotted by
the corrosion of the nails.
It will be readily understood that instead of porous cloth I may employ other
porous material such as basket work, cane, wire trellis or perforated metal or
other suitable material for the lids and bottoms of the frames.

page_text: 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. In a hop drying apparatus, the combination with the ordinary sparred
drying floors of strips of wood on which rest the adjacent frames in which the hops
are placed, and which entirely close the whole of the floor space not beneath
the frames, fillets being preferably secured in such positions on such strips as
to serve as guides in placing the frames in position, the space in the central part
of the floor, which is left clear to enable the frames to be manipulated, being
covered by boarding part of which is preferably removable, substantially as and
for the purposes specified.
2. In a hop drying apparatus, a series of frames for containing the hops, and
trunnion-handles secured centrally to either end of each of such frames, substan-
tially as and for the purpose specified.
3. In a hop drying apparatus the combination of frames for containing the
hops trunnion-handles secured centrally to either end of such frames cords
connected to such trunnion-handles and passing over pulleys mounted in the
drying kiln, substantially as and for the purposes specified.
4. In a hop drying apparatus the combination of trames for containing the
hops, trunnion-handles secured centrally to either end of such frames, cords con-
nected to such trunnion-handles and passing over pulleys mounted in the drying
kiln, catches mounted on the floor of the kiln, and stops on the cords engaging
such catches, substantially as and for the purpose specified.
5. In a hop drying apparatus the combination of a frame for containing the
hops, such frame being provided with a movable lid, and bolts engaging holes in
the ends of the frame for adjustably securing such lid in position, the holes
in the ends of the frames being so constructed as to admit of the lid being raised
at either extremity to examine the hops without unfastening the other extremity
substantially as and for the purpose specified.
Dated this 7th day of May 1900
ALLISON BROS.,
Agents for the Applicant.