Improvements in Apparatus for Drying Clay Products and other Materials.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 1st Nov., 1890-Accepted, 10th Jan., 1891
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Drying Clay Products and
other Materials.
I, JOHN PITT BAYLY, of 18 Fulham Place, Paddington, in the County of London,
Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this invention (a communication to
me from abroad by Phineas Arnold, of Canal Dover, Ohio, U.S.A.; Inventor) to be
as follows:-
My invention relates to an improved tunnel-drior designed for the purpose of
drying quickly and cheaply materials of all kinds, more especially clay products, such
as brick, sewer-pipe, pottery, etc.; and the invention has for its object to provide a
drier having three compartments, more or less, preferably three, under one roof and
independent of one another, whereby the process of drying may be carried on in one
compartment while the next is being emptied and another filled, or the drying may
be carried on in one while the others are idle, or all be employed simultaneously.
A further object of the invention is to provide a means for drawing off the saturated
air from the material in process of drying in an effective and expeditious manner, and
to construct a simple, durable, and economic drier.
The invention consists in the novel construction and combination of the several
parts, as will be hereinafter fully set forth, and pointed out in the claims.
Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this
Specification, in which similar letters and figures of reference indicate corresponding
parts in all the views.
Figure 1 is a vertical section taken through the structure from front to rear on the
lines 1, 1, of Figs. 2 and 3. Fig. 2 is a transverse section taken through the building
from side to side on the line 22 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a parallel horizontal section
taken on the lines 3 3 of Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view of one of the
ceiling-flues, the walls of the compartment being in section, and the section taken on
the lines 4, 4, of Fig. 2 and 5, 5, of Fig. 6. Fig. 5 is a horizontal section taken through
the flue illustrated in Fig. 4 on the line 4 4 in Fig. 6; and Fig. 6 is a transverso
section through one of the ceiling-flues, the section being taken on line 66 of Fig. 5.
In the drawings, I have illustrated a two-story structure A, the flooring A¹ of the
upper story being above the centre, as best shown in Fig. 2; but the shape and size of
the structure may be varied as required. A single main offtake flue or chimney 10
is built at the rear central portion of the structure, which leads from and has direct
communication with a second offtake-flue 11, located at the rear of said structure and
at or above the ceiling-line a of the lower story, which flue extends from side to side
of the building, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The lower story is divided by partitions 12
into three, more or less, preferably three, independent compartments B, B', and B2,
the compartments being provided with sliding doors 12. The floor-beams 13 of the
several compartments are laid some distance above the ground to provide for a heating
or steam-pipe space 14. The floor of the compartments is so constructed that heat
from the space 14 can radiate with the least possible obstruction into the compart-
ments above, the said floor being ordinarily formed by securing to the beams a series
of spaced slats 15, laid in movable sections, and when required rails 16 are also laid
upon the beams at proper distances apart to accommodate tunnel-cars.
Within the steain-pipe or heating-space 14 a main air-duct D extends from side to
side of the building, preferably at the front, which air-duct is provided with two
branch ducts 17 and 18 in each compartment. These branch ducts extend within the
heating-space to the rear of the compartments, and thence to the sides, as shown in
Fig. 3, and upward through the floor-one in each corner-to a connection with the
side ceiling-flues, which ceiling-flues are of peculiar construction, and will be
hereinafter described.

page_text: Each branch 17 and 18 of the main air-duct is provided with a series of apertures 20
in the sides of that portion located within the space 14, and the said perforations are
graduated in size, the smallest perforation being located at the front and the largest
at the rear.
The amount of air that is to pass from the main duct through the branch
ducts may be regulated by any suitable or approved form of damper or dampers 19.
Outside of the building, at one side near the front, a'imain steain-supply pipe 21 is
located, and immediately to the rear of said pipe the discharge or exhaust-steam
pipe 22 is supported.
If three drying compartments are provided in the structure, three branch-pipes, 23,
24, and 25 are carried from the steam-supply pipe 21 into the heating space at the
front. The pipe 23 extends transversely through the compartment B only. The
second pipe 24 passes through the compartments B and B, and the third pipe 25
through all of the compartments. Each pipe is provided with a suitable valve 26,
whereby steam may be carried to any one compartment or to all of them, as may be
desired. The discharge or exhaust steam pipe 22, which is not only to the rear of the
supply-pipe, but is also below the level of the said pipe, is likewise provided with
three branches 27, 28, and 29, which extend across the compartments in similar
manner to the branch pipes above referred to.
In each compartment a coil of pipe E is formed, extending ordinarily from the
front to the rear, and constracted by uniting one end of a series of tubes to the front
or delivery branch pipe located in the compartment, bending the tubes downward over
supporting-rods 30, or otherwise suspending them from the beams 13 at the back of
the compartments and connecting the opposite ends of the tubes with the discharge-
branches. Thus a perfect circulation is obtained, and the branch-pipes act as the
heads of the coils. In each compartment I preferably arrange three ceiling-flues 33,
34, and 35, the said flues beginning a short distance from the front of the compartment
and extending to the rear of the same.
** 1 t
In the inner wall e of the flue 34, as illustrated in Fig. 5, a series of openings 36
37 37, etc., is made at regular distances, and to the rear wall' of the opening 37
one end of an angled deflector 38 is joined which extends across the space intervening
the inner wall of the flue 34 and the contiguous wall e' of the central flue 35. A
similar deflector 39, similarly disposed, is joined to the rear wall of the forward
opening 36. The forward extremities of the inner wall e of the flue 34 and the wall e¹
of the flue 35 are connected by a third deflector 40, and a similar deflector 38",
similarly disposed, is joined to the rear wall of the opening 37 and the wall' e' of the
inner flue 35, and so on with the other deflectors, (not shown,) the purpose of said
deflectors being to act as guides to facilitate the passage of saturated air through the
openings into the flues connected with the chimney 10.
As above stated, the inner end of the deflectors 38, 39, 38, and the rest of the
series join the inner wall e¹ of the flue 35; but in said wall is formed a series of
openings, as in the wall e. Said openings are protected by inwardly-extending angled
hoods 41", open at the rear, forming thereby channels 42 43 42, etc., connecting with
the central flue 35, the purpose of the angled hoods being to facilitate the passage of
the saturated air into the centre flue.
་
1
In the walle of the central flue 35, and likewise in the inner walle of the side
flue 33, a series of openings is made which practically correspond with the openings
heretofore described. In the wali e the openings 44 45 etc., are each practically closed
by a hood 41, which is dispensed with in connection with the openings 46 47, etc., in
the wall e of the side flue 33. The forward ends of the walls e and e are connected by
an angled deflector 48, corresponding to the deflector 40, and a series of angled
deflectors 49 50, etc., spans the space intervening the walls e and e, said deflectors
being connected to said walls, as shown in Fig. 5.
The flues 33, 34, and 35 are covered, and each of said flues has direct communi-
cation with the upper offtake-flue 11; but communication niay be shut off between
any of the ceiling flues and the offrake-flue by means of dampers 52, as illustrated in
Figs. 1 and 2. As communication is established between the branches of the main
air duct and the flues 33, 34, and 35 and the offtake-flue '11 and chimney 10), such a

page_text: current of air is obtained that the saturated air emanating from the bricks or articles
to be dried rises upward, is gathered into the spaces between the flues 33, 34, and 35,
and drawn into said flues through the openings shown in Fig. 5, from whence this hot
saturated air passes upward and off through the chimney. This air may be utilized
to assist in drying any substance placed in the upper story of the building, if desired,
by providing suitable dampers 52 to control the exit of the air from the offtake-flue 11
to the said upper story.
I desire it to be understood that, while specific construction has been shown and
described, equivalent construction may be substituted without departing from the
spirit of the invention.
In operation, when one compartment of the drier is filled with material the sliding doors
at the ends are closed and the steam turned on by its proper valve. The steam passing
through the coils E located in the compartment produces a regular heat. The air
escaping through the outlets 20, arranged at different points along the sides of the
branch air-ducts becomes heated, rises, and coming in contact with the material in
process of drying becomes saturated with moisture and passes upward. Owing to the
current formed by the three ceiling-flues 33, 34, and 35, connected with the draft
stack or chimney, the saturated air is itself drawn off through the openings in the
said roof-flues and passes out of the compartments into the draft stack or chimney.
It will be noted that by reason of the lower and upper air-ducts being provided
with openings at different points in their length the air and the accumulated saturated
air from the material in process of drying rise to the openings in the roof-flues, thus
leaving the material free from the softening and saturating effect of moisture. Thus
the material in every part of the compartment is simultaneously dried.
By forming the drier with the several compartments and providing each with an
independent heating means the process of drying is greatly facilitated, and the steam
can be turned off from the compartment being filled with material to be dried to cool
it without turning it off from those that are filled, thus permitting the drying process
to be carried on uninterruptedly and without necessitating the workmen to be in
heated compartment while filling the same.
In conclusion it may be noted that the main features of the invention consist in the
independence of each compartment, the equal distribution of air by means of the
ducts, and the instantaneous manner of removing the saturated air by means of
the arrangement of draft-flues connected with the ceiling of each compartment.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:
1. The combination, with a chamber provided with a floor having openings therein,
and an offtake-flue leading from said chamber, of air ducts arranged beneath the floor
and connected with the offtake-flue, the said air-ducts having perforations formed
therein, heating-coils supported between the air-ducts and the floor, ceiling-flues
having openings in their sides connected with the offtake-flue and air-ducts, and
deflectors arranged between the said flue adjacent to the side openings therein,
substantially as and for the purpose specified.
2. The combination, with a structure containing a series of independent chambers,
a main air-duct extending from side to side of the structure, branch air-ducts having
perforations therein and leading from the main duct within each chamber and having
connection with the offtake-flues in the structure, each of the chambers being provided
with a perforated floor above the lower section of the branch air-ducts, of a main steam
inlet and outlet pipe, independent supply and exhaust pipes carried from the main
steam inlet and outlet pipes to each of the several chambers, coils' arranged inde-
pendently within each of the chambers beneath the floor and having connection with
the branch steam supply and exhaust pipes located therein, ceiling-flues in each
chamber open at their forward ends and having communication with the air-duct and
offtake-flues at their rear ends, the said flues being provided with openings in their

page_text: sides, and deflectors arranged between the flues adjacent to the openings therein,
substantially as shown and described, and for the purpose specified.
3. In a tunnel-drier, ceiling-flues consisting of a central flue or channel and an
outer flue or channel at each side, which flues extend from the rear of the plate and
terminate at a point approximating the forward end, the said flues being provided
with openings in their inner walls, angled deflectors connecting the forward walls of
the flues, and similar deflectors arranged between the flues near the openings therein,
substantially as shown and described.
Dated this 21st day of Ontahan 1800
J. P. BAYLY,
Applicant.