IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS FOR HARVESTING WHICH IS ALSO APPLICABLE TO OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1883

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Edward Cavenagh at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents on the 5th March 1883.
EDWARD CAVENAGH of Stafford in the County of Stafford
"IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS FOR HARVESTING WHICH IS ALSO APPLICABLE
TO OTHER PURPOSES
"
My invention has for its object improvements in the process of and, apparatus
for harvesting which is also applicable to other purposes by which means I am
enabled to harvest hay and other products-which require dry weather for
gathering in-during damp and rainy weather and thus much loss now experienced
will be in a great measure avoided and the business of farming will be thus
improved and made more certain in its results.
I will now explain my process as applied to the drying of a hay rick or stack : —
First the building of the rick or stack with the apparatus connected therewith.
The stack is built around a skeleton centre formed into a frame by a number of
tubes or rods held in shape by rings of iron to which the rods or tubes are
connected. The rods or tubes are straight and finish at the top in a conical or
arched shape so that the stack when built has this frame work at its centre which
maintains a hollow chamber. Radiating from various parts of this chamber towards
the outside of the stack are horizontal perforated tubes of galvanized iron, skeleton
frames made of rods, or wire frames, or open spiral coils which I call Radiators the
ends of which may protrude a little into the main chamber first before mentioned
or at any rate otherwise communicate with it in a convenient way. These supple-
mental chambers or radiators extend towards the outside of the stack but do not
communicate with the outer air. At the base of the stack is a main inlet pipe
which communicates with the main chamber. Immediately in front of the inner
end of this main inlet pipe I fix a screen so as to break and distribute the incoming
current of air to be hereafter more fully explained. When a stack of hay or other
substance is made and dried the supplemental chambers or radiators may be with-
drawn from the outside by hooks or rods or the spiral one may be screwed out
with a suitable handle entering a provision made at the end of the coil. The stack
having been thus built in such a manner that the dry air may freely circulate
through every part thereof I will explain the next part of my invention via The
[Price 21

page_text: apparatus for preparing the air: I force air by a fan or blower or other means
through a chamber which may be surrounded by hot water steam fire or other
heat, the chamber having alternating vanes or partitions inside. The air is heated
during its passage along the tube or chamber when it enters a vessel which I call a
condenser or cooler. The condenser or cooler may be formed by a spiral pipe
which is surrounded by cold water or it may be formed by a chamber containing
vertical or other tubes through which cold water would freely circulate while the
heated air would pass over the outer surface of the tubes. For the purpose of
conducting the air well over such surfaces I prefer to force in the air at an opening.
at the top of the vessel; it would then be free to only pass down a short distance
being confined by a partition so as to be obliged to take a somewhat circuitous
course over the face of the tubes. After passing nearly round it would be allowed
to go through an opening in the top partition into a similar chamber directly under
the first one when its circuitous course would be repeated. This process may be
carried on sufficiently to take all the moisture out of the air during which time the
air will have become cool. I then pass the air along a second chamber which is
heated similarly to the first or even connected with it where it will be raised in
temperature in its dry state when it passes into what I call a mixing vessel or
chamber. This mixing vessel or chamber is provided with a number of alternating
vanes or partitions inside: Communicating with this vessel are two passages, one
for the hot dry air, and another for the cold dry air to enter by which are mixed
as they pass through this vessel so as to obtain the perfectly dry air at any desired
temperature the supply of each being by valves or other means. The outlet pipe
from this mixing vessel is connected with the before mentioned inlet pipe to the
stack to be dried and after passing out of this pipe comes in contact with the
screen and circulates through the main chamber and radiators and thus through
the whole stack rick or other body to be dried.
I am thus enabled by the foregoing apparatus and process to permeate a stack
with dry air extracting the moisture which is forced out by the incoming current
of dry air.
I am aware that attempts have been made to dry stacks by exhausting the
air from the centre but the incoming air would vary according to the outside
atmosphere. My invention obviates this.
I also make a tool which is in shape like the frustra of a cone, internally and
externally. It is for correcting the shape of the ends of the air and other pipes
i.e the large end would be smartly placed over the cone and the small end in a
similar manner inside the cone and thus any irregularities of shape would be
corrected before putting the pipes together.