Improvements in Apparatus for Drying Substances such as Coffee Berries and Grain.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 27th June, 1890
Complete Specification Left, 25th Mar., 1891-Accepted, 25th Apr., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Drying Substances such as Coffee
Berries and Grain.
I, WILLIAM ANTHONY DIESELDORFF, of Hollywood, 141, Sunderland Road,
Forest Hill, in the County of Surrey, Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of
this invention to be as follows:-
In the Specification of my Application for Letters Pateni dated 1st November
1889 No. 17,350) I described an apparatus for drying substances such as coffee
berries and grain by means of heated air and simultaneous agitation, such apparatus
comprising two air chambers and an intermediate drying chamber or chambers
furnished with spirally arranged blades or plates secured to the wall thereof and
with means such as longitudinal V shaped channel for carrying the berries to be
agitated when the apparatus is at work, such drying chamber or chambers being
in communication through suitable openings with the said air chambers, the whole
being so mounted as to be capable of rotary motion and the arrangement being such
that heated air can be caused to enter the drying chamber or chambers through one
air chamber and to pass out with vapour and dust or foreign matter from the berries
treated, through the other air chamber.
My present invention has for object to provide apparatus of the kind referred to
with improved means for causing the berries to be thoroughly agitated and dried
when the apparatus is at work. For this purpose I replace the longitudinal division
and the V shaped bars within the drying chamber, by central spirally arranged
curved blades or plates carried by a central longitudinal rod or support, and so
arranged in relation to other or peripheral spirally arranged blades or plates
secured to the wall of the drying chamber that when the apparatus is at work the
coffee berries within that chamber will be lifted and caused to roll over the surface
of the central blades or plates from one end of the drying chamber to the other and
will then be caused to roll over the peripheral blades or plates to the end from
which they started, these motions being continued so long as the drying chamber is
rotated, the coffee berries being simultaneously subjected to the drying action of
heated air drawn through the drying chamber.
According to one construction the central spirally arranged curved blades or
plates are for convenience of formation, each built up of a number of small curved
plates, connected together and arranged the one to overlap the other and leave a
space between the two for passage of heated air. These smaller plates are each'
secured at its inner end or root to a ribbed or fluted boss or sleeve that serves to
carry several of the small plates, one for each of the spiral blades or plates used.
The bosses or sleeves are placed end to end, and are each keyed upon a rod or bar‍
extending longitudinally through the centre of the drying chamber. One or more
of the rollers used for supporting the rotary cylindrical vessel forming the air and
drying chambers, may be provided with teeth that engage with corresponding teeth
on the exterior of the vessel for rotating the same.
In other respects the apparatus may be similar to that described in my said.
former Specification.
1 1
1000

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Drying Substances such as Coffee
Berries and Grain.
I, WILLIAM ANTHONY DIESELDORFF, of Holywood, 141, Sunderland Road,
Forest Hill, in the County of Surrey, Merchant, 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:-
In the Specification of my Application for Letters Patent dated 1st November
1889 No. 17350 I described an apparatus for drying substances such as coffee
berries and grain by means of heated air and simultaneous agitation, such apparatus
comprising two air chambers and an intermediate drying chamber or chambers
furnished with spirally arranged blades or plates secured to the wall thereof and
with means such as longitudinal V shaped channels for carrying the berries to be
agitated when the apparatus is at work, such drying chamber or chambers being in
communication through suitable openings with the said air chambers, the whole
being so mounted as to be capable of rotary motion, and the arrangement being
such that heated air can be caused to enter the drying chamber or chambers
through one air chamber and to pass out, with vapour and dust or foreign matter
from the berries treated, through the other air chamber.
My present invention has for object to provide apparatus of the kind referred to
with improved means for causing the berries to be thoroughly agitated and dried
when the apparatus is at work. For this purpose I replace the longitudinal division
and the shaped bars within the drying chamber of my former apparatus, by
central spirally arranged curved blades or plates which are carried by a central
longitudinal rod or support, and are so arranged in relation to other or peripheral
spirally arranged blades or plates secured to the wall of the drying chamber, that
when the apparatus is at work, the coffee berries within that chamber will be lifted
and caused to roll over the surface of the central blades or plates from one end of
the drying chamber to the other, and will then be caused to roll over the peripheral
blades or plates to the end from which they started, these motions being continued
so long as the drying chamber is rotated, the coffee berries being simultaneously
subjected to the drying action of heated air drawn through the drying chamber.
In other respects the apparatus may be similar to that described in my said
former Specification.
In the accompanying drawings,
Fig. 1 shews in side elevation; and Fig. 2 in plan, the general arrangement of
an apparatus according to this invention for drying substances such as coffee berries
and grain.
Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section, of the drying cylinder to a larger scale, one end
thereof being shown in side elevation, and the central curved blades or plates being
removed to show the peripheral blades or plates.
Fig. 4 is an end elevation of the drying chamber with the end plates removed,
and means employed to support and rotate the said chamber.
Fig. 5 is a longitudinal elevation of a set of plates forming one of the spirally
curved blades or plates with the bosses or sleeves by which they are carried.
Fig. 6 is an end view of one of the bosses or sleeves with two plates carried
thereby.
Fig. 7 shows the rod upon which the bosses or sleeves are fixed.
Fig. 8 is a part elevation ;
Fig. 9 is a longitudinal section; and
Fig. 10 an end view of part of a door and adjacent parts hereinafter referred to.
Fig. 11 is a cross section of the cylinder taken through the door and showing the
means used for operating the same.
1 is a rotary cylindrical vessel provided with double walls 2 and 3 at each end
so as to form two air chambers 4 one at each end of the vessel, and an intermediate

page_text: drying chamber 4ª. Each of the inner end walls 2 is of perforated sheet metal or
gauze, the perforations being of a size less than that of the berries or grain to be
dried.
5 is an inlet pipe carried by the vessel and connected by a stuffing box 6, to a
fixed pipe 7 that is in communication with a stove or air heating apparatus 8 of
any known or suitable construction for supplying hot air to one end of the drying
chamber. 9 is an outlet pipe attached to the opposite end of the vessel and
connected by a stuffing box 10 to the fixed suction pipe 11 of a fan or exhausting
apparatus 12 that may be of any suitable construction. The several parts
mentioned are arranged in a similar manner to the corresponding parts described
and shown in my said former Specification.
15 is a rod arranged centrally within the intermediate drying chamber 4" for
carrying the central spirally arranged curved blades, or plates (hereinafter called
spiral blades). This rod is fixed to bosses 16, one only of which can be seen in
Fig. 3, that are connected each by an annular plate 17 and a number of radial
T-irons 18 to an outer strengthening ring 19 at the corresponding end of the
up of
vessel 1. The spiral blades are, for convenience of manufacture, each built
a number of small plates 20, (Figs. 5 and 6) eight in the example shown, each of
which is slightly curved so that it forms part of a spiral or screw surface. For
this purpose the plates are each carried by a radial flange 21 on a boss 22 that is..
in the example shown, provided with four flanges (Fig. 6) to carry four plates, one
for each of four spiral blades. The bosses are placed end to end upon the shaft 15,.
which is of square form in cross section, and passes through correspondingly
formed holes in the bosses so that the shaft and bosses rotate together. The
bosses are so arranged relatively to each other that the plates forming each set are.
arranged a short distance, in advance of each other in a circumferential direction,
in order to form an approximately spiral or screw surface and so as to leave a
space of say about two inches between each adjacent pair of overlapping edges
which are connected together by bolts or rivets surrounded by tubular distance
pieces. In the arrangement shown each set of plates form a spiral blade that
makes one quarter of a turn around the shaft 15. The end plates of each spiral
blade are connected to T-irons 18 at the ends of the intermediate chamber by
bolts that pass through holes 23 and 24 in the plates and T-irons respectively.
25, are spirally arranged blades or plates fixed at right angles to the inner
periphery of the drying chamber by angle irons 26; they each extend halfway
around the inner surface of the drying chamber, and are preferably of perforated
sheet metal as shown to allow of the passage therethrough of heated air. The
four sets of plates forming the central spiral blades one of which is indicated by
dotted lines in Fig. 3, are curved in the reverse direction or sense to that in which
the peripheral screw blades are curved so that when the vessel 1 is rotated in the
direction of the arrow (Fig. 3) the berries or grain to be treated, will be caused to
roll over the surface of the central screw blades from one end of the drying
chamber to the other, and will then be caused to roll back over the peripheral
screw blades 25 to that end of the chamber from which they started. During
these movements the berries will be subjected to the drying action of the heated
air drawn through the drying chamber and over and amongst the berries by the
fan 12, the air, with the moisture and dust removed from the berries, being
discharged through the outlet of the fan to the external atmosphere as in my
former construction of apparatus.
To the plates 2 and 3 at each end of the vessel and to the corresponding inlet
and outlet pipes 5 and 9 respectively, are attached two concentric hollow truncated
cones 26" that serve to sub-divide the respective air chambers 4 and ensure a more
uniform distribution of air through the drying vessel or cylinder than would
otherwise be the case. Each pipe 5 and 9 is formed with two circular rows of
holes 27, one for each of the chambers formed by the cones 26ª. 28, 28 are anti-
friction rollers for supporting the drying cylinder which is rotated by pinions 29,

page_text: one only of which can be seen in Fig. 4, driven by any convenient means and
gearing with teeth 19ª cast in the outer periphery of the rings 19.
30 is a charging and discharging hole in the wall of the vessel 1. It is controlled
by a curved door 31 arranged to slide in lateral guides 32 and carried by curved
bars 33 that work through guides 34 on the outer side of the vessel. These
bars 33 are formed each with a rack 35 by which they may be moved endways, to
open and close the door 31, by pinions 36, mounted on a shaft 37 that can be
rotated by any convenient means. 38, 38 are screws with handles for holding the
bars 33 and attached door in the open or closed attitudes.
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. In apparatus of the kind referred to for drying substances such as coffee
berries and grain, providing the rotary drying chamber with central spirally
arranged curved blades or plates and with outer spirally curved blades or plates
secured to and projecting inwardly from the wall of the chamber and inclined in
an opposite direction to the central ones, the arrangement being such that when
the drying chamber is rotated, coffee berries or grain therein will roll over the
central blades or plates to one end of the chamber and will afterwards roll over
the outer blades or plates to the opposite end of the chamber, substantially as
hereinbefore described for the purpose specified.
2. In apparatus of the kind referred to, a rotary drying chamber with
central and peripheral spiral blades or plates constructed and arranged substantially
in the manner described and shown.
W. LLOYD WISE,
Per F. J. Brougham,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.Č., Agent for the Applicant.