Improvements in Apparatus for Drying Brewers' Grains and similar substances.
Year: 1892

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by EDWARD MICHNE PARKER, of 645, West
46th Street, New York City, United States of America, Manufacturer.]
Improvements in Apparatus for Drying Brewers' Grains and similar
substances.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine Lake & Co. Patent Agents,
45 Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, 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:-
My invention relates to that class of grain driers or apparatus for drying
brewer's grains and similar substances, in which the grain is fed continuously
through a series of cylindrical pipes, called conveyors, and provided with a feeding
screw, by which the grain received at one end of the conveyor is fed forward to
the other end, where it drops to the next succeeding cylinder and so on.
Many forms of such conveyors are now in use, the successive cylinders some-
times arranged one above the other vertically, and sometimes arranged in a nearly
horizontal series; and many different constructions of the feed screw the cylinder
itself, the means for operating the same and heating and cooling the cylinders are
well known.
My invention consists in improvements made in the construction of the con-
veyor whereby the hot blast is received with less tendency to overheat the bearing
on which the conveyor turns, and is made to permeate the grain more thoroughly
than has heretofore been the case.
In the accompanying drawings,
Figure 1 represents two such conveyors arranged one above the other; the
means for operating said conveyor and the rest of the series not being shown, as
many well known forms of arranging and operating the same will readily suggest
themselves.
Figure 2 shows the cylinder shell, as constructed in my improved manner, one
of the bands being slipped off of the end.
Figure 3 is a cross section of the feed screw.
Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the different figures
of the drawings.
A is the box at the top of the apparatus into which the grain is first fed.
B represents the cylinders open at both ends, one end communicating with one of
the boxes of the series A. A and the other end communicating with one of the
series of boxes C C'; so that when the grain is fed through the conveyor B
into C, it drops upon the conveying shaft at C, by which it is fed back to the
box A when it drops into the next box and conveyor, and so on.
Each cylinder is provided with the hollow perforated shaft D, into which the hot
blast is admitted from the pipe E and from which it passes through the
perforations a, into the grain surrounding said shaft and escapes through the open
top F, (Figure 2) into the surrounding air.
The hollow shafts D are provided with the feeding threads b, by means of
which the grain is fed through the cylinder from end to end in the usual way, the
motion being reversed in each alternate cylinder.
Thus far, there is nothing new in the above described apparatus; and my
improved invention consists
First, in providing the paddles H, which are set into the perforated shaft at
suitable intervals, immediately ahead of the screw b, the purpose of which will be
presently described.
Second, in making the pipe I, through which the hot blast is introduced into the

page_text: centre of the perforated cylinder B, sufficiently small to enter the same for a con-
siderable distance, for the purpose presently to be described.
And third, in constructing the upper half of the cylinder or conveyor separately
from the lower half, in the two curved plates d-d, which do not quite meet each
other, leaving the longitudinal opening F and securing said upper half to the lower
half of the cylinder by rivets e-, passing through the flange, which are made
integral with said upper and lower half, and further binding the same together by
the rings or clamps G, (Figure 2).
A conveyor provided with and containing all three of these improved features,
have found much superior to conveyors without them; and a conveyor which has
one or more of these improved features is to that extent superior to ordinary
conveyors.
The necessity of the paddles H arises from the fact that the grain seeks to
remain at the bottom of the conveyor; and hence, the perforations a, on the upper
portion of the perforated shaft D, frequently become exposed and waste a corre-
sponding quantity of the hot blast, which, in said case, passes out of the conveyor,
through the slot F, without having had any effect upon the grain which lay
entirely below it.
The paddle corrects this difficulty, because, being set practically at right angles
to the perforated shaft, as shown in Figure 3, it serves as a scoop to lift up the grain
from the bottom of the conveyor, as the shaft revolves and spreads it over the top
of the perforated shaft, thus keeping it constantly covered.
Many forms of this paddle might be adopted, but I have found the better form
to be one which tapers gradually from a point near the edge of the screw thread
down to the surface of the perforated shaft, as shown in Figure 1. Although I
have shown two of the paddles between each spiral of the screw, I have found,
that for ordinary purposes, a single paddle for each spiral is sufficient.
The object of the pipe I, for carrying the hot blast into the perforated shaft D,
as shown in Figure 1, beyond the bearing on which said shaft turns, will be readily
appreciated by all who have had experience with hot journal boxes and it is
preferable to construct this pipe I slightly tapering, so that the joint may be more
perfect and that the bearing may be somewhat cooled by the tendency of the air,
immediately surrounding the smaller end of the pipe I, to become rarified.
The purpose of constructing the conveyor in separate pieces held together by
the bands G, is to facilitate the taking apart the conveyors, for cleaning the same
or to repair the conveying shaft, the screw of which is more or less liable to break
if the conveyor becomes clogged.
By removing one or more of the clamps G, the first plate d can be taken off
without disturbing the rest of the conveyor, and thus, the delays and disadvantages
accompanying the removal of the conveyor itself are done away.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed as communicated to me by
my foreign correspondent I declare that what I claim is :-
:―
1. A conveyor for grain driers, in which the open top and the closed bottom of
the conveyor are formed in separate pieces, held together by suitable rings and
rivets, substantially as shown and described.
2. An improved conveyor for grain driers provided with a series of paddles
arranged along the perforated shaft in advance of the screw thread, substantially
as shown and described.
3. In a conveyor for grain driers, the tapering pipe I connecting the hot blast
pipe with the interior of the perforated shaft, substantially as shown and for the
purposes specified.
4. An improved conveyor for grain driers which is provided with paddles set
into the perforated shaft and operating to keep the perforations constantly covered
by the grain which is being fed through the conveyor and with a tapering pipe
which extends from the hot blast pipe into the inside of said perforated shaft,

page_text: through and beyond the bearing of said shaft, substantially as shown and
described.
5. In a conveyor for grain driers, the combination of a hollow, perforated shaft,
a screw thread extending spirally around said perforated shaft and a series of
tapering paddles set into said perforated shaft at right angles to the screw thread,
substantially as shown and for the purposes specified.
Dated this 30th day of August 1892.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.