Improvements in Structures and Apparatus for Drying Bricks.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 16th May, 1892-Accepted, 23rd July. 1992
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Structures and Apparatus for Drying Bricks.
FOR
I, MAX WOLFF, of 3152 Calumet Avenue, in the City of Chicago and State of
Illinois, United States of America, Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of
this invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN STRUCTURES AND APPARATUS
DRYING BRICKS," and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention has for its object to provide a construction adapted for drying
bricks in hot-air driers of the class in which the material to be dried is moved
slowly through the drier on cars. For the drying of lumber, kilns of this
general character have long been known and successfully used, and numerous
and expensive attempts have been made to employ the same principle in the
Bricks of
drying of brick. Hitherto these attempts have been without success.
the ordinary machine-made description (not those known as "pressed bricks")
In this con-
emerge from the forming machine in a comparatively wet state.
dition they are piled upon cars, cob fashion, or with spaces between them to
allow the admission and passage of hot air. In attempting to dry such bricks
in hot-air kilns of the character referred to as adapted for lumber drying it has
been found that the moisture expelled from the bricks in the rear portion of
the kiln is transferred to those just admitted at the front, with the effect of
wetting the latter (already as wet as they should be to stand) so that they
crush under their own weight and become shapeless and useless. Another difficulty
has been the improper distribution of the heat, with the result of cracking
the bricks.
By my invention herein described the excessive moistening of the bricks near
the entrance end, and the cracking of the bricks as they progress through the
kiln, have been entirely obviated and bricks may be dried with the same
certainty, uniformity and success as lumber may be dried in kilns of this
general character as heretofore constructed for that purpose.
In the successful lumber driers of the class referred to the lumber (which by
its nature may be piled to any practicable height) extends from the surface of
the low trucks just above the floor of the drier to a point very close to the
roof, or practically fills the whole transverse section of the drier, whether
arranged on one or more series of cars. The hot air therefore passes hori-
zontally through the piles of lumber and dries it, being hotter, of course, as it
passes through the piles nearest the rear end of the drier than it is as passes
through the succeeding stacks or piles on its way to the air exit which is at the
front end at which the material to be dried is admitted. This movement of the
air through successive piles of the lumber of necessity involves the transference
of moisture from one pile to another, but in the case of lumber this is not
objectionable since it cannot lose its shape by wetting. In the case of brick,
however, which are as wet when admitted as they can be without losing their
form, this further wetting is not practicable, as already pointed out.
therefore necessary that the moisture expelled from the car loads of brick.
occupying advanced positions in the drier shall not enter the bricks on the care
nearer the entrance. To prevent this, the drier, while similar in some respects
to that employed for drying lumber, differs materially therefrom in many
important particulars. For example, in the approved lumber drier of the class
referred to, the heat is admitted to the drying chamber exclusively at or at and
near the extreme rear end of the drying chamber, and although there is a
tendency of this air to fall as its burden of moisture increases in its progress
It is

page_text: towards the opposite end of the drier; there is no adequate passage for it except
through the lumber piles because the trucks are low above the tight, subjacent
floor. The lumber just admitted is therefore first made wetter before it is dried,
which, while perhaps advantageous in the case of lumber, is impracticable in the
case of brick, for reasons already stated.
In the brick drier here described the hot air is not admitted exclusively at
or at and near one end of the drier, but throughout a greater portion of its
length and there is ample room provided beneath the bricks for the passage of
the moisture-laden air, so as to leave the upper space, occupied by the openly
piled brick, for the passage of the dryer and drying air. That is to say, the
heating apparatus, which is located beneath the floor, extends say three-quarters
of the length of the drier, or say 75 feet out of a total length of 100 feet, and
the floor above this heating apparatus is perforated or open so that the hot air
rises into the drying chamber throughout this greater portion of the length of
the drier. This results in an upward movement of the hot and dry air with
only moderate force through the brick piles and through the downwardly moving
moist air. To provide room for the horizontal passage of this moist air
without encountering the bricks, the cars have their bottoms elevated above the
floor of the drying chamber about one-fourth the height of the chamber. Only
the drying air therefore passes through the bricks while the wet air passes
beneath them harmlessly. This ample space beneath the car loads of bricks
extends throughout the entire length of the drier beyond the heating apparatus
and above the tight floor, and at the extreme entrance end of the drier is
located a chimney having a low inlet and a forcible draft, said inlet being at
the level of the adjacent floor of the drying chamber. The moist air s therefore
drawn along under the newly admitted bricks to its exit end and only drying
air passes through or in contact with them. This drying air at the entrance
end of the drier is, however, less heated than when admitted to the drying
chamber, from having already passed in contact with only partially dried brick
above the heating apparatus, and its drying action upon the newly admitted
brick is therefore moderate and slow, as it should be to prevent cracking.
the brick pass on, this action is gradually intensified and when they reach a
position over the heating apparatus they are fitted for the more rapid and
powerful action of hot air which then rises directly from the heating pipes.
As
The air chimney may be desirably provided with a deflector at its lower end a
in the form of a curtain or vertically sliding doorway by which the general
level of the upper margin of the air exit may be varied according to circum-
stances, as, for example, according to the dryness or moisture of the brick.
The essential facts, however, are that the heating apparatus is extended for the
greater proportion of the length of the drier; open floors are provided
immediately above all the heating apparatus, and a high space is provided
beneath the cars, particularly over the shorter closed portion of the floor near
the entrance end of the drier so that the wet air passing out of the drier is
kept out of contact with the freshly formed and newly admitted brick and
therefore fails to wet them down. These features of the invention are illustrated 4
in the accompanying drawings in which
Figure 1 is a side elevation of a brick drier shown in vertical section for a greater
portion of its length to illustrate the relative length of the heating apparatus and
the open floor above it.
Figure 2 is an end view showing the entrance end with the doors uplifted and 5
illustrating the car loads of bricks on the tracks which extend along the floor of the
drying chamber.
..
Figure 3 is a horizontal section taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 1 or above the
floor and illustrating by heavy dotted lines the openings in the floor between the
tracks on which the brick cars run. A portion of this perforated floor is removed, 5
showing the subjacent steam heating pipes.
Figure 4 is an enlarged view of the same matters shown in Figure 3...

page_text: Figure 5 is an enlarged vertical section through a portion of the heating
apparatus.
Figure 6 is a side elevation of a desirable construction of the main pipes and the
headers for the supply of the several sections of pipes forming the steam heating
apparatus.
Figure 7 is a plan view of the headers, showing the return or discharge pipes
leading the water of condensation from the return headers to a point or points of
discharge.
A represents a housing forming a long tunnel enclosed at the sides and top,
B is
the enclosed space constituting the drying chamber, C, of the apparatus.
an air chimney located at the receiving end of the drying chamber C. The
air-heating chamber, E, is located beneath the chamber and extends proxi-
mately or substantially three-quarters of the length of said chamber, measuring
from the delivery end of the latter. A¹ is a shed or covering in line with the
drying chamber C and extending beyond the entrance end of said chamber,
and A is a corresponding shed or covering extending beyond the opposite or
exit end of said drying chamber. The housing A is provided at each of its
ends with a plurality of hinged doors, a, opening outward in the manner indicated
in dotted lines in Figures 1, 3, 4 and 5. The floor of the housing A and
sheds A' A is inclined, as indicated in Figure 1, from the front or entrance
end thereof to the rear or exit end, and on this floor is laid a plurality of
parallel tracks, a¹, four of these being shown in the present instance, although
it is obvious that any number from one upward may be employed, as may be
desirable or necessary, the number of doors a at each end corresponding, of
course, with the number of tracks. Those portions of the tracks which are not
immediately over the heating apparatus may, if it be deemed advisable, be laid
directly upon the surface of the soil, as in the construction shown.
portions of the tracks above the heating apparatus are supported by transverse
girders, D, carried by pillars or uprights, D¹, which rest upon the floor, e, of
the air-heating chamber, E. These girders also support a sheet metal floor, E',
which forms the top of the air-heating chamber E, separating the same from
the drying chamber, and being provided with apertures, e', through which the
heated air may readily pass from the heating to the drying chamber.
Those
The chamber E is provided at its rear end, which is the end farthest from the air
chimney B, with a door, e, which controls the air inlet to the said chamber, the
said inlet communicating with an air-inlet chamber, E2, the flooring of the shed A²
above the chamber E2 having openings, as shown at e, thus forming an apertured
top for said chamber E' through which the outer air may freely enter. As the air-
heating chamber E is of unusual relative length the air supplied from the end inlet
in some cases becomes heated and rises before, travelling the entire length of the
chamber E. and in such cases I provide lateral air inlets, E³, at suitable points
to provide an air supply for those radiators nearest the front end of the chamber E.
These lateral air inlets will, of course, be provided with some such controlling
means as that shown in connection with the end inlet.
As, a means for heating the air thus introduced into the chamber E, I employ
a plurality of steam heated radiators, F, four of these being shown in the present
instance, although it is obvious that the number may be varied to suit the
requirements of the case. It will be noted that the pipes, f, of which the radiators
are composed, are arranged longitudinally of the chamber E, thereby materially
aiding the circulation of the air by favoring its movement longitudinally through
the said chamber. Each radiator F is provided with a supply header, F¹, and a
return header, F³, and comprises a plurality of pipes, arranged in parallel,
longitudinal, vertical planes, each starting from the supply header and returning
to the return header, the said headers being arranged transversely of the
chamber E at the bottom thereof, as shown. A steam supply pipe, G, leading
from any suitable source of steam, extends along the top of the chamber E at
"

page_text: or near the central line thereof, and is provided at suitable intervals with
downwardly extending branch pipes, g, leading to the respective supply-headers F¹.
From each return header F2 a separate discharge pipe, h, leads to a common
discharge header, H. A pipe, h₁, extends from the header H to a trap, H', having
a discharge pipe, h, and a blow-off' pipe, h³, provided with a controlling valve, h",
which is connected with the pipe ¹ between the header H and trap H¹. A
valve, , is also provided in the pipe h¹ between the blow-off connection and trap.
The headers F F are provided with a common drip pipe f¹.
The cars, I, are so constructed, as shown in the drawings, that their bottoms or
the lowest platforms upon which the bricks rest are high enough to have a space
between them and the floor of the drying chamber equal to about one-fourth the
total height of said chamber, the bricks being piled openly thereon, as shown,
so as to reach practically to the roof of the chamber. An ample space is thus
formed below the bricks for the passage of moisture-laden air to the air exit.
The air chimney B is preferably provided with a curtain or vertically sliding or
hinged door, B', which forms a deflector by means of which the level of the air exit
may be brought opposite the end of this space between the car bottoms and floor,
80 as to prevent the moisture-laden air from rising through the fresh brick at the
front end of the drying chamber. This deflector may, of course, be raised to
permit the passage of the cars.
The operation is as follows: The cars I, constructed as described, are placed
upon the several tracks a¹ and loaded with the bricks to be dried, the cycle of
operations being such that, when the apparatus is in full use, the several tracks
of the drier will always be full of such loaded cars, a car carrying undried brick
being moved in through the doors a at the entrance end whenever a car containing
dried brick is removed through the corresponding doors a at the exit or rear end of
the drier, the movement of the cars being by gravity due to the inclination of the
track, and being gradual. In passing through the front portion of the drying
hamber, the moist brick are not exposed to the effects of the moisture-laden air
from the remaining portion of the drier, since such moist air passes beneath them;
neither are they subjected to air of too high temperature because the dryer air
which passes through them has lost some of its heat by the time it has reached
the front end of the drying chamber. The fresh brick are therefore first subjected
to a dry heat of a comparatively low degree, and are not subjected to the full
effect of the hot air from the air-heating chamber until the car reaches that
portion of the drying chamber immediately over the heating apparatus. During
their travel through this portion of the drying chamber the brick are thoroughly
dried, being subjected to the high, dry heat rising directly from the heating
chamber through the apertured floor of the drying chamber. The air and steam
supply can be regulated in an obvious manner and the air exit into the chimney
may be controlled by means of the devices provided for that purpose, so as to
regulate the temperature and drying action within the drying chamber as may be
required by the circumstances. By reason of the construction and operation
described, bricks may be successfully dried without crushing or cracking and with
certainty and uniformity.
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 1
claim is :
1: In a steam-heated brick drier, the combination with an oblong drying
chamber provided with longitudinal rail tracks for cars and having a perforated
sheet-iron floor for about three-fourths its length, and a close floor for the
remainder of its length, measuring from the discharging end towards its receiving
end, of a steam air-heating apparatus located beneath said perforated floor and
extending substantially its full length, an inlet or inlets for the admission of air
to said heating chamber, an air chimney at the forward or receiving end of the

page_text: drying chamber, a space being provided between the car bottom and the floor
sufficient to allow the moisture-laden air to escape beneath the bricks standing over
the close portion of the floor, substantially as described.
2: In a steam-heated brick drier, the combination with an oblong drying
chamber provided with longitudinal rail tracks for cars and having a perforated
sheet-iron floor for about three-fourths its length, measuring from the discharging
end towards its receiving end, of a steam air-heating apparatus located beneath
Baid perforated floor and extending substantially its full length, an inlet or inlets
for the admission of air to said heating chamber, an air chimney at the forward or
receiving end of the drying chamber, and cars fitted to said tracks and provided
with open, slatted bottoms elevated above the floor of the drying chamber far
enough to allow the passage of the wet air beneath them on its way towards the
air chimney, located as described.
3: In a steam-heated brick drier, the combination with an oblong drying.
chamber provided with longitudinal tracks for cars, and doors at its opposite ends,
of an air chimney located at the receiving end of said drying chamber, a subjacent
air heating chamber extending from a point beneath the rear or discharging end of
said drying chamber about three-fourths the length of the latter and separated
from said drying chamber by a perforated sheet-iron floor, steam air-heating-
devices extending substantially the entire length of the air-heating chamber,
composed of steam radiating pipes arranged lengthwise of said chamber and
occupying substantially its entire length, said air-heating chamber having an
inlet for air to be heated at its end beneath the discharging end of the drying.
chamber whereby the air admitted to said heating chamber passes towards the
opposite end thereof and through the perforated floor of the drying chamber
onward in the same general direction towards the air discharging chimney of said
drying chamber, and cars having their bottoms elevated above the floor of the
drying chamber a distance equal to about one-fourth the entire height of the latter
whereby the wet air may escape beneath the newly admitted bricks, substantially
as described.
Dated this 11th day of April 1892,
D. Young & Co.,
MAX WOLFF.
11 & 12, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant..