Improvements in or relating to Drying and to Apparatus therefor.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 2nd June, 1898
Complete Specification left 1st Apr 1800 Acccated
12th May 1000
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Drying and to Apparatus therefor.
I, SELLSBY WILLSON, of The Lyd, Wembley, in the County of Middlesex,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to the drying of different kinds of material, but as it is
particularly suitable for the drying of peat, I will describe it as applied thereto,
it being understood that I may use the apparatus for the drying of any materials
to which it is applicable, and may make such modifications in its construction
as will best adapt it to each particular purpose.
The drying apparatus comprises a tubular structure which may if desired b
placed horizontally, and provided with means for forcing the material through
it, but I prefer to elevate one end of it so that as the tube revolves the material
will gravitate to the lower end. To assist in the drying and also if necessary in
the disintegrating of the materials I employ any desired number-say for example
four-vanes or wings which may be arranged parallel to the axis of the tube or
spirally; these vanes rotate with the tube, lift the materials up towards its upper
part, from which they fall again to the lower part and are again taken up.
The heat required for the drying may be obtained in two ways.
First I either apply a jet or blast of air heated or not to the interior of the
tube, so that it travels up in the direction opposite to that in which the material
is gravitating down the tube, but where this can be accomplished I prefer to use
the tube as a portion of the flue from any source of heat, such as a steam boiler
furnace retorts or the like. The draught through the flue of hot air exercises
a rapid drying effect upon the materials in the tube, while no material expense
is incurred.
or not.
Second I jacket the tube and supply to the space between the tube and its
jacket a heating or drying medium, say for example, steam whether superheated
The tube at its ends may be made a sufficiently tight fit in the jacket
by means of stuffing boxes or other equivalent devices to prevent the escape, cr
at all events, the serious escape of the heating medium. The tube may be carried
on rollers or equivalent inside the jacket to support it and allow of its free
rotation, which may be secured by belt, toothed, or other gearing or equivalent
means,
At its lower end the tube may deliver the material passed through it into an
air-tight chamber, from which it may be removed either continuously or inter-
mittently by machinery or by hand, doors or other devices being provided for this
purpose as desired.
At its upper end the tube opens into the chimney stack so as to deliver the
contents of the flue into the stack.
The material may be fed by hand or otherwise to the tube, but I prefer to
have an endless travelling belt or carrier of suitable material to resist the heat
on the tube. Where peat or similar material is employed it may be broken up
by disintegrating apparatus by which it would fall on to the travelling band. The
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page_text: material may be supplied to the disintegrator in various ways according to the
arrangement of the works, but generally it may be placed into a hopper or recep-
tacle from which it is elevated by a conveyor and deposited in a trough or receptacle
from which a worm or other device will deliver it to the disintegrator.
The above arrangement I prefer from. motives of economy and convenience, but
as explained above I may use the invention quite apart from the chimney stack.
or flue.
BOULT & WADE,
Agents for the Applicant.
Improvements in or relating to Drying and to Apparatus therefor.
I, SELLSBY WILLSON, of 11, Queen Victoria Street, E.C., in the County of
London, Engineer, late of The Lyd, Wembley, 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:-
This invention relates to the drying of different kinds of material, but as it is
particularly suitable for the drying of peat, I will describe it as applied thereto,
it being understood that I may use the apparatus for the drying of any materials
to which it is applicable, and may make such modifications in its construction
as will best adapt it to each particular purpose.
The drying apparatus comprises a tubular structure which may if desired be
placed horizontally, and provided with means for foreing the material through
it, but I prefer to elevate one end of it so that as the tube revolves the material
will gravitate to the lower end. To assist in the drying and also if necessary in
the disintegrating of the materials I employ any desired number-say for example
four vanes or wings which may be arranged parallel to the axis of the tube or
spirally these vanes rotate with the tube, lift the materials up towards its upper
part, from which they fall again to the lower part to be again taken up.
The heat required for the drying may be obtained in two ways.
First I either apply a jet or blast of air heated or not to the interior of the
tube, so that it travels up in the direction opposite to that in which the material
is gravitating down the tube, but where this can be accomplished I prefer to use
the tube as a portion of the flue from any source of heat, such as a steam boiler
furnace, retorts or the like. The draught through the flue of hot air exercises
a rapid drying effect upon the materials in the tube, while no material expense
in incurred.
Or not.
Second I jacket the tube and supply to the space between the tube and its
jacket a heating or drying medium, say for example, steam whether superheated
The tube at its ends may be made a sufficiently tight fit in the jacket
by means of stuffing boxes or other equivalent devices to prevent the escape, or
at all events, the serious escape of the heating medium. The tube may be carried
on rollers or equivalent inside the jacket to support it and allow of its free
rotation, which may be secured by belt, toothed, or other gearing or equivalent
means.
At its lower end the tube may deliver the material passed through it into an
air-tight chamber, from which it may be removed either continuously or inter-
mittently by machinery or by hand, doors or other devices being provided for this
purpose as desired.

page_text: At its upper end the tube opens into the chimney stack so as to deliver the
contents of the flue into the stack.
The material may be fed by hand or otherwise to the tube.
The above arrangement I prefer from motives of economy and convenience, but
as explained above I may use the invention quite apart from the chimney stack
or flue.
In the accompanying drawings
Figure 1 is a general elevation of an apparatus for drying peat.
Figura 2 is a longitudinal section on the line 2-2 of Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a section on the line 3--3 of Figure 1.
Figure 4 is a section on the line 44 of Figure 1.
Figure 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of Figure 1.
Figure 6 is a section on the line 6-6 of Figure 5.
Figures 7, 8 and 9 are cross sections of the vanes of the drying chamber at
different portions of their length.
Like letters indicate like parts in all the figures.
A is a drying chamber constructed of light metal plates. It is formed as a long
cylinder, with open ends, and placed at a slight incline from the horizontal within
a brick furnace or heating chamber conveniently formed in two sections B, B¹.
The lower end A¹ of the cylinder A is rotatably secured in a bearing E in a
party wall C, forming one end of the furnace section B, and one side of a closel
chamber C. The upper end A2 is held in a similar bearing in the end wall of
the furnace section B, which forms part of the stack D).
The cylinder A is also supported centrally on a bearing F, shown in section in
Figure 4, comprising three rollers F1 carried pivotally in a casing F2, the cylinder
being provided with a strengthening ring A which takes the bearing on the
rollers.
By constructing the furnace in two sections, as shown in Figure 1 the bearing F
is kept from contact with the combustion gases of the furnace, it is evident how-
ever that if desired a heating chamber formed in one section may be employed.
The bearings E for the ends of the cylinder are shown on a larger scale in
Figures 5 and 6 and comprise a flanged ring E with preferably four slotted lugs E³
in which are pivotted rollers E³ which take a bearing on a strengthening ring A³
on the cylinder A. The ring E' is built in or secured to its retaining wall in any
convenient manner.
Within the end A¹ of the cylinder A is a centrally placed ring A', rigidly held
in place by arms A5 fixed to the wall of the cylinder. Immovably secured on to
the ring is a tube A, which passes through the chamber C, a roller bearing G,
(similar in construction to the bearing E already described) being provided where
it passes through the wall C2 of the chamber.
The tube A is provided, outside the chamber C, with a gear wheel A7, by means
of which the tube A and with it the drying chamber A is rotated--the wheel being
driven by suitable connections from any convenient source of power.
The extreme outer end of the tube A is furnished with a gland or stuffing
box A10 of ordinary construction, by which it is revolubly connected to a pipe, A³
forming the delivery pipe of a fan or other circulating device (not shown in the
drawings).
Into the other end A2 of the cylinder, is carried a shoot or trough H, which
passes through the stack or flue D, as shown in Figure 1, and serves to feed the
peat into the drying chamber. The trough is arranged to deliver the peat into the
under half of the cylinder A, and may be provided outside the stack with a hopper
or the like, into which the peat may be conveyed by a travelling band, by hand
or any suitable means.
'
A shaft K carrying beaters K¹ may if desired be placed centrally within the
cylinder A. It may be carried in bearings in cross bars K² secured to the wall
of the cylinder, and extended beyond the stack or flue 1), being furnished with
a pulley K³ driven from any convenient source of power.

page_text: Secured internally to the wall of the cylinder is a plurality of vanes or wings As,
conveniently five in number as shown in Figure 4, arranged parallel to the axis
of the cylinder. These stand out from the wall of the cylinder so as to collect
and carry up and round any material deposited in the bottom of the cylinder, and
their free edge is formed with a curve gradually varying from one end to the
other, in such a manner that the material caught up by each vane in the higher
end A of the cylinder, where the peat enters the drying chamber, falls therefrom
before the vane has travelled far in an upward direction, whilst at the lower
end A', from which the dried material is discharged, a large proportion of the
material caught up by the vanes is held thereon until it has been carried past
the upper median line before it again falls to the bottom of the cylinder. Figures 7,
8 and 9 show this formation, being cross sections of a vane taken respectively on
the link lines 7 8 and 9 of Figure 2. By this construction the material tends
to pass through and he disposed in the cylinder aslant the current of gas or
vapour, that is whilst the material is kept in motion and disposed all over the
interior of the cylinder at the lower end, it gradually slopes away towards the
upper end, where the top half of the cylinder is comparatively free of material.
By this means the current of gases or vapour entering through the pipe A6, passes
through and takes up moisture from the material during its passage through the
first half of the cylinder but merely passes over the material during the remainder
of its travel to the escape shaft D). It is thus prevented from becoming surcharged
with moisture and depositing the same as might happen if passed through the
material for the whole length of the cylinder.
Each section B 13 of the heating chamber is provided with a grate of any usual
construction (not shown in the figures) and door 12, and with a flue B³ uniting
to form a common flue B. From the flue B+ proceeds a tube B forming the
suction pipe of a fan or other circulating device for the combustion gases, of
which device the tube A already described is the delivery pipe.
Desirably the flue B is provided with an opening into the air controlled by a
cover B to permit the combustion gases of the heating chamber escaping directly
into the air when requisite without passing through the drying chamber.
If desired the tube 135 may be connected directly to the tube A and the natural
draught of the stack 1) depended on to effect the circulation of the gases through
the drying chamber.
The chamber C is provided with a door C for the removal of the dried product.
Instead of the heating chamber B B' being provided with grates and forming a
furnace, it may constitute merely a jacket the combustion gases from an indepen-
dent source of heat being conducted into it.
Whilst in the manufacture of dried peat, it is advantageous to employ the actual
combustion gases, when the apparatus is used for other purposes, such as drying
fish their use would be prejudicial. In this case air or other gas or vapour heated
in any usual heating apparatus would he employed, and this may be used as
described above first in the heating chamber and them in the drying chamber, or
it may be passed directly into the drying chamber and the heating chamber heated
independently.
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
I claim is:
1. In drying-apparatus of the kind described devices to agitate the material
treated and dispose it for the purpose specified aslant a current of gas with or
without rotary beaters.
2. A rotary drying chamber having vanes such as AS so formed and situated
therein as to agitate the material treated and dispose it for the purpose specified
aslant a current of gas.
3. In drying apparatus the combination with a rotary inclined drying chamber

page_text: such as A of vanes such as A8 having a varying curvature at different portions of
their length substantially as and for the purpose described.
4. In drying apparatus the employment of vanes such as As for the purpose
described.
5. The manufacture of dried peat by subjecting peat to agitation in gas or vapour
in a drying chamber heated externally by jackets or otherwise.
6. The manufacture of dried peat by subjecting the peat to agitation in a drying
chamber heated externally by a heating medium which is subsequently passed
through the interior of the chantber.
7. In drying apparatus the combination with a rotary inclined drying chamber
of a heating chamber such as B B' and means for drawing the heating medium
from the heating chamber and forcing it through the drying chamber substantially
as described.
8. The complete drying apparatus substantially as and for the purpose described
or illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
SELLSBY WILLSON,
Boult & Wade,
Agents for the Applicant.