AN IMPROVED METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR DRYING SUGAR OR OTHER MATERIAL
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Harris Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake,
& Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for an Invention of
"AN IMPROVED METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR DRYING SUGAR OR OTHER
MATERIAL." A communication from abroad by Edward E. Quimby, of
Orange, New Jersey, United States of America, Mechanical Engineer.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Henry Harris Lake at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 6th August 1880.
HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. "AN IMPROVED METHOD OF AND APPARATUS
FOR DRYING SUGAR OR OTHER MATERIAL." A communication from abroad by
Edward E. Quimby, of Orange, New Jersey, United States of America, Mechanical
Engineer.
This Invention relates to an improved method of and apparatus for drying sugar
or other material by heating and agitating it.
In carrying the said Invention into practice I provide a steam-jacketed table
upon one end of which the sugar is deposited, and which is provided with a
reciprocating system of spreaders and pushers by means of which the mass of sugar
is tumbled over and over, and is gradually carried across the steam-heated table,
and discharged in a dry state at the end opposite to that upon which it was
originally deposited.
In the accompanying Drawings,-
Figure 1 is a side elevation.
Figure 2, a plan or top view, and
Figure 3, a transverse vertical section through the line x, x, Figure 1, of my
improved apparatus.
Figure 4 is an elevation drawn to an enlarged scale of one of the pitmans and its

page_text: edge and provided with horizontally-sliding spring-bolts, and Figure 6 an elevation
of the inside of the wall of the table shewing the groove or track in which the
projecting end of the spring-bolt travels.
Figure 7 is an elevation of the sliding gate provided with horizontally-sliding
spring-bolts, and shewing the side walls of the table in vertical transverse
section.
The apparatus consists of a suitably supported table A provided underneath with
the jacket a capable of sustaining a steam-pressure of, say, twenty pounds to the
inch. Vertical walls a¹, a' are erected upon the sides of the table, and the sugar
which is to be dried is fed down upon one end of the table through the chute B.
The mass of sugar is continually agitated and gradually pushed across the table by
means of a reciprocating system of spreaders and pushers, which consists of
transversely arranged parallel rows of vertical teeth c which are carried in a suitable
frame in which they are so fixed that the teeth in each row are respectively opposite
the spaces between the teeth of the next adjoining row or rows. The teeth care
triangular in horizontal section, and are each so placed as to present two inclined
sides toward the end of the table upon which the sugar is deposited from the chute.
The frame c carrying the spstem of spreaders and pushers may be mounted upon
the wheels c² and reciprocated by means of a crank-motion derived from the gear
wheel D.
In moving toward the receiving end A¹ of the table each of the teeth c in the
foremost row ploughs through the mass of sugar, wedging it sidewise immediately
in front of the teeth in the next following row, which in their turn plough
through the sugar and wedge it sidewise immediately in the rear of the teeth
in the front row, and so on. In moving toward the discharging end A² of
the table the flat sides of the teeth push the sugar toward the said discharging
end.
The frame may be also provided with the vertically sliding gates E extending
across the entire width of the table; these gates are raised while the frame is being
moved toward the receiving end of the table, but dropped during its motion in the
opposite direction, for the purpose of pushing the sugar upon the surface of the
table bodily towards the discharging end. The said vertical gates may be
conveniently operated by means of the lifters d affixed to the pitmans D¹, and
extending upward, inward, and downward therefrom. The downwardly-projecting
portion of each of the lifters is provided with the slot d¹ which engages the
horizontal arm e, projecting horizontally from the vertical bar el bolted to the
gate E near its end. The length of the slot d' in each of the lifters is proportioned
with reference to the range of oscillation of that part of the pitman with which
the lever is connected. When the crank to which the pitman is connected is on
its centre the bottoms of the slots d' are not quite in contact with the pins which
the slots respectively engage. As the pitman oscillates in an upward direction
during the backward throw of the frame toward the receiving end, the arms e are
caught by the bottoms of the slots d' and lifted, carrying up the gates E. As the
backward throw continues the gates fall during the downward oscillation of the
pitman from its highest position and are finally let down upon the table when
the backward throw is completed.
During the forward throw the pitman oscillates below the horizontal line, and
the slots d' in the lifters are made sufficiently long to permit the completion of the
downward oscillation of the pitinan without bringing the upper ends of the slots (1
into contact with the arms c. During the forward throw, inasmuch as the gates
rest upon the table, the sugar lying thereupon in front of the gates is pushed
forward toward the end of the table where it is discharged into the receiving
box H.
If desired, one or more rollers may be carried in the frame for the purpose of

page_text: administering a slight pressure to the sugar lying upon the table. One such roller
is represented in the Drawings at F.
The gates E, instead of being made to slide in vertical bearings, may be hinged
along their upper edges to the frame, and be thus capable of swinging outward
during the backward throw of the frame. Each gate may be provided with the
horizontally sliding spring latch or bolt G, shewn in Figure 5, which at the
conclusion of the backward throw of the frame will spring outward and into
the groove g formed in the side wall of the table. The groove g is turned downward
at the end toward the receiving box H and extends horizontally a distance equal to,
say, three quarters of the throw of the frame. During the last quarter of the
backward throw of the frame the swinging gate is given an opportunity to drop
by its own weight against the crossbar of the frame which stops its further
backward oscillation and holds it in a vertical position during the forward
throw.
If desired, in order to ensure the dropping of the gate, the back end of the
groove g may be provided with the spring switch or tongue g₁ which yields
downward to allow the spring bolt G to ride over it, but springs up after the bolt
has passed, and thus presents a downwardly inclined surface to catch the bolt at
the commencement of the return throw, and turn the gate downward if it has not
already fallen by its own weight.
The vertically-sliding gates may also be operated in the same manner.
To effect
this the gates are constructed as shewn in Figure 7, in which the gate is represented
as down and the spring-bolts inwardly depressed. The section of the side wall is
taken at the point which shows the horizontal part of the groove g.
One bearing
for the sliding gate is in this case afforded by the side of the cross-bar I of the frame,
and the other bearing by the arms I bolted to the top of the cross-bar I, and
bending laterally outward and then downward, the downward projection 12 affording
the forward bearing for the side of the gate E. At the conclusion of the forward
throw of the frame in this case, as before, the bolts G respectively drop into the
lower extremities of the inclined portions g² of the grooves, and hence during the
backward throw of the frame are made to travel up the inclined portions g², g²,
and thus carry up the gate E to which they are attached. Before the conclusion
of the backward throw the ends of the bolts respectively ride over the switches g', and
the gate is then free to slide down by its own gravity, or if it sticks fast it will be
forced down by the engagement of the end of the bolt with the under sides of the
switches g' soon after the commencement of the next forward throw of the frame.
The mass of sugar is thus made to travel across the table in a series of zig zag paths
and is tumbled over and over, so that all portions of it are successively brought into
contact with the surface of the heated table and exposed to the air which takes up
the vapor set free by the heat to which the sugar is subjected.
It will be understood that this apparatus may be usefully employed for drying
material other than sugar, that the pressure in the steam jacket may be varied,
and that the length of the table may be proportioned with reference to the amount
of moisture ordinarily present in the material it is designed to operate upon,
so that such material may be made to travel over a longer or shorter heated
path as may be required, in order to expel its moisture. For this purpose the
chute B may be made horizontally movable, so that the material to be dried may
be deposited upon the table at a greater or less distance from the discharging
end.
The chute B may be made movable or adjustable by mounting it upon wheels
and providing it with a horizontal track B¹ immediately over the table. Instead
of the movable chute there may be several stationary chutes for the purpose of
varying the point where the material to be dried is fed upon the table.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to me by my

page_text: foreign correspondent, and the manner of performing the same, I wish it understood
that I claim,
The herein described method of and apparatus for drying sugar or other material,
substantially as above set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Harris Lake, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Sixth day of August, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty.
HENRY H. LAKE. (LS.)