IMPROVEMENTS IN DRYING ARTICLES MADE OF PLASTIC MATERIALS
Year: 1855

page_text: Sealed the 29th May 1855, and dated the 8th February 1855.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Frederick Ransome at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
8th February 1855.
I, FREDERICK RANSOME, of Ipswich, do hereby declare the nature of the
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN DRYING ARTICLES MADE OF PLASTIC MATERIALS"
to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to improve the drying process to which
articles of plastic materials are subjected. Heretofore such articles have been
dried by the atmosphere in the open air, or in sheds, and in some cases by
buildings, or rooms, or chambers artificially heated, and at the same time well
ventilated, to get rid of the vapour of water coming from the articles which are
being subject to such artificial drying. Now, my Invention consists of placing
such articles in a close vessel or chamber, and heating the same up to a com-
paratively high degree of heat before the vapours of water are allowed to
escape, by which the drying of articles will be greatly improved. The form
and construction of the vessel or chamber employed and the means of heating
may be varied; but I prefer to employ an iron cylinder, constructed to open

page_text: and close at one or both ends, with the cylinder being surrounded by a steam
jacket; by these or similar means the articles of plastic materials may be
raised by degrees up to a comparatively high temperature (say, 212° of
Fahrenheit), by which the water contained in them will be driven off' or
separated from the articles of plastic material without injury, the vapour being
wholly or for the most part retained within the vessel or chamber during such
process, and they may be allowed to escape, and the articles cooled down,
when they will be in a condition to be subjected to the heat of a kiln or oven.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Frederick Ransome in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 6th August 1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, FREDERICK
RANSOME, of Ipswich, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victorin, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the eighteenth year of Her reign,
lid, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Frederick Ransome, Iler special licence that I, the said Frederick Ransome,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Frederick
Ransome, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the
term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN DAYING ARTICLES
MADE OF PLASTIC MATERIALS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said Frederick Ransome, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to
be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Frederick Ransome, do hereby declaro
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof (that is to say) :-
The object of this Invention is to improve the drying process to which

page_text: may
v
articles of plastic materials are subjected. Heretofore such articles have been
dried by the atmosphere in the open air, or in sheds, and in some cases by
buildings, or rooms, or chambers artificially heated, and at the same time well
ventilated, to get rid of the vapour of water coming from the articles which are
being subject to such artificial drying. Now, my Invention consists of placing
such articles in a close vessel or chamber, and heating the same up to a com-
paratively high degree of heat before the vapours of water are allowed to
escape, by which the drying of articles will be greatly improved. The form
and construction of the vessel or chamber employed and the means of heating
be varied; but I prefer to employ an iron cylinder, constructed to open
and close at one or both ends, with the cylinder being surrounded by a steam
jacket; by these or similar means, the articles of plastic materials may be
raised by degrees up to a comparatively high temperature (say, 212° of
Fahrenheit), by which the water contained in them will be driven off or sepa-
rated from the articles of plastic material without injury, the vapours being.
wholly or for the most part retained within the vessel or chamber during such
process, and they may be allowed to escape, and the articles cooled down,
when they will be in a condition to be subjected to the heat of a kiln or oven.
Having thus stated the nature of my said Invention, I will proceed to
describe the manner of performing the same.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 shows a longitudinal section, and Figure 2 a transverse section, of
the apparatus employed by me in carrying out my Invention.
a, a, is the
interior chambers; b, b, is the exterior chamber, or steam jacket, which I prefer
completely to surround the inner chamber; c is the steam pipe, for supplying
steam to the vessel b. I usually employ the wasto steam of a high-pressure
steam engine working with steam at 50 lbs. pressure on the square inch in the
boiler, but this may be varied. The steam pipe shewn is arranged for supply-
ing two drying chambers, and the steam pipe is to be provided with valves to
regulate the supply of steam to the drying chambers. The articles of plastic
materials are to be piled on trucks, which have wheels to run on the railway
9,9, formed within the inner chamber a, as shown. d is an eduction way for
steam and water; e is a door, perforated at its upper parts, with holes, for the
free passage away of aqueous vapours driven off from the articles of plastic
materials which are for the time being undergoing the process of drying; or
the vents or outlets may be otherwise arranged. f are stays, to keep the
vessels a and b separate. In the Drawing the apparatus is shewn to be cylin-
drical, and open only at one end, but the form of the apparatus or chambers

page_text: may be varied, and, if desired, the chamber a may be open at both ends; and
it will be desirablo that such should be the case when the chamber a is of con-
siderable length. By this moans of drying bricks, tiles, and other articles of
clay, artificial stone, cement, or such like plastic material, great advantage will
be derived, as, by such means, when the articles are comparatively moist tho
heat may be controlled, so as to be moderato at first, and the heat may
bo gra-
dually raised, as the articles of plastic materials become more and more dry.
By reason of thus being able to raise the temperature gradually by admitting
more and more steam, and by reason of the convenience offered by this systein
of apparatus, articles of plastic materials may be moro beneficially dried than
by any means heretofore resorted to when drying such manufactures.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I would have it understood that what I claim is, the
process or mode of drying articles made of plastic materials, as herein
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Frederick Ransom, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Fourth day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five.
Witness,
SANDERS TROTMAN,
of Silent Street, Ipswich.
FRED RANSOME. (L.s.)