An Improved Method of and Apparatus for Drying Fibrous Materials.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 24th June, 1890
Complete Specification Left, 4th Mar., 1891-Accepted, 4th Apr., 1891
PROVISIONAL SIMULTICATION.
An Improved Method of and Apparatus for Drying Fibrous
Materials.
I, FRITZ WEVER, of Chemnitz, Saxony, in the Empire of Germany, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
The method of drying textile and other fibrous materials, as heretofore generally
practiced, consisted in first spreading a certain quantity of the material on sieve-
like plates to be heated thereon and subsequently removing the same when dry thus
making room for a fresh quantity to be treated in the same manner.
Each of these manipulations had to be applied at certain regular intervals and to a
certain quantity of the material at one time thus requiring continued attention and
the expenditure of much time.
My improved method provides for drying large quantities of fibrous material in a
continuous manner, the material, after leaving either the centrifugal apparatus or
the rolling machine is, by means of an adjustable feed, introduced into a current of
dry heated air which carries it along into a rotating perforated scroll drum where
the said material is thoroughly permeated. It is then discharged from the said
drum in a dry state, to be conveyed to the carding engines by means of an endless
cloth or other suitable means whilst the current of heated air saturated with the
moisture taken from the said materials is drawn from the interior of the said drum
through the perforations in the sides or periphery or both of the latter.
The apparatus for applying this improved method consists essentially in a scroll
drum rotating within a suitable casing and having hollow journals through each of
which an air conduit pipe enters in such a way as to communicate with the interior
of the said drum. A ventilator or blower conveys a current of dry heated air from
a suitable heating apparatus through the said air conduit pipes into the said scroll
drum. Each of the said air conduit pipes has an opening cut into its top for
admitting the fibrous material to be there introduced to the current of heated air
and to be then carried along by the said air current into the centre part of the
scroll drum.
Above each of the said openings a ringed wheel is provided the wings of the same
extending down into the conduit pipe for a certain distance.
The fibrous material to be dried, is by means of a travelling cloth, conveyed to,
and deposited on a suitably counter-balanced tilting board arranged above each of
the said winged wheels. The wings of the latter when the wheel rotates, will
strike against a projection formed on the said tilting board thus causing the
quantity of fibrous material thereon to be dropped between the wings of the wheel
and thus to be conveyed by the same into the conduit pipe as the wheel rotates
further.
As the wings of the wheel cover the greater part of the said top opening in the
conduit pipe, the current of heated air will not find a ready exit there but will pass
under and through the lower wings of the said wheel and will carry the fibrous
material there admitted along with it on its way to the scroll drum.
The said scroll drum may be made of wood or sheet metal or any other suitable
material and its sides or the scroll itself or both are provided with perforations to
allow the heated air to escape into the surrounding casing after having thoroughly
permeated the fibrous material within the drum. After reaching the said casing
the saturated air is removed therefrom by means of an exhauster. The sides of the
scroll within the drum may be provided with small guide plates or pegs to assist
the fibrous material in following the windings of the scroll as the drum rotates, so
that the material will on reaching the end of the scroll, be ultimately discharged
herefrom. It is thence, by means of a travelling cloth entering the lower part of
he casing, removed from the latter.

page_text: One of the hollow journals of the said scroll drum is suitably prolonged so as to
project from its bearings and from one side of the casing and is provided with a
pulley or pulleys for imparting a rotary movement to the drum.
The movement of the said winged wheels may be effected in any suitable manner
as for instance by a grooved pulley likewise mounted on the end of the journal
above referred to. By providing suitable change pulleys or any equivalent means
the speed of the said winged wheels may be varied so as to obtain a quicker or
slower feed, as may be required for each case.
Dated this 24th day of June 1890.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Method of and Apparatus for Drying Fibrous
Materials.
I, FRITZ WEVER, of Chemnitz, Saxony, Merchant, 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 an improved means for drying wool or other fibrous
materials.
In drying wool and other textile fibres it has heretofore in many cases been
customary first to spread out a certain quantity of the said fibrous material on
sieve-like surfaces to be heated thereon and subsequently to remove the said
material so as to make room for a fresh quantity to be treated in the same
manner.
Each of these manipulations had to be applied at certain regular intervals and to
a certain limited quantity of the material at a time, thus requiring continual
attention and much time.
The object of my invention therefore is to provide means for drying large
quantities of fibrous materials in a continuous manner and it consists in introducing
the said fibrous material by means of an adjustable feed into an apparatus in which
it is met by a current of dry heated air from a ventilator and carried along into a
rotating perforated scroll drum, the heated air therein thoroughly permeating and
thus drying the fibrous material until the latter after having passed all the windings
of the scroll is ultimately discharged through an opening in the said drum and
removed by a travelling cloth or other suitable means.
In the accompanying drawing forming part of this Specification
Fig. 1 is a longitudinal vertical section.
Fig. 2 a lateral vertical section of the improved apparatus through x x of
Fig. 1.
Fig. 3 are details of the feeding apparatus shown in section through y y of
Fig. 1.
Fig. 4 is a diagram showing the arrangement of the machine with regard to a
heating apparatus and a ventilator employed in combination therewith.
a a Fig. 4 designate two centrifugal appliances from which the fibrous material,
freed of part of its moisture, is by means of travelling cloths ii conveyed to the
improved drying apparatus. An oven 6 for heating the air is provided between the
two centrifugal appliances a a the heated air being thence by means of a fan cor
ventilators pressed into the conduit pipes de from which it ultimately enters the
drying apparatus proper g. At f the conduit pipes have openings through which
the fibrous material is fed into the machine by means of the feed apparatus shown
in Fig. 3. The fibrous material after having been conveyed to a point above the
pipe e by means of the travelling cloth i is here deposited on to a bladed or winged
wheel which is journalled above the pipe and is driven by straps and pulleys 1, 4,
5, 3, and by the wheels p p¹. The wheel p has only teeth in two or several parts

page_text: of its circumference and in each place only a quarter of the number of the teeth
which the wheel p' fastened to the wheel has. Say there are twenty teeth in p³,
there are five teeth in each part of p and two or more such parts are provided on
the circumference of p. A spring holds the winged feed wheel while a quarter
of it is filled with fibrous material falling down from i. During this time a part
of p without teeth turns against p² but does not move it.
After a certain time however the part with teeth of the wheel p comes against p¹
releases k from the spring o and turns it a quarter round delivering the fibrous
material to the pipe e. After a quarter of a revolution the spring o holds the wheel k
while it is filled again. The current of heated air in passing through the said pipe e
in the direction indicated by the arrow will carry the fibrous material along with it
and into the centre of the rotating scroll drum g¹. The said scroll drum g¹ made of
sheet metal wood or any other suitable material is rigidly connected with two
tubular journals i Fig. 2 so as to turn with them in the bearings n n. The
scroll g' as well as the sides of the drum are perforated or have fissures and the
scroll is provided with small guide plates vv or pegs. The scroll drum is rotated
by means of belt pulleys m the rotary movement being likewise transmitted to the
wheels k by the cords or belts 1 and the shafts 2 as above mentioned. The quantity
of fibrous material fed to the machine may be varied as desired by changing the
sizes of the pulleys 4 and 5. The ends of the pipe e loosely enter the tubular
journals 1.
It will be seen that as the scroll drum gl rotates the fibrous material entering the
same in the centre through the pipe e and tubular journals will by reason of the
guide plates v slowly follow the windings of the scroll becoming during its passage
thoroughly permeated by the heated air and will ultimately be discharged in a dry
state from the opening at the circumference of the drum and deposited upon a
travelling cloth u to be thence conveyed to the carding room.
A casing surrounding the scroll drum g¹ is provided with an exhaust opening s
through which the humidified air is drawn off by means of an exhauster not shown
in the drawing.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:
1. An apparatus for continuously drying fibrous materials introduced in a
continuous manner and by means of an adjustable feed into a current of heated air
carrying the said material into the centre of a rotating perforated scroll drum and
therein thoroughly permeating the same until it is ultimately discharged from the
scroll drum near the periphery of the latter in a dry state the said current of air
after permeating the said material being drawn off through the perforations of the
drum into an exhaust conduit substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
2. In an apparatus for drying fibrous material the combination with a perforated
rotary scroll drum of an air conduit connected with a blower and discharging into
the centre of the said rotary scroll drum, an adjustable feed mechanism discharging
into the said air conduit, a casing surrounding the said drum and having an exhaust
conduit for discharging the moist air, means for imparting rotary motion to the
scroll drum and feeding mechanism and means for removing the dried material
substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
3. In a drying apparatus for fibrous material the employment of a scroll drum
arranged and operating substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
4. In an apparatus for drying fibrous material a scroll drum g¹ rotating within a
casing 9 and having lateral and circumferential perforations or fissures, guide
plates and tubular journals in combination with feed mechanism i and a feed
apparatus k for controlling the quantity of material fed into the apparatus, all
arranged in such a manner that a fan will convey a current of heated air and with
it the quantity of fibrous material introduced into the centre of the said scroll drum
in which the said fibrous material will slowly follow the helical windings of the

page_text: scroll, to be ultimately discharged from the drum near the periphery of the latter
in a dry state, and an exhaust conduit for discharging the humidified air sub-
stantially as described and for the purpose set forth.
Dated this Twenty-first day of February 1891.
EDWARD TURNER WHITELOW,
70, Deansgate, Manchester, Agent for the Applicant.