IMPROVEMENTS APPARATUS FOR DRYING GRAIN, SEED, OR SIMILAR MATERIALS
Year: 1883

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Jones Turner of Kington in the County of
Hereford Miller and Maltster for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
APPARATUS FOR DRYING GRAIN, SEED, OR SIMILAR MATERIALS
"
IN
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Jones Turner at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 7th February 1883.
"
JOHN JONES TURNER of Kington in the County of Hereford, Miller and
Maltster, 'IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR DRYING GRAIN, SEED, OR SIMILAR
MATERIALS
"
My invention relates to apparatus which, although chiefly designed for drying
grain or corn, is also applicable for drying seed of various kinds, and other
materials.
The said apparatus is simple in construction and effective in operation, and may
be made so as to remain in a fixed or stationary position, or in such a manner as
to be portable to meet the varying circumstances under which it may be desirable
to use the same; moreover the rotating portion of the said apparatus may be driven
by hand, or by steam or other power.
In carrying the said invention into practice I provide a stove or stoves of
suitable dimensions in which the fuel is to be burned for generating the required
heat. Flues or pipes arranged horizontally extend from the stove or stoves, the
heat generated in the latter being conveyed through the former. Above the stove
and flues or pipes I provide a divided tube along which the grain or other material
passes in the process of drying, being fed into the said tube by means of a hopper
placed at one end thereof. This grain-tube is also placed in a horizontal position
and lies inside the flue or heat tube that is to say it is sunk into the said flue or
tube along its entire length, and to the extent of about one half its diameter so
that the heat passing through the flues has access to a considerable portion of the
circumference of the grain-tube. A shaft is arranged centrally in the said grain
tube and extends longitudinally from end to end thereof, being provided with
suitable bearings at each end. There is a spiral blade around this shaft forming a

page_text: conveyor designed to cause the grain to advance gradually through the tube from
the end at which it enters the same to the end at which it is delivered. To one
end of this shaft is secured a handle or suitable gearing for causing the said shaft
to rotate, and at short intervals along the circumference of the latter I provide
knife-edged blades of metal which project at right angles to the axis of the shaft
and are designed to stir up or agitate the grain or other material in its passage
through the tube and to prevent its passing too rapidly through the latter. The
heat-flue is carried for a short distance in an upward direction and then for a short
distance again in a horizontal direction, at the end farthest from the stove so that
the smoke is discharged without coming into contact with the grain. I may also
provide this heat flue or pipe with a pipe extending in an inclined direction
rearward and downward to assist the draught. The grain-pipe is also turned
upward and horizontally in a similar manner so that vapours arising from the
damp grain may be discharged. A downward extension from the grain-tube allows
the dried grain to fall into a sack or other receptacle.
The grain-tube may if
desired be made a part of the heating pipe instead of separate.
The hopper for feeding the grain to be dried, into the grain-pipe may be placed
at either end of the latter but I prefer to place it at the end farthest from the stove
so that the grain will pass over the stove, and be subjected to greater heat, as it
reaches the point of exit. Should it be found that the grain has not been
sufficiently dried in one passage through the apparatus, I may pass it through the
same a second time, or any number of times, as may be required, and for this
purpose I provide a small elevator at the discharge end this elevator being driven
by a strap or other connection with the shaft.
In some cases I make the shaft hollow and connect it with a steam boiler in
order that steam may pass through the shaft and assist in the operation of drying.
And in some cases I may use steam as the heating agent under the grain-pipe
instead of the products of combustion from a stove.
In some cases I place the grain-pipe in a vertical position in which case I
arrange it entirely within the heat-flue which must also be vertical. There is then
no necessity for the shaft and the spiral blade as the grain will fall through the
pipe by gravity, but the grain must be passed through the same a number of times,
being raised by the elevator as many times as may be necessary for this purpose,
and the said elevator being driven by hand or other power.
If my drying apparatus is to be fixed or stationary I prefer to embed it in
masonry but if it is required to be portable I provide strong legs as supports. The
said apparatus may also be mounted in connection with suitable framework having
wheels and shafts for a horse so that it may be conveniently taken for considerable
distances.
My improved apparatus may be placed at the tail end of a steam thrashing
machine and dry the grain as it comes therefrom.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said John Jones Turner in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
7th August 1883.
JOHN JONES TURNER, of Kington, in the County of Hereford, Miller and
Maltster, "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR DRYING GRAIN, SEED, OR SIMILAR
MATERIALS
"
My invention relates to an improved apparatus hereinafter described which,
although chiefly designed for drying grain or corn, is also applicable for drying
seeds of various kinds, and other materials.
The said apparatus is simple in construction and effective in operation and may
be made so as to remain in a fixed or stationary position, or in such a manner as
to be portable, to suit the varying circumstances under which it may be desirable
to use the same; moreover it may be operated by hand, or by steam or other
power.
According to my said invention I construct the said apparatus as hereinafter set
forth, that is to say, I provide a tube along which the grain or other material is
moved, in the process of drying, by a screw-conveyor mounted upon a central
shaft extending longitudinally through the said tube and carried in suitable
bearings at each end thereof. The grain or other material, which is fed into the
tube by means of a hopper placed at one end thereof, is caused to move along the
tube by the said conveyor and is discharged through a spout at the other end
thereof. This grain-tube is wholly or partially enclosed by one or more flues or
tubes each connected with a stove or with a steam boiler, so that the steam or
heated products of combustion which pass through the said flues or tubes will have
access to the whole or a considerable portion of the circumference of the grain-tube.
To one end of the said shaft is secured either a crank-handle or suitable gearing,
whereby motion may be imparted to it, and I provide small pieces of metal which
are suspended upon a wire passed through the blade of the screw-conveyor and are
designed to stir up or agitate the grain or other material in its passage through
the tube and to prevent its passing too rapidly through the same.
One form of any improved drying apparatus is illustrated in the accompanying
drawing, in which
Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the said apparatus, and
Figure 2 is a transverse section on the line x, x, Figure 1, drawn to an enlarged
scale.
a represents the tube for the passage of grain or other material, the interior of
which tube should have a smooth surface. b is a stove provided with an ash-pan bl
and so constructed that its upper end will fit closely around the lower half of the
grain-tube a, which is secured upon the stove by means of a plate c. d is a flue
for the passage of the hot air and products of combustion from the stove. This
flue is formed of a curved plate, firmly secured on each side to the grain-tube.
The said flue extends longitudinally from the stove to the opposite end of the
tube a so as to enclose. the lower half of the latter. The tube a and flue d may,
if desired, be cast or formed in one piece constituting a divided tube. A chimney e
permits the escape of the heated air and products of combustion from the flue. fis
a hopper fixed to the tube a at the end farthest from the stove, and secured to the
tube by means of a screw-threaded stem fitting into a socket, (or it may be secured
in any other suitable manner). g is an aperture or passage to permit the escape of
the vapours emanating from the material under treatment. The two ends of the
tube a are closed by caps h which are bored centrally and provided with bearings
to receive the shaft i which has a crank-handle keyed thereon at the end next the
stove. These bearings are, in some cases, made adjustable by means of set-screws,

page_text: one above and another below each bearing, passing through lugs fixed to, or forming
part of, the said caps.
The shaft i has fixed to it a screw-blade which, when the shaft is rotated,
causes the grain to move through the tube a from below the hopper to the end next
the stove, from which point it descends through the tube or spout k and can be
received in any suitable vessel or receptacle.
One or more wires m are passed through holes in the said screw-blade and
extend from end to end thereof. Upon each of these wires between the con-
volutions of the screw-blade are suspended small pieces n of iron or other suitable
material. The said pieces are weighted in any suitable manner and are so arranged
that they will extend further from the centre of the shaft i than the edge of the
screw-blade and will sweep the lower part of the interior of the tube a when the
said shaft is rotated and thereby stir up or agitate the grain. o is a movable leg
or support for the apparatus.
To prevent that portion of the tube a immediately above the stove from being
overheated, I prefer to fix in the interior of the stove, a short distance beneath the
said tube, a flat plate 6 of about the same length and breadth as the interior of
the stove.
I usually make the various parts of the apparatus of iron, but it is obvious that
other material may be employed for this purpose. And I use coal, wood or other
fuel in the stove.
The hopper, by means of which the grain is fed into the grain-tube, may be
placed at either end of the latter, but I prefer to place it at the end farthest from
the stove so that the grain will pass over the stove and be subjected to the greatest
degree of heat as it reaches the point of exit. Should it be found that the grain
has not been sufficiently dried in one passage through the apparatus, I may pass
it through the same a second time or any number of times as may be required, and
for this purpose I sometimes provide a small elevator driven by a strap or other
connection with the shaft i.
I sometimes use steam as the heating agent instead of the products of com-
bustion from a stove, in which case I connect the flue or tube with a steam-boiler.
If my drying apparatus is to be fixed or stationary, I prefer to embed it in
masonry, but if it is required to be portable I provide strong legs or supports.
The said apparatus may also be mounted upon a suitable framework having wheels
and shafts for a horse so that it may be conveniently transported.
My improved apparatus may be placed at the tail end of a steam-threshing
machine and dry the grain as it comes therefrom.
Having thus fully described my said invention and the manner of performing the
same, I wish it understood that I do not claim broadly or irrespectively of the
improvements herein set forth the employment of an archimedean screw in an
apparatus for drying grain or the like, but I claim :-
The above described improved apparatus for drying grain, seed, or similar
materials, wherein a screw-conveyor is arranged to be rotated within a tube
wholly or partially enclosed by one or more flues or tubes, each connected
with a stove, or with a steam-boiler, all substantially as, and for the purposes,
set forth.
In witness whereof I the said John Jones Turner have hereunto set my hand
and seal this fourth day of August in the year of Our Lord One thousand eight
hundred and eighty three.
JOHN JONES TURNER. (L..S)