Improvements in Apparatus for Drying Bricks or other Plastic Articles.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 25th Nov., 1898
Complete Specification Left, 26th June, 1899-Accepted, 5th Aug., 1899
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Drying Bricks or other Plastic
Articles.
I, OLIVER HOWL, of Princes End, Tipton, in the County of Stafford, Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of my invention to be as follows:-
My invention relates to apparatus for drying bricks or other plastic articles, in
which are articles to be dried are placed on hollow shelves or sup-
ports into or through which steam or other like heating medium 18
admitted, or caused to circulate to heat the surfaces of the shelves on
which the articles to be dried are placed. In apparatus of this kind as hitherto
constructed and as described in the Specification of Letters l'atent granted to
me and dated April 2nd 1897 No. 8443 and also in the Specification accompany-
ing my Application for Letters l'atent dated March 19th 1898 No. 6719 the
steam or heating medium in its passage through the hollow shelves or supports
impinges directly on the inner surface of the top plates or slabs of the said hollow
shelves or supports which top plates thereby become rapidly heated and I have
found it desirable in some cases to modify or reduce the heat thereof especially
when steam is employed as the heating medium. The object of my present inven-
tion is to provide means whereby the heating medium may be caused to act on
the plate or surface of the shelf on which the articles to be dried are placed through
an intermediary plate or chamber or through tubes arranged in each hollow shelf,
for instance I may provide in each hollow shelf or support a horizontal diaphragm
or partition so as to divide each shelf into two compartments the upper one of
which may contain air or other heat conducting medium whilst steam or other
primary heating medium may be circulated through the lower compartment or
steam may be passed through the upper compartment until the upper surface of
the shelf is heated to the required temperature after which the steam may be
diverted from the said upper compartment and be conducted into the lower com-
partment so as to maintain the temperature of the top plate at about a uniform
If desired the diaphragms may be permanently fixed in each shelf or the
said diaphragms may be arranged to slide in and out or be otherwise removably
fitted therein. Means may be provided to allow a portion of the steam admitted
to the lower chamber to enter the upper compartment to resuscitate the heat of
the shelves when required. Instead of a diaphragm or partition as before
described a separate box or chamber may be enclosed in each hollow shelf and the
steam or heating medium be caused to enter the said box or chamber or a pipe
or pipes or a coil of pipes may be provided in the interior of each hollow shelf
into which pipe or pipes the primary heating medium may be caused to pass and
effect, by radiation, the heating of the surfaces on which the articles to be dried
are placed.
heat.

page_text: Improvements in Apparatus for Drying Bricks or other Plastic
Articles.
I, OLIVER HOWL, of Princes End, Tipton, in the County of Stafford, Engineer,
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 follow-
ing statement;—
My invention relates to apparatus, for drying bricks, or other plastic articles,
in which the articles to be dried are placed on hollow shelves, or supports, into,
or through, which steam, or other like heating medium, is admitted, or caused to
circulate, to heat the surface of the shelves on which the articles to be dried
are placed.
In apparatus for this purpose as illustrated and described in the Specifications
of Letters Patent No. 8443 of 1897 and No. 6719 of 1898 granted to me, the heat-
ing medium, in its passage through the hollow shelves, or supports, impinges
directly on the under surface of the top plates, or slabs, of the hollow shelves,
or supports, and it has been found in practice in some cases, especially when
stcam is employed as the heating medium, that the surfaces on which the articles
are placed become too rapidly highly heated which causes the articles to crack.
The object of my present invention is to provide means whereby this defect is
remedied, and in order that my invention may be understood I will describe the
same with reference to the accompanying drawings of which Fig. 1 and 2 are
vertical sections at right angles to cach other of an apparatus similar to that
described in the Specification of my Letters l'atent No. 6719 of 1898 but provided
with improvements according to my present invention. Fig. 3 illustrates in trans-
verse section a shelf, or support, for the articles to be dried, constructed according
to my invention; Fig. 4, is a similar view shewing a modified construction of
the shelf, or support; Figs. 5, 6 and 7 are similar views shewing further modifica-
tions. Figs. 8 and 9 are sectional elevations, at right angles to each other, of an
arrangement for regulating the heat of the hollow shelves as required, and Fig. 10
illustrates a modification of the heat regulating device.
Referring to Figs. 1 and 2 A are the hollow shelves on which the articles to be
dried are placed, which shelves can be made of any suitable length and breadth
and may be connected at their ends to any suitable supports. I have shewn them
as being connected to hollow columns, or standards, BB provided with means for
circulating the heating medium through the shelves in the manner described in
the specification of the before mentioned Letters Patent No. 6719 of 1898. Each
hollow shelf is divided, according to my present invention, by a horizontal par-
tition a into two compartments 66. The heating medium (which I will refer
to as steam) is in this arrangement admitted into the lower 'compartments b, the
steam, so admitted, rapidly heating the partition a, and the heat, radiating from
the said partition, gradually heating the top plate of the said hollow shelf, on
which top plate the articles to be dried are placed. By thus indirectly heating
the upper plates of the hollow shelves by heat radiating from the partitions a,
the articles, placed on the shelves, are subjected to a gradually increasing heat
until the desired temperature is attained, which temperature can be maintained
until the articles are sufficiently dried.
The partition a can be permanently fixed in the hollow shelf by rivetting, or
otherwise connecting, it to the hollow columns B or the three parallel plates a a¹ a²
constituting each hollow shelf may be kept at the required distance apart by
distance pieces c, arranged along their sides, to which distance pieces, the said

page_text: may.
plates can be secured by rivetting as shewn in Fig. 3. The lower plate a²
be made dish-shaped in transverse section as shewn in Fig. 4. Instead of the
partition a being fixed in the hollow shelf it may be constructed as shewn in
Fig. 5 and arranged to slide in and out, one side of the hollow shelf being open
to admit of the insertion and removal of the said partition. Or instead of a
partition as herein before described a box as shewn in Fig. 6, or a series of pipes,.
or a coil of pipes, as shewn in Fig. 7, may be arranged in each hollow shelf,
through which box, or pipes, or coil of pipes, steam is caused to flow, or circulate,
and heat, by radiation, the top plate of the shelf on which the articles to be dried
are placed. Figs. 8 and 9 are elevations at right angles to each other of an
arrangement for regulating, as required, the heat of the top surface of the shelf
on which the articies to be dried are placed. B represents one of the hollow
columns, or end standards, constructed as described in the Specification of Letters
Patent No. 6719 of 1898 to which columns the several hollow shelves are secured,
I so that the steam admitted to one of these columns may be caused to flow in a
circuitous course, or otherwise, through the hollow shelves A. l'assages f f¹ are
provided in the hollow columns B, communicating with the lower and upper com-
partments, respectively, in the interior of such hollow shelf, the said passages
being opened and closed by means of a sliding valve C, having holes, or
passages, y g', therein corresponding to the passages f f', but so arranged that,
when the valve C is in the position shewn, the passage g in the valve coincides with
the passage f, the passage f¹ being closed by the solid portion of the valve, and
when the valve is moved so as to cause the passage in the valve to coincide
with the passage f¹, in the column the passage f will be closed by the solid
portion of the valve. By this arrangement, when the valve is moved into the
position to cause the passages g₁ and f¹ to coincide, steam admitted to the
column B will pass into the upper compartment of the hollow shelf, and impinge
directly on the under surface of the top plate of the shelf; this may be continued
as long as desired to heat the shelf to the required temperature, after which, by
moving the valve C, the passage f¹ can be closed and the passage f be opened,
as shewn in full lines in Figure 9, whereupon the admission of steam will be cut
off from the upper compartment and be directed into the lower compartment
beneath the partition so that the temperature of the top plate is maintained
without the steam acting directly on the said top plate.
Fig. 10 illustrates a modification in which each shelf is provided with two
valves CC the valve Chaving an opening g for admitting steam into the lower
compartment and the valve Chaving an opening g' for admitting steam into the
upper compartment of the hollow shelf. By this arrangement the temperature of
the top plates of the hollow shelves can be regulated as required. The heating
of the top plate of the hollow shelf can be effected by first admitting steam into
the top compartment by the valve C¹, and, when the upper plate has been
sufficiently heated, the said valve can be moved so as to cut off the supply of
steam to the said compartment, and the valve C be moved so as to admit steam into
the lower compartment to maintain the temperature by radiated heat from the
partition to the top plate, and, if desired, the valves can be moved so as to
admit steam at the same time into both the upper and lower compartments of
the shelves, so that the temperature of the top plate of the shelf can be readily
resuscitated should it be reduced. I do not limit myself to the precise details of
the arrangements shewn as they may be varied without departing from my
invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:-
1. In apparatus for drying bricks, and other plastic articles, hollow shelves,
or supports, on which the articles to be dried are placed and means for causing
heating medium, such as steam, to enter and pass through the hollow shelves,

page_text: or supports, without impinging on the upper plates of the said hollow shelves or
supports substantially as herein before described.
2. In apparatus for drying bricks, and other plastic articles, hollow shelves,
or supports, on which the articles to be dried are placed, each hollow shelf or
support being divided by a horizontal partition into an upper compartment and
a lower compartment, and means for admitting steam, or other suitable heating
medium, into the lower compartment, substantially as, and for the purpose,
herein before described.
3. In apparatus for drying bricks and other plastic articles hollow shelves, or
supports on which the articles to be dried are placed, each hollow shelf or sup-
port being divided by a horizontal partition into two compartments, means for
admitting steam, or other heating medium, into the hollow shelves, or supports,
and a valve, or valves, in connection with each shelf for directing the heating
medium into either the upper compartment, or into the lower compartment, or
simultaneously into both compartments, substantially as, and for the purpose,
herein before described.
Dated this 26th day of June 1899.
JOHNSONS & WILLCOX,
47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Agents.