IMPROVE- MENTS IN APPARATUS FOR HEATING. DRYING. AND EVAPORATING."
Year: 1852

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Anthony Norris Groves, of Bristol, in the
County of Somerset, Gentleman, for the Invention of " IMPROVE-
MENTS IN APPARATUS FOR HEATING. DRYING. AND EVAPORATING."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Anthony Norris
Groves at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 15th December 1852.
I, ANTHONY NORRIS GROVES, of Bristol, in the County of Somerset,
Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR HEATING, DRYING, AND EVAPORATING" to
be as follows:-
My Invention consists in the direct action of heat supplied
through pipes or tubes into and through the matters to be heated,
dried, or evaporated, together with a volute or coiled plate revolv
ing on its axis, and alternately dipping or revolving in the matters
to be evaporated, which must not be at a higher level than the axis
of the volute and the heated air above it. It is not absolutely
necessary that there should be a cover to the vessel, as the outer
coil of the volute will itself become a cover to the inner coils; how-

page_text: ever, more advantage will be gained by the vessel being provided
with a cover. I arrange my pipes or tubes for conveying the
flame, products of combustion, steam, or other heating medium
to the matters under evaporation, so that they shall not touch or
lie upon the bottom of the vessel, but that there shall be a space
between them and the bottom, to allow of any matters falling to the
bottom, and not lodging on a hot surface. The revolution of the
coiled plate or volute will, however, be generally found to keep all
the particles in agitation and motion until it ceases to rotate. The
bottom of the vessel is to be furnished with a door or trap, by
which to remove the contents. I apply dampers and regulators to
the tubes to regulate or shut off the heat, as may be required. In-
stead of the coiled plate or volute, discs may be fitted to a central
shaft, which will perform the offices of the plate, but then there
must necessarily be a cover to the evaporating vessel.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters
Patent, filed by the said Anthony Norris Groves in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 15th June 1853.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
ANTHONY NORRIS GROVES, of Bristol, in the County of Somerset,
Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fifteenth day of December, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-two, in
the sixteenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Anthony Norris Groves,
Her special licence that I, the said Anthony Norris Groves, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Anthony Norris Groves, 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 ex-
pressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend,
within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the

page_text: Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN APPARATUS FOR HEATING, DRYING, AND EVAPORATING," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Anthony Norris Groves,
by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should par-
ticularly 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 Anthony Norris Groves, do
hereby declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, refer-
ence being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed (that is to
say):
My Invention consists in the direct action of heat raised to a
temperature above 212° Fahrenheit, supplied through pipes or
tubes into and through the matters to be heated, dried, or evapo-
rated, together with a volute or coiled plate turning on its axis, and
alternately dipping or revolving in the matters to be evaporated,
and through which a current or currents of heated air is or are
caused to pass. The matters to be evaporated should not be at a
higher level than the axis of the coil or volute. The pipes or tubes
for conveying the flame products of combustion, steam, or other
heating medium to the matters under evaporation, are so placed or
fixed that they shall not touch or lic upon the bottom of the vessel
or pan, but that there shall be a space between them and the bot-
tom, to allow of any matters falling to the bottom, and not lodging
on a hot surface.

page_text: about equidistant from the next, by rods, strained from end to end,
or stays inserted at intervals, or any other suitable means. B, is
the pan, which may be made of copper, iron, or other suitable
material, in which the pipes or worms C, are placed or fixed, and
through which the flame, steam, or other heating medium passes.
The pipes or worms C, should be so placed, as to leave sufficient
space at the bottom of the pan B, to allow of any matters falling to
the bottom thereof, without lodging or remaining on the pipes or
worms C. D, is the shaft or axis on which the coiled plate or vo-
lute is mounted; E, is the cover, which should fit as close as con-
veniently may be over the outside coil, for the purpose of confining
and preventing the escape of the heated air; F, is a pipe connected
with a blower, fan, or other mechanical contrivance for supplying
heated air into the top of the apparatus; G, is a pipe, or other con-
venient means for emptying the pan. In using this apparatus, the
liquid to be evaporated in the pan is taken up by the coiled plate or
volute, which is caused to revolve by a pulley band, or other suit-
able apparatus, fitted to the shaft D, and by which also the speed or
number of its revolutions may be regulated. The coil, in revolving,
takes up a portion of the matters to be evaporated, and distributes
such matters over an extensive surface, upon and through which
currents of heated air are driven or drawn, by means of a fan,
blower, or other suitable agent, whereby rapid evaporation takes
place at a low temperature. I prefer the air to be heated to about
200° of Fahrenheit. Although not shewn in the Drawings, two or
more coiled plates or volutes may be fixed or attached to the same
shaft or axis, and worked in the same pan, the heated air being
caused to pass through the whole of the coils or volutes. If flame
is used as the means of heating or evaporating the liquids in the
pan, dampers or regulators should be attached to the pipes or
worms in the pan, for the purpose of regulating or shutting off the
fire, as may be required. When two or more sets of coiled plates
or volutes are employed, the pipes for conveying the heating medium
may be placed between them, as shewn by the dotted lines in Figure
2. I sometimes dispense with the pipes or worms C, and construct

page_text: the volute of two thicknesses, and make the shaft or axis to open
into the interior thereof; I cause flame, the products of combustion,
steam, or other heating medium, raised to a temperature above
212° Fahrenheit, to traverse the coils, and provide for the exit
thereof through a pipe or pipes leading from any convenient part
of the coiled plates, which pipe or pipes communicate with the
hollow axis. Or I reverse the operation; that is to say, I cause
flame, the products of combustion, steam, or other heating mediuin,
to enter the outer coil of the volute, or that furthest from the axis,
through a pipe or pipes, and cause them to make their exit through
the hollow axis. In both cases, I divide the axis into two parts by
means of a plate or other suitable arrangement, and thus allow one
part for the inlet and the other for the outlet of the heating
medium.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and
in what manner the same may be performed, I declare that I make
no claim to any of the parts separately considered; but what I
claim is,
-
First, the combination of a coiled plate or plates, made to revolve,
and through which a current or currents of heated air is or are
caused to pass, together with the direct application of steam, the
products of combustion, or other heating medium, raised to a tem-
perature above 212° of Fahrenheit, circulating through pipes or
tubes in the matters to be heated, dried, or evaporated.
And second, I claim the heating, drying, and evaporating of sub-
stances, by means of a single or double revolving coiled plate or
volute.
In witness whereof, I, the said Anthony Norris Groves, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Tenth day of May, One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-three.
ANTHONY NORRIS GROVES. (L.S.)