Improvements in or relating to Means or Apparatus for Drying Dyewoods, Myrabolan, Grain, Fuller's Earth, Night Soil, and other Pulpy Matter.
Year: 1891

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Means or Apparatus for Drying
Dyewoods, Myrabolan, Grain, Fuller's Earth, Night Soil, and
other Pulpy Matter.
I, SAM SMITHSON, of Bright's Cottage, Heckmondwike, in the County of York,
Dyer, 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 :-
Its
This invention relates to means or apparatus for drying such materials as dye-
woods, myrabolan, grain, fuller's earth, night soil, and other pulpy matter.
object is to provide simple and efficient mechanism in which the material to be
operated upon may be fed from a hopper into a revolving cylinder in a wet or damp
state at the end opposite to that at which the heat is admitted; so as to permit of
the material as it passes through the cylinder being agitated therein and gradually
submitted to the intensity of the heat.
A convenient form of apparatus is illustrated in the drawings hereunto annexed
in which
Fig. 1. is a longitudinal section, Fig. 2. a part end elevation, Fig. 3. a transverse
section on line xx Fig. 1, and Fig. 4. a plan of apparatus looking at the top.
Fig. 5. is an enlarged section of hopper and feeding arrangement.
A is the revolving cylinder which may be of any convenient length and diameter,
and provided with ends A' A' and trunnions B B' which support the cylinder in a
practically level position from the ground, and form the bearings on which it
revolves. The heat for drying purposes is introduced into and withdrawn from the
cylinder through the trunnions as hereafter described. The cylinder A may be
made of any suitable material such as wrought or cast iron. By experiment I have
found when it is made, say fourteen feet in length by four feet in diameter and of
wrought iron plates rivetted together like the shell of a Cornish boiler satisfactory
results may be obtained. But I distinctly wish it to be understood that I do not
limit myself to these or any other dimensions herein given, or to the particular form
(just mentioned) of constructing the cylinder as the same may be varied or modified
as circumstances require. The cylinder is provided at or near its end or ends with
one or more manholes a a covered by sliding doors, and also with one or more
openings a¹ through which the material to be operated upon escapes from the cylinder.
To the outer periphery of the cylinder over each opening a' is rivetted a block a²
provided with a hole (the same size as the opening a¹) which is covered by a plate a
pivoted to a pin a' (fixed to the block a) and which is held in an open or closed
position by the tension of a spiral spring a'. Within the cylinder A are provided
any desired number-six are shown in the drawings-of projections, hereafter
termed pockets a aº. The pockets are made to extend the full length of the
cylinder and are fixed to the inner periphery at a slight angle longitudinally, that is
to say, they are not fixed to the inner periphery of the cylinder in a line parallel
with its axis, but they are arranged to have an inclination of say about three inches
in the entire length (of the cylinder) for causing the material operated upon to
travel from one end of the cylinder to the other. These pockets are also employed
for raising the material to the zenith of the cylinder's rotation, and then allowing it
to fall through the heated air and gases within the cylinder for drying purposes.
At or near (say four or five inches from) the end of the cylinder opposite to that at
which the heated air and gases are admitted, is fixed a disc a' perforated with a
number of small holes-say about an eighth of an inch in diameter-to retard the
exit of the heat and also to prevent the smaller particles of material operated upon

page_text: escaping into the flue. The diameter of the disc a' may be such as will fit within
the inner edges a³ of the pockets.
Theutrunnions B-B¹ are made of different diameters-in say about the proportion
of ten inches to twenty two inches-and they are bolted respectively to the ends A'A'.
The trunnion B-which is the larger of the two and through which the heated air
and gases are withdrawn from the interior of the cylinder, and: through which; the
material passes from the hopper to the pockets a-is attached to the convex
end A', whilst the smaller trunnion B' is fixed to the flat end A'. In each trunnion
is cast or otherwise formed a hole parallel with its axis through which the heated
air and gases are respectively admitted into and withdrawn from the interior of the
cylinder. Each trunnion is mounted and made to work on two wheels C C
and C¹ C¹ carried in bearings provided on the framework D D' at each end of
the cylinder. The periphery of each trunnion is grooved at in which the
wheels C C, C¹ C¹ work.
The boxlike framework D at the end A' of the cylinder is made of metal. One
end of trunnion B is slightly reduced in diameter and passed through one of the
sides of the boxlike framework D. The end d of the framework D communicates
with a chimney or flue (not shown in the drawings) and it is provided with a suitable
damper d¹ for regulating the draught.
To and above the boxlike framework D is mounted a hopper E which communi-
cates with a trough or pipe F in which the ram fis made to reciprocate for feeding
the material to be operated upon into the cylinder. The trough F is formed or
fixed with the framework D and passes through trunnion B into the interior of the
cylinder. The outer end of the ram projects through and beyond the side d' of
the framework D, and it is supported by the blocks ff which work in the bars or
supports ff. A reciprocating motion is imparted to the ram by means of a crank,
eccentric, or disc and pin, or it or their equivalents, actuated from any suitable
source through a connecting rod f'. The stroke of the ram is arranged that when
it is drawn out to its extreme outwards position the inner end is level with the edge
of the orifice of the hopper furthest from the cylinder so as to permit of the material
passing freely from the hopper into the trough. When the ram is traversed
forwards in the direction of arrow the supply from the hopper will be cut off, and
any material that has previously entered the trough will be pushed forward into the
cylinder. In some cases and when preferred in place of the ram, an Archimedian
screw may be employed for feeding purposes.
Instead of mounting the framework D D' on brickwork and girders as shown,
when preferred they may be fixed on suitable standards or supports.
A rotary motion is imparted to the cylinder from any suitable source of power
through a pinion G mounted on a driving shaft H and crown wheel I bolted to the
end A of the cylinder, or through any suitable arrangement of worm or friction
gearing.
The material to be operated may be raised to the hopper by any suitable means
such as for instance an elevator or the like, and it is passed into the cylinder at the
end A', under perforated disc a', and carried by the pockets as to the end A' and
through the heat as described, when it is ejected from the cylinder through the
opening a¹ on to the floor or other receptacle when it is ready for bagging or to be
conveyed away for immediate use.
The required heat for drying purposes may be obtained from a furnace of ordinary
construction, or from the flue of a Cornish or other boiler and conveyed to the
interior of the cylinder through a pipe or tube J and the trunnion B¹.
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. The improved apparatus for drying dyewoods, myrabolan, grain, fuller's earth,
night soil, and other pulpy matter, which consists of a revolving cylinder mounted

page_text: on wheel bearings, into which heated gases and other products of combustion are
introduced from a furnace and passed in an opposite direction to that in which the
material is fed, said cylinder being internally armed with pockets for propelling.
elevating, and passing the material through the heated gases, and the mechanism for
feeding the material to the cylinder, substantially as described.
2. The method of drying dyewoods, myrabolan, grain, fuller's earth, night soil,
and other pulpy matter by nechanism substantially as herein described and
illustrated in which the heated gases and other products of combustion are introduced
into and passed through a revolving cylinder in an opposite direction to that in
which the material is fed for gradually submitting the latter to the intensity of the
heat.
3. In apparatus for drying dyewoods, myrabolan, grain, fuller's earth, night soil,
and other pulpy matter, the combination of a revolving cylinder such as A armed
with internal pockets such as a and supported by hollow trunnions such as B B' on
wheel bearings such as C C, C' C³, and mechanism for rotating the cylinder, and
feeding the material thereto, substantially as set forth.
4. The arrangement and combination of the various parts forming the apparatus
as a whole for drying dyewoods, myrabolan, grain, fuller's earth, night soil, and
other pulpy matter, substantially as herein set forth and illustrated in the accom-
panying drawings.
Dated the Twenty-second day of October 1891.