IMPROVEMENTS IN PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR DRYING HATS AND OTHER ARTICLES
Year: 1886

page_text: I, ALEXANDER HENRY REED, of Suffolk House, Laurence Pountney Hill, Cannon
Street, in the county of Middlesex, Engineer do hereby declare the nature of said
invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR DRYING HATS AND
OTHER ARTICLES 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 a process for drying hats and other articles and consists
in placing the articles to be dried upon foraminous blocks and then causing a
current of air to pass through the articles and the blocks, and it also consists in an
apparatus for this purpose hereafter described.
The air if desired may be heated to expedite the drying operation.
In the accompanying drawing.
Fig. 1 is a plan view of the apparatus.
Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same.
Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of a portion of the apparatus on a larger scale
than the preceding figures.
Similar letters indicate corresponding parts.
The hat
The letter A designates the air pipe, communicating at one end with a fan
blower B. The pipe A rests on legs C and from the air pipe extend one or more
branch pipes a, each provided with a damper or gate b, and communicating with a
block support D. The block support D is hollow or provided with a passage to
allow the passage of air. A ledge d is formed on the block support D, which
ledge forms a support for an article such example as a hat block E.
block is formed of wire cloth or other foraminous material, and on it the hat to be
dried is placed. The block with the hat is then placed on the ledge d and the
damper or gate b is opened; the air will pass through both the hat and the block,
carrying the moisture with it, thereby drying the hat on the block without
distorting its shape.
The apparatus is arranged to cause air to pass through the block supports D,
either in the direction indicated by full arrows or in the direction indicated by

page_text: dotted arrows.
The air pipe A communicates with two pipes GK. The pipes G
and K are respectively provided with valves or gates H and L. The pipe G com-
municates with the suction opening of the fan blower B and the pipe K communi-
cates with the blast opening of the fan blower B.
.
By closing the gate L' and opening the gate H, the air will be drawn through
the block supports D as indicated by full arrows, and said air will be forced out
of the blast opening I of the fan blower on opening the gate J. By closing the
gates H and J, and opening the gate L and also the gate N of the pipe M which
communicates with the suction opening of the fan blower, the air will pass or be
forced toward and through the block supports D in the direction indicated by
dotted arrows.
To hasten the drying operation, a heater F may be suitably
connected to the apparatus as for example to the pipe M, whereby the air is
heated before passing through the block supports D.
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. The within described process for drying hats and other articles which consists
in placing the hats or articles upon foraminous blocks and causing a current of air
(either hot or cold), to pass through the articles and the blocks, substantially, as
described.
2. The combination with the air pipe A and with an apparatus for exhausting
or forcing air, of a series of block supports D, channels leading from said block
supports into the air pipe and gates or dampers controlling said channels, sub-
stantially as described.
3. The combination with the air pipe A and with an apparatus for exhausting
or forcing air of an apparatus for heating air a series of block supports D, channels
leading from said block supports into the air pipe and gates or dampers controlling
said channels, substantially as described.
Dated this twenty-ninth day of September 1886.