Apparatus for Separating and Collecting Dust or Fine Particles of Matter Suspended in Air, Applicable for Milling and other Purposes.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 2nd Jan., 1889
Complete Specification Left, 1st Oct., 1889-Accepted, 2nd Nov., 1889
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Apparatus for Separating and Collecting Dust or Fine Particles of
Matter Suspended in Air, Applicable for Milling and other
Purposes.
'I, CHARLES WALKER of No. 2 Saltley Villas, Highfield Road, Saltley,
Birmingham Commercial Traveller do hereby declare the nature of this invention to
be as follows :-
My invention relates to apparatus for separating and collecting dust or fine particles
of matter suspended in air such as occurs in flour mills and other places where
pulverised materials are either ground, prepared, sieved, or conveyed, and where fine
particles of matter, that may be highly inflammable, floating in the air, as for example,
the stive or dust arising from the various modes of treating flour, require to be
separated, the atmosphere purified, and the danger of possible explosion prevented.
Up to the present time is has generally been the practice in dust collecting machines
to draw mixed dust by means of a fan or exhaust so as to pass through the fan
which propels it into a chamber commonly called a stive room or into a machine
called a dust collector. This method of operating is objectionable on various grounds,
such as on account of its causing a back draught and a hindrance to the action of
the fan, also causing the fine particles of dust to fly about in a condition in which it
is highly inflammable.
According to my present invention 1 obviate these defects by interposing between
the machine that requires to have its dust drawn off and collected and the exhaust fan
a cylinder or drum covered with very fine wire gauze or other material that is
pervious to air but impervious to fine dust, which cylinder is so arranged that its
interior is in connection with the inlet of the fan while, its outer surface is in com-
mmunication with the passage for the dust laden air, so that the air is caused to pass
through the surface of the cylinder on its way to the fan, and in doing so deposits
the dust contained therein on such surface.
This cylinder is made to travel slowly round on its axis, and is thus brought at
one point in contact with a revolving brush which removes the dust accumulated
upon it and causes it to fall into a receptacle whence it is removed by a worm
conveyor or otherwise. At such point there is situated within the cylinder a stationary
curved plate fitting closely against the inner surface of the drum, so that the part
which is travelling over such plate and is at the same time subject to the action of the
brush, does not have any air current passing through it, while at the same time the
plate forms an effective support for the drum surface while it is being acted upon
by the brush and enables this to effectually remove the dust therefrom.
When the above described cylinder is applied to a machine in which various different
kinds of dust are given off which it is advantageous to keep separate, instead of
allowing the air carrying such different kinds to pass into a common channel leading
to the cylinder, I form the latter into separate divisions or sections and I lead each
description of dust by a separate channel to one of these divisions, so that each kind
of dust is collected separately.
The above described apparatus may be enclosed in a fireproof casing.
By means of my said invention the necessity for a separate stive room is done away
with, and the dust can be collected either from an entire machine room, warehouse,
or part of a mill, or, by means of the above described arrangement, the dust can be
collected separately from separate parts of the machine or locality.
Dated this 2nd day of January 1889.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Apparatus for Separating and Collecting Dust or Fine Particles of
Matter Suspended in Air, Applicable for Milling and other
Purposes.
I, CHARLES WALKER, of No. 2 Saltley Villas, Highfield Road, Saltley, Birmingham,
Commercial Traveller, 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:
1
My invention relates to apparatus for separating and collecting dust or fine particles
of matter suspended in air, such as occurs in flour mills and other places where
pulverised materials are either ground, prepared, sieved or conveyed, and where
fine particles of matter, that may be highly inflammable, floating in the air, as for
example the stive or dust arising from the various modes of treating flour, require
to, bo separated, the atmosphere purified, and the danger of possible explosion
prevented.
Up to the present time it has generally been the practice in dust collecting machines
to draw mixed dust and air by means of a fan or other exhaust and propel it into a
chamber commonly called a stive room or into a machine called a dust collector. This
method of operating is objectionable on various grounds, such as on account of its
causing a back draught and a hindrance to the action of the fan also causing the
fine particles of dust to fly about in a condition in which it is highly inflammable.
According to my present invention I obviato these defects by interposing between
the machine that requires to have its dust drawn off and collected and the exhaust
fan, a cylinder or drum covered with very fine wire gauze or other material that is
pervious to air but impervious to fine dust, which cylinder is so arranged that its
interior is in connection with the inlet of the fan while its outer surface is in com-
munication with the passage for the dust laden air, so that the air is caused to pass
through the surface of the cylinder on its way to the fan and in doing so deposits the
dust contained therein on such surface.
This cylinder is made to travel slowly round on its axis, and is thus brought at one
point in contact with a revolving brush which removes the dust accumulated upon it
and causes it to fall into a receptacle whence it is removed by a worm conveyor or
otherwise.
At such point there is situated within the cylinder a stationary curved plate fitting
closely against the inner surface of the drum, so that the part which is travelling
over such plate and is at the same time subject to the action of the brush, does not
have any air current passing through it while at the same time the plate forms an
effective support for the drum surface while it is being acted upon by the brush and
enables this to effectually remove the dust therefrom.
When the above described cylinder is applied to a machine in which various
different kinds of dust are given off, instead of allowing the air carrying such different
kinds to pass into a common channel leading to the cylinder, I form the latter into
separate divisions or sections and I lead each description of dust by a separate
channel to one of these divisions, so that each kind of dust is collected separately.
The above described apparatus may be enclosed in a fireproof casing.
•
By means of my said invention the necessity for a separate stive room is done
away with, and the dust can be collected either from an entire machine, room, ware-
house, or part of a mill, or, by means of the above described arrangement the dust
can be collected separately from separate parts of the machine or locality.
Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawings is a vertical transverse section of dust
collecting apparatus according to this invention, Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section
partly in side elevation of the apparatus made in two divisions adapting it for
collecting two different kinds of dust. a is the cylinder or drum having its surface b
made of fine wire gauze or other suitable material pervious for air but not for dust.
This cylinder revolves slowly within the casing k which is divided by partitions / into

page_text: an upper compartment m and a lower compartment f. At one end of the casing is
a passage e leading from the interior of the cylinder to the exhaust fan or other
exhausting apparatus.
In the lower compartment is mounted the revolving brush e and within the
cylinder a immediately above the brush is suspended the curved plate which
supports the porous covering of the cylinder against the pressure of the brush e and
also prevents passage of air through the portion of the surface that is for the time
covered by the curved plate. The dust laden air enters the upper compartment m
of the casing by the inlet d; the air passes through the porous surface of the
cylinder a and by the central outlet e to tho fan, whilst the dust which lodges on
the surface of a is carried round and brushed off by the brush e collecting at
the bottom of the compartment f and carried by a worm n or other conveyor to the
discharge h.
As shewn in Fig. 2, the casing is divided by a partition p into two parts in each of
which dust of a different kind may be collected.
Obviously when dust of only one kind is to be collected, the casing may have no
partition p, or, if it is so divided, both divisions of it may be supplied at the same
time with the dust laden air; also there might be several partitions such as p
dividing the casing into more than two divisions when required.
In order to diminish the friction and wear that might result from the bearing of the
curved plate on the surface of the cylinder, g may be simply a curved framing
carrying a number of rollers arranged side by side free to revolve, these rollers
serving to support the fabric of the cylinder against the pressure of the brush e
and at the same time to prevent passage of air through that part of the surface with
which they are in contact.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
For separating and collecting dust or the like suspended in air, apparatus consisting
of a cylinder having a pervious surface revolving within a casing which is supplied
with the dust laden air while the interior of the cylinder communicates with an
exhaust, in combination with a revolving brush acting on the external surface of the
cylinder, and an internal curved plate or its equivalent facing the brush, substantially
as herein described.
Dated this 1st day of October 1889.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.