IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR DRYING PAPER
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Stevens, of Wookey Hole, near Wells, in the
County of Somerset, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
FOR DRYING PAPER."
Sealed the 19th July 1864, and dated the 18th April 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Stevens at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
18th April 1864.
I, JOHN STEVENS, of Wookey Hole, near Wells, in the County of Somerset,
do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MA-
CHINERY FOR DRYING PAPER," to be as follows:-
;
This Invention bas for its object improvements in machinery for drying
paper. For the purpose of drying paper in separate sheets, whether it be
hand-made paper in the state of water leaf or wet from sizing, or machine-
made paper cut up into separate sheets and tub sized, I employ machines
each consisting of an openwork drum of large diameter; the surface or
periphery of this drum is conveniently made of wooden battens or laths
attached to the ends of the drum, and arranged with spaces between them
or it may be made of wire or open network. The drum is capable of being
turned round by hand gear or otherwise when laying on and taking off the
sheets of paper, but it is held stationary during the drying operation; and
combined with the drum there is a sheet or web of woven fabric or other
material, which by turning the drum is wound up upon it. The length of the
sheet or web is made somewhat more than twice the circumference of the
drum, and in filling the machine the drum is first turned round once, and its

page_text: surface is thus covered with the sheet or web; then the sheets of paper which
are to be dried are, either singly or several sheets together, laid on the
remaining part of the sheet or web, and by turning round a second time the
sheets of paper are taken on to the drum, and they become enclosed between
the two turns of the sheet or web on the drum; in this position they are dried.
The outer end of the sheet or web is attached to a small roller.
In changing
the drum as above described, the sheet or web is drawn off this roller to be
wound on the drum, and similarly in taking the dry paper off the drum the
sheet or web is wound up on to the roller, or a web inay be drawn round the
drum tight independent of the outer web, which encloses the paper, and this
outer web only attached as before described. Friction straps or apparatus are
employed to prevent the sheet or web running off too easily. Inside the drum
there is mounted a fan wheel, which is kept in rotation during the drying
operation, thereby causing a constant circulation of air through the drum. In
arranging the machinery the drums are by preference placed end to end in a
series, so that the fans of the whole series may be on the same shaft or axis,
or each machine may however be worked separately; or the drum may have
combined with it endless sheets or webs, so arranged that the sheets of paper
to be dried may be enclosed between the sheets or webs, and the whole passed
together on to the drum. An arrangement of this nature will admit of the
drum being revolved in the same direction for charging and discharging it,
which is advantageous, as the two operations may go on simultaneously. In
place of arranging the fan wheel in the interior of the drum, it may be placed
at one end thereof in a case, and the wind from it may be led through the
drum.
In this arrangement it is advisable to keep the current of air as near
the periphery of the drum as may be by a block or cylinder placed in the
drum, so as to fill up the centre part thereof; or the fan may be at a distance,
and supply blast to a number of drums, the air being conducted through
them close up to the periphery, as when the fan is placed at the end.
I however believe the arrangement first described with the fan wheel in the
interior of the drum to be the best.
The arrangement of the several parts of the machinery may be otherwise
varied without departing from my Invention, of which it will be observed that
an important part is the use of an openwork frame, through the interior of
which a draught of air is maintained, either by means of a fan wheel within
the drum or at its end, or otherwise; the said drum, which should revolve to
take on and discharge the paper, having combined with it a sheet or web so
arranged that the paper to be dried may be retained on the drum during the
drying operation between two surfaces of sheet or web. The arranging the

page_text: machine so that it may be fed by laying the sheets of paper on a sheet or web
before it is wound upon the frame, and the combining a series of drums end
to end, so that the fan wheels of the whole series may be mounted on the
same axis or shaft, are also parts of my Invention.
I would remark that I am aware that machine-made paper made in a
continuous length has before been dried by causing it to travel through a
heated room over openwork drums, and that fan wheels have been used
within such drums; this arrangement differs however from my Invention.
The drums are arranged to be driven continuously by power, and the paper
does not remain on the drum, but travels on continuously from drum to drum
until it issues from the chamber dry; besides there is not any sheet or web
for supporting and enclosing the paper, but only narrow tapes for guiding.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Stevens in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 18th
October 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
STEVENS, of Wookey Hole, near Wells, in the County of Somerset, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-seventh year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said John Stevens, Her special licence that I, the said John Stevens,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John
Stevens, 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 expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,.
and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY FOR DRYING PAPER," upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said John Stevens, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly
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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Stevens, do hereby declare the nature
of the 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, that is to say :-
This Invention has for its object improvements in machinery for drying paper.
For the purpose of drying paper in separate sheets, whether it be hand-
made paper in the state of water leaf, or wet from sizing, or machine-made
paper cut up into separate sheets and tub sized, I employ machines each
consisting of an openwork drum of large diameter; the surface or periphery of
this drum is conveniently made of wooden battens or laths attached to the
ends of the drum, and arranged with spaces between them, or it may be made
of wire or open network. The drum is capable of being turned round by hand
gear or otherwise when laying on and taking off the sheets of paper, but it is
held stationary during the drying operation, and combined with the drum
there is a sheet or web of woven fabric or other material, which by turning
the drum is wound up upon it. The length of the sheet or web is made
somewhat more than twice the circumference of the drum, and in filling the
machine the drum is first turned round once, and its surface is thus covered
with the sheet or web; then the sheets of paper which are to be dried are, either
singly or several sheets together, laid on the remaining part of the sheet or web,
and by turning round a second time the sheets of paper are taken on to the
drum, and they become enclosed between the two turns of the sheet or web of
the drum; in this position they are dried. The outer end of the sheet or web
is attached to a small roller; in charging the drum as above described the
sheet or web is drawn off this roller to be wound on the drum, and similarly
in taking the dry paper off the drum the sheet or web is wound up on to the
roller, or a web may be drawn round the drum tight, independent of the outer
web which encloses the paper, and this outer web only attached, as before
described. Friction straps or apparatus are employed to prevent the sheet or
web running off too easily. Inside the drum there is mounted a fan wheel,
which is kept in rotation during the drying operation, thereby causing a
constant circulation of air through the drum.
Figure 1 is a side view, Figure 2 a longitudinal section, Figure 3 a trans-
verse section, and Figure 4 is a portion of a plan of a machine for drying
paper arranged according to my Invention.
a, a, are cast-iron rings, one at each end of the drying drum; they are
conveniently about seven feet in diameter, and they are connected together by
the bars b, b. At the outer edge of each ring a, and all round it, notches are
formed to receive wooden laths c, c, which are also supported at intervals by

page_text: internal hoops d, d, and each lath as it crosses one of these hoops is attached
to it by a screw; e, e, are studs screwed into the hoops d, and having eyes in
them through which the tie bars b, b, pass. On the inner edges of the hoops a
cogs or teeth are formed, and these are made to gear with the pinions f, f,
which are mounted on studs at the top of the frames 9, 9, two on each side;
these pinions serve only to support the drum on the frame; the teeth on the
hoops a also gear with other pinions h, h, and on the axis of these, which is
carried by other frames i, i, is the hand wheel k, by turning which the drum
can be rotated. At c is a lath on the drum of greater width than the others;
to it is attached one end of the sheet or web 1, by means of a clamping strip
laid over it and fixed down by screws. The web l, which is convéniently of
coarse linen fabric, passes from the drum over a guide roller m to another
roller n, on which it can be wound up. The axes of the rollers mi and n are
both carried in suitable bearings on the framing i', ', as the Drawings clearly
show. o is a hand wheel on the axis of the roller n for turning it to wind the
cloth upon it; p is another wheel on the same axis, round it a cord passes,
and a weight q keeps the cord tight, so that a uniform resistance is offered to
the unwinding of the web from the roller n; r is an axis passing through the
centre of the drum, and carried by bearings on the frames g; it is driven, it
may be, by a band passing around a pulley s upon it, or in other convenient
manner; t, t, are arms radiating from the axis r, and carrying at their outer
ends boards u, u, which in rotating agitate the air within the drum, and cause
it to circulate; v, v, are rollers to keep the web l off the ground in case it is
allowed to become slack around the drum. In order to charge the machine
with paper to be dried, whether it be water leaf or sized paper, the drum is
first turned by the hand wheel k, so as to wind the web tightly once around
it; then the paper to be dried is laid on the portion of the web extending
between the drum and the roller n, as is shown at Figure 4, the sheets of
paper being laid on several at a time, the one over the other, the number
depending on the substance of the paper to be dried. When the portion of
the web between the drum and roller is covered with paper the drum is
turned so as to wind up this portion of the web, and the paper is taken on to
the drum with the web, and is held on the periphery thereof between the
upper and under surfaces of the web; then when a fresh portion of the web is
brought forward it in a similar manner is covered with paper, and wound on
the drum, and so on until the whole periphery of the drum has received
paper. The two hand wheels k and o are then secured by passing an elástic
band w around their handles, as is shown at Figures 1 & 4, so as to keep the
drum stationary, and the web stretched tight; the fan axis r is then set in

page_text: motion, and it is driven conveniently at about 40 revolutions per minute, more
or less, according to the speed of drying desired. When the paper is dried to
the desired extent the wheels k and o are set free, and by turning the band
.wheel o from time to time the paper is unwound from the drum, and it is by
hand removed from the machine, being taken off the part of the web which
is strained between the drum and the roller n. Paper dried in this manner
will not be disfigured by marks such as usually result from hanging it on
a line, and even to some extent from the pressure of the tapes employed
commonly in drying machine-made paper in a continuous length. As before
mentioned, the drum may be covered with wire openwork or net in place
of with laths, and also in place of winding the web twice around the
drum the drum may have a separate covering of fabric, but this is not.
so convenient, as it is difficult to keep the covering tightly strained as it
should be.
In arranging the machinery the drums are, by preference, placed end to
end in a series, so that the fans of the whole series may be on the same shaft
or axis; cach machine may, however, be worked separately, or the apparatus
may be modified in the following manner:-The drum may have combined
with it endless sheets or webs so arranged that the sheets of paper to be dried
may be enclosed between the sheets or webs and the whole passed together on
to the drum; an arrangement of this nature will admit of the drum being
revolved in the same direction for charging and discharging it, which is
advantageous, as the two operations may go on simultaneously. In place of
arranging the fan wheel in the interior of the drum, it may be placed at one
end thereof in a case, and the wind from it may be led through the drum;
in this arrangement it is advisable to keep the current of air as near the
periphery of the drum as may be by a block or cylinder placed in the drum
so as to fill up the centre part thereof.
Figure 5 is a plau, partly in section, and Figure 6. is a vertical section, of
the machino made with two endless webs and a fan at the end of the drum. S
a, a, is the drum arranged as already described, and b, b, are the frames to
support it; c, c, are the carrying pinions, they, as before, gear with the cog
teeth of the drum; the axes of these pinions pass through the drum and are
supported at their ends in bearings on the side frames b; d, d, are pinions
with a hand wheel e on their axis for turning the drum round, as in the former s
case; ffff, are guide rollers for for the endless webs g and h, their axes aro
carried by the frames i; and k, k, are other guide rollers, which are arranged
so that their positions can bo adjusted by screws.
The inner web y passes
around the adjustable roller i, then between the two guide rollers f,f, imme-

page_text: passes.
diately in front of it, and around the drum; the other. endless web h
around the drum over the web g, it then goes over the rollers f,f, and returns
over the top of the rollers f¹, f', and k, k. The paper is laid on to the machino
on the top of the web g between the rollers i and f, and by rotating the hand
wheel e it is taken on to the drum, where, as before, it remains till dry, and
then, by further turning the drum in the same direction, the dry paper is
discharged at the lower roller f, and at the same time that the dry paper is
being removed from the machine wet paper to be dried is fed into it; / is an
axis passing through the centre of the drum, it is driven by a band passing
around the pulley m or otherwise; at one end of this axis are arms n, n,
having inclined or other fan blades at their extremities; o is a light casing
around the fan, it is attached to the side frame b, and there is an opening at
the centre around the axis for the free admission of air; this casing, as is
shown, fits as closely as may be up to the end ring of the drum; p, p, is a
very light hollow block or cylinder made conveniently of sheet tin; it is
mounted on the axis and turns therewith; it serves to direct the air coming
from the fan to the surface of the drying drum where it is required; or the
fan may be at a distance and supply blast to a number of drums, the air being
conducted through them close up to the periphery, as when the fan is placed
at the end. In this case the arrangement will differ but slightly from that
just described; the axis with the hollow block upon it will be stationary,
and the fan arms with their blades removed; the wind is then led from the
fan by a trunk to the aperture in the centre of the casing o. Although these
different methods for circulating the air may be resorted to, I believe the
arrangement first described, with the fan wheel in the interior of the drum, to
be the best.
The arrangement of the several parts of the machinery may also be other-
wise varied without departing from my Invention, of which it will be observed
that an important part is the use of an openwork frame through the interior
of which a draught of air is maintained, either by means of a fan wheel within
the drum or at its end, or otherwise, the said druu, which should revolve to
take on and discharge the paper, having combined with it a sheet or web so
arranged that the paper to be dried may be retained on the drum during the
drying operation between two surfaces of sheet or web. The arranging the
machine so that it may be fed by laying the sheets of paper on a sheet or web
before it is wound upon the frame, and the combining a series of drums end
to end so that the fan wheels of the whole series may be mounted on the same
axis or shaft, are also parts of my Invention.
I would remark, that I am aware that machine-made paper in a continuous

page_text: length has before been dried by causing it to travel through a heated room
over openwork drums, and that fan wheels have been used within such drums;
this arrangement differs, however, from my Invention. The drums are
arranged to be driven continuously by power, and the paper does not remain
on the drum, but travels on continuously from drum to drum until it issues
from the chamber dry, besides there is not any sheet or web for supporting
and enclosing the paper, but only narrow tapes for guiding.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Stevens, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
JOHN STEVENS. (L.S.)