US2187799A

US2187799A - Drier

Info

Publication number: US2187799A
Application number: US200963A
Authority: US
Inventors: Ray G Baughman
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1938-04-08
Filing date: 1938-04-08
Publication date: 1940-01-23
Anticipated expiration: 1957-01-23

Description

Jan 23, w40.

R. G. lBAUGHMAN DRIER Filed April 8. 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet l /1/5 A 7' TURA/E if Jan. 23, 1940. l R. G. BAUGHMAN DRIER Filed April 8, 1938 5 Sheets-fSheet 5 /NVE/V TUE'. EA Y E', BANG/WAN.

/1/5 A T T'UHWE'Y.

Patented Jan. 23, 1940 UNITED l STATESl Damn. Ray G. Bauglnnan, Linton, Ind.

Application April s, 199s, serai-No. 200,963

4 claims. (ol. s45-a7) This invention relates to an apparatus for drying loose material and is designed more particularly for drying coal of the' smaller sizes after the coal has been washed.

5 One object of the invention is to 'provide a drier which will be simple in constructionand eilicient in 'operation and which will have few moving parts. f

A further object ofthe invention is to provide a drier in which the circulation'of the drying medium will be so controlled as to cause substantially equal quantities thereof to pass through al portions of the material being dried.

. A further object of the invention is to provide such a drier in'which each part yof the drying medium will pass through the material at least twice during the vpassage of the drying medium throughthe apparatus, thus fully utilizing the heat of the drying medium.-l

A further object of the invention is to provide na material lowering device of such a, character y that the weight of the material will be distributed throughout the height of the device and the material willbe so supported that it'will have little 'or no tendency to pack.

A further object of the invention is to provide improved means for controlling the movement of the material through the*l lowering device. A further object of the invention is to provide a drier having a material lowering device of such a character that the material will move gently through the drier, thus causing a minimum of degradation or breakingthereof.

Other yobjects of the invention may appear as the apparatus is described in detail.

In the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 is a vertical section oi an apparatus embodying my invention, taken transversely to the lowering device: Fig. 2 isa transverse section taken on the 40 line 2--2 oi Fig. l; Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken on the line 3 3, through a portion of the apparatus of Fig. 1; Fig.I 4 is a vertical section taken centrally through amodiiled form of the apparatus; Fig. 5 is a vertical section taken centrally through another modied form ofthe apparatus; Fig. 6 is a section taken on the line 8 6 -of Fig.- 5; and Fig. '7 is a front elevation of a portion of the apparatus, showing the inlet conduit in section. In these drawings I have illustrated certain embodiments of the invention, each of which is designed primarily for drying coal. It will be understood, however, thatthe apparatus may be utilized for drying loose materials of various kinds and that the construction and arrangement of f the apparatus may take various forma Ineach form illustrated' the apparatus comprises a vertical frame or housing I0 within which is arranged a material lowering device adaptedl to permit the material to move downwardly at a relatively` low speed andgto expose the material 5 to the action of a drying medium. In its pret ferred form this material lowering devicecom- Prises two substantially vertical opposedv series.

0f shelves, II and I2, vthe shelves of the two series being arranged in staggered relation one to the 1 0 other' and being in the present instancesecured at their ends directly to the respective side walls Illa of the housing. Each shelf of each series is arranged in an inclined plane which intersects the next lower shelf of the vother series and has 15 l its lower edge substantially in the same vertical plane as the lower edge of said next lower shelf.

By reason of this arrangement each shelf extends entirely across the path of the moving column of material and the'entire mass of material is caused 20 to move in a zigzag path, no part of the material being arranged in a straight. verticalcolumn. In this manner the Aentire weight of the column of material is distributed between the several shelves and there is little or `notendency of the material- .35 -1 to pack, as frequently results when any part of ythe material is arranged in a straight column.

Further, this arrangement of the shelves imparts a very complete agitation to the moving column vof coal and causes. the component parts of tle mass to be turned over'as vthe mass moves 'from one'shelf to another, thereby exposing vall parts of the material to the action of the drying medium. Preferably each inclined shelf is provided at its upper and outer edge with an upwardly ex- 35 A tending ilange or wall I3 which serves both to increase the capacity of the shelf and to reinforce or stiilen the same.

The material to be dried is delivered to the lowering device by a hopper supported in the 40 v upper part of the housing I0, and having downwardly converging bottom walls Il and l5, the lower edges oi which are spacedapa'rt to provide a discharge opening.' The lower edge porl tion of the bottom wall I 5 projects beyond the 45 terial lowering device is located constitutes a drying chamber,'which is closed at its upper end 55' infr-E ri'lA ori-*ICE ff by inclined, partitions and |8 extending between the bottom walls of the hopper and the front and rear walls respectively of the housing. The lower end of this drying chamber is defined by downwardly converging partitions or walls I9 and 20, the lower edges of which are spaced apart to provide a discharge opening 2| for the material from the lower device. arranged in a .plane intersecting the lower portion of the wall I9 and has its lower edge spaced from that wall. Thus the walls i9 and 20 in effect form a part of the material lowering device. Arranged beneath the discharge opening 2| is a feeding-out roller 22 which extends for the full width of the lowering device and is provided at its ends with flanges 23 to prevent the material from moving endwise of the roller. This roller is so arranged with relation to the discharge opening 2| lthat when the roller is stationary little or no material will pass through the opening but when the roller `is rotated it will carry the material from the opening to a chute 24 which in turn discharges it onto a conveyor 25 which conveys it to a desired poirit of discharge. Thus the movement of the column of coal through the lowering device is controlled by the feeding-out roller and the speed at which the column of coalmoves may be regulated by varying the speedat which the roller operates. The roller may be operated in any suitable manner and, in the present instance, isdriven by an electric motor 26 which is connected by a belt 21 with la. pulley 28 on the shaft 29 of the roller. In case of an emergency it is sometimes desirable that the feeding-out mechanism should be operated by hand to remove the material. from the drier. For example, in the event of the failure of power for operating the mechanism the movement f the column of coal through the lowering device would be interrupted` and the heat of the drying medium might in some instances be sufiicient to ignite the coal if the latter was allowed to remain stationary for any substantial length of time. I have therefore provided means whereby the feeding-out roller may be manually operated and for this purpose a clutch 30 is interposed between the shaft 29 and .the belt pulley 28 and the shaft is provided with a square end 3| adapted`to receive a hand crank 32. Thus in the event of the failure of power the roller may be disconnected from themotor and rotated by hand to remove the material from the drier.

The drying medium may be of any suitable character and may be circulated through the drierY in any suitable manner. In that form of the apparatus shown in Fig. l an inlet conduit 33 conducts the drying medium, such as hot gases, from the source of supply to the lower portion of the drier where it is passed through the material in the lower part of the material lowering device and then conducted to the upper portion of the drying chamber and passed through the material in the upper portion of the lowering device and discharged through an outlet conduit 34. In the arrangement shown in Fig. 1 the inlet and outlet conduits both communicate with the front wall of' the drying chamber. In order to distribute the incoming dryingfmedium substantially equally to the various parts of the column of material in the lower portion. of the loweringidevice the inlet conduit is provided' with a ared end portion which is arranged within the housing and is of such size' as to embrace a substantial part of the shelves' on the adjacent side of the lower portion of the 'Ihe wall 20 is lower device. In the arrangement shown the bottom wall I9 of the drying chamber constitutes the lower wall of this flared portion of the inlet conduit and the upper wall is shown at 35. A

plurality of transverse partitions 38 divided the interior of the end portion of the inlet conduit into a corresponding plurality of passageways which communicate with the spaces between different shelves on the adjacent side oi the lowering device. In the present arrangement there is a separate passageway for each pair of shelves, each partition 36 being attached at its inner edge to the' iiange |3 of the adjacent shelf The passageways being of substantially equal capacity it will be apparent that the incoming drying medium will be distributed uniformly throughout the lower portion of the lowering device. The drying medium passes between the shelves through the mass of material supported by the shelves and then out between the shelves I2 into the rear portion oi' the drying chamber where it is conducted to the upper portion of that chamber.

In order to secure a substantially uniform delivery of the drying medium to all parts of the upper portion of the lowering device the rear part of the drying chamber is divided by partitions 31 into a plurality of upright conduits, in the present instance three, which at their lower ends communicate with spaces between difierent shelves I2 in the lower portion of the lowering device and at their upper ends communicate with spaces between shelves I2 in the upper portion of the lowering device. In the arrangement shown each conduit embraces at each end the spaces between two pairs of shelves. After passing through the material in the upper portion of the lowering device the drying medium passes to the outlet conduit 3|. When, as in the present instance, the outlet conduit is connected with an exhaust fan or the like, to cause the drying medium to circulate through the drier, it is desirable that the suction created by the fan shall be distributed substantially equally over that part of the drier with which the outlet conduit communicates, in the present instance the upper portion thereof. For this purpose the outlet conduit is provided with a flared vend portion which extends into the drying chamber and is of such size as to embrace a substantial number of shelves in the upper portion of the lowering device. As here shown, the wall |'I at the top of the drying chamber constitutes one wall of this flared end of-the outlet conduit and a downwardly and inwardly inclined wall 38 forms the bottom wall thereof. This end portion of the conduit is divided by transverse partitions 39 into a plurality of passageways, similar to those provided in the inlet conduit, which communicate respectively with the spaces between adjacent shelves Ii of the lowering device. there being in the present instance a separate passageway for each pair of shelves. Inasmuch as the exhaust fan forms no part of the present invention I have shown a portion only thereof, at l0.

Thus it will be apparent that the incoming drying medium passes rst through the lower and drier portions of the material and then through the upper and wetter portions of that material. The drying medium will of course lose some of its heat and take up some moisture as it passes through the material and in some cases it may be desirable to add additional heat to this drying medium before it is passed through the upper portion of the material, and this may be conveniently accomplished by bypassing a portion of the drying medium from the inlet conduit 33 directly Vto lthe upright conduits in the rear portion of the'drying chamber. As here shown, the top wall 35 of the flared portion of the inlet lconduit is provided with an opening Il ywhich is' connected y.by a passageway 2 with transverse conduits 43 which have open communication with the upright conduits formed bythe partitions 31. Preferably a valve als provided to control thepassage oi' the drying medium from the inlet conduit to theupright conduits. It is also desirable that means be provided to regulate expedited or retarded and the flow in the dif- For this purpose y dampers M are arranged within the respective upright conduits and are provided exteriorly of the housing with separate means, such aslevers ferent conduits may be varied.

the material lowering device. In' the arrangement shown the inlet 48 has an enlarged end portion of a vertical dimension approximately equal to the vertical length of the lowering device,

the lower wall of lthe enlargement being secured to theiiange I3 of the lowermost shelf II`` and the upper wall of the enlargement being secured to the bottom wall It of the hopper. The end portion of the vconduit is divided by a partition 41 into upper and lower portions so that the incoming dryingmedium is divided into two parts, one of which is directed into the upper portion ofthe drying chamber and theother of which is directed into the lower portion of the drying chamber. Preferably the passageways above and below the partitions 31 are provided' with separately operable dampers 45 for regulating the ilowA of the drying medium therethrough.

The outlet conduit 49 also has an enlarged end portion of a size to embrace substantially the entire length. of the lowering. device, the upper wall of this enlargement being secured to the bottom wall I5 of the hopper and the lower wall of the enlargement being secured to the iiange i3 of the lowermost shelf i2.- Arranged within this enlarged end of theoutlet conduit and connected with the lowering device are a plurality of partitions 5.0 forming between the same passageways which communicate with the spaces between adjacent shelves, there being in the present instance a partition ior each shelf, thereerslzc so'that the eilectivesize of each e- ,way` with relation f passed ilrst through lated to secure the desired distribution of the suction. in tbe drying chamber. The two parts of the outlet conduit may also be provided with dampers 53 to -further regulate the action of the suction in the drying chamber. l

In that form. of the apparatus shownin Figs. 5, 6 and .7, the inlet conduit '54 is connected with the lower part; of the drying chamber and the outlet conduit 55 is connected with the upper part of the drying chamber on that side of the material lowering device opposite the inlet conduit. Inwardly diverging partitions 55 divide the inner end portion ofthe inlet conduit into a plurality of sepa/nate passageways leading to spaces between'different shelves Il of the lower portion of the lowering device. On the opposite side oi' the lower portion of the lowering device similar inwardly diverging partitions 51 .provide passage- 'ways leading from thespaces between adjacent shelves l2 to a transverse conduit 58; which is connected at its endsv with upwardly inclinedV conduits 59 which extendacrossthe housing lilv and are connected 'at their upper ends with asecond transverse conduit 60 which'is arranged. on that side oi the lowering device opposite the outlet conduit 55.. -Passageways, formed by inoutlet conduit 55 is ilared andlis divided by'partitions '52 intoseparate .passageways communieating respectively with the spaces between different shelves I2,

the lmaterial in the lower. portionof the lowering device, then carried upward and passed through the material in the upper portion of the lowering device in the same direction that it passedthroughthe lower portion thereof Aand is then delivered to the outlet conduit on that side ofth'e apparatus opposite Thus thel drying medium is the inlet conduit.- The

conduits

58, 59 and 60 Y.

are arranged exteriorly of the housing tov avoid interference with the lowering device. In this case also means are provided Ifor supplying additional heat to the drying medium after it has passed through the'lower portion of the material. -llor this purpose passageway 54 leads from the inlet conduit 54 tothe upper transverse conduit and-is'controlled by a damper 65..

While I have shownv and described certain embodiments of my invention I wish it to be understoodthat I do not desire to be limited to the details thereof as various modifications' mayvv occur toja person skilled in the art.l

' Having now fully described my invention, what lation to. form a plurality of oppositely inclined passageways through which the material moves by gravity, the longitudinal edges of adjacent shelves of each `series being spaced one from the .other to providedteral openings communicating with the respective passageways yon each side of said lowering device, an inlet conduittcomniuni-vcating with a relatively large group of passage- .ways'in one longitudinal portion of said'lowering device 'through lateral openings in one side of said lowering device, an outlet conduit communicating with a relatively large group l.of passageways in 75 another longitudinal portion of said lowering device through lateral openings in one side of said lowering device, a plurality of partitions arranged on that side of said lowering device opposite Said inlet to form a plurality of channels which communicate respectively with separate parts of the passageways of the first mentioned group through lateral openings on the adjacent side of said lowering device and with the passageways of the last mentioned group through lateral openings on that :ide of said lowering device opposite said outlet conduit, and means for circulating a drying medium through said conduits, passageways and channels.

2. In a drier, a material lowering device comprising two substantially vertical series of downwardly and inwardly 'inclined shelves, the shelves of the two series being arranged in staggered relation to form a plurality of oppositely inclined passageways through which the material moves by gravity, the longitudinal edges of adjacent' shelves of each series being spaced one from the other to provide lateral openings communicating with the respective passageways on each side of said-lowering device, an inlet conduit communicating with a relatively large group of passageways in one longitudinal portion of said lowering device through lateral openings in one side of said lowering device, an outlet conduit communicating with a relatively large group of `passageways in another longitudinal portion of said lowering device through lateral openings in one side of said lowering device, a plurality of partitions arranged on that side of said lowering device -opposite said inlet conduit to form a plurality of channels, each of said channels communicating at one end with a separate part of the passageways of the iirst mentioned group through lateral openings on that side of said lowering device opposite said Ainlet` conduit and communicating at its other end with a separate part of the passageways of the last mentioned group through lateral openings on that side of said lowering device opposite said outlet conduit, and means for circulating a drying medium through said conduits, passageways and channels.

3. In a drier, a material lowering device comprising two substantially vertical series of downwardly and inwardly inclined shelves, the shelves of the two series being arranged in staggered relation to form a plurality of oppositely inclined passageways through which the material moves by gravity, the longitudinal edges of adjacent shelves of each series being spaced one from the other to provide lateral openings communicating with the respective passageways on each side of said lowering device, an inlet conduit communicating with a relatively large group of passageways in one longitudinal portion of said lowering device through lateral openings in one side of said lowering device, an outlet conduit communicating with a relatively large group o1 pas sageways in another longitudinal portion of said lowering device through lateral openings in one side of said lowering device, a plurality of partitions a-rranged on that side of said lowering device opposite said inlet to form a plurality of channels which communicate' respectively with separate parts of the passageways of the first mentioned group through lateral openings on the adjacent side of said lowering device and with the passageways of the last mentioned group through lateral openings on that side of said lowering device opposite said outlet conduit, means for circulating a drying medium through said conduits, passageways and channels, and means for by-passing a portion of said drying medium from said inlet conduit to said channels to further heat that portion oi said drying medium which has passed through the material in the passageways of the first mentioned group.

4. In a drier, a material lowering device comprising two substantially vertical series of downwardly and inwardly inclined shelves, the shelves of the two series being arranged in staggered relation to form a plurality of oppositely inclined passageways through which the material moves by gravity, the longitudinal edges of adjacent shelves of each series being spaced one from the other to provide lateral openings communicating with the respective passageways on each side of said lowering device, an inlet conduit communicating with a relatively large group of passageways in one longitudinal portion of said lowering device through lateral openings in one side of said lowering device and having a plurality of channels each of which is connected with a separate part of the passageways of said group, an outlet conduit communicating with a relatively large group of passageways in another longitudinal portion of said lowering device through lateral openings on one side of said lowering device and having a plurality of channels each of which is connected with a separate part of the passageways of the last mentioned group, partitions arranged to form a plurality of channels, each of the last mentioned channels communicating at one end with a separate part of the passageways of the ilrst mentioned group through lateral openings on that side of said lowering deviceopposite said inlet conduit and communicating at its other end with a separate part of the passageways of the last mentioned group through lateral openings on that side of said lowering device opposite said outlet conduit and means for circulating a drying medium through said conduits, passageways and channels.

RAY. G. BAUGHMAN.