GB1172522A - Improvements in or relating to Apparatus for the Drying of Grain or other Granular Material - Google Patents

Abstract

1,172,522. Apparatus for drying grain &c. RANSOMES SIMS & JEFFERIES Ltd. 24 Jan., 1967 [28 Jan., 1966], No. 3943/66. Heading A2Q. [Also in Division F4] Apparatus, Fig. 1, for drying granular material such as grain comprises an upright tower 2, into the top of which the material is fed, and parallel, spaced-apart, transverse air-ventilation ducts, which are arranged in upright columns and are staggered to provide zig-zag paths for the material as it flows downwardly, through the tower, to a transverse outlet slot 20 in its base. Each duct, Fig. 3, has apertured, e.g. louvred, downwardly and outwardly sloping upper, roof-like walls 36 and 38, and a partition 50, which divides the duct into an upper part 52 and a lower, e.g. openbottomed, part 54 bounded by downwardly directed and inwardly inclined wall-portions 40 and 42. A suction fan 88, Fig. 1, is provided to draw drying air, e.g. hot air from an oil-fired furnace (94) Fig. 2, (not shown), into the upper parts 52 of the ducts and through their upper, apertured walls and the down flowing material and the lower parts 54 of the ducts, and to expel used air from the apparatus. Partition plates 72 may be provided between the ducts to prevent material from wandering from one zig-zag path into another. Upwardly and outwardly directed portions 74, Fig. 3, may extend from the top of each plate 72 into the lower part 54 of a duct immediately above, to inhibit flow of material into said lower part. A double-pitched plate 76 having an apex 79 may be secured to the tops of the two portions 74 of each duct, and fingers 78 may extend downwardly, from each side of the ridge-plate 76, to constitute rakes 80. The fingers 78 create local vortices in the down flowing material and thus inhibit formation of stationary pockets of material. Specifications 1172523 and 11722524 are referred to.