US1046254A - Drying process and apparatus. - Google Patents

Description

0. P. BOSSERT. DRYING PROCESS AND APPARATUS APPLICATION FILED APRA, 1910. 1,046,254 Patented Dec.3, 1912.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

Inven or Charles P 2"? W1 messes DSSETI A carnage G. P. BOSSERT.

DRYING PROCESS AND APPARATUS.

APPLIGATION I'ILBD APR.4, 1910.

1,046,254, Patented Dec. 3, 1912.

3 SHEETSSHEET 2. F 4. a ,4

W Ch l e Euss'fir W Ell-11E 5 C. P. BOSSERT.

DRYING PROCESS AND APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED MBA, 1910.

Patented Dec. 3, 1912.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

a/ a I 73 a m I3 5 r m 1:" I I a I l I I I I l I I I I l I '1 I InvanInr W1 11855515 W5 P. 112 5514 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIQE-.

CHARLES P. BOSSERT, OF-MILWAO'KEE, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNORTO PFISTER & VOGEL LEATHER 00., OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, A CORPORATION OF WISCONSIN.

DRYING PROCESS AND APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 3, 1912.-

T at, whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES P. Bossnn'r, a

citizen of the United States, residing at new and Improved Drying Process and Apparatus, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part OfthlS specification.

My invention relates to drying processes and apparatus therefor.

Although the improvements which I propose may be used, as will be seen, in a great many instances and in connection with various industries, I contemplate the use thereof particularly in tanneries, and will therefore. describe my invention with this specific embodiment in mind so as to facilitate the explanation thereof.

It will appear that the process and apparatus of my invention are peculiarly adapted to the drying of fibrous materials which may become more or less wet or, in fact, saturated, and it is clear, in view of this fact, that .my invention may be advantageously employed in connection with tanning proc esses. In such processes hides are brought into a thoroughly saturated state during the tanning step in which they are subjected to the action of the various tanning solutions and, before the further dressing and currying processes, it is necessary that they be dried thoroughly.

From the following description of the process and the operation and construction of the apparatus of my invention in connection with its use in the tanning art, the adaptability thereof to many other similar uses will become manifest.

- In the known art it has been customary, in tanning establishments, to hang the wet hides in a room or chamber provided for that purpose, and to heat and ventilatethat room or chamber to a proper'extent so that the drying (if the hides may ensue. These rooms or chambers are heated by steam coils or in some other suitable manner, and the hides are hung about the room as best they can be to save space. Considering the part this drying step plays in the complete tanning process, it will be understood why the most practical plan under this prior art arrangement was to transfer a certain lot of hides after they had been removed from the tanning pits or'vats to this drying chamber and to allow them to remain in this chamber or room, under the influence of the heat and such draft as could be had, until they were thoroughly dried. The hides were then removed and'the room or chamber was ready for the reception of another lot. In this practice it was found necessary to allow the hides to rest under those conditions for a period amounting, on the average, to about eighteen hours, such a considerable length of time being required because of the fact that the hides could not be heated evenly nor disposed in a draft evenly, the moisture from some of the hides being transferred to others, depending upon the respective temperatures, and vice versa, with a gradual loss until all the moisture had become evaporated. v

It is the object of my invention to provide means whereby the hides, or for that matter, other articles, can be dried in a much which is consistent with the convenient and.

expeditious handling and manipulation of the hides.

It is the further object of my invention to provide a process and apparatus in which regulatioumay be had to a degree and in which effective control may be had at all times. And it is the further object of my invention to .carry out the proposed process by means of an apparatus of such simple design and construction that its cost would not overbalance the practical advantages to be gained thereby.

The process of my invention includes the provision of a well-defined draft, preferably heated, entails the movement of the articles to be dried in such a draft against the direction of the draft, and the heatingof the hides before they are introduced into the draft. The apparatus of my invention provides for carrying out the process as,

thus outlined and for doing so, more specifically, in a definite manner. The apparatus which I propose is mainly and essentiallyin the form of a tunnel through which the hides or other articles to be dried are carried. The wet hides are introduced at one end and are ejected at the other, and practice and experiment have proven that hides may be thoroughly dried in the proposed sectional view of the manner by timing the trip through the tunnel to one hour and a half quite in contrast to the eighteen hours required by the means of the prior art, as hereinbefore pointed out. The apparatus which I propose provides for affecting the hides uniformly and provides for their physical manipulation in an eflicient and convenient manner. Once introduced into thetunnel, the hides need no further attention, and the tunnel itself needs no further attention than to regulate the temperature.

The improvements I propose are carried out by an embodiment in the apparatus illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevational view thereof, showing its relation to the parts of the building in which it is set up, parts being broken awayso that its proportionate length may be confined to the sheet; Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof; Fig. 3 is a partial crosssectional view taken on the plane indicated by the line 3-3 of Fig. 2 and looking in the direction indicated by the arrows, this part being near the ejecting end of the tunnel; Fig. 4 is a partial sectional View taken on the plane indicated by the line 44 of Fig. 1 and looking in the direction indicated by the arrows, this part being at the entrance end of the tunnel; Fig. 5 is a part of the apparatus just below the partshown in Fig. 3, being therefore a section taken on the plane indicated by the line 33 of Fig. 1; Fig. 6 is an end View of the tunnel, showing the entrance end,'and Figs. 7, 8 and 9 are detail views which will be later referred to and which illustrate parts of the carrying mechanism. Like reference numerals are applied to the same parts throughout the various figures.

The tunnel is shown at 10, the middle part thereof extending between two box portions 11 and 12, which are preferably mounted upon the floor 13, the part 10 being therefore quite in tunnel comprising these three parts is preferablyconstructed by means of a stout mechanically resistant framework comprising the uprights 14, 14 and suitable horizontal bars, the main horizontal supporting member being in the form of a .U-bar 15 disposed on eachside of the structure. The U -bars 15 extend beyond the entrance box 11 to a considerable extent, for a purpose hereinafter fully polnted out.

The frame-work thus described is preferably provided with an expanded metal or wire screen wall so as to form a foundation for the plaster walls, as shown in the drawings. Plaster walls are preferable since they do not radiate the heat to any substantial degree, and therefore serve to confine it to the most useful the form of a bridge. The" region. It is the part 10 of the tunnel that primarily carries the current or draft of air, and this part is therefore made of such height as to accommodate, with a reasonable degree of fitness, a doubled hide, so that when the tunnel is full the draft will be intercepted as much as possible and will find little or no path of low resistance. It is of course clear that a number of rows of hides can be sent through the tunnel, and that the tunnel can be adapted therefor without departing from'the spirit and scope of this invention.

The carrying mechanism is in the form of a pair of traveling chains, one on each side of the tunnel, which operate upon sprockets which are driven in some suitable manner. The sprockets at the exit end are indicated at 16, 16, and those at the entrance end are indicated at 17, 17. Those at one end may be permanently mounted, While those at the other end are preferably adjustably mounted. In the present embodiment the sprockets 16, 16 are shown as mounted upon the stationarily confined shaft 18, while the sprockets 17, 17 are shown as mounted upon the shaft 19, which is journaled in sliding boxes 20, 20 mounted in elongated frames 21, 21 secured in some suitable manner to the frame-work. The sliding boxes 20, 20 each are provided with an adjusting screw22 which has threaded engagement with a lug 23 on the frame 21, and it is clear that manipulation of the hand-Wheel 24 will opcrate to tighten or loosen the corresponding chain 25 which operates over the respective sprockets. The chains 25, 25 are provided with suitable, uniform, and laterally registering intervals with special links 26, 26, (Figs. 7 and 8) each of which is provided with a lug 27 to which is secured, by means of rivets 28, 28, a T-bar 29, these T-bars extending between registering links, as is evident from the drawings. Placed in respective parallel proximity to the two sides of each sprocket chain are the angle irons 30 and 31, the upper iron 30 being above the upper run of the sprocket chain, and the lower angle 31 being below the lower run of the sprocket chain. The purposes of these angle irons will be presently apparent. Also secured to the lug'27 of each of the speclal links 26 of the sprocket chain is the lug 32, of the truck frame 33 which carries, in longitudinal alinement, the rollers 34, 34. These rollers are adapted to ride upon the angle irons 30 and 31 so that the latter act as rails and, as will be clear, supporting rails. It is to be noted that only one side of the sprocket chain passes through thetunnel, the other side passing .out over the tunnel; the object of this arrangement will be pointed out later -when the operation of the device is described. As best shown in Fig. 4, the hides are adapted to be hung on cross-bars exof the flanges of the T-bars is provided with a plurality of preferably regularly spacedstruck-up portions 35, 35, which act as abutments for properly spacing the cross-bars 36, 36, which are removable and preferably of wood so as to be light and so, conveniently handled. In hanging the hides on the carrying means, the hide is first placed over such a cross-bar or stick 36 and the stick is then hung between adjacent'T bars against corresponding abutments 35, 35, in Fig. 9 the bars being preferably put in place from the right.

As will be later pointed .out, the draft enters the tunnel from the end shown in Fig. 3, and it is therefore apparent that there must be some special construction for that end in order that the sprocket chain may pass out of the tunnel, since that arrangement is desirable, as will be pointed out. Referring to Fig. 3, it will be seen that the tunnel at this point is 'made of slightly greater height than the greater port-ion of the part 10, as indicated at 37. The'to-p wall which is thus auxiliary is above the rail 30, which I may refer to as the return rail, and the opening which thus results is closed partly by the vertical portion 38 and mainly by a series of gates 39, 39 which are pivoted at 40, 40 to the frame-work, which extend across the tunnel and rest upon the rails 30, 30, and which are inclined in the direction in which the upper run of the chain moves, so that they may automatically respond and. allow the trucks and T-bars to pass out of the auxiliary portion without interference. A number of such gates being provided, and being properly spaced, it is clear that when one of the gates is open one or more of the others is closed, and the draft therefore finds no outlet at this point. I

Beyond the exit end of the tunnel a chamber 41 is disposed, this chamber being in part a heating box and also providing means for conducting the air, freely admitted to said heating box, to arotary blower indicated at 42. Heating coils are shown at 43 and, as shown, the chamber or casing 41 is open at the end so that the air may be admitted thereto freely and may pass among.

the heating coils, in which steam may be circulated, this action being encouraged by the operation of the 11142 which, so far as the entrance of air to the heating box is concerned, acts as a suction element. fan 42 is connected at its outlet end with a pipe 44 which leads to the opening 45 in the end of the wall of the tunnel at its exit end (Fig. 3). The blower 42 is provided with a pulley 46 which is connected with the pulley 47 on the jack shaft 48 by means The of a belt 49, this jack shaft being opera- P tively connected with a rotating element 50 of a source of power by means of the pulley 51 andthe belt 52. In order that the carrying mechanism may also be operated from the jack shaft a counter-shaft 53 is provided upon which tight and loose pulleys are arranged, the jack-shaft being permanently connected with the counter-shaft 53 by means of the belt 54, and the countershaft being connected with a pulley 55, mounted on the tunnel frame-work, by means of a belt 56 permanently connected with a loose element on the counter-shaft 53 and arranged to be brought in or out of service by means of the shifting fork 57 which is operated by means of a wheel 58 connected with a pulley 5.9 by means of a cord 60, this pulley 59 being operated in one direction or the other by 'meanso-f the operating cords 61, 61 which carry the weights 62, 62 in an obvious manner. The pulley 55 is carried upon a shaft 63 which also carries a pinion 64' which, in turn, meshes with a gear 65 on the same shaft 18 with the sprockets 16. It is clear that the carrying arrangement may be brought into and out of service conveniently by a person at the entrance end ofthe tunnel by means of the arrangement thus described, it being understood, however, that this is shown merely as an example and is not to be regarded as the measure of the scope of any phase of mv invention.

About midway between the ends of the tunnel and preferably toward the entrance end, an outlet 66 is provided, this outlet being in the nature of a tap from the tunnel so that. the draft created by the blower 42 and passing through-the tunnel will pass out through this outlet and not through the entrance end of the tunnel. The outlet flue isin the form of acanopy 67, which is supplemented by a pipe 68 passing upwardly preferably through the roof and to the open air where it is rovided with suitable hoods 69, '69, for obvious purposes. The canopy 67 is provided with the pivoted gates 70, 70 constructed quite in accordance with the description of the gates 39, 39, so as to accommodate the return sides of the sprocket' chains without interfering with the air current arran ement. The pipe 68 is provided with a fan 71 which is operated in some suitable -manner, for instance by means of gearing and shafting 7 2, and tends tocreate a draft upward so as to assist the fan 42 in creating and maintaining the particu-.

before they are introduced into the draft.

The steam coils preferably extend the entire length of the box so that sufiicient heat may be had to secure the desired result, as will be pointed out when the operation of the arrangement is described.

It is clear from Fig. 3 that when a T- bar reaches the sprockets 16, 16 the main portion thereof will extend approximately radially from the center of the sprocket, this action resulting in the lengthening of the distance between the rear flange of the T-bar and the forward flange of the T-bar following it, to such an extent that the crossbars or sticks can no longer be held thereby and they are dropped into the box 12, together with all the hides carried thereby. The bottom of the box 12 is open, as indicated at 73, but this opening is controlled by a sliding door 74 supported upon crossbeams 75, 75 carried'upon rollers 76, 76 which ride, upon rails 77, 77. The opening 73 is preferably made in the floor and, below the floor, is surrounded by a sash 78, the lower face of which is oblique to the rails 77. The door 74 is also mounted so as to be oblique, or has a surface oblique to a similar degree, so that a wedge action is produced when the door is jammed shut, that is, when the door is rolled to the right as far as it will go. In order that the joint between the door and the sash may be airtight, so far. as possible, the sash or the door, or both, may be provided with a compressible washer member 79 of suitable material, for instance, a hide without the hair removed. This has proved a very eflicient joint, and the entire arrangement well fulfils the broad object of normally confining the draft, to the tunnel proper. The door carries a rack 80 which meshes wit-h a pin- 1011 81 operating on a relatively stationary shaft 82, this shaft also carrying the operating sprocket or sheave 83 which, in turn, carries the operating chain 84, adapted to be manually operated, as is well known in other devices. Thus when a lot of hides falls from the carrying mechanism they fall down into the box '12 and upon the door 74, when warning may be given to the floor below that the door may be shifted to remove all the hides and sticks which are carried thereby. 4

In order that access may be had to. the various interiors for the purposes of adjustment, repair and regulation, manholes 85 may be provided. In order that regulation of temperature may be. conveniently had, sight- holes 86, 86 may be provided in the tunnel, behind which thermometers may be placed, a glass cover being-provided so that the heat may be confined.

The process of my invention, and the manner in which it is carried out by the apparatus which I propose will now bedescribed. I

The blower 42, together with the auxiliary fan 71, maintains a constant current or draft fro-m the exit end of the tunnel to the outlet 66, this draft or currentbeingthoroughly heated by meansof the heating arrangement. 43, 43. By this arrangement the hottest and driest parts of the draft are at the exit end, the temperature being probably and not only is the heating proposed by the rocess of my invention advantageous for t is purpose, but it alsobrings the hides to substantially the temperature of the draft before it is introduced into the same.

In carrying out my invention an operator is stationed at the entrance end of the tunnel, where he may operate the shifting mechanism for starting or stopping the carrying means. The carrying means is operated intermittently, in fact it is stationary most of the time. It is stationary while a lot of hides are put in place. When the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 4 the two T- bars farthest to the left in the figure are ready for the reception of the cross sticks carrying the hides. It is to be understood, of course, that the hides are hung only on the lower runs of the sprocket chains, since that part only passes through the tunnel.

Thus as the T-bars come upon the lower steps in the tanning processmay be carried out. He, places each hide over a stick and then places the stick between the two T-bars between which he is working. When the row is completed he operates the shifting" cords 61, 61 to start the carrying mechanism, to move the hides farther on in the tunnel, and to bring the next T-bar down into place upon the lower rails 31, 31, so thatanother lot of hides may be put into posltion. It is clear that, continuing this operation, the hides are gradually assed over the heat coils in the box 11 an that they are heated to a considerable degree before they reach the draft which, so far as the tunnel is concerned, ends at the outlet 66.

As is well known in the art, moisture does not deposit much on a warm hide, while it does deposit upon a cold hide very rapidly.

rate at which moisture'deposits. It-is further well known that a moist'3hide offa higher temperature will impartits moisture,

or a-part' thereof, to a colder hide and, 'co nsistently, a hide of a'certai ntem rature being thoroughlywet will impartnts moisture to another hide of the same'tempera-f ture if it is not so wet. The im ortance of systematic physical man' 'ulatlon or the hidesin accordance with the draft and the temperature is thus at once realized, for, in the drying chambers or roomsof the prior art, it is clear that moisture would be im-- parted from one to the other of the hides, and that the temperatures might affect them to no distinct advantage and so delaythe entire process. The depositing of moisture upon a hide means that moisture is depos ited upon an oilwhich, itself, is over moisture, and this intermingling of oil} and water gradually delays any kind of drying. Thus the primary heating of the hides is doubly important, for if it had no effect whatever in securing primary evaporation it would. be effective in bringing the hidespfito .such

temperature that theywould not take on any of the moisture given oflj .,by those that preceded them.; Thus if the 'hides'are thoroughly warm before they freacht-he draft, the moisture 'held by. the air; will not deposit upon the hides, but will pass" out .of the flue with the air, and ohly'the primary moisture contained by the hideslneedbe evaporated by thedraft into which they are to be introduced. -The movement of the hides-in a di-' rection opposite to the direct-ionfpf the heated air current-.isialso -important, for LOl only do the hides become more. dry-as they move toward. the" exit end of the tunnel, but the air which afi'ectsthem is also more dry.

Consistently; they need not be brought up to such a 'greati..-temperature near the end of the draft, for there the temperature of the draft ,is'considerably lessvthan at the exit end; As thehides pass toward the exit end they are gradually subjected to greater heat and 'idrier air. until finally they' may be ejected ina-thoroughlydry condition. Only one sideof the; carrier chain being :led

Y through the tunnel, is'clear that the "hides willcover thejcrossj-s 'ection as thoroughly as.

practicable,and tlierelis no ath of low. re?

sistance, above ;the1 hides w iclr the draft might: otherwise Asthe'fl-hides enterthe.tunnelandfgradually"approach the end ofthefidraft they become heated more and a more y -the draft,". tli

mg into I and the tem rature slightly higher." During its 'trave as far as the r ,gs areg of approximately the t'emperatureofthat end of the draft. Com the draft the; air somewhat moist aft it'is likely that considerable {of themoisture has been 11y, just before they reach evaporated from the hides, but I do not rely upon this feature for the proper operation 0 my process. Having brought the hides to the desired temperature before they are introduced into the drying draft, the moisture contained by the air of the draft, particularly at'the end thereof, will not tend to settle on the hides, but will, in fact, tend to take hp more and so relieve the newly entering hides. The hides then gradually approach the exit end and, simultaneously, ap-

proach the highertemperature anddrier a1r to secure the desired result, as hereinbefore pointed out. y 1

It is'clear that while a large number, of hides are physically handled at the same time they are also simultaneously acted upon in accordance with the process of my 'invention. The hides are constantly being intro duced and accordingly being taken out of the tunnel, so'that there is a complete cycle, the greater portion of which involves the passage of the hides through the tunnel to secure the proper drying, as set forth.

I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A drying process consisting in constantly maintaining a forced heated draft from the atmosphere through an inclosure and back to the atmosphere, primarily and independently dry-heating wet articles, then introducing the heated wet articles into said draft by gradually shifting them from the primary heating zone to the zone of said draft, and then passing said articles through said draft.

'2. A drying process consisting in constantly maintaining a forced heated draft from the atmosphere through an inclosure and back to the atmosphere, primarily and independently dry-heating wet articles, then introducing the heated wet articles into said draft by gradually shifting them from the primary heating zone to the zone of said draft,=jand then assing said articles through said draft in a direction opposite to that of the draft. '3. A drying rocess consisting in constantly. maintaimng a forced heated draft from the atmosphere through an inclosure and back to the atmosphere; primarily and independently dry-heating wet articles to a temperature approximate equal to that of the colder end of said draft, then introduc--- ing the heated wet articles into said draft by gradually shifting them from the primary heating zone to the colder end of said draft, and then passing said articles through said draft.

.4. A drying process consisting in constantly maintaimn a defined draft heated at .the'beginning. ereof and passed from the atmosphere through an inclosure and back to the atmosphere, primarily and independently heating wet articles to a temperature approximately equal to that of the end of the draft, then introducing the heatedwet articles into said draft by gradually shifting them from the primary heating zone to the zone of said draft, and then passing said articles through said draft.

5."A drying apparatus comprising a permanently open tunnel having an intermediate outlet to the atmosphere, heating means confined to one end of said tunnel, heating means independent of said first-named heating means confined to the other end of said tunnel, a blower associated with said lastnamed heating means and arrangedto induce a draft toward said intermediate outlet, and a conveyer extending through said 7 tunnel.

' means confined to 'one end'of said tunnel,

heating means independent of said firstnamed heating means confined to the other end of said tunnel, a blower associated with said last-named heating means and'arranged to induce a draft toward said intermediate outlet a' conveyer extending through said tunne a rotor, and means for driving said blower and said conveyer from said rotor. 8. A drying apparatus comprising a tun-' nel having an intermediate outlet, conveying mechanism therein, heatingmeans at the entry end thereof, a floor outlet at the exit end thereof, an external box, a heater in said box, a blower therein, and connection between the blower end of's'aid box' and the top of the tunnel at the exit end, the

box being open to the tween the carriers on one side and .those onthe other.

10. A drying apparatus comprising a permanently opentunnel having an intermediate outlet to the atmosphere, a conveyer extendin into said tunnel from the entry end neafiyto the opposite end, an outlet door in the floor at the end of said conveyer, heating means confined to said opposite end of said tunnel, a blower associated with said heating means, said blower inducing a heated draft from said heating means to said intermediate outlet, and heating means independent of. said first-named heating means confined to the entry end of the tunnel, the zone between that at said last-named heat-ing means and said intermediate outlet being a graded zone subject to the induced heat from both means.

11. In a drying apparatus, a tunnel, carryin means in the form 'of a belt, one run 0 y of which passes through said tunnel, supporting means carried by said belt, and a plurality of serially disposed automatically operated gates providing for the exit of said supporting means.

12. In a drying apparatus, a tunnel, means for maintaining a draft in said tunnel, means for carrying a plurality of transversely extending T-beams through said tunnel, the flanges of said 'T-beams having struck-up portions to form abutments against which cross sticks may be laid.

, In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 30th day of March, A. D. 1910.

CHARLES P. BOSSERT. Witnesses:

' G. MAIER, l R. S. BOEMER.

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