US1381436A - Drying apparatus - Google Patents

Description

E. SAVY. DRYI NG APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB-28, i919. 1,381,436. Patented June 14, 1921.

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DRYING APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED FEB-28, 1919.

Patented June 14, 1921,.

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Patented June 14, 1921.

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E. SAVY.

DRYING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB-28, 1919.

1,381,436. Patented June 14, 1921.

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DRYING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 14, 1921.

Application filed February 28, 1919. Serial No. 219,724.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EMILE SAVY, citizen of the Republic of F rancc, and resident of ,Paris, France, (post-oflice address 5 Rue Denis Poisson,) have invented new and useful Improvements in Drying Apparatus, which improvements are fully set forth in the followin specification.

The rapidity of the drying of substances which, by their nature, cannot be brought to a high temperature, is a function of the volume of air which plays over their surface, and, consequently, of its velocity.

In the driers usually employed, Whether they be of the type which includes a series of trays arranged in tiers in a chamber or of the type which consists of a series of superposed carriers, the air intended to produce the desiccation is carried along between the trays or carriers by suction or pressure by means of fans placed either above or below the drying chamber, or even therein. In the latter case, the air is set in motion by vanes working in a vertical direction for the urpose of forcing the air in a horizontal irection between the trays or the carriers.

The result of this is that eddies are formed which do not permit the current of air to be directed uniformly over all the points of the surfaces to be dried, thus prejudicially affectingthe regularity of the drying; the rapidity of the current of air is also limited in order to prevent the substances, when, in consequence of the drying, they have become lighter from being carried along in the current.

It is to avoid these disadvantages that ,the arrangement hereinafter described andforming the subject matter of the present lnvention has been devised. The accompanying drawing shows the application of the invention (1) to a drier with trays, and (2) to a continuously work- 111 drier with carriers.

igure 1 shows a sect on in elevation onthe line A-B of Fig. 2 of the drying chamber and the trays.

Fig.- 2 is a sectional lan view thereof, taken on the line C-D Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 shows a section on the line CD of a tray 3 and of the slides 4 which carry 1t.

Fig. 4 is a side View showing the arrangement adopted for the charging and discharging of the tray 3 use being made of sliding carriages 25 corresponding to those of the chamber.

F 1g. 5 shows a top plan view of the drier with a portion cut away showing, as in Fig. 4, how the trays 3 are passed to the charging zone in the chamber, while expelling at the same time the trays containing the dried substances to replace them upon the slides 25 corresponding to the receiving carriage 24 Fig. 6 is a View in vertical longitudinal section of a continuously working drier with carriers.

Fig. 7 is a horizontal section.

Fig. 8 is a top plan view.

Fig. 9 is a vertical transverse section.

Fig. 10 is ,a partial View on a larger scale of a carrier.

Figs. 11, 12 and 13 are partial detail views of the carrier.

Figs. 14 and 15 are plan and sectional views of a modification of the carrier.

Figs. 16, 17 and 18 are digrammatic views of the fans.

In Fig. 1, 1 is a chamber, closed and with doubly insulated Walls, of wood, metal, masonry or other material; 2 are doors which may be made to open or slide u and down, each one corresponding to a serles of superposedtraysB and each sliding in U irons 4 which support the trays and guide them; these U irons are each fixed at their ends to the frame work of the chamber.

One of the characteristics of the invention consists firstly in interposing between any two horizontal rows of trays vanes 5 fixed to vertical shafts 6, worked by the bevel wheels 7, keyed on the driving shaft 8, which is itself driven by the pulley 9.

These bevel wheels are keyed in such a way that the vanes of the different shafts rotate freely without meeting each other as shown in Fig. 2.

It will be understood that by causing the vanes to rotate more or less rapidly, the molecules of air passing over the surface of the substances. to be dried will be renewed more or less frequently. This takes place more or less strongly according to the inclination of the vanes and at all points of the tray.

Obviously, the invention is independent of the particular form of the vanes which may be round, rectangular, straight or curved as shown in Figs. 16, 17 and 18 or otherwise formed.

On examining the section Fig. 1, it will be seen that by virtue of the position of the vanes, the renewal of the surfaces is effected at the same time above and below the trays, so that if the substance to be dried lends itself thereto, for example, vegetables, fruits, any substances in fragments, the drying is expedited above, below and at all points, by virtue of the eddies produced, if the precaution be taken to cover the bottom of the trays with a permeable fabric 10 (such as wire cloth, vegetable, animal or asbestos cloth) with larger or smaller meshes, according to the substances.

When it is desired to treat substances which are light or which become light after desiccation, such as vegetables, vegetable soups, etc., there is arrangedabove the trays a screen 10 fixed either to the movable frames sliding with slight friction in slides 4 surmounting the supports of the trays 4. This arrangement facilitates cleaning, giving the facility of withdrawing the frames without dismounting'.

This permeable screen imprisons the substance to be dried, and prevents the light particles from being carried away outward; the result is that, in order to expedite the desiccation, very great rapidity may be given to the vanes, and according to their form or their inclination, they produce violent eddies which will agitate the particles to be dried, lift them up and let them fall back again thus producing an automatic renewal of the surfaces.

Extreme importance is attached to this result, because it allows the drying to be very rapidly and economically carried out at a relatively low temperature, even at the surrounding temperature when the substance will not stand heat.

As to the circulation of air this may be worked on a closed circuit when it is desired to cook without evaporation, or on a semi closed circuit when it is desired {to dry while avoiding the shriveling of the surfaces, or finally on an open circuit for extra rapid desiccations.

11 is a heating column containing a steam coil: it may be replaced by any source of heat such as a gas, oil or coke stove, or any other combustible may be used.

12 is a fan drawing air through the openings 13 and 14: the opening 14 draws.v into a passage 15 placed at the lower part of the drier, the opening 13 into a passage 16 opening into the outer air.

This fan 12 forces the mixture of air drawn in through the heating column 11 to inject it into the chamber 1 of the drier through the openings 17. This air traverses the drier from top to bottom, being agitated in its passage by the vanes 5 which distribute it equally over the substances to be dried and issues saturated with moisture through the lower openings 18 and the passage 15.

A fan 19 facilitates the expulsion outward of the moist air by the chimney 20.

x If it be desired to work on a closed circuit, which is very useful sometimes for commencing to bring the whole mass to a determined temperature before commencing the drying (for vegetables for example) or for carrying out a preliminary cooking, the dampers 21 and 23 are closed, the damper 22 being left open, and the fan 12 is allowed to act for the desired period of time. i

If it be desired to work on a semi closed circuit for the purpose of avoiding too rapid a desiccation of the outer surfaces and consequently their injurious shriveling, in the drying of the central parts of the fragments treated, the dampers 21, 22 and 23 are so adjusted that the fan 12 is able to draw in at the same time as the fresh air by the passage 16 a. more or less large proportion of moist air by the passage 15, a homogeneous mixture being effected in the fan.

Finally if it be desired to work on an open circuit, that is to say without any admixture of moistair, it suflices to close the damper 22 and to open the dampers 21 and 23, the drier being then only traversed by hot dry air.

The direction of the current of air in the drier is of little consequence, owing to the agitation of the air by the vanes; it is shown in the plan as circulating from top to bottom but it may obviously be otherwise arranged.

Figs. 6 to 18 relate to a continuously working drier.

Fig. 6 is a view in Vertical section of a .drier with superposed endless carriers. In

the existing driers the distribution of the air over the surfaces to be dried is effected badly, or is limited to a feeble current of air for the purpose of preventing the substances from being carried off and the apparatus can only be worked on an open circuit, the result being loss of heat units and difficulty in drying the substances which become crusted on the surface, as for example, soaps, fruits, vegetables, gummy substances, albuminous substances, etc.

This arrangement of drier has the same principle applied to it as is adopted for the drier with the trays.

a is the hot chamber: 6 any kind of di-' viding apparatus dividing the material. to be drled uniformly .over a preliminary carrier 0 constituted by a metal, vegetable, ani- The cylinders themselves are set in motion 7 .by gears 6, shown in dotted lines in Fig.

6 and in full lines in the top plan view Fi 8 which likewise shows the driving pu ley g keyed on the first gear.

So far, the drier is constructed according to the usual arrangement the disadvantages of which have been enumerated above. To cause this type to benefit by the same advantages as those described for the drier with the trays, theup er surface a of the carrier is suppo and guided at the same time by the lower flan h of a U iron k: the lower surface 0'' 1s supported in its turn by the upper flange h of another U iron placed underneath (see Fig. 11). The other endless carriers being arranged in the same way, the result is that the space (closed on each side by the U irons) between the upper surface and the lower one of the carrier placed immediately above, constitutes a chamber In the upper and lower walls of which are permeable to air and contain the material m to be dried.

If there be placed between the surfaces of each carrier, vanes n keyed on vertical shafts o driven by bevel wheels 12 worked by the shaft 9 and the pulley 9, there is effected, by causing them to rotate more or less rapidly, an energetic agitation of the air which distributes it uniformly over the whole surface, above and below the substances to be dried. B suitably inclining the vanes, eddies are ormed which auto matically stir up the particles of this substance.

' are placed between the two carriers.

Fig. 9 is a vertical section at right an les to the belt type carriers showing how t ey are guided.

Fig. 11 is a view on a larger scale of the section through the belt type carriers.

Fi 12 is a section on a lar er scale in the irection of the length of t e belt type carriers.

Fig. isa view on a larger scale of two units of a carrier of perforated sheet metal, showing their hinged assemblage.

- Fig. 13 is a longitudinal view'on a larger scale of this same carrier, showing'the polygpnal driving drum 7.

eferring to Fig. 6, the cut up material in b spreads itself out over the upper carrier to all afterward on to the one immediately underneath, and so on to the last which conducts the material into a chamber 1' provided with a sliding dischargin door. The dry material collecting in the c amber forms a stopper. A portion thereof may be gradually extracted without fear of being 1n communication with the exterior, which is very important in order to avoid disturbances in the circulation of the hot air.

The circulation and production of the hot air are insured by a fan i which draws the air on the one hand into the drier by a pipe 4; provided with an adjustable damper 'v', and on the other hand into the surrounding atmosphere through the opening t the orifice of which is regulated by means of a damper t" indicated in Fig. 8,. This air is forced into the passage v, passes through the multiple openings 0: which divide it, is heated up by contact with a battery of pipes :12 heated by steam, then enters the drier at its lower part through the openings 3 and comes out at the upper part through the openings 1- into a collector r in communication with a suction fan 'r which facilitates the expulsion outward of the moist vapors by the chimne r.

It will be seen that by vlrtue of this arrangement, the apparatus can be worked:

1. Either on a completely closed circuit if it be desired to effect a cooking: it suflices for this to close by the damper t" the opening t of the fan 23, to open wide the dam er '0' and close the damper v" in relation with the suction fan r".

2. Or on a semi closed circuit by keeping the dampers t", 'v' and '0" partially open: there is thusmixed in the fan a portion of moist air borrowed from the drier with the dry air, thus avoiding too rapid a desiccatiori ,of those materials which are prone to shrivel or becomecrusted on the surface and permitting a more rapid drying right throu h.

3. r also on an open circuit, without any admixture of moist air, by completel closing the damper o, keeping the others wide open.

Obviously, the apparatus described may be used for purposes other than drying, if desired.

Figs. 16, 17 and 18 represent types of fans which may be adopted. The fans shown in Fig. 18 may rotateto collect the air at the center of the fans v (see the direction of the arrows in dotted lines) or to drive the air toward the peri hery (see the direction of the arrows in fu lines).

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. In an apparatus of the general class described, a series of spaced pairs of permeable members, each pair of members receiving between them the substances to be treated and confining such substances against material displacement, a series of fans arranged one in each space between adjacent pairs to induce a circulation through said members and the substances confined thereby, and means for simultaneously removing the substance to be treated posltioned between any of said pairs of permeable members and inserting other material in place thereof.

2. In apparatus of the class described, a series of spaced permeable supports for the material to be treated and arranged one above the other, a series of horizontal fans one between each adjacent pair of supports,

. a series of screens arranged one in overlying relation with each support and between it and the adjacent fan, whereb a circulation of air may be induced vertically through -said supports and the material thereon and the material prevented from traveling with the air currents by said screens, and means for simultaneously removing the substance to be treated positioned between any of said pairs of permeable members and inserting other material in place thereof.

3. In apparatus of the class described, a

series of vertically spaced permeable supports for the material to be treated, a series of horizontally spaced and interconnected drive shafts, and a series of fans on each shaft arranged one between each adjacent pair of supports, adjacent pairs of shafts being separated by a distance less than the diameter of the fans, the blades of adjacent fans on the same level being so spaced angularly on their shafts as to turn without interference with one another.

4. A drying apparatus, comprising, a casing, a series of spaced permeable supporting means therein for the material to be dried, a series of fans between each adjacent pair of supports, and means independent of such fans for forcing currents'of the drying medium into the casing and through said supporting means, said fans serving to distribute the drying medium over all parts of said supporting means.

5. A drying apparatus,comprising, a casing, a series of spaced permeable supporting-means therein for the material to be dried, a series of fans between each adjacent pair of supports, and means independent of such fans for circulating heated air through said casing, and means to controllably admit air from the surrounding atmosphere into said casing, when desire 6. A drying apparatus comprising a casing, a series of pairs of ermeable spaced members located therein, t e lower member of each pair being adapted to support the material to be dried, a series of fans arranged in each space between adjacent pairs of permeable members, and oppositely arranged sets of doors carried by said casing for permitting the, simultaneous insertion and withdrawal .of material between any pair of said spaced members.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification.

EMILE SAVY.

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