US1556865A

US1556865A - Sun-drying means for vegetable material

Info

Publication number: US1556865A
Application number: US663626A
Authority: US
Inventors: Muller Bruno
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1923-09-19
Filing date: 1923-09-19
Publication date: 1925-10-13
Anticipated expiration: 1942-10-13

Description

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account a very important of the costs or manufacture, aside from the impo sibility of the perfectly satisfactory execution this operation. portant objects of my invention to provide sun drying and curing means of easy and convenient manipulation and construction which makes it possible to utilize the sun rays in the most perfect and intensified man 65 V ner, so as to produce the desiccation, curing or evaporlzing of the fruit or the like in a very short period of time.

In the practice of my invention, and in lt is one of the imso facilitating the desiccating process by a judicious application of airing, and thereby to essentially improve the condition and keeping qualities of the products obtained, and to generally improve and facilitate the drying operation.

In the process of sun drying or sun curing as previously conducted the materialto be operated upon, thus for example copra, cocoa, cofiee, castor plant (Ricinus), fruit, tobacco and the like was exposed upon trays view of the objects hereinbefore specified I 7 may proceed by superimposing a plurality of drylng frames or trays, and combining them with a roofing of sheet metal into a closed unit or metal casing which is exposed to the irradiation of the sun. By means of 7 the rapid and strong heating of the metal surfaces which are rapidly and thoroughly heated by the sun rays the desiccating action is greatly increased, Then, the materialto be treated is at all times perfectly protected till or supports of wire netting or upon wooden supports or trays which for the curing and drying operation were generally placed upon the ground side by side of each other, or in the case of wooden supports with roofing, the trays were arranged to be moved to the outside by means of guide rails or the like. The drying or curing period usually varied between from t to 7 days but the quality of the product obtained was not always unob-jectionable, and there was the serious drawback that upon the occurrence of rainy weather all the trays had to be suddenly removed to a place of safety, while with the recurrence of sunshine they had to be brought back into the open air. Aside from the serious inconvenience that this pro cedure called for a great amount of help it is very often impossible to protect all trays in proper time. if, however the goods'to be desiccated or cured, have become wetted only once by the rain, the quality of the product is very considerably impaired This is true particularly for the drying of copra and of other vegetable products, and it is one of the chief objects ofniy invention to overcome the diliiculties referred to. In tropical climates the rain as a rule sets in very suddenly and lasts but a few minutes, and in view thereof the. labor required for the removal to safety and for the Ire-exposure of the material has to be taken into from rain and inclement weather the entire work of removal to safety is dispensed with and any risk of impairin the quality of the goods is efi'ectually avoi ed.

There is no need of heating passages in 55 the drying means in accordance with my invention, merely vent holes or airing apertures being required, which constitutes a very important difl erence even in the structure and external shape of the new drying no means as distinguished from artificially heated drying kilns. The entire drying de vice according to this invention is made up of any desired large number of metal frames or trays which are placed on top of each other and of a covering hood or roofing with a discharge passage also made of metal, so that the sun rays will always be made to act upon metal surfaces, mostly sheet iron,

and their heat is completely absorbed therewill by, By this-means a temperature is pro duced in the interior of the unit which, as shown by experiments is considerably above the outside temperature. lln order to still further enhance this action the outer sur- 1% faces may be darlr colored by a suitable paint or pigment, by black or brown tints or the like. The time required for the fin ishing drying is thereby considerably shortened, and there is the additional advantage as compared with the drying by sun rays in the open that th drying goods are always protected from rain, and there is no further necessity to remove themto a sheltered place upon any occurring rain by t1me consummg labor as in the previous drying and sun cur ing methods. The dimensions of the drying device may be made correspond to the requirements in a very simple manner by a suitable selection of the superlmposed frames or trays.

The invention is more fully illustrated upon the accom anyin drawing showing by way of examp e one orm of embodnnent of the principles of my invention in Figure 1 in a side elevation of the entire unit of drying means, Figure 2 showing the roof diagrammatically transversely cut; Figure 3 is a perspective view of the sheet metal frame; Figure 4 is a side view and Figure 5 is a representation of a corner connection of the frame referred to.

The box sha ed metal frames a are provided at their si es with a plurality of apertures having turned out rims b which, for the urpose of stifi'ening are preferably outwar ly conically shaped. At all corners of the frame a wooden block 0 of substantially triangular shape is suitably fitted on the top of which there is a substantially semi-circular stud or projection d, while at its bottom side there is. a corresponding socket 6. At the interior side wall of the corner blocks 0 there is an angle iron which is riveted at its two ends to the wa of the frame, and serves as a support for the trays or beds of the material to be dried. The metal frames a, after having been charged with the material are superimposed vertically in such a manner that each of the studs d is made to engage with a socket e at any one of the corners of the frame.

The superimposed frames constitute the heating body proper. The frames may be of quadrangular, rectangular or any desired round configuration, and may be manufactured of any suitable metal. The roofin 'or hood 9 serves both for the heating an for the protection from rain. The passage 71. provides for the escape of the air saturated with moisture by the drying operation. The warm fresh air is free to -flow through the apertures b in the frame both verticall upwards as well as horizontally throug the drying beds which are likewise provided with holes. The air and the water vapor are discharged or drawn off at the top through the passage 72.. The outwardly projecti 'rims b are preferably so shaped that only t e upper portion is punched out and turned outwards. Among other points of superiorit the novel drying means described present t e following advantages as compared with other sun drying and curing devices: 1, considerable acceleration of the drying process; 2, highest degree of protection from rain and inclement weather; 3, most simplified operation and uniform drying; 4, easy mounting and adaptability and but little space required; 5, superior quality of the dried product; 6, low purchase price; 7, reduction of the variations of temperature.

The invention has been shown and described herein only in its broad aspects, and it is obvious that variations'and modifications may occur to better adapt the invention to varying conditions of its application, and without deviating from the spirit of my invention.

I claim 1. The process of sun-dr ing and curing vegetable material and the ike, which process consists in keeping and shieldin said material by heat conveying means, a apted for the absorption of the calorific portion of the sun rays, and causing outside air to pass through the material laterally and upwardly during the treatment, and in separate superimposed streams- 2. Sun drying and curing a paratus, comprising a substantially close metal casing, superimposed layers of goods in said casing, and lateral airing and ventilating means in said casing for each layer of material.

3. Sun drying and curing a paratus, comprising a substantially close metal casing adapted for the absorption of sun rays, a substantially roof-shaped hood forming the top of said casing, venting means in said hood, and lateral venting means in the sides of said casing opposite each layer of material, and means in said casing, adapted to support layers of material under treatment.

4. Sun drying and curing apparatus, comprising a substantially closed metal casing adapted for the absorption of sun rays, supporting blocks in the corners of said casing, a plurality of supporting frames for the material superimposedly arranged within said casing and resting on said blocks, and engageable holding means in the blocks and in the frames.

5. Sun drying and curing a paratus, comprising a substantially'close metal casing, adapted for insolation, a plurality of superimposed receiving and supporting frames in the casing, venting passages in the casing and'in the frames, and outwardly projecting nispples around said passages.

6. un drying and curing a paratus, comprising a substantially closed metal casing, adapted for insolation, a plurality of superimposed receiving and supporting frames of substantially equal size in the casing, venting passages in the casing and in the frames, and outwardly conically reduced projecting ni ples around said passages.

2. Sun dr ing and curing apparatus, comprising a substantiall closed exteriorly dull black casing, adapted for insolation, a plurality of superimposed receiving and sup- .porting frames within the casing, lateral venting means in the casing and in the meat in the casing, venting passages for the frames, and means to hold said frames in casing and the frames, the upper half secposition within the casing. tions of said passages being unched out, In

8. Sun drying and curing a paratus,comand snbstantially roof-shape outwardly I prising a substantiallyclose metal casing projecting rims on said punched out poradapted for insolation, a plurality of suptlons. porting frames for the material under treat v BRUNO MIULLER.