US1646259A - Drier - Google Patents

Description

Octl is, 1927.

J. ROBERTS DRIER Filed Oct. 21, 1926 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Awnvrm I (/'ibi Eoieris 2 W zrzsr Oct. 18, 1927.

J. ROBERTS DRIER 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed oct. 21. 1926 3 9 M m W M k i Josqzz Oct 18, 1927. 1,646,259

J. ROBERTS DRIER Filed 001;. 21; 1926 4 Sheets Sheet 5 v. 5 7a /46 I v 74' F I| I- M M riff u 1 r- --l v 1 ,1 105' Z i 2 M a? Tr l 1 {a l I I i v 5 56' g. I I

II I

J. ROBERTS DRIER Oct. 18, .1927. 1,646,259

I F iled Oct. 21. 1926 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 I .1 I 7Z0 a Patented Oct. 18, 1927.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH. ROBERTS, OF EDGEWOOD, RHODE ISLAND, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGN- MENTS, 'TO PBOCTOR & SCHWARTZ, INC., PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA,

A CORPORATION ,OF PENNSYLVANIA.

DRIER.

Application filed October 21, 1926. Serial no. 143,259.

This invention relates to improvements in driers'. More particularly it relates to improvements in apparatus for drying or conditioning material in trays, e. g. art1cles or masses of clay, porcelain or other materlal, rapidly and uniformly. It is an object to handle the trays through the apparatus in a stream, so that the drying is progressive through a circuit returningthem to the place of beginning.

The invention provides improved automatic means for moving the trays through their course.

Driers of this particular class are recogtheir eflicient and satisfactory operation requires a timed relation between the respective active elements, and a positive control means which have been diflicult to attain.

0 The operative principle involves the passing of material horizontally through compartments, one of which is vertically above the other, and requires the transferring of material carriers between these compartments.

The arms for lifting carriers from the lower to the higher level at one end, the hooks for lowering them at the other end, and the means for advancing trains of the carriers through the chambersat their respective levels should be positive in action and be accurately timed with respect to each other in operation; The resent invention provides improved reciprocating means for advancing the carriers in two sets, moving in opposite horizontal directions, which means is positively advanced and reversed by a main drive mechanism, all of the operating elements being controlled for timed and related action with respect to each other, automatically, so as to insure a smooth run ning and eflicient drier.

These objects, and the other benefits of the structure disclosed, are attained by resorting to the endless chain principle for transmitting motion to the lifting, lowering and train shiftin elements of the device with lost motion lntervals'for certain elements which reverse their direction of action in order to advance each train in one direction only, step by step. Automatic actuation of a double throw clutch changes the direction of travel of the endless chains, under propulsion of a continously forward drive of power. The clutch actuating means, opernized as having numerous advantages, but

ated through a connection with the main chains, embodies a rocker-lever with roller momentum counterweight.

It is intended that the patent shall cover by suitable expression in the a pended claims whatever features of patenta le' nov elty exist in the invention disclosed.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation in section through a drier embodying the features of the present'invention, the section being online 11 of Figure 2;

Figure 2 s an end elevation in section on line 2-2 of Figure 1;

- Figure 3 is a top plan, and

Figure 4 is an elevatlon' of the clutch reversing mechanism.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 10 designates a drier housing which is constructed of suitable sheet metal, and which may have hinged doors 12 in its ends. The interior is divided into. foun compartments, of which one is at'each side, covering the whole of the side and the other two are 1n the middle, being drying compartments or chambers 16, 18, divided by a horizontal partition 14 at mid height. Each side compartment opens into both upper and lower drying compartments, and one of them, 20, has a steam heating coil 28 while the other 22 has a fan 26 for causing air to circulate through the series of compartments, The fan 26 is fixed to a shaft suitably driven by a motor 36 mounted on the top of the main housing.

Each drying compartment'has suitable tracks for material carriers 38 to move horizontally. through it. The tracks in. the upper chamber18 turn vertically downward at points near each end of the housing, and

these vertical runs of-the tracks stop just short of the horizontal tracks in thelower vertical track, by each advancing carrierin order to support such carrier at the top of said passage. Mechanism is provided to lift a carrier at the front end, from lower tohigher compartment; to push a train of can .95 compartment, thus forming a vertical guide ing swung across thepassage which is adjacent the rear riers through the top compartment; lower them singly at the rear to the lower compartment, and push a train of them through the latter, step by step to the front.

Upon the top of. the main housing 10, near the rear, is journaled a shaft 42 upon which are fixed two sprocket-wheels 44, one

above each side of the drying chamber, and a worm wheel 46 is on the end'of the shaft which projects beyond the side wall of the housing, in a suitable casing '48. f-Above the forward end of the housing is a similar sprocket carrying shaft 50, having two sprocket wheels 52 arranged to register with the sprocket wheels 44. Like pairs of oppositely arranged sprocket wheels 44 and 52 are mounted within the housing at its bottom and in vertical alignment with ,the upper pairs; and still another pair of sprocket wheels 54 in alignment with the .60 at each side of the clutch element, each with clutch engaging face, respectively have direct and crossed belt connection with pulleys on auxiliary shaft 66, so that the auxiliary shaft may be rotated in either. clockwise or anti-clockwise direction. The motion of the auxiliary shaft 66 is transferred to the sprocket-carrying shafts and thence to the endless chains through the medium of a bevel pinion 70 on the auxiliary shaft mesh mg with a bevel gear 72 on a vertical stub shaft 74. The stub shaft also carries a worm gear 76 which meshes with a worm wheel 46 on the end of sprocket shaft 42..

The means for lifting and lowering the material carriers38 from one level to the other within the housing 10 consists. of lifting arms 7 8 at the forward end and lowering hooks 80 at the rear end, both being mounted on those-portions of the endless chains 56 which 7 have vertical movement within guides 82 each at one end of the housing. The lifting arms 78 arepivotally connected to roller blocks 84 interposed in r the chains at a suitable point, having flanged wheels 84 adapted to operate within the guides 82. The upper end of each lifting arm is formed with a fork 78 adapted to rise under, engaged and lift its end of a carrier suspending shaft. When in their lowermost position, the lifting arms 78 are held substantially upright beneath the ends of the shaft of the foremost carrier in the lower chamber, past which they move downwithin the guides at the rear end of the/- housing like those at the front, and formed with lowering hooks adapted to engage under and hold the end of the shaft of the rearmost material carrier in the upper drying compartment after the said carrier has been moved onto the track lengtheners 40. i

The lifting and lowering elements are so positioned on the endless chains thatwhen the arms 78 have reached the lower limit of their downward travel, the hooks 80 will have raised the rearmost carrier in the upper chamber slightly from the track lengtheners, permitting the same to be swung by their counterbalances back out of the vertical passage, thus leaving the said passage clear for the carrier to descend as the direction of travel of the chains is reversed.

The eflicient operation of the drier requires the provision of means for advancing the material carriers through the respective drying compartments, step by step, at predetermined intervals, timed with respect to the lifting and lowering operations. This intermittent advance of the carriers in the upper chamber is accomplished by thrust of the lifting arms 78 as they approach their limit of upward movement. They have pivotal .connection with the chains, and when nearing their upper limit of travel they are permitted to lean rearward, and thus to push the raised carrier upon the horizontal tracks in the upper compartment. As

the chains continue in their upward movement the lifting arms incline further rearward until when the limit of upward travel of the chains is reached they have come practically into horizontal position, and have pushed the raised carrier, and all the train of carriers on the same tracks in rear thereof,

advancing them all one carrier space rearward.-- During th1s rearward motion the rearmost one engages the track lengtheners 40 swinging them into the vertical passage adjacent the vertical glidesor'tracks at the rear end of the housing, where they support the said carrier in the passage and in position to be picked up by the hooks 80 during their travel upward. While the lifting arms 78 are thus ,pushing the carriers 38 rearward in the upper chamber, the lowering hooks are down and idle, having deposited the last lowered carrier on the tracks in the lower compartment about the time said pushing action began; and the remainder of the downward travel of the hooks,

after such delivery, is lost motion. 2

a The advancement of the material carriers in the lower drying chamber 16 is also in timed relation to the lifting and lowering operations. For this purpose a sprocketwheel 92 is mounted on the stub-shaft supporting each centrally arranged sprocketwheel 54 and is driven thereby. Smaller sprocket-wheels 94 are mounted at the extreme rear end of the housing, one being in linewith each sprocket 92. Chains 96 are trained over the sprockets 92 and 94 at each side of the lower drying compartment and this chain has a finger or lug 95 thereon at a suitable point adapted to engage its end of the rear most-carrier in the lower compartment to pull that carrier and all the' train of carriers in advance thereof one carrier space forward as the lowering hooks 80 are passing through the lower extent oftheir travel downward. The pulling of the carriers thus places the foremost carrier in the lower compartment in position to be lifted and also clears the rear end of the tracks for the reception of the next descending carrier. Due .to the connecting of the pushing and pullingdevices to the main drive mechanism, a timed and related action between the several functions of the apparatus is ensured.

A single automatic control for the various elements of the device is provided at one end of the main housing 10. This control embodies a short horizontal shaft 100, mounted in a suitable bearing 102 at the; end of the housing, on which is loosely mounted a rocker-lever 104 between fixedly mounted arm 106 and sprocket-wheel 108. The sprocket 108 has a chain connection with a similar sprocket-wheel 110 on a horizontal stub shaft 112 at the top of the housing, the

said stub shaft being driven by the sprocket shaft through bevel gears 114. The rocker-lever 104 is formed with outward and upward extending side arms which are connected together at their upper ends by strips of angle-iron which form a guide for a roller counterweight 116. Near the lower end of each side arm of the rocker-lever 104 there is a projecting lug 104 adapted to be engagedby the arm 106 in its alternating rotary motion. The lugs 104* may be provided with adjusting screws to permit variation in the time of their engagement by the rotating arm 106. As the shaft 100 is *rotated through its connection with the main drive, the arm 106 is rotated and en gages one of the lugs 104 on the rocker lever 104 causing the said lever to move therewith.

When the roller counterweight 116 at the upper end of the rocker-lever is raised beyond a certain point it will roll along its guide and will strike the endof guide -witha forcmsufiicient to snap the rockerlever with a quick motion in the direction of its travel, stops 118 being provided to limit the movement of the rocker-lever. As

this snap of the rocker-lever occurs, a clutch lever 120, which extends between the side armsof the lever, is engaged by one of said arms to shift the clutch element 62 from engagement with one loose pulley on shaft .into engagement with the other loose pulley thereon. This action reverses the direction of travel of the respective elements within the device. As the arm 106 is then rotated in the opposite direction it will engage the other projecting lug on the rocker lever 1.04 moving the lever until the roller counterweight is raised to a point when it will roll to snap the clutch lever to again reverse the direction of travel.

In this manner there is provided a posi-' tive acting control directly connected with the operative parts of the drier and one which will maintain the respective functions of the drier in timed relation.

I claim as my invention:

- 1. A drier comprising, in combination, a pair of drying chambers, one above the other; carriers therein for material to be dried; guides for horizontal movement of the carriers through the chambers; an endless flexible driving element guided in vertical direction at each end of said pair of chambers; carrier engaging means on said element for shifting carriers between the chambers; and auxiliary flexible means, having a horizontally moving carrier-engaging device thereby actuated for advancing carriers horizontally in a chamber.

2..A drier comprising, in combination, a

pair of drying chambers, one above the other;

carriers therein for \material to be dried; guides for horizontal movement of the carriers through the chambers; an endless flexible driving. element guided in vertical direction at each end of said pair of chambers; an endless flexible driving elementguided-in horizontal direction along a chamber guide; and carrier engaging means on said elements for shifting periodically the position of carriers in the several directions a carrier in one chamber to transfer it to the other chamber; and a flexible element having carrier engaging means mounted for reciprocating motion horizontally and positioned to engage and advance carriers throu h a chamber.

4. drier comprising, in combination, a

intermittently .pair of drying chambers, one above the and arranged to move the carriers; a clutch with reversible drive for said flexible .drivc element; a reversing mechanism for the clutch; and a lug on the moving system which includes the flexible element, arranged to trip the clutch reversing mechanism.

5. A drier comprising, in combination, a pair of drying chambers, one above the other; carriers therein for material to be -dried; guides for horizontal and vertical movement of the carriers through the circuit of the chambers; an endless flexible drive element passing along a part of the circuit and arranged to move the carriers; a clutch with reversible drive, for said flexible drive element; and automatic means for periodic. shifting of said clutch, comprising a clutch lever; a loose segment for engaging and operating said lever, having lost motion in its engagement thereof; a weight mounted to roll in said segment ;.,and means on the moving system which includes the flexible element for rocking the segment to elevate said weight to where it will roll along the segment and thereby snap the segment in other; carriers therein for material to be dried; guides for horizontal movement of the carriers through the chambers; a reciproeating main drive chain; an auxiliary chain arranged in the lower chamber for horizontal travel and having a lug for engaging a carrier in the lower chamber, there being a sprocket connection between the two said chains. V

7. A drier comprising, in combination, a pair of drying chambers, one above the other; carriers therein for material to be dried; guides for-[horizontal movement of the carriers through the chambers; a main drive chain; an auxiliary chain having connections with the main drive chain, arranged for horizontal travel through the chamber; and means on said auxiliary chain whereby straight line pull of said auxiliary chain effects straight line push of a carrier'through a chamber. v

Signed at Providence, Rhode Island, this 8th day of July, 1926.

JOSEPH ROBERTS.

Images