US1978341A - Drier - Google Patents

Description

Oct; 23, 1934. s. A. COLEMAN DRIER Fild July 9. 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet l Oct. 23, 1934. s. A. COLEMAN DRIER Filed July 9, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Oct, 23, 1934 DRIER Spencer A. Coleman, Groton, Mass., assignor to C. G. Sargents Sons Corporation, Graniteville, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application July 9, 1932, Serial No. 621,666

1 Claim.

This invention relates to a drier for drying material in a continuous strip or piece, such, for example, as wool top.

The principalobjects of the invention are to provide a drier in which a material of such a low tensile strength can be dried initially while fully supported and then dried by festooning; to provide this combination for the purpose of increasing the speed of drying and decreasing the likelihood of disruption of the material; to provide a construction in which the upper conveyor can be separated from the lower ones, thus enabling separate regulation of the currents of heated and moist air in the several compartments and more thorough control of the drying operation, and to provide an apron which can be con- 1. verted very easily from a continuous apron to a festooning apron.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a plan of a drier constructed in accordance with this invention;

Fig. 2 is a side view as indicated by the arrow 2 in Fig. 1, showing the aprons in dotted lines;

Fig. 3 is arsectional view on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2 on enlarged scale;

Fig. 4 is a side view like Fig. 2 showing a modified form, and

Fig. 5 is a plan of a portion of one of the aprons, showing how it can be changed from one style to another.

There are certain materials, such as wool top, for example, which are dried in a continuous strip or piece. Some of these materials, particularly the wool top, have a rather low tensile strength so that they will break easily when subjected to slight tension when in a wet state. As the drying is a continuous process any rupture of the material, while moving through the drier may necessitate the discontinuance of the operation and the connecting together of the sliver or the like which has to be done under very unfavorable conditions of heat and moisture.

Heretofore there have been two types of driers for drying these materials, the festooning type of drier in which the material hangs down approximately four or five feet from the supporting apron and the three-apron drier formed of spiral wire which supports the material at all times except where it passes from one apron to another. The latter type of drier is defective because of the fact that it does not provide enough holding 56' capacity and therefore has to be operated very (CI. 34-l2) slowly and consumes a lot of time. The festooning type of drier is disadvantageous on account of the fact that the weight of the wet material, particularly when it is first put into the drier, is apt to be too great for the material itself to sustain. Consequently many breaks occur. Fur- 4 thermore the long festoons are apt to tangle.

According to this invention a machine is provided in which material is carried fiat without festooning and with suflicient support, when it 0 first enters the apron in the drier and when it is in a moist heavy state. Then, by the time the material has been dried enough so that it will have a higher tensile strength and less weight, it is festooned and the rest of the drying carried out in that way. This constitutes a method of operation overcoming the deficiencies of the present types of driers, enabling the drier to work at a much higher speed than has been the case heretofore and with a high emciency.

In the form shown in the first three figures,

there is an endless apron 10 having a feeding end 11 on which the material 12 to be dried is passed into the drier. This apron is made up of two chains 13, the links of which are provided with brackets 14. On these brackets are detachably mounted cross slats 15. These slats on this apron are placed as close together as possible, or as close as the links of the chain permit, as indicated in full and dotted lines in Fig. 5. The material that rests on these slats has no chance to festoon because the slats are so near together. Of course, it is entered in the drier in a comparatively wet state and requires a support every few inches in order to hold it flat.

The drier, of course, is provided with heaters 16 and in accordance with Fig. 3 this top apron 10 can be located in a compartment, separated from the rest of the interior of the drier by a horizontal partition 17 and an end partition 18. The air comes in through a damper l9 and is circulated by fans 20 up into the heater and through it and down through the two strands of the apron 10. A motor 21 is shown for operating these fans and also the fans 22 in the compartment below.

The material in a partially dried state is dropped from the apron 10 at the end down on another apron 24 below, which is made the same as the apron 10 and performs the same functions. The slats on this apron are near together and the material is dried further in a fiat state.

When the material travels on the apron 24 to the entrance end of the machine it is sufiiciently dried so that it can be festooned. This is done by means of another endless apron 25 which is made rolls 23 and delivered from the drier in a drystate at the lower part thereof. The festooning apron is connected to travel at slower speed than the apron 10.

Referring again to Fig. 3 it will be seen that the two aprons 24 and 25 are contained in a lower compartment similar to the upper one previously described in which the amount of outside air can be regulated through a damper 26 and there is also provided a damper 27 between the two compartments by means of which the comparative heat and moisture of the two compartments can be'regulated.

In Fig. 4 a modification is shown in which the first apron 10 and the third apron 25 are used but in place of the intermediate apron 24 is a festooning apron 30. This intermediate apron is used for such materials as can be sufficiently dried on the first apron 10 to enable them to be safely festooned.

It will be understood that the speeds of the festooning aprons must be accommodated to the fact that a greater length of material is placed upon them than on the first apron. It will be seen that the same conveyor may be used for both purposes and that if a machine is to be converted from the type shown in Fig. l to that shown in Fig. 4, that is comparatively a simple matter, merely requiring the elimination of some of the slats or the restoring of some that have previously been removed.

It will be seen also that the material comes in festoons in a low accessible position where the operator can watch for and flx any broken ends as they come from the drier. This means that the objects above mentioned are fully accomplished in a simple and practical manner.

. Although I have illustrated and described only two forms of the invention I am aware of the fact that other modifications can be made therein by any person skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as expressed in the claim. Therefore I do not wish to be limited in this respect otherwise than as set forth in the claim, but what I do claim is:

In a drier, the combination of a plurality of aprons therein adapted to feed the material along, one arranged over another, said aprons being formed of chains and cross slats, the cross slats on the upper aprons being close together to carry the'material in flat condition and the slats on the lower apron being separated to festoon the material and carry it along the length of the drier in a festooning condition.

SPENCER A. COLEMAN.

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