US2101555A

US2101555A - Air or gas conditioning apparatus

Info

Publication number: US2101555A
Application number: US30908A
Authority: US
Inventors: William E Moore; George L Simpson
Original assignee: PITTSBURGH RES CORP
Current assignee: PITTSBURGH RES CORP; PITTSBURGH RESEARCH Corp
Priority date: 1935-07-11
Filing date: 1935-07-11
Publication date: 1937-12-07
Anticipated expiration: 1954-12-07

Description

w. E. MOORE ET AL AIR OR GAS CONDITIONING APPARATUS Dec. 7,1937.

5 sheetssheet 1 Filed July 1l,- 1955 E. More fie'oi ge Z. Simpson 6? Dec. 7, 1937. w. 'E. MOORE ET AL 2,101,555

AIR OR GAS CONDITIONING APPARATUS Filed July 11, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Z 43 64 45 44 l7 If I 34 William EZIoore deorge L, Jz'1 rqwom Dec. 7, 1937. WE' RE ETAL 2,101,555

AIR OR GAS CONDITIONING APPARATUS Filed July 11, 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 William E. Moore 6202: 45 Ldz'iiqusvn Patented Dec. 7,1937 I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE OR GAS CONDITIONING APPARATUS William E. Moore, Pittsburgh. and George L.

Simpson, Ooraopolis, Pa., assignors to Pittsburgh Research Corporation, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Application July 11, 1935, Serial No. 30,908

. 14 Claims. (Cl. 183-4) This invention relates to improvements in ap- Fi e 11 is a modified form of valve reversing paratus for conditioning air or gas, and more mechanism, a particularly to an apparatus for drying air, al- Figure 12 is a plan view of an electrical heater though not necessarily restricted to this use. for use with this apparatus, and,

An important object of this invention is to Figure 13 is a side elevation thereof. 5 remove or reduce the moisture content of air In the drawings, wherein for the purpose of in rooms or houses, or for industrial purposes. illustration is shown a preferred embodiment of There are many industrial processes in which the this invention, the numeral l5 designates a genpresence of substantial amounts of moisture in erally rectangular closed casing mounted on suitair or gas is highly undesirable. An example is able rails or supports IS. A longitudinally ex- 10 the handling or packing of many chemicals and tending duct I1 is arranged in the upper forward drugs, which can only be carried onin the abportion of the casing and is formed by an L- -sence of any substantial quantities of moisture in shapedpartition or baflle l8 secured at one end the atmosphere. to the top of the casing and at the other end An object of the present invention is the proto the forward wall of the casing, as seen in Fig- 15 vision of an apparatus which will handle a large The Partition 0 b fl s m ecte volume of air or gas, and efliciently remove mois- 0 t end Walls Of t Cas and fi p y ture or other impurities therefr m, isolates the duct ll from the interior of the eas- Another object of this invention is to provide me. T e casing a d af e are p e erab y fo ed a device of this character which can be operof metal. 2o ated continuously and which will be automatic in A pa of spa d tow rsar s ur d t th t p operation. of the casing l5 and comprise metal tower cas- A further object of this invention is th ings l9 welded, bolted or otherwise secured to the vision of an apparatus of this character which 01 casing Tubular adSOrbellt units are will be inexpensive to install and operate, simple arranged in each tower, xtending r m 50p to 25 in construction, and eflicient in operation, 1 bottom thereof, and consist of concentric cylin- Other objects and advantages of this invention tiers 20 0 Wire netting between which a b y will be apparent during the course of th followof activated alumina or other suitable solid ading description. sorbent material is arranged. The outer netting In the accompanying drawings, which form 9, cylinders 20 are arranged in spaced relation to 30 partof this specification and wherein like charthe Casings and the adsorbent units are acters of reference denote like parts throughout tamed 111 Place y Concentric depending ul the same, flanges 22 carried by the covers 23 of the towers. Figure 1 is a front elevation of an apparatus Suitable D p s 24 are ar a in embodying this invention, parts being broken the t D f casing heal the ear thereof, and 35 away, v connect the interior of the casing I5 with the Figure 2 is a top plan view ther f, one of th cylindrical bore of the adsorbent units. Similar towers being shown in cross section, p n n s r p rts 5 ar rran d in th forward Figure 3 is a side elevation thereof, parts be portion o the p of e cas in al t 40 ing shown in section, with ports 24, and are arranged exteriorly of the Figure 4 is a schematic perspective view of the adsorbent units, as best. seen in Figures 2 and. 3. apparatus illustrating the passage of the air or The WW9! casings are concentric with the gases thel'ethrough sorberunits for the greater zlairttoftheir ch";-

Fi ure 5 i a'fr cumference, but extend orwar y 0 cover por s 4; mg position gz szg f View Show 25 as indicated in Figures 2 and 3. The ports 25 Figure 6 is a similar View showing the other connect the duct I! with the interior'of the easposition of the valves ingas l9neiteiriolrlly of: the a;:lsor; r units. d be l cy n r ca ea er cas ng 1s arrange gix x iz ig f g of the valves and tween the tower casings l9 and communicates J F1 with the interior of the casing l5 by means of gure 8 is an electrical diagram illustrating an opening port 21 arranged in longitudinal one method for automatically controlling the varalignment t ports 24 and midway t r ions Operations of the apparatus, tween. A port 28 is arranged in the top of cas- Fi r 9 nd 1 are details of another method ing l5 in transverse alignment with port 21 and of reversing the operation of the valves, in longitudinal alignment with ports 25. It will be seen that

ports

25 and 28 communicate with duct l1 while

ports

24 and 21 communicate with the interior of casing It. It will also be seen that the only communication between the interior of easing l5 andduct I1 is through

ports

24 and 25 and through the mass of adsorbent material in the tower casings.

A fanloperating motor 28 is mounted in front oi casing l5 adjacent the right hand end thereof. An intake fan or blower 38 of any suitable construction is arranged at the right of motor 28 to be driven thereby, and communicates with duct I1 through an opening 3| in the forward wall of easing l5. Blower 38 is preferably of a type having an axial intake and peripheral exhaust. A reactivating fan or blower 32 is arranged at.the opposite end of motor 29 to be driven thereby, and has its axial intake connected to port 28 by conduit 33, and an exhaust pipe 34 leading to the outsideatmosphere.

The left hand end of casing I5 is provided with an air or gas outlet opening 35, and suitable cooling pipes 36 may be arranged at this opening, as indicated in Figure l, to cool the dried air or gas, if desired.

A valve member 31 is slidably mounted in iongitudinalguides 38 extending the full length of the under side of the top of casing l5 within duct I1, and the guides 38

straddle openings

25 and 28. Valve 31 comprises an elongated, generally rectangular cup shaped member open at its top and having flanges 39 about its upper edge to be slidably received in the grooves of the guide members 38. A similar valve 40 is arranged in guides 4| arranged on the under side of the top of easing l5 and

straddling ports

24 and 21. The

valves

31 and 40, and guides 38 and 4| fit snugly against the underside of the top of casing l5 to prevent escape of air or gas from the valves except through the

ports

24, 25, 21- and 28.

Valves

31 and 48 are arranged in transverse alignment and are each provided on the under side with a longitudinally extending rack bar 42 engaging spaced pinions 43 on a transverse shaft 44. A suitable stationary sleeve 45 extends through partition l8 and rotatably receives pinion shaft 44. Pinion shaft 44 extends through the forward wall of casing l5 and is provided at its end, exteriorly of casing IS, with a suitable cog-wheel or gear 46 engaged by a suitable pinion or worm 41 carried by the shaft of motor 48, mounted on the forward wall of casing l5. Operation of motor 48 rotates shaft 44 and pinions 43 to move

valves

31 and 40 in unison in the

guides

38 and 4|. In the left hand position of the valves shown in Figures 1, 4 and 5, valve 40 connects left hand port 24 with heater port 21 while valve 31 connects left hand port 25 with exhaust port 28. In the right hand position oi. the valves, indicated in Figure 6, valve 40 connects the heater port 21 with the right hand port 24 while valve 31 connects exhaust port 28 with the right hand port 25. Any suitable type of heating device may be arranged in heater casing 26. Gas burners, hot water coils or electric resistance heaters may be used. In Figures 12 and 13 is illustrated an electrical resistance heater 49 which is efficient and economical to operate, and which can be used to advantage in this apparatus. A frame comprises a central hexagonal post 58 through which suitable wires 5| extend. Vertical bars 52 fit over wires 5| and are suitably spaced by spacing elements 53. Four of the bars 52 are shown on each side of the three wires 5|, although any suitable number may be employed, and the ends of the wires 5| may be bent over to prevent displacement of the bars and spacers. Resistance wires 54 are wound helically about each series oi bars. While any suitable arrangement of wires may be used. it is'preferfedto wind each series of bars as-they are assembled. Starting from the top center of the heating element, the resistance wire is wound downwardly in a helical path around the inner series of bars, then upwardly around the next series of bars, then downwardly around the next series of bars, and finally upwardly around the outer series of bars, thus forming four concentric helical coils. The completely wound heating element is placed within the heating cylinder 26 as indicated in Figure 1. One or more of the heating units shown in Figure 13 may be used. When more than one are used, they are stacked one upon the other.

The top of heating cylinder 26 is open, and may be covered with a suitable screen. In Figure 1 a plate 55 is shown spaced above the open end of the heater casing 26.

In operation, when for example, the apparatus is to be used for removing or reducing the moisture content of a room or building,

fans

34 and 32 are operated by motor 23, and air from the room or building is drawn in throughthe axial intake of blower 38 and forced into duct l1 through opening 3|. .With the valves in the left hand position shown in Figures 1, 4 and 5, the air passes from duct l1 through right hand port 25 into tower casing 13, through the walls of the adsorbent unit, down through port 24 into the interior of casing l5 andthenoe past cooling coils 36 and through pipe 35 into the room or building in dried condition.

At the same time, blower 32 is operating to suck air from the room through open endof heater 26, past the heating element 43 to be heated, through port 21 into valve 40, up through port 24 into the left hand tower, through the adsorbent unit to, left hand port 25, through valve 31 to exhaust port 23 and out through pipe 33, blower 32 and exhaust pipe 34 to the atmosphere outside of the room or building. The air from the room is heated and passed through the left hand adsorbent unit to remove the moisture therein and reactivate the adsorbent material,

while air passing through the right hand tower is being dried. when the right hand adsorber unit becomes saturated with moisture,

valves

31 and 48 are moved to their right hand position in which the reactivated left hand tower is used for drying while the right toweris reactivated in the manner just described. It is desirable to turn off heater 4!! just prior to reversing the valve position in order to permit cool air from the room to pass through the reactivated adsorbent material to cool the same, as a cool adsorbent operates more efliciently than does a hot adsorbent. In Figures 2 and 4 the arrows 56 indicate the path of the air being dried while arrows 51 indicate the path of the reactivating air. It will be seen that the air to be dried always passes from the duct l1 directly through the towers to the interior of casing l5 and outlet 35, whereas the reactivating air always passes from the heater through the valves and towers to the exhaust blower without entering casing l5 or duct l1 and without commingling with the air to be dried. It is preferred to operate the apparatus automatically. Figure 8 is a schematic representation of one method of operating the apparatus automatically, in which the main power lines 58 are connected to a suitable source of direct current. Leads 88 connect fan motor 28 with the power lines in the usual manner, and suitable fuse boxes 88 may be arranged in leads 88. Resistance element 54 of heater 28 isconnected'to power lines 88 by wires 8| and a suitable control switch such as solenoid switch 82 is arranged in this circuit to control the resistance heater.

A motor reversing and limit switch 88 is controlled by a push rod 84 extending from the switch 88 through an opening in a lug 88 carried on the side of valve 81. ,Suitable abutments 88 are adlustably arranged on rod 84 and are so spacedas to be engaged by ing 88 at'the limit of the valve movement in either direction, to reverse the three way toggle switch 88 and thereby reverse the operation of the D. C. motor 48 which operates valves Hand 48.

A cam shaft 81 is suitably geared to a timing motor 88 to be rotated thereby at a relatively low speed, and is provided with three

cams

88, 18 and 1| arranged to operate switches 12, 18 and 14 respectively, said switches being normally -held in open position by suitable springs 15. All

of the switches 12, 18 and 14 are connected to the supply line 58 by wire 18. Wire 11 connects solenoid 82 with the contact of switch 12. Cam 88 has two notches at opposite points thereon to permit'switch 12 to open for short intervals at the end of each reactivation period to open switch 82 and permit cool air to pass through heater 28 to the towers.

Wire 18 connects contact of switch 13 to contact 88 of reversing switch 88 while wire 8| connects contact 82 of switch 88 to the contact of timing switch 14. Abutments 88 arranged at oppo site points on cams, 18 and 1| close switches 13 and 14 to operate valve motor 48. Contacts 88' and 84 of reversing switch 83 are connected to the valve motor 48 while contacts 88 are connected through the series motor fleld F and resistance R to the supply line 58. The other contacts 81 of switch 83 are connected together.

In Figure 8 the switch 88 is shown with all

switch plates

88 and 88 open, for clearness of iilustration. In actual operation, however, either switch plates 88 or switch plates 88 are closed,

' while the others are open.

When rod 84 is in its right hand position switch plates 88 will be closed and in position for operating motor 48 to move valves. 81 and 48 to the left. When abutment 88 of cam 18 closes switch 18 current will flow from the supply line 58 through switch 13, line 18, contact 88, switch plate 88, contacts 81, switch plate 88, contact 88' to motor 48, and back through contact 84, switch plate 88, contacts 85 and line 88 to the supply line 88,

thus operating motor 48 and moving the valves to the left. When the extreme left hand position of the valves is reached, lug acts through abutment 88 to move rod 84 to the left, thereby opening switch plates 88 while closing switch plates 88 and stopping motor 48. When cam ll closes switch 14, current flows through switch 14, line 8|, contact 82, switch plate 88, contacts. 81, switch plate 88, and contact 84 to motor 48 and then back to contact 88', switch plate 88, contact 85 and line 88 to the supply line 58, thereby operating motor 48 in the reverse direction and moving the valves to their right hand position, at which time rod 84 will reverse switch 88 in preparation for the next operation of the valves. The length of each operation is controlled by timing motor 88, and by the sire of the cams.

During operation of this apparatus,

blowers

88 and 82 will be in continuous operation, and while heater 28 may be in continuous operation, it is preferred to heater for short intervals by means of switches 82 and 12 and cam 88, to permit cool air to be passed through the adsorbent towers at the end of the reactivation operation.

Figure 8 illustrates automatic operation of this apparatus when using direct current. When alternating current is used, valve motor 48 will not be reversed, but its eifect can be reversed, for example, by means of in Figures 9 and 10, in which a crank or crank disc 88 is rotated on shaft 8| by the valve motor. Pinion 48 of valve operating shaft 44 is engaged by an operating rack bar 82 connected to the disc 88 by means of link 88 pivoted adjacent the periphery of disc 88 and slidably engaging an elonated slot 84 in rack bar 82.

Figure 9 illustrates the left hand position of the valves, and as disc 88 rotates from point A to point B, rack bar 82 will be moved to the position shown in Figure 10, thereby rotating pinion 48 and movtion. Slots 84 can obviously be dispensed withas in Figure 11, and the rack bar 82' moved first one way and then the other by link 88 and disc 88', and controlled by the timing motor.

Limit switch 82 is located on the end wall of casing I5, as seen at the right of Figures 1 and 2. The timing motor 88, cam shaft 81, and the cams and switches associated therewith may all be conveniently located on a control panel or box indicated as mounted on casing l5 at 85 in Figure 2. Variations in the timing control mechanism may obviously be made to suit varying conditions.

The present apparatus is compact and maybe installed anywhere that it is needed. It is entirely automatic in its actions and will handle a very large volume of air, while efllclently and economically removing moisture or other foreign material from the air. The invention may obvlously be used for treatment of gases other than air and to remove'other materials than moisture therefrom.

While the preferred form of this invention has been shown and described, it is to be understood that various changes in the size, shape, arrangement and adjustment of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of this invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. In an adsorbent apparatus, a supporting casing having a duct therein, a tower secured to said casing, a tubular body of solid adsorbent material arranged in said tower and extending the entire length thereof, said tubular body of adsorbent material being spaced a substantial distance from the side waEls of the tower', there being a port connecting the main body of the casing with the interior of the tubular body of adsorbent, and a second port connecting the duct in the casing with the space between the interrupt the circuit to the a device such as illustrated casing having a duct therein, said casing having a pair of ports spaced a substantial distance apart, one of said ports communicating with the duct in the casing and the other of said ports communicating with the interior of the casing, a tower secured to said casing and surrounding both of said ports, a tubular body of solid adsorbent material arranged in said tower in spaced relation to the walls of the tower, said tubular body being closed at its top and surrounding one of said ports, the other of said ports being in communication with the space surrounding the tubular body, and means to pass a gaseous material from one of said ports through the solid body of adsorbent to the other of said ports.

3. In an adsorbent apparatus, a casing separated into two chambers and having a pair of ports spaced a substantial distance apart, each of said ports communicating with one of the casing chambers, a tower secured to said casing and surrounding both of said ports, a tubular body of solid adsorbent material arranged in said tower in spaced relation to the walls of the tower, said tubular body extending from top to bottom of said tower and surrounding one of said ports, the other of said ports being in communication with the space surrounding the tubular body of adsorbent, means to pass a gaseous materm] from one of the casing chambers through the ports and body of adsorbent material to the other chamber, a heating device, and means to pass a gaseous material from said heating device through the ports and adsorbent material while out of contact with thegaseous material in the casing chambers.

4. In an adsorbent apparatus, a casing divided into two chambers, a pair of spaced ports adjacent each end of the casing, each port of each pair communicating with one of the casing cham bers, a tower surrounding each pair of ports, a tubular body of adsorbent material arranged in each tower in spaced relation with the walls thereof and surrounding one of the ports within the tower, the other of each pair of ports communicating with the space between the tower and body of adsorbent, said body of adsorbent being closed at its upper end, a pair of spaced heater ports arranged in said casing between the towers, each of said heater ports being in communication with one of the casing chambers, a heating device arranged in communication with one of said heater ports, an exhaust pipe connected to the other of said heater ports, a valve mechanism adapted in one position to connect the heater ports with the ports in one of the towers, and in another position to connect the heater ports with the ports of the other tower, means to pass a gaseous material from one of said casing chambers through the ports and adsorbent body of either of said towers to the other casing chamber, means to pass a gaseous material through the heating device and valves and adsorbent body in the other of said towers, and means to operate the valve mechanism to change its operative position.

5. In an adsorbent apparatus, a casing divided into two chambers, a pair of spaced ports adjacent each end of the casing, each port of each pair communicating with one of the casing chambers, a towersurrounding each pair of ports, a tubular body of adsorbent material arranged in each tower in spaced relation with the walls thereof and surrounding one of the ports within the tower, the other of each pair of ports communicating with the space between the tower and body of adsorbenasaid body of adsorbent being closed at its upper end, a pair of spaced heater ports arranged in said casing between the towers, each of said heater ports being in communication with one of the casing chambers, a heating device arranged in communication with one of said heater ports, an exhaust pipe. connected to the other of said heater ports, a valve mechanism adapted in one position to connect the heater ports with the ports in one of the towers, and in another position to connect the heater ports with the ports of the other tower, means to pass a gaseous material from one of said casing chambers through the ports and adsorbent body of either of said towers to the other casing chamber, means to pass a gaseous material through the heating device and valves and adsorbent body in the other of said towers, and means to operate the valve mechanism to change its operative position, said valve operating mechanism being actuated automatically in accordance with a predetermined adsorbing and reactivating cycle.

6. In an adsorbent apparatus, a casing divided into separated chambers, a pair of spaced adsorbent towers secured to said casing, there being a pair of spaced casing ports in each tower, each port of each tower being in communication with one of the casing chambers, a body of adsorbent material separating the ports of each tower, said casing having a pair of heater ports arranged exteriorly of said towers, a heating device communicating with one of the heater ports, an exhaust pipe connected to the other heater port, a valve alternately connecting one of the heater ports to one of the ports of each tower, a valve alternately connecting the other of the heater ports to the other port of each tower, means to move the valves in unison to connect the heater ports with the ports of first one tower and then the other, and means to pass a gaseous material from one of the casing chambers through the ports of the tower which is out of communication with the heater ports into the other casing chamber.

7, In an adsorbent apparatus, a casing divided into separate chambers, a pair of spaced adsorbent towers secured to said casing, there being a pair of spaced casing ports in each tower, each port of each tower being in communication with one of the casing chambers, a body of adsorbent material separating the ports of each tower, said casing having a pair of heater ports arranged exteriorly of said towers, a heating device communicating with one of the heater ports, an exhaust pipe connected to the other heater port, means to pass a gaseous material from one casing chamber through the ports and adsorbent material of either of the towers, a valve arranged to alternately connect one of the heater ports to one of the ports of each tower, a valve arranged to alternately connect the other of the heater ports with the other port of each tower, automatic means to move the valves in unison from one operating position to the other in accordance with a. predetermined adsorbing and reactivating cycle, and means to pass a gaseous material through the heating device to the valves.

8. In an adsorbent apparatus a support, a pair of adsorbent towers thereon, a heating device, a valve slidably arranged on said support and adapted in one position to connect the heating device with the interior of one of the adsorbent towers, and in another position to connect the heating device to the interior of the other of said towers, means to pass a gaseous material through said heating device to said valve, an electric motor operatively connected to said valve to move the valve, a limit switch connected to said motor,

means operated by the valve at the limit of its movement to operate the limit switch and stop the motor, and means to reverse the operating efiect of the motor on the valve to move the valve in the oppositeldirection. I

9. In an adsorbent apparatus, a pair of towers, a body of'solid adsorbent material arranged in each tower, a heating device having an electric heating element therein, an electric circuit connected to said heating element, a valve mechanism adapted in one position to connect the heating device with one tower and in another position to connect theheating device to the other tower, an electrical valve operating mechanism, a timing mechanism, means operated by said timing mechanism to intermittently move the ed into two separated compartments, one compartment having an inlet opening and the other compartment having an outlet opening, said casing having two spaced series of three ports arranged in longitudinal alignment, the ports of one series communicating with one casing 'compartment and the ports of the other seriescommunicating with the other casing compartment, a tower surrounding one port of each series, a second tower surrounding one port of each series, a body of adsorbent material arranged'in each towerand separating the ports communicating with each tower, a heating device communicat ing with the remaining port in one series, an exhaust pipe communicating with the remaining port of the other series, a valve member slidably secured to the wall of the casing within each compartment and adapted to connect the heating device and exhaust pipe to the ports of one tower in one position, and to the ports of the other tower in another position, means to intermittently move the valves in unison from one position to the other position, means to continuously pass a gaseous material into one compartment to be passed through the ports and adsorbent material of either of the towers to the other compartment, and means to continuously pass a gaseous material through the heating device and valves through either of the towers to the exhaust pipe. the valves conveying the gaseous material from the heater through the easingcompartments to thetowers out of contact with the gaseous material in the two casin compartments.

11. In an adsorbent apparatus,-a casing divided into two chambers andhaving apair' of spaced ports adjacent each of its ends, each port of each pair communicating with one of the casing chambers, a-tow'er surrounding each pair of ports, a tubular body of. adsorbent material arranged in each tower in spaced relation with the walls thereof and surrounding one of the ports within the tower, the other of each pair of ports communicating with the space between the tower and body of adsorbent, said body of adsorbent being closed at its upper end, a heating device mounted on said casing, means to connect the heating device alternately with the ports of each tower, means to pass a gaseous material from one chamber of the casing through the ports and adsorbent material of one of the towers to the 5 other chamber of the casing, and means to pass a gaseous material from the heating device through the ports and adsorbent material of the other tower. I

12. In an adsorbent apparatus, a casing divided into two chambers and having two pairs of spaced ports, each port of each pair of ports communicating with one of the casing chambers, a tower surrounding each pair of ports, a tubular body of adsorbent material arranged in each tower in spaced relation with thewalls thereof and surrounding one of the ports within the tower, the other of each pair of ports communicating with the space between the tower and body of adsorbent, whereby the two casing chambers are normally in communication through the ports and adsorbent material of the towers, a heating device, means to connect said heating device alternately to the ports of each tower to place the tower out of communication with the casing chambers and in communication with the heating device, and means to pass gaseous ma-- terial from one casing chamber to the other through one of the towers while passing a gaseous material through the heating device to the other tower.

13. In an adsorbent apparatus, a casing divided into two chambers and having two pairs of spaced ports, each port of each pair of ports communicating with one of the casing chambers, a tower surrounding each pair of ports, a tubular body of adsorbent material arranged in each tower in spaced relation with the walls thereof and surrounding one of the ports within the tower, the other of each pair of ports co'mmuni- 4o eating with the space between the tower and body of adsorbent material whereby the two casing chambers are normally in communication through the ports and adsorbent material of the towers, a heating device connected to said casing,, a valve mechanism within the casing to connect said heating device alternately to the ports of each tower toplace the towers successively out of communication with the casing chambers and in communication with the heating device, means to pass gaseous material under pressure into one of the casing chambers, and means to pass gaseous material through the heating device to the valve mechanism.

ers, a tubular body of adsorbent material arranged in each tower in spaced relation with the walls thereof, a casing arranged at one end of the towers-and having ports communicating with the portions of the towersinternally and'externally-do of the tubular bodies of adsorbent material, said casing being divided into two chambers, each chamber being in communication with each of the towers through the casing ports, a heating device, a valve mechanism adapted to connect as the heating device to the casing ports of each tower alternately, means to pass a gaseous material through the heating device to the valve mechanism, and means to pass a gaseous material into oneof the casing chambers, the other of said casing chambers having an outlet for the gases passing therethrough.

WIILIAM E. MOORE.

GEORGE L. SIMPSON.