US2542607A - Dehydration apparatus - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 20, 1951 H. WHITLEY DEHYDRATION APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed NOV. 9, 1946 3 wue/Mom H H L Y E V R A H Feb. 20, 1951 H. WHITLEY 2,542,607

DEHYDRATION APPARATUS Filed Nov. 9, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG '2 HARVEY L. W HITLEY Feb. 20, 1951 H. L. WHlTLEY 2,542,607

DEHYDRATION APPARATUS Filed Nov. 9, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet- 3 x m p l 0 g HARVEY LWHITLEY iwhich heated. :air iisha sedland .1,.s.aid zuc lf ld v being. adapted to :have placed-therein so;

handling purposes. "storing an additional-quantity of truckshaving Patented Feb. 20, 1951 Ha ve Wh t y, tli emonti NaipiiZiGla m 11 .iThis, invention relates etoaapparatus sfora nrine obacco, and relates; moreeespeciallyeto dry n nd istorage k .house :having .izcorridors i 'k Qll h -.whe e d .rlilllnks onwhichiwtheasticks i leaves i are .nlacedwhere y a -.c1. rent 1;. heate iairrmay enassed th ou es/aid corridors and ou the t ba oaleavest vd set e ame-wit meanshf r t r n a ditional:- tr eks l aded it :tobacco ,riorpa yell w n operat :whichtrueks can he fed into; the line of: other trucks, for passi pro r ssively th u h th the tede orr dorrp cor lidors, for; cur n the same-. ndfsa djhuildins .ihaving an' ,upstairs storage-compartment so th at when th tohaq o .is .cu dth ..tru an e el rvated a d pl ced in stor m t e. second tQ y of the buildin It is; ank-robject ofc this J invention to provide .a It ha sz zc rinsisy t wh inacl ine compartment. is provided and 4 if desired, there could be provided above the curing compartment a; storage .cflmpartment andithe curing compartment is divided into corridorswhichhareiadapted to receive a plurality wofewheeled trucks, and saidcwhfieled trucks be n ada ted to ece v .a p urality. .LQ .sticissi avine bunches of tobacco leare ith eon to und r o a curin pr cess, w th means ifo heating and'jforcing airthrough one or more of i c do and wit a ent atin I a ,h ",videdior inducingthe air throughthecorridors.

' Means are also provided whereby humidification --may be --imparted during the curing ;-process -or after the ;curi ng process is "completed, whereby =the'- humidified airmaybe forced-i through the tobacco leaves ''for bringing them-- inorder for Means-are-aiso provided for green tobacco leaves thereon-which can be ---fed into the stream of trucks to replace the cured :trucks which are" removed -from the curingde- -partment.

Itis another=object ofthisinvention-to provide apparatusfor handling tobacco,:suchas our-ing f the same and 1 bringing the same =into= order for handling purposes after the-same is-=cured;-in

which means are provided for heating and:forc- :ing air. through definite corridors-twithinzythe building, the v said corridors beingz-provideds with suitable ;doors whereby ione :or more corridors at ragtime can be used for curing .the tobacco, vdepending upon the :quantity ofqtobacco. desired to be cured at one' time, with means forstoring; ad- :ditionaLtobacco 1J0;'b8,;.01118d and progressing -the 1tobacco',:1oaded :onto:-truck,s-, ;.through.1;said-;corridors and replenishing theeured tobacco with the ether tobacco 'stored outside of the corridors through which heated ai-rds forced; so: that when the tobacco is cured, it can be transferred to a storagecompartment-disposed-in the upper story -of the building,- iii-desired. lf desired, the tobacco canbeleftin the corridors and when it is-desired to bring it into order by creating-the proper amount of humidity within thetobacco -leaves to avoidcrumbling-or shattering, "the same heating means can a be employed for forcing humidified air through the corridor in- Which-the=t0bacc0 -leaves are stored'for imparting the proper amount of-humi'd-ifi-eatiorr -to the"tobacco leaves so that *they-will stand handling without damage-thereto.

It's-is'another-obiect-ofa this-invention to provide -a means-for dehydrating vegetable matter ofany kind such a tobacco -1eaves,--cut" grass for-- con- --vertingthesameinto hay-fior dehydrating fruit, and iii-fact processingany vegetable or other -g-rowth'for removing the moisture thereirom and providing-wheeledtrucks' for supporting the matter:to -be-dehydrated-and providing corridors in a --suitab1e building,- and-providingmeans on the eexter-ior -of the -building,"preferably, for forcing =heated=air r through the 'objects being dehydrated, and, -"if edesired; humidifying. the objects after -they have been dried.

Some of i-rthe-i objects'of the invention having Tbeenestated, other-objects willappear as the deescriptionwproceedswhen taken in connection with theaaccompanying drawings, 1 in which ':Figure at is .an: elevation of a curing: barn or ccuringmhouse-v-i-and showing means for creating :andforcingheated air through the curing house; *liigure 211s. asectional plan r-view taken-along thexlinez-gz in": Figure 1,: and showing a portion got ;:the; secondfloorsin= plan;

:Figure'3a isia vertical-sectional.view taken sub- :stantially ialonge the'line :,3...3. in Figure 2;

FigureA is :a vertical-sectional-:view taken :along :the line. -4r4 in" Figure 2 Figure 5 is aqhorizontal sectional; view. ;showing v -i=r..-typieal: inner-wallsec-tion 10f the-;.building;

,EFigure-B ;;is a horizontal sectional -;view;- showing rcReferring more specifically to=thedrawings, the numeral 10 indicates an outer casing of asuitable 3 burners, not shown. Extending from casing 24 is a fuel supply pipe 25 which leads to a storage tank 38, mounted on a suitable support 3|, and a liquid or gaseous fuel is supplied to the burners, not shown, from the tank 30. In the supply pipe 25 may be installed a conventional constant flow mechanism 34, if desired.

An exhaust pipe 36 for the burners, not shown, passes out through the top of the casing l0.

Mounted on top of the outer casing In, by any suitable means, is a Water tank 38 having a pipe 39 leading therefrom with a valve 48 therein for controlling the flow of water therefrom so that the air being heated by the burners may be humidified, if desired.

Covering the left-hand end of the casing [I] as shown in Figure l is a housing 33 having a blower fan 4| in its upper portion,'said blower fan being driven by a belt 43, mounted on a V- pulley of a suitable electric motor 45.

I The end of the casing I remote from the fan casing 33 has a duct 46 covering the same, which duct leads into the dehydrating building to be presently described.

In the form of heating unit thus far described, a liquid or gaseous fuel is adapted to be used; however, it is obvious that a coal or wood furnace would work equally as well,

The dehydrating house, building, or barn is indicated broadly by the reference character 60. This tobacco barn, or other dehydratingbuilding, comprises end walls BI and 62 and side walls 63 and 64 with partitions B5, 66 and 61. End wall 62 is provided with a swinging door 58 for closing an opening 69, whereas end wall El has a swinging door ID for closing an access opening 1i. There is provided a swinging door 12, hinged to the interior surface of end wall 62 for closing an opening in the partition 66. Partition 6% stops short of the end of wall BI and aswinging door 73 is provided for closing the opening between the end of partition t6 and end Wall 6].

This arrangement of partitions and doors provides a plurality of corridors designated as A, B,

C and D. The duct 46 leading from the heating unit penetrates end wall 62 and communicates with corridor A. At the other end of corridor A in end wall E2 may be provided a suction fan casing having a suction fan therein mounted on a shaft 15 which is driven by a V-belt 11, driven by an electric motor 18. There can also be provided at the end of corridor C in end wall 62 a similar suction fan casing 89, in which is mounted a suction fan 8| driven by a belt 83, driven in turn by an electric motor 84. When it is desired to use the last-named suction fan, then, of course, the suction fan 16 would not be employed but a board covering 86, indicated in dotted lines in Figure 2, would be placed over the suction fan casing 15 to close this opening, while suction fan TB would remain inoperative and the suction fan 8| would be made operative. This would cause the heated air to be passed through corridors A, B, and C, and exhausted by suction fan 8|, whereas if corridors B and C were not desired to be used, then door 13 could be closed and suction fan 76, with its cover 86 removed, would be rendered operativeto'p'ass the heated air only through corridor A.

The partitions B5, 66 and 6'! would extend upwardly and be joined to aceiling or second floor 96, supported by suitable ceiling joists 9| which would provide a storage compartment of the entire second floor of the building, and an opening 95 would be provided which would be closed by a suitable door, not shown, when a curing or do hydration process was being carried out, and after the dehydration process is carried out, if it is desired to store the dehydrated objects present in any one or all of the corridors A, B, and C, then this door would be removed from over opening and a suitable hoisting mechanism would be employed for hoisting the trucks holding the dehydrated objects onto the second floor for storage purposes. This second floor compartment could very easily be employed in the processing of tobacco by bringing the tobacco in order while in the corridors and then elevating it to the second floor and using the second floor as a packing room for grading and packaging these tobacco leaves into hands.

The outer walls and the doors are all of similar construction and comprise an outer covering sheet I00 and an inner covering sheet llll, secured to suitable uprights I02 and said uprights having disposed therebetween suitable boards H53, which preferably are of insulating material such as fibre board and the like These partitions 65, 6'6 and 61 are of similar construction having outer sheet members I05 and IE6 with a suitable insulating material Hl'i therebetween, but they are joined slightly differently in that two uprights H18 and H39 are used at the joints and this provides a staggered joint as shown in Figure 5 which permits the length of the partition to be arranged as desired as any number of these sections can be joined together by suitable means, not shown, to provide a partition of the requisite length.

On each side of the partitions at the top and bottom, as well as at the top and bottom of the inside of the outer walls, suitable quarter rounds I if) can be provided so that they can be removed easily and the partition walls removed or installed very quickly. Also, the quarter rounds serve to prevent the trucks, to be presently described, from rubbing against the walls and partitions of the building.

It is to be understood that this building and heating unit therefor can be employed for dehydration of any desired article, but in the drawings I have shown, it is especially equipped for the curing of tobacco. The tobacco leaves are picked from the field and suitably secured to tobacco sticks NE in a conventional manner. I provide a plurality of wheeled trucks comprising four upright corner angle iron members H1, joined together by top angles H8 and bottom angles H9 mounted on four wheels 30. There is also provided a plurality of longitudinal angles which are identical to the top angles previously described. These top angles are adapted to support the ends of the tobacco sticks H6 which are filled with bunches of tobacco leaves. The upper portion of the uprights H7 are secured together by means of. suitable angle braces 123, while the lower portion thereof is secured together by suitable angles !24. Suitable corner plates are provided at the upper and lower portions of the truck to brace the same against losing its shape and making it much stronger for handling purposes.

When it is desired to begin the curing of a barn of tobacco, the tobacco sticks with the tobacco leaves thereon are usually prepared outside of the barn, are loaded onto the trucks and after being placed on the sticks are placed in the wheeled trucks as shown in the drawings and corridor A is filled. It is understood that these trucks are of such height as to fill the corridors almost to theeceiling to conserve space. If it is axsindll However, if .there should be a manner in Figure 2, and corridor C can also be filled and the cover 85 can be placed over suction fan '55 and suction fan rendered inoperative, and then suction fan 8d can be energized and the heated air will be passed through corridors A, B, and C successively to dehydrate the material disposed therein. If there is a surplus of material to be dehydrated, then a plurality of trucks with the tobacco leaves or other dehydratable material may be stored in corridor D where they will undergo a yellowing process and as the curing is about completed, and as the trucks are removed from the left-hand end of corridor A, and the other trucks moved clockwise in corridors A and B and C, then additional trucks can be taken from corridor D and the doors i8 and '12 being closed, and door 73 being open, these additional trucks can be fed into the left hand end of corridor C to continue the curing process.

In other words, when the corridors A, B and C are filled and the heat is turned on, the tobacco is processed in a conventional manner by advancing the heat gradually until the leaf is dried in the truck adjacent the door l2. It is of course evident that the state of curing as the trucks extend down the corridor A from left to right will be less advanced. When the tobacco held by the first truck in the left-hand end of corridor A has been completely cured and the stems have been killed, this truck is removed by opening door i2 and one of the trucks in the middle corridor B is inserted in the left-hand end of the corridor C and all of the other trucks having first been moved around in a clockwise manner in corridors C, B and A, respectively. In this way, the uncured or green tobacco is fed into the left-hand end of corridor C and the cured tobacco is taken out of the left-hand end of corridor A, this curing process continues until the entire crop of tobacco is completely cured as this can be a continued process with the cured tobacco being withdrawn from the hottest portion of the barn and the uncured or greenest tobacco being inserted to move all of the other trucks around to progressively shift them toward the source of heat. In this way a perfect cure of the tobacco can be obtained and this has been impossible by the old method, wherein the tobacco was stacked close together in a barn, tier above tier. It might be added that by this present method it is absolutely impossible to scald the tobacco on account of increasing the heat at too rapid a pace. leretofore, in the old type of ouring, after the yellowing process has been carried out, the heat is advanced from at a rate of from three to five degrees per hour, because by advancing it at a faster rate the tobacco will become scalded. The reason theto-bacco becomes scalded in the old process is that there is not proper ventilation through the tobacco leaves. By the present invention there is a current of heated air passing around all of the tobacco leaves which absolutely prevents scalding or sponging and enables the tobacco to be cured in a continuous process by withdrawing the cured tobacco from the hottest part of the barn and progressing the tobacco around to take the place of the with- -drawn::toba;cco,: and feeding atheogreen: tobacco at theicoole'stpart ofithez'barn in thecur-rent of heated air, because although rthe-temperatureofthe air enter'ing'the barn is.v around 175, by the time it passes through all of the other tobacco which is greener andg'reener- "until the heated air reaches-the exit portion,-this.heated air is robbed of its heat as it progresses through theto-bacco so that when itstrikesithenewly. inserted tobacco 10 at the discharge en'd 'ofthe current of air this heatttwlll not be above 100 o something in that ;neighborhoodand.therefore will'not damage the green tobacco inserted in the line of flow of the stream of heated air.

In the drawings and specification there has been set forth a preferred embodiment of the invention, and although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only, and not for the purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being defined in the claims.

1. Apparatus for curing tobacco, comprising a building having a corridor extending from one end of the building to the other and a cross corridor extending along said other end of the building, a third corridor extending longitudinally along the other side wall of the building from one end wall to the other, heat generating apparatus disposed adjacent the first end of the building and having a duct leading into the first main corridor, a suction fan located at the end of the first corridor for drawing heated air through the first corridor, a plurality of doors for connecting the corridors to the first-named corridor and a second suction fan located at the end of the third corridor for drawing heated air from the heat generating apparatus along the corridors and out of 40 the building, said corridors being adapted to have placed therein wheeled trucks supporting a plurality of tobacco sticks with tobacco leaves thereon for curing the same, a fourth corridor disposed between the two corridors running parallel to the side walls and in which additional trucks loaded with tobacco leaves can be stored, the third corridor having a door communicating with the fourth corridor whereby the trucks stored in the fourth corridor can be fed into the third corridor as all of the trucks are advanced around the corridors.

2. A tobacco-curing barn comprising a building having an upper story and a lower story, and having two end walls and two side walls, a plurality of partitions disposed in the lower story and dividing the interior thereof into a plurality of corridors, movable doors in said partitions for establishing communication between the corridors, suction fans disposed in opposed end walls of the build- 60 ing for drawing air through the corridors, a heatgenerating member disposed on the exterior of the building and having a duct leading through one of the walls of the building and communicating with one of the corridors, an impelling fan associated with the heat-generating means for forc ing heated air into one end of the corridors, said suction fans serving to move the air through the corridors, means for closing some or" the suction fans when said doors are opened for establishing communication between more than one of the corridors for creating a draft of heated air through the corridors, said corridors being adapted to receive wheeled trucks, filled with tobacco leaves to be cured, the first and second stories 75 having an opening therebetween through which the wheeled trucks with the tobacco leaves thereon, after being cured, may be transferred for ster- The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Wilson Jan. 5, 1886 Number Number 8 Name Date Bertrand Sept. 6, 1904 Hickey Sept. 10, 1912 Buhrer Apr. 29, 1913 Jungels Jan. 20, 1914 Collins Oct. 5, 1915 Rea et a1 Jan. 20, 1920 Touton Jan. 18, 1938 Altenkirch Jan. 2, 1940 Macy Apr. 15, 1941

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