US2639515A

US2639515A - Drier and method

Info

Publication number: US2639515A
Application number: US65548A
Authority: US
Inventors: Donald L Simon
Original assignee: RUTH RAND SIMON
Current assignee: RUTH RAND SIMON
Priority date: 1948-12-16
Filing date: 1948-12-16
Publication date: 1953-05-26
Anticipated expiration: 1970-05-26

Description

May 26, 1953 D. SIMON DRIER AND METHOD Filed Dec. 16, 1948 Patented May 26, 1953 DRIER AND METHOD Donald L. Simon, Crowley, La., assignor, by decree of distribution, to Ruth Rand Simon Application December 16, 1948, Serial No. 65,548

2 Claims.

This invention relates to driers particularly adapted to the drying of grain such as. rice, wheat or the like.

It is an object of the invention to provide a simple apparatus which shall be eilicient in use and nearly automatic in action.

Further objects will appear from the following description when read in connection with the following drawing, wherein:

Figure l is a side elevation partly broken away; and Fig. 2 is a transverse section on line 22 of Fig. 1.

As shown, the device comprises a frame H desirably formed of structural steel, as angle irons, supporting a drying chamber ll formed with upper parallel sides and a curved bottom [2 desirably semi-cylindrical in cross section.

To admit material as grain to be dried, to the drying chamber there is shown an inlet pipe l3 provided with a hopper M. The inlet pipe is shown as supported upon a cross member [5 and as being screw-threaded to engage screw threads in the cross member whereby the level of the bottom end of the feed pipe may be adjusted. The chamber H is also formed with an outlet opening it with an exterior hopper I! to receive material flowing from the outlet. To stir material being subjected to the drying process in the chamber ll, there is shown a plurality of blades 18 secured to a shaft l9 shown as in the form of a heavy walled tube. Gudgeons for support of the shaft IS in bearings it at the ends of the drying chamber are provided by the insertion of stub stafts ii in the ends of the tubing l9, to be retained therein by means of set screws or the like (not shown). The tubing I9 is substantially the same length as the interior of the chamber and by removal of the gudgeons 2|, the shaft and blades I8 may be removed for repair and may be originally assembled with the drying chamber in a convenient manner. The gudgeon at the left in Fig. 1 is shown provided with a driving pulley 22.

The spout l3 desirably projects into the chamber to a position approximating the level of the lower edge of the outlet opening l'fi. Thus, when the blades it are revolved and the material under treatment is violently agitated, that rising above the outer edge of the outlet opening IE will flow out, thus reducing the level of the material in the chamber and allowing more material to flow from the tube [3 into the chamber thereby providing an automatic feed control. The path of movement of the material in the drying chamber will be of spiral form, moving from the location of the feed spout generally toward the outlet opening.

To heat the material under treatment, there is shown an oven or combustion chamber 23 which is desirably substantially as long as the drying chamber. Housed in the chamber 23 there is diagrammatically shown a burner 24 which may be of any desirable character, some form of gas burner being at present preferred. Inlets 29 for air of combustion and outlets 3B for products of combustion are provided in the walls of chamber 23. The lower portion of the drying chamber wall is thereby heated to conduct heat to the material under treatment thus avoiding many well-known defects in the use of hot air drying.

To take away the moisture from the material under treatment, there is shown a section of the bottom wall of the drying chamber I l at 25 which is formed with openings covered by screen, and air is supplied to the screen by means of an air chamber 26 having an inlet 21 leading from a source of air pressure as a fan (not shown). Des'irably, the direction of rotation of the blades [8 is from the heated portion of the bottom of the chamber ll toward the air admitting portion.

The blades l8 are shown as formed with openings 28 for two reasons: one is the air can pass through the blades when they are in a horizontal position and will, therefore, not be blocked by the blades when in this position; and the second reason is for more efiicient mixing or stirring of the material. It is intended that the blades l8 shall be driven at a rather high velocity, not sufiicient to throw the material out of the upper side of the chamber if left open, but rather to keep the particles of the material in an agitated condition, somewhat similar to the boiling of a liquid.

Some of the advantages of the method of heat for drying, as grain, utilized by the invention over the use of hot air, are that when hot air is used, if excessive and harmful temperatures are to be avoided, considerably more air is required as a vehicle for the heat of evaporation than is required to absorb and remove the moisture vapor extracted from the material under treatment. In the plan adopted by the invention, the material is heated by conduction in and radiation from the heated wall of the drying chamber and the air is supplied at atmospheric temperature in amount only sufficient to remove the moisture.

It is obvious that various forms of apparatus may be utilized to carry out the method of the present invention. As an example, the plate means to perform the function of the bottom of the container H may be fiat, elongated, and formed with imperforate heated portions and perforate portions with means to feed air through the latter. Any desired means of providing travel of the material may be provided as for instance the means commonly used with shaking or inclined screens.

Such and other modifications of the physical embodiment of the apparatus may be made, within the spirit of the invention and within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. The process of drying discrete material which comprises: supporting a mass of the material upon a surface, which surface is imperiorate at one portion and foraminous at another portion; heating said imperiorate portion; pass ing cool air through said foraminous portion; continuously sweeping the lowest portion: f, the mass from said heated support to said foraminous support whereby to. agitate, the mass andto cause cool air to pass upward through a portion. of the entire agitated. mass. to remove vaporized moisture.

2. Drying apparatus for discrete materiaL. as.

grain, comprising, in combination: a container formed with a substantially semi-cylindrical bottom extending axially as a continuous semi-cylindrical surface; substantially one-half of said.

surface formed continuously imperforate; the

remaining portion of said bottom formed continuously foraminous with openings too small to permit passage of the material to be treated; means exterior of said imperforate portion to heat the imperforate Wall; means to supply a current of air at atmospheric temperature to the exterior of said foraminous portion to pass free- 1y through material in contact therewith; means to sweep material from said" imperforate portion to" said foraminous portion; inlet means to feed material to be dried to said container adjacent one end thereof; and outlet means to permit escapeot treated material adjacent the remaining end of the container.

DONALD L. SDVION.

References Cited. in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 14,588 Appleby Apr.. 8, 1856 363,933 W'orrelI May 31, 1887 1,132,422 Anderson Mar. 16, 1915 1,795,302 Forrest 1 Mar. 10, 1931 2,067,506, Silva Jan. 12', 1937 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 17,671 Great Britain July 25, 1912 of 1911