US30436A - Drying-chamber - Google Patents

Description

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

J. EGEN TOURNE, 0F NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA.

DRYING- CHAMBER.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 30,436, dated October 16, 1860.'

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J. EUGEN TOURN, of New Orleans, in the parish of Orleans and State of Louisiana, have invent-ed a new and useful apparatus for the desiccation of wet damaged cotton and other wet or moist substances, as well as those containing their water of vegetation and animal substances usually desiccated by other processes; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure l, is a longitudinal vertical section of the apparatus. Fig. 2, is a transverse vertical section of the same. Fig. 3, is a front end elevation of the same.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

My invention relates to the use of a fused metal or alloy in connection with a suitable chamber for the reception of the substance or substances to be desiccated, in such manner that such substance or substances mayv have their moisture evaporated by the heat distributed throughout the chamber from the fused metal or alloy by which means the teinperature at which the desiccation is carried may be regulated and kept uniform. It also relates to certain means applied in combination with the desiccating chamber to facilitate the process of desiccation.

A, B, is a stand on which all other parts of the apparatus are supported, consisting of a horizontal plate of cast iron A, with numerous openings Z), l), supported on upright standards B, and having its edges turned up as shown at a, a, in Figs. l, and 2, to form a trough like cavity in its upper side. The standards B, are of sufficient height to leave room for a lire under the plate A, such height being made suit-able to the kind of fuel that is used.

C, is a vessel for containing the fusible metal or alloy made in the form of a shallow flat horizontal quadrangular box of copper or other metal, somewhat smaller in its horizontal dimensions than the plate A, that when it is placed upon the said plate there may be room all around it inside of the turned up portion a, of the plate to make a bed of cement or mortar c, c. The said box has an opening cl, in the top fitted with a cap c, by which to close it for the exclusion' of the air and prevention of the oxidation of the metal or alloy which is kept in a state of fusion by the lire below the plate A,-the greater portion of the bottom of the box being exposed to the re by the openings b, ZJ, in the plate A.

D, is the chamber made of copper or other metal or material of a horizontal form corresponding with the plate A, and box C, having upright sides and ends and an arched top, but having no bottom but what is con` stituted by the plate A, and box B, its lower edges resting in the bed of cement or mortar c, c, which makes an air tight joint all around the chamber. The arched roof of the chamber is higher at one end than the other and at the higher end there is formed a circular throat E, which is fitted with an exhausting fan or ventilator F. In each end of the said chamber-aD, there is a square opening f, f, which has secured to its edges a still' wrought iron frame g, having a screw clamp 7i, at each corner, said openings being closed by the heads H, H, of metal which support the adjustable feeding and carrying apparatus hereinafter described, by which the substance or substances to be desiccated are fed into and carried through the chamber over the box C, of fused metal. Across the upper part of the interior of the said chamber D, there are arranged at short distances apart a number of lixed inclined plates z', z', secured to the sides of the chamber, and under the lower edge of each of these plates is arranged a small transverse gutter 7c, communicating with two side gutters Z, Z, which run all along the sides of the chamber and from which there are outlets through the sides fitted with cocks j, j. These inclined plates and gutters are to pre vent the aqueous vapors which after being eliminated from the substance or substances to be desiccated, may be condensed in the upper part of the chamber from falling back again on the said substance or substances such condensed vapors being collected on the plates z', z', and ruiming down into the gutters la, la, and from thence into the side gutters whence the water is drawn off from time to time or allowed to run OE continuously by the cocks j, j. m, m, are hygrometers arranged within the chamber with their indices on the exterior thereof to show the degree of moisture therein; and u, is a thermometer having its bulb within the chamber but its index outside to show the temperature of the chamber.

The feeding Aand carrying apparatus by which the substance or substances to be dried is. supplied to and conveyed through the desiccating chamber consists as follows. I, I, are two horizontal bars of cast or wrought iron of a length considerablyv journals of one of two drums J, K, around Y which are stretched the endless apron L, of

wire cloth, which passes through openings @,w, in the heads H, H, the bearings of the journals of the drum J ,being made adjustable vby screws g, g, for regulating the tension of the apron. Those portions of the bars I, I, within the chamber have a longitudinal groove r, in the inner face of each and in the upper edge of each barV and the lower edge of'each groove 1, there are provided bearings for rollers s, s, and s', s, for

supporting the upper and lower portions of the belt and preventing them from sagging. The heads H, H, having the bars I, I, attached are supported by means of two pawls t, t, see Fig. 3, attached to the upper one of secure the heads close up two bars M, M, which extend Vacross its exterior each of which bars is supported upon the fixed jaws of two of the screw clamps 71 z., attached to the frame g, at its respective end of the chamber, the said pawls entering upright ratchets u, u, secured one to each side of each head. These ratchets enable the heads H, -H, -with the bars I, I, and apron L, and their appendages not yet described to be adjusted higher or lower to bring the apron to any suitable distance from the metal box C.

The bars M, M, are held by the screws of the clamps it, h, up to the heads H, H, and to the ends of the chamber. To each of the heads H, H, there is secured immediately above the opening c, o, that is provided in each of the heads H, H, for the endless apron to pass through a hood N, in the ends of which are provided bearings for the journals of one of the two horizontal elastic rollers P, P, the surfaces of which are formed of hair cloth lined with india-rubber or any other water proof material, and drawn into a longitudinally luted form so that their transverse sections resemble the transverse section of an orange as shown in Fig. l. The object of these rollers is to press gently upon the substance to be desiccated as it is conveyed through the inlet and outlet openings o, o, by the apron L, and their construction enables them R, R, have applied toV them springs w, fw,

which draw themup to the lower portionof the apron and make them press Vthat `portion of the apron against the rollersT, T, while the upper .portion of the .apron is pressed against the said rollers T, T, by the v elastic rollers` Y Y .The rollersR, R,..T, .'I, and P, P, combine to close the inlet'and outlet openings c, o, except for the ingress and egress of the apron andthe substance to .be desiccated. r;

The endless apron has imparted to it the necessary motion to .convey the substance into, through and from the chamber D, by means of power applied to a pulley U, on the shaft of the drum K, and from this pulley a belt runs around a pulley V, on the shaft of one ofthe elastic rollers P, P, the other of` which has on its shaft a pulley V', receiving a belt y, from the pulley V. These pulleys are so proportioned as to cause the peripheries of the elastic rollers to move at the same speed ask the surface of the apron. The

vrollers R, R, T, T, derive rotary motion from theffrction of the apron upon them.

The operationis as follows. The box C,

having been filled or nearly lled with metal or alloy which fuses at a suitable temperature' andV such metal or alloy having been fused by the fire below, the fire is kept up toV keepthe metal in a state of fusion,

and the substance to be kdesiccated is supplied continuously in suitable quantity to the apron between the roller J, and the exterior of the adjacent head H, of the chamber and is carried through the chamber D, over the heated box C, and isdesiccated by the evaporation produced by the heat radiated from the said box and delivered in a dry lstate at the end of the apparatus next the roller K.

The'vapor is for thermost part drawn 0E according as a lower or higher Vtemperature is desired for desiccation. In the desiccation of Wet-damaged cotton I have used lead with a good result. The velocity of the apron Wlll have to be so regulated that the time occupied in conveying the substance through the chamber Will be just suicient for desiccation7 and generally speaking Will require to be greater or less according as a higher or lower temperature is used.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent isl. A desiccating apparatus composed of a chamber for the reception of the substance to be desiccated, a feeding apparatus for conveying the substance to and from and through said chamber and a vessel containing metal or alloy fusible at a 10W tempera-

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