US3371426A - Dehydrating drum - Google Patents

Description

March 5, 1968 P, s. MARTIN 3,371,426

DEHYDRATING DRUM Filed July 19, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Inventor:

Perry 8. Martin his Attor ney March 5, 1968 P. s. MARTIN DEHYDRATING DRUM 2 Sheets-Sheet Filed July 19, 1965 IIIIIIIIIII IIIJ FIG. 4

UUUBDUUUUH FIG. 2

In v e n t o r Perry S. Martin his A'no ney 3,371,426 DEHYDRATING DRUM Perry S. Martin, Harrisonburg, Va., assignor t Egg-Vi- Tein Company, Harrisonburg, Va., a partnership Filed July 19, 1965, Ser. No. 473,135 4 Claims. (Cl. 34-134) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to an improvement in devices for drying viscous masses using a heated revolving drum with means for dividing the mass into smaller portions whereby the heat is applied effectively. The device provides for an axial duct for introducing a stream of preheated air and withdrawing air with accumulated moisture. The device includes numerous additional details, among which is the use of parallel arms extending radially from the axis of the drum and a plurality of disks rolling against the interior of the drum, and means for self-cleaning the disks and for the mounting of the disks so as to render them highly eflicient.

This invention relates to the drying of viscous masses and has for its principal object the provision of a heated revolving dehydrating drum with means therein for dividing the mass into smaller portions to enable the heat to dry the mass more effectively.

A further object of the invention is to provide an axial duct, which may be in two parts, whereby a stream of preheated air may be discharged into the drum to facilitate drying of the contents and the moist air may be withdrawn from the drum.

Other objects are set forth in the claims.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a central section.

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation.

FIGURE 3 is a detail of the bearing and the nearby sprocket for driving the drum.

FIGURE 4 is a section on line 4-4 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 5 is a section through the center pipe.

As illustrated in FIGURE 1 the housing for the drum is a box-like chamber with insulated walls and 11, a ceiling 12 through which an open-ended stack 14 extends to carry products of combustion from the chamber. The drum 15 has at each end a hollow stub shaft 16 (FIG. 3) with its flange 22 welded or otherwise secured to the proximate circular end plate 17 of the drum. The shaft turns in bearings 18 mounted on pedestals 20 made of channels irons 19 having floor engaging feet 21. An annular spacer 23 is located between the bearing 18 and the nearby flange 22.

The right-hand stub shaft 16 carries a drive sprocket 26 located outside the housing and carrying a chain 27 driven by a motor 24. A non-rotating central pipe forming part of the air system passes through the two hollow stub shafts 16 and is preferably in sections 25a and 2511, each with a flange 28, (FIGURE 5), these being bolted together as at 29 with an air-tight septum 30 between. As will later be described, heated air passes to section 25a and because of the septum the heated air passes into the drum 15 through a series of closely spaced holes 32 while on the other side of the septum 30 the similar holes 34 of section 25b suck in air from the inside of the drum because of a vacuum created as follows:

An exhaust blower 35 powered by motor 36 draws air from rectangular air duct 37 communicating with the central pipe 25.

The air discharge pipe 38 extends above the ceiling and through the roof 39 (FIG. 2) and is curved as at 41 to prevent rain from entering. The intake pipe delivers air to two parallel pipes 43 and 44 joined by a curved a... United States Patent 0 3,371,426 Patented Mar. 5, 1968 U-section 45 and the parallel pipes are heated by burners 47 fed by a fuel line 48 for oil or gas and fuel flow is automatically controlled by valve 49 so as to maintain a temperature of from F. to 220 F. in the drum 15 which receives the heated air through pipe 44, rectangular air duct 46 and central pipe section 25a.

Inside the drum near each end plate 17 is an arm 50 welded to a collar 56 adjustably positioned on the station ary pipe 25 by a number of large set screws 63 whereby the position of the arms 50 may readily be shifted whenever desired.

As best seen in FIGURE 4 the arms 50 are slotted as at 54 and receive shafts 51 and 52 each of which carries a large number of disks of stainless steel about a foot in diameter and from A to /8 of an inch thick carefully located about an inch apart by spacers which in the usual manner assure correct positioning as the disks 55 on the two shafts overlap and therefore tend to be self-cleaning. The drum revolves counter-clockwise and the disks may revolve by contact with the drum but more often because of the slots 54 move with their shaft as a unit toward or away from the axis of the drum. The chosen position is as shown because the material being treated tends to rotate with the drum to about 45 from the bottom. At the start of the operation the material is fed into the drum to about a foot in depth or it may be at a level where the lower disks 55 are just covered. The cutting action of the disks greatly decreases the time required to dry viscous materials.

Exhaust blower 35 creates a vacuum of about 4" of water in the drum. The incoming heated air takes up moisture from the material. The wet air, because of the vacuum, is withdrawn through holes 34 in central pipe section 2511- The intake opening 57 and the exit opening 58 of the drum are so arranged for greatest convenience and may be altered in position when desired. They are closed when the drums are heated as for example by doors of any chosen type such as 59.

As the drum is in a closed compartment with insulated walls 10, 11 and 12, the interior of the compartment, due to the burners 47, becomes hotter than the interior of the drum, sometimes as high as 400 F. The interior is cooled by the rapid evaporation of moisture from the contents.

What I claim is:

1. A dehydrating device comprising a drum, means for rotating the drum, a non-rotating pipe extending axially into the drum, closed at its end within the drum and having a longitudinal series of openings for discharging air into the drum, a second non-rotating pipe extending axially into the drum, closed at its end within the drum and having a longitudinal series of openings therein, means for heating the air passing into the drum and means for drawing the heated air into the openings in the second non-rotating pipe and out of the system thereby creating a vacuum in the drum, which vacuum causes the air to pass through the first mentioned pipe, the interior of said drum having parallel arms extending radially from the axis of the drum position a shaft parallel to the axial pipes, and a plurality of disks rolling against the inside of the drum and mounted on said shaft.

2. The device of claim 1 in which the arms are at an angle of about 45 from vertical, whereby the disks engage the material being treated as the latter tend to climb the bottom of the drum as the latter is rotated, and all of the disks are fast to their shaft so that the shaft and its disks revolve as a unit.

3. The device of claim 1 with a second shaft parallel to the first shaft which second shaft carries a plurality of disks rotating in part between the disks on the first shaft, whereby the disks tend to be self-cleaning.

3 4. The device of claim 3 in which each of the shafts is mounted in slots in the arms so each shaft may move with its disks toward and away from the axis of the drum.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,284,787 11/1918 Sertakoif 34138 X 1,339,032 5/1920 Lenzi 34-92 1,795,495 3/1931 Lavett 34--109 4 2,709,306 5/1955 Magnusson et a1. 34138 X 2,841,339 7/1958 Gilmore 241-54 3,224,110 12/1965 Kroon 34124 FOREIGN PATENTS 415,338 8/1934 Great Britain.

FREDERICK L. MATTESON, JR., Primary Examiner.

C. R. REMKE, H. B RAMEY, Assistant Examiners.

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