US716462A - Apparatus for drying and heating sand. - Google Patents

Description

I Patented Doc. 23, I902. W. CrMcELHENY.

APPARATUS FOR DRYING AND HEATING SAND.

(Application filed Dec. 19. 1901.

(No Model.)

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V fitter/ gas ATnN OFFICE.

WILLIAM C. MCELI-IENY, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

APPARATUS FOR DRYING AND HEATING SAND.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 716,462, dated December 23, 1902.

Application filed December 19,1901. Serial No. 86,568. (No model- To ctZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM C. MoELHENY, a resident of Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny andState of Pennsylvania, have in-' Vented a new and useful Improvement in Apparatus for Drying and Heating Sand; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to drying and heating apparatus, and more especially to apparatus for drying and heating sand.

The object of my invention is to provide apparatus for this purpose wherein the heat in the drying-chamber can be regulated as desired, whereby the passing of the material through the chamber can be regulated so as to dry and heat the same to just the desired degree and no further, and which is so constructed that the metal parts thereof cannot readily burn out.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is averticalsectionthroughmyapparatus. Fig. 2 is a similar section on the line 2 2, Fig. l, the front plates or ledges being omitted. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on the line 3 3, Fig. 1; and Fig. 4 is a top plan View.

My drier and heater is of a type wherein the material is fed in at the top and passes down through the heating-chamber in a zigzag course and is removed at the bottom.

The heating-chamber 1 is preferably of rectangular form, inclosed by the masonry walls 2, and is provided with the top 3, through which projects the stack 4;. In this chamber are a series of inclined plates or ledges arranged one above the other and in consecutive oppositely-inclined positions, over which the sand or other material slides in succession from one to the other until it reaches the bottom. I have shown nine such plates or ledges; but either a lesser or a greater number may be employed, as necessary or desired. Several of the lowermost plates or ledges, such as the three ledges 5, are stationary, being built of brick or other refractory material and preferably in arch shape, as shown in Fig. 2. An arched angle-piece 6 is preferably used to support the inner or lower ends of these ledges. Beneath the lowermost ledges 5 is an inclined plate or ledge 7, also preferably formed of brick and leading to the exitorifice 8, through which the sand or other material is discharged from the drier. This opening 8 is closed by means of a suitable door or valve 9, preferably hinged, as shown, so as to automatically open when a sufficient weight of sand has accumulated on the ledge 7. While I have shown the three lowermost ledges or plates formed of brick or the like, I wish it understood that I am not limited to this exact number, as either more or less than three of said ledges may be so formed, if desired. The uppermost ledges or plates, such as the upper six shown in the drawings, are formed as metal plates 10, which are hinged at theirouter edges to suitable supports, such as the hooks 11, embedded in or secured to the walls of the chamber. These plates 10 are preferably formed of cast metal and may be ribbed underneath, so as to stiflen the same, and they are arranged in the reversely-inclined positions, as shown, and so that the inclination of said plates increases toward the top-that is, the uppermost plates have a greater pitch than the lowermost ones. The plates on either side are connected together by any suitable means, such as the chains 12, which pass up through the roof 3 and over sheaves or pulleys 13' and thence down at the side of the furnace, and are provided at their lower ends with a loop or handle 14.

These chains are adapted to have their links hooked over a stud 15 or to be otherwise secured in various positions so as to hold the plates 10 at any desired inclination. As shown, the chains from the-two sides of the furnace are united and pass down as a single chain, so that all of the plates can be simultaneously adjusted. By this means the plates 10 can be set at any desired angle; but the arrangement is such that the uppermost plates will have a greater inclination than the lower- IOO less. The adj ustment of the uppermost plates adapts the apparatus to materials of difierent moistures or different consistency. For instance, if sand is very wet or if clay or the like should be mixed therewith it is liable to stick to the plates u nless they are quite steep.

In such cases the inclination of the plates would be increased until the material passes over them at the desired rate.

Suitable stops 16 are provided, so that should the chains 12 break the plates 10 could not fall out of operative position. These stops will be so placed as to permit the greatest inclination-say forty-five degreesof the plates 10 that will be necessary for any material however wet or sticky.

The material is fed to the furnace by being deposited in a hopper 18 in anysuitable way, as by a bucket conveyor, from which it passes down through the feeding-orifice 19 in the rear wall of the furnace and onto the topmost plate 10. A gate or valve 20 is preferably provided for closing this feeding-opening and may be used to regulate the amount of material that can pass therethrough.

Heat may be supplied to the chamber 1 from any suitable source, and for this purpose I have shown an ordinary furnace 21, although, if desired, the waste heat from a boiler or other furnace may be employed. The flame and heat from this furnace pass through the flue 22 into the bottom of the heating-chamber 1, and as the lowermost plates or ledges 5 are formed of brick or other refractory material they cannot be burned out by the intense heat which necessarily is found in the bbttom of the chamber 1. In order to properly distribute the heat through the heating-chamber, I provide at the rear of the furnace an upwardly-extending flue 23 and connect the same at one or more points with the heating-chamber by means of suitable ports, two such ports 24 and 25 being shown, although, if desired, either one or more than two might be provided. These ports 24 and 25 are controlled by suitable dampers, such as the butterfly-valves 26 and 27. The flue 22 is controlled by means of a suitable damper, and as the heat at this point is very great I have shown a damper composed of a cast-metal plate 28, preferably formed with side flanges and covered with fire brick or clay 29 or asbestos 30, or both, so as to protect it from the heat. This plate is hinged to a plate 31, embedded in the masonry 32, so as to be protected from-the heat, and is of such length that its free end will abut against the bridge-wall 33. Various means may be used for raising this damper to close the line 22; but I preferably employ a cam-arm or cam-arms 34, which project upwardly through slots in the masonry 32 and plate 31 and against the plate 28. These camarms are secured to a rock-shaft 35, suitably journaled in the masonry 32 and provided at its outer end with an arm or lever 36 for rocking the same. to be held in any of its adjusted positions by any suitable means, such as the notched segment 37.

The operation of the apparatus will be readily understood from the foregoing description and is as follows: The sand or other material to be dried or heated is introduced into the hopper 18, from which it passes through the opening 19 onto the topmost plate 10. This plate has the greatest pitch of any of the plates,and the material slides down said plate, absorbing heat and slowly drying in its passage, and slides off said plate onto the next lower plate, down which it slides in the same way, and so on down through the entire heating-chamber until it finally falls upon the ledge '7, by which it is directed out of the furnace-chamber through the opening 8. The various plates or ledges gradually decrease The arm or lever 36 is adapted in pitch toward the bottom of the furnace, so

that as the sand becomes drier and drier its speed will not become too great to prevent it from absorbing the desired amount of heat to drive out all the moisture contained therein. Should the material be sticky or very wet, so that it will not slide readily, the inclination of the plates 10 will be increased by means of the chains 12, as described, and, on the other hand, if the material moves too rapidly the inclination of these plates will be decreased by the same means. In this manner the passage of the material through the furnace can be nicely regulated, so as to permit the material to remain in the furnace just the desired length of time to thoroughly dry or heat the same. The heat will ordinarily be introduced at the bottom of the heatingchamber through the flue 22; but in case this should give too much heat at the bottom of the furnace, thereby tending to burn the sand or other material, the damper 28 will be partly closed and part of the heat diverted through the port 24 or the port 25, or both, as desired, thus relieving the bottom of the heatingchamber of the excessive heat and properly distributing it throughout the chamber. In this way also the plates or ledges at the bottom of the furnace will be prevented from burning out; but as the heat is always greater at the bottom than farther up I prefer to make the lowermost plates or ledges of brick or similar material.

It will be understood that the chains 12 and means for changing the inclination of the plates 10 can be replaced by other means, and, if desired, a separate means for each plate might be employed for changing the inclination thereof, so that each plate would be independently adjusted.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In heating or drying apparatus, the combination with a heating-chamber, of a series of plates or ledges in said chamber and arranged one above the other and in consecutive oppositely-inclined positions, one or more of the lower ones of said plates or ledges being stationary and the upper ones being pivoted, and means for varying the inclinations of the pivoted plates.

2. In heating or drying apparatus, the combination with a heating-chamber, of a series of plates or ledges in said chamber arranged one above the other and in consecutive oppositely-inclined positions, one or more of the lowermost of said ledges being formed of brick or tile and the upper ones being pivoted, and means for varying the inclinations of the pivoted plates.

3. In heating or drying apparatus, the combination with a heating-chamber, of a series of plates or ledges pivotally mounted in said chamber and arranged one above the other and in consecutive oppositely-inclined positions, means for varying the inclinations of said plates, and means for introducing heat into said chamber at different points along the height thereof.

4. In heating ordrying apparatus, the combination with a heating-chamber, of two series of plates pivotally mounted in said chamber and arranged one above the other and in consecutive oppositely-inclined positions, the plates of each series being of graduated inclinations the greater at the top and decreasing downwardly, means for varying the inclinations of said plates, a source of heat, flnes therefrom leading into the chamber at different heights, and dampers in said fines.

5. In heating or drying apparatus, the combination with a heating-chamber, of a series of plates or ledges in said chamber arranged one above the other and in consecutive oppositely-inclined positions, one or more of the lowermost ledges being formed of brick or tile, a source of heat, fines therefrom leading into the heating-chamber at different heights, and dampers in said fines.

6. In heating or drying apparatus, the combination with a heating-chamber, of a series of plates or ledges in said chamber arranged one above the other and in consecutive oppositely-inclined positions, one or more of the lower ones of said ledges being formed of brick or tile and the upper ones of said plates being pivoted, means for varying the inclinations of the pivoted plates, a source of heat, fines therefrom leading into the chamber at different heights, and dampers in said fines.

7. In heating or drying apparatus, the combination with a heating-chamber, of a source of heat, a horizontal fine therefrom leading to the heating-chamber, a damper in said flue, said damper comprising a metal plate hinged to the lower Wall of the flue and adapted to lie on said wall, fire-resisting material covering the exposed side of said plate, and cam-fingers located in recesses in the masonry of said wall and adapted to bear against the lower face of said plate and raise the free end thereof.

8. In heating or drying apparatus, the combination with a heating-chamber, of a source of heat, a horizontal fine therefrom leading to the heating-chamber, a damper in said fine, said damper comprising a metal plate hinged to the lower wall of the fine and projecting away from the source of heat, fire-brick covering the exposed face of said plate, and means for raising and lowering the free end of said plate.

In testimony whereof I, the said WILLIAM C. MOELHENY, have hereunto set my hand.

WILLIAM C. MOELHENY.

Witnesses:

ROBERT C. TOTTEN, F. W. WINTER.

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