US2207360A - Drier - Google Patents

Description

July 9, 1940. J. R. SPELLACY DRIER Filed 1mg. 20, 1937 INVENTOR JOHN R. SPELLACY ATTORNEY Patented July 9, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT orrlcr DRIER John R. Spellacy, Burlingame, Calif assignor to Hercules Powder Company, Wilmington, Del.,

a corporation of Delaware Application August 20, 1937, Serial No. 160,165

4 Claims.

This invention relates to driers, and particu-- larly to driers of the dehydrating type.

The object of the invention is to provide an apparatus which is' simple in structure and efficient in operation .for drying or dehydrating various materials, and' especially adapted to handle any dry bulk material, such as casein or lactorine (milk curd), grain, flours, meals and the like.

A further object to provide an apparatus of the nature referred to wherein the material to be handled, while moving in one direction in loose,

'comminuted, disintegrated or dispersed form is subjected to the action of air drying currents moving in the opposite direction whereby said material receives a uniform drying action throughout its bulk.

A further-object is to provide an apparatus of the character and nature referred to wherein J provision is made to subject the material to a continuous or sequentially continuous cycle of movement in loose bulk condition while being subjected to the drying action of air currents, heated or otherwise, until the moisture content 7 of the material is reduced to the desired point.

A further object is to provide means in a drying apparatus of the nature and character referred to wherein provision is made to subject the material in its loose, comminuted, disintegrated or dispersed condition to the action of means to prevent or retard the development of minuted, disintegrated and dispersed condition will be uniformly acted upon by the drying currents, or the germ retarding means, or both.

Other objects of the invention will appear more fully hereinafter.

The invention consists substantially in the construction, combination, location and relative arrangement of parts, all as will be more fully hereinaiter set forth, as illustrated in the accompanying drawing, and finally pointed out in the appended claims.

The single figure of the drawing is a vertical central sectional view, somewhat diagrammatic, of an apparatus embodying the principles of my invention.

The methods at, present in extensive use for drying various materials in bulk, such as grain, flour, meals, and the like, and especially those practiced in drying casein or lactorine (milk curd), and similar material, are not only crude, ineflicient and expensive, but they also fail to secure a uniform drying action throughout the bulk of the material, through lack of desirable control or proper handling of the material and proper and uniformapplication of thedrying medium.

,It is among the special purposes of my present invention to provide an apparatus and method of operation which is efljicient and whereby materials in bulk may be expeditiously and automatically handled and dried in bulk and in a manner that enables the drying medium to reach all particles of the bulk material and exert a uniform drying action thereon, while at the same time preventing or at least retarding any bac-' teria or germ development within the body of the material.

In accordance with my invention I propose to cause the bulk material to be dried, and in loose, disintegrated and dispersed condition, to move in one direction while'being subjected to the action of a drying medium, such as air currents,

. moving in the opposite direction in such manner that all particles of the material are subjected to the dryingaction of the drying medium, and I propose to subject the material to repeated and sequential dispersionr and movement while being acted upon by the drying medium until the desired stage of dryness thereof is-attained.

I also propose, in accordance with my inven-v tion, to control the dispersion and the speed of movement of the bulk material, and of the flow through the loose dispersed and disintegrated I bulk thereof, of the cooling medium:

' I also propose to subject the bulk material in its loose, dispersed and disintegrated condition, and during the drying operation, to the action of means to retard or prevent the development or action of injuries bacteria or germs.

And I propose to accomplish these operations under conditions of control and observation which insure efliciency, speed and uniformity. of results throughout the entire bulk or mass of the material under treatment.

The operations above indicated may be carried out in many different types and forms of apparatus. -While I have shown and will now describe one type or form of apparatus as an embodiment of my invention, capable of and adapted to emciently carry out my invention, it is to be understood that said apparatus is illustrative of the principles involved, and my invention, in its 'of a motor I.

broadest scope, is not to be limited or restricted to the specific details of structure shown and described.

In the arrangement shown I provide a vertically disposed casing I, constituting a drying chamher, which may be of any desired size, height, or

cross-sectional shape. The material to be handled, such, by way of illustration, as casein or milk curd, is fed in bulk into the drying chamber at any convenientpoint, preferably at or near the lower end or base thereof, and in any suitable way. In'the illustrative arrangement shown, the bulk material in the case of milk curd, for example, is supplied into the drying chamber from the curd mill 2, which initially breaks up the material. This feed may be accomplished in any desired manner as, for example, by means of a screw conveyor 3, which delivers the bulk material to a point centrally of the drying chamber. From this point of delivery the material is elevated to the top of the drying chamber and is there scattered or dispersed in all directions into the chamber and permitted to fall by gravity through the chamber to be collected at the bottom for elevation and dispersion again, if necessary, and finally to be withdrawn, ground, sifted and packaged.

Any suitable elevating and scattering or dispersing means may be employed. I have shown a simple and'eiiicient arrangement for this purpose wherein a tubular member I is vertically disposed centrally of the drying chamber I, and supported in place by suitable struts or braces 5. Disposed centrally and longitudinally through the tubular member 4 is a shaft 6, arranged to be rotated-in any convenient way and at any desired or controlled speed, as, for example, by means Carried by shaft 6 is a continuous spiral screw conveyor'8. The material delivery conveyor 3delivers into a cylindrical chute 9 arranged centrally of the drying chamber I, at the bottom thereof, and screw conveyor 8 extends into this chute and receives the delivered material and feeds it vertically through the tubular member and out through the open top of the latter, where, by reason'of the centrifugal action of the screw conveyor, it is thrown, scattered and dispersed loosely in all directions annularly or radially into the drying chamber, where it falls to the bottom. The lower end of the drying chamber casing I is formed into a cone I0, into which the'falling material is collected and by which the collected material is directed again to the elevator screw 8 for repetition, if necessary, of the elevating and dispersing operations. The lower end of the tubular member 4, in which the elevating conveyor works, extends into the cone portion III of the drying chamber, and is itself flared into an inverted cone I I. If desired, and in order to maintain the elevator tube 4 filled with the material to be treated while'the apparatus is in operation, the portion I2 of the screw conveyor which works in the flared portion II of the conveyor tube 4, and in the bottom portion III of the drier casing I, is enlarged, as shown, as compared with the other portions of said screw conveyor. The material which collects in the cone portion ID of the dryer casing slides down the sloping surfaces of the cone I 0 and the flare portion I I of tubular member 4, and past the lower edge of the latter into the space in which the enlarged elevator screw portion I2 works, and into the chute 9, and is again elevated and dispersed, as before explained.

flare II and the adjacent inner surface of the cone I0, thereby notonly breaking up any lumps of the material but also preventing clogging of the material in the upper portion of the cone III. Should the material collect in the cone I 0, too rapidly to be handled by the elevator, the feed of additional material into the drier chamber may be arrested until all of the material collected in the cone III has been dried and withdrawn.

To permit the withdrawal of the material the wall of the cone portion I0 is provided with an opening which is controlled by a slide gate I5. By opening this slide gate the material will fall through the opening for removal, instead of being directed back to the elevator for further treatment.

If desired, or required, the dried material which drops through the opening controlled by slide gate I5, may be received in a pulverizing mill I6, and ground or pulverized. This mill, in the illustrative arrangement shown, delivers into a chute I! through which the ground or pulverized material may be returned into the receivopening through its wall which is controlled by a slide gate I8. When this gate is opened the pulverized material is permitted to fall through onto a sifter I9, and sifted to the desired fineness,

.and then sacked for shipment, as indicated at 20.

Any lumps or large portions of material caught and retained by the sifter may be returned into chute 9 for further treatment through a passage indicated at 2|. A baflle 36 may serve to prevent the material from flowing from the pulverizing mill I6, into chute 9 when the gate I8 is open.

In order to break up any lumps of material that may be elevated'and thrown out by the upper end of the rotating screw elevator, and to assist in a thorough scattering and dispersion of the material, I prefer to employ spinning devices onto which the material is delivered by the elevator.

These, in the illustrative arrangement shown, consist of rapidly rotating disks'22 carried by shafts 23 mounted in the top cover of the drier chamberand extending into said chamber near and slightly below the upper endof the conveyor tube 4. These shafts may be driven at a high speed in any convenient manner, as, for example, by means of belts operating on pulleys 24. The disks 22 may be plane or fluted or otherwise shaped so that as the material falls thereon sharp hammer blows will be delivered to any lump, and the material will be rapidly whirled off into the interior space of the chamber and thoroughly scattered and dispersed therein.

As above explained, the material to be treated while falling through the drying chamber after being thoroughly scattered and dispersed in loose bulk condition is to be subjected to the drying action of currents of drying medium, heated or ing chamber, and designed to be connected by a 1. Apparatus for drying loose, bulk materials,-

lustrative of the principles involved, wherein a blower fan delivers air through a heater 26 and pipe connections 21, 2'! into the interior of the drier chamber l at various points in the height thereof. I prefer to so arrange the delivery ends of the pipes 21, as indicated at 28, as to deliver the air more or less tangentially into the drier chamber so. as to impart an annularly swirling or centrifugal motion to the air currents within the chamber. The air currents ascend through the chamber, and they encounter and pass through the falling mass of material, thoroughly permeating through the falling mass and subjecting every particle of the same to an uniform drying action. .An outlet 29 is provided at the upper end of the, chamber through which the ascending air currents pass or are drawn oil. In order to disperse the air currents and to evenly distribute the same throughout the interior of v the drying chamber, I prefer to arrange suitable baflles 30 at thedelivery ends of the air supply pipes 21. I have indicated by light arrows the travel upwardly of the air currents through the chamber and by heavy. arrows the downward travel of the material to be treated.

.If desired the temperature of the heated air, where heated air is employed, may be-regulated and controlled in any suitable or convenient manner. For this purpose I-have indicated a thermostat 3| applied to the exterior wall of the dry-:

control pipe, a portion of which is shown at 32, to the air heater 26 in the usual and well-known manner.

If desired the observation windows 33 may be provided at convenient points through the walls of the drying chamber so that the action going on inside of the chamber while the'operatlon is progressing may be observed.

Y 40 In order to prevent or retard any injurious or deleterious bacterial, fermenting'or germ action in the material under treatment, I prefer to set into the walls of the drying chamber at various points violet ray lamps, indicated at 34, so that the material under treatment and every particle and portion thereof, while in scattered and loosely dispersed condition, is subjected to the actinic action of the violet rays.

To afiord access to the interiorof the drying chamber for cleaning out or other purposes I pro- From the foregoing description it will be seen that I provide an exceedingly simple, inexpensive and efficient method and apparatus for drying loose bulk material wherein and whereby the material is quickly dried uniformly throughout its bulk to thedesired stage of dryness, the operation being carried on continuously or in continuous sequence or cycle.

It is to be understood that many changes in details may readily occur to persons skilled in the art without departure from the spirit and scope of my invention. I dov not desire, therefore, to be limited or restricted to the exact details shown and described.

What I desire to protect and claim by Letters Patent is:

including adrying chamber, rotating discs at the top of said'chamber whereby to scatter and disperse the material in said chamber, a tubular member vertically disposed centrally within said chamber, an elevator operating within said tubular member and delivering at its upper end through said tubular member on to said rotating discs, means to deliver the material to be treated into the lower end of chamber, and means to circulate drying currents upwardly through the chamber and the falling mass.

2. Apparatus for drying loose, bulk materials, including a drying chamber, rotating discs at the top of said chamber whereby to scatter and disperse 'the material in said chamber, a tubular member vertically disposed centrally within said chamber, an elevator operating within said tubular member and delivering at its upper end a through said tubular member on to said rotating discs, a receiver at the lower end of the chamber to receive the scattered and dispersed material as it falls through the chamber, said receiver having means to return the material collected therein to the elevator, means to deliver the ma! terial to be treated into the lower end of cham-' discs, a receiver at the lower end of the chamber to receive the scattered and dispersed material as it falls through the chamber, said receiver having means to return the material collected therein to the elevator, said receiver also having a controlled opening to permit the material to be delivered from the chamber, means to deliver the material to be treated into the lower end of chamber, and means to circulate drying currents upwardly through the chamber and the falling mass.

4. Apparatus for drying loose, bulk materials, including a drying chamber, rotating discs at the top of said chamber whereby to scatter and disperse the material in said chamber, a tubular member vertically disposed centrally within said chamber, an elevator operating within said tubular member and delivering at its upper end through said tubular member on to said rotating discs, a mill at the base of said chamber adapted to disintegrate material to be dried and discharge the disintegrated material into the base of said chamber, a receiver at the lower end of the chamber to receive the scattered and dispersed material as it falls through the chamber, said receiver having means to return the material collected therein to the elevator, said receiver also having a controlled opening to permit the material to be delivered from the chamber, and means to circulate drying currents upwardly through the chamber and the falling mass.

- JOHN R. SPEILACY.

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