US893812A - Grain-drier. - Google Patents

Description

PATEN TED JULY 21,

v P. PROVOST.

2 SHEET8SHEET 1.

- I attomwl 7.3mm M V Y W @Lff 23s. 1 d 4/; K

No. 893,812. PATENTED JULY 21 1908.

P. PROVOST. GRAIN DRIER.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 18. 1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

all whom it may concern:

- ED" S T PATENT OFFICE.

PETER PROVOST, 0F MENOMINEE, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOIt TO PROVOST MANUFACTURING COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF WISCONSIN. I 1

cum-Damn.

Be it known that I, PETER- Pnovos'r, of Menominee, Michi an, have. invented a Grain-Drier, of whic the following is a speci-- fication.

This invention relates to a ain-drier of the t pe' wherein the grain to e dried passes t rough a series of steam-heated pipes.

The obiplct of my present invention is to improve t regulating the flow of grain throughthe ap paratus as a whole; ourth, by providing means for preventing the grain" from lodgin onthe upper surface of the heating-tan whereby t ey'become overheated and baked;

fifth, by'providing a movable lower portion and means for attaching it to the heatingtank; and sixth, by providing novel means for choking the tubes through which the grain passes, which present superioradvant es to the meansheretoforeemployed.

apparatus in a lane at ri ht angles to that 0 y invention comprises the processofconstructing my invention, and such special -featuresof construction aslw'ill be hereinafter s ecifically described and pointed out in the 0 aims.

My invention may jbet be understood 35 from. a. consideration of the following description, reference being had. to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of my drier as mounted for use, the discharge cone at'the lower end thereof being shown in section. Fig. 2 1s a longitudinalsection through the I i 1.. In t 's figure t e regulator has a sl ght y difierent form from that'of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the apparatus, the

- funnel-plate beinghalfbroken' away, Fig. 4

is a side elevation of a drier-tank in process of immersion according to m invention, Fig. 5 is a perspective viewo he funnelplate, 6 is a front elevation of one of the OlQ'LIIIPIIiS-BM'S, Fig. 7 is a longitudinal section on an e arged scale throughone of the tubes showi a choke-ring in position therein, Fig. 8 IS a perspectiveview of a choke .rin Fig. 9 is a section on an enlarged sc e Specification o1 Letteii Patent. N Application filed. August 18 1905. I lierial'No. 274,684;

s type of drier, first by an easier, simpler and better construction of the heatcharge cone thereto.

receive a pass through lating cone showing one way of ermanently securing the latter.

Fig. 10 is a ongitudlnal I Patented J'u1y21, recs. I

through the. stirrup supporting the regusection on an enlar edscale on one end of a drier-tube to show t e method of sealing the joint-between it and the tank-head.

these drawings each reference character refers always to the 'samepart.

M improved heater. consists of two principa parts, to wit, a heating-tank A and a discharge-cone B, whichare fitted together in the manner shown in the drawing. The heatin -tank in my present invention is not forme in the manner formerl by bendin a sheet into a 'cylin er, but consists of a s eet of metal drawn through dies into cup-shaped form. andfdesignated 11, so that it has no seams or rivets which leak or interfere with the connection of the dissheet 11 has a continuous and integral As so formed, the

employed bottom-portion 12 and its top-portion 13 is I I formed in a similar manner by pressing a sheet into, a, shallower cup shaped form forming flanges. 14 thereon,

which it closely inside the cylindrical portion of the body'-, piece 11, and when fitted 'thereinto the up or edge of the latter is turned inwardly to 01m an overlap 1 5,: which grips the edges of the top-piece '13 securely,

and prevents it from coming out. Before putting to respectively,

1n the sides of the cylindrical body portion 11 v near the top and bottom thereof, and lined with tubular rivets 18 and 19 to re ceive induct and educt pipes 20 and 21 for the-heating'fiuid, which 1s generally-but not necessarily steam.

'- I do not depend onthe tightness of the rcvention '85 ether, e or and spoillt for flour-making purposes. To I this end I put the he'atin'g-tank through a special process to tighten the'joints as now beexplained. I In Fig.- 4 is shown a melting-pot 22 .sup-

ported on walls 23 inclosing a furnace 24 whereby a bath of metal 25, which may be either solder or preferably brass, tin or some other metal that will alloy directly with the metal of the tank, is kept in amelted condition. Unless the metal will alloy directly with that of the tank, it will be necessary to coat the tank first with an intermediary composition whereby the melted metal is.

caused to adhere thereto. Into this metal bath the tank A is immersed first at one end and then at the other until the melted metal runs through'one of the orifices 18, 19 and covers the end of the tank to a sh ht depth, say one-eighth to one-quarter of an inch. It is clear that byso doin the metal will become heated up to the a oying tem erature and that the joints and places for eakage in the tubes and members of the tank will be hermetically sealed, and further the layer of metal 52 on the bottom of the tank, which is then on removing the latter from the bath left to harden in a horizontal position, will add to the strength of tlie tank and particularly to the tightness of the joints.

I further refer to secure the joints between the tu e;ends and the-tank-heads by a 1pieculiar-method of expanding the former,-

ch is clearly illustrated in Fig. 10. The

-expanded portion 17 .is turned over to form an annular flange substantially parallel w1th the head 12 or 13, but leaving a small crevice or space between. the two so as to admit a ring 53 of the fused metal surrounding the tube on the outside, and additionally preventing any leakage of steam therewell known principles.

through. It will be understood that the annular crevice is sufiiciently small to. hold a metal-ring 53 \in lace by capillari-ty after the tank-head has een removed from the bath 25, and until the ring 53 has had time to harden.

When, as is at present customary, the tank 1s made of iron, and the tubes of copper,

great difficulty has been found in practice 1n procurmg and maintainin an absolute tightness of the joints, especia y under high pressure of steam.. The reasonfo'r this lies 1n the electrolysis. and corrosion at thejoints of the iron, which is brought about b the act on of water of condensation co lectlng upon them, so that even when the joints are absolutely tight at the beginning,

they. soon cease to be so. By applying the entire surface, as heretofore described, these joints are r0.- tected completely from such; 'electro ytic corrosion, in fact,"- from corrosion of any kind; and where, as is usual, the soldering alloy is electropositive to iron, it will also protect the entire tank against corrosion on Th tank-so formed is provided at its upper end withears 26 whereby it is secured to "surround' when the an overhead object, more articularly to the floor-beams 27 (Fig. 1) 0 the floor above, through which projects a duct 28, through which the grain flows from a receiving-hm above, and may be regulated by any suitable means such as a slide 29.

The discharge cone B is preferably of conical sheet-metalhaving a roll 30 around its upper margin, which surrounds and closely incloses' the lower end of the tank as shown, and downwardly rojecting clamping-ears 31 are secured to t e tank and have thumb-screws 32 projecting therethrough, which engage under the roll 30. While I do not limit myself necessarily to any number of clamping-ears, it is preferable in most situations to use but two as shown in Fig. 1, arranged at op osite sides of the tank, and to enable this to Ee done and still hold the discharge-cone B perfectly central, the latterds so constructed that when the roll 30 is in position to be clamped b the screws 32, the mner face of the conica portion abuts closely against'th'e end of the tank, thus absolutely preventing any wabbling of the dischargestruction is simpler than that previously used, and presents the advantage of enabling the ready removal of the discharge-cone from any of a series of driers mounted closely side by side, in which position three or more clam ing-ears could not be conveniently mani u ated. v I

The discharge-cone B is truncated at the lower end to form a discharge-orifice 33, be low which is mounted a stirrup 34 secured to the sides of the cone and having in its center an apertured boss 35 supporting a screwstem 36, which projects u ward axially with-' inthe discharge-cone and lias mounted on its upper end a regulating-cone 37. Above and ary regulating-ring 38 as shown in Fig. 2, and 38 as shown m Fig. 1. This regulatmgiring ma have either of the two mountings s own in igs. 1 and 2,-respectively, or it may be .omitted altogether according to the size of the apparatus. The form of Fig.2, in which the 'regulating ring'is in'the form of a reversed cone sup "orted by; brackets .39 from the sidesof the dischargewone, is found best Fig. 1, which is in the form of a doublepitched rin supported on posts 39 from the margin-of t e'cone 37, is found best adapted est sizes no regulatin ring is found necessa and it is omitted. justed in position by means of a pan of locknuts 40, which engage the threads of the stem on o posite sides of the boss 35,,and

, height ofthe cone 37 has been properly adjusted it is fixed by means of a set-screw 41 binding the screw-stem from the he screw-stem'36 is a I the cone-37 is mounted a 'secondadapted to the larger slzes; the form 38 in f to the intermediate sizes while on the small adjusted to proper position and then fixed permanently. t may he found preferable to remove the lock-nuts altogether and to replace the set-screw 41 by a s lit -pin 41, as shown by the enlarged view, ig. 9. To regulate the discharge from the cone B, employ a conical lug 42 loosely mounted on the stem 36 an sup orted by a handnut 43 engaging the threa s thereof and having handles 44 for turning the same. It is clearthat by rotating the nut 43 the plug 42 willbe raised and lowered and permit the grain to flow out at a greater or less rate, or will cut it off altogether. Y 1

It will be seen that when the grain is discharged into the upper end of the tank 11,

it is received within thebasin 45 of the toppiece 13. As the openings within the tubes 16 do not coyer the entire bottom of this ba sin, placesareleft where grain might accu-- ,mulate and become overheated or baked.

To avoid this I introduce'a novelfunnelplate 46, illustrated in perspective in Fi 5, and shown in sectionand artial plan in igsp 2 and 3 res ectively. 'l his plate consists of a piece -0 sheet-metal having holes 47 punched therein, corres onding to the openings of the tubes 16 an having the remaining ortion drawn up into ridges 48 between the oles, so as to leave only sloping surfaces leading fromthe ridges to the'holes,, down which the grain slides and is carried through the holes 47. Whatever grains might remain for a short period on the ridges them selves are held out of contact with thesteamheated surface and thus are preventedfrom 1 being overheated.

A special feature of my im roved 1 drier is the novel method of choking t e tubes where-. by grain is caused to flow more slowly. through them. Heretofore this has been accomplished by working the metal of the l tubes into a neck at regular intervals, and this had the disadvantages that it was difiicult and rather expensive 'to perform, weakened the tubes, and made them less durable because the necks 'so formed wouldbecome worn out rapidlyowing-to the friction of the grain thereagainst, and'then the tube had to'be replaced. Moreover, these necks. had

a permanent spacing and could not be moved v or increased in number as required by differ- 'ent circumstances. In my 1m roved form no necks "are-formed in the tu es, nor are tank havin .tubes fixed at their ends in the res they altered in any way, but I insert within them a number of choke-rings 49 made of spring-metal, one of which is shown in perspective in Fig. 8.. Each choke-ring has preferably a flat cylindrical outer surface 50 resting against the inner side of the tube, and a curved or tortuous inner surface 51 which projects within the tube to the requisite extent It is obvious that'these and so chokes it. choke-rings may be arranged in any number and spacing desired, 'may be of any size require be replaced without injury to the tube itself.

It will be readily understood that various modifications of my invention might be de vised by those skilled in the art, and I'therefore do not limit myself to the precise conthe principles involved therein broadly as set forth in the claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Pate t is:- v

- 1. n a grain drier, the combination of a tank having seamless and continuous bottom and sides,a closed top and a plurality oftubes arranged for the passage of grain therethrough, means for admitting a heatin fluid to the interior of said tank, and a disc argecone having regulatin devices attached to the bottom of said ta 2. In'a grain -drier, the combination of a seamless and continuous bottom and si es, a closed top, and a plurality of'tubes arranged for the passage of grain therethrough, means for admitting a heating cone having regulating device therein. In a grain-drier, the combination of a tank havin seamless and continuous bot tom and side end thereof, a plurality of tubes arranged for the passage of grain therethrough connecting the top and bottom and opening on the'exterior of said tank, a layer of fusiblemetal, coverin the joints between said tubes, cover andjta and means'foradmitting a heating fluid to the interior of saidtank;

'4. A drier-tank comprising an integral seamless and continuous b0 Ipiece comprisinga cylindrical portion an ahead, it cup shaped integral head fitting in the openend. thereof, said body-portion having 1ts edges bent over and inc said head-piece, a plurality of longitudinal ectiveheads of said tank, and a'la er of sible, metal alloying with the meta of said tank cover-- ing the joints on one of the heads thereof.

5. In a grain-drier, a, discharge-cone having an ofinning at its lower end, an upright cone wit said cone, means for raising and loweringsaid upright said s and a cover. closing the open and when worn out by friction can struction as shown, but reserve the right to -fluid to the interior. of said tank, and-a dis charge-cone having a cylindrlcal upper end fitting around the base of said ta in combination with osing the edges of I below sai cone, and a regulating-ring above and surrounding said upright cone.

6. In a grain drier, in combination with a discharge-element comprising an inverted 5 cone having an opening at its lower end, a

'su port below sa1d open lower end, an uprig t screw-stem mounted on said support, an upright regulating-cone mounted on said screw-stem interiorly of said discharge-cone,

and means engaging the thread of said screw- I stem for vertically adjusting the same- 7. In a grain drier, in combination with a discharge-element comprising an inverted cone having an opening at its lower end, a support below said open lower end, an upright screw-stem mounted on said support, an upright regulating-cone-mounted on said screw-stem interiorly of-said discharge-cone, means engaging the thread of said screwlatter, and a hand-nut engaging the thread of said screw-stem and forming a su port for said plug whereby the height of the atter is adjusted.

9. In a grain-drier, in' combination with a discharge-element comprising an inverted cone having an opening at its lower end, 'a "upport below sald open lower end; an upupright screw-stem mounted'on said support,

an upright regulating-conemounted on said screw-stem interiorly of said discharge-cone,

means engaging the thread of said screwstem for vertically adjusting the same, and

a regulating-ring above and surrounding said regulating-cone. g

10; In a grain-drier, a discharge-element comprisin an inverted cone having an opening in its owerend, in combination with a A stirrup de ending from the sides of said cone below sai opening. and having a vertical 'aperture concentric therewith, a vertical screwstem mounted iii-said aperture and vertically adjustable therein, means for vertically adjusting said stem,'means for fixing saidstem in position with respect to said stirrup, and a regulating-element mol'nted or g aid stem teriorly of said cone. I

' 11. In a grain-drier, a discharge-element .comprisin an inverted cone having an opening in its ower end, in combination with a stirrup dipending from the sides of said cone opening and having a vertical aperture concentric therewith, a vertical screw{ stem mounted in said aperture'and vertically adjustable therein, means for vertically ad-' justing said stem, means for fixing said stem in posrtion with respect to said stirrup, a regulating-element mounted on said stem interiorly of said cone, and a secondary regulating element above and surroundingsaid firstnamedregulating element.

12. In a-grain-drier, a discharge-element comprisin an inverted cone having an opening in its ower end, in combination with a stirrup de endingfrom the sides of said cone below sai openingland having a vertical aperture concentric t erewith, a vertical screwstem mounted in said aperture and vertically adjustable therein, means for vertically adso justing said stem, means for fixing said stem in position with respect to said stirrup, aregulat ng-elementmounted on said stem interiorly of said cone-,and a discharge-regulating-element adapted to partially or wholly 5 close the aperture in said cone, said lastnamed element being adjustably mounted on said stern;

13. A ain-drier comprising a heatingtank having a plurality of vertical tubes adapted for the passage of grain therethrough, a discharge-element comprising an inverted cone having a margin telescoping over the lower end of said tank, a plurality of bracket-shaped ears secured .to said tank above said margin and overlapping the latter,

and a pluralit of devices carried by said ears adapted. to c amp. against said margin and holdit in place.-

- 14. A grain-drier comprising a\ substantially cylindrical heating-tank having a plurality of longitudinal tubes adapted for the passage of grain therethrough, a dischargeelement comprising an inverted cone secured over the'lower end of said tank and having a discharge-orifice at the lower end, and a vertically adjustable regulating-element within said cone adapted to cause the grain passing through said tubes to be evenly distributed among said tubes.

15. A grain-drier comprising a substantially cylindrical heating-tank having a plurality of longitudinal tubes adapted for the passage of grain therethrough, a dischargeelement comprising an inverted cone secured over the lower end of said tank and having a discharge orifice at the lower end, a vertica ly adjustable regulating-element within said cone adapted to cause the rain passing through said tubes to be even y distributed among said tubes, .and a secondary annular regulating-element above and surrounding sa d first-named element.

16. A grain-drier comprising a substantially cylindrical heating-tank having a plu-, ralityof longitudinal tubes adapted for the passage of grain therethrough, a dischargeelement comprising an inverted cone secured over the lower end of said tank and having a discharge-orifice at the lower end, a vertica ly saasm adjustable regulating-element within said cone adapted to cause the grain passing through said tubes. to be evenly distributed among said tubes, a secondary annular regulating-element above and surrounding said first-named element, and avertically adjustable plug adapted to partially or wholly close the orifice in said discharge-cone.

17. A ain-drier comprising a substantially cyl ndrlc'al heating-tank having a plurahty .of vertical tubes, a dischar e-element comprising an inverted cone inc osing the lower end of said tank and having a discharge-orifice at its lower end, avertically adjustable upright regulating-cone mounted within said discharge-cone, and a conical plug adapted to regulate the discharge through said orifice.

18. A grain-drier comprising a substantially cylindrical heating-tank having a pluralit of vertical-tubes therein, a dischag geregu ting-element comprising an inverted cone-inclosin the lower end of said tank and having a disc argeorifice at its lower end, an upright screw-stem mounted concentrically and lpassing through said orifice, an upright regu ating-cone mounted on the u per end of sald screw-stem, a secondary reg ating-ring above'and surrounding said regulating-cone, means for adjusting the height of said screwstem, a conical plug mounted on saidgscrewthrough, and a plurality of movable choke.

rings mounted in said tubes.

'22. In. a ain-drier, the combination of a heating-tan .having a plurality of tubes adapted for the passage of grain therethrough, and a lurahty of spring-rings choking the tubullir passages and held 1n place by spring-pressure the'reagainst.

23.' In a ram-drier, in combination with a heating-ta having a plurality of tubes adapted for the passage of grain therethrough and fixed at thelr u per ends in the head of said tank, a funnel-p ate fitting over said tank-head com rising a sheet having 1 and having its surface formed into ridges with sides sloping downwardly toward said openings, whereby grain' alighting on the holes registering wit the tubular openings surface of said plate is caused to slide into one of said openings.

assage of 24. A ain-drier comprising 'a heatingtank havlng a pluralityof vertical tubes, movable choke-rings within said tubes, a I

funnel-plate above the upper end, of said tubeshaving holes registermg with the tubular openings and sides sloping upwardly I from sald openings, 9. discharge-cone inclosing the lower end .'of said tank and having a discharge-orifice at its lower end, an u right regulating-cone vertically adjustab e within said dischar econe, and 2. lug adapt}.

ed to regulate the ow of grain t roughsaid orifice. 25. In a gi'ain-drier, a heating-tank havmg a 'ty of .tubes whose-ends pass throu ends anged outwardly exterior to said head and the flanges slightl separated therefrom, and rings of meta alloying with said tubes and headfilling the annular crevicesbetween said flanges and head.

26. In a grain-drier, a heater comprising a tank having a Iurality of tubes whose ends pass through ho es in the heads thereof said tubes having their outer ends expanded to form flan es surrounding the orifices and separated y annular crevices, anda' layer of sald metal covering the interior'surface of said head and the joints ofthetubes.

27. A grain-drier comprising a cylindrical drying-element through which grain is adapted to pass, a conical discharge element having a cylindrical margin telescoping over the end of said drier-element, and a pair of ears on said drying element adapted to seize and maintain said discharge-element in such positi on that the conical-portion abuts closely against the end of said drying-element.

28. A grain-drier com risingla cylindrical drying-element, a'conica disc arge-element adapted to regulate the flow of grain there-- through and having a cylindrical margin telescopin overthe-end of said. drying-element, sai dischar e-'element havin' a roll or bead formed on t e edge of said cyhndrical margin, and a of saiddrying hold said bead when said ischarge-element I. pair of ears on opposite, sides e ement ada ted tograsp and telescopes over said drying-element as afore said and the latter abuts a ainst the conic'a1 portion of said discharge-e ement.

29. In a grain-dr1er,the combinationof a 1 port beneath said orifice and concentric.-

discharge-element comprising an inverted cone having an orifice .at its lower end, a suptherewith, a vertical stem mounted and adjust'able in said sup ort, a regulating-ale men't mounted on sa1d stem within said cone, 7

and a guide-piece surrounding said stem below' saidregulatin -element 'within said cone and supported om the walls ofthe latter.

30.- Ina grain-drier, the combination of a I discharge-element comprising aninverted cone having an orifice at its lower end, a sup- Iplur I go I one head thereof, said tubes having port beneath said orifice and concentric therewith, a vertical stem mounted and adjustable in said support, a regulating-element mounted on said stem Within said cone, a

guide-piece surrounding said stem below said regulating-element within said cone and supported from the walls "of the latter, and a secondary re ulating-elem'ent comprising a ring1 mounte within said cone concentric wit said first-named regulating-element and over the latter. i

31. In a-grain-drier, a tube-joint comprising a tube-end having its, mar in expanded to form a flange, a meta sheet through which said tube-end passes and the surface of which is slightly separated from said flange so as to form an annular crevice,

and a ring of metal filling said crevipe and alloyin with'said tube-end and sheet.

32. n a grain-drier, a tube-joint comprising a tube-end having its margin expanded to form a flange, a metal sheet through which said tube-end passes and the surface of which is slightly separated from said flange so as to form an annular crevice, a-ring of metal filling said crevice and alloying with said tubeend and sheet, and a layer of metal covering the interior of the line of junction'between saidtub'e-end and sheet.

a discharge-cone having an o ening at its lower end, a support carried t ereb below-.

said open end, a grain-deflector wit in said cone adjustably mounted on said support, and a flow-regulating lug in said open end and likewise 'adjustab ly mounted on said support. 7

34. In a grain drier, in combination with a discharge-cone having an o ening at its lower end, a support mounte on saiddischarge-cone' below said open end, a vertical stem rising from said support into the interior of said cone, a grain-deflector mounted on said support, means for vertically adjusting said grain-deflector from the exterior of said cone, and a regulatin plug for said lowerend adjustably mounte on said stem.

35. In a rain-drier, the combination of a heating-tan having passageways for grain, a distributing-cone covering the lower end of said tank, an adjustable grain-deflector the exterior of the apparatus at a point below said tank for regulatmglsaid grain-deflector.

' within said cone, and means operated from

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