Drying apparatus

Application filed January 22, 1926. Serial No. 82,983.

This invention pertains to apparatus for drying plate-like or annular objects, for example can ends, which have been coated or partially coated upon one or both sides with 6 lacquer, sealing compound or other fluid, semi-fluid or plastic substance and which must be kept separate from one another until the coating material has become wholly or partially dry or oxidized, to avoid adhesion, 10 or to permit of unhindered drying or oxidation, or to facilitate vulcanization.

Principal objects of the present invention are to provide apparatus which without adjustment is capable of handling plate-like 15 objects, for example disks or rings, varying through a substantial range of thickness, diametral size or contour; to provide apparatus for drying such objects while the latter are supported upon edge in substantially ver20 tical position and in spaced relation; to provide apparatus of simple type having a minimum number of parts and capable of drying fluids distributed over portions of such plate-like bodies rapidly and uniformly ²⁵ and to which the bodies may be fed automatically if desired by the use of known devices and which will discharge the dried bodies automatically; to provide apparatus which will automatically separate adhering bodies 30 from those which are normally separate and which will eject such adhering bodies from the machine at a point different from that at which the properly separate and dried bodies are delivered; to embody the inven35 tion in a unit structure which may be readily multiplied to increase the capacity of the apparatus as a whole without a proportionate increase in the amount of the drying medium supplied; to provide apparatus in which the ⁴⁰ drying medium, if such be employed, is conserved and used in an economical manner; and to prevent the spreading of oil from bearings of moving parts onto the coated bodies.

⁴⁵ In the accompanying drawings a preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated by way of example together with certain desirable modifications, and in such drawings:— ⁶⁰ Fig. 1 is a side elevation with certain parts broken away showing the complete apparatus but omitting the feed devices;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary plan view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1 but on a larger scale and illustrating a plurality of - plate- 5· like circular bodies passing through the apparatus ;

Fig. 3 is an elevation showing the delivery end of the machine;

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4—4 of Fig. 1e

Fig. 5 is a similar section substantially on the line 5—5 of Fig. 1, and showing a portion of a feed device;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary horizontal section substantially on the line 6—6 of Fig. 5; s.'

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary vertical section on a large scale showing details of construction of a roller bearing forming an element of the apparatus;

Fig. 8 is a section similar to that of Fig. 7c 4 but illustrating a modification in which certain parts disclosed in Fig. 4 are duplicated ;

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary plan view;

Fig. 10 is a corresponding fragmentary end ⁷·’ elevation illustrating a further modification in which a plurality of parallel conveyors are employed;

Fig. 11 illustrates a further modification, the parts being in vertical section; V

Fig. 12 is' a fragmentary vertical section, more or less diagrammatic, illustrating a further modification particularly adapted for handling plate-like bodies of a generally rectangular contour; 8;:

Fig. 13 is a view similar to Fig. 12 illustrating another modification;

Fig. 14 is a fragmentary side elevation of the drive shaft for the conveyor of the apparatus shown in Figs. 1 and 2; 90

Fig. 15 is a diagrammatic vertical section illustrating apparatus embodying a combination of the devices shown in Figs. 8, 9 and 10, and

Figs. 16 and 17 are diagrammatic views ⁹illustrating furtner modifications.

In drying plate-like bodies of circular contour, for example can ends of the usual type, apparatus such as disclosed in Figs. 1 to 7 is preferred, since this preferred mechanism ^{1P J}

1,741,081 provides for a slow rotation of the circular or disk-like member about its own axis as the drying operation proceeds, such rotation tending to facilitate a uniform distribution 5 of the coating material around the entire circumference of the disk and a uniform access of the drying medium to the material to be dried. However, in dealing with plate-like bodies of non-circular contour, arrangements 10 such as shown in Figs. 12 and 13 are permissible, since, if the coating material be of proper consistency and composition, little if any flow of the coating material occurs during the drying process.

Referring now more particularly to the construction illustrated in Figs. 1 to 7, the frame comprises spaced supports, for example the supports 1 and 2, which carry the side frame members 3 and 4 which, as here 20 illustrated, consist of channel bars with their flanges turned outwardly. While such bars are convenient and desirable for the purpose, it is obvious that the side members or the frame may be constructed in other ways 25 without departing from the invention.

The side members 3 and 4 are connected at their opposite ends by members 5 and 6 respectively, which space the side members properly and hold them in assembled 30 relation.

The end member 6 is provided with openings for the reception of journal bearings in which parallel shafts 7, 8 and 9 (Fig. 6) may turn. These shafts project outwardly be35 yond the member 6 and at its outer end the shaft 7 is furnished with a spur gear 10 and with a bevel gear 11, the latter meshing with a gear 12 mounted on a transverse shaft 12^aturning in bearings 13 and 14 attached to the 40 side members 3 and 4 of the frame. The shaft 12^a carries fast and loose pulleys 15 and 16 respectively, adapted to receive a belt driven from any suitable source of power.

The shafts 8 and 9 are provided respec45 tively with gears 17 and 18, the gear 17 meshing with the gear 10 and also with the gear 18, the arrangement being such that the shafts 7 and 9 turn in the same direction while shaft 8 turns in the opposite direction. The axis 50 of the shaft 8 lies in a horizontal plane above that in which the axes of the shafts 7 and 9 are disposed, as illustrated in Fig. 5.

The shaft 7 extends lengthwise of the drying chamber defined by the side members 3 55 and 4 of the frame and is journalled at its other end in a suitable bearing in the end member 5. At this end the shaft 7 is furnished with a pinion 19 of the' same diameter as the gear 10 which meshes with 80 a gear 20 of the same diameter as the gear 17 and which is mounted upon a short shaft 21 turning in suitable bearings in the end member 5.

The shaft 8 is furnished with a sleeve 8^a¢5 (Fig. 14) at its inner end, such sleeve being splined or otherwise secured to the shaft 8, and this sleeve is furnished with a helical groove 23 in its peripheral surface for the reception of the end of a helical spring conveyor 22. The end of this conveyor 22 is ₇₀threaded into the groove in the sleeve 8^a and it is then permanently secured to the sleeve by the use of solder, brazing or other suitable means. This helical coil conveyor extends lengthwise of the apparatus parallel to the shafts 7 and 9 and at its opposite end is secured to the shaft 21, the latter preferably having a sleeve similar to the sleeve 8“ to which the spring is attached. If desired, one or both of the sleeves 8^a may be movable ₈₀axially of its shaft to compensate for the expansion or contraction of the spring conveyor.

The shaft 9 also extends lengthwise of the apparatus but terminates at a point spaced ₈₅a short distance from the inner face of the end member 5. The shafts 7 and 9 are parallel to each other and as above noted preferably have their axes disposed somewhat below the axis of the shaft 8 and of the go, coil spring conveyor. Throughout its intermediate portion the conveyor rests upon and is supported by the shafts 7 and 9.

To support the shafts 7 and 9 intermediate their ends, bearings 24 and 25 are arranged 95 at intervals lengthwise of the apparatus. These bearings 24 and 25 are preferably of roller type disposed in pairs and preferably the inner bearing of each pair is below the outer bearing so that the outer bearing con- _1Oo stitutes an abutment to prevent the shaft which it supports from springing laterally outward.

The bearings 24 and 25 are conveniently mounted upon brackets 26 supported upon ₁₀₅web members 27 connecting the side members 3 and 4 of the frame. These web members with their bearings may be disposed at any desired interval apart to provide the necessary support for the shafts and the con- ₁₁₀veyor carried thereby.

. Referring to Fig. 7, a preferred construction of bearing roll is illustrated in which the roll-supporting shaft 28 is fixedly secured at its. opposite ends to lugs 26^a and 26^b, form- 115 ing parts of the supporting bracket 26. Upon this shaft 28 spaced rings 29 and 30 . are secured. Each of these rings forms the inner member of a ball bearing and is peripherally grooved for the reception of balls 120 31. . These balls also engage internal grooves in a ring member 32 forming the outer element of the ball bearing. Eacn ring member 32 is fixedly secured within the tubular roll 33 constituting the shaft bear- 125 ing. The ends of the tubular roll 33 are preferably crimped in over end closure members 34, the latter having a close running fit on the shaft 28. The interior of the bearing roll may be supplied with lubricant of suit- 130

1,741,981 3 able consistency and since the end members have a close running fit with the shaft 28 there is little danger that the lubricating medium will spread outwardly onto the outer _s surface of the bearing roll and thus be applied to the articles being dried.

The coils of the helical conveyor are spaced apart a suitable distance to permit the ready entry of the disk-like bodies 35 which are ₁₀ to be dried, such bodies standing on edge between adjacent spires of the conveyor and resting with their peripheral edges upon the shafts 7 and 9, or upon one shaft and the inner surface of a spire of the helical conveyor.

₁₅ The bodies 35 are thus supported in substantially vertical planes and by rotation of the conveyor are caused to move in a direction substantially perpendicular to their planes from one end of the apparatus to the other.

It sometimes happens, that two such bodies may accidentally be stack together when they are fed to the apparatus and that two such adhering bodies may enter between adjacent spires of the conveyor coil. To prevent such _S5 adhering bodies from being delivered with 'the properly separate bodies after.the drying operation has been completed, it is preferred to provide the conveyor at one or more points, for example at the point 36 in Fig. 2 so with a section in which the adjacent spires are spaced apart a distance substantially equal to the thickness of a single one of the bodies to be dried. If two or more adhering bodies are disposed in the space between 35 adjacent spires of the conveyor, when they reach the closely coiled portion of the conveyor, they will be ejected laterally therefrom, since the gradually approaching coils squeeze the two-ply plate outwardly from be40 tween them. . To permit such ejected adhering bodies to escape at this point one or more of the side walls 3 or 4 may be furnished with an opening 37 through which the adhering bodies may be delivered.

The separate bodies which are freely receivable between the coils at the point 36 continue along the conveyor until they reach a point near the end member 5. As above stated, the shaft 9 terminates just short of 50 this end member 5 so that when the dried body reaches this point it is no longer supported at one side and drops freely down through the bottom of the apparatus and is received in a suitable box or other container ^a5 indicated at 38.

The plate-like bodies may be fed to the receiving end of the conveyor by hand if desired, or may be delivered thereto automati_co cally by means of any suitable device, for ex' ample as here illustrated the side wall 3 may be provided with a suitable slot for the entry of a guiding chute 39, such chute being of suitable width to accommodate a plate-like 65 body standing on edge and to permit it to roll or slide, down between adjacent spires of the conveyor coil.

While it may not be necessary to provide any specific drying medium other than air at atmospheric temperature we prefer to provide heating means for heating the air within the chamber defined by the side walls 3 and 4. For this purpose one or more lengths of pipe 40, 40^s and 41^a may be arranged between the members 3 and 4 in a plane below the conveyor coil, such pipes being perforated to provide burner jets and being connected with a supply pipe 43^a through which suitable gas or other fuel may be delivered.

To conserve the heat from the burners, it is preferred to provide a cover plate 41 resting upon the upper edges of the side walls 3 and 4 or preferably upon retaining brackets 42 and 43 mounted upon said side walls. This plate may be a simple sheet of suitable ₈₆material, for example asbestos board or the like, although if desired it may consist of a hollow casing as indicated in Fig., 8, filled with asbestos fiber, magnesium, or the like indicated at 44 in said figure. eo

As a further means for conserving the heat applied and using it economically, while at the same time saving floor space, it is contemplated that as illustrated in Fig. 8 the side walls 47 and 48 of the apparatus may 95 be of greater vertical depth than as shown in Fig. 8 so as to accommodate between them a plurality of superposed conveyor coils 45 and 46 mounted upon suitable bearing supports 49 and 50. These bearing supports 100 carry shafts or equivalent guide members corresponding to the shafts 7 and 9 above described. In this arrangement the heating jets 51 are disposed below the lowermost of the conveyor coils and the heated air will _10Sthen rise through the several superposed conveyor units, thus acting successively to dry the covers or other bodies, while they are being moved. In this type of apparatus, or in the previously described type, the chan- ₁₁₀nels in the members 47 and 48 may be closed by means of cover elements 52 and 53 respectively, and the space within said channels may be filled as indicated at 54 with asbestos fiber, magnesium, or other suitable heat in- ng sulating material.

If the apparatus be arranged as illustrated in Fig. 8 with a plurality of conveyor coils superposed, each conveyor may if desired be of sufficient length to permit the completion 120 of the drying operation while the plate-like bodies are traversing the length of the apparatus thus increasing the capacity of the apparatus without increasing the floor space necessary for a single conveyor. On the other 125 hand if desired the length of the apparatus may be made substantially less than that necessary when a single conveyor is employed and the plate-like bodies after being partially dried while' traversing the upper conveyor 130

1,741,981 path may then be permitted to drop into the next lower conveyor and traversed in the reverse direction while the drying is completed, as illustrated at the lefthand side of * Fig. 15.

Τι-l Figs. 9 and 10 an alternative arrangement is illustrated for securing a saving in floor space. In this apparatus parallel conveyor coils 55 and 56 are disposed side by 10 side, such coils preferably being of opposite pitch but turning in the same direction. These coils may be provided with supporting guides such as the shafts 7 and 9 above described, or other suitable means such as here1β inafter described, for supporting the platelike members as they are traversed from end to end of the apparatus.

In the arrangement shown in Figs. 9 and 10, it being assumed that the plate-like bodies 20 are first fed to the coil 55, the latter is provided near its delivery end with an ejector pin 60 which connects adjacent spires of the coil. Closely adjacent to the plane of rotation of this pin 60 a transverse guide rail 25 61^a is arranged, such rail being supported by means of a bracket 62^a which may be attached to the end member 5 of the frame. When a plate-like body propelled by the conveyor 55 in the direction of arrow 57 reaches 30 a point such that it is engaged by the pin 60 in the revolution of the latter, it is forced laterally out of the conveyor 55 and while resting against the guide member 61^a is pushed over between the spires of the con36 veyor coil 56. The latter coil immediately begins to propel it in an opposite direction as indicated by the arrows 58 in Fig. 9, and the dried body may be ejected at the same end of the apparatus at which it was ad40 mitted. It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that many other devices might be employed to transfer bodies from one conveyor to a parallel conveyor.

In the apparatus illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4i 7 the disk-like body which is to be dried is fed in through the chute 39 between the coils of the conveyor and its edges rest upon the spaced guide shafts 7 and 9. Since these guide shafts are positively driven and turn 60 in the same direction they tend to impart a relatively slow movement to the disk-like body by engagement with its peripheral edges. At the same time the rotation of the spiral conveyor propels the disk-like body 65 lengthwise of the apparatus.

Preferably the proportions of gears 10, 17 and 18 are such that the peripheral speeds of shafts 7 and 9 and helical spring 22 are substantially equal. The rotation of the 60 shafts 7 and 9 substantially eliminates frictional wear between the conveyor coil and such shafts while the slow rotation of the disk-like bodies in traveling along the apparatus effectually prevents the coating ma66 terial from gathering at one point.

While we prefer to employ the rotating shafts 7 and 9 for supporting the helical conveyor, it is contemplated that under some circumstances these rotating supports may be dispensed with Such an arrangement is illustrated in Fig. 11, wherein a bearing support 61 of substantially U-shape in section carries anti-friction bearing elements 62 and 63 at the upper ends of its arms. Such elements, for example, may be of bearing bronze, Babbitt metal or any material suitable for the purpose. These bearings 62 and 63 support the helical coil conveyor H which may be of substantially the same type as the coil 22 above described. This coil is connected ₈₀at one or both ends to suitable driving means by which it is rotated for propelling the plate-like bodies B interposed between its spires. In this instance the plate-like bodies, being subjected to the lateral frictional thrust ₈₃of the rotating conveyor, tend to move to one side of the conveyor axis. To prevent the bodies while being dried from escaping laterally from the conveyor a guide bar 66 is provided at a point somewhat above the bear- 90 ing 63, such bar extending lengthwise of the conveyor and engaging the peripheral edge of the disk-like body as the latter moves from one end to the other of the apparatus.

The apparatus is adapted not only for dry- 95 ing disk-like bodies but also bodies of other contour, for example can bodies of rectangular or oval shape. Furthermore it is contemplated that it may not be desirable under some circumstances to have the body, whether 100 of disk-like or other form, engage the rotating shafts 7 and 9 which support the conveyor. As shown in Fig. 12, although a pair of rotating shafts 64 and 65 similar to the shafts 7 and 9 is provided for supporting the 105 conveyor helix 64^a, we provide independent guide members 66^a and 67 for supporting the body 68 to be dried. These guide members 66^a and 67 may consist of substantially straight and parallel rods suitably supported 110 in a plane above the upper portions of the shafts 64 and 65 and extending substantially from one end of the apparatus to the other. To prevent lateral movement of the body 68 while being dried we may also furnish guard 115 rails 69 and 70 engageable with the side portions of the body during the travel of the latter.

In Fig. 13 a further modification is illustrated wherein although the shafts 71 and 72 120 corresponding to the shafts 7 and 9 above described directly support the helical coil 73, and wherein although the plate-like body K to be dried rests directly upon the shafts 71 and 72, we nevertheless provide guard 125 rails 74 and 75 engaging the edges of the body to be dried to prevent any lateral movement of the latter.

In Fig. 15 a further possible modification is illustrated diagrammatically. In this fig- 130

1,741,081 in simultaneous engagement with the platelike body 82, as illustrated in Fig. 16. It is therefore to be understood that in its broadest aspects the invention is contemplated as including such suggested modifications and re- 70 arrangement of the parts as may occur to those skilled in the art, and such as fall within the terms of the appended claims.