US291320A - Fruit-drier - Google Patents

Description

H.' FETS-. FRUIT DRIER;

(No Model.)

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FRUIT-Delen.

1- SPECIFICATION forming part of Letterslfatent No. 291,320, elated January l, 1884. Application filed May 28, 1881. (No model.)

all 'Lu/"mm, it may concern: l Be it known that I, HiinRisoN Frrrs, a citi- A'zen of the United States, residing` at Rollin,

`declare the following` to be a full, clear, and

ir li such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and

` to letters or figures of reference marked there- `is a front elevation of same.

air-tight as practicable.

on, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to certain improvements in fruit-evaporators, which are hereinafter first described, and then designated in sions vertically than horizontally. The walls form an inclosure which throughout is as near Adoor, B, through the front wall at its base affords access to the interior, in the center of which, upon the floor, the furnace C is placed. A smoke flue, C', ex-

tends from the furnace up the center of the! kiln and projects through the roof, which latter is without vents or openings, or, as before st-ated, is practically air-tight. Two crossbeams, D, extendfrom side to side of the kiln at an elevation above the furnace and serve to support the reels E, of which there are four in number. These reels rotate'on a vertical i axis, the smoke-Hue passing up the center between them. In practice an apparatus ofthe magnitude of the one illustrated in the drawings should have reels about sixteen feet high and six feet in diameter. From the central shait, which constitutes the axis of the reel, arms c project radially, there being six arms affixed at the same horizontalplane, which are placed about six inches apart in the vertical direction. The outer end of these arms are attached to and supported by rods f, which extend vertically from the top to the bottom of the reel.

The arms e serve as slides, on which the racks or fruit-trays g are supported. It will be seen.

that the reels are six-sided, and the sides of the racks or trays from their frontedge (which is about three feet long) converge toward their rear. As the rear edge of` each of the` racks,

which is parallel with the front edge, is about` sixteen inches long, it will be seen the rear rof of the reels, but 4is remote therefrom, `thus leaving a space, h., between the rear edge of vthe rack does not extend to the central shaft each rack and the shaft, whereby a vertical passage or channel is formed by the series of thirty racks, one above another, lwhich, channel extends up along the central shaft and per-` mits the heated air and vapors to circulate through the reel. One side of each of these reels is in close proximity tc` the walls of the kiln when standing in proper position, as

shown in Fig. 3, and doors I aie made in the walls at these points, through which the racks or trays containing the fruit are inserted in or withdrawn from the reels. The bars or slats of the racks or trays are covered with gauze-netting, which Vprevents the fruit from falling through. Then one of the six sides of a reel has been filled through the open door with racks or trays having the green fruit spread over them, the reel is partly rotated to i down through the kiln in a vertical direction to a point below the lower end of the reels. Only the top and bottom end of the vaporiiues are open. These ilues are employed mostly when the kiln is full of green fruit, which is very wet, containing a greatdeal of moisture, so much that when heated it becomes converted into hot steam, which fills the lower part of the kiln below the reels. A considerable part of this vapor is consumed in maintaining combustion in the furnace, but the ex- IOC cess of vapor which collects in the lower story l vapor from the fruit is forced by the heat above below the reels finds outlet through the fines N. As the upper part of the vapor-fines becomes very hot, a draft up through them is at once established by opening the dampers p.

An open water-vessel, P, is placed upon the stove or furnace, and is supplied by a pipe, q,

` which leads from the vessel through the wall 0f the kilnto the outside, where a funnel, q. is attached. This device serves to supply the vessel with water, while a cock, r, may be employed to open and close the pipe. Another pipe, s, is attached to the water-vessel and leads therefrom through the wall to the outside, at which point it is lowest. and where a cock, t, is attached. This pipe serves to draw off the water.

Vhen first filling the reels with racks, it is necessary to commence at the top, and the water-vessel is employed to produce steam, which ascends to the top of the kiln, and by its presence there prevents the fruit contained on the racks which are first placed in position from scorching. After the upper part of all the reels have been filled with green fruit, the water is drawn off, no more being required while the fruit therein is undergoing` evaporation.

In the operation of my apparatus, the heat produced by the furnace rises, and is coniined within the kiln, because, as before explained, the kiln is practically an air-tight inclosure, the interior of the kiln, and the upper part in particular, being filled with heated air. The

to descend as rarefed steam, and as this serves to supply the requisite draft or maintain combustion in the furnace, all necessity for airopenings below is obviated.

The herein-described arrangement of parts is convenient and effective as an evaporator 'for fruit, and is very economical in operation.

Having described my invention, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United Stat-es 1. In a fruit-evaporator, the combination of an inclosure whose walls and roof are practically air-tight, fruit-trays, a furnace Within the said air-tight inclosure, a smoke-flue, C', extending up through the inclosure andpro.- jecting from the roof, and one or more vertical vapor-fines, N, open only at the tog and bottom, and having its lower open end below the fruit-trays and its upper end through the inclosure at the top, as set forth.

2. A fr uitevaporator having rotatable fruittray reels, a furnace below the reels, a smokeflue, C', passing from the furnace to the roof between the reels, anda vapor-flue, N, open only at the ends, and having its lower end below the reels and its upper end above the reels, as set forth.

HARRISON FITTS.

'Vitnesses:

HARVEY S. BOWEN, FRANK BOWEN.

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