Process and apparatus for drying elastomeric materials

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR MECHANICALLY DEWATERING RUBBER MATERIAL WHILE MAINTAINING THE DRYING RATE OF THE DEWATERED MATERIAL WITHIN PREDETERMINED LIMITS, COMPRISING WALL MEANS DEFINING AN ELONGATED CYLINDRICAL EXPRESSION CHAMBER HAVING AN INLET AT ONE END AND AN OUTLET AT THE OTHER END THEREOF AND A PLURALITY OF DRAINAGE OPENINGS THROUGH THE WALLS THEREOF OVER THE FULL LENGTH OF SAID CHAMBER AND DISTRIBUTED AROUND THE ENTIRE PERIPHERY OF THE CHAMBER TO SURROUND THE RUBBER MATERIAL WITH DRAINAGE OPENINGS THROUGH WHICH FLUIDS REMOVED FROM THE RUBBER MATERIAL ARE IMMEDIATELY CONDUCTED AWAY FROM SUCH MATERIAL, A SHAFT EXTENDING THROUGH SAID CHAMBER HAVING A PLURALITY OF WORKING AND CONVEYING WORMS MOUNTED AT SPACED LOCATIONS THEREALONG, SAID WORMS INCLUDING A WORM BODY HAVING A SUBSTANTIALLY SMALLER DIAMETER THAN THE INTERIOR OF SAID CHAMBER AND HAVING WORM FLIGHTS EXTENDING FROM SAID WORM BODIES TO ADJACENT SAID WALL MEANS DEFINING SAID CHAMBER, COLLAR MEMBERS MOUNTED ON SAID SHAFT BETWEEN SAID WORM MEMBERS, AT LEAST SOME OF SAID COLLAR MEMBERS TAPERING OUTWARDLY FROM THE PRECEDING WORM BODY TO A GREATER DIAMETER THAN SAID PROCEDING WORM BODY, BREAKER LUGS EXTENDING FROM SAID WALL MEANS TOWARD SAID COLLAR MEMBERS, DIRVE MEANS CONNECTED TO ROTATE SAID SHAFT FOR CONVEYING RUBBER MATERIAL THROUGH SAID CHAMBER, SAID WORMS AND SAID COLLAR MEMBERS AND SAID LUGS COOPERATING TO WORK THE RUBBER MATERIAL FOR RUPTURING POCKETS THEREIN TO RELEASE FLUIDS ENCAPSULATED IN SUCH POCKETS WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY EXERTING MECHANICAL PRESSURE ON THE MATERIAL, AND MEANS ADJACENT SAID CHAMBER OUTLET OPERATED BY SAID SHAFT AND EFFECTIVE TO TEAR THE DEWATERED RUBBER MATERIAL PASSED THEREFROM TO REDUCE THE PARTICLE SIZE OF THE DEWATERED RUBBER MATEIRAL WITHOUT COMPACTING THEREOF AND WITHOUT SEALING THE SURFACE OF THE PARTICLES OF RUBBER MATERIAL.