Moisture removing dryer employing a bed of deliquescent material

Claim 1

A DRYER FOR REMOVING MOISTURE FROM COMPRESSED AIR AND THE LIKE COMPRISING A GENERALLY UPSTANDING HEAT CONDUCTING METAL TANK HAVING AN AIR INLET AND AN AIR OUTLET, GENERALLY HORIZONTAL MEANS IN SAID TANK DIVIDING SAID TANK INTO AN UPPER CHAMBER AND A LOWER CHAMBER, SAID HORIZONTAL MEANS COMPRISING A PLATE-LIKE PARTITION ENGAGING IN SEALED RELATION THE INNER SURFACE OF SAID TANK THROUGHOUT THE PERIPHERY OF SAID PARTITION AND HAVING A GENERALLY CENTRAL OPENING THERETHROUGH WITH THE PERIPHERY OF SAID OPENING BEING SPACED INWARDLY FROM THE INTERIOR SURFACE OF SAID TANK, AND APERTURED MEANS DISPOSED IN SAID OPENING, A BED OF DELIQUESCENT DESICCANT CHEMICAL IN GENERALLY PELLET-LIKE FORM SUPPORTED ON SAID HORIZONTAL MEANS AND FILLING A SUBSTANTIAL PORTION OF SAID UPPER CHAMBER, SAID INLET BEING DISPOSED ON A SIDE OF SAID TANK BELOW SAID HORIZONTAL MEANS AND OPENING INTO THE GENERALLY EMPTY LOWER CHAMBER, SAID OUTLET BEING DISPOSED IN SAID UPPER CHAMBER AND OPENING INTO THE TANK ABOVE SAID DESICCANT BED, AN ENCLOSURE DISPOSED IN SAID UPPER CHAMBER IN GENERALLY ENCOMPASSING RELATION TO SAID OUTLET, SAID ENCLOSURE BEING OPEN AT THE TOP THEREOF AND CLOSED AT THE BOTTOM THEREOF BY A BOTTOM WALL HAVING RELATIVELY SMALL APERTURE MEANS THERETHROUGH FOR DRAINING MOISTURE FROM SAID ENCLOSURE, SAID BOTTOM WALL BEING DISPOSED BELOW THE LOWER EXTREMITY OF SAID OUTLET, MEANS IN THE UPPER PORTION OF SAID TANK DISPOSED ABOVE SAID DESICCANT BED FOR REPLENISHING SAID DESICCANT BED AS THE LATTER BECOMES EXHAUSTED, A DRAIN IN SAID LOWER CHAMBER FOR REMOVING LIQUID THEREFROM, A GENERALLY VERTICALLY ORIENTED STATIONARY METAL BAFFLE DISPOSED IN SAID UPPER CHAMBER ON SAID HORIZONTAL MEANS, SAID BAFFLE COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF GEN-