Jet spiral drier

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR TREATING SEED COTTON AND THE LIKE TO ALTER THE MOISTURE CONTENT THEREOF BY EXPOSURE TO TREATING AIR HAVING A PRESELECTED TEMPERATURE AND HUMIDITY TO EFFECT MOISTURE EXCHANGE THEREBETWEEN COMPRISING HORIZONTALLY ELONGATED CASING MEANS HAVING A FEED END AND A DISCHARGE END, SAID CASING MEANS INCLUDING EXTERIOR WALL MEANS AND A STATIONARY INTERIOR PARTITION HAVING AN UPWARDLY CONCAVE SEMI-CYLINDRICAL PERFORATE CURVE WALL PORTION CONCENTRIC WITH A SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF THE CASING MEANS DIVIDING THE SPACE BOUNDED BY SAID EXTERIOR WALL MEANS INTO AN UPPER CONVEYOR CHAMBER AND A LOWER TRASH COLLECTING CHAMBER OF SUBSTANTIALLY CO-EXTENSIVE EXTENT LONGITUDINALLY OF THE CASING MEANS, A ROTATABLE CONVEYOR SCREW IN SAID UPPER CONVEYOR CHAMBER EXTENDING THE LENGTH THEREOF HAVING ITS PERIPHERY DISPOSED IN A CYLINDRICAL PATH CONCENTRIC WITH SAID AXIS AND IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT SAID CURVED WALL PORTION FOR ADVANCING COTTON THEREALONG FROM THE FEED END TO THE DISCHARGE END OF SAID CASING MEANS, SAID CURVED WALL PORTION HAVING OPENINGS DISTRIBUTED ALONG THE AXIAL LENGTH THEREOF BELOW THE HORIZONTAL PLANE THROUGH SAID AXIS SIZED TO RETAIN COTTON FED INTO SAID CASING MEANS AT THE FEED END THEREOF IN THE PATH OF SAID CONVEYOR SCREW TO BE ADVANCED ALONG A FLOW PATH TOWARD SAID DISCHARGE END AND PERMITTING PASSAGE OF TRASH AND MOISTURE LADEN AIR THRERETHROUGH INTO SAID COLLECTING CHAMBER, SAID COLLECTING CHAMBER EXTENDING IN RADIALLY OUTWARDLY SURROUNDING RELATION TO SAID CURVED WALL PORTION AND HAVING COMMUNICATION WITH SAID CONVEYING CHAMBER ONLY THROUGH SAID OPENINGS IN SAID CURVED WALL PORTION, TREATING AIR SUPPLY MEANS INCLUDING AIR INLET OPENING MEANS OPENING DIRECTLY INTO SAID CONVEYING CHAMBER ABOVE SAID HORIZONTAL PLANE AND SPACED OUT OF DIRECT COMMUNICATION WITH SAID COLLECTING CHAMBER TO DISCHARGE TREATING AIR DOWNWARDLY INTO MOISTURE EXCHANGE RELATION WITH THE COTTON IN SAID CONVEYING CHAMBER, AND EXHAUST DUCT MEANS COUPLED DIRECTLY TO SAID COLLECTING CHAMBER FOR CONTINUOUSLY WITHDRAWING TRASH AND MOISTURE LADEN AIR THEREFROM.