Apparatus for continuously determining the moisture content of a moving ore bed (US Patent 3,875,504, 1975)

Jr Frederick Mercer Bodycomb and James Julius Barna received US Patent No. 3,875,504 on April 1, 1975, filed February 17, 1972. It was assigned to Johns Manville.

The patent's abstract:

The disclosure relates to a method for controlling the moisture content of ore exiting from a drier and an apparatus for effecting the measurement of the moisture content. A portion of the ore exiting from the drier is diverted onto a conveyor to form a moving ore bed sample. The moisture content of this sample is measured by an apparatus which comprises a conductivity meter provided with a pair of electrodes having convex surfaces in contact with the moving surface of the ore sample. The electrodes are maintained a fixed relative distance apart to insure a constant amount of ore therebetween and thus an accurate relative measurement of the moisture content for different positions of the ore bed as the ore passes by the electrodes. The measurements are converted to signals which actuate control apparatus to effect any necessary adjustments in the drying process to maintain the moisture content of the ore within specified limits.

Where it was listed

• Asbestos, August 1975, in its patents department (the year's issues)