阅读说明：本技术 在折射窗干燥机中提供均匀空气流的低轮廓设计的空气通道系统和方法 (Low profile design air channel system and method for providing uniform air flow in a refractive window dryer ) 是由 J·奥尔蒂斯 E·R·德劳 D·伯吉斯 于 2019-10-25 设计创作，主要内容包括：公开了一种用于在折射窗干燥机中提供均匀空气流的低轮廓设计的空气通道系统和方法。根据一个实施例,一种系统包括经调节空气供应歧管,该经调节空气供应歧管将空气提供到干燥室中。该系统具有被引导通过干燥室的干燥带。干燥带的第一端处的进料施加托盘将液体施加到干燥带上。该系统的排气歧管位于干燥带的第一端。(An air channel system and method of low profile design for providing uniform air flow in a refractive window dryer is disclosed. According to one embodiment, a system includes a conditioned air supply manifold that provides air into a drying chamber. The system has a drying belt directed through a drying chamber. A feed application tray at the first end of the drying belt applies liquid to the drying belt. The exhaust manifold of the system is located at a first end of the drying belt.)

1. A system, comprising:

a conditioned air supply manifold that provides air to the drying chamber;

a drying belt guided through the drying chamber;

a feed application tray at a first end of the drying belt that applies a liquid onto the drying belt; and

an exhaust manifold at a first end of the drying belt.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the conditioned air supply manifold comprises one or more of:

a top duct that receives conditioned air;

at least one or more downtubes;

at least one or more horizontal manifolds; and

an air slot connecting the at least one or more horizontal manifolds to the drying chamber.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the exhaust manifold comprises an exhaust fan assembly.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the drying chamber comprises one or more of:

a cover; and

one or more low profile side panels for maintaining the conveyance of the airflow adjacent the drying belt.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the conditioned air supply manifold is coupled to a filtered air system to feed conditioned air into the conditioned air supply manifold.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the filtered air system is an HVAC unit having a cooling capacity and a heating capacity.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the cooling capacity is 290MBH and the heating capacity is 328.1 MBH.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one or more horizontal manifolds comprise a sanitary cap, wherein the sanitary cap allows for clean-in-place cleaning and is easily disassembled and reassembled.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the drying belt comprises at least two ends, comprising:

a discharge end for discharging the dried material; and

an opposite end for applying product onto the drying belt through the feed application tray.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the drying belt comprises a thermal medium configured to heat the product, the thermal medium being maintained at a predetermined temperature.

11. A method, comprising:

receiving conditioned air through a conditioned air supply manifold;

distributing conditioned air through a drying chamber across the width of the drying belt via the conditioned air supply manifold;

applying a product onto a drying belt through a feed application tray, wherein the drying belt is directed through the drying chamber;

directing the conditioned air out of the drying chamber through an exhaust manifold; and

discharging the product from the drying belt.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein distributing the conditioned air through the conditioned air supply manifold further comprises:

directing the conditioned air through the top duct;

directing the conditioned air through at least one or more downtubes;

directing the conditioned air through at least one or more horizontal manifolds; and

directing the conditioned air through an air slot connecting at least one or more horizontal manifolds to the drying chamber.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein an exhaust fan assembly directs the conditioned air out of the drying chamber through the exhaust manifold.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein distributing the conditioned air through the conditioned air supply manifold comprises:

delivering conditioned air with heat capture and increased moisture capacity such that the delivered conditioned air remains proximate to a product-bearing drying belt by including one or more of:

a cover; and

one or more low-profile side panels.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the conditioned air is received from a filtered air system coupled to the conditioned air supply manifold.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the filtered air system is an HVAC unit having a cooling capacity and a heating capacity.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the cooling capacity is 290MBH and the heating capacity is 328.1 MBH.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein the at least one or more horizontal manifolds comprise a sanitary cap, wherein the sanitary cap allows for clean-in-place cleaning and is easily disassembled and reassembled.

19. The method of claim 11, wherein the drying belt:

discharging the dried material through the discharge end; and

a product is received at an opposite end by the feed application tray.

20. The method of claim 11, wherein the drying belt comprises a thermal medium configured to heat the product, the thermal medium being maintained at a predetermined temperature.

Technical Field

The present application relates generally to drying of products. In particular, the present disclosure relates to low profile designed air channel systems and methods for providing uniform air flow in refractive window dryers.

Background

In conventional drying systems, the product to be dried is placed on a continuous belt floating on the surface of a body of hot water. Heat is transferred directly to the product by conduction from the circulating hot water through the strips of polymer film. The hot water is maintained at a predetermined temperature for optimal drying of the product.

However, conventional drying systems utilize large volumes of ambient air to remove water vapor released during the drying of the product. Uncontrolled humidity and ambient air temperature within the dryer cause significant variations in dryer performance and product quality. For example, a dryer operating in a dry climate behaves differently in a humid climate. Similarly, in cold and hot climates, the performance of the dryer may vary from season to season or day to night at the same location.

In addition, conventional drying systems increase the water vapor pressure in the product by increasing the product temperature due to the heat energy conducted from the hot water through the drying belt. However, conventional drying systems do not reduce the water vapor pressure, do not increase the temperature or reduce the humidity of the air within the dryer, all of which can improve the performance of the dryer.

In conventional multi-chamber drying systems, in both high profile and low profile designs, the product is dried on a continuous belt using a side-to-side airflow process, in which conditioned air is introduced and not introduced at regular intervals along one side of the belt, and with an air exhaust mechanism on the opposite side. This design promotes short circuiting of the air, resulting in inefficient utilization of the full moisture carrying capacity of the short circuited air. Thus, this design fails to effectively distribute air across the width of the belt.

Another problem with conventional designs is that the vertical flow of the belt does not take full advantage of the heat gained from the evaporation of water from the product on the belt, and therefore requires a large volume of air. The initial overhead hood design of this system also results in free flow of air high above the belt surface, and therefore does not take full advantage of any temperature gain, especially at high CFM flow rates.

Disclosure of Invention

An air channel system and method of low profile design for providing uniform air flow in a refractive window dryer is disclosed. According to one embodiment, a system includes a conditioned air supply manifold that provides air into a drying chamber. The system has a drying belt directed through a drying chamber. A feed application tray at the first end of the drying belt applies liquid to the drying belt. The exhaust manifold of the system is located at a first end of the drying belt.

The above and other preferred features, including various novel details and combinations of elements of the embodiments, will now be more particularly described in the claims with reference to the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood that the specific methods and apparatus are shown by way of illustration only and not as limitations. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the principles and features explained herein may be employed in various and numerous embodiments.

Drawings

The present invention will become more apparent in view of the attached drawings and accompanying detailed description. The embodiments depicted therein are provided by way of example and not limitation, wherein like reference numerals/labels generally refer to the same or similar elements. However, in different drawings, different reference numbers/labels may be used to reference the same or similar elements. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating aspects of the invention. In the figure:

FIG. 1 illustrates a cross-sectional view of an exemplary dryer that uses an air supply manifold that extends across the width of a drying belt, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary dryer air supply manifold that distributes conditioned air in accordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 3 illustrates a dryer exhaust manifold according to one embodiment.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary side view of a conditioned air supply manifold according to one embodiment.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary side view of a conditioned air supply manifold according to another embodiment.

FIG. 6 illustrates a cross-sectional view of two drying chambers assembled to form a multi-chamber dryer assembly, according to one embodiment.

While the disclosure is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. It should be understood, that the disclosure is not to be limited to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the disclosure.

Detailed Description

Low profile design air channel systems and methods for providing uniform air flow in a refractive window dryer are disclosed. According to one embodiment, a system includes a conditioned air supply manifold that provides air into a drying chamber. The system has a drying belt directed through a drying chamber. A feed application tray at the first end of the drying belt applies liquid to the drying belt. The exhaust manifold of the system is located at a first end of the drying belt.

The following disclosure provides many different embodiments, or examples, for implementing different features of the subject matter. Specific examples of components and arrangements are described below to simplify the present disclosure. Of course, these are merely examples and are not intended to be limiting. Additionally, the present disclosure may repeat reference numerals and/or letters in the various examples. This repetition is for the purpose of simplicity and clarity and does not in itself dictate a relationship between the various embodiments and/or configurations discussed.

Each of the features and teachings disclosed herein may be used alone or in combination with other features and teachings to provide a multi-chamber dryer using adjustable conditioned air flow with a low profile air channel system. Representative examples utilizing many of these additional features and teachings, both individually and in combination, are described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. This detailed description is merely intended to teach a person of skill in the art further details for practicing aspects of the present teachings and is not intended to limit the scope of the claims. Thus, combinations of features disclosed in this specification may not be necessary to practice the teachings in the broadest sense, and are instead taught merely to describe particularly representative examples of the present teachings.

Other features and advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the features of various embodiments.

A multi-chamber dryer is disclosed that uses adjustable conditioned counter-flow air flow and a low-profile air channel system. The present drying system enables the transport of the air stream to be maintained near the belt/product surface by taking advantage of the heat pick-up and increased moisture capacity (moisture capacity) of the counter-flow of the air stream corresponding to the belt/product stream. The present drying system increases and improves the capacity of the dryer at steady state operation. The present drying system improves heat transfer by providing faster moisture removal from the surface of the product on the drying belt, using a simplified and less expensive air handling system, and improving the quality of the dried product with more consistent drying characteristics. The components of the drying system described herein allow for a uniform supply of conditioned air across the width of the drying belt and the formation of a low profile channel near the product surface evaporation zone with a constant air flow that creates a slightly sub-atmospheric environment by the exhaust fan, thus, these factors together make the drying system more efficient and better performing.

According to one embodiment, an apparatus comprises: a drying belt configured to receive a product to be dried on a first surface of the drying belt; and a thermal medium in contact with the second surface of the drying belt. The thermal medium is configured to heat a product and is maintained at a predetermined temperature. The apparatus also includes a manifold located above the drying belt, wherein the manifold includes one or more slots that inject conditioned air along the entire width of the drying belt, the conditioned air being directed through the drying chamber toward an exhaust manifold where the product is applied to the belt. By this process, water evaporated from the product is removed, resulting in the formation of dry crystals. According to one embodiment, the conditioned air is air having a predetermined humidity and temperature. The humidity and temperature of the conditioned air may be specific to the type of product to be dried. According to another embodiment, the air injected into the dryer is ambient air taken from outside the room or building in which the dryer is installed.

In the following description, for purposes of explanation only, specific nomenclature is set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the present disclosure. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that these specific details are not required in order to practice the teachings of the present disclosure.

According to one embodiment, the present drying system dries a liquid or slurry-like product placed on a continuous drying belt by appropriately directing conditioned air over the entire surface of the product. The liquid or slurry may be from a plant (e.g., strawberry puree, carrot puree, etc.). The present drying system includes a series of air distribution manifolds for directing conditioned air and equipment for improved product feed and removal. In one embodiment, the low pressure air is distributed through an adjustable slot or air knife to effectively distribute the air across the width of the drying belt. In another embodiment, the present drying system has low profile side panels that enable the air flow transport to be maintained near the drying belt by taking advantage of the heat gained from the evaporation of moisture from the product on the belt, requiring less air than previous designs.

Fig. 1 illustrates a cross-sectional view of an exemplary dryer 100 according to one embodiment, the exemplary dryer 100 using an air supply manifold 120 that extends across the width of the drying belt 110. The dryer 100 includes: a cover 101 providing a cover and a head space for the dryer 100 above the drying belt 110; an air supply manifold 120 that introduces conditioned air 102 into the dryer 100; and an air outlet exhaust manifold 130. The drying belt 110 floats above the heating medium flowing in the tank 150. Tank 150 may include a pump to recirculate the heating medium between the heating tank and tank 150. The heating medium may comprise hot water or other forms of heat transfer fluids known in the art. The temperature of the hot water or other heat transfer fluid in the heating medium is maintained at a predetermined temperature. Dryer 100 includes a single tank 150, but multiple tanks may be used, each having its own air supply manifold 120 and exhaust manifold 130. In an alternative embodiment, multiple slots share a single air supply manifold 120 and exhaust manifold 130. According to one embodiment, dryer 100 may be one chamber of a multi-chamber dryer. In a multi-chamber dryer system, a single drying belt 110 spans all of the drying chambers, effectively doubling, etc., the length of the drying belt 110. The drying belt 110 is guided by rollers (not shown) that move the drying belt 110 in a continuous cycle from one end of the dryer 100 to the other.

According to one embodiment, the liquid or slurry product is applied to the drying belt 110. A conditioned air supply manifold 120 extending across the width of the drying belt 110 introduces conditioned air 102 at the discharge end of the belt 111, where the dried product is removed from the dryer 100. The exhaust manifold 130 is located at the opposite end 112 of the drying belt 110, near the feed liquid application tray 140, and the humid air is removed through the dryer exhaust manifold 130 extending across the width of the drying belt 110. In one embodiment, the liquid or slurry product is dried as the wet air is removed through the dryer exhaust manifold 130 at the beginning end 112 of the belt 111. Conditioned air supply manifold 120 at discharge end 111 of belt 110 provides conditioned air 102. According to one embodiment, the temperature of the conditioned air 102 increases by about 15 degrees due to the heat emitted as the heated liquid evaporates upon reaching the discharge end 111 of the belt 110, which increases the capacity of the air to absorb moisture. This can reduce the airflow requirements by as much as 10 times, to approximately 200-500 CFM. The dried material 190 is removed at the discharge end 111 of the belt 110.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary dryer air supply manifold 240 that distributes conditioned air according to one embodiment. According to one embodiment, the dryer air supply manifold 240 distributes the conditioned air 210 across the width of the drying belt 220 at the discharge end of the dryer. The conditioned air supply manifold has a Y-shaped design, with the top duct 201 introducing conditioned air 210 from a filtered air system 230, such as a HEPA system. Conditioned air 210 travels through lower tubes 202 and 203 and is distributed across the width of drying belt 220. According to one embodiment, downtubes 202 and 203 are connected to horizontal manifolds 204 and 205, and horizontal manifolds 204 and 205 have sanitary caps, allowing clean-in-place (CIP) cleaning, easy disassembly and reassembly. Horizontal manifolds 204 and 205 include slots 206 and 207 through which air 210 is injected into drying chamber 208. According to one embodiment, horizontal manifolds 204 and 205 may each have three openings, each opening having a narrow oval shape. According to one embodiment, each opening of slot 206 and slot 207 is approximately one-sixth of the width of dryer belt 320. In another embodiment, the horizontal manifolds 204 and 205 each have a single opening, wherein each opening is approximately half the width of the drying belt 320. According to one embodiment, the length of the horizontal manifold 204 is half the width of the drying belt 220. The horizontal manifold 204 may be about six inches in diameter. In an alternative embodiment, horizontal manifolds 204 and 205 may each include a damper (not shown) to reduce the amount of conditioned air 210 released into chamber 208 through apertures 206 and 207. The damper may also direct the air flow downward toward the drying belt 220 or toward the cover 250.

The filtered air system 230 provides conditioned air 210 to the conditioned air supply manifold 200. According to one embodiment, filtered air system 230 is an AAON unit model RN-025-3-0-EBDA, having an HVAC unit with a cooling capacity of 290MBH and a heating capacity of 328.1 MBH.

FIG. 3 illustrates a dryer exhaust manifold 300 according to one embodiment. According to one embodiment, dryer exhaust manifold 300 is located at the beginning of drying belt 320, near the feed liquid application tray. The dryer exhaust manifold 300 removes the humid air 310 across the entire length and width of the drying channel 321. The dryer exhaust manifold 300 has a rectangular opening 301, and the rectangular opening 301 sucks in the humid air 310 and pulls up the humid air 310 through a pipe 303 by using an exhaust blower 340. According to one embodiment, the width of the exhaust opening 301 is approximately the width of the drying belt 320. According to another embodiment, the exhaust manifold 300 may include a damper (not shown) to reduce the volume of humid air 310 removed from the drying chamber. The exhaust blower 340 discharges the humid air 310 into the atmosphere outside the drying chamber.

According to one embodiment, the exhaust blower 340 is an GREENHECK unit, model CUBE-300XP-50, "Belt driven blast furnace centrifugal rooftop exhaust Fan", rated at 3000CFM at SP at 3.5 inch water level, driven by a 5HP variable speed motor and frequency converter (VFD). In certain embodiments, the exhaust blower is oversized to create a negative pressure in the drying tunnel, increasing the evaporation efficiency, thereby increasing the moisture removal efficiency of the humid air 310.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary side view of a conditioned air supply manifold 400 according to one embodiment. The conditioned air supply manifold 400 has a circular body 410, and according to one embodiment, the circular body 410 has a diameter of six inches. The conditioned air supply manifold 400 also includes a supply opening 420 extending from the circular body 410. The supply opening 420 has a top 430 and a bottom 435 that are parallel to each other. According to one embodiment, top 430 and bottom 435 are approximately 5/16 inches from the center of supply opening 420, thereby forming 5/8 inches of opening 425. The top 430 and bottom 435 may extend about 2 inches from the circular body 410. The desired type of opening of the dryer air knife 400 may vary depending on the application, with a circular opening 410 being more effective for some applications, while another type of opening (e.g., a hexagonal opening) may be more effective for other applications.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary side view of a hexagonal conditioned air supply manifold 500 according to one embodiment. The conditioned air supply manifold 500 has a hexagonal body 510, and according to one embodiment, the hexagonal body 510 has a width of six inches. According to some embodiments, the hexagonal body 510 has six sides, with adjacent sides having an angle in the range of 120 ° to 132 °. The conditioned air supply manifold 500 also includes a supply opening 520 extending from the hexagonal body 510 where the two sides are proximate to each other at the supply opening 520. The supply opening 520 has a top 530 and a bottom 535 that are parallel to each other. According to one embodiment, the top 530 and bottom 535 are approximately 5/16 inches from the center of the supply opening 520, thereby forming an opening 525 of 5/8 inches. The top 530 and bottom 535 may extend about 2 inches from the hexagonal body 510.

According to one embodiment, the manifold may be made of food grade aluminum or stainless steel. In alternative embodiments, the manifold is made of a high temperature plastic, such as PVC, or a combination of PVC and metal.

Fig. 6 shows a cross-sectional view of two exemplary drying chambers 610 and 620 according to one embodiment, the drying chambers 610 and 620 being connectable through the discharge end 625 of one chamber and the opposite end 615 of the other chamber. According to some embodiments, the connection between drying chambers 610 and 620 may be provided by an adhesive, lock, sealant, cover, or other attachment mechanism. The continuous belt 630 may be directed through all of the drying chambers that are directed by rollers (not shown). These rollers move the drying belt 630 in a continuous cycle from one end of the drying chamber 610 to the other end of the drying chamber 620 and then back again. According to one embodiment, the drying belt 630 floats above the heating medium flowing in the tank 640. According to another embodiment, one tank is used per chamber, wherein the temperature of the water in each tank is controlled independently.

According to some embodiments, the tank 640 may include a single pump or one pump in each chamber. The pump of tank 640 recirculates the heated medium between the heating tank and tank 640. The heated medium may comprise heated water or other forms of heat transfer fluids known in the art. The temperature of the hot water or other heat transfer fluid within the heating medium is maintained at a predetermined temperature. Each slot may have its own conditioned air supply manifold 650 and exhaust manifold 660. For example, multiple slots share a single conditioned air supply manifold 650 and exhaust manifold 660, as shown in FIG. 6. A conditioned air supply manifold 650 and an exhaust manifold 660 are attached to the open ends of the drying chambers 610 and 620. Fig. 6 shows a conditioned air supply manifold 650 attached to the unused side of the drying chamber 610 and an exhaust manifold 660 attached to the unused side of the dryer 620. According to one embodiment, these additional drying chambers may be added or removed in order to provide an adjustable multi-chamber refractive window dryer.

The above example embodiments have been described above to illustrate that various embodiments have been disclosed for implementing a multi-chamber dryer using adjustable conditioned air flow. Various modifications and departures from the disclosed example embodiments will occur to those skilled in the art. The subject matter which is intended to fall within the scope of this disclosure is set forth in the appended claims.

The foregoing description, for purposes of explanation, used specific nomenclature to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the specific details are not required in order to practice the invention. Thus, the foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the present invention are presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical applications, they thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the claims and their equivalents, which are filed later, define the scope of the invention.