# Patent

## Title
Low profile design air tunnel system and method for providing uniform air flow in a refractance window dryer

## Abstract

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

## Background
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
The present application is a continuation of U.S. Non-Provisional application Ser. No. 16/661,830, filed on Oct. 23, 2019 and titled “Low Profile Design Air Tunnel System And Method For Providing Uniform Air Flow In A Refractance Window Dryer,” which claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/751,273, filed on Oct. 26, 2018 and titled “Low Profile Design Air Tunnel System and Method for Providing Uniform Air Flow in a Refractance Window Dryer,” the entire contents of each of which are incorporated by reference.


FIELD
The present application relates in general to the drying of a product. In particular, the present disclosure is directed to a low profile design air tunnel system and method for providing uniform air flow in a refractance window dryer.
BACKGROUND
In a traditional drying system, the product to be dried is placed on a continuous belt that floats on the surface of a body of heated water. Heat is transferred by conduction from the circulated heated water directly to the product through a belt of a polymer membrane. The heated water is maintained at a pre-determined temperature to allow optimum drying of the product.
However, the traditional drying system utilizes a large volume of ambient air to remove water vapor released during the product drying process. The uncontrolled humidity and the temperature of ambient air within the dryer leads to a wide variation in dryer performance and product quality. For example, a dryer operating in a dry climate performs differently in a humid climate. Similarly, dryer performance varies in cold and hot climates, and from season-to-season or day to night at the same location.
Furthermore, the traditional drying system increases water vapor pressure in the product by increasing the product temperature due to thermal energy conducted from the body of heated water through the drying belt. However, the traditional drying system does not reduce water vapor pressure, increase the temperature of air within the dryer, or reduce the humidity of air within the dryer, all of which can improve dryer performance.
In a traditional multi-chamber drying system, the product is dried on a continuous belt using a lateral airflow method with and without conditioned air being introduced along one side of the belt in regular intervals, having exhaust mechanisms on the opposite side, in a high and low profile design. Such a design promotes the short circuiting of air, making for inefficient use of the full moisture carrying capacity of the air that was short circuiting. Thus, the design failed to effectively distribute the air across the entire width of the belt.
Another issue with the traditional design was that the perpendicular flow across the belt did not take full advantage of the heat gained from the evaporation of the water from product on belt, consequently requiring significantly more air. The original elevated hood design of the system also resulted in air free flowing high above the belt surface, so any temperature gain was not fully utilized especially given the high CFM flowrate.
SUMMARY
A low profile design air tunnel system and method for providing uniform air flow in a refractance window dryer are disclosed. According to one embodiment, a system comprises a conditioned air supply manifold that provides air into a drying chamber. The system has a drying belt directed through the drying chamber. A feed application tray at a first end of the drying belt applies a liquid to the drying belt. The system has an exhaust manifold located at the first end of the drying belt.
The above and other preferred features, including various novel details of implementation and combination of elements, will now be more particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the claims. It will be understood that the particular methods and apparatuses 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.



BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE 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, not by way of limitation, wherein like reference numerals/labels generally refer to the same or similar elements. In different drawings, the same or similar elements may be referenced using different reference numerals/labels, however. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating aspects of the invention. In the drawings:
FIG. 1 illustrates a cross-sectional view of an exemplary dryer using an air supply manifold that extends across the width of the drying belt, according to one embodiment.
FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary dryer air supply manifold that distributes conditioned air, according to 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 present disclosure is subject 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. The present disclosure should be understood to not 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 present disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
A low profile design air tunnel system and method for providing uniform air flow in a refractance window dryer are disclosed. According to one embodiment, a system comprises a conditioned air supply manifold that provides air into a drying chamber. The system has a drying belt directed through the drying chamber. A feed application tray at a first end of the drying belt applies a liquid to the drying belt. The system has an exhaust manifold located at the 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. These are, of course, merely examples and are not intended to be limiting. In addition, 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 can be utilized separately or in conjunction with other features and teachings to provide a multi-chamber dryer using adjustable conditioned air flow with a low profile air tunnel system. Representative examples utilizing many of these additional features and teaching, both separately and in combination, are described in further detail with reference to the attached figures. 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. Therefore, combinations of features disclosed in the detailed description 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 the various embodiments.
A multi-chamber dryer using adjustable conditioned counter current air flow with a low profile air tunnel system is disclosed. The present drying system enables the delivery of airflow to remain near the belt/product surface taking full advantage of the heat gain and the increased moisture capacity of the air flowing counter current respective to the belt/product flow. The present drying system increases and improves a dryer throughput at steady state operation. The present drying system improves heat transfer by providing faster water removal from a product surface on a drying belt, uses a simplified and less expensive air handling system, and improves the quality of the dried product with more consistent drying characteristics. The components of the drying system described herein allow for the uniform supply of conditioned air across the width of the drying belt, and a low profile tunnel near the product surface evaporation area with constant air flow that creates a slight negative pressure environment with an exhaust fan, thus the components together enable a more efficient and better performing drying system.
According to one embodiment, an apparatus includes a drying belt configured to receive a product to be dried on a first surface of the drying belt, and a heat medium in contact with a second surface of the drying belt. The heat medium is configured to heat the product and is maintained at a pre-determined temperature. The apparatus further includes a manifold that is positioned above the drying belt, where the manifold includes one or more slits that inject conditioned air across the entire width of the drying belt, directed through the drying chamber towards the exhaust manifold where the product is applied to the belt. Through this process, evaporated water from the product is removed resulting in the formation of dried crystals. According to one embodiment, conditioned air is air that has a predetermined humidity and temperature. The humidity and temperature of the conditioned air may be specific to the types of products being dried. According to another embodiment, the air injected into the dryer is ambient air taken from outside the room or outside the building in which the dryer is installed.
In the description below, 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 to practice the teachings of the present disclosure.
The present drying system dries a liquid or slurry product placed on a continuous drying belt by properly directing conditioned air across the surface of the product, according to one embodiment. 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 to direct conditioned air and an apparatus to improve product feed and removal. In one embodiment, low pressure air is distributed through adjustable slots, or air knives, to effectively distribute the air across the entire width of the drying belt. In another embodiment, the present drying system has low profile side panels, enabling the delivery of airflow to remain near the drying belt, requiring less air than previous designs by taking full advantage of the heat gained from the evaporation of water from product on the drying belt.
FIG. 1 illustrates a cross-sectional view of an exemplary dryer 100 using an air supply manifold 120 that extends across the width of the drying belt 110, according to one embodiment. The dryer 100 includes a cover 101 that provides a cover and headspace above a drying belt 110 for the dryer 100, 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 a heated medium flowing in a trough 150. Trough 150 may include a pump to recirculate the heated medium between a heating tank and the trough 150. The heated medium may include heated water or other forms of heat transfer fluid known in the art. The temperature of the heated water or other heat transfer fluids within the heated medium is maintained at a pre-determined temperature. Dryer 100 includes a single trough 150, however multiple troughs may be used, with each trough having its own air supply manifold 120 and exhaust manifold 130. In alternate embodiments, multiple troughs share a single air supply manifold 120 and exhaust manifold 130. According to one embodiment, dryer 100 may be one chamber in a multi-chamber dryer. In a multi-chamber dryer system, a single drying belt 110 spans across all of the drying chambers effectively doubling, tripling, 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 loop from one end of the dryer 100 to the other.
According to one embodiment, a liquid or slurry product is applied to the drying belt 110. The conditioned air supply manifold 120, which extends 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 moist air is removed via dryer exhaust manifold 130 that extends across the width of the drying belt 110. In one embodiment, the liquid or slurry product is dried when moist air is removed by dryer exhaust manifold 130, at the beginning end 112 of the belt 111. Conditioned air supply manifold 120 at the discharge end 111 of the belt 110 provides conditioned air 102. According to one embodiment, the conditioned air 102 temperature increases approximately 15 degrees due to the heat given off by the evaporation of the heated liquid, by the time it reaches the discharge end 111 of the belt 110, which increases the capacity of moisture that the air can absorb. This can reduce the airflow requirement by as much as 10 times to approximately 200-500 CFM. 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. Dryer air supply manifold 240 distributes conditioned air 210 across the entire width of the drying belt 220 at the discharge end of the dryer, according to one embodiment. Conditioned air supply manifold has a Y-shaped design, where the top tube 201 brings in conditioned air 210 from a filtered air system 230, such as a HEPA system. The conditioned air 210 travels through lower tubes 202 and 203 and the air is distributed across the entire width of drying belt 220. According to one embodiment, lower tubes 202 and 203 connect to horizontal manifolds 204 and 205 that have sanitary caps allowing for clean-in-place (CIP) cleaning and easy disassembly and reassembly. Horizontal manifolds 204 and 205 include slits 206 and 207 through which the air 210 is injected into the drying chamber 208. Horizontal manifolds 204 and 205 may each have three openings, each opening having a narrow oval shape, according to one embodiment. According to one embodiment, each opening of slit 206 and slit 207 is approximately one sixth the width of the dryer belt 320. In another embodiment, horizontal manifolds 204 and 205 each have a single opening, where each opening is approximately one half the width of the drying belt 220. According to one embodiment, horizontal manifold 204 has a length that is half the width of drying belt 220. Horizontal manifold 204 may have a diameter of approximately six inches. In alternate embodiments, horizontal manifolds 204 and 205 may each include a damper (not shown) to reduce the volume of conditioned air 210 released into chamber 208 through slits 206 and 207. The damper may also direct the flow of air down towards the drying belt 220 or towards the cover 250.
A 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 number RN-025-3-0-EBDA, having a cooling capacity of 290 MBH, and a heating capacity of 328.1 MBH HVAC unit.
FIG. 3 illustrates a dryer exhaust manifold 300, according to one embodiment. Dryer exhaust manifold 300 is located at the beginning end of drying belt 320 near the feed liquid application tray, according to one embodiment. Dryer exhaust manifold 300 removes moist air 310 across the entire length and width of the drying tunnel 321. Dryer exhaust manifold 300 has a rectangular opening 301 that intakes moist air 310, and pulls up moist air 310 through tube 303 by using an exhaust blower 340. According to one embodiment, exhaust opening 301 has a width that is approximately the width of drying belt 320. According to another embodiment, exhaust manifold 300 may include a damper (not shown) to reduce the volume of moist air 310 removed from the drying chamber. An exhaust blower 340 discharges moist air 310 to the atmosphere outside the dryer room.
According to one embodiment, the exhaust blower 340 is a GREENHECK unit, model number CUBE-300XP-50, “Belt Drive Upblast Centrifugal Roof Exhaust Fan” rated for 3000 CFM at SP of 3.5 inches of water gauge driven by a 5 HP variable speed rated motor and variable frequency drive (VFD). In certain embodiments, the exhaust blower is oversized to create a negative pressure in drying tunnel, increasing the efficiency of evaporation, thus improving the moisture efficiency of moist air 310 removal.
FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary side view of the conditioned air supply manifold 400, according to one embodiment. Conditioned air supply manifold 400 has a circular body 410 that according to one embodiment has a six inch diameter. Conditioned air supply manifold 400 also includes a supply opening 420 that extends from the circular body 410. Supply opening 420 has a top portion 430 and a bottom portion 435 that are parallel to each other. According to one embodiment, top portion 430 and a bottom portion 435 are approximately 5/16 of an inch apart from the center of supply opening 420, creating a 5⁄8 inch opening 425. Top portion 430 and bottom portion 435 may extend approximately 2 inches from the circular body 410. The desired type of opening of dryer air knife 400 can vary by application, with circular opening 410 being more efficient for some applications and another type of opening, such as a hexagonal opening, for example, may be more efficient for other applications.
FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary side view of a hexagonal conditioned air supply manifold 500, according to one embodiment. Conditioned air supply manifold 500 has a hexagonal body 510 that according to one embodiment has a six inch width. The hexagonal body 510 has six sides with adjacent side angles ranging from 120° to 132°, according to some embodiments. Conditioned air supply manifold 500 also includes a supply opening 520 that extends from the hexagonal body 510 where two sides approach each other. Supply opening 520 has a top portion 530 and a bottom portion 535 that are parallel to each other. According to one embodiment, top portion 530 and a bottom portion 535 are approximately 5/16 of an inch from the center of supply opening 520, creating a 5⁄8 inch opening 525. Top portion 530 and bottom portion 535 may extend approximately 2 inches from the hexagonal body 510.
The manifolds described above may be made of food grade aluminum or stainless steel, according to one embodiment. In alternate embodiments, the manifolds are made of high temperature plastic such as PVC, or a combination of PVC and metal.
FIG. 6 illustrates a cross-sectional view of two exemplary drying chambers 610 and 620 connectable by way of the discharge end 625 of one chamber and the opposite end 615 of the other chamber, according to one embodiment. The connection between drying chambers 610 and 620 may be provided by adhesive, locks, sealants, covers, or other attachment mechanisms, according to some embodiments. A continuous belt 630 may be directed through all of the drying chambers guided by rollers (not shown). These rollers move drying belt 630 in a continuous loop from one end of drying chamber 610 to the opposite end of drying chamber 620 and back again. Drying belt 630 floats above a heated medium flowing in a trough 640, according to one embodiment. According to another embodiment, one trough per chamber is used where the temperature of the water in each trough is independently controlled.
Trough 640 may include a single pump or one pump per chamber, according to some embodiments. The pumps of trough 640 recirculate the heated medium between a heating tank and the trough 640. The heated medium may include heated water or other forms of heat transfer fluid known in the art. The temperature of the heated water or other heat transfer fluids within the heated medium is maintained at a pre-determined temperature. Each trough may have its own conditioned air supply manifold 650 and exhaust manifold 660. For example, multiple troughs share a single conditioned air supply manifold 650 and exhaust manifold 660 as shown in FIG. 6. Conditioned air supply manifold 650 and exhaust manifold 660 attach to the open ends of drying chambers 610 and 620. FIG. 6 shows conditioned air supply manifold 650 attaching to the unused side of drying chamber 610 and exhaust manifold 660 attaching to the unused side of dryer 620. These additional drying chambers may be added or removed in order to provide for an adjustable multi-chamber refractance window dryer, according to one embodiment.
The above example embodiments have been described herein above to illustrate various embodiments of implementing a multi-chamber dryer using adjustable conditioned air flow has been disclosed. Various modifications and departures from the disclosed example embodiments will occur to those having ordinary skill in the art. The subject matter that is intended to be within the scope of the present disclosure is set forth in the following 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 specific details are not required in order to practice the invention. Thus, the foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the 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 view of the above teachings. 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 later filed claims and their equivalents define the scope of the invention.

## Claims

1. A drying chamber, comprising:
a drying belt comprising an upper surface configured to transport a product in a first direction, wherein the drying belt floats on a heated medium maintained at a pre-determined temperature;
an air supply manifold positioned at a first end of the drying belt; and
an exhaust manifold positioned at a second end of the drying belt,
wherein air is configured to flow from the air supply manifold to the exhaust manifold above the product and in a second direction opposite to the first direction.

2. The drying chamber of claim 1, wherein the air comprises conditioned air.

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

4. The drying chamber of claim 1, wherein the flow of the air creates a negative pressure environment within the drying chamber.

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

6. The drying chamber of claim 5, wherein the filtered air system has a cooling and heating capacity.

7. The drying chamber of claim 1, wherein the air supply manifold has a circular body.

8. The drying chamber of claim 1, wherein the air supply manifold has a hexagonal body.

9. The drying chamber of claim 8, wherein the hexagonal body has sides with adjacent side angles ranging from 120 degrees to 132 degrees.

10. The drying chamber of claim 1, wherein the product is dried by the air.

11. A method, comprising:
transporting a product in a first direction on an upper surface of a drying belt in a drying chamber, wherein the drying belt floats on a heated medium maintained at a pre-determined temperature;
supplying air to the drying chamber at an air supply manifold positioned at a first end of the drying belt; and
exhausting the air from the drying chamber at an exhaust manifold positioned at a second end of the drying belt,
wherein the air flows from the air supply manifold to the exhaust manifold above the product and in a second direction opposite to the first direction.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the air flows parallel to the upper surface of the drying belt.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein supplying the air comprises heating the air.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein supplying the air comprises filtering or cooling the air.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein transporting the product comprises applying the product to the upper surface at the second end and removing the product from the upper surface at the first end.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the air flow creates a negative pressure environment within the drying chamber.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein the air flow is proximal to the upper surface of the drying belt.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein exhausting the air comprises removing the air from the upper surface of the drying belt.

19. The drying chamber of claim 1, wherein the exhaust manifold is positioned at a height above the upper surface.

20. The drying chamber of claim 1, wherein the exhaust manifold comprises an opening having a width that is approximately equal to a width of the drying belt.