Patent Publication Number: US-8533973-B2

Title: Contact flash dryer and method of contact flash drying

Description:
This application is a U.S. patent application that relies for priority under 35 U.S.C. 120 on Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/119,251 filed on Dec. 2, 2008, which is incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     The disclosure relates to electrical battery plate manufacturing. More specifically, the disclosure relates to manufacturing equipment and methodologies for the drying of lead oxide paste or the like to grids that then form battery plates inside an electrical battery. 
     Conventional battery plate manufacturing involves the application of lead oxide paste to a lead grid or matrix strip (e.g., a continuous cast strip or an expanded metal strip) prior to division of the pasted strip into individual grids or matrices that define the resulting battery plates and support the disposed lead oxide paste. Following the paste application, the applied paste of the pasted strip must be dried, i.e., “flash drying,” to some extent sufficient to allow dividing and/or transport to a divider that divides or separates portions of the pasted strip into individual grids or further divides pasted panels into smaller grids of a desirable dimension for subsequent stacking, further drying and curing. Pasted plate strips require this initial flash drying operation to remove excess moisture and are followed by an extensive curing process. The curing process, which may comprise oven drying at high humidity, steam treatment or both, is required to reduce the free lead content and to provide strength and handleability to the plates for further processing. 
     Conventional flash drying equipment and techniques utilize a drying oven with Infra-Red (IR) heaters, direct-fired burners, or electric duct heaters as well as mechanisms for circulating air within the oven to heat the pasted strip to remove moisture therefrom. Accordingly, such flash drying equipment includes conveyer belts or chains in a configuration that moves the pasted strip through the length of the flash drying oven. Thus, as the pasted strip is heated by increasing the ambient temperature within the flash drying oven, the moisture is removed to some extent as steam and fumes, which are evacuated from the flash drying oven using conventional ventilation techniques. 
     Because of the conveyor belt configuration that is used to move the pasted strip and because of the amount of heat and length of time that the pasted strip must be exposed to circulated to enable subsequent handling and division, conventional flash drying ovens are large pieces of equipment and often have a length including the inlet and outlet conveyors measuring approximately 24 linear feet (7.3 linear meters), which is significant. Although the size of such conventional flash dryers may be reduced, such a reduction must be accompanied by a reduction in the processing speed of manufacture pasted strip because of the amount of ambient heat that must be applied to the pasted strip. 
     Accordingly, an illustrated embodiment provided in this disclosure provides an apparatus and method for use in a battery plate fabrication system for contact flash drying lead oxide paste to a battery plate grid strip using a plurality of heated, driven rollers that contact, move and heat a pasted strip through line contact with each roller, wherein each roller is temperature controlled with feedback via a temperature sensor. 
     Additional features will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of drawings exemplifying the best mode as presently perceived. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The description particularly refers to the accompanying figures in which: 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a side perspective view of a plurality of heated rollers used in an illustrated embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  is a functional block diagram illustrating a method of manufacturing electrical battery plates in accordance with an illustrated embodiment. 
         FIG. 3  illustrates a side perspective view of a plurality of heated rollers used in an illustrated embodiment. 
         FIG. 4  illustrates a top view of a contact flash dryer designed in accordance with an illustrated embodiment showing particular detail of the inlet and outlet guide roll layout. 
         FIG. 5  illustrates an end view of a contact flash dryer designed in accordance with an illustrated embodiment showing particular detail regarding an inlet guide roll layout being representative of the layout of both the dryer inlet end and the dryer outlet end. 
         FIG. 6  illustrates a side view of a guide roll with adjustable hubs used in an illustrated embodiment. 
         FIG. 7  illustrates an end view of the guide roll illustrated in  FIG. 6  and including a slotted bracket for vertical adjustment of the guide roll. 
         FIG. 8  illustrates a side cross section view of the contact flash dryer of  FIG. 3  showing particular detail regarding plate thickness stop shims used in accordance with an illustrated embodiment. 
         FIG. 9  illustrates an end view of the contact flash dryer of  FIGS. 3 and 8  showing particular detail regarding plate thickness stop shims used in accordance with an illustrated embodiment. 
         FIG. 10  illustrates a side cross section view of a top plurality of heated rollers as used in the contact flash dryer of  FIG. 3  and showing particular detail regarding top scraper dust collection components used in accordance with an illustrated embodiment. 
         FIG. 11  illustrates a top view of the contact flash dryer of  FIGS. 3 and 10  showing particular detail regarding top scraper dust collection components used in accordance with an illustrated embodiment. 
         FIG. 12  illustrates an end view of the contact flash dryer of FIGS.  3  and  9 - 10  showing particular detail regarding top scraper dust collection components used in accordance with an illustrated embodiment. 
         FIG. 13  illustrates a side cross section view of a bottom plurality of heated rollers as used in the contact flash dryer of  FIG. 3  and showing particular detail regarding bottom scraper dust collection components used in accordance with an illustrated embodiment. 
         FIG. 14  illustrates an end view of the contact flash dryer of  FIGS. 3 and 13  showing particular detail regarding bottom scraper dust collection components used in accordance with an illustrated embodiment. 
         FIG. 15  illustrates a second end view of the contact flash dryer of FIGS.  3  and  13 - 14  showing particular detail regarding bottom scraper dust collection components used in accordance with an illustrated embodiment. 
         FIG. 16  illustrates a top view of the contact flash dryer of FIGS.  3  and  13 - 15  showing particular detail regarding bottom scraper dust collection components used in accordance with an illustrated embodiment. 
         FIG. 17  illustrates a side cross section of one example of a heater roller that may be utilized in a contact flash dryer designed in accordance with an illustrated embodiment. 
         FIG. 18  illustrates a first end view of the heater roller illustrated in  FIG. 17 . 
         FIG. 19  illustrates a second end view of the heater roller illustrated in  FIG. 17 . 
         FIG. 20  illustrates an example of a control panel configuration configured to control operation of a contact flash dryer designed in accordance with an illustrated embodiment. 
         FIG. 21  illustrates an example of a setup screen provided as part of a Graphical User Interface (GUI) used to control operation of a contact flash dryer designed in accordance with an illustrated embodiment. 
         FIG. 22  illustrates an example of a main controller screen provided as part of a GUI used to control operation of a contact flash dryer designed in accordance with an illustrated embodiment. 
         FIG. 23  illustrates an example of an optional temperature control screen that may be provided as part of a GUI used to control operation of a contact flash dryer designed in accordance with an illustrated embodiment. 
         FIG. 24  illustrates an example of a chain and sprocket drive system that may be used to drive the rollers of the contact flash dryer by a single reducer motor in accordance with an illustrated embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     While the present disclosure may be susceptible to embodiment in different forms, there is shown in the drawings, and herein will be described in detail, embodiments with the understanding that the present description is to be considered an exemplification of the principles of the disclosure and is not intended to limit the disclosure to the details of construction and the arrangements of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. 
     As explained above, conventional “conveyer-type” flash dryers may use a conveyer belt to convey a battery plate grid strip through the dryer wherein the pasted strip is exposed to heated, circulating air so as to induce evaporation of the moisture in the paste provided on the strip. 
     Thus, conventional flash drying ovens use a combination of heat and air circulation to flash dry a pasted strip prior to the strip being divided into individual battery grids. However, such flash drying ovens are extremely large and take up a considerable about of floor space. Moreover, because the pasted strip is carried along a conveyer belt, there is less heat applied to a bottom side of the pasted strip because of the heat insulation provided by the conveyer belt. 
     Accordingly, illustrated embodiments described herein provide an apparatus and method for use in a battery plate fabrication system for contact flash drying pasted strips. In an illustrated embodiment, a contact flash dryer is provided that takes up considerably less floor space than conventional flash dryers, while providing a quality product to a next process, e.g., dividing into individual battery grids. For example, a contact flash dryer (as illustrated in  FIGS. 3-16 ) may be approximately 4 feet (1.2 meters) long and 3.5 feet (1.0 meter) wide resulting in a foot print of 14 square feet (1.2 square meters) on a manufacturing floor. Such dimensions are significantly smaller than conventional flash dryers that are approximately 24 feet (7.3 meters) long and 4.5 feet (1.3 meters) wide, which results in a foot print of 108 square feet (9.5 meters) on a manufacturing floor. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , the contact flash dryer  104  may include a plurality of heated rollers  114  (more specifically, an upper plurality of rollers  114 A and a lower plurality of rollers  114 B as illustrated, for example, in  FIG. 5 ) that cooperate to apply pressure and heat to a pasted strip  112  passing between the rollers  114  in accordance with an illustrated embodiment. Each of the rollers  114  may be designed for efficient heat transfer to the pasted strips  112 . Accordingly, the rollers  114  are heated sufficiently so that each roller temperature may be maintained between approximately 250° Fahrenheit (121° Celsius) and 425° Fahrenheit (218° Celsius). In this regard, it should be appreciated that rollers  114  provided closest to an inlet end of the dryer  104  may be maintained at a lower temperature than rollers  114  provided closer to an outlet end of the dryer  104 ; such a configuration may be provided if, for example, it is determined that initially exposing a pasted strip  112  to a higher temperature may have adverse affects on the structure or integrity of the strip  112 . 
     In the illustrated embodiment, all of the rollers  114  are driven to ensure that the pasted strip is processed at a uniform speed and the pasted strip  112  is not subject to forces from rollers moving at differing speeds that might result in tearing of the pasted strip  112 . 
       FIG. 2  is a functional block diagram illustrating a method of manufacturing electrical battery plates in accordance with an illustrated embodiment. As is conventionally known, a strip including battery plate grids at point A is fed through pasting equipment  102  on a conveyer belt while paste (and optionally backing paper) is applied so as to provide a pasted strip ( 112  illustrated in  FIG. 1 ). Following application of the paste to the strip, at point B, the pasted strip has a moisture content of approximately 10-13%; however, the paste on the strip must have a much lower moisture content to enable the pasted strip to be divided into pasted battery plates by divider equipment (e.g., divider  106 ). 
     Therefore, the pasted strip is fed through the contact flash dryer  104 , which, as explained in connection with  FIG. 1 , includes the plurality of heated rollers  114  that contact the pasted strip  112  for the purpose of drying the paste as well as the purpose of moving the pasted strip  112 . As a result of the heat and pressure applied to the pasted strip  112  by the contact flash dryer  104 , the contact flash dryer  104  removes approximately 2-3.5% of moisture from the pasted strip  112 . Accordingly, at point C, the pasted strip  112  may have a moisture content of approximately 7-8%, which may be sufficiently low to be ready to be divided into pasted battery plates by conventionally known divider equipment  106 . 
     Subsequent to the pasted strip being divided into battery plates or grids by the divider equipment  106 , the moisture content at point D remains approximately 7-8%; however, such moisture content is sufficiently low to ensure that the battery plates or grids resulting from division of the pasted strip  112  may be stacked using conventionally known automated stacking equipment  108 . As a result, stacks of the resulting battery plates at point E still have a moisture content of approximately 7-8%, which is unacceptably high for battery plate manufacturing. Thus, the stacked battery plates may be transported to curing and drying equipment  110 , which processes the battery plates to remove free lead in the paste and reduce the moisture content to approximately 0.5% at point F. Thus, the contact flash dryer  104  of the illustrated embodiment is capable of removing between 2% and 3.5% of moisture from the plates/strip. This allows the material to be handled and stacked before going to the next process, e.g., curing and drying. 
       FIG. 3  illustrates a side perspective view of a plurality of the driven, heated rollers  114  used in the contact flash dryer  104  in the illustrated embodiment. As shown in  FIG. 3 , the contact flash dryer  104  processes the pasted strips  112  as the pasted strip  112  is fed through the flash dryer  104  so as to be contacted, heated and moved by the plurality of rollers  114 . Accordingly, as explained in connection with  FIG. 10  herein, the upper rollers  114 A all travel in a counter clock wise direction so as to cooperate to move the pasted strip  112  through the contact flash dryer  104 ; likewise, lower rollers  114 B illustrated in  FIG. 5  travel in a clockwise direction. 
     The rollers  114  of the contact flash dryer may be driven with a motor (an example of which being illustrated as  115  in  FIG. 24 ), for example, a reducer motor powered through a drive system (e.g., drive system  113  illustrated in  FIG. 24 ) that  may be a torque drive or a standard drive. When implemented as a torque drive, the drive may be controlled by the torque experienced by the pasted strip  112  (as explained with reference to  FIGS. 20-23 ) so as to enable movement of the pasted strip  112  while preventing tearing of the pasted strip  112 . Alternatively, the drive may be a standard drive or a drive that enables both torque drive mode and standard drive mode; a standard drive may be less expensive to implement. Such an implementation may have particular utility in providing precise control over the speed of the heated rollers  114  so as to accurately match the speed of a conveyer belt used to convey the pasted strip  112  in the pasting equipment  102  preceding the dryer  104 . Thus, in at least one implementation of the manufacturing process illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the speed at which the pasted strip is moved by the contact of the rollers  114  may be controlled to match the speed of a corresponding conveyer belt on the pasting equipment, e.g., 170 feet/minute (51.9 meters/minute)-200 feet/minute (60.9 meters/minute). 
     As the pasted strip  112  is contacted by each of the rollers  114 , heat is transferred from the heated rollers  114  to the pasted strip  112  and moisture is removed from the paste so as to effect drying of the paste on the battery grid strip  112 . Because the contact flash dryer  104  does not include a conveyer belt, the contact flash dryer  104  includes both an inlet guide roller  116  and an outlet guide roller  118 . These guide rollers  116 ,  118  serve to keep the pasted strip material  112  centered as the pasted strip  112  is contacted by the heated rollers  114  and travels through the contact flash dryer  104 . Accordingly, the guide roller  116  includes adjustable hubs  126  as explained in more detail in connection with  FIG. 6 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , and as explained in more detail with reference to dryer components for dust collection described herein, the flash dryer  104  includes a dust deflection guard  111  which is positioned and structured to promote paste dust and particles only in designated parts of the contact flash dryer. As should be appreciated from  FIG. 3 , the heated rollers  114  may be grouped into two groups corresponding to an upper roller carriage including a first upper side wall  101 A and a corresponding second upper side wall  103 A (see  FIGS. 4 and 5 ) and a lower roller carriage including a first lower side wall  101 B and corresponding second lower side wall  103 B (see  FIG. 5 ). Thus, the first upper side wall  101 A and the first lower side wall  103 A are part of or are affixed to a first side wall  101  of the contact flash dryer  104 . Likewise, the second upper side wall  103 A and the second lower side wall  103 B are part of or are affixed to a second side wall  103 . 
       FIG. 4  illustrates a top view of the contact flash dryer  104  and shows both the plurality of upper heated rollers  114 A as well as both the inlet guide roller  116  and outlet guide roller  118 . The rollers are driven via a chain and sprocket drive system  113 , an example of which being illustrated in  FIG. 24 . As shown in  FIG. 24 , all of the heated rollers  114  may be driven by a single reducer motor  115 . The heating of each of the heated rollers  114 A and control thereof is affected through a rotary coupler unit  124 A that provides both electrical and data signal connection for the contact flash dryer  104  as well as maintaining that ability of the roller  114 A to rotate. Such rotary couplers  124 A may be implemented using, for example, a mercury wetted coupling. Each roller  114 A is coupled to the upper carriage using a floating bearing structure  107 A that enables compensation for expansion of the corresponding heated roller  114  as it expands as a result of heating. 
       FIG. 5  illustrates an inlet end view of the contact flash dryer  104 . As shown in  FIG. 5 , the inlet guide roll  116  is positioned to be centered along the same median line as both the plurality of upper heated rollers  114 A and the plurality of lower heated rollers  114 B. Each roller in each group of rollers  114 A,  114 B (collectively referred to as rollers  114 ) is driven using a corresponding drive unit  109 A,  109 B; likewise, the heating of each roller  114 A,  114 B is effected and controlled through a corresponding rotary coupler unit  124 A,  124 B, respectively. As shown in  FIG. 5 , each roller  114  ( 114 A,  114 B) interacts with the corresponding floating bearing configuration  107 A,  107 B. 
     Although  FIG. 5  illustrates the inlet end of the dryer  104 , the structure of the outlet end of the dryer  104  is identical to that illustrated except for the replacement of the outlet guide roller  118  for the inlet guide roller  116 . As can be seen in  FIG. 5 , the upper carriage ( 101 A,  103 A) and the lower carriage ( 101 B,  103 B) include or are affixed to the side walls of the dryer  104 . 
     As  FIG. 5  illustrates the inlet end view of the dryer  104 , the figure shows two of the four stop shim assemblies  138 A,  138 B included in the dryer  104 . The stop shim assemblies  138 A,  138 B correspond to the inlet end of the dryer  104 , while corresponding stop shim assemblies  140 A,  140 B (as illustrated in  FIG. 8 ) are located at the outlet end of the dryer  104 . Each of the stop shim assemblies are located at a corner of the dryer  104  between the upper and lower carriages ( 101 A,  103 A) and ( 101 B,  103 B) respectively. Details of the stop shim assemblies are explained in more detail in connection with  FIG. 8 . 
       FIG. 6  illustrates the inlet guide roller  116  and its constituent parts. Although  FIG. 6  illustrates guide roller  116 , it should be understood that the inlet guide roller  116  and outlet guide roller  118  are identical in configuration and differ only in their locations within the contact flash dryer  104 . The adjustable hubs  126  are provided to guide the pasted strip material as it travels through the contact flash dryer  104 . The adjustable hubs  126  have particular utility for the dryer  104  because the dryer  104  does not include a conveyer belt for carrying the pasted strip. The locations of these hubs  126  along the guide roller  116  are adjustable along the length of the guide roller  116  to compensate for pasted strips of differing widths. 
     As shown in  FIG. 7 , the vertical position of each of the guide rollers  116 ,  118  may be adjusted by altering the positioning of a roller axis collar  130  of the guide roller by altering the vertical positioning of the bracket  131 , which includes the roller axis collar  130 . This adjustment may be performed by adjusting the positioning of the slotted bracket apertures  132  of the each of the respective brackets  131 , which is affixed to a corresponding side wall (e.g.,  101 A-B,  103 A-B, as illustrated in the remaining figures) of the contact flash dryer  104  via screws. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 8 , stop shim assembly  138 A (representative of the structure of each of the stop shim assemblies  138 A-B,  140 A-B) includes a stop shim  120 A, a leveling bolt  134 A, nut  136 A and leveling bolt lock nut  137 A. By manipulating the constituent components of the stop shim assembly  138 A, the vertical distance between the pluralities of rollers, i.e., between the rollers  114 A and the rollers  114 B can be adjusted. The stop shim  120 A may set in a hole in the lower carriage sidewall  101 B. 
     The upper roller carriage  101 A,  103 A is kept aligned with the lower roller carriage  101 B, 103 B using the four stop shim assemblies  138 A-B,  140 A-B, which each include vertical alignment shafts and bearings. The lower carriage  101 A,  103 A is raised and lowered by an air cylinder (not shown). Thus, the upper roller carriage  101 A,  103 A sets on top of the stops shims  120 A inserted into the bottom carriage  101 B,  103 B that are sized for the pasted plate/strip thickness specification. These stop shims  120 A are easily changed when running different thickness material. This is because materials processed by the dryer  104  may differ in thickness depending on the specifications of the battery plates to be manufactured; thus, materials processed by the dryer  104  may range in thickness from, for example, 0.036 inches to 0.113 inches (0.91 centimeters to 0.29 centimeters). 
     To change the stop shim  120 A, the lower carriage ( 101 B,  103 B) is lowered, e.g., by approximately 0.5 inches (1.25 centimeters) and a stop shim  120 A of a particular height is replaced with a stop shim  1120 A of a differing height; subsequently the lower carriage ( 101 B,  103 B) is repositioned. The replacement of the stop shim  120 A in each of the stop shim assemblies  138 A-B,  140 A-B may be performed simultaneously or in a serial manner. 
     As mentioned above, the stop shim assemblies  138 A-B,  140 A-B are identical and differ only by location. Thus, as illustrated in  FIGS. 8 and 9  stop shim assemblies  138 A,  138 B correspond to the inlet end of the dryer  104  while stop shim assemblies  140 A,  140 B correspond to the outlet end of the dryer  104 . Accordingly, stop shim assemblies  138 A,  140 A are on one side of the dryer  104 , while stop shim assemblies  138 B,  140 B are on the other side of the dryer  104 . 
     As a result of the heat and pressure applied by the heated rollers  114  ( 114 A,  114 B) on a pasted strip  112 , partially dried paste (i.e., lead oxide) carried on the pasted strip  112  may adhere to the heated rollers  114  ( 114 A,  114 B). However, for proper operation of the dryer  104 , that residual past is scraped off of the heated rollers  114  by scraper blades each associated with one of the plurality of rollers. Therefore, as illustrated in  FIG. 10 , the upper plurality of heated rollers  114 A each have a corresponding scraper blade  142  positioned in relationship to the surface of the corresponding heated roller  114 A to scrape off residual paste. Such scraper blades  142  may be implemented as plates, grates or the like acting as stops forcing some or all of paste carried by a heated roller  114 ( 114 A,  114 B) to be separated there from. Thus, the scraper blades  142  may be provided to help remove at least a portion of the dust and dried paste (i.e., lead oxide) that builds up on the heated rollers  114 ( 114 A,  114 B). 
     The scraper blade  142  is held in position by a scraper blade assembly  144 , explained in more detail with reference to  FIGS. 11-12 . By operation of the scraper blades  142 , paste dust and particles are generated and are evacuated from the interior of the dryer  104  using exhaust tubes  146 , which each correspond to a particular heated roller  114 A of the upper carriage  101 A,  103 A. This ventilation also removes the steam that is created when the pasted strips  112  contact the heated rollers  114  ( 114 A,  114 B). Thus, the ventilation reduces the lead oxide particulate content in and around the dryer  104 . Corresponding components for the lower plurality of heated rollers  114 B are explained with reference to  FIGS. 13-16 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 10 , the heated rollers  114 A on the upper carriage  101 A,  103 A rotate in a counter clockwise direction to contact the pasted strip  112  and move the strip  112  through the dryer  104  in a processing direction (left to right illustrated in  FIG. 10 ). Likewise, although not illustrated in  FIG. 10 , the heated rollers  114 A on the lower carriage  101 B,  103 B rotate in a clockwise direction to contact the pasted strip  112  and move the strip  112  through the dryer  104  in the processing direction. 
       FIG. 11  illustrates a top view of the contact flash dryer  104  illustrated in  FIG. 10  showing particular detail regarding the upper roller scraper components including the scraper blade  142 , the scraper blade assembly  144  and ventilation components provided to remove the paste dust and particulates. As shown in  FIG. 11 , the scraper blade assembly  144  includes a plurality of bolts  144 A,  144 C. Bolt  144 A is provided to affix the assembly  144  (as a whole) to the roller carriage (here the upper roller carriage  101 A,  103 A). The bolts  144 C are provided to affix the scraper blade  144  to a corresponding scraper blade mount  144 B.  FIG. 12  illustrates an end view of the contact flash dryer components illustrated in  FIG. 11 . As may be seen in  FIG. 12 , the scraper blade  142  is coupled to the scraper blade mount  144 B via the bolts  144 C. 
     Also illustrated in  FIG. 11 , the roller-specific exhaust tubes  146  are each coupled to an exhaust manifold  148  that spans the entire length of the dryer  104  between the inlet and outlet ends. Each roller-specific exhaust tube  146  is coupled to the exhaust manifold by a coupler  147 . As shown in  FIG. 12 , the roller-specific exhaust tubes  146  run the entire length of the scraper blade  142 . 
     As mentioned above, both the upper and lower pluralities of heated rollers  114 A,  114 B each have associated scraper blades. As shown in  FIG. 13 , the scraper blades  150  (which are identical to the scraper blades  142 ) are each held in position with respect to their corresponding rollers  114 B by a scraper blade assembly  154 , which is identical to the scraper blade assembly  144  explained above in detail with reference to  FIGS. 11-12 . Thus, by operation of the scraper blades  150 , paste dust and particles are generated and are to be evacuated from the interior of the dryer  104 . Accordingly, exhaust ducts  152  are provided below the rollers  114 B and are coupled to a ventilation mechanism (not shown), e.g., fans, blowers, vacuums, etc., to remove dust and paste particulates created when the pasted strips  112  contact the heated rollers  114 B. This ventilation reduces the lead oxide particulate content in and around the dryer  104 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 13 , dust and particulates are directed to waste bins  156  via operation of the exhaust ducts  152  and the physical configuration of the interior of the dryer  104 ; more specifically, the upper center deflector  143  and other illustrated sloping members ensure that dust and particulate matter settles by gravity in proximity to the waste bins  156  (see also angled guide member  153  illustrated in  FIG. 14 ). 
     These waste bins  156  serve to collect the generated lead oxide particulate and may be provided on rollers  158  to facilitate removal of the bins  156  from the dryer  104  so that the bins  156  may be emptied as necessary. Thus, as illustrated in  FIGS. 14-15 , the waste bins  156  may each span the entire width of the dryer  104  between the sidewalls ( 101 A-B,  103 A-B). Likewise, as illustrated in  FIG. 16 , handles  161 ,  163  may be provided on one side of each waste bin  156  (not visible in  FIG. 16  but shown in  FIGS. 14-15 ) to enable movement of the waste bin  156  into and out of a corresponding cavity in the dryer  104 . 
     Although the particular heated roller design utilized in the contact flash dryer  104  of the illustrated embodiments is not central to the utility of the contact flash dryer,  FIGS. 17-19  illustrate various views of one example of a heated roller suitable for use in the disclosed contact flash dryer  104 . Such a heated roller may be purchased from one of various roller companies, for example, the American Roller Company of Union Grove, Wis. Such rollers  114  may have a diameter of approximately 8 inches (20.3 centimeters), 250 pounds (113.4 kilograms) and have a maximum operating temperature of approximately 450° Fahrenheit (232.2° Celsius). 
       FIG. 17  illustrates a side cross section of the heater roller  114  ( 114 A,  114 B) that may be utilized in the contact flash dryer  104  designed in accordance with an illustrated embodiment. As shown in  FIG. 17 , a heater roller  114  ( 114 A,  114 B) may include a core  160 , end cap  162  and temperature sensor assembly  164 . The core  160  may be comprised of an appropriate metal that may be heated to necessary temperatures for the contact flash dryer application described herein. The end cap  162  may be provided at the end of the core  160  and may serve to contain the electrical couplings and other conventionally known components that enable the heated roller to function as described herein. For example, because each roller  114  ( 114 A,  114 B) may be heated by heaters  165  and controlled to maintain a temperature on an individual basis, each roller  114  ( 114 A,  114 B) has its own temperature sensor assembly  164 ; this temperature sensor assembly  164  detects the temperature on the surface of the respective heated roller  114  ( 114 A,  114 B) and outputs a signal indicating that temperature for use by a control system for the dryer  104 , in a feedback loop configuration, as explained in further detail in connection herein with reference to  FIGS. 20-24 . 
     Accordingly, the temperature sensor assembly  164  may include or be implemented, for example, as a thermocouple. Such a thermocouple may be, for example, a ring thermocouple that is removable from a respective heater roller  114  ( 114 A,  114 B) along with other conventionally known heated roller components including, heater cartridges, mercury welded couplers, etc. included in the heater roller. Thus, the heaters  165  in each roller  114  ( 114 A,  114 B) may be controlled via, for example, Silicon Controlled Rectifier (SCR) power controllers (not shown) that modulate the output to the heaters  165  for accurate control over the temperature of the roller  114  ( 114 A,  114 B). Use of such SCR controllers may be superior to the use of binary contactor controllers, which may simply provide power to the heaters  165  in a binary manner (i.e., full on, full off); thus, in using SCR power controllers, the operation of the heaters  165  in each roller  114  ( 114 A,  114 B) are more precisely controlled. 
     As shown in  FIG. 17 , one end of the roller  114  ( 114 A,  114 B) interacts with a corresponding rotary coupler unit  124  described above.  FIGS. 18 and 19  show respective ends of the roller illustrated in  FIG. 17 . 
       FIG. 20  illustrates an example of a control panel  168  configured to control operation of the contact flash dryer  104  designed in accordance with an illustrated embodiment. Control of the contact flash dryer  104  may be performed using, for example, a programmable automation controller (not shown) that transmits control signals to the various rollers  114  ( 114 A,  114 B) to control movement and heating of the rollers  114  ( 114 A,  114 B). Control instructions for programming such a programmable automation controller may be input to the control panel  168  with a Touch-screen Human Machine Interface (HMI) implemented in part using a Graphical User Interface (GUI)  182 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 20 , the control panel  168  may include a plurality of buttons and switches configured to control overall operation of one or more components of the contact flash dryer  104 . Thus, as shown in  FIG. 20 , the control panel  168  may include a start button  170 , which, when pressed, initiates start up of the dryer  104 . Likewise, the control panel  168  may include a stop button  172 , which when pressed, initiates shut down of the dryer  104 . Further, the control panel  168  may include an emergency stop  174 , which when pressed, immediately shuts down the dryer  104  and, in particular, operation of certain components of the dryer  104  (e.g., movement of the rollers  114  or conveyer belt  112 ) that may cause a hazard to human operators or processed materials. 
     Likewise, as shown in  FIG. 20 , the control panel  168  includes a set of switches  176 - 180  configured to control operation of the heaters (switch  176 ), the mode of operation (switch  178 ) and the rollers ( 180 ), which may be, for example, toggle switches. More specifically, a human operator may manipulate the switch  176  to turn on or off the heating elements included in the rollers  114  ( 114 A,  114 B). Likewise, a human operator may manipulate the switch  176  to switch between manual operation or automatic operation (explained herein); further a human operator may manipulate switch  178  to rotate the rollers  114  ( 114 A,  114 B) of the dryer  104  forwards or backwards (appreciating that the upper rollers move counter clockwise when moving in a forward direction while the lower rollers move clockwise when moving a forward direction). 
     The control panel  168  may also include a touch-screen HMI implemented at least in part using a GUI  182  provided via a monitor included in the panel  168 . This GUI  182  may display icons, which are configured to enable control and adjustment of various operation parameters of the dryer  104 , via a programmable automation controller used to provide automated or manual control of the dryer  104 . Thus, an automated control mode (AUTO mode) may enable the operation of the dryer  104  based on certain parameters programmed via the GUI  182  or enable operation of the dryer  104  to be controlled based on parameters set externally, for example, controlling the speed of the pasted strip  112  to match the speed of the conveyer belt of the pasting equipment  102  illustrated in  FIG. 2 . In such a situation, the rotation rate and the temperature of each of the rollers  114  ( 114 A,  114 B) would also be affected by this speed because the faster the pasted strip is generated by the pasting equipment  102 , the fast the rollers  114  ( 114 A,  114 B) must rotate and, generally speaking, the higher the temperature of the rollers  114  ( 114 A,  114 B) must be to remove moisture from the pasted strip. 
       FIG. 21  illustrates an example of a setup screen  184  provided as part of the GUI  182  used to control operation of a contact flash dryer  104  designed in accordance with an illustrated embodiment. As shown in  FIG. 21 , an operator may select the direction of the rollers in AUTO mode using icon  186 ; likewise an operator can set using the speed source screen icon  188  so that the control source for controlling the rotation rate of the rollers can be controlled from the GUI  182  through the setup screen  184  (using, for example, the auto max speed icon  190  to set the transfer speed in AUTO mode if the speed is screen controlled). Alternatively, the speed control source can be set using the icon  188  so that an external source is controlling the rotation rate of the rollers  114  ( 114 A,  114 B). For example, a signal from the paster equipment  102  (illustrated in  FIG. 2 ) indicating at what rate it is generating and outputting pasted strip for processing by the dryer  104  may be used). In such a situation, the icon  192  can be used to set the maximum signal (e.g., Volts or Milli-Amperes) in AUTO mode if the dryer processing speed (which controls the speed of the roller  114 ) is controlled from an external source. 
     A drive mode (AUTO mode versus a less automated MANUAL mode) may be selected using the drive mode icon  194 . Additionally, the setup screen  184  may be used to set and adjust the torque limit (icon  196  to increase, icon  198  to decrease the percentage value displayed in the torque limit field icon  200 ) for the torque drive of the reducer motor (e.g., motor  115  illustrated in  FIG. 24 ) driving the rotation of the rollers  114  ( 114 A,  114 B). As there are multiple screens in the GUI  184 , the setup screen  184  also may include a return icon  202 , which may be used to navigate to a previously displayed screen. 
     One such screen is a main controller screen  204 , an example of which being illustrated in  FIG. 22 . The main controller screen  204  may be used to control ongoing operation of a contact flash dryer  104  designed in accordance with an illustrated embodiment. Thus, the screen  204  provides icons that enable the setting and adjustment of the temperature set-point for each roller  114  ( 114 A,  114 B). Additionally, to the extent that the dryer  104  is in a Manual mode of operation (i.e., not being controlled to some extent by machine settings), the icon  208  may be utilized to set and adjust the manual speed of the rollers in, for example, feet per minute (or meters per minute). 
       FIG. 23  illustrates an example of an optional temperature control screen  214  that may be provided as part of a GUI  182  used to control operation of a contact flash dryer designed in accordance with an illustrated embodiment. This control screen may be utilized to set and adjust the temperature of each of the heated rollers  114  ( 114 A,  114 B). However, such a control screen may not be necessary depending on the type of SCR power controller used in each of the rollers  114  ( 114 A,  114 B); more specifically, the PID Loop settings may be set using a controller such as an Allen Bradley Control/Compact Logix controller (manufactured by Rockwell Automation Allen Bradley; in such an implementation, Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) controller loop settings may be set in the control/compact logix controller. Thus, an AUTO/MANUAL mode selection function may simply be controlled with the run selector switch  178  on the operator control panel  168 . 
     As a result of the various combination of components illustrated in  FIGS. 1-19 , in illustrated embodiments, the contact flash dryer  104  produces a pasted strip with a reduced moisture content while maintaining the utility provided by conventional conveyer-type pasting machines, e.g., relatively high production rates. Further, by utilizing the pressure of the plurality of heated rollers  114  ( 114 A,  114 B) on the pasted strip  112 , added utility may also be provided when the pasted strip  112  is sandwiched between backing paper by the pasting equipment (e.g., pasting equipment  102  illustrated in  FIG. 2 ) or other equipment provided in between the pasting equipment and the contact flash dryer  104 . When such optional backing paper is applied to the top and/or bottom of the pasted strip, the plurality of rollers  114  ( 114 A,  114 B) in the contact flash dryer  104  may not only heat the pasted strip  112  so as to dry the paste on the strip but the contact of the rollers  114  ( 114 A,  114 B) may also further press of the backing paper on the exterior of the pasted strip  112 , thereby further compressing the paste into the structure of the strip. 
     While embodiments have been illustrated and described in the drawings and foregoing description, such illustrations and descriptions are considered to be exemplary and not restrictive in character, it being understood that only illustrative embodiments have been shown and described and that all changes and modifications that come within the spirit of the disclosure are desired to be protected. 
     For example, it should be appreciated that heat radiating from the rollers  114  ( 114 A,  114 B) may be circulated through the dryer  104  to assist in the drying process. In one embodiment variation, fans and/or blowers (not shown) may be incorporated in the contact flash dryer  104  to circulate heat radiating from the rollers throughout the dryer  104  to further assist in the paste drying process. 
     Further, although illustrated embodiments have been described in connection with the disposition of lead oxide paste on battery plate grids, it should be appreciated that the disclosure embodiments may be used in connection with disposition of various materials on different types of components during manufacture of such components. Therefore, the paste dried by the contact flash dryer designed in accordance with the disclosure embodiments may be of a type other then lead oxide. Moreover, the component upon which the paste is disposed need not be a strip, in particular a continuous strip as described above. Therefore, the illustrated embodiments may be utilized for a variety of applications as understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. 
     The applicants have provided description and figures which are intended as illustrations of embodiments of the disclosure, and are not intended to be construed as containing or implying limitation of the disclosure to those embodiments. There are a plurality of advantages of the present disclosure arising from various features set forth in the description. It will be noted that alternative embodiments of the disclosure may not include all of the features described yet still benefit from at least some of the advantages of such features. Those of ordinary skill in the art may readily devise their own implementations of the disclosure and associated methods, without undue experimentation, that incorporate one or more of the features of the disclosure and fall within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure and the appended claims.