Patent ID: 7849608

Claim:
An apparatus for drying leaf products substantially comprised of a product supply or loading section, of a product centrifugation and drying section and of a dried product discharging section, operatively serially provided each other, wherein the loading section comprises a conveyor belt for continuously supplying an entering product of individual moist leaves, operated by a motor and a hopper, normally closed at the bottom for collecting the product supplied by the conveyor belt and then discharging the collected product on the drying section, the centrifugation and drying section, downward the collection hopper of the supply section comprises a continuous conveyor with two parallel chains on which a plurality of centrifugation baskets is mounted, each one rotating about its own axis, said transport chains being provided along a closed loop path defining an onward run and a return run, said transport chains being moved by toothed wheels actuated by a motor, as well as by means for conferring to said centrifugation baskets a fast rotary motion about their own axis such that there is more than one basket centrifuging individual leaves at the same time, the discharge section, receiving the dried product of individual leaves from the centrifugation section, and transferring the same at the exit, comprises an elevator conveyor belt operated by a motor.