Apparatus and method for use in a flue-cured barn
AssigneeBritish American Tobacco (Investments) Limited
InventorsDaniel Augusto Ritt, Jeronimo Scremin, Valdir Milak, Irving Joseph Berger, Paula Fabiane Martins, Vando Braz de Oliveira
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Abstract
The present disclosure provides a method and apparatus for use in a flue-cured barn. The apparatus comprises a combustion chamber for burning fuel; an exhaust pipe for allowing combustion gases to leave the combustion chamber; and a fan for drawing the combustion gases along the exhaust pipe away from the combustion chamber and for generating a negative pressure within the combustion chamber and exhaust pipe compared with the pressure outside the apparatus.
Claims23
Apparatus for use in a flue-cured barn comprising:
- a combustion chamber for burning fuel;
- an exhaust pipe for allowing combustion gases to leave the combustion chamber;
- a fan for drawing the combustion gases along the exhaust pipe away from the combustion chamber and for generating a negative pressure within the combustion chamber and exhaust pipe compared with the pressure outside the apparatus;
- a controllable air inlet valve for providing an air supply into the combustion chamber, said controllable air inlet valve configured to selectively vary a flow rate of the air supply into the combustion chamber;
- and
- a control system for controlling the combustion rate in the combustion chamber by adjusting (i) the fan for drawing the combustion gases along the exhaust pipe and (ii) the air supply through the controllable air inlet valve;
- wherein the control system is configured to shut the air inlet valve once the combustion chamber or a drying chamber of the flue cured barn have reached a desired temperature and to continue to operate the fan at a reduced rate.
A method of generating negative pressure in a flue-cured barn comprising:
- burning fuel in a combustion chamber;
- providing an exhaust pipe for allowing combustion gases to leave the combustion chamber;
- operating a fan to draw the combustion gases along the exhaust pipe away from the combustion chamber and to generate a negative pressure within the combustion chamber and exhaust pipe compared with the pressure outside the apparatus;
- supplying air into the combustion chamber through a controllable air inlet valve, said controllable air inlet valve configured to selectively vary a flow rate of the air supply into the combustion chamber;
- controlling the combustion rate in the combustion chamber by adjusting the fan and the air supply through the controllable air inlet valve;
- and
- shutting the air inlet valve once the combustion chamber or a drying chamber of the flue cured barn have reached a desired temperature and continuing to operate the fan at a reduced rate.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.