Drying System
AssigneeSaint-Gobain Placo
InventorsJean-Louis Mongrolle, Jerome Lalande, Martin Goodaire, Stephen Selby
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A drier for drying boards (32) comprises at least one conduit (34, 40) for directing airflow towards one of the faces of the board (32). The drier is configured such that at least a portion of the airflow travels across the face of the board (32) along the longitudinal axis of the drier, the longitudinal axis of the drier being the axis along which the board (32) travels as it is dried.
Claims16
A drier for drying a board, the board having two principal surfaces that are opposed to each other, the drier comprising:
- rollers for conveying the board along a longitudinal direction of the drier, the rollers further being for supporting the board in a support plane containing the longitudinal direction of the drier;
- air inflow means for directing airflow towards the principal surfaces of the board, the air inflow means comprising a lower conduit and a upper conduit, the lower and upper conduits each having a substantially rectangular cross-section and each extending transversely to the longitudinal direction of the drier, the lower conduit having a plurality of apertures for directing airflow towards an underside of the board and the upper conduit having a plurality of apertures for directing airflow towards an upper side of the board;
- wherein the combined cross-sectional area of the upper and lower conduits at their respective airflow inlets is at least 40% of the unit area of the drier, the unit area being a quadrilateral having:
- one side equal to the distance between the axis of the roller immediately preceding the lower conduit, in the direction of travel of the board, and the axis of the roller immediately following the lower conduit, in the direction of travel of the board;
- and
- another side equal to the distance between the uppermost portion of the upper conduit and the lowermost portion of the lower conduit;
- and further wherein the width of the lower conduit in the longitudinal direction of the drier is less than the width of the upper conduit in the longitudinal direction of the drier.
A drier for drying a board, the board having two principal surfaces that are opposed to each other, the drier comprising:
- conveying means for conveying the board along a longitudinal direction of the drier, the conveying means further being for supporting the board in a support plane containing the longitudinal direction of the drier;
- air inflow means for directing airflow towards at least one of the principal surfaces of the board;
- and
- airflow control means comprising a panel that is aligned with the longitudinal direction of the drier and intersects the support plane, the panel being for enhancing airflow in the longitudinal direction of the drier.
A drier for drying a board, the board having two principal surfaces that are opposed to each other, the drier comprising:
- conveying means for conveying the board along a longitudinal direction of the drier, the conveying means further being for supporting the board in a support plane containing the longitudinal direction of the drier;
- and
- air inflow means for directing airflow towards at least an underside of the board, the air inflow means comprising a conduit extending transversely to the longitudinal direction of the board, the conduit comprising a plurality of apertures for directing airflow towards the underside of the board;
- wherein at least 90% of the apertures are distributed within two bands extending along the length of the conduit, the bands being provided in the lateral portions of the conduit and being separated by a central strip comprising at least 55% of the width of the conduit, and further wherein a plurality of apertures is located within each band.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.