Apparatus and Method for Drying Hops
AssigneeVentco LLC
InventorEdward E. Caperon
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An apparatus is provided for drying hops having a gas distribution supply duct, a source of heated gas, and a blower. The gas distribution supply duct has an inlet, a manifold, and a plurality of serially distributed outlets extending from an upstream end to a downstream end of the supply duct, within any two adjacent outlets, each outlet defining a progressively increasing cross-sectional area going from the upstream end to the downstream end sized to realize a substantially equal volumetric output flow rate across all of the outlets. The source of heated gas is supplied to the inlet. The blower is configured to drive the heated gas from the inlet to the outlets. A method is also provided.
Claims20
An apparatus for drying hops, comprising:
- a gas distribution supply duct having an inlet, a manifold, and a plurality of serially distributed outlets extending from an upstream end to a downstream end of the supply duct, within any two adjacent outlets, each outlet defining a progressively increasing cross-sectional area going from the upstream end to the downstream end sized to realize a substantially equal volumetric output flow rate across all of the outlets;
- a source of heated gas supplied to the inlet;
- and
- a blower configured to drive the heated gas from the inlet to the outlets.
An air distribution assembly for drying hops, comprising:
- a gas distribution supply duct having an inlet, a manifold, and a plurality of serially distributed outlets extending from an upstream end to a downstream end of the supply duct, each outlet within a pair of outlets defining a progressively increasing cross-sectional area going from the upstream end to the downstream end sized to realize substantially equal volumetric output rate across all of the outlets.
A hops drier, comprising:
- a source of heated air having a heater and a blower and at least one heated air outlet communicating with a kiln chamber beneath a hops bed;
- at least one sensor configured to detect a parameter indicative of moisture content of the hops bed;
- and
- a controller having processing circuitry, memory, a user interface, and a database, configured to receive parameters from the at least one sensor, the database comprising indicia provided in the memory correlating operative control settings for at least one of the heater and the blower.
A control system for controlling operation of a hops drier, comprising:
- a plurality of sensors configured in relation to a hops bed over a hops kiln chamber;
- a heat source comprising a heater, a blower and a delivery duct having at least one outlet to the kiln chamber;
- and
- a controller having a user interface, processing circuitry and memory, a recipe provided in the memory correlating operating control settings for the heat source.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.