Dehydrator apparatus with unidirectional air flow control means

Dehydrator apparatus for drying food, comprising:

• housing means forming an enclosure having air intake means and air discharge means;
• fan means for directing a flow of air through said housing means;
• a plurality of food supporting trays supported on said housing vertically stacked one on top of another to provide a plurality of spaced apart drying levels disposed in the flow path of air passing through said housing means, each of said trays being provided with openings therein of a configuration which provide for flow of air generally in one direction through the spaces between said plurality of drying levels, said openings in said trays being formed to provide a greater resistance to air flow in a direction opposite to said one direction whereby recirculation of drying air between said drying levels is minimized.

A cylindrical tray for supporting material such as food particles and the like for dehydration, said tray comprising a member adapted to be positioned in the path of a flow of air through a duct or the like, said member being formed with peripheral rim and flange portions extending axially in opposite directions from a foraminous wall, said wall including a plurality of flow passages therein extending from one surface of said wall to an opposed surface of said wall, said passages converging from said one surface to intersection with said opposed surface of said wall, said passages being formed by substantially flat sided converging portions of said wall forming pyramidal shaped flow passages defining outlet openings in the plane of said opposed surface of smaller cross-sectional flow area than the inlet openings of said passages formed in the plane of said other surface, said converging wall portions forming an angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of said passages of at least 15 degrees, said member being arranged with respect to the flow of air through said duct whereby the normal direction of flow is in the direction of convergency of said passages whereby the resistance to air flow through said duct due to said member in the direction of convergency of said passages is less than the resistance to air flow in the opposite direction.