Horizontal pellet cooler with improved support tray

A pellet cooling apparatus for use in transporting hot, moist pellets through a heat exchange zone so as to bring the pellets in heat exchange contact with a cooling gas, comprising:

• a. an endless traveling grate conveyor means having a substantially horizontal upper run, a descending turn-around end, a substantially horizontal lower run, and an ascending turn-around end disposed in sequence so as to define a continuous path;
• b. housing means disposed about and enclosing said conveyor means, said housing means having an inlet through which pellets to be cooled may be deposited unto said conveyor means and an outlet through which cooled pellets may be discharged from said conveyor means;
• c. drive means operatively associated with said conveyor means for moving said conveyor means in continuous travel about the continuous path within said housing;
• d. a plurality of non-perforated material support trays mounted to said endless conveyor means in juxtaposed overlapping relationship to form a substantially continuous surface about the continuous path defined by said endless conveyor means, each of said material support trays comprising an elongated, laterally extending bi-lobed plate having a first laterally extending outwardly projecting arcuate lobe along one lateral extent thereof, a second laterally extending outwardly projecting arcuate lobe along the other lateral extent thereof, and a substantially flat laterally extending mid-portion interconnecting said first lobe and said second lobe, said first lobe subscribing an arc of a circle of a first radius and said second lobe subscribing an arc of a circle of a second radius, said first radius being greater than said second radius, said juxtaposed material support trays disposed with the first lobe of one tray extending in overlapping spaced relationship concentrically over the second lobe of the other of said juxtaposed material support trays so as to define a cooling gas passageway therebetween;
• and
• e. fan means operatively associated with said housing means for causing cooling gas to pass into said housing means, thence through the cooling gas passageways of said conveyor means and through the pellets deposited unto said conveyor means.