Acoustic wave drying method
AssigneeEastman Kodak Company
InventorsRodney Ray Bucks, Andrew Ciaschi, Michael Alan Marcus, Kam Chuen Ng
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method for drying a material using an acoustic wave drying including an acoustic resonant chamber that imparts acoustic energy to transiting air received from an airflow source. The acoustic resonant chamber includes a primary air channel having side surfaces connecting an air inlet and an air outlet, the primary air channel having a primary air channel length between the air inlet and the air outlet. One or more secondary closed-end resonant chambers are formed into side surfaces of the primary air channel. An air impingement airstream containing acoustic energy exits the air outlet and impinges on the material.
Claims14
A method for drying a material, comprising:
- receiving air from an airflow source into an air inlet of an acoustic resonant chamber;
- directing the received air out of the acoustic resonant chamber through an air outlet onto the material which is spaced apart from the outlet by a gap distance;
- wherein the acoustic resonant chamber includes:
- a primary air channel having side surfaces connecting the air inlet and the air outlet, the primary air channel having a primary air channel length between the air inlet and the air outlet;
- and
- one or more secondary closed-end resonant chambers formed into a side surface of the primary air channel, the secondary closed-end resonant chambers having side surfaces and secondary resonant chamber lengths;
- wherein an acoustic pressure provided at a surface of the material is at least 125 dB-SPL, and wherein the air directed onto the material impinges on the surface of the material with an air velocity of no more than 40 m/s.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.