Device and method for drying work pieces

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10184720-B2
Application number	US-201214116802-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 28, 2012
Priority date	May 12, 2011
Publication date	Jan 22, 2019
Grant date	Jan 22, 2019

Abstract

A device for drying work pieces, in particular vehicle wheels, having a dryer housing which borders a dryer chamber and has at least one access to the dryer chamber. Work piece carriers loaded with work pieces can be conveyed through the dryer chamber by a conveyance system. There is a transfer device which transfers work pieces to be dried to a work piece carrier located in the dryer chamber, and removes dried work pieces by a work piece carrier located in the dryer chamber. The work piece carriers can be conveyed in circulation through the dryer chamber without leaving same. A method for drying work pieces, wherein the work piece carriers are correspondingly conveyed through the dryer chamber without leaving same, wherein work pieces to be dried are transferred to a work piece carrier located in the dryer chamber and dried work pieces are removed by a work piece carrier located in the dryer chamber.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A device for drying workpieces comprising:
a) a dryer housing which borders a dryer chamber and has at least one access to the dryer chamber, wherein the dryer chamber comprises
aa) a pre-heating and discharge zone comprising a first conveyor and a second conveyor,
ab) a drying tunnel arranged vertically above the pre-heating zone, the drying tunnel being of a two-story configuration and comprising a first drying tunnel conveyor arranged vertically above a second drying tunnel conveyor,
ac) a transfer apparatus for vertically moving workpiece-carriers loaded with workpieces from
aca) the first conveyor to the first drying tunnel conveyor, and
acb) the second drying tunnel conveyor to the second conveyor, and

ad) a vertical conveyor for vertically moving workpiece-carriers loaded with workpieces from the first drying tunnel conveyor to the second drying tunnel conveyor;

b) a transposing apparatus which
ba) transfers workpieces to be dried to a workpiece-carrier which is located in the dryer chamber; and
bb) removes dried workpieces from a workpiece-carrier which is located in said dryer chamber; so that

c) the workpiece-carriers can be conveyed in circulation through the dryer chamber without leaving said chamber.

2. The device according to claim 1 , wherein a temperature in the pre-heating zone is lower than a temperature in the drying tunnel, and said pre-heating zone is accessible from outside via the at least one access.

3. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the transfer apparatus has a vertically movable conveying carriage, having a first conveying support and a second conveying support which are arranged vertically one above the other, whereby it is possible to position the conveying carriage in such a way that the first conveying support is capable of cooperating with the first tunnel conveyor and the second conveying support is capable of cooperating with the second tunnel conveyor.

4. A method for drying workpieces, the method comprising the steps of:
a) conveying workpiece-carriers through a pre-heating zone on a first conveyor,
b) moving the workpiece-carriers vertically from the first conveyor to a first drying tunnel conveyor in a drying tunnel;
c) conveying the workpiece-carriers through the first drying tunnel conveyor;
d) moving the workpiece-carriers vertically from the first drying tunnel conveyor to a second drying tunnel conveyor arranged beneath the first drying tunnel conveyor;
e) conveying the workpiece-carriers through the second drying tunnel conveyor;
f) moving the workpiece-carriers from the second drying tunnel conveyor to a second conveyor in a discharge zone, the second conveyor being positioned adjacent the first conveyor;
whereby:
g) workpieces to be dried are transferred to a workpiece-carrier through an access which is located in a dryer chamber which comprises the pre-heating chamber and the drying tunnel; and
h) dried workpieces are removed from a workpiece-carrier through the access which is located in said dryer chamber without requiring removal of the workpiece-carriers from the dryer chamber.

5. The method according to claim 4 , wherein a temperature in a pre-heating zone is lower than a temperature in a drying tunnel, and the pre-heating zone is accessible from outside via at least one access.

6. The method according to claim 5 , wherein the drying tunnel is arranged at a different vertical level than the pre-heating zone.

7. The method according to claim 5 , wherein the workpiece-carriers are conveyed from the first drying tunnel conveyor to the second drying tunnel conveyor by a vertical conveyor.

8. The method according to claim 7 , wherein the workpiece-carriers are conveyed out of the pre-heating zone and into the drying tunnel and vice versa by a transfer apparatus which comprises a conveying carriage having a first conveying support and a second conveying support which are arranged vertically one above the other, whereby the conveying carriage may be positioned in such a way that the first conveying support is capable of cooperating with the first tunnel conveyor and the second conveying support is capable of cooperating with the second tunnel conveyor.

9. A device for drying workpieces comprising:
a) a dryer housing which borders a dryer chamber and has an access to the dryer chamber;
b) a conveying system which conveys workpiece-carriers loaded with workpieces through the dryer chamber;
c) a transposing apparatus;
d) a transverse conveying apparatus arranged adjacent the access, the transverse conveying apparatus providing a first conveying position and a second conveying position for workpiece-carriers, wherein the transposing apparatus removes dried workpieces from a workpiece-carrier through the access when the workpiece carrier is in the first conveying position, and the transposing apparatus transfers workpieces to be dried to the workpiece-carrier through the access when the workpiece carrier is in the second conveying position, so that
e) the workpiece-carriers can be conveyed in circulation through the dryer chamber without leaving the dryer chamber.

10. The device according to claim 9 , wherein the dryer chamber comprises a pre-heating zone and a drying tunnel connected to the latter, whereby there prevails, in said pre-heating zone, a temperature which is lower than a temperature in the drying tunnel, and said pre-heating zone is accessible from outside via the access.

11. The device according to claim 10 , wherein the drying tunnel is arranged at a different vertical level than the pre-heating zone.

12. The device according to claim 10 , wherein the drying tunnel is of two-story construction and comprises a first tunnel conveyor and a second tunnel conveyor for workpiece-carriers, whereby the tunnel conveyors are arranged vertically one above the other and workpiece-carriers can be conveyed from the first tunnel conveyor to the second tunnel conveyor by means of a vertical conveyor.

13. The device according to claim 12 , wherein a transfer apparatus having a vertically movable conveying carriage is arranged in the dryer which conveys apparatus workpiece-carriers out of the pre-heating zone and into the drying tunnel and vice versa, and the conveying carriage of which apparatus carries with it a first conveying support and a second conveying support which are arranged vertically one above the other, whereby it is possible to position the conveying carriage in such a way that the first conveying support is capable of cooperating with the first tunnel conveyor and the second conveying support is capable of cooperating with the second tunnel conveyor.

14. The device of claim 13 , wherein the transfer apparatus is located adjacent the access.

15. The device according to claim 10 , wherein the pre-heating zone is arranged adjacent a discharge zone, the pre-heating zone comprising a first conveyor and the discharge zone comprising a second conveyor.

16. The device according to claim 15 , wherein the workpiece carrier is arranged adjacent the second conveyor when in the first conveying position and the workpiece carrier is arranged adjacent the first conveyor when in the second conveying position.

17. The device according to claim 16 wherein the transverse conveying station is arranged transverse to a direction of travel of the first conveyor and transverse to a direction of travel of the second conveyor.

Assignees

• Binder Dietmar
• Hofbauer Ulrich
• Eisenmann Se

Inventors

• Binder Dietmar
• Hofbauer Ulrich

Classifications

• F26B15/18

  the objects or batches of materials being carried by endless belts · CPC title

• F26B25/003 Primary

  for articles · CPC title

• F26B15/08

  in a vertical plane · CPC title