Multipurpose solar drying tray assemblies and methods therefor

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11486639-B2
Application number	US-201916717376-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 17, 2019
Priority date	Dec 17, 2018
Publication date	Nov 1, 2022
Grant date	Nov 1, 2022

Abstract

Tray assemblies and methods of their use to dry products with sunlight. Such a tray assembly includes at least a first base having four side walls, a bottom wall, legs configured to support the bottom wall above the surface when resting thereon, side wall holes in the side walls, and bottom wall holes in the bottom wall. A cover is releasably coupled to the base to define an enclosure between the cover, the side walls, and the bottom wall. At least one window is provided in the cover to allow infrared radiation to pass therethrough that is absorbed by interior surfaces of the base to cause an increase in a temperature within the enclosure sufficient to increase a rate of drying products located within the enclosure.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A tray assembly configured to rest on a surface, the tray assembly comprising:
at least a first base having four side walls, a bottom wall, and legs configured to support the bottom wall above the surface when resting thereon;
a plurality of side wall holes in the side walls and a plurality of bottom wall holes in the bottom wall;
a cover configured to releasably couple to the sidewalls of the first base and thereby define an enclosure between the cover, the side walls, and the bottom wall;
at least one window in the cover configured to allow infrared radiation to pass therethrough that is absorbed by interior surfaces of the first base to cause an increase in a temperature within the enclosure sufficient to increase a rate of drying products located within the enclosure; and
at least one vent in the cover configured to ventilate the enclosure to reduce the likelihood of overheating the products located within the enclosure during drying.

2. The tray assembly of claim 1 , wherein the tray assembly is a first tray assembly of at least two tray assemblies, a second tray assembly of the at least two tray assemblies comprising a second base, the first base of the first tray assembly being configured to be inserted partially into the second base of the second tray assembly such that the first and second bases are stacked.

3. The tray assembly of claim 2 , wherein at least one of the side walls of the first base includes a pair of end portions with an intermediate portion therebetween that extends further toward an end of the first base relative to the end portions so as to provide recessed areas at the end portions, and wherein located within the recessed areas are members configured to limit a depth that the first base may be inserted into the second base such that a gap is provided between the bottom walls of the first and second bases when stacked.

4. The tray assembly of claim 3 , further comprising a lip around a perimeter of the first base along the side walls thereof, the members being fixed against extended portions of the lip and exterior surfaces of the at least one side wall.

5. The tray assembly of claim 1 , wherein the cover comprises a frame having three sections that include a pair of outer sections and a middle section therebetween, the outer sections being pivotally coupled to the middle section with hinges such that when the cover is coupled to the first base the outer sections may be individually decoupled from the first base and pivoted relative to the middle section to provide access to the enclosure while at least the middle section remains coupled to the first base.

6. The tray assembly of claim 1 , wherein the cover comprises a frame and the at least one window comprises a window pane that is removable from the frame.

7. The tray assembly of claim 6 , wherein the frame has an opening therethrough and the window pane is located between a plurality of tabs located along an inner perimeter of the opening.

8. The tray assembly of claim 6 , wherein the frame has an opening therethrough and the window pane is located between two layers of the frame.

9. The tray assembly of claim 6 , wherein the window pane is formed of a transparent or semitransparent material configured to filter certain light spectrum wavelengths.

10. The tray assembly of claim 9 , wherein the window pane transmits 92% or more of ultraviolet (UV) light.

11. The tray assembly of claim 9 , wherein the window pane transmits less than 92% of ultraviolet (UV) light.

12. The tray assembly of claim 1 , wherein the cover comprises a frame and the at least one window comprises a first window pane that is removable from the frame and replaceable with a second window pane of the tray assembly, wherein the first and second window panes transmit different levels of ultraviolet light.

13. The tray assembly of claim 1 , further comprising means for manually adjusting airflow through the at least one vent.

14. The tray assembly of claim 1 , further comprising a powered venting device coupled to the at least one vent, the powered venting device comprising a fan configured to control temperature and relative humidity within the enclosure during drying.

15. The tray assembly of claim 1 , further comprising at least one insert configured to be located within the enclosure and removably fixed relative to the bottom wall such that a gap is provided between the insert and the bottom wall, the insert having a plurality of holes therethrough.

16. The tray assembly of claim 1 , wherein the interior surfaces of the first base have a minimum solar absorptivity of 0.60.

17. The tray assembly of claim 1 , wherein the interior surfaces of the first base have a solar absorptivity of 0.85 or more.

18. A method of drying products using the tray assembly of claim 1 , the method comprising:
inserting the products into an interior of the first base such that the products rest on the bottom wall;
coupling the cover to the first base to thereby enclose the products within the enclosure; and then
allowing infrared radiation to pass through the window and be absorbed by the interior surfaces of the first base to cause an increase in a temperature within the enclosure sufficient to increase a rate of drying of the products.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein the cover comprises a frame and the at least one window comprises a first window pane, the method comprising removing the first window pane from the frame and replacing the first window pane with a second window pane, wherein the first and second window panes transmit different levels of ultraviolet light.

20. At least two tray assemblies each configured to rest on a surface, each of the at least two tray assemblies comprising:
at least a base having four side walls, a bottom wall, and legs configured to support the bottom wall above the surface when resting thereon;
a plurality of side wall holes in the side walls and a plurality of bottom wall holes in the bottom wall;
a cover configured to releasably couple to the sidewalls of the base and thereby define an enclosure between the cover, the side walls, and the bottom wall; and
at least one window in the cover configured to allow infrared radiation to pass therethrough that is absorbed by interior surfaces of the base to cause an increase in a temperature within the enclosure sufficient to increase a rate of drying products located within the enclosure;
wherein the base of a first tray assembly of the at least two tray assemblies is configured to be inserted partially into the base of a second tray assembly of the at least two tray assemblies such that the bases of the first and second tray assemblies are stacked; and
wherein at least one of the side walls of the base of the first tray assembly includes a pair of end portions with an intermediate portion therebetween that extends further toward an end of the base of the first tray assembly relative to the end portions so as to provide recessed areas at the end portions, and located within the recessed areas are members configured to limit a depth that the base of the first tray assembly may be inserted into the base of the second tray assembly such that a gap is provided between the bottom walls of the bases of the first and second tray assemblies when stacked.

Assignees

• Purdue Research Foundation

Inventors

• Ileleji Klein Erhekabor
• Kim Heeju

Classifications

• F26B9/003

  Small self-contained devices, e.g. portable · CPC title

• F26B9/06

  in stationary drums or chambers · CPC title

• F26B25/16

  mainly closed, e.g. drum · CPC title

• F26B3/286 Primary

  by solar radiation · CPC title

• Y02B40/18

  using renewables, e.g. solar cooking stoves, furnaces or solar heating · CPC title