Drying method and drying system

Abstract

The present invention provides a method and system for drying objects to be dried that can dry objects in high-positioned steamers and objects in low-positioned steamers in a stacked arrangement so that the degree of drying does not differ significantly, and moreover, can dry a large quantity of objects relatively easily and in a short time. [Solution] A drying method for drying an object B by passing drying air A from the bottom to the top of multiple steamers 2 stacked on top of each other, wherein a number of rod-shaped protrusions provided on a substrate are thrust into the layer of object B laid out on the bottom 21 of the steamers 2 from above, thereby forming a number of holes 3 in the layer of object B.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a drying method and a drying system for drying an object to be dried in which a large number of fragments or seeds of seaweed, plants, etc. are gathered, by storing them in a rice straw mat and drying them.

Background Art

[0002] Kagimochi, a type of seaweed, has the effect of suppressing methane gas generated in the stomach when mixed into the feed of ruminant animals such as cows, and recently, it has come to be cultivated in culture tanks installed on land. When this Kagimochi is taken out of the culture tank, it is in a state where water drips, and in order to ship it as soon as possible, it is necessary to dry it using a dryer.

[0003] Conventionally, for a dryer for drying an aggregate of seaweed, plant fragments, seeds, etc., drying air is supplied below a drying chamber having a floor made of a fine mesh or a perforated plate, and the shredded vegetables, etc. put into the drying chamber and deposited on the floor are dried. When drying an object to be dried containing moisture using this dryer, in order to improve productivity, a large amount of the object to be dried must be stored in the drying chamber, so the layer of the object to be dried tends to be thick, and there is a large difference in the degree of drying between the object to be dried at the upper part of the layer of the object to be dried and the object to be dried at the lower part. Therefore, in order to make the degree of drying uniform, it is necessary to stir the object to be dried and exchange the object to be dried at the upper part of the layer and the object to be dried at the lower part of the layer. And this stirring work etc. is laborious and time-consuming.

[0004] Also, in a conventional dryer for an object to be dried, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, mozuku, a type of seaweed, is spread at a predetermined thickness on the bottom of a rice straw mat, and a plurality of such rice straw mats are stacked in multiple stages, and drying air is supplied below the stacked multiple stages of rice straw mats and passed through the layer of mozuku in the rice straw mat to dry the seaweed in the rice straw mat.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2004-215603 [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0006] However, the degree of drying of the dried material using the aforementioned dryer is not uniform across all of the multiple layers of steamers. The material in the lower steamers tends to dry well, while the material in the higher steamers tends to dry less, resulting in inconsistencies in the degree of drying of the seaweed, which is undesirable in terms of quality. Furthermore, for seaweed that is not sufficiently dried, for example, it is necessary to swap the seaweed from the higher to the lower steamers and place them in the drying chamber of the dryer to dry again, which is a time-consuming drying process.

[0007] This invention has been made in view of the aforementioned problems of the conventional method. The object of this invention is to enable drying of items to be dried in steamers located at higher positions among a stack of multiple steamers, so that the degree of drying does not differ significantly, and to enable drying of a large quantity of items relatively easily and in a short time. Means for solving the problem and effects of the invention

[0008] A first aspect of the present invention relates to a drying method for an object to be dried, which dries the object by passing drying air from the bottom to the top of a plurality of steamers stacked in which the object to be dried is contained, and the method can be configured to include a hole-forming step in which a plurality of rod-shaped protrusions provided on a substrate are pierced into the layer of the object to be dried, which is laid out at the bottom of the steamers, from the top of the layer of the object to be dried, thereby forming a plurality of holes in the layer of the object to be dried.

[0009] With the above configuration, the material to be dried is placed in multiple steamers and stacked for drying. This allows a large amount of material to be dried in a short time, and because the layer of material to be dried within the steamer is relatively thin, the difference in drying degree between the upper and lower layers of material within the steamer is small, eliminating the need to stir the material during drying as in conventional methods. The drying air supplied to the bottom of the stacked steamers passes through the bottom of the lowest steamer, and then through the layer of material to be dried and the holes formed in that layer, heading towards the bottom of the second-to-last steamer. At this time, the holes formed in the layer of material allow the drying air to pass through more easily than the layer of material, so the drying air that is not being used for drying flows through the holes in the layer of material and is supplied to the space below the bottom of the second-to-last steamer. In this way, drying air with little or no reduction in drying capacity is supplied to the bottom of each steamer sequentially from the bottom through the holes formed in the layer of material. Furthermore, by forming numerous holes in the layer of material to be dried, the contact area between the material and the drying air increases, thus shortening the drying time. Therefore, with the above configuration, material to be dried in a steamer basket at a high position among multiple stacked steamers can be dried to a degree that does not differ significantly from material to material at a low position, and a large amount of material can be dried relatively easily and in a short time.

[0010] A drying method for an object to be dried according to a second aspect of the present invention is a drying method for drying an object by passing drying air from the bottom to the top of a plurality of steamers stacked in which the object to be dried is contained, and can be configured to include a hole-forming step in which a plurality of hollow rod-shaped protrusions, each hollow and having openings at the top and bottom, provided in advance at the bottom of the steamers, are filled with the object to be dried to a required height, thereby forming a plurality of holes in the layer of the object to be dried.

[0011] A third aspect of the present invention relates to a method for drying an object to be dried, in which the numerous holes are formed such that, when the plurality of steamers are stacked, the numerous holes relating to the odd-numbered steamers and the numerous holes relating to the even-numbered steamers are offset from each other in a plan view.

[0012] With the above configuration, when multiple steamers are stacked, the numerous holes for the odd-numbered steamers and the numerous holes for the even-numbered steamers are formed to be offset from each other in a plan view. As a result, drying air flowing upward from the holes formed in the layer of material to be dried on the bottom of the lower steamer of two adjacent steamers hits the underside of the part of the upper steamer's bottom where no holes are formed, and changes direction to flow along the bottom. This prevents a large amount of drying air, which has not lost much or only slightly lost drying capacity, from rapidly flowing out from the holes formed in the layer of material to be dried on the bottom of the upper steamer. A certain amount of drying air remaining between the bottoms of the upper and lower steamers is used to dry the material, thereby reducing the difference in the degree of drying between the material to be dried in the higher steamers and the material to be dried in the lower steamers.

[0013] A drying system for an object to be dried according to a fourth aspect of the present invention comprises a plurality of steamers and a dryer that dries the object by supplying drying air to the underside of the plurality of steamers stacked with the object to be dried, the system comprising: a hole-forming tool having a plurality of rod-shaped protrusions arranged vertically and horizontally on a substrate for simultaneously forming a plurality of holes in the layer of the object to be dried by piercing it from above into the layer of the object to be dried laid out at the bottom of the steamer; and when the steamer is located in an odd-numbered position among the plurality of stacked steamers, the hole-forming tool is positioned relative to the steamer at a predetermined position The device comprises a first alignment section for positioning, and a second alignment section for positioning the hole-forming tool relative to the steamer when the steamer is located in an even-numbered position among the stacked steamers. The numerous rod-shaped protrusions can be arranged on the substrate such that there is a certain discrepancy between the arrangement of the numerous rod-shaped protrusions relative to the steamer when the hole-forming tool is aligned with the first alignment section and the arrangement of the numerous rod-shaped protrusions relative to the steamer when the hole-forming tool is aligned with the second alignment section.

[0014] With the above configuration, a large number of holes can be accurately and easily formed in a layer of material to be dried in a short amount of time.

[0015] A drying system for an object to be dried according to a fifth aspect of the present invention comprises a plurality of steamers and a dryer that dries the object by supplying drying air to the underside of the plurality of steamers stacked with the object to be dried, the drying system comprising: a hole-forming tool having a plurality of rod-shaped protrusions arranged vertically and horizontally on a substrate for simultaneously forming a plurality of holes in the layer of the object to be dried, which is laid out at the bottom of the steamers, by piercing it from above; and an alignment part for aligning the hole-forming tool to a predetermined position relative to the steamers. The multiple steamers can be stacked by rotating each steamer 180 degrees in a plan view, and the numerous rod-shaped protrusions can be arranged on the substrate such that there is a certain difference between the arrangement of the numerous rod-shaped protrusions relative to the steamer when the hole-forming tool is aligned at the alignment part and the arrangement of the numerous rod-shaped protrusions relative to the steamer before the 180-degree rotation when the hole-forming tool is aligned at the alignment part and the steamer is rotated 180 degrees in a plan view.

[0016] A drying system for an object to be dried according to a sixth aspect of the present invention comprises a plurality of steamers and a dryer that dries the object by supplying drying air to the underside of the plurality of steamers stacked with the object to be dried, the system comprising: a hole-forming tool having a plurality of rod-shaped protrusions arranged vertically and horizontally on a substrate, each hollow and with openings at the top and bottom, for forming a plurality of holes in the layer of the object to be dried by placing it in advance at the bottom of the steamer and filling each outer circumference with the object to be dried to a predetermined height, and when the steamer is located in an odd-numbered position among the plurality of stacked steamers, the system is configured to dry the object to be dried. The device comprises a first alignment section for aligning the hole-forming tool to a predetermined position, and a second alignment section for aligning the hole-forming tool to a predetermined position relative to the steamer when the steamer is located in an even-numbered position among the stacked steamers. The numerous rod-shaped protrusions can be arranged on the substrate such that there is a certain difference between the arrangement of the numerous rod-shaped protrusions relative to the steamer when the hole-forming tool is aligned with the first alignment section and the arrangement of the rod-shaped protrusions relative to the steamer when the hole-forming tool is aligned with the second alignment section.

[0017] A seventh aspect of the present invention relates to a drying system for an object to be dried, comprising a plurality of steamers, and a dryer that dries the object by supplying drying air to the underside of the plurality of steamers stacked with the object to be dried, the system comprising: a hole-forming tool having a plurality of hollow rod-shaped protrusions arranged vertically and horizontally on a substrate, each hollow and with openings at the top and bottom, for setting up the bottom of the steamers in advance and filling the outer circumference of each steamer to a predetermined height with the object to be dried to form a plurality of holes in the layer of the object to be dried, and a positioning tool for aligning the hole-forming tool to a predetermined position relative to the steamer. The steamer is equipped with a section, and the multiple steamers can be stacked by rotating each steamer 180 degrees in a plan view, and the numerous hollow rod-shaped protrusions can be arranged on the substrate such that there is a certain difference between the arrangement of the numerous hollow rod-shaped protrusions relative to the steamer when the hole-forming tool is aligned with the alignment section and the arrangement of the numerous hollow rod-shaped protrusions relative to the steamer before the 180-degree rotation when the hole-forming tool is aligned with the alignment section and the steamer is rotated 180 degrees in a plan view.

[0018] A drying system for an object to be dried according to the eighth aspect of the present invention comprises a plurality of steamers and a dryer that dries the object by supplying drying air to the underside of the plurality of steamers stacked with the object to be dried, wherein the steamer has a bottom having a number of hollow rod-shaped protrusions arranged vertically and horizontally, each being hollow and having openings at the top and bottom, and a frame that surrounds the bottom and detachably holds the bottom, and further, when the steamer is located in an odd-numbered position among the plurality of stacked steamers, the bottom of the steamer relative to the frame The steamer comprises a first alignment part for aligning the parts, and a second alignment part for aligning the bottom of the steamer with the frame when the steamer is located in an even-numbered position among the stacked steamers. The numerous hollow rod-shaped protrusions can be configured to be arranged on the bottom such that there is a certain difference between the arrangement of the numerous hollow rod-shaped protrusions with respect to the frame when the bottom is aligned with the first alignment part and the arrangement of the protrusions with respect to the frame when the bottom is aligned with the second alignment part.

[0019] A drying system for an object to be dried according to the ninth aspect of the present invention comprises a plurality of steamers and a dryer that supplies drying air to the underside of a plurality of steamers stacked with the object to be dried, wherein the steamers consist of a bottom having a number of hollow rod-shaped protrusions arranged vertically and horizontally, each being hollow and having openings at the top and bottom, and a frame surrounding the bottom and detachably holding the bottom, and can be stacked after being rotated 180 degrees in a plan view, and further comprises an alignment part for aligning the bottom of the steamer with the frame, and the plurality of hollow rod-shaped protrusions can be configured to be arranged on the bottom such that there is a certain difference between the arrangement of the plurality of hollow rod-shaped protrusions with respect to the frame when the bottom is aligned with the alignment part and the arrangement of the steamers with respect to the frame before the 180-degree rotation when the bottom is aligned with the alignment part and the steamer is rotated 180 degrees in a plan view.

[0020] The drying system for the material to be dried according to the tenth aspect of the present invention is a drying system comprising a plurality of silos and a dryer that supplies drying air to the lower side of the plurality of silos that house and stack the material to be dried to dry the material to be dried. The silo consists of a bottom portion having a large number of hollow rod-shaped protrusions that are aligned vertically and horizontally, each of which is hollow and has openings at the top and bottom, and a frame that surrounds the bottom portion and holds the bottom portion. Moreover, it can be rotated by 180 degrees in a plan view and stacked. When one of the vertically adjacent silos is rotated by 180 degrees in a plan view, a certain deviation occurs between the arrangement of the large number of hollow rod-shaped protrusions of the one silo with respect to the other silo of the vertically adjacent silos, and the arrangement of the large number of hollow rod-shaped protrusions of the one silo with respect to the other silo before the one silo is rotated. The large number of hollow rod-shaped protrusions can be arranged on the bottom portion of the one silo. It can be configured as follows.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0021] [Figure 1] It is a flowchart showing a drying method according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] It is an explanatory diagram of a dryer used to implement the drying method. [Figure 3] It is a bottom view of a hole forming tool. [Figure 4] It is a cross-sectional view taken along the A1-A1 arrow in FIG. 3. [Figure 5] It is a perspective view of a silo. [Figure 6] It is a schematic diagram showing a state where a hole forming tool is aligned with a silo. [Figure 7] It is a plan view showing the arrangement of holes in vertically adjacent silos. [Figure 8] It is an explanatory diagram showing a state where a layer of the material to be dried is pierced by a large number of rod-shaped protrusions. [Figure 9] It is an explanatory diagram showing a state where a large number of holes have been formed in a layer of the material to be dried. [Figure 10]This is a schematic diagram showing how the steamers are stacked. [Figure 11] This is a flowchart illustrating a drying method for an object to be dried according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 12] This is a plan view showing a part of a hole-forming tool. [Figure 13] This is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A2-A2 in Figure 12. [Figure 14] This is a schematic diagram showing the state in which the outer circumference of a rod-shaped projection is filled with the material to be dried. [Figure 15] This is an explanatory diagram illustrating a modified version of the hole-forming tool. [Figure 16] This is an explanatory diagram of how the steamer basket is modified. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0022] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. However, the embodiments shown below are illustrative examples of drying methods and drying systems for realizing the technical concept of the present invention, and the present invention does not limit them to these. Furthermore, this specification does not limit the components shown in the claims to the components of the embodiments. In particular, the dimensions, materials, shapes, relative arrangements, etc. of the components described in the embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention to those components unless specifically stated otherwise, but are merely illustrative examples. Note that the size and positional relationships of the components shown in each drawing may be exaggerated for clarity of explanation. (First Embodiment)

[0023] Figure 1 is a flowchart of a drying method according to the first embodiment of the present invention. This drying method is carried out using a drying system that includes a plurality of steamers 2 as shown in Figure 2, and a dryer 1 that supplies drying air A to the underside of the plurality of steamers 2 stacked with the material to be dried B to dry the material B. This drying method dries the material B by passing drying air A from the underside to the top of the plurality of steamers 2 stacked with the material B to be dried. The drying method consists of a spreading step ST11 in which the material B to be dried is placed in the steamers 2 and spread on the bottom 21 of the steamers 2, a hole forming step ST12 in which a plurality of holes 3 are formed in the layer of material B spread, a stacking step ST13 in which the steamers 2 with a plurality of holes 3 are stacked, and a drying step ST14 in which the plurality of steamers 2 stacked in the stacking step ST13 are placed in the dryer 1 to dry the material B inside the steamers 2.

[0024] The material to be dried B is a collection of many small granular objects, such as fragments or seeds of plants or seaweed. The shape of the material to be dried B is not limited to a round, spherical shape; it may also be flat or angular. In this embodiment, the material to be dried B is a type of algae called *Hypholoma fasciculare*, which has been cultivated.

[0025] The dryer 1 comprises a drying chamber 11, a drying air introduction chamber 12 located below the drying chamber 11, a floor section 13 separating the drying chamber 11 and the drying air introduction chamber 12, and a drying air supply unit 14 that supplies drying air to the drying air introduction chamber 12. The floor section 13 is made of a breathable material such as a grid, mesh, or perforated plate. Multiple sets of multiple steamers 2, each containing the material to be dried B and stacked on top of the floor section 13, can be placed on top of the floor section 13. The drying air supply unit 14 takes in air into the chamber with a fan 141, sends it to a heat exchanger 142 to heat it, and then sends this drying air A to the drying air introduction chamber 12 via a duct 143.

[0026] The steamer basket 2 is formed in a rectangular shape, as shown by the dashed line around its outer circumference in Figure 3. The steamer basket also has a bottom 21 and a frame 22 that surrounds and holds the bottom 21, as shown in Figure 5. The bottom 21 is made of a breathable material such as a perforated plate, a blind, or a mesh, and is capable of supporting the layer of food to be dried B.

[0027] In Figure 2, the drying air A sent to the drying air introduction chamber 12 flows upward through the floor 13 and passes through the inside of each of the stacked steamers 2 from the bottom to the top.

[0028] In the spreading process ST11, if the material to be dried B is kagikenori, the kagikenori is spread on the bottom 21 of the steamer basket 2 to a thickness of 1 cm to 2 cm. Furthermore, it is desirable to determine the height of the steamer basket 2, including the height of the frame 22 of the steamer basket 2 and the height at which the bottom 21 is attached to the frame 22, so that there is a gap of 3 cm to 4 cm between the surface of the kagikenori spread in the steamer basket and the underside of the bottom 21 of the steamer basket stacked on top of it.

[0029] In the hole-forming process ST12, when multiple steamers 2 are stacked, a number of holes 3 are formed in the odd-numbered steamers 2 and in the even-numbered steamers 2, respectively, so that they are offset from each other by a certain distance in a certain direction when viewed from above. The formation of these numerous holes 3 is carried out using the hole-forming tool 4 provided in the drying system, as shown in Figures 3 and 4.

[0030] As shown in Figure 3, the hole-forming tool 4 has numerous rod-shaped protrusions 42 fixed to the lower surface of a rectangular substrate 41 and arranged vertically and horizontally. In this embodiment, the rod-shaped protrusions 42 are made by filling the hollow parts of the cells of a commercially available small seedling tray with synthetic resin such as silicone resin, and have the mechanical strength necessary for piercing. The upper surface of the seedling tray is then attached to the surface of the substrate 41 to form the hole-forming tool 4.

[0031] The drying system includes a first alignment unit 5A that aligns the hole-forming tool 4 to a predetermined position relative to the steamer basket 2 when the steamer basket 2 is located in an odd-numbered position among a stack of multiple steamer baskets 2, and a second alignment unit 5B that aligns the hole-forming tool 4 to a predetermined position relative to the steamer basket 2 when the steamer basket 2 is located in an even-numbered position among a stack of multiple steamer baskets 2.

[0032] The hole-forming tool 4 has plate-shaped alignment members 51 that extend downward from the upper, lower, left, and right edges of the lower surface of the substrate 41. The first alignment portion 5A consists of the outer wall surface of the alignment member 51 intersecting vertically and horizontally at one corner C41 of the substrate 41 shown in Figure 3, and the inner wall surface 22a of the frame 22 intersecting vertically and horizontally at one corner C21 of the steamer 2 shown in Figure 5. The second alignment portion 5B consists of the outer wall surface of the alignment member 51 intersecting vertically and horizontally at one corner C41 of the substrate 41 shown in Figure 3, and the inner wall surface 22a of the frame 22 intersecting vertically and horizontally at the corner C22 diagonally opposite corner C21 of the steamer 2 shown in Figure 5. The substrate 41 and the alignment member 51 are formed in a shape and size that allows them to be slidably fitted along the inner wall surface 22a of the frame 22 of the steamer 2, as shown in Figure 6. Although the alignment member 51 shown in Figure 3 is formed continuously around the entire circumference of the substrate 41, it may also be formed in fragments as long as it can be aligned by contacting the inner wall surfaces 22a that intersect at the corner C21 indicated by the arrow of the frame 22 shown in Figure 5.

[0033] Figure 7 shows the state after the hole-forming process ST12, where, when two steamers 2 are stacked, a certain misalignment occurs between the arrangement of the holes 3 in the upper steamer 2 and the arrangement of the holes 3 in the lower steamer 2. In Figure 7, the holes 3 formed in the dried material B in the upper steamer 2 are shown with solid lines, and the holes 3 formed in the dried material B in the lower steamer 2 are shown with dashed lines. In other words, the holes 3 in the lower steamer 2 shown with dashed lines are surrounded by the four holes 3 in the upper steamer 2 shown with solid lines, and are positioned at an equidistant distance from each of the four holes 3. This arrangement can improve drying efficiency.

[0034] In order to arrange the holes 3 in relation to the steamer basket 2 as shown in Figure 7, in Figure 3, the numerous rod-shaped protrusions 42 are arranged at equal intervals with the same mutual spacing Lp in the vertical and horizontal directions. If La is the width of the base plate 41 (the width inside the frame 22 of the steamer basket 2), Lb is the distance from the leftmost vertical column of the rod-shaped protrusions 42 to the rightmost vertical column, Lc is the distance from the left outer surface of the alignment member 51 to the leftmost vertical column of the rod-shaped protrusions 42, and Ld is the distance from the right outer surface of the base plate 41 and the alignment member 51 to the rightmost vertical column of the rod-shaped protrusions 42, then the vertical columns of the rod-shaped protrusions 42 are arranged in relation to the base plate 41 and the alignment member 51 such that the following relationships hold: Lc = (La - Lb) / 2 - Lp / 4 and Ld = (La - Lb) / 2 + Lp / 4.

[0035] Furthermore, if we let Le be the vertical width of the substrate 41 (the vertical width inside the frame 22 of the steamer 2), Lf be the distance from the topmost horizontal row to the bottommost horizontal row of the rod-shaped protrusions 42, Lg be the distance from the lower outer surface of the alignment member 51 to the bottommost horizontal row of the rod-shaped protrusions 42, and Lh be the distance from the upper outer surface of the alignment member 51 to the bottommost horizontal row of the rod-shaped protrusions 42, then the horizontal rows of the rod-shaped protrusions 42 are arranged relative to the substrate 41 and the alignment member 51 such that the following relationships hold: Lg = (Le - Lf) / 2 - Lp / 4 and Lh = (Le - Lf) / 2 + Lp / 4. In other words, the numerous rod-shaped protrusions 42 are arranged such that, from the center of the plan view of the portion enclosed by the frame 22 of the steamer 2, the center of the length of the vertical rows of rod-shaped protrusions 42 is offset by a distance of one-quarter of the inter-row spacing Lp in the vertical direction, and the center of the length of the horizontal rows of rod-shaped protrusions 42 is offset by a distance of one-quarter of the inter-row spacing Lp in the horizontal direction.

[0036] By arranging a number of rod-shaped protrusions 42 on the substrate 41 in this way, a certain vertical displacement Lp / 2 and a certain horizontal displacement Lp / 2 occur between the arrangement of the numerous holes 3 on the steamer basket 2 formed when the hole-forming tool 4 and the frame 22 are aligned at the first alignment section 5A, and the arrangement of the numerous holes 3 on the steamer basket 2 formed when the hole-forming tool 4 is rotated 180 degrees around an axis perpendicular to the substrate 41 and the hole-forming tool 4 and the frame 22 are aligned at the second alignment section 5B, as shown in Figure 7.

[0037] To form numerous holes 3 in the layer BL of the material to be dried, which is laid out in the odd-numbered layers of the steamer baskets 2, using the hole-forming tool 4, the base plate 41 and the positioning member 51 corner C41 of the hole-forming tool 4 shown in Figure 3 are aligned with the corner C21 of the steamer basket 2 shown in Figure 5, and the hole-forming tool 4 is fitted inside the frame 22 of the steamer basket 2 as shown in Figure 6, thereby aligning the hole-forming tool 4 with the frame 22 of the steamer basket 2 using the first positioning part 5A, and then, as shown in Figure 8, the hole-forming tool 4 is pushed down to pierce the layer of material to be dried B with numerous rod-shaped protrusions 42. After that, the hole-forming tool 4 is lifted and removed from the steamer basket 2, completing the formation of numerous holes 3 as shown in Figure 9.

[0038] To form numerous holes 3 in the layer BL of the material to be dried, which is laid out in an even-numbered steamer basket 2 of a group of steamers 2, using the hole-forming tool 4, the base plate 41 and the positioning member 51 of the hole-forming tool 4 shown in Figure 3 are aligned with the corner C22 of the steamer basket 2 shown in Figure 5, and the hole-forming tool 4 is fitted inside the frame 22 of the steamer basket 2 as shown in Figure 6. The second positioning part 5B aligns the hole-forming tool 4 with the frame 22 of the steamer basket 2, and then the hole-forming tool 4 is pushed down to pierce the layer of material to be dried B with numerous rod-shaped protrusions 42, and then the hole-forming tool 4 is lifted and removed from the steamer basket 2. It is recommended that each of the multiple steamers 2 used be marked to identify which of its four corners is corner C21 or corner C22, and that the hole-forming tool 4 also be marked to identify which of its four corners is corner C41. Alternatively, the corner C41 of the substrate 41 of the hole-forming tool 4 and the diagonally opposite corner C42 may be aligned with respect to one corner C21 of the steamer basket 2.

[0039] In the stacking process ST13, as shown in Figure 10, odd-numbered steamers 2, in which numerous holes 3 have been formed in the layer of the material B to be dried, and even-numbered steamers 2 are stacked alternately, and the corners C21 of each steamer 2 are aligned to be in the same position in a plan view.

[0040] In the drying process ST14, multiple stacked steamers 2 are placed in multiple sets on the floor 13, and then the drying air supply unit is activated to supply drying air A to the drying air introduction chamber 12, drying the items to be dried B inside the steamers 2. At this time, the temperature of the drying air A should preferably be 50 degrees Celsius or lower to prevent deterioration of the quality of the items to be dried B.

[0041] According to the drying system of the first embodiment, the steamer basket 2 shown in Figure 5 has a substantially rectangular shape in plan view, so it can be stacked by rotating it 180 degrees at a time in plan view. Therefore, the drying system of the present invention can be provided with only the first alignment part 5A or only the second alignment part 5B as the alignment part 5 for aligning the hole forming tool 4 with respect to the steamer basket 2, instead of the first alignment part 5A and the second alignment part 5B in the drying system of the first embodiment described above. The drying method implemented using such a drying system will have a stacking step in which the multiple steamer baskets 2 are stacked by sequentially rotating them 180 degrees at a time in plan view, instead of the stacking step ST13 in the drying method shown in Figure 1, in which the multiple steamer baskets 2 are stacked by aligning the corners C21 of each steamer basket 2 so that they are in the same position in plan view. (Second embodiment)

[0042] Figure 11 is a flowchart of a drying method for an object to be dried according to a second embodiment of the present invention. This drying method differs from the drying method of the first embodiment in that it includes an installation step ST21 and a hole-forming step ST22 shown in Figure 11, instead of the spreading step ST11 and hole-forming step ST12 shown in Figure 1. Furthermore, the drying system used to implement this drying method differs from the drying system according to the first embodiment described above in that it mainly includes a hole-forming tool 4, shown in Figures 12 and 13, which has numerous hollow rod-shaped protrusions 43 that are aligned vertically and horizontally, each hollow, and have openings 431 and 430 at the top and bottom, instead of the numerous rod-shaped protrusions 42 shown in Figures 3 and 4 for forming holes 3.

[0043] In this embodiment, the hole-forming tool 4 is made by forming holes in a commercially available synthetic resin seedling tray. The base of the seedling tray is the substrate 41, and the cells formed by extruding and deforming the base are hollow rod-shaped protrusions 43. The opening at the base of the cell is the lower opening 430, and the through hole formed at the tip of the cell is the upper opening 431. Holes 432 and 433 are formed on the side of the cells in this seedling tray.

[0044] The steamer basket 2 is the same as shown in Figure 5, and when that steamer basket 2 is located in an odd-numbered position among a stack of multiple steamer baskets 2, the first alignment part 5A for aligning the hole forming tool 4 to the steamer basket 2 in a predetermined position consists of the end face 52 of the substrate 41 that intersects vertically and horizontally at one of the four corners C41 of the substrate 41, and the inner wall surface 22a of the frame 22 that intersects vertically and horizontally at one of the four corners C21 of the steamer basket 2, as shown in Figure 12. The second alignment part 5B consists of the end face 52 of the substrate 41 that intersects vertically and horizontally at corner C41 of the substrate 41, and the inner wall surface 22a of the frame 22 that intersects vertically and horizontally at corner C22, which is diagonally opposite to one of the corners C41 of the steamer basket 2 as shown in Figure 5.

[0045] The arrangement of the numerous hollow rod-shaped protrusions 43 on the substrate 41, the arrangement of the numerous hollow rod-shaped protrusions 43 on the steamer basket 2 when the hole-forming tool 4 is aligned with the first alignment part 5A, and the arrangement of the numerous hollow rod-shaped protrusions 43 on the steamer basket 2 when the hole-forming tool 4 is aligned with the second alignment part 5B are the same as in the first embodiment.

[0046] In the installation process ST21, as shown in Figures 12 and 13, the hole-forming tool 4 is placed on the bottom 21 of the empty steamer basket 2. At this time, similar to the alignment in the first embodiment, the corner C41 of the hole-forming tool 4 is aligned with the corner C21 or corner C22 of the steamer basket 2, depending on whether the steamer basket 2 is an odd-numbered or even-numbered one when stacked, and the steamer basket 2 and the hole-forming tool 4 are aligned using the alignment part 5, which consists of a first alignment part 5A and a second alignment part 5B, similar to the first embodiment.

[0047] In the hole-forming step ST22, the material to be dried B is placed inside the steamer 2 between the numerous hollow rod-shaped protrusions 43 that were installed in the installation step ST21. As shown in Figure 14, the outer circumference of each of the numerous hollow rod-shaped protrusions 43 is filled with the material to be dried B to the required height, thereby forming holes 3 with the hollow rod-shaped protrusions 43 interposed. In this case, the hollow portion of the hollow rod-shaped protrusion 43 becomes the hole 3.

[0048] In the stacking process ST23 and drying process ST24, the steamers 2 are stacked in the same manner as in the stacking process ST13 and drying process ST14 of the first embodiment, and the stacked steamers 2 are placed on the floor 13 of the dryer 1 to dry the material B to be dried.

[0049] In the dryer 1, the drying air A supplied to the underside of the steamer basket 2 enters through the opening 430 below the hollow rod-shaped projection 43, passes through its interior, and exits through the opening 431 above it, as well as through holes 432 and 433 provided on the side of the hollow rod-shaped projection 43. The drying air exiting through holes 432 and 433 acts on the object to be dried B, drying it.

[0050] Figure 15 is a plan view showing a modified version of the hole-forming tool 4. This hole-forming tool 4 differs from the one shown in Figure 12 in that it has numerous through-holes 434 formed in the substrate 41. As a result, compared to the hole-forming tool 4 shown in Figure 12, the rising drying air A directly hits the underside of the object B to be dried, thus improving drying efficiency.

[0051] In the drying system according to the second embodiment, the steamers 2 can be stacked by rotating them 180 degrees in a plan view. Therefore, in the drying system of the second embodiment described above, instead of having a first alignment part 5A and a second alignment part 5B, the drying system of the present invention can be provided with only the first alignment part 5A or only the second alignment part 5B as the alignment part 5 for aligning the hole forming tool 4 with respect to the steamer 2. Furthermore, the drying method implemented using such a drying system, as shown in Figure 11, includes a stacking step in which, instead of a stacking step ST23 in which multiple steamers 2 are stacked with their corners C21 in the same position in a plan view, multiple steamers 2 are stacked by sequentially rotating them 180 degrees in a plan view.

[0052] Figure 16 shows a modified version of the steamer basket 2. The steamer basket 2 consists of a bottom 21 with numerous hollow rod-shaped protrusions, each having openings 430 and 431 aligned vertically and horizontally, and a frame 22 that surrounds the bottom 21 and detachably holds it. In plan view, the steamer baskets can be stacked by rotating them 180 degrees at a time. The frame 22 and bottom 21 of the steamer basket 2 are provided with a first alignment part 5A that aligns the bottom 21 with the frame 22 of the steamer basket 2 when the steamer basket 2 is located in an odd-numbered position among a stack of multiple steamer baskets, and a second alignment part (not shown) that aligns the bottom 21 with the frame 22 of the steamer basket 2 when the steamer basket 2 is located in an even-numbered position among a stack of multiple steamer baskets. The first alignment section 5A and the second alignment section differ from the first alignment section 5A and the second alignment section 5B shown in Figures 3 and 6 in that they use the bottom 21 or the end face 52 of the substrate 41 instead of the outer wall surface of the alignment member 51. When using this steamer 2, the drying method, as shown in Figure 11, includes an installation step in which, instead of the installation step ST21 of installing the hole forming tool 4 on the bottom 21 of the empty steamer 2 as shown in Figures 12 and 13, the bottom 21 of the steamer 2 is aligned with the frame 22 of the steamer 2 using the first alignment section 5A when the steamer 2 is in an odd-numbered position, and the bottom 21 of the steamer 2 is aligned with the frame 22 of the steamer 2 using the second alignment section 5A when the steamer 2 is in an even-numbered position, and the bottom 21 is installed on the frame 22.

[0053] Even when using the steamer basket 2 shown in Figure 16, the drying system may, instead of having a first alignment part 5A and a second alignment part 5B as in the drying system of the second embodiment, have only the first alignment part 5A or only the second alignment part as the alignment part 5 for aligning the hole forming tool 4 with respect to the steamer basket 2.

[0054] The drying system of the present invention may be configured such that, instead of having multiple steamers 2 as shown in Figure 16, it has a bottom 21 having numerous hollow rod-shaped protrusions 43 arranged vertically and horizontally, each hollow and with openings at the top and bottom, and a frame 22 surrounding the bottom 21 and fixing and holding the bottom 21, and can be stacked by rotating each steamer 2 by 180 degrees in a plan view, and the numerous hollow rod-shaped protrusions 43 are arranged on the bottom 21 of one steamer 2 such that there is a certain difference between the arrangement of the numerous hollow rod-shaped protrusions 43 of one steamer 2 relative to the other steamer 2 of the vertically adjacent steamer 2 when one steamer 2 of the vertically adjacent steamer 2 is rotated by 180 degrees in a plan view, and the arrangement of the numerous hollow rod-shaped protrusions 43 of one steamer 2 relative to the other steamer 2 of the vertically adjacent steamer 2 before the rotation.

[0055] According to the present invention, the alignment portion may consist of the outer wall surface of the steamer frame and the inner surface of the alignment member. Furthermore, the shape of the rod-shaped projection is not limited to that shown in the illustration. Also, the holes formed in the layer of material to be dried are not limited to those where the lower end completely reaches the bottom of the steamer; some material may remain on the bottom. Furthermore, the spacing between vertical rows of rod-shaped projections or hollow rod-shaped projections is not necessarily the same as the spacing between horizontal rows. For example, a commercially available container box made of synthetic resin with a mesh-like bottom can be used as a steamer. If the holes in the mesh-like bottom of the steamer are too large, a fine mesh can be placed over the coarse bottom of the container box itself, so that the bottom of the steamer is composed of the coarse bottom of the container box and the fine mesh. Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0056] 1...Dryer; 11...Drying chamber; 12...Drying air intake chamber; 13...Floor section; 14...Drying air supply section; 141...Fan; 142...Heat exchanger; 143...Duct 2... Steamer basket; 21... Bottom; 22... Frame; 22a... Inner wall 3…hole 4...Hole forming tool;41...Substrate;42...Bar-shaped protrusion;43...Hollow bar-shaped protrusion;430...Opening;431...Opening;432...Hole;433...Hole;434...Through hole 5... Alignment section; 5A... First alignment section; 5B... Second alignment section; 51... Alignment member; 52... End face of substrate A...Air for drying B...Material to be dried BL…layer C21,C21,C22,C41,C42...corner Lp…Mutual spacing

Claims

1. A drying method for drying an object by passing drying air from the bottom to the top of multiple steamers stacked on top of each other, wherein the object to be dried is contained in the steamers, A drying method characterized by including a hole-forming step in which a number of rod-shaped protrusions provided on a substrate are pierced into a layer of material to be dried, which is spread at the bottom of the steamer, from above the layer of material to be dried, thereby forming a number of holes in the layer of material to be dried.

2. A drying method for drying an object by passing drying air from the bottom to the top of multiple steamers stacked on top of each other, wherein the object to be dried is contained in the steamers, A drying method characterized by including a hole-forming step, in which the outer circumference of a number of hollow rod-shaped protrusions, each hollow and having openings at the top and bottom, which are provided in advance at the bottom of the steamer, is filled with the material to be dried to a required height, thereby forming a number of holes in the layer of material to be dried.

3. A drying method according to claim 1 or claim 2, A drying method characterized in that the numerous holes are formed such that, when the multiple steamers are stacked, the numerous holes relating to the odd-numbered steamers and the numerous holes relating to the even-numbered steamers are offset from each other in a plan view.

4. A drying system comprising multiple steamers and a dryer that supplies drying air to the underside of the multiple steamers stacked with the items to be dried, wherein A hole-forming tool having numerous rod-shaped protrusions arranged vertically and horizontally on a substrate, for simultaneously forming numerous holes in the layer of material to be dried by piercing it from above into the layer of material to be dried that is spread at the bottom of the steamer, When the steamer is located in an odd-numbered position among the stacked steamers, a first alignment part aligns the hole-forming tool to a predetermined position relative to the steamer, When the steamer is located in an even-numbered position among the stacked steamers, the steamer is equipped with a second alignment part that aligns the hole-forming tool to a predetermined position relative to the steamer. A drying system characterized in that the numerous rod-shaped protrusions are arranged on the substrate such that there is a certain discrepancy between the arrangement of the numerous rod-shaped protrusions relative to the steamer when the hole-forming tool is aligned at the first alignment section and the arrangement of the numerous rod-shaped protrusions relative to the steamer when the hole-forming tool is aligned at the second alignment section.

5. A drying system comprising multiple steamers and a dryer that supplies drying air to the underside of the multiple steamers stacked with the items to be dried, wherein A hole-forming tool having numerous rod-shaped protrusions arranged vertically and horizontally on a substrate, for simultaneously forming numerous holes in the layer of material to be dried by piercing it from above into the layer of material to be dried that is spread at the bottom of the steamer, The steamer includes an alignment section for aligning the hole-forming tool to a predetermined position, The aforementioned multiple steamers can be stacked by rotating each steamer 180 degrees in a plan view. A drying system characterized in that the numerous rod-shaped protrusions are arranged on the substrate such that there is a certain discrepancy between the arrangement of the numerous rod-shaped protrusions relative to the steamer when the hole-forming tool is aligned at the alignment section and the arrangement of the numerous rod-shaped protrusions relative to the steamer before the 180-degree rotation when the hole-forming tool is aligned at the alignment section and the steamer is rotated 180 degrees in a plan view.

6. A drying system comprising multiple steamers and a dryer that supplies drying air to the underside of the multiple steamers stacked with the items to be dried, wherein A hole-forming tool having numerous hollow rod-shaped protrusions arranged vertically and horizontally on a substrate, each hollow and with openings at the top and bottom, for forming numerous holes in the layer of material to be dried by placing it in the bottom of the steamer beforehand and filling each outer circumference with the material to be dried to a predetermined height, When the steamer is located in an odd-numbered position among the stacked steamers, a first alignment part aligns the hole-forming tool to a predetermined position relative to the steamer, When the steamer is located in an even-numbered position among the stacked steamers, the steamer is equipped with a second alignment part that aligns the hole-forming tool to a predetermined position relative to the steamer. A drying system characterized in that the numerous hollow rod-shaped protrusions are arranged on the substrate such that there is a certain displacement between the arrangement of the numerous hollow rod-shaped protrusions relative to the steamer when the hole-forming tool is aligned at the first alignment portion and the arrangement of the numerous hollow rod-shaped protrusions relative to the steamer when the hole-forming tool is aligned at the second alignment portion.

7. A drying system comprising multiple steamers and a dryer that supplies drying air to the underside of the multiple steamers stacked with the items to be dried, wherein A hole-forming tool having numerous hollow rod-shaped protrusions arranged vertically and horizontally on a substrate, each hollow and with openings at the top and bottom, for forming numerous holes in the layer of material to be dried by placing it in the bottom of the steamer beforehand and filling each outer circumference with the material to be dried to a predetermined height, The steamer includes an alignment section for aligning the hole-forming tool to a predetermined position, The aforementioned multiple steamers can be stacked by rotating each steamer 180 degrees in a plan view. A drying system characterized in that the numerous hollow rod-shaped protrusions are arranged on the substrate such that there is a certain difference between the arrangement of the numerous hollow rod-shaped protrusions relative to the steamer when the hole-forming tool is aligned at the alignment section and the arrangement of the numerous hollow rod-shaped protrusions relative to the steamer before the 180-degree rotation when the hole-forming tool is aligned at the alignment section and the steamer is rotated 180 degrees in a plan view.

8. A drying system comprising multiple steamers and a dryer that supplies drying air to the underside of the multiple steamers stacked with the items to be dried, wherein The aforementioned steamer basket is It consists of a base having numerous hollow rod-shaped protrusions arranged vertically and horizontally, each being hollow and having openings at the top and bottom, and a frame surrounding the base and detachably holding the base. Furthermore, when the steamer is located in an odd-numbered position among the stacked steamers, a first alignment part is provided to align the bottom of the steamer with the frame, When the steamer is located in an even-numbered position among the stacked steamers, it is provided with a second alignment part that aligns the bottom of the steamer with the frame, A drying system characterized in that the numerous hollow rod-shaped protrusions are arranged on the bottom such that there is a certain displacement between the arrangement of the numerous hollow rod-shaped protrusions relative to the frame when the bottom is aligned with the first alignment part and the arrangement of the numerous hollow rod-shaped protrusions relative to the frame when the bottom is aligned with the second alignment part.

9. A drying system comprising multiple steamers and a dryer that supplies drying air to the underside of the multiple steamers stacked with the items to be dried, wherein The aforementioned steamer basket is It consists of a base having numerous hollow rod-shaped protrusions arranged vertically and horizontally, each being hollow and having openings at the top and bottom, and a frame surrounding the base and detachably holding the base, and moreover, it can be stacked by rotating it 180 degrees in a plan view, and furthermore, it is equipped with an alignment part for aligning the base with the frame of the steamer, A drying system characterized in that the numerous hollow rod-shaped protrusions are arranged on the bottom such that there is a certain difference between the arrangement of the numerous hollow rod-shaped protrusions on the frame when the bottom is aligned with the alignment part and the arrangement of the steamer on the frame before the 180-degree rotation when the bottom is aligned with the alignment part and the steamer is rotated 180 degrees in a plan view.

10. A drying system comprising multiple steamers and a dryer that supplies drying air to the underside of the multiple steamers stacked with the items to be dried, wherein The aforementioned steamer consists of a base having numerous hollow rod-shaped protrusions arranged vertically and horizontally, each being hollow and having openings at the top and bottom, and a frame surrounding the base and holding it in place, and moreover, it can be stacked by rotating it 180 degrees at a time in a plan view. A drying system characterized in that the numerous hollow rod-shaped protrusions are arranged on the bottom of one of the steamers such that when one of the vertically adjacent steamers is rotated 180 degrees in a plan view, there is a certain discrepancy between the arrangement of the numerous hollow rod-shaped protrusions on one of the steamers relative to the other of the vertically adjacent steamers and the arrangement of the numerous hollow rod-shaped protrusions on one of the steamers relative to the other steamer before it is rotated.

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