Contact Flash Dryer Heated Rollers Battery Grid Drying

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional flash drying ovens for battery plate manufacturing are large and inefficient, requiring significant space and reducing processing speed due to the need for extensive heat application, which affects the handling and division of pasted strips.

Innovation Solution

A contact flash dryer using a plurality of heated, driven rollers that apply heat and pressure to the pasted strip, allowing for efficient moisture removal and reducing the equipment's footprint while maintaining processing speed.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Loss of energy

If conventional flash drying ovens with conveyor belts and circulated heat are used, then moisture is removed from the pasted strip, but the equipment becomes large and processing speed is reduced

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemoisture removal efficiencyVSAvoidprocessing speed

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of energyVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces the conventional circulated air heating system with a direct contact heating system using heated rollers. The rollers physically contact the pasted strip and transfer heat directly through conduction, eliminating the need for large volumes of circulated air and lengthy exposure times. This substitution of the heating mechanism enables faster moisture removal while significantly reducing equipment size and maintaining high processing speeds.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent changes the fundamental heating parameter from indirect air heating to direct contact heating through rollers. By changing the heat transfer mode from convection to conduction, the process achieves much higher heat transfer efficiency, allowing moisture removal in a compact device without sacrificing processing speed. The rollers can be maintained at higher temperatures and transfer heat directly to the paste, dramatically reducing drying time.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

2Loss of energy

If conventional flash drying ovens with circulated air are used, then moisture is removed from the pasted strip, but the equipment size becomes large

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemoisture removal effectivenessVSAvoidequipment footprint

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of energyVSArea of stationary object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces the large circulated air system with compact heated rollers that provide direct contact heating. This eliminates the need for large oven chambers and air circulation mechanisms, reducing the equipment footprint from approximately 24 linear feet to a much more compact configuration while maintaining effective moisture removal through direct thermal conduction.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

3Loss of energy

If extensive heat application is used in conventional flash drying, then moisture is removed from the pasted strip, but the processing speed is reduced

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemoisture evaporationVSAvoiddrying time

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of energyVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces indirect air heating with direct contact heating through rollers, which transfers heat much more efficiently. This eliminates the need for extended exposure times required by circulated air systems, as the rollers can rapidly transfer thermal energy directly to the paste through conduction, achieving complete moisture removal in a fraction of the time.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent changes the heat transfer mechanism from convection to conduction by using heated rollers in direct contact with the pasted strip. This parameter change enables much higher heat transfer coefficients, allowing extensive heat application to be achieved in a much shorter time period, thereby reducing drying time while maintaining effectiveness.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

The contact flash dryer effectively reduces moisture content in the pasted strip to a level suitable for division and stacking, enabling efficient handling and subsequent curing processes, while significantly reducing the equipment's size and space requirements.

Implementation Method 1

contact flash drying lead oxide paste to a battery plate grid strip using a plurality of heated, driven rollers that contact, move and heat a pasted strip through line contact with each roller

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectThermal conduction: Conduction (thermal)

Implementation Method 2

as the pasted strip is heated by increasing the ambient temperature within the flash drying oven, the moisture is removed to some extent as steam

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectEvaporation: Evaporation

Data Source

PatentUS8533973B2Contact flash dryer and method of contact flash drying

Publication Date: 2013.09.17 MAC ENG & EQUIP

AI summary

An apparatus and method operations are provided for flash drying paste provided on strips of battery plate grids, wherein the paste is dried through contact with a plurality of heated rollers. The plurality of heated rollers are individually driven and heating of the heated rollers is controlled on an individual basis with a feedback loop. The plurality of heated rollers are positioned so as to move the pasted strip of battery plates through contact with the heated rollers; as a result of this contact with the heated rollers, moisture is removed from the paste, so as to provide a pasted strip that with a sufficiently low moisture content to be divided into battery plate grids.