Drying Unit Aperture Segmentation for Uniform Pelt Airflow
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Solution Overview
Problem
Standard drying units for pelts do not distribute air evenly among apertures at high flow velocities, leading to uneven drying and potential over-drying or under-drying of pelts.
Innovation Solution
Increasing the inner height of the drying unit to double its volume, combined with a flexible sidewall and a lifting device to adjust the distance between the top and bottom plates, and using a flow distributor to ensure uniform airflow through all apertures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the blower capacity is increased to generate a more powerful stream of drying air, then the drying time is reduced, but the pelt may be over-dried which leads to reduced quality and formation of spots or marks
Solution Approach 1:
The drying unit distributes drying air through multiple apertures arranged in rows, with each aperture serving a local area. The pelt board is divided into zones corresponding to different aperture rows, allowing different drying intensities in different regions. This enables the blower to operate at high capacity while maintaining uniform local drying conditions across the entire pelt surface, preventing over-drying in any single area.
2Productivity
If the blower capacity is increased to generate a more powerful stream of drying air, then the drying time is reduced, but uneven drying occurs with some pelts over-dried and some still moist
Solution Approach 1:
The drying unit is segmented into multiple aperture rows (first row, second row, etc.) that divide the drying air flow into discrete streams. Each row of apertures serves a specific zone of the pelt board, creating independent drying channels. This segmentation ensures that even at high blower capacity, the air flow is evenly distributed across all zones, preventing uneven drying between different pelt positions.
Solution Approach 2:
Each aperture row is designed to serve a specific local zone of the pelt board with optimized aperture spacing and sizing. The pelt board is correspondingly divided into zones that receive drying air from specific aperture rows. This local optimization ensures uniform drying across the entire surface while maintaining high overall drying efficiency.
3Manufacturing precision
If the distance between top plate and bottom plate is increased to reduce flow turbulence, then the inner space volume increases, but the device complexity and size increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of increasing the vertical distance between top and bottom plates to reduce turbulence, the invention extends the drying unit in the horizontal dimension by adding multiple rows of apertures. This dimensional change allows the system to achieve uniform airflow distribution through increased lateral spacing of aperture rows rather than vertical spacing, maintaining a compact vertical profile while reducing flow turbulence and improving drying uniformity.
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
This solution allows for more efficient and uniform drying of pelts by minimizing flow turbulence and pressure waves, ensuring all pelts are dried consistently without over-drying or under-drying.
Implementation Method 1
The drying unit comprises a blowing unit. The drying unit defines a top surface having a number of apertures. The pelt boards have a connecting element at the bottom end. The connecting element is received and arrested in the apertures. The blowing unit forces an airflow into the inner space and into the bottom end of the pelt boards via the apertures.
Implementation Method 2
The pelt boards are often used together with a layer of fat absorbing material such as paper for absorbing fat from the pelt. The moist of the pelt is however removed using a drying unit for drying the pelts by means of a flow of air. For this purpose, the pelt board has a plurality of openings or apertures for allowing drying air to pass through the pelt board. Drying air is received at the bottom part of the pelt board and passes via the inside of the hollow pelt board through the pelt board and pelt.
Data Source
AI summary
A pelt processing system includes a plurality of pelt boards, each of which is operable between an expanded state and a non-expanded state by moving a connecting element relative to the bottom of the pelt board. The system further includes a holding unit, configured to hold a plurality of pelt boards, that includes a top plate having a number of apertures, each of the apertures accommodating a connecting element of a pelt board; and a blowing unit including a bottom plate spaced from the top plate, a gas inlet configured for receiving a stream of gas, and a sidewall in a fluid-tight connection with the top and bottom plates, whereby an inner space is established between the top plate, the bottom plate, the gas inlet, and the sidewall; and a release mechanism configured for causing the pelt boards held by the holding unit to assume the non-expanded state.