Steaming, Thermosetting and Drying Machine with Direct Heating and Energy Recycling

Technical Field

The invention relates to the machines used in many fields where the product requires steam atmosphere, hot air and drying process.

The invention especially relates to the steaming, heating and drying machines which are used in many fields where the product requires steam atmosphere, hot air and drying process, which can conduct direct heating without requiring an external steam boiler or hot oil boiler, and which provide saving energy by recycling the internal atmosphere.

State of the Art

Today in many fields, especially in textile sector, various machines are used in order to conduct the process of subjecting the products to steam atmosphere or hot air and the drying process thereof. These generally consist of the main body in which the process is conducted, and the external steam boilers or hot oil boilers which provide steaming or heat.

The utility model No. CN202644178 titled "Digital Continuous Steam Ager" which received protection in China is a machine of the type mentioned above and it is used for heat treatment of fabrics. Said invention receives the steam it needs from an external source via a pipe assembly. Thus, the installation costs are very high and occupies too much space. Moreover, due to the need for establishing a connection between the machine and the steaming source, loss of time occurs and labor costs increase. Besides, energy losses also occur. Besides, due to the fact that the energy required by the machine is constantly provided externally, the atmosphere in the machine cannot be used again and discharged via a funnel. Thus, great amounts of energy is discharged to the external environment. Moreover, the atmosphere inside the main body loses its homogenous property, even it cannot be established at all. As a result, the quality of the work decreases.

In the event that hot oil boilers are used instead of steaming source in the state of the art for various processes, the disadvantages mentioned above are still experienced. As a result, the requirement for steaming, heating and drying machines which are used in many fields where the product requires steaming atmosphere, hot air and drying process, which can conduct direct heating without requiring an external steaming boiler or hot oil boiler, and which provide saving energy by recycling the internal atmosphere; and the inadequacy of the existing solutions made it essential to make a development in the relevant technical field.

Object of the Invention The invention relates to self-heating steaming, thermosetting and drying machines which meet the requirements mentioned above, eliminate all the disadvantages and introduce some additional advantages.

The main object of the direct heating recycling steaming, heating and drying machine is to eliminate the need for steaming or hot oil from an external source by means of the heat source comprised within. As a monolithic structure is formed this way, the machine is prevented from occupying too much space and the need for establishing additional connections is eliminated. Thus, installation period and costs are significantly reduced. Moreover, as the system is transformed into a much closed one, the energy losses that occur during transfer are prevented.

Another object of the invention is to comprise an internal heat transfer cell alongside the heat source comprised therein. This way, the machine can be used in various process steps with or without steam. With this feature, without the need for different machinery, many processes can be conducted with a single machine.

Another object of the invention is to comprise an internal circulation system alongside the heat source comprised therein. This way, the atmosphere inside the machine can be used over and over without being discharged. As a result, the efficiency is increased substantially. Moreover, by this way the atmosphere in the machine is preserved preeminently homogenous and the quality of the work conducted is increased.

The structural and characteristic features and all the advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood thanks to the figures below and the detailed description written with reference to those figures, therefore, the evaluation needs to be done by taking said figures and the detailed description into consideration. Figures to Facilitate Understanding of the Invention

The present invention should be evaluated with the figures described below to ensure the best understanding of the embodiment and advantages together with the additional elements of the invention.

Figure 1 : The front sectional view of the direct heating recycling steaming, heating and drying machine according to the invention.

Figure 2: The side sectional view of the direct heating recycling steaming, heating and drying machine according to the invention.

Part References

10 Steaming, heating and drying machine 32 Circulation fan

1 1 Main body 33 Circulation motor

12 Insulation layer 34 Heat discharge channel opening

13 Process chamber 35 Circulation channel opening

14 Ceiling heating member 36 Heat inlet channel

15 Drying funnel 37 Feeding motor

16 Funnel valve 38 Unloading motor

17 Bearing chain 39 Funnel motor

18 Bearing suspender 40 Product inlet opening

19 Bearing shaft 41 Inlet overflow funnel

20 Bearing motor 42 Product outlet opening

21 Heat discharge channel 43 Outlet overflow funnel

22 Heat channel valve 44 Waste funnel

23 Fuel inlet 45 Circulation inlet channel

24 Heat source 50 Temperature control

25 Heat transfer cell 51 Water level control

26 Circulation channel 60 Product

27 Circulation channel valve 70 Product adjustment apparatus

28 Foot 80 Product centering apparatus

29 Condensation drain 90 Product stacking apparatus

30 Water inlet

31 Heat transfer cell discharge valve Detailed Description of the Invention

In this detailed description, the direct heating energy recycling steaming, heating and drying machine (10) according to the present invention is described only for the subject to be understood better without any limiting effect.

In Figure 1 and 2, front and side sectional views of the steaming, heating and drying machine (10) according to the invention are given respectively. In the invention, the main structure comprises a main body (1 1 ) which houses and preserves all the elements. Inside the surfaces of the main body (1 1 ) there is an insulation layer (12) which minimizes the heat transfer with outside. In the inner section of the main body (1 1 ) there is the process chamber (13) in which the products (60) are processed. On the ceiling of the process chamber (13) on the main body (1 1) the ceiling heating member (14) which heats the ceiling is located. On the exterior of the main body (1 1 ) at the bottom section, the foot (28), which keeps it higher than the ground level and supports it, is located. On the bottom section of the main body (1 1 ) the condensation drain (29) which provides discharging of the liquids that occur as a result of the condensation in the process chamber (13) is located. On the top section of the main body (1 1 ) the drying funnel (15) which is used for discharging the air inside the process chamber (13) when necessary is located and the funnel valve (16) which controls its opening and closing is placed therein. Funnel motor (39) is located on the drying funnel (15) and it provides the movement of the air inside the process chamber (13) in the drying funnel (15). On the main body (1 1 ) also the product inlet opening (40), which provides inlet of the products (60) into the process chamber (13), and the product outlet opening (42), which provides outlet of the products (60) from the process chamber (13), are located. On the product inlet opening (40) the inlet overflow funnel (41), which discharges overflowing air and steam during inlet of product (60), is located, and on the product outlet opening (42) the outlet overflow funnel (43), which discharges the overflowing air and steam during outlet of the product (60), is located.

Inside the process chamber (13) there is the bearing suspender (18) on which the products (60) are hanged. Bearing suspenders (18) are connected to each other with the bearing chain (17). Bearing chain (17) is moved by the bearing motor (20) via the bearing shaft (19). Products (60) are loaded on the bearing suspender (18) by the feeding motor (37). Removal of the products (60) from the bearing suspender (18) is conducted by the unloading motor (38). The temperature inside the process chamber (13) is controlled by the temperature control (50).

The function of providing heat inside the process chamber (13) is realized by the heat source (24). Heat source (24) is placed inside a heat transfer cell (25) which can be filled with water in order to provide steaming when necessary. On the heat transfer cell (25) the heat discharge channel (21) which provides transfer of the steaming or the hot air produced by the heat source (24) to the process chamber (13) is located. The heat discharge channel opening (34) which provides inlet of the air received from the process chamber (13) to the heat transfer cell (25) is also formed on the top section of the heat transfer cell (25). On a section of the heat transfer cell (25) there is the heat inlet channel (36) which was formed in a manner to connect the heat discharge channel opening (24) and the heat transfer cell (25). On the heat discharge channel opening (34) the heat channel valve (22) which controls the inlet of air received from the process chamber (13) into the heat transfer cell (25) directly or over the heat inlet channel (34). The fuel required by the heat source (24) is provided by the fuel inlet (23). The discharge of the wastes formed in the heat source (24) is made possible by the waste funnel (44). Water is provided into the heat transfer cell (25) via the water inlet (30). The water level inside the heat transfer cell (25) is controlled by the water level control (51 ). When the water inside the heat transfer cell (25) is not required, discharging operation is conducted by means of the heat transfer cell discharge valve (31 ).

Circulation channel (26) which provides air circulation is located inside the process chamber (13). On the internal section of the circulation channel (26) the circulation fan (32), which provides air flow inwards or outwards, is located. The movement of the circulation fan (32) is provided by the circulation motor (33).

Operation in steaming process: In this process, the internal atmosphere consists of saturated steam. By means of the water inlet (30), water is taken into the heat transfer cell (25) in the amount allowed by the pre-set water level control (51 ) and in the amount to completely cover the heat source (24). Heat source (24) vaporizes the water in the heat transfer cell (25) with its operation. In this process, heat channel valve (22) is in position 1 as shown in Figure 1 and closes heat inlet channel (36). The internal atmosphere received from heat discharge channel opening (34) grazes the boiling water inside the heat transfer cell (25) and given back to the process chamber over the heat discharge channel (21 ). Meanwhile, temperature control (50) commands the heat source (24) and ensures that the internal atmosphere is kept in the same temperature. Meanwhile, the inlet overflow funnel (41 ) and the outlet overflow funnel (43) prevents discharge of excessive steam and inlet of external environment air. Funnel valve (16) and accordingly the drying funnel (15) are in closed position. Internal atmosphere pressure is positive. Circulation fan (32) operates constantly and mixes and thus homogenizes the air in the top and bottom sections of the process chamber (13) over the circulation channel (26). Product (60) is placed on the bearing suspenders (18) connected to bearing chain (17) with constant motion within the process chamber (13) by means of the feeding motor (37). Bearing motor (20) provides movement of the bearing chain (17) in accordance with the processing period of the product (60). After processing, product (60) is taken through the product outlet opening (42) and stacked by means of the product stacking apparatus (90).

Operation in partial steaming heat treatment (thermosetting): In this process, the internal atmosphere consists of the mixture of partial saturated steam and hot air. There is no water in the heat transfer cell (25). In this process, heat channel valve (22) is in position 2 as shown in Figure 1 and keeps the heat inlet channel (36) open. The air received from the internal atmosphere enters from the heat discharge channel opening (34) and reaches the bottom section of the heat transfer cell (25) through the heat inlet channel (36). The air heated in the heat transfer cell (25) passes from the heat discharge channel (21 ) and is given into the process chamber (13). Meanwhile, temperature control (50) commands the heat source (24) and ensures that the internal atmosphere is kept in the same temperature. During the heating of the air, water inlet (30) is opened and closed at intervals and sprayed on the heat transfer cell (25) and the formation of partial steam is provided. The speed of the circulation fan (32) is higher than it is in steaming process. Meanwhile, the inlet overflow funnel (41 ) and the outlet overflow funnel (43) prevents discharge of excessive steam and inlet of external environment air. Funnel valve (16) and accordingly the drying funnel (15) are in closed position. Internal atmosphere pressure is positive. The movement of the product (60) in the process chamber (13) is provided again as it is in the steaming process. Operation in drying process: There is no water in the heat transfer cell (25). In this process, heat channel valve (22) is in position 2 as shown in Figure 1 and keeps the heat inlet channel (36) open. The air received from the internal atmosphere enters from the heat discharge channel opening (34) and reaches the bottom section of the heat transfer cell (25) through the heat inlet channel (36). The air heated in the heat transfer cell (25) passes from the heat discharge channel (21) and is given into the process chamber (13). Meanwhile, temperature control (50) commands the heat source (24) and ensures that the internal atmosphere is kept in the same temperature. Water inlet (30) is closed and heat transfer cell (25) is completely dry. Funnel valve (16) and accordingly the drying funnel (15) are partially or completely opened manually or by the moist control (50). The internal atmosphere pressure is negative.

Inlet overflow funnel (41 ) and outlet overflow funnel (43) are closed. The movement of the product (60) in the process chamber (13) is provided again as it is in the steaming process.

In an alternative embodiment of the invention, a product adjustment apparatus (70) shaping the product (60) properly before it enters into the process chamber (13), a product centering apparatus (80) locating the product (60) properly before it enters into the process chamber (13), and a product stacking apparatus (90) stacking the product after it exits from the process chamber (13).