Methods and apparatus for drying conveyorized articles of manufacture
US6108938A · kind A · utility
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 29, 1999 |
| Grant date | Aug 29, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 29, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH05K3/227
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
The invention is of methodologies and associated equipment, the practice and use of which, in the context of drying systems used in the drying of conveyorized articles bearing residual moisture from prior manufacturing steps, provides substantially enhanced drying efficacy and substantially accelerated drying rates, when compared with presently available drying systems. The present invention is of certain design parameters for drying systems, and associated methods, the practice of which result in impingement pressures, created by air or flowing from drying system nozzles onto to-be-dried articles of manufacture, which fall between the certain optimum ranges discovered by the present inventor for drying articles such as printed circuit boards in an assembly line context. The design parameters pertain to relative dimensions and positioning of air supply conduits, manifolds, nozzles, and conveyor surfaces, as well as performance parameters such as the velocity of air exiting the drying system nozzles.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.