Abstrict A desiccant rotor including three or more barrels rotatably disposed
in a housing, each of the barrels having a passage formed in a center
portion and made of screen material and having one end for receiving
air, and a stop disposed in a middle portion of the passage for
preventing the air from directly flowing out of the barrel. A rotating
mechanism is disposed below the housing for rotating the barrels
relative to the housing.
Claims I claim:
1. A desiccant rotor comprising a housing rotatably engaged between
a cap and a base, at least one plate engaged on one end of said
housing, at least one board engaged on the other end of said housing,
and at least three barrels engaged between said plate and said board,
each of said barrels including a passage formed in a center portion
thereof and made of screen material and having one end for receiving
air, a stop disposed in a middle portion of said passage for preventing
said air from directly flowing out of said barrel, a shaft rotatably
engaged between said cap and said base and coupled to said plate
and said board such that said shaft rotates in concert with said
barrels, said shaft including a first end extended outward through
said board, and a rotating mechanism including at least one beam
having a ring formed integral on a first end thereof, an actuator
pivotally coupled to a second end of said beam, and having a piston
rod, a stub rotatably engaged in said ring and having a ratchet
gear formed thereon, said first end of said shaft coupled to said
stub and rotated in concert with said stub, a lever having a first
end pivotally coupled to said piston rod of said actuator and having
a sleeve formed on a second end thereof and rotatably engaged on
said stub, a pin disposed in said sleeve, and means for biasing
said pin to engage with said ratchet gear, whereby, said shaft and
said barrels are rotated when said sleeve is rotated relative to
said stub by said actuator.
2. A desiccant rotor according to claim 1 wherein said sleeve
includes a casing fixed therein, said pin and said biasing means
are disposed in said casing, and said pin is biased by said biasing
means to engage with said ratchet gear.
3. A desiccant rotor comprising a housing rotatably engaged between
a cap and a base, at least one plate engaged on one end of said
housing, at least one board engaged on the other end of said housing,
and at least three barrels engaged between said plate and said board,
a shaft rotatably engaged between said cap and said base and coupled
to said plate and said board such that said shaft rotates in concert
with said barrels, said shaft including a first end extended outward
through said board, and a rotating mechanism including at least
one beam having a ring formed integral on a first end thereof, an
actuator pivotally coupled to a second end of said beam, and having
a piston rod, a stub rotatably engaged in said ring and having a
ratchet gear formed thereon, said first end of said shaft coupled
to said stub and rotated in concert with said stub, a lever having
a first end pivotally coupled to said piston rod of said actuator
and having a sleeve formed on a second end thereof and rotatably
engaged on said stub, a pin disposed in said sleeve, and means for
biasing said pin to engage with said ratchet gear, whereby, said
shaft and said barrels are rotated when said sleeve is rotated relative
to said stub by said actuator.
4. A desiccant rotor according to claim 3 wherein said sleeve
includes a casing fixed therein, said pin and said biasing means
are disposed in said casing, and said pin is biased by said biasing
means to engage with said ratchet gear.
5. A desiccant rotor according to claim 3 wherein each of said
barrels includes a passage formed in a center portion thereof and
made of screen material and having one end for receiving air, and
a stop disposed in a middle portion of said passage for preventing
said air from directly flowing out of said barrel.
Description BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a desiccant rotor, and more particularly
to a desiccant rotor of a dehumidifier.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
Plastic particles are molten before the plastic materials can be
injected and molded, however, the plastic particles should be dried
before the melting processes. A typical dehumidifier for dehumidifying
the plastic particles is shown in FIG. 7 and comprises a desiccant
rotor 90 for supplying dehumidified air into a hopper dryer 91 in
which plastic particles are contained. It is preferable that the
air is preheated by a heater 92 before entering into the hopper
dryer 91. The air flown out from the hopper dryer 91 flows through
a filter 93 and an air cooler 94 and is pumped into the dehumidifying
areas of the desiccant rotor 90 by a blower 95 part of the air
flown out of the hopper dryer 91 flows through a filter 93 and an
air cooler 94 and is pumped into the cooling areas of the desiccant
rotor 90 by the blower 95. A pump 97 also pumps air into the regeneration
areas of the desiccant rotor 90 and the air is preheated by a heater
98 before entering into the regeneration areas of the desiccant
rotor 90 such that a heated air is pumped into the regeneration
areas of the desiccant rotor 90 in order to draw the humidity from
the desiccant of the desiccant rotor 90.
A typical desiccant rotor 90 is shown in FIG. 8 and comprises a
cylindrical housing 80 rotatably engaged between a cap 81 and a
base 82 two plates 83 84 engaged on the upper portion of the housing
80 and two boards 85 86 engaged on the lower portion of the housing
80 a shaft 87 rotatably engaged between the cap 81 and the base
82 and having three blades 88 fixed thereon. The base 82 includes
three inlets 89 formed therein such that air can be supplied into
the housing 80 of the desiccant rotor 90 the air then flows out
of the housing 80 via the cap 81. In this type of single desiccant
rotor 90 the interior thereof is divided into three areas which
require different temperatures, however, the temperature of the
areas will be interfered with one another such that the air can
not be suitably dehumidified.
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the
afore-described disadvantages of the conventional desiccant rotors
of the dehumidifiers.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a
desiccant rotor of a dehumidifier in which air can be suitably dehumidified.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is
provided a desiccant rotor comprising a housing rotatably engaged
between a cap and a base, at least one plate engaged on one end
of the housing, at least one board engaged on the other end of the
housing, and at least three barrels, or so-called desiccant sub-rotors
or desiccant bed, engaged between the plate and the board, each
of the barrels including a passage formed in a center portion thereof
and made of screen material and having one end for receiving air,
and a stop disposed in a middle portion of the passage for preventing
the air from directly flowing out of the barrel. A rotating mechanism
is disposed on the lower portion of the base for rotating the barrels
relative to the housing and the base.
Further objectives and advantages of the present invention will
become apparent from a careful reading of the detailed description
provided hereinbelow, with appropriate reference to the accompanying
drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a partial exploded view of a desiccant rotor of a dehumidifier
in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view of the desiccant rotor;
FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view of one of the barrels;
FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the desiccant rotor;
FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating part of the rotating
mechanism of the desiccant rotor;
FIG. 6 is a schematic view illustrating the operation of the rotating
mechanism;
FIG. 7 is a schematic view illustrating the dehumidifying system
for plastic particles; and
FIG. 8 is an exploded view of a typical desiccant rotor.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring to the drawings and initially to FIGS. 1 2 and 3 a
desiccant rotor in accordance with the present invention comprises
generally a cylindrical housing 10 rotatably disposed between a
cap 11 and a base 12 which are fixed together by bolts 13 at least
one plate 14 fixed on the upper portion of the housing 10 at least
one board 15 fixed on the lower portion of the housing 10 the plate
14 and the board 15 being fixed together by bolts 141 and six barrels
20 disposed between the plate 14 and the board 15. The barrels 20
are so-called desiccant sub-rotors or desiccant bed and are communicated
with the holes 140 150 of the plate 14 and the board 15. The base
12 includes three apertures 120 formed therein such that air may
flow into the barrels 20 and the cap 11 includes three orifices
110 formed therein such that air may flow out of the housing 10
via the orifices. A shaft 30 is rotatably engaged between the cap
11 and the base 12 and coupled to the plate 14 and the board 15
such that the plate 14 the board 15 the barrels 20 and the shaft
30 rotate in concert. The shaft 30 has a lower end extended downward
through the base 12 for engagement with a rotating mechanism which
will be discussed later.
As shown in FIG. 3 each of the barrels 20 includes a passage 21
longitudinally formed in the center thereof and having a stop 22
formed integral on the middle portion thereof, and a cylindrical
drum 24 formed between the passage 21 and the body of the barrel
20 the passage 21 and the drum 24 are formed by screen and mesh
materials such that air may flow therethrough, however, it is to
be noted that the stop 22 is made of solid materials and has no
holes formed therein such that air may not flow through the stop
22. An inlet 25 is formed in the upper portion of the barrel 20
for inserting the desiccant materials 26 into the barrel 20; accordingly,
the air flown into the barrel 20 via the lower portion thereof is
prevented from directly flowing out of the barrel 20 by the stop
22 such that the air may be maintained in the barrel 20 for a longer
period of time and such that the air may be suitably contacted with
the desiccant materials 26 and can be suitably dehumidified. An
outlet 27 is preferably provided in the lower portion of the barrel
20 for discharging the desiccant materials contained therein and
is enclosed by a plug 28.
Referring next to FIGS. 4 to 6 and again to FIG. 2 the rotating
mechanism includes a pair of beams 40 each having a ring 41 formed
integral on one end thereof and having the other ends pivotally
coupled to an actuator 42 which includes a piston rod 43 a stub
44 rotatably engaged between the rings 41 of the beams 40 and including
a ratchet gear 45 formed in the middle portion thereof, and a lever
50 including a first end pivotally coupled to the piston rod 43
by a bolt 51 and a sleeve 52 formed integral on the second end thereof
and rotatably engaged on the stub 44 and a casing 53 fixed to the
sleeve 52 and including a pin 54 slidably engaged therein and biased
by a spring element 55 to engage with the ratchet gear 45 of the
stub 44. As best shown in FIG. 2 the lower end of the shaft 30
extends into the stub 44 and is coupled to the stub 44 such that
the shaft 30 and the barrels 20 rotate in concert with the stub
44.
As best shown in FIG. 6 when the sleeve 52 is rotated counter-clockwise
by the actuator 42 the pin 54 slides along the outer surface of
the tooth of the ratchet gear 45 and is biased to engage in the
void between the teeth by the spring 55. However, when the sleeve
52 is rotated clockwise, the ratchet gear 45 and the stub 44 and
thus the shaft 30 and the barrels 20 can be rotated clockwise with
respective to the housing 10. Accordingly, the barrels 20 can be
rotated for 60 degrees each time such that two sets of three barrels
20 may be communicated with the apertures 120 of the base 12 alternatively.
It is to be noted that the barrels 20 are arranged to be rotated
for 120 degrees each time if only three barrels 20 are disposed
in the desiccant rotor.
Accordingly, air can be suitably dehumidified in the barrels of
the desiccant rotor in accordance with the present invention, and
the barrels can be rotated by a rotating mechanism.
Although this invention has been described with a certain degree
of particularity, it is to be understood that the present disclosure
has been made by way of example only and that numerous changes in
the detailed construction and the combination and arrangement of
parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope
of the invention as hereinafter claimed. |