JP2008100938A - Apparatus for drying plant body and method for drying the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an apparatus for directly and three-dimensionally drying a plant body such as a raw flower etc., and a method for drying the same. <P>SOLUTION: This apparatus for drying the plant body is equipped with a drying chamber, air-feeding means or air-sucking means, powdery dessicant is put in the drying chamber, an air-ejection port having a size preventing the falling down of the dessicant is provided at the bottom part of the drying chamber, and the air is blown from the air-ejection port by the air-feeding means or ejecting the air from the air-ejecting port by sucking the air from the upper part of the drying chamber by the air-sucking means so as to liquefy the dessicant. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a dry processing apparatus and a dry processing method effective for three-dimensionally drying a plant body as it is.

There is a demand to preserve fresh flowers used in wedding bouquets as dry flowers in commemoration.
As a method for dry-processing plants such as fresh flowers as described above, a technique of embedding in a desiccant such as silica gel or calcium oxide and leaving it for a certain period of time is known.
For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-302402 discloses a technique of making a conical container with plain paper, putting fresh flowers, etc. into this container, filling with a desiccant such as silica gel, and drying the plant body. Disclose.
However, petals and the like have a three-dimensional and complicated shape, and are soft and easily damaged. Therefore, there are problems that the shape of the petals changes, wrinkles, and tears when buried in a desiccant.
Therefore, the petals and leaves are once disassembled and reassembled after drying using a wire or the like. However, there is a problem that not only a great effort and time are required for production but also the natural form is lost.

JP 2002-302402 A

  An object of this invention is to provide the dry processing apparatus and dry processing method which can dry plants, such as a fresh flower, three-dimensionally as it is.

  The plant dry processing apparatus according to claim 1 is provided with a drying chamber and an air supply means or an air suction means, and the drying chamber contains a powdery desiccant, and at the bottom of the drying chamber. The air outlet has a size that prevents the desiccant from falling off, and the air is supplied from the air outlet by the air supply means or is sucked from the upper part of the drying chamber by the air suction means. The desiccant is liquefied by jetting air.

Here, the drying chamber refers to a container-like space in which a plant in a raw state is buried in a liquefied desiccant.
Further, drying in the present invention includes not only evaporation of moisture but also evaporation of a solvent such as alcohol.
If the desiccant used in the present invention is a powdery desiccant, various desiccants such as silica gel, alumina and calcium oxide can be used.
The particle size of the powder needs to be fine enough to be liquefied by air flow when air is injected from the bottom.
In general, the average particle diameter is preferably 1 mm or less.
The desiccant may be a mixture of a large granular particle having a particle diameter of 1 mm or more and a powder having a particle size smaller than that.
In addition, the air outlet has holes with a diameter of about 0.2 to 0.8 mm where the powdery desiccant does not fall out, and a perforated area ratio of about 2 to 10% is suitable for liquefaction.
Here, the size of the hole at the air outlet is such that the desiccant does not fall out, but the desiccant may be partially dropped, but it may be partly dropped but the desiccant does not fall out directly, and the hole shape is also a circle. It is not limited.

  The invention described in claim 2 aims to provide a dry processing method of a plant body, in which air is blown out from the bottom of a drying chamber containing a powdery desiccant and dried in a liquefied desiccant. It is characterized by introducing a plant body.

In the present invention, a powdery desiccant is filled in a container forming a drying chamber, and pressurized air is injected from a plurality of small-diameter air jets provided at the bottom or the upper sealed space of the drying chamber is sucked. Then, the desiccant is lifted by air and becomes easy to flow.
When a flower such as a bouquet is put into the drying chamber in such a state, it becomes a soft state with little resistance as if it was put into a liquid.
As a result, when a bouquet or bouquet-like plant body is put into the drying chamber as it is, the liquefied desiccant embeds the plant body and is uniformly dried.
Further, since the powder desiccant is fluidized like a liquid, even if the petals are thin and easily deformed, they can be dried as they are without being damaged.

A plant dry processing apparatus and dry processing method according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
A container-like drying chamber 10 is formed by the surrounding side wall 10a and the bottom wall 12, and an air jet port having an infinite number of diameters of about 0.2 to 0.8 mm is provided on the bottom wall.
The perforated area ratio is about 2 to 10%.
The drying chamber 10 is filled with a powder desiccant 2 such as silica gel.
In this state, pressure air is sent from the air supply chamber 24 provided in the lower portion of the drying chamber 10 or the upper portion of the drying chamber 10 is sealed with a lid 14 and the air in the upper space is sucked from the suction port 23. Air is spouted from the air outlet 11.
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, an example is shown in which an air supply chamber 24 is provided at the bottom of the drying chamber 10 and a suction port 23 for sucking air from the top is provided. Even if air is sucked from the upper part, the air is blown out from the air outlet, and the desiccant is fluidized to resemble a liquid.
As shown in FIG. 1, if the air circulation type is used, the blower can be made small.
In addition, since air supplied to a desiccant such as silica gel is circulated through drying, moisture can be prevented from entering from the outside.
Moreover, it is preferable that the air pressure supplied from the lower part or the suction pressure to be sucked and reduced from the upper part can be varied, and the air ejection state may be adjusted by the amount and particle size of the desiccant.

Further, when the air supply chamber 24 is provided and the air dispersion wall 13 having the hole 13a having a larger porosity than the bottom wall 12 is provided, the air blown out from the air outlet is made uniform.
Here, the dispersion wall is not necessarily required, and may be a baffle plate for turbulent air flow.
When the heating device 21 is provided in front of the blower 20 or in the middle of the pipe 22, the drying temperature can be adjusted.
When the drying temperature is 100 ° C. or higher, the used desiccant can be regenerated.

When an appropriate amount of air is ejected from the air jet outlet, the desiccant liquefies as the foam bursts from the surface of the desiccant 2.
When the desiccant 2 is liquefied in this manner, even a three-dimensional plant 1 such as a bouquet has very little resistance and is buried in the desiccant.
As a result, while maintaining the three-dimensional shape, the desiccant can be filled evenly into the complex gaps of the plant body, and a dried flower can be obtained in about several days to one week.
In addition, although it is good also as a state which supplied air continuously during drying, you may liquefy a desiccant only when throwing in and raising a plant body.

As shown in FIG. 2, if a plant body holding member 15 such as a wire mesh is provided in the middle of the drying chamber, the plant body 1 can be prevented from coming into direct contact with the bottom wall 11, and the deformation of the plant is difficult to occur. It is also possible to provide a lid on the wire net so that the plant does not float by air.
1 and 2 schematically show the structure of a dry processing apparatus, and a blower and piping are integrally provided in a drying chamber so that a desiccant can be put in the bucket and the bucket can be attached to the main body. The device structure can be freely deformed.
1 and FIG. 2, the air outlet is provided on the bottom wall, but a pipe for air ejection is provided at the bottom of the drying chamber without opening a hole in the bottom wall, and the desiccant is provided in the pipe. A hole having such a size that does not enter can be formed and pressure air can be injected.
A filter and a desiccant reservoir may be provided in front so that the desiccant does not enter the blower.

The schematic diagram of the dry processing apparatus which concerns on this invention is shown. The example which provided holding members of plant bodies, such as a wire net, in a drying room is shown.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Plant 2 Powder desiccant 10 Drying chamber 11 Air outlet 14 Lid 20 Blower 23 Suction port 24 Air supply chamber

Claims (2)

  It is equipped with a drying chamber and air supply means or air suction means. The drying chamber is filled with a powdery desiccant, and the bottom of the drying chamber has an air jet outlet large enough to prevent the desiccant from falling off. In addition, the desiccant is liquefied by ejecting air from the air ejection port by the air supply means or by ejecting air from the air ejection port by suctioning from the upper part of the drying chamber by the air suction means. An apparatus for dry processing a plant body.   A dry processing method for a plant characterized in that air is spouted from the bottom of a drying chamber containing a powdery desiccant and the plant to be dried is put into a liquefied desiccant.

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