The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 02, 2002
Filed:
May. 15, 2000
Malcolm Albert Austin, Warsaw, PL;
Robert Otto Brandt, Jr., Wilmington, NC (US);
Ray Louis Peterson, Chattanooga, TN (US);
David Mendel Nathan, Minneapolis, MN (US);
Gregg Alan Martell, Lancaster, PA (US);
Peter Thomas Kashulines, Jr., Mountain Lakes, NJ (US);
Mars, Inc., McLean, VA (US);
Abstract
An apparatus for heating and/or cooling a plurality of particles including a generally circular bed for holding the particles, the bed having a substantially centered annular inner bed wall, an outer bed wall and an irregular bottom. The apparatus also includes a drive mechanism rotatably affixed to said bed, where rotation of the drive mechanism at a predetermined rate produces a displacement of the bed horizontally and vertically resulting in a particle flow in the x, y and z directions. The particle flow in the x and y planes for a majority of said particles is in a dominant direction. The apparatus also includes an airplant which provides a heated and/or cooled airflow tangentially into the bed in a direction opposite to the dominant direction.