Abstract: A dryer nozzle for a drying unit in a vehicle wash system includes a nozzle portion for emitting high velocity air to an exterior surface of a vehicle passing thereunder. The nozzle portion has an inner nozzle section and an outer nozzle section. The inner nozzle section and the outer nozzle section being configured such that they can be positioned one inside the other during operation. At least one of the inner nozzle section or the outer nozzle section can be extended and retracted as directed towards or away from the surface of the vehicle.

Abstract: Drying of wet workpiece, such as a magnetic recording media, following a wet clean process where the wet workpiece is displaced from a liquid volume into a gaseous volume at a pull speed that is dependent on the temperature of the gaseous volume.

Abstract: Vaporizable material is supported within a vessel to promote contact of an introduced gas with the vaporizable material, and produce a product gas including vaporized material. A heating element supplies heat to a wall of the vessel to heat vaporizable material disposed therein. The vessel may comprise an ampoule having a removable top. Multiple containers defining multiple material support surfaces may be stacked disposed within a vessel in thermal communication with the vessel. A tube may be disposed within the vessel and coupled to a gas inlet. Filters, flow meters, and level sensors may be further provided. Product gas resuting from contact of introduced gas with vaporized material may be delivered to atomic layer deposition (ALD) or similar process equipment.

Abstract: In a first aspect, a first method of drying a substrate is provided. The first method includes the steps of (1) lifting a substrate through an air/fluid interface at a first rate; (2) directing a drying vapor at the air/fluid interface during lifting of the substrate; and (3) while a portion of the substrate remains in the air/fluid interface, reducing a rate at which a remainder of the substrate is lifted through the air/fluid interface to a second rate. The drying vapor may form an angle of about 23° with the air/fluid interface and/or the second rate may be about 2.5 mm/sec.

Abstract: An apparatus for enhanced drying of bulk agricultural products is provided in a transport trailer. The apparatus includes a perforated false bottom below the product, an air manifold buried within the product, and baffles for air distribution. Product unloading capabilities are enhanced as well. These capabilities enhance the uniformity and reproducibility of drying, ease of product handling, and greater safety in unloading the product.

Abstract: A system configured to dry containers before a date coding process includes a blower assembly, an air manifold and a bracket assembly. The blower assembly includes a centrifugal air blower. The air manifold is connected to the blower assembly and includes a plurality of air nozzles. The air nozzles are configured to be positioned over a conveyor line, wherein the air nozzles are configured to expel air moved by the centrifugal air blower. The bracket assembly is configured to adjustably mount the air manifold over the conveyor line, wherein the bracket assembly allows the air manifold to be horizontally and/or vertically adjusted with respect to the conveyor line.

Abstract: When drying a web-formed material, the web-formed material is passed, in contact with a gas-permeable dryer screen, through a drying plant. One or more fans blow hot process air against, and through, the web-formed material in order to dry it. A chamber, surrounding the fan or the fans, has a limiting surface that is essentially parallel to the surface of the web-formed material. This limiting surface has an opening that extends essentially across the whole width of the web-formed material. A distributing member, in the form of an arcuate perforated, sheet-formed element, placed outside the chamber, covers the opening completely. With the distributing member a first flow of process air is divided into a large number of jets, distributed over essentially the whole of the angular area that faces the web-formed material.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method and a device for drying objects (2), especially painted vehicle bodies. According to said method, the objects (2) are displaced through a dry zone (8) wherein they are hardened in an inert gas atmosphere. Inert gas is continuously or intermittently removed from the dry zone (8), and guided along at least one surface which is cooled to a temperature below the dew point of the impurities contained in the inert gas. In this way, the impurities condense on the cooled surface. The relatively costly inert gas can thus be used for a long time.

Abstract: Structure helps support material in a container with an increased exposed surface area to help promote contact of a gas with vaporized material. For at least one disclosed embodiment, the structure may help support material for vaporization in the same form as when the material is placed at the structure. For at least one disclosed embodiment, the structure may help support material with an increased exposed surface area relative to a maximum exposed surface area the material could have at rest in the container absent the structure. For at least one disclosed embodiment, the structure may define one or more material support surfaces in an interior region of the container in addition to a bottom surface of the interior region of the container. For at least one disclosed embodiment, the structure may define in an interior region of the container one or more material support surfaces having a total surface area greater than a surface area of a bottom surface of the interior region of the container.

Abstract: In the drying step of the single wafer type substrate cleaning system for cleaning wafers not stored in a cassette, in a sealed cleaning housing, a spin drying treatment is applied to the wafer when the wafer is supported and rotated at high speed while an inert gas for preventing oxidation is supplied to the face of the wafer, and the amount of the inert gas to be supplied to the face of the wafer is larger at the outer peripheral portion of the wafer than that supplied at the center thereof, thereby preventing oxidation on the face of the wafer effectively while optimizing the benefits of the single wafer type cleaning system.

Abstract: Methods and apparatuses are provided for cooling semiconductor substrates prior to handling. In one embodiment, a substrate and support structure combination is lifted after high temperature processing to a cold wall of a thermal processing chamber, which acts as a heat sink. Conductive heat transfer across a small gap from the substrate to the heat sink speeds wafer cooling prior to handling the wafer (e.g., with a robot). In another embodiment, a separate plate is kept cool within a pocket during processing, and is moved close to the substrate and support after processing. In yet another embodiment, a cooling station between a processing chamber and a storage cassette includes two movable cold plates, which are movable to positions closely spaced on either side of the wafer.

Abstract: A vaporizer delivery system for use in semiconductor manufacturing processes including a plurality of vertically stacked containers for holding a vaporizable source material. Each of the vertically stacked containers includes a plurality of vented protuberances extending into the interior of the each stacked container thereby providing channels for passage of a carrier gas between adjacent vertically stacked containers.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for is provided for supporting and connecting drier cassettes of an air knife type of drier. The drier cassettes exhaust air on traveling printed matter and are joined and supported by expander units that also exhaust air on the printed matter to increase drying efficiency. Gas or air is supplied to either the drier cassettes or the expander units or both and window apertures may be provided to allow the gas to communicate between the drier cassettes and the expander units. The relative exhaust pressures of the expander units and the drier cassettes may be regulated to create a pressure gradient on the printed matter as it travels through the exhaust so that the path of the paper suffers from less disruption.

Abstract: An adjustable deckel profiler is disclosed, for use in apparatus for drying a moving paper web. The profiler is a slidable member which interacts with impingement air to control and adjust the air against the moving web. Means are provided for adjusting and setting the profiler relative to cross machine drying air profiling.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for cleaning objects having generally irregular surface features, such as reloadable photographic cameras, has a partial enclosure having opposing side walls, and a top wall joining the opposing side walls. An air ionizing element composed of an ion emitter and an air knife is arranged in the enclosure for electrostatically neutralizing the object with ions entrained in a curtain-like stream of air directed onto the object.

Abstract: Disclosed is a dry cleaning apparatus and method using cluster for cleaning a surface of a specimen such as semiconductor wafer. The cleaning method first forms a neutral cluster no having polarity by passing a cleaning gas such as argon, nitrogen, or carbon dioxide gas through a sand glass-shaped nozzle. The formed neutral cluster is injected at an acute angle with respect to a surface of the specimen, thereby removing particles or organic remnants attached on the surface of the specimen without damaging the surface of the specimen.

Abstract: A vapor collection method and apparatus capable of capturing vapor compositions without substantial dilution. The method and apparatus utilize a material that has a surface with an adjacent gas phase. A chamber is positioned in close proximity to a surface of the material. The position of the chamber creates a relatively small gap between the surface of the material and the chamber. The adjacent gas phase between the chamber and the surface define a region possessing an amount of mass. At least a portion of the mass is drawn through the region by induced flow. The utilization of a small gap limits the flow of mass that is external to the chamber from being swept through the chamber by induced flow.

Abstract: In the present method of drying iron ore pellets, e.g., magnetite pellets, moisture-containing iron ore pellets are formed into a bed comprising a multiplicity of the pellets. A current of drying gas is forced through the bed of pellets to at least partially dry some of the pellets. At least one jet of a drying gas that contains added oxygen is directed onto the bed of pellets so to impinge upon a surface of the pellet bed thereby providing kinetic energy for directing oxygen including the added oxygen into the pellets so as to enhance the conversion of magnetite to hematite. Moisture can be added to heated air that is then blown through jet nozzles onto the pellet bed or circulated back to an earlier drying stage and passed through the bed.

Abstract: Thin substrate plates are transferred in a horizontal or tilted posture on and by a substrate transfer means. Provided by a substrate transfer path is an air knife nozzle for scraping and drying off a liquid successively from surfaces of the substrates on the substrate transfer means. The air knife nozzle is located substantially at a uniform distance across a drying surface of a substrate plate on the transfer means. The air knife nozzle is provided with a slit-like nozzle hole to spurt jet air to the drying surface from an angular direction relative to a direction perpendicular to the substrate transfer direction and to sweep the substrate across the entire width of the drying surface and with a predetermined angle of incidence relative to the substrate transfer direction.

Abstract: Apparatus and a method are presented for the mechanical removal of moisture from a filter cake. Differential pressure causes the flow of a treatment fluid through the filter cake. The treatment fluid displaces liquid originally present in the filter cake to prevent cracking of the filter cake.

Abstract: The drying assembly includes a drying apparatus with a far-infrared-ray radiator and ultraviolet irradiator. This ultraviolet irradiator is provided in the rear of the drying apparatus and the irradiation amount irradiated from the device is about 300 to about 600 mJs/cm2.

Abstract: A raw material feeding apparatus is provided for a film-forming apparatus in which a thin film is formed from a solid matter as a raw material during chemical vapor-phase deposition. The apparatus includes sub-containers each having an opening for introduction of a gas, an opening for discharge of a gas, a bottom, on which a solid raw material is spread between the inlet opening and the outlet opening, and a wall defining a gap, in which a gas being introduced and discharged is made to contact the solid raw material spread on the bottom while the gas is moved on the surfaces of the material. The apparatus also includes a raw material container for receiving and holding the sub-containers. The apparatus also includes a heating device for heating the raw material container, and carrier gas conveying tubes for introducing a carrier gas into the raw material container and including a passage communicated to the outlet openings of the sub-containers.

Abstract: A drying apparatus for washed objects is capable of drying the objects in a reduced period of time, effectively preventing contamination of the objects during drying thereof, and attaining energy saving and a reduction in consumption of chemicals used. Mist of an organic solvent is generated by means of an ultrasonic wave in an organic solvent mist generating tank and the objects are immersed in a pure water tank, the pure water tank and organic solvent mist generating tank are then operated to communicate with each other to discharge pure water and place the objects in an atmosphere of the organic solvent mist, and then nitrogen gas is fed to the pure water tank to purge the organic solvent mist with the nitrogen gas.

Abstract: A process and apparatus for the gelatin coating of medicaments which includes a continuous conveyer system to advance a plurality of pallets through a loading station, at least one dipping station, at least one dryer station, a reorientation station and an unloading station. Medicaments to be coated are loaded into pallets at the loading station and advanced to the first dipping station where a vacuum is applied to secure the medicament to the pallet. The pallet is inverted and a first portion of each of the medicaments is dipped into a coating mixture. The pallet is then returned to its upright position, the vacuum is removed and the coating is dried. The medicaments are then transferred from the first pallet to a second pallet by a reorientation mechanism. The second pallet is then advanced to a second dipping station which operates in the same manner as the first dipping station.

Abstract: A process and apparatus for drying semiconductor wafers includes the controlled-rate extraction of a wafer immersed in rinsing liquid, irradiation of the wafer using high intensity lights or filaments along the wafer-liquid interface, and delivery of gas streams against the wafer along the wafer-liquid interface using a gas delivery system. Heating is controlled to create a temperature gradient without evaporating rinsing fluid adhering to surfaces of the wafer. Heating by the radiation sources creates a temperature gradient in the wafer in the irradiated region that simultaneously generates a surface tension gradient in the water adhering to the wafer. The gas delivery system removes the bulk of the water adhering to the wafer surface, and also suppresses the height of the rinsing liquid adhering to the wafer, providing faster extraction of dry and highly clean wafers from the rinsing liquid. A solvent vapor is optionally injected at the wafer-liquid interface, to reduce adhesion of the liquid to the vapor.

Abstract: The removal of organics and volatile metals from soils using thermal desorption comprises moving contaminated materials, positioned on a belt conveyor, through a chamber (32) under oxygen conditions, temperature conditions, and residence time effective to substantially avoid incineration of the contaminants, while volatilizing the contaminants and producing a processed material that is substantially decontaminated, where the volatilized contaminants are carried from the chamber (32) by a transport gas which is passed through a packed tower (70) where quench/scrubbing liquid flows countercurrent to gas flow, for producing a substantially cleaned gas and a contaminated liquid concentrate. The gas may be passed through a further gas cleaning system (86) prior to discharge into the atmosphere, while the liquid concentrate is passed through a water treatment system (90) for producing substantially cleaned water which may be passed through an air cooler (92) and recycled back to cool the processed material.