Abstract: Conditioning device (24) and method for drying and/or controlling the temperature of a ballast bed (12) of a railway track system (10), wherein the railway track system (10) has sleepers (14) resting on the ballast bed (12) and rails (16) resting on the sleepers, wherein the conditioning device has a bogie (30) for moving the conditioning device (24). An outlet nozzle (36) for blowing temperature-controlled air into the ballast bed (12) via at least one blowing-in region (26) positioned between two adjacent sleepers (14) is connected to the bogie (30), as is at least one cover plate (42) for essentially air-tight coverage of an upper side, pointing essentially in the direction counter to the direction of gravity, of a side strip (20), provided next to the sleepers (14) in the direction of travel, of the ballast bed (12).

Abstract: Systems and methods for providing fast and efficient data compression using a combination of content independent data compression and content dependent data compression. In one aspect, a method for compressing data comprises the steps of: analyzing a data block of an input data stream to identify a data type of the data block, the input data stream comprising a plurality of disparate data types; performing content dependent data compression on the data block, if the data type of the data block is identified; performing content independent data compression on the data block, if the data type of the data block is not identified.

Abstract: The invention is a distributed airways airflow dryer system for coffee beans and other such bulk crops. The interior volume or container of the dryer or dehydrator system that holds the bulk crops, is filled with an airways network structure that provides uniformly distributed open wall airflow passageways in the bulk crops. The airflow passages communicate with airflow openings in the walls or bottom of the container, to divide and admit the drying airflow into and through the full volume of the bulk crops as a large number of individual airstreams. Corrugated, ribbed, or cross-ribbed airflow plates are preferred embodiments that provide narrow open grooves or channels that expose the beans or kernels of the bulk crop directly to the airflow. This results in faster drying and greater uniformity of the drying effect on the full volume of the bulk crops.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for cooling a granular material, such as a phosphate fertilizer, using ambient air is disclosed. The apparatus includes a cooling device and a conveyor assembly for feeding the material. The cooling device includes a rotatable assembly for receiving and spreading the material in the ambient air. The rotatable assembly is comprised of radiating fins with alternating recesses.

Abstract: A system for conditioning grain in a sealed container through the removal of liquid from a bushel of grain by sequentially evacuating high relative humidity air from the sealed container and thereafter allowing dry environmental air to reenter the sealed container. A sensor in the sealed container detects the relative humidity therein and supplies a controller with a signal to operate a pump which evacuates high relative humidity air from the sealed container. Thereafter, a pressure sensor detects a vacuum in the sealed container and supplies the controller with a signal which terminates the operation of the pump to allow dry environmental air to reenter the sealed container. The replacement of high relative humidity air with dry environmental air continues until the liquid content per bushel of grain is at a desired level.

Abstract: A coffee-bean roaster for small quantities of coffee, which has a cylindrical roasting chamber (11) and in which only one fan (35) is provided for roasting and for cooling, is described. The coffee beans are roasted in the roasting chamber as a result of the blowing-in of heated air via at least two blowing-in conduits (12) which are arranged off-center and of which the blowing-out direction is set at an angle of between 0.degree. and 30.degree. relative to the roasting-chamber axis in the tangential direction. After the roasting operation has ended, the roasted coffee beans are transferred, via an openable bottom (19) of the roasting chamber, into a collecting container (5), the sieve-like bottom of which is connected to the supply-air conduit (28), so that the roasted coffee beans are cooled by the sucked in supply air of the roasting chamber (FIG. 3).

Abstract: A coffee roasting apparatus which includes a coffee roaster device which comprises a cylindrical container formed preferably of glass material, a cylindrical drum rotatably extending within the center portion of container, and a heater element disposed within the drum. The drum is formed of wire cloth and driven by a motor. Coffee directly receives radiation heat through the drum. Also, the roaster device is rotatably supported in a housing, which is provided with a cooling space which enables the apparatus to automatically proceed to the discharge of the roasted coffee beans. The interior of the roaster device and the cooling space are connected by an open air circulating pathway. Therefore, the cooling of the roasted coffee beans and the interior of roaster device are separately accomplished with a single air pathway.

Abstract: A strip cooling apparatus for a continuous annealing furnace for continuously treating longitudinally fed steel strip has a pair of cooling gas chambers attached to the furnace walls on both sides of the strip so that the front of each chamber faces the strip. Each cooling gas chamber has nozzles having round outlets opening toward the strip surface on its front side to shoot forth a cooling gas jet against the strip furnace. The nozzle is separated from the strip by a distance z not larger than 70 mm and projected from the front of the cooling gas chamber by a length of not less than (100--z) z) mm. The cooling apparatus also has a pair of rotatably holding rolls reciprocatably attached to the furnace walls to press the strip at a right angle thereto. The holding rolls holds the strip and prevents the occurrence of fluttering.

Abstract: A single casing houses first and second blowers for expelling air through first and second outlet passages. One of the outlet passages incorporates a heater so that hot air can be expelled. The other passage is free of any heater so that cool air is expelled from the second passage. By alternately actuating the blowers, a person can be treated to hot air and then cool air.

Abstract: Disclosed is a dryer for drying articles, such as laboratory glassware. The dryer is in the form of a sealable cabinet having an internal heater, and ducting in the form of a closed circulatory loop connected to an external blower. By recirculating air through the dryer, rather than blowing air in one side of the cabinet and out the other, the air can be heated to a much higher temperature, thus drying the articles much more quickly and thoroughly, and reducing appreciably the time of a drying cycle. Additionally, because the dryer conserves heated air by recirculating it, the dryer consumes far less power than prior dryers of equivalent capacity, making it possible to use standard commercial power sources to operate this dryer, rather than the more expensive three phase power supplies now typically used.

Abstract: A freshly printed continuously traveling paper web leaves a heated print drying zone hot with its printing dry enough to avoid smudging but retaining a residual amount of the printing ink's solvent oil which continues to vaporize, forming a boundary layer of vaporizing oil traveling with the web. For cooling, the web wraps partially around one or more cooling rolls where condensation can cause the vapor boundary layer to condense on the exposed cold roll surface to a liquid phase, exerting a solvent action more or less resoftening the otherwise adequately dried printing with consequent smudging on the roll surface. To prevent this, the boundary layer is pneumatically removed from either this exposed surface of the roll not contacted by the web, or from the web itself, preventing resoftening of the printing by what would otherwise be liquid solvent oil.

Abstract: A generally vertically disposed bin arranged to receive grain to be dried. Moist grain enters the bin through the top at which point it is distributed relatively uniformly over the full planar area thereof. The bin is equipped with a first floor having air passage perforations therein. The first perforated floor is adapted to carry a substantial column of the moist grain thereon which is subjected to the passage of hot air moving upwardly therethrough. An auger sweep is arranged and constructed to regularly remove portions of the grain lying closest to the surface of the perforated first floor and discharge that grain downwardly through a passageway in the first floor where it is distributed relatively uniformly over a substantial column of grain carried on a second floor spaced beneath the first floor in the bin. The second floor also has air passage perforations therein to permit passage upwardly therethrough of cool air.