A laundry treating appliance and method for controlling the operation of a laundry treating appliance having a rotatable drum at least partially defining a treating chamber for receiving laundry for treatment in accordance with a treating cycle of operation by determining the presence of a bulky laundry item based on image data of the laundry within the treating chamber.

A lint catching system is provided for a clothes dryer. The lint catching system filters lint from exhaust air expelled from the clothes dryer.

An installation for carrying out a continuous multi-stage industrial process includes a housing that defines a first space and a second space that is connected to the first through a first connecting channel. Different pressure conditions prevail in these spaces during the course of the process. A process material is passed sequentially through the first space, the first connecting channel and the second space. A transported material is provided in the first connecting channel to form a free-flowing sealing zone with the process material and ensures that different process conditions will be maintained in the two spaces, and in particular that different pressures will be maintained in the two spaces. The invention also relates to a multi-stage continuous industrial process using such an installation.

Described is a method and apparatus for drying organic material using the energy contained in the organic material to be dried to drive the drying process. The organic material could be sewage sludge, food scraps, manure, wood, bagasse etc. The latent heat of evaporation is recovered through the use of a heat pump mechanism. This allows for the retention of a majority of the heat within the system, allowing optimal drying conditions to be maintained throughout the drying process.

Disclosed is a substrate treating apparatus with a baking unit for heating a substrate to which a treating liquid that generates sublimate through heating is applied to bake a surface of the substrate to form a coat film. The apparatus includes the following elements: a first bake group, a second bake group, a first exhaust pipe that forms a flow path of exhaust gases from the first bake group with its end being in fluid communication with an exhaust gas processor that processes the exhaust gases, a second exhaust pipe that forms a flow path of exhaust gases from the second bake group, and a junction provided at a midstream of the first exhaust pipe and in fluid communication with a downstream side of the second exhaust pipe.

A grain dryer unload system is presented that facilitates operation of a discharge system independent of a metering system. A motor connects to an axle that connects to the discharge system, which may be a drag chain, a belt or an auger. The axle also connects to a metering system. A clutch mechanism is connected to an end of the axle and is positioned between the discharge system and the metering system. When the clutch mechanism is in an engaged position, the motor simultaneously operates the metering system and the discharge system. However, when the clutch mechanism is in a disengaged position, the motor operates the discharge system while the metering system does not operate. This arrangement facilitates easier cleaning of the grain dryer without introducing the fines into the grain or a connected grain storage device.

A grain handling system having an air system is presented that is capable of automatically detecting and clearing a plug in a tube of an air system using a central controller, an air pressure sensor, a dynamic pressure relief valve and a variable frequency drive connected to and controlling a blower motor. When a plug is detected, the central controller stops the flow of grain into the tube and ramps up the output of the blower motor to full capacity. Thereafter, the central controller performs an unplugging routine by opening and closing the dynamic pressure relief valve causing surges of air to impact the plug either breaking up the plug or bumping the plug along the tube until it clears. Once the plug clears, the central controller resumes normal operation.

A system that facilitates the controlled drying of biomass is provided. The system and method provides automated control over the rate of drying and the moisture content of the resulting product. The system and method also includes auto-loading and unloading, thereby providing a fully automated process. The system and method can be adapted to match the scale of the production and therefore has applicability for large operations as well as micro operations. In addition, since the drying rate and moisture content of the material being dried is monitored and controlled, the system and method can be used to dry products for a wide range of different applications (e.g., drying hemp for medical use as well as for industrial use).

Disclosed are systems and methods for aseptically filling pharmaceutical containers with a pharmaceutical substance and then lyophilizing it. In one general aspect, the system and method can employ a lyophilizer loader subsystem having an interior chamber in communication with an interior chamber of a lyophilizer subsystem via a portal with a sealable door, with the collective interior being aseptically sealable. An articulated robotic arm can be employed to batch transfer to the lyophilizer subsystem container nests bearing the pharmaceutical containers. In one embodiment, the nests may be transferred serially to the loader subsystem, with the articulated robotic arm being configured to transfer the nests of containers in batches to the lyophilizer subsystem. The articulated robotic arm can also be configured to be used to move batches of nests within the lyophilizer subsystem. One implementation includes two articulated arms and a joint rotary wrist driven by two rotary shoulders.

A freeze dryer processes a bulk material including a liquid, and produces a product including the freeze dried material borne on a substrate. The material is introduced in a freezing chamber as a droplet stream that impinges on the substrate. The liquid in the material is frozen after it contacts the substrate. The substrate bearing the material is transferred through a vacuum lock into a vacuum drying chamber where the frozen liquid sublimates under vacuum and applied heat.