This dryer unit includes a housing having an inclined
mesh belt dryer conveyor assembly mounted therein for transporting a previously washed printing plate through a drying system. The continuous mesh belt dryer is formed from an open mesh material to facilitate the circulation of drying air through the
mesh belt dryer and over and above the plate.
drying means mounted within the housing for circulating air above and below the perforate upper
mesh belt dryer surface to dry both faces of the plate, the drying means including a blower having an elongate nozzle orifice disposed adjacent the lower sideand substantially in the plane of the perforate flat upper surface of the mesh belt dryer, and disposed to blow heated air upwardly across the flat printing plate and both above and below the perforate flat upper
mesh belt dryer surface.
Referring now by characters of reference to the drawings and first to FIGS. 1 and 2 it will be understood that the combination washer and dryer includes a washer unit 10 and a dryer unit 11 and that said units are disposed in end-to-end relationand are seated upon a common base 12. Each of the units 10 and 11 includes a
mesh belt dryer conveyor assembly, indicated respectively by numerals 20 and 34 which together provide a means of transporting a workpiece W through the washer and dryer combination. Thecombination unit is particularly adapted to process photosensitive plastic printing plates, which must be first thoroughly washed free of etchant material and then dried and cured to complete polymerization. For simplicity the details of the sealing andmounting of the
mesh belt dryer conveyor assemblies are omitted in FIGS. 1 and 2, which are somewhat schematic in form, and will be described below with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6.
the nozzle orifice is disposed to blow the heated air in a path at a transverse angle of inclination to the horizontal less than the inclination of the flat upper
mesh belt dryer surface and printing plate thereon, the air passing through the perforateupper mesh belt dryer surface and over the underside of the plate.
