Method for cooling roasted coffee

Claim 1

THE PROCESS OF COOLING COFFEE BEANS AND SIMILAR PARTICULATE SOLIDS, COMPRISING TH STEPS OF: (A) FIRST EFFECTING A CONTINUOUS MOVEMENT OF THE SOLIDS TO BE COOLED WITH A FLUID AT A TEMPERATURE LOWER THAN THAT OF THE SOLIDS BY EFFECTING A FLOW OF THE FLUID MEDIUM THROUGH A BED OF SAID SOLIDS, A FIRST PART OF THE FLUID MEDIUM BEING DIRECTED UPWARDLY THROUGH THE OUTER REGIONS OF THE BED, SAID UPWARDLY DIRECTED PART OF THE FLUID MEDIUM HAVING A SUFFICIENTLY LARGE VERTICAL COMPONENT TO TRANSPORT THE PARTICLES UPWARDLY IN THE OUTER REGIONS OF THE BED, AND THE REMAINDER OF THE FLUID MEDIUM BEING DIRECTED INTO THE LOWER INNER PART OF THE BED AND TOWARD THE PERIPHERY THEREOF, SAID PERIPHERALLY DIRECTED PART OF THE FLUID MEDIUM HAVING A SUFFICIENTLY HIGH LATERAL FLOW COMPONENT TO CAUSE OUTWARD MOVEMENT OF THE PARTICLES IN THE LOWER PART OF THE BED; AND THEN, (B) WHILE MAINTAINING SAID CIRCULATION, DISTRIBUTING AN INERT LIQUID MEDIUM ONTO SAID SOLIDS TO RAPIDLY REDUCE THE TEMPERATURE OF SAID SOLIDS AND THEREBY MINIMIZE RESIDUAL-HEAT INDUCED CHANGES THEREIN.