Apparatus Including at Least an Impeller or Diverter and for Dispensing Carbon Dioxide Particles and Method of Use
AssigneeCold Jet, Inc.
InventorsMichael E. Rivir, Scott Thomas Hardoerfer
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Carbon dioxide or any suitable material is dispensed by a system into one or more containers. An impeller within a transport produces carbon dioxide particles at one or more desired sizes. Particles sized to be sufficiently small enough to still maintain particle integrity are produced and advance through the transport, while particles of insufficient integrity are directed toward a divert and a diverter prevents the insufficient particles from being misdirected into a separate transport passageway.
Claims16
An apparatus for producing particles from a cryogenic material, said apparatus comprising:
- a. a die plate comprising a plurality of die openings and configured to extrude in a first direction a plurality of solid strands of said cryogenic material through said plurality die openings;
- b. means for an impacting strands of said plurality of solid strands with force sufficient to break said strands into a plurality of particles, said means comprising:
- i. a shaft rotating about an axis, said shaft having a first end;
- ii. a plurality of members extending outwardly from said first end of said shaft, each respective member of said plurality of members comprising a respective frontal face spaced from said die plate, said respective frontal face having a respective width which is thin.
A method of creating a plurality of particles from a plurality of strands of a cryogenic material, said method comprising the steps of:
- a. providing said plurality of strands;
- b. rotating a shaft about an axis, said shaft comprising a plurality of members extending outwardly from a first end of said shaft, each respective member of said plurality of members comprising a respective frontal face, each said respective frontal face having a respective width which is thin;
- c. impacting said plurality of strands with said plurality of members at locations whereat said plurality of strands have sufficiently outgassed so as to be brittle enough to be broken into said pieces by impact with said plurality of members.
A diverter disposed in a dual-chute system comprising a transport chute and a divert chute, the diverter comprising:
- a. a pair of opposing door pivots, each door pivot comprising a pivot point, each pivot point aligned along a pivot axis, wherein each door pivot comprising a first portion and a second portion, wherein the first portion and the second portion lie on a first plane;
- and
- b. a pair of opposing sealing doors disposed between the pair of opposing door pivots, wherein each door comprises a third portion and a fourth portion, wherein the third portion lies on a second plane, wherein the fourth portion lies on a third plane, and wherein the second plane is angled with respect to the third plane;
- wherein the diverter is operable to pivot between a first position to a second position, and
- wherein the diverter seals off a portion of the transport chute from the divert chute.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.