Method and apparatus for detaching coatings frozen on to surfaces
AssigneeB. C. Research
InventorThomas W. Mouat
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Abstract
A method of freeing a coating of ice, snow or frost frozen on to the surface of a manufactured material, such as a metal partition, a masonry or painted structure, or a paved roadway or runway, by concentrating an intense beam of visible light on to the interface between the coating and the surface adequate to raise the temperature at the interfacial zone to the melting point so as to free the coating from the surface, and apparatus for carrying out this method. The apparatus preferably includes structure for immediately breaking and removing the coating.
Claims13
The method of freeing a coating of ice, snow or frost from a surface to which said coating is frozen, which comprises providing an artificial source of radiant energy which produces an intense beam consisting of radiant energy primarily in the visible light range so that the beam can pass relatively unimpeded through said coating and focussing said beam produced by said source on the interface between said coating and said surface while moving said beam over said surface to transport energy through the frozen coating to the interface such as to heat the surface to raise the temperature of the interface above the freezing point of water to thereby disrupt the bond between the coating and the surface to detach the latter from the former, while substantially all of the material of said coating apart from that at said interface remains below its melting temperature.
Apparatus for freeing a coating of ice, snow or frost from a surface to which said coating is frozen, comprising a frame to be moved over the coated surface, artificial light means mounted on the frame for producing an intense light beam consisting of light energy primarily in the visible range so that said light beam will pass relatively unimpeded through said coating, means for focussing said light beam on to the interface between the coating and the surface, during motion of said apparatus over said surface, such as to heat the surface to raise the temperature of the interface above the freezing point of water and thereby disrupt the bond between the coating and the surface to detach the former from the latter while substantially all of the material of said coating apart from that at said interface remains below its melting temperature, and means for moving said apparatus over said surface.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.