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AssigneeUnited States Steel Corporation
InventorsFrank W. Bakewell, Wayne L. Briney, Charles D. Stricker
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The subject invention provides an improvement in split gas-wipe apparatus, which, although not limited thereto, is normally used in coating or cleaning applications on wire, rod, or strand. The conventional apparatus has two segments hinged along an outer edge parallel to the passline of the wire or rod. The segments have mateable half-conical guides on their entry side which, when contacted by joints in the workpieces, cause rotation of one segment, the other normally being fixed, so that the joints have sufficient space to automatically pass through. The improvement of this invention involves providing pivoted mounting means replacing the hinged joint, the mounting providing an axis of rotation for one of the segments in a plane normal to the passline and substantially spaced therefrom. Advantageously, much larger joints may pass through the apparatus. Furthermore, better guiding is achieved since the guide of the rotated segment remains centered in a plane through the passline and center of the guide of the fixed segment. Thus, the workpieces do not become dislodged from the guides when the segment is rotated, as tends to happen in the conventional apparatus when the joints are more than several times larger than the workpiece cross section.
In gas-wipe apparatus for removing at least excess liquid from the surface of elongated workpieces, said apparatus including two mateable half-circumferential segments defining an opening for passage of successive tandem workpieces longitudinally therethrough, said opening being adapted to receive the workpieces on a passline extending centrally therethrough, said segments having at least one orifice for directing gas flow toward the surface of the workpiece passing through the opening, said segments having guide means sections on an entry side thereof from which the workpieces are received, said guide means sections together forming a substantially continuous surface with an axis substantially coincident with the workpiece passline, said surface having an opening at one end contiguous to and of substantially the same size as the opening in said segments, said surface tapering outwardly from said passline in the direction from which said workpieces are received to a larger opening remote from said segments, one of said segments being pivotally connected to the other of said segments along an outer edge thereof parallel to said passline, the other of said segments being fixed in position, said one of the segments being rotatable about the axis of said pivotal connection when enlarged joints connecting adjacent ends of the workpieces contact the surface of said guide sections, said segment being returnable to the original position thereof after said joint has passed and thus automatically passing said joints through the apparatus,
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.