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US 4,391,860 AGranted
Device for the controlled feeding of powder material
AssigneeEutectic Corporation
InventorsAnthony J. Rotolico, Eduardo Romero, John E. Lyons
Life of this patent
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AssigneeEutectic Corporation
InventorsAnthony J. Rotolico, Eduardo Romero, John E. Lyons
Estimating the term…
The invention contemplates a powder-feeding system for gas-propelled delivery of a powder to be controllably supplied, as to a flame-spraying gas torch or to a transferred-arc plasma torch. A fluidizing chamber receives (a) fluidizing-gas flow from below a porous screen, and (b) a restricted gravitational flow of powder at a relatively small central discharge location above the porous screen. A gas conduit extends transversely through the chamber between the powder-discharge location and the porous screen; it has a carrier-gas supply connection at one end and a gas-propelled powder-delivery connection at its other end. The conduit also has an upwardly extending opening virtually beneath and facing the powder-discharge location, but a shed interposed between this opening and the powder-discharge location sufficiently overlaps the opening to assure that no powder will pass through the opening and into the conduit unless it has been gas-fluidized. The powder-discharge flow is blocked to gas flow when powder is being delivered by the carrier-gas flow, but the powder delivery is terminated promptly upon gas-venting the fluidizing chamber, via the powder-discharge flow or otherwise. A multiple-unit combination of such a system is also described wherein the proportion of different gas-fluidized powders may be selectively varied and/or coordinated to achieve various different application objectives, as in the course of a single run of a flame-spraying torch served by such combination.
The method of supplying powder to a powder-deposition torch, which comprises selecting two powder-fluidizing systems each having the ability to selectively control the rate of its powder assimilation in a flow of carrier gas therethrough, supplying different gas-fluidizable powders to the respective systems, increasing the rate of powder assimilation in carrier-gas flow through one of said systems while decreasing the rate of powder assimilation in the carrier-gas flow through the other of said systems, combining the carrier-gas flows after powder-assimilation therein, and delivering the combined flow to the torch, the same carrier-gas flow being passed through the respective systems in succession, whereby the combining step occurs at passage of the carrier-gas flow through the second system.
The method of supplying powder to a powder-deposition torch, which comprises selecting two powder-fluidizing systems each having the ability to selectively control the rate of its powder assimilation in a flow of carrier gas therethrough, supplying different gas-fluidizable powders to the respective systems, varying the ratio of a powder-assimilation rate in carrier-gas flow through the respective systems, combining the carrier-gas flows after powder-assimilation therein, and delivering the combined flow to the torch, the same carrier-gas flow being passed through the respective systems in succession, whereby the combining step occurs at passage of the carrier-gas flow through the second system.
The method of supplying powder to a powder-deposition torch, which comprises selecting two powder-fluidizing systems each having the ability to selectively control the rate of its powder assimilation in a flow of carrier gas therethrough, providing different supplies of the same powder to the respective systems, supplying the same single flow of carrier gas to both said systems in succsssion, varying the rate of powder assimilation in said single flow at one of said systems while varying in the opposite sense the rate of powder assimilation in said single flow at the other of said systems, the variation being from zero flow at one system and to zero flow at the other system, and delivering said single flow to the torch after passage through both systems.
The method of supplying powder to a powder-deposition torch, which comprises selecting two powder-fluidizing systems each having the ability to selectively control the rate of its powder assimilation in a flow of carrier gas therethrough, supplying different gas-fluidizable powder to the respective systems, supplying the same single flow of carrier gas to both said systems in succession, varying the rate of powder assimilation in said single flow at one of said systems, and delivering said single flow to the torch after passage through both systems.
Powder-feeding apparatus for carrier-gas delivery of a powder to be supplied to a torch or the like in loose particulate form, said apparatus comprising a carrier-gas line adapted at one end for connection to a source of carrier gas and adapted at its other end for connection to a torch or the like, and means for supplying a predetermined flow of carrier gas in said line, first and second powder-fluidizing chambers each having a fluidized-powder discharge-port connection to said line, said discharge-port connections being in succession in their connection to said line, a separate powder-supply means associated with each of the respective chambers, and a separate fluidizing-gas supply for each of said chambers, each fluidizing-gas supply being distinct and apart from the carrier-gas line and including a regulating valve connected to each of the respective chambers, whereby the setting of the respective regulator valves determines the respective rates of carrier-gas assimilation of the powders separately fluidized in the respective chambers.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.