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US 5,476,222 AGranted
Metal spraying apparatus
AssigneeSprayforming Developments Limited
InventorsAlfred R. E. Singer, Walter N. Jenkins
Life of this patent
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AssigneeSprayforming Developments Limited
InventorsAlfred R. E. Singer, Walter N. Jenkins
Estimating the term…
A stream of molten metal particles in a metal spraying apparatus is deflected from side to side by gas issuing from two nozzle blocks disposed at diametrically opposite sides of the stream. Gas is supplied to the two nozzle blocks (13) alternately under the control of a rotary valve (19) having a stator (18) and a cylindrical rotor (24). The rotor has two circumferentially extending grooves (26) whose cross-sectional area varies in predetermined manner and each of which serves to provide and cut off communication between an inlet port (21) for gas under pressure and an outlet port (23) which is circumferentially aligned with the inlet port and which leads to an associated one of the nozzle blocks. The areas of the inlet and outlet ports are each greater than the maximum cross-sectional area of the groove, so that the quantity of gas reaching the nozzles at each instant is determined by the instantaneous effective area of the groove (26). The limiting quantity of gas emitted from the nozzles corresponding to maximum deflection of the metal particle spray is however determined by the total area of the nozzles in the block. An increase in the quantity of gas issuing from the nozzles increases the deflection of the metal particle stream.
Metal spraying apparatus comprising means for producing a stream of molten metal particles, a plurality of sets of gas nozzles arranged to direct a flow of gas at said molten metal particle stream in a direction inclined at an acute angle to the axis of said stream to deflect the flow laterally, and rotary valve means for controlling cyclically the timing and quantity of gas supplied to the plurality of sets of gas nozzles to cause the molten metal particle stream to move cyclically to and fro laterally, said rotary valve means comprising a stator and a rotor and having respective flow passages comprising slots or grooves, said plurality of sets of gas nozzles including two sets disposed at diametrically opposite sides respectively of the axis of the molten metal particle stream, and said rotary valve means being arranged to supply gas to the two sets of nozzles through said respective flow passages, wherein the effective cross-sectional area of each of said passages varies in a predetermined manner between a minimum and a maximum over a substantial proportion of a cycle of movement of said molten metal particle stream, the predetermined manner of variation of said cross-sectional area being dependent on a variation in the shape and configuration of respective parts of said respective slots or grooves.
Metal spraying apparatus comprising means for producing a stream of molten metal particles, a plurality of sets of gas nozzles arranged to direct a flow of gas at said molten metal particle stream in a direction inclined at an acute angle to the axis of said stream to deflect the flow laterally, and valve means for controlling cyclically the timing and quantity of gas supplied to the sets of gas nozzles to cause the molten metal particle stream to move cyclically to and fro laterally, said sets of gas nozzles including two sets disposed at diametrically opposite sides respectively of the axis of the molten metal particle stream, characterized in that the valve means supplies gas to the two sets of nozzles through respective flow passages the effective cross-sectional area of each of which varies stepwise between a minimum and a maximum in a series of predetermined incremental steps.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.