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US 6,442,968 B1Granted
Apparatus for rapid, high volume production of solid CO2 pellets
AssigneeAlbert S. Elias
InventorsOscar Proni, Marc C. Elias
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AssigneeAlbert S. Elias
InventorsOscar Proni, Marc C. Elias
Estimating the term…
A lightweight, highly mobile and efficient apparatus for instantaneously producing a high volume of solid carbon dioxide (CO2) pellets. The apparatus utilizes liquid CO2 that is discharged and expanded through a nozzle or nozzles and expanded to reach a triple point condition where liquid, gaseous and solid phases of CO2 can coexist and flash to a mixture of CO2 in a gaseous phase and particles of snow by a process well known in the art. The gaseous CO2 is discharged into atmosphere or recovered for converting back to liquid or used to also extinguish fires. The snow particles are aggregated into larger flakes and compressed into pellets in a compression structure by a rotor with radially movable blades forming variable volume pockets associated with the interior of a housing to compress the flakes into pellets. The pellets may be discharged from the housing into an airlock which includes a rotor to convey the pellets to an air discharge that is isolated from the compression structure to facilitate conveyance of the pellets to a point of use, such as the site of a fire in order to extinguish the fire.
An apparatus for producing solid carbon dioxide pellets comprising a housing having a partial cylindrical inner surface, a cylindrical rotor journalled adjacent said housing for rotation about an axis eccentric to the center axis of said partial cylindrical inner surface of the housing, a liquid CO2 supply and expansion assembly communicated with said housing and rotor and receiving liquid carbon dioxide from a pressurized source, permitting the liquid CO2 to convert to a gaseous and snow phase and discharging snow onto the rotor and venting said gaseous carbon dioxide, said rotor including a plurality of radially movable blades extending between the rotor and the partial cylindrical inner surface of the housing to form a plurality of pockets receiving snow from the supply and expansion assembly whereby rotation of the rotor about its eccentric axis will move said pockets and snow circumferentially and reduce the volume of the pockets to compress the snow into pellets, said housing including a discharge area associated with the pockets when they are at minimum volume for discharge of solid compacted pellets from the housing.
An apparatus for compressing compressible material as the material is moved circumferentially comprising a housing having at least a partial cylindrical inner surface having a center axis, a cylindrical rotor driven rotatably about an axis spaced from the center axis of said partial cylindrical inner surface, said rotor including a plurality of radial slots, a radially moving blade in each slot coacting with the rotor and partial cylindrical surface to form radial pockets to receive compressible material at an inlet area as the pockets are aligned with the inlet area and compressing the material as the material in the pockets is moved circumferentially and compressed as the pockets reduce in volume toward a discharge area at an end of said partial cylindrical housing closer to the rotational axis of said rotor than the end of said pockets adjacent the inlet area thereby eliminating extrusion of compressible material radially through orifices.
An apparatus for compressing compressible material as the material is moved circumferentially comprising a housing having at least a partial cylindrical inner surface having a center axis, a cylindrical rotor driven rotatably about an axis coincident from the center axis of said partial cylindrical inner surface, said rotor including a plurality of radial slots, a radially moving blade in each slot coacting with the rotor and partial cylindrical surface to form radial pockets to receive compressible material at an inlet area as the pockets are aligned with the inlet area, said housing including a surface in eccentric relation to and closer to the rotational axis of said rotor than the cylindrical surface for compressing the material into pellets as the material in the pockets and the pockets are reduced in volume as the pockets move along the eccentric surface toward a discharge area in said housing in spaced relation to said inlet area for discharge of compressed pellets by gravity.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.