Gas assisted flow tube and filling device
AssigneeMatsys
InventorsRoderick Rowland, Tony F. Zahrah, Rajkumar Raman, Phillip A. Parrish
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A gas-assisted flow and filling device for transporting particulate material and filling die cavities includes a source of low-pressure gas for delivering gas to a chamber that is separated from a fluidizing chamber by a porous distributor plate which permits the gas to flow through the particulate material and out a vent screen so that the particulate material is permitted to flow out of the fluidizing chamber essentially free of gas and wherein the pressure of the gas delivered to the fluidizing chamber is sufficient to provide a gas bearing to said particulate material adjacent the distributor plate, but not high enough to cause turbulence in said fluidizing chamber.
Claims28
A gas-assisted device for transporting particulate material comprising:
- a gas chamber;
- a source of low-pressure gas;
- and, a conduit for communicating said low pressure gas to said gas chamber;
- a fluidizing chamber having an inlet and an outlet and adapted to contain said particulate material;
- a porous distributor plate between said gas chamber and said fluidizing chamber and operative for communicating said low-pressure gas to said fluidizing chamber;
- and,
- a vent screen in communication with said fluidizing chamber for venting said gas out of said fluidizing chamber so that particulate material is permitted to flow out of said outlet essentially free of said gas;
- the pressure of said gas delivered to said fluidizing chamber being sufficient to provide a gas bearing to said particulate material adjacent said distributor plate but not high enough to cause turbulence in said fluidizing chamber.
A gas-assisted fill shoe for delivering particulate material to a die cavity comprising:
- a housing;
- a delivery chute, said delivery chute including a porous plate defining an aperture located above said die cavity, said porous plate being spaced from said housing to form a low-pressure gas chamber therebetween;
- a vent screen located above said porous plate and spaced above said aperture to form a fluidizing chamber therebetween, said porous plate being operative to deliver said low pressure gas from said gas chamber to said fluidizing chamber and said vent screen being operative for venting said gas out of said fluidizing chamber so that said particulate material is permitted to flow out of said fluidizing chamber by gravity and essentially free of said gas;
- the pressure of said gas delivered to said fluidizing chamber being sufficient to provide a gas bearing to said particulate material adjacent said distributor plate, but not high enough to cause turbulence in said fluidizing chamber.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.