Powder hopper with quiet zone, a combination of a powder hopper and a powder spray gun and a method of operating a powder hopper

A powder coating system having a hopper for powder coating material, comprising:

• a hopper body comprising a cylinder
• a cover at an upper end of the hopper body,
• a fluidizing bed at a lower end of the hopper body,
• a baffle inside the hopper body and extending towards the fluidizing bed, the baffle comprising a cylinder of smaller diameter than the diameter of the cylinder of the hopper body so as to form an annular region between the hopper body and the baffle,
• at least one powder inlet disposed to feed powder into the hopper body, the powder inlet being disposed in the annular region,
• the baffle defining a zone enclosed within the baffle,
• a powder outlet for removing powder from the zone enclosed within the baffle,
• a pump connected to the powder outlet, and
• a powder spray gun connected to the pump.

A hopper for powder coating material, comprising:

• a hopper body comprising a cylinder
• a cover at an upper end of the hopper body,
• a fluidizing bed at a lower end of the hopper body,
• a baffle inside the hopper body and extending towards the fluidizing bed, the baffle comprising a cylinder of smaller diameter than the diameter of the cylinder of the hopper body so as to form an annular region between the hopper body and the baffle,
• at least one powder inlet disposed to feed powder into the hopper body, the powder inlet being disposed in the annular region,
• the baffle defining a zone enclosed within the baffle,
• a powder outlet for removing powder from the zone enclosed within the baffle.