Carbon dioxide snow agglomeration and acceleration
US5125979A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 2, 1990 |
| Grant date | Jun 30, 1992 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 2, 2010 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC C)Chemistry; Metallurgy
- CPC primaryC01B32/55
- WIPO fieldMaterials, metallurgy
- WIPO sectorChemistry
Abstract
A cleaning process involving expanding carbon dioxide from an orifice into a thermally insulated chamber to form small carbon dioxide particles, retaining the small carbon dioxide particles in the insulating chamber until the small carbon dioxide particles agglomerate into large snowflakes, entraining the large snowflakes in a high velocity vortex of inert gas to accelerate the large snowflakes and directing a stream of the inert gas and accelerated large snowflakes against the surface of a substrate to be cleaned. This process may be carried out with apparatus including means to direct a stream of small carbon dioxide snow particles into an expansion chamber, means to agglomerate the small carbon dioxide particles into large carbon dioxide snowflakes in the expansion chamber, and means to accelerate the large snowflakes with a high velocity inert gas stream.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.