The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jun. 10, 1997
Filed:
Dec. 23, 1993
Mario P Palombo, Manhattan Beach, CA (US);
Matthew G Driggs, Manhattan Beach, CA (US);
Werner V Brandt, Redondo Beach, CA (US);
Hughes Aircraft Company, Los Angeles, CA (US);
Abstract
CO.sub.2 jet spray cleaning apparatus that monitors CO.sub.2 snow plume characteristics. The present invention is a CO.sub.2 jet spray cleaning system that comprises a holding tank for containing liquid CO.sub.2, a spray nozzle coupled to the holding tank, a valve coupled between the holding tank and the spray nozzle, and a temperature sensor coupled to the nozzle for sensing the temperature of a plume of CO.sub.2 that is sprayed by the nozzle and for providing a signal indicative thereof. The system may also comprise a display coupled to the temperature sensor for displaying the temperature of the plume of CO.sub.2 to an operator, or an alarm coupled to the temperature sensor for alerting an operator that the temperature of the plume of CO.sub.2 has risen to a predetermined level. Either the displayed signal or the alert signal indicates that the quality of the plume has diminished and that the liquid CO.sub.2 in the holding tank should be replenished. The present CO.sub.2 jet spray cleaning system and CO.sub.2 snow plume sensor provide an indication of the proper CO.sub.2 snow characteristics to an operator so that the system cleans in a proper manner.