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:
Dec. 23, 1997
Filed:
Jul. 31, 1996
Jin Jwang Wu, Ossining, NY (US);
William Albert Cavaliere, Verbank, NY (US);
James Patrick Norum, Millwood, NY (US);
Stefan Schmitz, Pleasant Valley, NY (US);
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY (US);
Abstract
A cryogenic aerosol separator/classifier for separating and selectively removing particles from a stream of aerosol. The aerosol stream is produced by a cryogenic aerosol generator comprising a reservoir containing a cryogenic gas-liquid mixture at a first pressure, a delivery line coupled to the reservoir, and a nozzle. The nozzle has at least one exit opening which allows the cryogenic gas-liquid mixture to expand from the first pressure to a lower pressure and, thus, to produce cryogenic aerosol. A separator is coupled to the nozzle, such that the light particles having high mobility are removed from the stream, thereby producing a stream of cryogenic flow with particles having a controlled size to clean a contaminated surface. The apparatus is enhanced by utilizing a magnetic field and/or specially designed flow fields to fully take advantage of the enhanced mobilities of light particles.