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:
Jan. 19, 1999
Filed:
Jun. 30, 1998
Robert A Mostello, Somerville, NJ (US);
The BOC Group, Inc., New Providence, NJ (US);
Abstract
A method and apparatus for separating air in which a compressed and purified air stream is cooled in a main heat exchanger. Thereafter, the compressed and purified air is separated in a distillation column system to produce product streams. The product streams warm within the main heat exchanger by indirectly exchanging heat with the compressed and purified air stream. One or more of the product streams is distributed to a plurality of vortex tubes at successively warmer temperatures so that warm and cold streams produced thereby become successively warmer and one or more of the warm streams has a temperature warmer than that of said compressed and purified air stream upon its introduction into said main heat exchanger. All but the warm stream(s) having the warmer temperature are recycled back to said main heat exchanger to participate in the indirect heat exchange and heat is rejected by discharging said warm stream(s) so that heat is rejected at the warmer temperature and refrigeration is produced.