Patents Assigned to Outokumpu Oyj
  • Publication number: 20030192814
    Abstract: A corona and static electrode assembly is attachable to a frame of an existing electrostatic separator and includes a pair of oppositely spaced end panels and an elongate corona support member disposed inwardly of and supported by the respective end panels. The corona support member is preferably formed from a single piece of rigid material and has a substantially L-shape for directing an electrostatic field intensity towards the outer surface of a rotating drum. A pair of spaced spacers are connected to and laterally extend from the corona support member and an elongate conductive wire extends between the pair of spacers. The wire is preferably supported between the spacers and threaded bolts passing therethrough, respectively, can adjust its tension. A plurality of elongate static electrodes are spaced from the wire and are connected between the pair of end panels.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 27, 2003
    Publication date: October 16, 2003
    Applicant: Outokumpu Oyj
    Inventors: Eric S. Yan, Kevin R. McHenry
  • Patent number: 6632333
    Abstract: The invention relates to a device for separating metal deposit from a mother plate used as a cathode in an electrolytic process, as metal electrorefining or metal electrowinning, in which device there is a supporting member for supporting the cathode to be treated, a member for releasing at least partly a metal deposit grown during the electrolytic process on a surface of the mother, and a member for support the released metal deposit. According to the invention the mother plate of a cathode (1, 21, 31, 41, 51) is provided with a growth affecting means (16, 24, 36, 43, 53) for creating an irregularity in the growth of the metal deposit (4) to be used as a hinged member when the metal deposit (4) is tilted to the mother plate of the cathode (1, 21, 31, 41, 51) in order to break the metal deposit (4) in two separate pieces along the irregularity in the growth.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 2001
    Date of Patent: October 14, 2003
    Assignee: Outokumpu Oyj
    Inventors: Ola Eriksson, Revill Wayne Armstrong, Kei Shibata, Yasuo Suga, Jan Anders Haag, Ronald Lee Pariani, David Bailey
  • Patent number: 6626094
    Abstract: In a filter press, a stack of vertically oriented, horizontally displaceable filter plates enclose filter chambers therebetween. The filter plates are successively moved relative to each other from a closed pressing position, through a pressure relief position, to an open discharge position. At least one connecting element is connected to each filter plate, and is movably coupled to the respective adjacent filter plate by a coupling pin, which slides in a specially configured groove of the connecting element. In the relief position, a respective coupling pin is stopped against an intermediate blocking surface of the groove of the connecting element of the next adjacent filter plate, thereby preventing further horizontal displacement. By unlatching the connecting element, the coupling pin can then slide to a stop surface of the groove, to allow the adjacent filter plates to be displaced farther into the open discharge position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 2002
    Date of Patent: September 30, 2003
    Assignee: Outokumpu Oyj
    Inventor: Karl Grafen
  • Patent number: 6596168
    Abstract: The invention relates to a filter element and its manufacture to be used in removal of liquid from solids containing material to be dried in a capillary suction dryer which filter element contains a ceramic microporous layer having the pore size under 5 micrometer and supported by a ceramic internal layer having recess areas for liquid flowing. The internal layer is made of at least one substrate which continuously surrounds at least one recess area and which ceramic internal layer is surrounded by at least one essentially continuous microporous surface layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 16, 2001
    Date of Patent: July 22, 2003
    Assignee: Outokumpu Oyj
    Inventors: Kerry Johnson, Olli Högnabba, Bjarne Ekberg
  • Patent number: 6569339
    Abstract: A method and cell for reducing the size of a solvent extraction process in which a series of cells are arranged in an extraction process. The process includes the use of conventional settlers at the beginning and at the end of the extraction process with at least one reduced-size extraction cell in the middle of the extraction process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 2001
    Date of Patent: May 27, 2003
    Assignee: Outokumpu Oyj
    Inventors: Hannu Laitala, Sipilä Jussi
  • Patent number: 6565799
    Abstract: This invention relates to equipment for the feed of pulverous material to a concentrate burner of a suspension-melting furnace, so that the feed of solid finely divided material into the furnace is distributed evenly in the concentrate burner. According to the invention, a vibrating feeder is located between the raw material conveyor and the actual burner, and the concentrate burner feed pipes are equipped with blades for distributing the material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 2001
    Date of Patent: May 20, 2003
    Assignee: Outokumpu Oyj
    Inventors: Ilkka Kojo, Markku Lahtinen, Kaarle Peltoniemi
  • Patent number: 6547848
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for cooling the gas flow exiting through the uptake of a smelting furnace such as a flash-smelting furnace with finely dispersed liquid sprays, which prevents the solid matter particles contained within from coalescing and sintering.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2003
    Assignee: Outokumpu Oyj
    Inventors: Antti Jalonen, Risto Saarinen
  • Patent number: 6536596
    Abstract: The invention relates to a flotation cell line, wherein there are installed, in order to treat the flotatable material, several flotation cells so that the flotatable material can be set to flow through the flotation cell line. According to the invention, the flotation cells (, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5; 31, 32, 33, 34, 35) that are arranged successively in the flowing direction (22, 52) of the flotatable material, are at least partly installed in parallel with respect to each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2001
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2003
    Assignee: Outokumpu Oyj
    Inventors: Timo Niitti, Matti Tarvainen
  • Patent number: 6530514
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method of manufacturing heat transfer tubes for a heat exchanger such as an automobile radiator. The tubes are preferably formed of copper or a copper alloy. A sheet of the material is folded into a shape that resembles a B and is brazed together with a brazing material that is free from flux. The brazing material is in the form of a foil or paste. The paste typically includes a powder filler, a binder, and a carrier, which may be a liquid or a wax.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 2001
    Date of Patent: March 11, 2003
    Assignee: Outokumpu Oyj
    Inventor: Yoram Leon Shabtay
  • Patent number: 6527125
    Abstract: A system for delivering the same or differing controllable amounts of washing liquid to several flights of a spiral separator including a housing, a plurality of spaced members having a respective generally vertical passage communicating with fluid in the housing and permitting fluid to flow therethrough. A plurality of fluid passageways respectively communicate with the members to provide the same or differing amounts of liquid to each of the flights. The distributor housing may include a central liquid receiving chamber, a plurality of spaced compartments located in proximity with the chamber, a plurality of passages throughwhich fluid flows into fluid passageways respectively coupled to the compartments, a single flow controller rotatable therein to expose different portions of said passages at every rotation thereby varying the liquid flow to each compartment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2001
    Date of Patent: March 4, 2003
    Assignee: Outokumpu Oyj
    Inventor: Timo U. Niitti
  • Patent number: 6520340
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method for improving the operation of a flotation cell line, said flotation cell line comprising several flotation cells (1, 2, 3, 4, 5; 11, 12, 13, 14, 15) that are connected by means of liquid stream flow. According to the invention, at least part of the material flotated in the flotation cell line is conducted past the cell (1, 11) that is located first in the flotation cell line, when seen in the flowing direction (7, 16) of the flotatable material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2001
    Date of Patent: February 18, 2003
    Assignee: Outokumpu Oyj
    Inventor: Timo Niitti
  • Patent number: 6521121
    Abstract: The invention relates to an apparatus for removing solid material, particularly for removing finely divided solid material created in a filtering process from a pressurized space, the apparatus being provided with members for feeding the treated material to a process taking place in a pressurized space, as well as for removing the products created in said process from the pressurized space. According to the invention, in a discharge station (4,25) connected to the pressurized space (2,22), there are provided discharge apertures (8,28) for the solid material (5,24) to be removed from the pressurized space (2,22). The discharge apertures (8,28) are provided with at least one adjusting member (9,29) in order to adjust (11,31) the quantity of the material located in the discharge station (4,25) and to be removed from the discharge station (4,25).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 2001
    Date of Patent: February 18, 2003
    Assignee: Outokumpu OYJ
    Inventor: Jaakko Vilo
  • Patent number: 6511591
    Abstract: The present invention concerns a method for the prevention of anode passivation in the electrolytic refining of copper, when periodic reversal current technology is used in electrolysis. The method is particularly suitable for the electrolytic refining of copper at high current densities. Irregular periodic reversal current technology is used in the present method, whereby current reversal is adjusted on the basis of an increase in electrolysis cell voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 28, 2000
    Date of Patent: January 28, 2003
    Assignee: Outokumpu, Oyj
    Inventors: Henri Virtanen, Hannu Pouru
  • Patent number: 6502700
    Abstract: A spacer for coiled products, said spacer having an essentially flat, preferably disk-shaped body, and acts as a pad interposed between stacked coils, wherein said spacer comprises at least one slot, extending in radial direction a distance from the outer edge or near the outer edge to the center of the spacer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 10, 2001
    Date of Patent: January 7, 2003
    Assignee: Outokumpu Oyj
    Inventor: Phil Goostree
  • Patent number: 6464809
    Abstract: Processes for producing articles with stress-free edges which comprise slitting a copper or copper alloy sheet to provide strips of the copper material, heating the strips in a furnace at a temperature of 200-250° C. under a protective atmosphere, and cooling the strips to room temperature, the strips so produced being useful to make stamped articles.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 1998
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2002
    Assignee: Outokumpu Oyj
    Inventors: Anders Kamf, Lawrence Wojnicz
  • Publication number: 20020146291
    Abstract: A process of continuously conveying granular solids from a first zone with a pressure of 4 to 16 bar through a descending line and via an ascending line to a second zone with a pressure which is lower than in the first zone by 3 to 15 bar, by means of a gaseous medium. To ensure that the pressure between two regions can be reduced at low cost and with little maintenance effort when continuously conveying granular solids, a gaseous medium is injected into a tube through an upwardly directed nozzle at the point where the granular solids are conveyed through a descending line into an ascending line.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 2, 2002
    Publication date: October 10, 2002
    Applicant: OUTOKUMPU Oyj
    Inventors: Martin Hirsch, Stuart Sneyd, Lothar Formanek
  • Patent number: 6432370
    Abstract: In a method according to the invention, a dispersion coming from a mixer part is conducted from downwards to the liquid part of the settler, into the middle part of the feed end, wherefrom it is set to be distributed to inside the settler part, in a closed channel-like space located in the immediate vicinity of the settler along the whole width of the settler and the flow therefrom mainly above the channel-like part towards the rear end of the settler. The method according to the invention is realized by means of an apparatus where an uptake shaft extending from the dispersion mixing tank to the settler opens into the feed end of the settler, from where there are further directed distribution channels towards the settler side edges. The distribution channels are placed in the bottom part of the settler.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 8, 2000
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2002
    Assignee: Outokumpu Oyj
    Inventors: Bror Nyman, Launo Lilja, Stig-Erik Hultholm, Juhani Lyyra, Raimo Kuusisto, Petri Taipale, Timo Saarenpää
  • Patent number: 6419835
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method for producing a solids cake created in filtering performed by a suction drier provided with a fine porous liquid suction surface, in which method there is created, in order to produce said solids cake, a pressure difference in between the filter surface of the fine porous filter medium and the surface opposite to said filter surface. According to the invention, in connection with the filter cake formation, the pressure difference between the filter surface of the fine porous filter medium and the surface opposite to said filter surface is controlled in order to adjust the cake formation speed, and the slurry surface of the suction drier filtering tank is advantageously maintained on a level that enables the use of at least one filter surface cleaning member, essentially throughout the whole filter cake formation process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 1999
    Date of Patent: July 16, 2002
    Assignee: Outokumpu Oyj
    Inventors: Matti Virtanen, Rolf Hindström
  • Patent number: 6415854
    Abstract: The invention relates to a heat exchanger unit to be used in a gas-fired water heater in which heater a heat exchanger unit contains tubes with fins. According to the invention the heat exchanger unit contains flat oval tubes (1,21,31) having a fin (3,22,32) at least on one flat part (4,24,33). The flat oval tubes (1,21,31) as well as the fins (3,22,32) are made of copper, copper-based alloy, aluminium or aluminium-based alloy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 1999
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2002
    Assignee: Outokumpu Oyj
    Inventors: Anders Falkenö, Per Sandberg
  • Patent number: 6401908
    Abstract: The invention relates to an apparatus for processing lumpy, essentially spherical material such as pellets, so that the lumpy material can be applied on a surface that is set in an essentially continuous motion, as an advantageous layer for the further processing of said material, said apparatus comprising means (1) for conveying the material and for feeding the material onto a surface (15) that is set in an essentially continuous motion. According to the invention, the conveyor (1) is installed movably in an alternating motion between two positions (3, 4) in order to feed the material conveyed by the conveyor (1) as a layer (16) that is advantageous both in thickness and in cross-section onto a surface (15) set in an essentially continuous motion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 1, 2000
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2002
    Assignee: Outokumpu Oyj
    Inventors: Eero V{umlaut over (aa)}nänen, Martti Jankkila