Abstract: A system for minimizing the energy consumption in a central air conditioning unit incorporating a refrigeration unit which is normally in operation to supplement or substitute for the cooling effect of outside air. The system employs sensor to sense the enthalpy of the return air entering the unit from the work space, the outside air entering the unit from the outside, and the washer air discharged into the work space from the unit, and controls the operation of the unit in accordance with the relative levels of enthalpy at these points. The energy content of the discharged washer air may be modified by modulating dampers controlling the proportion of outside and recirculated air, and also by modulating the washer which provides evaporative cooling and, in addition, cooling by refrigeration.

Abstract: A fumes control system for use with a furnace having a top-chargeable furnace vessel mounted on a first support with means for charging the furnace adjacent to the vessel and means for collecting the melt from the furnace adapted to overlie a second support defining a tapping site adjacent to the furnace vessel. The fumes control system comprises a housing covering the top and sides of the furnace in sealing engagement with the first and second supports and is adapted to entirely enclose the furnace and collecting means. The fumes control system further comprises exhaust means with dampers associated therewith, which dampers are interconnected via control means to selectively exhaust fumes generated during charging, melting/refining and tapping operations at the respective sites.

Abstract: A baghouse filter having a filter chamber separated by a partition between the clean gas side and the dirty gas side. The partition has a plurality of apertures, in each of which is mounted a filter unit for removal and replacement. The housing has an access opening to permit access to the interior of the housing and the opening is sufficiently large to permit withdrawal of the partition from the housing through the opening so as to permit replacement of the filter units exteriorly of the housing. In the present instance, the partition of the housing is mounted on a door closing the access opening, so that the displacement of the access door from the housing automatically displaces the partition from the housing to permit removal and replacement of the filter units. The filter unit assemblies permit mounting of the filter units from the dirty gas side of the partition with suitable sealing to prevent unfiltered gaseous medium from bypassing of the filter units.

Abstract: An air-conditioning system for a work space in which recirculated air is mixed with outside air and the mixture is passed through a washer. The controls for the system include an absolute moisture controller in the primary air supply downstream from the air washer, a direct-acting humidistat for the room air and a reverse-acting thermostat for the room air. The proportional output signals of the thermostat and humidistat are fed to a high-and-low signals selector which transmits the higher of the two signals to a heating control for the recirculated air and the lower of the two signals to a throttling valve for the air washer. In normal operation, the air washer is fully throttled before the heating control is activated to supply heat to the recirculated air since the heating control is responsive to a pressure above the range of pressures which are effective to modulate the washer sprays.

Abstract: A fumes control system duct-and-car arrangement for a duct including a wall portion closed by a flexible web, and a support structure in the duct under the web to prevent collapse of the web into the duct under evacuation includes a car disposed for movement along the duct to raise the web and couple the interior of the car to the interior of the duct. The car is provided with a door which can be opened to gain access to the interior of the car. The support structure for the web provides an access way so that maintenance and inspection personnel can move from the interior of the car into the interior of the duct. Various types of apparatus for moving the car along the duct include a motor mounted on the car and a wheel supporting the car from the duct and driven by the motor. Another motive mechanism provides a motor mounted beyond one of the limits of travel of the car along the duct, and a flexible cable, chain or the like, pulled by actuation of the motor to move the car along the duct.

Abstract: An improved cleaning apparatus for textile machines, of the type that includes overhead trackways and cleaner units propelled along the trackways, is provided with an arrangement for automatically removing accumulated lint from the cleaner units while cleaner units are moving along the trackways. During cleaning of the textile machines, lint is stripped from lint-laden intake air by conical screens respectively associated with the depending suction tubes of the cleaner unit. Hinged doors are arranged above and below each conical lint-stripping screen, and all four of these doors are opened at a lint collection station so that the accumulated lint may be rapidly withdrawn from the smaller ends of the screens directly into suction hoods.

Abstract: A supersonic jet ionizer (10) comprises dielectric structure defining a chamber (30) for receiving pressurized gas and a convergent-divergent nozzle (31) for causing the gas to issue from the chamber (30) in a jet at supersonic velocity. A high-voltage electrode tip (51) and a grounded metallic ring (60) are mounted in a diverging region (41) of the nozzle (31) so that a corona can be maintained in the diverging region (41). Ions formed in the corona are swept out of the nozzle (31) by the supersonic gas jet. The supersonic jet ionizer (10) can be utilized as a particulate charging means in a system (75) for filtering charged particulates from a particulate-laden gas stream.