Distributor for pneumatically transported particle-form material

Claim 1

IN COMBINATION, A PRESSURIZED BLAST FURNACE OF GENERALLY CIRCULAR CROSS SECTION AND HAVING A PLURALITY OF CIRCUMFERENTIALLY SPACED TUYERES POSITIONED IN A COMMON PLANE IN THE LOWER PORTION THEREOF, SAID BLAST FURNACE BEING OF THE TYPE WHEREIN IT IS DESIRABLE TO INTRODUCE PULVERIZED FUEL WITH A MINIMUM AMOUNT OF CARRIER AIR TO ALL OF SAID TUYERES, AND A SEMI-DIRECT PLUVERIZED FUEL SYSTEM INCLUDING INDEPENDENT SOURCES OF PULVERIZED FUEL AND CARRIER AIR, MEANS FOR CONTINUOUSLY COMBINING REGULATED QUANTITIES OF SAID PULVERSIZED FUEL AND SAID CARRIER AIR TO FORM A MIXTURE FOR INTRODUCTION INTO SAID BLAST FURNACE A DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM FOR DIVIDING SAID MIXTURE INTO A PLURALITY OF STREAMS HAVING SUBSTANTIALLY EQUL DENSITIES AND BEING EQUAL IN NUMBER TO THE NUMBER OF SAID TUYERES, AND A PLURALITY OF CONDUITS EXTENDING FROM SAID DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM TO SAID TUYERES FOR PASSING EACH OF SAID STREAMS TO A CORRESPONDING ONE OF SAID TUYERES, THE QUANTITY OF PULVERIZED FUEL FLOWING IN EACH OF SAID STREAMS BEING PROPORTIONAL TO THE COMBINED PRESSURE DROP THROUGH ITS CORRESPONDING CONDUIT AND TUYERE, SAID DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM INCLUDING AT LEAST ONE DISTRIBUTOR COMPRISING WALLS DEFINING AN UNOBSTRUCTED CHAMBER FORMED SYMMETRICALLY ABOUT ITS VERTICALLY DISPOSED AXIS AND HAVING ITS UPPER END CLOSED, A BOTTOM CLOSURE FOR SAID CHAMBER INCLUDING MEANS FORMING A CENTRALLY DISPOSED INLET FOR THE INTRODUCTION OF A MIXTURE OF AIR AND PULVERIZED FUEL INTO SAID CHAMBER, SAID INLET HAVING A CROSS-SECTIONAL AREA SUBSTANTIALLY LESS THAN THE HORIZONTAL CROSS-SECTIONAL AREA OF SAID CHAMBER, AND MEANS FORMING A PLURALITY OF SPACED OUTLETS OPENING INTO SAI CHAMBER, SAID OUTLETS BEING ARRANGED IN A COMMON HORIZONTAL PLANE AND BEING EQUI-DISTANT FROM SAID AXIS.