Gas drier

Claim 1

A DRIER FOR COMPRESSED GAS COMPRISING AN ENCLOSURE HAVING A GAS INLET AND A GAS OUTLET, GENERALLY HORIZONTAL MEANS IN SAID ENCLOSURE ADAPTED FOR SUPPORTING A BED OF DELIQUESCENT DESICANT MATERIAL ON THE UPPER SURFACE THEREOF, SAID HORIZONTAL MEANS COMPRISING A GENERALLY IMPERFORATE SUBSTANTIALLY PLANAR MEMBER DIVIDING SAID ENCLOSURE INTO AN UPPER CHAMBER AND A LOWER CHAMBER AND EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY ACROSS SAID ENCLOSURE A SUFFICIENT AMOUNT TO DEFINE IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE INTERIOR SURFACE OF THE ENCLOSURE PASSAGE MEANS DISPOSED ADJACENT SAID INTERIOR SURFACE, SAID INLET COMMUNICATING WITH SAID LOWER CHAMBER AND SAID OUTLET COMMUNICATING WITH SAID UPPER CHAMBER, A DRAIN OPENING IN SAID LOWER CHAMBER FOR REMOVING A SOLUTION OF DESICCANT DRAINING DOWN FROM THE DESICCANT BED, SAID INLET BEING DISPOSED ABOVE SAID DRAIN OPENING, SAID PASSAGE MEANS BEING OPERATIVE TO CAUSE INLET GAS TO FLOW INTO CONTACT WITH THE ENCLOSURE INTERIOR SURFACE PRIOR TO PASSING THROUGH THE BED OF DESICCANT MATERIAL AND TO CAUSE EXPOSURE OF THE INLET GAS TO DESICCANT SOLUTION FROM THE BED PRIOR TO PASSAGE OF THE INLET GAS INTO THE BED, AND PASSAGEWAY MEANS COUPLED TO SAID INLET FOR DIRECTING INLET GAS TO APPROXIMATELY THE VERTICAL AXIAL CENTER OF THE ENCLOSURE AND IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO SAID MEMBER SO THAT THE INLET GAS WILL BE DIRECTED UPWARDLY TO VIOLENTLY IMPINGE ON THE UNDERSIDE OF SAID MEMBER, THEREBY DISPERSING THE INLET GAS UPON ITS EMISSION INTO SAID LOWER CHAMBER.