Apparatus for collecting contaminants from gases

Claim 1

IN A DUST COLLECTOR FOR REMOVING CONTAMINANTS FROM GAS, THE COMBINATION INCLUDING A FLOW NOZZLE FOR SAID GAS FORMING A PORT OF SAID COLLECTOR AND HAVING A SMALLER CROSS SECTION THAN AN ADJACENT DOWNSTREAM PORTION OF SAID COLLECTOR, A PLURALITY OF SPHERICAL FILTER ELEMENTS ARRANGED TO LIE IN A SINGLE LAYER EXTENDING ACROSS SAID NOZZLE AND GENERALLY TRANSVERSELY OF THE DIRECTION OF GAS FLOW THEREIN, SAID FILTER ELEMENTS ARRANGED IN SAID LAYER TO LIE IN SIDE-BYSIDE, FREELY ROTATABLE, TANGENTIAL RELATION WITH ONE ANOTHER THEREBY FORMING A MULTIPLICITY OF SMALL FLOW ORIFICES BETWEEN ADJACENT FILTER ELEMENTS, FIRST GRID MEANS UNDERLYING SAID LAYER AND EXTENDING ACROSS SAID FLOW NOZZLE FOR SUPPORTING SAID FILTER ELEMENTS, SECOND GRID MEANS OVERLYING SAID LAYER AND SPACED ABOVE SAID FILTER ELEMENTS THEREIN BY A DISTANCE SUFFICIENT TO PERMIT LIMITED MOVEMENT OF SAID ELEMENTS BUT PREVENT PERMANENT DISPLACEMENT OF SAID ELEMENTS OUT OF SAID LAYER, AND SPRAY MEANS FOR WETTING THE UNDERSURFACES OF SAID SPHERICAL ELEMENTS IN ORDER OF COLLECT CONTAMINANTS FROM SAID GAS FLOW IMPINGING THEREON.