Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 14
Claim 1
Independent Claim
259 words
A gas-rectification double column having a cylindrical housing and operating with a low pressure fluid and a high pressure fluid, a prismatic heat-exchanger body received in said housing and having at least four generally planar sides defining with said housing corresponding cylinder-segmental chambers, said body being composed of a stack of tube arrays, each of said arrays being formed by a pair of juxtaposed plates formed with arcuate confronting semicylindrical concavities defining parallel passages in the form of cylindrical tubes between each pair of plates, said tubes extending parallel to the axis of the cylindrical housing, the edges of the plates being secured to the edges of the plates of adjacent arrays to define intermediate compartments between said arrays, said passages communicating with at least one of said chambers and said compartments communicating with at least another of said chambers, and means For passing heat-exchange fluids through said one and said other chamber and including a bottom wall defining a space below said body communicating with said tubes from below and with said one of said chambers, said compartments opening laterally directly into said other of said chambers, said low pressure fluid being conducted through said tubes and said high pressure fluid being passed through said compartments, said column having a low-pressure side communicating with said one of said chambers and a high-pressure side communicating with said compartments through said other chamber whereby said body physically separates said low-pressure side from said high-pressure side but enables heat exchange between said low-pressure side and the high-pressure side of said column.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
259 words
A gas-rectification double column having a cylindrical housing and operating with a low pressure fluid and a high pressure fluid, a prismatic heat-exchanger body received in said housing and having at least four generally planar sides defining with said housing corresponding cylinder-segmental chambers, said body being composed of a stack of tube arrays, each of said arrays being formed by a pair of juxtaposed plates formed with arcuate confronting semicylindrical concavities defining parallel passages in the form of cylindrical tubes between each pair of plates, said tubes extending parallel to the axis of the cylindrical housing, the edges of the plates being secured to the edges of the plates of adjacent arrays to define intermediate compartments between said arrays, said passages communicating with at least one of said chambers and said compartments communicating with at least another of said chambers, and means For passing heat-exchange fluids through said one and said other chamber and including a bottom wall defining a space below said body communicating with said tubes from below and with said one of said chambers, said compartments opening laterally directly into said other of said chambers, said low pressure fluid being conducted through said tubes and said high pressure fluid being passed through said compartments, said column having a low-pressure side communicating with said one of said chambers and a high-pressure side communicating with said compartments through said other chamber whereby said body physically separates said low-pressure side from said high-pressure side but enables heat exchange between said low-pressure side and the high-pressure side of said column.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
72 words
The gas-rectification column heat exchanger defined in claim 1 wherein said body has a pair of opposite lateral sides generally parallel to said plates, said means for passing said heat-exchange fluids through said one chamber including a pair of partitions flanking said stack along said opposite lateral sides and parallel to said plates while defining a pair of cylinder-segmental ducts with said housing, said ducts communicating with said space below said body.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
43 words
The gas-rectification column heat exchanger defined in claim 1 wherein said body is provided with generally planar sides at which said compartments open and defining with said housing a pair of chambers communicating with said compartments over substantially all of said opposite sides.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
61 words
The gas-rectification column heat exchanger defined in claim 3 wherein said tubes and said pair of chambers open upwardly, said means for passing said heat-exchange fluids through said other chamber including walls defining discharge compartments at the upper ends of said pair of chambers and outlets extending through the wall of said housing for discharging fluids collected in said outlet chambers.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
40 words
The gas-rectification column heat exchanger defined in claim 4, further comprising partition means extending through said compartments toward the upper ends thereof for subdividing said compartments into upper and lower sections, said partition means being interrupted at a central location.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
21 words
The gas-rectification column heat exchanger defined in claim 5 wherein said partition means cylindrically engage the plates defining said intermediate compartments.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
30 words
The gas-rectification column heat exchanger defined in claim 6 wherein the surfaces of said intermediate compartments are formed with arrays of vertically extending condensate-film-breaking ribs and downwardly inclined condensate-collecting ribs.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
51 words
The gas-rectification column heat exchanger defined in claim 7 wherein said condensate-collecting ribs of each surface of each intermediate compartment extend downwardly and outwardly with the same inclination, said plates being formed along at least one lateral edge with a downwardly extending condensate-collecting channel, said condensate-collecting ribs terminating in said channel.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
37 words
The gas-rectification column heat exchanger defined in claim 8 wherein the condensate-collecting ribs of each surface of each intermediate compartment extend symetrically downwardly and outwardly from respective vertices to condensate-collecting channels on opposite sides of each plate.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
45 words
The gas-rectification column heat exchanger defined in claim 7 wherein said condensate-collecting ribs form notes, said surfaces of said intermediate chambers being formed with drop-forming projections extending transversely from said notes toward the center in respective compartments for leading condensate away from said condensate-collecting ribs.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
36 words
The gas-rectification column heat exchanger defined in claim 10, further comprising a synthetic-resin foil extending through each of said intermediate compartments and cooperating with said projections for conducting condensate to the bottoms of the respective compartment.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
14 words
The gas-rectification column heat eXchanger defined in claim 11 wherein said foil is perforated.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
17 words
The gas-rectification column heat exchanger defined in claim 7 wherein said ribs are embossed in said plates.