Patent ID: 7735435
Filing Date: 2010-06-15
Classification: D21C

Abstract:
1. A cleaning apparatus for cleaning a smelt spout of a boiler, the smelt spout having side walls and a bottom wall extending therebetween, the boiler including a boiler wall defining an outlet port for discharging molten smelt, the smelt spout configured to be in fluid communication with the outlet port so that the molten smelt is able to flow along a flow path of the smelt spout, the cleaning apparatus comprising: a cleaning tool having a pair of cleaning blades generally aligned with the respective side walls of the smelt spout and extending along the smelt spout side walls in the direction of the flow path, the cleaning blades each having a cleaning edge with a length substantially as long as a portion of the smelt spout which is cleaned by each of the cleaning blades; and an actuating assembly configured to move the cleaning blades along a cleaning path from a retracted position near an upper edge of the side wall to an extended position toward the bottom wall for cleaning the spout, wherein the cleaning blades and the cleaning edges respectively slide along the side walls of the smelt spout from near the upper edge toward the bottom wall to dislodge hardened smelt deposits therefrom as the cleaning blades move from the retracted position to the extended position, and wherein the cleaning blades each have a blade thickness sufficiently small to substantially prevent obstruction of the flow of the molten smelt when the cleaning blades are in the extended position.