Patent ID: 8430722

Claim:
Apparatus for surface processing or surface treatment by means of dry ice granulate, with a reservoir ( 1 ) for receiving a dry ice medium, in particular dry ice pellets, an inlet ( 6 ) for the feed of a propellant medium, an outlet ( 22 ) for the supply of a mixture of propellant medium and dry ice granulate to a blast gun ( 9 ), and an outflow chamber ( 59 ) lying therebetween, in which in a path between the reservoir ( 1 ) and the outflow chamber ( 59 ) there is arranged a grinding mechanism ( 3 ), which is formed so as to comminute the dry ice medium to dry ice granulate with a particle size in a prescribed range, the grinding mechanism ( 3 ) comprises a crushing roll, which is formed so as to give the particles of the dry ice granulate a sharp-edged shape, the grinding mechanism ( 3 ) is formed so as to adjust the size of the particles of the dry ice granulate variably in a range from approximately 2 mm to approximately 0.5μ, and a transport roll ( 4 ) is arranged between the grinding mechanism ( 3 ) and the outflow chamber ( 59 ), the transport roll ( 4 ) being operable with a variable speed so as to vary the quantity of the particles of the dry ice granulate per unit time, the apparatus further comprising a metering device ( 20 ), which is arranged between the transport roll ( 4 ) and the outflow chamber ( 59 ) and which is formed so as to vary the quantity of the particles of the dry ice granulate per unit time, the metering device ( 20 ) preferably being formed so as to receive an additional medium, which can be admixed with the particles of the dry ice granulate.