Horizontal flow electrostatic precipitator with gas distributor receiving downward gas flow

DETAILED DESCRIPTION I claim: 1.
A combination of a horizontal-flow electrostatic precipitator having a first inlet for a gas to be cleaned of rectangular configuration lying substantially in vertical plane and a diverting and distributing device for feeding vertically downwardly arriving gas to said first inlet, said device comprising: a downwardly divergent diffuser having a second inlet for receiving said gas and disposed adjacent said first inlet; a housing constructed to define a downwardly convergent inlet passageway connected to said diffuser and receiving said gas therefrom, said housing being open laterally in the direction of said first inlet and in flow communication therewith over the entire cross-section thereof; means forming a preliminary dust-accumulating bin below said housing and connected thereto; and a partition within said housing and in said passageway constructed and arranged to from two flow cross sections subdividing the interior thereof into an upper flow cross section open laterally over only an upper portion of said first inlet, and a flow cross-section around said upper cross section opening into the remainder of said first inlet, thereby compelling a portion of the gas to flow through the upper portion of said first inlet.
2.
The combination defined in claim 1 wherein said partition is constructed and arranged so that said upper flow cross section tapers downwardly and converges toward said first inlet whereby said upper flow cross section has a wedge-shaped configuration.
3.
The combination defined in claim 2 wherein said partition is constructed and arranged so that said upper flow cross section is conically constricted in a downward direction transverse to the taper thereof.
4.
The combination defined in claim 1, further comprising a tubular dust chute connected to said partition and extending from a lower end of said upper flow cross section into said bin.
5.
The combination defined in claim 1, further comprising between said flow cross section of said inlet passageway and said first inlet at least one diverting plate juxtaposed with said partition and partition and formed with a substantially uniform array of openings to effect uniform distributions of said gas from said second inlet to said first inlet