Axial, triple-separation, diffusion apparatus and method
OwnerEarl Vaughn Sevyinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A reservoir containing an essential oil feeds to an eductor injecting a jet forming a plume of air entraining oil droplets. A series of drift chambers act as velocity reducers to alternately slow the flow droplets with entry, and then reaccelerate them upon exit through an exit channel. A micro cyclone separator operates between at least two of the drift chambers, exposing the flow to circumferential direction and centripetal acceleration driving comparatively larger droplets out of the flow away from comparatively finer droplets sufficiently small to remain with the flow of air. Separation of comparatively larger droplets, effectively eliminates “spitting” of liquids that might or rapid drift onto surrounding surfaces.
Claims21
1-20. (canceled)
An apparatus capable of atomizing and separating droplets of liquid atomized into a flow of air, the apparatus comprising:
- an atomizer capable of drawing directly from a reservoir of the liquid;
- a drift chamber operably connected to receive from the atomizer the flow and the droplets entrained therein and separate out of the flow comparatively larger ones of the droplets while leaving in the flow comparatively smaller ones of the droplets;
- and
- the drift chamber being capable of separating by having an inlet thereinto passing the flow in an inlet direction through an inlet cross-sectional area, an outlet exiting therefrom in an outlet direction through an outlet cross-sectional area, and a flow region therebetween having a flow cross-sectional area less than both the inlet cross-sectional area and the outlet cross-sectional area, a drain capable of passing the comparatively larger droplets as liquid toward the reservoir, and the drift chamber requiring at least one change of direction of the flow orthogonal to the inlet flow direction.
An apparatus capable of atomizing and separating droplets of liquid atomized into a flow of air, the apparatus comprising:
- an atomizer capable of atomizing into droplets a liquid by receiving a flow of pressurized air and a drawing thereinto a supply of the liquid from a reservoir;
- a drift chamber operable as a first separator by operably connecting to receive the flow and droplets from the atomizer, change the direction of the flow, and change a cross-sectional area through which the flow passes;
- and
- a port capable of directing comparatively larger ones of the droplets, coalesced to a return liquid, in consequence of the first separator, back into the reservoir.
A method of atomizing and separating droplets of liquid atomized into a flow of air, the method comprising:
- providing an atomizer, drift chamber, and pump operably connected to be capable of atomizing into droplets a liquid, drawn from a source, and separate out therefrom comparatively larger ones of the droplets from the flow;
- providing a flow of pressurized air;
- drawing into the flow a stream of the liquid from a reservoir;
- atomizing the stream into the droplets in the flow;
- separating out from the flow the comparatively larger ones of the droplets by changing a direction of the flow and a cross-sectional area through which it flows through the drift chamber;
- and
- directing the comparatively larger ones of the droplets, coalesced to a return liquid, in consequence of the first separator, back into the reservoir.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.