Two-fluid spray nozzle producing fine atomization of liquid
AssigneeSpray Engineering Company
InventorJames Hall Curran
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A spray nozzle in which a plurality of streams of water under pressure are initially broken up mechanically within a chamber by impingement against a deflector therein and by the shearing action of its knife edge, and are then atomized and initially cooled within the chamber by jets of expanding compressed air, the cooled air and atomized water mixture then being discharged from an annular orifice in the form of a hollow cone spray in which the atomized water is further cooled by reason of the temperature drop in the discharged air because of its expansion upon discharge. This results in the formation of snow flakes where the ambient atmospheric temperature is sufficiently low to effect freezing of the discharged atomized water.
Claims6
A spray nozzle comprising:
- (a) a base member having an inlet for air under pressure leading to an open-ended hollow post outstanding from the base member;
- (b) a body member associated with the base member for the reception of water under pressure and for the flow of the water out of the body member;
- (c) a distributor associated with the body member and having a closed-ended hollow post portion forming an axial continuation of the hollow post outstanding from the base member,
- (i) the distributor also being provided with a base having an annular arrangement of water passages located exteriorly of the hollow post continuation portion to receive the water flowing out of the body member,
- (ii) the distributor also being provided with a shoulder forming a knife-edged deflector in the paths of discharge of water from the distributor base passages,
- (iii) the distributor hollow post continuation portion being provided with annular rows of passages leading from its interior and located downstream from the shoulder for the discharge of air outwardly into the water deflected by the knife-edged shoulder;
- and
- (d) a cap associated with the body member substantially enclosing the distributor hollow post continuation portion in spaced relation thereto and provided with a discharge orifice, said cap and continuation portion forming a mixing chamber for the air and water prior to discharge from said orifice.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.