Aerator nozzle
AssigneeFruehauf Corporation
InventorLawrence A. Botkin
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An aerating or fluidizing device is located adjacent the gravity discharge opening of a hopper. The device is in the form of a flexible, resilient member fixed so that a marginal edge normally contacts and defines an interface with an associated surface. Air under pressure is fed to the interface in such fashion as to cause the marginal edge of the resilient member to flutter and allow the air to escape in randomly directed "puffs." The fluttering movement combined with the intermittent puffs of air causes pulverulent material to be agitated, aerated and/or fluidized as it passes to the discharge opening.
Claims6
A device for agitating and aerating pulverulent material, comprising in combination:
- a base member defining a supporting surface and a flexible, resilient disc lying flatwise in face-to-face contact with said supporting surface, said supporting surface including a substantially flat annular portion and said disc including a substantially flat annular bottom surface portion in registry with said annular portion of the supporting surface;
- said disc being of circular form having a central portion and an annular skirt projecting radially therefrom, said skirt defining an outer marginal edge portion presenting said annular bottom surface portion lying flatwise in face-to-face contact with said annular portion of said supporting surface and an intermediate portion joining said outer marginal edge portion to said central portion;
- and
- means securing said central portion of the disc to said base member for allowing said skirt to flex;
- and
- manifold means for subjecting substantially the entire circumferential extent of the bottom surface of said intermediate portion to the simultaneous application of air under pressure while said annular bottom surface portion of the outer marginal edge portion of the disc is in flatwise face-to-face contact with said annular portion of the supporting surface;
- said skirt having a resiliency such that when subjected to an air flow of from 10-400 standard cubic feet per minute through said manifold means with a pressure drop in the range of 1 to 10 pounds per square inch when discharging into normal atmospheric pressure, said skirt is caused to flutter such randomly directed discrete puffs of air are expelled circumferentially of said skirt.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.