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US 4,618,399 AGranted
Wobble tube evaporator with whip rod fluid distributor
OwnerYao T. Liinventor
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OwnerYao T. Liinventor
Estimating the term…
An evaporation or distillation apparatus uses one or more tubes driven to wobble about a vertical wobble axis that is aligned with the tube. A fluid distributor supplies a fluid to the inner surface of the wobbling tube at its upper end. A flexible whip rod located at least in part within the tube slides around over the inner surface as the tube wobbles. The pressure generated between the wobbling whip rod and the tube spreads the incoming fluid stream into a very thin film having a uniform thickness over the entire length of the tube. In the preferred form the whip rod is anchored at its lower end to a stationary base and is restrained against rotation about its own longitudinal axis, but is sufficiently flexible at its lower end to act as a universal joint. In this preferred form the whip rod has a flexible core surrounded by at least one length of tubular sheathing. The anchor point is preferably centered on either the wobble axis or, where the base is a container wall that moves in unison with the tube, the center of the tube. In the latter form, a fluid distributor mounted on the container above the tube distributes fluid to the tube using the centrifugal force of the wobbling motion to direct the fluid inlet stream. In another embodiment the whip rod is hollow and conducts the fluid to its upper end where the rapid, circular motion of the whip rod distributes the fluid to the inner surface of the tube where it then flows downwardly along the contact line between the whip rod and the tube.
In a fluid evaporation apparatus having (i) a reference number, (ii) at least one heat transfer tube aligned about a generally vertical axis adjacent said reference member, (iii) means to drive said heat transfer tube to revolve about a wobbling center on said vertical axis without rotating the transfer tube, and means for directing a stream of said fluid toward the inner surface of said tube, the wobble motion imparted to said tube serving to cause said stream of said fluid to cling to the inner surface of said tube away from the wobbling center and form a revolving flow stream that wipes the inside surface of the tube, the improvement comprising a whip rod that lies within said inner tube surface, said whip rod being flexible to conform to irregularities in said surface when driven against the surface by the centrifugal force developed by the whip rod sliding over said inner surface in response to said wobbling motion, means for anchoring a first end of said whip rod to the reference member near the longitudinal vertical axis of said tube, said anchoring means allowing said whip rod to lie within said tube extending generally vertically against and revolving about said inner surface of said tube during said wobbling to distribute said fluid stream in a higly thin, uniform film over said inner surface, said highly thin film presenting a low heat resistance to facilitate said evaporation.
In a fluid evaporation apparatus having (i) a reference member (ii) at least one heat transfer tube aligned about a generally vertical axis over said reference member, (iii) means to drive said heat transfer tube about a wobbling center on said vertical axis without rotating the transfer tube, and (iv) means to direct a stream of said fluid toward the inner surface of said tube, the wobble motion imparted to said tube serving to cause said fluid stream to cling to the inner surface of said tube away from the wobbling center and form a revolving flow stream that wipes the inside surface of the tube, the improvement comprising a whip rod that extends from a lower end to said reference member generally upwardly into the interior of said tube, means for non-rotationally anchoring the lower end of said whip rod to said reference member, said anchoring means including means for providing a universal joint connection between the portion of said whip rod that lies within said tube and said reference member, said whip rod portion that lies within said tube extending generally vertically against and rotating about said inner surface of said tube during said wobbling to distribute said fluid stream in a highly thin, uniform film over said inner surface, said highly thin film presenting a low heat resistance to facilitate said evaporation.
A fluid evaporation apparatus comprising:
A fluid evaporator apparatus comprising,
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.