Marine propulsion system
AssigneeTechmet Corporation
InventorLeonard Watts
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A marine propulsion water jet system which operates at high efficiency and automatically adjusts itself to maintain a relatively constant primary injection water velocity over a wide speed range. The propulsion system includes a fluid flow amplifier by which a high velocity principal water flow is injected into a slower velocity secondary water flow to form a water jet. The fluid flow amplifier includes an adjustable orifice through which the principal water flow is injected into the secondary water flow and the size of the orifice is automatically adjusted in order to maintain a relatively constant water jet velocity.
Claims5
A fluid flow amplifier for a marine propulsion water jet system including the injection of a high velocity principal water flow into a slower velocity secondary water flow to form a water jet, said amplifier comprising:
- an adjustable orifice through which said principle water flow is injected into said secondary water flow;
- hydraulically balanced means for automatically adjusting the size of said orifice so as to maintain relatively constant primary water injection velocity;
- a water jet pod for channeling said a secondary water flow, wherein said hydraulically balanced means includes a compensating annular sleeve mounted in said pod, and said adjustable orifice includes an annular shoulder on the inner surface of said pod and a lip on one end of said annular sleeve interacting with the shoulder, and wherein said hydraulically balanced means also includes a primary annular chamber formed between the end of said sleeve including said lip and said pod for receiving said principal water flow, a secondary annular chamber formed between the other end of said sleeve and said pod, and a constricted water flow channel interconnecting said annular chamber through said sleeve.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.