US1411950A - Air washer - Google Patents

Description

K. K. WYATT,

AIR WASHER.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 13. I919.

1,41 1,950. Patented Apr. 1, 1922..

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

' KIRKE K. WYATT, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR, BY DIRECT AND MESNE ASSIGN- MENTS, OF TWO-THIRDS TO THOMAS S. NQYES, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

AIR WASHER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 4, 1922.

T 0 all whom. it may concern Be it known that I, KIPKE K. WYA'I'I, a

citizen of the United States, and a resident of Chicago, in the county of Cook, State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Air Washers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to air washers, and particularly to washers for use with gas engines for washing the air before delivery to the explosive mixture, and the invention covers several improved features of construction, arrangement and operation.

One of the important features resides in improved float construction and arrangement which will accurately and efliciently gauge the travel of the incoming air through the washer. Another important feature resides in improved means for giving warning when the water supply is low, preferably by preventing normal operation of the engine. Another feature resides in curved or arched baflle plates which will shed and prevent accumulation of moisture. Another feature resides in the general construction and arrangement which makes the structure compact and efiiciently responsive.

The various features of my invention are clearly illustrated on the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a side elevational view partly in vertical section.

Fig. 2 is a top view of the float guiding tube.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on plane 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the upper part of the air inlet tube showing a modified guiding arrangement for the float stem, and

Fig. 5 is a sectional view on line 5-5 of Fi 4.

The tank comprises a cylindrical body 5 and the funnel shaped base or bottom 6 constructed of sheet metal. The body has several annular corrugations 7 which strengthen it, and at its lower end has the annular strengthening ridge 8 just above the seam 9. The upper edge of the body 5 is curled over to form a seat for the cover 10 of sheet metal. The cover has the peri eral flange 11 and a short; distance within this flange the cover top has the annular depression 12 so that an annular pocket is provided for the receiving of the washer 13 i of felt, rubber or other suitable material.

Threaded lugs 14 extend upwardly from the body 5 and through the cover to be recelved by nuts 15 to clamp the cover securely against the body, the washer- 13 causing a sealing fit. The section 16 of the cover within the depression 12 is arched and has the central opening 17 surrounded by the upstanding flange 18. Extending through the opening 17 is the cylindrical filler neck 19 of sheet metal, which has the annular head 20 near its middle, around which the flange 18 is bent and secured to hold the filler neck securely in place. To further secure the neck and seal the joint soldering or spot welding may be resorted to. A cap 21 is provided for the filler neck and above the cover 16 the neck has the air inlet openlugs 22 covered by screening material 23.

Below the filler neck frame is the air inlet tube 24 which is of less diameter than the filler neck frame and has its flared upper end 25 received by the conical end 26 of the filler neck frame and secured thereto as by soldering or welding. The tube 24 is thus rigidly supported in axial alignment with the filler neckframe and it supports a plu-' ralit-y of baffle plates 27 provided with air passageways 28. The bafile plates are preferably dished or arched upwardly so that they will shed accumulated moisture toward their outer edges, the plates being of slightly less diameter than the body 5 to permit dripping off of the moisture.

Slidable Within the air tube 24 is the float tube 29 which has secured to its lower tube the receiving and supporting hood 30 for the float 31. At its upper end the tube 29 has the annular bearing ridges 32 which engage with. the sides of the air tube 24 to prevent air flow between the tubes. The float 31 is of elliptical cross section and is held in the hood 30 by arms or tongues 33 preferably stamped out of the hood material. The tongues are deflected inwardly and are secured at their inner ends to the top of the float and keep. the periphery of the float separate by an annular gap 34 from the periphery of the hood.

The arms are narrow and only enough of them are provided to support the' float, the annular gap bein therefore practically continuous and unbro en for the unrestricted flow of air.

: The water w in the tank receives the float and the float supports the hood 30 and upper part of the tank 5.

the tube 29, these parts rising and falling as the water level changes. The dimensions of the float are such that it will keep the gap 34 at all times at such distance below the to of the water that the air drawn in througli the tubes and the hood must flow for a certain distance through the water before it can reach the air outlet 35 at the This outlet 35 is usually connected with an engine carburetorv so that when the engine is in operation the air will be drawn out of the tank and outside air drawn thereinto through the openings 22, the air flowing down through the tubes 24 and 29 and the hood 30, and must pass through the gap below the surface of the water before reaching the interior of the tank, the air thus moistened flowing throu h the openings '28 in the various baflle p ates 27 to escape through the outlet 35. The baflie plate openings 28 are large and in staggered arrangement, the object of the battle plates being to check and hold back any water particles and to allow only moistened air to reach the outlet 35. Any moisture on the to or bottom surfaces of the baffle plates, wil on account of the plate curvature, flow toward the outer edges of the baffle plates and drip therefrom back into the tank. When the tongues 33 are stamped from the hood passageways 36 are left and the float is preferab y. so buoyant that it will keep the upper ends of these passagewa s above the water surface. These expose passageways permit direct out-flow of air from the hood 30 into the tank but the combined area of the exposed passageways is so small that it will not interfere with the efficient normal operation of the device. On the other hand the advantage of the openings is that when an engine is started it can get sufiicient direct air supply through these passageways to permit starting to be readily accomplished. When the engine is under headway then practically all the air flows through the gap 34 and through the water.

The elliptical float offers the arched or convexed top to the incoming air and causes gradual lateral depression and downward ow of the air toward the gap 34, the resistance to the air flow bein thus materially reduced over that where tfie float is cylindrical with a flat top.

The hood 30 is of such curvature that it will co-operate with the convex float to direct the air to strike at right angles against the water in the gap 34. As the gap is practically continuous and unbroken the air is free throughout the extent thereof to strike the water and is not deflected laterally, the result being that the air is entirely broken up into minute bubbles which permits the most thorough and eflicient washing and cleaning thereof.

To assist in guiding the float tube 29 a guide wire or rod 37 is provided, the rod being secured at its lower end to the sheet metal cross frame 38 secured in the upper end of the tube 29. As shown in Figs. 2 and 3 this cross frame is formed from a blank of sheet metal with its ends split and the adjacent sections bent to form flanges 39 by means of which the frame can be soldered or otherwise secured against the inside of the tube 29. At its center the frame has the semi-circular deflections 40 and 41 for re ceiving the guide rod 37 the rod being secured thereto by soldering or otherwise. The rod extends upwardly through. the guide frame 42 inserted at the entrance of the tube 24, and this uide frame may be of a construction similar to that of the frame 38. At its upper end the rod carries a valve disc 43 whose diameter is slightl less than that of the tube 24. To enable t e valve disc to be readily removed it is secured between nuts 44 engaging the threaded outer end of the rod. Under normal conditions of operation the water level is such in the tank that the float structure will keep the valve 43 up in the neck frame well above the inlet to tube 24 so that the air can flow unobstructedly through the tubes 24 and 29. As the water becomes used up in moistening the air the float descends and eventually if the water supply is not replenished the valve 43 will assume a position in the mouth of the tube 24 (shown in dotted lines) to leave then only the restricted annular pasageway a for the flow of air into the device. However, suf ficientair can travel through this gap to just about keep the engine going, but such restricted engine operation will inform the operator that the water supply is low and he will then refill the tank. He can readily do this by removin the cap 21 and pouring water down throng the neck frame and the tubes, or he can pour water through the overflow tube 45 which projects into the tank through the opening 46 in the tank side wall. This overflow pipe will prevent water from being filled in above a fixed level. The dirt accumulating in the tank after a period of air washing can be withdrawn through the drain opening 47 after withdrawing. the closure plug 48. The drain outlet is strengthened by a bushing 49 into which the plug threads.

In Fig. 1 theguide bar 42 is secured in the air inlet tube 24 by soldering. In the modified construction of Figs. 4 and 5 a readily removable guide bar 50 is provided. As best shown in Fig. 5 the guide bar is in the form of a sheet metal cotter pin which has-its limbs bent to form the op sed semi-circular sections 51 and 52 which orm the guide-way for the rod or stem 37. The pin is inserted through the o enings 53 and 54 in the opposite sides of t e tube 24, the opening 53 being of suificient .width to accommodate the expanded part 51 and 52, and the pin limbs adjacent the head 55 being expanded to fill the opening 53 to prevent turning of the pin and keep its guide sections 51 and 52 invertical alignment. After the pin has been in serted its ends 56 and 57- are deflected over and the pin is securely locked in place.

When it is desired to remove the float structure the nuts 44 and valve disc are removed and the float structure then withdrawn. If itis desired to remove the pin its ends are bent into parallelism and the pin can then be withdrawn through'the opening 53. As the pin is of sheet metal its limbs can readily be spread apart, and the pin withdrawn without removing float structure and the nuts 44 canbe eliminated and the valve disc permanently secured on the rod 37. Both the bar structure 42 and the pin structure 50 will serve as an abutment for limiting the downward movement of the float structure, the downward movement being stopped when the valve disc reaches the guide bar or pin and the valve disc is in proper position for choking the air inlet.

My improved structure is of compact, durable and eflicient construction. The gap 34 between the float and its supporting hood is of such nature as to cause the air to be thoroughly broken up and to travel through the water in the form of small bubbles, thus assuring thorough washing. The entire air inlet and fioat structure together with the baflie plates are carried by the cover so that when the nuts 15 are withdrawn the cover with all these parts can be removed from the tank 5, the baflle plates being of slightly less diameter than the interior of the tank such removal of the parts can readily be accomplished. After removal of the cover with the parts supported thereby the float structure can readily be withdrawn by removing the nuts 44 and the disc 43 or by withdrawing the cotter pin 50.

I do not desire to be limited to the precise construction and arrangement shown and described as changes may be made which will still come within the scope of the invention.

Having described my invention, I claim as follows:

1. In an air washer, the combination of a tank for containing cleaning fluid, an air inlet tube extending downwardly into said tank from the top thereof, an air outlet, a float tube extending upwardly into said air inlet tube and having a flared lower end forming a hood presenting a concave inner surface, a float within said hood presenting an upper convex surface, said float being supported from said hood, the lower edge of said hood and the periphery of said float being separated a distance to leave an unobstructed annular gap in a horizontal place,

when the water level drops.

said concave and convex surfaces being of such curvature. as 'to form a gradually converging annular nozzle free from abrupt turns and having its outlet at said gap, the air entering through said inlet tube flowing through said nozzle and entirely unobstructed through said outlet and acqulring velocity during its flow through the nozzle whereby it will be projected with considerable force at right angles against the cleaning fluid and downwardly therethrough to be thoroughly broken up and cleaned, said float serving to keep said nozzle outlet a distance below the surface of the cleaning fluid.

2. In 'an air washin device the combination 'of a tank for was ing fluid, an air inlet tube extending downwardly into said tank and terminating above the fluid therein, a guide tube extending into the lower end of said inlet tube to form a continuation thereof and terminating below the surface of the fluid, a float secured in the lower end of said guide tube to hold saidtube at its lower end below the fluid surface, a rod extending upwardly from said guide tube, a valve at the upper end of said rod, said valve being adapted to partially close said air inlet pipe 3. In an air washin device the combination of a tank for was in fluid, an air inlet tube extending downwar ly into said tank and terminating above the fluid therein, a guide tube extending into the lower'end of said inlet tube to form a continuation thereof and terminating below the surface of the fluid, a float secured in the lower end of said guide tube to hold said tube at its lower end below the fluid surface, a rod extending upwardly from said guide tube, a plate secured at the upper end of said rod of slightly less diameter than that at the entrance of the air intake tube, said plate engaging in said air inlet tube to restrict the air inflow when the float and its guide tube drop with the descending water level.

4. In an air washing device the combination of a tank for cleaning fluid, a removable cover therefor, a cylindrical inlet frame sup-. ported on said cover and extending a distance into said tank, an inlet tube extending from the lower end of said inlet-frame partly through said tank and terminating above the fluid, said tank having an outlet for washed air, a guide tube slidable in said inlet tube to form a continuation thereof and terminating below the surface of the fluid, a float secured in the lower end of said guide tube for holding said tube below ported in the lower end of said guide tube for keeping the lower'edge of said tube below the surface of the fluid, a guide rod extending upwardly from said tube, a guide bar in said air inlet tube for said guide rod, a plate detachably secured to the upper end of said guide rod and being of slightly smaller diameter than that of the air intake tube whereby when said float drops a certain distance said plate will be within said air intake tube to restrict the flow of air therethrough.

6, In an air washing device the combination with a tank for containing washing fluid, an air inlet tube extending downwardly into the tank, a float structure telescopically engaging in said air tube, a guide rod extending upwardl from said float structure through saidair inlet tube, and a KIRKE K. WYATT.

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