US2603533A - Liquid atomizing apparatus - Google Patents

Description

July l5, 1952 s. o. RYE

LIQUID ATOMIZING A PPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet l Filed March 8, 1949 JNVENTOR. Swen( arf. 9L BY July 15, 1952 s. o. RYE 2,603,533

LIQUID ATOMIZING APPARATUS Filed March 8, 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet 2y Fig. 4

INVENTOR. 57i/hd r K/v,

BY Q. a7' Wm" Maf July 15, 1952 s. o. RYE 2,603,533

LIQUID ATOMIZING APPARATUS Filed March 8, 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 J v INVENTOR.

ve y( ay t Patented July 15, 1952 *i1-STAT Es y PArNTfoF'FIcE :LIQUID A'roii Arrinm'rus 'I y v' Svend Ove RyeQCharlottenlund, Denmark i vrApplication March 8, 1949, Serial No. 80,292 1 i In Denmark March 16, 1948 '1o claims. (o1. esagera).

This invention relates to apparatus for atomizlng. liquids and has for` its object to provide liquid atomizing apparatus which will produce a ner and more uniform atomization than obtainedwith atomizing apparatuses hithertoin use. f y z' The invention1isapplicable to all elds in which a fine and uniform atomization of liquids is desirable such as.for burning liquid fuels, vaporization of liquids, desiccation of liquid materials, andcreating sprays and mists of liquid disinfectants.`

The invention is` particularly applicable to humidifying apparatus forV air in air conditioning plants, to the -atomizing of milk in ydry-milk plants, and tos-the atomizing of oil in oil burners. To these endsthe apparatusmay prefer-v ably, but not necessarily,- comprise a blower adapted to deliver astream of air ork other gas into which the spray -of atomized liquid is dif rected and dispersed. f

The invention is exemplified by the following description of` anfoil atomizing and burning apparatus fwith. reference to the accompanying drawings inwhichz" Fig. 1 -is .a1 sectional elevation of an oil burner incorporating-the' improved atom-izing means,

Fig; 2 is a. 'diagram drawn to a larger scale and showing the operation of control means,

Fig. 3 is a section partly diagrammatical, along the line III-III of Fig; 1,

Fig. 4 is a plan view of Fig. 1

omitted, f

Fig. 5 is a'section on theline 'V4-V' of Fig. 1 showing modified-valve means,

Fig. 6 isv a yiewsinfiilar.A to Fig. 3, but showing modified valvemean's; and i Figs. 7 gand-8 are sections along the line VII- VII of- Fig. 6 withv the parts in two different positions.v 1

.Referring to the ldrawings in which like reference numerals'4 designate corresponding parts throughout' the figures-5B denotes `a base plate adapted tobe'securedffby suitable means (not shown) -to a*domestic'centralbeating boiler or other corresponding` furnace. The -top face of the base plate is providedwith an annular rib 59 upon which is seated'aA ring 6D of flexible material such as rubber, asbestos or the like. A

with some .parts pair of annular flanges-6I are clamped betweenl bolts. 64 are anchored inthe-base plate Vland provided with nuts 65 pressing-upon the ring 63 usy by the intermediaryof springs `66. In, this manner the flangesrlifl and thus the entire apparatus is clamped resiliently tothe .base plate 58.

Mounted in suitable bearings 26,"preferably made fromY aYself-lubrlcating metal or alloy, is a vertical hollow shaft 21 carrying between the bearings the rotor 28 of an electric motor the stator of which is denoted by 29 and mounted inthecasi'ng.- l

On the lower end ofv the. hollow.- shaft 21 is secured a'hub 80 of a centrifugal blower-'impeller wheel 35 and a liquidatomizing head designatedgenerallybyl. .Y y l y The atomizing head1 comprises in its lower end a liquid ,'chamber.II,.-having a plug I2 with an atomizing jet orifice I3 `situated `in the axis of rotation O of the hollow shaft 21 and atomizing head I. Coaxially with the axis O is. situated a `needlevalve I4 which is preferably guided in a self-lubricating plug in a plug I5 yforming the upper wallfof the liquid chamberII, .and actuated by a compression spring 34 to closethe needle valve again-st the action of the liquid pressure in the chamber vI-I. The plug I5 has an annular groove .closed at-the topy and shielded below by anannular discA 9, so as to provide an air trap whichl acts as adash-pot for equali'zing pressure variations inthe chamber ,--II y.during operation.

Liquid is introduced into the chamber I-I under .pressure by Way of channels I 0 Iand liquid pumps of the reciprocating piston type. vEach* pump unit `comprises a cover -4 screwed onto' a suitable stud on the atomizing head and confining a pumping space 3remote from thel axis of rotation. Each'pum-ping space has in the wall nearestto the axis of rotation a delivery or pressure orifice 6 withan automatic ball-valve 'I and inlet, or suction orice I1 with a suitable inlet valve of the automatic type;v One type of inlet valve is shown ink Fig; 5' in the formV of an ordinary ball valve I8 with a closingspring 5I and another type of inlet valve is shown in Figs. 6-8. The inner wall of each pumpingv space likewise comprises aV bore for al pump pistoni, which bore is preferably 'but not necessarily contained in a plug 2 of self1ubricating.'metal or alloy. The inner end of each piston 5 is widenedV to form a foot I9 resting againstl the periphery of a circular disc 20 made preferably from self lubricating metal or alloy. The disc 2D is mounted freely rotatable on a pin 2I which is eccentr-ically mounted on the lower end ofv a control shaft 22 extending ,upward through a station- Var-y tube 23 within the hollow shaft 2-1.` The 'ofthepinZL This appears more readily from the diagram in Fig. 2. This diagram shows the disc 2lllv and the inner ends of Ythe pistons 5, E designating the axis of the disc 20, O the axis of rotation, and R the axis of the control shaft 22. In actual practice the disc 20 is substantially stationary whereas the atomizing head and the pistons revolve around the axis O, but in order to facilitate the explanation it is supposed in the following that the atomizing head isstationary and the disc 20 rotatesaroundthe axisO in the inverse direction. The center of the disclthereby'describes a circle the radiusof which is defined by the distance O-E Y and a` reciprocating movement with a stroke amounting to twice this distance is imparted to the pistons 5.' Y

The left hand piston is shown in its outermost and innermost positions with full and dotted lines respectively. On turning the shaft 22 aroundits axis Rthe axis E'of the disc 20 will be shifted'relative to the axis of rotation O .in such a manner as to vary the distance O-E and .the stroke of the pistons.. .In .the embodiment shown, the eccentricityofthe disc Y2l) against the axis R is made equal to the eccentricity of theVA axis R against the axis of rotation() and the pistonpstroke may therefore be reduced to zero by turning the shaft 22 to bring theaxis E tocoincide with the axis O. In j operation the impeller wheel forces )a stream of air through an annular air duct 36 enclosed betweena bottom portion 31 of the apparatus casing 25 and a streamlined shield 38 enclosing the major portion of the atomizing head and the entirepump mechanism. This stream of airy catches the spray ofrator'nized liquid emerging from the jet orifice I3 during operation so as to form in the present caseean intimate mixture of air and very finely and uniformly atomized fuel oilexcellently suited for complete and economic combustion. Y l

Inorderl to adapt the amount of air to the very finely adjustable supply of liquid fuel an air control valve is provided at the air intake of the blower. Theair is drawn in by way of an annular slot between the upper end of the apparatus casing and a cover 3l secured'by asuitable number of bolts 61. The airvalve is in the form of superposed slotted discs 10 and 'H'rotatable in relation to each other in order tov open and close the slots more or less inwell-known manner. The moving disc 'll is secured to a hub 12 on the upper end of the control shaft 22 in suchy aV manner as to open and close the air slotsvcorr'esponding to increase and reduction respectively of the fuel supplied to the jet orifice by the pump mechanism.

The slotted'discs l0 and 'H are Vkept in sliding contact at a suitable pressure byV means of leaf springs 13 secured to the casing and pressing With their free ends upon the uppermost of the stationary discs 10.

The control may be by way of any desired manually or automatically adjustabledevice, a Bowden cable 'I4 being shown as an example in Figs. l and 4. The moving part o f the Bowden cable is Wound around the hub l2 and counteracted by a com? tion-or pressure valve.

v4 bined compression and torsion helical spring 15 whereas the stationary part of the cable is secured to stationary parts of the casing in any convenient manner. The other end of the Bowden cable is connected to a pressure-responsive device of the bellows-type 43 having a feeler tube 44 leading to some desired feeling point, so as to govern theoutputofthe burneruin laccordance with the temperature prevailing'at the feeling:` point. For adjustment an adjustment screw 42 is inserted between the pressure-responsive device and the Bowden cable with anindicating needle 1liv showing the setting against a suitable scale.

The above described regulating system may of course Vbe modified according to requirements, and the ccntrol'thereof may be dependent upon other Vfactors than a temperature, e. g. a pressure, a relative humidity etc. depending upon the use to which the atomizing apparatus is put;

In operation the hollow shaft 21 and the atomizinghead with'pump units are kept rotating with a suitable velocity, e. 'g- `3000revolutions per minutc,V and liquid is fed by way of a Ibore 48`to the upper end of the hollow shaft21 Whence'it passes through the space between the hollow shaft and the stationary tube 23 down into the hub 8D and through channels `lil in thelatter intopa suction space 39 in the atomizing head.'Y

In the suction space 39 the liquid is'centrifuged outwardsand freed from air bubbles and thereafter penetrates through the suction channels and valves into the pumping spaces 3 displacing any air entrapped therein inwardly through the sucprocedure the suction valves may be arranged to be kept positively opened until the atomizing head has attained its minimum operative speed of say means of a push rod 53 and a compression spring 54. The push rod isguided in the suction channel l1 and a suitable bore 56 in the atomizing head. This position is shown in the lower half of Fig. 5

and corresponds to rotational speeds less-than minimum operative speed. .At higher speeds' the centrifugal force acting upon a weighted portion 55 of the push rod 53 restores the same to inactive position asl shown in the upper half of Fig. 5 thereby allowing the suction ball valve to operate normally. The valve spring 5l together with a retaining pin 52 are located in a slotted tube through which the liquid penetrates into the pumping space on the suction stroke of the piston.

A corresponding effect is obtainable by' the valve shown in Figs. 6-8. `The valve member is in the form of a leaf spring 'I1 one end of which projects over the orifice of the suction channel Il. At lower speeds the leaf spring 'I1 is sub-V stantially straight and doesnot close the suction channel asv shown in Fig. 7. At higher speeds the centrifugal force upon the weighted end 'I9 of the leaf spring bends theV spring as shown in Fig. 8, so as tol press it against the mouth of the.'

suction channel. In this condition the spring operates as a normal automatic leaf spring valve.

While in the foregoing. certain specific embodiments and employmentsVv of the invention have been described it should be understood that the invention is not limited thereto unless as far as appears from the appended claims. Two pump units have been described; but'one or more couldV beV employed and diaphragm pumps may ber usedl insteadVv of piston pumps. The eccentrically In order to promote this mounted adjustable driving disc for the pump members may be replaced by other driving means such asacrank or cam mechanism. Means may be provided for controlling the spring pressure upon the jet orifice valve means in order to adjust the atomizing condition to the properties of the liquid. The blower may be in the form of a screw fan instead of a centrifugal blower, and the blower vanes may be integral withthe atomizing head. The entire apparatus with or without blower may be mounted in any desired position with vertical, oblique or horizontal axis.

I claim:

1. A liquid atomizing apparatus having a rotatable atomizing head and means for continuous high-speed rotation thereof,V a closed liquid chamber in said head adjacent the discharge end thereof and provided with a single restricted .let orifice located at the point of intersection between one Wall of said` chamber and the axis of revolution, pumping means associated and rotating with the atomizing head for feeding liquid under pressure into said chamber and comprising at least one pumping space remote from the axis of revolution, inlet and outlet valve means for said pumping space being provided in the wall thereof nearest to the axis of revolution, centrifugal means being provided for` keeping at least one valve means of said pumping space open at less than minimum operative rotational speed.

2. A liquid atomizing apparatus as claimed inv claim 1 in which said centrifugal means comprises a spring-loaded push-rod acting upon the valve member of the pumping space inlet valve to keep the same open at less than minimum operative speed and weighted to be retracted into inoperative position by centrifugal force at higher than minimum operative speed.

3. A liquid atomizing apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which said centrifugal meanscomprises a leaf-spring loosely mounted within the pumping space with one end extending over the inlet orifice and the other end Weighted in such a manner as to press the first-mentioned 'end against the inlet orifice under the influence of centrifugal forces at higher than minimum operative rotational speed.

4. A liquid atomizing apparatus having a rotatable atomizing head and means for continuous high-speed rotation thereof, a, closed liquid chamber in said head adjacent the discharge end thereof and provided with a single restricted jet orifice located at the point of intersection between one wall of said chamber and the axis of revolution, a reciprocating pump member associated and rotating with the atomizing head for feeding liquid under pressure into said chamber, a substantially stationary eccentric means being provided in the vicinity of the axis of revolution and cooperating with said pumping member for reciprocating same.

5. A liquid atomizing apparatus as claimed in claim 4 further characterized in that said eccentric means is adjustable as to eccentricity against the axis of revolution.

6. A liquid atomizing apparatus as claimed in claim 4 in which said eccentric means comprises a circular disc journalled on a pin carried eccentrically on a control shaft mounted substantially parallel with and off-set in relation to the axis of revolution.

7. A liquid atomizing apparatus as claimed in claim 6 further characterized in that the eccentricity of the said disc relative to .the axis of the control shaft is `substantially equal to the eccentricity of the axis of the control shaft relative to the axis of rotation.

8. Aliquid atomizing apparatus having a hollow shaft journalled in bearings and supporting the rotor of an electric motor, an atomizing head being secured on one end of said shaft and provided with a liquid chamber with a single restricted discharge jet orice located at the pointA of intersection between one wall of said chamber and the axis of Said shaft, a liquid pump of the reciprocating pumping member type associated and rotating with said head for feeding liquid under pressure into said chamber, a stationary tube extending through said hollow shaft spaced from the wall thereof and supporting substantially stationary eccentric means cooperating with said pumping member for reciprocating same, and a control shaft for adjusting the eccentricity of said eccentric meansextending through said stationary tube.

9. A liquid atomizing apparatus asA claimed in claim 8 further characterized by an inlet chamber provided in the atomizing head substantially coaxially with the axis of revolution, and by passages in the atomizing head establishing connec tion from one end of the space enclosed between the hollow shaft and the stationary tube to said inlet chamber, means being provided for conducting liquid into the other end of said space.

10. A liquid atomizing apparatus as claimed in claim 8 further characterized by a blower associated and rotating with said atomizing head, and a control valve for regulating the blower output associated with-and operated by said control shaft for adjusting the eccentricity of the pump member operating eccentric means.

SVEND OVE RYE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,184,659 Ray May 23, 1916 1,316,745 Safford Sept. 23, 1919 1,748,991 Pierce Mar. 4, 1930 1,996,789 Baker Apr. 9, 1935 2,071,143 Scott Feb. 16, 1937 2,220,209 Carpenter Nov. 5, 1940

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