Fluid sprinkling – spraying – and diffusing – Rigid fluid confining distributor
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-22
2001-11-13
Evans, Robin O. (Department: 3752)
Fluid sprinkling, spraying, and diffusing
Rigid fluid confining distributor
C239S553000, C239S553300, C239S553500, C239S552000, C239S566000, C239S418000, C239S429000, C239S432000, C239S592000, C239S594000, C239S597000, C239S601000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06315221
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a nozzle and more particularly, to a nozzle which selectively emits and deposits material upon a targeted location and/or object and which causes the material to have a substantially uniform deposition concentration and impingement velocity.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Nozzles selectively emit various types of materials, such as and without limitation a liquid material such as paint, thereby allowing the selectively emitted material to be placed or deposited upon various objects and/or targeted locations in some desired pattern and/or concentration. Particularly, the paint, or other type of liquid material, is atomized by a relatively high velocity stream of gas which traverses the generally hollow nozzle, thereby creating atomized particles or droplets of material. These atomized material particles or droplets are then selectively emitted from the exit or outlet aperture of the nozzle, along with the atomizing gas, and impinge upon and adhere to the targeted object or location. It is often times desirable to cause the material to be deposited upon the targeted object and/or location in a substantially uniform concentration (i.e., the concentration of the applied material along and/or throughout the entire material deposition region or area is substantially constant or uniform). In this manner, the deposited material forms an overall aesthetically pleasing appearance and allows for the desired and selective formation of substantially “clean”, “crisp”, and substantially straight edges. Moreover, it is desirable to substantially ensure that the emission velocity of the atomized material is substantially uniform and/or constant in order to allow the material emission device and/or nozzle to be placed or held at a certain distance from the targeted object and/or location, effective to cause all of the atomized material to impinge upon the targeted object and/or location at a certain substantially identical velocity without causing undesired spattering and/or non-uniform deposition concentrations.
While prior nozzles and nozzle assemblies selectively emit material and allow the selectively emitted material to be placed upon various objects and/or targeted locations (e.g., a vehicle), they do not readily provide for the deposition of substantially uniform material concentrations upon the object and/or location, do not substantially allow for the desired formation of relatively “crisp”, “clean”, and straight edges, and do not substantially ensure that all of the atomized material emanates from the nozzle at a substantially identical velocity.
These drawbacks are primarily due to the creation of relatively turbulent shear layers which are typically created and/or formed along the edges of the emitted gas, thereby causing the velocity of the gas, which is emitted at, through, and along the edges of the nozzle outlet aperture, to exponentially decay, thereby causing and/or creating a non-uniform velocity profile within the nozzle outlet aperture (i.e., the velocity of the gas which is emitted at and/or through the center portion of the nozzle outlet or exit aperture is substantially larger or greater than the velocity of the gas which is emitted at or along the edges of the outlet aperture).
The shear layer and its concomitant creation of a non-uniform velocity profile, similarly causes different amounts and/or quantities of the atomized material to be emitted along and through the exit or outlet and to form or create non-uniform deposition concentration regions upon the portion of the targeted object or location to which the atomized material is applied. That is, the relatively high velocity atomizing gas, which is emitted along and/or through the middle or center portion of the nozzle outlet , aperture, causes greater amounts of atomized material to be emitted along or through this middle portion of the nozzle outlet aperture, and causes more of the atomized material to be deposited upon the portion of the target object/location which receives the material through this center or middle aperture portion. The non-uniformity of the emitted atomizing gaseous material also causes the atomized material to have a nonuniform velocity (i.e., the atomized particles are not emitted from the nozzle at a substantially identical velocity and impinge upon the targeted location and/or object at different velocities).
There is therefore a need for a new and improved nozzle which allows material, such as paint, to be selectively atomized and deposited upon a targeted location and/or object; which allows for the deposited material to have a substantially uniform deposition concentration; and which allows for the formation of relatively “clean”, “crisp”, and straight edges; which allows the atomizing material to have a substantially uniform velocity profile along and/or throughout the material outlet or exit aperture; and which allows the atomized material to have a substantially uniform impingement velocity profile.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is a first object of the present invention to provide a nozzle which overcomes some or all of the previously delineated disadvantages of prior nozzles and/or nozzle assemblies.
It is a second object of the present invention to provide a nozzle which overcomes some or all of the previously delineated disadvantages of prior nozzles and/or nozzle assemblies and which allows for the formation of a relatively uniform material deposition concentration upon a targeted location and/or object.
It is a third object of the present invention to provide a nozzle which overcomes some or all of the previously delineated disadvantages of prior nozzles and/or nozzle assemblies and which allows for the creation of a relatively uniform atomizing material velocity profile within and/or proximate to the nozzle outlet aperture.
It is a fourth object of the present invention to provide a nozzle which emits atomized particles of material, each of the particles having a substantially identical velocity.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, a nozzle is provided. The nozzle includes a generally hollow body having an inlet aperture which selectively receives a first material and further having an outlet aperture through which the first material is emitted from the nozzle. The nozzle further includes a relatively narrow throat portion which communicatively couples the inlet and outlet apertures and at least one injector which is resident within the outlet aperture and which selectively injects a second material into the outlet aperture, effective to allow the first material to atomize the injected second material and to allow the atomized second material to be emitted from the outlet aperture.
According to a second aspect of the present invention a method for injecting material is provided. The method includes the steps of providing an atomizing material; providing a member having an outlet aperture; forming a constricted portion within the member; causing the atomizing material to traverse the constricted portion of the member and to enter the outlet aperture; injecting the material into the outlet aperture, thereby causing the material to be atomized by the atomizing material and to be emitted from the member.
These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a reading of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the invention in combination with the accompanying drawings.
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Goenka Lakhi Nandial
Straub Marc Alan
Evans Robin O.
Visteon Global Tech. Inc.
Visteon Global Technologies, Inc.
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