Oscillating spray device
First Claim
1. A fluid oscillator device, comprising:
- a body member having a chamber therein, said chamber having a fluid inlet for receiving fluid under pressure and admitting it into said chamber and a fluid outlet for issuing pressurized fluid from said chamber into an ambient environment, said inlet and outlet defining a flow path therebetween for flow of fluid through said chamber; and
oscillation-inducing means for causing the fluid issued from said outlet to cyclically sweep back and forth, said oscillation-inducing means comprising surface means disposed in said flow path and responsive to fluid from said inlet impinging thereon for establishing alternating vortices in said fluid at side-by-side locations downstream of said surface means.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A fluid dispersal device utilizes the Karman Vortex street phenomenon to cyclically oscillate a fluid stream before issuing the stream in a desired flow pattern. A chamber includes an inlet and outlet with an obstacle or island disposed therebetween to establish the vortex street. The vortex street causes the stream to be cyclically swept transversely of its flow direction in a manner largely determined by the size and shape of the obstacle relative to the inlet and outlet, the spacing between the obstacle and the outlet, the outlet area, and the Reynolds number of the stream. Depending on these factors, the flow pattern of the stream issued from the outlet may be either: a swept jet, residing wholly in the plane of the device and which breaks up into droplets solely as a result of the cyclic sweeping, the resulting spray pattern forming a line when impinging on a target; or a swept sheet, the sheet being normal to the plane of the device and being swept in the plane of the device, the resulting pattern containing smaller droplets than the swept jet pattern and covering a two-dimensional area when impinging upon a target.
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Citations
58 Claims
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1. A fluid oscillator device, comprising:
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a body member having a chamber therein, said chamber having a fluid inlet for receiving fluid under pressure and admitting it into said chamber and a fluid outlet for issuing pressurized fluid from said chamber into an ambient environment, said inlet and outlet defining a flow path therebetween for flow of fluid through said chamber; and oscillation-inducing means for causing the fluid issued from said outlet to cyclically sweep back and forth, said oscillation-inducing means comprising surface means disposed in said flow path and responsive to fluid from said inlet impinging thereon for establishing alternating vortices in said fluid at side-by-side locations downstream of said surface means. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A device for receiving pressurized fluid and issuing same in a cyclically swept pattern, comprising:
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a chamber defined between a top wall, a bottom wall, an upstream end, a downstream end, and two side walls extending between said upstream and downstream ends; at least one inlet opening defined through at least one of said top, bottom or side walls or said upstream end; an outlet opening defined in said downstream end; said inlet opening being adapted to receive pressurized fluid and admit same into said chamber, said outlet opening being adapted to issue fluid under pressure from said chamber into the ambient environment; and oscillation-inducing means for cyclically sweeping the flow issued from said outlet opening back and forth in the dimension between said sidewalls, said oscillation-inducing means comprising an island member located in said chamber, extending between said top and bottom walls and spaced from said sidewalls, said island member being positioned such that flow through said chamber from said inlet opening to said outlet opening must pass around both sides of said island member, said island member having upstream-facing surface means for alternately shedding vortices on opposite sides of said chamber immediately downstream of said surface means. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A device for receiving pressurized fluid and issuing same in a cyclically swept pattern, comprising:
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a chamber defined between a top wall, a bottom wall, an upstream end, a downstream end, and two side walls extending between said upstream and downstream ends; an inlet opening defined through at least one of said top, bottom or side walls or said upstream end; an outlet opening defined in said downstream end; said inlet opening being adapted to receive pressurized fluid and direct a jet thereof into said chamber, said outlet opening being adapted to issue said jet from said chamber into the ambient environment; means for cyclically deflecting said jet back and forth in said chamber in a direction transverse to the flow direction of said jet, said means operating upon said jet at a point in said chamber proximate the upstream end; and an island member located in said chamber, extending between said top and bottom walls and spaced from said sidewalls, said island member being positioned such that said cyclically deflected jet must pass around both sides of said island member, said island member having upstream-facing surface means for alternately shedding vortices on opposite sides of said chamber immediately downstream of said surface means. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41)
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42. A device for spraying fluid, comprising:
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a body member having a chamber defined therein, said chamber having inlet and outlet openings; means for applying fluid under pressure to said inlet opening; and sweep means in said chamber for causing fluid to issue from said chamber in the form of a sheet which is cyclically swept back and forth in a direction transverse to the flow direction of said sheet, whereby said swept sheet breaks up into small particles which are dispersed over a two-dimensional area when impinging upon a target disposed in the flow path of said swept sheet. - View Dependent Claims (43, 44, 45, 46, 47)
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48. The method of spraying fluid comprising the steps of:
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introducing fluid under pressure into a chamber; flowing introduced fluid through said chamber toward an outlet opening; establishing a vortex street in said flowing fluid in said chamber to cause said flowing fluid to sweep back and forth; and issuing the sweeping flow from said outlet opening into the ambient environment. - View Dependent Claims (49, 50)
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51. A device for spraying fluid comprising:
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a body member made of a single piece of injection molded plastic material; a chamber defined in said body member, said chamber having inlet and outlet openings; means for supplying pressurized fluid to said inlet opening; said outlet opening being positioned to issue pressurized fluid from said chamber into the ambient environment; and means in said chamber, forming part of said body member, for forming a cyclically swept flow pattern in said chamber, which flow pattern is issued from said outlet opening.
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52. A device for receiving pressurized fluid and dispersing that fluid in a cyclically swept flow pattern, said device comprising:
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a body member; a chamber defined in said body member, said chamber having a top wall, a bottom wall, an upstream end, a downstream end, and two opposed sidewalls extending between said upstream and downstream ends; an inlet opening into said chamber, said inlet being adapted to receive pressurized fluid and admit it into said chamber; an outlet opening defined through the downstream end of said chamber for issuing fluid under pressure from said chamber into the ambient environment; and oscillation-inducing means in said chamber for causing fluid flowing through said chamber to issue from said outlet opening in a cyclically sweeping flow pattern, said oscillation-inducing means comprising a body having surface means disposed between said inlet and said outlet opening to create a cavitation region downstream of the surface means in which vortices of alternating clockwise and counterclockwise flow directions are formed and travel along with the flow. - View Dependent Claims (53, 54, 55, 56, 57)
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58. A device for receiving pressurized fluid and issuing same in a fan-shaped spray pattern, comprising:
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a chamber defined between a top wall, a bottom wall, an upstream end, a downstream end, and two side walls extending between said upstream and downstream ends; an inlet opening defined through at least one of said top, bottom, or side walls or said upstream end; an outlet opening defined in said downstream end; said inlet opening being adapted to receive pressurized fluid and direct a jet thereof into said chamber, said outlet opening being adapted to issue said jet from said chamber into the ambient environment; and an island member located in said chamber, extending between said top and bottom walls and spaced from said sidewalls, said island member being positioned such that said jet must pass around both sides of said island member, said island member having upstream-facing surface means for alternately shedding vortices on opposite sides of said chamber immediately downstream of said surface means.
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Specification