Liquid oscillator device

• US 4,508,267 A
• Filed: 04/05/1983
• Issued: 04/02/1985
• Est. Priority Date: 01/14/1980
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Fluid Effects Corporation
• Original Assignee: Bowles Fluidics Corporation (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Stouffer, Ronald D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Cherry, Johnny D.
• Application Number:
  US06/482,349
• Time in Patent Office: 728 Days
• Field of Search: 239/4, 239/11, 239/101, 239/102, 239/284 R, 239/589-590.5, 239/DIG. 3, 137/808-812, 137/833, 137/835, 137/836, 137/839
• US Class Current: 239/11
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 1/08 of pulsating nature, e.g. delivering liquid in successive separate quantities ; Fluidic oscillators
• CPC Class Codes: F15C 1/22 Oscillators
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 137/2234 And feedback passage[s] or path[s]

Abstract

The liquid spray includes an oscillator for producing a fan spray with liquid droplets of uniform size. The oscillator is constituted by a power nozzle, a pair of side walls forming a pair of vortice spaces offset from the power nozzle, a pair of inwardly extending protuberances or deflectors downstream of which are a pair of inlets to passages leading to exits adjacent the power nozzle, and an outlet throat or aperture having a pair of short wall surfaces defining an exit throat of any value selected from about 30° to about 160° so that the fan angle can be selected to be from about 30° to 160°. This structure results in an oscillator which has a relatively low threshold of pressure at which oscillations are initiated and, most importantly, the liquid is issued in a much more uniform fan pattern than heretofore possible. In a preferred embodiment the liquid is a windshield washer fluid and the oscillator is incorporated in a nozzle for an automobile windshield washer assembly for issuing a fan spray of washer fluid onto the windshield.

Claims

1. In a liquid oscillator having an oscillation chamber, a power nozzle for introducing a liquid power jet into said chamber, an outlet throat downstream of said power nozzle and a pair of passages having inlet openings to the respective sides of said oulet throat and exit openings adjacent said power nozzle,

the improvement wherein said oscillation chamber includes a pair of mirror image wall surfaces beginning immediately downstream of said exit openings and extending to downstream therefrom and defining vortex forming chambers, the downstream end of each said wall surface being shaped to permit vortices formed in said vortex forming chambers to move thereover into said inlet openings, respectively, whereby said liquid power jet is caused to oscillate back and forth in said oscillation chamber.

2. The liquid oscillator defined in claim 1 wherein said downstream ends are smoothly curved.

3. The liquid oscillator defined in claim 1 wherein said power nozzle has converging sides and said power jet expands in said oscillation chamber.

4. The liquid oscillator defined in claim 1 wherein said oscillation chamber has top and bottom walls which diverge, relative to each other.

5. The liquid oscillator defined in claim 1 wherein said power jet creates a suction at the exit opening of the one of said pair of passages having a vortex residing in the inlet opening thereof.

6. The liquid oscillator defined in claim 1 wherein said downstream ends are smoothly curved to merge into said inlet opening.

7. The liquid oscillator defined in claim 6 wherein said power nozzle has converging walls such that said power jet expands in said oscillation chamber.

8. The liquid oscillator defined in claim 7 wherein said power jet alternately creates suction at the exit opening of one of said pair of passages having a vortex residing in the inlet opening thereof, respectively.

9. The liquid oscillator defined in claim 8 wherein said oscillation chamber is generally rectangular in shape.

10. The liquid oscillator defined in claim 1 wherein said oscillation chamber is generally rectangular in shape, said vortex forming chambers being to each side of said nozzle, respectively.

11. In an automobile windshield washer system having a supply of windshield washer liquid coupled to an oscillating spray nozzle and a pump for causing washer liquid from said supply to flow to said nozzle for issuing a jet of washer liquid upon the windshield at a selected fan angle the improvement wherein said nozzle includes an oscillator as defined in claim 1, and an outlet wall at each side of said outlet throat for limiting the fan angle of the liquid spray upon the windshield of the automobile.

12. In a windshield washer system having a liquid fan spray nozzle, said nozzle including an oscillator having an oscillation chamber, a power nozzle for introducing a liquid power jet into said chamber, an outlet throat downstream of said power nozzle for issuing the liquid of said power jet in a fan spray, and a pair of passages having inlet openings to the sides of said outlet throat and exit openings adjacent the power nozzle, the improvement comprising,

a pair of mirror image wall surfaces, each mirror image wall surface extending along one side of the axis of said power nozzle and beginning immediately downstream of said exit openings and shaped to define a vortex forming chamber,

and a pair of spaced apart protuberances connected to the downstream ends, respectively, of said mirror image wall surfaces,

the upstream surfaces of said protuberances being shaped to permit vortices formed in each said vortex forming chamber to move downstream thereover into inlet openings of said passages,

whereby the liquid of said power jet is caused to oscillate in said chamber and does not lock-on to any wall surface and the pattern of liquid in said fan spray is substantially uniform.

13. The invention defined in claim 12 wherein at least the upstream surface portions of said protuberances are smoothly curved.

14. The invention defined in claim 12 wherein said protubrances are shaped to form vortex supporting entranceways between said outlet throat and the inlet openings to said passages, respectively.

15. In a windshield washer system having a liquid fan spray nozzle for issuing a sweeping jet of wash fluid on a windshield, wherein said nozzle includes an oscillator having a chamber, a power nozzle for introducing a liquid power jet into said chamber, an outlet throat downstream of said power nozzle and a pair of passages having inlets adjacent said outlet throat and openings adjacent the power nozzle, said sweeping jet being issued from said outlet throat, the improvement comprising,

a first pair of walls normal to the axis of said power nozzle and located immediately downstream of said openings,

a second pair of walls parallel to the axis of said power nozzle connected to said first pair of walls immediately downstream thereof,

and a pair of spaced apart, protuberances connected to the downstream end of said second pair of walls,

whereby the liquid of said power jet does not lock-on to any wall surface and the pattern of liquid in said fan spray is substantially uniform.

16. The invention defined in claim 15 wherein said protuberances are smoothly curved.

17. The invention defined in claim 15 wherein said protuberances are bulbous and are shaped to form vortex supporting entranceways between said outlet throat and the inlets to said passages, respectively.

18. A fluid oscillator comprising in combination,

a power nozzle,

an oscillation chamber for receiving fluid from said power nozzle and being constituted by a pair of vortex inducing spaces, each vortex inducing space having an upstream end, a downstream end and an element connecting said downstream end with said upstream end,

means forming a pair of passages at each side of said chamber, each passage having an inlet opening end adjacent the downstream end of said vortex inducing space and an exit opening adjacent to said power nozzle,

means forming an outlet throat downstream of said inlet opening ends,

whereby vortices rythmically induced in said vortex spaces move to said inlet openings and a negative pressure is induced at the exit openings of said passageways by fluid flow from said power nozzle until the vortex in said inlet opening is swallowed into said passage.

19. A method of causing a liquid jet to sweep back and forth comprising,

issuing a liquid jet into a chamber having mirror image vortex forming spaces to create oppositely rotating vortices, and an outlet,

causing said vortices to alternately move downstream to block respective entranceways to passages leading to exits adjacent the point of issuance of said liquid jet into said chamber and

causing said jet to alternately aspirate said exits until the vortex blocking said entranceway is swallowed into the passage it is blocking, whereby said liquid jet is caused to deflect back and forth in said chamber and sweep back and forth on passing through said outlet.