US2176305A - Gasifying apparatus - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 17, lr939- c; A. K|LLMEYER` Er A1. 2,11 76,305

u GASIFYING APPARATUS Original Filed Dec. l2, 1934 ffl-.. y

EYER

INVENTORS CHESTER A. KILLM GEORGE REICHHELM Patented Oct. 17, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GASIFYING APPARATUS Original application December 12, 1934, Serial No.

757,092, now Patent cember 21, 1937.

N0. 2,102,800, dated De- Divided and this application November 18, 1937, Serial No. 175,202

4 Claims.

'Ihis invention relates to an apparatus for gasifying a liquid or plastic fuel, this being a division of our application led on December 12, 1934, which matured into Letters Patent No. 2,102,800 on December 21, 1937.

The primary object of this invention is to form a homogeneous gaseous fluid for use in various types of combustion devices. The apparatus employed herein is similar in general nature to that disclosed and described in the parent application, and particularly to that form thereof employing two fluid media separately and independently introduced into a ow conduit consisting preferably of a plurality of overlapping Venturi tubes of special construction. The particular apparatus described and claimed herein relates to specific means of varying the proportions of the two fluid media, and also of entirely eliminating eitherof the media whenever desired. It is within the contemplation of this invention to accomplish the aforesaid objectives by means of a relatively simple, llexible and readily operated apparatus.

It is another object of this invention to obtain from hydrocarbon fuels, including those of heavy and low-volatile properties, a product that is or has every apparent characteristic of a homogeneous xed gas-one which is invisible and substantially dry at intake manifold temperatures.

Another object is to provide a compact apparatus, adaptable for use on internal combustion engines, burners, furnaces and Vother places where space economy is an important consideration, whereby the relative proportions of a heated gaseous medium and an unheated gaseous fluid (such as cold air) can be automatically varied to obtain a predetermined mixture ratio of fuel to air in conformity with the demands of the fuel-consuming device.

vOther objects,v features and advantages will appear from the drawing and the description hereinafter given.

Referring to the drawing,

Figure 1 is a fragmentary sectional view of our invention illustrating a preferred form of apparatus for varying the proportions of the two uid media adapted to be introduced into the ow conduit, andl Figure 2 is a section of Figure 1 taken along line 2-2.

In the drawing, the casing I0 contains therein the flow conduit II comprising a plurality of tubes I2, I3, I4, I5 and I6, illustrated as being o'f progressively increasing diameters and of the Venturi type, these tubes being longitudinally disposed with overlapping adjacent ends to form a plurality of circumferential gaps I'I, I8, I9, 20, 2| and 22. The duct 23 communicates with said flow conduit and serves the purpose of conducting therein an atomizing medium such as hot air or a preheated or other medium, this duct being provided with a suitably controlled valve 24. The fuel nozzle or jet 25 is operatively adjacent the inlet to the first tube I 2, said jet being supplied with fuel drawn in through the pipe 26 which extends into the oat bowl 27,-the needle valve 28, controlled by the adjustment screw 29, being operatively engageable with the inlet terminal of said pipe 26.

II communicates either with the combustion chamber of a burner or with the intake manifold of an engine that would be situated to the extreme left of the structure shown in the figure.

It will be noted that in the apparatus disclosed in Figure 1 the rst three tubes have serrated outlet edges, the balance of the tubes having their corresponding outlet edges of smooth configuration. It is also within the contemplation of this invention to provide any other arrangement of serrated outlet edges, including a structure where any, all or none of the tubes may be serrated. The terminal portion of each tube is positioned preferably within the throat or restricted portion of the next succeeding venturi, that is, in the region of greatest depression. Although the form of apparatus of Figure 1 shows a series of six venturis, it is to be understood that our invention contemplates the employment of such other number of venturis as design requirements may dictate.

Referring again to Figure l, at the said circumferential gaps formed by the overlapping venturis are the walls 30, 3l, 32, 33, 34 and 44 forming therebetween fluid inlet channels 35, 36, 3T, 38 and 39. These channels are adapted to communicate with the duct 40 the walls 4I and 42 of which are shown in fragmentary form in the drawing,said duct 40 being adapted to convey to the ow conduit a medium such as relatively cold combustion air. A hollow shell or valve 43 is slidably mounted over the wall of the inlet duct 23 and adapted for slidable engagement with the flanged peripheral portions of said walls 30, 3|, 32, 33 and 34 and the wall 44 of the last venturi,-the said valve being hence movable within the ducts 23 and 40 to control the flow of the gaseous media to the flow conduit.

In the setting and adjustment of this device,

The said flow conduit the valve 43 is slidably manipulated either to the left or right, thereby exposing certain of the said channels, such as those identified by numerals 35 and 36, to the inlet duct 23,-placing them in communication with said duct. The channels 31, 38 and 39 however are exposed, when the valve is in the position shown in Figure 1, to the duct 40. In the operation of this apparatus, a flow of fuel is either induced or forced through the nozzle 25 into the tube I2,-the amount of said fuel being regulated by the needle valve 28. In a preferred application of this invention, a heated medium such as air suitably preheated is caused to flow through the valve 24 and inlet 23 to enter the tube l2, thereby serving to form an atomized fuel stream within the flow conduit Il. The

said atomizing medium or preheated air also passes over and surrounds the tubes l2 and I3, when the valve 43 is positioned as indicated in Figure 1, entering the gaps I8 and I8 through the channels`35'and 36 to commingle with the said fuelstream within the multi-tube conduit. In this application of our invention, relatively cold combustion air is caused to enter the duct 40, such air entering the exposed gaps 20, 2l and 22 through the channels 37, 38 and 39, to further commingle with the fuel stream which is headed towards the fuel-consuming device. The specific path of the intermingling fluids is clearly described and illustrated in the said Patent 2,102,800 and need not be again described herein. For the same reason the advantages of the serrated Venturi terminals, the specific positioning thereof, and the progressively expanding flow conduit will not be repeated here, except to state that these features cooperate with the slide valve to produce a steady non-fluctuating stream of cool homogeneous gaseous fuel, adapted to increase-the operating and volumetric efficiency of any fuel-consuming device. l Y

For the purpose of this specification, the term cold air as herein employed is used to identify the unheated and uncontaminated fluid medium entering the flow conduit through the duct 40, as distinguished from the fluid medium entering through the inlet 23. Although the latter fluid may also contain combustion air it serves the primary purpose of an initial atomizing or vaporizing medium, being preferably preheated, and hence is frequently referred to herein as heated fluid.

It is thus apparent that by operatively moving the valve 43 to extreme or intermediate positions, various proportions of cold air and heated fluid can be introduced into the flow conduit. By moving the valve to the left a greater proportion of the heated fluid flowing through duct 23 is permitted to enter the said channels, thereby supplying a greater number of venturis with the relatively light heated fluid medium,-and only a proportionally smaller amount of the more dense cooling air can enter. It will thus be seen'that the mixture ratio of fuel to air may be regulated as to weight and final volume by a manipulation of the valve 43.v For example, if said valve is moved to the left to` admit more heated fluid and less cold air,-the,f"1nal mixture ratio would be richer, and conversely if the slide were moved to the right so as to admit more ofthe cooling medium, the final mixture ratio would be leaner. In this manner not onlymay the degree of fixation be controlled while the gasier is in operation, but a greater degree of gasiflcationwill be effected over a larger fuel range.

It should be noted that although this apparatus has hereinabove been described as being particularly adaptable for use with two iluid media of different temperatures, it is equally well adapted for use with a single fluid medium, such as for example preheated ain-an arrangement which is highly 'desirablein certain types of fuel burning installations. For example, if the slide 43 were moved to` its extreme left position as shown by dot-dash lines, all cooling air would be excluded and only the preheated medium allowed to enter the apparatus-thereby permitting the use of lower temperatures of the preheatingmedium for the production of the gas in combustible proportions. If the valve 43 were moved to the extreme right, also shown by dotdash lines, all-the channels 35, 36, 31, 38 and 39, as well as the nozzle 25, would be exposed to the duct 40, admitting therein only the cold air, whereas the heated fluid could be excluded by closing the valve 24. Thus it is apparent that not only could the fuel ratio be regulated by this apparatus, but an arrangement is presented whereby either one of the two fluid media can be excluded from said channels.

It should be observed that this apparatus could be conveniently and economically employed to produce gaseous fluids of different final temperatures, without the necessity of varying the initial temperature of the heated fluid. By simply operatively manipulating the valve 43, different proportions ofthe preheated medium entering through duct 23 and cooling air entering through duct 40 can be introduced into the flow conduit, thereby producing any desired final temperature within the limitations of the device. For example, should it be desired to obtain, at certain times, the maximum possible final temperature of the gaseous fluid produced by this device, the slide valve can bemoved to the extreme left, permitting the vmaximum amount of the preheated atomizing medium. `to be introduced into the flow conduit, thereby rendering available as much as possible of the heat in the preheated medium entering the duct 23.`

It is also obvious that a wide range of fuels can be gasifledl by this apparatus simply by operatively sliding the valve 43, inasmuch as different mixture ratios by weight and volume of air toY gas canvbe obtained in this manner in accordance with the characteristics of the fuel emi' ployed. l

It is of course understood thatthe various embodiments above described and shown in the drawing are illustrative of` our invention and not employed by way of limitation,- inasmuch as numerous changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of this invention.

What we claim-is:

1,. In an apparatus vfor converting a liquid fu into a gaseous iluid, fuel spraying means, a flow conduit for receiving and conducting therein an atomized fuel stream from said spraying means, said conduit comprising a plurality of longitudinally disposed tubes with overlapping adjacent ends forming circumferential gaps therebetween constitutingfluid inlet ports, a plurality of spaced walls adjacent certain of said ports toV form inlet channels therefor, a duct-for a heated gaseous fluid, a ductfor cold air, said ducts being independent from and not in communication with each' other, said 'ducts being in communication with they interior of the'conduit through said channels'and said ports, and a valveslidably engageable with thev peripheral surfaces of said walls for operatively exposing a predetermined number of said ports to each of said ducts.

2. In an apparatus for converting a liquid fuel into a gaseous fluid, fuel spraying means, a flow conduit for receiving and conducting therein an atomized fuel stream from said spraying means, said conduit comprising a plurality of longitudinally disposed tubes with o-verlapping adjacent ends forming circumferential gaps therebetween constituting fluid inlet ports, a plurality of spaced Walls adjacent certain of said ports to form inlet channels therefor, flanged portions at the peripheral edges of the Walls, a duct for a heated gaseous fluid, a duct for cold air, said ducts being independent from and not in communication with each other, said ducts being in communication With the interior of the conduit through said channels and said ports, and a valve slidably engageable with said flanged portions for operatively exposing a predetermined number of said ports to each of said ducts.

3. In an apparatus for converting a liquid fuel into a gaseous fluid, fuel spraying means, a flow conduit for receiving and conducting therein an atomized fuel stream from said spraying means, said conduit comprising a plurality of longitudinally disposed tubes with overlapping adjacent ends forming circumferential gaps therebetween constituting fluid inlet ports, a duct for a heated gaseous fluid, a duct for cold air, said ducts being independent from and not in communication with each other, said ducts being in communication With the interior of said conduit through said ports, and means slidably engageable with the foremost, rearmost and intermediate portions of the conduit for operatively exposing a predetermined number of said ports to each of said ducts or, in the alternative, operatively disconnecting one of said ducts from all of said ports.

4. In an apparatus for converting a liquid fuel into a gaseous fluid, fuel spraying means, a flow conduit for receiving and conducting therein an atomized fuel stream from said spraying means, said conduit comprising a plurality of longitudinally disposed tubes with overlapping adjacent ends forming circumferential gaps therebetween constituting fluid inlet ports, a plurality of spaced walls adjacent certain of said ports to form inlet channels therefor, a duct for a heated gaseous uid, a duct for cold air, said ducts being independent from and not in communication with each other, said ducts being in communication with the interior of the conduit through said channels and said ports, and a valve slidably engageable with the peripheral surfaces of the foremost, rearmost and intermediate Walls, for operatively exposing a selected number of said channels to each of said ducts, or operatively disconnecting one of said ducts from all of said channels.

CHESTER A. KILLM'EYER. GEORGE L. REICHHELM.

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