US2265199A - Vaporizing supercharger and injector - Google Patents

Description

H. H. S HMIDT ,265,199 VAPORIZING SUPERcHAkER AND INJECTOR Filed March 17, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig. 2

I INVENTOR 48 HERMAn/N/iScH M/DT BY 25%? -4- ATTORNEY Dec. 9, 1941.

H. H. SCHMIDT VAPORIZING ES\UPERCHARGER AND INJECTOR Filed March '17, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVEVNTOR HERMANN H. SCHMIDT ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 9, i941 VAPORIZING SUPERCHARGER AND INJECTOR Hermann H. Schmidt, Hanover, Kans., assignor to The Universal Royalty and Development Company, St. Joseph, Mo., a corporation of Missouri Application March 17, 1938, Serial No. 196,525 12 Claims. (01. 48-180) My invention relates to apparatus for vaporizing and injecting fuel into a combustion chamber.

It is a purpose of my invention to provide a device for vaporizing fuel and injecting the same into a combustion chamber that will produce a much better combustible mixture than has been possible with means previously known for vaporizing a fuel for introduction in a combustion chamber, such as that of an internal combustion engine. This is accomplished by rotatively Whipping air and combustible fluid about in a casing or chamber to intimately mix the same and at the same time break up the particles thereof more finely than has previously been the case, substantially vaporizing all of said combustible fluid. My apparatus is particularly adapted for vaporizing gasoline or similar volatile fluids for introduction into an internal combustion engine, but is also adapted to vaporize other liquid fuels and fuel compounds that are of a less volatile nature for introduction'into an internal combustion engine, or any combustion chamber. The apparatus is further adapted for making substantially a vapor of a powdered fuel, or a mixture of a powdered and liquid fuel,

for introduction into a combustion chamber.

It is a further purpose of my invention to proabout the vaporization, or substantial vaporization, of the fuel content of said chamber and the intimate mixing of the same with the air in said chamber, and furthermore it is a purpose of my invention to so construct said rotor and the blades thereon and the walls of the chamber adjacent thereto, that the centrifugally whipped or whirled air and fuel on one side of the partitioning means is thrown across the periphery of the rotor toward the other side of the partitioning means, so that the contents of the two chambers on opposite sides of-the rotor are thrown into engagement with each other to more thoroughly vide an apparatus of the above mentioned character that is simple in operation and which has a relatively small number of parts, so as to avoid the complications frequently found to exist in apparatus that is intended for obtainind more perfect combustion of a fuel, such as that for example, used in internal combustion engines.

More particularly my invention comprises a rotatable member or rotor that is provided with blades, and which is rotatable in a casing that conforms closely to the shape of the blades on said rotor, so that said rotor will violently throw the combustible material in the casing or chamber against the walls thereof and force the same between said blades and the adjacent walls to more thoroughly break up and finely divide the same to produce a substantialvapor thereof.

It is a specific purpose of my invention t'o provide an apparatus of the above mentioned character, in which the rotor or rotating member mounted in the casing that conforms closely to the shape of said rotor or rotating member, is

provided with means for dividing said casing into a plurality of chambers, and to provide bladed means in each of said chambers operating to rotatively whip about and centrifugally throw the contents of said chamber outwardly toward the annular periphery thereof to bring blend the contents of said chambers, and break up the combustible fluid contained therein, so that a true vapor is produced thereby, which is injected into the internal combustion engine, or other combustion chamber, by the centrifugal force developed by said rotor during such rotative whipping action thereof.

My invention is adapted with any standard carburetor, such as is now in use. The carbureted fuel passing from the carburetor is introduced into the casing in which the rotor of my apparatus is located, to break up the small particles of liquid fuel therein and substantially vaporize the same and mix the same with the air so that a uniform blend of the air and liquid fuel results, without creating a pressure s the fuel is injected into the intake manifold that might cause condensation of the fuel after it has been vaporized.

My invention also includes means for picking up volatilized liquid fuel, such as gasoline, for example, in a stream of air and introducing said stream of air along with air that has not been contacted with the fuel, into the rotor chamber,

' cept as defined in the claims.

or casing, and means for controlling the proportions of such air having the fuel vapor therein,

and the air that has no fuel vapor therein, so as to obtain the proper amount of air for completely burning the fuel. 7

Other objects and advantages of my invention will appear as the description of the draw-- ings proceeds. I desire to have it understood, however, that I do not intend to limit myself to the particular details shown or described, ex-

. In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation partly broken away, of my apparatus for vaporizing and injecting fuel into a combustion chamber, interposedv between the ordinary carburetor and the ordinary intake 55 manifold of an internal combustion engine.

for use in conjunction Fig. 2 is an end elevation of my improved apparatus detached.

Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2, the rotor being shown partly in elevation and partly broken away.

Fig. 4 is a section taken on the line 6-5 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a section taken .on. the line 55 of Fig. 1, on a slightly enlarged scale.

Fig. 6 isa fragmentary elevational view of a modification.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary section taken on the line I-I-of Fig. 3, but on a smaller scale than Fig. 3.

Fig. 8 is a. vertical sectional view of another form of my apparatus, showing the same used in conjunction with means of my own design for introducing fuel into a stream of air to take the place of the ordinary carburetor, and

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary top plan view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 8 on areduced scale.

Referring in detail to the drawings, in Fig. 1 is shown a portion of a carburetor I0, from the discharge end of which a conduit I i extends, said conduit II being provided with a flange I2, which is adapted to be bolted in fluid-tight relation to a flange I3 on the casing of my improved vaporizer and injector.

My improved vaporizer and injector comprises a casing made up of two sections Id and I5, each of which is provided with a flange I6, through which securing members I1 extend, said securing members having heads I8 engaging the one flange I6 and being threaded to engage in threaded openings in the other flange it. The flange I3 is formed partly on the member HI and partly on the member I5, and from the central opening I9 in said flange I3 a pair of passages 20 extend, one being formed in each of the casing portions I4 and I5. The passages 20 extend through openings 2| into the chamber 22, formed between the two halves of the casing I #2 and i5, as will be evident from Fig. 5, and it will be obvious from Fig. 5 that the passages 20 gradually decrease in size toward the opening 2i, avoiding any sharp corners or offsets, or variations in size therein that might cause whistling or other noise as the fluid passes through the passage 25. In order that said passages will not have any reduced portions or sharp offsets therein, the same are provided in the form of tubular conduits having outer wall portions 23 that extend along opposite sides of the casingm'embers I4 and I5, so as to terminate inwardly from the outer peripheral edge of the annular portions of said casing members and at a point spaced circumferentially from the outlet conduit 24, said outlet conduit having a passage 25 extending outwardly from the chamber 22 between the two passages 20, as'will be evident from Fig. 7.

Within the'chamber 22 provided between the casing members It and I5, is a rotor having a hub portion 26 and a central disk-like dividing wall 21, which divides the casing into a pair of chambers 28 and 29 lying on opposite sides of said wall 21. Each of the casing portions I4 and I5 is provided with a bearing portion 30. A shaft 3| is mounted in an opening in the hub rotation in the .casing by means of the ball bearings 32 mounted in the bearing portions 30. One

bearing portion 30 is provided with a plug 30' portion 26 in fixed position, and is mounted for erates for rotating the rotor, said belt being driven in any desired manner, as by means of a suitable pulley carried by the engine shaft, or by a shaft geared to the engine shaft of an internal combustion engine, said pulley engaging the sleeve 33.

Instead of driving the shaft 3! in the manner above referred to, it can be driven as shown in Fig. 6, in which a motor 35 is shown as being provided with a gear 31 on the shaft thereof that meshes with the gear 38 carried on the shaft 3!, a suitable collar 39 being provided on said shaft that engages with the bearing member 30 to prevent endwise movement of the shaft and thus of the rotor in a direction transversely of the casing.

The rotor is rotated inthe direction of the arrows, as shown in Fig. 3, and is rotated at a very high velocity. Said rotor is provided with blades or vanes 40 thereon, which are preferably arranged in staggered relation on opposite sides of the partitioning or dividing disk portion 27. Said vane or blade members 40 are cast integral with the central partition 21 and extend at an acute angle to the radial, being inclined backwardly from the hub portion to the periphery of the rotor, considering the direction of rotation of the rotor as being forward. While the particular angle at which said vanes or blades extend to a radial line, through their inner ends for example, may be varied, these are shown as extending at substantially an angle of 45 degrees to the radial in the drawings. Said blades or vanes taper outwardly toward the periphery of the rotor, becoming gradually narrower toward their outer ends, the edges thereof being formed on a gradual curve, as shown at M in Figs. 4 and 7. The casing portions I t and I5 are similarly curved, the side walls of said casings adjacent the side edges of the bladed rotor being of substantially the same contour as said blades, the walls gradually approaching each other toward the peripheral flanged portions IS on a curve, as shown at 42 in Figs. 4 and '7.

It will be noted that a clearance is shown between the edges 4! of the blades or vanes and the curved concave. wall portions 42. It is to be understood that the clearance between these blades and the wall portions is only sufficient for mechanical purposes, so that there will be no engagement of said blades with said wall portions, the edges of the blades and the wall portions being of substantially the same cross-sectional contour at their adjacent portions.

The disk-like central wall or partition portion 2! of the rotor ends short of the blades or vanes 40, the vanes or blades having portions 43 that extend outwardly beyond the peripheral edge 44 of the disk-like portion 21, and said projecting blade portions 43 extend across the peripheral edge 44 of the disk-like portion 27, and closely adjacent the annular. periphery of the chamber 22 adjacent the wall portions 42, so as to just have mechanical clearance from said casing beyond the periphery of the disk-like portion. A space is thus provided between the vanes or blades 30, as shown at 45, between the casing wall and the peripheral edge of the disk-like portion 27.

It will be noted that at the lower end of the casing adjacent the outlet passage 25 said casing widens, as indicated at 46, to provide an outlet chamber 41 leading intothe outlet passage 25, into which the peripheral edge or rim portion of 53, for controlling-the proportions of air The carburetor I may," of course, be provided with any suitable means 52, controlled by any suitable control member, such as a rod, or wire, and combustible fluid'enteringthe conduit II. The rotation of the-rotor in the casing draws the mixture of air and combustible fluid in through the passages 20 and the opening 2I into said casing, part of the mixture of air and combustible fluid passing through the one passage 20 into the chamb r 28, and the other portion thereof through the 29. As the ndxture of air and combustible fluid is drawn into the chambersit comes into engagement with the vanes or blades on the rotor and is given a violent centrifugal whirling or er passage 20 into the chamber whipping motion, causing the same to be thrown outwardly centrifugally toward the outer peripheral edge of theannular passageadjacent the peripheral edge 44 of the partitioning means 21, and also into engagement with the side walls of said chambers, causing some of said air and combustible fluid to be forced between said side walls and said blades 40, and some of the same to be thrown transversely across the peripheral edge 44 of the partitioning means 21 from. the

chamber 28 to the chamber 29, and vice versa,

thus causing a complete breaking up into a vapor of any of the fluid that may not have previously been in a vaporous state, and thoroughly and completely mixing the air and fluid vapor, so as to make a uniform blend thereof having a uniform proportion of air and combustible vapor therein throughout the mass thereof. The rotation of the rotor throws the blended gaseous fuel outwardly toward the periphery of the rotor and into the outlet chamber 41 and outlet passage 25, the velocity given said combustible mixture causing the-same to pass into the intake manifold and to be injected into the cylinder, or cylinders, of the internal combustion engine, or other combustion chamber, that may be open to the intake manifold at the time thatthe combustible mixture is being passed into the same.

While my apparatus is referred to as being a vaporizing supercharger and injector, it does not produce any material amount of compression of the combustible mixture produced thereby, thus preventing any condensation of the fuel vapors that have been produced by the device due to, the rapid rotation of the rotor, causing the centrifugal whirling or whipping action above refered to. It will be obvious that such proportions of air 'arid"combustible fiuid-can be introduced into .the' chambers 28 and 29 that all of the combustible fluid will" be burned when combustion takes place m the cylinder'or'other combustion chamber into which the same is introduced. This is po s sible because of the fact that suflicient air is utilized to completely vaporize the fuel and a'suflicient quantity of air is mixed therewith that there will be sufficient oxygen for the complete combustion of the fuel present in the cylinder or other combustion chamber when the combustion takes place.

The passage I9 and the passages 20 constitute what can be called an intakemanifold for the mixing and vaporizing device. My. apparatus does not operate merely as'a mixer for the combustible fluid and the air, but acts to break up the fluid so that it will be .much more finely divided than would be otherwise possible, producing from the air and combustible fluid what is, r

in its properties, similar to a dry gas, when the same leaves the rotor chamber and passes into the intake manifold 5| through the discharge passage 25.

In order to prevent any of the liquid fuel from being drawn into the chambers 28 and 29 by the suction that may be created by therapid rotation of the rotor, which produces the whirling or whipping action in the chamber 22, comprising the portions 28 and 29 on opposite sides of the rotor, the carburetor can be dispensed with and the means for producing a combustible mixture of fuel and air shown in Fig. 8 can be provided. Said means comprises a casing that has a chamber I00 therein, the liquid fuel line IOI entering said chamber throughan inlet passage I02, and communication between said passage I02 and the chamber I00 is controlled by a needle valve I03 that is mounted on a lever I04, which is mounted-on a pivot I05 and has a float I06 mounted on the opposite end thereof from said needle valve, a universal joint being provided at I0'I between the needle valve stem and the lever I04. A fuel bowl portion I06 is provided in the chamber I00, in which the liquid fuel I09 collects, the float controlling the level thereof so that the needle valve I03 will be opened when the liquid level reaches a slightly lower point than that shown in Fig. 8, and closes when the liquid level reaches the point shown in Fig. 8.

A chamber H0 is provided adjacent the chamber I00, a passage III providing communication between said chambers, and a partition II2 separating the same. The liquid level of the fuel I09 in the chamber I I0 will be substantially that of the fuel in the chamber I00. Bearings II4 are provided inthe wall H2 and wall II3, in

which the ends of a shaft I5 rotate, said shaft H5 having mounted thereon a rotor II6, which is provided with vanes or blades III on the periphery thereof, said vanes or blades picking up some of the fuel as the same pass into the liquid I09 in the bottom of the chamber IIO as said rotor H6 is rotated in amanner to be described below.

Any suitable type of air cleaner H8 is pro-- vided, from which an air conduit II 9 extends, said air conduit II9 passing into the chamber IIO by means of a suitable connection with a top plate I20 extending over the chambers H0 and I00, and secured in fluid-tight relation with the walls of said chambers by suitable securing elements I2I. The top plate is provided with an inverted channeled portion I22, which is in communication with the conduit H9 at one end thereof and with a conduit I23 at the other end thereof, a substantially 'U-shaped passage I24 being provided within the inverted channeled portion I22, in which the rotor II6 operates, the

blades or vanes I I1 extending into said U-shaped tion of the tubular casing portion I26 at I28 for adjustment thereof lengthwise of the casing I26.

A pair of diametrically opposed notches I29 are provided in the one end of the adjustable nozzle member I21 for engagement with a screwdriver, or similar tool, access being had to said end of said member I21 by removal of the cap I30 detachably screw-threadedly engaging with the casing I26 of the nozzle. The opposite end of the nozzle is cut away at a plurality of points,

.as indicated at I3I, to provide projecting portions I32 and notches I33 between said projecting portions, said nozzle having said projecting portions bent inwardly at an angle to provide a .tapering end I34 engaging a beveled shoulder I35 on the casing I26 and having slots I33. The nozzle can thus be contracted at its discharge end by screwing the slotted tapering portion I34 against the shoulder I35, thus providing an adjustable jet or nozzle for introduction of air and fuel vapor into the inlet chamber I36.

The character and direction ofvthe stream of fuel vapor entering the chamber I36 can be varied by adjustment of the member I21 inwardly or outwardly by means of the screw-threads at I28. The nozzle is in a retracted position as shown in Fig, 8, being adapted to be advanced further into the casing, to decrease the opening therethrough. The important thing is to get an adjustment of the nozzle, whereby fuel is dis-.

' chamber I36 that communicates with the interior of the tubular casing I26, and means is provided for controlling the size of said opening, and controlling the proportion of air and fuel vapor in said chamber I36, which means comprises a flap valve, or shutter member, I40, which is pivoted at I and which is provided with operating means comprising a crank I42, mounted in a chamber I43 that has a fluid-tight cover I44 thereon. Said crank is provided with a link I45 that connects the same with an apertured ear I46 on the flap valve I40, and is keyed on the shaft I41 to rotate therewith. Said shaft I41 also has a crank arm I48 exteriorly of the chamber I43, keyed thereto, to which a rod I40 is connected.

An air inlet passage I50 is provided, extending from the air cleaner II8 into the inlet chamber I36, the cover I20 extending over said inlet chamber and' the securing members I2I being used for securing said cover member in fluidtight relation to the walls of said chamber I36.

A butterfly valve II controlling the size of the passage I50, is provided in said air inlet passage I50, the same having a shaft or operating member I52 that is pivotally mounted in the walls of the passage I50 and in a bracket I53 extending from a portion of the wall of the chamber I36. Said shaft I52 is provided with an angular end portion I54 serving as a crank, and an operating rod or wire I55'extends therefrom to any suitable point convenient to the operator of .the engine, or other combustion means, having the combustion chamber to which the combustible mixture is to be supplied.

The rod I48 may be operated by means of the wire I55, or by any other operating member independently of said wire. In order that the flap valve I40 and the butterfly valve I5I may be operated in unison, a bracket member I56 may be provided that has a sleeve portion I51 pinned to the shaft I52, that has an ear I58 thereon, ough which the rod I48 extends, said rod ng secured in fixed adjusted position relative id ear by means of thenuts I58 engaging j threaded end of said rod I49. obvious that as the shaft I52 is rotated to open and close the butterfly valve, it will also actuate the flap valve I to open and close the same. Thus, when the butterfly valve is closed, the flap valve I40 will be closed, and thus when an engine with which the apparatus is utilized is operating under idling conditions there will be only a very narrow passage at I60 between the beveled end I6I of the flap valve I40 and the opening. in the wall of the chamber I36 communicating with the casing l26 of the nozzle or jet, through which the fuel vapor enters. However, when said flap valve is unseated it will extend at an angular position across the chamber I36 under the control of the operator, and when in the dotted line position shown, will almost closethe passage provided by said chamber from the passage I50 to the rotor.

The rotor provided in the rotor chamber I38 is a substantial duplicate of the rotor shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 7 of the drawings, and the same reference numerals are applied thereto as in said figures. curved edges and the adjacent walls of the chamber I38 conform to the shape of the blades and have only 'mechanical clearance therefrom, in the same manner as described in connection with Figs. 1 to 7, inclusive, the partition, or disk-like portion, 21 terminating short of the peripheral annular wall of the chamber to provide passages I31, similar to the passages 45, shown in Fig. 3.

The shaft I62 is secured to the hub 26 in the same manner as is the shaft 3I. Said shaft I62 is provided with suitable ball bearings I63 mounted in the casing portions I64 and I65, a cover plate being provided at I66 to provide a fluid tight joint between the casing I64 and said cover plate. casing portion I65, the housing being made in two parts, which are clamped together in any 7 desired manner in fluid tight relation, so as to permit assembly of the shaft I62 and the rotor in the rotor chamber I38, the joint between the two parts of the casing being indicated at I63.

The shaft I62 has a bevel gear I68 thereon that meshes with a bevel gear I10 that is provided on a shaft I", which is provided with suitable ball bearings I12, mounted in suitable recesses 'in the housing portion I61 and extending downwardly in a tubular extension I13 of said housing to any suitable means for rotating the same, 1

such as any type of counter-shaft that may be driven from the engine supplied with fuel by my improved apparatus.

The casing of my apparatus terminates in a downwardly extending outlet chamber, or discharge chamber, I14, which is similar to the chamber '41 described in connection with the form of the invention shown in Figs. 1 to 7, in-

It will be The vanes or blades thereon have- A housing I61 projects from the v the form of the invention shownin Figs. 1 to '7,

. lll, causing rotation of the rotor II 6, which lifts up the liquid fuel on said vanes or blades, causing the same to be engaged by the stream of air and vaporized thereby, the vaporized fuel and air coming in engagement therewith passing through the conduit I23 into the nozzle I21 and out into the chamber I36, where it mingles with the air passing through the passage, I50 to introduce additional air suflicient for complete combustion of the fuel. The chamber I36 and the passages I31 thus act as an intake manifold leading into the rotor chamber I38. The air and fuel vapor introduced into the rotor chamber is violently whirled or whipped about by the rotor, to finely divide, break up and vaporize the same to produce a substantially dry gaseous fuel in the same manner as described in connection with inclusive. The proportion of air and fuel vapor introduced into the inlet passages I 31 is determined by the position of the flap valve I40. The nearer the valve is to the nozzle opening the greater the proportion of air supplied, as the less restricted the passage lengthwise through the chamber I36 will be. The greater the restriction of said passage through said chamber- I36 the more air will be drawn through the passage H9 and the more rapidly the rotor IIG will rotate, picking up more fuel and thus supplying a richer mixture to the rotor in the chamber I38.

What I claim is:

1. In an apparatus for preparing a combustible mixture, an annular casing substantially sy metrical about a central plane perpendicular to the axis thereof, a rotor in said casing, said rotor being mounted for rotation on the axis of said casing, means on said rotor for partitioning said casing on substantially said central plane to provide a pair of substantially annular chambers in said casing on opposite sides of said partitioning means, vanes on said rotor on opposite sides of said partitioning means, the peripheral edge of said partitioning means being spaced from the peripheral wall of said casing, vanes projecting beyond the outer, peripheral edge of said partitioning means, means for introducing air and a combustible fluid into said casing on opposite sides of said partitioning means, means for rotating said rotor to rotatively whip said air and combustible fluid about in said casing to intimately mix the same, and means for discharg-. ing said intimate mixture of combustible fluid and air from the periphery'of said rotor from said casing.

2. In an apparatus for preparing a combustible mixture, an annular casing substantially symmetrical about a central plane perpendicularto the axis thereof and tapering gradually from adjacent the axis to the annular periphery thereof, a rotor in said casing, said rotor being mounted for rotation on the axis of said casing, means on said rotor for partitioning said casing on sub-. stantially said central plane to provide a pair of for discharging said intimate mixture of combustible fluid and air from the periphery of said rotor from said casing.

3. In an apparatus for preparing a combustible mixture, a casing having annular side walls con-. verging from the center toward the periphery thereof to provide an annular chamber tapering from the axial center to the annular periphery thereof, a rotor mounted in said casing to rotate about the axis of said casing, said rotor having blades extending outwardly from near the center of rotation of 'said rotor to adjacent the periphery of said chamber, said blades tapering from the inner to the outer ends thereof and having side edges conforming substantially to the contour of said side walls, inlet means for introducing air and combustible fluid into said casing through said side walls, and a discharge passage for combustible mixture leading from said chamberediacent the periphery of said rotor.

4. In an apparatus for preparing a combustible mixture, a casing having annular side walls con-- verging from the center toward the periphery thereof to provide an annular chamber tapering from the axial center to the annular periphery thereof, a rotor mounted in said casing to rotate about the axis of said casing, said rotor having blades extending outwardly from near the center of rotation of said rotor to adjacent the periphery of said chamber, said blades tapering from the inner to the outer ends thereof and having side edges conforming substantially to the contour of rotor, and a said side walls, inlet means for introducing air and combustible fluid into said casing through said side walls into engagement with opposite sides of said rotor between the center and the periphery thereof, and a discharge passage for combustible mixture leading from said chamber adjacent the periphery of said rotor, said discharge passage being spaced more than 180 degrees in the direction of rotation of said rotor from said inlet means.

5. In an apparatus for preparing a combustible mixture, 9. casinghaving a pair of oppositely curved concave annular side walls converging from the center toward the periphery thereof to.

provide an annular chamber tapering from the axial center to the annular periphery thereof, a rotor mounted in said casing to rotate" about the 'axis of said casing, said rotor having non-radial blades extending outwardly from near the center of rotation of said rotor to adjacent the periphery of said chamber, said blades tapering from the inner to the outer ends thereof and having curved side edges conforming substantially to the contour of said side walls, inlet means for introducing air and combustible fluid into said casing through said side walls on opposite sides-of said discharge passage for combustible mixture leading from said chamber adjacent the of said rotor.

- mixturefa casing having annular side walls consubstantially annular chambers in said casing on walls of said casing, and being inclined to the radial, means for rotating said rotor to rotatively whip said air and combustible fluid about in said casing to intim ately mix thesame, and means 7 sides of said partitiona to conform to the tapering verging from the center toward the periphery thereof. to provide an annular chamber tapering from the axial center to theannular periphery thereof, a rotor mounted in said casing to rotate about-the axis of said casing, said rotor having a central wall dividing said chamber substantially centrally, said wall terminating in spaced relation to .the annular periphery of said chamber, vanes onsaid. rotor on opposite sides of said wall extending outwardly from'near the center of rotation of said rotor to adjacent'the periphery of 5 said chamber, saidvanes tapering from the inner comprising a disk-like rotor, non-radial agitator members on opposite faces of said rotor, an annular casing co-axial with the axis of rotation of said rotor, means for rotating said rotor about its axis in a direction such that the ends of said agitator members nearest the periphery of said rotor are back of the ends thereof nearest the axis of rotation of said rotor, said agitator members having edges conforming substantially to the shape of the adjacent casing wall and extending in close adjacency to said casing wall from near the center of said casing to the annular periphery thereof, means for introducing a combustible fluid and an air onboth sides of said rotor between the ends of said agitator members, means for rotating said rotor at a speed to break-up and thoroughly mix'said combustible fluid and air, and means for discharging the combustible mixture substantially centrifugally from said casing.

8. An apparatus of the character described, comprising a disk-like rotor, non-radial agitator members on opposite faces of said rotor, an annular' casing co-axial with the axis of rotation of said rotor, means for rotating said rotor about its axis in a direction such that the ends of said agitator members nearest the periphery of said edge of said disk-like rotor, means for introduc i ing a combustible fluid and air on both sides of said rotor between the ends of said agitator membersumeans for rotating said rotor at a speed to break up and thoroughly mix said combustible fluid and air, and means for discharging the combustible mixture substantially eentrifugally from said casing.

9. In an apparatus for preparing a combustible mixture, an annular casing substantially symmetrical about a central plane perpendicular to the axis thereof and tapering gradually from adjacent the axis to the annular periphery thereof, a rotor in saidcasin said rotor being mounted for rotation on theaxis of said casing. means on said rotor for partitioning said casing on substantially said central plane to provide a pair of substantially annular chambers in said casing on opposite sides of said partitioning to the outer ends thereof and having side edges conforming substantially to the contour of said means, vanes on said rotor on opposite sides of said partitioning means, said vanes extending from substantially the axis of said rotor to the periphery thereof and tapering to conform to the tapering walls of said casing, and the vanes on one side of said rotor being staggered relative to the vanes on the other side thereof, means for rotating said rotor to rotatively whip said air and combustible fluid about in said casing to intimately mix the same, and means for discharging said intimate mixture of combustible fluid and air from the periphery of said rotor from said casing.

10. In an apparatus for preparing a combustible mixture, a casing, means for introducing air and a combustible material into said casing, rotatable means in said casing, and means for rotating said rotatable means, said casing having a discharge outlet, said rotatable means comprising a disk-like member of less diameter than said casing having means for creating a centrifugal whirl on opposite sides thereof and said casing having means for directing the air and combustible material centrifugally impelled by said rotatable means on one side of said disk-like means transversely across the periphery of said disklike member into engagement with that centrifugally impelled by said rotatable means on the other side of said disk-like means.

11. In an apparatus for preparing a combustible mixture, a casing, means for introducing air and a combustible fluid into said casing, a rotor mounted in said casing, said rotor having means for partitioning said casing, vanes on said rotor on opposite sides of said partitioning means having edges lying adjacent'the walls of said casing, means for rotating said rotor to rotatively whip said air and combustible fluid about in said casing to intimately mix the same, and means for discharging said intimate mixture of combustible fluid and air from said casing, said rotor and said casing wall being formed to throw the air and fluid on opposite sides of said rotor transversely across the periphery thereof.

12. In an apparatus for preparing a combustible mixture for combustion, a casing, means for introducing air and a combustible fluid into said casing, rotatable annular means extending centrally of said casing and dividing said casing into a pair of similar chambers on opposite sides of said dividing means but providing communication between the chambers formed thereby in said casing outwardly beyond the periphery of said dividing means and bladed means on opposite sides of said dividing means for creating a centrifugal whirl in each of said chambers, said casing walls and said bladed means cooperatingto throw the centrifugally whirled con tents of said chambers on opposite sides of said dividing means into violent engagement at the periphery of said rotatable annular dividing means.

HERMANN H. SCHMIDT.

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