US2804291A - Wick carburetter - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 27, 1957 c. G. HARD AF SEGERSTAD 2,804,291

WICK CARBURETTER Filed March 2, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 I H W ha 77 INVENTOR Ca rl yasfaf ffdrgafSeyersfad mwm+ ATTOR I Aug. 27, 1957 c. G. HARD AF SEGERSTAD 2,804,291

WICK CARBURETTER Filed March 2, 1954 3 Sheets-Shaet 3 mm /ml'n 4 I I I I 7 NVENTOR Cari g usiaf'flm'd 00 Se erstccol ATTO YS United States Patent WICK CARBURETTER Carl Gustaf Hard af Segerstad, Sandviken, Sweden Application March 2, 1954, Serial No. 413,597

Claims priority, application Sweden March 21, 1953 11 Claims. (Cl. 261-99) The present invention relates to a wick carburetter, atomizer, gasifier or the like, i. e. the type of carburetter comprising a container for the substances or materials, which are to be atomized or gasified and a wick or any similar member consisting of two or more separate parts made of porous and capillary material and adapted to transport the said substances from the container to a chamber or passage for flowing air or other gases or mixtures of gases.

The wick atomizers hitherto known are attended with several disadvantages. Thus the possibility of controlling the quantity of substances atomized in a certain time unit is extremely limited and this quantity is further dependent on the level in the container.

The principal object of the present invention is to produce a wick carburetter in which these and other drawbacks are eliminated and which thus is capable of being set, which can be and is adjusted to deliver atomized or gasified substances at rates which can be varied in very wide limits with great accuracy and can be instantly stopped at will.

Another object of the invention is to produce a wick carburetter which can, when desired, be put out of action momentarily or instantly.

With these and other objects in view as will become more apparent as the description proceeds, the invention consists of certain novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

In order that persons skilled in the art, to which my invention relates, may understand my invention I will now proceed to describe it referring to the drawings herewith in which:

Fig. 1 is a vertical section of one embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section on the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section on the line 3--3 of Fig. 1; and,

Fig. 4 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the carburetor of Figures 1 to 3.

The reference character 1 designates a container for a liquid 2 which is to be atomized or gasified and a cover or cap 3 closes the top of the container, and is mounted by means of threads. Cap 3 has a horizontal rectangular canal or passage 4 for the medium, i. e., a gas or gas mixture or compressed air, to which the atomized or gasified liquid is delivered. The passage 4 has cylindrical threaded end portions 11 forming connections for gas lines or tubes for the gas or gas mixture, and the gas flow is as indicated by the arrow. Cap 3 also has a wick recess or hole 3a, the cross-section of which is rectangular and which forms a connection between the passage 4 and the container 1. Snugly received in the recess 3a is an upper wick or wick part 5, the upper end portion of which is oblique or inclined (see Fig. 3) while the lower end is substantially flush with the bottom surface of the cap 3. The arrow in Fig. 3 indicates a suitable flow direction of the gas. The rectangular sectional form of the Patented Aug. 27, 1957 portion of passage 4 surrounding the upper end of the wick 5 (see Fig. 1) insures efficient action.

A screw 8 in the cap 3 is rigidly fastened to a plate-like wick-holding member 7 having substantially the form of a segment of a disk, and being provided with a downwardly projecting tubular portion 7a the cross-section of which corresponds to the rectangular section of the hole 3a. In this portion 7a is snugly positioned and fastened a lower wick 6, the width of which increases in the downward direction. An angular bracket 9 fastened to the cap 3 by a screw 10 extends beneath the edge of member 7 and serves as a support therefor.

The oblique form of the upper end of the upper wick 5 serves the purpose of increasing the rate of delivery of liquid to the passing air or gas. The downwardly increasing width and cross section of the wick 6 assures an efiicient supply of liquid for all operating conditions, irrespective of the liquid level in the container. As indicated in Fig. 3 by section lines, the wick 5 consists of a less porous or tighter material than the wick 6, and this further insures an eflicient supply of liquid to the wick 5 which simultaneously delivers a very finely atomized liquid to the air or gas. Cellulose sponge or webb, i. e. Wettex has proved itself as an outstanding wick material, but other porous materials may be used which are capable of providing a capillary action, for instance ceramic or textile or fibrous material.

At the relative position of the wicks 5 and 6 indicated in the drawings the contact surface between them is maximum and the output of the carburetter likewise is maximum. As readily will be seen, it is possible by turning the screw 8 to set or adjust the wicks in other positions, more or less displaced or adjusted in relation to each other, which involve a greater reduced output of the atomizer. In the position of the member 7 and the wick 6 indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2, the wicks 5 and 6 do not engage each other at all, the wick carburetter thus being completely inoperative. A total inactivity of the carburetter is in this position insured by the plate member 7 which covers the opening of the hole 3a and the lower end of the wick 5.

Due to the mounting of the member 7 on the screw 8 the member itself as well as the wick 6 accommodated therein will, when adjusted or set for the maximum atomizing effect, press upon the cap 3 and the wick 5 with a greater pressure than in the positions for a lesser atomizing effect. One or both of the wicks may be actuated by elastic means which tend to urge the wicks resiliently against each other whereby e. g. any effect of worn parts is eliminated.

The diagram shown in Fig. 4, which illustrates an actual test, shows the volume of liquid atomized per time unit, indicated as mm. /min. as a function of the degree of opening of the wick atomizer, i. e. the proportion or relation between the actual contact surfaces the wicks and the greatest possible or maximum contact surface.

In the figure, the value 0 indicates that the wicks do not touch or contact each other, and the value 1/1 indicates that the surface of contact between them is maximum. The wick consisted of so called Wettex cellulose cloth, and the liquid is lubricating oil the viscosity of which at 20 C. is 10 E. As will be apparent from the diagram the highest or maximum output attained was about 60 mm. min. while when the atomizer was shut no oil delivery could be observed. This is of importance because it is often desirable to interrupt the oil supply for longer or shorter times in the operation of devices driven by compressed air.

It is to observe that the present invention is not limited to the embodiment shown and described above because other embodiments are possible within the scope of the invention. Thus embodiments are possible in which the number of the wick parts is three or more in order e. g. to obtain very high or special effects.

In the embodiment described herein one of the wick parts is immovable or stational and the other one movable. Embodiments are also possible in which both or all of the wick parts are either movable or immovable. In the last mentioned case a plate member may be adapted to be moved between the wick parts, thereby more or less restricting the passage of the substance or substances in question which are capable of being atomized.

The above described member 7 or any corresponding member may instead of being turnable, swingable or rotatable, advantageously be movable or adjustable in a more or less straight line direction.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A wick carburetor comprising, a container providing a chamber for liquids which are to be gasified and delivered to a gas stream, a wick construction comprising, a plurality of wick parts which are serially positioned in contact with each other and are of material capable of providing capillary action of said liquids, said wick construction having one end positioned within said chamber and the opposite end extending therefrom, means forming a passageway for a gas stream and providing for the flow of the gas stream past the last mentioned end of said wick construction whereby liquid is delivered to the gas stream, and a movable member mounted to move in a direction transversely with respect to the general direction of the fiow of liquid from a position wherein said wick parts are in contact with each other to a position wherein the flow of liquid is interrupted from one of said wick parts to the next, said member being effective when moved between its two extreme positions to gradually reduce or increase the effective contact between said wick parts.

2. Apparatus as described in claim 1 wherein said wick parts are two in number and have co-extensive contacting ends, and wherein said movable member moves substantially in the plane of said co-extensive contacting ends.

3. Apparatus as described in claim 2 which includes stationary means providing a fixed mounting for one of said parts of said wick construction and wherein said movable member includes sleeve means supporting the other of said parts.

4. Apparatus as described in claim 3 wherein said movable member is pivotally mounted upon said stationary means and said stationary means has an opening therethrough forming said passageway.

5. Apparatus as described in claim 4 which includes a pivot shaft providing the pivot mounting for said movable member and having a projecting end by which said movable member may be turned. 7

6. Apparatus as described in claim which includes a bracket mounted upon said stationary member and providing support for said movable member.

7. Apparatus as described in claim 1 wherein said wick construction has an end portion projecting into said container which is tapered with the increased cross-section at the extreme end.

8. Apparatus as described in claim 1 wherein said wick construction has parts of material of different density.

9. Apparatus as described in claim 8 wherein the portion of said wick construction positioned within said container is of lesser density than the portion exposed to the gas stream.

10. In apparatus of the character described, the combination of, means forming a chamber for a body of liquid to be gasitied and delivered to another gas, a wick construction formed by a pair of wick parts one of which has one end positioned to be within said body of liquid and its other end positioned to abut one end of the other of said wick parts whereby the liquid from said body of liquid flows therefrom by capillary action serially through said wick parts to the other end of said other wick part where it is delivered to said other gas, means to pass said other gas into contact with said other end of said other wick part, and means mounting the said abutting ends of said wick parts for relative movement with respect to each other in a direction substantially coincident with the general plane of abutment of said ends whereby the movement produces a gradual variation in the portions of said ends which are in contact with each other thereby to vary the cross sectional area through which liquid flows from one of said wick parts to the other.

11. In apparatus of the character described, the combination of, means forming a chamber for a body of liquid to be gasified and delivered to another gas, a wick construction formed by a pair of wick parts one of which has one end positioned to be within said body of liquid and its other end positioned to abut one end of the other of said wick parts whereby the liquid from said body of liquid flows therefrom by capillary action serially through said wick parts to the other end of said other wick part, means forming a passageway for a gas stream to flow past said other end of said other Wick part, said abutting ends being rectangular in cross section with one dimension being substantially greater than the other, means mounting the said abutting ends of said wick parts for relative movement with respect to each other in a direction substantially coincident with the general plane of abutment of said ends and of the greater of said dimensions whereby the movement produces a gradual variation in the portions of said ends which are in contact with each other thereby to vary the cross sectional area through which liquid flows from one of said wick parts to the other.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,012,494 Wilson Dec. 19, 1911 1,275,563 Jones Aug. 13, 1918 1,601,185 Moench Sept. 28, 1926 FOREIGN PATENTS 562,594 Great Britain July 7, 1944

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