Port-forming ribbon assembly and ribbons thereof

March 10, 1970 J. h. flynn 3,499,720

FORT-FORMING RIBBON ASSEMBLY AND RIBBONS THEREOF Filed July 23, 1968

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United States Patent Office

3,499,720

Patented Mar. 10, 1970

3,499,720 PORT-FORMING RIBBON ASSEMBLY AND RIBBONS THEREOF

John H. Flynn, 234 Elk Ave., New Rochelle, N.Y. 10802 Filed July 23,1968, Ser. No. 746,967 Int. CI. AOln 9/20; A61k 27/00; A61113/00

U.S. Cl. 431—349 14 Claims

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE

Mounted in a slot in a fluid manifold are two complemental longitudinal ribbons which form jet ports for the discharge of fluid in jet form. The ribbons are in side-byside abutment with each other, and each ribbon is in the form of a flat metal strip with longitudinally-spaced transverse corrugations and a side margin offset from the plane of the strip, of which the corrugations in both ribbons are aligned to form the jet ports, and the offset side margins of these ribbons form mounting and sealing skirts bearing against the opposite sidewalls of the slot in the manifold.

This invention relates to fluid jet discharge devices in general, and to jet-port ribbon assemblies for fluid manifolds in particular.

The present invention is concerned with identical ribbons of the type which in complemental side-by-side relation with each other are mounted in a slot in a fluid manifold in order to form a series of spaced ports through which to force fluid from the manifold in the form of jets, and otherwise to seal the slot, and thereby also the manifold, from the outside. While prior ribbons of this type are generally satisfactory, they are deficient in a few but nevertheless important respects. Thus, known prior ribbons of one kind form, when mounted in a fluid manifold, pockets which are in the path of the fluid stream to the jet ports and set up fluid turbulence at the inlets to the latter with ensuing adverse effect on the vital velocity or drive and also stability of the issuing fluid jets. These same ribbons further provide communicating passages between successive jet ports midway of their lengths which objectionably interrupt the continuity of these ports and have a further adverse effect on the drive and stability of the issuing fluid jets. Known prior ribbons of another kind have for their manifold-sealing function formations which yield under compression to which they are subjected on forced insertion of the ribbons into the manifold slot for an intended tight sealing fit therein so that their actual fit therein is less tight than desired and may give rise to local fluid leakage paths through the manifold slot. Even more important, the jet ports formed by these same ribbons are outwardly flared over a considerable part of their lengths to the very outlets thereof with ensuing sacrifice of considerable drive as well as stability of the issuing fluid jets.

It is among the objects of the present invention to provide identical ribbons of this type which, on forced insertion in a slot in a fluid manifold in paired complemental side-by-side relation with each other, together form jet ports of characteristically restricted cross-sectional size and otherwise seal the slot from the outside without giving rise to any of the aforementioned deficiencies of prior ribbons of this type, in that the jet ports are over their entire length uninterrupted and of uniform cross-sectional shape and size, and the slot sealing formations are provided beyond the inlet ends of, and hence outside the flow region through, the jet ports, whereby these sealing formations are easily arranged with a sole view toward obtaining a tight seal at the opposite groove walls and avoiding any pocket formation which would give rise to fluid turbulence at the inlets to the jet ports.

It is another object of the present invention to provide identical ribbons of this type which, in their complemental side-by-side relation in a slot in a fluid manifold, together form the uninterrupted jet ports lengthwise over the greater part of the width of the ribbons, and together provide over the remaining smaller part of their width the aforementioned sealing provisions in the form of a channel of general U-section which is open to the inside of the manifold and clamped sideways in the manifold slot, and the jet ports lead from the bottom of this channel outwardly to their discharge ends. With this arrangement, the channel formation of the paired ribbons is not only particularly well suited for tightly sealing the manifold slot and also securely mounting the ribbons therein, 'but the same interferes nowise with the most direct flow of fluid to the inlet ends of the jet ports and is devoid of any pocket formation in which fluid may be trapped and cause turbulence in the vicinity of the jet ports.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide identical ribbons of this type which are of exceeding structural simplicity and readily lend themselves to efficient mass manufacture, yet are highly effective in their sealing function and in the formation of their jet ports for the discharge therefrom of fluid jets of optimum drive, stability and projection.

Another object of the present invention is to provide identical ribbons of this type which meet all the aforementioned objectives in point of their manufacture and performance, in that each ribbon is in the form of a metal strip which is flat except that a side margin of a relatively small part of the width of the strip is offset from the plane of the strip to form a complemental half of the aforementioned mounting and sealing U-channel formation of paired ribbons, and the strip is over its remaining greater width provided with longitudinally spaced transverse corrugations which form complemental halves of the jet ports in paired ribbons, so that the jet ports in paired ribbons indeed lead from the bottom of the sealing channel uninterruptedly over the greater part of the ribbon widths to their outlet ends.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide ribbons of this type of which each strip is formed from a flat metal strip in which the aforementioned offset side margin and transverse corrugations are formed 'by local deformation of the strip thereat, preferably between forming or crimping rolls, so that the strip is in the course of its deformation shortened, not equally over its width as in prior ribbons of this type, but rather unequally, with the strip being, besides somewhat stretched between the rolls, also shortened, over the greater part of its width by the corrugations therein, but being not shortened at its offset side margin. However, rather than being a disadvantage, the unequal shortening of the strip is turned into an advantage in that, on forcing the strip in the course of its deformation to remain straight and, hence, not permitting it to curve in response to the unequal shortening over its width, the depending skirt part of its offset side margin will respond to the differential shortening of the strip by becoming ever so slightly bowed or curved outwardly between successive corrugations and thereby have compressive spring characteristics which, on forcing paired ribbons into a slot in a fluid manifold, will achieve a particularly secure and sealed mount of the ribbons therein.

Another object of the present invention is to provide ribbons of this type of which each ribbon is formed from a flat metal strip in the aforementioned manner, and so that the depending skirt part of its offset side margin merges and is continuous with the transverse corrugations at their apices. In thus coordinating these deformed parts of the strip, the jet ports in paired ribbons will continue toward the secure mount of these ribbons in a manifold

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recess and also prevent any gapping between the paired ribbons over their corrugated widthwise extent.

Further objects and advantages will appear to those skilled in the art from the following, considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

In the accompanying drawings, in which certain modes of carrying out the present invention are shown for illustrative purposes:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary top view of a fluid manifold with inserted ribbons embodying the present invention;

FIGS. 2 and 3 are enlarged fragmentary sections through the fluid manifold as taken on the lines 2—2 and 3—3, respectively, of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 4 and 5 are enlarged fragmentary sections through the fluid manifold as taken on the lines 4—4 and 5—5, respectively, of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged edge view of a single ribbon before its insertion into the fluid manifold;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary top view of a fluid manifold with inserted ribbons of modified arrangement; and

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary section through a specific flame burner with ribbons of the present invention.

Referring to the drawings, and more particularly to FIGS. 1 to 5 thereof, the reference numeral 10 designates a device for discharging a series of fluid jets, which comprises a manifold or casing 12 with a chamber 14 and a longitudinal slot 16 which provides communication between the chamber 14 and the outside. Suitably mounted in the slot 16, as by pressfitting, for example, is a ribbon unit or assembly 18 which provides a series of spaced ports 20 for the discharge of fluid jets, with the ribbon assembly 18 being arranged to seal the slot 16 against discharge of fluid except through the ports 20. The casing chamber 14 is adapted to hold fluid under pressure which is supplied from a suitable source through an inlet (not shown) in the casing.

The ribbon assembly 18 consists of a plurality of ribbons 22, in this instance two ribbons, which are preferably advantageously identical in every respect. Thus, each ribbon 22 is formed from a flat longitudinal metal strip 24 of substantially uniform width and thickness, and the finished ribbon remains flat in its plane p except for corrugations 26 and an offset configuration 28. The corrugations 26 are longitudinally spaced, in this instance equally, and extend transversely of the strip 24 over a part, and preferably over the greater part w', of the width of the strip to the side edge 30 thereof, with these corrugations projecting or being offset to one side of the plane p and being preferably of uniform cross-sectional shape and size throughout their lengths. In this instance, these corrugations 26 are substantially semicircular in cross-section.

The strip 24 is over the remainder w of its width formed into the offset configuration 28 which provides converging legs 32 and 34 of which the leg 32 extends away from the plane p to the same side thereof as the corrugations 26, and the other leg 34 extends from the leg 32 in a direction away from the side edge 30 of the strip and forms a skirt which lies substantially in a plane p' parallel to the plane p. This skirt 34 is spaced from the plane p the same distance as the apices 36 of the corrugations 26, and is continuous with the corrugations at their apices 36, with the corrugations 26 leading from the leg 32 of the offset configuration 28 and extending to the side edge 30 of the strip (see also FIG. 4). The parts of the original strip 24 remaining in the plane p in the finished ribbon 22 are the lands 38 between successive corrugations 26.

The flat metal strip 24 may be formed into the finished ribbon 22 in any suitable manner. Preferably, metal strip stock of any length is formed into a ribbon by driven companion forming or crimping rolls (not shown) which offset the strip from its plane p at the corrugations 26 and at the legs 32 and 34 and otherwise leave the strip flat at the lands 38. To this end, the strip 24 is of de4 formable and preferably slightly resilient metal, such as stainless steel, for example. It will be readily understood that in thus forming the strip 24 into the ribbon 22 the strip will be differently shortened over its width, i.e., will be shortened quite considerably and substantially equally over its width w' owing to the formation of the numerous corrugations 26 therein, while the legs 32 and 34 are not shortened in their offset from the plane of the strip. While this would ordinarily result in run-out of the ribbon from the forming rolls in curved fashion, this is prevented by arranging the forming rolls so that they stretch the strip metal longitudinally over a region of its width w' to compensate for the shortening of the strip by the formation of the corrugations 26 at least sufficiently to hold the side edge 30 of the strip straight in the formed ribbon. To achieve the latter end, additional recourse may be had to holding rolls which act on the strip edge 30 on opposite sides of the forming rolls to restrain this edge from curving.

The explained expediency or expediences relied on, plus such permanent stresses set up in the strip in the course of its formation into the ribbon which are also instrumental, in keeping the ribbon substantially straight at its side edges will not entirely prevent differential shortening of the strip over its width, with the result that the skirt 34 is longitudinally shortened or contracted somewhat which manifests itself in slight bowing or curving of the skirt between successive corrugations 26 as is shown at 40 in FIG. 6. Further, in forming the converging legs 32 and 34 of the ribbon by offsetting them from the plane p of the strip in one outward direction, the ensuing stresses in the strip metal thus offset compel the skirt parts 40 to bow in the same outward direction away from the planes p and p' (FIG. 6) which is of significant advantage to be explained hereinafter.

To assemble the individual ribbons 22 into the unit 18, the same are placed side-by-side, with their corrugations 26 aligned to form the discharge ports 20 which in this instance are of substantially circular cross-section. Preferably, the side-by-side arranged ribbons 22 are secured together in any suitable manner, as by spaced rivets 42 at abutting lands 38 of the ribbons. The ribbon assembly 18 is then inserted into, and preferably pressfitted in, the slot 16 in the casing 12 for its secure mount therein. To this end, the ribbon assembly 18 is driven into the slot 16 with a tight fit. Since doing so directly, by the application of necessarily strong driving forces to the upper edges 30 of the ribbons of the assembly might all too easily result in distortion of ports 20 at their outlet ends, the part of the slot 16 that is to receive the ribbon assembly is preferably formed by plates 44 which, while removed from the casing 12, are placed on opposite sides of the ribbon assembly 18 preferably so that their end surfaces 46 project beyond the ribbon assembly. The plates 44 and interposed ribbon assembly are then tightly clamped together temporarily for their drive into recesses 46 in the casing by application of the necessary driving forces to the end surfaces 46 of the plates 44.

With the ribbons 22 of the assembly 18 thus clamped in the slots 16, the described bow portions 40 of the skirts 34, having spring characteristics, are particularly instrumental in tightly sealing the slot at its opposite walls. Further, with the offset mounting and sealing provisions 28 of the ribbon assembly 18 forming a channel 50 which is open to the casing chamber 14 and from the bottom 52 of which the discharge ports 20 lead, the flow of fluid under pressure from the casing chamber 14 toward and into the inlet ends of these ports is most direct and unimpeded so that fluid turbulence in the vicinity of the discharge ports is virtually non-existent. This, combined with the considerable uninterrupted length of the discharge ports 20 and their uniform crosssectional shape and size throughout makes for the discharge therefrom of fluid streams of optimum drive,

3,499,720 stability and projection. Further instrumental in this is the formation of the channel bottom 52 by the inclined legs 32 of the individual ribbons 22 which form an acute angle pointing to the discharge ends of the ports 20 (FIG. 5) and thus have virtually no turbulence-creating pocket effect on the fluid between the discharge ports 20. In this instance, the discharge ports 20 are, by virtue of their relatively small cross-sectional size, typical jet ports for the discharge of sharply defined fluid jets of considerable drive and projection and also high stability, and the discharging fluid jets may be any medium for any particular practical application, such as gas, steam, and many other media.

While in the described exemplary fluid-jet discharge device 10 the ribbon assembly 18 consists of two identical ribbons 22, the same device may have a ribbon assembly of a plurality of pairs of ribbons. Thus, FIG. 7 shows a modified device 10α having in the slot 16α of its casing 12α a ribbon assembly 18α consisting of exemplary two pairs of coordinated ribbons 22α to form two parallel series of discharge ports 20α of which those of one series are in this instance also staggered with respect to those of the other series. Preferably, a flat ribbon 56 is interposed between the paired ribbons for their firm mount in the casing slot 16α, as will be readily understood.

While in either of the described devices 10 or 10α the discharge ports are formed by complemental corrugations of paired ribbons, it is, of course, within the purview of the present invention to form discharge ports of half the cross-sectional size of those shown. Thus, in the arrangement of FIG. 1, the two ribbons 22 could be longitudinally displaced from each other by, for example, one-half the distance between successive corrugations 26 in either ribbon, in which case each discharge port would be formed by a corrugation of one ribbon and the adjacent part of the flat land 38 of the other ribbon.

Assemblies of the featured ribbons may be used to good advantage in flame burners, and particularly needle flame burners. Thus, FIG. 8 shows a flame burner 60 having a burner casing 62 with a main burner slot 64 in which is mounted an assembly 66 of one pair of coordinated ribbons 22b of the featured kind to form spaced main-flame ports 68 which in this instance are cross-sectionally dimensioned to produce needle flames of considerable drive and projection and also high stability, the same being fed to combustible gas under pressure in the casing chamber 70. These main or needle flames require for their sustenance pilot flames from pilot flame ports provided by conventional ribbon assemblies 72 in secondary slots 74 on opposite sides of the main slot 64 in the casing, with these secondary slots 74 being through spaced orifices 76 supplied with combustible gas from the casing chamber 70.

The invention may be carried out in other specific ways than those herein set forth without departing from the spirit and essential characteristics of the invention, and the present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, and all changes coming within the meaning and equivalency range of the appended claims are intended to be embraced therein.