US2613587A - Diffuser - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 14, 1952 C, D, MaoCRACKEN DIFFUSER s sheets-sheet i Filed May 1, 1948 Oct. 14, 1952 Filed May 1, 1948 c. D. MaCcRAcKEN 2,613,587

DIFFUSER 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Oct. 14, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFICEr DIFFUSER Calvin D. MacCracken, New Rochelle, N. Y., assignor to Jet-Heet, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application May 1, 1948, Serial No. 24,537

9 Claims.

This invention relates to a diifuser through which warm air is Asupplied to a room to be heated. The diffuser serves to mix with very hot air, which is supplied at high velocity by a suitable heating apparatus, air drawn from the room, so that the resulting air mixture is at a moderately warm temperature and suitable for heating the room; Instead of being called a diffuser, such a device might be called an air injector or aspirator.

The diffuser hereinafter described is particularly intended to be used with a pipe through which the heating apparatus supplies hot air at a temperature which may be high, for example 310 F. which is about 240 F. above a normally `desired room temperature of 70 F. Since experience has shown that the temperature of the mixture of hot and room air which is supplied to the room by the diffuser should be in the neighborhood of 130 F., the ratio of room air to hot air in the mixture supplied to the room by the diffuser must be about 3 to 1, when the hot air supplied by the heating apparatus has the temperature above mentioned. It is difficult to achieve this ratio in a simple and practical device which may be installed in the wall of a room to be heated.

The satisfactory functioning of a diffuser embodying the present invention is due particularly to a unique nozzle which is hereinafter described. Having discovered that the amount of aspiration (that is, the ratio of cooler air to the hot air in the mixture supplied by the diffuser) depends largely upon the perimeter-area ratio of the mouth of the nozzle through which the hot air is emitted, the nozzle in the diffuser about to be described is uniquely designed so that this ratio is high, for example 20 inches to 1 square inch. In the particular diffuser hereinafter described, the nozzle has a long and rela-- tively narrow orifice which is 4sinuous or zig-zag in form out of which a long and relatively thin jet of hot air passes. Moreover, the nozzle is so designed and arranged within the casing of the diffuser that the air drawn from the room, in flowing toward the mouth of the nozzle on both sides thereof, not only meets but little resistance but flows in contact with the wall of the nozzle thereby warming the aspirated room air. Another important feature contributing to the satisfactory operation of the diffuser hereinafter described is a construction which substantially prevents re-circulation within the diffuser of the mixture of hot and cooler air, with the result that sai'd air mixture readily passes into the room K to be heated. Y Moreover, an important advan- 2 tage of the diffuser hereinafter described is du to the fact that all of the parts thereof which are heated to a high temperature by the very hot air supplied by the heating apparatus are so well insulated by moving air streams from the casing of the diffuser that no fire hazard exists. Still another advantage of the diffuser results from the fact that* the casing is easily mounted `in a wall, and the nozzle is then easily attachedto the pipe which supplies the hot air,v after which the nozzle is secured in its properposition withi the casing.

The invention will be understood from the following description-of a preferred embodiment thereof which is shown in the accompanying drawings. In these drawings, Fig. 1 is a front Lelevation of a diffuser embodying the invention;

, of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a plan view of said nozzle element; and Fig. 6 is a perspective view of' said nozzle element. f

The diffuser about to be described is adapted and intended to be installed in the space between adjacent studs in a wall of a room to be heated, as will be apparent from Figs. l and 2 in which the outside portion of a room wall is indicated at I 0 and the back portion is indicated at'lll. The face-plate I2 of the dilfuser is provided with intake and outlet openings, which may be of any form and shape, such as intake louver openings I4 and outlet louver openings I6. The casing i8 of the diffuser is located within the wall, and the face-plate Iii-is secured to the casing Iii by screws I9, which also serve to secure the casingto the wall Hl, as best shown in Fig. 2. In Fig. 2, the nozzle (shown in Figs. 3 to 6 and hereinafter described) is 'shown at ll. This nozzle I1 is secured to the back of the casingl i8 by brackets 2U and 2l vwhich at one end may be soldered to the edges of the nozzle, and at the other end may be secured to the back of the diffuser casing i8 by means of screws 22. The base of the nozzle is provided with a tube v23 which is adapted to enter an insulated pipe-V24 supplying the hot air, as shown in Fig. 2. It will also be evident from Fig. 2, that the face-plate t2 is provided with an inwardly-extending portion 34 serving as an air-baffling means. cooperating with the nozzle l1, which substantially prevents re-circulation of the hot and cold air-mixture back into the. path of the room air iiowing toward the nozzle Il, and thus contributes to the satis- 4factory operation ofthe diffuser.` Curved baffles 36 and 38, mounted in the casing I8, serve to divide the mixture of hot and room air and direct the divided portions of said mixture toward the outlet louvers IB.

To permit control of the hot air entering the nozzle I'I through the tube 23, the latter is provided with a damper 30 which is secured to a shaft 32 which is mounted for rotation in the tube 23. As shown in Fig. 2, the shaft 32 extends out through a hole in the face-plate I2 and at its outer end is provided with a button 33 which permits manual rotation of the damper 30 so as to regulate or even cut off the flow of hot air to the nozzle I'I. The damper 30 is retained in any position to which it may be adjusted by the frictional engagement of the ends of springs 35 and 36 surrounding the shaft 32 with washers 31 and 38 carried by the shaft 32 and lying against the outside of the tube 23, and with washers 39 and 45 also carried by the shaft 32 and cooperating with cotter pins 4I and 42 which extend through holes in the shaft 32, as best shown in Fig. 4. Fig. 4 also shows manually adjustable means cooperating with the damper for limiting the extent of the movement of the latter. As shown, this manually adjustable means for limiting the movement of the damper comprises a rod 43 which is rotatably mounted in opposite walls of the nozzle I'I, and is provided with a projecting finger 45 adapted to cooperate with the damper 30 and limit its movement. The rod 43 at one end is provided with a slot 46 adapted to receive a screw-driver, and is threaded so as to receive a nut 4T which may be set up against the outside of the nozzle wall, thereby squeezing the nozzle wall against the shoulder of rod 43 and holding the rod 43 and its finger 45 in any position to which it may be adjusted. Thus the extent to which the damper 30 may be opened by manual manipulation of the button 33 may be adjustably limited.

With the aid of Figs. 3 to 6, the form and construction of the nozzle I1 will now be described. It will be apparent that the tube 23 which (as hereinbefore described) is adapted to be attached to the pipe 24 through which the hot air is supplied, is provided at its top with a rectangular plate 50 having a circular opening registering with the opening in' the pipe 23. To the plate 50 are secured upwardly-extending fan-shaped sheet- metal walls 52 and 54 which converge toward one another as they extend upwardly and cooperate at their upper edges to form a long and narrow orifice which is sinuous vor zig-zag in form, as will be evident from Figs.

5 and 6. Being of thin sheet-metal the walls 52 and 54 are readily formed to the shape illustrated in Figs. 3 to 6 in which the bends in the wall 52 are shown at a, b, c, d, e and j; and the bends in the wall 54 are shown at g, h, i, 7', lc and l. The lower edges of the walls 52 and 54 are soldered, welded or otherwise secured to the plate 50, where they are spaced apart from one another a considerable distance; and along their side edges 56 and 58 said walls are brought together and soldered, welded or otherwise secured to one another. In order to preserve the parallel relation of the top edges of the walls 52 and 54, the said walls are spot-welded to one another at their top edges as indicated at 60, 61,'62, 63 and 64. It will be of course understood that instead of forming the bends in the walls 52 and 54 with sharp angles, as illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6, the bends may be rounded.

In Fig. 2, the various arrows show how the room air enters the diffuser through the intake louvers I4, passes upwardly both in front of and behind the nozzle I1, and is entrained in and mixed with the hot air escaping in a long and relatively thin jet from the sinuous or Zig-zag aperture in the top of the nozzle; and how the mixture of hot and cooler room air in passing upwardly is guided by the back and side walls of the casing I8 and by the baffles 36 and 38 toward the louvers I6 through which the air mixture passes into the room to be heated. It will be obvious that re-circulation of the air mixture is substantially prevented by the baille 34, and that the paths traversed by the room air and by the mixture of hot and room air oier little obstruction to free iiow of the air.

What is claimed is:

1. A diffuser, for supplying to a room hot air mixed with a greater amount of cooler air drawn from the room comprising a casing having an air-intake opening for said cooler air, a nozzle adapted to be connected to a source supplying hot air at high velocity and having a long and relatively narrow sinuous or zig-zag orifice and located in said casing in cooperative relation to said air-intake opening, said casing being provided with an outlet opening through which the mixture of hot air and cooler air passes into said room.

2. A diffuser, for supplying to a room hot air mixed with a greater amount of cooler air drawn from the room comprising a casing having a face plate provided with an air-intake opening for said cooler air, a nozzle adapted to be connected to a source supplying hot air at high velocity and having a long and. relatively narrow sinuous or zig-zag orice and located in said casing in cooperative relation to said airintake opening, air baiing means located between said face plate and said nozzle for directing the air entering said casing through said intake opening toward said nozzle and substantially preventing re-circulation of the air mixture within the casing, said casing being provided with an outlet opening through which the mixture of hot air and cooler air passes into said room.

3. A diffuser, for supplying to a room hot air mixed with Ya greater amount of cooler air drawn from the room, comprising a casing having a face plate provided with lair-intake and airoutlet openings, a nozzle adapted to be connected to a source supplying hot air at high velocity and having a long and relatively narrow sinuous or zig-zag orifice and located in said casing in cooperative relation to said air-intake opening, and air bailling means projecting from the inside of said face plate between said openings therein vfor directing the air entering said casing toward said nozzle and substantially preventing re-circulation of the air mixture within .the casing.

4. A diffuser, for mixing hot air with cool air drawn from a room and redirecting the mixture back into the room, comprising a casing having spaced apart air-intake and outlet openings, said -casing having an air passage between said openings, and a nozzle adapted to be connected to a source of hot air and extending into said. passage and having a long and relatively narrow outlet orice, said orifice following a sinuous or zig-zag path extending from one side of said casing to the other.

5. In a diffuser for supplying to a room hot air mixed with cooler air drawn from the room,

an air-injector nozzle adapted to be connected to a source of hot air and having a longand relatively narrow sinuous or zig-zag orice for supplying to the diffuser a long and relatively thin jet of hot air.

6. In a diffuser for supplying to a room hot air mixed with cooler air drawn from the room, ian air-injector nozzle adapted to be connected to a source of hot air and having fan-shaped Walls arranged in converging relation to one another with their top edges parallel and spaced apart thereby forming between them a long and relatively narrow sinuous or zig-zag orifice for supplying to the diffuser a long and relatively thin jet of hot air.

7. In a diffuser for supplying to a room hot air mixed with cooler air drawn from the room, an air-injector nozzle having a hollow base portion adapted to be connected to a source of hot air, and fan-shaped Walls connected to said base portion and arranged in converging relation to one another from said base portion with their top edges parallel to one another and spaced Kapart thereby forming between them a long and relatively narrow sinuous or zig-zag orifice for supplying to the diffuser a long and relatively thin jet of hot air.

8. In a diffuser for supplying to a room hot air mixed with cooler air drawn from the room, an air-injector nozzle having a hollow base portion adapted to be connected to a source of hot air, and fan-shaped Walls spaced 4apart at their lower edges and there secured to said base portion and secured to one another at their side edges, said fan-shaped walls being arranged in converging relation to one another with their topedges parallel to one another and spaced apart thereby forming between them a long and relatively narrow sinuous or zig-zag orice forsupplying to the diffuser a long and relatively thin jet of hot air.

9. 'An air-injector nozzle according to claim 8 having one lor more connections between the top edges of said fan-shaped walls for preserving their spaced-apart relation.

CALVIN D. MACCRACKEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,090,934 Metcalf et al Mar. 24, 1914 '1,140,873 Carter May 25, 1915 1,913,980 Fisher June 13, 1933 2,000,597 Keyes May 7, 1935 2,119,127 Carrier et al May 31, 1938 2,122,168 Woolley June 28,1938 2,131,512 Gwinn Sept. 27, 1938l 2,162,923 Short June 20, 1939 2,314,569 Baker Mai'. 23, 1943 2,345,537 Keep Mar. 28, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 379,430 Great Britain Sept. 1, 1932 530,178 Great Britain Deo. 6, 1940

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