Gas mixing apparatus

Claim 1

AN APPARATUS FOR MIXING REACTANT GASES, SUCH AS FUEL GAS AND OXYGEN, WHICH COMPRISES A MIXING CHAMBER HAVING AN OUTER WALL WHICH DIVERGES IN THE DIRECTION OF GAS FLOW FROM A RESTRICTED PORTION OF THE CHAMBER AT WHICH THE REACTANT GASES ARE INTRODUCED; A REACTION CHAMBER BELOW THE MIXING CHAMBER; A DISTRIBUTOR SCREEN THROUGH WHICH THE MIXED GASES PASS FROM THE MIXING CHAMBER INTO THE REACTION CHAMBER BUT WHICH SERVES AS A BARRIER AGAINST BACKFIRE TO CONFINE THE REACTION TO THE REACTION CHAMBER; A HOLLOW, SUBSTANTIALLY CONICAL CENTRAL CORE ENCLOSING A SUBSTANTIALLY FRUSTO-CONICAL CAVITY THEREIN, SAID CONICAL CORE HAVING A CONVERGED END CENTRALLY POSITIONED AT THE DISTRIBUTOR SCREEN AND A BASE PORTION ADJACENT THE MIXING CHAMBER WALL AT SAID RESTRICTED PORTION OF SAID MIXING CHAMBER AT WHICH THE REACTANT GASES ARE INTRODUCED, THE CORE WALL DIVERGING FROM THE MIXING CHAMBER WALL TOWARD SAID SCREEN, THUS FORMING AN ANNULAR CHANNEL BETWEEN THEM, THE ANGLE OF DIVERGENCE NEAR THE MOST RESTRICTED PORTION OF THE MIXING CHAMBER BEING BETWEEN 5* AND 10* FROM THE VERTICAL, SAID BASE PORTION OF SAID CONICAL CORE BEING OF SUCH DIAMETER THAT ITS PROJECTION BY A PERPENDICULAR CYLINDER DROPPED FROM THE MEDIAN LINE BY A PERPENDICULAR CYLINDER DROPPED FROM THE MEDIAN LINE OF THE MOST RESTRICTED PORTION OF THE MIXING CHAMBER TO THE SCREEN DEFINES ON SAID SCREEN A CENTRAL CIRCULAR ZONE