Bi-propellant metering and injecting valve

Claim 1

IN A VARIABLE ORIFICE AREA METERING VALVE AND INJECTOR APPARATUS FOR METERING AND INJECTING FIRST AND SECOND LIQUID PROPELLANTS CONSISTING OF A LIQUID OXIDANT AND A LIQUID FUEL INTO A COMBUSTION CHAMBER, SAID APPARATUS BEING OPERATIVE TO INJECT SELECTIVELY VARIABLE FLOW RATES OF BOTH THE OXIDANT AND FUELD INTO THE COMBUSTION CHAMBER AT A PREDETERMINED RATIO OF OXIDANT FLOW TO FUEL FLOW OVER ITS RANGE OF METERED FLOW RATES, THE COMBINATION COMPRISING; (A) A BODY MEMBER HAVING OPPOSITE ENDS CONSITING OF A FRONT END TO BE DISPOSED TOWARD THE COMBUSTION CHAMBER AND A REAR END FORMING A REAR FACE, (B) AN ANNULAR SLOT FORMED IN SAID REAR FACE ABOUT A REFERENCE AXIS OF CONCENTRICITY TRANVERSE TO SAID FACE, SAID SLOT HAVING A FIRST REAR AXIAL SECTION ADJACENT SAID REAR FACE FORMED BY A RADIALLY OUTWARDLY FACING CYLINDRICAL WALL OF UNIFORM DIAMETER AND A RADIALLY INWARDLY FACING CYLINDRICAL WALL OF UNIFORM DIAMETER, AND A SECOND AXIAL SECTION ADJACENT THE FRONT END OF SAID FIRST SECTION FORMED BY A RADIALLY OUTWARDLY FACING FORWARDLY DIVERGENT FRUSTOCONICAL WALL, AND A RADIALLY INWARDLY FACING FORWARDLY AND INVERGENT FRUSTOCONICAL WALL, SAID OUTWARDLY AND INWARDLY FACING FRUSTOCONIAL WALLS HAVING A COMMON VALUE OF ANGULAR MAGNITUDES OF DIVERGENCY AND CONVERGENCY, (C) A TUBULAR METERING PINTLE SUPPORTED FOR AXIAL RECTILINEAR MOVEMENT AND HAVING ITS FRONT END SLIDINGLY DISPOSED IN SAID SLOT, (D) FIRST LIQUID PROPELLANT SUPPLY MEANS COMMUNICATING ONE OF SAID PROPELLANTS TO SAID INNER ZONE OF THE REAR FACE OF THE BODY MEMBER, AND SECOND LIQUID PROPELLANT SUPPLY MEANS COMMUNICATING THE OTHER PROPELLANT TO THE OUTER ZONE OF THE REAR FACE, (E) AN INNER SET OF ANGULARLY SPACED RADIAL SLOTS FORMED IN THE PORTION OF THE BODY MEMBER SURROUNDED BY THE ANNULAR SLOT, EACH SLOT OF SAID SET OPENING INTO BOTH THE INNER ZONE OF SAID REAR FACE AND THE SAID OUTWARDLY FACING CYLINDRICAL WALL OF SAID ANNULAR SLOT AND HAVING AN OBLIQUE BOTTOM WALL WHICH IS INCLINED AT THE SAME ANGLE OF DIVERGENCY AND MERGES WITH THE OUTWARDLY FACING FRUSTO-CONICAL WALL, AND AN OUTER SET OF ANGULARLY SPACED RADIAL SLOTS FORMED IN THE PORTION OF THE BODY MEMBER SURROUNDING THE ANNULAR SLOTS, EACH SLOT OF SAID OUTER SET OPENING INTO BOTH THE OUTER ZONE OF SAID REAR FACE AND SAID INWARDLY FACING CYLINDRICAL WALL AND HAVING AN OBLIQUE BOTTOM WALL WHICH IS INCLINED THE SAME ANGLE OF CONVERGENCY AS AND MERGES WITH SAID INWARDLY FACING FRUSTOCONICAL WALL, THE INDIVIDUAL SLOTS OF SAID INNER SET AND THE INDIVIDUAL SLOTS OF SAID OUTER SET BEING RADIALLY ALIGNED WITH ONE ANOTHER, WHEREBY THE OPENINGS OF THE INDIVIDUAL SLOTS OF THE INNER SLOTS INTO SAID OUTWARDLY FACING CYLINDRICAL WALL AND OPENINGS OF THE INDIVIDUAL SLOTS OF THE OUTER SLOTS INTO SAID INWARDLY FACING CYLINDRICAL WALL FORM ANGULARLY SPACED RADIALLY ALIGNED OPPOSED PAIRS OF OPENINGS INTO THE ANNULAR SLOT, AND (F) AXIALLY EXTENDING OUTLET CONDUIT MEANS COMMUNICATING THE BOTTOM OF SAID ANNULAR SLOT AND THE FRONT END OF SAID BODY MEMBER, WHEREBY MOVEMENT OF THE PINTLE AWAY FROM A FORWARD POSITION DEFINED BY THE JUNCTION OF THE CYLINDRICAL WALLS AND THE FRUSTOCONICAL WALLS BY A DISTANCE OF DISPLACEMENT WHICH IS SMALL RELATIVE TO THE THICKNESS OF THE INDIVIDUAL RADIAL SLOTS SIMULTANEOUSLY UNCOVERS THE FRONT ENDS OF THE ANGULARLY OPPOSED PAIRS OF OPENINGS, SAID UNCOVERED FRONT ENDS OF THE OPENINGS FORMING RECTANGULAR ORIFICES HAVING SUBSTNATIALLY GREATER LENGTH THAN WIDTH, WHEREBY THE OXIDANT AND FUEL ISSUE FROM ONE AND THE OTHER OF UEACH OPENING OF THE OPPOSED PAIRS AS RIBBONLIKE STREAMS WHICH ARE GUIDED BY THE MERGED SLOT BOTTOM AND FRUSTOCONICAL SURFACES INTO IMPINGEMENT WITH ONE ANOTHER AND FLOW THROUGH THE OUTLET OPENING AS ANGULARLY SPACED STREAMS OF MIXED AND ATOMIZED LIQUID OXIDANT AND LIQUID FUEL.