Hydrocyclone

Claim 1

IN A LIQUID SOLIDS VORTEX SEPARATOR COMPRISING A VORTEX VESSEL OF CIRCULAR HORIZONTAL CROSS-SECTION HAVING A SUBSTANTIALLY CYLINDRICAL UPPER PORTION AND A SUBSTANTIALLY CONICAL LOWER PORTION, AN OUTLET CONDUIT EXTENDING UPWARD OUT OF SAID VESSEL AT A POINT INTERMEDIATE THE LENGTH THEREOF, THE CYLINDRICAL UPPER PORTION OF THE VESSEL AND SAID OUTLET CONDUIT COOPERATING TO FORM AN ANNULUS INTERNALLY OF THE VESSEL, AND A SECOND OUTLET AT THE LOWER END OF SAID VESSEL, THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING A HORIZONTALLY CURVING NOZZLE OF DECREASING INTERNAL CROSS-SECTION HAVING A SUBSTANTIALLY CIRCULAR INITIAL CROSS-SECTION AND AN ELLIPTICAL CROSS-SECTION HAVING A VERTICAL MAJOR AXIS GREATER THAN AND A HORIZONTAL MINOR AXIS SMALLER THAN THE DIAMETER OF SAID INITIAL CIRCULAR CROSS-SECTION AT A SUBSTANTIALLY TANGENTIAL JUNCTURE WITH THE WALL OF SAID VESSEL, THE INNER SURFACE OF THE OUTER WALL OF SAID NOZZLE JOINING THE INNER SURFACE OF THE WALL OF SAID VESSEL TO PROVIDE A SUBSTANTIALLY UNINTERRUPTED, HORIZONTALLY CURVING SURFACE, THE SAID OUTER WALL OF SAID NOZZLE BEING ABOUT ONE AND ONEFOURTH TO ABOUT ONE AND ONE-HALF TIMES THE THICKNESS OF THE INNER WALL OF SAID NOZZLE, THE INNER SURFACE OF THE INNER WALL OF SAID NOZZLE TERMINATING AT A JUNCTURE WITH THE INNER SURFACE OF THE WALL OF SAID VESSEL TO PROVIDE FLUID COMMUNICATION BETWEEN SAID NOZZLE AND VESSEL, SAID NOZZLE CURVING AT LEAST ABOUT 30* BETWEEN SAID INITIAL CROSS-SECTION AND SAID SECOND MENTIONED JUNCTURE, AND CURVING BETWEEN ABOUT 15 AND 50* BETWEEN SAID SECOND MENTIONED JUNCTURE AND THE TERMINUS OF THE OUTER WALL OF SAID NOZZLE WITH THE INNER SURFACE OF THE WALL OF SAID VESSEL.