Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 5
Claim 1
Independent Claim
247 words
A heat exchanger comprising: a. a shell of substantially circular cross section about an upright axis; b. an upper tube sheet and a lower tube sheet transverse to said axis and sealingly fastened in said shell near respective axially terminal portions of the shell, each sheet being formed with a plurality of axial bores; c. a plurality of tubes, each tube having two axial end portions respectively received in bores of said tube sheets in sealing engagement, said tubes constituting a tube bundle and sealing a vapor chamber axially intermediate said tube sheets from upper and lower liquid chambers axially offset in opposite directions from said tube sheets respectively; d. inlet means for admitting steam to a portion of said steam chamber axially adjacent said upper tube sheet; e. a skirt member depending from said upper tube sheet and being interposed between said tube bundle and said shell in said steam chamber, said bundle and said skirt member having a common upright axis radially offset from the axis of said shell in a direction away from said inlet means, said shell and said skirt member jointly bounding a downwardly open annular space decreasing in radial width in both circumferential directions away from said inlet means; f. circulating means for circulating a liquid to be heated through said liquid chambers and said tubes; g. venting means for releasing non-condensable vapors from said steam chamber near said common axis; and h. condensate drainage means communicating with said steam chamber.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
247 words
A heat exchanger comprising: a. a shell of substantially circular cross section about an upright axis; b. an upper tube sheet and a lower tube sheet transverse to said axis and sealingly fastened in said shell near respective axially terminal portions of the shell, each sheet being formed with a plurality of axial bores; c. a plurality of tubes, each tube having two axial end portions respectively received in bores of said tube sheets in sealing engagement, said tubes constituting a tube bundle and sealing a vapor chamber axially intermediate said tube sheets from upper and lower liquid chambers axially offset in opposite directions from said tube sheets respectively; d. inlet means for admitting steam to a portion of said steam chamber axially adjacent said upper tube sheet; e. a skirt member depending from said upper tube sheet and being interposed between said tube bundle and said shell in said steam chamber, said bundle and said skirt member having a common upright axis radially offset from the axis of said shell in a direction away from said inlet means, said shell and said skirt member jointly bounding a downwardly open annular space decreasing in radial width in both circumferential directions away from said inlet means; f. circulating means for circulating a liquid to be heated through said liquid chambers and said tubes; g. venting means for releasing non-condensable vapors from said steam chamber near said common axis; and h. condensate drainage means communicating with said steam chamber.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
110 words
A heat exchanger as set forth in claim 1, wherein said shell includes two covers axially bounding said liquid chambers in respective directions away from the associated tube sheets, each tube having two orifices respectively open toward said liquid chambers, a partition in the upper liquid chamber adjacent the upper tube sheet, said partition separating a portion of said upper liquid chamber from the remainder of said upper liquid chamber, and said circulating means including feeding means for feeding the liquid to be heated to said portion of the upper liquid chamber, the tube nearest said common axis having an orifice open toward said portion of said upper liquid chamber.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
36 words
A heat exchanger as set forth in claim 2, wherein said shell and said skirt member are substantially cylindricaL about said axes respectively, said skirt member having a free rim downwardly offset from said inlet means.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
93 words
A heat exchanger as set forth in claim 3, wherein said partition is member of a group of the innermost first concentric partitions in said upper liquid chamber, said heat exchanger further comprising a second of concentric partitions in said lower liquid chamber, said partitions and said tubes jointly defining a path of liquid flow in alternating axially downward and upward directions through said tubes, said circulating means further comprising discharging means communicating with the terminal portion of said path remote from said feeding means for discharging the heated liquid from said shell.