Patent US3850147A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US3850147A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Rotary boilers and combustors
Assignee: EIDP Inc
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Filing: 1973-11-19
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Granted: 1974-11-26
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Expires: 1993-11-19
Abstract
Abstract A rotary boiler-combustor comprising a cylindrical housing rotatable about its axis and having a coaxial annular boiler extending circumferentially thereabout and rotatable with the housing as a unit. A stationary annular partition defines an annular combustion zone circumscribing the boiler, and a circumscribing stationary hood structure defines an exhaust chamber for combustion gases surrounding the stationary partition. Means are provided to rotationally drive the housingboiler unit at a predetermined speed and provision is made for supplying combustion air and fuel to the combustion zone. A condenser for the pressure vapor generated in the boiler is mounted to rotate with said boiler, and a pre-heater for the boiler liquid condensate comprises a plurality of axially spaced coaxial annular fins having a plurality of heat exchange tubes extending therethrough and arranged circumferentially of the housing between the stationary partition and combustion gas exhaust chamber. The pre-heater rotates with the housing and operates to pump the combustion gases therethrough to the surrounding combustion gas exhaust chamber.
Inventors
- 👤 W Doerner
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-26 18:38
CPC Classifications
F; F22; F22B; F22B27/00; F22B27/12; F01; F01K; F01K11/00; F01K11/04
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 27
Claim 1
Independent Claim
312 words
A rotary boiler-combustor comprising: a cylindrical housing rotatable abOut its axis, a coaxial annular boiler extending circumferentially of said housing and rotatable therewith, said housing and boiler adapted to be rotated at a predetermined speed to maintain in the boiler an annular body of boiler liquid having a liquid/vapor interface spaced a predetermined distance radially from said axis, means operable to rotationally drive the housing-boiler unit at said predetermined speed, means defining an annular combustion zone circumscribing said rotary boiler comprising a stationary annular partition spaced radially outward from the boiler, means for supplying combustion fuel and air to the combustion zone, rotation of said housing-boiler unit relative to the surrounding combustion zone being operable to mix said combustion fuel and air and provide the desired combustion fuel/air mixture in said zone, means to ignite said fuel/air mixture in said combustion zone and cause combination thereof to heat the liquid in the boiler and generate pressure vapor therein, a stationary hood structure circumscribing the rotatable housing-boiler unit defining a combustion gas exhaust chamber surrounding the stationary partition member in radially spaced relation thereto, a pre-heater for liquid supplied to the boiler rotatable with said housing-boiler unit and comprising an array of a plurality of axially spaced coaxial annular fins having a plurality of parallel heat exchange tubes extending longitudinally therethrough, said pre-heater being disposed circumferentially of the housing in radially spaced circumscribing relating to said stationary partition member and operable at said predetermined speed of rotation to pump said combustion gases through the pre-heater to the surrounding combustion gas exhaust chamber, and means for supplying boiler liquid through said pre-heater heat exchange tubes to the boiler at a predetermined rate correlated to the rate of vaporization of the liquid in the boiler to maintain the liquid/vapor interface in the boiler at said predetermined distance from the rotation axis of said housing-boiler unit.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
312 words
A rotary boiler-combustor comprising: a cylindrical housing rotatable abOut its axis, a coaxial annular boiler extending circumferentially of said housing and rotatable therewith, said housing and boiler adapted to be rotated at a predetermined speed to maintain in the boiler an annular body of boiler liquid having a liquid/vapor interface spaced a predetermined distance radially from said axis, means operable to rotationally drive the housing-boiler unit at said predetermined speed, means defining an annular combustion zone circumscribing said rotary boiler comprising a stationary annular partition spaced radially outward from the boiler, means for supplying combustion fuel and air to the combustion zone, rotation of said housing-boiler unit relative to the surrounding combustion zone being operable to mix said combustion fuel and air and provide the desired combustion fuel/air mixture in said zone, means to ignite said fuel/air mixture in said combustion zone and cause combination thereof to heat the liquid in the boiler and generate pressure vapor therein, a stationary hood structure circumscribing the rotatable housing-boiler unit defining a combustion gas exhaust chamber surrounding the stationary partition member in radially spaced relation thereto, a pre-heater for liquid supplied to the boiler rotatable with said housing-boiler unit and comprising an array of a plurality of axially spaced coaxial annular fins having a plurality of parallel heat exchange tubes extending longitudinally therethrough, said pre-heater being disposed circumferentially of the housing in radially spaced circumscribing relating to said stationary partition member and operable at said predetermined speed of rotation to pump said combustion gases through the pre-heater to the surrounding combustion gas exhaust chamber, and means for supplying boiler liquid through said pre-heater heat exchange tubes to the boiler at a predetermined rate correlated to the rate of vaporization of the liquid in the boiler to maintain the liquid/vapor interface in the boiler at said predetermined distance from the rotation axis of said housing-boiler unit.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
37 words
A rotary boiler-combustor as in claim 1 wherein the boiler comprises an axially extending portion and a substantially radially extending portion disposed to provide flame insulation and additional heat transfer to the liquid supplied to the boiler.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
50 words
A rotary boiler-combustor as claimed in claim 1 wherein the boiler is of tubular construction comprising a plurality of tubes of equal length coiled sequentially and arranged circumferentially relative to each other so that their respective inlet and outlet ends are disposed at equally spaced intervals circumferentially about said boiler.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
90 words
A rotary boiler-combustor as claimed in claim 1 wherein the boiler is of tubular construction comprising a plurality of tubes of equal length coiled sequentially and arranged circumferentially relative to each other so that their respective inlet and outlet ends are disposed at equally spaced intervals circumferentially about said boiler, the inlet end portion of each of said tubes being disposed in the radial portion of the boiler and the remainder of each of said tubes and the outlet end thereof being disposed in the axial portion of said boiler.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
29 words
A rotary boiler-combustor as claimed in claim 1 wherein the stationary annular partition defining the combustion zone comprises a plenum chamber for supplying secondary air to said combustion zone.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
47 words
A rotary boiler-combustor as claimed in claim 5 wherein the secondary combustion air plenum chamber is defined by inner and outer radially spaced concentric plate portions and said inner plate portion is provided with apertures for discharging secondary air from the plenum chamber to the combustion zone.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
106 words
A rotary boiler-combustor as claimed in claim 1 wherein the annular fins of the pre-heater have a predetermined inner and outer radii ratio and the axial spacing of said fins is correlated to the speed of rotation of the housing-boiler uNit and viscous properties of the combustion gases to have a Taylor number operable at said fin radii ratio to convey and accelerate said combustion gases by viscosity shear forces spirally outward between said fins to the surrounding combustion gas exhaust chamber substantially at the velocity providing optimum heat exchange between said combustion gases and the boiler liquid in the heat exchange tubes of the pre-heater.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
49 words
A rotary boiler-combustor as claimed in claim 1 having a condenser for the vapor generated in the boiler mounted coaxially adjacent the housing and rotatable with said housing-boiler unit, and means for delivering said vapor to the condenser and for returning condensate therefrom through the pre-heater to the boiler.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
60 words
A rotary boiler-combustor as claimed in claim 8 wherein the housing includes means defining an annular coaxial chamber therein for receiving pressure vapor from the boiler, the condenser is connected to said chamber to receive pressure vapor therefrom and return boiler liquid condensate thereto, and means is provided for returning said condensate from the chamber to the pre-heater and boiler.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
30 words
A rotary boiler-combustor as claimed in claim 8 wherein the condenser comprises a plurality of annular axially spaced radial fins having a plurality of heat exchange tubes extending longitudinally therethrough.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
95 words
A rotary boiler-combustor as claimed in claim 10 wherein the condenser fins have a predetermined inner and outer radii ratio and the axial spacing between said fins is correlated to the speed of rotation of the housing-boiler unit and the viscous properties of the condenser cooling fluid to have a Taylor number operable at said fin radii ratio to convey and accelerate said cooling fluid by viscosity shear forces spirally outward between said fins to the velocity providing optimum heat exchange between the condenser cooling fluid and the vapor in the condenser heat exchange tubes.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
106 words
A rotary boiler-combustor as claimed in claim 11 wherein the annular fins of the pre-heater have a predetermined inner and outer radii ratio and the axial spacing between said fins is correlated to the speed of rotation of the housing-boiler unit and the viscous properties of the combustion gases to have a Taylor number operable at said radii ratio to convey and accelerate said combustion gases by viscosity shear forces spirally outward between said fins to the surrounding combustion gas exhaust chamber substantially at the velocity providing optimum heat exchange between said combustion gases and the boiler liquid in the heat exchange tubes of the pre-heater.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
60 words
A rotary boiler-combustor as claimed in claim 1 wherein the means for discharging a combustible fuel into the combustion zone comprises an annular liquid fuel distributor and an atomizing ring rotatable with the housing-boiler unit, and said atomizing ring is constructed and operable to discharge a mist of fine droplets of said fuel axially into said combustion zone circumferentially thereabout.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
42 words
A rotary boiler-combustor as claimed in claim 1 wherein axially spaced opposite sides of the stationary hood structure are provided with inwardly facing cylindrical sealing ring portions disposed in spaced confronting cooperative relation to cylindrical peripheral surface portions of the rotary housing.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
64 words
A rotary boiler-combustor as claimed in claim 14 wherein the operating pressure in the combustion zone is below atmospheric pressure and ambient air leakage is axially inward between the confronting sealing ring portions of the hood structure and housing respectively, wherein rotation of the housing-boiler unit relative to the combustor operates automatically to pump combustion air from the ambient atmosphere into the combustion chamber.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
66 words
A rotary boiler-combustor as claimed in claim 15 wherein conduit means is provided connecting from at least one of the confronting sealing ring portions to the combustion zone for conducting to the latter inwardly leaking ambienT air and outwardly leaking combustion gases thereby supplying air for combustion to said zone and recirculating thereto combustion exhaust gases to reduce formation of pollutants and prevent exhaust gas leakage.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
68 words
A rotary boiler-combustor as claimed in claim 1 wherein the boiler liquid pre-heater comprises a plurality of radially spaced concentric sections each comprising a plurality of axially spaced annular fins having heat exchange tubes extending longitudinally therethrough, the connections are provided between said concentric sections so that flow of condensate through the tubes of adjacent sections is in opposite directions providing counterflow heat exchange with the combustion gases.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
60 words
A rotary boiler-combustor as claimed in claim 1, having an expander mounted coaxially with the housing for extracting work from the pressure vapor generated in the boiler and including a coaxial driving member rotatably driven thereby at a second predetermined speed, and means is provided for conducting pressure vapor from said boiler to said expander to drive said driving member.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
32 words
A rotary boiler-combustor as claimed in claim 18, having drive means connected between the driving member and the rotary housing-boiler unit operable to rotationally drive said unit at said one predetermined speed.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
64 words
A rotary boiler-combustor as claimed in claim 19 wherein the drive means connected between the driving member and the housing-boiler unit comprises an occluded fixed-ratio gear train mounted coaxially within the housing, and there is means cooperable with said gear train opposing the reaction torque generated thereby so that the full power output of the expander is transmitted directly to the rotary housing-boiler unit.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
29 words
A rotary boiler-combustor as claimed in claim 4 wherein the stationary annular partition defining the combustion zone comprises a plenum chamber for supplying secondary air to said combustion zone.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
47 words
A rotary boiler-combustor as claimed in claim 21 wherein the secondary combustion air plenum chamber is defined by inner and outer radially spaced concentric plate portions and said inner plate portion is provided with apertures for discharging secondary air from the plenum chamber to the combustion zone.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
49 words
A rotary boiler-combustor as claimed in claim 21 having a condenser for the vapor generated in the boiler mounted coaxially adjacent the housing and rotatable with said housing-boiler unit, and means for delivering said vapor to the condenser and for returning condensate therefrom through the preheater to the boiler.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
30 words
A rotary boiler-combustor as claimed in claim 23 wherein the condenser comprises a plurality of annular axially spaced radial fins having a plurality of heat exchange tubes extending longitudinally therethrough.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
96 words
A rotary boiler-combustor as claimed in claim 24 wherein the condenser fins have a predetermined inner and outer radii ratio and the axial spacing between the adjacent condenser fins is correlated to the speed of rotation of the housing-boiler unit and the viscous properties of the condenser cooling fluid to have a Taylor number operable at said radii ratio to convey and accelerate said cooling fluid by viscosity shear forces spirally outward between said fins to the velocity providing optimum heat exchange between the condenser cooling fluid and the vapor in the condenser heat exchange tubes.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
106 words
A rotary boiler-combustor as claimed in claim 25 wherein pre-heater fins have a predetermined inner and outer radii ratio and the axial spacing of the annular fins of the pre-heater is correlated to the speed of rotation of the housing-boiler unit and the viscous properties of the combustion gases to have a Taylor number operable at said radii ratio to convey and accelerate said combustion gases by viscosity shear forces spirally outward between said fins to the surrounding combustion gas exhaust chamber substantially at the velocity providing optimum heat exchange between said combustion gases and the boilEr liquid in the heat exchange tubes of the pre-heater.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1977-11-25 | 1978-05-27 | 1978-11-26 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1981-11-25 | 1982-05-27 | 1982-11-26 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1985-11-25 | 1986-05-27 | 1986-11-26 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |