Atomizer

Claim 1

An atomizer for placement in a moving stream of gaseous fluid having liquid particles entrained therein and for atomizing said particles to produce a substantially homogeneous gaseous-liquid fog, said atomizer comprising: (a) a plastic housing having first and second spaced surfaces and having a generally cylindrical bore extending between said surfaces, said bore having an inlet at said first surface and having an outlet at said second surface and receiving said stream therethrough in a direction from said first surface; (b) a support member carried by said housing and extending transversely across said cylindrical bore; (c) a generally cylindrical rotor having an upstream side and a downstream side and carried by said support member within said cylindrical bore and rotatable about an axis generally parallel with the movement of said stream; and (d) a plurality of passages extending through said rotor, each said passage including an inlet on the upstream side of said rotor and an outlet on the downstream side of said rotor, and each said passage being inclined with respect to a plane radial to the axis of said rotor to urge rotation of said rotor in response to movement of said stream through said passages, each said passage including: (i) a first pair of opposed walls, including an inner wall and an outer wall spaced radially from the axis of said rotor, and (ii) a second pair of opposed walls, including a leading wall and a trailing wall spaced annularly with respect to the axis of said rotor and extending between said first walls.