Griffin, W. S.

English

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141 I'LY 10 
A T T N  Of.  G p  
FROM: 
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION 
WASHINGTON. D.C. 20546 
~ s I / s c i e n t i f i c  & Technical Information Division 
Attention: M i 8 8  Winnie M, Morgan 
~ ~ / ~ f f i c e  of Assistagt General Counsel for 
Patent Matters 
t 
SUBJECT: Announcement of NASA-Owned U. S. Patents i n  STAR 
I n  accordance with the procedures agreed upan by Code GP 
and Code USI, the attached NASA-owned U. S. Patent is being 
forwarded fjor abstracting and announcement in  NASA STAR, 
The following infomation is provided: 
U. S. Patent No. 
Government or 
corporate Employee 
Supplementary Corporate 
Source (if  applicable) t /# . 
NASA Patent Case No. : 
. 
NOTE - If 
employee 
t h i s  patent covers an invention made by a corporate 
of a NASA Contractor, the following is applicable: 
yes NO V 
ursuant to  Section 305(a) of the National Aeronautics and 
Space Act, the name of the Administrator of NASA appears on 
the first  page of the patent; however, the name of the actual 
inven to r  (author) appears a t  the heading of Column No, 1 of 
the Specification, following the words . . with respect t o  
- 
Enclosure 
(CATEGORY) 
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19710019265 2020-03-17T03:16:03+00:00Z
PATENTED JUM 8 1971 
SHEET 1 OF 4 
PATENTED JUH 8 1971 3,5133.4a s 
SHEET 2 OF 4 
FMVENTOW 
WILLIAM S. GRIFFIN 

PATENTED JUH 81971 
SHEET '4 OF 4 
INVENTOR 
WILLIAM S. GRIFFIN 
u" 
* 7-4&&/ 
ATTORNEYS 
United States Patent r s r 1  3,583,419 
(721 Inventor WilUnm S. Gsimn 3,509,897 511970 Abler ........................... 13718 Y .$ 
Wermm Beach, Calif. 3,187,763 611965 Adams ......................... 137181.5 
(21 1 Appl. N o .  780,065 3,283,767 1 111966 Wright ......................... 1 3 7 1 8 i . S  
[22] Filed Nov. 29,1968 3,326.463 611967 Reader ......................... 137:R 1 .5X 
1451 Patented June 8,1971 3,331,379 711967 Bowles ......................... 137j81.5 
[73 1 Assignee The United SbBes of America as 3,362,421 111968 Schaffer ....................... E 3718 1.5 
r e p e n 8 e d  by the Adnninbtrador of the 3,362,422 111948 Toma ......................... 13418E.9 
National A e r o n e u ~ a  nd Space 3,405,736 1011968 Reader et  al .................. 137181.5 
Admiarlstratioa 3,456,665 711969 Pavlin .......................... 13718 E .5 
3,457,935 711969 Kantola ...................... . 13'9181.5 
Primary Examiner-Samuel Scott 
(541 FLUID JET AMPLIFIER Attorneys-N. T. Musial. 6. E. Shook and G. 'T. McCoy 
7 Claims, 4 Drawing Figs. 
- 
[52] U.S.CI ........................................................ 137181.5 ABSTRACT: A fluid amplifier is prclvided in which flraid i s  
[5  11 Int. C!. ...................... ..- ............................ Ftse 1/04 peeled off the power jet when control nozzle pressure exceed? I501 Fktd of Sear& ............................................ 13718 1.5 a prescribed magnitude, ~h~ peele,j-off fluid i s  redirected at 
I561 Referen- Cited such an angle as to tend to recenter the power jet. Addi- tionally, in an alternate embodiment the control nozzles are 
UNITED STATES PATENTS aimed at respective flat walls which form an intermediate 
3,238,959 311966 Bowles ......................... 137181.5 chamber downstream of the interaction chamber and in com- 
3,486,520 1211969 Hyer et al. ................ 137181.5 munication with a pair of diverging receiver channels. 
3,583,419 
1 2 
FLUID JET AMPLIFIER passages 2B and 21, respectively. 86 will be seen horn PIG I 
ORIGIN OF T H E  !NVEMTlON 
that t i e  control nozzles 16 and 87 are at an angk of  about ?a0 
t o  the power nozzle 14. However, this angle msy 5e any s,ePuc 
The rnvention dexnlbed herein was made by an employee between 100and450. 
of me gi',~, ~~~~~~~~~t and may manuhctured and used 5 The ineraction chamber IS  is defined by flat sodewlaiis 22 
by or for the ~~~~~~~~a o f  ~e united states of ~~~~j~~ for and 23 which converge in a downfitseam d~reeiron lib* 
gQvernmeneaP purposes wsthout the payment o f  any royalties sidewalls 22 and 23 curve shawly t o ~ ~ % s d  one asother at bne 
thereon or aerefor. downstream end o f  the interaction chamber IS, a? af 24 APL 
25, respectivefly, to form respectzve edges wRarcEq clefit) ?be 
BACKGROUND OF THE HNVENTLON m~nimum diameter o f  an orifice 26. 7he or*fice 26 5s fo-med 
The invention relates to fluid control devices and is directed 
more particularly to fluid jet ampEWers. FBuid amplifiers in 
general include a power nozzle for issuing a stream or jet oh 
fluid and control nozzles disposed on opposite sides o f  the I 5 
power nozzle and adjacent thereto. Dependent on which con- 
trol nozzle has the highest pressure, the jet o f  fluid from the 
power nozzle will be deflected to one side or the other so that 
it will enter one or the other o f  a pair o f  receiver channels 
which diverge in a direction downstream from the control noz- 20 
zle. The receiver chmnels are in communication with respec- 
dive output ports to which fluid loads are connected. Amplifi- 
cation or gain in the fluid amplifier resulh from the pressure at 
one o f the  output ports being subshntially greater than that o f  
the control port having the highed signal input nuid pressure. 25 
In prior arb Buid amplifiers o f  the foregoing type, it has been 
found that pressure at the control nozzles can become great 
enough to deflect the power jet past the receiver inlet 
passageway which is to receive the Buid. Consequently, after 
the control nozzle pressure becomes greater than a certain 30 
magnitude, the output pressure at the operating output port 
will drop. Such a characternstic will obviously cause severe 
distortion o f  the amplified output signat. 
OBJECTS A N D  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 35 
In view o f  the foregoing, it is rn object o f  the invention to 
provide a fluid jet mplif ier having Rat saturation charac- 
teristics wherein output pressure after reaching a maximum 
value does not drop as control pressure continues to increase. 40 
It is mother object o f  the invention t~ provide a fluid jet am- 
plifier which, in addition to the flat saturation characteristic, 
provides a subsbntially linear relationsh$ between the input 
dgnd provided to  the control nozzles and the output signal 
which results at the output ports. 45 
Ht is a f u ~ e r  object o f  the inven~on to provide a fluid jet 
amplifier o f  the above type having relatively low output noise. 
OBher objeca anad advantages o f  the invention will become 
apparent from the de~r ip t ion  and the drawings o f  a fluid jet 
amplifier embdying the invention. 50 
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
FIG. 1 is a plan view o f  a first embodiment o f  the invention 
with the cover plate removed to show the anangement o f  
passageways, chambem, and nozzles; 5 5 
FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of FIG. 1 illustrating fluid flow 
paths; 
FIG. 3 is a plan view o f  another embodiment o f  the inven- 
tion with the top cover removed; and 
FIG. 4 is an enlarged view o f  a portion o f  FIG. 3 illustrating 60 
fluid flow paths. 
DESCRIPTION OF T H E  PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring to FtG. I ,  there is shown a body BO o f  makrial 65 
such as metal or plastic in which passages and ports compris- 
ing the Duid amplifier are fomed .  Fluid under pressure enters 
a power input port .I l and passes through a passage 12 having 
converging walls 13 and issues a jet froin a power nozzle 14 
into an interacdon chamber 15. A pair o f  control nozzles 16 78 
and 17 for issuing jets o f  fluid into the interaction chamber 15 
in interacting relationship with the jet issuing h r n  the power 
nozzle 14 are disposed on opposite sides o f  the power nozzle 
14. The control nozzles 16 and 17 communicate with respec- 
tive controB signal input ports 18 and 19 through tapered 75 
by walls 27 and 28 which dlvesge in a downs*rean dtrectqon 
An intemediate chamber 24) is located dow?.stro-am OF ?be 
orifice 26 and communicates with vert ports 3EP and 31 
through vent passages 32 and 33 respe-chwe'y i r ~ e  ~enP p o r ~ t  
30 and 31 provide amb~ent pressure to she ~nteg.rneo'a%t.e 
chamber 29. With no fluad issuing from e~ther of the colt-sl 
nozzles 16 or 17 the jet of fluid issuing fron" the power aaozz e 
14 will flow straight ahead through the oriface 26 and tX-s 1.i- 
, termediate chamber 29 into a center vent passage ~ z y  34 TR,S 
passageway is aligned with the power n o ~ d ' e  14 a r c  
establishes communicatnon between the wterrnesscate 
chamber 29 and a center vent 9. 
In order to utilize the jet o f  fluid B S S U I ~ ~  from tine oowcr nc12'- 
zle 14 to drive fluid loads, the loads aae conqectad to cxipr C 
ports 37 m d  38 in the body 10. These ports a-c I.? cora?:?mitpica- 
tion with the intermedsate chamber 28 by meaw of receave- 
inlet channels 33 m d  36 which dlverge in a downstrcm 
directlon from the intermediate chamber 29 When flu J x- 
sues from the control nozzle 16, the power i e t  wp" [be r e f kc l ed  
so that it flows into the receiver inlet channel 36 0.r the 6ppbey 
hand, when fluid issues from the controi nozzle I? ek when the 
pressure at nozzle 17 is higher than the pressure s i  F O ~ ~ P D X  
nozzle 16, the power jet wall be deflecrca a ~ d  *R3w rnto the  
receiver inlet channel39. 
The fluid amplifier is completed by the provesmn OF resewer 
vents 81 m d  39. The receiver vent 8 communecater, with the 
receiver channel 35 through s receiver vent passage 40 \v"nre 
the receiver vent 39 communicates wrth the recervem. channaP 
36 through a receiver vent channel 41. Saaeabkc vanes 42 n a v  
be disposed in the fluid input passageway 12 'XI aS:axgh*e 7 *he 
flow path o f  the fluid flowin8 Rom the power o-but pov* ? 1 
toward the power nozzle 14. 
Operation o f  the foregoing fluid auiaplsfie? V'AL now be 
described. Referring to FIG. 2,  it wiil be sewn that &jet of fluaa 
~ssuing from the control nozzle 17 deflects a jet ob E ~ l d  lsswng 
from the power nozzle 14 causing the power jet to flow into 
the receiver channel 35. I f  the pressure of Lhe fluad tssu~np 
from the control nozzle 17 becomes great enough to deflect 
the power jet past the receiver channel 35 an edge formed by 
the curvature 24 o f  the interaction rregron and the aalE 27 of 
the orifice w:ll peel some fluid o f f  o f the  p~ower ie t  This cdu~es  
a high-pressure region 43 which tends to redeflect tke 
power jet back towards a centered posrtaan Thus 16 will be 
seen that the high-pressure regron 43 wpmsec eP,ce.srue 
deflection o f  the main power jet with the aciivantageou?, result 
that the a o u n t  o f  fluid being darected into the r- "celver canan- 
nel 35 is prevented from decreasing s~gn~bcaeatly even aftel 
the pressure o f  the fluid issuing from the ~controE nozzk 17 ex- 
ceeds a value at which maximum output pressure 8s produced 
at the output port 37. Consequently, a debrrabie flat szaiuratlon 
characteristic is imparted to the fluid amplifier 
In the event that the fluid issuing from the convrol nozzle 6 7 
has an extremely high-pressure, a subsantnd amount of f!u'd 
may be peeled o f f  the main power jet and drrected by the 111- 
teractlon chamber sidewall 22 into the conrruk no-zie '"6 as at  
44. This nuid w~ll pas out o f  the anput con's01 port 20 vra tlbe 
control passageway XI. Even with dhns ex-rernely srlpk copatre 
nozzle pressure, the output pressure at the cutput  port 1" eoes 
not decrease because the control notzle 17 is e e ~ e d  at ?he 
receiver channel 35 and now faaact~ons~ subsea~e aY:y 2~ $ 
power nozzle. 
It will: be clear to those skilled in the ert :ha? t i e  wap's 25 
and 28 function in the same manner as ~'1s wa'l 24 a-re 77. 
3,583,419 
3 4 
respectively, when the main power jet is being directed into o f  the invention rnay be changed or modified by those skilled 
the ~ecebver channel :36 by fluid issuing from the control noz- in the art without depaeing from the spirit and scope o f  the in- 
z:e 16. vention as set forth in the claims appended hereto. 
I claim: 
ALTERFATE EbfBODIMENT OFTHE INVENTION 5 g. A fluid 
Referring now 9.0 FIG. 3, here is shown an alternate em- an interaction chamber; 
'k l iment of a fluid atingplzer embodying the invention and nu- power mozzie means for issuing a power jet o f  fluid into said 
mzaa9s Iden%.ical to those En FIGS. B and 2 identify like parts. interaction chamber; 
As shown in &kG, 3, cusp-sbape$ 45 and 46 are disposed a c""'"' 'lozzAe On each side o f  said power 
on sides of the poavcr nozzle forming 10 for issuing fluid into said interaction chamber in intersect- 
opposite e!l?ds of the illteraction chamber P5 replacing, respec- ing relationship to said power jet of fluid, each control 
tively, the waB1 portions 22, 24, and 23, 25 o f  the interaction nozzle being inclined at ;an angle between 10" and 45' to 
chamber IS as shcaui~a in FIGS. P and 2. Additionally, the inter- said power nozzle; 
chan.,kper 29 is flat sidewai!s 47 and 48 a pair o f  walls forming an orifice adjacent to said inneraction 
which are :he direction o f  power nozzle 14 and E 5 chamber at its downstream end, said interaction chamber 
to the center vent paassageway 34 which is aligned with the having fiat sidewalls which converge in a downstream 
power nozzle. direction and which curve towards one another at its 
The receiver veo!: passageways $0 and 41 each curve downstream end to form edges with respective ones o f  
around in a downstream direction and are aligned with the said pair o f  walls which form said orifice; 
n:niDui 37 and 38, With this arPangemenr 20 an intermediate chamber downstheam of said orifice; and 
which ma:y be cauwd by  certain types con- a pair o f  rcceiver channels communicating with said intes- 
nested to ithe output ports 37 =d 38 is reflected back into the mediate chamber, said channels diverging in a 
vent passageways 48 asdd 41 m that it rnay be discharged downstream direction. 
ike venB aard 39 without adversely affect- 2. The fluid amplifier as set forth in cBaim 1 and further in- 
ing nuid flow path the region 29, 25 cluding a pair of receiver vents each in communica:ion with a 
wia be undemtod, of course, that &e receiver vent respective one o f  said f f  air of receiver channels; 
 asa ages $@ and 41 the charanels 35,36 shown in a center between said pair of 
FIGS, 1 and 2 mag Be interchanged with the curved receiver nels downstream o f  said intermediate chamber and in 
vent passages 40 ancl 41 and the receiver channels 35, 36 o f  communicafion therewith throue;h a center vend 
FIGS. 3 and 4 or vice versa. 38  passageway, said center vent passageway being align& 
Referring now to FIG. 4 ,  operation o f  the fluid amplifier with said power nozzle; and 
shown in will be explained. Assuming that jets of  fluid infemediate chamber vent rneans in communication with 
are issuing Born both the power nozzle 14 and the control noz- said intermediate chamber. 
zae the jet of from power will be 3. The fluid amplifier as defined in claim 1 wherein said 
so it f,,ows along a path indicated by the arrow 35 walls forming said orifice diverge in a downstreanl direction. 
49 directly into ahe receiver channel 35 producing maximum 4. The fluid amplifier o f  claim 1 wherein the sidewalls o f  
;swwut preaure at 37, I f  the control said intermediate region diverge in a downstream direction in 
pwsaum ielcmsses fitr$her, ahe power jet will be deflected to substa"hia' a'ignrnernt with receiver 
strike the flat, wall 47 o f  the intemediate chamber 49 so that '. A ampiiWer comprising: 
subs&ntiaally dil of the fluid issued by the power nozzle 14 con- 40 an chamber; 
?inues to now ilgijO ae receiver 35, ~h~ flow path power nozzle means for issuing a power jet o f  fluid into said 
under this condition is &own by a line identified by the arrow interaction chamber; 
50, ed&tional increase of nozde 17 pressure will a c o n t d  nozzEc disposed on each side o f  said power nozzle 
deflect the power jet  till further causing an edge formed by for issuing fluid into said interaction chamber. in intersect- 
:he orifice wall 2% stnd the cusp wal$45 to peel fluid off of the 45 ing relationship to said power jet o f  fluid, each control 
power jet. The pee?ed+ff tluid is turned 1 SO0 by the cusp wall nozzle being inclined at an angle between 10" and 45' to 
45 and now flows trclwaxd the power jet as indicated by the said power nozzle; 
arrow 51 teading to redeflect the pocverjet. a pair o f  walls forming an orifice adjacent to said interaction 
If the control nozzk 17 pressure becomes extremely high, charnber at its downstream end, said interaction chamber 
of the power jet be peeled o f f  and direced by the 50 having wslils forming cusps at respective opposite ends o f  
E G J S ~  wall $5 into the controI nozzle 16 as indicated by the said interaction region on opposite sides o f  the power 
arrow 52. In this situation, the control n o d e  1% functions as a nozzle in confronting relationship, said clasps forming 
pswer node wid the fluid issuing fierefrom is aimed directly edges with respective ones o f  said orifice walls; 
at the flal rval% 47 o f  the intermediate chamber. The wall 47 an intermediate chamber downstream o f  said orifice; and 
directs, ~ b s  fluid into, a e  receiver channel 35. Hence, as in the 55 a pair of receiver chananels communicating with said inles- 
fluid amplifier shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the output pressure at mediate chamber, said channels diverging in a 
the output port 3"Rill not drop as the control port 117 pressure downstream direction. 
increases beyond the magnitude necessary to  produce max- 6. The fluid amplifier defined in claim 5 wherein said inter- 
isasurn output pres9ure at the output port 37. Accordingly, a mediate chamber has sidewalls parailel to each other and to 
flat mtUrBtid;rrl' output characteriseic is established. 11 will be 60 said Power nozzle, each o f  said control nozzles being aimed at 
understood, o f  course, that the cusp wall 46 functions in the One of  said chamber sidewalls. 
mme maliner as the cusp wall 45 and the flat wall 48 o f  the in- 7. The Ruid amplilfjer defined in claim 5 wherein said walls 
sersr,edaak region 49 functions he same as the flat wall $7 forming said effective orifice diverge in a downstream 
when fluid is issued kana the control nozzle 16. direction. 
It wl:I: be undemtood that the abve-described embodiments 65 


Fluid jet amplifier Patent

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