Claims
- 1. A rotary atomizer comprising:
- a rotatable member having an inlet side adapted to receive material to be atomized and an outlet side adapted to output the material to be atomized; and
- a plurality of air shaping members on an exterior portion of said rotating member,
- wherein said shaping members comprise channels on an exterior surface of said rotatable member, said channels extending from a front edge of said rotatable member toward a rear of said rotating member, and
- wherein a rear portion of at least one of said channels is offset from a front portion thereof, said front portion being located at said front edge of said rotatable member.
- 2. A rotary atomizer as recited in claim 1, said rear portion being offset from said front portion in a direction producing a flow of shaping air outward from a face of said rotatable member.
- 3. A rotary atomizer as recited in claim 1, said front portion being disposed at an entrance angle and said rear portion being disposed at an exit angle different from said entrance angle.
- 4. A rotary atomizer as recited in claim 3, said entrance angle and at least one of said channels having a positive pitch.
- 5. A rotary atomizer as recited in claim 1, wherein said rotatable member comprises a bell cup.
- 6. A rotary atomizer as recited in claim 1, further including a rotating shaft attached to said rotatable member.
- 7. A rotary atomizer as recited in claim 1, wherein said channels have at least one of a depth, width, shape and pitch selected to produce a desired distribution of said atomized material.
- 8. A rotary atomizer as recited in claim 7, each of said shaping channels having substantially the same depth, width and pitch.
- 9. A rotary atomizer comprising:
- a rotatable member having an inlet side adapted to receive material to be atomized and an outlet side adapted to output the material to be atomized; and
- a plurality of air shaping members on an exterior portion of said rotating member,
- wherein said shaping members comprise channels on an exterior surface of said rotatable member,
- wherein said channels have at least one of a depth, width, shape and pitch selected to produce a desired distribution of said atomized material, at last one of said channels having a different value of at least one of said depth, width and pitch from others of said channels.
- 10. A rotary atomizer system comprising:
- a rotary atomizer;
- a plurality of vanes positioned relative to said atomizer to generate a flow of shaping air when said rotary atomizer rotates,
- wherein said vanes rotate independently of the rotation of said rotary atomizer.
- 11. A rotary atomizer comprising:
- a rotatable member having a cavity, a plurality of outlets communicating with the cavity, an exterior surface surrounding the cavity, and an outer edge adjacent to an end portion of the rotatable member where material to be atomized leaves the rotatable member; and
- a plurality of air-shaping members formed on the exterior surface of the rotatable member, wherein the air-shaping members extend to the outer edge of the rotatable member.
- 12. A rotary atomizer as recited in claim 11, wherein the air-shaping members comprise elongated channels.
- 13. A rotary atomizer as recited in claim 11, wherein the air-shaping members comprise blades extending outwardly from the exterior surface of the rotatable member.
- 14. A rotary atomizer as recited in claim 11, wherein the rotatable member is a bell cup having a substantially conical inner surface, and the exterior surface thereof is also conical.
- 15. A rotary atomizer as recited in claim 14, wherein the shaping members comprise blades extending outwardly from the exterior surface of the rotatable member.
- 16. A rotary atomizer as recited in claim 15, wherein the blades are shaped and positioned to produce a desired distribution of said atomized material.
- 17. A rotary atomizer as recited in claim 11, wherein the rotatable member distributes atomized material differently at different rotation speeds thereof.
- 18. A method of atomizing a material, comprising:
- providing a rotatable member having a cavity, a plurality of outlets communicating with the cavity, an exterior surface surrounding the cavity, and an outer edge adjacent to an end portion of the rotatable member where material to be atomized leaves the rotatable member;
- providing a plurality of air-shaping members formed on the exterior surface of the rotatable member, wherein the air-shaping members extend to the outer edge of the rotatable member;
- feeding the material to be atomized through the outlets and rotating the rotatable member to a desired speed at which a desired pattern of the atomized material is emitted from the end portion of the rotatable member.
- 19. A method as recited in claim 18, wherein the air-shaping members comprise elongated channels.
- 20. A method as recited in claim 18, wherein the air-shaping members comprise blades extending outwardly from the exterior surface of the rotatable member.
Parent Case Info
This application claims benefit of provisional application No. 60/066,757 Nov. 21, 1997.
US Referenced Citations (15)
Foreign Referenced Citations (3)
Number |
Date |
Country |
1263775 |
May 1961 |
FRX |
1363681 |
May 1964 |
FRX |
846181 |
Aug 1960 |
GBX |