Patent Application
20160030963
The invention relates to a self-cleaning water nozzle, particularly a nozzle for use in environments that clog the nozzle like a coal mine
The use of nozzles in the coal mining industry is well known. One application for nozzles in this industry is dust suppression during the mining operation. Nozzles are usually located at various locations on a mining machine to suppress the generation of dust.
Because of the mining operation, it is not uncommon for the nozzles to get clogged and need cleaning and repair. This cleaning requires shutting down the equipment and water flow so that the nozzle is cleaned or replaced. This shutting down operation impedes productivity and the mine operator can be subjected to fines for plugged nozzles.
Self-cleaning water nozzles are known in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 5,193,746 to Iwamura et al. is an example of one such nozzle that uses nozzle halves, a nozzle housing, and spring arrangement for the self-cleaning function. However, this design is problematic in that is requires a spring clip to keep the components in the nozzle housing. The spring clip can be dangerous when removing, easily lost, and requires the nozzle housing to be removed from the water supply line for nozzle repairs.
Accordingly, a need exists for a better self-cleaning nozzle.
An object of the invention is to provide an improved self-cleaning nozzle, particularly one for use in mining operations, including the actual mining, belt transfer points, and ratio belt feeders.
Another object of the invention is a method of mining using a plurality of nozzle sprays, wherein the inventive nozzle is used as part of dust suppression.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description.
One aspect of the invention is a self-cleaning water nozzle. The nozzle comprises a nozzle housing having an inlet to receive water and an outlet to discharge water. An inside of the nozzle housing has a pair of opposing grooves extending along a length of the inside of the nozzle housing. An outlet cap is provided that is removably attachable to the outlet, preferably using threads.
A seal, preferably an O-ring, is positioned between an inside of the outlet cap and the outlet of the nozzle housing.
The nozzle assembly further comprises nozzle halves, the nozzle halves when put together form a nozzle opening at one end of the nozzle assembly to allow for discharge of the water. The nozzle halves are sized to fit within the nozzle housing, each half include a flange, a portion of each flange engaging one of the opposing grooves to prevent the nozzle assembly from rotating in the nozzle housing. A spring sized to surround the nozzle assembly is positioned between an end face of the outlet cap and faces of the flanges of the halves. A washer is positioned in the nozzle housing between the inlet and the nozzle assembly, the washer having first and second opposing surfaces and a pair of peripheral portions engaging the grooves in the nozzle housing. The first opposing surface includes a pair of protrusions positioned on the washer, the pair of protrusions adapted to contact a bottom portion of each of the halves to allow the halves to separate and enlarge a nozzle assembly opening to free debris caught between the nozzle halves. The washer opening also allows for water to pass through the washer from the nozzle housing inlet to the nozzle assembly.
The spring is sized so that when water is applied to the second opposing surface at a predetermined pressure or less, the spring expands to move the nozzle halves away from the outlet and contact the pair of protrusions for the separation of the halves and nozzle cleaning.
While the spring can be designed to expand and compress based on various water pressures that the nozzle would see, one example of a threshold pressure would be 25 psi. This pressure or less would allow the spring to expand for self-cleaning. A pressure higher than 25 psi would compress the spring and bring the nozzle halves together for water spraying.
The nozzle assembly can be held together by the use of a resilient washer. The nozzle assembly can include a groove at an end opposite the nozzle opening, the groove sized to receive the resilient washer to keep the nozzle halves together.
Each flange of each nozzle half can include a rib, whereby an upper surface of the rib has the face to receive one end of the spring. The outlet cap can have a tapered inside wall to allow for separation of the halves.
The invention also is an improvement in the spraying of water or other fluid using nozzles. Using the inventive nozzles and their self-cleaning function allows for an improved water spraying operation. Operation of the water sprays can include reducing the pressure of the water to allow for self-cleaning with resumption of the operating pressure allow the water sprays to perform their intended function. The water sprays are particularly useful in environments where nozzle clogging is a problem, e.g., coal mine environments, and particularly dust suppression water sprays on mining machines.
a-3d show different views of one of the nozzle halves shown in
a and 4b shows a side and top view of a washer used in the nozzle of
The self-cleaning water nozzle of the invention is ideally suited for use on mining machines, particularly those used in the coal mining industries. The mining machines generate a lot of dust and this dust must be suppressed to meet the proper government regulations. Typically, the mining machine uses cooling water in two ways. One is to cool the electric controllers plus the electric motors (heat is the enemy of both). A second function involves the water sprays. The water used to cool the components on the mining machine is channeled into the spray blocks and thru the spray nozzles. The electric boxes, motors and spray blocks all are made of mild steel and tend to rust. In most cases, the rust is what plugs up the nozzles along with some water from their internal sumps which historically are full of foreign material.
The invention provides an efficient way to self-clean the nozzles in combination with an improved way for the nozzles to function in a self-cleaning way and ease the removal of nozzle components, if such is necessary.
Referring to
A threaded outlet cap 11 is removably attachable to the nozzle housing 1. A preferred mode is through the use of threads, wherein the cap 11 is threaded at 13 and complementary threads 15 are located inside of the nozzle housing 1. The outlet cap is annular in shape with a hex nut end 17, see
The housing 11 is cylindrical on its inside to facilitate its attachment to the cap and the water supply line. The outer shape is preferably also hex-shaped to facilitate connection to the water supply line.
A seal, preferably in the form of an O-ring 19 is provided. The seal sits in a groove 21 formed between an underside 22 of the hex nut end 17 and the threads 13. The O-ring 19 also contacts the chamfer 7 at the outlet 9 to prevent leakage of water from the nozzle housing.
The nozzle 10 also includes a pair of nozzle halves, each designated by reference numeral 23. The nozzle halves are configured to join together to form a nozzle assembly, with the nozzle spray tip 27 forming the spray orifice for the nozzle. The nozzle halves each have a recess 29 extending along a length thereof, the recess forming a passage when the nozzle halves mate together for water flow from the end of the nozzle halves to the spray tip 27.
Each nozzle half has a flange 31, which serves two functions. One is an anti-rotation feature and the other is to assist in the self-cleaning function of the nozzle assembly. Referring now to
The flange 31 has a rib 33, see
The protrusion 39 on each half is an anti-rotation feature, wherein the protrusion 39 engages a pair of opposing grooves 41, see
The rib 33 also has an upper face 43, see
Each nozzle half 23 has a groove 47, which is designed to receive a resilient washer 48, or the like to keep the halves 23 together. The washer 48 is shown in
Each nozzle half 50 also uses a portion of the bottom thereof to assist in the self-cleaning. Referring to
Another washer 49 is provided and designed to fit within the housing 1 like the nozzle halves 23. Referring to
The washer 49 also has a pair of raised protrusions 53. The raised protrusions are spaced from the protrusions 51. More particularly, the protrusions 53 are displaced 90 degrees from the line intersecting with the protrusions 51. The protrusions 53 function to assist separation and opening of the nozzle halves 23 for the self-cleaning function in concert with the spring, water pressure, grooves 41, etc. The washer has an opening 56, which permits water to flow from the inlet 3 of the housing 1 for water spray purposes.
Referring now to
During movement of the halves 23, the bottom surface portion 52 of each half 23 contacts the protrusions 53 on the washer 49. Since only a portion 52 of the bottom surface 52 of the halves 23 rests against the washer 49 and the force of the spring 45 is at an outer peripheral edge of the halves on the ribs 33, the halves pivot about the line A at the point where the bottom portion 52 and protrusions 53 contact. The movement of the halves 23 toward the end 3 displaces the tip ends 55 of the nozzle halves 23 from an opening 57 in the cap 11.
Referring to
Once the water pressure exceeds the level that permits the spring 45 to expand, the spring 45 is compressed as shown in
One advantage of the invention is that the cap 11 is easily removed if the self-cleaning function does not completely clean the nozzle or if the nozzle halves, washers, and/or spring are in need of repair or replacement. The housing with its attachment to a water supply line does not have to be removed. Also, the danger of using a spring clip to retain the components as is the case in the prior art is eliminated in the inventive design. Further, the washer and use of the protrusions provides a solid arrangement to obtain the necessary pivoting action for the halves to open them for cleaning purposes.
While an O-ring seal is employed, other seals can be used. Also, while the protrusions 53 and 51 are displaced by 90 degrees from each other, other displacements could be used. The key is that the protrusions or other raised structures on the washer 49 are situated so that they engage the bottom of the halves 23 to create a pivot point to allow for opening of the halves for the self-cleaning operation.
While the spring could be sized to expand at a variety of pressures, from no pressure to pressure lower than the operating pressure of the nozzles, one example is a threshold of 25 psi. If the pressure is 25 psi or below, the nozzle would self-clean. In this way, an operator could periodically reduce the water pressure for the nozzles to the point that they would self-clean and once a period of time is given for self-cleaning, the water pressure could be increased to a normal pressure for dust suppression.
While the self-cleaning nozzle can be used where any water spray is desired, it is particularly useful in harsh environments such as a coal mine, where the nozzles can frequently clog. Any method that employs a nozzle for spraying of water can be improved by use of the inventive self-cleaning nozzles of the invention. These methods would include water sprays used in coal mining environments, e.g., sprays on a mining machine.
As such, an invention has been disclosed in terms of preferred embodiments thereof which fulfills each and every one of the objects of the present invention as set forth above and provides a new and improved self-cleaning nozzle and method of use.
Of course, various changes, modifications and alterations from the teachings of the present invention may be contemplated by those skilled in the art without departing from the intended spirit and scope thereof. It is intended that the present invention only be limited by the terms of the appended claims.
