U.S. patent number 3,794,056 [Application Number 05/307,718] was granted by the patent office on 1974-02-26 for fluidic pulse and flow divider.
Invention is credited to Raymond W. Warren.
United States Patent |
3,794,056 |
Warren |
February 26, 1974 |
**Please see images for:
( Certificate of Correction ) ** |
FLUIDIC PULSE AND FLOW DIVIDER
Abstract
A fluidic pulse and flow divider which has a single input and a
plurality of outlet channels which communicate with the input and
are disposed at an acute angle with respect to the fluid flow in
the entrance section to provide a plurality of fan-outs exiting
toward one side of the device. The combined area of the outlets is
equal to the area of the entrance flow straightening section to
eliminate reflection of waves. The area of the entrance section
itself is smoothly reduced before each successive outlet channel by
an amount equal to the area of the preceding output channel.
Inventors: |
Warren; Raymond W. (McLean,
VA) |
Family
ID: |
23190915 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/307,718 |
Filed: |
November 17, 1972 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
137/561A;
137/836; 159/43.1; 138/39 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F15C
1/22 (20130101); F15D 1/001 (20130101); F15C
1/00 (20130101); F16L 41/03 (20130101); Y10T
137/224 (20150401); Y10T 137/85938 (20150401) |
Current International
Class: |
F16L
41/03 (20060101); F16L 41/02 (20060101); F15C
1/22 (20060101); F15C 1/00 (20060101); F15D
1/00 (20060101); E03b () |
Field of
Search: |
;137/561R,561A,836,838,839 ;138/39 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Cline; William R.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Kelly; Edward J. Berl; Herbert
Claims
I claim as my invention:
1. A fluidic pulse and flow divider, which comprises:
a. a constant depth input channel having a receiving portion which
has a constant area along its length for receiving a steady fluid
flow and an output portion;
b. a plurality of constant depth output channels located at said
output portion of said input channel;
c. each of said output channels juxtaposed at the same acute angle
with respect to the axis defining the flow path of said steady
fluid flow; and
d. said constant area of said receiving portion of said input
channel being essentially equal to the combined total area of said
plurality of output channels.
2. The fluidic pulse and flow divider of claim 1 wherein the area
of said output portion of said input channel is smoothly reduced
before each successive outlet channel by an amount equal to the
area of the preceding output channel.
3. The fluidic pulse and flow divider of claim 2 wherein the
portion of each output channel that defines the downstream edge
thereof projects into said output portion of said input channel a
distance equal to one-half the width of said output channel.
4. The fluidic pulse and flow divider of claim 2 wherein the shape
of the areas of said input and output channels is rectangular.
5. The fluidic pulse and flow divider of claim 4 wherein one wall
boundary of said output portion of said input channel is co-linear
and a continuation of one wall boundary of said receiving portion
of said input channel while the other wall boundary of said output
portion comprises a plurality of sections separated by said output
channels, said other wall boundary of said output portion being at
an oblique angle to the other wall boundary of said receiving
portion.
6. The fluidic pulse and flow divider of claim 5 wherein said
output channels are also juxtaposed at said oblique angle with
respect to said other wall boundary of said receiving portion.
7. The fluidic pulse and flow divider of claim 5 wherein said
output channels are juxtaposed at a different oblique angle than
said oblique angle with respect to said other wall portion of said
receiving portion.
8. The fluidic pulse and flow divider of claim 7 wherein said
different oblique angle is such that the downstream edge of each
output channel projects into said output portion of said input
channel a distance equal to one-half the width of said output
channel.
Description
RIGHTS OF GOVERNMENT
The invention described herein may be manufactured, used, and
licensed by or for the United States Government for governmental
purposes without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to fluidic devices and, more particularly,
to a fluidic device that divides a fluid signal into equal
pulses.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In synchronous fluidic circuits, it is often necessary to have a
fluid signal at many stages of the circuit at essentially the same
time. An example of this would be the clock pulse required in a
fluidic shift register. Even flow division and transmission of a
fluidic signal is accomplished by means of devices known as fluidic
pulse and flow dividers.
The first flow dividers were constructed in the form of a Y. A
typical Y splitter is shown in FIG. 2 of United States Pat. No.
3,340,884. The bottom leg of the Y is generally designed to be long
enough to serve as a flow straightening section to obtain a uniform
flow profile. This ensures that the splitter divides the wave and
flows equally between the two upper legs. To prevent the reflection
of waves, the combined area of the upper two legs of the Y was made
equal to the area of the single lower leg of the Y. Therefore,
reflection of the fluid waves was prevented inasmuch as a constant
area was presented to the wavefronts as they progressed through the
device. Additional fan-out was achievable simply by attaching
additional Y sections. However, each flow divider had to straighten
the flow into a uniform profile prior to dividing it. Another
example of the prior art with respect to stacking Y sections is
suggested in United States Pat. No. 3,282,297. Others have
suggested the possibility of constructing an axis-symmetric device
to provide equal wave and flow division of four times and eight
times with only one straightening section. However, such a
three-dimensional device does not lend itself to adaptation to
essentially one-dimensional fluidic circuits in common usage.
It is therefore one object of the present invention to provide a
fluidic pulse and flow divider in which equal multiflow division in
essentially one plane is provided for use in fluidic circuits.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a fluidic
pulse and flow divider for use in synchronous fluidic circuits in
which a plurality of outlet pulses can be provided to many stages
of a fluidic circuit at essentially the same time by utilizing a
single inlet section flow divider.
A further object is to provide a pulse and flow divider which
requires only a single straightening entrance flow section for a
plurality of output channels in an essentially planar fluidic
configuration.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Briefly, in accordance with the invention, a fluidic pulse and flow
divider is provided which comprises a constant depth input channel
for receiving a steady fluid flow and a plurality of constant depth
output channels located downstream of the receiving portion of the
input channel. While the devices of the present invention may be
considered to be essentially planar, the constant depth of the
devices is of a finite dimension and the term "area" is therefore
used in conjunction with the description thereof. The area of the
input channel as that term is used in the specification and the
claims, is the area of a section normal to the longitudinal axis of
the input channel and the area of an output channel is the area of
a section normal to the longitudinal axis of an output channel.
Each of the output channels is located at the same acute angle with
respect to the axis defining the flow path of the incoming fluid
flow. Also, the area of the input channel is essentially equal to
the combined total area of the output channels. The width of the
flow straightening input channel is smoothly reduced before each
successive outlet channel by an amount equal to the width of the
preceding output channel.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The specific nature of the invention as well as other objects,
aspects, uses, and advantages thereof will clearly appear from the
following description from the accompanying drawing, in which:
FIG. 1 is a sectional schematic view of a device constructed
according to the principles of the present invention; and
FIG. 2 is another schematic of a preferred embodiment of the
present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
In order to obtain an equal multiflow division in essentially one
plane for use in fluidic circuits, the devices in FIGS. 1 and 2
were constructed according to the following principles:
1. The area of the entrance section/input channel was made
essentially equal to the total area of the combined outlet
channels;
2. The entrance section/input channel was made of sufficient length
to provide a uniform flow profile for the incoming fluid waves;
3. The outlet channels are disposed at an acute angle with respect
to the flow in the entrance section/input channel;
4. The downstream edge of each outlet channel projects into the
entrance section/input channel one half the width of the output
channel; and
5. For constant depth channels, the width (area) of the entrance
section/input channel is smoothly reduced by an amount equal to the
width (area) of the preceding outlet channel prior to the next
outlet.
FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of the device of the present
invention. Input channel 10 is comprised of a constant area
receiving portion 22 to the left of channel 24 and a tapered output
portion to the right of channel 24. The receiving portion which is
an initial straightening section, is constructed to provide a
uniform flow and pressure profile. Five outlets 12, 14, 16, 18 and
20 are disposed at an angle .theta. to the incoming fluid flow. The
outlet openings 24, 26, 28, 30 and 32 are tapered at an angle
.alpha. with respect to the horizontal axis. The taper angle
.alpha. is chosen to provide the desired projection of the
downstream sides 13, 15, 17, and 19 of each outlet and
simultaneously to reduce the entrance area smoothly by an amount
equal to the area of the preceding outlet channel before the next
outlet. This input channel/entrance area is similarly reduced for
each successive outlet.
In operation, when a fluid wave enters the straightening section 22
in the input channel 10 of the device, the wavefront becomes
uniform across the channel width. A small portion of the wave
extends and is removed at the first outlet channel 12, which lowers
the pressure in the remaining wavefront. Since the outlet channels
are disposed at an acute angle to the fluid flow and define a
decreasing width tapering section, the section of the taper 13 will
reconstitute the wave to its previous condition, and another small
portion of the wave will be removed at the next outlet channel 14.
This process repeats itself with the end result being each outlet
channel having an equal pressure and flow wave exiting therefrom.
In a device constructed according to the principle enunciated
hereinabove the dimensions shown in FIG. 1 were chosen as
follows:
x = 1.5 inches; y = 0.25 inches; the projected width of each outlet
was 0.05 inches; the width of each taper-forming section was 0.1
inches; .theta. = 45.degree.; and .alpha. = 18.degree.. The depth
of the inlet and outlet channels was a constant 0.040 inches.
Depicted in FIG. 2 is another device built according to the above
enumerated specifications. Five outlet channels 52, 54, 56, 58 and
60 were provided at an acute angle of 45.degree. to the direction
of the fluid flow. Provided at the output of each outlet channel
were hose fittings 80 to facilitate connections to the remainder of
the fluidic circuitry. In the device of FIG. 2, the design criteria
involving the downstream edge of each outlet being projected into
the entrance section one half the width of the outlet channel
becomes more clear. For example, the width A of outlet channel 52
was constructed to be 0.1 inches and the width C, which constitutes
the portion of the inlet wave that will be diverted through outlet
channel 52, was constructed to be equal to 0.05 inches, whereas the
width B was designed to be 0.1 inches. From the foregoing, it is
more easily seen that each downstream edge 62, 64, 66, and 68
projects into the entrance section one half the width of each
outlet channel. Moreover, it is more easily understood that the
width (area) of the entrance section is smoothly reduced by an
amount equal to the width (area) of each preceding outlet channel
prior to the next outlet channel. The foregoing specifications
ensure that the wave will be reconstituted to its previous
condition, thereby eliminating reflections and providing equal
pressure and flow outlets from each output channel.
It will be appreciated that unequal pulse and flow divisions
proportional to the area of the outlets can be made using the same
principles, and therefore I do not desire to be limited to the
exact details of construction shown and described, for obvious
modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art.
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