Burner nozzle assembly for use in association with animal carcass dehairing equipment

Abstract

A burner nozzle assembly having a base chamber, a flame chamber and a nozzle plate. The base chamber has an outer wall and an inner wall. The flame chamber is positioned above the base chamber and has an outer wall and an inner wall, and has two opposing channels splitting the outer and inner wall into two separate elements. The nozzle plate is positioned between the base chamber and the flame chamber and has a upward conical configuration, an upper wall and a lower wall. A plurality of circumferential spaced apart openings extend through the nozzle plate. An elongated slot is disposed across the nozzle plate to provide fluid communication between the base chamber and the flame chamber. The elongated slot has opposing ends which terminate proximate a respective opposing channel, to facilitate the generation of an thin but wide flame through the elongated slot.

1 . A burner nozzle assembly for use in animal dehairing equipment comprising:
 a base chamber having an outer wall and an inner wall; and   a nozzle plate positioned at an upper end of the base chamber, the nozzle plate includes an elongated slot disposed across the nozzle plate to provide fluid communication between the base chamber and the flame chamber, to, in turn, facilitate the generation of an thin but wide flame through the elongated slot.   
   
   
       2 . The burner nozzle assembly of  claim 1  further comprising a flame chamber positioned above the base chamber having an outer wall and an inner wall, wherein the nozzle plate resides between the base chamber and the flame chamber. 
   
   
       3 . The burner nozzle assembly of  claim 2  wherein the flame chamber has two opposing channels extending therethrough splitting the outer and inner wall into two separate elements that are spaced apart by the opposing channels, and the elongated slot includes opposing ends, each of the opposing ends terminating proximate a respective one of the two opposing channels. 
   
   
       4 . The burner nozzle assembly of  claim 3  wherein the nozzle plate includes a plurality of circumferentially spaced apart openings extending therethrough and positioned on either side of the elongated slot. 
   
   
       5 . A burner nozzle assembly for use in animal dehairing equipment comprising:
 a base chamber having an outer wall and an inner wall;   a flame chamber positioned above the base chamber having an outer wall and an inner wall, the flame chamber having two opposing channels extending therethrough splitting the outer and inner wall into two separate elements that are spaced apart by the opposing channels; and   a nozzle plate positioned between the base chamber and the flame chamber thereby providing separation therebetween, the nozzle plate comprising a upward conical configuration having an upper wall and a lower wall defining a central peak, and a surrounding valley, a plurality of circumferential spaced apart openings provide fluid communication through the nozzle plate between the base chamber and the flame chamber, and, an elongated slot disposed across the nozzle plate to provide fluid communication between the base chamber and the flame chamber, the elongated slot having opposing ends, each of the opposing ends terminating proximate a respective one of the two opposing channels, to, in turn, facilitate the generation of an thin but wide flame through the elongated slot.   
   
   
       6 . The burner nozzle assembly of  claim 5  wherein the base chamber, the flame chamber and the nozzle plate are substantially circular in configuration, and the elongated slot substantially extends through a center of the substantially circular nozzle plate, and the slot has a length which substantially corresponds to the diameter of the nozzle plate at the lower wall thereof. 
   
   
       7 . The burner nozzle assembly of  claim 6  wherein the elongated slot has a length which is at least two times greater than the width of the elongated slot. 
   
   
       8 . The burner nozzle assembly of  claim 6  wherein the elongated slot has a conical configuration through the nozzle plate so that the elongated slot is longer at the upper wall and shorter at the lower wall. 
   
   
       9 . The burner nozzle assembly of  claim 6  wherein the burner nozzle assembly is substantially symmetrical about a line taken through the elongated slot along the length thereof. 
   
   
       10 . The burner nozzle assembly of  claim 6  wherein the two opposing channels of the flame chamber are at least 1.5 times the width of the elongated slot. 
   
   
       11 . The burner nozzle assembly of  claim 5  wherein at least two spaced apart circumferential openings are placed between the elongated slot and each of the two separate elements of the flame chamber. 
   
   
       12 . The burner nozzle assembly of  claim 5  wherein the base chamber, the flame chamber and the nozzle plate are integrally formed. 
   
   
       13 . A burner assembly for use in association with animal dehairing comprising:
 a plurality of nozzle stacks in a spaced apart orientation, each of the plurality of nozzle stacks including a plurality of burner nozzle assemblies positioned linearly in a spaced apart vertical orientation, each burner nozzle assembly positioned so as to project in an inward direction and comprising:   a base chamber having an outer wall and an inner wall; and   a nozzle plate positioned at an upper end of the base chamber, the nozzle plate includes an elongated slot disposed across the nozzle plate to provide fluid communication between the base chamber and the flame chamber, to, in turn, facilitate the generation of an thin but wide flame through the elongated slot.   
   
   
       14 . The burner nozzle assembly of  claim 13  further comprising a flame chamber positioned above the base chamber having an outer wall and an inner wall, wherein the nozzle plate resides between the base chamber and the flame chamber. 
   
   
       15 . The burner nozzle assembly of  claim 14  wherein the flame chamber has two opposing channels extending therethrough splitting the outer and inner wall into two separate elements that are spaced apart by the opposing channels, and the elongated slot includes opposing ends, each of the opposing ends terminating proximate a respective one of the two opposing channels. 
   
   
       16 . The burner nozzle assembly of  claim 15  wherein the nozzle plate includes a plurality of circumferentially spaced apart openings extending therethrough and positioned on either side of the elongated slot. 
   
   
       17 . The burner assembly of  claim 13  wherein the inward direction comprises a generally horizontal direction which may be inclined in toward the vertical direction between 0° and 10°, and more preferably between 0° and 5°. 
   
   
       18 . The burner assembly of  claim 14  wherein the inclination in the vertical direction is between 0° and 2° so that the nozzle is substantially horizontal. 
   
   
       19 . The burner assembly of  claim 13  wherein at least four nozzle stacks are spaced in a substantially square configuration with the nozzle assemblies of the nozzle stacks directed inwardly toward the center of the square configuration. 
   
   
       20 . The burner assembly of  claim 13  wherein each of the nozzle stacks include at least five nozzle assemblies. 
   
   
       21 . The burner assembly of  claim 13  wherein at least two nozzle stacks are spaced apart from each other with the nozzle assemblies of the nozzle stacks directed inwardly to a location between the two nozzle stacks.