Abstract: For those spray applications that use a fluidic oscillator of the type that generates a spray by having a pressurized liquid flow through the oscillator and exhaust into a surrounding environment, and where such an oscillator has a boundary surface which has fabricated into it a channel in the form of what is referred to herein as fluidic circuit, an improved enclosure for this oscillator includes: a body having an interior and an exterior surface, wherein a portion of this interior surface is configured to attach to the oscillator boundary surface so as to form with the oscillator's channel an enclosed pathway through which the to-be-sprayed liquid may flow, and wherein a segment of this interior surface is configured so as to yield specified properties of the resulting spray.

Abstract: A fluidic oscillator suitable for use at colder temperatures for utilizing a pressurized liquid to generate a uniform spatial distribution of droplets has (a) an inlet for the pressurized liquid, (b) a set of three power nozzles that are fed by the pressurized liquid, (c) an interaction chamber attached to the nozzles and which receives the flow from the nozzles, wherein this chamber has an upstream and a downstream portion, with the upstream portion having a pair of boundary edges and a longitudinal centerline that is approximately equally spaced between the edges, and wherein one of the power nozzles is directed along the chamber's longitudinal centerline, (d) a throat from which the liquid exhausts from the interaction chamber, and (e) an island located in the interaction chamber, with this island being situated downstream of the power nozzle that is directed along the chamber's longitudinal centerline.

Abstract: A long throw Pop-Up Irrigation Nozzle assembly has no oscillating or rotating parts and includes a cylindrical body having a fluid inlet and a sidewall defining at least one fluidic circuit configured to generate a selected spray pattern when irrigation fluid flows through the body. In order to throw long distance, droplet velocity, droplet size and droplet initial aim angle determine the throw to provide a low precipitation rate (“PR”) for fluidic sprays. The nozzle assembly and method of the present invention achieve a PR of 1 in/hr or less and good spray distribution with a scheduling coefficient (“SC”) of about 1.5 without utilizing any moving components to provide a significantly more cost effective nozzle assembly, as compared to prior art rotator nozzles.

Abstract: An improved fluidic insert, that operates on a pressurized liquid flowing through the insert to generate a jet of liquid that flows from said insert and into the surrounding gaseous environment to form a spray of liquid droplets, includes: (a) a member having top, front and rear outer surfaces, (b) a fluidic circuit located within this top surface and having an inlet, an outlet and a channel whose floor and sidewalls connect the inlet and outlet, and a barrier located proximate the outlet that rises from the channel floor and is configured such that: (i) it divides the channel in the region of the barrier into what are herein denoted as two power nozzles, and (ii) each of these nozzles has a downstream portion that is configured so as to cause the liquid flowing from the nozzles to generate flow vortices behind the barrier that are swept out of the outlet in such a manner as to control the lateral rate of spread of liquid droplets from the insert.

Abstract: A fluidic oscillator suitable for use at colder temperatures for generating an exhaust flow in the form of an oscillating spray of fluid droplets has an inlet for pressurized fluid, a pair of power nozzles configured to accelerate the movement of the pressurized fluid, a fluid pathway that connects and allows for the flow of pressurized fluid between its inlet and the power nozzles, an interaction chamber which is attached to the nozzles and receives the flow from the nozzles, a fluid outlet from which the spray exhausts from the interaction chamber, and, at each power nozzle, a step in the height elevation of the floor of the power nozzle with respect to that of the interaction chamber for increasing the instability of the flow from the power nozzles.

Abstract: An improved injector which mixes a secondary fluid into a carrier fluid stream has (a) a body for directing the flow of the carrier fluid, this body having an internal wall forming a flow passage therethrough, a central axis, an inlet, an outlet, and a port for receiving the secondary fluid that is mixed with the carrier fluid, (b) a ramp-like restriction portion which is located downstream of the body's inlet and upstream of the secondary fluid port and configured so as to decrease the effective cross-sectional area of the flow passage in the direction of the flow of the carrier fluid, (c) a ramp-like expansion portion which is located downstream of the secondary fluid port and upstream of the body's outlet and configured so as to increase the effective cross-sectional area of the flow passage in the direction of the flow of the carrier fluid, (d) a throat portion which is situated between the restriction and expansion portions, and (e) a cavity in the throat that extends from its internal wall and into the

Abstract: A fluidic nozzle, for use with a trigger spray applicator that issues a desired spray pattern of fluid droplets, and wherein the applicator has a liquid delivering orifice and an exterior surface proximate the orifice that is configured to receive a spray nozzle, includes in a first preferred embodiment a member having a front and a rear surface and a passage that extends between these surfaces. A portion of this passage is configured in the form of a fluidic circuit, and the configuration of this fluidic circuit is chosen so as to provide the desired spray pattern. Additionally, the passage's rear portion may be configured so as to allow this member to fit on that portion of the spray head which is configured to receive a spray nozzle.

Abstract: In many applications where it is desired to distribute a liquid onto a surface at a very small angle of incidence, it will be necessary to reduce the momentum of the droplets to prevent ricochet off the surface. Obvious methods such as using a restrictor, reducing the operating pressure, etc. are not satisfactory due to the inadequate flow, susceptibility to clogging, etc.

Abstract: A fluidic oscillator suitable for use at colder temperatures for generating an exhaust flow in the form of an oscillating spray of fluid droplets has an inlet for pressurized fluid, a pair of power nozzles configured to accelerate the movement of the pressurized fluid, a fluid pathway that connects and allows for the flow of pressurized fluid between its inlet and the power nozzles, an interaction chamber which is attached to the nozzles and receives the flow from the nozzles, a fluid outlet from which the spray exhausts from the interaction chamber, and a means for increasing the instability of the flow from the power nozzles, with this means being situated in a location chosen from the group consisting of a location within the fluid pathway or proximate the power nozzles. In a first preferred embodiment, the flow instability generating means comprises a protrusion that extends inward from each side of the fluid pathway so as to cause a flow separation region downstream of the protrusions.

Abstract: An improved spray head that is more effective and efficient at providing a wider range of desired spray distributions includes the following elements: (a) a plurality of fluidic oscillators, each oscillator having a fluidic circuit embedded in its top surface, with this circuit forming a path in which a fluid may flow through the oscillator, wherein these oscillators are stacked one on top of the other, with the sides of the oscillators being configured so that they stack such that the flow of fluid from adjoining oscillators in the stack have an angle of divergence between the centerlines of the planes defined by the flows from the outlets of the adjoining oscillators that is in the range of 2–5 degrees, (b) a plurality of cover plates, with each cover plate being proximate the top surface of one of the fluidic oscillators and attached to the oscillator so as to provide a seal against the flow of fluid from the oscillator's fluidic circuit, (c) a carrier assembly having a front and a rear surface and a cavit

Abstract: A therapeutic spa tub having a waterline and one or more fluidic nozzles for issuing therapeutic jets of water into the tub. The one or more water nozzles each comprises a housing having an inlet for receiving a flow of water under pressure, a fluidic oscillator having an oscillation chamber and at least one power nozzle coupled to the inlet and the oscillation chamber for projecting at least one jet of water into the oscillation chamber in one or more outlets from said oscillation chamber for issuing one or more pulsating jets of water into the spa tub below the waterline. An air passage in the outlet entrains ambient air in water passing through the outlet. The fluidic oscillator is a low frequency reversing chamber oscillator wherein the oscillation chamber has a reversing wall.

Abstract: The invention comprises a curved fluidic device and a housing piece with a curved slot to accommodate the curved fluidic device. The aim angle can be varied greatly by changing the depth of insertion of the fluidic device into the curved slot. By adjusting the curvature of the fluidic device and slot, the amount of variation possible and sensitivity to insertion depth can be controlled. With more curvature, the aim angle can be adjusted more but is more sensitive to insertion depth tolerance. With less curvature, the insertion depth is more robust but the aim adjustment range is smaller.

Abstract: A submerge massaging system controlled by a no-moving part backload responsive fluidic switch.

Abstract: A fluidic insert that receives fluid under pressure from a fluid inlet tube and generates a specified spatial distribution of the fluid exiting the insert includes: (1) a body member having top, bottom, front and rear outer surfaces, (2) top and bottom fluidic circuits located, respectively, at least partially within the member's top and bottom surfaces, wherein each of these circuits has at least one power nozzle, an interaction chamber, and an outlet whose exit lies within the member front surface, (3) the bottom fluidic circuit having a portion of its surface area located upstream of the power nozzle and adapted so that it can mate with a fluid inlet tube that supplies fluid to the insert, and (4) an inter-circuit flow passage that allows fluid to flow from the bottom fluid circuit to the top fluid circuit, the bottom end of this passage located such that it is downstream of the point where the inlet tube mates with the bottom circuit and upstream of the bottom circuit's power nozzle, with the top end of t

Abstract: A reversing chamber oscillator has an oscillation chamber with a reversing wall, a centrally located power nozzle for issuing a jet of liquid toward the reversing wall, and a pair of liquid passages from the reversing chamber on each side of the power nozzle, respectively, for alternately issuing periodic pulses of liquid. The outlet passages are smoothly extended to intersect directly at a common outlet and are dimensioned and angulated relative to each other to control the sweep angle of a liquid jet which is periodically swept in the common outlet and issued to ambient. The pair of fluid passages have an upstream end at the reversing chamber and a downstream end at the common outlet and each passage has an outer wall which, with the reversing wall, define an oval.

Abstract: A check valve for use in a section of a liquid flow line to control the intermittent flow of a liquid through the line, wherein the section of the line that is configured to received the valve has inlet and outlet ends with an opening through which liquid respectively enters or exits the section, includes a compression spring having upstream and downstream ends, wherein the spring is configured so as to allow the downstream end to press against the section outlet end. This check valve further includes a piston having bottom, top and outer side surfaces, with this piston having a cavity that extends from its top surface and is configured to allow the spring to sit and operated freely within the cavity with the spring's upstream end resting on the bottom surface of the cavity.

Abstract: Methods of molding fluidic oscillator device having at least a power nozzle for projecting a jet of liquid into an interaction region with an upstream end, opposing side walls, opposing top and bottom walls, and a pair of control ports at the upstream end. The side walls diverge from the power nozzle. A mold cavity is provided in which the power nozzle, interaction region (IR) and control ports can be molded as a core without any seam lines. For a crossover type IR in which the upstream ends diverge and the downstream ends converge to a common throat area and coupled to an outlet aperture, a further mold cavity is provided in which the converging portion of the crossover type interaction region is formed as a second core having a joinder line to the first the core which is transverse to the direction of liquid flow in the fluidic.

Abstract: A full coverage area spray device has an oscillation chamber. Chamber end plates have a diameter D and the distance between the inlet and outlet apertures is L and ratio L/D determines the spray pattern and is adapted to support a basic toroidal flow pattern that remains captive within the confines of the oscillation chamber. The toroid spins about its cross-sectional axis and being supplied energy from the jet of liquid issued into the oscillation chamber. The toroidal flow pattern has diametrically opposed cross-sections which alternate in size to cause the jet to move in radial paths and also in tangential direction and thereby choose a different radial path at each sweep, whereby there is a random sweeping of the jet issuing from the outlet aperture over the area.

Abstract: A seat massager for massaging a person's back has, according to the present invention, a pair of inflatable, massage bladders configured so as to be received in close proximity to a person's back and oriented so that these bladders share an overlaid portion with each other, a pump that supplies fluid to the bladders, a fluidic having an inlet and two exhaust ports, a conduit that connects each of the fluidic exhaust ports to one of the pair of bladders, wherein the fluidic is configured so as to yield alternating flow from the exhaust ports that cyclically inflates and deflates each of the bladders so as to provide a massaging sensation to the back. This massager may also include an inflatable support bladder positioned beneath the massage bladders, another pump that supplies fluid to this support bladder, and a carrier plate on which the pumps are mounted, this plate being configured so as to aid in attaching the seat massager to the frame of a seat into which the seat massager is to be installed.

Abstract: There is disclosed a fluidic spa tub nozzle having a fluidic oscillator with diverging sidewalls and a cooperating mode-change member for changing the mode from an oscillatory swept jet mode to a straight jet mode and positions thereinbetween. The fluidic oscillator has an inertance loop formed by groove plates secured to the top and bottom walls of the fluidic oscillator.