Burner assembly

Abstract

A burner assembly including a housing having an air inlet and a burner end, a motor, and an impeller mounted in the housing. The impeller is in fluid communication with the air inlet, in mechanical communication with the motor, and adapted to direct air from the air inlet towards the burner end of the housing. The burner assembly also includes at least one pre-mix gas injection nozzle mounted in the housing. Each of the at least one pre-mix gas injection nozzle has at least one orifice adapted to direct gaseous fuel into the housing. The burner assembly further includes a spin vane comprising at least one spin vane blade. The spin vane is mounted in the burner end of the housing and adapted to direct the flow of air in the burner end. The burner assembly still further includes an igniter mounted in the burner end of the housing. The igniter is adapted to ignite the air and fuel mixture in the burner end of the housing to produce a main flame.

1 . A burner assembly comprising:
 (a) a housing having an air inlet and a burner end having an opening;   (b) a motor;   (c) an impeller mounted in the housing, said impeller being in fluid communication with the air inlet, in mechanical communication with the motor and adapted to direct air from the air inlet towards the burner end of the housing;   (d) at least one pre-mix gas injection nozzle mounted in the housing, each of said at least one pre-mix gas injection nozzle having at least one orifice adapted to direct gaseous fuel into the housing;   (e) a spin vane comprising at least one spin vane blade, said spin vane being mounted in the burner end of the housing and adapted to direct the flow of air in the burner end; and,   (f) an igniter mounted in the burner end of the housing, said igniter being adapted to ignite the air and fuel mixture in the burner end of the housing to produce a main flame.   
   
   
       2 . The burner assembly of  claim 1  wherein the motor is a variable speed motor. 
   
   
       3 . The burner assembly of  claim 1  wherein the at least one pre-mix gas injection nozzle is mounted about the periphery of the housing. 
   
   
       4 . The burner assembly of  claim 1  wherein each of the at least one orifice in the at least one pre-mix gas injection nozzle has a diameter of no more than about 0.125 inches. 
   
   
       5 . The burner assembly of  claim 1  wherein the spin vane is fixedly mounted in the burner end. 
   
   
       6 . The burner assembly of  claim 1  wherein each of the at least one spin vane blade of the spin vane is tapered. 
   
   
       7 . The burner assembly of  claim 1  wherein each of the at least one spin vane blade of the spin vane has a non-planar cross-sectional shape. 
   
   
       8 . The burner assembly of  claim 1 , further including:
 (g) an air deflector mounted in the housing, said air deflector being adapted to direct air flow from the impeller to the burner end.   
   
   
       9 . The burner assembly of  claim 1 , further including:
 (h) a transition section located downstream of the impeller and adapted to direct air flow from the impeller to the burner end.   
   
   
       10 . The burner assembly of  claim 1 , further including:
 (i) a seal skirt mounted adjacent to the burner end, said seal skirt being adapted to prevent air from entering a dryer drum.   
   
   
       11 . The burner assembly of  claim 1 , further including:
 (j) a heat shield mounted adjacent to the burner end, said heat shield being adapted to be attached to a rotating dryer drum and prevent air from entering said dryer drum.   
   
   
       12 . The burner assembly of  claim 1 , further including:
 (k) at least one screen mounted in the housing of the burner assembly downstream from the impeller.   
   
   
       13 . The burner assembly of  claim 12  wherein the at least one screen mounted in the housing of the burner assembly downstream from the impeller includes a straightening screen adapted to produce a uniform air flow velocity in the burner assembly and a mixing screen adapted to produce a uniform air flow velocity in the burner assembly and mix combustion air and fuel in the burner assembly. 
   
   
       14 . The burner assembly of  claim 1 , further including:
 (l) a pre-mix cone located downstream from the impeller and adapted to direct air flow from the impeller to the burner end.   
   
   
       15 . The burner assembly of  claim 14  wherein the pre-mix cone has an included angle of approximately 15°. 
   
   
       16 . The burner assembly of  claim 1 , further including:
 (m) a converging focusing cone located in the burner end, said converging focusing cone being adapted to accelerate the velocity of air flow in the burner end.   
   
   
       17 . The burner assembly of  claim 16  wherein the converging focusing cone is removably mounted to the burner assembly. 
   
   
       18 . The burner assembly of  claim 1 , further including:
 (n) a diverging conical discharge section located in the burner end.   
   
   
       19 . The burner assembly of  claim 18  wherein the diverging conical discharge section includes at least one expansion and contraction crease. 
   
   
       20 . The burner assembly of  claim 1 , further including:
 (o) an primary air tube mounted within the housing, said primary air tube having an inlet end and an outlet end, said inlet end being located downstream of the impeller and said outlet end being located in the burner end;   (p) an atomizing nozzle located at the outlet end of the primary air tube;   (q) a liquid fuel supply tube mounted within the primary air tube, said liquid fuel supply tube being adapted to convey liquid fuel to the atomizing nozzle;   (r) a swirl plate mounted around the periphery of the outlet end of the primary air tube;   (s) a compressed atomizing air supply tube mounted within the primary air tube, said compressed atomizing air supply tube being adapted to convey compressed air to the atomizing nozzle.   
   
   
       21 . The burner assembly of  claim 20  wherein the burner assembly is adapted to selectively fire on gaseous fuel, liquid fuel or both gaseous fuel and liquid fuel. 
   
   
       22 . The burner assembly of  claim 20  wherein the liquid fuel supply tube is adapted to convey gaseous fuel to produce a stabilizing gas base flame in the burner end. 
   
   
       23 . The burner assembly of  claim 20  wherein the swirl plate mounted around the periphery of the outlet end of the primary air tube is a slotted ring or a flapped ring. 
   
   
       24 . The burner assembly of  claim 20 , further including:
 (t) a pilot assembly mounted at the burner end, said pilot assembly being adapted to produce a pilot flame.   
   
   
       25 . The burner assembly of  claim 24  wherein the pilot assembly is centrally located in the housing of the burner assembly and surrounds at least a portion of the atomizing nozzle. 
   
   
       26 . The burner assembly of  claim 1  further including an isolation shroud at the burner end. 
   
   
       27 . The burner assembly of  claim 26  wherein the isolation shroud is removably attached to the burner end. 
   
   
       28 . The burner assembly of  claim 26  wherein the isolation shroud is attached to the burner end by at least one suspension spoke. 
   
   
       29 . The burner assembly of  claim 26  wherein the isolation shroud surrounds and partially encloses the burner nose. 
   
   
       30 . The burner assembly of  claim 26  wherein the isolation shroud is adapted to be purged with a fluid.