Patent ID: 7588199

Claim:
A spray nozzle assembly for atomizing and spraying liquid into the atmosphere comprising: a nozzle body having a liquid passage that terminates in a nozzle body orifice for high velocity discharge of a stream of liquid; an impingement element having an impingement surface spaced from the nozzle body orifice for breaking up such a stream of liquid impinging thereon into a laterally spreading dispersion of such liquid; one or more air passage disposed upstream of the impingement surface and oriented to discharge a substantially tubular curtain of air around the nozzle body orifice in a downstream direction at high velocity to surround such stream from the nozzle body orifice to the impingement surface and to strike the liquid while in such a laterally spreading dispersion to further atomize such liquid an air cap which defines a chamber extending around and downstream of the impingement surface, the air cap having a plurality of discharge orifices disposed circumferentially about the impingement surface and communicating directly between the chamber and ambient atmosphere through which the mixture of air and atomized liquid particles resulting from the impingement of such stream on the impingement surface and the striking of such liquid dispersion by such high velocity air is discharged from the chamber; said discharge orifices each being defined by a respective nipple that locates said discharge orifice outwardly away from an outer face of the air cap, said nipples and air cap having an integral one-piece ceramic construction, and said nipples each defining a smooth uninterrupted flow passage between said chamber and the respective discharge orifice.