Patent ID: 8347630

Claim:
An air-blast fuel nozzle assembly comprising: a housing having an inner surface defining an interior chamber around a central axis, the inner surface terminating in an exit aperture; an air swirler pneumatically communicating with the interior chamber, the air swirler having vanes operative to impart a swirling motion to air passing across the vanes and into the interior chamber; a fuel injection assembly including a nozzle portion extending along the central axis and having a plurality of outlets circumferentially-arranged around the central axis that are directed into the interior chamber toward the inner surface of the housing; and a shield extending circumferentially and continuously around the central axis and extending radially outwardly from the nozzle portion upstream of the plurality of outlets, the shield extending between a base at the nozzle portion and a free lip end such that the shield extends partially across the interior chamber toward the inner surface.