# US 10,309,349 B2 · Fuel vaporizer system

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- Number: US 10,309,349 B2
- Document ID: US10309349B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 15/449,581
- Filed: 2017-03-03
- Published: 2017-07-27
- Granted: 2019-06-04
- Earliest claimed: 2009-05-22
- Assignees: Bixby Energy Systems, Inc.
- Applicants: Bixby Energy Systems, Inc.
- Inventors: Dean Johanning
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10309349B2

## CPC

- F02M 31/18: to vaporise fuel
- F01N 5/02: the devices using heat
- F02D 41/003: {Adding fuel vapours, e.g. drawn from engine fuel reservoir}
- F02M 31/093: Air intake passage surrounding the exhaust gas passage; Exhaust gas passage surrounding the air intake passage
- F02M 31/183: {Control}
- Y02T 10/12: Improving ICE efficiencies
- F02M: SUPPLYING COMBUSTION ENGINES IN GENERAL WITH COMBUSTIBLE MIXTURES OR CONSTITUENTS THEREOF
- F01N: GAS-FLOW SILENCERS OR EXHAUST APPARATUS FOR MACHINES OR ENGINES IN GENERAL; GAS-FLOW SILENCERS OR EXHAUST APPARATUS FOR INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES (arrangements in connection with gas exhaust of propulsion units in vehicles B60K13/00; combustion-air intake silencers specially adapted for, or arranged on, internal-combustion engines F02M35/00; protecting against, or damping, noise in general G10K11/16)
- F02D: CONTROLLING COMBUSTION ENGINES (vehicle fittings, acting on a single sub-unit only, for automatically controlling vehicle speed B60K31/00; conjoint control of vehicle sub-units of different type or different function, road vehicle drive control systems for purposes other than the control of a single sub-unit B60W)
- Y02T: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION

## Abstract

A fuel vaporizer including a mist vaporizer and a boiler, the boiler being integrated with the mist vaporizer, the mist vaporizer and the boiler including a housing, baffles joined to the housing, conduit extending through the baffles, fuel in a mist form adjacent the conduit and a pool of fuel contained between the housing and baffles.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A fuel vaporizer, comprising:
a housing;
first and second baffles within the housing and extending across a width of the housing, the first and second baffles and the housing together defining a chamber collecting a pool of fuel along a bottom wall of the housing;
a conduit extending through the first and second baffles within the housing; and
a turbulator joined to the conduit.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The fuel vaporizer of claim 1, wherein the turbulator is joined inside the conduit.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The fuel vaporizer of claim 1, wherein the turbulator is a piece of flat metal twisted into a spiral.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The fuel vaporizer of claim 1, wherein the turbulator has a width equivalent to an inside diameter of the conduit.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The fuel vaporizer of claim 1, wherein the turbulator has a length equivalent to a length of the conduit.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The fuel vaporizer of claim 1, wherein the conduit is in thermal communication with exhaust and is in thermal communication with fuel in a mist form.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The fuel vaporizer of claim 1, wherein the conduit is in thermal communication with the first and second baffles, wherein the first and second baffles are in thermal communication with the housing, and wherein the first and second baffles and the housing are in thermal communication with the pool of fuel collected within the chamber.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The fuel vaporizer of claim 1, wherein the housing includes an inlet and an outlet and defines an intake flowpath through the housing between the inlet and the outlet and across an exterior surface of the conduit.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The fuel vaporizer of claim 1, further comprising an exhaust inlet chamber and an exhaust outlet chamber, the conduit defining an exhaust flowpath that extends from the exhaust inlet chamber to the exhaust outlet chamber.

### Claim 10 (depends on 9)

The fuel vaporizer of claim 9, wherein the turbulator is joined inside the conduit and wherein the exhaust flowpath is further defined by the turbulator.

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

The fuel vaporizer of claim 1, wherein the conduit is a matrix of conduit.

### Claim 12 (depends on 1)

The device of claim 1, wherein the housing defines at least a portion of a fuel passageway, and wherein the conduit is configured to be in thermal communication with exhaust and configured to be in thermal communication with fuel in the housing.

### Claim 13 (depends on 1)

The fuel vaporizer of claim 1, wherein the housing includes a mist vaporizer.

### Claim 14 (depends on 13)

The fuel vaporizer of claim 13, wherein the mist vaporizer includes a boiler.

### Claim 15

A fuel vaporizer, comprising:
a housing;
first and second baffles joined to the housing and extending across a width of the housing; and
a conduit extending through the first and second baffles, the conduit being in thermal communication with exhaust, and the conduit being in thermal communication with fuel in a mist form,
wherein the conduit is further in thermal communication with the first and second baffles,
wherein the first and second baffles are in thermal communication with the housing, and
wherein the first and second baffles and the housing are configured to together contain and be in thermal communication with a pool of fuel along a bottom wall of the housing.

### Claim 16 (depends on 15)

The fuel vaporizer of claim 15, further comprising: a turbulator joined to the conduit.

### Claim 17

A method of operating an internal combustion engine, given a fuel, an airflow, and exhaust gas from the internal combustion engine, the method comprising:
flowing the exhaust gas through a conduit comprising a turbulator joined inside the conduit, the conduit passing through first and second baffles within and extending across a width of a housing, the exhaust gas transferring thermal energy to the conduit;
flowing the fuel into the housing;
flowing the airflow through the housing, the airflow flowing around the conduit;
transferring thermal energy from the conduit to the airflow in the housing, the thermal energy vaporizing a first portion of the fuel into the airflow and generating a flow of vaporized fuel;
providing the flow of vaporized fuel to an intake of the internal combustion engine; and
collecting a second portion of the fuel as a pool of fuel within a chamber defined by the first and second baffles and the housing along a bottom wall of the housing.

### Claim 18 (depends on 17)

The method of claim 17, wherein flowing the exhaust gas through the conduit comprises flowing the exhaust gas through a matrix of a plurality of conduits.

### Claim 19 (depends on 17)

The method of claim 17, wherein the housing comprises a plurality of baffles including the first and second baffles and defines a plurality of chambers including the chamber, the conduit extending through the plurality of baffles and the plurality of chambers, and wherein flowing the airflow through the housing includes flowing the airflow through the plurality of chambers.