Internal pre-chamber (IPC) ignition device for turbulent jet ignition in reciprocating engines
AssigneeSaudi Arabian Oil Company
InventorAshish Dinesh Shah
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A reciprocating engine system includes a cylinder and a piston movable within the cylinder and having a piston head. A combustion chamber is defined within the cylinder, between the piston head, the inner cylinder wall, and a cylinder head. The engine system also includes an intermittent prechamber having a lower prechamber jaw provided on the piston head and an upper prechamber jaw provided through the cylinder head, wherein a prechamber volume is variable and directly related to a position of the piston head within the combustion chamber.
Claims18
A reciprocating engine system, comprising:
- a cylinder;
- a piston movable within the cylinder, having a piston head;
- a combustion chamber defined within the cylinder between the piston head and a cylinder head;
- and
- an intermittent prechamber, comprising:
- a lower prechamber jaw provided on the piston head;
- an upper prechamber jaw provided through the cylinder head;
- and
- one or more prechamber nozzles formed in an interface between the upper prechamber jaw and the lower prechamber jaw,
- wherein a prechamber volume and a nozzle area are variable and directly related to a position of the piston head within the combustion chamber.
A prechamber formed in an engine, the prechamber comprising:
- a lower prechamber jaw provided on a piston head of a piston movable within a cylinder of the engine;
- an upper prechamber jaw provided through a cylinder head of the engine,
- one or more prechamber nozzles formed in an interface between the upper prechamber jaw and the lower prechamber jaw,
- wherein a nozzle area and a prechamber volume formed between the upper prechamber jaw and the lower prechamber jaw are variable and directly related to a position of the piston within the cylinder.
A method, comprising:
- providing a reciprocating engine system, having a combustion chamber, a piston, and an intermittent prechamber,
- wherein the intermittent prechamber comprises an upper prechamber jaw provided in a cylinder head of the reciprocating engine system and a lower prechamber jaw provided on a head of the piston;
- fueling the combustion chamber and the intermittent prechamber using a direct fuel injector during a compression stroke of the piston;
- closing the intermittent prechamber, the closing comprising:
- moving the upper prechamber jaw and the lower prechamber jaw together to form one or more variable sized prechamber nozzles in an interface between the upper prechamber jaw and the lower prechamber jaw;
- igniting a volume of fuel enclosed within the intermittent prechamber with a spark plug;
- moving the piston head away from the upper prechamber jaw through the combustion chamber during an expansion stroke of the piston;
- and
- opening the intermittent prechamber.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.