Gas ionizing apparatus for improving the operation of an internal combustion engine

In apparatus for improving the operation of an internal combustion engine having an exhaust system including a manifold and an air cleaner associated with an induction pipe into which air is drawn to produce combustion in the combustion chamber, an ignition system including contacts and an ignition cam that opens and closes the contacts as the engine is rotated, a coil for producing a spark in the combustion chamber including a primary winding and a secondary winding wound on a common core, and a power source for providing electric power to the coil, the combination comprising:

• control circuit means coupled between the power source, contacts and primary winding of the coil to alternately couple and uncouple the electric power to the primary winding via said contacts to produce continuous oscillations of repetitive positive and negative pulses of electric energy at a voltage sufficiently low to avoid the production of ozone, said control circuit means having a voltage divider including a potentiometer having a tap, said potentiometer being connected across said battery, a first transistor and a second transistor each having emitter base and collector electrodes, said first transistor and second transistor being cascaded between the voltage divider and the primary winding, the base of the first transistor being connected to a tap on a potentiometer in the voltage divider and the base electrode of the second transistor being connected to the contacts whereby to alternately open and close the contacts to conduction and nonconduction of the transistors;
• an electrode assembly in the air cleaner in proximity to the air stream drawn into the induction tube including at least one ionizing electrode coupled to the secondary winding together with a ground electrode spaced from the ionizing electrode for applying said pulses of electric energy to the air stream into the induction pipe to ionize said air stream with a minimum of ozone prior to combustion of the fuel,
• said electrode assembly including a conductive ionizing ring connected to the secondary winding having a plurality of pin-like ionizing electrodes at spaced intervals around the ring and radiating outwardly from the ring, an upper conductive ground ring spaced above said ionizing ring and a lower conductive ground ring spaced below said ionizing ring;
• a plurality of upright support spacers made of a non-conductive material for supporting said ionizing ring and said upper and lower ground rings in vertically spaced relation to one another in the air cleaner;
• and
• a reversing switch between said secondary winding and said electrode assembly to change the polarity of the ions.