US 4,287,863 A · Power transmission

Abstract

An emission control method is disclosed for the current, conventional, piston type, spark ignition, gasoline or equivalent fueled internal combustion engine having at least one cylinder. The method of the present invention increases the engine's fuel economy upwards of 70% from its current level. The emission control method being accomplished by engine modifications including a dual induction system adapted to provide to the engine a relatively low (lean) fuel content and therefore a relatively low power fuel-air mixture. This accomplishes an increased fuel economy and a substantially emission free exhaust, as pertains to the fuel alone. The dual induction system includes a heated intake supplying all of the fuel to the engine in a highly-heated state and a small percentage of the total inducted air, equally as highly heated. The dual induction system also includes an unheated and relatively much larger capacity cold air intake adapted to supply all of the unheated air inducted by the engine. The dual induction system enables a fuel-air mixture to be concentrated near the cylinder's usual spark plug to achieve a localized, initial, combustible charge thereat. Additionally, the unheated air intake of the dual induction system allows, in part, the engine's piston speed to be economically increased substantially beyond the conventional 3000 feet per minute commercial limit for adequately durable sliding piston reciprocating speed, and, an associated increase of the engine's crankshaft speed, to recover the potential engine power lost by the use of only the relatively low power mixture used in reducing the emissions. The modified engine includes also, a crosshead assembly associated with the dynamic action between said piston and the cylinder, which enables the modified engine to operate indefinitely at the power output and speed increases, or, as limited by sources other than the crosshead assembly associated with the dynamic action.

Claims17

Dependent claims

A method of reducing the exhaust emissions of an internal combustion engine having a dual induction system, said dual induction system including a cold air intake and a heated fuel-air intake, a plurality of cylinders, each having a reciprocating piston, and an exhaust outlet means, a crankshaft, said engine including connecting rods interconnecting said pistons and said crankshaft, said method including the steps of:

(a) supplying a heated fuel-air gaseous mixture through said heated fuel-air intake into a cylinder during the intake stroke of a piston reciprocating therein;
(b) simultaneously with step (a) supplying cold intake air through said cold-air intake into said cylinder whereby the overall fuel content in the cylinder remains at approximately 4.8% of the total air volume inducted and thereby increasing the breathing capacity of said engine, said mixture being concentrated at said cylinder's spark plug, by said dual induction system, to assure consistent ignition of said mixture whereby unburned hydrocarbon emissions, carbon monoxide gas and nitrogen oxide gas are reduced;
(c) guiding said reciprocating pistons within said cylinders by means of a crosshead assembly and guideways guiding said crossheads in the reciprocating axis of said pistons, to eliminate from said pistons the thrust force of said connecting rods and permit the pistons to float within the cylinders;
and
(d) increasing the piston sliding speed to a speed in excess of 3000 feet per minute thereby compensating for the power loss to said lower power mixture.

2 more elements

In a method of reducing emissions of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and oxides of nitrogen from an internal combustion engine, the steps of:

(1) supplying a heated fuel-air gaseous mixture into a cylinder during the intake stroke of a piston reciprocating therein;
(2) simultaneously with step (1), supplying intake air into said cylinder;
(3) intermixing the heated fuel-air mixture and the inducted air to achieve and maintain an overall fuel content in the cylinder of about 4.8% of the total air volume inducted;
(4) as a result of step (1) and as a result of piston movement in the cylinder toward a top dead center position, vaporizing substantially all the fuel and concentrating the fuel in the vicinity of a spark plug in the cylinder to achieve an ignitable charge wherein the fuel content in the vicinity of the spark plug is within the range of approximately 7% to 13% of the fuel-air mixture at the instant of ignition spark timing;
(5) igniting the fuel-air mixture and burning essentially all the fuel in the cylinder with (a) a reduction in the production of oxides of nitrogen due to a lower combustion temperature as a result of the relatively low content of fuel in the cylinder, (b) a reduction in carbon monoxide due to a large quantity of available inducted atmospheric oxygen in the cylinder and (c) a reduction in hydrocarbon emissions due to concentrating the fuel at the spark plug and the resultant complete burning of the fuel;
(6) expelling the burned gaseous exhaust from the cylinder by reciprocating the piston within the cylinder;
(7) sequentially repeating steps (1) through (6) and reciprocating the piston at a speed in excess of 3000 feet per minute;
(8) axially stabilizing the piston during its reciprocation in the cylinder with a roller crosshead assembly, to (a) prevent the piston from engaging the cylinder wall and creating normally premature wear due to the increased piston reciprocation speed and (b) reduce friction from sliding the piston on the cylinder wall.

5 more elements

In a method of reducing pollutant emissions from an internal combustion engine, the steps of:

(1) inducting a heated fuel-air gaseous mixture into a cylinder during the intake stroke of a piston reciprocating therein, the heated fuel-air gaseous mixture being inducted into the cylinder through a heated, first intake passageway;
(2) simultaneously with step (1) inducting intake air into said cylinder through a second intake passageway;
(3) intermixing the heated fuel-air mixture and the inducted air to achieve an overall fuel content in the cylinder of only about 4.8% of the total volume intake;
(4) as a result step (1) and as a result of piston movement in the cylinder toward a top dead center position, concentrating fuel in the vicinity of a spark plug in the cylinder to achieve an ignitable charge wherein the fuel content in the vicinity of the spark plug is within the range of approximately 7% to 13% of the fuel-air mixture;
(5) igniting the fuel-air mixture and burning essentially all of the fuel in the cylinder before the exhaust stroke of the piston reciprocation cycle to achieve a reduction in polluting emissions;
(6) expelling the burned gaseous exhaust from the cylinder by reciprocating the piston in the cylinder;
(7) sequentially repeating steps (1) through (6) and reciprocating the piston at a speed in excess of 3000 feet per minute;
and
(8) axially stabilizing the piston during its reciprocation in the cylinder with a roller crosshead assembly including a connecting rod interconnection the piston and a crankshaft, a roller rotatably received by said connecting rod, a cup-shaped piston guide member opening toward said piston and receiving the piston during reciprocation, and a pair of opposed guideways rotatably receiving said roller and extending along the reciprocating axis of said piston, such axial stabilization preventing the connecting rod forces from causing the piston to engage the cylinder wall and create wear as a result of the reciprocation speed.

6 more elements

The method of operating a reciprocating piston type, four stroke cycle internal combustion engine using liquid hydrocarbon fuel to reduce the air polluting exhaust emissions during any power output, said engine including;

at least one cylinder, multiple supply means for supplying fuel and air to form a combustible fuel-air combination in said cylinder, and an exhaust means for said cylinder;
said method including the steps of:
(a) supplying air through one of said multiple supply means into said cylinder during at least one stroke of the piston therein,
(b) supplying fuel through a second of said multiple supply means to said cylinder in a quantity such that the overall fuel content, by weight, in the cylinder does not exceed about 4.8% of the weight of the air supplied to said cylinder at any power output during normal hot engine operation,
(c) simultaneously with step (b) concentrating a sufficient amount of the fuel in the area of the ignition means in said cylinder, which, following ignition causes combustion of substantially the entire amount of fuel in the cylinder during the power stroke and prior to the exhaust stroke of the piston,
(d) combustion of the air and fuel supplied to said cylinder in steps (a) and (b) in the quantities stated, and in combination with means associated with said piston, together enabling said piston to be reciprocated at a speed sufficiently in excess of 3000 feet per minute to produce a full power output with said 4.8% fuel air combination substantially equal to the full power output of a conventional engine of said type of equal piston displacement which utilizes a fuel and air combination wherein the fuel is about 8% by weight of the air and has a piston speed not in excess of about 3000 feet per minute at full power output;
the combination of steps (b) and (c) substantially reducing the amount of unburned hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and oxides of nitrogen gases produced during operation of said engine as compared with said conventional engine.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Power transmission

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Power transmission

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Abstract

Claims17