Internal combustion engine ignition device
AssigneeThe University of Melbourne
InventorHarry C. Watson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An ignition device for an internal combustion engine comprising a smal pre-chamber 1 having a volume of about 0.7 of the volume of an associated combustion chamber, a small outlet orifice 1a in a pre-chamber having a dimensionaless throat parameter of about 0.4 to 0.7, a valve 2 controlling the introduction of hydrogen gas to the pre-chamber 1 via a valve driver 3 and a spark plug 4 for igniting the hydrogen rich mixture (about 3 times stoiciometric) in the pre-chamber to cause an ignition jet of burning gas to issue from the orifice 1a to promote efficient combustion and to reduce NOx emissions at lean burning mixtures and at higher compression ratios without knock.
Claims12
An ignition device for association with an internal combustion engine having a combustion chamber of predetermined clearance volume, comprising a small pre-chamber having a volume of 0.5 or less than 2% of the clearance volume, said pre-chamber having at least one outlet orifice opening into the combustion chamber, means for creating a rapidly combustible hydrogen-rich mixture of about 1.2 to 7 times stoichiometric in said pre-chamber, and means for igniting the combustible mixture in the pre-chamber,
- said pre-chamber and said at least one orifice being dimensioned to have a dimensionless throat parameter .beta.= ##EQU3## within the range of 0.3 to 0.8, thereby causing an ignition jet to issue from said at least one orifice into the combustion chamber so as to promote efficient combustion within the internal combustion engine.
A method of operating a internal combustion engine having a combustion chamber of predetermined clearance volume, comprising the steps of associating with the combustion chamber a pre-chamber having a volume of 0.5 to less than 2% of the predetermined volume and comprising at least one orifice opening into the combustion chamber, introducing into the pre-chamber a rapidly combustible hydrogen-rich mixture of about 1.2 to 7 times stoichiometric, and igniting the mixture in the pre-chamber to create a burning fuel ignition jet from said at least one orifice to promote efficient combustion within the combustion chamber,
- said pre-chamber and said at least one orifice being dimensioned to have a dimensionless throat parameter .beta.= ##EQU4## within the range 0.3 to 0.8.
In combination, an internal combustion engine having a combustion chamber of predetermined clearance volume and an ignition device comprising a small pre-chamber having a volume of 0.5 to less than 2% of the clearance volume, said pre-chamber having at least one outlet orifice opening into the combustion chamber, means for creating a rapidly combustible hydrogen-rich mixture of about 1.2 to 7 times stoichiometric in said pre-chamber, and means for igniting the combustible mixture in the pre-chamber,
- said pre-chamber and said at least one orifice being dimensioned to have a dimensionless throat parameter .beta.= ##EQU5## within the range of 0.3 to 0.8, thereby causing an ignition jet to issue from said at least one orifice into said combustion chamber so as to promote efficient combustion within the internal combustion engine.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.