US 5,855,192 A · Charge conditioning system for enabling cold starting and running of spark-ignited, diesel fueled piston engines

Abstract

A spark ignited, piston type diesel fueled internal combustion engine is provided with a charge conditioning system that includes a fuel preheater for vaporizing liquid fuel to enable starting of the engine and a least one secondary heater for adding additional heat to the charge supplied to the engine. The fuel vaporizer receives liquid fuel from the starting fuel circuit of the engine and uses an electrically or chemically energized heater device, or a direct combustion heater. The secondary heater may be associated with the charge intake conduit of the engine or with the combustion chamber of the engine. The secondary heater device may be electrically or chemically activated, or may constitute a heat regenerator that retains heat from a previous combustion cycle of the engine. Spark plug fouling is avoided by utilizing secondary chambers adjacent the combustion chamber of the engine that direct expanding jets of high velocity gases towards the spark plug electrodes each combustion cycle during the power stroke of the piston.

Claims10

Dependent claims

In a reciprocating piston type internal combustion spark-ignited engine including a charge intake conduit;

at least one variable volume combustion chamber in communication with the charge intake conduit;
said at least one combustion chamber defined by a cylinder end wall, cylinder side walls and a reciprocating piston;
a liquid fuel supply;
a charge preparation device connected to the intake conduit for receiving liquid fuel from the liquid fuel supply and supplying the fuel to air flowing in the intake conduit to form a charge;
a spark igniter in the combustion chamber and a flow control valve in the intake conduit, the improvement comprising:
a first heating device other than the spark igniter arranged to heat and vaporize at least fuel of the first charge supplied to the combustion chamber before its ignition in the combustion chamber;
and
a second heating device other than the combustion chamber walls, the piston and the spark igniter, and second heating device being located in the combustion chamber and arranged to add heat to each charge supplied to the combustion chamber after ignition of the first charge.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Charge conditioning system for enabling cold starting and running of spark-ignited, diesel fueled piston engines

Life of this patent

Charge conditioning system for enabling cold starting and running of spark-ignited, diesel fueled piston engines

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims10