Air fuel vapor stratifier

In a piston internal combustion engine comprising:

• at least one combined means for compressing and expanding gases, each said combined means comprising an internal combustion engine mechanism comprising a variable volume chamber for compressing and expanding gases, and drive means for driving said internal combustion engine mechanism and varying the volume of said chamber through repeated cycles;
• said variable volume chamber comprising a combustion chamber end at the minimum volume portion of said variable volume;
• each said variable volume cycle comprising a compression time interval, when said variable volume is sealed and decreasing, followed by an expansion time interval, when said variable volume is sealed and increasing, these two time intervals together being a compression and expansion time interval;
• each said combined means for compressing and expanding further comprising intake means for admitting reactant gases into said variable volume chamber prior to each said compression time interval, exhaust means for removing reacted gases from said variable volume chamber after each said expansion time interval;
• each said variable volume cycle further comprising an exhaust time interval when said variable volume is opened to said exhaust means, followed by an intake time interval when said variable volume is opened to said intake means, these two time intervals being an exhaust and intake time interval;
• said exhaust and intake time interval following after a preceding expansion time interval and preceding a next following compression time interval;
• said piston internal combustion engine further comprising a source of supply of reactant gas containing appreciable oxygen gas, such as air, to each said intake means for admitting reactant gases into said variable volume chamber;
• each cycle of said variable volume chamber further comprising a potential combustion time interval comprising that portion of said compression and expansion time interval during which fuel and reactant gas containing appreciable oxygen gas are both present within said variable volume chamber;
• each cycle of said variable volume chamber further comprising a combustion time interval during which the mixture of fuel and reactant gas containing appreciable oxygen gas is ignited and burned;
• wherein the improvement comprises adding to said piston internal combustion engine at least one air fuel vapor stratifier for each said variable volume chamber of said piston internal combustion engine, each said air fuel vapor stratifier comprising:
• a displacer piston sealably operative within a displacer cylinder;
• a displacer volume enclosed between said displacer cylinder and said displacer piston;
• at least one exit flow passage between said displacer volume and said variable volume chamber and connecting into said variable volume chamber at the combustion chamber end thereof;
• a displacer piston driver means for moving said displacer piston into said displacer volume;
• a displacer piston retractor means for retracting said displacer piston out of said displacer volume;
• a driver timer means for timing the moving of said displacer piston into said displacer volume so that the contents of said displacer volume are displaced out of said volume, via said exit flow passages, into said variable volume chamber, during said combustion time interval;
• a retraction timer means for timing the retraction of said displacer piston out of said displacer volume, so that said retraction occurs during a portion of said exhaust and intake and compression time intervals;
• a mixture generator means for creating an air fuel vapor mixture, within said displacer volume, so that said air fuel vapor mixture is present in said volume prior to each said combustion time interval;
• said mixture generator means comprising, a source of displacer fuel, a source of displacer air, a mixer means for mixing said fuel into said displacer air, a flow control means for controlling the flow of said air fuel vapor mixture, so that said air fuel vapor mixture flows out of said displacer volume only via said exit flow passages;
• volume adjustment means for adjusting the volume of said displacer volume, while said engine is running;
• fuel quantity adjustment means for adjusting the fuel quantity in said air fuel vapor mixture inside said displacer volume.