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AssigneeWestport Power Inc.
InventorsPhilip G. Hill, Guowei Li, Alan B. Welch, Mark E. Dunn, Dehong Zhang
Estimating the term…
A glow member, preferably in the shape of a ring, assists ignition and combustion of a fuel used in an internal combustion engine. A fuel injection valve injects a plurality of fuel jets directly into a combustion chamber during operation of the engine so that the fuel jets are aimed to the proximity of the glow member such that ignition of fuel in each fuel jet is assisted by the glow member. The glow member is made from high temperature materials and can include catalytic materials to further promote combustion. The glow member can be actively heated, for example by an electric current, in addition to being passively heated by the heat generated within the combustion chamber by the combustion of the fuel therein.
A method of assisting ignition of a gaseous fuel within a main combustion chamber of an internal combustion engine, said method comprising:
An apparatus for assisting combustion of a gaseous fuel within a main combustion chamber of an internal combustion engine, said apparatus, comprising a glow member and a fuel injection nozzle positioned within said main combustion chamber, said glow member directly ignites a plurality of spatially distinct, directly injected fuel jets at a plurality of spatially distinct locations within the main combustion chamber.
An internal combustion engine comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.