US1247992A - Electric gasifier for internal-combustion engines. - Google Patents

Description

\ v w. n. NICKUM. ELECTRIC GASIFIER FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES.

' APPLICATJON f| LED FEB. 20. 1917. l,247,992. Patented Nov. 27, 1917.

.To all whom it may concern.

WALTER D. monomer GLENDALE, cALiF'oRNm, ASSIGNOR T0 JOHN G. -IZEWIS, or

PORTLAND, OREGON. p

ELECTRIC GASIFIER FOR INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES.

Be itknow'n that I, WALTER D. NIC'KUM,

' a citizen .of the United States, residing at.

Glendale; in the county'of Los Angelcs and State of California, have invented a new and-useful Electric Gasifier for Interna1-' (,ouibusti'on Engines, of vhichthe following a specification.

I ;tion engine, so as to gasify'fthe fuel, and the qniainob ect of. the present invention 18 to be conveniently controlled by .tlie'chaufl'eur. without leaving his seat. 2 i

so r the, electric connections being'indica't'ed d ia-.

grammatically, in the figure.

provide means for efiecting such heating independentlvef or in conjunction with-heat furnished from the exhaust, so asto enable convenient: and rapid startingof the ma- Another object of thein'vention, especially Specification of Letters I' atent- Patented'N 27, 1'91 7 Application filed February 20,1817.- Seria'l No. 149,848.

means 8, sullicient spacelming left ateach side of the walls of this pa'ssage'means to f permit-flow of 'the-incoming charge up- 'ardly around said passage means. A=periinatefd sheet 5', for example ()fji lle gauze, is preferablyplaced across the passage 5.

The above-described construction is not This.invention relates to means for heat- Hlg the charge; or mixture of-alr andifilcl, passing to theintake of an internal combusin the ease of anautomobile engine, s to provide for such preheatii'ig of the charge passing to the engine by means which can The accompanying drawings illustrate embodiments of the nvention and referring thereto: 1 I 1 4 Figure 1..is aivertical section, ,partly in elevatiom-of one form the invention. Fig. 2. is'a section on line 2-2 in Fig; -1,

Fig. 3. is a side elevationshowing the conand exhaust means. a

' In Figs. 1 and 2tthe'1nvention lS'ShOWIl as nectio'ns of 'thedevice td-the enginesupply ,applied in connection withheating means. utilizing the heatof the exhaust to heat the incoming charge; said heating-means com" prises for example,-a casing-l provided with a chamber 2, having inlet and outlet-passages 3 and 3, whereby it may be connected to 1 pipes indicated at 4 and}? for conducting the exhaust gases therethrough and said, casing '1 being/formed with averti cal passage 5 extending within the chamber 2Jand connected for example, by' pipe' connections .in-

- dicate'd atli, and 7 tO-i'QCQlVG the charge or mixture of air and fuel passing from the carburetor 9 to the intake means of the enginc. Saidchamber 2 is'also shown as proclaimed herein, but is illustrated as showing a form of a mixture heater, with "which my invention is specially adapt-ed fOFllSO.

'l\l invention coinprisesfan electric heat-' 'illg element or unit "mounted on the central passage means 8 aforesaid, so as. to be'exposed to the incoming mixture-ore arge. as 'it passes upwardly around said tpassage' means 8 Said heating unit may c nsist of. a cup shaped casing 11 screwing tnto the bottom Wall of said passage means 8,'a heatpig coil '12 of resistance wire mounted in said casing and insulated therefrom by means of finsu'lation indicated at 14, a cap member 10 'scrcwing on the said casing 11 and m'eans 'for supplying current to said resistance coil or wire. Inorder to supply current tothe resistance coil or wire, any suitableconnection means may be used, for" example a metal 16 mounted on the outercasing. '.,-1 ,a'ntl within the heating unit casing 11 aii d 'hto' r v v n i\ a contact pin 18 mounted within said 1 sulating'plug, the said wire or rod 15 bein winrodo'r wire 15,1nay .extend through afitube through an insulating plug- 17 men t edsulatml as indicatedat 2 0 vand being' pm i'ided-With suitable means, such as nuts 21 at its outer end for connecting a circuit ire thereto; .The device described, may in the case of an automobile engine be energized and operatedby current from the usual bat tery of tl' cignition planter of the lighting plant; the battery, indicateitat 23, being connected by Wire 24 to a switch 25, from I which a wire 27 leads to the terminalmeans 21 aforesaid. One end of thefresistance'wire 18 connected by screw 29 to the connecting.

wire 15 and the other end is connected by screw 30 to the resistance unit casing which is grounded or connected throng the] metal parts of the apparatus with the other sid'eof the. battery, gr'oundconnections to the-latter bein'gindicated by dotted line. 32.

' vided with ,a branch 8,tor passageineans,

which extends through the passage 5 atomsaid, so that part of the exhaust gases pass directly through this additional passage The controlling switch 25 may be-conven-- iently located-on the dash boa rd or elsewhere convenienttdthe chauffeur.

The operation of the device above described is as follows:' In starting the m8.-

chine, the switch is closed and the-cur rent from battery 23' flows through wire-24,

switch25, conducting rod 15, pin 18,- resist-- ance wire 12, casing 11, and through ground back to the battery. The heat generated by the current flowing through the resistance wire war the casin 11'of the heating unit 'andaa so warms t e. ad-

' jacent part of the wail from the ca-rhju'reter:

the mixture of air an tomlzed'iuel passing o heated by contact with the parts so: warmed, sufliciently to vaporize or gasity any llqllldfuel present in the mixture. and insure. ex-

ams. V

through the mititure passage, the samev metal that is utilized to conduct heat from the exhaust gases to the mixture is also used -to conduct heat from the electric heating element to the mixture. Moreover, as the elec-- orfpassage 8, so that to the engine intake 'is lesion or combustion of the mixture when "it is compressedand ignited in the cylinder,

' Kiid also insure that all of the fuel will be carried forward with the mixture; and that none willbe condensed on the walls of the Ltions, .forexamplqwheo h togasigt, either by reaspnof'the engine bean or by reasonof the lack of volapassages By preh manner startingoff e on inc is insured and accelerated, even. under} nfevorableicondithe'fu'el is difiicult col tillty'of-the fuel. In fact with this device it is "possible to use distillate or similar cheap-and 'comparativel non-volatile fuels,

without involving any ifliculty in starting the engine, or requiring priming or starting withasolene, or preheating with torches,

oreove'r, the devicoma be brought.

Y into operation by the chau car, without leaving his seat, and when the en under-way the electric-heating cvice may ting the charge in this trio heating element is completely surrounded by, the mixture, the heat from 'said ele-' ment is full utilized in heating the mixture. What I c aim is:

i 1. In combination w th an internalcombustion-en inc and a carbureter connected to theinta e the'reof, a heating means con-. nected to receive exhaust gases from the engine, and provided with a passage connected to receive mixture passin fronrthe carhureter to the engine,an ,havin s.;wall adapted to receive heat fromsal vexhaust .gases and to transmit such heat to the mix i 'ture in said passage,'and un ele ctric heating element mounted in saidwall of. said assage in such-manner as to transmit eat from said electric heating element to said mixture through ,the same wall-thattransmits'the heat to the mixture-from the ex? haust gases. p 2. Incombination with an internal combustion engine having a'carhureter, an, in: tn'kc connection from said cnrhureter to-the engine and an exhaust connection from the V gins is well a he cut out of. operation, hyopening switch 2,5, While the vehicle is in motio'mso as to utilize the heat of ithe exhausty passing. {through the passage means'8 and chamber 2, for heating the iniziture, and thereby reduce the demands ontlie battery. In general, the electrical pre-heaitingmeans need he operated for only a minute or so solthat' dry .batteriesmay be used therefor i-f de- The above described construction; has the advantagethat by mountingthe electric "engine, a heatiny means comprising passage e means conncctm inthe connection from t carburetor to the engine and a passage con- Intcstimony whereof I have hereunto set myv hand, at Los Angeles, California, this heating element in a wall portion that surrounds an exhaust passage andlextends 10th day of February 1917. A WALTER D. NicK'UM;

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