US1669979A - Combination carburetor and fuel burner - Google Patents

Description

May 15, 1928.

J. GOOD COMBINATIQN CKRBURETOR AND FUEL BURNER INVENTOR W ATTORNEYS Original Filed Nov. 6. 1919 Patented May 15, 1928 umrao STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN GOOD, OF GARDEN CITY, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO GOOD INVENTIONS ('10., OF NEW YORK, N, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

COMBINATION CARBURETOR AND FUEL BURNER.

Original application filed November 6, 1919, Serial No. 336,027. Patent No. 1,377,989, dated May 10, 1921. Divided and this application filed May 6, 1921. Serial No. 467,452.

The invention relates to the method and means of applying suction-operated burners to the intake passages of internal combustion engines in order to supply heat thereto for vaporizing the engine fuel and thereby enabling the engine to start promptly in cold weather and to operate in general with improved e fficiency and on the lower grades of fuel. The invention consists more particularly in the organization of a suction- V operated burner with a carburetor in such manner as to deliver heatat the same or a. greater rate for load conditions as for idlmg, as may be desired, and the invention also comprises the detail of the organization and general structure as hereinafter more fully set forth, this application being a division of my co-pending application Patent No. 1,377,989, dated May 10th, 1921.

In the accompanying drawings-Figure 1 represents in end elevation an ordinary form of internal combustion engine, partly in section and with this invention applied; Figure 2 is an enlarged axial section through the carburetor and burner combi nation, parts being shown in elevation, and Figure 3 is a modified form of the combination.

In the engine shown in Figure 1, the overhead engine valve 1 represents one of the intake valves and is supplied with combustible mixture from the intake manifold 2, which is contained within the water-jacketed cylinder-head and connected to the carburetor 3, the latter being bolted directly to the side of the head. The engine intake passage as thus constituted consists of the manifold 52 and the passage through the carburetor. The carburetor may be organized in any suitable way to produce an engine operating spray mixture of fuel and air under the suction efl'ect of the engine, as usual. It is herein shown as comprising an air entrance 4 and a main air Valve 5, which is adapted to be lifted and opened by the inflowing air against its own weight but is restrained by the added resistance afforded by a dash pot piston 6, connected to the lower part of the valve stem and working in a liquid chamber, as indicated in dotted lines in Figure 2. The dash pot chamber connects with the usual float-valvevcontrolled fuel receptacle 7 being thereby kept filled with liquid fuel, and the carburetor fuel duct or spray nozzle 8 is carried by the valve 7 and extends through its stem portion being thereby in constant communication with the liquid in the dash potchainber. With this arrangement a fuel spray is delivered upwardly from the center of the valve head whenever the carburetor is in action. This type of carburetor will be recognized as well known in the art and further description will not therefore be necessary, and it Will be understood also that it is adapted to give and maintain proper relative proportions for operating the engine throughout its range of action. The air valve 5 is closed by gravity only and on this account the relative vacuum it establishes in the intake passage is a function of its Weight and therefore the same for all conditions of engine action, that is to say, the suction effect established between said valve 5 and throttle 9 will be the same for all positions of the throttle, although the suction on the other side of the throttle may vary considerably and although the rate of mixture flow to the engine may also vary according to the demand, this be ing a characteristic of all carburetors in which the main air valve is gravity operated. If the carburetor were designed with an air entrance valve closed by a spring, as for'exaniple in the case of Figure 3 presently described, the suction effect would vary more or less directly in proportion to the rate of flow. 5

According to this invention the mechanism constituting the suction burner is connected to the intake passage between the engine throttle 9 and the spray means of the carburetor so that its action is proportional to the suction efl'ect maintained in this space whether that be constant or variable. In the case of Figures 1 and 2, which is preferred, the suction burner is connected to the elbow passage directly above the carburetor spray means through a group of about seven holes, marked 10, and of about the relative size indicated in Figure 2. These holes are formed through the curved or slanting elbow wall and open directly into a combustioncham her 11, which embraces the exterior of the elbow and is conveniently cast in'place as a part of the carburetor itself. The main burner casing 12 is bolted to the flange on this chamber and contains an interior per forated air-distributing shell.13 and an air entrance valve 14. A spray means 15 is mounted in the end of the casing and shell and provided with a liquid orifice which is in connection through pipe 16 with the float chamber 7 of the carburetor, and also with a communication with the atmosphere through one or more air ducts 17 through which air may enter the spray means to shatter the liquid fuel and thus improve the atomizing' effect. A needle valve 18 is provided for regulating the liquid fuel or spray delivery. A spark plug or other suitable form of electric igniter is mounted in the burner in position to ignite the spray just before its mixture with the air inflowing through the air valve 14 and the air holes in the shell 13. The general design and mode of operation of burners such as above described are fully shown and described in my co-pending application above referred to and in my prior patents; the particular design of the burner and its detail of arrangement is not of consequence to the present invention so longas it is adapted to be ignited automatically or readily and to operate under such suction effects as are available in the spacebetween a carburetor spray nozzle and its controlling throttle. The burner igniter is connected to the usual engine ignition system or otherwise, so that it is in action whenever it is desired that the burner shall be in action. Simple means for this purpose are indicated diagrammatically in Figure 1, wherein an ordinary engine distributor head is provided with a special connection to the burner spark plug. When an operating suction .effeet is transmitted to the burner through the burner outlet 10 and ignition occurs, the resulting flame heats the outside of the elbow, while at the sametime, the hot burner products are drawn through the holes 10 into direct contact. with the carburetor mixture flowing through the intake passage, and the liquid fuel in the latter is thereby effectively vaporized by the heat though without itself becoming ignited, so that the mixture reaching the engine constitutes a medium on which, it can start instantly in very cold weather, and adapting it to operate with special efficiency. The provision of the burner outlet in the form of a number of distributed holes produces a quick commingling of the burner products with the carburetor mixture and a rapid vaporizing effect, while the application of the burner gases to the exterior of the elbow affords a hot impingement surface on which liquid fuel particles from the carburetor spray means 8 may strike and vaporize. It will be apparent that the organization above described can be arranged so that the burner 'will come into action coincidently with the carburetor, when the engine is cranked over, as by the use of the starting motor, indicated at 19 in Figure 1, which will suflice to start the engine in action. Thereafter the suction effect produced by the running engine will continue the burner in action during the warming up period as well as later, thereby avoiding the injurious effects resulting from the common practice of running the engine with an over-rich carburetor mixture until it is hot. Inasmuch as the suction effect that is transmitted to the burner is dependent upon the gravity of the air valve 5 it will be apparent that the burner starts in operation at a certain combustion rate corresponding to the gravity of the valve and that this rate is maintained after the engine picks up so that the hot burner products will be thereafter supplied at a constant rate as the throttle is more widely opened. This constant rate burner may readily be set so as to give adequate heat for starting purposes with the particular fuel in hand and is also suited for thereafter maintaining good vaporization during idling and such a setting when selected will be found to be generally satisfactory for load conditions giving needed assistance to vaporization but without unduly consuming fuel, although it is within the invention to discontinue the burner action or reduce its rate Whenever desired, as by using any ordinary shut off device for that purpose as also explained in my copending application above referred to.

In the particular instance shown in F g. 2 the carburetor valve may reach the upper limit of its lift before the engine has reached its maximum speed and in such case it will be obvious that the pressure depressFon .or

suction effect will thereafter tend to increase somewhat, with a corresponding increase in the burner rate, but for ordinary conditions of use the suction will be substantially constant regardless of change of speed, with this particular well known make of carburetor. For other carburetors in which the gravity ratio air-valve has a sufficient free lift for all speeds'or other pro-. vision for the same purpose, the burner rate will obviously'be constant for the full engine range. In either case the advantages above referred to will be made available in greater or less extent. Furthermore it is to be noted that inasmuch as the outlet holes 10 are fairly numerous and relatively large they impose no material restriction to the transmission of the suction effect from the intake to the mixing and ignition space of the burner, that is to say, the pressure depression in the latter space is always very close to equality with that in the intake,

this condition-being important in order that the flow of air through the air entrance or entrances of the burner which are relatively restricted, or of less normal capacity than the holes '10, shall be adequate to produce vigorous fu'el lifting or fuelspraying and mixture-making effects. It will be evident that the advantages of the relation of passages are not dependent on the location of the burner outlet with respect to the engine throttle.

In the form of Fig. 3 the burner 12, which may be assumed to be constructed and arranged to operate the same as above described is connected to the carburetor between its spray nozzle 20 and throttle 21 and is subject to the suction efl'ect established by the spring seated primary air valve 22 and the spring seated auxiliary air valve 23 with which this carburetor, which is of a very common type, is provided. The burner outlet to this carburetor is constituted by an annular crevice 24 of suitable cross sectional area for transmitting an adequate suction effect from the interior of the carburetor to the burner under the cranking effect and the suction so transmited is thereafter variable substantially in direct proportion to the rateof flow through the carburetor, as will be apparent. In consequence, the burner starts in action at its minimum rate of combustion and delivers heat to the metal parts of the carburetor and hot burner products to the intake passage in increasing quantity as the mixture delivered by the carburetor, increases, givfng in general its maximum heating effect when the engine is under maximum load, a condition which is desirable for certain low grade fuels and in certain types of engine, and particularly when no auxiliary heating means, such as the water jacket in Figure 1, or an exhaust gas heater, is provided. In both cases above described it will be apparent that the burner is without tendency to cease or diminish its rate of combustion as the result of increasing the rate of How through the intake, and further that in Figs. 1 and 2, the heat of the burner is most efliciently utilized because its hot combustion products not onl commingle with the liquid fuel in the carburetor mixture, but the heat of its combustion space is also transmitted directly through the wall of the intake passage to a spot or area on the interior surface of the passage where the heavier liquid particles in the mixture collect, or concentrate, and tend to form a liquid film. The burner imparts no great amount of heat to any other part of the intake passage except the part where a liquid film of fuel would otherwise be found and thereby it succeeds in vaporizing the greatest amount of l quid with the lowest resulting temperature of the explosive mixture entering the engine. The principle involved in this organization will be recognized as independent of the structure of the particular means for bringing about the concentration or collection of the liquid particlcs and also of the particular design and mode of operation of the burner, or its place of connection to the intake passage. There is therefore no intentional limitation in this patent to the specific arrangement taken for illustration of the invention, except as expressly defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. The combination in an internal combustion engine of an intake passage including a carburetor having a spray nozzle and provided with a throttle to regulate the flow through said passage, a suction operated burner having its outlet connected to said intake between said flow regulating'throttle and the carburetor spray nozzle and adapted to be operated by the suction transmitted through said outlet and thereby deliver hot combustion products into admixture with the mixture produced by the carburetor.

2. The combination in an internal combustion engine of an intake passage including a carburetor, and a constant rate burner connected to said passage and producing a constant delivery of its hot combustion products thereto irrespective of change in the rate of mixture flow from said carburetor. Y 3. The combination in an internal combustion engine of an intake passage provided carburetor, said inlet offering greater re-' striction to flow than the burner outlet.

5. The combination in an internal combustion engine, of a carburetor connected to the engine intake ports, and asuction burner also connected to said ports, having a continuous supply of fuel and being at all times subject to the same suction effect as experienced by the carburetor.

6. The combination in an internal combustion engine of a carburetor connected to the intake of the engine and a suction burner having a constantly open connection to said intake, tomatically opening valve for said inlet adapted to operate coincidently with the operation of the carburetor and to impose a greater restriction to flow than is imposed by sald constantly open connection.

7. The combination in an internal combustion engine, of a constant-depression cartion operated liquid fuel burner discharging buretor connected to the engine intake, and into the carburetor for heating the same:

a. suction burner having a continuous fuel and means for automatically restricting the supply, connected to said intake and opervariation of burner suction to a range less 5 ated at all times by the depression acting on than the range of engine suction.

the carburetor. In testimony whereof, I have signed this 15 8. In a fuel vaporizing device, the combispecification.

nation with an engine having an intake; of

a' carburetor connected therewith; a suc- JOHN GOOD.

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