HEATED CATALYZED FUEL INJECTOR FOR INJECTION IGNITION ENGINES

Abstract

The present invention provides an injector-ignition fuel injector for an internal combustion engine, comprising an input fuel metering system for dispensing a next fuel charge into a pressurizing chamber, a pressurization ram system including a pressurization ram for compressing the fuel charge within the pressurizing chamber, wherein the fuel charge is heated in the pressurization chamber in the presence of a catalyst, and an injector nozzle for injecting the heated catalyzed fuel charge into a combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 (prior art) is a schematic diagram that illustrates the inefficiencies in a conventional combustion process inside a spark ignition gasoline engine or a compression ignition diesel engine;

FIG. 2 (prior art) is a schematic diagram that illustrates a typical heat release profile within a high efficiency direct injection Euro-diesel engine cycle;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram that illustrates the difference between ignition in a conventional gas engine and ignition in an internal combustion engine having a fuel injector in accordance with the principles of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a heat release profile for an internal combustion engine having a fuel injector in accordance with the principles of the invention;

FIG. 5 depicts a combustion chamber for the internal combustion engine of the invention including a heated catalyzed fuel injector mounted substantially in the center of the cylinder head;

FIG. 6 depicts a preferred heated catalyzed injector-ignition fuel injector constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the heated catalyzed injector-ignition fuel injector of FIG. 6 showing the fuel inlet and outlet subsystems;

FIG. 8A is a sectional view of the fuel injector of FIG. 6, wherein the ram is in a full displacement position, whereas FIG. 8B is a sectional view of the fuel injector of FIG. 6, wherein the ram is in a fully retracted position for allowing liquid fuel to enter the pressurization chamber;

FIG. 9A is a sectional view of an alternative fuel injector of the invention comprising a linear fuel injector, while FIG. 9B is a sectional view of the linear fuel injector of FIG. 9A that has been modified for hot rail variants; and

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram that illustrates a hot rail system featuring one or more heated catalyzed linear fuel injectors of FIG. 9.

Claims

1. An injector-ignition fuel injector for dispensing fuel into a combustion chamber of an internal combustion engine, the fuel injector comprising: an input fuel metering system for dispensing a next fuel charge into a pressurizing chamber;a pressurization ram system including a pressurization ram for compressing the fuel charge within the pressurizing chamber, wherein the fuel charge is heated in the pressurization chamber in the presence of a catalyst; andan injector nozzle for injecting the heated catalyzed fuel charge into the combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine.

2. The fuel injector of claim 1, wherein the fuel injector dispenses the fuel charge substantially exclusively during a power stroke of the internal combustion engine.

3. The fuel injector of claim 1, wherein the catalyst is selected from the group consisting of nickel, nickel-molybdenum, alpha alumina, aluminum silicon dioxide, other air electrode oxygen reduction catalysts, and other catalysts used for hydrocarbon cracking.

4. The fuel injector of claim 1, wherein the fuel charge is heated to a temperature between 600° F. and 750° F.

5. The fuel injector of claim 1, wherein the input fuel metering system comprises an inline fuel filter, a metering solenoid and a liquid fuel needle valve.

6. The fuel injector of claim 5, wherein the liquid fuel needle valve comprises an electromagnetically or piezoelectric activated needle valve that dispenses the next fuel charge into the pressurizing chamber.

7. The fuel injector of claim 1, wherein the injector nozzle is disposed between the pressurization chamber and the combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine.

8. The fuel injector of claim 1, wherein the fuel charge is dispensed by the input fuel metering system is roasted in the pressurization chamber via a hot section of the fuel injector.

9. The fuel injector of claim 1, wherein the catalyst begins to crack the fuel and causes it to react with one or more internal sources of oxygen.

10. The fuel injector of claim 9, wherein the one or more internal sources of oxygen are selected from the group consisting of MTBE, ethanol, other octane and cetane boosters, and other fuel oxygenator agents

11. The fuel injector of claim 9, wherein the one or more internal sources of oxygen include hot exhaust gas that is pulled in during an exhaust cycle of the engine by opening the injector nozzle pin valve and retracting the pressurization ram.

12. The fuel injector of claim 9, wherein the one or more internal sources of oxygen include fresh air that is pulled in through an air inlet pinhole in communication with the pressurization chamber.

13. The fuel injector of claim 1, wherein the injector nozzle comprises an injector nozzle pin valve, a collimator for collimating the fuel charge, and a pin valve actuator.

14. The fuel injector of claim 13, wherein the injector nozzle pin valve opens at approximately 180° of cycle rotation to dispense the collimated fuel charge into the combustion chamber.

15. The fuel injector of claim 13, wherein the pin valve actuator comprises a pin valve solenoid which operates a pin valve drive shaft for injecting the next fuel charge through the injector nozzle pin valve into the combustion chamber.

16. The fuel injector of claim 15, wherein the pin valve drive shaft is disposed within a bore of the pressurization ram such that the pin valve drive shaft may slide coaxially within the pressurization ram.

17. The fuel injector of claim 15, wherein the pin valve drive shaft is disposed at an angle with respect to the pressurization ram.

18. The fuel injector of claim 15, wherein the pin valve drive shaft operates independently of the pressurization ram.

19. The fuel injector of claim 15, wherein the pressurizing ram and the pin valve drive shaft are exercised repeatedly during engine starting operations to purge and clean the fuel injector.

20. The fuel injector of claim 1, wherein injector nozzle is electrically heated using a nichrome heating element that lines the injector nozzle.

21. The fuel injector of claim 13, wherein the pin valve actuator comprises a rapid response electromagnetic drive or a piezoelectric drive.

22. The fuel injector of claim 1, wherein the pressurization ram system further comprises a pressurization ram driver for moving the pressurization ram between a fully retracted position and a full displacement position.

23. The fuel injector of claim 22, wherein the next fuel charge enters the pressurization chamber when the pressurization ram is in the fully retracted position, and wherein the pressurization ram compresses the fuel charge as it transitions from a liquid to a gas, and then to its critical point and beyond, where it becomes a very dense vapor.

24. The fuel injector of claim 22, wherein the pressurization ram comprises a magnetically active portion, an insulating portion, and a hot section compatible portion that is disposed substantially within a hot section of the fuel injector when the pressurization ram is in the full displacement position.

25. The fuel injector of claim 22, wherein when the pressurization ram is in the fully retracted position, it forms a reduced pressure in the combustion chamber, allowing the input fuel metering system to inject the next charge as a relatively cool liquid.

26. The fuel injector of claim 1, wherein the pressurization ram driver includes a multiple winding solenoid coil system comprising a retraction solenoid and a pressurization solenoid.

27. The fuel injector of claim 1, wherein the pressurization ram driver includes a linear stepping motor for driving the pressurization ram.

28. The fuel injector of claim 1, wherein the fuel injector is housed directly in an exhaust port of the internal combustion engine.

29. The fuel injector of claim 1, wherein the fuel injector runs on high octane rated fuels, high cetane rated fuels, and mixtures of gas engine fuels and diesel engine fuels.

30. The fuel injector of claim 1, wherein the fuel injector runs on gasoline, diesel fuel, and various mixtures of cetane, heptane, ethanol, plant oil, biodiesel, alcohols and plant extracts.

31. A hot rail system for dispensing fuel into a combustion chamber of an internal combustion engine, the fuel injector comprising: a high pressure engine driven pump for receiving low pressure fuel and pumping the fuel at high pressure into the one or more fuel injectors by way of one or more equal length feed lines, wherein each fuel injector comprises: an input fuel metering system for dispensing a next fuel charge into a pressurizing chamber;a pressurization ram system including a pressurization ram for compressing the fuel charge within the pressurizing chamber, wherein the fuel charge is heated in the pressurization chamber in the presence of a catalyst; andan injector nozzle for injecting the heated catalyzed fuel charge into the combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine.

32. The hot rail system of claim 31, further comprising an electrically powered pre-heater for each fuel injector.

33. The hot rail system of claim 32, wherein each pre-heater is configured to pre-heat the fuel to about 400° F. prior to entering a fuel injector.

34. The hot rail system of claim 31, wherein the system comprises four fuel injectors associated with four equal length feed lines and four pre-heaters.

35. The hot rail system of claim 31, wherein the system comprises eight fuel injectors associated with eight equal length feed lines and eight pre-heaters.

36. The hot rail system of claim 31, wherein the hot rail system is purged with an inert gas such or an inert liquid which is introduced into the high pressure feed pump via a purge inlet.

37. The hot rail system of claim 36, wherein purging is performed during shut down while the system is cooling down to ambient temperature.

38. The hot rail system of claim 31, wherein the injector nozzle comprises an injector nozzle pin valve, a collimator for collimating the fuel charge, and a pin valve actuator.

39. The hot rail system of claim 38, wherein the injector nozzle pin valve opens at approximately top dead center to dispense the collimated fuel charge into the combustion chamber.

40. The hot rail system of claim 38, wherein the pin valve actuator comprises a pin valve solenoid which operates a pin valve drive shaft for injecting the next fuel charge through the injector nozzle pin valve into the combustion chamber.

41. The hot rail system of claim 40, wherein the pin valve drive shaft is disposed within a bore of the pressurization ram such that the pin valve drive shaft may slide coaxially within the pressurization ram.

42. The hot rail system of claim 40, wherein the pin valve drive shaft is disposed at an angle with respect to the pressurization ram.

43. The hot rail system of claim 40, wherein the pin valve drive shaft operates independently of the pressurization ram.

44. The hot rail system of claim 31, wherein each fuel injector runs on high octane rated fuels, high cetane rated fuels, and mixtures of gas engine fuels and diesel engine fuels.

45. The hot rail system of claim 31, wherein each fuel injector runs on gasoline, diesel fuel, and various mixtures of cetane, heptane, ethanol, plant oil, biodiesel, alcohols and plant extracts.