KR20180110146A - Multi-fuel system for internal combustion engine - Google Patents

Abstract

In a multi-fuel system for diesel engines, natural gas is mixed with diesel fuel and conditioned in a mixing chamber before being injected into the engine's combustion chamber. The computerized controller is used to determine and control the ratio of diesel fuel to natural gas fuel, the mixing and conditioning of these fuels, and the supply of filtered blowby gas.

Description

Multi-fuel system for internal combustion engine

The present invention generally relates to a fuel system for an internal combustion engine. More particularly, the present invention relates to a multi-fuel system for an internal combustion engine using both diesel and natural gas.

It is estimated that there are currently 300 million vehicles on US roads. Everyday Americans drive almost an hour by car. Also, about 70% of the goods shipped in the United States travel in commercial vehicles. Obviously, cars are an integral part of everyday life in the United States. It is the same in most countries around the world. The world's dependence on automobiles creates similar dependence on fuel sources that power these cars. Most cars on the road today are fueled by gasoline or diesel fuel. Most commercial vehicles are fueled by diesel fuel.

Dependence on fossil fuels causes many problems. Diesel fuel prices fluctuate daily, but there is a clear upward trend in fuel prices. There is no indication that such fuel prices will decline in the near future. Air pollution problems inherent in the operation of gasoline and diesel fuel internal combustion engines are well known. These air pollutants include carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter, ozone, sulfur dioxide and lead. All these pollutants are known to cause ozone depletion and acid rain in the environment, as well as human health problems. Many people speculate that air pollution is a gradual, irreversible cause of global warming.

For this reason, a variety of emission control devices are currently in use and may be required by federal regulations to reduce the amount of pollutants released into the atmosphere by the internal combustion engine. These exhaust gas control devices comply with various air quality standards set by EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) including the Clean Air Act. Each state also has its own environmental protection regulations and enforcement methods. California's Air Resources Board (CARB) is the most stringent regulator of domestic pollution. Exhaust emission standards set by CARB are more stringent than federal EPA requirements, especially with regard to smogg hydrocarbon and nitrogen oxide emissions. Currently, 16 other states are adopting or adopting California's stringent emission standards.

However, the exhaust gas control device may be deteriorated with time after removing only a part of the pollutant. Further, the exhaust gas control device also prevents the engine from operating at the highest efficiency. In addition, such an exhaust gas control device has a somewhat limited ability to remove contaminants, which significantly increases the cost of the vehicle.

Further, exhaust or combustion of the blowby gas contributes to the exhaust gas. In diesel engines, oil is used to lubricate the crankshaft and connecting rod bearings. The crankcase is mainly filled with air and oil. The intake manifold accepts and mixes fuel and air from a separate source. The fuel / air mixture in the intake manifold is sucked into the combustion chamber and is compressed and ignited by the spark plug or by the movement of the piston shaft in the combustion chamber. The piston ring disposed about the outer diameter of the piston in the piston cylinder is intended to seal the unburned and combusted fuel and the air injected into the combustion chamber from the crankcase, but the piston ring can not completely seal the piston cylinder. The waste gas then enters the crankcase, which is commonly referred to as a "blow-by" gas.

Blowby gases consist mainly of contaminants such as hydrocarbons (unburned fuel), carbon dioxide and / or water vapor, all of which are harmful to the engine crankcase. The capture of the blowby gas in the crankcase allows the contaminants to condense and accumulate over time in the engine crankcase. Condensed contaminants form caustic acid and sludge inside the crankcase. This reduces the ability of the engine oil in the crankcase to supply lubricant to the cylinder and crankshaft. A degraded oil that does not adequately lubricate the crankshaft component can be an increasing factor in engine wear and tear as well as engine performance degradation.

A crankcase ventilation system has been developed for venting blowby gas from a positive crankcase ventilation (PCV) valve to an intake manifold that is recirculated. However, such blowby gas removed from the crankcase often contains a relatively high level of lubricating oil or the like, which enters the air intake manifold and thus enters the combustion chamber and increases contamination caused by the vehicle.

This issue is particularly problematic in diesel engines because diesel engines burn diesel fuel, much heavier and heavier than gasoline. Thus, the blowby gas produced by the crankcase of a diesel engine is much more greasy and heavier than gasoline blowby gas. Of course, the combustion of diesel blowby gas causes greater pollution concerns.

A large amount of natural gas has recently been found in the United States. Natural gas is also used as fuel for internal combustion engines. Natural gas can discharge less combustion pollutants and reduce engine operating costs without a complex exhaust gas control system. The use of natural gas is expected to reduce world fossil fuel consumption rates.

Since there are not many distributors of widely distributed automotive natural gas in current transportation infrastructure, it is impractical to produce vehicles that only supply gas fuel, such as natural gas, due to the limited range. Instead, it is more practical to supply both the vehicle with a liquid fuel such as diesel fuel and a gaseous fuel such as natural gas.

Accordingly, there is a continuing need for a system capable of reducing the exhaust gas of a diesel combustion engine by burning diesel fuel mixed with natural gas as well as diesel fuel. To reduce the complexity and cost of the system and to retrofit existing diesel engines, there is a need for a system that does so with as few modifications as possible to existing fuel intake systems and configurations. There is also a need for a system for filtering the blowby gas of a diesel engine crankcase to reduce the environmental impact of the blowby gas entering the combustion chamber while maintaining a clean, filtered lubricant in the crankcase. The present invention meets this need and provides other related advantages.

The present invention relates to a multi-fuel engine system. The multi-fuel engine system begins with a diesel engine having a diesel tank fluidly connected to the combustion chamber by a first supply line. The diesel engine may include a fuel injector rail and a fuel injector extending into the combustion chamber, wherein the first supply line is fluidly connected to the combustion chamber via the fuel injector rail and the fuel injector. The fuel injector is responsive to the microcontroller described below.

The engine preferably has a plurality of combustion chambers corresponding to any number of the plurality of pistons in the engine. With a plurality of pistons and combustion chambers, the engine may also include a plurality of fuel injectors extending from the fuel injector rails to each combustion chamber.

The system also has a fuel injector rail and a natural gas tank fluidly connected to the combustion chamber by a second supply line through which fuel injectors can pass if present. The natural gas tank is preferably made of a puncture resistant material or carbon fiber. The natural gas tank and the second supply line are preferably pressurized.

The system also has a mixing chamber arranged to be connected to the first and second supply lines, wherein the mixing chamber mixes the diesel fuel from the diesel tank and the natural gas from the natural gas tank to form a multi-fuel mixture before the combustion chamber . The microcontroller is connected to a sensor monitoring the operating characteristics of the diesel engine, in particular engine temperature, battery charge, engine RPM, acceleration rate, exhaust characteristics or PCV valve position.

The mixing chamber reacts to the microcontroller to selectively control the formation of the multi-fuel mixture. The mixing chamber preferably processes the multi-fuel mixture by expansion, aeration, pressurization, heating or cooling performed in response to a signal from the microcontroller. The mixing chamber preferably mixes diesel fuel and natural gas in a ratio of 1: 1 in pure diesel, and also in response to signals from the microcontroller.

The diesel tank preferably includes a diesel level sensor connected wirelessly to the microcontroller. In addition, the natural gas tank preferably has a natural gas level sensor connected wirelessly to the microcontroller. The microcontroller is configured to selectively regulate the formation of the multi-fuel mixture in response to signals from the diesel level sensor and the natural gas level sensor. The microcontroller is preferably configured to increase the diesel fuel in the mixing chamber in response to an increased torque of the engine, an increased load or an increased altitude. Increased torque, increased load, or increased altitude of the engine is determined by analysis of the operating characteristics of the diesel engine by the sensor.

The system preferably includes a blowby gas system including a PCV valve arranged to be connected to a recycle line extending from the crankcase of the diesel engine to the mixing chamber. The blowby gas system further includes an oil filter in the recirculation line between the crankcase and the PCV valve.

The system may also include a microcontroller, a diesel level sensor, and a display device wirelessly coupled to the natural gas level sensor. The display device may be configured to display a level of diesel fuel in the diesel tank, a level of natural gas in the natural gas tank, and a ratio of diesel fuel to natural gas in the multi-fuel mixture in the mixing chamber. The display device may be a smart phone or a monitor mounted on a manifold board. The display device may be configured to receive user input and transmit a control signal to the microcontroller. The control signal can manually adjust the formation of the multi-fuel mixture. The user input may be received by a touch screen, a button, or voice recognition.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following more detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention. In the drawing:
1 is a schematic view of a vehicle having a multi-fuel system of the present invention.
2 is a schematic diagram of an engine including a multi-fuel system of the present invention.
3 is a schematic view of a fuel injector rail and a fuel injector of the multi-fuel system of the present invention.
4 is a schematic view of the multi-fuel system of the present invention.
5 is a schematic diagram of a multi-fuel system of the present invention having a microcontroller operatively connected to a plurality of sensors and a PCV valve.
6 is a schematic diagram of the general function of the multi-fuel system of the present invention.
7 is an elevational view of a blow-by filter showing the arrangement of intake, exhaust and oil discharge ports.
8 is an enlarged side view of the area indicated by circle 8 in Fig. 7, showing the closed top of the canister of the blow-by filter.
9 is an exploded, exploded view taken from circle 9 of FIG. 7, showing the bottom of the blow-by filter canister.
Figure 10 is an exploded side view of a blow-by filter illustrating a filtering assembly having multiple layers of metal mesh of different gauge.
11 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of the multi-fuel system of the present invention.

As shown in the accompanying drawings, for purposes of illustration, the present invention resides in a dual-diesel and natural gas system for diesel combustion engines. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the diesel engine system is converted to a multi-fuel engine operating with a combination of diesel fuel and natural gas fuel. In a preferred embodiment, the multi-fuel system operates in the diesel as the first fuel and the natural gas as the second fuel is combined with the diesel to reduce the exhaust gas. The system of the present invention can also potentially lead to a dramatic increase in engine efficiency by allowing the user to supply much less fuel than would otherwise be required to fuel the standard diesel engine.

According to the present invention, a conventional diesel engine can be improved as little as possible without modifying a standard diesel engine as much as possible. For example, the additions required for standard diesel engines include tanks for natural gas and fuel lines, mixing chambers for mixing fuel, microcontrollers, and PCV valves and blowby gas filters in one embodiment. Calibrated fuel injectors can be used, but they are not needed and no additional changes are required for the actual engine.

Referring to Figure 1, a dual fuel system is generally referred to herein by reference numeral 10. The vehicle 12 is shown with an engine 14, a fuel injector rail 24 and four fuel injectors 26. In general, the fuel injection system replaced the old carburetor system. The carburetor supplies fuel to the engine on the basis of the suction, and the fuel injection system supplies the fuel through the direct injection spray. The amount of fuel injected into the combustion chamber of the engine may correspond to the amount of air entering the engine, making the engine much more efficient.

Generally, a fuel injection system operates with only one type of fuel. The dual fuel system of the present invention functions not only with natural gas fuels but also with standard diesel. The dual fuel system 10 can be retrofitted to an existing vehicle or installed in a new vehicle at the factory. The vehicle 12 shown in FIG. 1 is merely exemplary and is for illustrative purposes only. It will be appreciated that the system 10 of the present invention may be used in a variety of vehicles and may be used in conjunction with a diesel engine that is not actually part of the vehicle.

The system 10 of the present invention requires a separate natural gas tank 18 as well as a standard diesel tank 16. The natural gas tank 18 may be made of carbon fiber or of other materials that are puncture resistant and capable of transporting the material under pressure.

Typically, the vehicle is mounted such that the natural gas tank 18 is mounted in a sufficiently wide space of the vehicle, the underlying structure of the vehicle 12, or other suitable location such that the tank 18 does not compromise the safety and functionality of the vehicle 12. [ It is improved.

Referring to Figure 2, a partial cross-sectional and schematic view of a typical engine is shown. As the intake camshaft 42 is pulled up, the air is received into the combustion chamber 38 through the intake manifold 30. This creates the vacuum necessary to suck air. When the intake camshaft 42 is lowered, the fuel is injected into the combustion chamber 38 by the fuel injector 26. Fuel injector 26 basically acts as a sprayer and acts as a fuel that is easily ignited by the glow plug 40 as the piston 32 is raised by the crankshaft 36 to compress fuel to the ignition point. Of the spray. The resultant combustion pushes the piston 32 into the crankcase 34 and, in turn, rotates the crankshaft 36. At this point, the exhaust camshaft 44 is pulled through the exhaust manifold 46 to create the vacuum necessary to exhaust the exhaust gas out of the combustion chamber 38.

The fuel injector 26 is provided by the fuel supply line 50 from the expansion and mixing chamber 20 from which the natural gas 54 is supplied from the diesel fuel 52 and / . Typically, the engine will operate on either diesel fuel from supply line 52 alone, or a combination of diesel fuel from line 52 and natural gas from line 54.

A hose or fuel supply line 28 interconnects the diesel and natural gas tanks 16, 18 with the mixing and expansion chamber 20. Referring to FIG. 3, diesel fuel delivery from tank 16 is shown with its supply line 52 connected to the mixing and expansion chamber 20. Similarly, the natural gas supply tank 18 is shown with a supply line 54 connected to the mixing and expansion chamber 20. In the expansion and mixing chamber 20, the fuel is vented and conditioned as needed for proper mixing and use. The ratio of each fuel supplied may vary depending on engine parameters. The fuel may be heated or cooled in the mixing chamber 20. The mixed and conditioned fuel is sent via line 50 directly to an engine, such as the illustrated fuel injector rail 24, having an orifice 56 leading to the fuel injector 26 itself. The electronic control unit (ECU) 58 informs the fuel injector 26 of the fuel injection timing and the fuel injection amount. The ECU 58 is typically part of a computer control system of a vehicle. It is also contemplated by the present invention that the blended fuel is delivered to the intake manifold 30 which is mixed with a portion of the air to be introduced into the cylinder and combustion chamber 38.

Referring to Figure 4, a schematic diagram of the system of the present invention is shown. The feed of diesel fuel 16 and natural gas fuel 18 is fed to the expansion and mixing chamber 20. A microcontroller 60 with a sensor input is used to determine the ratio of diesel fuel to natural gas fuel at any given time. The conditioning of the mixed fuel, such as venting, pressurizing, heating or cooling, is also controlled by the microcontroller 60. The microcontroller 60 may be a microcontroller separate from the ECU 58 but may also include an ECU 58 or a modified ECU 58. [

5, the controller 58 and / or 60 has a sensor input for making these determinations. The sensor may include an engine temperature sensor 62, a battery sensor 64, a PCV valve sensor 66, an engine RPM sensor 68, an accelerometer sensor 70 and an exhaust sensor 72. Other sensors commonly found in the vehicle and providing data and signals to the ECU 58 may also be used. Actually, data from the sensor can be supplied directly to the microcontroller 60 or the ECU 58, and the ECU 58 supplies data to the microcontroller 60. [

As shown in FIG. 11, other embodiments of the system may include wireless features for various components. Each of the diesel fuel supply unit 16 and the natural gas fuel supply unit 18 may include fuel level sensors 16a and 18a. Each of the fuel supply units 16 and 18 may also include wireless antennas 16b and 18b configured to transmit information obtained by the fuel level sensors 16a and 18a. The fuel level sensors 16a, 18a may communicate information to a display device, such as a dash-mounted monitor or smartphone 116. [ The purpose of this wireless configuration is to allow for the aftermarket installation of the system so that it is not required to wire directly to the engine or automotive OEM system.

The microcontroller 60 may also include an antenna 60a that enables wireless communication. The microcontroller 60 wirelessly receives fuel level information from the sensors 16a and 18a and uses that information to determine the amount of diesel fuel for the natural gas fuel introduced into the mixing chamber 20 based on each remaining amount The ratio can be controlled. The dashboard mount monitor or smartphone 116 also receives a manual input, such as a touch screen, button, or similar input device, to provide a control signal to manually control the ratio of diesel fuel to natural gas in the mixing chamber 20 To the microcontroller (60). The dashboard monitor or smartphone 116 may be provided with an application that provides a graphical user interface that allows manual control of the fuel rate. The same app may be programmed to respond to voice commands to control the conversion of the fuel rate without requiring physical manipulation.

The system may also use engine sensors 62-72 to detect engine conditions such as increased torque, increased load, or increased altitude. In this case, the microcontroller 60 can adjust the ratio of the diesel fuel and the natural gas fuel to be a more favorable mixture. These engine conditions benefit from higher amounts of diesel fuel in the mixture. The system may be configured to automatically switch fuel ratios based on sensing of one or more of increased torque, increased load, and / or increased altitude.

Referring again to FIG. 3, it will be appreciated that the present invention contemplates the use of a unique fuel injector rail 24 designed to supply combined and mixed diesel and natural gas fuel to the combustion chamber of a cylinder of an engine. In this case, it is still contemplated that a single fuel injector 26 will be used in each combustion chamber of each cylinder of the engine to supply the premixed fuel feed. It is also contemplated by the present invention to use existing fuel intake and injection systems to change the engine as little as possible to minimize the complexity and cost of improving the engine's vehicle or engine.

4 and 5, in a particularly preferred embodiment, the PCV valve 74, controlled by the microcontroller 60, is connected to a blow-by gas blow-off valve 68, which is drawn from the engine crankcase 34 and supplied to the engine for combustion Adjust the flow. This can be done, for example, by adjusting the engine vacuum in the combustion engine via digital control of the PCV valve 74. The data obtained from the sensors 62-72 by the controllers 58 and / or 60 may be used to regulate the oil filter 76 as well as the PCV valve 74.

4, the filter 76 is used to filter the blowby gas, returning the filtered oil back to the crankcase 34 of the engine 14 and expanding to be combined with the diesel and / The filtered pure blowby gas is fed to the PCV valve 74 to be combusted in the engine, such as by introducing filtered blowby gas into the chamber 20. 11 shows a PCV valve 74 including an antenna 74a. The state (opening / closing) of the PCV valve 74 can be monitored wirelessly by the microcontroller 60 by the antenna 74a. The microcontroller 60 can also wirelessly control the state of the PCV valve 74 based on the sensed state of the engine 14. [

The oil filter 76 shown in the drawings of the present specification filters the oil itself to remove contaminants in addition to a conventional oil filter. Instead, the filter 76 is for filtering the oil from the blowby gas removed from the crankcase. A generally cylindrical filter 76 may be secured in place or threaded into place as needed. An off-the-shelf can be used with a commercially available separator or oil filter or with the uniquely designed filter 76 shown and described herein. A particularly important concern in the present invention is to avoid the introduction of oil or contaminants into the combustion chamber, although impurities from the oil can be removed so that the oil returned to the crankcase is filtered and has better efficacy and longevity. Liquid oil, which would result in increased exhaust gas instead of reduced exhaust gas.

Referring to Fig. 6, a schematic view of engine 14 and the operation of blow-by filter 76 with PCV valve 74 are shown. As shown, the blow-by filter 76 and the PCV valve 74 are connected to the recirculation line 34 between the crankcase 34 of the engine 14 and the fuel line 50 of the intake manifold 30 and the engine 14, (75). In a diesel engine, the intake manifold 30 receives a mixture of fuel and air through a fuel line 50 and an air line 78. The fuel line 50 also provides direct atomized fuel to the combustion chamber 38. In the gasoline engine, the fuel line 50 does not directly inject fuel into the combustion chamber 38, and the fuel line 50 is connected only to the intake manifold 30. [ The air filter 80 is connected to the piston cylinder 32 and the combustion chamber 38 through the intake manifold 30 as the piston 32 is lowered from the top dead center in the cylinder 84 Accept. As the piston 32 descends downward in the cylinder 84, a vacuum is created in the combustion chamber 38. Thus, the intake camshaft 42, which rotates at a timed speed with the crankshaft 36, is designed to open the input valve 88 and apply an engine vacuum to the intake manifold 30. Thus, the air is sucked from the intake manifold 30 into the combustion chamber 38.

Once the piston 32 is at the bottom of the piston cylinder, the vacuum effect is over and air is no longer sucked from the intake manifold 30 into the combustion chamber 38. At this point, the piston 32 starts moving again on the piston cylinder 84, and the air in the combustion chamber 38 is compressed. In the diesel engine, fuel is injected directly into the combustion chamber 38 from the fuel line 50. Such injection may be further assisted by the compressed air from the compressed air line 90. The compressed air line 90 is not present in the gasoline engine. When the air in the combustion chamber 38 and the fuel are compressed, the fuel is heated until it is ignited and burned.

The sudden expansion of the ignited fuel / air in the combustion chamber 38 causes the piston 36 to move downward within the cylinder 84. [ After combustion, the exhaust camshaft 44 opens the exhaust valve 92 to exhaust the combustion gas from the combustion chamber 38 to the outside of the exhaust manifold 46.

Typically, during the combustion cycle, the excess exhaust gas slips by a pair of piston rings 94 mounted on the head 96 of the piston 32. These "blowby gases" enter the crankcase 34 as high-pressure and high-temperature gases. As time passes, harmful exhaust gases such as hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide are condensed from the gaseous state to coat the interior of the crankcase 34 and to lubricate the machinery in the crankcase 34 95). As described above, the PCV valve 74 is designed to recirculate these blowby gases from the crankcase 34 to be re-burned by the engine 14. This is accomplished by using the pressure difference between the crankcase 34 and the intake manifold 30. This process can be adjusted digitally by the microcontroller.

The PCV valve 74 has a unidirectional check valve (not shown) that is open to allow the blowby gas to pass through the valve 74 when the vacuum between the intake manifold 30 and the crankcase 34 is sufficiently strong . With the check valve opened, the blowby gas passes through the PCV valve 74 and is recirculated through the intake manifold 30. [ The check valve may be controlled by a microcontroller to increase fuel efficiency.

Blowby gas is not pure fuel vapor. Rather, as the unfired fuel is drawn into the crankcase 34 past the piston ring 94, the fuel vapor is mixed with the oil 95 that lubricates the machinery in the crankcase 34. [ Over time, harmful exhaust gases such as hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, nitrous oxide, and carbon dioxide can condense out of the gaseous state and mix with the oil 95 and the fuel vapor. Therefore, the produced blowby gas contains harmful impurities and is unsuitable for re-burning in the engine. In diesel engines, because diesel fuel contains more oil than gasoline, blowby gas is much more greasy. Sludgy blow-by gas is not only suitable for the refinery, but also makes the PCV valve 74 harden, making it impossible to recycle blow-by gas at all.

Thus, the present invention includes a filter 76 for removing impurities from the blowby gas before the blowby gas enters the PCV valve 74. Blow-by-filter 76 also returns filtered engine oil 95 back into crankcase 34 by return line 77 for further use. In one embodiment, a check valve is used to return oil into the crankcase. This prevents untreated oil from entering the oil drain port of the filter 76. A sensor can be used to detect if the filter 76 is full, and a purge system can be used depending on the OEM. Alarm systems, including alarms, LED lights, etc., can be used to alert workers to such situations.

The blow-by filter 76 is shown in particular in Figures 7-10. In Fig. 7, a blow-by filter 76 is shown in side view. Blow-by filter 76 includes a closed top or canister 98 having a lid 100 and a bottom portion 102. The canister 98 may be made of metal, plastic, or any other material or composite suitable for use in high temperature, high pressure operations. The closed upper portion 100 of the canister 98 includes a blow-by air intake port 104 and a fuel vapor discharge port 106. The blowby inlet port 104 receives the blowby gas into the interior of the canister 98. 6, the fuel vapor discharge port 106 discharges the purified blowby gas from the inside of the canister 98 to the PCV valve 74. As shown in Fig.

7, the closed top 100 of the canister 98 is generally not removable from the canister 98. However, the bottom portion 102 of the canister 98 includes a removable cover 108 having a clamp 110. The removable cover 108 includes an oil discharge port 112 that allows the purified oil 95 to be discharged back to the crankcase 34 of the engine 14. [ 8 and 9 are enlarged views of regions "8" and "9" in Fig. 7 showing top and bottom portions 100 and 102 of the oil filter canister 98. Fig. 9, the oil drain port 112 may be offset from the center of the removable cover 108 to identify the angle of the blow-by filter 76 when mounted to the vehicle 12. [ The removable cover 108 provides easy access to the interior of the canister 98, allowing the contents of the canister 98 to be easily cleaned and replaced.

Referring to Fig. 10, the blow-by filter 76 is shown in an exploded side view. Here, the filtering assembly 114 is shown in detail. Filtering assembly 114 includes multiple layers of metal mesh 86 of different gauges. This layer of metal mesh 86 is loaded into the canister 98 through the open end of the canister after removal of the cover 108. The metal mesh 86 layer may be the same type of metal or a different type of metal. Types of metals that can be used include, but are not limited to, steel, stainless steel, aluminum, copper, brass, bronze and the like.

In operation, the unfiltered blowby gas is received by the blowby inlet port 104 of the closed top 100 of the canister 98. The blowby gas begins to circulate through the metal mesh 86 layer in the canister 98. Different contaminants and impurities are trapped in each layer of metal mesh 86, depending on the gauge of the mesh and the type of metal. The larger contaminants are filtered by the larger gauge of metal mesh 86. The smaller contaminants and impurities are filtered by the finer gauge of the metal mesh 86. Likewise, some impurities may be entrapped in a particular type of metal. As the blowby gas passes through the filtering assembly 114, contaminants and impurities are captured leaving two major byproducts: cleaned engine oil 95 and refined fuel vapor. The cleaned engine oil 95 eventually collects at the bottom 102 of the canister 98 where it is exhausted back to the crankcase 34 of the engine 14 via the oil outlet port 112. The purified fuel vapor is discharged through the fuel vapor outlet port 106 in the closed upper portion 100 of the canister 98 and delivered to the PCV valve 74 to be recirculated through the intake manifold 30, To the diesel and / or natural gas fuel mixture in the expansion chamber before being introduced into the combustion chamber 38 of the combustion chamber 38.

When the filtering assembly 114 requires periodic cleaning and maintenance, the filtering assembly 114 can be removed from the canister 98 by unlocking the clamp 110 and removing the cover 108 from the bottom of the canister 98. [ As shown in FIG. The blowby oil filter 76 may include a seal gasket or the like for sealing between the canister 98 and the removable cover 108 as needed to prevent oil and other contaminants from leaking I will understand. The present invention contemplates that priming may be involved in exchanging the oil separator / filter element of the filtering assembly 114.

The computerized controller 60 monitors the filtering process of the blowby gas and the PCV valve 74 and causes the purified blowby gas to pass through the PCV valve 74 to the fuel line 50, Or directly to the air intake manifold 30 or to the air line 78. [0050] As a result, the filtered blowby gas provides a much cleaner gas that produces less undesirable exhaust gases.

While various embodiments have been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not limited except as by the appended claims.

Claims (29)

A diesel engine having a diesel tank fluidly connected to the combustion chamber by a first supply line;
A natural gas tank fluidly connected to the combustion chamber by a second supply line;
A mixing chamber arranged to be connected to the first and second supply lines, the mixing chamber mixing diesel fuel from the diesel tank and natural gas from the natural gas tank to form a multi-fuel mixing manifold prior to the combustion chamber do;
A microcontroller coupled to a sensor for monitoring operational characteristics of the diesel engine, the mixing chamber responsive to the microcontroller for selectively controlling the formation of the multi-fuel mixture manifold;
A diesel level sensor in the diesel tank connected wirelessly to the microcontroller and a natural gas level sensor in the natural gas tank connected wirelessly to the microcontroller, the microcontroller being connected to the diesel level sensor and the natural gas level sensor Fuel mixture manifold in response to a signal from the multi-fuel mixture manifold; And
And a PCV valve arranged to be connected to a recycle line extending from the crankcase of the diesel engine to the mixing chamber,
Containing
Multi-fuel engine system. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the microcontroller is configured to increase diesel fuel in the mixing chamber in response to an increased torque of the engine, an increased load or an increased altitude. 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the increased torque, increased load or increased altitude of the engine is determined by analysis of operating characteristics of the diesel engine by the sensor. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the mixing chamber mixes diesel fuel and natural gas in a ratio of 1: 1 in pure diesel in response to a signal from the microcontroller. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the natural gas tank comprises a puncture resistance manifold or carbon fiber. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the natural gas tank and the second supply line are pressurized. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the operating characteristics monitored by the sensor include engine temperature, battery charge, engine RPM, acceleration rate, exhaust characteristics, and / or PCV valve position. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the recirculation line of the blowby gas system further comprises an oil filter between the crankcase and the PCV valve. 9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
Further comprising a fuel injector rail on said diesel engine and a fuel injector extending from said fuel injector rail to said combustion chamber,
Wherein the fuel injector is responsive to the microcontroller. The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising a display device wirelessly connected to the microcontroller, the diesel level sensor and the natural gas level sensor,
The display device is configured to display a level of diesel fuel in the diesel tank, a level of natural gas in the natural gas tank, and a ratio of diesel fuel to natural gas in the multi-fuel mixture manifold in the mixing chamber Fuel engine system. 11. The method of claim 10,
Wherein the display device comprises a smartphone or a dashboard-mounted monitor. 11. The method of claim 10,
Wherein the display device is configured to receive a user input and transmit a control signal to the microcontroller to manually adjust the formation of the multi-fuel mixture manifold. 13. The method of claim 12,
Wherein the display device is configured to receive a user input by a touch screen, a button, or voice recognition. A diesel engine having a diesel tank fluidly connected to the combustion chamber by a first supply line;
A natural gas tank fluidly connected to the combustion chamber by a second supply line;
A mixing chamber disposed to be connected to the first and second supply lines, the mixing chamber being configured to mix the diesel fuel from the diesel fuel tank and the natural gas from the natural gas tank in a ratio of 1: 1 in pure diesel Thereby forming a multi-fuel mixture manifold prior to the combustion chamber;
A blowby gas system including a PCV valve arranged to be connected to a recirculation line extending from the crankcase of the diesel engine to the mixing chamber;
A microcontroller coupled to a sensor for monitoring operational characteristics of the diesel engine, the mixing chamber responsive to the microcontroller for selectively regulating a mixing manifold of the diesel fuel and the natural gas to form the multi-fuel mixing manifold , The mixing chamber being responsive to the microcontroller for processing the multi-fuel mixture manifold;
A diesel level sensor in the diesel tank connected wirelessly to the microcontroller and a natural gas level sensor in the natural gas tank connected wirelessly to the microcontroller, the microcontroller being connected to the diesel level sensor and the natural gas level sensor Fuel mixture manifold in response to a signal from the multi-fuel mixture manifold; And
A display device connected wirelessly to the microcontroller, the diesel level sensor and the natural gas level sensor, the display device comprising: a level of diesel fuel in the diesel tank, a level of natural gas in the natural gas tank, The ratio of diesel fuel to natural gas in the fuel mix manifold;
Containing
Multi-fuel engine system. 15. The method of claim 14,
Wherein the natural gas tank comprises a puncture resistance manifold or carbon fiber. 15. The method of claim 14,
Wherein the natural gas tank and the second supply line are pressurized. 15. The method of claim 14,
Wherein the operating characteristics monitored by the sensor include engine temperature, battery charge, engine RPM, acceleration rate, exhaust characteristics, and / or PCV valve position. 15. The method of claim 14,
Wherein the recirculation line of the blowby gas system further comprises an oil filter between the crankcase and the PCV valve. 19. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 18,
Further comprising a fuel injector rail on said diesel engine and a fuel injector extending from said fuel injector rail to said combustion chamber,
Wherein the fuel injector is responsive to the microcontroller. 15. The method of claim 14,
Wherein the display device comprises a smartphone or a dashboard-mounted monitor. 15. The method of claim 14,
Wherein the display device is configured to receive a user input and transmit a control signal to the microcontroller to manually adjust the formation of the multi-fuel mixture manifold. 22. The method of claim 21,
Wherein the display device is configured to receive a user input by a touch screen, a button, or voice recognition. A diesel engine having a fuel injector rail, a fuel injector extending into the combustion chamber from the fuel injector rail, and a diesel tank fluidly connected to the combustion chamber by a first supply line through the fuel injector rail and the fuel injector;
A natural gas tank fluidly connected to the combustion chamber by a second supply line;
A mixing chamber disposed to be connected to the first and second supply lines, the mixing chamber being configured to mix the diesel fuel from the diesel fuel tank and the natural gas from the natural gas tank in a ratio of 1: 1 in pure diesel Thereby forming a multi-fuel mixture manifold prior to the combustion chamber;
A microcontroller coupled to a sensor for monitoring operational characteristics of the diesel engine, the mixing chamber responsive to the microcontroller for selectively regulating the formation of the multi-fuel mixture, the fuel injector being operable to convert the multi- Responsive to the microcontroller for adding to the chamber;
A diesel level sensor in the diesel tank connected wirelessly to the microcontroller and a natural gas level sensor in the natural gas tank connected wirelessly to the microcontroller, the microcontroller being connected to the diesel level sensor and the natural gas level sensor Fuel mixture in response to a signal from said fuel cell; And
And a PCV valve arranged to be connected to a recycle line extending from the crankcase of the diesel engine to the mixing chamber,
Containing
Multi-fuel engine system. 24. The method of claim 23,
Wherein said natural gas tank comprises a puncture resistant material or carbon fiber and said natural gas tank and said second feed line are pressurized. 24. The method of claim 23,
Wherein the operating characteristics monitored by the sensor include engine temperature, battery charge, engine RPM, acceleration rate, exhaust characteristics, and / or PCV valve position. 24. The method of claim 23,
Further comprising a display device wirelessly connected to the microcontroller, the diesel level sensor and the natural gas level sensor,
Wherein the display device is configured to display a level of diesel fuel in the diesel tank, a level of natural gas in the natural gas tank, and a ratio of diesel fuel to natural gas in the multi-fuel mixture in the mixing chamber Multi-fuel engine system. 27. The method of claim 26,
Wherein the display device comprises a smartphone or a dashboard-mounted monitor. 27. The method of claim 26,
Wherein the display device is configured to receive a user input and transmit a control signal to the microcontroller to manually adjust the formation of the multi-fuel mixture. 29. The method of claim 28,
Wherein the display device is configured to receive a user input by a touch screen, a button, or voice recognition.

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