US1319344A - fked d - Google Patents

Description

F. D. JORDAN.

GASGENERATOIL,

APPLICATION FILED JULY 31 1916. 1,319,344. Patented Oct. 21,1919.

Villlflllllli UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRED D. JORDAN, 0F FARMINGTON, MAINE, ASS IG-NOR TO EPHRAIM R. HACKETT, OF

FARMING-TON, MAINE.

GAS-GENERATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 21, 1919.

Application filed July 31, 1916. Serial No. 112,380.

Farmington, in the county of Franklin and .State of Mame, have invented new and useful Improvements in Gas-Generators for Internal-Combustion Engines, of which the following is a specification. 1

This invention relates to gas generators for internal combustion engines, and particularly. to generators utilizing the heat of the exhaust from the engine for converting kerosene oil into gas.

It has heretofore been proposed to accomplish this by passing the kerosene through a long convoluted coil of pipe in contact with the hot exhaust gases from the engine, but such devices have not proved successful, partly, I believe, on account of the excessive length of single pipe required, partly on account of the tortuous form of the pipe necessitated to bring it within practicable dimensions, and partly on account of the fact that While the volume of the kerosene gas increases by expansion as it progresses through the system the cross-sectional area of the coiled pipe does not also increase and the gas is able to expand only lengthwise of the pipe. But whatever the causes, it has not been found practicable with the'devices heretofore used, as far as I am aware,

to supply the gas to the engine adequately to meet the varying demands of the motor.

With the present invention instead of.

passing the kerosene through a long convoluted single coil in the presence of the hot exhaust gases, I pass the fuel through one or more groups of small pipes in parallel, the several groups, where more than one group is used, being preferably arranged in series and being preferably of progressively increasing cross-sectional capacity. This makesit possible to secure as great or greater heating surfaces for the gas forming pipes as with a single coil pipe, but accomplishes the result without convolutions'which tend to impede the fiow'of the gas. 'It' also makes it possible to increase the combinedcrosssectional area of the pipes-to accommodate; their-expanding contents, without increasing thediameter of any individual pipe, which wouldflsacrifice its quick heating "quality.

and by using more than one such groupof pipes .it makes it possible to progressively '55 increase successive groups of the series in cross-sectional capacity. These and other features of the invention will hereinafter be more fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanyingdrawings' which lllustrate one embodiment of the invention, 'Figure 1 is a plan view of 'a generator containing the invention attached to an ordinary four-cylinder internal combustion engine;

Fig; 2 is a vertical section partly in eleva-' tion, showing the interior of the generator; i

Fig. 3' is a horizontal section on line 33 of Fig. 2;

r Fig, 4 is Fig. 2; and

-'I1g. 5 isan enlarged detail in vertical longitudinal section through the mixing chamber and the gas delivery nozzle. 7

A represents the casing of an ordinary four-cylinder internal combustion engine having a pair of gas intake ports a, a, each supplying two cylinders, and four exhaust ports 5,32, 6, b, one from each cylinder.

' The outer casing 1 of the generator is sea vertical section on line 47- 1: of

cured to the cylinder casing A by a series of bolts 2 passing through casing 1 and into the casing A. The casing '1 vis relatively long and slender to fit alongside of the engine casing A, and is provided with aseries of exhaust inlet ports 3, 3, 3, 3, which register with the several exhaust ports 6 of the engine'casing, and a pair of outlet ports 4:, 4., which register with the gas intake ports a, a, of the engine. The several registering ports are suitably sealed to form gas-tight joints.

The exhaust inlet ports 3 open into a. heater chamber 5, which extends throughout and thence'i'the' gases pass throughpassage 7 alongside of the heater chamber to the outlet a A mixing chamber or manifold 10, curved around the two middle ports 3, connects the two ports 4 which are joined to the intake ports a, a of the engine.

An air intake casing 11, having a springpressed air supply valve 12 and a control valve 13, is secured to the middle part of the mixing chamber 10. In operation siic tion from the engine created within the mixing chamber draws in valve 12 acting through duct 15, compressing the spring 1% and thereby opening passage 15 to the atmosphere. The passage 16 is controlled by valve 13 which is fixed to a rotatable stem 17 journaled in the casing 11.

Kerosene is introduced from a suitable tank or other source of supply (not shown) through the fuel supply pipe 20, which enters the heater chamber 5 at the same end as the discharge port 8 of the heater chamber. Immediately inside of the outer wall of the casing the kerosene pipe branches or is divided into a plurality of smaller pipes 21 (four being here shown) arranged in a group in parallel and spaced apart. sufiiciently to allow free circulation about them of the hot exhaust gases. The pipes'21, which are preferably straight, extend substantially the length of the heater chamber along one side near the wall 6 and unite again at the opposite end in a common header 22.

Another group of small pipes 23, similarly arranged in parallel and suitably spaced apart, extend from header 22 to another common header 24 at the end of the heater chamber opposite the header 22. The group of pipes 23 are preferably larger in number than the group of pipes 21, thus aifording a larger combined cross-sectional area to provide for the increasing volume of the expanding gasesdue to the heat as the gases progress through the system.

The individual pipes of each group are arranged in parallel with each other, and are preferably also substantiallygeometrically parallel, but the two groups are in series one with the other. I

From the header 24k a gas delivery pipe 25 leads back to the middle part of the easing and there bends and enters the mixing chamber 10, terminating in a. discharge nozzle 26, over which is a concave capor shell 27 arranged to deflect the gases laterally in either direction into the mixing chamber 10, as indicated by broken lines in Fig. 5.

The kerosene is vaporized or converted into gas during its passage through the groups of pipes 21 and 23 by the heat of the exhaust from the engine within the heater chamber 5. The gas is mixed with air in chamber 10 and thence delivered through ports 4, at, to the cylinders of the engine. The explosive mixture in chamber 10 is also kept hot by the heater chamber 5 and the discharge passage 7, which adjoin and partly inclose the chamber 10, the discharge passage 7 constituting an auxiliary heating chamber.

To start the engine before the generator has been sufiiciently heated to vaporize the "kerosene, the kerosene supply is cut ofi by a suitable cock (not shown) in pipe 20, preferably located within convenient reach of the operator, and an auxiliary or start ing supply pipe 28 (Fig. 2) which connects with an auxiliary or starting gasolene supply is opened. The gasolene and air mixture is then supplied through mixing chamber 10 to the cylinders of the engine, and the engine is run just long enough on this mixture to warm up the heater chamber 5, whereupon the gasolene supply is cut 01f and the kerosene supply. is opened through pipe and the engine will continue to operate on the kerosene gas mixture. I

The gas supply through pipe is controlled by a valve 30 which isrotated by stem 31. The gas valve 30 and the air control valve 13 may be operated in unison in any usual or convenient manner by means of levers and. connecting rods *controlled from the operators station and connected to the valve stems 31 and 17 By having the fuel supply pipe enter the heater chamber 5 at the end where the discharge opening 8 is located the gas generating pipes 21 and 23 which extend the whole length of the chamber and back again are brought into contact with all the heated exhaust gases before the gases escape through outlet pipe 8, thus utilizing the heat to the full extent.

I claim:

1. A gas generator for internal combustion engines comprising acasing having a series of exhaust inlet ports adapted for connection to the exhaust ports of the en gine, and outlet ports adapted for connection to the gas intake ports of the engine, a heater chamber in said casing into which said exhaust inlet ports open, and aseparate mixing chamber in the casing from which said outlet ports open, a fuel'supply pipe entering the heater chamber, a gas delivery pipe leading from within the heater chamber into the mixing chamber, and a plurality of pipes in parallel within the heaterchamber connecting the fuel supply pipe and the gas delivery pipe.

2. "gas generator for an internal com bustion engine comprising an elongate casing adapted to be secured along the side. of an engine, the casing ha\- ingaheatiug chamber communicating directly with the Hexhaust ducts of the engine,,a mixingchamber in the casing, a' fuel duct extendingthrough said heating chamber and leading into said mixing chamber, all of the wall area of the fuel ducts being exposed to the heat in the chamber connnunicating directly With the exhaust ducts of the engine, a mixin cham ber in the casing, a branched fuel uct extending longitudinally through said heating chamber and leading into said mixing chamber and exposed on all sides to the heat in the heating chamber, and a mixture delivery duct leading from the mixing chamber through the heating chamber to the engine.

4. A gas generator for an internal combustion engine comprising a casing adapted to be secured along the side of an engine, the casing having an elongate heating chamber communicating directly 'With the exhaust ducts of the engine, a branched fuel duct extending longitudinally through said heating chamber, a second branched fuel duct extending longitudinally through said heating chamber, the second fuel duct having a cross-sectional area larger than that of the first fuel duct, and means for feeding fuel through the first fuel duct, thence through the second fuel duct and thence to the engine.

5. A gas generator for an internal combustion engine comprising a casing adapted to be secured along the side of an engine, the casing having an elongate heating chamber communicating directly With the exhaust ducts of the engine, a branched fuel duct extending longitudinally through said heating chamber, the fuel duct increasing in cross-sectional area intermediate its ends so that fuel passing therethrough may expand as it is heated, and means for conducting fuel from said fuel duct to the engine.

6. A gas generator for an internal combustion engine comprising a casing adapted to be secured along the side of an engine, the casing having an elongate heating chamber communicatlng directly With the ex- Gopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Washington, D. c."

haust ducts of the engine, a mixing chamber in the casing at one side of the heating chamber, a fuel duct extending longitudinally thiioijigh the heating chamber to the mixing chamber, and means for conducting fuel from the'fuel duct to the engine.

7. A gas generator for an internal combustion engine comprising a casing adapted to be secured along the side of an engine,

the casing having an elongate heating chamber communicating directly With the exhaust ducts of the engine, an auxiliary heating chamber disposed along one side of the elongate heating chamber, the auxilia heating chamber communicating With the elongate heating chamber at one end and having an exhaust outlet at the other end, a mixing chamber in said casing adjacent the auxiliary heating chamber, a fuel duct passing longitudinally through the elongate heating chamber and leading into the mixing chamber, and a fuel delivery duct leading from the mixing chamber through the elongate heating chamber to the engine.

8. A gas generator for an internal com bustion engine comprising a casing adapted to be secured along the side of an engine, the casing having an elongate heating chamber communicating directly with the exhaust ducts of the engine, an auxiliary heating chamber disposed along one side of the elongate heating chamber, the auxiliary heating chamber communicating With the elongate heating chamber at one end and having an exhaust outlet at the other end, a mixing chamber disposed in an extension of said casing adjacent the auxiliary heating chamber, a branched fuel duct extending longitudinally through the elongate heating chamber and communicating With the mixing chamber, the fuel duct increasing in cross-sectional area intermediate its ends, and a mixture delivery duct leading from the mixing chamber through the heatin chambers to the engine.

igned by me at F armington, Maine, this 28th day of July, 1916.

. FRED D. JORDAN.

Commissioner of Patents,

Images