US2656824A

US2656824A - Electric apparatus for decomposing liquids and its use as a gasoline economizer

Info

Publication number: US2656824A
Application number: US109798A
Authority: US
Inventors: Raymond H P Devaux
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1949-03-22
Filing date: 1949-08-11
Publication date: 1953-10-27
Anticipated expiration: 1970-10-27

Description

Oct. 27, 1953 R. H. P. DEVAUX 2,656,824

ELECTRIC APPARATUS FOR DECOMPOSING LIQUIDS AND ITS USE AS GASOLINE ECONOMIZERS filed Aug. ll, 1949 5 Sheets-Sheet l l l l /k m i@ I A n #y 1 EV I .Z'iv vE/vr-oR RIV/Www /I'P .Devaux .B/f Sdn, w, www

Oct. 27, 1953 R. H. P. DEVAUX l 2,656,824

ELECTRIC APPARATUS FOR DECOMPOSING LIQUIDS AND ITS USE AS GASOLINE ECONOMIZERS Filed Aug. l1, 1949 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Iv vsn/Tol? Ray/wow M73 .De-VAUX Arrow/nrs Oct. 27, 1953 R. H. P. DEVAUX 2,656,824

ELECTRIC APPARATUS RoR DEcoMPosING LIQUIDS AND ITs USE As GASOLINE EcoNoMIzERs 'filed Aug. 11, 1949 5 sheets-Sheet 5 Eff -P//Grzf Y3` Asa Z-/v Vwv'oR Rm/Mn Ma 19.7? DE vaux n /.RMQMMQM rroR/vsys Patented Oct. 27, 1953 UNi'i-ED STATES ATENTI OFFICE ELECTRIC APPARATUS FOR DECOMPOSING. LIQUIDS AND ITS USE' AS A GASOLINE ECONOIWJZER Raymond H; P. Devaux, Tangier; Tangier Application August 11, 1949, Serial No. 109,798 In France March. 22,. 1949 (Cl. 12S- 25) s paratuses generally using a gaseous or atomized fuel, and more particularly for feeding all types of internal combustion engines and reaction jet engines in whichV it gives an appreciably increased eiiiciency or, which is the same, enables, for a'- samel power provided by ther engine, to reduce in avery important :Way the fuel consumption, and more particularly the gasoline consumption.

constant.. Another object" is to provideV an apparatus for decomposing liquids maintained in suspension as fine globules in a gas, for instance Water in. suspension in air,i by means of electric sparks dying in the mixture of gas and liquid globules, said deviceV adjusting automatically the number of sparks to the volume of liquid to be decomposed. When the apparatus is used for feeding an engine and when the brokenA up liquid is Water; no oxidizing corrosion ofthe engine parts in contact with the fuel mixture It has already been tried to inject or vaporize water in the fuel mixture of. internal combustion engines in order to: improve the combustion of thev mixture. However, in spite of its advantages, this. process has been given up because of the corrosions and oxidationswhich are produced by the fuel mixture, particularly on the valves. and cylinder-heads'.

It has also been tried to ionize the fuelV mixtures or the components (air and fuel) of these mixturesv either through high frequency electric discharges, either through vacuum-tubes. or apparatuses generating ultraviolet rays.

Finally it` has. also been suggested to ozonize the oxygen of the air which is. a. part of the fuel mixture in. order te improve the combustion of this mixture in theY engine, and to. reduce the losses through unburnt fuel, consequently to increase the efficiency.

The various known apparatuses using the ionizing and ozonizing processes are costly, fragile and practically imaiective,v because they are generallyV provided for aV rated load of the engine and cannot follow the.V variations of the load. by means of a correspending4 adjustment of ionizing or ozonizing. In fact, in these. apparatuses the production ofv sparks or the intensity of the electric dischargesv is constant, While the volume of the mixture or gas which passes through the apparatuses` varies as a :function of the load of the. engine.y

An object of this invention is to providey a process and a-napparatusy enabi-ing to break up into its components aV liquid maintained insuspension as fine globules in a gas, for instance Water in suspension in air, by means of. electric sparks, the latter being producedv as a function of the gas now passing throughV the apparatusvin suchv a manner that. the composition of. the mixture atv the outlet is substantially containing the Water injected through theY apparatus is observed, whichseems to prove that the apparatus has entirely broken up the Water introduced into the mixture.

A further object is to provide a sparkA gap for producing electric sparks flying in a uid flow passing through said'. spark gap', in which the number of sparks is self-adjusting: to the volume of fluid of saidfloW'.

According to the invention, the apparatus comprises a j'et for atomizing the liquid, located in such a Way that the globules of that liquid maintained in suspension in the gas flow are carriedv along towards a spark gap comprising one or more stationary electrodes and at least one rotaryv electrode rotating in front of` the stationary electrode or electrodes, at a speed substantially in direct ratio with that ofthe gasr flow, said electrodes being connected to a high voltage source, the distance between the stationaryA electrodes and the rotary electrode or electrodes being such that, a spark flies between them When` the rotary electrode passes in front of. one stationary electrode.

The rotating electrode may be conveniently the metal rotor ofi an air-screw fan rotating the axis of a. cylinder, through which passes the gas maintaining; the liquid n Suspension and rotatively driving said roton the inclination of the blades of the latter determining the rotation direction and. speed. of said air-screw for a` known speed of the gas.- i'low corresponding to a predetermined' suction at the end of the cylinder.A

In, the present description, and claims the term.v "rotor of an air-screw fan will he-designated by air-screw The. number of. sparks dying, between the rotating. electrode and the stationary electrodes, sparks which perform the decomposition. of the liquid globulesr is a. function of the number ot times the rotating electrode passes in front of the stationary electrodes, that is of the rotation speed.. of that electrode, which isv mainfi in direct ratio with the speed oi the gas how, that is with the volume of gas passing through the apparatus. Consequently when the apparatus is adjusted for a predetermined rate of working it is substantially adjusted for all rates of working and its ehiciency is about constant.

The electric insulation of the apparatus will be made in such a manner that no explosive difference of potential may occur at any moment at any other point besides the points located between the electrodes of the spark gap, and the leakage lines of the insulating materials will be such that the sparks will ily only at the predetermined points.

The gases produced by the decomposition of the liquid, that is hydrogen and oxygen in the case of water, are diiused in the gas flow as soon as they are produced and carried along in the tained substantially fuel mixture whose quality is thus improved. Bef1 sides, a small quantity of ozone may be simultaneously produced because of the electric silent discharges which occur when the distance between the rotating electrode and the stationary electrodes exceeds the explosive distance. This ozone is also produced in direct ratio with the gas flow passing through the apparatus in such a manner that such ratio is substantially constant, which ensures a proper analysis of the fuel mixture at all working rates of the engine.

The apparatus may be located at any point of the inlet-tubing, either up-stream or downstream with respect to the carburetor or mixer, or before or after the compressor or supercharger if the considered engine comprises one of these devices, a pipe connecting the atomizing jet to the tank containing the liquid.

lt will be preferable to provide an anti-flame device before or after the spark gap, or simultaneously at both these locations, in order to prevent the fuel gas from igniting through the sparks fiying between the electrodes of the spark gap.

it will be convenient to make the anti-name device with metal parallel plates, which will be near enough to prevent the propagation of a iiame, and these conducting plates may be alternately insulated to form two armature condensers on which may be applied a difference of potential substantially lower than that making the sparks ny. This device is not only an excellent anti-flame device but also an electrostatic precipitator which is able to retain the liquid globules which are not dissociated or gasified.

The spark gap may be fed by means of any I source of electric high tension current, for instance, on an automobile, by means of an induc tion coil fed through the battery and having a proper breaker or buzzer inserted.

In an improved embodiment of the invention, the electric circuit producing the sparks is fed by two sources having different voltages, one having a higher voltage than the other but only capable of supplying, at all rates of working, a

current of small magnitude in view of producing a spark between the electrodes of 4the spark gap, the other having a lower voltage but capable of producing, above a certain speed of the engine, a spark of a higher current magnitude in the gases ionised by the rst spark, and consequently capable to achieve a more complete decomposition of the liquid. It will be convenient to form these two sources of electric current by means of two separate coils of a transformer and, in ordernot to discharge the battery too rapidly the current fi necessary for feeding said transformer will come direct from the dynamo. In that way, at the 10W rates or' working, when the voltage given by the dynamo is not su'licient for attracting the armature of the cut-out switch and charging the battery, the necessary energy will be provided only by the dynamo. Furthermore, the energy used for decomposing the liquid will be thus a function of the voltage of the dynamo, consequently of the speed ofV the gas ow sucked in by the engine.

In order to obtain a proper delivery of the liquid to the atomizer, a pipe may be provided for putting under pressure the tank which contains the liquid, for instance by using the exhaust gas a part of which is thus recycled. Advantageously this pipe may be arranged so that the pressure in the tank falls under the atmospheric pressure in case of a sudden fall of the speed of the engine, the liquid being .then immediately sucked into the tank. For that purpose, the atomizer may comprise an appropriate nozzle, set perpendicular to the atomizing jet, receiving the exhaust gas by means of a branched pipe connected to the pipe transferring the exhaust pressure to the tank of liquid.

Finally, in order to avoid the apparatus being ilooded in case of an untimely ilow of liquid, a slope will be provided in the apparatus so as to carry along towards the outside the liquid which could spill.

When mounting an apparatus according to the invention on an already existing engine, it is observed that the power of the latter is much improved. It is of course possible to avoid change o the initial power of the considered engine through reducing the cross-section of the nozzle of the fuel outlet (jet) while keeping an optimum cross-section at the air inlet (choke). For lthe same power and with the apparatus according to the invention, a very important decrease, which may reach 50% of the fuel consumption, may be obtained with an additional consumption of water.

Other objects and advantages `of the invention will be apparent during the course of the following description. In the accompanying drawing forming a part of this application and in which like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same,

Figure l is a longitudinal section of an embodiment of the apparatus.

Figure 2 is a vertical section taken on line II-II of Figure 4,

Figure 3 is a transverse section taken on line III-III of Figure 1,

Figure 4 is a detailed view of Figure 1 showingr on a higher scale the arrangement of the spark gap and atomizing nozzle,

Figure 5 is a diagram of the electric circuits of an apparatus using two voltages.

Figure 6 is a plan view of an arrangement of the electrodes of a spark gap using two voltages, the air-screw being shown in section. v

Figure '7 is a diagram showing the arrangement of the pipes connecting the tank of liquid tothe apparatus and to the exhaust pipe of the engine,

Figure 8 is a longitudinal vertical section of a modification of the inside arrangement of the apparatus,

Figure 9 is a vertical section of the connection enabling to connect the pipes of the apparatus to the exhaust of the engine.

In the embodiment shown in the drawing, the apparatus comprises a device I for dissociating a liquid mounted' a horizontal chamber Ib provided with a flange 2 enabling to secure the apparatus immediately to the air intake of the carburetor, in place of' the conventional air nlter of internaI combustion engineor at the take of anaires'upercharger the case of adirect injection engine or a reaction jet engine.

The chamber Ib is connected, through a slanting duct 3 which progressively widens out, to ar ltrating device of any type. In the drawing there is shown a filter automatically carrying the dust away', made of consecutive rows of little plates having the shape of troughs It slanting in the direction of the air passing through (shown by arrow F) and arranged to form bail'ies (Figure 3). The ends of the troughs i pass slightly beyond the lower wall of the air inlet choke-tube 5 which has such a transverse section that the losses of head. resulting from the troughs do not exceed at full rate a predetermined value.

The lower wall of the horizontal chamber Ib is made of an insulating plate Ic which supports a cylinder tunnel or tube 6 of insulating material provided at the front and at the rear with deflectors 5a and 6b for leading into the cylinder a part of the air flow sucked by the engine and sending to the rear side of chamber It the mixture of air and decomposed liquid.

Inside cylinder 6 there is disposed the liquid atomizer inade of a vertical tube 'i secured to the plate la whose upper end is provided with a small diameter jet 8' substantially located in the axis of cylinder 6. The tube 'l is connected through a pipe (not shown) to the tank containing the liquid to be decomposed which is located at a proper altitude. The atomizing of the liquid is made in the known way by means of the underpressure produced in the jet through the passage of the aspiring air stream which passes through the tunnel E, and the globules of liquid form an atomizing cone shown with dots and dashes in Figure 4 having as an apex the jet 8.

The shaft of the air-screw 8 which. forms the rotating electrode of the spark gap is mounted along the axis of cylinder 6 and this air-screw is set in such a manner that its transverse medial plane is substantially merged with the plane of the base of the atomizing cone (Figure 4) The air-screw 9 freely rotates on its shaft Il) maintained by any suitable means in. an insulating seat Ii and said shaft is electrically connected to a terminal I2 secured to the insulating plate la. Metal studs I3, I4, I5 and I6 (Figure 2) made of nickel for instance, are secured to the internal wall of cylinder 6- or conveniently sunk into that wall so as to be flush with the inside surface, in such a manner that their axes are located in the transverse medial plane of airscrew e. They are all electrically connected to a terminal I l also secured to plate Ia.

Downstream with respect to the cylinder tunnel 6 is the anti-llame device made of parallel, metal plates I8, I9 which are near enough to prevent a flame ignited on one side of the device passing on the other side but allow the air and the gases issuing from the dissociated Water freely to pass. As `it is shown in Figure 1, the even plates I8 will be conveniently insulated and electrically connected to a terminal 20, and the odd plates I3 grounded. When applying a suitable tension between the earth and the terminal 2G, the anti-name device will then act as an electrostatic precipitator, and complete the action of the precipitator troughs 4, so thatY the air and gas entering thevcarburetor are perfectly cleaned.

The 'operation of this apparatus is as follows:

A stiflcient Voltage is applied betweenv the infsulated terminals IZ and |11, for' instance through connecting these terminals by means of insulated wires 2f and 22 to the' two poles of a high voltage induction` coildistinct from the ignition coil and the gas flow is generated for instance through starting the engine,` such a marmer thaty air- 9 rotates at a; speed which is a function of the' speed of said gas) flow. Whenv the screw blades are' in front of studs I3 to I, a spark flies' between each one of these studs andthe edge of the'A corresponding blade, but when this blade has passed beyond this stud and not still in front of the iollc'rw'i1-igstud, the distancev separating the electrodes having' different polarities is too great and! no spark flies. Consequently the number of sparks which may fly' between the distinct electrodes-is a function of the rotation speed of air-Screw 9 which itself is a function of the speed of the gas flow and thus of the working rate of the engine.V Y

The-suction produced through the engine the cylinder 6 whichy produces, through the jet l?, the atomiz'ing of the water' to be decomposed, is also a function of theworking rate of the engine, in such aV manner that the How of atomized water and the number of sparks produced for decomposing that Water follow automatically the present needsY while remaining in a ratio which does: not vary much.

,The globules of water which are submitted to the centrifugal forces generated by the fast rotation of the screw are hurled towards the periphery of cylinder 6/ and almost all of them are included in the gaseous How submitted to the action of the sparks, which ensures a proper decomposition of the liquid. The produced gases, hydrogen and oxygen, are swiftly carried along throughl the' air' current which passes through thecyliiider tunnel 6 and are spread in the mass of' air without being.` ablev to be recombined under' the actionV ofV the sparks. These gases having ahigh explosive power, are thus included in the air sucked in by the carburetor and their n'iixture' with said air considerably improves the' ca-lorific power of the gaseous mixture. The resulting increase ofA the engine efflciency makes it possible to reduce the proportioning of thefuel mixture through a decrease of the section of the main jet, while keeping the saine power provided by the engine. Asl a result, the gasoline' saving may be as high as 50%, the power necessary for the production of sparks being provided` by the usual battery, that is to `say by the engine itself.

Inl Figure 5, the electric circuit of an apparatus having two different high voltage sources has beendiagramm'atically shown, this circuit being fed by the dynamo 25 which isprovided for charging the' battery 2t and comprising a cutout switch 2T. The' primary 2.8 of the transformer is connected to the' dynamo at 25d before the cut-out switch- 27, in suchv a manner that the battery' is not used for the working of the apparatus, ari app'ropriatev contact-breaker 29 providing the fast breaks which are necessary. One of the secondary coilsv 3U of the transformer providesy at the low revolution speeds, a high voltage' anda low current for instance 15,000 volts and lk to 2 milliaz-nperes, while the other secondary coil M of the transformer, having heavier wiresiis capable of supplying at full rate a currentV of several1 milli-*amperes withk a lower voltage, 5000 volts for' instance. The` above by 'thesecon a high current spari: in the ionized gases. The decomposition of the liquid, a larger quantity of which is atomized, is thus more complete.

The apparatus also enables the recovery Without difficulty of the oil vapours which escape through the ports provided for lling up the engine. Each time it has been tried to make such a recovery, the result .has been the sooting of plugs and cylinder heads which required to stop the engine for cleaning. The apparatus enables this recovery Without any drawback. It is enough to connect the ports through which the oil vapours escape to a point located upstream with respect to the device ensuring the decomposition of the liquids, or immediately at the inlet of the Carburettor. It is then observed, what was unexpected Vin that case from the results obtained with the known apparatuses, that no sooting occurs even after a long period of Working having strongly heated the oil.

The spark gap having ther shape of an airscrew driven at a variable speed by an air cur- Vrent could be used for other purposes than the decomposing of liquid globules through an electric spark. It is in fact a kind of distributor rotating as a function of the speed of a circulating iiuid and could be used for feeding any other electric device. It is here stated that this spark gap itself is a part of the invention and that the various uses which might be made thereof do not depart from the scope of the said invention. For instance it would be possible slightly to increase the distance between the V iistpres.. t the water tank is r less, consequently the liquid which still iiows to the atomizer and Which is no longer aspired may flow into the apparatus which may be ooded thereby if no precaution is taken.

It is possible to cope with the above difficulties With the help of the device shown in Figure 7. In this device the atomizing is achieved by means of the combined jet 8 and nozzle 3Q, mounted along the axis of tunnel at a small distance from the jet 8, and connected to the exhaust pipe 35 by means of a pipe 35. The pipe 3l Which puts the liquid tank 38 under pressure is branched on pipe 3E, while the jet S is fed with liquid by the pipe 39. W ith said device the unburned fuel, present in the exhaust gas used for atomizing the liquid., is recycled to the intake of the engine thus causing a further reduction of the fuel consumption.

It Will be convenient to use for connecting the pipes 36 and 3l the connection si) shown in Figure 9 which comprises cooling ribs il and two connections at right angles 42 and E3. This connection is screwed into the Wall of the exhaust pipe 35 and enables the connection to be made by drilling only one hole in exhaust pipe The operation of the device is as follows: Assuming the engine runs at a high rate, the pressure in the pipe 35 is transferred above the liquid oi tank 33 by means of the pipe 3l. A gaseous flow at high speed is started at the outlet of nozzle 3i and the liquid delivered by the pipe to jet S is atomized in the apparatus. When the rate of the engine slows down suddenly, the pressure immediately slows down in the pipe 36, be-

cause .of .the decrease .of .the pressure .at and of the slight suction produced 'by nozzle .34 .immersed ,in a low speed gaseous flow. suction is transferred ,up .to tank `.38 by the pipe 32h .S0 that .theliquid .contained in the pipe 1351s sucked into the tank.

If it is desired, and morder to avoid the flooding of the apparatus in `case ,of leaks of liquid, means for ,carrying away this liquid to the outside may be provided. AFor instance an appropriate `basin having an outlet pipe ,may be designed. Another means .consists in .downwardly inclining a part lc of the lower wall in the upstream direction as shown in Figure 8, vand providing at the lower part .a hole 'in the wall of chamber Il. An exit pipe A4 may be secured -in that hole and said pipe ,may ibe curved towards lthe rear 'for carryine .the liquid away.

It is to be understood that the lform of my -invention herewith shown and described -is to be taken as a preferred example of the same and that various changes in the shape, size and -arrangement of parts 'may be 'resorted to without departing from the .scope of the subjoined claims. It would 'be moreparticularly possible to provide several rotating electrodes mounted end to vend eachone being associated -w-ith stationary electrodes, and ,to bend the blades of the distinct electrodes in opposite directions lin order Vto give eacjh air-screw a different direction of `revolution improving the mixture ofthe gases. It is -alsoobvious that for lthescrew .of the spark sap oouldbe substituted any other electrode-rotating at a speed in direct ratio yto thatof .the gas flow.

I claim:

l. A spark 'gap for vproducing electric sparks as a function of the volume of a :iiuid ow passing through said Snarlfgap vwhich.comprisestwo high voltage sources, the first one having a higher voltage than theend, and -saidsecond source being capable of -supplying a 4higher current Athan the said first one source; atleast one electrode connected to said high Voltage sources, said ,e1ectreue made roi an air-screwarrauged and adapted to be freely, rotatively driven through said iluid flow; and at least two stationary electrodes insulated from one another, angularly shifted according to the inclination of the blades of said airscrew and connected to said high voltage sources.

2. In a process for decomposing water carried along in the air ow sucked in by an internal combustion engine the steps of withdrawing a fraction of the exhaust gas flowing from said engine, atomizing water by means of said fraction of exhaust gas to form fine liquid globules, injecting said globules into the air flow sucked in by said engine, and submitting said globules to the action of electric sparks flying in said air flow, the number of said electric sparks being in direct ratio with the speed of said air flow, whereby the unburned fuel present in said fraction of exhaust gas is recycled to the intake of said engine.

3. In an apparatus for decomposing in a gaseous iiow, whatever be the rate of delivery of said flow, substantially an even proportion of a liquid formed of a combination of elements and contained in a suitable tank, the combination of an atomizer and a high voltage spark gap, said atomizer comprising a tube of insulating material through which the gaseous current flows and a small diameter jet connected to said liquid tank and radially disposed in said tube with its orice on the axis of said tube; said high voltage spark gap being arranged down-stream with respect to Vnltage source, a rotating electrode -made of:V a'

metal an-screw freely rotating around a shaft coaxial with said tube, and at least one stationary electrode ,Secured .on .the inner wall of said tube, in iront o f said air-screw .and radially spaced from the `ends of the 'blades of said air-screw a distance at vmost equal to the sparking distance corresponding to the 'voltage of said source and electric Aconn option s for connecting said-'both electrodes Vto s aid high voltage source, whereby the gaseous f l o. w .causes atomizing of the liquid as a function of its speed, rotation of said air-screw at a speed ,substantially in direct ratio with `its ownJ and the; ying between said electrodes of a number o f sparks .adjusting itself to the rate of delveryofsaidow- 5i. an apparatus for decomposing in a gaseous now, whatever be the rate -of delivery of said flow, substantially an eienpropoit'ion of 'a liquid formed of a combina-tion of elements and contained I lfn a suitable tank, the combination of an atomizer andaihish Voltage spark gap, said atomizer comprising a tube of insulating material through which the gaseous current flows anda small diameter jet connected to said liquid Atank and radially disposed in said tube with its oriiice on `the `axis pf said tube; said 'high voltage spark gap being arranged downstream with respect to said atomizor and Comprising two high voltage sources o f energy, the first -one 'having a 'higher voltage ,than kthe second., and said Second source of energy jbeingcapa'ble of supplying a higher current than the rst one, a rotating electrode made of `,a metal airscrew freely vrotating around a shaft `coaxial with said tube, said 'metal air-screw being connected Atp one terminal of each of said sources of energyJ v and ajt least two stationary electrodes secured .a short distance one ,before the other with respect t0 the direction of lsaid gaseous ilow on the inner wall ,of said tube, both in front of saidmetalair-screw, and lradially spaced from the ends Aof the blades of said air-screw va distance at most equal to the spark distance corresponding to the voltage of said first source of energy, the first of said stationary electrodes, closer to said atomizer, being connected to the first source of energy having the higher voltage, and the second of said stationary electrodes, remote from said atomizer being connected to the second source of energy capable of supplying the` higher current; whereby said gaseous ilow causes atomizing of said liquid and rotation of said airscrew, and when a blade of said air-screw comes opposite to said stationary electrodes, a spark flies between said blade and said first stationary electrode, ionizing the gas and causing flying of a higher current spark between said blade and said second stationary electrode.

5. In an apparatus as claimed in claim 4 a pair of stationary electrodes secured in front of said air-screw a short distance one before the other with respect to the direction of said gaseous ow, flush with the inner wall of said tube and angularly shifted according to the inclination of the blades of said air-screw.

6. In an apparatus as claimed in claim 3 the disposition which consists in locating the radially disposed jet of the liquid atomizer at such a distance from the spark gap that the vaporization cone of the liquid fed to this jet impinges the inner wall of said tube in a plane intersecting said air-screw.

7. An apparatus according to claim 3 adapted to feed partially an engine with the break-up components of water constituting the liquid in the liquid tank, in which said tube is inserted in the air intake pipe of the engine, said atomizer further comprising a nozzle arranged along the axis of said tube up stream with respect to said jet connected to said liquid tank, and a pipe connecting said nozzle to the exhaust pipe of said engine, whereby a portion of the exhaust gas is used for atomizing the Water.

8. An apparatus according to claim 3 adapted to feed partially an engine with the break-up components of water constituting the liquid in the liquid tank, in which said tube is inserted in the air intake pipe of the engine, said atomizer further comprising a nozzle arranged along the axis of said tube up stream with respect to said jet connected to said liquid tank, a rst pipe connecting said nozzle to the exhaust pipe of said engine, and a second pipe branched to said first pipe connected to said water tank.

9. An apparatus according to claim 3 adapted to feed partially an engine with the break-up components of water constituting the liquid in the liquid tank, in which said tube is inserted in the air intake pipe of the engine, said atomizer further comprising a nozzle arranged along the axis of said tube up stream with respect to said jet connected to said liquid tank, a first pipe connecting said nozzle to the exhaust pipe of said engine, a second pipe branched to said rst pipe connected to said liquid tank, and a ribbed connection screwed in the Wall of the exhaust pipe of said engine having two tubings at right angles one with respect to the other for feeding said rst and second pipes.

10. An apparatus according to claim 3, adapted to feed partially an engine with the break-up components of Water constituting the liquid in the liquid tank, in which said tube is inserted in the air intake pipe horizontally disposed of the engine, said tube having at least a portion of its wall slightly inclined with respect to the horizontal and being provided at its lower part with a port, and a pipe connected thereto for carrying away water leaking from said jet.

11. A fuel economizer for an engine, capable of feeding said engine with substantially an even proportion of detonating gas obtained by decomposition in a gaseous W of an even proportion of water sucked in a suitable tank and atomized in said gaseous flow whatever be the rate of delivery of said flow, comprising in combination an atomizer and a high voltage spark gap, said atomizer comprising a tube of insulating material through which the gaseous current flows and a small diameter jet connected to said tank and radially disposed in said tube With its orifice on the axis of said tube; said high voltage spark gap being arranged down-stream with respect to said atomizer and comprising, at least one high voltage source, a rotating electrode made of a metal airscrew freely rotating around a shaft coaxial with said tube, and at least one stationary electrode secured on the inner wall of said tube, in front of said air-screw and radially spaced from the ends of the blades of said air-screw a distance at most equal to the sparking distance corresponding to the voltage of said source, and electric connections for connecting said both electrodes to said high voltage source, whereby the gaseous ow causes sucking and atomizing of said water as a function of its speed, rotation of said air-screw at a speed substantially in direct ratio with its own, and the discharge between said electrodes of a number of sparks adjusting itself to the rate of delivery of said flow.

RAYMOND H. P. DEVAUX.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 672,230 Lacomme Apr. 16, 1901 820,656 De Mare May 15, 1906 1,262,034 Frazer Apr. 9, 1918 1,333,837 Csanyi Mar. 16, 1920 1,333,838 Csanyi Mar. 16, 1920 1,614,234 De Trairun et al. Jan. 11, 1927 2,441,056 Becker et al May 4, 1948