Diesel engine manifold air preheater

Claim 1

For use with a diesel engine having longitudinally spaced intake ports, the combination of an air intake manifold extending longitudinally and transversely of said ports for communicating intake manifold combustion air to said ports, an intercooler mounted within said manifold and extending longitudinally of said ports upstream of said ports, an elongated burner tube in said manifold spaced adjacent said ports downstream of said intercooler and extending longitudinally of said ports with one end of said tube extending through one wall of said manifold, a burner head assembly at said tube one end external to said manifold, an aspirating fuel nozzle having a longitudinal axis coaxial with said tube in said burner head assembly, ignition means in said head extending radially into said tube between said nozzle and manifold wall for igniting fuel discharged by said nozzlE, a plurality of passageways in said tube with each passageway positioned adjacent to and facing a respective intake port with said passageways increasing in size from the end of said burner tube adjacent said burner assembly to provide substantially the same quantity of heat to the air entering each said ports from said manifold, fuel port means in said nozzle, aspirating air port means in said nozzle, a fuel passageway in said burner head assembly for communicating fuel with said nozzle fuel port means, an aspirating air passageway in said burner head assembly for communicating air to said aspirating air port means, a fuel tank, means for communicating fuel in said tank to said head fuel passageway, a source of pressurized air, means connecting said burner head assembly aspirating air passageway to said source of pressurized air, a combustion air chamber in said burner head assembly coaxial with said tube communicating with the interior of said burner tube, another inlet air passage in said head assembly extending radially of said tube for communicating air to said combustion chamber, an air compressor supplying pressurized air from said manifold at a position intermediate the ends of said tube to said other head inlet, a breaker point assembly, an ignition coil connected to said ignition means, means for energizing said ignition coil for controlling said ignition means to ignite said fuel in response to the operation of said breaker point assembly, and a common electric motor for operating said breaker point assembly and said air compressor.