Fuel system for internal combustion engine

Claim 1

In a fuel system for an internal combustion engine having an intake manifold, a source of liquid hydrocarbon fuel, a source of heated fluid, and a throttle linkage, the combination of: a generally circular housing mounted on the end of said intake manifold and having an inlet opening through one wall thereof; a cylindrical conduit disposed vertically within said housing at the center thereof, the bottom end of said conduit being attached to the bottom of the housing and communicating with the interior of said intake manifold; a length of heat-exchange tubing wound into a vertically disposed cylindrical coil surrounding said conduit, the individual turns of the coil being closely spaced apart with respect to one another; the ends of said heat exchange tubing being connected to said source of heated fluid, whereby the heated fluid is circulated continuously through the tubing; a wire mesh screen wrapped around said coil of heat exchange tubing in close, heat-exchange contact therewith, whereby the screen becomes hot by conduction of heat from the tubing; means for flowing liquid hydrocarbon fuel down over said wire mesh screen from the top edge thereof; the liquid fuel flowing down over said hot wire mesh screen and the coils of heated tubing being vaporized, and the fuel vapor being mixed with air flowing radially inward through the screen; means for admitting the mixture of vaporized fuel and air into said conduit; means connected to said throttle linkage for controlling the volume of vaporized fuel and air mixture into said intake manifold; and means for introducing a controlled amount of additional fresh air into said fuel-and-air mixture as the latter flows downwardly through said conduit into said intake manifold.