Patent US3980053A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US3980053A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Fuel supply apparatus for internal combustion engines
Assignee: Beeston Co Ltd
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Filing: 1974-11-25
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Granted: 1976-09-14
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Expires: 1994-11-25
Abstract
Abstract A fuel supply apparatus generates hydrogen and oxygen by electrolysis of water. There is provided an electrolytic cell which has a circular anode surrounded by a cathode with a porous membrane therebetween. The anode is fluted and the cathode is slotted to provide anode and cathode areas of substantially equal surface area. A pulsed electrical current is provided between the anode and cathode for efficient generation of hydrogen and oxygen. The electrolytic cell is equipped with a float, which detects the level of electrolyte within the cell, and water is added to the cell as needed to replace the water lost through the electrolysis process. The hydrogen and oxygen are collected in chambers which are an integral part of the electrolytic cell, and these two gases are supplied to a mixing chamber where they are mixed in the ratio of two parts hydrogen to one part oxygen. This mixture of hydrogen and oxygen flows to another mixing chamber wherein it is mixed with air from the atmosphere. The system is disclosed as being installed in an automobile, and a dual control system, which is actuated by the automobile throttle, first meters the hydrogen and oxygen mixture into the chamber wherein it is combined with air and then meters the combined mixture into the automobile engine. The heat of combustion of a pure hydrogen and oxygen mixture is greater than that of a gasoline and air mixture of comparable volume, and air is therefore mixed with the hydrogen and oxygen to produce a composite mixture which has a heat of combustion approximating that of a normal gas-air mixture. This composite mixture of air, hydrogen and oxygen then can be supplied directly to a conventional internal combustion engine without overheating and without creation of a vacuum in the system.
Inventors
- 👤 Stephen Horvath
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-29 02:44
CPC Classifications
C; C25; C25B; C25B1/00; C25B1/01; C25B1/02; C25B1/04; C25B9/00; B; B01; B01J; B01J19/00; B01J19/08; B01J19/12; B01J19/122; F; F02; F02B; F02B43/00; F02B43/10; F02M; F02M21/00; F02M21/02; F02M21/0203; F02M21/0206; F02M21/0218; F02M21/0227; F02M21/023; F02M21/0239; F02M21/04; H; H03; H03K; H03K3/00; H03K3/02; H03K3/35; H03K3/351; F02B2043/106; Y; Y02; Y02E; Y02E60/00; Y02E60/30; Y02E60/36; Y02T; Y02T10/00; Y02T10/10; Y02T10/30; Y10; Y10S; Y10S123/00; Y10S123/12
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 23
Claim 1
Independent Claim
102 words
For an internal combustion engine having inlet means to receive a combustible fuel, fuel supply apparatus comprising: a vessel to hold an aqueous electrolyte solution; an anode and a cathode to contact the electrolyte solution within the vessel; electrical supply means to apply between said anode and said cathode pulses of electrical energy to induce a pulsating current in the electrolyte solution thereby to generate by electrolysis hydrogen and oxygen gases; gas collection and delivery means to collect the hydrogen and oxygen gases and to direct them to the engine inlet means; and water admission means to admit water to said vessel;
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
102 words
For an internal combustion engine having inlet means to receive a combustible fuel, fuel supply apparatus comprising: a vessel to hold an aqueous electrolyte solution; an anode and a cathode to contact the electrolyte solution within the vessel; electrical supply means to apply between said anode and said cathode pulses of electrical energy to induce a pulsating current in the electrolyte solution thereby to generate by electrolysis hydrogen and oxygen gases; gas collection and delivery means to collect the hydrogen and oxygen gases and to direct them to the engine inlet means; and water admission means to admit water to said vessel;
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
204 words
said electrical supply means comprising a source of direct current electrical energy of substantially uniform voltage and current and electrical converter means to convert that energy to said pulses, said converter means comprising a transformer means having primary coil means energized by direct current energy from said source and secondary coil means inductively coupled to the primary coil means; a dump capacitor connected to the secondary coil means of the transformer means so as to be charged by electrical output of that coil means; oscillator means to derive electrical pulses from direct current energy of said source; a switching device switchable from a non-conducting state to a conducting state in response to each of the electrical pulses derived by the oscillator means and connected to the secondary coil means of the transformer means and the dump capacitor such that each switching from its non-conducting state to its conducting state causes the dump capacitor to discharge and also short circuits the transformer means to cause the switching means to revert to its non-conducting state; and electrical conversion means to receive the pulse discharges from the dump capacitor and to convert them to said pulses of electrical energy which are applied between the anode and cathode.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
204 words
said electrical supply means comprising a source of direct current electrical energy of substantially uniform voltage and current and electrical converter means to convert that energy to said pulses, said converter means comprising a transformer means having primary coil means energized by direct current energy from said source and secondary coil means inductively coupled to the primary coil means; a dump capacitor connected to the secondary coil means of the transformer means so as to be charged by electrical output of that coil means; oscillator means to derive electrical pulses from direct current energy of said source; a switching device switchable from a non-conducting state to a conducting state in response to each of the electrical pulses derived by the oscillator means and connected to the secondary coil means of the transformer means and the dump capacitor such that each switching from its non-conducting state to its conducting state causes the dump capacitor to discharge and also short circuits the transformer means to cause the switching means to revert to its non-conducting state; and electrical conversion means to receive the pulse discharges from the dump capacitor and to convert them to said pulses of electrical energy which are applied between the anode and cathode.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
31 words
Fuel supply as claimed in claim 1, wherein the electrical supply means applies said pulses of electrical energy at a frequency of ranging between about 5,000 and 40,000 pulses per minute.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
28 words
Fuel supply apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the electrical supply means applies said pulses of electrical energy at a frequency of about 10,000 pulses per minute.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
38 words
Fuel supply apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the electrical supply means comprises a source of direct current electrical energy of substantially uniform voltage and current and electrical converter means to convert that energy to said pulses.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
49 words
Fuel supply apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the electrical conversion means is a voltage step-down transformer comprising a primary coil to receive the pulse discharge from said dump capacitor and a secondary coil electrically connected between the anode and cathode and inductively coupled to the primary coil.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
14 words
Fuel supply apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein said cathode encompasses the anode.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
33 words
Fuel supply apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cathode encompasses the anode which is hollow and the primary and secondary coils of the second transformer means are disposed within the anode.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
40 words
Fuel supply apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the anode is tubular and its ends are closed to form a chamber which contains the primary and secondary coils of the second transformer means and which is charged with oil.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
170 words
In combination with an internal combustion engine having an inlet for combustible fuel, fuel supply apparatus comprising: a. an electrolytic cell to hold an electrolytic conductor; b. a first hollow cylindrical electrode disposed within said cell and provided about its outer surface with a series of circumferentially spaced and longitudinally extending flutes; c. a second hollow cylindrical electrode surrounding said anode and segmented into a series of electrically connected longitudinally extending strip; said strips being equal in number to the number of said flutes, said strips having a total active surface area approximately equal to the total active surface area of said flutes, and said strips being in radial alignment with the crests of said flutes; d. current generating means for generating a flow of electrolysing current between said first and second electrodes; e. gas collection and delivery means to collect hydrogen and oxygen gases from the cell and to direct them to said fuel inlet of the engine; and f. water admission means to admit water to the cell.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
170 words
In combination with an internal combustion engine having an inlet for combustible fuel, fuel supply apparatus comprising: a. an electrolytic cell to hold an electrolytic conductor; b. a first hollow cylindrical electrode disposed within said cell and provided about its outer surface with a series of circumferentially spaced and longitudinally extending flutes; c. a second hollow cylindrical electrode surrounding said anode and segmented into a series of electrically connected longitudinally extending strip; said strips being equal in number to the number of said flutes, said strips having a total active surface area approximately equal to the total active surface area of said flutes, and said strips being in radial alignment with the crests of said flutes; d. current generating means for generating a flow of electrolysing current between said first and second electrodes; e. gas collection and delivery means to collect hydrogen and oxygen gases from the cell and to direct them to said fuel inlet of the engine; and f. water admission means to admit water to the cell.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
19 words
The combination claimed in claim 9, wherein said current generating means comprises a transformer situated inside said first electrode.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
31 words
The combination claimed in claim 10, wherein the secondary winding of said transformer is connected whereby said first electrode operates as an anode and said second electrode operates as a cathode.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
26 words
The combination claimed in claim 11, wherein said current generating means further comprising means to generate a pulsed current in the primary winding of said transformer.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
15 words
The combination claimed in claim 9, wherein the roots of said flutes are cylindrically curved.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
189 words
The combination claimed in claim 10, wherein said current generating means comprises a source of direct current; a transformer means having primary coil means energized by direct current energy from said source and secondary coil means inductively coupled to the primary coil means; a dump capacitor connected to the secondary coil means of the transformer means so as to be charged by electrical output of that coil means; oscillator means to derive electrical pulses from direct current energy of said source, a switching device switchable from a non-conducting state to a conducting state in response to each of the electrical pulses derived by the oscillator means and connected to the secondary coil means of the transformer means and the dump capacitor such that each switching from its non-conducting state to its conducting state causes the dump capacitor to discharge and also short circuits the transformer means to cause the switching means to revert to its non-conducting state; and electrical conversion means to receive the pulse discharges from the dump capacitor and to convert them to said pulses of electriical electrical which are applied between said first and second electrodes.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
41 words
The combination claimed in claim 10, wherein the electrical conversion means comprises a voltage step-down transformer having a primary coil to receive the pulse discharge from said dump capacitor and a secondary coil electrically connected between said first and second electrodes.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
150 words
The combination of an internal combustion engine having an inlet to receive a combustible fuel and fuel supply apparatus comprising: a vessel to hold an aqueous electrolyte solution; a first hollow cylindrical electrode disposed within said vessel and provided about its outer surface with a series of circumferentially spaced and longitudinally extending flutes; a second hollow cylindrical electrode surrounding the first electrode and segmented into a series of electrically connected longitudinally extending strips; said strips being equal in number to the number of said flutes and being in radial alignment with the crests of said flutes; current generating means for generating a pulsating current between said first and second electrodes to produce hydrogen and oxygen gases within the vessel; gas collection and delivery means to collect the hydrogen and oxygen gases and to direct them to the engine inlet means; and water admission means to admit water to the vessel.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
150 words
The combination of an internal combustion engine having an inlet to receive a combustible fuel and fuel supply apparatus comprising: a vessel to hold an aqueous electrolyte solution; a first hollow cylindrical electrode disposed within said vessel and provided about its outer surface with a series of circumferentially spaced and longitudinally extending flutes; a second hollow cylindrical electrode surrounding the first electrode and segmented into a series of electrically connected longitudinally extending strips; said strips being equal in number to the number of said flutes and being in radial alignment with the crests of said flutes; current generating means for generating a pulsating current between said first and second electrodes to produce hydrogen and oxygen gases within the vessel; gas collection and delivery means to collect the hydrogen and oxygen gases and to direct them to the engine inlet means; and water admission means to admit water to the vessel.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
181 words
The combination claimed in claim 26, wherein said current generating means comprises a source of direct current; a first transformer means having primary coil means energized by direct current energy from said source and secondary coil means inductively coupled to the primary coil means; a dump capacitor connected to the secondary coil means of the first transformer means so as to be charged by electrical output of that coil means; oscillator means to derive electrical pulses from direct current energy of said source; a switching device switchable from non-conducting state to a conducting state in response to each of the electrical pulses derived by the oscillator means and connected to the secondary coil means of the first transformer means and the dump capacitor such that each switching from its non-conducting state to its conducting state causes the dump capacitor to discharge and also short circuits the first transformer means to cause a second transformer to receive the pulse discharges from the dump capacitor and to transform them to pulses of electrical energy which are applied between said first and second electrodes.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
63 words
The combination claimed in claim 26, wherein the second transformer means has primary coil means energized by the pulse discharges from the dump capacitor and secondary coil means which is inductively coupled to the primary coil means and is connected to the first and second electrodes such that the first electrode operates as an anode and the second electrode operates as a cathode.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1979-09-14 | 1980-03-15 | 1980-09-14 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1983-09-14 | 1984-03-15 | 1984-09-14 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1987-09-14 | 1988-03-15 | 1988-09-14 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |