Ignition enhancement chamber for internal combustion engine

Claim 1

In an internal combustion engine including a combustion chamber and piston means for cyclically compressing a gaseous fuel mixture in said combustion chamber, the improvement comprising control means to regulate ignition firing of a combustible fuel and air mixture in said combustion chamber, and particularly adapted to regulate ignition of a mixture in which the ratio of fuel-to-air is less than stoichiometric, said control means including: an enclosed substantially fluid tight auxiliary chamber of lesser internal volume than said combustion chamber but at least 5% of the volume thereof, said auxiliary chamber being in gas-flow communication with said combustion chamber but spaced therefrom, isolator means defining restricted fluid passage means interposed between said combustion chamber and said auxiliary chamber to obviate ignition-induced flashback from said auxiliary chamber to said combustion chamber, said isolator means also being operative partially to insulate said combustion chamber from said auxiliary chamber thermally, packing means of heat retentive material dispersed interiorly of and distributed throughout said auxiliary chamber to provide a high surface area-to-volume ratio within said auxiliary chamber, thereby to enhance heat transfer and distribution, said surface area to volume ratio within said auxiliary chamber being at least 10:1.