Fuel reforming apparatus for use with internal combustion engine

Claim 1

In an internal combustion engine including an engine combustion chamber, an intake pipe for supplying at least air to said engine combustion chamber, and a throttle valve pivotally disposed in said intake pipe for controlling the amount of air passing therethrough, a fuel reforming apparatus for supplying a reformed gas including hydrogen and carbon monoxide to said engine combustion chamber of said internal combustion engine comprising: (i) a burning chamber for substantially burning a charge of air and a hydrocarbon fuel therein, to thereby produce heat and combustion gas; (ii) means coupled to said burning chamber for charging in said burning chamber said charge of air and a fuel and controlling the amount of said charge of air and a fuel in response to the amount of air passing through said intake pipe; (iii) a catalytic reactor having therein a catalyst for reforming hydrocarbon fuel into a reformed gas including hydrogen and carbon monoxide, said catalytic reactor being communicated with said burning chamber so that said combustion gas from said burning chamber is introduced into said catalytic reactor; (iv) means for supplying at least a hydrocarbon fuel to said catalytic reactor to reform said hydrocarbon fuel into the reformed gas with the aid of said heat, combustion gas and catalyst, through an endothermic reaction in said catalytic reactor; and (v) means communicating said catalytic reactor with said engine combustion chamber of said internal combustion engine for introducing said reformed gas thereto.