Combustion system for dual fuel engine

Claim 2

An improved combustion system for dual fuel engines including a reciprocating engine including at least one cylinder, at least one piston, and at least one cylinder head forming a variable volume chamber, said engine being capable of utilizing both a gaseous fuel as well as a liquid fuel, the ignition of said liquid fuel being accomplished by compression and auto-ignition, while the ignition of the preferable gaseous fuel being accomplished by a liquid torch fuel cell disposed internally within said variable volume chamber, said torch fuel cell being carried by said piston, means for introducing a liquid fuel through said cylinder wall adjacent the point of maximum compression by said piston when at or adjacent its uppermost stroke, first passageway means communicating through said piston wall into said torch fuel cell, second passageway means commuinicating from said torch fuel cell into said variable volume chamber for thermally and chemically carrying the product of auto-ignition of said liquid fuel into said variable volume chamber for ignition of said main gaseous fuel.

Claim 3

An improved combustion system for dual fuel engines as claimed in claim 1 wherein said auto-ignition chamber has a volume of from 1 to 25% of the volume of a main piston chamber measured when a piston in the piston chamber is at the top of said piston's stroke.

Claim 4

An improved combustion system for dual fuel engines as claimed in claim 2 wherein the ignition of said torch cell being normally accomplished by injection of a quantity of fuel with auto-ignition capability to accomplish start of combustion upon penetration to the torch cell by said passageway means of air/fuel mixture which has been raised to a given temperature by cylinder compression in said at least one cylinder.

Claim 5

An improved combustion system for dual fuel engines as claimed in claim 3 wherein ignition is initiated by contact of the liquid fuel ignition substance with the hot surface of said torch cell.

Claim 6

An improved combustion system for dual fuel engines as claimed in claim 1, wherein said second passageway communicating with said torch fuel cell chamber is substantially tangentially disposed relative to said torch fuel cell chamber whereby air/fuel mixture compressed by said piston and introduced via said passageway into said torch fuel cell chamber is swirled therein.

Claim 7

An improved combustion system for dual fuel engines as claimed in claim 5 wherein said torch cell assembly includes injection means for introducing said liquid fuel into said torch fuel cell chamber, said injection means as radially disposed relative to the axial diametral disposition of said spherical chamber.

Claim 8

An improved combustion system for dual fuel engines as claimed in claim 1 wherein said injection means is disposed substantially on the said axis of said chamber.

Claim 9

An improved combustion system for dual fuel engines as claimed in claim 1 wherein said injection means is aligned with a first passageway that communicates with said torch cell chamber, said first passageway forming an opening into said chamber on one side of said axis, while said tangentially disposed passageway communicating with said cylinder chamber is located on the other side of said axis, whereby introduction of said ignition means into said torch cell chamber takes place in a following manner generally emulating the rotation of the swirling compressed air from said at least one cylinder.

Claim 10

An improved combustion system for dual fuel engines including a reciprocating engine including at least one cylinder, at least one piston, and at least one cylinder head forming a variable volume chamber, said engine being capable of utilizing both a gaseous fuel as well as a liquid fuel, the ignition of said liquid fuel being accomplished by compression and auto-ignition, while the ignition of the preferable gaseous fuel being accomplished by a liquid torch fuel cell disposed internally within said variable volume chamber, said liquid torch fuel cell being carried by said piston, means for timely introduction of a liquid fuel through the walls forming said variable volume chamber into a first passageway in said fuel cell communicating with an auto-ignition chamber in said fuel cell and means for communicating with and serving as the vehicle for transfer of the thermal and chemical ignition products from said auto-ignition chamber to said variable volume chamber, and said first passageway being located in cooperative alignment with liquid fuel delivery means traversing said cylinder head.

Claim 11

An improved combustion system for dual fuel engines including a reciprocating engine including at least one cylinder, at least one piston, and at least one cylinder head forming a variable volume chamber, said engine being capable of utilizing both a gaseous fuel as well as a liquid fuel, the ignition of said liquid fuel being accomplished by compression and auto-ignition, while the ignition of the preferable gaseous fuel being accomplished by a liquid torch fuel cell disposed internally within said variable volume chamber, said liquid torch fuel cell being carried by said piston, means for timely introduction of a liquid fuel through the walls forming said variable volume chamber into a first passageway in said fuel cell communicating with an auto-ignition chamber in said fuel cell and means for communicating with and serving as the vehicle for transfer of the thermal and chemical ignition products from said auto-ignition chamber to said variable volume chamber, and said first passageway being located in cooperative alignment with liquid fuel delivery means traversing said cylinder head.

Claim 12

An improved combustion system for dual fuel engines as claimed in claim 9 wherein said torch fuel cell includes an internal generally spherical auto-ignition chamber, a passageway communicating between said torch cell chamber and the main variable volume chamber of at least one cylinder in said reciprocating engine, and means for introducing liquid fuel into said torch cell chamber when said piston is at or near its uppermost position following compression stroke.

Claim 13

An improved method of combustion for a dual fuel reciprocating engine including the steps of emitting a gaseous fuel mixture into the chamber of a cylinder of said engine, compressing said gaseous fuel mixture by means of a reciprocating piston within said cylinder, igniting said compressed fuel mixture at the top of the compression stroke within said cylinder chamber by means of a liquid fuel torch cell disposed internally of said cylinder and carried by said piston, wherein said torch cell includes passageway means that communicates with the said cylinder chamber, including the step of introducing a portion of said compressed gaseous mixture into said torch cell via said passageway means, and then introducing an auto-ignition liquid fuel into cell via a second passageway thereby causing ignition of said liquid fuel upon contact with said compressed mixture and ignition of said compressed gaseous mixture in said cylinder chamber via said first passageway means.

Claim 14

An improved method of combustion for a dual fuel reciprocating engine including the steps of emitting a gaseous fuel mixture into the chamber of a cylinder of said engine, compressing said gaseous fuel mixture by means of a reciprocating piston within said cylinder, igniting said compressed fuel mixture at the top of the compression stroke within said cylinder chamber by means of a liquid fuel torch cell disposed internally of said cylinder and carried by said piston, wherein said torch cell includes passageway means that communicates with the said cylinder chamber, including the step of introducing a portion of said compressed gaseous mixture into said torch cell via said passageway means, and then introducing an auto-ignition liquid fuel into cell via a second passageway thereby causing ignition of said liquid fuel upon contact with said compressed mixture and ignition of said compressed gaseous mixture in said cylinder chamber via said first passageway means.

Claim 15

The improved method set forth in claim 11 wherein said gaseous mixture in said cylinder chamber is a fuel lean mixture.

Claim 16

The improved method as set forth in claim 12 wherein said liquid fuel mixture in said torch cell chamber is a fuel rich mixture.

Claim 17

The improved method as set forth in claim 13 wherein said rich fuel mixture includes an air to fuel ratio of less than 10 to 1.

Claim 18

The improved method as set forth in claim 14 wherein said rich fuel; mixture includes an air to fuel ratio of substantially 8 to 1.

Claim 19

The improved method as set forth in claim 12 wherein said lean mixture would have an air to fuel ratio in excess of 10 to 1.

Claim 20

The improved method as set forth in claim 16 wherein said lean mixture has an air to fuel ratio of substantially 12 to 1.

Claim 21

The improved method as set forth in claim 11 wherein said liquid fuel used in said method has a cetane rating such that it will auto-ignite at a predetermined pressure or temperature.

Claim 22

The improved method as set forth in claim 18 wherein the cetane rating of said air/gaseous mixture is such that it would not ignite at said predetermined pressure alone.

Claim 23

The improved method as set forth in claim 19 wherein said liquid fuel is diesel fuel oil.

Claim 24

The improved method as set forth in claim 11 wherein said torch cell includes a substantially spherical chamber, said passageway means being tangentially disposed relative to said torch cell chamber to provide a swirling effect on said compressed gaseous mixture introduced into said torch cell chamber from said cylinder chamber.

Claim 25

The improved method as set forth in claim 21 wherein said liquid fuel is introduced into said compressed swirling gaseous mixture at a predetermined angle to joint the flow thereof and insure complete combustion following ignition.

Claim 26

The improved method as set forth in claim 22 wherein said predetermined angle is between four and five degrees askew of the axis of said torch cell chamber whereby said liquid fuel is insured of total mixture with said compressed gaseous mixture that has been introduced via said passageway means.