Gasoline vaporizer for internal combustion engine

A gasoline vaporizer associated with the carburetor of an internal combustion engine designed to improve the engine efficiency by delivering gasoline vapor directly to the carburetor. A portion of the fuel supplied by the fuel pump is diverted through a metering valve to a close chamber where it is sprayed over copper tubing through which hot water from the engine cooling system is circulated. Gasoline vapors thus produced are drawn into the venturi of the carburetor by the engine suction, or injected directly into the intake manifold.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to internal combustion engine carburetion systems, 
and more specifically to carburetion systems with gasoline pre-heating and 
vaporizing devices. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
It is axiomatic that the efficiency of a gasoline-powered engine can be 
improved by a more complete burning of the air-fuel mixture. 
Carburetors are designed to homogenize the mixture by atomizing the fuel. 
Cylinder heads are sometimes shaped to further improve homogenization by 
causing the mixture to whorl inside the cylinder during the admission and 
compression cycles. 
The addition of gasoline vapors to the mixture causes additional dispersing 
effects which bring more fuel molecules in direct contact with the oxygen 
of the air for a more thorough combustion. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The principal object of this invention is to provide a means for vaporizing 
a portion of the gasoline admitted into a combustion engine. 
Another object of this invention is to provide a means for conveniently 
metering the amount of fuel to be vaporized. 
A further object of the invention is to provide a simple and practical 
vaporizing device which can be readily added to existing combustion engine 
carburetion systems, without having to modify the existing carburetor. 
These and other useful objects are achieved by a metering valve which 
diverts part of the fuel going to the carburetor toward a closed chamber 
in which the diverted fuel is sprayed against hot water ducts in order to 
create a gasoline vapors which are then injected into the venturi section 
of the carburetor, or directly into the intake manifold.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION 
Referring now to the drawings and beginning with FIG. 1, there is 
illustrated the general diagram of the vaporizing system 1. Gasoline 
delivered by the engine fuel pump is brought by line 6 to a metering valve 
4 which diverts part of the fuel through line 7 toward the vaporizer 
chamber 2. The remainder of the fuel is applied through line 8 to the 
regular gasoline inlet of the engine carburetor 3. Inside the vaporizing 
chamber 2 the gasoline is sprayed over a heating element 5. Hot water from 
the engine cooling system is circulated through the heating element 5 by 
way of lines 12 and 13. Alternate systems could also be implemented using 
the engine exhaust or an electrical coil to heat the element 5. The 
gasoline vapors whorling in the chamber 2 are drawn into the venturi 
section of the carburetor 3 through line 9. A drain line 10 at the bottom 
of the chamber 2 return any excess, unvaporized gasoline toward the fuel 
tank. An air inlet is sometimes provided through line 11 in the upper 
section of the chamber 2. The valve 4 can be adjusted to apportion the 
amount of gasoline delivered to the chamber 2 and to the carburetor 3. 
Vapors will not be produced until the engine cooling system reaches a 
certain temperature. Therefore it is preferable not to admit fuel into the 
chamber 2 until such time. The adjustment of the metering valve 4 may be 
predicated upon the type of engine, the richness of the desired fuel 
mixture and various other factors. Manual or automatic adjustments may be 
devised according to circumstances. For best results the gasoline vapors 
should be delivered directly into the venturi section of the carburetor, 
or into the intake manifold. However, satisfactory operation can also be 
obtained by delivering the gasoline vapors directly ahead of the choke. 
FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate the construction of the metering valve 4. The 
valve comprises a cylindrical body 14 through which runs an axial bore 
into which is engaged a shaft 16. One end of the shaft protruding from the 
valve body 14 has a handle 17. The other end of the shaft is threaded and 
engages the internal threads of a coupling 19 forming an axial outlet port 
for line 8. A first radial bore 20 closest to the threaded coupling 19 
receives the fuel from the fuel pump through line 6. A second radial bore 
21 delivers the fuel to line 7 toward the vaporizer chamber 2. A gate 22 
defined by an annular barrier having two smaller diameter sections 23 and 
24 on either side thereof can be adjusted to span the diameter of inlet 
bore 20. A slanted axial notch 25 is cut into the threaded tip 18 of the 
shaft 16 allowing fuel to pass through coupling 19 depending upon the 
axial position of the shaft within the cylindrical body 14. Accordingly, 
by turning handle 17 the quantity of fuel admitted through bore 20 can be 
apportioned between the carburetor line 8 or the vaporizer line 7 to 
operate the engine on liquid fuel only, vapors only or a combination of 
both. O rings 26 near the outer end of the shaft 16 prevent any leakage of 
fuel. The notched tip 18 provides for a fine adjustment of the fuel flow 
toward the carburetor. 
FIGS. 4 through 8 illustrate the construction of the vaporizer chamber 2. 
The vaporizer 2 is contained within an hermetic chamber 27 having a 
generally rectangular shape. The heating element 5 comprise a copper pipe 
28 which connects to line 12 in the lower part of the chamber and is 
doubled back upon itself twice in order to span the length of the chamber 
three times. Two sections 29 and 30 are in the same horizontal plane close 
to the bottom of the chamber 2. An upper section 31 stretches across the 
upper median part of the chamber, and connects to line 13. A grid 32 forms 
a perforated septum in contact with the lower sections 29 and 30. A 
T-coupling 33 connected to line 7 leads to a pair of nozzles 34 directed 
horizontally above the areas of the grid 32 contiguous to pipe sections 29 
and 30. The vapor outlet 34a connected to line 9 is located in the roof of 
the chamber 2 a shield plate 35 located immediately under outlet 34a and 
at a short distance therefrom prevents the suction into line 9 of gasoline 
which might be sloshing around the lower part of the chamber. The drain 
outlet 36 located at the bottom of the chamber 2 connects to drain line 
10. The optional air intake is provided through line 11 which enters the 
chamber through the median section of the chamber roof. 
The grid 32 is designed to provide a broad heating element against which 
the gasoline is sprayed. The excess gasoline which does not evaporate 
collects at the bottom of the chamber and is drained away through line 10. 
The upper section 31 of the heating pipe is designed to maintain a high 
temperature in the upper part of the chamber and thus expedite and 
maintain the vaporization process. The air intake line 11 may be brought 
to a convenient place within the engine compartment or outside it and may 
be fitted with a filtering mesh to prevent intake of dust and debris. 
In this preferred embodiment the chamber is made from a rectangular 
extrusion section closed at both ends by end plates 38 and 39 which are 
maintained in place by the couplings between the heating pipe 28 and the 
water lines 12 and 13. 
In certain applications, the carburetor could be completely omitted and the 
engine operated only on the vapors generated through the vaporizer 2. 
While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been described other 
embodiments may be devised and modifications may be made thereto without 
departing from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended 
claims.