Abstract:
The present invention includes an apparatus for supplying a dry fluid and ozone to an engine and includes a dryer canister having a dryer material, an input valve adapted to input fluid from an air cleaner, to input fluid from the catalytic converter and to input fluid from the ambient atmosphere. The dryer canister receives the air cleaner fluid in a first phase, receives the exhaust fluid in a second phase and receives the ambient fluid in a third phase and a processor to control the dryer canister and the first valve. The dryer canister includes a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, and an output valve to control the output of the dryer canister. The output valve can direct the output of the dryer canister to the exhaust muffler, the output valve can direct the output of the dryer canister to the ambient and the output valve can direct the output of the dryer canister to the air intake manifold.

Description:
PRIORITY  
       [0001]    The present invention claims priority under 35 USC section 119 based on provisional application No. 60/797,725 which was filed on May 4, 2006. 
     
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]    The present invention relates to improving gas mileage in vehicles and more particularly to supplying dry air and ozone to the air intake manifold of the internal combustion engine of a vehicle. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    There are various prior art mechanisms for achieving improved gas mileage using ozone enhancement, but none that dried the air to produce the quantities of ozone necessary. 
       SUMMARY  
       [0004]    The present invention includes three phases of operation including a first heating phase to dry and reactivate the moist dryer material, a second cooling phase to cool the hot dryer material and a third air drying phase to dry air with the dryer material cooled off. 
         [0005]    The present invention includes an apparatus for supplying a dry fluid and ozone to a vehicle&#39;s engine and includes three dryer canisters having a dryer material, an input valve adapted to input fluid from an air cleaner, a second input valve is used to select fluid from a hot exhaust source (e.g. catalytic converter) or to input fluid from the ambient atmosphere. The dryer canister receives the fluid from the fan  150  in a first phase, is closed off in a second phase and receives the air cleaner fluid in a third phase and uses a processor to control valving for the dryer canisters in all the phases. Sensors in the canisters supply signals to the control computer that operate the valves that supply filtered air to the input of the air dryer canisters, or hot exhaust or outside air to the inside of the air dryer&#39;s inner heat exchanger chamber via the side-input valve. 
         [0006]    The dryer canister, of a set of 3 near identical units, includes a hollow heat exchanger set of fins in contact with the air dryer material on its exterior, a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, an input valve to control the input fluids stream from either the outside air or from the exhaust gas from the vehicle&#39;s catalytic converter, an output valve to control the output of the dryer canister. Additionally there is a second two-output valve that controls the flow of gasses/fluids out of the interior of the hollow heat exchanger. This is connected on the side of the air dryer canister. 
         [0007]    This is so that the hot exhaust coming out of a dryer canister during its heating phase does not “back up” into another canister that is in a different mode, such as, a cooling or drying mode. The hollow heat exchanger set of fins accepts heat from the exhaust gas that enters via the input control valves. An output control valve, located at the end of each dryer canister can direct the output of the dryer canister to the outside atmosphere, to exhaust moist air, or to the dry air manifold that supplies the ozone generator and then to the air intake manifold of the engine. 
     
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0008]    The invention may be understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which, like reference numerals identify like elements, and in which: 
           [0009]      FIG. 1  illustrates the configuration of a dryer canister in a heating phase of the present invention; It shows a heat exchanger canister with air input port  114   a , air output port  106   a , exhaust gas heating port or outside air cooling port  250   a , and the output port for these gasses  109   a . In this heating phase, exhaust from a the vehicle&#39;s catalytic converters would be fed this gas by one of the 3-output valve  204  from the catalytic converter  370 . 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  illustrates the configuration of a dryer canister in a cooling phase of the present invention; In this situation exhaust gasses are blocked from entering the heat exchanger by the in-line valve  204  Instead, a blower sends outside air into the heat exchanger  102   b  at port  250   b  and exits at port  109   b.    
           [0011]      FIG. 3  illustrates the configuration of a dryer canister in a phase to provide dry fluid to the air intake manifold; 
           [0012]      FIG. 4  illustrates a configuration of 3 dryer canisters simultaneously operating in all phases; 
           [0013]      FIG. 5  illustrates a cross-sectional view of a dryer canister of the present invention; 
           [0014]      FIG. 6  illustrates an end view of the exhaust heated heat hollow exchanger fin; It shows the desiccant  128  that surrounds the heat exchanger fins. 
           [0015]      FIG. 7  illustrates a front view of a portion of the heat exchanger fin of the dryer canister; The input port  802  or output port  804  is shown, indicating the heat exchanger is fed by a side port  802 , and exhausts the heating or cooling gasses out of port  804 . 
           [0016]      FIG. 8  illustrates a side view of the heat exchanger fin assembly in the dryer canister of the present invention; 
           [0017]      FIG. 9  illustrates a top cross sectional view of the dryer canister of the present invention. 
           [0018]      FIG. 10  is a view of the mesh retainer for the desiccant  600  that is at each end of the canister. The mesh pore size is chosen so that it is smaller that the granule size of the desiccant material. 
           [0019]      FIG. 11  is a cross sectional view of the end pieces of the canister. The output end has additionally a post  1080  that holds a humidity sensor  108  in the middle of the outgoing air stream to measure the relative humidity of the air that is dryed in the canister. The mesh retainer fits into the recess  630  in the end piece of the canister. 
           [0020]      FIG. 12  illustrates a side view of the dryer canister of the present invention; the input flange  802  or output flange  804  of the internal heat exchanger Each canister has a thermal sensor, a thermocouple or a thermister  112  to measure the internal temperature of the desiccant air dryer material. At the output end of each canister, a humidity sensor is in the airflow. The input port for the heating is  250 , and the exit port for this hot gas is  109 . It shows the connection of the thermal sensor  112  and the humidity sensor  108  to the valve control computer  160 . The valve control computer,  160 , in addition to having analog voltage measuring input capability for the humidity and temperature readings, has a built-in timer to time the cycles, in case the humidity sensor is inoperable. The ends of the canister, shown in  FIG. 13 , holds this desiccant retainer in place. 
           [0021]      FIG. 13  illustrates an end view of the dryer canister of the present invention.  FIG. 13  is representative of both ends of the air dryer canister  102 . 
           [0022]      FIG. 14  illustrates a side cross-sectional view of a 3-output port valve, with input port  106  and output ports  1606 ,  1608  and  1610  shown in  FIG. 16 . The top of the valve is item  100 , which holds the valve plate  1404  in place between the valve top part  100  and the valve bottom  1402 . One of the output ports of this 3-output valve is  1606 . 
           [0023]      FIG. 15  illustrates the sector plate  1404  of these 3 output port valves that has a wedge-shaped cutout  1564 , through which gasses flow, that subtends ˜114 degrees in angle from the center pivot point  1502 . When the stepper motor rotates the valve plate  1404  by 120 degrees with a command from the valve control computer  160 , another output port is selected. 
           [0024]      FIG. 16  illustrates a view looking down into the valve from the top  100  of the valve. The three output ports  1606 ,  1608 , and  1610  are shown. To make a gas seal from one port to another, the valve plate  1404  must be in contact with the three flat topped extensions of the valve body bottom  1402 , eg,  1612 ,  1614 ,  1618 . 
           [0025]      FIG. 17  illustrates a 120 degree shifted cross sectional side view of this 3 output port valve.  1702  is the stepper motor that drives the valve plate  1404 . Other valve outputs are illustrated as  1608  and  1610 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0026]    With the first heating phase, heat is brought into the dryer canister  102  from the exhaust of the engine&#39;s catalytic converter to reactivate the air dryer material/desiccant.  FIG. 1  illustrates the dryer canister  102  having the first canister input port  114   a , a first canister output port  106   a , a second canister input port  250   a  and a second canister output port  109   a.    
         [0027]    The second canister input port  114   b  is connected to a first valve  204 , and the second canister output port  120  is connected to a second valve  106   b . The first canister output port  106   a  has a humidity sensor  108   a  in its air stream to measure the humidity, and it controls the third valve  110   a  from signals from the processor  170 . 
         [0028]    During the first heating phase, air from the high speed blower  150  enters the first canister input port  114   a  and exits the first canister output port  106   a , and the third valve  110   a  directs the air through the third valve output port  134   a , with moist air exiting the system in this heating phase. 
         [0029]    The first valve  204  directs heated air from the exhaust of the vehicle&#39;s catalytic converter through the first valve input port  130   a  to the interior of the hollow heating fin  602 , shown in  FIG. 6  of the dryer canister  102   a , and the second valve  110   d  directs the heated air from the dryer material  128   a  of the dryer canister  102   a  through the second valve output port  109   a  to the vehicle exhaust  360 . Consequently, the moisture collected in the dryer material  128   a  is released and removed from the dryer canister  102   a  via the port  134   a.    
         [0030]    In  FIG. 2  the second phase (cooling) is illustrated. It shows the temperature sensor  112   a  which is connected to processor  160  which corresponds to the temperature of the dryer material  128   a . After the temperature has reached a predetermined level, the processor  160  activates the first valve  204  and closes the port leading to the “Y” joint  130   a  and which feeds the port  250   a  of canister  102   a . When heating is complete, valve  204  closes, shutting off the hot exhaust, and processor  160  opens valve  206  and allows cold outside air to be blown in. 
         [0031]    In  FIG. 3 , a third phase is illustrated that provides dry air by the dryer canister  102   c  to be used with the ozone generation subsystem  170 . When the temperature sensor  112  outputs a signal to the processor  160  at a second predetermined value and the humidity sensor  108  outputs a signal to the processor  160  at a third predetermined value corresponding to a relative humidity between approximately 2%-5%, the processor  160  activates the third valve  110  to close the third valve output port  138  and to open the fourth valve output port  140   c  so that the dry air can be input to the ozone generating subsystem  170  which supplies ozone to the intake of a vehicle. The dry air cooperates with the ozone, and both are input to the intake of the vehicle. As a consequence, the gas mileage of the vehicle is improved.  FIG. 4  illustrates a system of three dryer canisters  102   a ,  102   b ,  102   c  which in sequence perform the functions in  FIGS. 1-3 . The function of each of the three dryer canisters  102   a ,  102   b ,  102   c  is time shifted so that one of the three dryer canisters  102   a ,  102   b ,  102   c  is performing the function described with  FIGS. 1-3 . 
         [0032]    During the first time period the dryer canister  102   a  enters the heating phase, air from the air filter of the vehicle enters the first canister input port  114   a  through the first input selector valve  202  and exits the first canister output port  106   a , and the third valve  110   a  directs the air through the third valve output port  138   a.    
         [0033]    The second input selector  204  directs heated air from the exhaust of the vehicle through the first valve input port  130  to the dryer material  128   a  of the dryer canister  102   a . and the second valve  106   a  directs the heated air from the catalytic converter of the vehicle to heat exchanger  602  of the dryer canister  102   a . Consequently, the moisture collected in the dryer material  128   a  is released and removed from the dryer canister  102   a  into the atmosphere. 
         [0034]    In  FIG. 4  and during the first time period, the second phase is illustrated for the operation of the dryer canister  102   b ;  FIG. 4  illustrates the temperature sensor  112   b  which is connected to processor  160  and transmits a temperature signal to the processor  160  which corresponds to the temperature of the dryer material  128   b . After the temperature signal has reached a predetermined level, the processor  160  activates the second input selector  204  to close the first valve input port  130   b  to stop the heated air from the catalytic converter and rotates to the third position of the valve plate of the selector valve  206  to open the second valve input port  130   b  to direct cool air from the blower  150  to the heat exchanger in order to cool the dryer material  128   b  via the heat exchanger  602 . Additionally, the processor  160  closes the second valve  110   b  to close the second valve output port  134   b  and activates the third valve  110   b  open the first valve output port  134   a  to discharge the moist air from the dryer material  128   b  to the atmosphere. 
         [0035]    In  FIG. 4 , a third phase is illustrated that provides dry air to the dryer canister  102   c  to be used with the ozone generation subsystem  170 . When the temperature sensor  112   c  outputs a signal to the processor  160  at predetermined value of humidity and the humidity sensor  108   c  outputs a signal to the processor  160  at a third predetermined value corresponding to a relative humidity between approximately 2%-5%, the processor  160  activates the third valve  110   c  to close the third valve output port  138   c  and to open the fourth valve output port  137   c  so that the dry air can be input to the ozonegenerating subsystem  170  which supplies ozone to the intake of the vehicle. The dry air cooperates with the ozone generator to produce substantially more ozone than if not processed by this system. The dry air plus the ozone are then sent to the intake manifold of the vehicle for combustion. As a consequence, the gas mileage of the vehicle is improved, and pollution generated is decreased. 
         [0036]      FIG. 5  illustrates a cross section of the dryer canister  102  of the present invention. The cross section of the dryer canister  102  includes dryer material  128  and a fluid cooled fin. This cross section of the hollow fin is taken at section A-A shown in  FIG. 7 . 
         [0037]      FIG. 6  illustrates an end view of an exhaust heated heat exchanger fin  602 . 
         [0038]      FIGS. 7 and 8  illustrates a front view and a side view respectively of a portion of the dryer canister  102 .  802  and  804  are respectively the input and output ports of this hollow fin assembly. 
         [0039]      FIGS. 7 and 8  illustrates an input/output flange  802  and  804  for exhaust heating.  FIG. 7  is a front view, and  FIG. 8  is a side view of these assemblies 
         [0040]      FIG. 9  illustrates a further cross section of the dryer canister  102  including the dryer material  128 , the temperature sensor  112 , the input/output flange  802  and  804  for the exhaust heating. 
         [0041]      FIG. 10  illustrates the retainer mesh that holds the desiccant in place. 
         [0042]      FIG. 11  illustrates a side cross sectional view of the conically shaped end piece of the air dryer canister, showing the position of the humidity sensor near the center of the output air stream 
         [0043]      FIG. 12  illustrates a side view of the dryer canister  102  of the present invention and illustrates the input and output flanges  802 / 804  for inputting heating from the engine exhaust, or cooling from the blower  150 . It also illustrates the filtered air input  114 , and the processed (dried) air that exits through the output flange  106 . It also shows the temperature sensor  102  and the humidity sensor  108  which are connected to the processor  160 . 
         [0044]      FIG. 13  illustrates a top view of the dryer canister  102  of the present invention. 
         [0045]      FIG. 14  illustrates the selector valves  202 , 204 , and  206  which includes a selector valve housing  1402  to house the selector valve top  100 , a selector wheel  1404  to select the output ports  1606 ,  1608  and  1610  to receive the gas input which may be air or exhaust. 
         [0046]      FIG. 15  illustrates the selector wheel  1404  which rotates about a center pivot  1502  and includes a selector hole  1504  of about 114 degrees of angular sub tense so that the gas input can be directed to the appropriate output port. 
         [0047]      FIG. 16  illustrates a fixed base  1402 , three exit apertures including a first exit aperture  1606 , a second exit aperture  1608  and a third exit aperture  1610 . The first exit aperture  1606 , the second exit aperture  1608  and the third exit aperture  1610  are selected by the selector wheel  1404  to allow the exit gases to be directed to different locations. For example, the first exit aperture  1606  could supply the filtered from the atmosphere; the second aperture  1608  could supply the gases from the catalytic converter; or the third aperture  1610  could supply the gases from the high speed fan  150 . 
         [0048]      FIG. 17  illustrates a fixed base  1402  for the exit apertures  1606 ,  1608 ,  1610 , and more particularly, the second exit aperture  1608  and the third exit aperture  1610  are illustrated.  FIG. 17  additionally illustrates an indexing motor  1702  for turning the selector wheel  1404  to the desired position. The indexing motor  1702  is controlled by the processor  170 . 
         [0049]    There are at least 3 types of cooing suggested for the desiccant in the air dryer system. 
         [0050]    1) Air cooling from outside air, flooding the inside of hollow heat exchanger fins as discussed in the text and shown in the drawings. 
         [0051]    2) Water cooling with a separate set of cooling fins in the heat exchanger that are externally cooled by water flowing through them. The water cooling can be from an external air-water heat exchanger (radiator), or in the situation of a water-borne vehicle as a boat—from the water it is floating in. 
         [0052]    3) Refrigerated cooling via a separate set of cooling fins in the heat exchanger. 
         [0053]    While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the description herein of specific embodiments is not intended to limit the invention to the particular forms disclosed.