Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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ENGINE INTAKE AIR HEATER
This invention deals with the field of automobile engines and in particular
with a device for
s heating the intake air of engines thereby reducing emissions, aiding the
starting of engines
in cold weather and improving performance in most conditions.
BACKGROUND
to
The majority of vehicle trips are 6 miles or less in length. During trips of
this length engines
run below the optimum operating temperature with reduced efficiency and
produce excessive
emissions.
1s Liquid fuel must be vaporized in order to burn efficiently in automobile
engines. In cold
weather this vaporization is inhibited and liquid fuel is drawn into the
engine, resulting in
excessive fuel consumption, excessive wear on cylinder walls and poor
performance. The
excess fuel passes through the engine unburned and increases harmful engine
emissions.
Even in warmer weather fuel does not vaporize properly until the engine
reaches its normal
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operating temperature.
Heating the intake air would help vaporize the liquid fuel and so reduce these
problems.
Such heating would be beneficial to both gasoline and diesel engines.
s
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for heating
the intake air of
to an internal combustion engine and thereby reducing harmful emissions.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such an apparatus
wherein the
amount of heat supplied to the intake air may be varied manually or
automatically in
response to ambient air temperature.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such an apparatus
that is economical
and easily installed on existing vehicles.
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The invention accomplishes these objects providing an apparatus for heating
the intake air
of an internal combustion engine comprising a fan housing having an intake
end, open to the
atmosphere, and an output end operatively connected to the air intake of an
internal
combustion engine; a fan, powered by the engine electrical supply, mounted
inside said
housing such that when the fan is operating air is drawn from the atmosphere
into said
housing through said intake end and forced out through said output end into
said air intake;
a heating element, powered by the engine electrical supply, mounted in said
housing such
that air passing through said housing in response to the operation of said fan
is heated by said
element; and a control operating said fan and said element.
The operative connection of the output end to the air intake could comprise an
insulated
conduit operatively connected to the air cleaner of said engine. The
connection to the air
intake could conveniently be by a hole in the air cleaner body located such
that air entering
the air cleaner body from the conduit is mixed with air entering from the
conventional air
is intake thereof, the air mixture then passing through the air filter into
the engine air intake.
The control operating the fan and element could activate the fan and element
when the
ignition switch to the engine is turned on, and de-activate them after a
predetermined period
of operation. A simple and economical timer could turn the fan and element off
after
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approximately ten minutes when the engine has achieved its normal operating
temperature.
The amount of air required varies with the size of the engine and the heat
output of the
element could be adjustable to suit various sized engines.
s
In warmer weather the heat output could be automatically reduced, and in
colder weather
increased. The control could sense the ambient air temperature and adjust the
heat output of
the element accordingly.
1o The apparatus could include a filter on the intake end of the housing. This
would be
desirable even if the air passing through the housing was filtered by the
engine's air cleaner,
as the mounting location may be subject to air-born foreign material.
The simple apparatus provided by the invention would be very economical to
manufacture,
is and the simple design could easily be connected to the wiring system of an
existing vehicle.
Connections are only required to the ignition switch, battery and ground. The
device does
not need to be very big, and could be mounted essentially anywhere under the
hood.
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The invention does not purport to sense and supply precise heat requirements
for an engine,
but only provides a device that will reduce emissions and improve performance
at an
economical cost.
s
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS:
While the invention is claimed in the concluding portions hereof, preferred
embodiments are
provided in the accompanying detailed description which may be best understood
in
io conjunction with the accompanying diagrams where like parts in each of the
several diagrams
are labeled with like numbers, and where:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of the housing of the embodiment;
~s Figure 2 is a perspective view of a mounting bracket suitable for mounting
the
housing to a vehicle or engine support member;
Figure 3 is a cut-away side view of the embodiment of Figure l, showing the
fan
and element.
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Figure 4 is a top view of a typical air cleaner body with the top removed,
showing the
connection of the housing to the air cleaner body.
s Figure 5 is an electrical schematic of the embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS:
to Figure 1 shows the exterior of the housing of one preferred embodiment of
the invention.
Housing 1 is mounted to the vehicle or other engine mounting frame by use of a
mounting
bracket 13 including rubber grommets 14 and screws 15, such as that
illustrated in Figure 2.
Figure 3 shows the inside of the housing 1 showing the fan 2 and heating
element 3 each
wired into control box 4. These are mounted by conventional means and not
detailed. The
is intake opening 5 in the housing 1 is covered by filter 6. Ambient air
temperature sensor 7 is
mounted near sensor aperture 8 in the housing 1, and the wiring to the engine
electrical
system is through plug-in port 23.
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Referring to Figure 4, the output opening 9 of the housing 1 is connected to
an insulated
flexible tube 10 which is in turn connected to a hole 11 in the air cleaner
body 12 of the
engine.
s Referring to the wiring diagram in Figure 5, when the ignition switch 18 is
activated relay
19 closes supplying power to the fan 2 and element 3. Manual switch 16 adjusts
the heat
output of the heating element 3. Maximum output of 360 watts (30 amps) is used
for diesel
and eight cylinder engines, while output of 240 watts (20 amps) is used for
four or six
cylinder engines.
to
Temperature sensor 7 senses the ambient air temperature. When the ambient
temperature
is below 0 degrees Celsius, the temperature controlled switch 17 supplies full
power to the
heating element 3. If the ambient temperature exceeds 0 degrees Celsius, only
66% of full
power is supplied to the heating element 3, thereby reducing the heat output.
is
The fan 2 draws air through the filter 6 and passes the air over the element 3
and out through
the tube 10 into the air cleaner body 12. Normally the ignition would be left
on for
approximately fifteen seconds before cranking the engine so that the heated
air can warm the
air cleaner body 12 and air filter 20 and fill the air cleaner body 12 with
heated air. When
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the engine is cranked it will draw air through the air filter 20 from the air
cleaner body 12.
The heated air inside the air cleaner body 12 will be first drawn into the
engine, and then the
engine will draw a mixture of heated air from the tube 10 and cold air from
the air cleaner
intake 21. Thus the intake air will be heated and vaporization of the liquid
fuel will be
s improved.
After approximately ten minutes, at which time the engine will generally have
achieved its
normal operating temperature, timer 22 causes the relay 19 circuit to open,
and power is cut
off to the fan 2 and element 3. The timer resets when the ignition switch is
turned off, and
~o is ready to repeat the cycle the next time the ignition is turned on.
The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the
invention. Further,
since numerous changes and modifications will readily occur to those skilled
in the art, it is
not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation
shown and
is described, and accordingly, all such suitable changes or modifications in
structure or
operation which may be resorted to are intended to fall within the scope of
the claimed
Invention.
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