Airborne engine additive delivery system

• US 9,458,761 B2
• Filed: 06/15/2012
• Issued: 10/04/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/07/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Afton Chemical Corporation (Newmarket Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Afton Chemical Corporation (Newmarket Corporation)
• Inventors: Guinther, Gregory H
• Primary Examiner(s): Low, Lindsay
• Assistant Examiner(s): BRAUCH, CHARLES JOSEPH
• Application Number:
  US14/343,414
• Publication Number:
  US 20140290612A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,572 Days
• Field of Search: 123/1.A
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 1/1811 peroxides; ozonides
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 1/182 containing hydroxy groups; Salts thereof C10L1/1802, C10L1/1805, C10L1/1808, C10L1/1811, C10L1/1814, C10L1/1817 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 1/1857 Aldehydes; Ketones
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 1/223 having at least one amino group bound to an aromatic carbon atom C10L1/221, C10L1/2227 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 1/231 nitro compounds; nitrates; nitrites C10L1/221 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 1/305 organo-metallic compounds (containing a metal to carbon bond)
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 10/00 Use of additives to fuels or fires for particular purposes additives for liquid carbonaceous fuels characterised by their chemical nature C10L1/10; using binders for briquetting solid fuels C10L5/10; using additives to improve the combustion of solid fuels C10L9/10
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 2230/22 for improving fuel economy or fuel efficiency
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 2270/023 for gasoline engines
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 2270/026 for diesel engines, e.g. automobiles, stationary, marine
• CPC Class Codes: F02B 1/04 with fuel-air mixture admission into cylinder
• CPC Class Codes: F02B 3/06 with compression ignition compression ignition engines using air or gas for blowing fuel into compressed air in cylinder F02B13/02
• CPC Class Codes: F02B 43/02 Engines characterised by means for increasing operating efficiency
• CPC Class Codes: F02B 43/04 for improving efficiency of combustion
• CPC Class Codes: F02B 43/10 Engines or plants characterised by use of other specific gases, e.g. acetylene, oxyhydrogen
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 19/08 simultaneously using pluralities of fuels F02D19/12 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 19/12 peculiar to engines working with non-fuel substances or with anti-knock agents, e.g. with anti-knock fuel
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 2200/701 Information about vehicle position, e.g. from navigation system or GPS signal
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 2200/702 Road conditions
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 41/0025 Controlling engines characterised by use of non-liquid fuels, pluralities of fuels, or non-fuel substances added to the combustible mixtures
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 41/021 : Introducing corrections for particular conditions exterior to the engine conjoint control of vehicle sub-units for propelling the vehicle B60W30/18
• CPC Class Codes: F02M 25/00 : Engine-pertinent apparatus for adding non-fuel substances or small quantities of secondary fuel to combustion-air, main fuel or fuel-air mixture adding secondary air to fuel-air mixture F02M23/00; adding exhaust gases F02M26/00; fuel-injection apparatus operating simultaneously on two or more fuels or on a liquid fuel and another liquid F02M43/00
• CPC Class Codes: F02M 25/14 : adding anti-knock agents, not provided for in subgroups F02M25/022 - F02M25/10
• CPC Class Codes: F02M 35/10209 : Fluid connections to the air intake system; their arrangement of pipes, valves or the like
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/12 : Improving ICE efficiencies

Abstract

A method of introducing additives to an air intake system of an engine in order to overcome one or more of the various problems created by formulation of additives in fuels. The method controls at least one of the amount, aerosol particle size and timing of introduction of additives based on information relevant to operation of the engine. The introduced additives form an air-additive mixture and are carried by the airflow in the air-intake system to the combustion chamber of the engine. Another aspect of the invention is an additive introduction system that includes one or more containers for additives, a control system for determining at least one of the amount, aerosol particle size and timing of introduction of the additives, and a device to introduce the additives into the air intake system under the control of the control system.

Claims

1. A method for introducing at least one additive to a combustion chamber of a fuel injection gasoline engine through an air-intake system of the fuel injection gasoline engine in order to improve fuel economy of the fuel injection gasoline engine, said method comprising steps of:

determining an amount, an aerosol particle size and/or a timing of addition of said at least one additive selected from the group consisting of combustion improvers and friction modifiers, based on information selected from type of fuel, upcoming road conditions, octane number, air-fuel ratio, elevation, engine load, oil pressure, wheel speed, oxygen content of air, manifold vacuum pressure, driver characteristics, valve timing, particulate trap light-off, hybrid powertrain strategy, technician input and any combination thereof;

introducing said at least one additive into said air-intake system of said fuel injection gasoline engine to produce an air-additive mixture, wherein said amount of said at least one additive, said aerosol particle size and/or said timing of said introducing step is determined in said determining step;

combining said air-additive mixture with fuel in the combustion chamber to provide a fuel/air-additive mixture; and

combusting said fuel/air-additive mixture;

wherein said method provides an improvement in the fuel economy of the fuel injection gasoline engine.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said introducing step comprises spraying said at least one additive as a mist suitable to be carried by airflow in the air intake system to the combustion chamber.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said additive comprises an aerosol particle size sufficiently small to ensure that substantially all of the additive remains in the fuel/air-additive mixture in the combustion chamber.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said additive comprises an aerosol particle size sufficiently large to ensure that at least a portion of the additive contacts at least one internal surface of the combustion chamber.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said introducing step comprises introducing said additive into the positive crank ventilation line of said engine.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining at least one of the amount, aerosol particle size and/or timing of addition of said at least one additive is based on information selected from the group consisting of air-fuel ratio, engine load, engine speed, oil pressure, wheel speed, mass airflow speed, oxygen content of air, manifold vacuum pressure, and any combination thereof.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein said determining step is further based on information about an upcoming road condition selected from grade, type of road surface, average vehicle speed on a road and a presence of precipitation on a road surface.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said at least one additive comprises a plurality of additives and said method further comprising a step of mixing said plurality of additives before introducing said plurality of additives into said air-intake system.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein said introducing step comprises separately introducing a plurality of additives into said air-intake system.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the additive is a reactive species that is capable of undergoing a chemical reaction with one or more components of the fuel when said additive is contacted with the fuel.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein a user of the engine determines a timing of additive introduction to the air intake system.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the additive is periodically introduced to the air intake system.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the additive is a friction modifier selected from the group consisting of alkylene amines, alkyl phosphonates, dithiocarbamates, fatty acids, mixtures of mono, di, and trimer acids, diethanolamine cocamides, diethanolamides, ethoxylated or propoxylated diethanolamides, hydroxy- and dihydroxyalkylamides of fatty acids, alkylamides of fatty acids, alkylesters of fatty acids, hydroxy- and dihydroxyalkylesters of fatty acids, alkylamine salts of fatty acids, hydroxyacetamides, and etheramines.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the additive is a combustion improver selected from the group consisting of rare earth oxides, methyl cyclopentadienyl manganese tricarbonyl, oxygenates, nitrates, and organometallic additives based on titanium, molybdenum, manganese, tungsten, platinum, palladium, cerium, zirconium, and tin.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the additive is a combustion improver selected from the group consisting of organic nitrates.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the engine is a direct injection engine.

17. The method of claim 1 wherein the engine is a port-injection engine.