Forced recirculation mixer

Abstract

The forced recirculation mixer (1) consists of a stirred tank (5), the internal cavity of which forms a recirculation loop (6) in which a homogeneous gas mixture (4) circulates, formed from a gas (3) to be mixed and a vaporizable liquid (2), introduced into the loop (6) via a gas inlet duct (7) and a liquid injection nozzle (9), respectively, a gas discharge member (12) able to discharge the homogeneous gas mixture (4) from the stirred tank (5) via a mixture discharge duct (11), and a stirring turbine (13) driven by a turbine motor (28) so as to force the circulation of the homogeneous gas mixture (4) in the recirculation loop (6).

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a forced recirculation mixer, which is essentially designed to mix at least one liquid and at least one gas in a defined ratio and at a wide range of mass flow rates.

[0002] The mixer according to the invention is particularly suitable for valve-controlled ignition pre-combustion chambers, which are the subject of FR 3,061,743 published on August 16, 2019, and belong to the applicant.

[0003] The pre-combustion chamber is designed such that an ignition charge is injected into the layered cavity via a layered injector. This charge, in most cases and especially in the automotive industry, consists of a flammable air-gasoline mixture that has been previously pressurized by a compression member.

[0004] The invention according to patent FR 3,061,743 is particularly intended for the automotive market. However, this market is extremely sensitive to the cost, weight, and size of any device, which must be kept as low as possible. The automotive market also has very high requirements in terms of robustness, safety, service life, and maintenance.

[0005] This is the case for the valve-controlled ignition pre-combustion chamber according to patent FR 3,061,743, which requires high metering accuracy of the air-gasoline mixture constituting the ignition charge and high-quality preparation of the mixture, which must be as homogeneous as possible.

[0006] However, the preparation of the mixture is carried out at a relatively high pressure of about forty or fifty bar, while the flow rate of air that the gasoline must mix with is very small, and the flow rate of air can vary by a factor of one hundred and fifty or even more.

[0007] Additionally, it is important that the gasoline is completely vaporized in the air receiving it before the resulting air-gasoline mixture is introduced into the stratified cavity using a stratified injector.

[0008] Although the air-gasoline mixture is subjected to high pressure, it is still necessary to prevent any part of the gasoline from recondensing; if the mixture is not homogeneous enough, then such recondensation can occur.

[0009] In fact, the quality of combustion of the ignition charge in the stratified cavity depends on its composition, and more specifically, on the air / gasoline ratio of the mixture to be burned, as well as on its homogeneity.

[0010] Therefore, the valve-controlled ignition pre-combustion chamber according to patent FR 3,061,743 is implemented primarily according to specific embodiments, as well as the forced recirculation mixer according to the present invention:

[0011] • Despite the extremely low mass flow rate of gasoline involved, and despite the range of minimum / maximum flow rates of air and gasoline covering one to one hundred and fifty or even greater, it still has a high degree of precision in injecting gasoline into the air to accurately control the air / gasoline ratio of the resulting air-gasoline mixture;

[0012] • Ensure complete vaporization of gasoline in the air;

[0013] • Ensures maximum homogeneity of the air-gasoline mixture, with no partial recondensation of gasoline;

[0014] • It can operate over a wide temperature range and is compatible with the constraints of automotive engines;

[0015] • Insensitive to vibrations generated by the internal combustion engine, which do not affect the measurement accuracy of the mixer;

[0016] • Demonstrates the vehicle's compatibility, durability, strength, and safety;

[0017] No special maintenance is required;

[0018] Lightweight and compact.

[0019] It should be understood that the forced recirculation mixer according to the invention can be applied not only to the valve-controlled ignition pre-combustion chamber according to patent FR 3,061,743, but also to any other application, regardless of type or field, that requires mixing at least one gas and at least one liquid in a precise proportion and in a homogeneous manner, regardless of the nature of the gas or the liquid.

[0020] The forced recirculation mixer according to the present invention is designed to mix at least one vaporizable liquid with at least one gas to be mixed to form a homogeneous gas mixture, said mixer comprising:

[0021] • At least one mixing tank, the internal cavity of which forms a recirculation loop in which a homogeneous gas mixture can be continuously circulated, the beginning and end of the recirculation loop being joined together;

[0022] • At least one intake pipe extends directly or indirectly into the mixing tank, and the gas to be mixed is introduced into the recirculation loop through the at least one intake pipe by means of a component for introducing a known amount of gas;

[0023] • At least one liquid injection nozzle extends directly or indirectly into the mixing tank to introduce a vaporizable liquid into the recirculation loop, the nozzle being fed through a component for introducing a controlled amount of liquid, the flow rate of the vaporizable liquid in the component being computer-controlled, the vaporizable liquid forming a homogeneous gas mixture with the gas to be mixed.

[0024] • At least one mixture discharge pipe extends directly or indirectly into the mixing tank, and the homogeneous gas mixture can be discharged from the recirculation loop through the at least one mixture discharge pipe by means of a gas discharge component;

[0025] • At least one stirring turbine, which is driven by a turbine motor and is positioned in a recirculation loop, the turbine forcing a homogeneous gas mixture to circulate in the loop.

[0026] The forced recirculation mixer according to the invention comprises: at least one external coaxial conduit, each end of which is closed by a reversing termination; at least one internal coaxial conduit housed within the external coaxial conduit; and a gap existing on one hand between each reversing termination and the internal coaxial conduit, and on the other hand between the inner surface of the external coaxial conduit and the outer surface of the internal coaxial conduit, for circulating a homogeneous gas mixture, wherein the circulation direction of the homogeneous gas mixture in the external coaxial conduit is opposite to the circulation direction of the mixture in the internal coaxial conduit.

[0027] The forced recirculation mixer according to the invention includes a stirring turbine wholly or partially housed in one of the reversing termination ends, wherein a homogeneous gas mixture is drawn into the center of the turbine via an internal coaxial conduit and subsequently discharged to the periphery of the turbine via a gap between the inner surface of an external coaxial conduit and the outer surface of the internal coaxial conduit.

[0028] The forced recirculation mixer according to the invention includes a reversing termination end having a hollow semi-circular shape that houses a stirring turbine, and blades having complementary protruding semi-circular shapes that include the stirring turbine, with a small gap between the termination end and the blades.

[0029] The forced recirculation mixer according to the invention includes an intake duct that passes through one of the reversing terminations to extend into an internal coaxial duct.

[0030] The forced recirculation mixer according to the invention includes a reversing termination end through which an intake pipe passes, the reversing termination end having a hollow semi-circular shape, and the pipe extending from the reversing termination end.

[0031] The forced recirculation mixer according to the invention includes a liquid injection nozzle that extends into the interior of the intake duct or appears at its outlet.

[0032] The forced recirculation mixer according to the invention includes an internal coaxial conduit held in place in an external coaxial conduit by at least one stirring blade, the at least one stirring blade causing the internal coaxial conduit to be radially connected to the external coaxial conduit.

[0033] The forced recirculation mixer according to the invention includes either an external coaxial conduit or a reversing termination thereof wholly or partially surrounded by a discharge ring, the interior of the discharge ring being connected to the interior of the external coaxial conduit via at least one radial discharge orifice, the mixture discharge conduit being connected to the mixing tank by means of the ring and the orifice.

[0034] The forced recirculation mixer according to the invention includes a mixing tank, which includes heating or cooling components.

[0035] The forced recirculation mixer according to the invention includes a turbine motor as an electric motor, which on one hand includes a rotor rotatably connected to a stirring turbine and installed in a mixing tank, and on the other hand includes a stator placed outside the tank, wherein a magnetic field generated by the stator can pass through the wall of the mixing tank to rotate the rotor.

[0036] The forced recirculation mixer according to the invention includes a component for introducing a controlled amount of liquid, comprising a liquid piston pump, the liquid piston pump including a pump housing, the pump further including at least one single-acting or double-acting pump piston, the at least one single-acting or double-acting pump piston being translatable in a pump cylinder under the cooperative action of a piston actuator and a displacement control component to form at least one variable-volume pump chamber, wherein a vaporizable liquid can be introduced into the at least one variable-volume pump chamber via an inlet valve, and the liquid can be discharged from the at least one variable-volume pump chamber to a liquid injection nozzle via a discharge valve.

[0037] The forced recirculation mixer according to the invention includes a piston actuator consisting of an actuator rotary electric motor fixed to a pump housing, the motor being rotatable in any direction to rotatably drive a drive transmission member, the drive transmission member translating integrally with the pump housing and cooperating with a driven transmission member, the driven transmission member translating integrally with the pump piston, the drive transmission member acting together with the housing to cause the driven transmission member to translate longitudinally.

[0038] The forced recirculation mixer according to the invention includes a drive transmission member consisting of a worm that rotates a worm wheel having a worm wheel thread, and a driven transmission member consisting of a piston thread cooperating with the worm wheel thread.

[0039] The forced recirculation mixer according to the invention includes a gas mass flow meter that directly or indirectly measures the mass flow rate of the gas to be mixed circulating in the inlet pipe and / or the mass flow rate of the homogeneous gas mixture circulating in the mixture outlet pipe.

[0040] The forced recirculation mixer according to the invention includes a component consisting of a pulse pump for introducing a controlled volume of liquid, the pulse pump including a single-acting or double-acting pulse pump piston capable of translating through a pulse pump cylinder under the action of a pump solenoid actuator to form at least one variable-volume pulse pump chamber, wherein a vaporizable liquid can be introduced into the at least one variable-volume pulse pump chamber via a pulse pump inlet valve, and the liquid can be discharged from the at least one variable-volume pulse pump chamber to a liquid injection nozzle via a pulse pump outlet valve.

[0041] The forced recirculation mixer according to the invention includes a volumetric and / or mass flow rate of a vaporizable liquid, the volumetric and / or mass flow rate of which is transmitted back to a computer via a vaporizable liquid flow meter located upstream or downstream of a controlled volume liquid inlet component.

[0042] The forced recirculation mixer according to the invention includes a vaporizable liquid flow meter consisting of a flow meter piston that can be moved in a sealed manner within a flow meter cylinder to form, on the one hand, an upstream flow meter chamber directly or indirectly connected to a pressure source, and on the other hand, a downstream flow meter chamber directly or indirectly connected to a liquid injection nozzle. The position of the piston in the cylinder is transmitted to a computer by a position sensor, and a flow meter piston return spring tends to push the flow meter piston towards the upstream flow meter chamber.

[0043] The forced recirculation mixer according to the invention includes an upstream chamber of a flow meter, which can be connected to a downstream chamber of a flow meter via a flow meter piston return valve.

[0044] The forced recirculation mixer according to the invention includes a flow meter piston reflux valve, the flow meter piston reflux valve including an orientable sealing plate, the orientable sealing plate being held pressed against the valve orifice by a valve solenoid actuator.

[0045] The forced recirculation mixer according to the invention includes a nozzle accumulator inserted between a component for introducing a controlled amount of liquid and a liquid injection nozzle.

[0046] The forced recirculation mixer according to the invention includes a nozzle accumulator, the nozzle accumulator including a nozzle accumulator piston forming an accumulator chamber together with an accumulator cylinder, the piston being pushed toward the chamber by an accumulator spring, and a liquid injection nozzle integral with the piston and passing through the piston in its longitudinal direction.

[0047] The following description, provided with reference to the accompanying drawings and by means of non-limiting examples, will make it possible to better understand the invention, its features, and the advantages it may provide:

[0048] [ Figure 1[A schematic cross-sectional view of a forced recirculation mixer according to the present invention] The mixing tank of the forced recirculation mixer includes an external coaxial pipe, an internal coaxial pipe and a heating or cooling component, and a component for introducing a controlled amount of liquid, consisting of a liquid piston pump. The double-acting pump piston of the liquid piston pump moves in a pump cylinder and is actuated by a rotating worm, worm wheel, worm wheel thread and piston thread driven by an actuator rotary electric motor.

[0049] [ Figure 2 [A forced recirculation mixer according to the present invention and according to...] Figure 1 The variant shown in the image is a close-up schematic cross-sectional view, with arrows that make it possible to visually observe the flow of the gas to be mixed, the vaporizable liquid, and the homogeneous gas mixture.

[0050] [ Figure 3 [A forced recirculation mixer according to the present invention and according to...] Figure 1 The diagram shows a close-up schematic cross-sectional view of a variant, focusing on a liquid piston pump, and illustrating the operation of the pump when the actuator rotates the electric motor, causing the worm gear to rotate clockwise.

[0051] [ Figure 4 [A forced recirculation mixer according to the present invention and according to...] Figure 1 The diagram shows a close-up schematic cross-sectional view of a variant, focusing on a liquid piston pump, and illustrating the operation of the pump when the actuator rotates the electric motor, causing the worm gear to rotate counterclockwise.

[0052] [ Figure 5 [A forced recirculation mixer according to the present invention and according to...] Figure 1 The variant shown in the image is a 3D view.

[0053] [ Figure 6 [A forced recirculation mixer according to the present invention and according to...] Figure 1 The three-dimensional view of the variant shown in the image shows the liquid piston pump's top cover slightly raised to allow a view of the worm gear driven to rotate by the actuator's rotary electric motor.

[0054] [ Figure 7 [A schematic diagram of the forced recirculation mixer according to the present invention, applicable to an internal combustion engine receiving a valve-controlled ignition pre-combustion chamber as described in patent FR3,061,743, wherein the mixer's components for introducing a controlled amount of liquid consist of a pulse pump, which cooperates with a vaporizable liquid flow meter, specifically consisting of a flow meter piston, the position of which is transmitted to a computer by a position sensor.]

[0055] [ Figure 8[A three-dimensional cross-sectional view of the forced recirculation mixer according to the present invention, wherein the components for introducing a controlled amount of liquid are composed of a pulse pump, which cooperates with a vaporizable liquid flow meter, specifically composed of a flow meter piston, the position of which is measured by a position sensor.]

[0056] [ Figure 9 [A forced recirculation mixer according to the present invention and according to...] Figure 8 The three-dimensional cross-sectional view of the variant shown in the image specifically illustrates a normally open flowmeter piston reflux valve that can be positioned relative to the downstream chamber of the flowmeter in the upstream chamber of the flowmeter.

[0057] [ Figure 10 According to Figure 9 The schematic cross-sectional view of the flow meter piston backflow valve of the forced recirculation mixer of the present invention shown in the figure includes a directional sealing plate that is held pressed against the valve orifice by a valve solenoid actuator via a valve seal. The actuator pushes the plate by means of a resilient connector and a stop pin, the resilient connector being specifically formed of a spring to maintain closure. Detailed Implementation

[0058] The forced recirculation mixer 1 according to the present invention, various details of its components, its variations and accessories are shown in Figures 1 to 6 middle.

[0059] As from Figure 2 It is clearly visible that a forced recirculation mixer 1 is provided for mixing at least one vaporizable liquid 2 with at least one gas 3 to be mixed to form a homogeneous gas mixture 4.

[0060] from Figures 1 to 4 and Figure 6 As can be seen, the forced recirculation mixer 1 according to the present invention includes at least one mixing chamber 5, the inner cavity of which forms a recirculation loop 6 in which a homogeneous gas mixture 4 can be continuously circulated, the beginning and end of the recirculation loop 6 being joined together.

[0061] Figures 1 to 4 and Figure 6 Further demonstrating the forced recirculation mixer 1, it includes at least one intake pipe 7 that extends directly or indirectly into the mixing chamber 5, and the gas 3 to be mixed is introduced into the recirculation loop 6 through the at least one intake pipe by means of a component 8 for introducing a known amount of gas. The forced recirculation mixer can be, for example, composed of... Figure 1 The gas mass flow meter 46 shown in the image is associated with a compressor 18 or a pressurized gas tank, which are known to those skilled in the art.

[0062] It should be noted that, in Figures 1 to 4 and Figure 6 In the present invention, the forced recirculation mixer 1 further includes at least one liquid injection nozzle 9, which extends directly or indirectly into the mixing tank 5 to introduce vaporizable liquid 2 into the recirculation loop 6. The nozzle 9 is fed through a component 10 for introducing a controlled amount of liquid, the flow rate of which is controlled by a computer 45. The vaporizable liquid 2 forms a homogeneous gas mixture 4 with the gas 3 to be mixed.

[0063] It should be noted that the liquid injection nozzle 9 may be a component of the component 10 for introducing a controlled amount of liquid, which may be, for example, a syringe or pump syringe known per se to be electromagnetically, piezoelectrically, or electrohydraulically controlled, whose piston or pump diaphragm is actuated by a solenoid or piezoelectric cell and whose amount of vaporizable liquid 2 injected per unit time can be reasonably controlled.

[0064] exist Figures 1 to 6 The invention also includes a forced recirculation mixer 1 comprising at least one mixture discharge pipe 11 extending directly or indirectly into a mixing tank 5, and a homogeneous gas mixture 4 being discharged from a recirculation loop 6 via the at least one mixture discharge pipe by means of a gas discharge member 12, which may be, for example, a layered injector 20 supplying ignition charge 55 to a valve-controlled ignition pre-combustion chamber 21, as described in the applicant’s patent FR 3,061,743.

[0065] like Figure 1 , 2 As shown in Figures 6 and 7, the forced recirculation mixer 1 according to the invention includes at least one stirring turbine 13, which is actuated by a turbine motor 28 and positioned in the recirculation loop 6, the turbine 13 forcing the homogeneous gas mixture 4 to circulate in the loop 6.

[0066] It should be noted that, such as Figure 1 , 2 As shown in Figure 6, the turbine motor 28 may be an electric motor. As a variation, the motor 28 may be pneumatic, hydraulic, thermal, or any type known to a person skilled in the art, whether the motor 28 is directly connected to the stirring turbine 13 to actuate it or indirectly connected to the turbine 13 via any type of transmission.

[0067] like Figure 1 , 2As shown in Figures 6 and 7, the mixing tank 5 may include: at least one external coaxial conduit 14, each end of which is closed by a reversing termination 15; at least one internal coaxial conduit 16, which is housed within the external coaxial conduit 14; and a gap, which on one hand exists between each reversing termination 15 and the internal coaxial conduit 16, and on the other hand exists between the inner surface of the external coaxial conduit 14 and the outer surface of the internal coaxial conduit 16, for circulation of the homogeneous gas mixture 4, wherein the circulation direction of the homogeneous gas mixture 4 in the external coaxial conduit 14 is opposite to the circulation direction of the mixture 4 in the internal coaxial conduit 16.

[0068] Also available Figure 1 , 2 As seen in Figures 6 and 7, the stirring turbine 13 may be fully or partially housed in one of the reversing termination ends 15, in which case the homogeneous gas mixture 4 is drawn into the center of the turbine 13 via the internal coaxial conduit 16 and then discharged to the periphery of the turbine 13 via the gap left between the inner surface of the external coaxial conduit 14 and the outer surface of the internal coaxial conduit 16.

[0069] Figure 1 , 2 Figures 6 and 7 also show that the commutation termination end 15 accommodating the stirring turbine 13 may have a hollow semi-circular shape, including that the blades 17 of the stirring turbine 13 have complementary protruding semi-circular shapes, with a small gap between the termination end 15 and the blades 17.

[0070] As Figures 1 to 4 as well as Figure 6 In an alternative embodiment of the forced recirculation mixer 1 according to the invention shown, the intake duct 7 may pass through one of the reversing terminations 15 to extend into the internal coaxial duct 16.

[0071] In this case, the reversing termination end 15 through which the intake pipe 7 passes may have a hollow semi-circular shape, and the pipe 7 extends from the reversing termination end.

[0072] exist Figures 1 to 4 China and Figure 6 It should be noted that, advantageously, the liquid injection nozzle 9 may extend into the interior of the air intake duct 7 or appear at its outlet. It should also be noted that, in the diagram, to facilitate the vaporization of the vaporizable liquid 2, the air intake duct 7 and / or the internal coaxial duct 16 may be in the form of a venturi tube.

[0073] like Figures 1 to 4 and Figure 6 As shown, the internal coaxial pipe 16 can be held in place in the external coaxial pipe 14 by at least one stirring blade 22, which radially connects the internal coaxial pipe 16 to the external coaxial pipe 14.

[0074] It should also be noted that, such as Figures 1 to 4 and Figure 6 As shown, the stirring blades 22 can be advantageously designed to generate turbulence and velocity differences or advance in the flow of the homogeneous gas mixture 4 to improve the homogeneity of the homogeneous gas mixture.

[0075] Figures 1 to 4 and Figure 6 A specific embodiment of the forced recirculation mixer 1 according to the invention is shown, wherein either the external coaxial conduit 14 or its reversing termination 15 may be completely or partially surrounded by a discharge ring 23, the interior of which is connected to the interior of the external coaxial conduit 14 via at least one radial discharge orifice 24, and the mixture discharge conduit 11 is connected to the mixing tank 5 via the ring 23 and the orifice 24.

[0076] As in Figures 1 to 4 and Figure 6 As can be seen, the shape and / or position of the radial discharge orifice 24 can be configured to minimize interference with the flow of the gas 3 mixed in the external coaxial conduit 14. In this regard, for example, the radial orifice 24 can form a water bucket extending into the discharge ring 23, the outlet of which requires the mixed discharge gas 3 to be circulated as it passes through the orifice 24.

[0077] exist Figures 1 to 4 and Figure 6 The diagram also shows that the mixing tank 5 may include a heating or cooling component 25, which may be, for example, composed of a thermal control chamber 26 as shown in those figures, which surrounds all or part of the tank 5; a heat transfer or cooling gas or liquid 27 circulates in the chamber 26.

[0078] As Figure 7 As shown in the alternative, the heating or cooling component 25 may consist of at least one electrothermal resistor 62 or any other component known to a person skilled in the art to carry heat to or remove heat from the mixing chamber 5.

[0079] Figure 1 , 2 Figure 6 shows that the turbine motor 28 can be an electric motor 29, which includes, on one hand, a rotor 30 rotatably connected to the stirring turbine 13 and housed in the stirring tank 5, and on the other hand, a stator 31 placed outside the tank 5, the magnetic field generated by the stator 31 passing through the wall of the stirring tank 5 to rotate the rotor 30.

[0080] It should be noted that, in this particular configuration of the forced recirculation mixer 1 according to the invention, the walls of the mixing tank 5 can advantageously be made of non-magnetic materials such as stainless steel, aluminum, or brass.

[0081] Figure 1 and Figures 3 to 6The component 10 for introducing a controlled amount of liquid is shown to be composed of a liquid piston pump 32, which includes a pump housing 42 and at least one single-acting or double-acting pump piston 33. The at least one single-acting or double-acting pump piston can be translated in a pump cylinder 35 under the cooperation of a piston actuator 34 and a displacement control component 44 to form at least one variable-volume pump chamber 36, wherein a vaporizable liquid 2 can be introduced into the at least one variable-volume pump chamber via an inlet valve 37, and the liquid 2 can be discharged from the at least one variable-volume pump chamber to a liquid injection nozzle 9 via a discharge valve 38.

[0082] It should be noted that the displacement control component 44 may be, for example, composed of an angular or linear, optical or "Hall effect", absolute or incremental encoder, or composed of the step-by-step drive of one or more linear or rotary electric motors. The control component 44 enables the computer 45 to change the position and forward speed of the pump piston 33 in the pump cylinder 35 under any circumstances, and thus control the amount of vaporizable liquid 2 introduced into the recirculation loop 6 per unit time.

[0083] It should also be noted that the pump piston 33 may include, for example, a piston seal 19 made of an elastomer, which may be simple or composite and constitutes an O-ring that cooperates with a ring made of PTFE filled with wear-resistant and / or anti-friction particles.

[0084] It should be noted that, in Figure 1 and Figures 3 to 6 In this process, the piston actuator 34 may be composed of an actuator rotary electric motor 39 attached to the pump housing 42. The motor 39 is capable of rotating in one direction or the opposite direction without difference to drive the drive transmission member 40 to rotate. The drive transmission member and the pump housing 42 translate as a whole and cooperate with the driven transmission member 41. The driven transmission member and the pump piston 33 translate as a whole. The drive transmission member 40 and the housing 42 work together to make the driven transmission member 41 translate longitudinally.

[0085] It should also be noted that the drive transmission component 40 may, for example, consist of a wheel that touches its center and is connected to the actuator rotating electric motor 39 by means of a reducer, which is formed by a series of pinions, a planetary gear train, a series of toothed pulleys and toothed belts or any other type of reduction gear known to those skilled in the art, the wheel cooperating with a threaded rod, the threaded rod translating as a whole with the pump piston 33 and forming the driven transmission component 41.

[0086] It should also be noted that the drive transmission member 40 and the driven transmission member 41 may be replaced by any other mechanism with equivalent or similar effects, such as a rack and pinion mechanism or a pulley and cable mechanism.

[0087] like Figure 1 , 3 In a specific embodiment of the forced recirculation mixer 1 shown in 4 and 6 and according to the invention, the drive transmission member 40 may be formed by a worm 47 that rotates a worm wheel 43 having a worm wheel thread 56, and the driven transmission member 41 is composed of a piston thread 57 that cooperates with the worm wheel thread 56.

[0088] like Figure 1 As shown, the gas mass flow meter 46 can directly or indirectly measure the mass flow rate of the gas to be mixed 3 circulating in the inlet pipe 7 and / or the mass flow rate of the homogeneous gas mixture 4 circulating in the mixture outlet pipe 11. The flow meter 46 enables the computer 16 to determine the mass flow rate of the vaporizable liquid 2, which is introduced into the mixing tank 5 through the liquid injection nozzle 9 to form a homogeneous gas mixture 4 composed of the vaporizable liquid 2 and the gas to be mixed 3 in a desired proportion in the tank 5.

[0089] Once the mass flow rate of the vaporizable liquid 2 to be introduced into the mixing tank 5 is determined, the computer 16 can control the component 10 for introducing the controlled amount of liquid to deliver the mass flow rate of the vaporizable liquid 2 required to form the desired homogeneous gas mixture 4 in the mixing tank 5 to the liquid injection nozzle 9.

[0090] Figures 7 to 9 The component 10 for introducing a controlled amount of liquid may be composed of a pulse pump 63, which includes a single-acting or double-acting pulse pump piston 64, and the single-acting or double-acting pulse pump piston may be translated in a pulse pump cylinder 67 under the action of a pump solenoid actuator 65.

[0091] In this case, the pulse pump piston 64 can form at least one variable-volume pulse pump chamber 68 with the pulse pump cylinder 67, wherein the vaporizable liquid 2 can be introduced into the at least one variable-volume pulse pump chamber via the pulse pump inlet valve 69, and the liquid 2 can be discharged from the at least one variable-volume pulse pump chamber to the liquid injection nozzle 9 via the pulse pump discharge valve 70.

[0092] exist Figures 7 to 9 It has also been shown that the volume and / or mass flow rate of the vaporizable liquid 2 can be sent back to the computer 45 via a vaporizable liquid flow meter 71, which is placed upstream or downstream of the component 10 for introducing a controlled amount of liquid.

[0093] According to this particular configuration of the forced recirculation mixer 1 of the invention, the vaporizable liquid flow meter 71 may be constituted by a flow meter piston 72, which may be moved in a sealed manner in a flow meter cylinder 73 to form a flow meter upstream chamber 75 directly or indirectly connected to a pressure source 77; the pressure source may be constituted by a fuel pump 53 of an internal combustion engine 51, which simultaneously feeds fuel into a known injector of the engine 51.

[0094] In this case, the flow meter piston 72 also forms a downstream flow meter chamber 76 with the flow meter cylinder 73, which is directly or indirectly connected to the liquid injection nozzle 9.

[0095] Still in this particular configuration of the forced recirculation mixer 1 according to the invention, the position of the flowmeter piston 72 in the flowmeter cylinder 73 is transmitted to the computer 45 via a position sensor 74, which may be inductive, capacitive, optical or any type known to those skilled in the art, and the flowmeter piston return spring 78 tends to push the flowmeter piston 72 toward the upstream chamber 75 of the flowmeter.

[0096] As in Figure 7 and 10 As can be clearly seen, the upstream chamber 75 of the flow meter can be connected to the downstream chamber 76 of the flow meter via the flow meter piston return valve 72.

[0097] In this case, the vaporizable liquid 2 is transferred from the upstream chamber 75 of the flowmeter to the downstream chamber 76 of the flowmeter. This transfer is caused by the force applied to the piston flowmeter 72 by the flowmeter piston return spring 78, which has the effect of moving the piston flowmeter in the direction of the upstream chamber 75 of the flowmeter.

[0098] It should be noted that the flow meter piston reflux valve 72 can be as follows: Figure 7 , 9 It can be either the "normally open" type shown in Figure 10, or the "normally closed" type.

[0099] Figure 10 A specific embodiment of the flow meter piston backflow valve 72 of the forced recirculation mixer 1 of the present invention is shown, wherein the valve 72 includes an orientable sealing plate 85, which is held pressed against a valve orifice 86 by a valve solenoid actuator 88, a valve seal 87 is inserted between the plate 85 and the orifice 86, and the valve solenoid actuator 88 pushes the orientable sealing plate 85 by means of an elastic connector 89.

[0100] As another variant embodiment of the forced recirculation mixer 1 according to the present invention, it has been Figures 7 to 9As shown, the nozzle accumulator 80 can be inserted between the component 10 for introducing a controlled amount of liquid and the liquid injection nozzle 9, such that if the component 10 causes a large change in the flow rate of the vaporizable liquid 2, the effective flow rate of the liquid 2 discharged from the liquid injection nozzle 9 into the mixing tank 5 is affected by the change to a smaller extent.

[0101] In this case, the nozzle accumulator 80 may include a nozzle accumulator piston 81, which together with the accumulator cylinder 82 forms an accumulator chamber 83. The piston 81 is pushed in the direction of the chamber 83 by an accumulator spring 84, wherein the liquid injection nozzle 9 is integral with the piston 81 and passes directly through the piston in its longitudinal direction.

[0102] Operation of the present invention:

[0103] Given Figures 1 to 6 The operation of the forced recirculation mixer 1 according to the present invention is easy to understand.

[0104] To illustrate this operation, let's assume, as follows: Figure 1 The diagram schematically shows a forced recirculation mixer 1 for supplying a homogeneous gas mixture 4 to a stratified injector 20 for a valve-controlled ignition pre-combustion chamber, as described in patent FR 3,061,743, which is applied to an internal combustion engine 51 for powering a vehicle, not shown.

[0105] As in Figure 1 and 7 As can be seen, the forced recirculation mixer 1 according to the invention advantageously replaces the carburetor or injector that would be placed at the inlet of the compressor 18. With this configuration, the mixer 1 eliminates any risk of spontaneous combustion of the homogeneous gas mixture 4 in the compressor 18, as well as any risk of recondensation of the vaporizable liquid 2 that partially constitutes the mixture 4 inside the compressor 18.

[0106] Furthermore, compared to a carburetor or injector located at the inlet of the compressor 18, the forced recirculation mixer 1 according to the invention produces a more precise and homogeneous homogeneous gas mixture 4, and potentially reduces the amount of homogeneous gas mixture 4 stored between the inlet of the compressor 18 and the stratified injector 20.

[0107] Even when the internal combustion engine 51 is temporarily stopped, the mixer 1 according to the invention can ensure the permanent mixing of the homogeneous gas mixture 4, which is desirable, for example, in the context of thermoelectric hybrid applications such as those seen in automobiles.

[0108] In this regard, the forced recirculation mixer 1 according to the invention provides greater freedom in the technical definition of the compressor 18 compared to a carburetor or injector placed at the inlet of the compressor 18.

[0109] In fact, a carburetor or injector remains a possible solution for implementing valve-controlled ignition pre-combustion chamber 21 on any internal combustion engine 51, especially when the engine is installed in a mass-produced automobile.

[0110] In the case of a particular application of the forced recirculation mixer 1 according to the invention disclosed herein, the homogeneous gas mixture 4 constitutes an ignition charge 55 introduced by the stratified injector 20 in the valve-controlled ignition pre-combustion chamber 21 in each cycle of the internal combustion engine 51.

[0111] In this particular example of the use of the forced recirculation mixer 1 according to the invention, the layered injector 20 and the valve-controlled ignition pre-combustion chamber 21 thus form the gas discharge member 12.

[0112] Here we will assume that the gas 3 to be mixed is atmospheric air 49, and the vaporizable liquid 2 is gasoline 50, such as that commonly used in automobiles.

[0113] It is also assumed here, as a non-limiting example, that the homogeneous gas mixture 4 fed into the stratified injector 20 must consist of a ratio of 50 grams of gasoline to 14 grams of air 49, and therefore the gas mixture 4 is slightly concentrated compared to stoichiometry.

[0114] Considering this particular application of the forced recirculation mixer 1 according to the invention, the mass flow rate of the homogeneous gas mixture 4 to be supplied to the stratified injector 20 when the internal combustion engine 51 is idle is 150 times lower than the mass flow rate of the mixture 4 to be supplied to the injector 20 when the engine 51 is operating at full power.

[0115] Here we consider that regardless of the operating point of the internal combustion engine 51, the mass ratio of air 49 and gasoline 50 constituting the homogeneous gas mixture 4 must not change.

[0116] It is also assumed that a homogeneous gas mixture 4 consisting of air 49 and gasoline 50 is supplied to a stratified injector 20 at a pressure of forty bar.

[0117] To achieve this result, in Figure 1 We note that air 49 is pressurized by compressor 18, symbolically represented. Compressor 18 cooperates with gas mass flow meter 46. Compressor 18 and flow meter 46 together form component 8 for introducing a known amount of gas, wherein the forced recirculation mixer 1 according to the invention includes said component.

[0118] As a non-limiting example of the embodiment of the mixer 1, Figure 1 and Figures 3 to 6The illustration shows the pressurization of gasoline 50 by a liquid piston pump 32, which includes a double-acting pump piston 33 that can translate within a pump cylinder 35 to form two pump chambers 36 with variable volumes.

[0119] exist Figure 3 and 4 In the image, arrows indicate that gasoline 50 is introduced into each of the pump chambers 36 via feed valve 37, and the gasoline 50 is then discharged into the liquid injection nozzle 9 via discharge valve 38.

[0120] The liquid piston pump 32 thus configured forms a component 10 for introducing a controlled amount of liquid.

[0121] It should be noted that, Figure 1 In this context, gasoline 50 comes from gasoline tank 52, which contains a vehicle powered by an internal combustion engine 51. It should also be noted that... Figure 1 In the process, gasoline 50 is pressurized by gasoline pump 53 before being introduced into liquid piston pump 32, which must also supply the main injection system (not shown) that includes engine 51.

[0122] In order to obtain a homogeneous gas mixture 4 in the proportion of 50 grams of gasoline and 49 grams of air per gram of gasoline at a pressure of 40 bar, the mixing chamber 5 in which the mixture 4 is produced must be at a temperature of at least 70 degrees Celsius.

[0123] The temperature is necessary so that, taking into account the saturated vapor pressure of the gasoline 50 at the temperature, all the gasoline 50 forming the homogeneous gas mixture 4 reaches and remains in the vapor state.

[0124] This is why, as Figures 1 to 4 and Figure 6 As shown, a thermal control chamber 26 surrounds the larger portion of the mixing tank 5. A heat transfer or refrigerant liquid or gas 27, consisting of cooling water 54 used to cool the internal combustion engine 51, circulates within the thermal control chamber 26. The water 54 circulating in the thermal control chamber 26 at a temperature close to one hundred degrees Celsius... Figure 2 It is represented by the letter "C".

[0125] Therefore, the thermal control chamber 26 is a heating or cooling component 25, which ensures that the gasoline 50, which partially forms the homogeneous gas mixture 4, remains in a fully vaporized state despite the mixture 4 being subjected to a pressure of forty bar.

[0126] When the internal combustion engine 51 is idle, the total amount of homogeneous gas mixture 4 introduced per second into the valve-controlled ignition pre-combustion chamber 21 via the stratified injector 20 is extremely small. On the order of magnitude, this amount is equivalent to twenty-two standard cubic centimeters of air 49 mixed with two and a half cubic millimeters of gasoline 50.

[0127] Furthermore, in order to obtain a homogeneous mixture of air 49 and gasoline 50, the homogeneous gas mixture 4 is stirred in a recirculation loop 6 formed by the internal cavity of the mixing chamber 5.

[0128] It is assumed here that the mixing tank 5 contains a homogeneous gas mixture 4 of 60 cubic centimeters subjected to a pressure of 40 bar. When the internal combustion engine 51 is idle, this amount of the mixture 4 in the form of an ignition charge 55 is supplied to the valve-controlled ignition pre-combustion chamber 21 per minute via a stratified injector 20.

[0129] When the internal combustion engine 51 is idle, the mass flow rate of the homogeneous gas mixture 4 circulating in the recirculation loop 6 is therefore tens to hundreds of times greater than the flow rate of the mixture 4 supplied to the valve-controlled ignition pre-combustion chamber 21 from the mixing tank 5 via the stratified injector 20.

[0130] The current in the homogeneous gas mixture 4 contained in the mixing tank 5 and the agitation of the mixture 4 caused by its continuous displacement in the recirculation loop 6 allow the composition of the mixture 4 to be averaged over a longer period of time and to make the mixture 4 highly homogeneous.

[0131] The stirring of homogeneous gas mixture 4 is particularly demonstrated in Figure 2 In the diagram, the recirculation loop 6 is formed by the following: an outer coaxial conduit 14, each end of which is closed by a hollow semi-circular reversing end 15; an inner coaxial conduit 16, which is housed within the outer coaxial conduit 14; and a gap, which exists on one hand between each reversing end 15 and the inner coaxial conduit 16, and on the other hand between the inner surface of the outer coaxial conduit 14 and the outer surface of the inner coaxial conduit 16, for circulation of the homogeneous gas mixture 4.

[0132] It should be noted that, Figure 2 In this process, the circulation direction of the homogeneous gas mixture 4 in the external coaxial pipe 14 is opposite to the circulation direction of the mixture 4 in the internal coaxial pipe 16.

[0133] exist Figure 1 , 2 Figure 6 shows a stirring turbine 13, which may be partially housed in one of the reversing termination ends 15, through which a homogeneous gas mixture 4 is drawn in via an internal coaxial conduit 16 at the center of the turbine 13, as shown. Figure 2 The arrow shown in the image clearly illustrates that the homogeneous gas mixture is then discharged to the periphery of the turbine 13 through the gap between the inner surface of the outer coaxial conduit 14 and the outer surface of the inner coaxial conduit 16.

[0134] exist Figure 1 , 2In 6, this exemplary embodiment of the forced recirculation mixer 1, which is advantageous and according to the invention, has been shown, wherein the hollow semi-circular shape of the reversing end 15 accommodating the stirring turbine 13 is complementary to the hollow semi-circular shape of the protruding blade 17 containing the turbine 13, with a small gap between the end 15 and the blade 17.

[0135] It should be noted that, Figure 1 In this motor, the turbine motor 28 that rotates the stirring turbine 13 is an electric motor 29. It includes a rotor 30 that is rotatably connected to the stirring turbine 13 and installed in the mixing tank 5, and a stator 31 placed outside the tank 5. The rotating magnetic field generated by the stator 31 passes through the wall of the mixing tank 5 to rotate the rotor 30.

[0136] This particular configuration of the turbine motor 28 avoids the use of a rotating shaft seal that passes through the wall of the mixing tank 5 to ensure the rotational drive of the mixing turbine 13, which is advantageous given the relatively high pressure of forty bar prevalent in the tank 5.

[0137] Figures 1 to 4 As shown in Figures 6 and 7, in order to appear in the internal coaxial conduit 16, the intake conduit 7 passes through the reversing termination end 15, which is opposite to the termination end that houses the stirring turbine 13.

[0138] As in Figure 1 , 2 As can be clearly seen in Figures 6 and 7, the internal coaxial conduit 16 is held in place within the external coaxial conduit 14 by a stirring blade 22, which radially connects the internal coaxial conduit 16 to the external coaxial conduit 14. Advantageously, the stirring blade 22 induces turbulence and velocity differences in the flow of the homogeneous gas mixture 4, and enhances the homogeneity of the gas mixture.

[0139] As in Figure 2 As can be seen, the gas to be mixed, consisting of air 49 (represented by the letter "A" here), is introduced into the mixing tank 5 through the air inlet pipe 7, and the liquid injection nozzle 9 extends into the interior of the pipe 7 and into the mixing tank 5 near its outlet.

[0140] The liquid injection nozzle 9 introduces the required amount of vaporizable liquid 2, represented here by the letter "F", of gasoline 50 into the air 49 circulating in the intake manifold 7, so as to form a more or less homogeneous gas mixture 4 containing more or less gasoline 50 in liquid state, at a ratio of one gram of gasoline 50 to fourteen grams of air 49.

[0141] Therefore, air 49 is premixed with gasoline 50, a portion of which is vaporized in the intake manifold 7, and the resulting gas mixture then flows into the mixing chamber 5.

[0142] The premixture of air 49 and gasoline 50 then moves in the recirculation loop 6 by means of a homogeneous gas mixture 4 already circulating therein. The premixture is then agitated, specifically by the stirring turbine 13 and by the stirring blades 22, and the gasoline 50 constituting the premixture is completely vaporized to form the desired homogeneous gas mixture 4.

[0143] It should be noted that if some gasoline 50 leaves the intake manifold 7 in a liquid state, it will inevitably deposit on the surface of the blades 17 of the stirring turbine 13, the inner or outer surface of the internal coaxial pipe 16, the inner surface of the external coaxial pipe 14, or the surface of the stirring blades 22. Subsequently, the forced circulation of the homogeneous gas mixture 4 in the recirculation loop 6 will dry the surfaces carrying the liquid gasoline 50, allowing the gasoline 50 to be added to the gas mixture 4 in a vapor state.

[0144] like Figure 2 As shown, by the Figure 2 The extraction of the homogeneous gas mixture 4, consisting of air 49 and gasoline 50, represented by the letters "AF", is carried out via a mixture discharge pipe 11, which appears in the mixing chamber 5, and more specifically in the recirculation loop 6 formed by the internal cavity of the mixing chamber 5.

[0145] It should be noted that, Figures 1 to 5 And in Figure 6 In the middle, the upper reversing end 15 of the external coaxial pipe 14 is partially surrounded by the discharge ring 23, the interior of which is connected to the interior of the external coaxial pipe 14 through the radial discharge orifice 24, and the mixture discharge pipe 11 is connected to the mixing tank 5 by means of the ring 23 and the orifice 24.

[0146] As in Figures 1 to 4 and Figure 6 As can be seen, the shape and / or orientation of the radial discharge orifice 24 are configured to minimize interference with the flow of the homogeneous gas mixture 4 in the external coaxial conduit 14, and more precisely in the upper reversing termination end 15 of the external coaxial conduit 14.

[0147] Therefore, when the homogeneous gas mixture 4 is discharged from the mixing tank 5 through the stratified injector 20, the mixture 4 is completely homogeneous and consists only of air 49 and gasoline 50 in a ratio of one gram of gasoline 50 to fourteen grams of air 49.

[0148] In order to accurately obtain such a ratio of air 49 and gasoline 50, it is necessary to know the mass flow rate of the air 49 entering the mixing chamber 5 so that the correct amount of gasoline 50 can be introduced into the air 49 via the liquid injection nozzle 9.

[0149] For this reason, its operation is described according to the embodiments described herein. The forced recirculation mixer 1 of the present invention is used in conjunction with a gas mass flow meter 46, which may be a depressogenic, pitot tube, or deflector type, a cup-shaped, propeller, or turbine type gas mass flow meter, a pallet, ion, ultrasonic, electromagnetic, Coriolis, Karman tourbillon, or eddy current type gas mass flow meter, a fire wire or thin film, thermal mass type gas mass flow meter, or any type of gas mass flow meter generally known to those skilled in the art.

[0150] The flow meter 46 transmits the effective mass flow rate of the air 49 allowed in the mixing tank 5 back to the computer 45, which in turn... Figure 1 The computer 45, represented by the letter "ECU", is capable of controlling the liquid piston pump 32 accordingly.

[0151] like Figure 1 , 3 As shown in Figures 4 and 6, the double-acting piston pump 33 of the piston pump 32 is translated into the pump cylinder 35 here, thereby cooperating with the actuator rotary electric motor 39 attached to the pump housing 42.

[0152] like Figure 3 and 4 As shown, the actuator electric rotary motor 39 can rotate in one direction or the other to drive the drive member 40 to rotate. The drive member is translatably connected to the pump housing 42 and is formed here by a worm 47 that rotates a worm wheel 43 having a worm wheel thread 56.

[0153] As in Figure 3 and 4 As can be clearly seen, the worm gear thread 56 cooperates with the piston thread 57, and the piston thread is integrated with the pump piston 33 to form a driven transmission component 41.

[0154] As the worm wheel 43 rotates under the action of the worm 47, the worm wheel tightens or loosens the concave worm wheel thread 56 around the convex piston thread 57, thereby moving the double-acting pump piston 33 in the pump cylinder 35.

[0155] Figure 3 The demonstration shows that when the actuator rotates the electric motor 39 to rotate the worm 47 clockwise, the pump piston 33 moves downward and discharges the gasoline 50 contained in the lower pump chamber 36 through its discharge valve 38, while the upper pump chamber 36 draws gasoline 50 through its inlet valve 37.

[0156] Figure 4This illustrates what happens when the actuator rotates the electric motor 39, causing the worm gear 47 to rotate counterclockwise. In this case, the pump piston 33 rises and discharges the gasoline 50 contained in the upper pump chamber 36 through its discharge valve 38, while the lower pump chamber 36 draws in gasoline 50 through its inlet valve 37.

[0157] It should be noted that, Figure 6 In this configuration, the piston thread 57 is locked in the pump housing 42 for rotation via a hexagonal head 58, which cooperates with a complementary extrusion form provided in the housing 42.

[0158] It should also be noted that, Figure 1 , 3 In 4 and 6, when rotating about its longitudinal axis, the worm gear 43 is axially supported in the pump casing 42 by means of the spherical stop 59, which is known in itself.

[0159] Finally, it is possible to Figure 1 , 3 Note in 4 and 6 that any axial clearance between the worm gear 43 and the pump housing 42 is eliminated by the axial clearance removal spring 60, which, according to this example, is inserted between the housing 42 and the upper spherical stop 59.

[0160] exist Figure 1 and Figures 3 to 6 The image shows an actuator rotating an electric motor 39, which in this example is a brushless motor 39 incorporating a Hall effect encoder, wherein the encoder generates thirty pulses for each revolution of the motor 39.

[0161] It should be noted, especially in Figure 1 , 3 In 4 and 6, the pump cylinder 35 has an initialization stop 61 inside, and the pump piston 33 can contact the initialization stop so that the computer 45 can count the pulses generated by the Hall effect encoder based on this reference.

[0162] Therefore, with the worm gear 43 having thirty teeth, the spacing between the worm gear thread 56 and the piston thread 57 being one millimeter, and considering that the actuator rotary electric motor 39 generates thirty pulses per revolution of the "Hall effect" encoder, one pulse of the "Hall effect" encoder corresponds to a displacement of approximately one micrometer of the pump piston 33.

[0163] Since the ratio between the displacement of the pump piston 33 and the amount of gasoline 50 discharged from the corresponding pump chamber 36 is known from the computer 45, the computer can precisely control the rotation of the actuator rotary electric motor 39 to generate a mass flow rate of gasoline 50 to be discharged through the liquid injection nozzle 9, the mass flow rate of gasoline being equivalent to one-fourteenth of the mass flow rate of air 49 transmitted back to the computer 45 through the gas mass flow meter 46.

[0164] As can be readily deduced from the above, the forced recirculation mixer 1 according to the invention makes it possible to produce a homogeneous gas mixture 4 formed here by air 49 and gasoline 50 in a ratio of one gram of gasoline 50 to fourteen grams of air 49.

[0165] In this respect, the forced recirculation mixer 1 does not require a high-pressure fuel pump; a few bar of pressure, typically supplied by the fuel pump 53, which is commonly found in multi-point injection systems in the automotive industry, is sufficient to supply the liquid piston pump 32. In fact, the liquid piston pump 32 itself is responsible for increasing the pressure of the gasoline 50 to more than forty bar, which is required to introduce the gasoline 50 into the mixing tank 5 via the liquid injection nozzle 9.

[0166] To achieve the desired result, the forced recirculation mixer 1 according to the invention does not require a high-precision injector, whose injection volume is not always consistent, especially at very low flow rates. It should also be noted that the specific configuration of the forced recirculation mixer 1 does not require atomizing the gasoline 50 into fine droplets to ensure complete vaporization. In fact, this vaporization can be performed retrospectively in the recirculation loop 6 without compromising the average gasoline 50 content of the homogeneous gas mixture 4.

[0167] As can be inferred from the diagrams and the current description of the operation of the forced recirculation mixer 1, the liquid piston pump 32 simultaneously ensures the injection of gasoline 50 into the mixing chamber 5 via the liquid injection nozzle 9 and the measurement of its flow rate. Therefore, the liquid piston pump 32 avoids the need to use a gasoline flow meter 50 to form a homogeneous gas mixture 4 of air 49 and gasoline 50 in appropriate proportions.

[0168] It can be seen that if the diameter of the pump piston 33 is twelve millimeters, then the worm gear 43 has thirty teeth, the worm gear pitch 56 and the piston pitch 57 are one millimeter, and the actuator rotates the electric motor 39 for one revolution, the "Hall effect" encoder generates thirty pulses, and one pulse of the "Hall effect" encoder corresponds to about 0.8 milligrams of gasoline 50 being injected into the mixing tank 5 through the liquid injection nozzle 9.

[0169] If the pitch of the worm gear thread 56 is halved, then the amount of gasoline 50 injected per pulse by the Hall effect encoder will be half of what it was before.

[0170] It should be noted that, since the total number of pulses generated by the Hall effect encoder during the entire stroke of the pump piston 33 is determined with great precision, it corresponds to a certain amount of gasoline 50.

[0171] Therefore, the accuracy of the amount of gasoline 50 introduced into the mixing tank 5 via the liquid injection nozzle 9 between two pulses of the "Hall effect" encoder is generally extremely high.

[0172] Since the mixing chamber 5 dilutes the amount of gasoline 50 in a large amount of homogeneous gas mixture 4 over a relatively long period of time, the concentration of the homogeneous gas mixture 4 discharged by the stratified injector 20 is extremely precise, which is beneficial for controlling the operation of the valve-controlled ignition pre-combustion chamber 21 according to patent FR3,061,743 in all cases.

[0173] It should be noted that since the pump piston 33 is double-acting, its maximum forward speed, for example, is no more than three or four millimeters per second, given its diameter of twelve millimeters, to supply the valve-controlled ignition pre-combustion chamber 21 of the two-liter capacity turbocharged internal combustion engine 51 operating at maximum power.

[0174] This millimeter speed makes it possible to equip the piston 33 with a fully sealed piston seal 19, which will have a long service life, even when operating in gasoline 50 which does not have specific lubricating properties.

[0175] In practice, the piston seal 19 may be, for example, a composite and comprise a ring made of PTFE filled with anti-friction particles, which remains in contact with the pump cylinder 35. Such a piston seal 19 is particularly suitable for the operating conditions just described, and its service life is at least as long as that of the internal combustion engine 51 that it cooperates with when supplying a homogeneous gas mixture 4 to the valve-controlled ignition pre-combustion chamber 21 via the stratified injector 20.

[0176] It should be noted that, according to the exemplary embodiment of the forced recirculation mixer 1 of the present invention just described, the computer 45 advantageously compensates for the loss of average flow rate of gasoline 50 during the change of direction of the double-acting piston pump 33 in the pump cylinder 35.

[0177] In fact, at the reversing point of the piston 33, the actuator rotating electric motor 39 must compensate for some clearances, such as the clearance between the worm 47 and the worm wheel 43, or compensate for the deformation of the piston seal 19 in its groove when changing the direction of the pressure difference experienced by the seal 19.

[0178] The computer 45 can perform this compensation by measuring the current required for the actuator to rotate the electric motor 39 to move, and such an intensity makes it possible to detect when the pump piston 33 is once again subjected to pressure of at least forty bar.

[0179] The computer 45 can also incorporate data about the required compensation at the reversing point of the pump piston 33, which is generated by bench testing performed prior to the first use of the forced recirculation mixer 1 according to the invention.

[0180] Therefore, taking into account the time allocated to the reloading operation of the pump piston 33, the computer 45 can reconstruct the average flow required for the homogeneous gas mixture 4 according to the desired air 49 to gasoline 50 ratio. It should be remembered that if the current mixing tank 5 contains a large amount of homogeneous gas mixture 4, then the temporary concentration change seen by the stratified injector 20 is negligible.

[0181] exist Figures 7 to 10 The diagram shows an alternative embodiment of the forced recirculation mixer 1 according to the invention, wherein the component 10 for introducing a controlled amount of liquid is no longer composed of the liquid piston pump 32 as just described, but is composed of a pulse pump 63 housed in a pump housing 42.

[0182] according to Figures 7 to 9 In the example embodiment of the forced recirculation mixer 1 of the present invention shown, the pulse pump 63 includes a single-acting pulse pump piston 64, which can be translated in the pulse pump cylinder 67 under the action of the pump solenoid actuator 65.

[0183] Here it will also be assumed that the gas 3 to be mixed is atmospheric air 49, and the vaporizable liquid 2 is gasoline 50, such as that commonly used in automobiles.

[0184] The pulse pump piston 64 and the pulse pump cylinder 67 together form a variable-volume pulse pump chamber 68, in which gasoline 50 can be introduced into the variable-volume pulse pump chamber via the pulse pump inlet valve 69, and the gasoline 50 can be discharged from the variable-volume pulse pump chamber to the liquid injection nozzle 9 via the pulse pump outlet valve 70.

[0185] It should be noted that the pulse pump discharge valve 70 can be highly calibrated to several bar so that if the pressure in the mixing tank 5 is lower than the pressure in the gasoline circuit 50 located upstream of the pulse pump 63, then the mixing tank 5 will not add gasoline 50 in an undesirable manner.

[0186] To inject gasoline 50 into the mixing tank 5, the computer 45 supplies current to the solenoid coil 95 of the pump solenoid actuator 65. This has the effect of pushing back the pulse pump piston 64 in the direction of the pulse pump chamber 68, which discharges a corresponding amount of gasoline 50 from the chamber 68 via the pulse pump discharge valve 70 and into the liquid injection nozzle 9.

[0187] After completion, the computer 45 stops supplying current to the solenoid coil 95, causing the pump piston return spring 66 to return the pulse pump piston 64 to the bottom dead center, and the pulse pump chamber 68 draws gasoline 50 again through its pulse pump inlet valve 69.

[0188] It should be noted that if the supply pressure of gasoline 50 upstream of the pulse pump inlet valve 69 is sufficient to push the pulse pump piston 64 back to the bottom dead center within the distribution time, then the pump piston return spring 66 is not necessary.

[0189] Figures 7 to 9 A nozzle accumulator 80 is shown between the pulse pump 63 and the liquid injection nozzle 9.

[0190] The nozzle accumulator 80 makes it possible to provide a liquid injection nozzle 9 that leaves only a small portion for gasoline 50 to pass through, which facilitates the fine atomization of the gasoline 50 at the outlet of the nozzle 9 in the mixing tank 5.

[0191] The nozzle accumulator 80 may also reduce the pressure peaks that appear at the outlet of the pulse pump discharge valve 70, thereby avoiding an oversized design of the solenoid coil 95 to offset these peaks.

[0192] In addition, the nozzle accumulator 80 reduces the variation range of gasoline flow rate 50 entering the mixing tank 5 in a vaporized state through the liquid injection nozzle 9, which makes the homogeneous gas mixture 4 formed in the tank 5 more homogeneous.

[0193] according to Figures 7 to 8 The non-limiting example shown in the figure includes a nozzle accumulator 80 comprising a nozzle accumulator piston 81, which forms an accumulator chamber 83 with an accumulator cylinder 82. The piston 81 is pushed in the direction of the chamber 83 by an accumulator spring 84, wherein a liquid injection nozzle 9 is integral with the piston 81 and passes directly through the piston in its longitudinal direction.

[0194] exist Figure 8 and 9 As can be seen, the component used to adjust the stroke of the solenoid 96 makes it possible to adjust the effective stroke of the pulse pump piston 64 and thus adjust the cylinder capacity of the pulse pump 63.

[0195] It can be easily deduced from the above that the gasoline flow rate 50 injected into the mixing tank 5 by the pulse pump 63 is the product of the cylinder capacity of the pump 63, its volumetric efficiency, and its driving frequency.

[0196] For example, if the cylinder capacity of the pump 63 is thirteen cubic millimeters, if the volumetric efficiency of the pump 63 is seventy percent, and its driving frequency is thirty Hz, then the flow rate of the pump 63 is two hundred and seventy-three cubic millimeters per second.

[0197] The computer 45, which adjusts the effective flow rate of the pulse pump 63 required to form a homogeneous gas mixture 4 in the mixing tank 5 according to the desired air-to-gas ratio 49, is as follows: Figures 7 to 9As can be seen from the diagram, the forced recirculation mixer 1 includes a vaporizable liquid flow meter 71, which sends the effective mass flow rate of gasoline 50 injected into the mixing tank 5 by the liquid injection nozzle 9 back to the computer 45.

[0198] Thanks to the vaporizable liquid flow meter 71, the computer implements a software control loop of the "PID controller" type, which is known in itself.

[0199] In practice, the gas mass flow meter 46 sends the effective mass flow rate of the air 49 entering the mixing tank 5 back to the computer 45, which, taking into account the ratio of the desired air 49 to gasoline 50, naturally yields the set point for the gasoline flow 50 that will be introduced into the tank 5 via the pulse pump 63.

[0200] Therefore, the flow rate of gasoline 50 is formed by the value set by the PID controller, which can fluctuate around the set value assigned to it, as long as the effective value of the flow rate is close to the set value on average over a few seconds.

[0201] In fact, the forced circulation of the homogeneous gas mixture 4 by the stirring turbine 13 in the mixing chamber 5 homogenizes the mixture 4, regardless of the fluctuation of the gasoline 50 flow rate around a set value.

[0202] To adjust the flow rate of gasoline 50, computer 45 can adjust the frequency and / or activation power of pump solenoid actuator 65 of pulse pump 63.

[0203] according to Figures 7 to 9 The example of a non-limiting embodiment of the forced recirculation mixer 1 of the present invention shown in the figure is noteworthy in that the vaporized liquid flow meter 71 includes a flow meter piston 72, which can be moved in a sealed manner in a flow meter cylinder 73 to form, on the one hand, an upstream flow meter chamber 75 connected to the gasoline pump 53 of the engine 51, and on the other hand, a downstream flow meter chamber 76 connected to the inlet of the pulse pump 63.

[0204] It should be noted, especially Figure 7 and 8 In the middle, the flow meter piston 72 has an open flow meter piston sealing extension 101 at each end.

[0205] The flow meter piston seal extender 101 ensures that for the same displacement of the flow meter piston 72, the volume of gasoline 50 entering or exiting the upstream chamber 75 of the flow meter is the same as the volume of gasoline simultaneously entering or exiting the downstream chamber 76 of the flow meter. Therefore, regardless of the speed of the back-and-forth movement, the flow rate of gasoline 50 delivered by the gasoline pump 53 is never disturbed by the back-and-forth movement of the flow meter piston 72 in the flow meter cylinder 73.

[0206] The position of the flow meter piston 72 in the flow meter cylinder 73 is transmitted to the computer 45 via a position sensor 74, in this case, an absolute linear encoder such as that sold by "Posic".

[0207] The encoder reads the target strip 100 carried by the support belt guide slider 97, which can be longitudinally translated in a slide 98 with a small gap therein on the one hand, and longitudinally translated in an extension of the flow meter piston 72 on the other hand.

[0208] It should be noted that the support belt guide slider 97 is secured to the flow meter piston 72 in a translational manner by a coupling magnet 99, which is permanently attracted by the flow meter piston sealing extension 101 located on the side of the target belt 100.

[0209] exist Figures 7 to 9 As can be seen, the flow meter piston return spring 78 tends to move the flow meter piston 72 in the direction of the upstream chamber 75 of the flow meter.

[0210] Available from Figure 7 The operating principle of the vaporizable liquid flow meter 71 can be easily deduced from the diagram.

[0211] In fact, in order to determine the mass flow rate of gasoline 50 introduced into the mixing tank 5 by the pulse pump 63, the computer 45 retrieves the distance traveled by the flow meter piston 72 per unit time via the position sensor 74, and retrieves the temperature of the gasoline 50 by means of the temperature sensor 103 placed in the downstream chamber 76 of the flow meter.

[0212] For example, if the effective section of the flow meter piston 72 is 140 square millimeters, then when the flow meter piston moves one millimeter per second, the volumetric flow rate of gasoline 50 introduced into the mixing tank 5 by the pulse pump 63 is 140 cubic millimeters per second.

[0213] To calculate the mass flow rate of gasoline 50 introduced into the mixing tank 5, where the density and coefficient of thermal expansion of the gasoline 50 at 20 degrees Celsius are known, since the density and coefficient of thermal expansion are input by the computer (not shown) of the internal combustion engine 51, the computer 45 only needs to multiply the density of the gasoline 50 by its volumetric flow rate.

[0214] For greater accuracy, pressure sensor 102 may optionally be located in downstream chamber 76 of the flow meter to allow computer 45 to incorporate the compressibility of gasoline 50 into its density calculation of gasoline 50.

[0215] When the flow meter piston 72 reaches the end of the reading stroke, that is, when the volume of the downstream chamber 76 of the flow meter reaches its predetermined minimum value, the flow meter piston return valve 72 opens and connects the downstream chamber 76 with the upstream chamber 75 of the flow meter. This has the function of transferring the gasoline 50 contained in the upstream chamber 75 of the flow meter to the downstream chamber 76 of the flow meter.

[0216] The transmission of gasoline 50 is caused by the force applied to the flow meter piston 72 by the flow meter piston return spring 78, which has the effect of moving the flow meter piston towards the upstream chamber 75 of the flow meter.

[0217] During the delivery of gasoline 50, which lasts for approximately 100 milliseconds, the measurement of the volumetric flow rate of gasoline 50 is temporarily interrupted. However, the overall measurement error is minimal because computer 45 can reconstruct the flow rate of gasoline 50 during the measurement interruption by taking the average of the flow rate of gasoline 50 recorded just before the flow meter piston backflow valve 72 opens and immediately after the valve 72 closes.

[0218] It should be noted that the return of the flow meter piston 72 described above rarely occurs, for example, once every 10 minutes when the internal combustion engine 51 is idle, and once every four seconds when the engine 51 is operating at full power.

[0219] It should be noted that the flow meter piston reflux valve 72 can be as follows: Figure 7 , 9 The "normally open" type shown in 10 ensures that when the engine 51 is stopped for an extended period, the thermal expansion or contraction of the gasoline 50 contained in the circuit and the internal volume of the forced recirculation mixer 1 according to the invention will never cause the gasoline 50 in the mixing tank 5 to be inappropriately injected via the pulse pump 63 and the liquid injection nozzle 9.

[0220] exist Figure 10 The flow meter piston backflow valve 72 has been shown in more detail. The valve includes an orientable sealing plate 85, which is held pressed against the valve orifice 86 by a valve solenoid actuator 88 via a valve seal 87. The valve solenoid actuator pushes the orientable sealing plate 85 via an elastic connector 89 consisting of a closing retaining spring 93, the maximum length of which is limited by a stop pin 94.

[0221] exist Figure 7 The document also shows some accessories related to the proper operation of the forced recirculation mixer 1 according to the invention, which is used to implement the valve-controlled ignition pre-combustion chamber 21 of the subject matter of FR 3,061,743 patent on an automotive internal combustion engine 51.

[0222] For example, when the internal combustion engine 51 is shut off for a period of several seconds to several minutes, the compressor outlet check valve 90 is used to keep the mixing tank 5 under pressure. The valve 90 is suitable when the discharge valve of the compressor 18 is not completely sealed.

[0223] There is also a carbon canister discharge solenoid valve 91, which makes it possible to gradually depressurize the mixing chamber 5 when the internal combustion engine 51 is off and cooling. When the solenoid valve 91 is open, the vaporized gasoline 50 forming the homogeneous gas mixture 4 contained in the chamber 5 is delivered to a carbon canister 92, which is known in most modern cars.

[0224] It should be noted that the exemplary embodiments of the forced recirculation mixer 1 according to the present invention described above are non-limiting.

[0225] In fact, the forced recirculation mixer 1 according to the invention can be applied to fields other than internal combustion engines, such as all devices in the chemical, industrial processes or any field that requires on-site production of homogeneous and / or precisely dispensed mixtures consisting of at least one gas and at least one liquid.

[0226] The possibilities of the forced recirculation mixer 1 according to the invention are not limited to the applications just described, and it must also be understood that the above description is provided by way of example only and in no way limits the scope of the invention, and the implementation details described should not be deviated from by substituting any other equivalent.

Claims

1. An internal combustion engine including a forced recirculation mixer (1), said forced recirculation mixer (1) being designed to mix at least one vaporizable liquid (2) with at least one gas to be mixed (3) to form a homogeneous gas mixture (4), said homogeneous gas mixture (4) being injected into an ignition pre-combustion chamber in the form of an ignition charge (55) via a stratified injector (20), the forced recirculation mixer being characterized in that it comprises: • At least one mixing tank (5) whose internal cavity forms a recirculation loop (6) in which the homogeneous gas mixture (4) can continuously circulate, the beginning and end of the recirculation loop (6) being joined together; • At least one air inlet pipe (7) extends directly or indirectly into the mixing tank (5), and the gas to be mixed (3) is introduced into the recirculation loop (6) through the at least one air inlet pipe by means of a component (8) for introducing a known amount of gas. • At least one liquid injection nozzle (9) extends directly or indirectly into the mixing tank (5) to introduce the vaporizable liquid (2) into the recirculation loop (6), the nozzle (9) being fed through a component (10) for introducing a controlled amount of liquid, the flow rate of the vaporizable liquid (2) in the component for introducing the controlled amount of liquid being controlled by a computer (45), the vaporizable liquid (2) forming the homogeneous gas mixture (4) with the gas to be mixed (3). • At least one mixture discharge pipe (11) extends directly or indirectly into the mixing tank (5), and the homogeneous gas mixture (4) can be discharged from the recirculation loop (6) through the at least one mixture discharge pipe by means of a gas discharge member (12); • At least one stirring turbine (13), which is driven by a turbine motor (28) and is positioned in the recirculation loop (6), the turbine (13) forcing the homogeneous gas mixture (4) to circulate in the loop (6).

2. The internal combustion engine including a forced recirculation mixer according to claim 1, characterized in that... The mixing tank (5) includes: at least one external coaxial pipe (14), each end of which is closed by a reversing termination end (15); at least one internal coaxial pipe (16) which is housed in the external coaxial pipe (14); and a gap that exists on one hand between each reversing termination end (15) and the internal coaxial pipe (16), and on the other hand between the inner surface of the external coaxial pipe (14) and the outer surface of the internal coaxial pipe (16) for circulation of the homogeneous gas mixture (4), wherein the circulation direction of the homogeneous gas mixture (4) in the external coaxial pipe (14) is opposite to the circulation direction of the mixture (4) in the internal coaxial pipe (16).

3. The internal combustion engine including a forced recirculation mixer according to claim 2, characterized in that... The stirring turbine (13) is fully or partially housed in one of the reversing termination ends (15), and the homogeneous gas mixture (4) is drawn into the center of the turbine (13) via the internal coaxial conduit (16) and then discharged to the periphery of the turbine (13) via the gap between the inner surface of the external coaxial conduit (14) and the outer surface of the internal coaxial conduit (16).

4. The internal combustion engine including a forced recirculation mixer according to claim 3, characterized in that... The reversing termination end (15) housing the stirring turbine (13) has a hollow semi-circular shape, and the blades (17) including the stirring turbine (13) have complementary protruding semi-circular shapes, with a small gap between the termination end (15) and the blades (17).

5. The internal combustion engine including a forced recirculation mixer according to claim 2, characterized in that... The intake pipe (7) passes through one of the reversing terminations (15) to extend into the internal coaxial pipe (16).

6. The internal combustion engine including a forced recirculation mixer according to claim 5, characterized in that... The reversing termination end (15) through which the intake pipe (7) passes has a hollow semi-circular shape, and the pipe (7) extends from the reversing termination end.

7. The internal combustion engine including a forced recirculation mixer according to claim 5, characterized in that... The liquid injection nozzle (9) extends into the air intake pipe (7) or appears at its outlet.

8. The internal combustion engine including a forced recirculation mixer according to claim 2, characterized in that... The internal coaxial conduit (16) is held in place in the external coaxial conduit (14) by at least one stirring blade (22), which radially connects the internal coaxial conduit (16) to the external coaxial conduit (14).

9. The internal combustion engine including a forced recirculation mixer according to claim 2, characterized in that... Either the external coaxial pipe (14) or its reversing termination end (15) is wholly or partially surrounded by a discharge ring (23), the interior of which is connected to the interior of the external coaxial pipe (14) through at least one radial discharge orifice (24), and the mixture discharge pipe (11) is connected to the mixing tank (5) by means of the ring (23) and the orifice (24).

10. The internal combustion engine including a forced recirculation mixer according to claim 1, characterized in that... The mixing tank (5) includes a heating or cooling component (25).

11. The internal combustion engine including a forced recirculation mixer according to claim 1, characterized in that... The turbine motor (28) is an electric motor (29). The electric motor includes, on the one hand, a rotor (30) that is rotatably connected to the stirring turbine (13) and installed in the stirring tank (5), and on the other hand, a stator (31) placed outside the tank (5). The magnetic field generated by the stator (31) can pass through the wall of the stirring tank (5) to make the rotor (30) rotate.

12. The internal combustion engine including a forced recirculation mixer according to claim 1, characterized in that... The component (10) for introducing a controlled amount of liquid is composed of a liquid piston pump (32), which includes a pump housing (42) and at least one single-acting or double-acting pump piston (33). The at least one single-acting or double-acting pump piston is capable of translating in a pump cylinder (35) in cooperation with a piston actuator (34) and a displacement control component (44) to form at least one variable-volume pump chamber (36). The vaporizable liquid (2) is introduced into the at least one variable-volume pump chamber via an inlet valve (37) and is discharged from the at least one variable-volume pump chamber to the liquid injection nozzle (9) via a discharge valve (38).

13. The internal combustion engine including a forced recirculation mixer according to claim 12, characterized in that... The piston actuator (34) consists of an actuator rotary electric motor (39) fixed to the pump housing (42), the motor (39) being able to rotate in any direction to rotatably drive the drive transmission member (40), the drive transmission member translating as a whole with the pump housing (42) and cooperating with the driven transmission member (41), the driven transmission member translating as a whole with the pump piston (33), the drive transmission member (40) acting together with the housing (42) to cause the driven transmission member (41) to translate longitudinally.

14. The internal combustion engine including a forced recirculation mixer according to claim 13, characterized in that... The drive transmission member (40) is formed by a worm (47) that rotates a worm wheel (43) having a worm wheel thread (56), and the driven transmission member (41) is composed of a piston thread (57) that cooperates with the worm wheel thread (56).

15. The internal combustion engine including a forced recirculation mixer according to claim 1, characterized in that... The gas mass flow meter (46) directly or indirectly measures the mass flow rate of the gas to be mixed (3) circulating in the inlet pipe (7) and / or the mass flow rate of the homogeneous gas mixture (4) circulating in the mixture outlet pipe (11).

16. The internal combustion engine including a forced recirculation mixer according to claim 1, characterized in that... The component (10) for introducing a controlled amount of liquid consists of a pulse pump (63), which includes a single-acting or double-acting pulse pump piston (64) capable of translating through a pulse pump cylinder (67) under the action of a pump solenoid actuator (65) to form at least one variable-volume pulse pump chamber (68), wherein the vaporizable liquid (2) can be introduced into the at least one variable-volume pulse pump chamber via a pulse pump inlet valve (69), and the liquid (2) can be discharged from the at least one variable-volume pulse pump chamber to the liquid injection nozzle (9) via a pulse pump discharge valve (70).

17. The internal combustion engine including a forced recirculation mixer according to claim 1, characterized in that... The volume and / or mass flow rate of the vaporizable liquid (2) are sent back to the computer (45) via a vaporizable liquid flow meter (71) located upstream or downstream of the component (10) for introducing the controlled amount of liquid.

18. The internal combustion engine including a forced recirculation mixer according to claim 17, characterized in that... The vaporizable liquid flow meter (71) is composed of a flow meter piston (72) which is movable in a sealed manner in a flow meter cylinder (73) to form an upstream flow meter chamber (75) directly or indirectly connected to a pressure source (77) and a downstream flow meter chamber (76) directly or indirectly connected to the liquid injection nozzle (9). The position of the piston (72) in the cylinder (73) is transmitted to the computer (45) by a position sensor (74), and a flow meter piston return spring (78) tends to push the flow meter piston (72) toward the upstream flow meter chamber (75).

19. The internal combustion engine including a forced recirculation mixer according to claim 18, characterized in that... The upstream chamber (75) of the flow meter can be connected to the downstream chamber (76) of the flow meter via the flow meter piston return valve (72).

20. The internal combustion engine including a forced recirculation mixer according to claim 19, wherein the flow meter piston return valve (72) includes a directional sealing plate (85) which is pressable against the valve orifice (86) by a valve solenoid actuator (88).

21. The internal combustion engine including a forced recirculation mixer according to claim 1, characterized in that... The nozzle accumulator (80) is inserted between the component (10) for introducing a controlled amount of liquid and the liquid injection nozzle (9).

22. The internal combustion engine including a forced recirculation mixer according to claim 21, characterized in that... The nozzle accumulator (80) includes a nozzle accumulator piston (81), which together with the accumulator cylinder (82) forms an accumulator chamber (83). The piston (81) is pushed toward the chamber (83) by an accumulator spring (84). The liquid injection nozzle (9) is integral with the piston (81) and passes directly through the piston in its longitudinal direction.

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