Vapor Fueled Engine

Abstract

A fuel supply assembly providing vaporized fuel to an engine wherein a quantity of liquid gasoline fuel is controllably heated for a desired vapor emission from the liquid fuel, and a conduit arrangement conducts the vapor, intermixes it with ambient air and conveys the intermixture to the engine's combustion chamber. A sensor in the engine exhaust monitors the hydrocarbon content of the exhaust and control valving controls the vapor to air intermixture in response to the monitor for maintaining a desired intermixture that produces the desired hydrocarbon content.

1 - 4 . (canceled) 
   
   
       5 . A fuel supply assembly comprising:
 a vaporization tank to vaporize an amount of fuel;   an air conduit to induct air and intermix the vaporized amount of fuel with the air prior to entry into a combustion chamber;   a controller adapted to control the vaporization of the amount of fuel by incrementally increasing the temperature of the amount of fuel prior to combustion.   
   
   
       6 . The fuel supply assembly of  claim 5  wherein the controller further controls a plurality of valves coupled to the air conduit, the plurality of valves adapted to control the intermixing of the vaporized amount of fuel with the air. 
   
   
       7 . The fuel supply assembly of  claim 6 , wherein the controller controls the plurality of valves to maintain a desired air-to-fuel mixture. 
   
   
       8 . The fuel supply assembly of  claim 7 , wherein the controller controls the plurality of valves to maintain a desired air-to-fuel mixture of approximately 14.7 to 1. 
   
   
       9 . The fuel supply assembly of  claim 5 , wherein the controller incrementally increases the temperature of the amount of fuel in response to a detection of a condition change. 
   
   
       10 . The fuel supply assembly of  claim 9 , wherein the condition change is a loss of power. 
   
   
       11 . The fuel supply assembly of  claim 5 , wherein the controller incrementally increases the temperature of the amount of fuel in response to an O 2  sensor detecting low hydrocarbon levels. 
   
   
       12 . The fuel supply assembly of  claim 5 , wherein the controller incrementally increases the temperature of the amount of fuel by increments of about one degree. 
   
   
       13 . The fuel supply assembly of  claim 5 , wherein the controller incrementally increases the temperature by increments of about two degrees or more. 
   
   
       14 . A method comprising:
 inducting an amount of fuel into a vaporization tank;   incrementally increasing the temperature of the amount of fuel in the vaporization tank to vaporize different portions of the amount of fuel;   intermixing an amount of air with the different vaporized portions of the amount of fuel; and   controlling the intermixing of the different vaporized portions of the amount of fuel with the amount of air to maintain a desired air-to-fuel mixture.   
   
   
       15 . The method of  claim 14  wherein incrementally increasing the temperature of the amount of fuel comprises increasing the temperature of the amount of fuel by increments of approximately two degrees or more. 
   
   
       16 . The method of  claim 14  wherein controlling the inducting of the amount of air into the vaporization tank comprises controlling a plurality of valves coupled to an air conduit adapted to induct the amount of air. 
   
   
       17 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the incrementally increasing the temperature of the amount of fuel comprises incrementally increasing the temperature of the amount of fuel in response to a detection of low power. 
   
   
       18 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising monitoring hydrocarbons in combustion exhaust, and incrementally increasing the temperature of the amount of fuel in the vaporization tank in response to detecting a determined hydrocarbon level. 
   
   
       19 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising purging the vaporization tank. 
   
   
       20 . The method of  claim 19 , further comprising purging the vaporization tank in response to the temperature of the amount of fuel reaching a determined temperature. 
   
   
       21 . A method comprising:
 inducting an amount of fuel into a vaporization tank;   intermixing an amount of air with vaporized portions of the amount of fuel to create a fuel charge of a desired air-to-fuel ratio; and   increasing the temperature of the fuel charge prior to the fuel charge entering a combustion chamber.   
   
   
       22 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein increasing the temperature of the fuel charge comprises increasing the temperature of the amount of fuel inducted into the vaporization tank. 
   
   
       23 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein increasing the temperature of the fuel charge comprises increasing the temperature of the amount of air by increasing the temperature of the amount of fuel inducted into the vaporization tank. 
   
   
       24 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein increasing the temperature of the fuel charge comprises increasing the temperature of the vaporized portions of the amount of fuel by increasing the temperature of the amount of fuel inducted into the vaporization tank.