Ford Aerospace & Communications Corporation

Matrix Gmbh

Viney Kumar Gupta

Gordon G Chase

Richard A Harlow

This disclosure relates to a hermetically sealed alkali metal battery container. The battery includes a ceramic ring having upper and lower contoured surfaces thereon located on its outer circumferential surface. Outer metal casings defining an upper battery container and a lower battery container are formed so as to have a bell-shaped open end on each one. The bell-shaped open end of respective casings are located adjacent the contoured surfaces formed on the ceramic ring. Each bell-shaped open end of a metal casing has associated therewith a sealing band which engages the open end of the casing to compress the same into engagement with an associated contoured surface of the ceramic ring to form a hermetic seal therebetween.

Hermetically sealed alkali metal battery container

Apparatus for homogeneously intermixing flows of fuel and air to an internal combustion engine comprises a mixing chamber having a venturi portion across which is disposed an arcuate nozzle-matrix of converging nozzle cells which focus subflows toward pre-selected downstream crossflow mixing zones. A mainstream flow of air is introduced into the chamber upstream of the nozzle-matrix and one or more mainstream flows of fuel are introduced into the chamber upstream of the nozzle-matrix and/or into the crossflow mixing zones. The nozzle-matrix is adapted to accept at least portions of the main upstream flows to generate several optimum velocity subflows therefrom to enhance fuel and dispersion, atomization, and vaporization into the air. A transversely movable cylindrical gate, installed through a wall of the chamber, is provided for selectively restricting subflows through at least some of the nozzle cells to thereby vary the effective combined cross-sectional area of the nozzle-matrix and maintain pre-selected velocity subflows through the unrestricted nozzle cells over wide ranges of engine fuel-air mixture demands. The substantially homogeneous fuel-air mixture is discharged from a lower region of the chamber, downstream of the nozzle-matrix, into an engine intake manifold. Several variations are illustrated and described. Corresponding methods of homogeneously intermixing fuel and air are provided.

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Newport Beach, CA, United States of America

Viney Kumar Gupta