Internal combustion engine

Claim 1

AN INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE FOR AUTOMATICALLY OBTAINING SUBSTANTIALLY CONSTANT TORQUE OVER A RELATIVELY WIDE RANGE OF ENGINE SPEEDS COMPRISING: (A) A PLURALITY OF CYLINDERS, (B) A PISTON HEAD RECIPROCALLY MOUNTED IN EACH OF SAID CYLINDERS, (C) A CRANK SHAFT, (D) A CONNECTING ROD FOR CONNECTING EACH OF SAID PISTON HEADS TO SAID CRANK SHAFT, (E) MEANS DEFINING AN INTAKE PORT AND AN EXHAUST PORT FORMED IN EACH OF SAID CYLINDERS, (F) A VALVE FOR INDIVIDUALLY VALVING THE RESPECTIVE INTAKE AND EXHAUST PORTS OF EACH CYLINDER, (G) DISTRIBUTOR MEANS INCLUDING A DISTRIBUTOR SHAFT, (H) SAID DISTRIBUTOR SHAFT CONNECTED IN DRIVING RELATION WITH SAID CRANK SHAFT WHEREBY SAID DISTRIBUTOR SHAFT IS DRIVEN IN A DIRECTION OPPOSITE TO THAT OF THE CRANK SHAFT, (I) MEANS FOR SEQUENCING THE OPERATION OF THE VALVE OF THE RESPECTIVE CYLINDERS FOR OBTAINING SUBSTANTIALLY CONSTANT TORQUE OVER A RANGE OF VARIABLE ENGINE SPEEDS, (J) SAID LATTER MEANS INCLUDING A CAM SHAFT, (K) SPLIT CAM MEANS COUPLED TO SAID CAM SHAFT FOR RELATIVE MOVEMENT THEREBETWEEN, EACH OF SAID SPLIT CAM MEANS HAVING A FUEL ADMISSION CAM SEGMENT AND AN EXHAUST CAM SEGMENT, (L) A VALVE ACTUATOR OPERATIVELY ASSOCIATED WITH SAID SEGMENTS FOR ACTUATING SAID VALVES, (M) MEANS FOR VARYING THE RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN SAID TWO SEGMENTS OF SPLIT CAM MEANS IN PROPORTION TO ENGINE SPEED WHEREBY THE TIMING OF THE OPENING AND CLOSING OF THE VALVES RESULTS IN A SUBSTANTIALLY CONSTANT TORQUE OVER A WIDE RANGE OF ENGINE SPEEDS, SAID MEANS INCLUDING, A COUNTER WEIGHT PIVOTALLY CONNECTED TO EACH OF SAID SPLIT CAM MEANS, MEANS FOR HINGEDLY CONNECTING ADJACENT END PORTIONS OF SAID COUNTER WEIGHTS, MEANS COUPLING SAID WEIGHTS TO ROTATE WITH SAID CAM SHAFT, AND A RESILIENT MEANS INTERCONNECTING THE OTHER END OF SAID COUNTER WEIGHTS, SAID WEIGHTS COOPERATING TO VARY THE SPACING TIME OF THE RESPECTIVE VALVES IN PROPORTION TO THE CENTRIFUGAL FORCE PRODUCED BY SAID ROTATING WEIGHTS.