Variable internal combustion engine valve operating system

Claim 2

In an internal combustion engine having a piston and a cylinder and a head delimiting a combustion chamber, inlet and exhaust passages communicating with said combustion chamber, valve seats at the juncture of said passages with said combustion chamber, a single inlet and single exhaust constant stroke valve seatable on said valve seats, the improvement characterized by auxilliary variable sleeve valve means for varying the effective timing and duration of valve opening in a constant valve stroke for at least one of said valves, said sleeve valve means being engageable by said valve and actuationg means for varying the position of said sleeve valve means responsive to change of engine operating conditions, said sleeve valve means being moved by said actuation means to a predetermined position maintained during disengagement of said valve from said sleeve valve means thereby varying the effective timing and duration of valve opening in response to said operating conditions.

Claim 3

The improved engine of claim 1 wherein said actuation means position said sleeve valve means against valve so as to move said sleeve valve means with said valve during the initial portion of the opening and final portion of the closing of said valve thereby varying the timing and duration of the effective opening and the effective closing of said valve.

Claim 4

The improved engine of claim 2 wherein said actuation means include intake manifold vacuum responsive means.

Claim 5

The improved engine of claim 3 wherein said actuation means includes spring means, a member connecting said spring means to said sleeve valve means and means connecting said spring means to said fluid vacuum responsive means.

Claim 6

The improved engine of claim 4 including stop means adjacent said spring means to limit the movement of said spring means thereby limiting the movement of said sleeve valve means into said combustion chamber.

Claim 7

In an internal combustion engine having a piston and a cylinder and a head delimiting a combustion chamber, inlet and exhaust passages communicating with said combustion chamber, valve seats at the juncture of said passages with said combustion chamber and inlet and exhaust valves seatable on said valve seats, the improvement characterized by a sleeve valve mounted on said valve seats, the improvement characterized by a sleeve valve mounted in at least one of said passages, an annular shoulder on the passage side of said valve, said shoulder having a minimum diameter sufficient to clear the inner periphery of said sleeve valve, actuatable means to vary the position of said sleeve valve relative to said valve seat thereby varying the timing and duration of the effective opening and the effective closing of said valve.

Claim 8

In an internal combustion engine having a piston and a cylinder and a head delimiting a combustion chamber, inlet and exhaust passages communicating with said combustion chamber, valve seats at the juncture of said passages with said combustion chamber and inlet and exhaust valves seatable on said valve seats, the improvement characterized by a sleeve valve mounted on said valve seats, the improvement characterized by a sleeve valve mounted in at least one of said passages, an annular shoulder on the passage side of said valve, said shoulder having a minimum diameter sufficient to clear the inner periphery of said sleeve valve, actuatable means to vary the position of said sleeve valve relative to said valve seat thereby varying the timing and duration of the effective opening and the effective closing of said valve.

Claim 9

The improved engine of claim 6 wherein said actuatable means include intake manifold vacuum responsive means.

Claim 10

An improved internal combustion engine having a piston and a cylinder and a head delimiting a combustion chamber, an inlet passage communicating with said combustion chamber, a valve seat at the juncture of said passage with said combustion chamber and an inlet valve seatable on said valve seat, characterized by a sleeve valve mounted in said inlet passage, an annular shoulder on the passage side of said inlet valve, said shoulder having a minimum diameter sufficient to clear the inner periphery of said sleeve valve, actuatable means to vary the position of said sleeve valve relative to said valve seat thereby varying the effective opening and the effective closing of said inlet valve, at least one of said inlet valve and sleeve valve elements being formed to provide a directional passage progressively opened during at least the initial inlet valve opening concentrating the initial inlet valve flow past a limited portion of said annular shoulder toward a particular portion of the cylinder.

Claim 11

An improved internal combustion engine having a piston and a cylinder and a head delimiting a combustion chamber, an inlet passage communicating with said combustion chamber, a valve seat at the juncture of said passage with said combustion chamber and an inlet valve seatable on said valve seat, characterized by a sleeve valve mounted in said inlet passage, an annular shoulder on the passage side of said inlet valve, said shoulder having a minimum diameter sufficient to clear the inner periphery of said sleeve valve, actuatable means to vary the position of said sleeve valve relative to said valve seat thereby varying the effective opening and the effective closing of said inlet valve, at least one of said inlet valve and sleeve valve elements being formed to provide a directional passage progressively opened during at least the initial inlet valve opening concentrating the initial inlet valve flow past a limited portion of said annular shoulder toward a particular portion of the cylinder.

Claim 12

The improved engine of claim 8 wherein both of said inlet valve and sleeve valve elements are formed to cooperate in providing said directional passage.

Claim 13

The improved engine of claim 8 wherein said directional passage is formed by at least one valve element surface inclined to its axis.

Claim 14

The improved engine of claim 9 wherein said directional passage is formed by oppositely inclined surfaces relative to the axis of said respective inlet and sleeve valve elements.

Claim 15

The improved engine of claim 8 including annular passage means opening around a variable portion of the inner periphery of said sleeve valve when said engine is operating under variable positions of said sleeve valve thereby forming a flow passage with variable directional bias and variable effective flow restriction.

Claim 16

The improved engine of claim 12 wherein said annular passage means is opened by the initial opening movement of said inlet valve when said sleeve valve is in its fully retracted position corresponding to high power operation thereby reducing the relative directional flow effect of said directional passage as compared to low power operation corresponding to an extended position of said sleeve valve.