Carburetor control mechanism for an automotive gasoline powered internal combustion engine

Claim 1

In an internal combustion engine of a vehicle having an intake manifold and a carburetor having a choke valve with a choke shaft and a throttle valve with a throttle shaft, the combination comprising a first vacuum responsive actuator for controlling the degree of opening of said throttle valve, said vacuum responsive actuator including a diaphragm member operatively connected to said throttle valve, a diaphragm chamber communicating selectively with said intake manifold and the atmosphere, and a spring disposed in said diaphragm chamber for urging said diaphragm member in one direction, said diaphragm member being responsive to vacuum prevailing in said intake manifold to move in another direction against the force of said spring to open said throttle valve, a solenoid valve for selectively introducing vacuum prevailing in said intake manifold and atmospheric air into said diaphragm chamber, and an electric control device for controlling said solenoid valve and adjusting the ignition timing of the engine thereby to introduce the vacuum prevailing in said intake manifold into said diaphragm chamber simultaneously retarding the ignition timing when the engine is running cold and idling, and to introduce atmospheric air into said diaphragm chamber simultaneously releasing the ignition timing retard when the engine has warmed up, a first set of two rotatable engaging members having projections which engage each other to open said throttle valve when the vacuum prevailing in said intake manifold is introduced into said diaphragm chamber in said first vacuum responsive actuator, one of said engaging members being operatively connected at its one end to said diaphragm member in said first vacuum responsive actuator and being rotatably mounted on the throttle shaft at its other end independently of the throttle valve rotation, the other of said engaging members being mounted fixedly on the throttle shaft and being connected via links at another end to an accelerator pedal, a second vacuum responsive actuator for controlling the degree of opening of said choke valve, said second vacuum responsive actuator including a diaphragm member operatively connected to said choke valve, a diaphragm chamber communicating with said intake manifold, and a spring disposed in said diaphragm chamber for urging said diaphragm member in a direction to close said choke valve, said diaphragm member being responsive to the vacuum prevailing in said intake manifold to move in another direction against the force of said spring to open said choke valve, and a thermostat controlled device associated with said second vacuum responsive actuator for controlling the level of said vacuum acting on said diaphragm member of said second vacuum responsive actuator in accordance with the temperature of said engine thereby to control the degree of opening of said choke valve, an actuating lever connected to said choke valve, a link connected to said actuating lever, a second set of two rotatable engaging members having projections which engage each other when said throttle valve is fully opened, one of said engaging members being connected to said link, and the other being connected to one member of said first set of two engaging members connected to the accelerator pedal, whereby when said throttle valve is fully opened, said projections of said second set of two engaging members engage each other for thereby causing said actuating lever to hold said choke valve in its open position.