Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 17
Claim 1
Independent Claim
243 words
An internal combustion engine comprising: an elongate combustion cylinder formed with a longitudinal bore closed at its upper end and having a full diameter lower portion extending the major part of its length and a reduced diameter upper portion, a driven piston reciprocably mounted in said bore for providing an upward compression stroke from a bottom dead center position to a top dead center position and a return power stroke, said piston also having full and reduced diameter portions corresponding dimensionally to said bore portions whereby during said compression stroke an annular volume is formed between said reduced diameter piston portion and said full diameter bore portion, said reduced diameter portions of the bore and piston having shaped upper end surfaces facing one another at top dead center for providing a shaped combustion chamber volume having an attenuated communication with said annular volume, an air supply means communicating with said full diameter bore portion during the first part of said compression stroke, fuel supply means, ignition means, and exhaust gas venting means, said fuel supply ignition and venting means being disposed in operable communication with said shaped combustion chamber volume whereby during said compression stroke the compressed air supplied to said annular volume mixes intimately with the fuel supply in said combustion chamber volume for enabling rapid ignition and substantially complete burning within said latter volume with any final burning occurring during the initial part of said return stroke in said annular volume.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
243 words
An internal combustion engine comprising: an elongate combustion cylinder formed with a longitudinal bore closed at its upper end and having a full diameter lower portion extending the major part of its length and a reduced diameter upper portion, a driven piston reciprocably mounted in said bore for providing an upward compression stroke from a bottom dead center position to a top dead center position and a return power stroke, said piston also having full and reduced diameter portions corresponding dimensionally to said bore portions whereby during said compression stroke an annular volume is formed between said reduced diameter piston portion and said full diameter bore portion, said reduced diameter portions of the bore and piston having shaped upper end surfaces facing one another at top dead center for providing a shaped combustion chamber volume having an attenuated communication with said annular volume, an air supply means communicating with said full diameter bore portion during the first part of said compression stroke, fuel supply means, ignition means, and exhaust gas venting means, said fuel supply ignition and venting means being disposed in operable communication with said shaped combustion chamber volume whereby during said compression stroke the compressed air supplied to said annular volume mixes intimately with the fuel supply in said combustion chamber volume for enabling rapid ignition and substantially complete burning within said latter volume with any final burning occurring during the initial part of said return stroke in said annular volume.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
15 words
The engine of claim 1 wherein said shaped combustion chamber volume is an oblate spheroid.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
53 words
The engine of claim 1 wherein said bore and piston are relatively dimensioned to provide an annular volume having a substantially greater compression ratio than that of the combustion chamber volume whereby the pressure differential during the compression stroke and during initial burning forces said annular volume air into said combustion chamber volume.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
55 words
The engine of claim 3 wherein said full and reduced diameter portions of said bore and piston are cylindrical and the shaped surfaces both are concave whereby compressed air forced into said spheroidal combustion chamber volume during the end of said compression stroke produces a swirling action for intimately mixing said air and fuel supply.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
37 words
The engine of claim 3 further including: a water supply means, said means supplying water droplets into said air supply for application as an air-water mixture into said bore during said first part of said compression stroke.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
43 words
The engine of claim 5 wherein said air and water are directed upwardly into said annular volume during said first part of the compression stroke, said air and water supply to the bore then being shut off by said full diameter piston portion.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
57 words
The engine of claim 3 further including: means for opening and closing said exhaust gas venting means, said means permitting said venting means to remain at least partially open during the first pair of the air supplying portion of the compression stroke for producing a scavenging and cooling air flow from said bore through said venting means.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
16 words
The engine of claim 3 wherein said air supply means is an operator-controlled eccentric vane blower.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
79 words
The engine of claim 8 wherein said vane blower includes: a circular housing having an air outlet conduit communicating with said cylinder bore and an air supply inlet, a rotatably-driven vane holder mounted in said housing with its axis of rotation eccentrically-adjustable relative to the center of the circular housing and, operator-controlled means for adjustably varying said eccentricity to vary the amount and pressure of the air supplied to said cylinder bore through the outlet conduit of the blower.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
27 words
The engine of claim 9 wherein the power generated by said power stroke of the piston is coupled to said vane holder for producing said rotatable drive.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
64 words
The engine of claim 3 wherein said ignition means is a spark plug means, and said fuel supply means is a fuel injection system for controllably injecting metered increments of fuel into said combustion chamber volume, said system including: control means responsive to the temperature and pressure of said cylinder bore air supply for varying said increments to insure optimum fuel to air ratios.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
104 words
The engine of claim 11 wherein said air supply means is an operator-controlled eccentric vane blower having an outlet conduit communicating with said cylinder bore, and said fuel injection system includes: a chambered housing, a temperature and pressure-responsive bellows mounted in said housing chamber, conduit means directly coupling said chamber with said blower conduit for establishing the temperature and pressure conditions of the air in said blower conduit as the environment of said bellows, and mechanical means coupling the bellows to said fuel supply means whereby temperature and pressure-produced dimensional variations in said bellows varies the fuel supply increment entering said combustion chamber volume.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
39 words
The engine of claim 12 wherein said mechanical coupling includes: a control shaft rotatably driven by said bellows, and a cam fixedly mounted on said shaft, said fuel supply increments being controlled by shaft-produced rotational movements of said cam.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
90 words
The engine of claim 13 further including: a water supply means, said means supplying finely-divided water droplets into said air supply for application as an air-water mixture into said bore during the first part of its compression stroke, and control means responsive to said engine temperature for varying the amount of water supplied to said air supply, said water supply control means including a control cam fixedly mounted on said fuel supply control shaft whereby said water supply is variably responsive both to said fuel supply and said engine temperature.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
96 words
The engine of claim 14 wherein said water supply means includes: a water pump cylinder, cam-driven piston means reciprocably mounted in said cylinder for forcing said water into said air-supply vane-blower conduit, and a stop member carried by said cylinder for arresting said water pump piston reciprocation and thereby stopping the supply of water to said conduit, the disposition of said stop member relative to said piston reciprocation being controlled by said control cam of said water supply control means whereby the water supply is variably responsive both to said fuel supply and said engine temperature.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
170 words
The engine of claim 3 wherein said fuel supply means is a fuel injection system for controllably injecting metered increments of fuel into said combustion chamber volume, said system including: a hydraulic pump, a fuel injector unit driven by said pump, and an elongate conduit communicating said pump with said injector unit, said pump including: a cylinder having a hydraulic fluid chamber, a cam-driven piston reciprocably mounted in the cylinder for pressuring the fluid in said chamber, a second piston reciprocably responsive to the pressure of said fluid for means resisting the pressure stroke movement of the piston and an adjustable stop for arresting said pressure stroke reciprocation, said chamber having an outlet coupled to said elongate conduit whereby hydraulic fluid under pressure is forced through the conduit into said injector unit when said second piston is arrested, and said injector unit including: a fuel-containing cylinder having a fuel injection nozzle at one end and an inlet opening at the other, said inlet opening being coupled to said elongate conduit.