Combustion engine

Claim 1

A four-stroke internal combustion engine, comprising one or more pistons, a cylinder block having formed therein a like number of cylinders in which said pistons can move, a cylinder head, and like numbers of intake valves, spark plugs and fuel injectors; said pistons approaching said head closely and having combustion chambers formed therein; main air intake passages and parallel air intake passages being formed in said cylinder head and communicating at inlet ports with said cylinders, said ports being opened and closed by said intake valves; said parallel intake passages being at least partially separated from the main intake passages and having outlet ends opening into said main intake passages upstream of said intake valves; said fuel injectors being mounted in said main intake passage and said spark plugs being mounted in said cylinder head such that the spark gaps defined by said spark plugs are in said combustion chamber; wherein said parallel intake passages are arranged such that air flowing out of said outlet ends of said parallel intake passages is directed essentially at the corresponding spark gaps, and said fuel injectors are arranged such that fuel flowing from said injectors is directed essentially at the head of the intake valve.