Fuel-injected engine

Claim 1

A fuel injected internal combustion engine comprised of a combustion chamber, intake passage means for delivering an air charge to said combustion chamber, a spark plug positioned in said combustion chamber for firing a charge therein, a fuel injector for spraying fuel into said intake passage means in a direction toward said combustion chamber, said fuel injection means having a spray pattern for directing the fuel charge toward said combustion chamber in a direction to provide a substantially uniform homogeneous mixture therein, and control means for controlling the spray of fuel from said fuel injection means so as to concentrate the spray in the area of said spark plug under certain engine load and speed conditions.

Claim 12

A method of operating an internal combustion engine comprised of a cylinder head adapted to be affixed in sealing relationship with an associated cylinder bore and piston for defining a combustion chamber, three intake valve seats formed in said cylinder head and comprised of a pair of side intake valve seats and a center intake valve seat disposed between said side intake valve seats, said side intake valve seats lying closer to a plane containing the axis of the cylinder bore than said center intake valve seat, intake passage means formed in said cylinder head for serving said intake valve seats, a fuel injector mounted in said cylinder head and spraying fuel into said intake passage means and toward said valve seats, said method comprising controlling the spray from said fuel injector in response to an engine condition between a first condition wherein the spray is directed primarily toward the center intake valve seat and a second condition wherein the spray is directed homogeneously to all of the intake valve seats.

Claim 13

A method of operating an internal combustion engine comprised of a cylinder head adapted to be affixed in sealing relationship with an associated cylinder bore and piston for defining a combustion chamber, three intake valve seats formed in said cylinder head and comprised of a pair of side intake valve seats and a center intake valve seat disposed between said side intake valve seats, said side intake valve seats lying closer to a plane containing the axis of the cylinder bore than said center intake valve seat, intake passage means formed in said cylinder head for serving said intake valve seats, a fuel injector mounted in said cylinder head and spraying fuel into said intake passage means and toward said valve seats, said method comprising controlling the spray from said fuel injector in response to an engine condition between a first condition wherein the spray is directed primarily toward the center intake valve seat and a second condition wherein the spray is directed homogeneously to all of the intake valve seats.