US2845913A

US2845913A - Internal combustion engines

Info

Publication number: US2845913A
Application number: US533980A
Authority: US
Inventors: Schneible Frank
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1955-09-13
Filing date: 1955-09-13
Publication date: 1958-08-05
Anticipated expiration: 1975-08-05

Description

Aug. 5, 1958 F. SCHNEIBLE INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 13, 1955 Fewvk Scams/aza- Amway Aug. 5, 1958 F. SCHNElBLE INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 13, 1955 m. CF m. Q m w [\H VD. x 1J1 M w W 02 H q N no. n G 0Q A v 7w J 3w 1: Z N6 M 4 5 f a R mm 9 w .H wfi 5 aw m wwg ww @N .v 7 w f L United States Patent INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES Frank Schneible, Massapequa, N. Y. Application September 13, 1955, Serial No. 533,980 12 Claims. (c1. 123 7s) This invention relates to engines and relates more particularly to internal combustion engines of very high efiiciency.

The internal combustion engines which are presently employed operate at undesirably low efficiencies. I have found that such low efficiencies are due in large measure to the following factors: The fuel-air mixtures are not accurately controllable. The quantity of the mixture supplied to the firing chambers, or cylinders, cannot be predetermined positively. The absolute pressures of the fuels and air or other gas cannot be regulated nor can they be controlled positively. As the speed of the engine changes, uncontrollable and unregulated changes take place in the composition of the air-fuel mixture supplied to the firing chambers, in the quantity of fuel supplied to the firing chamber during the intake strokes, and in the absolute pressures of the fuel and air or other gases in the intake manifolds and in the firing chambers during the intake and compression strokes.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a novel internal combustion engine free of the foregoing and other disadvantages.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a new method and apparatus for regulating and controlling the mass of fuel, the composition of the air-fuel mixture and the pressure of such mixture supplied to the firing chambers.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a new and improved internal combustion engine of very high efficiency.

Other objects of this invention will be apparent from the following detailed description and claims. It is to be understood that when an air-fuel mixture is referred to herein it is intended to include equivalents thereof, such as mixtures of fuel with oxygen or with other reactive gases, with or without diluent gases.

In accordance with one aspect of the invention, a volumetrically measured quantity of air-fuel mixture is fed to the firing chamber of an internal combustion engine. In a preferred embodiment, the air-fuel mixture is supplied from an intake manifold, where said mixture is maintained at predetermined pressures, to a measuring chamber of fixed volume. Thereafter, the air-fuel mixture in the measuring chamber is isolated from the intake manifold and admitted to a firing chamber, or cylinder, of the engine during the intake stroke in said cylinder. Since the cylinder volume or displacement at the completion of the intake stroke is constant, there will be a predetermined amount of air-fuel mixture inthe cylinder at the end of the intake stroke. On the compression stroke, the measuring chamber is isolated from the cylinder. Accordingly, since the compression ratio of the engine is fixed and, as explained above, the amount of air-fuel mixture in the cylinder is predetermined, the pressure in the cylinder at the close of the compression stroke will be at the desired predetermined level.

As in the conventional internal combustion engines,

the air-fuel mixture may be supplied to the intake manifold from a carburetor. This carburetor may be of the usual type, embodying a throttle valve by means of which the rate of supply of air-fuel mixture, and, accordingly, the speed of the engine, may be controlled. However, in accordance with one aspect of this invention, there are provided means for introducing additional air, or other diluent, into the air-fuel mixture in the carburetor. More particularly, the additional air is introduced into the manifold by means of a pressure-responsive air-valve which may be adjusted to admit the air at a predetermined rate, which rate changes in response to changes in pressure in the manifold. The additional air insures complete combustion of the fuel and also provides more bulk to the air-fuel mixture. On burning of the fuel the expansion of the added air, in addition to the expansion of the burning fuel, gives additional power to the engine.

The apparatus of this invention may be applied to internal combustion engines of all types of construction, e. g. valve-in-head, L-head, T-head, etc. It may be produced by' modifying existing engines, as by the addition of appropriate devices, preferably arranged in a single unit, to such engines, or it may be built into new engines.

In one convenient embodiment of this invention, the cylinder head of a conventional valve-in-head engine is replaced by a modified cylinder head in which there are provided a plurality of measuring chambers, one for each cylinder, each measuring chamber being connected to the intake manifold, which may also constitute aportion of said cylinder head. The conventional intake valve and intake valve stems of the engine may then be replaced by valve stems, each carrying two valves, one valve serving to open and close a port between the intake manifold and one measuring chamber and the other serving to control the admission of the air-fuel mixture from said measuring chamber to the corresponding cylinder of the engine. Preferably, the valve which controls the port between the intake manifold and the measuring chamber has a lost motion connection with the valve stem and there is a spring mounted on said stem and urging said valve toward its closed position. The 'construction and arrangement is such that the measuring chamber is sealed from the intake manifold almost as soon as the measuring chamber is opened to the cylinder, or even before the measuring chamber is opened to the cylinder. I

A more accurate control of the amount of air-fuel mixture supplied to the cylinder may be obtained by the use of a measuring chamber comprising a plurality of successive compartments, each of predetermined volume, rather than an undivided measuring chamber. In this case, the valve arrangement is such that the air-fuel mixture flows from the intake manifold to the first of the compartments, but no further; then the port between this first compartment and the intake manifold is closed and the air-fuel mixture is allowed to expand into the second compartment. In this manner, the air-fuel mixture expands successively into as many compartments as may be provided, depending on the accuracy of control which is desired, and finally into the appropriate cylinder of the engine.

It is advantageous to dispose a heat-exchanger around themeasuring chambers in order to control the temperature of the air-fuel mixture therein at any desired value. This heat-exchanger may comprise passageways'for the flow of the cooling fluid from the engine block.

In the drawing, which illustrates certain embodiments of this invention,

Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation of'a portion of an intercams and pushers.

with a sparkplug 12 and with a piston 13 mounted for reciprocating movement in a cylinder 14, surrounded by a cooling jacket 16, formed in an engine block 17. It will be understood, of course, that the engine 11 comprises a number of identical cylinders (not shown in Fig.

.1), each of which communicates with an exhaust valve (not shown) of the usual type, and that each of the pistons 13 is operatively connected in a well known manner through a connecting rod 18 to a crankshaft (not shown).

Mounted on the engine block 17, and sealed thereto by means of a gasket 19, is a cylinder head 20 comprising an intake manifold 21 connected to each of the cylinders 14 in a manner to be described below. As shown diagrammatically in Figs. 1 and 3, a mixture of air and atomized or vaporized fuel, such as gasoline, is introduced into the intake manifold 21 from a carburetor 22 (of the usual type) which includes a throttle valve 23. The air flows to the carburetor 22 from the atmosphere through a suitable air filter 24 while the fuel is supplied to the carburetor from a conventional fuel pump 26. .T he pressure of the mixture of air and fuel in the intake manifold 21 is regulated at predetermined levels by a suitable air valve 27, which admits a controlled amount of air from the filter 24 to the intake manifold 21. It will be understood, of course, that the intake manifold 21 will be at a subatmospheric pressure due to the suction caused by the intake stroke of the pistons 13. A throttle valve 28 is situated in the line between the air filter 24 and the air valve 27. This throttle valve 28 may be connected in any suitable manner to the same linkage 29 as controls the carburetor, so that both the carburetor throttle valve 23 and the air throttle valve 28 may be regulated by movement of a single pedal.

The cylinder head 20 also includes a plurality of measuring chambers 31 (only one is shown in Fig. 1), one for each of the cylinders 14, each measuring chamber 31 being connected to the intake manifold 21 through a port 32 and being connected to the appropriate cylinder 14 through the intake port 33 of said cylinder. The intake manifold 21 and measuring chamber 31 are jacketed by a heat exchanger 34 which comprises passageways for the circulation of heat-exchange fluid.

The flow of the air-fuel mixture from the intake manifold 21 through the measuring chamber 31 to the cylinder 14 is controlled by an air intake valve 36 and a manifold valve 37, both of which are mounted on a valve stem 38. As in the usual internal combustion engine, the valve stem 38 is adapted to be reciprocated by the actions of a spring 39 and of a pivotally mounted rocker 41, the rocker 41 being operatively connected to the crankshaft of the engine, for example through the conventional arrangement (not shown) of timing chain, camshaft,

The intake valve 36, which is integral with one end of the stem 38, is adapted to be seated in the intake port 33 and to open and close said intake port, while the manifold valve 37, which is slidably mounted on the stem 38, is adapted to be seated in the manifold port 32 and to open and close said manifold port. A spring 42, mounted around the stem 38, acts to urge the manifold valve 37 to its closed position, while a stop 43 on said stem 38 serves to prevent said manifold valve 37 from closing the manifold port 32 when the intake valve 36 is in its closed position. Thus, when the intake port 33 is closed the manifold port 32 is open, permitting the air-fuel mixture to flow from the intake manifold 21 into the measuring chamber 31. Opening of the intake port 33 by movement of the stem 38 causes the manifold valve 37 to move to its closed position, the stop 43 being so positioned that this closing of the manifold port 32 occurs as soon as the intake port 33 is opened.

In operation, when the piston 13 is at top dead center at the end of the exhaust stroke as shown in Fig. 1, there is pressed in the measuring chamber 31 a fixed volume of the air-fuel mixture at the predetermined manifold pressure. On the intake stroke of the piston, the manifold port 32 is closed and the intake port 33 is open so that this fixed volume of air-fuel mixture expands into the cylinder 14. Since the cylinder volume at the completion of the intake stroke is also constant, it will be apparent that there is a predetermined amount of airfuel mixture at a predetermined pressure in the cylinder at the end of the intake stroke. Thus, if the cylinder volume is equal to the volume of the measuring chamber 31, the mass of air-fuel mixturein the cylinder 14 is equal to one-half of the mass originally in the measuring chamber and, assuming no change in temperature, the pressure in the cylinder 14 is half that in-the intake manifold 21.

On the compression stroke of the piston 13, the rocker 41 will tilt so as to permit the valve stem 38 to move in response to the action of the spring 39, thus closing the intake port 33. Since the compression ratio of the engine is fixed by the dimensions of its parts and since the pressure in the cylinder 14 is at a predetermined value at the conclusion of the intake stroke, as discussed above, the compression stroke will cause the air-fuel mixture in the cylinder to be compressed to a predetermined pressure which is roughly equal to the product of the compression ratio and the pressure in the cylinder at the end of the intake stroke, assuming no temperature change.

Just about at the end of the compression stroke, the airfuel mixture is ignited or fired by a spark from the sparkplug thus causing expansion of the contents of the cylinder so that the piston 13 is forced down.

On the next stroke, the exhaust stroke, the exhaust valve (not shown), which is kept closed during the preceding three strokes will be opened and the upward movement of the piston 13 will force the burned gases from the cylinder 14 through said exhaust valve.

During the compression, expansion and exhaust strokes, the intake port 33 is closed and the manifold port 32 is open, permitting free communication between the intake manifold 21 and the measuring chamber 31. As a result, the air-fuel mixture in the measuring chamber 31 will be at the same pressure as the mixture in the intake manifold 21.

The pressure of the mixture in the intake manifold varies in accordance with the load requirements of the engine. Thus, at minimum speed and/or power,-when the opening of the carburetor throttle valve 23 is at a minimum, the pressure of the fuel mixture in the manifold 21 may be equal to 10 pounds per square inch absolute (p. s. i. a.), so that, if the volume of the measuring chamber 31 is equal to the displacement of the cylinder 14, the pressure in the cylinder at the end of the intake stroke is 5 p. s. i. a. When the throttle valve 23 is opened to take care of greater speds and/or greater loads, the pressure in the manifold 21 increases. At the same time, the air valve 27 opens in a predetermined manner in response to this increased pressure to permit relatively increased volumes of air to pass through said air valve 27.

Generally speaking, the air valve 27 (see Fig. 4) comprises a casing 51 having two chambers: an intake chamber 52 connected by an inlet 53 to the air filter 24, through the throttle valve 28; and an outlet chamber 54 connected by an outlet 56 to the manifold 21. The passage of air between the

chambers

52 and 54 is controlled by valve assembly which comprises a funnel-shaped main valve 57 and a smaller secondary valve 58. The main valve 57 is fixed at 59 to a central slidable shaft 61 and is adapted to be pressed against a valve seat 62, which is fixed to the casing 51. The interior of the main valve 57 serves as a seat for the secondary valve 58 which is adjustably mounted, by screw threads 66, on a sleeve 67, which sleeve 67 is slidably mounted on the central shaft 61. Thefunnel-shaped main valve 57 is provided with ports 68 to permit the passage of air between the intake chamber 52 and the outlet chamber 54 when the secondary valve 58 is open. The opening and closing of the main and secondary valves 57, and 58, respectively, are controlled by balanced adjustable coil springs 69, 71, 72, 73. These springs and the associated mechanism will be described further in the more detailed description of the air valve 27 given below.

The casing 51 of the air valve 27 is made up of two

tubular members

76 and 77, one of which carries the main valve seat 62. These two

tubular members

76 and 77 are connected by a threaded adjustable coupling 81 and are provided with

end caps

82 and 83, respectively, which carry

tubular supports

84 and 86, respectively, for slidably receiving the central shaft 61. For limiting the longitudinal motion of the central shaft 61 in the

supports

84 and 86, there are provided

plugs

87 and 88, which are adjustably threaded in said supports. The pressures at the ends of the central shaft 61 are maintained at the same level as those in the

chambers

52 and 54 by the provision of

ports

89, 91 in the

supports

84 and 86,- respectively. Adjustably threaded on one of the supports 84 is a spring retainer 92 against which one end of the coil spring 69, which acts on the main valve 57, abuts. Similarly, an end of the opposing coil spring 71 abuts against a retainer 93 adjustably mounted on the other support 86. For retaining the coil spring 72 which acts to urge the secondary valve 58 against the main valve 57, there is provided a threaded nut 94 adjustably mounted on a tube 96 which is in turn adjustably threaded on a sleeve 97, the latter being slidably supported on the central shaft 61 with one end of said sleeve 97 abutting against the support 84. The other secondary valve spring 73 is supported between a shoulder 98 on the main valve 57 and an externally threaded sleeve 99 on which the secondary valve 58 is adjustably threaded. A stop washer 101 mounted on the shaft 61 serves to limit the opening movement of the secondary valve 58 and, accordingly, the opening movement of the primary valve 57 It is advantageous to so adjust the springs 69, 71, 72, 73 that when the pressure in the outlet chamber 54, connected to the manifold 21, rises above a predetermined minimum value the secondary valve 58 opens to admit air to said outlet chamber through the ports 68. Further increases in pressure in outlet chamber 54 will cause further opening of the secondary valve 58, while a still greater pressure in the manifold 21, and, therefore, in the outlet chamber 54, will cause the primary valve 57 to open.

The heat exchanger 34 around the intake manifold 21 and measuring chamber 31 may receive the fluid which circulates through the cooling jacket 16 of the engine block 17 and this fluid may be received either before or after it has been cooled by passing through the conven- 6 be preheated to any desired temperature. Preheating of the air-fuel mixture increases the pressure of said mixture and thus reduces the work the engine must do to draw said mixture into the cylinder on the intake stroke.

Under normal operating conditions, the measuring chamber 31 is sealed from the intake manifold when said measuring chamber 31 is open to the cylinder 14. However, if it is desired at times to increase the power of the engine, there may be provided aby-pass' 103 (Fig? 3), controlled by a valve 104, from the intake manifold 21 to each of the measuring chambers 31. Opening of the by-pass valve 104 by the operator results in the introduction of air-fuel mixture at a higher pressure and in a greater amount into the cylinders 14 and thus increases the power of the engine. Thus, the engine of this invention is provided with reserve power for use in emergencies.

The flow of air between the measuring chamber 31 and the cylinder 14 may be further controlled by a throttle valve 106 positioned in a restricted portion of the measuring chamber 31 upstream of the intake valve 36. This throttle valve 106 is controlled by the operator of the vehicle in any suitable manner and may be connected, if desired, to the linkage 29 used for controlling the throttle valve 23 of the carburetor 22. The measuring chamber throttle valve 106 may be used as a. final control of the speed of the engine. Thus, the measuring chamber throttle valve 106 may be set, when desired, to impede the flow of air-fuel mixture, sothat a smaller proportion of said mixture flows from the measuring chamber 31 to the cylinder 14 during the intake stroke of the piston 13 and the pressure in the measuring cham ber 31 at the end of the intake stroke is greater than the pressure in the cylinder 14 at the end of the intake stroke; Because of this reduction in quantity of air-fuel mixture, the speed of the engine decreases and the time taken for each intake stroke increases until the intake stroke is sufiiciently prolonged to allow equalization of the pressures in the measuring chamber 31 and cylinder 14 at the end of said strokes. During the period of time it takes to reduce the speed of the engine and effect a re-equalization of pressures in the cylinder 14 and measur-' ing chamber 31, the processes of equalization between the measuring chamber 31 and the manifold 21 are working in reverse and lesser quantities of air-fuel mixture are drawn from the manifold 21 until equalization of pressures is established throughout the system atthe reduced speed of the engine.

Fig. 2 illustrates a modification of the embodiment of Fig. 1 and also shows four

cylinders

14A, 14B, 14C, 14D in different stages of the cycle ofoperation. As in the embodiment of Fig. 1, each cylinder is provided with its own measuring chamber designated generally as 111. However, each measuring. chamber 111 is subdivided into a series of small chambers or

compartments

112, 113, 114 through which the air-fuel mixture flows and expands in successive steps as it passes from the intake manifold 116 to the appropriate cylinder. During this fiow, the air-fuel mixture passes through ports 117, 118, 119, 121 which are controlled by valves 127,128, 129, 131, respectively, all of the valves for each measuring chamber 111 being mounted on a single valve stem 132 which is adapted to be reciprocated in the same manner as the valve stem of Fig. 1.

The pressure in the intake manifold 116 is controlled at the desired predetermined value in the same manner as shown in Fig. 1 in connection with intake manifold 21.

The valve arrangement is such that when the air-fuel mixture flows from the intake manifold 116 to the first compartment 112 (see the measuring chamber 111 connected to cylinder 14D) through the port 117, the port 118 between the first compartment 112 and the second compartment 113 is closed while the port 119 between the second compartment 113 and the third compartment 114 is open and the intake port 121 of the cylinder is closed. When the intake port 121 of the cylinder is opened (see the measuring chamber connected to cylinder 14A), the port 117 between the intake manifold 116 and the first compartment 112 is closed and the port 118 between the first and second compartments is open while the port 119 between the second and third compartments is closed.

In the arrangement shown in Fig. 2, the time required for air-fuel mixture to pass from the intake manifold 116 to the cylinder involves at least eight strokes, or a total of four revolutions of the engine crankshaft. Thus, on the first series of compression, expansion and exhaust strokes (illustrated by

cylinders

14B, 14C and 14D, respectively) the air-fuel mixture flows into the first cornpartment 112 and mixes with the air-fuel mixture present therein. The pressure of the resulting mixture in the compartment 112 is equal to the pressure in the intake manifold 116. On the succeeding intake stroke (see cylinder 14A), the fuel mixture in the first compartment 112 is isolated from the manifold 116 and the gases in the first compartment 112 are permitted to enter into the second compartment 113 where they blend with the mixture already present therein. The result is a decrease in the pressure of the mixture in compartment 112 and an increase in the pressure of the mixture previously in compartment 113. At the same time, due to expansion, the temperature of the mixture in compartment 112 tends to decrease. Then on the following compression, expansion and exhaust strokes that portion of the resulting uniform blend which was in second compartment 113 is isolated from the first compartment 112 and is permitted to mix with the air-fuel mixture which was in the third compartment 114 to form a uniform blend which fills

compartments

113 and 114.

Onthe next intake stroke, the portion of the air-fuel mixture which is in the third compartment 114 expands into the cylinder. Obviously, although it requires eight strokes for the air-fuel mixture to pass from the intake manifold 116 to the cylinder, the admission of air-fuel mixture into the cylinder will take place on each intake stroke. It will be apparent that as the air-fuel mixture flows through the

compartments

112, 113, 114 its pressure is decreased in a controlled manner.

The use of a measuring chamber comprising a plurality of successive compartments rather than an undivided measuring chamber, as in Fig. 1, provides a more accurate control of the quantity, pressure and temperature of the air-fuel mixture which is supplied to the cylinder, as well as improved blending and vaporization of the components of the mixture.

Passages 133 for the flow of heat-exchange fluid may be positioned around each measuring chamber 111 and these passages may be connected, as described in connection with Fig. 1, to the cooling jacket of the engine so that the air-fuel mixture in the compartments may be heated to a predetermined temperature. Here, the use of compartmented measuring chambers makes for more controlled heating of the air-fuel mixture.

In the embodiments illustrated in the drawing, each cylinder is connected to a separate measuring chamber. It will be understood, of course, that when the engine includes two or more cylinders which are operated in phase with each other, each firing at the same instant, one measuring chamber may be connected to all of such in-phase cylinders, if desired.

The compression ratios of the internal combustion engines of this invention are not limited by atmospheric pressure as in the usual conventional internal combustion engines, where the intake pressure in the cylinders when the engine is operating at full throttle is almost atmospheric. Thus engines of this invention may be operated, with suitable fuels, at considerably higher compression ratios than those presently employed. Engines of this inv vention can be made smaller and with shorter piston strokes than conventional engines of equal power.

Engines of the present invention also provide a more efficient burning and more complete utilization of the fuel fed to the engine. In fact, the use of the apparatus and method of this invention has made possible increases in efiiciency, as measured in miles driven per gallon of gasoline consumed, of up to 50% as compared with conventional internal combustion engines.

In fact, merely the addition of the air valve 27 to a conventional engine (specifically a l953-V-8Lhead engine in which the bore is 3.19, the stroke is 3.75, the displacement is 239.4 cu. in. and the compression ratio is 7.2:1) has resulted in a 50% increase in efiiciency as measured in miles per gallon of gasoline consumed. The combined use of the air valve 27 and the measuring chambers has resulted in considerably larger increases in efficiency.

it is to be understood that the foregoing detailed description is given merely by way of illustration and that many variations may be made therein without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having described my invention what I desire to secure by Letters Patentis:

1. An internal combustion engine comprising a manifold, a measuring chamber and a firing chamber operatively connected to each other, means for supplying an air-fuel mixture to said manifold, means for maintaining said air-fuel mixture in said manifold under a predetermined pressure, valve means for permitting the air-fuel mixture to pass into said measuring chamber from said manifold and to isolate the same therein, valve means for connecting said measuring chamber to said firing chamber during the intake stroke of said internal combustion engine, a single stem for mounting said valve means and a lost motion connection between said stem and said firstmentioned valve means, and means for positively operating said stem.

2. An internal combustion engine comprising a manifold, a measuring chamber and a firing chamber operatively connected to each other, means for supplying an air-fuel mixture to said manifold, means for maintaining said air-fuel mixture in said manifold under a predetermined pressure, valve means for permitting the air-fuel mixture to pass into said measuring chamber from said manifold and to isolate the same therein, valve means for connecting said measuring chamber to said firing chamber during the intake stroke of said internal combustion engine, means for positively operating said valve means, and means for feeding additional air-fuel mixture to said measuring chamber.

3. An internal combustion engine comprising a manifold, a measuring chamber and a firing chamber operatively connected to each other, means for supplying an air-fuel mixture to said manifold, means for maintaining said air-fuel mixture in said manifold under a predetermined pressure, valve means for permitting the air-fuel mixture to pass into said measuring chamber from said manifold and to isolate the same therein, valve means for connecting said measuring chamber to said firing chamber during the intake stroke of said internal combustion engine, means for positively operating said valve means, and means operatively connected to said manifold for feeding additional air-fuel mixture to said measuring chamber.

4. An internal combustion engine comprising a manifold, a measuring chamber and a firing chamber operatively connected to each other, means for supplying an air-fuel mixture to said manifold, means for maintaining said air-fuel mixture in said manifold under a predetermined pressure, a positively operated valve stem, valve means, having a lost motion connection with said stem, for permitting the air-fuel mixture to pass into said measuring chamber from said manifold and to isolate the same therein, and a second valve means mounted on said stem for connecting said measuring chamber to said firing 9 chamber during the intake stroke ofsaid internal conibustion engine.

An internal combustion engine comprising a manifold, a measuring chamber and a firing chamber operatively connected to each other, means for supplying an air-fuel mixture to said manifold, means for maintaining said air-fuel mixture in said manifold under a predetermined pressure, a positively operated valve stem, valve means, having a lost motion connection with said stem, for permitting the air-fuel mixture to pass into said measuring chamber from said manifold and to isolate the same therein, a second valve means mounted on said stem for connecting said measuring chamber to said firing chamber during the intake stroke of said internal combustion engine, and means for feeding additional air-fuel mixture to said measuring chamber. 6. An internal combustion engine comprising a mamfold, a measuring chamber and a firing chamber operatively connected to each other, means for supplying an air-fuel mixture to said manifold, means for maintaining said air-fuel mixture in said manifold under a. predetermined pressure, a positively operated valve stem, valve means, having a lost motion connection with said stem, for permitting the air-fuel mixture to pass into said measuring chamber from said manifold and to isolate the same therein, a second valve means mounted on said stem for connecting said measuring chamber to said firing chamber during the intake stroke of said internal combustion engine, and means operatively connected to said manifold for feeding additional air-fuel mixture to said measuring chamber.

7. An internal combustion engine comprising a piston, a cylinder in which said piston operates, means for supplying a gas, a plurality of interconnected compartments, each of predetermined volume, through which said gas passes in sequence, the first of said compartments communicating with said gas-supplying means and the last of said compartments communicating with said cylinder for delivering the gas thereto, and valve means for controlling the communication between said compartments and gassupplying means and said cylinder, said valve means sub stantially sealing the said last compartment from the other compartments when said last compartment is in communication with said cylinder, and substantially sealing said first compartment from said gas-supplying means when said first compartment is in communication with one of the other compartments.

8. An internal combustion engine comprising a piston, a cylinder in which said piston operates, means for supplying an air-fuel mixture, a carburetor for admitting air and fuel to said supplying means, a measuring chamber, comprising a series of interconnected compartments of predetermined volume through which the air-fuel mixture successively flows in the direction of said cylinder, the last compartment of said series communicating with said cylinder for delivering said air-fuel mixture thereto, and valve means for controlling the communication between said compartments and said supplying means and cylinder, said valve means substantially sealing the last compartment of the series from the other compartments when said last compartment is in communication with said cylinder, and substantially sealing the first compartment from the other compartments of the series from said fuel gas mixture supplying means when said first compartment is in communication with one of the other compartments, said valve means opening said last compartment to said cylinder on the intake stroke of said piston and sealing said compartment from said cylinder on the compression stroke of said piston.

9. An internal combustion engine comprising a piston, a cylinder in which said piston operates, means for supplying an air-fuel mixture, a carburetor for admitting air and fuel to said supplying means, a measuring chamber comprising a series of interconnected compartments of predetermined volume through which the air-fuel mixture successively flows in the direction of said cylinder, the last compartment of said series communicating with said cylinder for delivering said air-fuel mixture thereto, and valve means for controlling the communication between said compartments and said supplying means and cylinder, said valve means substantially sealing the last compartment of the series from the other compartments when said last compartment is in communication with said cylinder, and substantially sealing the first compartment from the other compartments of the series from said fuel gas mixture supplying means when said first compartment is in communication with one of the other compartments, said valve means opening said last compartment to said cylinder on the intake stroke of said piston and sealing said compartment from said cylinder on the compression stroke of said piston, said valve means comprising a stem passing through said compartments and carrying valves for opening and closing ports between said compartments, said engine having a cooling jacket including passages for the flow of cooling liquid around said cylinder, and heat exchange means for said compartments for controlling the temperature of the airfuel mixture therein comprising passages around said compartments for the fiow of fluid from said cooling jacket.

10. An internal combustion engine comprising a piston, a cylinder in which said piston operates, a carburetor, a duct for receiving a mixture of air and fuel from said carburetor, a chamber of predetermined volume communicating with said duct, a passage for the flow of air-fuel mixture between said chamber and said duct, a second passage for the flow of said mixture between said chamber and said cylinder, and valve means for closing said first-named passage when said second passage is open and for closing said second passage when said first-named passage is open, said valve means opening said second passage on the intake stroke of said' piston and closing said second passage on the compression stroke of said piston, said valve means comprising a stem disposed in said passages and carrying a valve for each of said passages, the valve for said first passage having a lost motion connection with said stem, and a spring mounted on said stem for urging the valve for said first passage toward its closed position.

11. An internal combustion engine comprising a piston, a cylinder in which said piston operates, a carburetor, a duct for receiving a mixture of air and fuel at a sub-atmospheric pressure from said carburetor, a chamber of predetermined volume communicating with said duct, a passage for the flow of air-fuel mixture between said chamber and said duct, a second passage for the flow of said mixture between said chamber and said cylinder, valve means for closing said first-named passage when said second passage is open and for closing said second passage when said first-named passage is open, and valve means, responsive to the pressure in said duct, for admitting air from the atmosphere into said duct to blend with said air-fuel mixture therein, and additional valve means, selectively operable when more engine power is desired, for connecting said duct with said chamber when said first-named passage is closed.

12. An internal combustion engine comprising a piston,

a cylinder in which said piston operates, a carburetor, a duct for receiving a mixture of air and fuel from said carburetor, a chamber of predetermined volume communicating with said duct, a passage for the flow of airfuel mixture between said chamber and said duct, a second passage for the flow of said mixture between said chamber and said cylinder and valve means for closing said first-narned passage when said second passage is open and for closing said second passage when said first-named passage is open, said valve means opening said second passage on the intake stroke of said piston 1 1 and closing said secondpassage on, the compression stroke of said piston, and an adjustable throttle valve for regulating the flow of air-fuel mixture from-said chamber to said cylinder.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 12 Taylor et a1. Apr. 4, 1916 Ingram May 7, 1918 Mayer May 12, 1925 Osterhout Oct. 29, 1929 Corey May 13, 1930 Zaikowsky Jan. 6, 1931 Rufiino Jan. 2, 1934 Walters May 17, 1938 Weiertz et a1. Aug. 15, 1939 Barthelemy July 25, 1944