Tornado engine

The cylinder head of an engine has internal truncated conical intake and exhaust passageways which create a swirling mixture of gases in the cylinder. The intake valve is in the form of a ring with a plurality of parallel valve stems, preferably four, all these stems being simultaneously actuable by the camshaft lobes.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION 
The invention relates to a piston-type internal combustion engine where the 
intake valve encircles the exhaust valve. In particular, it relates to 
such an engine wherein the cylinder head has internal funnel shaped intake 
and exhaust passageways which create a swirling mixture of the gases into 
the cylinder. 
PRIOR ART 
Swirling-mixture engines which have been previously described have been too 
complex and expensive and do not have enough efficiency for commercial 
use, as indicated by the following representative prior art. 
U.S. Pat. No. 2,988,071 of Neir describes a concentric valve internal 
combustion engine. It uses sliding tubes and is a functionally integral 
valve incorporating both the intake and exhaust. When the intake valve 
opens, the exhaust valve must seat on and move with it. 
U.S. Pat. No. 3,015,323 of Buchi describes a concentric valve engine which 
uses a bell-shaped intake valve integrated with a tulip-shaped exhaust. 
Here, again, when the intake valve opens, the exhaust valve must seat on 
and move with it. 
U.S. Pat. No. 3,055,350 of Buchi relates to levers for actuating the intake 
and exhaust valves in a concentric valve engine. 
U S. Pat. No. 3,335,707 of Heinrich discloses a helical inlet duct which 
produces a rotary swirl to an eccentrically situated inlet valve. 
U.S. Pat. No. 4,398,511 of Nemazi is concerned with a movable vane for 
varying the diameter of the inlet port. 
U.S. Pat. No. 4,424,777 of Klomp also discloses adjustable inlet valve 
vanes. 
U.S. Pat. No. 4,428,335 of Cataldo uses an annular nozzle to create a 
helical flow in the intake passageway. 
OBJECTS OF INVENTION 
One object of the present invention is to provide a more efficient and 
inexpensive engine which provides a swirling flow of the combustion gases 
into the cylinder of the engine. Other objects and advantages of this 
invention will be apparent from the description and claims which follow, 
taken together with the appended drawings. 
SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
A principal feature of this invention is the combination with an engine 
cylinder of a truncated conical intake passageway and a separate intake 
valve, surrounding a separate exhaust valve and a truncated conical 
exhaust passageway. The exhaust passageway is positioned above the intake 
passageway. The valves are operated by the lobes of one or more camshafts. 
Another feature of this invention is that the intake valve is in the form 
of a ring with a plurality of parallel valve stems, preferably four, all 
these stems being simultaneously actuable by the camshaft lobes.

SPECIFIC EXAMPLE OF THE INVENTION 
As shown in the FIGS. 1-16 and 9 in the drawings, cylinder head 11 has one 
or more intake orifices 12 tangentially connected to truncated conical 
intake chamber 13. Flow into the orifice 12 and chamber 13 produces a 
swirling mixture of fuel and air as diagrammatically illustrated by the 
flow line 21. The swirling mixture is introduced into cylinder 51 by a 
flat top piston 22 when intake valve 16a is opened. Intake valve 16a has 
two beveled edges 14 and 16 and four intake valve stems 17, 18, 19 and 20. 
When valve 16a is closed, edge 16 seats on valve seat 15 and edge 14 seats 
on valve seat 14a. A flare is provided on outer edge at the back side of 
the head of valve 16a as an aid in directing flow. Exhaust valve 31 seats 
on exhaust valve seat 32. 
Camshaft 39 is so arranged that its lobes 60 and 61 alternate in action 
with lobe 41. Action of identical lobes 60 and 61 on spring-loaded valve 
stems 19 and 20 opens intake valve 16a Valve stems 17 and 18 serve as 
stabilizers and act in conjunction with stems 19 and 20 to guide the valve 
16a. 
When cam lobe 41 acts to open the exhaust valve, springs 24, 25, 26, and 27 
close the intake valve 16a. Lobe 41 presses exhaust valve stem 28 so as to 
open exhaust valve 31 permitting the ribbon flow 52 into truncated conical 
exhaust passageway 29 having upper wall 11b) to one or more tangentially 
connected exhaust orifices 30. 
Valve retainers 34, 35, 36 and 37 hold springs 24, 25, 26 and 27. Between 
the camshaft and the valve stems and valve spring retainers are shims 34a, 
35a, 36a and 37a which fit into recesses on top of retainers. The stems 
17, 18, 19, and 20 are substantially identical. As illustrated in the 
exploded view (FIG. 9) of the assembly 34X of top portion of stem 17, shim 
34a seats in seat 34b of retainer 34. The valve retainer utilizes locks 
34d and 34e. Beads 34dd and 34ee extend through the central open portion 
of retainer 34 and engage stem 17 at groove 34aa. Retainer 34 is 
positioned on spring 24. These retainers can be replaced by a single 
circular retainer 130 resembling a flat washer atop the four springs, or 
atop one single spring 131 as shown in FIG. 7. Spark plug 23 has its 
electrode at the top of the chamber beside the exhaust valve. A diesel 
injector may be used in place of the spark plug illustrated and more than 
one spark plug or diesel injector can be used. 
The head of intake valve 16a, as illustrated, extends across the full 
diameter of the cylinder 51, and the effective opening area is greater 
than one-half the diameter of the cylinder. Piston height at top dead 
center subtracted from deck height yields compression ratio. The apex of 
the cone formed by 11a is on top of piston when at bottom dead center. 
In the embodiment 200 illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 10 there are three 
camshafts. Central shaft 202 is driven by gear 204 which engages a 
conventional timing assembly (not illustrated). Shaft 202 has a lobe 205 
which operates on exhaust valve assembly 228 which includes stem 218. 
Identical parallel shafts 201 and 203 have gears 201a and 203a 
respectively both driven by gear 202a on shaft 202. Shafts 201 and 203 
have pairs of lobes 206 and 207, and 208 and 209 respectively acting 
simultaneously on the four stems including stems 217 and 218 of the intake 
valve. The intake valve illustrated in this embodiment is substantially 
identical to that illustrated in the prior embodiment but has been turned 
45.degree. to locate the stems in line with each other on either side of 
the exhaust valve. 
ADVANTAGES AND VARIATIONS 
The separate intake and exhaust valves in the tornado engine of this 
invention triangulate the truncated conical passageways making the 
cylinder head a light weight but rigid structure during the time of 
combustion when both valves are seated. This is one feature that 
distinguishes the present invention from concentric-valve engines of the 
prior art. The bases of the intake and exhaust cones should be at least as 
large as cylinder bore diameter but they can also be larger. 
As the effective opening diameter of the inlet valve is increased, its 
weight is decreased, permitting greater r.p.m. and power. 
Although the spark plug is shown in a particular position in the drawings, 
it or a diesel injector can be positioned in the cylinder anywhere between 
intake and exhaust valves. Also, the amount of opening of the intake 
valve, as shown in the drawings, is for purposes of illustration only. The 
desirable valve opening in an engine is determined in accordance with 
well-known engineering principles and is a function of the dimensions of 
the engine, revolutions per minute, and load. The great freedom in 
placement of spark plugs/injectors, and also intake and exhaust ports in 
this design allow a greater number of head bolts to be used. 
When the cylinder head has its valves closed, it presents a flat surface 
inside the cylinder, thus having the same advantages as a flat top piston 
(unobstructed flame travel). The ports into the separate inlet and exhaust 
funnels may be multiple in number. It is preferable that the intake ports 
be designed for counter-clockwise flow for engines operated in the 
Northern Hemisphere and clockwise for engines operated in the Southern 
Hemisphere. Intake ports are tangentially opposite to exhaust ports in all 
cases. 
The exhaust truncated conical passageway, being located above the intake 
truncated conical passageway, preheats the intake charge although, in some 
instances, this would not obviate the need for water jacketing of the 
exhaust. The incoming fuel/air mixture provides circumferential cooling 
for the exhaust valve and seat. 
An exhaust-driven turbo super charger can be used with this invention. This 
could also incorporate a second intake port which would be of smaller 
diameter and tangentially opposite to the supply port and would act as a 
relief port for the turbo. The two ports could criss-cross each other 
between the head and the turbo. The truncated conical exhaust passageway 
could be similarly modified by having a second exhaust port. In addition, 
gangs of adjacent cylinders could be fed by a single turbo charger. 
In general, the novel engine block head of this invention could be adapted 
to fit many existing commercial engines.