APPARATUS FOR FEEDING AIR TO AN INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE, AFTER COMBUSTION

Abstract: The present invention refers to apparatus for feeding air to an internal combustion engine, after combustion, characterized by comprising: an independent, supplementary valve (1) for each cylinder (26) in said engine, said valve (1) having a first, air-tight, closed position and a second open position in which said valve communicates said cylinder (26) with the atmosphere; and closing means (17) urging said valve (1) to said first closed position, said closing means (17) being responsive to the formation of vacuum inside said cylinder (26), after combustion, to open said valve and communicate said cylinder with the atmosphere.

Description: TITLE: "APPARATUS FOR FEEDING AIR TO AN INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE, AFTER COMBUSTION" Background of the Invention The present invention refers, generally, to internal combustion engines and, more specifically, to an apparatus for feeding air to the combustion chamber of a cylinder in an in ternal combustion engine, after combustion, particularly de signed to provide a complete use' of the power stroke of the piston. Description of the Prior Art Several different internal combustion engines are widely known and used in the art to convert the thermal ener gy resulting from the combustion of a gaseous air/fuel mix ture into mechanical energy. Briefly, said gaseous air/fuel mixture expands volu. metrically when of its combustion inside a cylinder and thrusts the piston therein downwards. A connecting rod connected to the piston and to a crankshaft converts the ciprocating mo vement of the piston into a rotatingmovement of the crankshaft. A fuel feeding system connects to each cylinder in the engine, with an intake of said gaseous air/fuel mixture to the combustion chamber of each cylinder at the right mo vement. Similarly," an exhaust system for the burnt gases which -result from the combustion of said mixture connects to each cylinder, with an exhaust valve being provided to control the discharge of the burnt gases. Most of the internal combustion engines presently used in automotive vehicles operate according to a four-stro kes cycle which will be briefly described hereinafter. Although engines with a two-strokes cycle are also known and the pre¬ sent invention can be used with both. During the first stroke, or admission stroke, the intake valve is opened and the exhaust valve remains closed, whereby the movement of the piston downwards creates vacuum inside the combustion chamber of the cylinder which takes in the gaseous air/fuel mixture from the fuel feeding system. At the end of the first stroke, the intake valve is closed and, with the exhaust valve also closed, begins the upward movement of the piston. This movement upwards com¬ presses the gaseous air/fuel mixture in order to vaporize it with the heat resulting from the compression. This is the se cond stroke, also called compression stroke. The third stroke, or power stroke, also takes place with both valves closed. An electrical spark generated by a spark plug ignites the vaporized air/fuel mixture inside the cylinder whereby it expands and thrusts the piston downwards. At the end of this stroke, the exhaust valve is o pened and the fourth and last strokebegins. During this stroke, also called exhaust stroke, the piston moves upwards to expel the burnt gases which result from the combustion of the ya porized air/fuel mixture from the cylinder. It i.s important to notice, from the above descri£ tion of the four strokes of an internal combustion engine ha ving a four-strokes cycle, that only during one of these strokes is that the piston is actually converting thermal e- nergy into mechanical energy, which is transferred to the crankshaft by the connecting rod. During the remaining stro kes the piston is being tractioned by the crankshaft without producing any power. Therefore, it is extremely important that the power stroke of the piston be properly used, so that the engine can generate more power. In this type of internal combustion engine, the power output depends directly upon -two main parameters: (i) the volume " of the gaseous air/fuel mixture admitted in each combustion chamber, and (ii) its compression rate, that is, the rate between the volumes of the gaseous mixture prior to and after it has been compressed. It is obvious, even for those not skilled in this art, that there are an infinite number of possible combina tions between those two parameters, that is, the volume of the combustion chamber, and the stroke of the piston, which can be used to design engines for different purposes. For the purposes of the present invention, "stroke of the piston" will be understood as the distance travelled by a point at the upper surface of the piston between the highest point of the stroke (upper dead center) and the lowest point of the stroke (bottom dead center) . In an internal combustion engine with a four-stro kes cycle as described above, one could suppose that the iri take and exhaust valves would open and close only when the pistons were at their upper and bottom dead centers, respecte_ vely. In practice, however, this is not what actually hap_ pens. In fact, due to the fact an instantaneous opening and closing of the valves is not feasible, they open and close slightly out of phase. In other words, there is a slight ad. vance in the opening and a slight lag in the closing of the valves. This gap during the opening and closing of the va^. ves, however, imposes a serious restriction to the design of the stroke of the piston, which can not be over-sized to rai ^ se the compression rate of the engine and, accordingly, in crease its power output. Besides that, in the presently known internal co bustion engines even the power stroke of the piston in not actually completely used. As described above, the expansion of the gaseous air/fuel mixture when of its combustion thrusts the piston downwards and this is the best possible definition to the physical phenomenon that takes place within the com bustion chamber because thrust is a sudden force. In fact, it has been noticed that only during the initial portion of its stroke downwards is that the piston is effectively transferring power to the crankshaft, the driving force generated by the expansion of the mixture loseing power as the piston moves along untill, in the final portion of the stroke, this driving force does not exist anymore. This reduction in the power of the driving force, in addition to the fact that both the intake and exhaust vaL ves are still closed, ends up by changing the final portion of the downward movement of the piston during the combustion stroke, which should be a power generating stroke, into a dragging movement of the piston, trailed by the crankshaft and the connecting rod, whereby said piston can be considered as applying, in fact, a counterforce to the crankshaft at this final portion of its stroke. Several other issues can be raised in connection with the presently known internal combustion engines concerning their comsuption of fuel, power output and the pollution created by theirs exhaust gases. In spite of the fact that the use of internal co bustion engines has spread worlwide since the beggining of the century, it was not until recently that some attention was given to other methods to improve the power output of an engine. One previously proposed method to increase the power output of an internal combustion engine was the use of a su¬ percharger in order to increase the volumetric efficiency of the cylinders. These superchargers, usually a turbocharger driven by a belt connected to the crankshaft or by the exhaust gases from the engine, are used to compress the gaseous air/ fuel mixture into the cylinders prior to combustion in order to raise the compression rate of the engine. These turbochargers, however, usually cause a prema ture wear of the pistons in the cylinders, which are always under a excessive loadwork on both high and low speeds. With reference to the comsumption of fuel, several solutions are known to the art, all related to fuel saving de_ vices. Most of these devices, however, require substantial mo difications in the original design of the engine that with ti. me also cause an excessive wear of the engine which, by its turn, adds to the comsumption of fuel. Another problem related to the presently known in. ternal combustion engines is the little refrigeration and lu brication of the combustion chamber of the cylinders. There is not a direct refrigeration of the cylinders immediately after combustion, nor a proper lubrication of the piston re ciprocating therein. Therefore, several problems related to an excessive heating of the engine are liable tohappen, which can cause a premature failure of the engine. The pollution caused by the toxic exhaust gasesfrom an internal combustion engine is also a serious problem, up to the point where several countries are imposing very strict rules with reference to the exhaust fumes of vehicles. In fact, in order to achieve at least a reasonable degree of cleaness, it is necessary that the engine be pei: fectly tuned and that an electrolytic catalyst be used. The use of an electrolytic catalyst with a heavily leaded fuel, however, only adds to the pollution problem because they be come quickly corroded by the lead. Summary of the Invention Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to solve the above discussed problems of the prior art by pro viding an apparatus for feeding air to an internal combustion engine, after combustion. Another object of the present invention is to pro vide an apparatus for feeding air to an internal combustion engine, after combustion, which provides an increased power output to the engine. A further object of the present invention is to pro vide an apparatus for feeding air to an internal combustion engine, after combustion, which provides a fuel saving ability to the engine. An additional object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for feeding air to an internal combustion engine, after combustion, which refrigerates and lubricates said engine solving the problem of overheating. Another object of the present invention is to pro vide an apparatus for feeding air to an internal combustion engine which substantially eliminates the problem of pollution from the exhaust gases from the engine. According to the present invention, these objects are achieved by the provision of an apparatus for feeding air to an internal combustion engine, after combustion, characte rized by comprising: an independent, sumplementary valve for each cyliii der of said engine, said valve having a first, air tight, clo sed position and a second, open, position in which said valve communicates the combustion chamber of each cylinder with the atmosphere; and closing means on said valve urging it to said first position, said closing means being responsive to the formation of vacuum within said cylinder in order to open the valve and communicate the cylinder with the atmosphere. These and other objects and advantages of the pre sent invention will be better understood from the following description thereof when taken in connection withthe attached drawings. Brief Description of the Drawings The present invention will be described hereinafter in greater detail, as a non-limitative exemple thereof, with relation to its preferred embodiment shown in the attached drawings, wherein: Figure 1 is a sectional side view of an engine in corporating a valve to control the feeding of air to a cyliii der according to the present invention. Figures 2, 3 and 4 are sectional views similar to Figure 1 of said valve for feeding air during operation. Description of the Preferred Embodiment With reference now more particularly to the drawings, an apparatus for feeding air to the combustion chamber of a cylinder in an internal combustion engine according to the present invention is shown in Figure 1 as comprising an inde pendent, suplementary valve 1 comprising a body 2 having a circular valve portion 3 at its lower end and a cylindrical portion 4 at its upper end, said cylindrical portion 4 being formed with an external thread 5 on its peripherical surface and a transversal cut 6 at its upper surface. Said body 2 is received within a hollow, cylindrical guide sleeve 7 previously positioned in a threaded opening 8 formed on the upper head casting 9 of a conventional engine 10, adjacent to the center of the combustion chamber 11, said guide sleeve 7 having lower and upper external peripherical threads 12, 13 at its lower and upper ends, respectivaly, said lower end being formed with a conical recess 14 providing a seat for said circular valve portion 3 at the lower en of bo dy 2. Recess 14 and circular head 3 are formed to match each other in order to provide an air tight, sealed contact between said body and said guide sleeve 7. The external thread 13 at the upper end of said gu. de sleeve 7 on the oder hand, acts as a stop to said guide 5 sleeve 7 and cooperates with an outer tubular body 15, also . designated 'air entrance guide 1 which upper end 16 is con nected to the air filter of said engine 10. An helical spring 17 is positioned around said body 2, surrounding its cylindrical portion 4. Spring 17 applies 10 a closing pressure upon said body 2 in order to maintain the valve 1 in a closed condition and is supported by a stop on said upper thread 13 on guide sleeve 7 and by contact nuts 18, 19 connected to said external thread 5 to position an an nular guide member 20. 15 A plurality of passages 21 are formed on said guide sleeve 7 and said outer tubular body 15 in order to allow the passage of air downwards from the atmosphere to the interior .of the combustion chamber 11 of the engine. Figure 1 also shows, on the upper head casting 9 of 20 said engine 10, a manifold 22 for the gaseous air/fuel mixtu re which will be fed into said combustion chamber 11, said ma nifold 22 having an intake valve 23 at its end and a manifold 24 for the burnt gases resulting from the combustion of said gaseous air/fuel mixture leading from the exhaust valve 25 25 to the exhaust system of the engine. Also from Figure 1 se veral other components of the engine can be easily spoted, such as cylinder 28, piston 27 and the cylinder liner 26. As it can be better seen from figures 2, 3 and 4, the operation of the independent, suplementary valve 1 accor 30 ding to the present invention is simple and reliable. Figure 2 depicts piston 27 at its upper dead center - at the end of a compression stroke and immediatelly prior to ■ • the ignition of the vaporized air/fuel mixture. Connecting rod 29 and crankshaft 30 are also shown in this Figure. 35 As described earlier, with both the intake and ex haust valves 23, 25 closed, as well as the independent, suple entary valve 1, a ignition spark from a spark plug (not shown) ignites the air/fuel mixture and its expansion thrusts piston 27 downwards. Figure 3 shows piston 27 in a position as it moves downwards during its power stroke, soon after the initial dri ving force from the combustion of the air/fuel mixture has lost its power. To avoid said piston 27 from applying a counterfoi: ce on said crank shaft 30, valve 1 opens in response to the beginning of the formation of vacuum inside said cylinder 26. As soon as said piston 27 starts to be tractioned by said crankshaft 30 and vacuum is formed within said cylinder, vajL ve member 3 is moved away from its seat 14 against said clo sing spring 17 to comunicate the interior of the cylinder with the atmosphere. This opening of independent valve 1 draws fresh air from the atmosphere into the cylinder, through passageways 21, to completely fill said cylinder with air and avoid the for_ mation of vacuum therein, whereby said piston does not apply a counterforce on said crankshaft. Figure 4 shows piston 27 as it moves upwards in its exhaust stroke to expel the burnt gases which result from the combustion from inside said cylinder through exhaust valve 25 and exhaust manifold 24. It is to be noticedthat independent, sumplementary valve 1 remains closed during this movement up_ wards of piston 27, have been closed by spring 17 as soon as the piston reached its bottom dead center. The upward move ment of the piston and the small pressure it creates adds to this closing force. Independent, suplementary valve 1 according to the present invention helps increasing the power output from an engine simply by eliminating the counterforces actuating on the crankshaft due to an incomplete use of the power stroke of the pistons therein. In addition to increasing the power output, the pre_ sent invention also provides a fuel saving engine which com suption of fuel is substantially lower than that of converi tional internal combustion engines presently known to the art. Also, the feeding of fresh air to the cylinders after combustion helps refrigerating and lubricating the pis tons and cylinder liners, avoiding the problem of overheating frequently present in some engines known to the art. Additionally, the independent suplementary valve 1 according to the present invention substancially reduces the pollution created by the exhaust gases. In fact, the fresh air fed to the cylinders react with the carbon monoxide to produce carbon dioxide, whereby the emissions of carbon mono xide in the exhaust gases are substantially completely elimi nated. While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to a particular preferred embodiment of the independent, suplementary valve, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention. The scope of the invention is there_ fore to the determined by reference to the appended claims.

Claims: CLAIMS : 1. Apparatus for feeding air to an internal combus_ tion engine, after combustion, characterized by comprising: an independent, suplementary valve (1) for each cy_ linder (26) in said engine, said valve (1) having a first, air-tight, closed position and a second open position inwhich said valve communicates said cylinder (26) with the atmosphe re; and closing means (17) urging said valve (1) to said first closed position, said closing means (17) being respon sive to the formation of vacuum inside said- cylinder (26) a_f ter combustion, to open said valve and communicate said cylin der with the atmosphere. 2. Apparatus for feeding air to an internal combus tion engine, after combustion as defined in claim 1, charac terized in that said independent, suplemmentary valve (1) comprises a valve member (3) and a seat (14) therefor, said valve member (3) being urged against said seat (14) by said closing means. 3. Apparatus for feeding air to an internal combu j s tion engine, after combustion according to claim 1, characte_ rized in that said closing means comprise a resilient member (17) urging said valve (1) to said closed position. 4. Apparatus for feeding air to an internal combus tion engine, after combustion according to claim 3, characte_ rized in that said resilient member comprises an helical spring (17) positioned around a valve rod (2) supporting said valve member (3) .

Inventors: CASTILHO ROSA CACEMIRO, OLIVEIRA ROSA JOSE CASIMIRO DE, CASTILHO ROSA, CACEMIRO, OLIVEIRA ROSA, JOSE, CASIMIRO DE
Applicants: CASTILHO ROSA CACEMIRO, OLIVEIRA ROSA JOSE CASIMIRO DE, CASTILHO ROSA, CACEMIRO, OLIVEIRA ROSA, JOSE, CASIMIRO DE
Application year: 1989
Main classification: F01L9
IPC codes: F01L9, F02B29