Patent ID: 7404389

Claim:
A direct injection internal combustion engine comprising a cylinder comprising a cylinder bore defined by a cylinder wall formed in a cylinder block, the cylinder bore being generally cylindrical with a longitudinally extending center axis, a cylinder head attached to the cylinder block, the cylinder head comprising an intake passage that extends through a first portion of the cylinder head and an exhaust passage that extends through a second portion of the cylinder head, an intake opening being defined at an intersection of the intake passage and a lower surface of the cylinder head, an intake valve being positioned within the intake opening, an exhaust opening being defined at an intersection of the exhaust passage and the lower surface of the cylinder head, an exhaust valve being positioned within the exhaust opening, a fuel injection valve extending through a portion of the cylinder head proximate the first portion of the cylinder head, the fuel injection valve being positioned to inject fuel obliquely downward into the cylinder bore, a spark plug extending through the cylinder head and having an electrode, the electrode being positioned within a region defined among the lower surface of the cylinder head, the cylinder wall and a piston, the electrode being intersected by the center axis, the fuel injection valve comprising a pair of injection orifices, each injection orifice having a major axis and a minor axis, and a tip that forms a V-shaped spray pattern having a first leg and a second leg, the electrode being positioned between the first leg and the second leg and each leg having a generally fan configuration when viewed in a direction transverse to the center axis, and the engine further comprising a controller that is adapted to initiate fuel injection during an intake stroke of the piston within the cylinder bore.