US3783610A

US3783610A - Anti-pollution internal combustion engine

Info

Publication number: US3783610A
Application number: US00224423A
Authority: US
Inventors: O Gano
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1972-02-08
Filing date: 1972-02-08
Publication date: 1974-01-08
Anticipated expiration: 1991-01-08

Abstract

This disclosure relates to an anti-pollution internal combustion and compressed air operated engine. The engine includes a group of firing cylinders and a group of compression cylinders. A storage reservoir is filled with compressed air during the engine firing and braking modes of operation. After stopping, the stored air motors the engine until it begins firing. The engine is provided with a pressurized fuel system which is regulated by the pressure in the storage reservoir. A selector valve is used to select the proper modes of operation for the compression cylinders; namely, the braking mode for storing compressed air, the motoring mode for driving the engine on the compressed air stored during the braking mode or the normal compression mode when the engine is firing.

Description

United States Patent [:91

Gano

ANTI-POLLUTION INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE [111 3,783,610 [4 1 Jan. 8, 1974 Primary Examiner-Martin P. Schwadron Assistant Examiner-Allen M. Ostrager Attorney-Harris C. Lockwood 5 7] ABSTRACT This disclosure relates to an anti-pollution internal combustion and compressed air operated engine. The engine includes a group of firing cylinders and a group of compression cylinders. A storage reservoir is filled with compressed air during the engine firing and braking modes of operation. After stopping, the stored air motors the engine until it begins firing.- The engine is provided with a pressurized fuel system which is regu- QWQPXillQPFSZSWF?1!? h to reservoir- M le tor valve is used to select the pro per mod esof operation for the compression cylinders; namely, the braking mode for storing compressed air, themotoring mode for driving the engine on the "compressed air stored during the braking mode or the normal compression mode when the engine is firing.

33 Claims, 13 Drawing Figures PAIENTED 81974 3.783.610

sum 2 or 5 F/G.3 p754 PATENTEDJAH BISM SHEU 3 [IF 5 m bfx PMENTED JAN SHEET 5 BF 5 BACKGROUND OF THE lNVENTlON This invention relates to an anti-pollution internal combustion and compressed air operated engine, and more particularly to an engine which can be started and motored for a period of time on compressed air which is stored during the firing and braking modes of operation of the engine.

Air pollution caused by the presently used internal combustion engine has become acute in recent years, and the resulting ecological problem has only recently been fully appreciated. Many new approaches have been examined in an effort to combat the pollution problems. For example, numerous mass transit systems are being developed to transport large groups of people and some efforts have been directed to developing nongasoline burning vehicles such 'as the electric car since these types of cars will not emit carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, and other combustion products which are photosynthesized by the sun to produce smog. However, such a radical change in the system of powering motor vehicles would result in severe economic problems since the oil industry is one of the worlds largest developers and employers. Therefore, it would appear that a logical alternative to completely replacing the internal combustion engine would be to develop a more pollution-free internal combustion engine. Some efforts by the oil industry have been directed to this area.

Although it is possible to produce a relatively efficient non-polluting engine by improving the engine and the fuel used, there will always be some pollution caused by the elements exhausted from the combustion of fuel in an internal combustion engine. The only effective method of eliminating this pollution is to eliminate its source altogether; however, as mentioned above, the economic problems that would be created for braking the world community are unacceptable. The best alternative to completely eliminating the internal combustion engine is to limit in some way the amount of time the enginewill run without adversely affecting the vehicles operation. This can be accomplished by eliminating the idling time of the internal combustion engine, for in the stop and go commuter traffic so prevelant in the worlds urban communities, the idling engine causes a great portion of the pollution problem. The present invention is directed to an engine which is capable of eliminating this idling time, and thus takes a major step toward reduction of air pollu tion. The present invention accomplishes this through the use of compression cylinders-which store air under pressure for subsequent use in motoring the engine when it is to be restarted.

. There are several types of engines known in the prior Other engines have been developed which utilize a separate cylinder to compress air for the firing cylinder and to further store a portion of the compressed air in a reservoir for later restarting the engine. Generally, this type of stored air engine uses the stored air to initially drive the pistons and thus motor the engine until fuel isfed into the firing cylinders, thereby permitting combustion. I

These presently known stored air engines utilize only one compression cylinder to compress the air for all the firing cylinders. One of the problems with this type of one cylinder arrangement is that it requires a manual adjustment of the piston position prior to restarting the engine. The present invention is designed to overcome this problem by providing several compressor cylinders which are arranged out of phase so that one or more cylinders will be over top dead center when restarting is attempted. Furthermore, these presently known stored air engines were developed relatively early and were not designed to be used to drive a motor vehicle, but were primarily designed to drive machinery. Although there is a possibility that these earlier engines might possibly be used on a vehicle, the subsequent prior art indicates that the advances in the internal combustion engine field have steered away from this type of approach.

The more recent prior art discloses that the industry has tried to develop the dual cylinder engines mentioned above which use a separate compression cylinder to compress air or an air and fuel mixture to be fed into the firing cylinder.

One of the basic reasons for the industry directing its efforts in this direction rather than developing a stored air engine would appear to be due to the operational problems which occur when using such an engine for a motor vehicle. One example of such a problem-is the inability of such engines to store a sufficient amount of air to later be utilized in motoring the engine in todays stop and go traffic. The present invention is intended to overcome the operational problems of the stored air engines and to utilize such engines to drive a motor vehicle.

SUMMARY OFTHE INVENTION It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide an internal combustion engine for use in avehicle that will reduce the amount of polluting elements that are emitted into the atmosphere.

Another object of this invention is to provide an in ternal combustion engine which will store compressed air during the firing and braking modes of operation to be later reused in restarting the engine and in the initial movement of the vehicle prior to a reactivation of the art which utilize compression cylindersfor compressing air, or an'air and fuel mixture, to be used in a separate firing cylinder. In most of these dual cylinder engines, the operation of the valves of the compressor cylinders are correlated with the operation of the valves of the firing cylinders so that the compressed air is directed into the firing cylinder at or slightly after top dead center since the firing cylinder is not used forcompressing the firing mixture. The explosion in the firing cylinder of these dual cylinder engines occurs at the same time as a standard internal combustion to drive the piston downwardly, thus turning the drive shaft.

engines firing modeofoperation. Another object of this invention is to provide an engine which will be capable of utilizing any one of several types of hydrocarbon combustible fuels such as pressurized butane, propane, natural gas or gasoline.

Another object of this invention is to provide an autom'atic cam advance and retard mechanism for an internal combustion engine which will vary the opening and closing of the inlet and exhaust valves to the firing and compression cylinders in response to the amount of pressure in the air storage reservoir.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an internal combustion engine having an after burner to eliminate the unburned hydrocarbons produced during the firing stage and a muffler which removes the nitrogen oxide pollutants from the exhaust emissions as well as reduces noise.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a unique valving system operated from the throttle and brake pedal of a motor vehicle which will select the mode of operation of the internal combustion engine.

Still another object of this invention is to provide an internal combustion engine which will restart without the use of a starter motor.

These and other objects are accomplished by the present invention through the use of an internal combustion engine for a motor vehicle which will store compressed air while the vehicle is braking and thereafter use the stored compressed air to restart and motor the engine. The stored air drives the firing and compression cylinders, causing the engine to run on the air supply until the fuel-air ratio reaches the point that the engine will begin firing again. The engine utilizes a fuel system having a pressurized fuel tank containing any desired combustible fuel, such as liquid butane, propane, natural gas, gasoline, or the like. The fuel is fed into the firing cylinders of the engine with a quantity of the compressed air, and thus the firing cylinders are not required to compress the fuel-air mixture during the engines firing mode of operation.

Fresh air enters the engine through an inlet valve and passes to a compression cylinder where the air is compressed and then directed to a storage tank. The storage tank is connected to a manifold through a throttle valve; upon opening of the throttle valve, compressed air in the tank is directed into the manifold. Fuel flow into the firing cylinders is regulated by a diaphragm valve which is responsive to pressure in the manifold. The air from the manifold is directed through a venturi line intowhich the fuel is directed. When the intake valves for the firing cylinder are opened, the fuel-air mixture from the venturi line is directed into the firing cylinder where it is burned in the normal manner to drive the firing piston downwardly, thus turning the engine crank shaft. The exhaust gases are drawn out through exhaust ports into an after burner and then through a muffler which extracts some of the polluting elements from the exhaust gases. The crankshaft drives the compression cylinders which feed compressed air to a storage tank, where it is held under pressure for use in feeding the firing cylinders during the firing mode.

During the braking mode of operation of the engine, air is compressed by the compression cylinders and stored in the storage tank. The compression of the air helps retard the operation of the engine, thus slowing I the vehicle down. During this mode, no air is directed into the firing cylinders. Thereafter, operation of the brake pedal positions a selector valve so that in the motoring mode the engine is restarted on the compressed air which has been stored in the storage reservoir. The compressed air is directed into both the firing and compression cylinders to drive the pistons, thereby turning the vehicle drive shaft. When the air drops, fuel is supplied to the firing cylinders, the engine begins to fire and the selector valve is then returned to its normal position so that compressed air is again stored in the storage reservoir for use in the firing cylinders during the firing mode of operation. An automatic advance and retard device controlled by the amount of pressure in the manifold operates to selectively advance or retard the opening and closing of the inlet and outlet valves of the firing cylinder to insure that the engine will operate efficiently with variable amounts of pressure in the storage tank.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The foregoing and additional objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment taken with the ac companying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic illustration of an internal combustion engine according to the present invention, and shows a single set of the firing and compression cylinder pairs which make up the engine;

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic illustration of a suitable storage tank and manifold which can be used in the intemal combustion engine shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 2A is a diagrammatic illustration of a suitable inlet control valve and pressure switch which can be used in the internal combustion engine shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic illustration of a suitable air inlet valve which can be used in the internal combustion engine shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic illustration of a suitable .selector valve for use in the internal combustion engine of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic illustration of a compression cylinder arrangement suitable for use in the internal combustion engine of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic illustration of the firing cylinder and the intake valve mechanisms suitable for use in the internal combustion engine shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic illustration of the automatic cam advance and retard mechanism utilized in the internal combustion engine illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a diagrammatic illustration of a heat ex- I changer system suitable for use in the internal combusanti-pollution muffler which can be utilized in the internal combustion engine of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring more particularly to the drawings, in FIG. 1, the numeral 1 indicates a stored air internal combustion engine for use in a vehicle, the engine having a compressed air storage reservoir or tank 10 (see also FIG. 2) which receives air that is compressed by one or more compression cylinders 12.

The compressed air. is directed to a plurality of firing cylinders 14 and compression cylinders 12 through a suitable manifold 16, and through various conduits connecting the compression and firing cylinders to the manifold. The sequences and purposes for directing the compressed air to the various cylinders will be explained hereinafter. For clarity and ease of illustration, only one set of cylinders is illustrated in the drawings and described herein; however, it should be understood that a plurality of firing and compression cylinders will normally be used in the internal combustion engine of the subject. invention and the present invention is not limited to the single set of two cylinders disclosed in the drawings. The storage tank can be of any shapedesired and located in any desired position on the internal combustion engine orthe vehicle. In the preferred embodiment disclosed herein, the storage'tank is cylindrical in shape having one end closed and the other end partially closed but carrying and communicating with a cylindrical manifold.

Fresh air is drawn into compression cylinder 12 by means of reciprocating piston 17 through an inlet valve 18 and conduit 20 as the piston moves downwardly. Upon compression, the air is directed through conduit 22, selector valve 24, and conduit 26 into storage tank 10. The compressed air within tank 10 can escape into the manifold 16 through an aperture in the end of the tank which is opened and closed by a throttle valve 28 (FIG. 2). i The throttlevalve 28 is connected by a suitable mechanical linkage 30lto an accelerator pedal 32 for operation thereby. The mechanical linkage 30 passes through and operates a mechanical switch 34 to make or break a set of contacts so that circuits between a standard power source 35, such as a battery, an inlet control solenoid valve 36, and a fuel control solenoid valve 38 will be energized or de-energized. When the inlet control valve 36 is energized, tank pressure is applied to inlet valve 18, as willbe explained hereinafter. The manifold 16 has

outlet conduits

40 and 42 which are directed to the compression cylinders 12 and firing cylinders 14, respectively. The outlet conduit 40 communicates with the compression cylinder 12 by way of the selector valve 24 and the inlet conduit 20, while the outlet conduit 42 communicates directly with the firing cylinders 14 through appropriate intake valves at the cylinders, to be described. Compressed air from the tank 10 is supplied to each of the cylinders through their respective outlet conduits at preselected times in accordance with the mode of operation of the engine.

A'pressurized fuel tank 44 (FIG. 1) containing natural gas,propane, butaneor other suitable fuel is connected through conduit 46 and a pump to a heat exchanger 48. The heat exchanger vapor'izes the fuel before it is directed through a conduit 50 to a fuel regulator 52. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the heat exchanger is associated with the engine exhaust manifold, obtaining heat therefrom for use in vaporizing the fuel. The fuel regulator is controlled by the pressure in manifold 16 through a conduit 54 which CX? tends between the manifold and the regulator. The fuel regulator permits a suitable amount of fuel to pass into conduit 56 and thence into the inlet of Venturi line or passage 58 of each of the firing cylinders 14. The fuel control solenoid valve 38 is located in line 56 between the fuel regulator 52 and Venturi line 58 and is controled by switch 34 and thus by the accelerator pedal 32. A second control for the fuel control valve 38 is provided by a pressure switch 59 which is sensitive to the pressure in tank 10. The pressure switch 59 will prevent the fuel valve 38 from opening when excessive pressure is in tank 10. These two controls cause fuel valve 38 to be closed to prevent the flow of fuel to the firing cylinder under two conditions: first, when the engine is in a BRAKING mode of operation, since the accelerator will be released and the fuel control circuit will be de-energized by switch 34, and second, when the engine is in the motoring mode of operation, since the pressure in tank 10 will be high enough to operate pressure switch 59, as will be explained hereinafter.

When the engine operates in the firing mode, the firing cylinders 14 produce exhaust gases which are initially exhausted through port 60 in the cylinder wall and carried by conduit 62 into an afterburner 64. Port 60 is located'slightly above the level of the top surface of the piston headwhen the piston is at its lowest position in the cylinder, and is closed by the piston during its upward stroke. During the exhaust stroke of the piston, an exhaust valve 66 is opened by a cam lobe carried on a cam shaft 68 so that any remaining exhaust gases flow through valve 66, conduit 70, conduit 62 and into the afterburner 64. The action of the afterburner 64 will be explained hereinafter. Upon leaving the afterburner 64, the gases pass through conduit 72 into muffler 74 where they are reacted with a chemical solution and then passed to the atmosphere through exhaust pipe 76.

The rotation of cam shaft 68, mentioned above, controls the opening and closing of the intake and exhaust I valves of the firing cylinders 14, as will be explained tion of the automatic advance and retard mechanism will be discussed hereinafter. Crank shaft or drive shaft is connected to the piston arms of each of the .compression and firing cylinders in the conventional manner. The drive shaft also carries a timing sprocket 82 which is interconnected by way of a timing chain 84 to a pulley 86 on cam shaft 60 and a pulley 88 on compressor cam shaft 90, whereby

shafts

60 and 90 are driven by the crankshaft 80.

The various modes of operation of the present internal combustion engine are controlled by the selector valve 24 which is positioned between the storage tankmanifold assembly and the compression cylinders. The selector valve is, in turn, controlled by a closed loop hydraulic brake system so that depression or release of a brake pedal 92 causes hydraulic fluid inbrake reservoir 94 to be directed through conduit 96, valve 18 and conduit 98 to one side of the selector valve 24 or through conduit 100 to the opposite end of selector valve 24.

FIRING MODE OF OPERATION shown only diagrammatically for clarity. These details together with an explanation of the various modes of operation of the present invention will be set forth in the following description.

As has been indicated, the present invention has three basic modes of operation: a firing mode, where the device operates as an internal combustion engine; a braking mode, where the engine is shut down, and its compression cylinders feed air under pressure to the storage tank; and a motoring mode, where the compressed air is fed to the firing cylinder without fuel, to drive the engine. Following through with a complete operation cycle of the internal combustion engine, the explanation will begin with the engine running normally in the firing mode. As mentioned above, air is drawn into the engine from the atmosphere through apertures 102 (see FIG. 3) in air inlet valve 18, due to the partial vacuum formed by the downstroke of the piston in compression cylinder 12. The air drawn through the aperture 102 will flow between the inlet valve seta 104 and the inlet valve heat 106, which is in the open position illustrated, into conduit 20. In the firing mode of operation the selector valve 24 is positioned as illustrated in FIG. 4 with its cylindrical valve stem 107 in its uppermost position. This valve stem is formed with upper, middle and

lower sections

108, 109 and 110, respectively, which are enlarged to engage the cylindrical walls of valve 24 in the manner of a conventional sliding valve. As shown, section 109 blocks the path between lines and so that there is no communication between inlet valve 18 and the manifold 16. Any air drawn in through the inlet valve 18 is therefore directed through the conduit 20 into the compression cylinder 12. I

As shown in FIG. 5, the compression cylinder of this preferred embodiment has two slide valves 111 and 112 which are used to open and close passageways between the cylinder chamber 113 and inlet conduit 20 and outlet conduit 22, respectively. The slide valves are biased to close the passageways by means of bias springs 114 and 115, and are moved to open the passages by

cam lobes

116 and 117 on shaft 90, which shaft is driven by the drive shaft or crankshaft (see FIG. 1) through the timing chain 84 and pulley 88. The

cams

116 and 117 engage

cam followers

118 and 120, respectively, which are in contact with slide valves 111 and 1 12, respectively, rotation of the cam shaft causing the valve to be opened at preselected times. The cam follwers 118 and 120 are pivotally secured to the cylinder by a bracket 122.

In operation, the cam 116 engages the upper end of cam follower 118, thereby causing the lower end of cam follower 118 to force slide valve 111 toward the center of the cylinder, as can be seen in FIG. 5. The timing is such that the slide valve 111 is forced toward the center of the cylinder at the beginning of the downward movement of piston 17 of compression cylinder 12. Valve 111 is fully open when a bore 126 in the valve body is aligned with inlet conduit 20, approximately at mid stroke of the piston. Air is drawn through the inlet valve 18, conduit 20, bore 126, and inlet opening 128 leading into compression chamber 113. As the cam 116 is rotated, it disengages the upper end of cam follower 118, and a spring 114 or other suitable biasing means forces valve 1 1 1 away from the center of the cylinder. When bore 126 in valve is no longer in registration with conduit 20 and inlet port 128, the air flow into chamber 1 13 is shut off,and this occurs at approximately the bottom of the piston intake stroke.

When the piston 17 is driven upwardly by the rotation of crankshaft 80 in the compression stroke, slide valve 111 is in the closed position; slide valve 112 begins to open at the beginning of the upward stroke. The cam 117 on shaft 90 engages the upper end of cam follower 120, thus causing the lower end of the cam follower to move slide valve 1 12 towards the center of the compression cylinder, as illustrated. Valve 112 is fully opened when a bore 132 in the valve body is aligned with outlet conduit 22, at approximately the midpoint of the upward stroke of the piston. The compression chamber 113 communicates with the outlet conduit 22 upon registration of bore 136 in slide valve 112 with outlet port 134 and outlet conduit 22. The air in the chamber will flow through inlet port 134, bore 132, conduit 22, selector valve 24 and line 26 into storage tank 10 when the pressure generated exceeds the pressure in tank 10. A double check valve arrangement (not shown) is utilized to prevent backflow from tank 10 to the cylinders. The check valves will normally be positioned in line 22 next to outlet slide valve 1 12 and in line 26 between selector valve 24 and tank 10. Therefore, the air compressed by cylinder 12 is stored in the tank 10 until it is to be used. A biasing arrange ment similar to that for the inlet slide valve 111 is utilized with outlet slide valve 112, whereby spring closes the slide valve when the cam 117 disengages the upper end of cam follower 120. 7

By the above described sequence of valve operation, the compression cylinder is not required to compress the air in the compression cylinder, but only has to overcome the pressure in tank 10 in order to store air. A relief valve 137 is provided in tank 10 to prevent over-pressurization. If desired, however, the timing of the inlet and outlet valves in the compression cylinder can be modified to permit the air to be compressed in the cylinder 12 before the outlet slide valve 112 is opened.

Continuing with the firing mode of operation of the internal combustion engine, as the air is being drawn in through the inlet valve 118, compressed by cylinder 12, and directed into tank 10, the compressed air in the storage tank is released to the manifold 16 (see FIG. 2) through throttle port 138 when valve 28 is open. As mentioned above, throttle 28 is connected to mechanical linkage 30 and will be unseated when the vehicle operator manipulates the accelerator pedal 32. It should be understood that any type of foot pedal, hand lever or the like can be used to open the throttle. 'Pressurized air that is released into the manifold 16 flows into-several conduits-namely, conduit 42 which communicates with the firing cylinders 14; conduit 78 which communicates with the automatic cam shaft advance and retard mechanism, the operation of which will be explained hereinafter; conduit 54 which communicates with fuel regulator 52; and conduit 40 which is connected to selector valve 24. During the firing mode of operation, the compressed air will not pass through selector valve 24 (see FIG. 4) and thus will not be directed into inlet conduit 20.

The operation of the throttle linkage 30 to open throttle valve 28 also operates switch 34 to energize the control valve circuits so that the solenoids in the control valve 36 and fuel control valve 38 are operated. The inlet control valve 36 regulates the flow of air between storage tank 10 and the inlet valve 18 through a conduit 139 (see FIGS. 1 and 2A). This in turn controls the position of valve 106 to regulate the flow of air into conduit 20'from openings 102 in inlet valve 18. The air flow from tank 10 is to an air chamber 140 defined in valve 18 by a piston 141 and a wall 142. The pressurized air forces air piston 141 upwardly against the bias of spring 143 and thus will vary the opening between valve seat 104 and valve head 106 in accordance with the pressure in tank 10. The fuel flow control valve is energized to permit fuel to be supplied to the engine.

As can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 6, compressed air from manifold 16 passes through conduit 42 to a first inlet valve 140 on the firing cylinder 14. The inlet valve 140 cylinder, to maintain the stem in a proper position. A

spring 152 is positioned between the washer 150 and a suitable blocking member 154 which is fixed to the valve stem 148. The blocking member seals the valve cylinder and prevents compressed air from escaping through the valve cylinder. Any suitable sealing member may be utilized. The spring 152 returns the valve to the closed position after the lower end 155 of the valve stem is disengaged from the cam 142.

The compressed air passing through Venturi 58 picks up vaporized fuel which is entering the Venturi through conduit 56. The pressure of the compressed air and fuel mixture in the Venturi 58 causes a second inlet valve 156 to operate, the pressure causing valve head 158 to be lifted from seat 160 shortly after valve 140 opens. The opening of valve 158 is timed to occur when the piston head 162 of firing cylinder 14 reaches top dead center. After the compressed air and fuel mixture is released into the firing chamber 164, the second valve 156 is returned to its closed position by aspring 166 which is secured'between a fixed guide washer 167 at the upper end of the valve casing 168 and a shoulder 169 fixedly secured to valve stem 170. Any suitable means may be used to maintain the valve stem in. proper alignment within its casing and which will permit its operation as explained above.

As mentioned above, the opening and closing of valve 140 is controlled by the rotation of cam shaft 68. The cam shaft 68 has an automatic advance and retard mechanism which will vary the timing of the opening and closing of the firing cylinder valves in response to the amount of pressure which is in the manifold 16 upon opening throttle valve 28. Therefore, when the pressure in the manifold varies, the inlet valve 140 will open and close at different times with respect to the motion of piston 162 within the firing cylinder. For example, if the pressure in the manifold is relatively low, the inlet valve 140 will be opened early in the upward stroke of the piston so that the air which is fed into the firing cylinder chamber 164 can be further compressed by the piston prior to firing. If the pressure in the manifold 16 is high, the opening of valve 140 will be retarded because the piston 162 'will not be needed to compress the fuel-air mixture prior to firing; in this case, the valve will be opened when the piston is near or at top dead center. In order to prevent any time lag which may occur in the opening of the valve 156, a solenoid coil 172 is positioned around the stem 170 of the valve so that the valve stem 170 acts as a solenoid core.

The winding of coil 172 is connected to a circuit into chamber 164 and, at a preselected time, is ignited by a standard spark plug 173. The ignition system in this preferred embodiment includes a rotor driven from the compression cam shaft 90, a standard coil, and breaker points with condenser. Only four contacts are required for this engine, one for each firing cylinder. The spark plug 173 for each cylinder will always fire when the corresponding firing'piston 162 is at or near top dead center. Since the camshaft 90. is not controlled by the automatic advance and retard mechanism, the timing relationship between the firing cylinder piston movement and the camshaft will remain constant, and the firing will occur at precisely the same time no matter when the fuel and air mixture enters the firing cylinder.

Upon firing of thefuel and air mixture by the sprak plug, the gas begins to expand, thus forcing the piston 162 downwardly. In order to reduce any vacuum effect that might occur during the last part of the downward movement of piston 162 after the explosive force has ended, or that might occur during the breaking mode of operation, a vacuum vent valve 174 is provided at the lower end of the casing 168 of valve 156. As the piston 162 is driven downwardly by the explosion in the cylinder, the vacuum vent valve 174 is allowed to unseat, permitting air from the atmosphere to pass through the casing of valve 156 to unseat valve head 158. This allows the air from the atmosphere to pass into firing chamber 164. Any suitable vent valve may be provided; however, it should be biased against opening while the compression gas is being directed into the firing cylinder.

When the piston 162 approaches the lower limits of its stroke, exhaust port 60 is exposed to permit most of the combustion product gases to be exhausted from the cylinder. This feature is particularly important when the no lead gasolines are used because they have a tendency to burn and pit conventional exhaust valves. The gases ae exhausted through conduit 62 into the afterburner 64, as can be seen in FIG. 1. During the subsequent upward stroke of piston 162, the exhaust valve 66 is opened by a mechanical linkage between thevalve stem and the camshaft 68 to permit the remaining gases to escape. As shown in this preferred embodiment, a cam follower 176 is positioned near cam shaft 68 and extends upwardly to a rocker arm or other suitable linkage 178 which is in engagement with the upper end of the stem 180. The rocker arm is pviotally mounted at support 182. A biasing spring 184 is provided on the valve stem 180; to maintain the exhaust valve normally in the closed position. As the firing piston 162 is moved upwardly and at a preselected time AUTOMATIC CAM SHAFT ADVANCE AND RETARD MECHANISM As discussed above, the automatic advance and retard mechanism is controlled by the pressure in the manifold 16. Compressed air from the manifold flows through conduit 78 which is connected to bellows assembly 188 (see FIG. 6) associated with the automatic advance and retard mechanism. The bellows assembly has two

end plates

190 and 192, end plate 190 being fixed to a portion 191 of the engine block and having conduit 78 extending therethrough, and end plate 192 being secured to a movable stud shaft 194. A spring 196 carried with the bellows assembly tends to collapse I the bellows assembly, thus causing end plate 192 to move towards end plate 190, as can be seen by the above description. The linear position of the end plate 192 will be determined by the amount of pressure in the bellows assembly which is the same as the pressure in the manifold 16.

The stud shaft 194 is fixedly secured to one side 197 of a thrust bearing 198 so that the bellows assembly 188 will not rotate with the camshaft 68. The other side 199 of thrust bearing 198 is fixedly secured to the end plate 200 of a cylindrical sleeve 202, ball bearings 203 permitting the opposite sides of the thrust bearing to rotate with respect to each other. Sleeve 202 is slidably mounted on cam shaft 68 through the use of a key and slot arrangement 204, whereby sleeve 202 is permitted to reciprocate axially with respect to the cam shaft 68 but rotates with the camshaft. As shown in FIG. 7, the sleeve has two

helical slots

206 and 208 spaced at diametrically opposed locations around the sleeve.

Trunnions

210 and 212 carried on a cylindrical support member 214 engage

slots

206 and 208, respectively. The trunnions are secured against axial motion along the length of the cam shaft, so that when sleeve 202 is moved axially along the shaft by bellows 188 the trunnions carried on support member 214 cause the cam shaft 68 to be rotated. Any suitable means can be used to mount the cylindrical support member 214 so that it will be axially fixed; in this preferred embodiment, the cylindrical support fits over a portion of the engine block 191 and rests on a'bearing 218, thus permitting the support member 214 to rotate with the cam shaft.

The cylindrical support member 214 also carries timing sprocket 86, so that any angular variation in the position of sleeve 202 will cause the angular relationship between the shaft 68 and the timing sprocket 86 to be varied. This changes the time relationship between the opening and closing of compression cylinder slide valves 111 and 112, which operate from sprocket 86, and the opening and closing of the inlet valve 140 and exhaust valve 66 of the firing cylinder, which operate from the cam shaft. Furthermore, since the circuit I breaker for solenoid coil 172 is also carried on shaft 68,

the timing of the energizing and tie-energizing of the coil 172 is varied by the advance and retard mechanism. Any desirable type of contact points or distributor meachanism which will make and break the circuit to the solenoid coil may be used on the cam shaft 68. Thus, it can be seen that the automatic advance and retard mechanism operates the opening and closing of the firing cylinder valve at the proper time in accordance with the pressure in the manifold 16, which in turn depends on the pressure in tank 10.

BRAKING MODE OF OPERATION The next mode of operation which will be described is the braking mode, wherein the engine and the vehicle which it drives are to be decelerated. When the vehicle operator removes his foot from the accelerator pedal 32, the throttle port 138 in the air storage tank 10 is closed by throttle valve 28, cutting off the flow of compressed air through manifold 16 to the firing cylinder. The closing of the throttle will also cause the mechanical linkage 30 to open switch 34 de-energizing the circuit to inlet control valve 36 and fuel control valve 38. This causes the two solenoid valves to close, thus shutting off air flow to inlet valve 18 and the fuel flow to Venturi line 58. Therefore, by simply releasing the accelerator pedal and closing the throttle, the operator prevents the engine from firing and sets the compres sion side of the engine up for storage of compressed air in the storage tank 10.

When inlet control valve 36 is closed, the flow of pressurized air from the tank 10 to the air chamber 140 in inlet valve 18 (FIG. 3) is shut off, and the air piston 141 is forced downwardly by spring 143. The inlet valve 106 moves downwardly and opens the path from the inlet air passages 102 to the compression cylinder 12, so that air is drawn into the compression cylinder 12 through inlet conduit 20 in exactly the same manner as it does during the firing mode of operation. The air is compressed by the compression cylinder 12 and flows through outlet line 22, through selector valve 24, into conduit 26 and then into the storage tank 10. Since the compression cylinders are working to compress air for the storage tank, this produces the braking effect of the engine. The firing cylinders also assist the braking operation, for the spring-loaded vacuum vent valve 174 admits air to the firing cylinder chamber during the downstroke of the piston and thefiring cylinder piston will tend to compress this air until vent valve 66 is opened during the upstroke.

If the operator correctly judges the distance required to stop, using only the retarding action of the compression and firing cylinders, the air intake path will remain open to feed pressurized air to the storage tank. Any excess pressure in tank 10 will vent through valve 137. The compression cylinder continues to brake the vehicle until it comes to a rest. If the operator does not judge the distance properly and an emergency stop is required, conventional brakes actuated by brake pedal 92 can be utilized to stop the vehicle. The operation of the brakes, however, sets 'up the'selector valve 24 for the motoring mode of operation and prevents air from flowing from the compression cylinders to the storage tank.

Upon depression of brake pedal 92 (see FIG. 1), a piston 228 in the brake reservoir 94 is moved to the right, as viewed in FIG. 1, thus forcing hydraulic fluid through conduit 96 to an oil chamber 230 in inlet valve 18. Movement of piston 228 to the right may also operate a conventional hydraulic braking system 232. As the oil from brake reservoir 94 flows into the oil chamber 230, which is defined by a lower wall 233 and an oil piston 234 within the valve 18, the inlet valve stem 235 to which piston 234 is attached, is forced upwardly, thus tending to move inlet valve head 106 against valve seat 104, against the bias of spring 226. A pair of

contacts

236 and 238 carried in the upper wall of inlet valve housing and on the top of piston 234, respectively, will close causing an indicator lamp 239 on vehicle dash to indicate to the operator when the inlet INLET valve 106 is closed.

The hydraulic fluid entering chamber 230 in valve 18 will exit the chamber and flow through conduit 98 to selector valve 24, as can be seen in FIGS. 3 and 4. As

the hydraulic oil passes into the upper portion of the selector valve casingdefined by upper piston section 108, the valve piston 107 is forced downwardly, thus causing the upper annular groove 240 to move into registration with inlet and

outlet lines

24 and 40. The lower annular groove 242 will also move into registration with exhaust line 244 which communicates with the atmosphere. The passage between the outlet conduit 22 from the compression cylinder and the storage tank conduit 26 is closed by the valve section 109. Any type of selector valve which can accomplish the above operation can be used.

It should be understood that an emergency stop will not prevent the engine from assisting the hydraulic brake mechanism in stopping the vehicle, but there will be no storage of compressed air by the compression cylinder in this situation since inlet valve 106 will be closed when the hydraulic brake system is operated. In an emergency stop situation, the compression cylinders will tend to draw a vacuum and the firing cylinders will draw air from the atmosphere through vent valve 174 into the firing chamber where it will be compressed to assist in braking the vehicle.

MOTORING MODE OF OPERATION After the engine has come to a stop in accordance with the preceding braking operation, it may be restarted through the use of the compressed air in the storage tank. This air is directed into the cylinders without fuel to drive the engine until the stored air supply has been depleted.

Toinitiate the motoring mode of operation, the brake pedal 92 is'released partially to release the hydraulic braking mechanism 232 but not far enough to release selector valve 24. This can be done in various ways, as by using a two position brake pedal or some other suitable mechanical means. After the brake pedal is partially released, the accelerator pedal 32 is depressed, thus opening the throttle valve 28 to allow the compressed air intank to flow into the manifold 16. In the motoring mode of operation, both the firing and compression cylinders are used as driving cylinders to turn the crank shaft. The air flowinginto the manifold 16 passes through conduit 40 and the selector valve 24 to conduit 20, since annular groove 240 remains registered with

conduits

40 and 20 because of the operation of the brake system. The air proceeds through conduit 20 and slide valve 111 which has been opened by the operation of cam 116 and follower 198 in the normal manner in at least one of the four compression cylinders. Upon entering the chamber 114, the compressed air forces the piston 17 downwardly and thereby turns the crank shaft. When the compression cylinder is moving upwardly on the return stroke, the slide valve 112 is opened and the nowexpanded air is forced out of the compression chamber 114 into conduit 22 which is now in communication with the atmosphere through exhaust line 244 and selector valve 24.

The compressed air from the manifold is also directed into conduit 42 which communicates with one of the firing cylinders 14. The air passes the intake inder is again varied and controlleed by the operation of the automatic advance and retard mechanism which adjusts the cam shaft 68 as the air pressure in the manifold drops.

When the accelerator pedal 32 is maipulated to open the throttle valve 28, mechanical linkages 30 operate switch 34; however, if a sufficient pressure has been builtup in tank 10 during the braking modeof operation, inlet control valve 36 and fuel control valve 38 will be prevented from operating. The reason for this can be seen in FIGS. 2-an d 2A where the pressure switch 59 and inlet control valve 36 are shown as being carried on and communicating with a pressure chamber 223 which in turn is carried on and communicates with storage tank 10. Solenoid valve 36 is shown in FIG. 2A as being operated by a coil 225, while valve 38 is operated by a coil 227, as shown in FIG. 2. One side of coil 225 is connected by way of

lines

231 and 229 and switch 34 to power source 35, while the other side of coil 225 is connected to ground. Similarly, coil 227 is connected to power source 35 through switch 34 and

wires

229 and 233. The other side of coil 227 is connected by wire 235 to a movable, pressure-sensitive contact 237 in pressure switch 39. Contact 237 is movable with respect to a fixed contact 241 which is connected to ground.

The pressure switch 59 has a diaphragm 243 which carries a projection 245 adapted to engage the movable contact 237. When the pressure in chamber 223 is at a sufficient level to cause the diaphragm 243 to deflect outwardly, projection 245 will engage the upper end of movable contact 237 and force it outwardly so that

contacts

237 and 241 disengage, thereby opening the circuit to the coil of fuel control valve 38. As the pressure in chamber 223 decreases, diaphragm 243 will return to its normal position and projection 245 will disengage contact 237, allowing

contacts

237 and 241 to close and energize the fuel control valve circuit. In this way, the opening and closing of fuel control valve can be regulated by the pressure in the storage tank 10. This control for the fuel control valve 38 is provided to prevent the fuel from being fed into the firing cylinders during the motoring mode of operation of the engine and while the pressure in the storage tank 10 ishigh. This permits the firing cylinder to be driven on compressed air only, without fuel, when throttle valve 28 is open. Any suitable pressure control switch known in the art which will de-energize the fuel control valve cirvalves 140 and 156 in the same manner as if the firing cuit in response to an increased pressure in the storage tank can be used and it will be apparent that the illustrated circuit can be modified in accordance with stan-' dard practice.

Turning now to the operation of the inlet control valve 36 during the motoring mode of operation, when throttle valve 28 is opened by manipulating the mechanical linkage 30, air flows into manifold 16 as explained hereinabove. Manipulation of the mechanical linkage 30 also operates switch 34 to energize the solenoid coil 225 which operates valve 36. The solenoid core is a valve stem 247 which is movable to permit communication between pressure chamber 223 and inlet valve 18 by way of conduit 139. In the motoring mode of operation, however, the air pressure in chamber 223 is initially high and will act on an enlarged portion or head 249 of valve stem 247 to maintain the valve in its closed position against the operation of coil 225, thereby preventing communication between chamber 233 and valve 18. As the pressure in tank decreases, the force of the solenoid will overcome the pressure in chamber 223 so that the valve 247 is unseated, permitting air to flow through conduit 139 to chamber 140 of inlet valve 18. This is set to occur at approximately the same time that the pressure switch 59 closes its

contacts

237, 241. It may be found desirable to produce smoother transition between the motoring and firing modes of operation in which case the inlet control valve 36 can be adjusted to open at a lower or higher pressure than is required to operate pressure switch 59.

Upon energization of fuel control valve 38, fuel will flow into Venturi line 58 where it will be mixed with air flowing in conduit 42 from the storage tank. The firing cylinders will then begin firing and the brake pedal 92 may be fully released either by the operator or by automatic sensing means responsive to the start of the firing mode. Upon complete release of the brake pedal 92, a bias spring 246 in the reservoir 94 forces the piston 228 to the left, as viewed in FIG. 1, forcing hydraulic fluid through conduit 100 into the bottom of selector valve 24. The lower portion 110 of the selector valve piston is forced upwardly to reset the selector valve for the normal firing mode of operation, with groove 242 registered with the outlet line 22 from compression cylinder 12 and the inlet line 26 to the storage tank 10. The outlet line 40 from manifold 16 is closed off from the inlet line 20 of compression cylinder 12, and exhaust line 244 is closed off from atmosphere. The oil pressure in chamber 230 of inlet valve 18 is decreased, thus permitting spring 143 to unseat valve 106 so that fresh air can be drawn into the compression cylinder from inlets 102. The inlet control valve-36, which is now open, permits air from storage tank 10 to pass into the air chamber 139 of the inlet control valve 18 and thereby regulate the amount valve 106 is open. The lamp 239 on the vehicle dash is extinguished as the valve 106 opens since

contacts

236 and 238 disengage.

If the occasion should'arise where there is insufficient pressure in the tank to motor the engine, such as after a long period of idleness, an electric starter motor (not shown) is provided to turn the engine over as in the standard internal combustion engine. With the throttle valve 28 closed, the engine is turned over for a few minutes to permit the compression cylinders to build up the pressure in the storage tank 10 to a predetermined level. A pressure readout gauge can be provided on the vehicle dash to monitor the pressure in the tank. The ignition system is then activated and the starter motor operates again to continue the build up pressure. Upon the opening of throttle valve, the engine should start in the manner described above and continue to build up pressure until it begins to run smoothly.

FUEL SYSTEM As mentioned hereinabove, the fuel used in the internal combustion engine of the present invention can be natural gas, propane, butane, gasoline, or any other suitable hydrocarbon fuel.'The fuel is stored in a pressurized storage tank 44 (see FIG. 1) and is normally maintained in a liquid state. Since it is desirous to have the fuel in a gaseous state when it is fed into the Venturi 58, the preferred embodiment of this invention provides a heat exchanging device 48 between the fuel tank 44 and the fuel regulator 52.

One type of heat exchanger device which can be used in the subject invention is illustrated in FIG. 8. The fuel is passed through line 46 from the fuel tank by pump 45. The line 46 is coiled at 246 around a branch or bypass 248 of the exhaust pipe 72 and then is directed through a thermostat 250 in line 50 to fuel regulator 52, which will be discussed hereinafter. The thermostat 250 controls the operation of a flip-flop valve 252 which when operated will divert a part or all of the hot exhaust gases flowing in exhaust pipe 72 through bypass 248, thereby heating the fuel in coil 246. The use of this particular type of heat exchanging device will also serve to cool the exhaust gases before directing them to the muffler 74.

The heated fuel passes through conduit 50 into the lower chamber 254 of fuel regulator 52, illustrated in detail in FIG. 9. The fuel regulator is generally cylindrical in shape andhas a valve stem 256 extending from a lower fuel chamber 254 upwardly through the fuel regulator cylinder. The stem 256 is fixedly secured at its upper end to a diaphragm 258 which is attached to the outer wall of the regulator. Above diaphragm 258 is an upper pressure chamber 260 which communicates with manifold 16 through conduit 54, as can be seen in FIG. 1. The stem 256 extends through central apertures in

regulator dividing walls

262, 264 and 266. A bellows seal 270 is provided between the stem 256 and wall 266 to prevent the gaseous fuel from passing into the upper compartments of the regulator when the valve head 268, which forms the lower end of stem 256, is unseated. The gaseous fuel flows from lower chamber 254 to an intermediate fuel chamber 272 and then into conduit 56 when the valve is open, the rate of flow depending on the amount which the valve is opened. The valve stem is threaded along its center portion at 274 and a wing nut 276 is carried on the stem. The wing nut can be used to position the valve stem and thus adjust the amount of increase or decrease in pressure in upper chamber 260 required to deflect diaphragm 258 and open the valve. The valve opens against the compressive strength of biasing spring 278 which is positioned between wall 262 and a fixed washer 280 which is carried on the valve stem 256. As the pressure in the manifold l6 builds up, pressure is applied to the upper surface of the diaphragm 258, thus forcing valve stem 256 downwardly and'thereby unseating valve head 268 to permit fuel to flow into line 56. An alternative method of operating the fuel regulator is through a vacuum system wherein the line 54 is connected between a chamber 282 of fuel regulator 52, which is on the lower side of diaphragm 258, and a suitable vacuum source on the engine. Such a connection may be made by way of a suitable fitting 284. A vacuum vent 286 is provided on the top of the regulator 52 and communicates with upper chamber 260 to permit air to enter chamber 260 in the event a vacuum is drawn in that chamber. The wing nut 276 can be utilized to insure that some fuel flows through the system no matter how much pressure is in the manifold simply by varying the position of the valve stem.

EXHAUST SYSTEM The exhaust gases passing from the firing cylinders are directed through port 60 into exhaust line 62 or through the exhaust valve 66 into line 70 which communicates with exhaust line 62. The exhaust line can be a manifold having anysuitable arrangement, depending uponhow many dual cylinder (timing and compression) units are used in the engine. The exhaust gases pass through a manifold 288 (FIG. and into an aft er-burner or combustion chamber 290 through a single inlet nozzle 292.

Air is drawn through line 294 from the engine crank case by the draft of the high velocity exhaust gases as they pass through the nozzle 292 into the afterburner chamber 290; thus, any unburned fuel in the hot gases is supplied with oxygen and will be burned in the afterburner 64. If the heat from the exhaust gases is insufficient to cause combustion, an ignitor 296, such as a glow plug or sparking device may be located at the exit of nozzle 292 to ignite the unburned fuel as it is emitted from the nozzle. The hot gases pass from the afterburner chamber 290 through exhaust pipe 72 to muffler 74. As described above, these exhaust gases can be used in the heat exchanger 48, and by using them in this manner to heat the fuel, it will be understood that the a temperature of the exhaust gases will be reduced prior to entering the muffler 47.

One of the most damaging pollutants contained in the exhaust of an internal combustion engine is nitrogen oxide. Therefore, the present engine utilizes a muffler that is specifically designed to remove the nitrogen oxides from the exhaust gases, as illustrated in FIGS. 11 and 12. The muffler 74 includes a rotating cylindrical screen 298 which is mountedwithin the muffler container 74. The cylindrical screen is rotated by a sprocket 300 and suitable drive means 302, which drive means can be a power takeoff from the engine, a separate electric motor, or the like. The screen. rotates through a chemical bath 304 carried inthe muffler casing 74. A suitable chemical solution such as a soda ash solution which will react with and remove the pollutants in the exhaust gasescan be used. The exhaust gases will enter the muffler 74 through exhaust line 72 which extends within the periphery of the cylindrical screen 298; As the screen rotates, some of the solution i plished by the use of the heat exchanger 48. It should be understood, however, that other suitable means may be used to lower the temperature of the exhaust gases.

It can be seen from the above description and drawings that the apparatus described hereinabove provides an internal combustion engine which will reduce the amount of pollutants that are normally expelled into the air by reducing the running time or firing time of the engine while also providing other features such as the afterburner and chemical bath to remove a large portion of the pollutants which will occur during the firing of the engine. The device also provides an automatic advance and retard mechanism for use with an internal combustion engine to vary the timing of the opening and closing of the valves in the engine when the pressure of the compressed air supply for the engine has been reduced.

As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, there are many variations and changes which can be made to this internal combustion engine; for example, the methods of biasing the valves in their normal position, the

use of different types of valves other than the slide valves on the compression cylinder, and other changes to the specific structural elements in this manner and other variations and changes ofthis nature can be made to the invention as above described and illustrated without departing from the true spirit and scope thereof as defined in the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An anti-pollution internal combustion engine for use in a vehicle comprising:

- a. first cylinder means for compressing air during a firing and braking mode of operation of said engine, said first cylinder means being driven by said compressed air during a motoring mode of operation of said engine; i

b. second cylinder means utilizing said compressed air for a fuel combustion reaction during said firing mode of operation, said second cylinder means being driven by said compressed air during said motoring mode of operation;

c. reservoir means for storing said compressed air from said first cylinder means during said firing and braking modes of operation;

d. air manifold means associated with said reservoirmeans for distributing the compressed air to said second cylinder means during said firing mode of operation and to said first and second cylinder means during said motoring mode of operation;

e. selector valve means for controlling the flow of said compressed air from said first cylinder means into said reservoir means during said firing and braking modes of operation and from said manifold means to said first cylinder means during said motoring mode of operation; and

f. throttle means for releasing said compressed air from said reservoir means to said manifold means during said firing and motoring modes of operation and for controlling the fuel flow into said second cylinder means.

2. The engine of claim 1, further including means for operating said selective valve means at predetermined times to register said selective valve means in a proper position for a selected mode of operation.

3. The engine of claim 1, further including a fuel supply means comprising:

a. a pressurized fuel tank for carrying the combustible fuel;

b. heat exchanger means for evaporating the fuel;

c. means for pumping the fuel from said pressurized fuel tank through said heat exchanger means; and

d. fuel regulator means for supplying the vaporized fuel to said throttle means, said fuel regulator means being controlled by the pressure in said manifold means.

4. The engine of claim I, further including an exhaust means comprising: i

a. an exhaust manifold which communicates with said second cylinder means to receive exhaust gases produced by said second cylinder means during said firing mode of operation;

b. afterburner means connected to said exhaust manifold for burning the unburned fuel remaining in said exhaust gases produced during said firing mode of operation; and

9. The engine of claim 5, wherein said heat exchanger includes:

a. an exhaust bypass conduit located between said afterburner means and said muffler means;

b. a fuel conduit connecting said pump means to said fuel regulator means, said fuel conduit being coiled around said exhaust bypass conduit;

c. valve means for diverting the exhaust gases through said exhaust bypass conduit; and

d. thermal means for controlling the operation of said valve means. i

10. The engine of claim 3, wherein said fuel regulator means includes:

a. a housing comprising an upper pressure chamber,

15 a second vacuum chamber, an intermediate chamber, a lower fuel inlet having a valve seat opening through one wall, and an outlet fuel chamber;

b. a diaphragm located between said pressure chamber and said vacuum chamber which is moved by c. muffler means connected to said afterburner means for eliminating undesired pollutants from said exhaust gases.

5. The engine of claim 3, further including an exhaust gas means comprising: i

a. an exhaust manifold which communicates with said second cylinder means to receive exhaust gases produced by said second cylinder means dur ing said firing mode of operation;

b. afterburner means connected to said exhaust manifold for burning the unburned fuel remaining in the exhaust gases produced during said firing mode of operation; and

c. muffler means connected to said afterburner means for eliminating undesired pollutants from said exhaust gases.

6. The engine of claim 4, wherein said afterburner means includes:

a. a casing forming a combustion chamber, said casing having an air inlet to introduce air into the comapplying pressure to the pressure chamber and probustion chamber; ducing a partial vacuum in the vacuum chamber b, a nozzle having one end connected to said exhaust c. valve means regulated by said diaphragm to conmanifold and the other end extending into said trol the flow offuel between said inlet fuel chamber combustion chamber so that the unburned fuel in and said outlet fuel chamber; and

d. means for adjusting the position of said valve means.

the exhaust gases is mixed with the air in the combustion chamber; and c. igniter means for igniting the unburned fuel-air 11. The engine of claim 10, wherein said throttle mixture within said combustion chamber. means includes: 7. The engine of claim 4, wherein said muffler means a. a throttle valve located between said reservoir includes: means and said manifold means for releasing coma. a housing containing a bath of chemical solution pressed air into said manifold means;

that will react with and remove various pollutants b. linkage means for opening and closing said throttle in said exhaust gases; valve; b. a cylindrical screen rotatably mounted within said c. inlet control valve associated with said reservoir housing, a portion of said cylindrical screen being rotated through said bath, whereby some of the solution will adhere to the screen as it emerges from the bath, said solution being redeposited into said means to supply pressure to said inlet valve to regulate the opening and closing of said inlet valve;

d. fuel control valve for permitting fuel to flow into said second cylinder means, said fuel control valve bath as said screen continues to rotate;

c. means for rotating said cylindrical screen; and

d. inlet conduit having one end connected to said afterburner to receive said exhaust gases and the other end extending within said housing to a position between the surface of said. bath and the portion of said screen above said bath so that the exhaust gases from said engine will pass through said solution as it is being redeposited.

8. The engine of claim 6, whrein said muffler means includes:

a. a housing containing a bath of chemical solution being regulated by said inlet control valve; and

e. switch means operated by said linkage means to energize and de-energize said inlet control valve.

12. The engine of claim 1, wherein said first cylinder means includes:

a. an inlet valve;

b. at least one compression cylinder connected to said vehicle drive shaft for turning the drive shaft during the motoring mode of operation, said compression cylinder having an inlet and outlet, said inlet valve means communicating with said compression cylinder by a first inlet conduit, said inlet that will react with and remove various pollutants in said exhaust gases;

b. a cylindrical screen rotatably mounted within said tion of said screen above said bath so that the exhaust gases from said engine will pass through said solution as it is being redeposited.

valve regulating the amount of air drawn into said compression cylinder during the firing and braking mode of operation of said engine, said compression housing, a portion of said cylindrical screen being cylinder having an outlet conduitconnected to said 1 rotated through said bath, whereby some of the soreservoir means through said selector valve means, lution will adhere to the screen as it emerges from and a second inlet conduit connecting said manithe bath, said solution being redeposited into said fold means to said first inlet conduit through said bath as said screen continues to rotate; selector valve means for introducing compressed 0. means for rotating said cylindrical screen; and air from said reservoir into said compression cylind. inlet conduit having one end connected to said afder during said motoring mode of operation of said terburner to receive said exhaust gases and the engine; other end extending within said housing to a posicompression cylinder valve means for opening and tion between the surface of said bath and the porclosing the inlet and outlet of said compression cylinder at preselected times;

d. first cam means for operating said compression cylinder valve means; and

e. means associated with said vehicle drive shaft for operating said first cam means.

13. The engine of claim 1, wherein said second cylinder means includes:

a. at least one firing cylinder asscoiated with the vehicle drive shaft for turning the drive shaft during the firing and motoring mode of operation;

b. firing cylinder inlet valve means connecting said manifold means and said throttle means to said firing cylinder for introducing a compressed air and fuel mixture into said firing cylinder during the firing mode of operation and for introducing compressed air into said firing cylinder during the motoring mode of operation;

c. exhaust valve means for permitting said exhaust gases to flow from said firing cylinder after the combustion in said firing cylinder;

d. second cam means associated with said vehicle drive shaft for operating said firing cylinder inlet valve means and said exhaust valve means at preselected times; 1

e. means for advancing and retarding the operation of said second cam means; and

f. means associated with said vehicle drive shaft for operating said second cam means.

14. The engine of claim 13, wherein said firing cylinder inlet valve means includes:

a. a first valve operated by said second cam means;

b. a second valve operated by the compressed air and fuel mixture being directed into said firing cylinder; and

c. a venturi connecting said first and second valves, said venturi being connected to said throttle means.

15. The engine of claim 14, wherein said-second.

valve means further includes:

a. a vacuum valve for preventing the firing cylinder from drawing a vacuum during the exhaust phase of the firing cylinder operation and for permitting air to flow into said firing cylinder during said braking mode of operatiom'and b. means for operating said second valve to eliminate the time lag between the opening and closing of said first valve and said second valve. 1

16. The engine of claim 13, wherein said second cam means includes a second shaft carrying a plurality of cam lobes for operating said firing cylinder inlet valve means and said exhaust valve means.

17. The engine of claim 16, wherein said means for advancing and retarding the operation of said second cam means includes:

a. a bellows assembly contiguous to said second shaft and communicating with said manifold means, said bellows assembly being reciprocable in a linear direction, the linear position of said bellows assembly being controlled by the pressure in said manifold means;

b. a sleeve carried on said second shaft;

c. means for permitting said sleeve to reciprocate on said second shaft while. permitting said sleeve to rotate with said second shaft;

d. bearing means connecting said bellows assembly e. a support member associated with said second shaft and sleeve, said support member being mounted for rotation on said engine; and

f. means for transmitting the rotational motion of said second shaft and sleeve to said support member.

' 18. The engine of claim 17, wherein said means for operating said second cam means includes:

a. a. first timing sprocket carried on said support member;

b. drive shaft sprocket carried on said drive shaft; and

c. timing chain encircling said first timing sprocket and said drive shaft sprocket.

19. The engine of claim 1, further including means for operating said selective valve means.

20. The engine of claim 19, wherein said means for operating said selector valve means includes:

a. a closed loop fluid brake means for shifting said selector valve means between a first and second position, said selector valve means being in said first position during the firing and braking modes of operation and in said second position during the motoring mode of operation; and

b. means for selectively operating the fluid brake means between a first position wherein the selector valve means is in its first position for the firing and braking mode of operation, a second position wherein the selector valve means is moved to its second position and a mechanical braking mechanism for the vehicle is actuated and a third position wherein the mechanical braking system of the vehicle is released and the selector valve means is maintained in its second position.

21. The engine of claim 20, wherein the fluid'brake means includes:

a. a fluid cylinder means containing a fluid and having a reciprocating piston, said piston being connected to said means for selectively operating the fluid brake means; and

b. first and second conduits connecting said fluid cylinder means to said selector valve means so that when said piston is reciprocated in said fluid cylinder said fluid is selectively forced through said first and second-conduits to said selector valve-means to set the selector valve means in its first and second positions.

22. The engine of claim 12, wherein said compression cylinder valve means includes first and second slide valves. associated with said compression cylinder to open and close the inlet and outlet to said compression cylinder, and wherein said first cam means includes:

a. a first shaft carrying cam lobe means and mounted for rotation on said engine;

b. first and second cam follwers associated with said first shaft for actuating said first and second slide valves to an open position upon engagement of cam follower by said cam lobe means carried on said first shaft; and

c. first biasing means for returning said first and second slide valves to a closed position when said cam followers are disengaged from said cam on said first shaft. I

23. The engine of claim 22, wherein said means for operating said first cam means includes:

a. a second timing sprocket carried on said first cam shaft;

b. a drive shaft sprocket carried on said vehicle drive shaft; and

c. timing chain encircling said second timing sprocket and said drive shaft sprocket.

24. The engine of claim 12, wherein said second cylinder means includes:

a. at least one firing cylinder associated with the vehicle drive shaft for turning the drive shaft during the firing and motoring mode of operation;

b. firing cylinder inlet valve means connecting said manifold means and said throttle means to said firing cylinder for introducing a compressed air and fuel mixture into said firing cylinder during the firing mode of operation and for introducing compressed air into the firing cylinder during the motoring mode of operation;

c. exhaust valve means for permitting exhaust gases to flow from said firing cylinder after the combustion in said firing cylinder;

d. second cam means associated with said vehicle drive shaft for operating said firing cylinder inlet valve means and said exhaust valve means at preselected times;

25. The engine of claim 24, wherein said firing cylinde'r inlet valve means includes:

a. a first valve means operated by said second cam means;

b. a second valve operated by the compressed air and fuel mixture during the firing mode of operation, said second valve means communicating with said firing cylinder; and

26. The engine of claim 25, further including means for operating said selector valve means.

27. The engine of claim 26, wherein said means for operating said selector valve means includes:

a. closed loop fluid brake means for shifting said selector valve means between a first and second position, said selector valve means being in said first position during the firing and braking modes of operation and in the second position during the motoring mode of operation; and

b. means for selectively operating said brake means between a first position wherein said selector valve means is in its first position for the firing and braking modes of operation, a second position wherein a mechanical braking system on said vehicle is actuated and said selector valve means is moved to said second position and a third position wherein said selector valve remains in said second position and said mechanical braking system is released.

28. The engine of claim 24, wherein said second cam means includes a second shaft carrying a plurality-of cam lobes for operating said firing cylinder inlet valve means and said exhaust valve means.

29. The engine of claim 28, wherein said means advancing and retarding the operation of said cam means includes:

a. a bellows assembly contiguous to said second shaft and communicating with said manifold means, said bellows assembly being reciprocal in a linear direction, the linear position of said bellows assembly being controlled by the pressure in said manifold means;

b. sleeve carried on said second shaft;

c. means for permitting said sleeve to reciprocate on said second shaft while permitting said sleeve to rotate with said second shaft;

d. bearing means connecting said bellows assembly and said sleeve, said bearing means transmitting the linear movement of said bellows assembly to said sleeve while preventing the rotational movement of said sleeve tobe transmitted to said bellows assembly;

e. support member associated with said second shaft and said sleeve, said support member being mounted for rotation on said engine; and

f. means for transmitting the rotary movement of said second shaft and said sleeve to said support member.

30. The engine of claim 24, wherein said compression cylinder valve means includes first and second slide valves associated with said compression cylinder to open and close the inlet and outlet to said compression cylinder; and wherein said first cam means includes:

a. a first'shaft carrying cam lobe means and mounted for rotation on said engine;

b. first and second cam followers associated with said first shaft for actuating said first and second slide valves to an open position upon engagement of said cam follower by said cam lobe means on said first shaft; and

c. first biasing means for returning said first and second side valves to a closed position wherein said cam follower disengages from said cam on said first shaft.

31. The engine of claim 30, wherein said means for operating said first cam means includes:

a. a second timing sprocket carried on said first shaft;

b. a drive shaft sprocket carried on the vehicle drive shaft; and

c. timing chains encircling said second timing sprocket and said drive shaft sprocket.

32. The engine of claim 24, further including a fuel supply means comprising:

a. a pressurized fuel tank for carrying a combustible fuel;

b. heat exchanger means for vaporizing said fuel;

0. means for pumping said fuel from said pressurized fuel tank through said heat exchanger means; and

d. fuel regulator means for supplying the vaporized fuel to said throttle means, said fuel regulator means being controlled by the pressure in said manifold means. I

33. The engine of claim 32, further including an exhaust means comprising:

a. an exhaust manifold which communicates which said second cylinder means to receive exhaust gases produced by said second cylinder means during the firing mode of operation;

b. afterbumer means connected to said exhaust manifold for burning the unburned fuel remaining in the exhaust gas produced during the firing mode of operation; and

c. muffler means connected to said afterbumer means for eliminating undesired pollutatns from said exhaust gases.

Claims

1. An anti-pollution internal combustion engine for use in a vehicle comprising: a. first cylinder means for compressing air during a firing and braking mode of operation of said engine, said first cylinder means being driven by said compressed air during a motoring mode of operation of said engine; b. second cylinder means utilizing said compressed air for a fuel combustion reaction during said firing mode of operation, said second cylinder means being driven by said compressed air during said motoring mode of operation; c. reservoir means for storing said compressed air from said first cylinder means during said firing and braking modes of operation; d. air manifold means associated with said reservoir means for distributing the compressed air to said second cylinder means during said firing mode of operation and to said first and second cylinder means during said motoring mode of operation; e. selector valve means for controlling the flow of said compressed air from said first cylinder means into said reservoir means during said firing and braking modes of operation and from said manifold means to said first cylinder means during said motoring mode of operation; and f. throttle means for releasing said compressed air from said reservoir means to said manifold means during said firing and motoring modes of operation and for controlling the fuel flow into said second cylinder means.

3. The engine of claim 1, further including a fuel supply means comprising: a. a pressurized fuel tank for carrying the combustible fuel; b. heat exchanger means for evaporating the fuel; c. means for pumping the fuel from said pressurized fuel tank through said heat exchanger means; and d. fuel regulator means for supplying the vaporized fuel to said throttle means, said fuel regulator means being controlled by the pressure in said manifold means.

4. The engine of claim 1, further including an exhaust means comprising: a. an exhaust manifold which communicates with said second cylinder means to receive exhaust gases produced by said second cylinder means during said firing mode of operation; b. afterburner means connected to said exhaust manifold for burning the unburned fuel remaining in said exhaust gases produced during said firing mode of operation; and c. muffler means connected to said afterburner means for eliminating undesired pollutants from said exhaust gases.

5. The engine of claim 3, further including an exhaust gas means comprising: a. an exhaust manifold which communicates with said second cylinder means to receive exhaust gases produced by said second cylinder means during said firing mode of operation; b. afterburner means connected to said exhaust manifold for burning the unburned fuel remaining in the exhaust gases produced during said firing mode of operation; and c. muffler means connected to said afterburner means for eliminating undesired pOllutants from said exhaust gases.

6. The engine of claim 4, wherein said afterburner means includes: a. a casing forming a combustion chamber, said casing having an air inlet to introduce air into the combustion chamber; b. a nozzle having one end connected to said exhaust manifold and the other end extending into said combustion chamber so that the unburned fuel in the exhaust gases is mixed with the air in the combustion chamber; and c. igniter means for igniting the unburned fuel-air mixture within said combustion chamber.

7. The engine of claim 4, wherein said muffler means includes: a. a housing containing a bath of chemical solution that will react with and remove various pollutants in said exhaust gases; b. a cylindrical screen rotatably mounted within said housing, a portion of said cylindrical screen being rotated through said bath, whereby some of the solution will adhere to the screen as it emerges from the bath, said solution being redeposited into said bath as said screen continues to rotate; c. means for rotating said cylindrical screen; and d. inlet conduit having one end connected to said afterburner to receive said exhaust gases and the other end extending within said housing to a position between the surface of said bath and the portion of said screen above said bath so that the exhaust gases from said engine will pass through said solution as it is being redeposited.

8. The engine of claim 6, whrein said muffler means includes: a. a housing containing a bath of chemical solution that will react with and remove various pollutants in said exhaust gases; b. a cylindrical screen rotatably mounted within said housing, a portion of said cylindrical screen being rotated through said bath, whereby some of the solution will adhere to the screen as it emerges from the bath, said solution being redeposited into said bath as said screen continues to rotate; c. means for rotating said cylindrical screen; and d. inlet conduit having one end connected to said afterburner to receive said exhaust gases and the other end extending within said housing to a position between the surface of said bath and the portion of said screen above said bath so that the exhaust gases from said engine will pass through said solution as it is being redeposited.

9. The engine of claim 5, wherein said heat exchanger includes: a. an exhaust bypass conduit located between said afterburner means and said muffler means; b. a fuel conduit connecting said pump means to said fuel regulator means, said fuel conduit being coiled around said exhaust bypass conduit; c. valve means for diverting the exhaust gases through said exhaust bypass conduit; and d. thermal means for controlling the operation of said valve means.

10. The engine of claim 3, wherein said fuel regulator means includes: a. a housing comprising an upper pressure chamber, a second vacuum chamber, an intermediate chamber, a lower fuel inlet having a valve seat opening through one wall, and an outlet fuel chamber; b. a diaphragm located between said pressure chamber and said vacuum chamber which is moved by applying pressure to the pressure chamber and producing a partial vacuum in the vacuum chamber ; c. valve means regulated by said diaphragm to control the flow of fuel between said inlet fuel chamber and said outlet fuel chamber; and d. means for adjusting the position of said valve means.

11. The engine of claim 10, wherein said throttle means includes: a. a throttle valve located between said reservoir means and said manifold means for releasing compressed air into said manifold means; b. linkage means for opening and closing said throttle valve; c. inlet control valve associated with said reservoir means to supply pressure to said inlet valve to regulate the opening and closing of said inlet valve; d. fuel control valve for permitting fuel to flow into said second cylinder means, said fuel control valvE being regulated by said inlet control valve; and e. switch means operated by said linkage means to energize and de-energize said inlet control valve.

12. The engine of claim 1, wherein said first cylinder means includes: a. an inlet valve; b. at least one compression cylinder connected to said vehicle drive shaft for turning the drive shaft during the motoring mode of operation, said compression cylinder having an inlet and outlet, said inlet valve means communicating with said compression cylinder by a first inlet conduit, said inlet valve regulating the amount of air drawn into said compression cylinder during the firing and braking mode of operation of said engine, said compression cylinder having an outlet conduit connected to said reservoir means through said selector valve means, and a second inlet conduit connecting said manifold means to said first inlet conduit through said selector valve means for introducing compressed air from said reservoir into said compression cylinder during said motoring mode of operation of said engine; c. compression cylinder valve means for opening and closing the inlet and outlet of said compression cylinder at preselected times; d. first cam means for operating said compression cylinder valve means; and e. means associated with said vehicle drive shaft for operating said first cam means.

13. The engine of claim 1, wherein said second cylinder means includes: a. at least one firing cylinder asscoiated with the vehicle drive shaft for turning the drive shaft during the firing and motoring mode of operation; b. firing cylinder inlet valve means connecting said manifold means and said throttle means to said firing cylinder for introducing a compressed air and fuel mixture into said firing cylinder during the firing mode of operation and for introducing compressed air into said firing cylinder during the motoring mode of operation; c. exhaust valve means for permitting said exhaust gases to flow from said firing cylinder after the combustion in said firing cylinder; d. second cam means associated with said vehicle drive shaft for operating said firing cylinder inlet valve means and said exhaust valve means at preselected times; e. means for advancing and retarding the operation of said second cam means; and f. means associated with said vehicle drive shaft for operating said second cam means.

14. The engine of claim 13, wherein said firing cylinder inlet valve means includes: a. a first valve operated by said second cam means; b. a second valve operated by the compressed air and fuel mixture being directed into said firing cylinder; and c. a venturi connecting said first and second valves, said venturi being connected to said throttle means.

15. The engine of claim 14, wherein said second valve means further includes: a. a vacuum valve for preventing the firing cylinder from drawing a vacuum during the exhaust phase of the firing cylinder operation and for permitting air to flow into said firing cylinder during said braking mode of operation; and b. means for operating said second valve to eliminate the time lag between the opening and closing of said first valve and said second valve.

17. The engine of claim 16, wherein said means for advancing and retarding the operation of said second cam means includes: a. a bellows assembly contiguous to said second shaft and communicating with said manifold means, said bellows assembly being reciprocable in a linear direction, the linear position of said bellows assembly being controlled by the pressure in said manifold means; b. a sleeve carried on said second shaft; c. means for permitting said sleeve to reciprocate on said second shaft while permitting said sleeve to rotate with Said second shaft; d. bearing means connecting said bellows assembly and said sleeve, said bearing means transmitting the linear movement of said bellows assembly to said sleeve while preventing the rotational movement of said sleeve to be transmitted to said bellows assembly; e. a support member associated with said second shaft and sleeve, said support member being mounted for rotation on said engine; and f. means for transmitting the rotational motion of said second shaft and sleeve to said support member.

18. The engine of claim 17, wherein said means for operating said second cam means includes: a. a first timing sprocket carried on said support member; b. drive shaft sprocket carried on said drive shaft; and c. timing chain encircling said first timing sprocket and said drive shaft sprocket.

20. The engine of claim 19, wherein said means for operating said selector valve means includes: a. a closed loop fluid brake means for shifting said selector valve means between a first and second position, said selector valve means being in said first position during the firing and braking modes of operation and in said second position during the motoring mode of operation; and b. means for selectively operating the fluid brake means between a first position wherein the selector valve means is in its first position for the firing and braking mode of operation, a second position wherein the selector valve means is moved to its second position and a mechanical braking mechanism for the vehicle is actuated and a third position wherein the mechanical braking system of the vehicle is released and the selector valve means is maintained in its second position.

21. The engine of claim 20, wherein the fluid brake means includes: a. a fluid cylinder means containing a fluid and having a reciprocating piston, said piston being connected to said means for selectively operating the fluid brake means; and b. first and second conduits connecting said fluid cylinder means to said selector valve means so that when said piston is reciprocated in said fluid cylinder said fluid is selectively forced through said first and second conduits to said selector valve means to set the selector valve means in its first and second positions.

22. The engine of claim 12, wherein said compression cylinder valve means includes first and second slide valves associated with said compression cylinder to open and close the inlet and outlet to said compression cylinder, and wherein said first cam means includes: a. a first shaft carrying cam lobe means and mounted for rotation on said engine; b. first and second cam follwers associated with said first shaft for actuating said first and second slide valves to an open position upon engagement of cam follower by said cam lobe means carried on said first shaft; and c. first biasing means for returning said first and second slide valves to a closed position when said cam followers are disengaged from said cam on said first shaft.

23. The engine of claim 22, wherein said means for operating said first cam means includes: a. a second timing sprocket carried on said first cam shaft; b. a drive shaft sprocket carried on said vehicle drive shaft; and c. timing chain encircling said second timing sprocket and said drive shaft sprocket.

24. The engine of claim 12, wherein said second cylinder means includes: a. at least one firing cylinder associated with the vehicle drive shaft for turning the drive shaft during the firing and motoring mode of operation; b. firing cylinder inlet valve means connecting said manifold means and said throttle means to said firing cylinder for introducing a compressed air and fuel mixture into said firing cylinder during the firing mode of operation and for introducing compressed air into the firing cylinder during the motoring mode of operatiOn; c. exhaust valve means for permitting exhaust gases to flow from said firing cylinder after the combustion in said firing cylinder; d. second cam means associated with said vehicle drive shaft for operating said firing cylinder inlet valve means and said exhaust valve means at preselected times; e. means for advancing and retarding the operation of said second cam means; and f. means associated with said vehicle drive shaft for operating said second cam means.

25. The engine of claim 24, wherein said firing cylinder inlet valve means includes: a. a first valve means operated by said second cam means; b. a second valve operated by the compressed air and fuel mixture during the firing mode of operation, said second valve means communicating with said firing cylinder; and c. a venturi connecting said first and second valves, said venturi being connected to said throttle means.

27. The engine of claim 26, wherein said means for operating said selector valve means includes: a. closed loop fluid brake means for shifting said selector valve means between a first and second position, said selector valve means being in said first position during the firing and braking modes of operation and in the second position during the motoring mode of operation; and b. means for selectively operating said brake means between a first position wherein said selector valve means is in its first position for the firing and braking modes of operation, a second position wherein a mechanical braking system on said vehicle is actuated and said selector valve means is moved to said second position and a third position wherein said selector valve remains in said second position and said mechanical braking system is released.

28. The engine of claim 24, wherein said second cam means includes a second shaft carrying a plurality of cam lobes for operating said firing cylinder inlet valve means and said exhaust valve means.

29. The engine of claim 28, wherein said means advancing and retarding the operation of said cam means includes: a. a bellows assembly contiguous to said second shaft and communicating with said manifold means, said bellows assembly being reciprocal in a linear direction, the linear position of said bellows assembly being controlled by the pressure in said manifold means; b. sleeve carried on said second shaft; c. means for permitting said sleeve to reciprocate on said second shaft while permitting said sleeve to rotate with said second shaft; d. bearing means connecting said bellows assembly and said sleeve, said bearing means transmitting the linear movement of said bellows assembly to said sleeve while preventing the rotational movement of said sleeve to be transmitted to said bellows assembly; e. support member associated with said second shaft and said sleeve, said support member being mounted for rotation on said engine; and f. means for transmitting the rotary movement of said second shaft and said sleeve to said support member.

30. The engine of claim 24, wherein said compression cylinder valve means includes first and second slide valves associated with said compression cylinder to open and close the inlet and outlet to said compression cylinder; and wherein said first cam means includes: a. a first shaft carrying cam lobe means and mounted for rotation on said engine; b. first and second cam followers associated with said first shaft for actuating said first and second slide valves to an open position upon engagement of said cam follower by said cam lobe means on said first shaft; and c. first biasing means for returning said first and second side valves to a closed position wherein said cam follower disengages from said cam on said first shaft.

31. The engine of claim 30, wherein said means for operating said first cam means includes: a. a second timing sprocket carried on said first shaft; b. a drive shaft sprocket carried on the vehicle drive shaft; and c. timing chains encircling said second timing sprocket and said drive shaft sprocket.

32. The engine of claim 24, further including a fuel supply means comprising: a. a pressurized fuel tank for carrying a combustible fuel; b. heat exchanger means for vaporizing said fuel; c. means for pumping said fuel from said pressurized fuel tank through said heat exchanger means; and d. fuel regulator means for supplying the vaporized fuel to said throttle means, said fuel regulator means being controlled by the pressure in said manifold means.

33. The engine of claim 32, further including an exhaust means comprising: a. an exhaust manifold which communicates which said second cylinder means to receive exhaust gases produced by said second cylinder means during the firing mode of operation; b. afterburner means connected to said exhaust manifold for burning the unburned fuel remaining in the exhaust gas produced during the firing mode of operation; and c. muffler means connected to said afterburner means for eliminating undesired pollutatns from said exhaust gases.