Abstract
An injection gate (44,144,244,344) for high pressure, high velocity secondary fluid for admixture of an atomized spray (80,180) thereof with another or primary fluid that atomizes the other fluid. The secondary fluid may be an accelerant and the primary fluid may be a low pressure fuel/air mixture in a fuel injection arrangement for an internal combustion engine. An injection billet (10,110,210,310) for an engine is interposed between the carburetor (12) and the manifold (14), with an array of such injection gates (44,244,344) paired with an array of fuel/air gates (34,234,334) about an aperture coinciding with a throttle bore (60,160,260,360) and evenly balancing the spray about the throttle bore, creating a halo effect of atomized admixture of accelerant/fuel. The injection of accelerant is directed sharply downwardly toward the center of the bore and through the injected fuel stream, atomizing the fuel thereof for a high efficiency boost of horsepower.
Claims
1. A system for injection of atomizing spray of accelerant into a throttle bore, comprising: an injection billet having an aperture aligned with the throttle bore, the injection billet having a runner for accelerant in fluid communication with a source containing the accelerant in liquid form under high pressure; and an array of spaced apart injection gates extend to a perimeter of the aperture and are in fluid communication with the runner.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the array includes from three to six injection gates generally equally spaced apart around the periphery of the aperture.
3. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the injection gates includes a discharge aperture angled in a direction of air flow through the throttle bore and directed toward a center of the flow.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the injection gates comprises: an exit port from an exit passageway in fluid communication with a source of the liquid and having a floor and a ceiling and opens into the aperture, the floor being planar and terminating at an edge at the aperture, and the passageway concluding in a deflection surface beginning spaced away from the floor edge toward the aperture and continuing from the ceiling about a continuous spherically concave shape with an angular distance of less than 90 in a direction transverse of the passageway, the deflection surface with the floor edge defining an opening into the aperture having a semi-cylindrical cross-section, whereby the flow of liquid is deflected an angular distance less than 90 through the opening into the aperture whereby the liquid atomizes into a spray plume having a distinct direction.
5. The system of claim 4, wherein for each of the injection gates, the floor edge has a radius of between 0.0005 in. to 0.0010 in.
6. The system of claim 4, wherein for each of the injection gates, the passageway cross-section is semicylindrical.
7. The system of claim 4, wherein the source pressure is between 700 psi and 1100 psi, and for each of the injection gates, the passageway is semicylindrical in cross-section and has a width between 0.0055 in. to 0.0070 in. and a radius of 0.0027 in. to 0.0035 in., and the exit gate defines an opening 0.0055 in. to 0.0070 in. in width and a radius of 0.0027 in. to 0.0035 in.
8. The system of claim 4, wherein for each of the injection gates, a surface depends from the floor edge at an angle less than 90 from the axis of the passageway to assist in directing the spray plume.
9. The system of claim 8, wherein the angle is from 65 to 85.
10. An arrangement for injecting a primary fluid and the accelerant, wherein the system for injecting the accelerant is in accordance with claim 4, and a primary fluid gate is spaced below each of the accelerant gates and open into the aperture from a primary fluid passageway parallel to the accelerant passageway at a location proximally of the accelerant gate, such that droplets of liquid form and are directed into the atomized spray plume of the accelerant and become atomized thereby.
11. The arrangement of claim 10, wherein the primary fluid is under a pressure of from 5 psi to 10 psi.
12. A multi-stage injection billet for an internal combustion engine that includes a manifold and a carburetor, for injection of a primary fuel/air mixture into each throttle bore of the manifold having at least one throttle bore, and for injection of a secondary fuel thereinto for admixture with the primary fuel, comprising: an assembly including a lower plate having a lower surface to be adjacent a manifold, an upper plate having an upper surface to be adjacent a carburetor, and at least one intermediate plate interposed between the lower plate and the upper plate, the assembly having an aperture therethrough aligned with each respective throttle; the lower plate including an inlet port for the primary fuel/air mixture, and a runner in fluid communication with the inlet port and extending to an array of primary injection gates about each at least one aperture of the assembly; the upper plate including an inlet port for the secondary fuel, and a runner in fluid communication with the inlet port and extending to an array of secondary injection gates about each at least one aperture of the assembly; each at least one intermediate plate including a primary inlet port for the primary fuel/air mixture, and an upper surface including a runner in fluid communication with the primary inlet port and extending to an array of primary injection gates about each at least one aperture of the assembly, and further including a secondary inlet port for the secondary fuel, and a lower surface including a runner in fluid communication with the secondary inlet port and extending to an array of secondary injection gates about each at least one aperture of the assembly; the secondary injection gates of the upper plate being associated with respective primary injection gates of an adjacent at least one intermediate plate and positioned directly thereabove defining associated gate pairs, and the injection gates of the lower plate being associated with respective secondary injection gates of an adjacent at least one intermediate plate and positioned directly therebelow defining associated gate pairs; and the secondary injection gates each defining a discharge angle for the secondary liquid directed into and distinctly downwardly toward the center of the throttle bore associated with each at least one aperture while the primary injection gates each discharge the primary fuel into an atomized spray plume of secondary liquid discharged from the associated secondary injection gate, whereby the primary fuel is also atomized and induced into and toward the center of the throttle bore.
13. The multi-stage injection billet of claim 12, wherein the primary inlet ports are vertically aligned and the secondary inlet ports are vertically aligned.
14. The multi-stage injection billet of claim 12, wherein the primary inlet ports and the secondary inlet ports are associated in coplanar pairs.
15. The multi-stage injection billet of claim 12, wherein each said lower, upper and intermediate plate includes a boss along one edge projecting vertically and a notch along an opposite recessed vertically, respectively along a top surface and a bottom surface of the respective plate, whereby the plates nest with each other, all except that a top surface of an uppermost plate does not include a boss and does not include a notch and a bottom surface of a lower plate does not include a boss and does not include a notch.
16. The multi-stage injection billet of claim 12, wherein the bosses and notches are vertically aligned with the primary and secondary inlet ports.
17. The multi-stage injection billet of claim 12, wherein tuning plates are interposed between each pair of adjacent plates.
18. The multi-stage injection billet of claim 12, wherein the adjacent surfaces of the lower, tuning and upper plates are machined to have a surface RMS finish of from 2 to 125 in, whereby the plates provide an inherent seal therebetween upon the introduction of fluid into the runners.
19. The multi-stage injection billet of claim 12, wherein the adjacent surfaces are machined in a radial end mill manner to have a surface RMS finish of from 2 to 125 in, whereby the plates provide an inherent seal therebetween upon the introduction of fluid into the runners.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
(1) The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and constitute part of this specification, illustrate the presently preferred embodiments of the invention, and, together with the general description given above and the detailed description given below, serve to explain the features of the invention. In the drawings:
(2) FIG. 1 is an elevation view of a plate assembly of the present invention interposed between a conventional carburetor and a conventional manifold of an engine for assembly therewith;
(3) FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional representation of the plate assembly of FIG. 1 showing two main apertures associated with two bores of the engine, in which four gates for atomized fluid are positioned above four corresponding gates for fuel/air mixture for introduction into the manifold;
(4) FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of one of the main apertures of FIG. 2 showing representative plumes of atomized fluid and the admixture with the fuel/air mixture directed into the manifold toward a mouth of one bore of the engine;
(5) FIG. 4 is a photograph from above of atomized fluid and fuel/air admixture of the main aperture of FIG. 3 illustrating the halo effect of the atomized plumes, but for a plate assembly having five gates around the aperture;
(6) FIGS. 5 to 8 are enlarged, simplified cross-sectional representations of a portion of the plate assembly of FIGS. 1 to 4 showing upper and lower plates sandwiching the tuning plate at a gate pair location, illustrating runners for both secondary (upper) and primary (lower) fluids with respective inlet ports therefor, o-ring arrangements, and also showing various geometrical configurations of the secondary fluid gate;
(7) FIG. 9 is an isometric view of an embodiment of plate assembly of the present invention having six gates per main aperture, for a four-bore engine, and showing representative atomized accelerant/fuel/air admixture plumes;
(8) FIG. 10 is a representation of various gate geometries of the present invention, each a view of the discharge opening of a gate of the type shown in the enlarged cross-sectional gate view of FIG. 3;
(9) FIG. 11 is a bottom view of an accelerant gate visible outwardly of the throttle bore adjacent surface of the tuning plate, with the tuning plate portion shown in cross-section;
(10) FIG. 12 is a plan view schematic of the interior surface of the upper plate of the injection billet embodiment of FIG. 9, showing the centerlines of the captive runners and the surrounding o-ring;
(11) FIG. 13 is an exploded assembly view of the injection billet embodiment of FIG. 12, showing the upper, lower and tuning plates, o-rings, injection jet fittings installed and a representative assembly screw;
(12) FIG. 14 is an exploded view similar to FIG. 13 from below of the tuning plate and interior surface of the upper plate;
(13) FIG. 15 is an enlarged view of one throttle bore of the upper plate in which are seen six accelerant gates extending from the runner to the throttle bore;
(14) FIG. 16 is an isometric assembly view of a second embodiment of injection billet of the present invention;
(15) FIGS. 17 and 18 are isometric views from above of the tuning plate and lower plate of the injection billet of FIG. 16;
(16) FIGS. 19 and 20 are isometric views from below of the tuning plate and upper plate of the injection billet of FIGS. 16 to 18;
(17) FIGS. 21 and 22 are enlarged isometric views of the tuning plate and upper plate shown in FIGS. 19 and 20;
(18) FIG. 23 is an isometric view of the injection billet of FIGS. 16 to 22 in an inverted position;
(19) FIG. 24 is an elevation view of three injection billets to be stacked for sequential stage accelerant injection;
(20) FIGS. 25 and 26 are cross-sectional views of a stack of plates for a multi-stage injection billet having a modified intermediate plate; and
(21) FIG. 27 is a cross-sectional view of the intermediate plate of FIGS. 25 and 26.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
(22) In the drawings, like numerals indicate like elements throughout. Certain terminology is used herein for convenience only and is not to be taken as a limitation on the present invention. The terms gate, edge gate or port all refer to outlet apertures of the runners for the secondary fluid and primary fluid. The terminology includes the words specifically mentioned, derivatives thereof and words of similar import. The embodiments illustrated below are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. These embodiments are chosen and described to best explain the principle of the invention and its application and practical use and to enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention. The reference to a carburetor hereinbelow is for carburetors used with fuel injection apparatus which deliver only air.
(23) In FIG. 1, a representative plate assembly 10 of the present invention is positioned between a carburetor 12 (above) and an engine manifold 14 (below) to be fixed in place by an array of bolts 16, which demonstrates the modular nature of the inventive plate assembly. Plate assembly 10 is an injection billet that includes inlet ports, in which injection fittings 18,20 are disposed, for a primary fluid such as a primary fuel or fuel/air mixture, and for a secondary fluid such as an accelerant, injectable into the air flowing from the carburetor through the injection billet to the manifold plenum. The primary fuel may be gasoline, propane, diesel or kerosene, for example, and may also be alcohol, methanol, nitromethane, or nitrous oxide, and may be mixed with air. The secondary fluid may be an accelerant such as alcohol, methanol, nitromethane, oxygen or nitrous oxide, for example, or could even be water for detonation control. For convenience, and without limitation, the secondary fuel will hereinafter be referred to as accelerant, and the primary fuel will also hereinafter be referred to as fuel/air mixture hereinafter, when it refers to fuel being injected by the injection billet.
(24) FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate that injection billet 10 is an assembly of plates 30,40,50 that are, preferably, precision machined substrates of aluminum but may also be precision investment castings or precision molded components, with burr-free edges. Lower plate 30 with inlet port 18 is associated with the fuel/air mixture and is positioned adjacent the top of the plenum of manifold 14, while upper plate 40 with inlet port 20 is associated with the accelerant and is positioned immediately beneath the carburetor 12. A tuning plate 50 is contained within and between the lower and upper plates 30,40 providing closure to runners 32,42 of both plates and with precisely formed smooth, optionally milled-finished, surfaces adjacent multiple outlet ports or gates 34,44 of the runners for the fuel/air mixture from lower plate 30 and the accelerant from upper plate 40, all of which open onto the intake opening of the manifold 14.
(25) Runners 32,42 circumscribe each main aperture 60 (hereinafter, throttle bore) and are in fluid communication with respective lateral fuel transfer passages at respective inlets 18,20; the runners preferably are rectangular for ease in precision manufacturing of the upper and lower plates. O-rings 52,54 are positioned and compressed between the tuning plate and each of the lower and upper plates surrounding the arrays of runners and gates for assured sealing, although substantial sealing between the smooth plate surfaces also is attained by initial increments of liquid entering and filling the incremental gaps of the plate interfaces, which serves to prevent especially the accelerant from changing to a gaseous state. Preferably, the plates of the injection billet are fixedly secured together such as by an array of screws or bolts countersunk into at least the outermost surfaces of the upper and lower plates.
(26) With reference now to FIG. 3, an array of multiple gate pairs 34,44 is seen that are associated with one bore of the engine and are peripherally situated around a throttle bore 60 therefor and open thereonto to equalize the accelerant and fuel/air mixture distribution radially therearound, with accelerant and fuel/air fluids depicted exiting therefrom toward the mouth of the throttle bore (FIG. 1). While the fuel/air mixture exits in a horizontal direction from gates 34, the accelerant, such as nitrous oxide, is directed by the geometry of gates 44 distinctly downwardly and at a small but critical discharge angle radially inwardly, which discharge angle is discussed later below. The fuel of the fuel/air mixture is initially in the form of a small stream, entering under a pressure of generally about 5 to 9 psi in a horizontal direction into the throttle bore 60 between the carburetor and the manifold associated with the one bore, which has a lower ambient pressure generated by the engine and the injection billet, such as about 0 to negative 15 psi and indicated as area LP adjacent the carburetor (FIG. 1); an injection billet would typically be utilized with an engine having a wide open throttle.
(27) The accelerant is initially in the form of high velocity liquid from a tank maintaining a pressure of generally about 700 to 1100 psi but usually about 800 to 1000 psi, and immediately atomizes upon exiting the gates 44 because of the low pressure within the throttle bore 60. The accelerant is directed at a selected discharge angle intersecting the fuel stream and causes atomization thereof as a result of shearing of the stream by the high velocity atomized microdrops of accelerant. The resultant spray from each gate pair 34,44 is shown as a distinct plume 80 of the admixture entering the bore mouth in a controlled dispersal pattern, in an evenly dispersed homogenized blend, that balances the pressure beneath the carburetor and complements and enhances the velocity of the carburetor airflow without inducing turbulence.
(28) A photograph of the inventive injection billet 10 in operation, from above, is provided as FIG. 4. An array of five gate pairs 34,44 is shown peripherally disposed about throttle bore 60 of the billet associated with one bore of a four-cylinder engine. Spray plumes 80 are seen exiting from each gate pair 34,44 and contain both the accelerant (from gate 44) and the fuel/air mixture (from gate 34), defining a halo effect uniquely obtained by the present invention, which is a signature indicative of highly efficient atomization of the accelerant/fuel/air admixture, bringing order to the otherwise highly erratic spray pattern of prior art fuel injection systems, greatly improving engine efficiency and substantially increasing the nominal horsepower of the engine.
(29) FIGS. 5 to 8 are enlarged cross-sectional views of the injection billet 10 at one gate pair location, in which various configurations of accelerant gate geometries is shown. Fuel/air runners 32 are designated as F/A, while accelerant runners 42 are designated as N.sub.2O. The fuel/air mixture exits its gate 34 generally horizontally through a lateral passageway and at relatively low velocity due to a low reservoir pressure of generally from 5 to 8 psi into a lower ambient pressure within a throttle bore as explained above; the height dimension of the lateral runner portion may be critically controlled by the adjacent surface 38 of tuning plate 50.
(30) While the gate geometry for fuel/air gates 34 is important, the gate geometry for accelerant gates 44 is critical to optimum performance of the injection billet of the present invention. The surface 36 of lower plate 30 adjacent to the main aperture is beveled at an angle Y of about 15 from vertical which serves to create an initial expansion area of limited volume, of low pressure adjacent to the fuel/air gate 34 in which the fuel stream begins to disperse into very small droplets. It is seen that the angled surfaces of the tuning plate 50 and the lower plate 30 adjacent the throttle bore define reversion lips that minimize or even eliminate any fuel throwback or air flow reversion.
(31) In FIG. 5, firstly, O-rings 52,54 are seated in grooves of tuning plate 50. Surface 56 of tuning plate 50 adjacent to the throttle bore cooperates with the direction of atomizing spray of accelerant from gate 44 controlled by the gate geometry of gate 44; surface 56 is beveled at an angle between about 5 and 25, more preferably between 10 .degree. and 20 .degree., and most preferably at an angle of 15. While the angle of surface 56 is preferred for each of the geometries of FIGS. 5 to 8, the actual accelerant gate geometry differs in the Figures. In FIG. 5, gate 44a includes a horizontal lateral passageway extending from the runner to the gate, preferably having a semicylindrical cross-section extending along the horizontal top surface portion 58 of tuning plate 50; the gate concludes in a curved deflection surface portion 48a of relatively small radius about an angular distance of between about 75 to 90, such as about 85. The resultant atomized spray of accelerant would be directed along tuning plate surface 56 to result in a midline direction spray angle of just over 15 (see FIG. 3).
(32) The accelerant gate geometry of gate 44b in FIG. 6 provides a deflection surface 46b that is distinctly chamfered at an angle between horizontal and vertical and may, for example, define an angle from vertical of .beta. of between 8 and 25, and preferably between about 12 and 18, and concluding in a spherical deflection surface portion 48b of limited angular distance. FIG. 6 also shows the O-rings 52,54 seated in grooves of tuning plate 50. Also, the lower plate 30 has a surface 36 preferably beveled at an angle from vertical of y which may be quite similar to angle (FIG. 5) and be from 5 to 25, more preferably from 10 to 20 and most preferably about 15, the effect of which is to provide a lower pressure region of limited volume for the fuel stream exiting from gate 34 to begin the formation of very small droplets of fuel just prior to being atomized by the atomized accelerant spray plume. Additionally, and beneficially, the angle reveals a lip formed by the inwardly jutting bottom portion of tuning plate 50 that serves to prevent backsplash of fuel and inhibit air reversion upwardly from the manifold.
(33) The accelerant gate geometry of gate 44c in FIG. 7 provides a lateral passageway 46c that is horizontal, similar to that of FIG. 5. Curved deflection surface portion 48c is curved an angular distance almost the same as curved surface portion 48a (about 85) but is located slightly closer to the tuning plate. The O-rings 52, 54 are seated in grooves defined in the surfaces of lower and upper plates 30,40, rather than in the surfaces of tuning plate 50.
(34) In FIG. 8, gate 44d has a lateral passageway 46d that is angled similarly to lateral passageway 46b, and the O-rings are seated in grooves defined in the surfaces of lower and upper plates 30,40, rather than in the tuning plate 50. Otherwise, the gate geometry matches that of FIG. 7.
(35) It is clear, of course, that the angles of the surfaces may be modified in order to achieve particular results, and to accommodate other factors such as variations in particular high pressure of the available accelerant tank or in the fuel/air reservoir, or the choices of actual accelerant used or actual primary fuel used, or the total number of gates associated with the runners, or in the design level of vacuum drawn by the engine.
(36) In FIG. 9, another embodiment of injection billet 110 is indicated, having an upper plate 140 and a lower plate 130, in which each array of gate pairs 134,144 includes six such pairs about each throttle bore 160. Spray plumes 180 indicate the location of each gate pair. Such a six-gate pair array would be used such as for a 4500 Holley plate. A five-gate pair array such as that shown in FIG. 4 would be used for a 4150 Holley plate.
(37) FIG. 10 illustrates cross-sectional configurations of various runner geometries: rectangular (preferred) at R; U-shaped at U; circular at C; V-shaped at V; and trapezoidal at T. Preferably, for use in the injection billet of the present invention, the fuel/air gate geometry would also be rectangular, with a width of 0.0625 in and a height of 0.0125 in for an injection fitting jet size 53 for a 4500 Holley plate, and with a width of 0.0625 in and a height of 0.0100 in for an injection fitting jet size 47 for a 4150 Holley plate, the height preferably controlled by varying the depth of the groove in the adjacent surface 38 of the tuning plate that forms the top side of the rectangular cross-section of the lateral passageway extending from the runner 32 to each fuel/air gate 34,134 (FIGS. 2, 3 and 5 to 9).
(38) In FIG. 11, the preferred geometry for an accelerant gate 44 is shown, which corresponds generally to the cross-sectional configuration thereof seen in FIGS. 5 and 7. The view is from beneath the tuning plate 50, the bottom line being the edge at the top tuning plate surface 58 as it intersects the angled surface 56. The top line is the edge of the bottom surface of the upper plate 40 as it intersects the inwardly facing surface alongside the throttle bore 60 (see FIG. 3). The semicircular shape seen in FIG. 11 results from gate 44 and its lateral passageway being formed by a ball mill drilling into the bottom surface of upper plate 40 preferably vertically a limited distance, defining a curved surface portion 48a,48c seen in FIGS. 5 and 7. The preferred dimensions are a curvature having a diameter d of 0.062 in to 0.063 in, and a radius r extending from surface 56 at its edge, of 0.039 in to 0.040 in. These dimensions appear optimum for any size injection jet, from a small jet size 47 to a large jet size such as 110. Further, it is preferred that the edge defined by the intersecting tuning plate surfaces 56,58 has a radius of between about 0.005 in to 0.010 in and more preferably between 0.005 in to 0.007 in.
(39) FIG. 12 is a schematic of an upper plate 240 of a first embodiment of the injection billet of the present invention associated with a four-bore engine and a 4100 Series Holley carburetor profile. The schematic indicates the centerline of the runner circuit 242 routed around four throttle bore apertures 260, and the centerline of the o-ring 254 which may be a groove in plate 240 or may be the location opposed to an o-ring groove of the tuning plate, since the o-ring may be seated in either the upper plate or the tuning plate. Four corner bolt holes 262 are shown through which pass the shanks of bolts 16 (see FIG. 1) that affix the injection billet to the carburetor and the manifold. Also shown are an array of screw holes 264 for respective screws (not shown) used to assemble the upper, tuning and lower plates of an injection billet. Preferably, the screw holes are countersunk in the exterior surface of either the upper plate or lower plate. A recess 266 into the interior surface is defined into which the tuning plate will be seated either entirely or partially by also being received into a corresponding recess into the interior surface of the lower plate.
(40) Also, with respect to FIG. 12, the centerline for an inlet transfer passage 268 is indicated in phantom extending from the side surface at the inlet port for fitting 220) see FIG. 13), which is joined at a T intersection with a pair of connection runners 270 which in turn preferably join at T intersections to runner 242 at two locations for facilitating quick injection of the accelerant throughout the runner circuit, with minimal dead spots. It is seen that the runner circuit extends around the near apertures 260 on both sides to facilitate transmission of accelerant to all gates simultaneously, which begins when accelerant arrives at the center of the far side of the runner circuit to pressurize the runner.
(41) Plate 240 in FIG. 12 is shown to include a boss 280 through which inlet transfer passageway 268 extends, and also to include a notch 282 at the opposite side of plate 240, which correspond respectively to a notch and a boss of the lower plate when the injection billet is assembled; correspondingly, the tuning plate will have notches at both locations for seating the bosses of both plates. This arrangement is advantageous for three reasons: it enables the inlet transfer passageways for both accelerant and fuel/air to be coplanar enabling the injection billet to have minimal height; the bosses and notches serve to additionally mechanically hold the plates securely in their relative positions (reducing stress on the assembly screws); and they serve to assist in precisely positioning the upper, lower and tuning plates with respect to each other to maintain precision of the runner and gate geometry.
(42) Finally, the runner schematic of the upper plate 240 in FIG. 12, may also be identical to the corresponding runner schematic for the lower plate.
(43) FIGS. 13 to 15 are directed to the structural details of the first embodiment 210 of the inventive injection billet associated with a 4500 Series Holley carburetor profile, for which the runner schematic of FIG. 12 is applicable. In these Figures is shown the upper plate 240, the lower plate 230 and the tuning plate 250 to be nested therebetween, held in assembly by screws 284; O-rings 252,254 and injection jet fittings 218,220 are also shown. In this embodiment, an array of six gate pairs is provided about each throttle bore.
(44) The interior surface of the lower plate 230 is seen in FIG. 13, as is the upper surface of the tuning plate 250. Countersinks for screw holes 264 are provided on the top surface of upper plate 240, although, alternatively, the countersinks could be provided on the bottom surface of lower plate 230 for respective ones of screws 284, but for ease of assembly should all be provided on the same plate. A seat 286 for o-ring 254 is provided on the top surface of tuning plate 250, and a corresponding seat would be provided on its bottom surface, although the o-ring seats could be provided on the interior surfaces of the upper and lower plates 240,230 alternatively, as is seen for the seat for o-ring 252 provided on lower plate 230. In lower plate 230, surface 236 surrounding throttle bore 260 is also angled radially inwardly, corresponding to FIGS. 5 to 8.
(45) Tuning plate 250 is shown to have chamfered corners, corresponding to angled corner portions 288 of the lower plate 230 that mark the corners of the tuning plate-receiving recess 290 into the lower plate through which extend the bolt holes 262, with a corresponding arrangement provided on the upper plate, as shown in FIG. 14. Further, tuning plate 250 includes notches 292 for the bosses of the upper plate and the lower plate to pass through. In tuning plate 250, surface 256 surrounding throttle bore 260 is angled radially inwardly, corresponding to FIGS. 5 to 8.
(46) FIG. 14 provides a view of the interior surface of the upper plate 240 and the lower surface of the tuning plate 250. Recess 290 for tuning plate 250 is seen on the interior surface of upper plate 240, and also seen are boss 280 at injection jet fitting 220 through which extends transfer passage 268 (FIG. 12), and notch 282 for receipt thereinto of boss 280 of lower plate 230. Halo hex gates 244 are seen provided on the interior surface of upper plate 240 around each throttle bore 260, with each bore having an array of six gates 244, and each of which may have the gate geometry shown in any of FIGS. 5 to 8. On tuning plate 250 are seen shallow precisely dimensioned groove segments defining gates 234 that upon assembly of the injection billet will provide fluid communication between the fuel/air runners 232 of lower plate 230 and the throttle bores 260; also, surface 256 is angled radially inwardly and upwardly in this view.
(47) In FIG. 15, an enlargement of one throttle bore of the interior surface of upper plate 240 clearly shows the six halo hex gates 244 for accelerant. In this Figure, the gate geometry corresponds to that shown in FIG. 6 or 8.
(48) FIGS. 16 to 23 are directed to a second embodiment of injection billet 310. Injection billet 310 corresponds to a 4150 Holley plate having a reduced footprint, that is, the throttle bores are more closely spaced, although the bore holes 362 are at locations corresponding to those of injection billet 210 of FIGS. 13 to 15 and are located on ears 394 of the billet. The available area within the array of throttle bores 360 is greatly confined, leaving enough space for only one screw hole 364a. Injection jet fittings 318,320 are evident in these Figures. In FIG. 16, tuning plate 350 is seen in throttle bores 360 sandwiched between upper and lower plates 340,330. Additionally, the apertures of the injection billet that coincide with the throttle bores may be flattened along their innermost sides adjacent others of the apertures, better seen in FIGS. 17 and 18, without noticeable effect in performance and efficiency of the injection billet of the present invention.
(49) The upper surface 358 of tuning plate 350 appears in FIG. 17, and the interior surface of lower plate 330 appears in FIG. 18. Tuning plate 350 includes notches 392, corresponding to tuning plate 250 in FIGS. 13 and 14; bosses 380 are provided in lower plate 330 and in upper plate 340 (FIG. 20), as well as notches 382 complementing the bosses of the other plate.
(50) Referring to FIGS. 18 and 20, the runner configuration is modified compared to that of FIGS. 12 to 15, due to the confined area between the throttle bores. A single runner segment 332a,342a is provided in lower and upper plates 330,340, respectively, between the throttle bore pairs to either side of the inlet injection jet, and the segment bisects throttle bores in one direction diverge around single screw hole 364a in the center to reach pairs of gates and reconverge, best seen in FIG. 22, thus supplying accelerant and fuel/air to the gate pairs at the adjacent portions of the arrays.
(51) In FIGS. 19 and 21, tuning plate 350 is seen to provide precisely dimensioned shallow grooves 338 that coincide with fuel/air gates 334, extending from adjacent the runners of the lower plate to the throttle bores 360. In FIG. 22 are seen the accelerant gates 344, preferably of the geometry shown in FIGS. 5, 7 and 11, each with a precisely dimensioned curved ball milled deflection surface.
(52) Now referring to FIG. 23, injection billet 310 is inverted, clearly showing the backsplash lips 359a,349a defined by the angled surfaces 336,356 of the lower plate 330 and the tuning plate 350, respectively, angled radially inwardly along the direction of downward air flow from the carburetor into the manifold.
(53) The injection billets of the present invention are easily manufactured to be modular and of small total vertical height. Each of the lower and upper plates may for example have a respective thickness of 0.25 in for a total vertical billet height of 0.50 in. The tuning plate may have a thickness of 0.18 in, one-half of which is nested into respective recesses of the lower and upper plates, which recesses are of 0.09 in. Thus, the injection billet may easily be installed into an internal combustion engine between the carburetor and manifold with minimal increase in total engine/carburetor height and thus may easily be installed into pre-existing engines in a retrofit procedure.
(54) Furthermore, the modular nature and minimal vertical height of the injection billet of the present invention enables stacking of two or more such injection billets 410 in a single engine, as shown in FIG. 24, with each injection billet of stack 400 preferably being a self-contained functional unit with its own injection jets. Preferably, for such stacking, low height notches 402 and bosses 404 may be provided in pairs on opposite ends at the injection jets, in the bottom surface 406 of the lower plate 430 of each billet 410 (except the bottommost billet of the stack) and the top surface 408 of the upper plate 440 (except the topmost billet of the stack) for assuring the maintenance of vertical alignment of the injection billets and relief of some stress on the bolts, and optionally aligning vertically the injection jet fittings of the plurality of billets, accelerant jet fittings along one side of the stack and fuel/air jet fittings along the opposite side. The injection billets of the stack 400 would be sequentially and automatically activated by sensors (not shown) during a race to provide great boosts of horsepower to the engine as vehicle speed or horsepower performance increases.
(55) Another embodiment of a multi-stage injection billet 500 is illustrated in FIGS. 25 to 27, having a lower outer surface 506 and an upper outer surface 508, bosses 502 and notches 504 for plate nesting, and injection inlet ports 518 and 520 and respective transfer passageways 568 for fuel/air and accelerant, respectively. Billet 500 includes a lower plate 530 and an upper plate 540 but also includes an intermediate plate 570. Intermediate plate 570, best seen in FIG. 27, is a hybrid of a lower plate and an upper plate by having lower and upper active surfaces 572, 574 that cooperate with the lower plate 530 and the upper plate 540, and runners 532,542 for fuel/air and accelerant, respectively, all to provide two stages of accelerant injection. Tuning plates 550 are also disposed between the lower plate 530 and intermediate plate 570 and between intermediate plate 570 and upper plate 540, as with the other embodiments of injection billets hereinabove described. Pairs of accelerant gates 544 and fuel/air gates 534 are provided at the interfaces of the tuning plate surfaces with the upper plate 540 and with the lower plate 530, and with the lower surface 572 of intermediate plate 570 and the upper surface 574 thereof. An advantage of this embodiment over that of FIG. 24 is that stack height is reduced by the thickness of one plate, or 0.25 in.
(56) The injection billet of the present invention can provide an additional horsepower increment at least 100 hp greater than prior art nitrous oxide injection systems. It has been found that for a single stage injection billet of the present invention, as measured by dynamometer testing apparatus, an increment of from 150 hp to 400 hp and greater can be achieved, for a conventional drag racing vehicle engine with a nominal horsepower rating of from 400 hp to about 1200 hp. Thus for a stack of three such billets, it is believed that additional horsepower can eventually total of about between 500 hp to 1200 hp or greater.
(57) In the injection billet of the present invention, it has been observed that pressure seals are established inherently between the plates, with which o-ring seals are actually redundant. Between parallel finished surfaces of plates, seals develop from captive fluid (liquid or gas) therebetween such as from the runners of the plates, as the fluid is forced into and between the finished surfaces, including along microscopic marks that are artifacts of the manufacturing or machining processes, defining what may be termed a dry seal, especially when the facing plate surfaces are machined in a radial end mill manner that creates overlapping patterns of swirls. Such a dry seal may be observed between plates of glass pressed together and having water therebetween. It is preferred for the present invention that plate surfaces be finished with a Root Mean Square roughness (RMS) surface finish of 2 to 125 in, and more preferably from 8 to 32 in, from milling, grinding, turning, lapping or surface treatments, to engage the fluid sealing agent without leakage. Surface treatment with the desired roughness can be attained by providing the surfaces of the lower and upper and tuner plates with polymer coatings such as with polytetrafluoroethylene resin.
(58) It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes could be made to the embodiments described above without departing from the broad inventive concept thereof. It is understood, therefore, that this invention is not limited to the particular embodiments disclosed, but it is intended to cover modifications within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.
