I read about this guy in a magazine about a year ago and have been following his work along ever since. Basically he claims that by grooving or channeling a cylinder head you increase turbulence in the combustion chamber which creates a better flame front which improves torque horsepower through the entire operating range with lesser amounts of fuel, runs cleaner and with lower operating temps! He was awarded National Geographic Channel's - Nokia Innovations - Innovator Of the Year - 2004 for his work, and even has a patent with the UPTO which you can see here: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=/netahtml/srchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=6237579.WKU.&OS=PN/6237579&RS=PN/6237579 I was wondering if anyone knows if you can get a patent for something that doesn't actually work or produce results? Or can you patent a concept like grooving a cylinder head with no real hard evidence that it works? You can also visit his website here. http://www.somender-singh.com/ The problem is that he is in India and there for hasnt yet had the chance to do any extensive testing on modern engines, but has produced some good results with 2 strokes, and side valve engines. If this guy can produce results by crudely grinding a groove into the head I would wonder what a major manufacturers R&D dept could do with the aid computer simulations for the optimal groove placement, shape, depth etc and then machining or manufacturing it into the cylinder head? I am very interested to hear what other fchatters have to say about this idea. Thanks
Sure you can. Do you think the Tornado Fuel Saver really works? To get a patent, your "thing" doesn't have to work, it just has to be a completely new invention.
Trevor, To get a patent, you do not necessarily have to prove that your gizmo works, only when it comes time to defend it is proof absolutely necessary. Also, most automotive R&D groups have a very good understanding of swirl and tumble and can control it very well therefore turbulence gizmos not aid modern engines. Variable valve timing is one of the ways turbulence and flow patterns are altered during a drive cycle. Also, increased surface area and nooks & crannies are generally bad for improved combustion. By the way, two strokes and side valves don't count when it comes to demonstrating performance improvements. Conventional versions of both of these engines are 70 year old technology. I don't recommend that you start cutting your cylinders apart just yet. Regards, Art S.
I think it's BS. Anyone who makes grandiose claims is lying when talking about new inventions, IMO. If you look at history, change happened slowly. Rarely were there ever massive jumps in technology.... i.e. there was no way Galileo, as smart as he was, would be able to devlop a MiG 29. This guy claims a 42.5% increase in fuel efficiency. I don't buy that for one second. I don't think a modern engine is so inefficient. If you look at the thermodynamics of it all, I would guesstimate that his claim violates the laws of physics. There is only so much energy in gas, and a given amount is going to turn into heat and be absorbed in the engine, so there is a theoretical max for mechanical movement of the piston. I doubt we're so far from this number that some grooves in a cyl head can give us a 42.5% advantage in efficiency. Just my 2 rupees
your 2 rupees LOL I think that the 42.5% claim was on an old side valve engine which as ArtS said is 70 year old technology so it doesn't count when applying it to a modern engine. This is from his website: "After this simple design change - Obsolete Side Valve engines which feature large quench areas - when fully loaded to the max at 2000 rpms on a dyno have shown a reduction of 42.5 % fuel consumption ( BSFC) and further producing more torque & power at lower operating temperatures in comparison to a stock engine. " This guy is in India where they use lots of very old technology so this might be a crude but inexpensive way to modify existing engines to get better fuel economy and emissions, but as I thought I doubt it would do any good on an fcar or the like LOL
