Valve with guided ball

In a fuel combustion system for a engine defining a main combustion chamber above a reciprocating piston and a precombustion chamber in communication therewith, the main combustion chamber having an inlet valve for admitting a combustible fuel mixture and an outlet valve for exhausting combusted gases, the precombustion chamber in communication with a fuel passage, wherein the improvement comprises an improved guided ball valve interposed between the precombustion chamber and the fuel chamber, the guided ball valve comprising:

• a valve housing having a bore, the bore having a cylindrical guide wall of a first diameter surrounding an axis, the valve housing having a valve seat at a first end of the bore radially about the axis the seat and the guide wall being unitary with each other;
• at least one flow channel formed into the guide wall extending axially along the bore;
• and
• a spherical ball sliding in the bore between a closed position in which the spherical ball is seated against the valve seat and an open position in which a gap is formed between the spherical ball and the valve seat, the spherical ball having a second diameter substantially equivalent to the first diameter wherein the guide wall engages and guides the spherical ball as the spherical ball linearly translates between open and closed positions.

In a fuel combustion system for a engine defining a main combustion chamber above a reciprocating piston and a precombustion chamber in communication therewith, the main combustion chamber having an inlet valve for admitting a combustible fuel mixture and an outlet valve for exhausting combusted gases, the precombustion chamber in communication with a fuel passage, wherein the improvement comprises an improved guided ball valve interposed between the precombustion chamber and the fuel chamber, the guided ball valve comprising:

• a valve housing having a bore, the bore having a guide wall of a first diameter surrounding an axis, the valve housing having a valve seat at a first end of the bore radially about the axis;
• at least one flow channel formed into the guide wall extending axially along the bore;
• a spherical ball sliding in the bore between a closed position in which the spherical ball is seated against the valve seat and an open position in which a gap is formed between the spherical ball and the valve seat the spherical ball having a second diameter substantially equivalent to the first diameter wherein the guide wall engages and guides the spherical ball as the spherical ball linearly translates between open and closed positions;
• and
• comprising a stop plate secured to the valve housing at a second end of the bore, the spherical ball being contained between the stop plate and the valve seat, the valve seat being generally conical.