Tom OGLE
G. Jones: "Ogle Fuel System --- No Hoax"
J Doussard: "200 Miles On Two Gallons Of
Gas"
R. Laytner: "Success at 100 Miles per
Gallon"
G. Jones: "Over 100 Miles on a Gallon of
Gas"
Tom Ogle: US Patent # 4,177,779
Obituary
Supplementary Notes
Stuart the Maniac: "Death of an Inventor"
Tom Ogle says it wasn't a hoax.
He insists there were no hidden fuel tanks or other alternate fuel sources used to power a two-ton automobile for 205 miles Saturday on only two gallons of gasoline fumes.
Ogle isn't alone in his no-hoax statements.
Carl Wright, for example, has been working on internal combustion machines for 35 years. He is a certified teacher of auto mechanics and is currently shop foreman at Peck's Automotive Service, where Ogle built his controversial energy-saving fuel system.
"It's no hoax." Wright said in straight-forward fashion. "There were no hidden tanks." Wright, who has no vested interests in the invention, said at first he was skeptical of the young man's invention.
"I've watched the thing from the time they built the fuel tank to the very present," Wright said, "It looks to me like it'll do what Tom said it would do."
Wright said any secret fuel compartments would have required many extra man-hours by Ogle to install in the car body.
"He only worked on the car during office hours," Wright said,"and he didn't have a key to the door" to get into the automotive shop during off-hours or weekends.
Experts Probe Ogle Fuel System
"He has not been here working on the car at nights, and the car has been locked up here every night." Wright said.
James Peck, who owns Peck's Automotive, has a 50-50 partnership on any royalties from the invention. And he said he would stake his 30 year professional reputation in northeast EI Paso on the fact that there was no hoax involved in Saturday's test drive.
"I personally believe he (Ogle) had some help some-where along the way developing the system, although he will not admit to that. But I can vouch that the system works. It's no hoax. It was my car hr converted. We built system in my shop. I'll put my name on the line. It definitely works.
Peck said he provided financial back for Ogle's invention after he and Ogle met about a month ago and discussed the system.
Frank Haynes Jr. is registered state engineer with degrees from the University of Texas at Austin and Southern Methodist University. He was at Peck's Automotive Saturday where he looked the system over and talked with Ogle.
"From what I saw, there was no hoax." Haynes said, adding that he learned of Ogle's invention in The Times.
" I decided to venture out and see what was going on," he said. " I'd never even heard of Tom Ogle before. But I'm familiar with combustion from previous work and wondered what the kid had come up with.
"What I saw was very convincing," Haynes said. Haynes said he felt the only chance of a hoax might have been in the amount of fuel that actually was in the tank.
Prior to the test drive Saturday, reporters and onlookers witnessed a mechanic at Peck's empty the special, pressurized gas tanks, and pour two gallons of fuel into the tank after it was empty.
Haynes said he was additionally convinced of the system's authenticity by the fact it was difficult to start the car before heading to Deming.
"The car had to be primed quite thoroughly in order to run. That gave me the idea that there weren`t any fumes in the system after drainage.
"That was quite convincing for me personally. If there had been hidden fuel, there wouldn`t have been any difficulty in starting the car, according to how he (Ogle) described the system to me," Haynes said.
Haynes described Ogle as an "open, earnest young man who convinced me everything he said should be true."
Ogle all along has maintained nothing but simple trust in his invention.
"It works," he said frankly. "There is no hoax."
He described his Saturday test drive, in which a times reporter participated as a "beautiful performance."
Ogle added with a chuckle that the return to El Paso from Deming was made with one pint and two ounces of fuel left in the fuel tank.
"We did pretty good though. We made 205 miles on less than two gallons," he added.
He said he maintained constant 55 to 60 mile per hour speeds.
El Paso Times (Texas) Sunday, May 1, 1977
"Once I get to Deming and back I'll have everybody banging at my door!" Tom Ogle exclaimed. It was as uncommon sentiment that may very well prove to be true.
Saturday the 34-year-old inventor mechanic climbed behind the wheel of his 1979 Ford Galaxy and headed down the road toward both the dusty New Mexico town and possible fame, fortune and a solution to the energy crisis.
With only two gallons of gasoline in the tank, Ogle offered strong evidence that the tangle of red hoses and tubes racing between the back of the 5,000 pound car and the engine performed as billed: delivering over 100 miles to the gallon while averaging close to 60 miles per hour.
Indeed, in a day of automotive and personal triumph, the only sour note was sounded when Ogle failed to bring his gas-saver back into El Paso as planned. On the outskirts of town, just a few miles from his final goal, a rock struck the underside of the car,puncturing a filter and allowing the gas fumes the auto travels to escape.
But it really hardly mattered at that point. Ogle had traveled 205 miles on slightly less than two gallons of gas.Some of the precious liquid had been spilled when first poured in the tank.
"I use about four gallons of gas every two weeks," Ogle said. "But then I drive an awful lot."
Actually, Saturday's performance was rather modest. Ogle claims his system will average about 160 miles per gallon in city driving, treatment average of 12 miles per gallon.
"I fixed-up my car, a 1972 Thunderbird with a 429 cubic inch engine, with the system," Ogle said. "I then took it to Cloudcroft and back on two gallons, about 200 miles.
"And I still had enough to drive around when I got back in town."
The odd thing about Ogle's system is that doesn't add complex gadgets and intricate gimmicks. Instead, it removes the carburetor, a piece of the engine long considered sacred.
"Engineers said it wouldn't work because without a carburetor there's nothing to vaporize the fuel," Ogle explained during the trip across the hot dessert. "They couldn't understand that it's already working on vapors.
"Instead everybody kept trying to add something to the carburetor while nobody thought of taking the thing off."
Basically the system uses a standard engine with a few modifications In lieu of the carburetor there is a series of hoses feeding a mixture of gas vapors and air directly into the engine.
Gas in the tank passes through a series of filters, which stretch the energy available in each gallon. The ??? also store excess vapors for later use for up to 45 days. Premium gas is needed, as its higher octane level allows for more vapors to build.
Not only does Ogle's car promise more miles per gallon, but he says it will clean the environment while causing its owner fewer repair headaches.
"It will top anything on the road today, being smoother, better running and more efficient," Ogle said. "The life of your car will be two times longer because there will be no carbon build-up.
"The carbon comes from unburned gas, but we burn it all.You won't have need all the catalytic converters for the air."
Before the journey began, two Times reporters looked the car over for possible hidden sources of fuel, and found none. Then a brief ceremony emptying the gas tank, and after the last drop fell, two gallons were poured back in.
While only an expert could say for sure the trip was completed with only those two gallons, spectators, reporters and other interested inventors present all appeared satisfied.
"This is the hottest thing of this century," Frank Haynes, Jr. an independent engineer living in this area, said. "Engineers have been beating their heads against the wall to come up with something like this.
"I honestly don't think it's a hoax."
The Tribune (June 8, 1978) ~
By Ron Laytner
El Paso, Texas --- Is a young high school dropout the most important American inventor since Thomas Edison?
Will he and the world energy shortage and show us how to drive from New York to Los Angeles on $15 worth of gasoline? Or is it all a hoax to get inventors' money and infuriate the oil companies?
El Paso has been excited ever since 25-year-old Tom Ogle, a simply-educated, home-town auto mechanic, astounded engineers by converting his car's engine so it appears to drive 100 miles on a gallon of gasoline.
Ogle did away with the carburetor and fuel pump, replacing them with a secret black box he calls a filter. The super mileage, he said, was due to his pressurized, vaporized fuel system that injects fumes directly into the engine's firing chambers.
Engineers have tried but found no evidence of fraud. On April 30 last year Ogle drove a 1970 Ford Galaxy 200 miles from El Paso to Deming, NM, on a measured two gallons of gasoline. The auto was inspected for hidden fuel tanks but none were found.
Ogle and his car were under observation at all times yet the "Oglemobile" went the distance without stopping for fuel and averaged 100 miles per gallon at 55 mph. Doublers became believers. Scientists were amazed. Many were convinced Ogle's claim is legitimate.
Tom Ogle believes his new company, Ogle Fuel Systems, will soon become one of America's largest corporations because the world must have his invention. He plans to have a miniaturized version installed in test cars by the end of July, and expects to have it on the market within a year, selling for about $300 a unit, installed.
If he can survive criticism by giant auto and oil interests he could become one of the worlds richest men. And he will,according to millionaire C.F. Ramsey, an international financier from Longview,WA, who has backed Ogle with "unlimited funds" for world-wide marketing rights.
Ogle was easier to meet with a few months ago but with success he's become reclusive, a junior Howard Hughes hiding from the press.
Then, he was set up in the back of garages owned by friends. Now, he is incommunicado, headquartered in El Paso's most prestigious building and travelling in chauffeur-driven limousines and corporate jets.
Before he went underground, Ogle told me, "We've had inquiries from Ford, Chevron, Shell, Volkswagen and Chrysler and calls from the biggest retailers in the world wanting marketing rights." But company spokesman denied contact.
Ogle said he refused one man,"Said he was the chief engineer for Shell oil and asked what I'd do if I got an offer of $25 million to sell out." Shell denies it.
But a spokesman for investor Ramsey, said many giant corporations had been in El Paso trying to buy up control of Ogle's invention.
The inventor said he discovered his fuel system by accident, "I was messing around with a gasoline lawn mower when I accidentally knocked a fuel in its fuel tank. I put a vacuum line running from the tanks straight into the carburetor inlet."The lawn mower kept running.
"I just let it run and it kept running but the fuel stayed the same. I got excited. The lawn mower engine was running without a carburetor and getting tremendous efficiency."The engine got hot so Ogle used an electric fan to cool it and was amazed when it ran 96 hours on the fuel remaining in the mower's small tank.
He went from the lawn mower to the automobile engine, converting a car in the same manner, its engine started immediately but the gas tank collapsed inward. Many months and reinforced gas tanks later, he solved the vacuum problem.
But, the car without its carburetor and fuel pump, had no acceleration. It couldn't run faster than 20 mph. And the modified engine averaged only eight miles to the gallon and stalled after 10 miles.
One day Ogle crawled under the stalled car to examine its gas tank and got a surprise;"It was freezing cold, like an ice-cube.As I was sucking vapors out, it was acting like a refrigerator with liquid on the bottom and fumes on top."
When he solved the stalling problem by warming the gas tank with heater coils, the miles pre gallon skyrocketed to over 100. Tom Ogle hasn't looked back since.
He believes his system is the answer to the world's pollution problems and has demonstrated virtually zero pollutant emissions coming from his engine exhaust at computerized auto engine test centers.
In a typical test, with the engine running and the speedometer over 55 mph, a jet of clean hot air, without the usual obnoxious smell, leaves the Oglemobile's exhaust pipe."You can dry your hair with it," said Tom Ogle.
After an hours high-speed run, water in the radiator is only luke warm. And a spark plug installed before the test comes out cleaner than it had gone in.
He isn't afraid of oil interests."My wife Monika is scared, afraid I'll get kidnapped. But I'm safe. People still can't believe or understand what I've discovered.
Ogle said he asked President Carter's assistance with developing his invention and had sent the president all the data and test results on his experimental model. At one point an official with the U.S. Energy Research and development Administration declared Ogle's vaporized fuel system contained no fakery.
"I think personally, and with strong conviction, that there is no hoax," said Richard W. Hern, fuel engineer systems supervisor at ERDA's research centers at Bartlesville, Okla. on May 6, 1977, after examining Ogle's invention until his patent and other legal matters were settled.
But later Hern said it was impossible to get such mileage as the invention promised. He couldn't say more, he declared, because he was bound by a statement of confidentiality he signed so that he could view the invention.
Ogle's noisiest critic has been Robert Levy, an El Paso physicist who insisted it was impossible to move a 5,000 pound car more than 50 miles with the energy contained in one gallon of gasoline. Levy had stated the Oglemobile was a fraud but lately, as Ogle's credibility grows, he has backed off, denying he ever called the system a hoax.
Mack Massey, an El Paso auto dealer, who claims he's an early Ogle backer, said a patent search made last year on Ogle's system turned up a similar General Motors patent approved in 1972. But GM spokesmen said the company had more than 500 patents granted that year and would need a patent number to find out which invention Massey spoke of.Ogle said he received a phone call from GM requesting permission to inspect the car. But Joe Karshner, a company spokesmen, said "We haven't approached Ogle. He has never made a submission to us and we've never gone to him.
"This is very controversial. We are interested in anything and everything that would improve a vehicle's performance. If Ogle's invention is legitimate we would be interested. He is free to come to us."
Highly qualified men praise Ogle's system: John Whitacre, professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Texas, El Paso, said, "To me it looks like the only thing leaving the tank is air vapors, giving better combustion. It's a different approach working with gas already vaporized."
Another supporter is professor Gerald Hawkins of Texas A&M University, holder of a doctorate in mechanical engineering with a background in gas dynamics and aerospace study, member of the American Institute Of Aeronautics and Astronautics and The American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
There is no hoax eliminated the carburetor and achieved what the gasoline internal combustion engine was supposed to do all along-to operate off fumes. I don't know why somebody didn't try this before."
Another Texas inventor, Frank Read of Fort Worth, said he perfected a system to improve gas mileage and that fights with auto manufacturers almost broke him. He said he underwent 11 court battles with oil companies trying to buy of his unit with an agreement he never build another. He felt Ogle had a long, hard road ahead.
In Washington a spokesmen for U.S. Sen. Gaylord Nelson (D.Wis.) said, "It sounds to good to be true.But if the Ogle invention proves feasible, results would be awesome.
"America could become oil self-sufficient and the drain of oil dollars to the Middle East ended." said Jeffrey Neddleman, legislative assistant to the lawmakers who pioneered U.S. government fuel economy standards.
"The potential benefits are too great for it to be ignored. The senator is asking the Department of Transportation to make a thorough investigation of the Ogle system."
A 24 year-old inventor in El Paso, Texas, has the government and the automobile people taking a close look at his astounding experiment that could revolutionizing the industry.
Two hundred miles on less then two gallons of gas?
That's the spectacular fuel economy Tom Ogle got when he test drove a beat up, 4,600 pound, 351 cubic inch, 1970 Ford Galaxy on April 30 1977, from El Paso, Texas, to Deming, New Mexico, and back.
It's that type of performance that Ogle believes will liberate the nation's army of automobiles and commercial carriers from the bondage of high costs for fuel. According to Ogle, his system will reduce to near zero the hydrocarbon and photochemical pollutants emitted by the gasoline internal combustion engine and eliminate the traditional engine and eliminate the traditional carburetor and fuel pump- resulting in fewer tune-ups and maintenance.
The 24-year-old inventor, who cared more as a youngster for tinkering around in automobile engines then playing sports, will have his system patented, perfected and into mass production within a year. In the meantime, to convince the doubters, he plans to equip three late model cars with his new fuel system (eight, six and four cylinder) and test prove them in the laboratory and on the road. He predicts the powerful eight cylinder engine will get 90 to 120 miles per gallon;the six cylinder medium-sized engine will average 140 to 200 miles per gallon; and the economy four-cylinder engine will steal the show at 260 to 360 miles to the gallon.
Unbelievable?
Well, one stumbling block, that leaves the critics searching for an answer is the monitor test run. It has been established no hoax was perpetrated, unless it was of such an elaborate nature that it escaped the scrutiny of numerous mechanics and engineers.
Ogle ran his test drive in West Texas and south central New Mexico, an arid environment that combines Yucca of the Chihuahuan Desert, Cotton Wood of the Rio Grande Valley, and the many types of pines that speckle the upper reaches of the Rocky Mountains foothills.
Before he would begin, the Ford was closely scrutinized for hidden fuel tank he designed for his fuel system was emptied of its contents, and a carefully measured two gallons of gas was poured back in. The fuel tank was checked for hidden compartments. None were found. It took ten to 15 minutes to get the car primed to start, proving all the more that there was no hidden fuel and that the system had been emptied. Ogle then drove the low-hanging car out of Peck's Automotive Service and Body Shop, located in northeast El Paso, and followed a police escort to the city limits. A caravan of curiosity seekers followed the vehicle to Interstate 10, which goes north out of El Paso to Las Cruces, New Mexico. There the Ford test car turned west, and followed Interstate 10 to Deming.
The results?
Ogle summed it up. "It was like one guy commented... that we actually had really done something when we got to Las Cruces (45 miles from El Paso). When he hit Las Cruces, we were already going better than a Datson, " Ogle quipped, then nodded with his head toward the big Ford Galaxie as if to say: "And in a car like that!"
Ogle maintained 55 to 60 mile per hour speeds, and had to climb one steep incline just west of Las Cruces in order to get up on the mesa which remains relatively flat for the next 60 miles to Deming.
The "Oglemobile," as the test car has come to be known, only stopped once in Deming, where Ogle, his assistant James Franklin, and a newspaper reporter had a cup of coffee "while some of the other cars got gas." The test run was in completion when he was forced onto a shoulder along the highway and a rock flew up and punctured a "filter" in the fuel line, causing the vaporized power to escape to the atmosphere. The engine stalled and the car had to be towed back to "Peck's" garage. "It was still a success. We proved we could do it," Ogle said later.
How exactly did he do it?
Ogle is understandably cautious about explaining in to much detail what is that makes his system work. There is still the all-important matter of getting a patent for his invention, and, until then, we'll have to make do with a nuts and bolts description.
First off, the vaporized fuel system is nothing new. It's been kicked around for 50 years or more. Ogle said he did something that other inventors and experimenters didn't try, how ever, and that was to eliminate the standard carburetor. During the explanations he gave to professional mechanical engineers, Ogle would proudly come forward, holding the defunct carburetor, smiling as broadly as a successful big game hunter. "Here's the carburetor," he'd say, while the engineers pondered the "black box" contraption that stood proudly in the carburetor's place.
It's through this black box that the fumes are "filtered" a final time before being injected straight into the cylinders. Air is mixed with the fumes both at the fuel tank and the engine. A mechanical engineering professor from the University of Texas at El Paso suggested to Ogle that he call his "filters" something else. "You're not actually filtering anything," professor John Whitacre said. "Those `filters' are actually more like absorptive surfaces or absorptive panels."
Gerry Hawkins, a specialist in high performance engines, shook his head after viewing the Oglemobile. "It looks good," he said. "I don't know why somebody didn't try this before. He's eliminated the carburetor and achieved what the gasoline internal combustion engine was supposed to do all along --- to operate off fumes. The idea is feasible, and it appears he's found a way to make it work." Hawkins holds a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Texas A&M University and currently is on the U.T. El Paso faculty.
"To me it looks like the only thing that leaves the tank is the fumes," claimed Whitacre. "That just gives you better combustion. I'm most impressed. It's a different approach, one that works with gas already vaporized. Why wasn't it developed before? Because everybody tried to make the carburetor work better instead."
Ogle, too, believes that his invention is something that "could have" been made to work before but wasn't.
"That's why this system is a breakthrough, and nobody can really understand what it is until the engineers have a chance to take it apart and see what's going on. If you base your arguments on conventional fuel systems, I could see why people would doubt this. Mine is a completely different system that works on energy taken out of the gasoline. The normal engine takes fuel out of the tank. With this system, you leave the gas in the tank and take the fumes from that gas out. The fumes are the explosive part of the gasoline. The problem is that everybody kept thinking the carburetor is indispensable to the cycle. It's not."
When asked about the safety of his system, particularly the fuel tank where gasoline is heated to generate more fumes, Ogle shrugged off the question with a strong statement that his fuel tank is safer than those installed on current models.
"My tank is so thick it couldn't explode," he said, pulling back his early 1960's Beatles style hair cut. "I figured it all out on a computer. You only have about 240,000 to 250,000 pounds of pressure before the conventional fuel tank will explode. My tank, built of half-inch reinforced steel, could endure 360,000 pounds of pressure before blowing. With only three gallons of gas, which is the maximum any of my tanks will hold, you would only generate about 240,000 to 250,000 pounds of pressure."
In case of a backfire, Ogle said the fumes would be vented to the atmosphere via a safety valve installed in the aircraft hoses that connect the fuel tank to the engine. "If we were going to have an explosion, I guess you might say that it should have happened when the car died on the way back from Deming. But the safety valve automatically went into action when the engine pressure dropped and vented the fumes outside the system."
Ogle worked on his system for the past five years --- not an easy task. There were many times when he wanted to throw the wrench in.
"The only thing I knew I needed was the pistons to go up and down," he said gesturing with his hands in a vertical motion. "And all you need for that is an explosion. I sat back and started thinking what it took to do that. The answer? The fumes."
Ogle credits his four years of training in Kung Fu with helping him to overcome many of the obstacles with developing his fuel system. Kung Fu is more of a mental attitude," he said, "as compared to karate or judo which uses force. Kung Fu teaches you to look for the pressure points, but most important, to use mind control. It's a styling art. It taught me not to give up."
The German-born young man, who looks younger than his 24 years, got off to an unusual start with his fuel system. He was 19 years old and was tinkering around on a four-cycle lawn mower. He punched a hole in the top of the engine's fuel tank, removed the carburetor (more out of curiosity than anything else) and inserted a hose into the carburetor jet, connecting that the fuel tank.
"The lawn mower ran for 96 straight hours at idle speed," he said. "I put fans around it so it wouldn't burn up." From the lawn mower, Ogle advanced to the mighty automobile engine. The principle's the same, only the engine is more completed."
He tried his budding invention out on several cars, and progressed in stages, having satisfactorily overcome one hurdle only to encounter another. The first car a 1964 Oldsmobile was a failure. He got only eight miles to the gallon. But it was on this Oldsmobile that he first experimented with removing the carburetor. He learned then that combustion was more complete, and that he could extract more energy per pound of fuel without the carburetor.
"The Olds ran lousy. It had very little acceleration and, of course got terrible gas mileage. Most of the time the engine stalled. I knew I had to get further into the thing." He then designed a system for heating the fuel tank which solved the stalling problem.
It was back to the drawing board,however, because he still had a problem of low gasoline mileage to solve. That's when he came up with his "filtering" system, which he claims is the "real key to the system." After designing the filters he tested the system on his gray Ford Thunderbird, driving the car on the road and in laboratory simulation for more than 140,000 miles. The T-Bird got from 118 to 140 miles per gallon a matter that didn't go unnoticed by his wife, Monika. "We only had to fill up about once a month." she quipped, adding that the car got plenty of driving in the city.
The patent Office examiners in Washington are currently reviewing the blueprints of his system, however, the question has been raised that a patent may have already been issued to a person or company for a system similar to Ogle's. The company that has come up more often has been General Motors, although a man named Frank Read, in Fort Worth Texas who said he had designed a carburetor adjuster that will triple gas mileage, discovered as many as 19 patents that might be "similar" to Ogle's during his own patent search in 1975-76.
"If that's the case," Ogle shrugged, "why wasn't it on the market? Anyhow, I honestly doubt that anybody has a filter system like mine --- or has ever thought of it."
The specialist in fuel system design, who went to mechanical trade school rather than college, "because I say to many people with there master's degrees looking around for jobs," said he would be very interested to know why the holder of a patent to a fuel-saving system such as his had not put the invention into production.
Since the completion of his invention, Ogle has received hundreds of phone calls. One, in particular, came from a Shell oil representative who asked him what he would do if somebody right now offered him $25 million for the system. Ogle's response. "I would not be interested."
"I've always wanted to be rich," Ogle said as a broad smile crossed his face, "and I suspect I will be when the system gets into distribution. But I'm not going to have my system bought up and put on the shelf. I'm going to see this thing through --- that I promise."
Ogle has already encountered a situation that was a disappointment to him. He believes an official from the federal Energy Research and Development Administration, who had viewed the Ogle system and rode in the Ogle-mobile, "took a turn around" after he went to Washington DC.
The official, R.W. Hurn, of the ERDA research lab at Bartletsville, Oklahoma, was cautious and reserved with his comments about the system. He said the system was "rudimentary" in construction and "obviously needs much refinement," but added, "that's not at all unusual with new engineering concepts." The one point Hurn commented on, without reservation, was that he did not think a hoax was involved. "That's the one thing I personally feel with strong conviction."
In a statement prepared by Hurn for U.S. Sen. Lloyd Bentsen, D-Texas, he reiterated some of the statements he had made in El Paso, where he talked with the press under the hot sun in the back of Peck's garage. He said, for example, that he had not seen verified experimented data to support the 100 mile-per-gallon claims of Ogle's, nor had he seen measurements appropriate and adequate to support Ogle's claims of engine pollution characteristics. However, the statement to Bensten contained the following:
"In my opinion, certain claims (as I understand them to have been made) may be faulty, but, as stated before, not necessarily deliberately misleading." Hurn said he also could not make a technical assessment of the fuel system's potential for further development.
"The whole sounds kind of fishy," Ogle said, after reading a tele-communicated copy of Hurn's statement. The government must be getting pressure from somebody. He said one thing to me when he was here, and then turned completely around after going to Washington. I mean, we knew the system was impractical at this stage --- but it is as far as I could bring it without engineering help. Hurn said that he thought things could be worked out. Well, I'll tell you one thing, if there is a real energy problem in this country, and they don't consider this system as an alternative to the problem, then there must not be much of an energy crisis.
"I realize that it's hard to break people away from the conventional designs.But if anybody doubts that my system doesn't work, after we've proven all the federal standards and regulations, then they shouldn't buy it."
The young man who opted for dropping out of high school, but returned later to obtain a graduate equivalency degree, who studied at the University of Morgantown Trade School in West Virginia, who specialized in fuel systems, welding, electronics and auto mechanics, has the determination to take on all corners.
"I decided a long time ago to achieve something, and feel now that I've achieved what I set out to do."
But the battle isn't over.
US Patent # 4,177,779
Fuel Economy System for an Internal
Combustion Engine
Tom Ogle (December 11, 1979)
Abstract ~
A fuel economy system for an internal combustion engine which,
when installed in a motor vehicle, obviates the need for a
conventional carburetor, fuel pump and gasoline tank. The system
operates by using the engine vacuum to draw fuel vapors from a
vapor tank through a vapor conduit to a vapor equalizer which is
positioned directly over the intake manifold of the engine. The
vapor tank is constructed of heavy duty steel or the like to
withstand the large vacuum pressure and includes an air inlet
valve coupled for control to the accelerator pedal. The vapor
equalizer ensures distribution of the correct mixture of air and
vapor to the cylinders of the engine for combustion, and also
includes its own air inlet valve coupled for control to the
accelerator pedal. The system utilizes vapor-retarding filters
in the vapor conduit, vapor tank and vapor equalizer to deliver
the correct vapor/air mixture for proper operation. The vapor
tank and fuel contained therein are heated by running the engine
coolant through a conduit within the tank. Due to the extremely
lean fuel mixtures used by the present invention, gas mileage in
excess of one hundred miles per gallon may be achieved.
Inventors: Ogle; Thomas H. W. W. P. (9028 Mt. Delano, El Paso,
TX 79924)
Current U.S. Class: 123/522; 261/DIG83 ~ Intern'l Class: F02M
031/00
Field of Search: 123/133,34 A,122 E,134,136 48/180 R 261/144,145
Description ~
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention ~
The present invention is related to internal combustion engines
and, more particularly, is directed towards a fuel economy
system for an internal combustion engine which, when applied to
a motor vehicle, obviates the need for conventional carburetors,
fuel pumps and gasoline tanks, and enables vastly improved gas
mileage to be obtained.
2. Description of the Prior Art ~
The prior art evidences many different approaches to the problem of increasing the efficiency of an internal combustion engine. Due to the rising price of gasoline, and the popularity of motor vehicles as a mode of transportation, much of the effort in this area is generally directed towards increasing gas mileage for motor vehicles. Along with increased gas mileage, much work has been done with a view towards reducing pollutant emissions from motor vehicles.
I am aware of the following United States patents which are generally directed towards systems for improving the efficiency and/or reducing the pollutant emissions of internal combustion engines:
Chapin ~ 1,530,882
Crabtree, et al ~ 2,312,151
Hietrich, et al ~ 3,001,519
Hall ~ 3,191,587
Wentworth ~ 3,221,724
Walker ~ 3,395,681
Holzappfel ~ 3,633,533
Dwyre ~ 3,713,429
Herpin ~ 3,716,040
Gorman, Jr. ~ 3,728,092
Alm, et al ~ 3,749,376
Hollis, Jr. ~ 3,752,134
Buckton, et al ~ 3,759,234
Kihn ~ 3,817,233
Shih ~ 3,851,633
Burden, Sr. ~ 3,854,463
Woolridge ~ 3,874,353
Mondt v 3,888,223
Brown ~ 3,907,946
Lee, Jr. ~ 3,911,881
Rose, et al ~ 3,931,801
Reimuller ~ 3,945,352
Harpman ~ 3,968,775
Naylor ~ 4,003,356
Fortino ~ 4,011,847
Leshner, et al ~ 4,015,569
Sommerville ~ 4,015,570
The Chapin US Pat. No. 1,530,882 discloses a gasoline tank surrounded by a water jacket, the latter of which is included in a circulation system with the radiator of the automobile. The heated water in the circulation system causes the fuel in the gasoline tank to readily vaporize. Suction from the inlet manifold causes air to be drawn into the tank to bubble air through the gasoline to help form the desired vapor which is then drawn to the manifold for combustion.
The Buckton et al US Pat. No. 3,759,234 advances a fuel system which provides supplementary vapors for an internal combustion engine by means of a canister that contains a bed of charcoal granules. The Wentworth and Hietrich et al U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,221,724 and 3,001,519 also teach vapor recovery systems which utilize filters of charcoal granules or the like.
The Dwyre US Pat. No. 3,713,429 uses, in addition to the normal fuel tank and carburetor, an auxiliary tank having a chamber at the bottom thereof which is designed to receive coolant from the engine cooling system for producing gasoline vapors, while the Walker U.S. Pat. No. 3,395,681 discloses a fuel evaporator system which includes a gasoline tank intended to replace the normal gasoline tank, and which includes a fresh air conduit 22 for drawing air into the tank.
The Fortino US Pat. No. 4,011,847 teaches a fuel supply system wherein the gasoline is vaporized primarily by atmospheric air which is released below the level of the gasoline, while the Crabtree et al U.S. Pat. No. 2,312,151 teaches a vaporization system which includes a gas and air inlet port located in a vaporizing chamber and which includes a set of baffles for effecting a mixture of the air and vapor within the tank. The Mondt U.S. Pat. No. 3,888,223 also discloses an evaporative control canister 48 for improving cold start operation and emissions, while Sommerville U.S. Pat. No. 4,015,570 teaches a liquid-fuel vaporizer which is intended to replace the conventional fuel pump and carburetor that is designed to mechanically change liquid gasoline to a vapor state.
While the foregoing patents evidence a proliferation of attempts to increase the efficiency and/or reduce pollutant emissions from internal combustion engines, no practical system has yet found its way to the marketplace.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide a new and improved fuel economy system for an internal combustion engine which greatly improves the efficiency of the engine.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a unique fuel economy system for an internal combustion engine which provides a practical, operative and readily realizable means for dramatically increasing the gas mileage of conventional motor vehicles.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved fuel economy system for internal combustion engines which also reduces the pollutant emissions.
The foregoing and other objects are attained in accordance with one aspect of the present invention through the provision of a fuel vapor system for an internal combustion engine having an intake manifold, which comprises tank means for containing fuel vapor, vapor equalizer means mounted on and in fluid communication with the intake manifold of the engine, and vapor conduit means which connect the tank means to the vapor equalizer means for delivering fuel vapor from the former to the latter. The vapor equalizer means includes a first valve means connected thereto for controlling the admission of air to the vapor equalizer means, while the tank means has a second valve means connected thereto for controlling the admission of air to the tank means. A throttle controls the first and second valve means so that the opening of the first valve means proceeds and exceeds the opening of the second valve means during operation.
In accordance with other aspects of the present invention, filter means are positioned in the vapor conduit means for retarding the flow of fuel vapor from the tank means to the vapor equalizer means. In a preferred form, the filter means comprises carbon particles and may include a sponge-like collection of, for example, neoprene fibers. In a preferred embodiment, the filter means comprises a substantially tubular housing positioned in series inthe vapor conduit, the housing containing a central portion comprising a mixture of carbon and neoprene and end portions comprising carbon positioned on each side of the central portion.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a second filter means is positioned in the vapor equalizer means for again retarding the flow of the fuel vapor to the engine intake manifold. The second filter means is positioned downstream of the first valve means and in a preferred form includes carbon particles mounted in a pair of recesses formed in a porous support member. The porous support member, which may comprise neoprene, includes a first recessed portion positioned opposite a vapor inlet port in the vapor equalizer means to which the vapor conduit means is connected, while a second recessed portion is positioned opposite the intake manifold of the engine.
In accordance with still other aspects of the present invention, a third filter means is positioned in the tank means for controlling the flow of fuel vapor into the vapor conduit means in proportion to the degree of vacuum in the tank means. The filter means more particularly comprises means for reducing the amount of fuel vapor delivered to the vapor conduit means when the engine is idling and when the engine has attained a steady speed. The throttle means acts to close the second valve means when the engine is idling and when the engine has attained a steady speed to thereby increase the vacuum pressure in the tank means. In a preferred form, the third filter means comprises a frame pivotally mounted within the tank means and movable between first and second operating positions. The first operating position corresponds to an open condition of the second valve means, while the second operating position corresponds to a closed condition of the second valve means. The tank means includes a vapor outlet port to which one end of the vapor conduit means is connected, such that the second operating position of the frame places the third filter means in communication with the vapor outlet port.
More particularly, the third filter means in a preferred form includes carbon particles sandwiched between two layers of a sponge-like filter material, which may comprise neoprene, and screen means for supporting the layered composition within the pivotable frame. Means in the form of a conduit is positioned on the third filter means for placing the latter in direct fluid communication with the vapor outlet port when the frame is in its second operating position.
In accordance with yet other aspects of the present invention, a conduit is connected between the valve cover of the engine and the vapor equalizer means for directing the oil blow-by to the vapor equalizer in order to minimize valve clatter. The tank means also preferably includes a copper conduit positioned in the bottom thereof which is connected in series with the cooling system of the motor vehicle for heating the tank and generating more vapor. A beneficial byproduct of the circulating system reduces the engine operating temperature to further improve operating efficiency.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Various objects, features and attendant advantages of the present invention will be more fully appreciated as the same become better understood from the following detailed description of the present invention when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the various components which together comprise a preferred embodiment of the present invention as installed in a motor vehicle;
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of one of the components of the preferred embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1 and taken along line 2--2 thereof;
FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the vapor tank illustrated in FIG. 2 and taken along line 3--3 thereof;
FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view illustrating in greater detail one component of the vapor tank shown in FIG. 3 and taken along line 4--4 thereof;
FIG. 5 is a perspective, partially sectional view illustrating a filter component of the vapor tank illustrated in FIG. 2;
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of another component of the preferred embodiment of the present invention illustrated in FIG. 1 and taken along line 6--6 thereof;
FIG. 7 is a partial side, partial sectional view of the vapor equalizer illustrated in FIG. 6 and taken along line 7--7 thereof;
FIG. 8 is a side view illustrating the throttle linkage of the vapor equalizer shown in FIG. 7 and taken along line 8--8 thereof;
FIG. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view of another filter component of the preferred embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1;
FIG. 10 is a view of another component of the present invention; and
FIG. 11 is an exploded, perspective view which illustrates the main components of the filter portion of the vapor equalizer of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals represent identical or corresponding parts throughout the several views, and more particularly to FIG. 1 thereof, there is illustrated a preferred embodiment of the present invention as installed in a motor vehicle.
The preferred embodiment includes as its main components a fuel vapor tank 10 in which the fuel vapor is stored and generated for subsequent delivery to the internal combustion engine 20. On the top of fuel vapor tank 10 is mounted an air inlet control valve which is indicated generally by reference numeral 12 and whose structure and operation will be described in greater detail hereinafter.
The internal combustion engine 20 includes a standard intake manifold 18. Mounted upon the intake manifold 18 is a vapor equalizer chamber 16. Connected between the fuel vapor tank 10 and the vapor equalizer chamber 16 is a vapor conduit or hose 14 for conducting the vapors from within tank 10 to the chamber 16.
Reference numeral 22 indicates generally an air inlet control valve which is mounted on the vapor equalizer chamber 16. Thus, the system is provided with two separate air inlet control valves 12 and 22 which are respectively coupled via cables 24 and 26 to the throttle control for the motor vehicle which may take the form of a standard accelerator pedal 28. The air inlet control valves 12 and 22 are synchronized in such a fashion that the opening of the air inlet control valve 22 of the vapor equalizer 16 always preceeds and exceeds the opening of the air inlet control valve 12 of the fuel vapor tank 10, for reasons which will become more clear hereinafter.
The cooling system of the vehicle conventionally includes a radiator 30 for storing liquid coolant that is circulated through the engine 20 in the well-known fashion. A pair of hoses 32 and 34 are preferably coupled into the normal heater lines from the engine 20 so as to direct heated liquid coolant from the engine 20 to a warming coil 36, preferably constructed of copper, which is positioned within vapor tank 10. I have found that the water circulation system consisting of hoses 32, 34 and 36 serves three distinct functions. Firstly, it prevents the vapor tank from reaching the cold temperatures to which it would otherwise be subjected as a result of high vacuum pressure and air flow therethrough. Secondly, the heated coolant serves to enhance vaporization of the gasoline stored within tank 10 by raising the temperature thereof. Thirdly, the liquid coolant, after leaving tank 10 via conduit 34, has been cooled to the point where engine 20 may then be run at substantially lower operating temperatures to further increase efficiency and prolong the life of the engine.
Included in series with vapor conduit 14 is a filter unit 38 which is designed to retard the flow of fuel vapor from the tank 10 to the vapor equalizer 16. The precise structure of the filter unit 38 will be described in greater detail hereinafter. A thrust adjustment valve 40 is positioned upstream of the filter unit 38 in conduit 14 and acts as a fine adjustment for the idling speed of the vehicle. Positioned on the other side of filter unit 38 in conduit 14 is a safety shut-off valve 42 which comprises a one-way valve. Starting the engine 20 will open the valve 42 to permit the engine vacuum pressure to be transmitted to tank 10, but, for example, a backfire will close the valve to prevent a possible explosion. The tank 10 may also be provided with a drain 44 positioned at the bottom thereof.
Positioned on the side of the vapor equalizer chamber 16 is a primer connection 46 which may be controlled by a dash mounted primer control knob 48 connected to tank 10 via conduit 47. A conduit 50 extends from the oil breather cap opening 52 in a valve cover 54 of the engine 20 to the vapor equalizer 16 to feed the oil blow-by to the engine as a means for eliminating valve clatter. This is believed necessary due to the extreme lean mixture of fuel vapor and air fed to the combustion cylinders of the engine 20 in accordance with the present invention.
Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3, the fuel vapor tank 10 of the present invention is illustrated in greater detail in orthogonal sectional views and is seen to include a pair of side walls 56 and 58 which are preferably comprised of heavy duty steel plate (e.g. 1/2" thick) in order to withstand the high vacuum pressures developed therein. The tank 10 further comprises top wall 60 and bottom wall 62, and front and rear walls 64 and 66, respectively.
In the front wall 64 of tank 10 is positioned a coupling 68 for mating the heater hose 32 with the internal copper conduit 36. The tank 10 is also provided with a pair of vertically oriented planar support plates 70 and 72 which are positioned somewhat inwardly of the side walls 56 and 58 and are substantially parallel thereto. Support plates 70 and 72 lend structural integrity to the tank 10 and are also provided with a plurality of openings 74 (FIG. 2) at the bottom portions thereof to permit fluid communication therethrough. The bottom of the tank 10 is generally filled with from one to five gallons of gasoline, and the walls of the tank 10 along with plates 70 and 72 define three tank chambers 76, 78 and 80 which are, by virtue of openings 74, in fluid communication with one another.
In the top wall 60 of tank 10 is formed an opening 82 for placing one end of vapor conduit 14 in fluid communication with the interior chamber 76 of tank 10. A second opening 84 is positioned in the top wall 60 of tank 10 over which the air inlet control valve 12 is positioned. The valve assembly 12 comprises a pair of conventional butterfly valves 86 and 88 which are coupled via a control rod 90 to a control arm 92. Control arm 92 is, in turn, pivoted under the control of a cable 24 and is movable between a solid line position indicated in FIG. 2 by reference numeral 92 and a dotted line position indicated in FIG. 2 by reference numeral 92'.
Rod 90 and valves 86 and 88 are journaled in a housing 94 having a base plate 96 which is mounted on a cover 98. As seen in FIG. 1, the base plate 96 includes a plurality of small air intake ports or apertures 100 formed on both sides of the butterfly valves 86 and 88, which are utilized for a purpose to become more clear hereinafter.
Rod 90 is also journaled in a flange 102 which is mounted to cover 98, while a return spring 104 for control arm 92 is journaled to cover 98 via flange 106.
Extending through the baffle and support plates 70 and 72 from the side chambers 78 and 80 of tank 10 to be in fluid communication with apertures 100 are a pair of air conduits 108 and 110 each having a reed valve 112 and 114 positioned at the ends thereof for controlling air and vapor flow therethrough. The reed valves 112 and 114 cooperate with the small apertures 100 formed in the base plate 96 to provide the proper amount of air into the tank 10 while the engine is idling and the butterfly valves 86 and 88 are closed.
Mounted to the front wall 64 of tank 10 is a pivot support member 132 for pivotally receiving a filter element which is indicated generally by reference numeral 134 and is illustrated in a perspective, partially cut away view in FIG. 5. The unique, pivotable filter element 134 comprises a frame member 136 having a pin-receiving stub 138 extending along one side member thereof. The actual filter material contained within the frame 136 comprises a layer of carbon particles 148 which is sandwiched between a pair of layers of sponge-like filter material which may, for example, comprise neoprene. The neoprene layers 144 and 146 and carbon particles 148 are maintained in place by top and bottom screen elements 140 and 142 which extend within and are secured by frame member 136. A thick-walled rubber hose 150 having a central annulus 151 is secured to the top of screen 140 so as to mate with opening 82 of top wall 60 (see FIG. 2) when the filter assembly 134 is in its solid line operative position illustrated in FIG. 2. In the latter position, it may be appreciated that the vapor conduit 14 draws vapor fumes directly from the filter element 134, rather than from the interior portion 76 of tank 10. In contradistinction, when the filter element 134 is in its alternate operative position, indicated by dotted lines in FIG. 2, the vapor conduit 14 draws fumes mainly from the interior portions 76, 78 and 80 of tank 10.
FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of one of the reed valve assemblies 114 which illustrates the manner in which the valve opens and closes in response to the particular vacuum pressure created within the tank 10. The valves 112 and 114 are designed to admit just enough air to the tank 10 from the apertures 100 at engine idle to prevent the engine from stalling.
Referring now to FIGS. 6 through 8, the vapor equalizer chamber 16 of the present invention is seen to include front and rear walls 152 and 154, respectively, a top wall 156, a side wall 158, and another side wall 160. The vapor equalizer chamber 16 is secured to the manifold 18 as by a plurality of bolts 162 under which may be positioned a conventional gasket 164.
In the top wall 156 of the vapor equalizer 16 is formed an opening 166 for communicating the outlet end of vapor conduit 14 with a mixing and equalizing chamber 168. Adjacent the mixing and equalizing chamber 168 in wall 154 is formed another opening 170 which communicates with ambient air via opening 178 formed in the upper portion of housing 176. The amount of air admitted through openings 178 and 170 is controlled by a conventional butterfly valve 172. Butterfly valve 172 is rotated by a control rod 180 that, in turn, is coupled to a control arm 182. Cable 26 is connected to the distal end of control arm 182 and acts against the return bias of spring 184, the latter of which is journaled to side plate 152 of vapor equalizer 16 via an upstanding flange 188. Reference numeral 186 indicates generally a butterfly valve operating linkage, as illustrated more clearly in FIG. 8, and which is conventional as may be appreciated by a person of ordinary skill in the art.
Positioned below mixing and equalizing chamber 168 is a filter unit which is indicated generally by reference numeral 188. The filter unit 188, which is illustrated in an exploded view in FIG. 11, comprises a top plastic fluted cover 190 and a bottom plastic fluted cover 192. Positioned adjacent the top and bottom covers 190 and 192 are a pair of screen mesh elements 194 and 196, respectively. Positioned between the screen mesh elements 194 and 196 is a support member 198 which is preferably formed of a sponge-like filter material, such as, for example, neoprene. The support member 199 has formed on the top and bottom surfaces thereof a pair of receptacles 200 and 202, respectively, whose diameters are sized similarly to the opening 166 in top plate 156 and the openings formed in the intake manifold 18 which are respectively indicated by reference numerals 210 and 212 in FIG. 6.
Positioned in receptacles 200 and 202 are carbon particles 204 and 206, respectively, for vapor retardation and control purposes.
Referring now to FIG. 9, the filter unit 38 mounted in vapor conduit 14 is illustrated in a longitudinal sectional view and is seen to comprise an outer flexible cylindrical hose 214 which is adapted to connect with hose 14 at both ends by a pair of adapter elements 216 and 218. Contained within the outer flexible hose 214 is a cylindrical container 220, preferably of plastic, that houses in the central portion thereof a mixture of carbon and neoprene filter fibers 222. At both ends of the mixture 222 are deposited carbon particles 224 and 226, while the entire filtering unit is held within the container 220 by end screens 228 and 230 which permit passage of vapors therethrough while holding the carbon particles 224 and 226 in place.
FIG. 10 illustrates one form of the thrust adjustment valve 40 which is placed within line 14. The valve simply controls the amount of fluid passable through the conduit 14 via a rotating valve member 41.
In operation, the thrust adjustment valve 40 is initially adjusted to achieve as smooth an idle as possible for the particular motor vehicle in which the system is installed. The emergency shut-off valve 42, which is closed when the engine is off, generally traps enough vapor between it and the vapor equalizer 16 to start the engine 20. Initially, the rear intake valves 12 on the tank 10 are fully closed, while the air intake valves 22 on the equalizer 16 are open to admit a charge of air to the vapor equalizer prior to the vapor from the tank, thus forcing the pre-existing vapor in the vapor equalizer into the manifold. The small apertures 100 formed in base plate 96 on tank 10 admit just enough air to actuate the reed valves to permit sufficient vapor and air to be drawn through vapor conduit 14 and equalizer 16 to the engine 20 to provide smooth idling. The front air valves 22 are always set ahead of the rear air valves 12 and the linkages 24 and 26 are coupled to throttle pedal 28 such that the degree of opening of front valves 22 always exceeds the degree of opening of the rear valves 12.
Upon initial starting of the engine 20, due to the closed condition of rear valves 12, a high vacuum pressure is created within tank 10 which causes the filter assembly 134 positioned in tank 10 to rise to its operative position indicated by solid outline in FIG. 2. In this manner, a relatively small amount of vapor will be drawn directly from filter 134 through vapor conduit 14 to the engine to permit the latter to run on an extremely lean mixture.
Upon initial acceleration, the front air intake valve 22 will open further, while the rear butterfly assembly 12 will begin to open. The latter action will reduce the vacuum pressure within tank 10 whereby the filter assembly 134 will be lowered to its alternate operating position illustrated in dotted outline in FIG. 2. In this position, the lower end of the filter assembly 134 may actually rest in the liquid gasoline contained within the tank 10. Accordingly, upon acceleration, the filter assembly 134 is moved out of direct fluid communication with the opening 82 such that the vapor conduit 14 then draws fuel vapor and air from the entire tank 10 to provide a richer combustion mixture to the engine, which is necessary during acceleration.
When the motor vehicle attains a steady speed, and the operator eases off the accelerator pedal 28, the rear butterfly valve assembly 12 closes, but the front air intake 22 remains open to a certain degree. The closing of the rear air intake 12 increases the vacuum pressure within tank 10 to the point where the filter assembly 134 is drawn up to its initial operating position. As illustrated, in this position, the opening 82 is in substantial alignment with the aperture 151 of hose 150 to place the filter unit 134 in direct fluid communication with the vapor conduit 14, thereby lessening the amount of vapor and air mixture fed to the engine. Any vapor fed through conduit 14 while the filter 134 is at this position is believed to be drawn directly off the filter unit itself.
I have been able to obtain extremely high gas mileages with the system of the present invention installed on a V-8 engine of a conventional 1971 American made automobile. In fact, mileage rates in excess of one hundred miles per gallon have been achieved with the present invention. The present invention eliminates the need for conventional fuel pumps, carburetors, and gas tanks, thereby more than offsetting whatever the components of the present invention might otherwise add to the cost of a car. The system may be constructed with readily available components and technology, and may be supplied in kit form as well as original equipment.
Obviously, numerous modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. For example, although described in connection with the operation of a motor vehicle, the present invention may be universally applied to any four-stroke engine for which its operation depends upon the internal combustion of fossil fuels. Therefore, it is to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein.
"Tom Ogle Dead at 26"
Tom Ogle who astounded the automobile world in 1977 with his "Oglemobile", died Aiugust 19, 1981. According to an investigator his death was attributed to alcohol and an "overdose" of Darvon. There are a few HMC [High Mileage Carburetor] people who feel that although his death appears to be accidental, it was really a well orchestrated plan to play on the young mechanics's weaknesss for self-destruction...
Was his death accidental? David L. Williamson, President of Advanced Combustion Systems writes, "Whether directly or indirectly, Tom Ogle died as a result of working on a fuel saving system. Information forwarded to us indicated that Tom had a silent partner who preceded him in death, when a car fell off the jack stands on top of him. After his partner's untimely death Tom boarded up his car care center and went into hiding."
Helga Armstrong, tom's mother, is quoted as saying that drinking and taking tranquilizers had become a way of life for her son. She also said that her son owed money to Tom Strayer and he was scared to death.
His attorney, Bobby Perel is quoted as saying that Strayer had forced Ogle to sign away 22 percent of his royalties to the gas-saving vaporizer fuel system he invented. "There was a group of professional gamblers and they got him drunk and just hustled him for everything he was worth."
Ray Covey, an El Paso building designer and inventor of the Covey Vapor System, ran into Ogle in February of 1981. Covey adn several builders had gone into a local bar for a beer and Tom was there playing pool for $1,000 per game. "Every time he lost he doubled his bet and when we left he was playing for $18,000."
According to an El Paso newspaper, Tom had been arrested for reckless driving and illegal possession of a firearm and at one point was shot outside a bar.
The El Paso Public Library has a considerable newspaper-clipping file about Ogle.
Brief discussion of Ogle:
http://www.automotiveforums.com/t130379.html .
"...the company that bought him out later reported that his
designs didn't work." and "Tom Ogle, died under somewhat
mysterious
circumstances - just shortly after selling out to a company in
Seattle."
Possibly [?]:
Advanced Combustion Systems Incorporated
1999 Alpine Way
Bellingham, WA 98226-7604
Phone: (360)676-6005
http://www.acs-acs.com/
http://www.io.com/~maniac/environ.html
On May 1, 1977, the El Paso Times carried a banner headline that stated, "200 Miles On Two Gallons Of Gas." A local inventor had come up with a device that was a substitute for the carburetor of an automobile and the device would get incredible gas mileages. Not only did the device save money on gas, but the emissions that came out of the vehicle tested were so clean that the inventor claimed you could "dry your hair" with the exhaust!
Thomas Hans Werner Peter Wolfgang Dinglestadt Ogle, an youthful inventor of German descent, had noticed one day that when he punctured a hole in a lawn mower gas tank, the mower kept running off of the gasoline vapors for quite a while after he connected a line from the tank directly to the carburetor. Ogle theorized that he could use this principle to create a device that, instead of preparing a fuel/air mixture for the engine to burn, would make it so that the engine burned the gasoline vapors. Ogle created such a device and mounted it inside of a 1970 Ford Galaxie. The inventor notified the press that he was going to travel from El Paso, Texas to Deming, New Mexico on no more than two gallons of gas; this was a trip of over 200 miles! Reporters inspected the car for hidden tanks or hoses, and none were found. Prior to going public with his device, Ogle had previously gone taken a trip of about 280 miles in a similarly-equipped 1972 Thunderbird, also with only two miles of gas. Ogle went on to fit several other cars with his device.
After the media reported the seemingly astonishing feat, skeptics stepped out of the woodwork to denounce the apparent impossibility of the feat. Physics professors indicated that it was impossible to use the fuel that efficiently and that the claims must have been exaggerated. Engineers stated that there must have been hidden fuel sources, and that the trip was a hoax. Ogle allowed at least two different inspections of his car and the device he installed. Registered state engineer Frank Haynes Jr. conducted one inspection, and another inspection was conducted by Professor John Whitacre and Professor Garry Hawkins from the Mechanical Engineering department at the University of Texas at El Paso. Both inspections indicated that the device did what Ogle represented that it did; that is, that the device allowed the old car that Ogle used in his run to Deming to get in excess of 100 miles per gallon.
At this point, Ogle was on top of the world. As the inventor of an energy-saving device that cleaned up emissions to the point that there was almost nothing but a small amount of water coming out of the tailpipe, it seemed that the device he made would revolutionize the automobile industry. At the time, the country was in the midst of the "energy crisis", or the political decision by President Jimmy Carter to attempt to conserve finite fossil fuel resources to try to avoid an unforeseen disaster in the future due to a shortfall. However, the device never came to be. At this point in time, there does not exist a single mass-produced vehicle that carries the device Ogle invented. What happened in the meantime?
Ogle invited U.S. Congressman Richard White to view the operation of the device along with an official from the National Energy Research and Development Administration, who expressed enthusiastic interest in the invention. However, word began to circulate that there were previous patents for similar devices. Of course, this would not have been an insurmountable obstacle, since if someone had stepped forth with a claim on a patent for a previous device, Ogle could have entered into negotiations to pay a royalty to the holder of the previous patent. Rumors swirled around indicating that General Motors had patented such a device several years earlier; however, there was no public evidence that anyone had made any claim to hold a competing patent.
The bright future that Ogle foresaw quickly began evaporating. Perhaps no one will ever truly know what happened that led to the further troubles that the inventor experienced after this point, but some facts are known. Ogle and a partner named James Peck, who had assisted Ogle with financing the development of his device, ran into some minor difficulties in working out a contractual agreement as to the distribution of royalties. The two had a falling-out, but Ogle continued marketing the device. In the meantime, Frank Read, another inventor who had come up with a similar device that didn't get near the gas mileage that Ogle had gotten and whose device did not completely bypass the carburetor, went public with the news that he had been hit with several lawsuits, including one from the Texas Attorney General's office for consumer fraud.
Around this same time, the official from the NERDA who had previously viewed the device with Congressman White began indicating that he did not think development of the device would be feasible. The official had previously indicated some enthusiasm for the device, and the turn-around in his attitude was fairly mysterious. Ogle became involved in several lawsuits that drained his time and energy. The young inventor's newly opened business began failing.
More trouble from the government began descending on Ogle. The Securities and Exchange Commission served a firm with which Ogle had contracted for marketing rights with an injunction alleging anti-trust and registration violations. In addition, the Internal Revenue Service served Ogle with a federal tax lien for over $20,000 after an audit. Ogle was virtually paralyzed in the further development and marketing of his device.
Rumors circulated that the young inventor was turning to alcohol and drugs after his legal problems. Ogle became increasingly more paranoid, and was arrested after being chased by the police. Then, in mid-1981, Ogle was shot and wounded outside a bar. Ogle was placed under police protection after the shooting, believing that he was being targeted for attack. Ogle indicated to the police that he had been shot by a Hispanic individual in a red car, but no suspects or leads were ever found in the incident.
Ogle had been gravitating toward gambling at the pool table, and began losing a lot of money in his gambling forays. He indicated to his attorney, Bobby Perel, that he believed people were drugging his drinks. Perel was skeptical, but on August 19, 1981, Ogle collapsed and died from what an autopsy showed was an overdose of Darvon and alcohol. The death was ruled to be a suicide after a cursory investigation, but several people close to Ogle indicated that they did not believe that Ogle would or could kill himself.
The truth may never be known about what happened to Tom Ogle in between the time that he went public with his invention and the time of his untimely death. However, several unanswered questions remain. Who shot Tom Ogle outside the bar and why? Why did the SEC and the IRS cause problems for the inventor? Why did the NERDA suddenly indicate a loss of support for the device? And, last but not least, why is there not such a device installed inside every fuel-hogging car today to save the consumers gas mileage and to postpone the dwindling of our finite fossil-fuel resources? Where are the cars that had been fitted with the device? The world may never know the answers to these questions...