Patent ID: 8365698
Filing Date: 2013-02-05
Classification: F01C,F01L,F02B,F02M,Y02T

Abstract:
1. A method of operating an internal combustion engine, the method comprising: providing, in a housing having an intake port and an exhaust port, a compressor piston, expander piston and a shaft, wherein over a course of rotation of the shaft, the housing, compressor piston, and expander piston successively define volumes in differing amounts within the housing for phases of compression, combustion, and expansion, the housing including a recess, that during the combustion phase partly defines a constant volume in the combustion phase, and further including a fuel injector configured to inject fuel into the recess; causing compression of air, introduced through the intake port, by reducing volume in the compression phase from an initial volume to a second volume that is less than the initial volume; in the combustion phase, while maintaining the constant volume of a combustion chamber defined by the recess while it is sealed by the compressor piston and the expander piston, causing spontaneous combustion of fuel that has been introduced into the combustion chamber by the fuel injector in the combustion phase; and undergoing expansion, in the expansion phase, of gases from combustion while the volume increases to a third volume that is larger than the initial volume; wherein the volumes defined by the housing, the compressor piston, and the expander piston vary, if at all, over the course of shaft rotation, to define successive volumes in differing amounts for phases of compression, combustion, and expansion, in a manner that is smooth and continuous.