Patent ID: 7231998
Filing Date: 2007-06-19
Classification: B60K,F02D,F02N,Y02T

Abstract:
1. A method of operating a wheeled vehicle, said method comprising the steps of: (a) providing an engine mounted in said vehicle and coupled to at least one vehicle wheel for its propulsion and braking, said engine including at least two cylinders and a cylinder chamber within each of said at least two cylinders, (b) providing an air-reservoir means mounted in said vehicle and connected to said engine for receiving, storage, and discharge of compressed air, (c) providing a gas exchange controlling means for accommodating and controlling gas flow into, inside, and out of said engine and between said engine and said air-reservoir means, (d) operating said engine in a compression-braking mode driven by a vehicle momentum in response to a demand for a vehicle braking force, when said vehicle is in motion and a vehicle braking force is needed, by repeatedly performing a compression-braking cycle, during which air is received from outside atmosphere into at least one of said at least two cylinders, compressed there, transferred to another at least one of said at least two cylinders, subjected to at least one additional compression, and displaced into said air-reservoir means for storage therein, (e) operating said engine in a prime mover mode propelling said vehicle when vehicle propulsion force is needed, said prime mover mode including: