Patent ID: 7203593

Claim:
An in-head compressed air start-up system for an internal combustion engine comprising a crankshaft, a plurality of cylinders with pistons connected to the crankshaft, a plurality of solenoid-controlled valves for connecting a source of compressed air to a plurality of cylinders, said start-up system comprising: means for detecting the absolute angular position of the crankshaft and outputting an electrical signal indicative of the angular position; computer means for storing a table of the firing order of the cylinders and the angular position of the crankshaft at which each piston reaches a desired angular position relative to top dead center (TDC), wherein the computer means compares the signal indicative of angular position of the crankshaft to the firing order table and generates a plurality of signals sequentially open and close solenoid valves to cause rotation of the crankshaft.