Patent ID: 7685992

Claim:
A method for operating a direct-injection internal combustion engine having a plurality of pistons displaceable inside corresponding cylinders, into which cylinders fuel is injected directly, the method comprising: determining a standstill position of at least one piston inside a cylinder during a standstill of the internal combustion engine; initially selecting a cylinder as a starting cylinder into which fuel is injected first for a start following the standstill; determining an instantaneous charge of the starting cylinder as a function of a duration of the standstill of the internal combustion engine; calculating a distance between the piston of the starting cylinder and a predetermined position of the piston; determining a minimum distance of the piston of the initially selected cylinder as a function of the instantaneous charge; and selecting another cylinder as the starting cylinder if the distance between the piston of the initially selected starting cylinder and the predetermined position is less than the minimum distance.