Patent ID: 7007669

Claim:
A distributed ignition engine, comprising: a cylinder assembly, comprising (1) an engine block having a piston cylinder defined therein, (2) an engine head secured to the engine block, and (3) a piston that translates within the piston cylinder, wherein the engine block, the engine head, and the piston cooperate to define a combustion chamber; an intake port positioned in fluid communication with the combustion chamber during intake of a primary fuel and air mixture; a fuel injector operable to inject a pilot fuel for introduction into the combustion chamber of the engine; a spark plug configured to ignite the primary fuel and pilot fuel within the combustion chamber; an engine load determining device; and a controller configured to receive information from the engine load determining device and configured to responsively determine a desired spark plug ignition timing based on a desired homogeneous distribution of the pilot fuel within the combustion chamber.