Patent ID: 7753025

Claim:
A method of combusting fuel, comprising: providing a glow-plug within a combustion chamber having a volume including a piston bowl; wherein said glow plug provides a localized heated region; providing air into said combustion chamber; compressing said air; providing a mass of fuel into said combustion chamber; directing in an indirect manner an amount of said mass of fuel by impingement of the fuel against one or more surfaces of said piston bowl to deflect the fuel towards a localized heated region of the glow plug, said glow plug region having a temperature T 1 , wherein the equivalence ratio of said fuel in said heated region achieves a value such that T 1 provides auto-ignition, and igniting all or a portion of said mass of fuel directed towards said heated region of said glow plug; and igniting the remainder of said fuel at an auto-ignition temperature, wherein, for said combustion chamber, directing an amount of said mass of fuel towards a localized heated region by a direct fuel spray to said localized heated region of said glow plug provides a first time t 1 for fuel vaporization and mixing, and said impingement of said fuel against one or more piston bowl surfaces provides a second time t 2 for fuel vaporization and mixing, where t 2 is at least twice t 1 .