Patent ID: 8086386

Claim:
A method for use in generating power in an internal combustion engine from combustion of a fuel admixed with an oxidizing medium and operating cyclically with intentional ignition of a fuel or with self-ignition of a fuel, the method comprising: periodically changing a volume of a variable-volume combustion chamber from a minimum volume to a maximum volume; controlling a flow of a fuel and an oxidizing medium into the chamber by an intake mechanism in such a way as to provide an upper limit on an amount of the fuel and the oxidizing medium which fills the chamber in each chamber-filling intake part of an engine cycle, the upper limit corresponding to a critical volume of the chamber at which the flow of the fuel and the oxidizing medium is cut off by the intake mechanism, the critical volume being smaller than the maximum volume; wherein a ratio of the maximum volume to the minimum volume is greater than a ratio of the critical volume to the minimum volume and is greater than a ratio of the maximum volume to the minimum volume causing self-ignition of the fuel; wherein the critical volume is a volume such as to just avoid self ignition at a subsequent compression of the fuel admixed with the oxidizing medium to the minimum volume in a subsequent compression stroke part of the cycle when the fuel is a fuel intended for utilization with intentional ignition, and wherein the critical volume is a volume to just achieve self ignition at the subsequent compression of the fuel admixed with the oxidizing medium to the minimum volume in the subsequent compression stroke part of the cycle when the fuel is a fuel intended for utilization with self-ignition; and wherein the intake mechanism comprises a low pressure intake valve controlled by a controller and immediately upstream of a high pressure intake valve of the combustion chamber, the high pressure intake valve allowing fluid communication between the chamber and an exterior of the chamber, and the controller controlling the low pressure intake valve to control the flow of the fuel and the oxidizing medium to the high pressure intake valve to provide resistance to the flow of the fuel and the oxidizing medium to the high pressure intake valve.