Patent ID: 7305964

Claim:
A method for operating a self ignition internal combustion engine, said method comprising the steps of: injecting fuel directly into a combustion chamber by means of an injection nozzle, such that during a working cycle, a portion of the fuel is injected into the combustion chamber as a pre-injection amount, and the rest of the fuel is injected into the combustion chamber at a later time as a main injection amount whereby the pre-injection fuel amount forms a homogenous pre-mixture with which a homogenous combustion phase is initiated and burns in the a low temperature combustion phase (cold flame combustion) which, with increasing compression, converts to a high temperature combustion phase (hot flame combustion), and injecting the main fuel injection amount into the combustion chamber such that self ignition of the main fuel injection amount takes place before the piston reaches its top dead center position and the main fuel injection amount is combusted after the start, and before the end, of the high temperature combustion phase, that is during hot flame combustion.