Patent ID: 7621260

Claim:
An internal combustion engine comprising: a combustion chamber for generating power by combusting hydrogen and expanding an operating gas that is an inert gas having a larger specific heat ratio than oxygen using heat generated by the combustion; an apparatus that supplies the operating gas in post-combustion gas discharged form the combustion chamber to the combustion chamber again; a hydrogen and oxygen supply apparatus that determines an amount of hydrogen and an amount of oxygen to be supplied to the combustion chamber such that the internal combustion engine generates torque of a magnitude corresponding to a required torque, which is the torque required of the internal combustion engine, and supplies the determined amount of hydrogen and the determined amount of oxygen to the combustion chamber; and an operating gas amount regulating apparatus that determines an amount of operating gas to be supplied to the combustion chamber according to the required torque, and regulates the amount of operating gas supplied to the combustion chamber such that the determined amount of operating gas is supplied to the combustion chamber.