A method for operating an internal combustion engine including feeding a pilot quantity of gas fuel, into a prechamber before a piston reaches a top dead center position. The method comprises autoignition of the pilot quantity of gas fuel in the prechamber, feeding a main quantity of gas fuel into the prechamber after the autoignition, and ignition of the main quantity of gas fuel by the conditions in the prechamber that are brought about by the autoignited pilot quantity. The method makes it possible to operate an internal combustion engine purely with methane or some other gaseous fuel, by means of compression autoignition of the pilot quantity.

An internal combustion engine including an igniter disposed at least partially within an aperture defined in a housing of the engine, the igniter having a body including a tip supporting portion and having a tip extending from the tip supporting portion. A cooling sleeve is disposed around the tip supporting portion, and the cooling sleeve defines a path of heat transfer between the tip supporting portion and the housing. The engine may be a rotary engine. A method for cooling an igniter of an internal combustion engine is also discussed.

The present invention provides a power device generating greater propelling force and finds that traditional power devices do not include all propelling forces based on the fundamental core propelling force source problem. External pressure is guided to the traditional power devices since the inner speed is higher the outer speed, power consumption for overcoming fluid resistance is high, and mutual contradiction results are obtained. The unique difference between the present invention and general common sense lies in opposite fluid pressure directions; inner fluid channels and outer fluid channels with higher flow speeds are formed to generate pressure differences which guides the fluid pressure to the outside and serve as propelling force, thus the present invention creatively finds three propelling force sources, two lifting force or propelling force sources of helicopters or airplanes driven by propellers and two propelling force sources for sufficient burning of fuel in combustion chambers of engines.

The present invention provides a power device generating greater propelling force and finds that traditional power devices do not include all propelling forces based on the fundamental core propelling force source problem. External pressure is guided to the traditional power devices since the inner speed is higher the outer speed, power consumption for overcoming fluid resistance is high, and mutual contradiction results are obtained. The unique difference between the present invention and general common sense lies in opposite fluid pressure directions; inner fluid channels and outer fluid channels with higher flow speeds are formed to generate pressure differences which guides the fluid pressure to the outside and serve as propelling force, thus the present invention creatively finds three propelling force sources, two lifting force or propelling force sources of helicopters or airplanes driven by propellers and two propelling force sources for sufficient burning of fuel in combustion chambers of engines.

An auxiliary chamber having an auxiliary fuel injector is formed on the top surface of a main combustion chamber. When making the air-fuel mixture inside the auxiliary chamber burn, the air-fuel mixture inside the main combustion chamber is burned by jet flames ejected from a communicating hole. After engine startup and until the elapse of a wall surface lower temperature period where the wall surface temperature of the auxiliary chamber becomes a lower temperature than the wall surface temperature of the auxiliary chamber at the time of completion of warmup, an injection ratio of an injection amount of liquid fuel from the auxiliary fuel injector to a fuel injection amount from a main fuel injector is made to decrease compared with after completion of warmup.

Apparatuses, methods, and systems for starting an internal combustion engine under cold start conditions are disclosed. A combustible mixture is supplied to a plurality of cylinders of the internal combustion engine, where a number of ignition devices are operably connected with less than all of the plurality of cylinders so that at least one of the plurality of cylinders does not include an ignition device. In one form, only one ignition device is included in a bank of cylinders. In response to a cold start condition, a spark by the plurality of ignition devices is generated to cause ignition of the combustible mixture and start the internal combustion engine. In response to a normal or non-cold starting condition, the internal combustion engine is started by compression ignition where none of the ignition devices generate a spark.

A method for detecting the quantity of gas (m) which is supplied by means of a gas supply device to an antechamber of an internal combustion engine, whereby a targeted disturbance (u) of the gas quantity (m) supplied by the gas supply device is performed and a change (T) resulting from the target disturbance (u) in an exhaust gas temperature (T) of an exhaust gas generated in a combustion chamber connected to the antechamber is measured, whereby, by comparison with a target value of the change (Ttarget) of the exhaust gas temperature (T), the gas quantity (m) supplied by means of the gas supply device is deduced.

A method for detecting the quantity of gas (m) which is supplied by means of a gas supply device to an antechamber of an internal combustion engine, whereby a targeted disturbance (u) of the gas quantity (m) supplied by the gas supply device is performed and a change (T) resulting from the target disturbance (u) in an exhaust gas temperature (T) of an exhaust gas generated in a combustion chamber connected to the antechamber is measured, whereby, by comparison with a target value of the change (Ttarget) of the exhaust gas temperature (T), the gas quantity (m) supplied by means of the gas supply device is deduced.

The present invention pertains to arrangements for a pre-chamber of a combustion engine as well as pre-chambers comprising such arrangements, in particular to condition or temper a gas flow within a gas-purged pre-chamber prior to entering a combustion area. Accordingly, an arrangement for a pre-chamber gas valve of a combustion engine is suggested, comprising a housing having an outer surface and comprising a channel, a first end of the channel being in fluid communication with the outer surface and a second end of the channel being connectable to a valve seat of the pre-chamber gas valve, and at least one protrusion extending from the outer surface of the housing. The first end of the channel is arranged upstream of the second end of the channel and downstream of at least one protrusion, wherein the arrangement is configured to absorb heat from a combustion portion of the combustion engine arranged downstream of the second end and to temper a gas upstream of the second end only using said heat, when the arrangement is in a mounted state.

The present invention pertains to arrangements for a pre-chamber of a combustion engine as well as pre-chambers comprising such arrangements, in particular to condition or temper a gas flow within a gas-purged pre-chamber prior to entering a combustion area. Accordingly, an arrangement for a pre-chamber gas valve of a combustion engine is suggested, comprising a housing having an outer surface and comprising a channel, a first end of the channel being in fluid communication with the outer surface and a second end of the channel being connectable to a valve seat of the pre-chamber gas valve, and at least one protrusion extending from the outer surface of the housing. The first end of the channel is arranged upstream of the second end of the channel and downstream of at least one protrusion, wherein the arrangement is configured to absorb heat from a combustion portion of the combustion engine arranged downstream of the second end and to temper a gas upstream of the second end only using said heat, when the arrangement is in a mounted state.