A method of controlling a reciprocating internal combustion engine comprising: a cylinder defining a cavity having a first end and a second end; and a piston moveable within the cavity of the cylinder between the first end and the second end, the method comprising: controlling injection of a quantity of liquid air, without fuel, into the first end of the cavity at a first time when the piston is closer to the first end than the second end to cause the piston to perform a first power stroke; and controlling injection of fuel into the first end of the cavity at a second time when the piston is closer to the first end than the second end to cause the piston to perform a second power stroke.

Because an in-cylinder temperature becomes low immediately after cold starting, it is impossible to take large ignition timing retard to avoid combustion instability and it takes time to activate a catalyst existing downstream of an internal combustion engine.

The present invention provides an internal combustion engine control apparatus including an ignition timing control unit to control an ignition timing of an ignition device attached to an internal combustion engine. The internal combustion engine control apparatus includes an in-cylinder temperature raising unit that raises an in-cylinder temperature, the in-cylinder temperature is raised by the in-cylinder temperature raising unit, and a retard amount of the ignition timing of the ignition device is increased by the ignition timing control unit.

Systems and methods are disclosed that include operating an isothermal compression based combustion (IsoC) engine by injecting isothermally compressed air into a combustion engine immediately prior to a combustion event in order to increase the efficiency of the engine, improve emissions, and substantially eliminate autoignition and associated design constraints. The IsoC engine utilizes an intercooled compressor to isothermally compress air that is stored in a plurality of capacitance tanks prior to delivery of the compressed air to the combustion engine. The IsoC engine allows combustion to be selectively terminated to increase fuel efficiency, thereby resulting in a hybrid compressed air-motor and internal combustion operated IsoC engine.

A two-cycle engine that includes a high pressure fuel pump that pressurizes fuel to produce pressurized fuel and pumps the pressurized fuel from a fuel controller to a fuel injector. The fuel injector injects the pressurized fuel into a cylinder. A high pressure air pump pressurizes air to produce pressurized air and pumps the pressurized air from an air controller to an air injector. The air injector injects the pressurized air into the cylinder.

Systems and methods are disclosed that include operating an isothermal compression based combustion (IsoC) engine by injecting isothermally compressed air into a combustion engine immediately prior to a combustion event in order to increase the efficiency of the engine, improve emissions, and substantially eliminate autoignition and associated design constraints. The IsoC engine utilizes an intercooled compressor to isothermally compress air that is stored in a plurality of capacitance tanks prior to delivery of the compressed air to the combustion engine. The IsoC engine allows combustion to be selectively terminated to increase fuel efficiency, thereby resulting in a hybrid compressed air-motor and internal combustion operated IsoC engine.

The invention relates a process for all internal combustion engines types to control the pressure and/or the temperature inside the combustion chamber at the time of ignition of combustion, despite that the air/fuel mixture is maintained close of stoichiometry ratio. It mainly based on high compression by an auxiliary compressor of air. This air is accumulated in a reservoir. The purpose is to have two sources of compressed air with a large gape of temperature, where one source is relatively cold and corresponding to the ambient environment, and the other source is relatively hot, heated by the heat energy recovered from exhaust gases. The intake compressed air is carried out with predetermined quantity from both sources as an injection into the cylinder which contains part of the burnt gases from the previous combustion cycle, kept with predetermined quantity. This is possible because the engine operates with a two-stroke cycle.

A process relating to a two-stroke cycle internal combustion engine to control the pressure and/or the temperature of the gaseous blend inside the combustion chamber at the time of ignition of combustion, while the air/fuel mixture is maintained close to the stoichiometric ratio. The process is mainly based on high compression by an auxiliary compressor of air that is accumulated in a reservoir. The compressed air is typically injected at two different temperatures, one being relatively cold and the other being relatively hot, as heated by the heat energy recovered from exhaust gases or heaters. The intake compressed air is carried out with predetermined quantity from both temperatures as an injection into the cylinder which already contains a predetermined quantity of the burnt gases from the previous combustion cycle.