A compression ignition internal combustion engine (1), which includes a cylinder (2), a piston (3) reciprocably received within the cylinder (2), a pair of contra-rotating crankshafts (4, 5) rotatably mounted relative to the cylinder (2), a pair of connecting rods (6, 7) each having a first end (61, 71) connected to a crank journal (41, 51) of a respective one of the crankshafts (4, 5) and a second end (62, 72) connected to the piston (3). The engine (1) is configured such that the stroke of the piston (3) in a first direction toward the crankshafts (4, 5) causes each crankshaft (4, 5) to rotate by a first angle and the piston stroke in a second direction opposite the first direction causes each crankshaft (4,5) to rotate by a second angle different () from the first angle.

A four-stroke internal combustion engine including variable compression ratio comprises a crankcase including a crankshaft having a crankpin and being supported by the crankcase and rotatable with respect thereto about a crankshaft axis, a connecting rod including a big end and a small end, a crank member being rotatably mounted on the crankpin, and comprising at least a bearing portion which is eccentrically disposed with respect to the crankpin, a crank member drive system for rotating the crank member at a rotation frequency with respect to the crankcase which is half of that of the crankshaft, and a control system for operating the engine with repetitive cycles, wherein the compression ratio in the compression stroke is changed. The control system is configured to interrupt the repetitive cycles by rotating the crankshaft an additional single revolution between two successive combustion strokes for switching between a high and low compression ratio.

An internal combustion engine for a motor vehicle included a crankshaft, at least one piston coupled to the crankshaft for performing strokes in a cylinder as a consequence of a rotation of the crankshaft. An eccentric shaft is coupled to the crankshaft and to the piston in such a manner that through it strokes of the piston are extendable. The internal combustion engine further includes a phase adjuster for adjusting a phase of the coupling of the eccentric shaft to the crankshaft and/or a stroke adjuster for adjusting strokes of the piston, in particular an extension of strokes of the piston by the eccentric shaft.

An internal combustion engine for a motor vehicle included a crankshaft, at least one piston coupled to the crankshaft for performing strokes in a cylinder as a consequence of a rotation of the crankshaft. An eccentric shaft is coupled to the crankshaft and to the piston in such a manner that through it strokes of the piston are extendable. The internal combustion engine further includes a phase adjuster for adjusting a phase of the coupling of the eccentric shaft to the crankshaft and/or a stroke adjuster for adjusting strokes of the piston, in particular an extension of strokes of the piston by the eccentric shaft.

An opposed piston combustion engine is revealed that uses a crank to actuate one piston while using a cam to actuate a second piston within a shared cylinder. This engine allows crank leverage, compression, and ignition to occur closer together for a more efficient opposed piston engine.

An internal combustion engine for use in land, aerial and water vehicles and various kinds of machinery. A first version of the engine has a cylinder with the inlet channel of compressed air and the outlet exhaust channel situated in the middle of it. In the cylinder head as well as in the partition there are the fuel injector, the water injector and the ignition element. In the middle of the partition the slide bearing is embedded, through which the tappet rod goes. The upper end of this rod is attached to the bilateral piston, whereas its lower end is connected to the connecting rod. The water injectors are powered from the water container through the heating element and the metering device. A second version the engine has a plurality of cylinders in a radial orientation.

A piston assembly includes a piston head for reciprocating back and forth within a cylinder of an engine, an upper rod coupled to the piston head at one longitudinal end of the upper rod and fixed relative to the piston head, and a lower rod rotatably coupled to an opposite longitudinal end of the upper rod, the lower rod configured to pivot about the opposite longitudinal end of the upper rod. The lower rod is configured to couple to a crankshaft at a longitudinal end of the lower rod opposite the upper rod. Methods of forming a piston assembly and engines incorporating such piston assemblies are also disclosed.

A hybrid vehicle HV is provided with an electric motor MT for generating vehicle drive force, an electrical generator GN for generating electric power to be supplied to the electric motor, a plurality of internal combustion engines EG1, EG2 for driving the generator, the plurality of internal combustion engines differing in output characteristics, and a controller CT configured to select one or more internal combustion engines from the plurality of internal combustion engines so that, when operating the selected one or more internal combustion engines in the respective high efficiency regions thereof, an engine output satisfies a required engine output and an engine operating efficiency is maximum, and to operate the selected one or more internal combustion engines in the respective high efficiency regions thereof.

There is provided an assembly for an engine configured for linking a piston to a crankshaft (6) of the engine, comprising a pair of primary connecting rods (1a, 1b) configured to link said piston (1) to a secondary connecting rod (2), the secondary connecting rod (2) comprises an upper portion (2a) and a lower portion (2b); a controlling member (3) having a pair of opposed guiding rails (3a, 3b) and a pair of aligned lateral pin joints (30a, 30b), the controlling member (3) is configured to receive a substantial part of the upper portion (2a) of said secondary connecting rod (2); and a controlling member (3) support element configured to enclose the controlling member (3) within a cylinder block (5) of said engine, wherein the secondary connecting rod upper (2a) and lower portions (2b) are connected to each other when a crank shaft joint (8) is trapped between two semi-circular space gaps (28) in each of said secondary connecting rod upper (2a) and lower (2b) portions.

An internal combustion engine includes a crankshaft and at least one piston coupled to the crankshaft for executing strokes in a cylinder as a result of rotation of the crankshaft. An eccentric shaft is coupled to the crankshaft and to the piston in such a way that strokes of the piston are adjusted by the eccentric shaft. A phase adjuster adjusts a phase of the coupling of the eccentric shaft to the crankshaft.