In a control method of an internal combustion engine including a fuel injection valve having a plurality of injection holes and adapted to directly inject a fuel into a cylinder and an ignition plug adapted to generate a plug discharging channel, after fuel injection is performed, spark ignition is performed while turbulence in an air flow is generated by the fuel injection by an ignition plug disposed so that a discharging region is sandwiched by fuel sprays injected from the two adjacent injection holes and located within a range where the turbulence in the air flow is generated.

When it is determined that the combustion state during the catalyst warm-up control is unstable, an additional ignition is performed on the TDC side relative to the discharge period CP. In a first countermeasure example, an additional ignition period CP.sub.2 is provided on the TDC side relative to the ignition period CP.sub.1 at the normal time while performing normal ignition and injection. A second countermeasure example is carried out when it is determined that the combustion state is still unstable despite the first countermeasure example. In the second countermeasure example, an additional ignition period CP.sub.3 which is a longer period than the additional ignition period CP.sub.2 is provided instead of the additional ignition period CP.sub.2.

When it is determined that the initial combustion is unstable, the engine speed is forcibly increased. When the engine speed is forcibly increased, fluidity in the cylinder increases. When the fluidity in the cylinder rises, homogeneity of the homogeneous air-fuel mixture is improved. Therefore, it is possible to enlarge the flame kernel. When the flame kernel is enlarged, the initial flame resulting from the flame kernel is also enlarged. Then, the initial flame becomes easy to involve the closest fuel spray thereby the initial combustion can be stabilized.

When it is determined that the igniting environment is out of the desired range, the variable valve mechanism is controlled so that the swirl ratio is increased. When the swirl ratio becomes high, the discharge spark and the initial flame move largely in the flow direction of the swirl flow SW and approach the closest fuel spray. Therefore, the discharge spark and the initial flame are attracted to the closest fuel spray and the initial flame enlarges by involving the closest fuel spray (middle stage of FIG. 7). Further, the initial flame enlarges further by involving surrounded fuel spray (lower stage of FIG. 7).

A piston has a piston crown portion forming at least one arcuate indent in aligned fashion with a fuel jet discharged into a combustion chamber. Each arcuate event forms lobes, which separate the fuel jet into portions, or is tiered, to accommodate fuel jet portions being discharged into the combustion chamber at different times. Each lobe or tier includes an entry surface, a recirculation surface and a wall to separate it from adjacent lobes or tiers, respectively.

Systems and methods are provided for operation of fuel injectors within an applied-ignition, direct-injection internal combustion engine. In one example, a needle of a fuel injector is moved from a retracted position to an extended position relative to a plurality of injection holes of a nozzle of the fuel injector, with at least one injection hole being separated from a fuel supply system earlier than each other injection hole. In a partially retracted position, fuel flow along a first side of the needle is decreased relative to fuel flow along a second side of the needle.

An engine includes: a piston including a cavity; a cylinder head configured so as to form a combustion chamber having a pent roof shape; a fuel injection valve configured to inject fuel in a period from a second half of a compression stroke until a first half of an expansion stroke; and a spark plug arranged at a position corresponding to an upper side of the cavity. Injection openings which are arranged in a circumferential direction surrounding a longitudinal axis of the valve and through each of which the fuel is injected in a direction inclined relative to the longitudinal axis by a predetermined angle is formed such that when a height of a ceiling of the combustion chamber at a position corresponding to an edge end portion of the cavity in an injection direction of the injection opening is large, the injection angle of the injection opening is large.

The invention relates to a control device applied to a cylinder injection type of an internal combustion engine (10). The control device control a disperse parameter for changing a degree of a spread of the fuel spray injected from the injector (20) such that the maximum degree of the spread of the fuel spray under a state where an amount of the fuel adhering to the spark generation part (31a) of the spark plug (30) at the ignition timing corresponds to a first amount, is smaller than the maximum degree of the spread of the fuel spray under a state where the amount of the fuel adhering to the spark generation part at the ignition timing corresponds to a second amount smaller than said first amount.

An engine includes: a piston including a cavity; a cylinder head configured to form a combustion chamber having a pent roof shape; a fuel injection valve configured to inject fuel from a second half of a compression stroke until a first half of an expansion stroke; and a spark plug arranged at a position corresponding to an upper side of the cavity. Injection openings are arranged in a circumferential direction surrounding a longitudinal axis of the valve. The combustion chamber at a compression top dead center is divided into a plurality of fuel injection regions, located in respective injection directions of the injection openings, by vertical surfaces extending radially from the longitudinal axis through a middle between adjacent injection openings. When a volume of the fuel injection region located in the injection direction of the injection opening is large, an opening area of the injection opening is large.

Particular embodiments may provide a piston for a prechamber-type gas engine and a prechamber-type gas engine taking into consideration the shape of the piston top surface portion so that the region where flame propagation due to torch jet is delayed, a piston for a prechamber-type gas engine where torch jet formed by combustion a prechamber fuel in a precombustion chamber is injected to a main combustion chamber through a plurality of injection holes, may include a piston top surface portion comprising a land portion formed in a first region extending between axis line directions of adjacent injection holes, and the first region is positioned at a higher position than a second region extending across the axis line direction. The land portion may be formed on a cavity formed in the piston top surface portion. A plurality of land portions are provided corresponding to the plurality of injection holes, and the plurality of land portions are provided so as to be offset toward a same direction from a middle position between axis line directions of adjacent injection holes.