An internal combustion engine includes a hollow cylinder, a piston within the hollow cylinder, and a cylinder head. A base valve assembly at a base of the hollow cylinder permits or restricts fluid flow from an intake manifold into a sub-chamber below the piston. The piston includes at least one intake port connecting a combustion chamber above the piston with the sub-chamber, and a transfer valve that opens and closes the at least one intake port. When the transfer valve opens the at least one intake port, fluid is permitted to flow from the sub-chamber to the combustion chamber. The internal combustion engine operates according to a four-stroke piston cycle, wherein multiple intake stages are provided. The intake stages may include intake of air into the sub-chamber during a compression stroke, transfer of air from the sub-chamber to the combustion chamber during a power stroke, intake of air-fuel mixture into the sub-chamber during an exhaust stroke, and transfer of air-fuel mixture from the sub-chamber to the combustion chamber during an intake stroke.

A load adaptive linear electrical generator system is provided for generating DC electrical power. The electrical generation system includes one or more power generation modules which will be selectively turned on or off and additively contribute power depending on the DC power demand. Each power generating module includes a pair of linear electrical generators connected to respective ones of a pair of internal combustion piston based power assemblies. The piston in the internal combustion assembly is connected to a magnet in the linear electrical generator. The piston/magnet assembly oscillates in a simple harmonic motion at a frequency dependent on a power load of the electrical generator. A stroke limiter constrains the piston/magnet assembly motion to preset limits.

A mechanical engine cylinder system, includes a cylinder, an occupying structure with a cavity, and a crankshaft piston, the cylinder having a dedicated compression space and a dedicated combustion space, the occupying structure having a primary combustion space utilized during an early stage of a power stroke, wherein combustion pressure applied to the crankshaft piston during the power stroke is applied to a smaller surface area of the crankshaft piston during an early stage of the power stroke and to a larger surface area of the crankshaft piston during a later stage of the power stroke, the combustion pressure applied to the occupying structure applies a net-force to the occupying structure in the direction of the crankshaft piston during the early stage of the power stroke, and in the opposite direction of the crankshaft piston during the later stage of the power stroke.

Methods for making an apparatus comprising a cylinder for an engine having at least one combustion chamber and a squish area disposed at or around a base of the at least one combustion chamber, wherein the at least one combustion chamber comprises a paraboloidal cavity.

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 (β−α) from the first angle.

The present invention provides a more accurate device and method for measuring automobile horsepower, specifically the internal combustion engine, ICE horsepower at the crankshaft, or the electric motor(s') horsepower, or the combined ICE and electric motor(s') horsepower. It applies to automobiles that do not incorporate, or can disengage, regenerative braking, RGB. The proposed device and method measures horsepower in real road test conditions, through the utilization of an accelerometer that performs measurements of the automobile velocity, acceleration and deceleration, whereas the method provided may be also applied to chassis dynamometers, resulting into a more accurate horsepower measurement by such dynamometers.

Methods of operation of liquid and gaseous multi-fuel compression ignition engines that may be operated on a gaseous fuel or a liquid fuel, or a combination of both a gaseous fuel and a liquid fuel at the same time and in some embodiments, in the same combustion event. Various embodiments are disclosed.

A linear reciprocating piston engine including a cylinder; a piston located within the cylinder, the piston separating upper and lower combustion chambers of the cylinder; a separation plate disposed across a lower end of the cylinder to seal the lower combustion chamber; and a joint disposed in the separation plate. The joint includes a bore through which a connecting rod extends to connect the piston to a crankshaft. Movement of the piston along a longitudinal axis of the cylinder causes the connecting rod to rotate the crankshaft, said rotation of the crankshaft causing both transverse and angular movement of the connecting rod relative to the longitudinal axis of the cylinder. The angular movement of the connecting rod causes a corresponding angular movement of the joint. The joint includes a curved outer surface and an inner seal disposed between the bore and the connecting rod.

The present invention relates to an internal combustion engine arrangement for a vehicle, said internal combustion engine arrangement comprising a combustion cylinder housing a reciprocating combustion piston, and an expansion cylinder housing a reciprocating expansion piston, said expansion cylinder being arranged in downstream fluid communication with the combustion cylinder for receiving combustion gases exhausted from the combustion cylinder, wherein the internal combustion engine arrangement further comprises a pressure tank arranged in fluid communication with the expansion cylinder, wherein the internal combustion engine arrangement is further arranged to be operated in a first operating mode in which compressed gas generated in the expansion cylinder is delivered to the pressure tank, and a second operating mode in which compressed gas contained in the pressure tank is delivered from the pressure tank to the expansion cylinder.

A method for operating an internal combustion engine having an engine with a first number of cylinders and a second number of cylinders and a supercharger arrangement, wherein a charge air flow supplied to the engine is compressed by means of at least one compressor and at least one turbine is acted on by an exhaust gas flow discharged from the engine. In a main operating mode, the engine operates the first number of cylinders in two-stroke operation and the second number of cylinders in four-stroke operation. A scavenging gradient of the engine is greater for the cylinders operated in the two-stroke operation than for the cylinders operated in the four-stroke operation.