An internal combustion engine including a first set of cylinders includes: a first two-stroke compression cylinder housing a first compression piston connected to a first crank shaft; a first four-stroke combustion cylinder housing a first combustion piston connected to a second crank shaft, the first four-stroke combustion cylinder being configured to receive compressed gas from the first two-stroke compression cylinder; and a first two-stroke expansion cylinder housing a first expansion piston connected to the first crank shaft, the first two-stroke expansion cylinder being configured to receive exhaust gas from the first four-stroke combustion cylinder, wherein the first compression piston is positioned to reach a lower end position within the first compression cylinder and the first expansion piston is positioned to reach an upper end position within the first expansion cylinder when the first combustion piston reaches a lower end position within the first combustion cylinder; wherein the second crank shaft is configured to rotate with a speed of at least twice the speed of the first crank shaft.

An internal combustion engine; wherein at least two cylinders continuously communicate via the cylinder head; and wherein the connecting rod in one cylinder is offset from the connecting rod in the second cylinder by a first angle between 8 and 12 degrees as measured from the crankshaft, and a camshaft having a second offset of one-half of the first angle offset.

A drive unit is situated between a first wheel axle and a second wheel axle and has an internal-combustion engine with a crankshaft system including a horizontally oriented crankshaft, which crankshaft acts upon a continuously variable transmission system which drives wheels of the first wheel axle and of the second wheel axle. The crankshaft is caused to rotate by at least one piston of the engine. The crankshaft interacts with a first set of V-pulleys of the transmission system, which first set of V-pulleys, by way of a first drive shaft, is connected with a first differential of the first wheel axle. The first set of V-pulleys, by way of an endless member, is in an operative connection with a set of V-pulleys which, with the interposition of a second drive shaft, influences a second differential of the second wheel axle.

An internal combustion engine; wherein at least two cylinders continuously communicate via the cylinder head; and wherein the connecting rod in one cylinder is offset from the connecting rod in the second cylinder by a first angle between 8 and 12 degrees as measured from the crankshaft, and a camshaft having a second offset of one-half of the first angle offset.

An internal combustion engine includes a first low-pressure cylinder housing a first low-pressure piston, and a first high-pressure cylinder housing a first high-pressure piston, the first high-pressure cylinder being arranged in upstream fluid communication with the first low-pressure cylinder for providing exhaust gas into the first low-pressure cylinder. The internal combustion engine further includes a second low-pressure cylinder housing a second low-pressure piston, the second low-pressure cylinder being arranged in upstream fluid communication with the first high-pressure cylinder for providing compressed gas into the first high-pressure cylinder, and a second high-pressure cylinder housing a second high-pressure piston, the second high-pressure cylinder being arranged in downstream fluid communication with the first low-pressure cylinder for receiving compressed gas from the first low-pressure cylinder, and further arranged in upstream fluid communication with the second low-pressure cylinder for providing exhaust gas into the second low-pressure cylinder.

An internal combustion engine includes a first low-pressure cylinder housing a first low-pressure piston, and a first high-pressure cylinder housing a first high-pressure piston, the first high-pressure cylinder being arranged in upstream fluid communication with the first low-pressure cylinder for providing exhaust gas into the first low-pressure cylinder. The internal combustion engine further includes a second low-pressure cylinder housing a second low-pressure piston, the second low-pressure cylinder being arranged in upstream fluid communication with the first high-pressure cylinder for providing compressed gas into the first high-pressure cylinder, and a second high-pressure cylinder housing a second high-pressure piston, the second high-pressure cylinder being arranged in downstream fluid communication with the first low-pressure cylinder for receiving compressed gas from the first low-pressure cylinder, and further arranged in upstream fluid communication with the second low-pressure cylinder for providing exhaust gas into the second low-pressure cylinder.

In an inverted V-8 engine capable of operating in power level steps with four pairs of piston and cylinder assemblies having fuel injectors with dual options, the improvement which comprises a three component frame structure having cooperating interengaging surfaces containing two banks of four inline crankshaft connected piston and cylinder units converging angularly upwardly from two interconnected crankshafts. The surface-to-surface contact between the block component and head component includes oppositely paired cylinder open ends covered by cam operated valving in the head component with the adjacent upper combustion chambers of each pair of cylinders being communicated by an intercommunicating polished passage formed in a two-piece insert fixedly positioned in a recess in the head component and a method of operating the engine in a vehicle.

A power unit for a hybrid vehicle is provided with a twin-cylinder reciprocating piston engine, which has two pistons which are guided in two cylinders in tandem arrangement. Two counter-directional crankshafts are connected with the pistons by connecting rods. At least one generator is rotatable co-directionally to the first crankshaft and counter-directionally to the second crankshaft. A camshaft with valve cams are operatively connected with control valves. A flywheel mass element is arranged on the second crankshaft or on a flywheel mass compensating shaft, and a compensating camshaft are provided. The compensating camshaft includes at least one compensating cam element which is operatively connected with a linearly guided compensating mass.

An engine includes a first crankshaft and a second crankshaft, pistons, piston rods, cylinders, combustion chambers, and fuel injectors. The crankshafts each extend in a horizontal plane and form a first and second rotating power output shaft of the engine. The combustion chambers form containment boundaries for combustion reactions of an air-fuel mixture formed in the cylinders with fuel provided by the fuel injectors. The piston rods connect the pistons to the first or the second crankshaft. The pistons are disposed in the cylinders, and the planar surface of the piston head of each piston distributes forces from an associated combustion reaction to a corresponding piston rod. The piston heads are disposed at an angle between 7 and 15 degrees in the first bank of cylinders and 7 and 15 degrees in the second bank of cylinders relative to a vertical plane.

The disclosure relates to a method for operating an internal combustion engine of a truck or omnibus, in particular a truck or omnibus with a permissible total mass of at least 3.5 tonnes, wherein (i) an electrolysis unit for the production of hydrogen, water is split into hydrogen and oxygen, (ii) a carbon dioxide sorption unit extracts carbon dioxide from the ambient air, (iii) the hydrogen and the carbon dioxide are fed to a methanol synthesis unit for the production of methanol, and are synthesised therein to methanol, (iv) a photovoltaic unit absorbs solar energy and converts it into electrical energy. The electrolysis unit, the carbon dioxide sorption unit and the methanol synthesis unit are powered by the electrical energy generated in the photovoltaic unit. The methanol produced is transported by means of a distributor system to at least one tank of the truck or omnibus, and is supplied from the tank as required to the internal combustion engine, and therein is combusted to generate mechanical energy.