Internal combustion engine with regenerator and hot air ignition

摘要

An internal combustion engine and method is disclosed wherein separate compression and power cylinders are used and a regenerator or pair of regenerators is mounted between them to provide heat for hot-air ignition. The single regenerator embodiment operates as a two-stroke cycle engine and the embodiment with an alternating pair of regenerators operates as a four-stroke cycle engine. Valving is provided for uniflow design and the system allows variable fuel ratios. The resulting engine achieves brake efficiency and thermal efficiency greater than 50%.