Method for driving an engine

Claim 1

The method of improving the overall efficiency of an internal combustion engine having at least one piston, cylinder walls, a combustion drive cycle, an engine block, and an engine cooling system including a jacket surrounding the cylinder walls and piston, comprising the steps of collecting heat generated in the engine block in a separate chamber located interiorly of the cooling jacket, producing high pressure steam in the separate chamber with the collected heat, selectively driving at least one piston of the engine with the high pressure steam while simultaneously de-activating the combustion drive for said piston, selectively deactivating the steam drive for said piston while simultaneously re-activating the combustion drive for said piston and using a microprocessor to selectively de-activate the combustion and steam drives, and to selectively re-activate the combustion and steam drives, delaying with the microprocessor the steam drive until the steam pressure in the chamber is at least equal to pressure of combustion from gasoline selecting with the microprocessor one of a plurality of cylinders next to be fired, determining with the microprocessor a point at which the steam pressure in the chamber is at least equal to the gasoline combustion pressure, and controlling with the microprocessor switching of the switching of the selected cylinder between the combustion drive and the stream drive, passing exhaust steam from the cylinder to an expansion chamber having a volume which is at least equal to that of the cylinder in order to reduce any back pressure that occurs during each exhaust cycle of the cylinder, compressing the steam from the expansion chamber in two stages and returning the compressed steam to the cylinder.

Claim 2

The method of improving the overall efficiency of an internal combustion engine having at least one piston, cylinder walls, a combustion drive cycle, an engine block, and an engine cooling system including a jacket surrounding the cylinder walls and piston, comprising the steps of collecting heat generated in the engine block in a separate chamber located interiorly of the cooling jacket, producing high pressure steam in the separate chamber with the collected heat, selectively driving at least one piston of the engine with the high pressure steam while simultaneously de-activating the combustion drive for said piston, selectively deactivating the steam drive for said piston while simultaneously re-activating the combustion drive for said piston and using a microprocessor to selectively de-activate the combustion and steam drives, and to selectively re-activate the combustion and steam drives, delaying with the microprocessor the steam drive until the steam pressure in the chamber is at least equal to pressure of combustion from gasoline selecting with the microprocessor one of a plurality of cylinders next to be fired, determining with the microprocessor a point at which the steam pressure in the chamber is at least equal to the gasoline combustion pressure, and controlling with the microprocessor switching of the switching of the selected cylinder between the combustion drive and the stream drive, passing exhaust steam from the cylinder to an expansion chamber having a volume which is at least equal to that of the cylinder in order to reduce any back pressure that occurs during each exhaust cycle of the cylinder, compressing the steam from the expansion chamber in two stages and returning the compressed steam to the cylinder.

Claim 3

The method of improving the overall efficiency of an internal combustion engine having at least one piston, cylinder walls, a combustion drive cycle, an engine block, and an engine cooling system including a jacket surrounding the cylinder walls, and piston, comprising the steps of collecting heat generated in the engine block in a separate chamber located interiorly of the cooling jacket, producing high pressure steam in the separate chamber with the collected heat, selectively driving at least one piston of the engine with the high pressure steam while simultaneously de-activating the combustion drive for said piston, selectively de-activating the steam drive for said piston while simultaneously re-activating the combustion drive for said piston and using a microprocessor to selectively de-activate the combustion and steam drives, and to selectively re-activate the combustion and steam drives.

Claim 4

The method of improving the overall efficiency of an internal combustion engine having at least one piston, cylinder walls, a combustion drive cycle, an engine block, and an engine cooling system including a jacket surrounding the cylinder walls, and piston, comprising the steps of collecting heat generated in the engine block in a separate chamber located interiorly of the cooling jacket, producing high pressure steam in the separate chamber with the collected heat, selectively driving at least one piston of the engine with the high pressure steam while simultaneously de-activating the combustion drive for said piston, selectively de-activating the steam drive for said piston while simultaneously re-activating the combustion drive for said piston and using a microprocessor to selectively de-activate the combustion and steam drives, and to selectively re-activate the combustion and steam drives.

Claim 9

The method of improving the overall efficiency of an internal combustion engine having at least one piston, cylinder walls, a combustion drive cycle, an engine block, and an engine cooling system including a jacket surrounding the cylinder walls and piston, comprising the steps of collecting heast generated in the engine block in a separate chamber located interiorly of the cooling jacket, producing high pressure steam in the separate chamber with the collected heat, selectively driving at least one piston of the engine with the high pressure steam while simultaneously de-activating the combustion drive for said piston, and selectively de-activating the steam drive for said piston while simultaneously re-activating the combustion drive for said piston.

Claim 10

The method of improving the overall efficiency of an internal combustion engine having at least one piston, cylinder walls, a combustion drive cycle, an engine block, and an engine cooling system including a jacket surrounding the cylinder walls and piston, comprising the steps of collecting heast generated in the engine block in a separate chamber located interiorly of the cooling jacket, producing high pressure steam in the separate chamber with the collected heat, selectively driving at least one piston of the engine with the high pressure steam while simultaneously de-activating the combustion drive for said piston, and selectively de-activating the steam drive for said piston while simultaneously re-activating the combustion drive for said piston.