Abstract: An internal combustion engine may include a combustion chamber which is delimited by a cylinder; an injector with which fuel can be injected into the combustion chamber, whereby a mixture comprising fuel and air can be generated in the combustion chamber; a pre-chamber, which is fluidically separate from the combustion chamber with the exception of a passage opening and which is fluidically connected to the combustion chamber via the passage opening; a first spark plug with which an ignition spark can be produced in the pre-chamber; and a second spark plug with which an ignition spark can be produced in the combustion chamber and outside of the pre-chamber, wherein the pre-chamber, the injector, and the second spark plug are arranged, in this order, in a direction extending in a plane that is perpendicular to the axial direction of the cylinder.

Abstract: In an internal combustion engine having direct injection and spark ignition, charging air is introduced in stratified charge operation through one of two valve-controlled intake channels into a cylinder having a roof-like cylinder head end and a piston having a piston head with a recess oriented toward the intake side. The charging air is introduced forms a swirl flow, into which fuel is introduced. To avoid fuel accumulation on the recess wall, a strong swirl flow with a compact swirl core is achieved through a flow-optimized filling channel, with the swirl core being held in a fixed position in a rotor recess at the latest in the second section of the stroke of the piston toward top dead center such that fuel introduced into the swirl core with a relatively late end of the injection is supplied to an ignition device due to the piston movement toward top dead center.

Abstract: In an internal combustion engine having direct injection and spark ignition, charging air is introduced in stratified charge operation through one of two valve-controlled intake channels into a cylinder having a roof-like cylinder head end and a piston having a piston head with a recess oriented toward the intake side. The charging air is introduced forms a swirl flow, into which fuel is introduced. To avoid fuel accumulation on the recess wall, a strong swirl flow with a compact swirl core is achieved through a flow-optimized filling channel, with the swirl core being held in a fixed position in a rotor recess at the latest in the second section of the stroke of the piston toward top dead center such that fuel introduced into the swirl core with a relatively late end of the injection is supplied to an ignition device due to the piston movement toward top dead center.

Abstract: In a method and apparatus for exhaust temperature elevation for an internal combustion engine with a catalytic converter in which the fuel is direct-injected, the supply of fresh air can be regulated by a throttle device, and the exhaust temperature is determined by a temperature probe or a temperature model, with the internal combustion engine initially operating in stratified mode. The exhaust temperature can be elevated by throttling of the internal combustion engine when an exhaust temperature falls below a threshold value.