Internal combustion engine configured for use with solid or slow burning fuels, and methods of operating or implementing same

A method of operating an internal combustion engine comprising:

• moving a piston within an internal cavity of a cylinder so as to reduce a size of a part of the internal cavity between a first side of the piston and a first internal end face of the cylinder and thereby compress air within the region;
• opening a first valve associated with a first port of the cylinder so as to allow the compressed air to proceed from the first port through a first conduit into a combustion chamber of an assembly by way of an input port of the assembly;
• directing a first portion of the compressed air received at the input port via a first passageway to a first region of the combustion chamber within which is situated solid fuel material;
• directing, by way of a diverter valve having a setting determined at least indirectly by a first pressure within the combustion chamber, a second portion of the compressed air received at the input port via a second passageway so as to bypass the first region;
• combusting at least a portion of the solid fuel material in response to the first portion of the compressed air being directed to the first region, so as to generate combustion products;
• combining, at a location apart from the first region, the combustion products and the second portion of the compressed air, so as to generate combustion chamber output products;
• directing the combustion chamber output products from the output port via a second conduit to a second port of the cylinder;
• additionally opening a second valve associated with the second port of the cylinder so as to allow the combustion chamber output products to enter the part of the internal cavity;
• and
• experiencing movement of the piston relative to the cylinder due to a second pressure applied by the combustion chamber output products upon the first side of the piston, wherein the movement of the piston at least indirectly causes rotation of a crankshaft of the internal combustion engine.

An internal combustion engine comprising:

• a crankshaft;
• a cylinder having a plurality of cylinder wall portions that define therewithin an internal cavity extending between a first internal end face of the first one of the cylinder wall portions and a second internal end face of a second one of the second cylinder wall portions;
• a piston positioned within the internal cavity of the cylinder, the piston including a piston head having a first side facing the first internal end face and a second side coupled at least indirectly to the crankshaft,
• wherein the cylinder includes first, second, third, and fourth ports formed respectively at first, second, third, and fourth locations along the plurality of cylinder wall portions along a part of the internal cavity positioned between the first internal end face and the first side face;
• and
• an assembly having a combustion chamber, an input port coupled at least indirectly to the first port, and an output port coupled at least indirectly with the second port, wherein the combustion chamber further includes a wall at least partly defining a first region of the combustion chamber within which fuel material can be situated and combusted;
• and
• a first hydraulically-actuated valve associated with the cylinder and configured to govern whether a first fluid communication path exists between the part of the internal cavity and the input port via the first port;
• and
• a second hydraulically-actuated valve associated with the cylinder and configured to govern whether a second fluid communication path exists between the output port and the part of the internal cavity via the second port.