Internal combustion engine with flexible/piston cylinder

An internal combustion system comprising

• a rigid base means,
• a flexible container mounted on said base means in a fluid-tight relationship and formed as a thin-walled bellows that expands and contracts along a first direction,
• means for introducing fuel and an oxidizer into said flexible container,
• means for exhausting combustion products from said container,
• means for igniting the fuel and oxidizer to produce a combustion within said container,
• means for closing said introducing means and said exhausting means during said combustion and open said exhausting means after said combustion,
• said flexible container, said base means, and said closing means defining a closed combustion chamber whereby combustion within the interior of said chamber causes said flexible container to expand,
• means for coupling said expansion of said flexible container to a hydraulic or mechanical power output, said coupling means including a rigid housing that together with said base surrounds said flexible container and a supply of a hydraulic fluid between said flexible container and said housing, and
• means for contracting said flexible container after said combustion.