Internal combustion engine and working cycle

A method of operating a four-stroke, internal combustion engine including at least one chamber with at least one intake port associated therewith, a piston partially defining said chamber and being movable in a reciprocating manner within a cylinder through a plurality of power cycles, each power cycle involving four strokes of the piston resulting from two rotations of a crankshaft and including an intake stroke, a compression stroke, an expansion stroke and an exhaust stroke, aided by combustion taking place within the chamber, said method comprising the steps of:

• compressing and cooling air outside the chamber;
• supplying the cooled, pressurized air to the at least one intake port associated with the chamber;
• and
• during each cycle of the plurality of power cycles,
• opening the at least one intake port,
• allowing cooled, pressurized air to flow through the at least one intake port and into the chamber during at least a portion of the intake stroke,
• maintaining open the at least one intake port during the portion of the intake stroke and beyond the end of the intake stroke and into the compression stroke and during a majority portion of the compression stroke,
• after the maintaining step, closing the at least one intake port at a point during travel of the piston to capture in the chamber a cooled compressed charge comprising the cooled, pressurized air,
• controllably delivering fuel into the chamber after the cooled compressed charge is captured within the chamber, and
• igniting a fuel and air mixture within the chamber.