Light-weight compact diesel engine

1. A small diesel engine comprising:

a small cylinder having a cylinder head defining a pre-combustion chamber therein, the pre-combustion chamber being in the shape of a broadened shallow bowl;

a piston reciprocally mounted within said cylinder, the piston having a piston crown in the shape of a dome for protruding within the bowl-shaped pre-combustion chamber during a combustion event before and after top dead center, the piston protruding so as to enter the pre-combustion chamber; wherein the piston is further shaped such that the opening between the pre-combustion chamber and the cylinder head progressively enlarges when the piston is moving down after the top of its stroke so as to provide a variable geometry combustion chamber;

a fuel injector for injecting fuel spray plumes into said pre-combustion chamber to facilitate the combustion process during the downward stroke of the piston; and

a glow plug in the cylinder head and protruding into the bowl-shaped pre-combustion chamber in close proximity to an injected fuel spray plume but not in direct contact with the injected fuel to thereby facilitate fuel ignition at moderate compression ratios during engine starting, thereby facilitating use of a small cylinder displacement;

wherein a minimal squish area is defined between the bowl-shaped chamber and edges of the piston as the piston approaches top dead center.

2. The diesel engine of claim 1 wherein the piston crown defines a recess to receive the glow plug such that the glow plug does not contact the piston.

3. The diesel engine of claim 2 wherein the glow plug is oriented horizontally within the cylinder head.

4. The diesel engine of claim 1 wherein the bowl-shaped chamber has a height H 1 and comprises:

a first bottom section comprising a trapezoidal shape with curved side walls, the first bottom section defining a bottom edge of the chamber of length L 1 and having an angle α is the angle between the bottom edge and the curved side walls extending from the bottom edge, the side walls having a radius RE; and

a second top section comprising a rectangular section with chamfered corners having a height H 2 and defining a top edge of the chamber of length L 2 , the chamfered corners having a radius RC.

5. The diesel engine of claim 4 wherein L 1 is 1.9, L 2 is 0.95, α is 23.6 degrees, H 1 is 0.3, H 2 is 0.2, RC is 0.06 and RE is 2.4, all in inches.

6. The diesel engine of claim 4 wherein the piston crown is a smooth surface defined by a convex spherical surface with its radius taken along the centre line of the cylinder.

7. The diesel engine of claim 6 wherein the radius of the convex spherical surface is equal to RE.

8. The diesel engine of claim 6 wherein the piston has a protrusion extending upwards from the crown to maximize penetration of the piston into the chamber.

9. The diesel engine of claim 8 wherein the protrusion is either heat insulating or heat retaining.

10. The diesel engine of claim 1 which weighs about 18 lbs or less.

11. The diesel engine of claim 1 , wherein the engine is as part of a generator set to provide a lightweight generator.

12. The diesel engine of claim 1 wherein an optimized lubricant is injected into the cylinder that can be made synthetically, which minimizes rate of deposit accumulation in the pre-combustion chamber.

13. The diesel engine of claim 1 comprising opposed inlet and exhaust ports in a wall of said cylinder to provide a two-stroke configuration for said engine.

14. A generator set, comprising:

a diesel engine comprising:

a cylinder having a cylinder head defining a pre-combustion chamber therein, the pre-combustion chamber being in the shape of a broadened shallow bowl;

a piston reciprocally mounted within said cylinder, the piston having a piston crown in the shape of a dome for protruding within the bowl-shaped pre-combustion chamber during a combustion event before and after top dead center, the piston protruding so as to enter the pre-combustion chamber; wherein the piston is further shaped such that the opening between the pre-combustion chamber and the cylinder head progressively enlarges when the piston is moving down after the top of its stroke so as to provide a variable geometry combustion chamber;

a fuel injector for injecting fuel spray plumes into said pre-combustion chamber to facilitate the combustion process during the downward stroke of the piston; and

a glow plug in the cylinder head and protruding into the bowl-shaped chamber in close proximity to the injected fuel spray plume but not in direct contact with the injected fuel to thereby facilitate fuel ignition at moderate compression ratios during engine starting, thereby facilitating use of a small cylinder;

wherein a minimal squish area is defined between the bowl-shaped chamber and edges of the piston as the piston approaches top dead center; and

a fuel reservoir system comprising:

a fuel reservoir for containing fuel;

a pulse type fuel pump for pumping fuel from a fuel source to a second engine mounted fuel reservoir for use by the generator; and

a fuel line under low pressure from the engine mounted fuel reservoir flowing through a fuel flow restrictor before feeding the high pressure injection pump located a few inches further downstream.