摘要:
A fuel injector (6) and spark plug (7) are arranged in a combustion chamber (5) of an internal combustion engine. By forming by stratification a self-ignitable preliminary air-fuel mixture in the combustion chamber (5), a spatial distribution is given to the density of the preliminary air-fuel mixture in the combustion chamber (5). Part of the preliminary air-fuel mixture formed in the combustion chamber (5) is ignited by the spark plug (7) to cause combustion by flame propagation, then the remaining preliminary air-fuel mixture is successively made to self-ignite and burn with a time lag. The ignition timing is set so that the ratio of the preliminary air-fuel mixture made to burn by self-ignition becomes more than a predetermined lower limit and less than a knocking generation limit.