Internal combustion engine operating according to the real four-stroke Atkinson cycle and method for load control

The internal combustion engine has a crankshaft of a crank drive, which comprises multiple components, and which is designed as an assembled crankshaft. An eccentric crank synchronizes against a directed crank throw, when the crank throw is directed against a top dead center and the pivotable lug (13) are in a zero position. Two ring gears (11) or two sun gears by specified features have the crank throw for the cylinder-specific control of the compression ratio. The control of the compression ratio and the piston strokes is carried out uniformly for the cylinders. Independent claims are included for the following: (1) a load control method for an internal combustion engine; and (2) a cylinder deactivation method for an internal combustion engine.