Patents Examined by Carl S. Miller
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Patent number: 7234430Abstract: A method for heating a glow plug for a diesel engine to its desired temperature by supplying power to the glow plug in a controlled fashion. During a certain time interval after termination of a previous glow process, a mathematical model is used to determine the values for the supply of power to the glow plug, which includes the values of the actual thermal state of the glow plug, the time elapsed since the end of the previous glow process and the parameters of the diesel engine relevant for a glow process.Type: GrantFiled: October 18, 2004Date of Patent: June 26, 2007Assignee: Beru AGInventors: Olaf Toedter, Heinz-Georg Schmitz, Andreas Bleil, Joerg Stoeckle, Hans Houben
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Patent number: 7234450Abstract: When a gas flow producer is driven, plural kinds of gases flow into a measure-passage at respective timing. An orifice is provided in the measure-passage. The orifice has a diameter-changing portion which restricts a separation of gases from an inner surface of the measure-passage. A pressure sensor is provided in the measure-passage to detect a pressure determined by the orifice and the gas flow producer. A microcomputer calculates a density ratio between the gases based on the detected differential pressure.Type: GrantFiled: April 5, 2006Date of Patent: June 26, 2007Assignees: Denso Corporation, Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Shinsuke Takakura, Masao Kano, Noriyasu Amano, Shinsuke Kiyomiya, Yuusaku Nishimura
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Patent number: 7231910Abstract: The invention relates to a method for setting the feed rate of a fuel pump unit, which sucks up fuel from a fuel tank 8, as a function of the feed pressure, which is built up by the fuel pump unit, in an outlet 25 of the fuel pump unit, which outlet leads to an internal combustion engine. The fuel pump unit has a first pump stage and a second pump stage, the two pump stages being connected in parallel below a defined feed pressure in the outlet 25 of the fuel pump unit and being connected in series above the defined feed pressure.Type: GrantFiled: January 12, 2005Date of Patent: June 19, 2007Assignee: Siemens AktiengesellschaftInventor: Gunter Wagner
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Patent number: 7228844Abstract: The injection system has a pump for supplying high-pressure fuel to a storage volume for supplying a number of injectors. The pump has at least one reciprocating pumping element performing a compression stroke synchronously with each fuel injection. The injection system has at least one control device for controlling the amount of fuel supplied by the pump to the storage volume, and which is controlled by a chopper control unit to modulate the fuel volume introduced into the compression chamber during the intake stroke (Ps-Pi). The delivery start instant of the pumping element during the compression stroke being unequivocally defined by the fuel volume introduced.Type: GrantFiled: April 22, 2005Date of Patent: June 12, 2007Assignee: C.R.F. Societa Consortile Per AzioniInventors: Mario Ricco, Sisto Luigi De Matthaeis, Raffaele Ricco, Domenico Lepore
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Patent number: 7225796Abstract: A method and apparatus for reducing or preventing hydrocarbon emissions from an air induction system of an automotive vehicle during diurnal periods opens the fuel line to ambient fuel tank pressure when fuel pressure in the fuel line decreases due to cooling of the fuel.Type: GrantFiled: May 4, 2005Date of Patent: June 5, 2007Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations, Inc.Inventors: Sam R. Reddy, David H. Coleman
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Patent number: 7222611Abstract: When an engine operation is stopped, a bypass passage returning fuel in a fuel supply passage into a fuel tank is opened to return a part of the fuel in the fuel supply passage, and a fuel pressure in the fuel supply passage is lowered to a predetermined fuel pressure higher than the atmospheric pressure, to be regulated.Type: GrantFiled: September 9, 2004Date of Patent: May 29, 2007Assignee: Hitachi Ltd.Inventors: Nobuaki Sekiya, Hiroshi Yamada
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Patent number: 7222608Abstract: An injector has a housing, a command piston, a control chamber, a needle, a nozzle chamber, a fuel inflow passage, a fuel discharge passage and an electric valve. The housing slidably supports the command piston and the needle. The housing and one end face of the command piston enclose the control chamber. The needle is disposed at the other end face side of the command piston. The housing and a leading end portion of the needle enclose the nozzle chamber to accumulate the high-pressure fuel therein. The housing is provided with an injection hole, which is opened and blocked by the needle. The fuel discharge passage opens at a fuel discharge port to the control chamber to discharge the high-pressure fuel out of the control chamber. The fuel discharge port is close to an uppermost position of the command piston.Type: GrantFiled: September 1, 2005Date of Patent: May 29, 2007Assignee: Denso CorporationInventor: Hiroto Fujii
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Patent number: 7219656Abstract: A control servo valve (8) is housed inside the casing of an internal combustion engine fuel injector (1), and has an actuator (9), a control chamber (13) communicating with a fuel inlet (5) and with a fuel outlet passage (22), and a shutter (35) movable along an axis (3) by the actuator (9) between a closed position and an open position to close and open the outlet passage (22) respectively; the servo valve (8) also has a fixed axial rod (29) interposed between the actuator (9) and the control chamber (13); the outlet passage (22) comes out through an outer lateral surface (30) of the axial rod (29); and the shutter (35) is defined by a sleeve which slides axially on the outer lateral surface (30), and, in the closed position, closes the outlet passage (22) so as to be subjected to a zero axial resultant force by the pressure of the fuel.Type: GrantFiled: April 21, 2005Date of Patent: May 22, 2007Assignee: C.R.F. Societa Consortile per AzioniInventors: Mario Ricco, Sisto Luigi De Matthaeis, Adriano Gorgoglione, Alfonso Di Meo
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Patent number: 7216637Abstract: A fuel handling apparatus with a purge system, a first communication passage, and a second communication passage with a greater pressure loss than the first communication passage. A check device is coupled to the second communication passage for checking a leak of evaporative fuel from the purge system. A pump is included, and a selector device is included for switching fluid communication of the pump between one of the first communication passage and the second communication passage. A controller controls the selector device to allow fluid communication between the first communication passage and the pump and then controls the pump to produce the pressure difference for forcible purging. The controller further controls the selector device to allow fluid communication between the second communication passage and the pump, and then controls the pump to produce the pressure difference and controls the check device for leak checking.Type: GrantFiled: July 28, 2006Date of Patent: May 15, 2007Assignee: DENSO CorporationInventors: Akikazu Uchida, Hiroshi Nakamura, Yasunori Kobayashi
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Patent number: 7216632Abstract: A valve body surrounds a first passage connecting with a cylinder of an engine. A valve member is adapted to be seated on and lifted from the valve seat. An injector body connects with the valve body. The injector body has a pressure control chamber for controlling hydraulic pressure applied to the valve member thereby controlling a lift of the valve member. The injector body has a second passage through which fuel in the pressure control chamber is exhausted. An actuator is adapted to communicating the pressure control chamber with the first passage through the second passage and blocking the pressure control chamber from the first passage. The first passage introduces fuel from the pressure control chamber into the cylinder through the second passage.Type: GrantFiled: June 15, 2006Date of Patent: May 15, 2007Assignee: Denso CorporationInventors: Hiroaki Nagatomo, Kimitaka Saito, Masatoshi Kuroyanagi
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Patent number: 7216635Abstract: A method, fuel system, and components for facilitating the delivery of liquid fuel from a fuel tank in fluid communication with a float bowl carburetor of an internal combustion engine, wherein evaporative emissions of the fuel from the fuel tank and float bowl carburetor are mitigated. During operation of the engine, fluid communication is permitted between the fuel tank and the carburetor, and fuel vapors at a predetermined threshold superatmospheric pressure are permitted to vent outwardly from the fuel tank. During inoperation of the engine, fluid communication is prevented between the fuel tank and the carburetor, and fuel vapors at a predetermined threshold superatmospheric pressure are permitted to vent outwardly from the fuel tank.Type: GrantFiled: September 30, 2004Date of Patent: May 15, 2007Assignee: Walbro Engine Management, L.L.C.Inventors: Ronald H. Roche, Mark S. Swanson, John C. Woody
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Patent number: 7216629Abstract: A high pressure injection system comprises at least one fuel high pressure accumulator, a control chamber and a valve, in addition to an injection valve having a valve needle and a control piston. The control chamber is connected to the high pressure accumulator by means of an inlet throttle and to the valve by means of an outlet throttle. The control chamber controls the movement of the control piston and the valve needle connected thereto. To this end, flow conditions of the fuel flowing into and out of the control chamber are regulated by means of the inlet throttle and the outlet throttle. The inlet throttle is configured as a multi-stage throttle.Type: GrantFiled: June 19, 2003Date of Patent: May 15, 2007Assignee: Siemens AktiengesellschaftInventors: Dirk Baranowski, Wendelin Klügl, Michael Von Dirke
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Patent number: 7213577Abstract: The invention relates to a method for producing a fuel accumulator line and a fuel accumulator line comprising prestressed connection pieces. The connection pieces are mounted onto the fuel accumulator line with a prestress, by crimping, or by a temporal expansion and/or a temporal contraction of the fuel accumulator line. The connection pieces connect a line to the fuel accumulator line. The prestressing of the connection pieces allows pressure to be exerted on the fuel accumulator line, thus increasing the compressive strength.Type: GrantFiled: May 6, 2004Date of Patent: May 8, 2007Assignee: Siemens AktiengesellschaftInventors: Helmut Hummel, Georg Weigl
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Patent number: 7213575Abstract: A fuel manifold for the direct injection of fuel into an internal combustion engine comprising a head provided with a number of cylinders, a number of injectors, each of which is connected to the fuel manifold and is adapted directly to inject the fuel into a respective cylinder, and an intake manifold, which is connected to the head in order to supply fresh air to the cylinders, the fuel manifold being formed by a single monolithic body which is made from thixotropic aluminum by means of a pressure die casting process and comprises a supply duct adapted to distribute the fuel to the injectors, and a flange disposed laterally to the supply duct, the flange being adapted to be secured by a plurality of screws to the head of the engine and comprising a number of coupling members each of which is adapted to bring a respective cylinder into communication with the intake manifold.Type: GrantFiled: April 2, 2004Date of Patent: May 8, 2007Assignee: Magneti Marelli Powertrain S.p.A.Inventors: Renzo Moschini, Gianluca Mattogno, Flavio Giovannini, Stefano Poggi, Mario Casari
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Patent number: 7210464Abstract: In a fuel pump control system for an internal combustion engine whose operation is switched between cut-off-cylinder operating mode during which some of the cylinders are non-operative and full-cylinder operating mode during which all of the cylinders are operative and having a fuel injector connected to the fuel supply line and supplied with fuel pressurized by the fuel pump, it is discriminated whether the operation of the engine is in the full-cylinder operating mode or in the cut-off-cylinder operating mode, the operation of the fuel pump is controlled based on the discriminated operating mode of the engine, i.e., is controlled such that the delivery flow rate of the fuel pump when the engine is discriminated to be in the cut-off-cylinder operating mode, is reduced relative to that when the engine is discriminated to be in the full-cylinder operating mode, thereby reducing the power consumption and operating noise of the fuel pump.Type: GrantFiled: January 6, 2005Date of Patent: May 1, 2007Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd.Inventors: Asao Ukai, Toshitaka Hachiro, Tomohiro Nishi, Takahiro Yonekura
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Patent number: 7210463Abstract: A pump having least one pump element with a pump piston guided in a sealed fashion in a cylinder bore (26) of a housing part delimiting a pump working chamber in the cylinder bore, and driven into a stroke motion. The working chamber is connected to an inlet conduit through by an inlet valve opening into the pump working chamber and to an outlet conduit through an outlet valve opening out from the working chamber. The inlet valve has a valve element acted on in a closing direction by a valve spring. The inlet conduit includes a first blind bore which adjoins the pump working chamber and has a smaller diameter than the cylinder bore a valve seat is formed at the transition from the cylinder bore to the first blind bore, and a second blind bore, as another part of the inlet conduit, feeds into the first blind bore.Type: GrantFiled: February 11, 2003Date of Patent: May 1, 2007Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbHInventor: Helmut Haberer
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Patent number: 7204239Abstract: A blocking device provided in an evaporation passage is placed in an open state such that communication between an inside of a canister and an inside of a fuel tank is permitted, a negative pressure generating device provided in an atmospheric passage is operated, and a pressure in the fuel tank is detected, whereby whether a failure has occurred in the fuel tank is determined. Then, the blocking device is placed in a blocking state, the negative pressure generating device operated, and a pressure in the canister is detected, whereby whether a failure has occurred in the canister is determined.Type: GrantFiled: July 8, 2005Date of Patent: April 17, 2007Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki KaishaInventor: Yojiro Iriyama
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Patent number: 7201128Abstract: In a fuel supply system for an internal combustion engine with direct fuel injection including a fuel supply pump and, downstream thereof, a high pressure pump for supplying high pressure fuel to a plurality of injectors and, parallel to the high pressure fuel pump, a hydraulic transmission operated by the low pressure fuel of the fuel supply pump for generating initially high pressure fuel to the fuel injectors so as to permit instant engine startup upon actuation of a valve disposed in the fuel supply line from the fuel supply pump to the hydraulic transmission.Type: GrantFiled: June 22, 2005Date of Patent: April 10, 2007Assignee: DaimlerChrysler AGInventor: Normann Freisinger
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Patent number: 7201148Abstract: A pressure pattern estimation device of a fuel injection controller of an engine estimates a pressure transition of fuel in a common rail. A surplus pressure range calculation device of the fuel injection controller calculates a surplus pressure range in which pressure pattern data provided by the pressure pattern estimation device exceeds a target common rail pressure. The fuel injection controller releases the common rail pressure to a lower-pressure side by operating a pressure reduction valve of the common rail to eliminate the surplus pressure range calculated by the surplus pressure range calculation device. Thus, the common rail pressure (injection pressure) during an injection period is smoothed.Type: GrantFiled: July 7, 2006Date of Patent: April 10, 2007Assignee: Denso CorporationInventor: Noriaki Nakane
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Patent number: 7201154Abstract: An apparatus and a method for managing fuel vapor pressure in a fuel system that supplies fuel to an internal combustion engine. The fuel vapor pressure management apparatus performs leak detection on a headspace of the fuel system, performs excess negative pressure relief of the headspace, performs excess positive pressure relief of the headspace, and performs a diagnostic on the purge valve. The apparatus includes a housing, a pressure operable device, and a printed circuit board. The housing defines an interior chamber. The pressure operable device separates the interior chamber into first and second portions. And the pressure operable device includes a poppet that moves along an axis and a seal that is adapted to cooperatively engage the poppet. The printed circuit board is supported by the housing in the interior chamber.Type: GrantFiled: January 16, 2004Date of Patent: April 10, 2007Assignee: Siemens Canada LimitedInventors: Andre Veinotte, William J. Boucher