Patents Examined by Matthew T Largi
  • Patent number: 11976574
    Abstract: A closed loop steam engine assembly includes a steam generator and a prime mover which is driven from steam produced by the generator. A compressor receives exhaust steam from the prime mover and compresses the steam to a liquid state which is stored in a reservoir downstream of the compressor. A feed pump delivers a portion of the compressed and heated liquid from the reservoir to the steam generator, while another portion of the liquid is delivered to an inlet of the compressor, where the liquid flashes to mist and combines with the incoming exhaust steam to help condense the exhaust steam to liquid with greater efficiency than the compressor alone. An oil/fluid separation device may segregate any oil contained in the exhaust stream and route the oil back to an oil inlet of the prime mover.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2022
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2024
    Inventor: Charles Tuckey
  • Patent number: 11971325
    Abstract: The present disclosure shows a system for checking a correct mounting of a plurality of sensors, in particular of sensors mounted in an engine system, comprising a controller configured for receiving signals from the plurality of sensors. The controller is configured to monitor a sequence and/or timing of the signals received from the sensors and to evaluate it with respect to a sequence and/or timing of a switching of a power supply to the sensors for checking the correct mounting of the sensors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 19, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 30, 2024
    Assignee: LIEBHERR-COMPONENTS COLMAR SAS
    Inventor: Marc Cretin
  • Patent number: 11952930
    Abstract: One exemplary embodiment is a vehicle system comprising an engine, an exhaust aftertreatment system including a heating element, an electric machine configured to selectably operate as a motor or a generator, an inverter module including a plurality of inverter phase legs and an auxiliary leg, and an electronic control system in operative communication with the inverter module and the exhaust aftertreatment system. The electronic control system is configured to evaluate whether the electric machine is operating as a generator, selectably operate the plurality of inverter phase legs to rectify AC power received from the electric machine, evaluate whether to heat one or more components of the exhaust aftertreatment system, and selectably operate the auxiliary leg to provide rectified power from the inverter legs to one or more electrical heating elements thermally coupled with the one or more components exhaust aftertreatment system effective to heat the one or more components.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 8, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2024
    Assignee: Cummins Inc.
    Inventors: Subbarao Dakshina Murthy Bellur, Thomas A. Dollmeyer, Jennifer Rumsey, Bradford K. Palmer
  • Patent number: 11946404
    Abstract: Various example embodiments relate to a system that includes a nozzle. A dosing line is connected to the nozzle and a fuel dosing module. The fuel dosing module is in fluid communication with the dosing line and includes an outlet in fluid communication with the dosing line. An air inlet is positioned upstream of the outlet and is configured to receive air. A fuel inlet is positioned upstream of the outlet and is configured to receive fuel. A fuel valve is positioned upstream of the outlet and downstream of the fuel inlet and is configured to control the flow of fuel. The fuel dosing module is configured to combine the fuel and the air upstream of the outlet and downstream of the fuel valve to generate an air-fuel fluid, wherein the air-fuel fluid removes particles from the nozzle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2024
    Assignee: Cummins Filtration IP, Inc.
    Inventors: Mihai Chiruta, Barry Mark Verdegan, Wassem Abdalla, Z. Gerald Liu
  • Patent number: 11946400
    Abstract: A lean-burn internal combustion engine and an exhaust aftertreatment system having an oxidation catalyst are described. A controller determines a fueling rate and a mass flowrate of the exhaust gas feedstream. An inlet temperature of the exhaust gas feedstream upstream of the oxidation catalyst is determined via the first temperature sensor, and an in-use outlet temperature of the exhaust gas feedstream is determined downstream of the oxidation catalyst via the second temperature sensor. An expected outlet temperature from the oxidation catalyst is determined based upon the inlet temperature, the fueling rate, and the mass flowrate of the exhaust gas feedstream. The oxidation catalyst is evaluated based upon the expected outlet temperature and the in-use outlet temperature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2024
    Assignee: PACCAR Inc
    Inventors: Trevor Joseph Ott, Cynthia Chaffin Webb, Charles Wayne Reinhardt Swart
  • Patent number: 11950328
    Abstract: A control system for operating a heater includes a controller configured to determine an operational power level based on a measured performance characteristic of the heater, a power set-point, and a power control algorithm, determine a bake-out power level based on a measured leakage current at the heater, a leakage current threshold, and a moisture control algorithm, and select a power level to be applied to the heater. The selected power level is the lower power level from among the operational power level and the bake-out power level.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 12, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2024
    Assignee: WATLOW ELECTRIC MANUFACTURING COMPANY
    Inventors: Lincoln Kirchoff, Lukas Thenmaier
  • Patent number: 11946406
    Abstract: An electric heating device for an exhaust gas catalyst, the electric heating device including a sleeve and a heating cellular structure which is heated by a flow of electric current and which is contained in the sleeve. The electric heating device being designed to be positioned in a segment of an exhaust gas pipe upstream of a catalyst, so as to completely occupy a cross section of the segment such that exhaust gases flowing in the pipe pass through the cellular matrix before reaching the catalyst. The heating cellular structure is designed to dissipate an inhomogeneous thermal power in a section perpendicular to the direction of flow of the exhaust gases, such that the temperature of the exhaust gases at the outlet of the heating cellular structure is homogeneous in a section perpendicular to the direction of flow of the exhaust gases.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2024
    Assignee: Vitesco Technologies GmbH
    Inventor: Steven Maertens
  • Patent number: 11939958
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method for operating a wind turbine, to a wind turbine designed to carry out the method, and to a computer program product. The method for operating a wind turbine comprising a rotor with rotor blades that can be angularly adjusted via a turbine controller, in which a state variable that reflects the current thrust of the rotor is detected, has the following steps: a) ascertaining a short-term average value of the state variable; b) ascertaining the difference between the short-term average value of the state variable and the detected current state variable; c) ascertaining a first target blade angle correction value from the ascertained difference; and d) taking into consideration the target blade angle correction value while adjusting the blade angle by means of the turbine controller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 28, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2024
    Assignee: Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy Service GmbH
    Inventors: Karsten Warfen, Timo Gosch-Pleß
  • Patent number: 11939898
    Abstract: An exhaust system for an internal combustion engine, in the exhaust duct of which a sensor is arranged for determining the exhaust gas composition. Furthermore, upstream of the sensor a guide vane is arranged, which is designed to increase the flow velocity of the exhaust gas in a local flow cross-section of the exhaust duct at the height of the sensor. This makes it possible to provide sufficiently high flow velocities of the exhaust gas at the sensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2024
    Assignee: Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventor: Sascha Beer
  • Patent number: 11933213
    Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for regenerating an after-treatment system of a vehicle. A first operational parameter of a first component of the after-treatment system is monitored and a second operational parameter, different to the first operational parameter, of a second component of the after-treatment system is monitored. It is determined if the first operational parameter of the first component is outside a first threshold range and if the second operational parameter is approaching a second threshold and, in response to the first operational parameter being outside the first threshold range and the second operational parameter being within the second threshold range, a regeneration sequence of the after-treatment system configured to regenerate at least the first component of the after-treatment system is initiated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2024
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: David Cox, Mario Balenović, Christopher Ponter, Larry Rogosin, Craig Peacock
  • Patent number: 11933206
    Abstract: A method for determining a conversion capability of one or multiple exhaust gas catalytic converters, downstream from an internal combustion engine. The method includes ascertaining a respective local temperature at multiple locations within the one or the multiple catalytic converters, ascertaining a local conversion capability for a section or a partial volume of the one or the multiple catalytic converters based on the local temperature, and ascertaining a global conversion capability of the one or the multiple catalytic converters based on the ascertained local conversion capabilities. A processing unit and a computer program product for carrying out such a method are also described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2024
    Assignee: ROBERT BOSCH GMBH
    Inventors: Thomas Zein, Jan Kappa, Markus Thanner
  • Patent number: 11927120
    Abstract: An exhaust gas sensor includes an element cover, a heater, a heater control section, and a cover state diagnosing section. The element cover accommodates a sensor element including a detection section and includes one or more gas flow holes. The heater heats the sensor element. The heater control section controls how the heater heats the sensor element. The cover state diagnosing section diagnoses a state of the element cover using heater information obtained when the heater is operated by the heater control section. The cover state diagnosing section includes a diagnosability determining section, which determines whether the state of the element cover is diagnosable based on an accuracy of the heater information obtained from an operating state of the heater and a surrounding environmental state of the element cover.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2024
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Takashi Araki, Masato Katsuno
  • Patent number: 11920532
    Abstract: An exhaust gas control apparatus for an internal combustion engine includes: a catalyst which is capable of storing oxygen; a downstream air-fuel ratio sensor that detects the air-fuel ratio of outgoing exhaust gas flowing out of the catalyst; an air-fuel ratio control unit that controls the air-fuel ratio of incoming exhaust gas flowing into the catalyst; and a catalyst state estimation unit that estimates the activity of the catalyst. The air-fuel ratio control unit controls the air-fuel ratio of the incoming exhaust gas so that the air-fuel ratio of the outgoing exhaust gas detected by the downstream air-fuel ratio sensor is maintained at a target air-fuel ratio. The air-fuel ratio control unit sets the target air-fuel ratio to a richer value when the activity of the catalyst is equal to or higher than a predetermined value than when the activity of the catalyst is lower than the predetermined value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 2023
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2024
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Keiichiro Aoki
  • Patent number: 11920503
    Abstract: A vehicle includes an engine, a catalyst, an oxygen concentration detector, and a control device. The catalyst is configured to clean gas emitted from the engine. The oxygen concentration detector is configured to measure oxygen concentration in the catalyst. The control device includes at least one processor and at least one memory coupled to the at least one processor. The at least one processor is configured to perform processing including determining, based on condition of the engine and the oxygen concentration measured by the oxygen concentration detector, whether to prohibit the engine from being stopped.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2023
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2024
    Assignee: SUBARU CORPORATION
    Inventor: Shuta Takeda
  • Patent number: 11916390
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method for operating a wind turbine or a plurality of wind turbines combined in a wind farm, to a control unit designed for carrying out the method and to a corresponding computer program product. For the method the wind turbine or the wind farm has a control unit connected to a remote-access data transmission network for controlling the power supply to the wind turbine(s). The control unit is designed for receiving control signals of at least two higher-level controls with different priorities, and stored in the control unit is a schedule of whether, and for which of the higher-level controls, the control unit is reserved for converting control signals at a point in time, the received control signals being converted or discarded as a function of the timetable and the priority of the respective transmitting higher-level control.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 10, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2024
    Assignee: Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy Service GmbH
    Inventor: Hennig Harden
  • Patent number: 11905866
    Abstract: A method includes calculating whether a quantity of the PMs accumulated in a PF is at or above a risk level at which damage to the PF is caused when regenerating the PF, calculating a driving condition index by accumulating a weighting factor for a driving condition under which there is a likelihood of causing the damage to the PF, when the amount of accumulated PMs is at or above the risk level; calculating a temperature index in accordance with a temperature of the PF and a PM index in accordance with the quantity of the accumulated PMs when the quantity of the accumulated PMs is at or above the risk level; calculating a degradation condition index considering the driving condition index, the temperature of the PF, and the quantity of accumulated PMs; and changing a regeneration period of the PF according to the degradation condition index.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 2022
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2024
    Assignees: Hyundai Motor Company, Kia Corporation
    Inventor: Jin Ha Kim
  • Patent number: 11905867
    Abstract: An exhaust gas aftertreatment system includes: a first sensor configured to measure a parameter in the exhaust gas aftertreatment system; a second sensor configured to measure the parameter in the exhaust gas aftertreatment system, the second sensor disposed proximate the first sensor; and at least one controller configured to alternately receive sensor values from the first sensor for a first target period of time, and receive sensor values from the second sensor for a second target period of time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 10, 2022
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2024
    Assignee: Cummins Emission Solutions Inc.
    Inventors: Nathan A. Ottinger, M. Yusuf Khan, Z. Gerald Liu, Shirish Ambadas Shimpi
  • Patent number: 11898480
    Abstract: Systems and methods for removing accumulated soot in an aftertreatment system are disclosed herein. A method includes: determining, by a controller, an adsorption amount of soot in an exhaust aftertreatment system; comparing, by the controller, the adsorption amount of soot to a predefined adsorption amount limit; in response to the adsorption amount exceeding the predefined adsorption amount limit, initiating, by the controller, an exhaust cleaning event to remove at least some accumulated soot in the exhaust aftertreatment system; receiving, by the controller, exhaust gas data during the exhaust cleaning event; determining, by the controller, a desorption amount of soot based on the exhaust gas data; comparing, by the controller, the desorption amount of soot to a predefined desorption limit; and ceasing, by the controller, the exhaust cleaning event based on the comparison.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 2, 2022
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2024
    Assignee: Cummins Inc.
    Inventors: Todd C. Bouws, Ankit Raghunath Lad, Joshua A. Lantz, Boopathi Singalandapuram Mahadevan, Ian W. McGiffen, Douglas A. Roxbury
  • Patent number: 11891939
    Abstract: An under-floor catalyst (33) includes a GPF (41) capable of trapping fine exhaust particles in exhaust gas, and a downstream-side catalyst (42) positioned on the downstream side of GPF (41). GPF (41) can be supplied with secondary air. When an internal combustion engine (10) is stopped during travel, the secondary air is supplied to GPF (41) in which the fine exhaust particles are accumulated. At this time, the temperature of GPF (41) is equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature. Thus, a deterioration in the exhaust gas purification performance of under-floor catalyst (33) at the time of the start of internal combustion engine (10) can be suppressed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 13, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2024
    Assignee: NISSAN MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Jin Yokoyama, Kouichi Murakami, Akikazu Sakai
  • Patent number: 11891934
    Abstract: A controller for an internal combustion engine is configured to execute a regeneration process of burning and removing particulate matter accumulated in an exhaust purification device, a determination process of determining that a deviation between a first change amount and a second change amount is less than or equal to a threshold, the first change amount and the second change amount being change amounts per unit time of the temperature of exhaust gas on the upstream side and the downstream side of the exhaust purification device, respectively, and an anomaly diagnosing process that determines that the exhaust purification device is in a detached state when the determination process determines that the deviation is less than or equal to the threshold. The controller is configured to not execute the determination process during a period from the end of the regeneration process to when a post-regeneration execution condition is met.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 2023
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2024
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Toru Yaeo, Yoshifumi Matsuda, Masashi Hakariya, Atsushi Morikawa, Ikuo Hoda, Noriyasu Adachi, Masanori Hayashi, Kenji Igawa