Patents by Inventor James W. Heffel

James W. Heffel has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 6612269
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for utilizing any arbitrary mixture ratio of multiple fuel gases having differing combustion characteristics, such as natural gas and hydrogen gas, within an internal combustion engine. The gaseous fuel composition ratio is first sensed, such as by thermal conductivity, infrared signature, sound propagation speed, or equivalent mixture differentiation mechanisms and combinations thereof which are utilized as input(s) to a “multiple map” engine control module which modulates selected operating parameters of the engine, such as fuel injection and ignition timing, in response to the proportions of fuel gases available so that the engine operates correctly and at high efficiency irrespective of the gas mixture ratio being utilized. As a result, an engine configured according to the teachings of the present invention may be fueled from at least two different fuel sources without admixing constraints.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 8, 2001
    Date of Patent: September 2, 2003
    Assignee: The Regents of the University of California
    Inventors: James W. Heffel, Paul B. Scott
  • Publication number: 20020029770
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for utilizing any arbitrary mixture ratio of multiple fuel gases having differing combustion characteristics, such as natural gas and hydrogen gas, within an internal combustion engine. The gaseous fuel composition ratio is first sensed, such as by thermal conductivity, infrared signature, sound propagation speed, or equivalent mixture differentiation mechanisms and combinations thereof which are utilized as input(s) to a “multiple map” engine control module which modulates selected operating parameters of the engine, such as fuel injection and ignition timing, in response to the proportions of fuel gases available so that the engine operates correctly and at high efficiency irrespective of the gas mixture ratio being utilized. As a result, an engine configured according to the teachings of the present invention may be fueled from at least two different fuel sources without admixing constraints.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 8, 2001
    Publication date: March 14, 2002
    Applicant: THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
    Inventors: James W. Heffel, Paul B. Scott
  • Patent number: RE42876
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for utilizing any arbitrary mixture ratio of multiple fuel gases having differing combustion characteristics, such as natural gas and hydrogen gas, within an internal combustion engine. The gaseous fuel composition ratio is first sensed, such as by thermal conductivity, infrared signature, sound propagation speed, or equivalent mixture differentiation mechanisms and combinations thereof which are utilized as input(s) to a “multiple map” engine control module which modulates selected operating parameters of the engine, such as fuel injection and ignition timing, in response to the proportions of fuel gases available so that the engine operates correctly and at high efficiency irrespective of the gas mixture ratio being utilized. As a result, an engine configured according to the teachings of the present invention may be fueled from at least two different fuel sources without admixing constraints.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 2010
    Date of Patent: November 1, 2011
    Assignee: The Regents of the University of California
    Inventors: James W. Heffel, Paul B. Scott, Chan Seung Park