Subcircuit Operates On A Parameter Sensor Output Before Input To Main Fuel Control (e.g., Function Generator) Patents (Class 123/488)
  • Patent number: 11840977
    Abstract: A method of controlling fuel injection subsequent to engine start, comprises: a) at, or after synchronization, in respect of a potential upcoming firing or injection event for a particular cylinder, determining or selecting a first injection profile; b) determining if there is sufficient time for the first injection profile to be implemented; and c) if so, implementing the said first injection profile with respect to said event.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 18, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 12, 2023
    Assignee: BORGWARNER LUXEMBOURG OPERATIONS SARL
    Inventors: Stephane Randazzo, Marc Passemard, Oguz Iscimen
  • Patent number: 11746722
    Abstract: Method of controlling the temperature of fuel injected into a combustion engine to enable a reduction in the amount of fuel injected into engines which may be powered both by pure gasoline and by ethanol or by any biofuel mixture.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 21, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2023
    Assignee: Robert Bosch Limitada
    Inventors: Fernando Lepsch, Fernando de Oliveira, Jr., Marcello Francisco Brunocilla
  • Patent number: 11639697
    Abstract: A method for controlling an internal combustion engine controlled as a function of an operating-point setpoint, the method includes: determining whether a new operating-point setpoint is received, and if so determining the maximum capacity of the pump based on determined values of rotational speed of the engine, quantity of fuel injected, and fuel pressure in the common injection rail; determining fuel consumption flow rate; subtracting fuel consumption flow rate of the vehicle from the maximum capacity of the pump to obtain the remaining capacity of the fuel pump; determining the difference in fuel flow rate between the current operating point and the operating point of the new operating-point setpoint; and if the remaining capacity of the fuel pump is less than the difference in fuel flow rate, a reduced fuel flow rate gradient setpoint is emitted with the new operating-point setpoint or the quantity of fuel injected is limited.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 2, 2023
    Assignee: VITESCO TECHNOLOGIES GMBH
    Inventors: Yves Agnus, Henri Mouisse, Nicolas Loubet
  • Patent number: 11365699
    Abstract: Provided is an internal combustion engine control device capable of more appropriately correcting an output value of a flow rate sensor that measures a flow rate of air flowing through an intake flow path of an internal combustion engine, and further reducing an error between a corrected air flow rate and an actual air flow rate as compared to a conventional device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 6, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 21, 2022
    Assignee: HITACHI ASTEMO, LTD.
    Inventors: Kunihiko Suzuki, Yoshihiko Akagi, Shinya Matohara
  • Patent number: 11294406
    Abstract: Apparatus are configured to monitor lifespan of parts on a pressure regulator. These configurations may include sensors that generate signals in response to movement of parts on the pressure regulator. Processing circuitry can process the signals to identify data that corresponds to deflection of a spring inside of the pressure regulator. This data may correlate with duty cycle of a diaphragm. In one implementation, utilities can use the duty cycle to gauge useable lifespan of the diaphragm as well as other operating conditions that may prevail on the pressure regulator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 5, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2022
    Inventors: Roman Leon Artiuch, Jeff Thomas Martin
  • Patent number: 11199147
    Abstract: An engine control device includes an engine model having a neural network that inputs a manipulated variable of the engine and computes a controlled variable; and a controller that computes the manipulated variable so as to reduce a deviation between the controlled variable and a target controlled variable. The neural network includes an input layer to which the manipulated variable are input; a first hidden layer including a first fully connected layer; a second hidden later including a second fully connected layer that generates a plurality of second output values at a first time and has a return path on which the plurality of second output values at a second time, earlier than the first time, are input into the second fully connected layer; and an output layer from which the plurality of second output values at the first time are output as the controlled variable.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 14, 2021
    Assignee: TRANSTRON INC.
    Inventors: Noriyasu Aso, Masatoshi Ogawa
  • Patent number: 11067026
    Abstract: An engine controller, an engine control method, and a memory medium are provided. A second calculation process calculates an intake air amount without using a detected value of the intake air flow rate. A guard process sets a difference amount learning value as a learning reflected value when the difference amount learning value is less than or equal to an upper limit guard value and greater than or equal to a lower limit guard value. A calculation method switching process sets a sum of a second intake air amount and the learning reflected value as a calculated value of the intake air amount when it is determined that an intake air pulsation is great.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 20, 2021
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Shunsuke Kurita
  • Patent number: 11054435
    Abstract: Disclosed is a method for processing a primary signal produced by a sensor detecting the rotation of a rotating target. The primary signal includes pulses having, for a given speed of rotation of the target, a first positive voltage level for rotation in a first determined direction or a second positive voltage level for the opposite direction. A first secondary signal is generated by comparing the primary signal to a first determined voltage threshold between the first and second voltages. A second secondary signal is generated by comparing the primary signal to a second determined voltage threshold between the second voltage level and zero. A determined delay is introduced in the second secondary signal. A determined time threshold is compared to the duration between an active edge of the second secondary signal and the last preceding active edge of the first secondary signal, indicating direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 6, 2021
    Assignees: CONTINENTAL AUTOMOTIIVE FRANCE, CONTINENTAL AUTOMOTIVE GMBH
    Inventors: Fabien Joseph, Valerie Gouzenne Coutier
  • Patent number: 10823096
    Abstract: A system and method for self-adjusting engine performance parameters in response to fuel quality variations that includes an exhaust sensor for measuring a level of carbon dioxide present in an exhaust manifold, at least one of a knock sensor and a cylinder pressure transducer for determining a location of peak pressure and a centroid, respectively, a controller in communication with the exhaust sensor and the at least one of the knock sensor and the cylinder pressure transducer, the controller correlating a methane number of the fuel used by the engine to a brake specific carbon dioxide value calculated using the level of carbon dioxide measured by the exhaust sensor and the at least one of the centroid and the location of peak pressure, and an adjusting mechanism, wherein the adjusting mechanism adjusts an engine performance parameter based on the determined methane number.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 4, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 3, 2020
    Assignee: Cummins Inc.
    Inventors: Agneya Turlapati, Robin J. Bremmer, Philipe F. Saad
  • Patent number: 10634081
    Abstract: A control device of an internal combustion engine using a neural network. When a value of an operating parameter of the engine is outside a preset range, the number of nodes of a hidden layer one layer before an output layer of the neural network is increased and training data obtained by actual measurement with respect to a newly acquired value of an operating parameter of the engine is used to learn a weight of the neural network so that a difference between the output value changing corresponding to the value of the operating parameter of the engine and training data corresponding to the value of the operating parameter of the engine becomes smaller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 28, 2020
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Eiki Kitagawa, Masato Ehara
  • Patent number: 10519885
    Abstract: A control apparatus for an engine includes a rotation detector, a fuel injection device, and an output controller. The output controller calculates an emission amount of the pollutant and calculates an accumulated emission amount of a pollutant for a period of time. The output controller calculates a maximum allowable emission amount of the pollutant for a period of time. The output controller calculates a difference between the accumulated emission amount of pollutant and the maximum allowable emission amount of the pollutant. The output controller calculates a first output index by dividing the difference by the period of time. The output controller sets the allowable range for the output of the engine so that the emission amount of pollutant becomes equal to or less than the first output index.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 6, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 31, 2019
    Assignee: KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOYOTA JIDOSHOKKI
    Inventor: Yuya Matsuzawa
  • Patent number: 10450988
    Abstract: A fuel injection control unit includes: a first transience determination unit which determines an accelerating state when the first intake pressure differential integration value in a section including a compression stroke, an expansion stroke and an exhaust stroke is greater than a first acceleration determination threshold value; a first transient fuel injection amount calculation unit which calculates an additional fuel injection amount on the basis of the first intake pressure differential integration value; a second transience determination unit which determines an accelerating state when the second intake pressure differential integration value in a section including an intake stroke is greater than a second acceleration determination threshold value which is smaller than the first acceleration determination threshold value; and a second transient fuel injection amount calculation unit which calculates an additional fuel injection amount on the basis of the second intake pressure differential integratio
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 4, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 22, 2019
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventor: Nobuyoshi Tomomatsu
  • Patent number: 10395515
    Abstract: A sensor aggregator is disclosed that may instantiate virtual sensors providing virtual sensor data. Virtual sensor data may be based at least in part on data shared by transitory sensors that come into an environment associated with the aggregator. An aggregator may have local sensors, e.g., non-transitory sensors associated therewith or disposed therein, or mobile sensors operating in conjunction with or for the aggregator, that may be used to provide sensor data to the aggregator that may also be provided as sensor output from the aggregator. An aggregator may combine different sensor inputs to derive virtual sensors based on received sensor data. In an emergency, an aggregator may assist with exit strategies based conditions sensed in various locations to help route people away from problems. Multiple aggregators may share data and trust mechanisms employed to determine if received sensor data may be trusted/used by an aggregator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 27, 2019
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Rita H. Wouhaybi, Denzil Roberts, Vani Desai
  • Patent number: 10132253
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to internal combustion engines. The teachings thereof may be embodied in methods and devices for controlling the combustion processes taking place in the cylinders of an internal combustion engine. A method for controlling a combustion process in an internal combustion engine may include: measuring an actual camshaft position; measuring the actual rail pressure; calculating a phase correction value based on the measured actual rail pressure and a mass of fuel to be injected; calculating corrected actual camshaft positions based on the measured actual camshaft position and the respective phase correction value; calculating a mass of air depending on the determined corrected actual camshaft position; and calculating a fuel injection mass based on the mass of air determined for each cylinder.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2018
    Assignee: CONTINENTAL AUTOMOTIVE GMBH
    Inventor: Hong Zhang
  • Patent number: 10082098
    Abstract: A vehicle includes a combustion engine having at least one cylinder to burn a fuel, and a fuel injector to supply a fuel mass to the at least one cylinder. The vehicle also includes a controller programmed to cause the fuel injector supply a series of fuel pulses that sum to an aggregate target fuel mass. The controller is also programmed to adjust a commanded duration of a subsequent pulse of the series of pulses from a target pulse duration value based on at least one of a dwell time since a preceding pulse, a fuel mass of the preceding pulse, and an opening delay of the preceding pulse.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 21, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 25, 2018
    Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC
    Inventors: Scott E. Parrish, Yiran Hu
  • Patent number: 10012160
    Abstract: It is possible to prevent the stability of an engine from deteriorating even when degrees of changes over time of injection characteristics are different in each fuel injection valve. An inter-cylinder air-fuel ratio variation detection unit 1100 calculates an air-fuel ratio variation index (Ind_imb) which indicates a degree of variation in an air-fuel ratio between cylinders from an exhaust air-fuel ratio, engine rotation speed, or the like. Unlike in a case where the air-fuel ratio variation index (Ind_imb) is lower than a set value, when the air-fuel ratio variation index (Ind_imb) is higher than the set value, a fuel injection pulse width limitation unit 2100 sets a (allowable) minimum value (Min_TI) of a fuel injection pulse width so as to be greater. In addition, a fuel injection pulse width calculation unit 3100 calculates fuel injection pulse widths (TI_1, TI_2, TI_3, and TI_4) of cylinders so as not to be lower than the minimum value (Min_TI).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 10, 2014
    Date of Patent: July 3, 2018
    Assignee: Hitachi Automotive Systems, Ltd.
    Inventors: Shinji Nakagawa, Akihito Numata, Eisaku Fukuchi
  • Patent number: 9915213
    Abstract: The objective of the present invention is to provide an engine with improved startability and stable operation regardless of the driving environment and usage conditions. The engine is equipped with a control means, which calculates a standard injection timing on the basis of the target rotational frequency of the engine and a standard injection amount, that is, the amount of fuel injected, and which corrects the standard injection timing using at least one correction amount. A fuel injection control unit calculates a cooling water correction amount on the basis of the target rotational frequency of the engine, the standard injection amount, and the cooling water temperature, and when the cooling water temperature is less than a first prescribed temperature the control unit corrects the standard injection timing using only the cooling water correction amount.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 4, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 13, 2018
    Assignee: YANMAR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Atsuhito Iwase, Tomohiro Otani, Yasuaki Oku, Yuki Fujimoto, Tomohiro Fukuda
  • Patent number: 9657669
    Abstract: Proposed is a method for closed loop rail pressure control of a V-type internal combustion engine with an asymmetrical firing order, wherein an actual rail pressure is computed from the measured rail pressure; a system deviation is determined by means of the actual rail pressure and a set rail pressure; and wherein a correcting variable for actuating a pressure actuating element, in particular a suction throttle, for regulating the rail pressure is computed. The invention is characterized by the fact that the actual rail pressure is computed from the measured rail pressure by means of an averaging filter in that below a limit speed (nLi) the rail pressure is averaged over a constant time and in that above the limit speed (nLi) the rail pressure is averaged over a working cycle of the internal combustion engine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2017
    Assignee: MTU Friedrichshafen GmbH
    Inventor: Armin Dölker
  • Patent number: 9388758
    Abstract: A prediction module, based on a set of possible target values for M future times and a model of an engine, determines predicted torques of the engine for the M future times, respectively. M is an integer greater than one. A cost module determines a cost for the set of possible target values based on comparisons of the predicted torques for the M future times with engine torque requests for the M future times, respectively. A selection module, based on the cost, selects the set of possible target values from a group including the set of possible target values and N other sets of possible target values, wherein N is an integer greater than zero, and sets target values based on the selected set of possible target values. An actuator module controls an engine actuator based on a first one of the target values.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2014
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2016
    Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC
    Inventors: Klaus Pochner, Christopher E. Whitney, Gary Robert Cygan, Jr.
  • Patent number: 9376973
    Abstract: A cylinder control system of a vehicle, includes a cylinder control module and a volumetric efficiency (VE) module. The cylinder control module determines a desired cylinder activation/deactivation sequence. The cylinder control module also activates and deactivates valves of cylinders of an engine based on the desired cylinder activation/deactivation sequence. The VE module determines a volumetric efficiency based on a cylinder activation/deactivation sequence of the last Q cylinders in the firing order. Q is an integer greater than one.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 2013
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2016
    Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC
    Inventors: Daniel G. Brennan, Gregory P. Matthews, Layne K. Wiggins
  • Patent number: 9291111
    Abstract: An engine control method includes: a step of determining whether or not a crank angle of the engine lies in a first section between a top dead center in a compression stroke and a first angle in a case where the engine speed of the engine is lower than the prescribed engine speed; a step of running the engine in a forward direction by driving a motor that applies a torque to a crank of the engine in the forward direction in a case where the crank angle of the engine does not lie in the first section; a step of determining whether or not the crank angle of the engine lies in the first section; a step of determining whether or not the crank angle of the engine lies in a second section between a top dead center in a combustion stroke and a second angle; a step of braking the motor in a case where it is determined in the sixth step that the crank angle of the engine lies in the second section; and a step of running the engine in the forward direction by driving the motor in the forward direction in a case where i
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2016
    Assignee: Shindengen Electric Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Shinji Kawasumi
  • Patent number: 8805608
    Abstract: In a crawler construction machine including an engine and a fuel adjustment dial that adjusts a speed of the engine according to operation loads of the working equipment, the fuel adjustment dial is a rotary notchless dial that is continuously variably adjustable. The crawler construction machine includes: an adjustment position detector that detects a rotation adjustment position of the fuel adjustment dial; an engine controller that is connected to the adjustment position detector and controls the speed of the engine based on an adjustment position of the fuel adjustment dial; and a display device that is connected to the engine controller and displays on a screen a percentage value of the adjustment position of the fuel adjustment dial in which the maximum rotation position of the fuel adjustment dial is defined as 100%.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 18, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 12, 2014
    Assignee: Komatsu Ltd.
    Inventors: Hayato Matsumoto, Hiroshi Sawada, Kazuyoshi Morimoto
  • Patent number: 8701633
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a method of operating an internal combustion engine. With reference to FIGS. (1), (2) and (5), fluid is supplied to charge air using an injector (116, 3116a, 3116b) which in each operation delivers a set amount of fluid. The amount of fluid supplied to the charge air in each engine cycle is controlled by how many times the injector (116, 3116a, 3116b) operates in each cycle. A desired fluid demand is calculated as a number of operations of the injector per cycle, calculated to at least one decimal place. The desired fluid demand is always rounded down or always rounded up to a near integer to provide an output fluid demand for the injector as a number of operations of the injector for the next operating cycle in varying operating conditions of the engine. The rounding difference is aggregated and when the aggregate passes an integer then the fluid demand is adjusted.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 13, 2009
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2014
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Timothy Guy Drake, Benjamin David Smither
  • Patent number: 8688351
    Abstract: The timing of a controlled event is advanced or retarded in an IC engine by emulating the engine speed and position signal pattern prior to transmission of that signal pattern to an output such as a fuel injector. In a multi-controller engine in which a second controller is controlled at least in part by signals delivered by first controller, the signal preferably is emulated in the first controller prior to transmission to the second engine controller in order to allow the shifting of a timing of a controlled event without direct data transfer from the second controller to the first controller. The technique is particularly well-suited for controlling diesel fuel injection in a dual fuel or other multi-fuel engine. In this case, the first controller must be a dual fuel controller and the second controller may be a diesel controller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 25, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 1, 2014
    Assignee: Clean Air Power, Inc.
    Inventors: Robert Oalen, Hoi Ching Wong
  • Patent number: 8607548
    Abstract: In one implementation of the disclosed technique, a NOx sensor polynomial algorithm is used to discriminate between NOx and ammonia emission. The polynomial algorithm uses the SCR's time constant property to infer the “loading state” of the SCR and estimate both the NOx conversion and quantity of ammonia slip. The polynomial algorithm assesses this by differentially analyzing the upstream and downstream NOx sensor signals through a comparison of the polynomial coefficients.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 6, 2011
    Date of Patent: December 17, 2013
    Assignee: AVL North America, Inc.
    Inventor: Nicholas Michael Zayan
  • Patent number: 8527181
    Abstract: A a method for automatically controlling an internal combustion engine, in which an individual accumulator pressure (pE) of a common rail system is detected in a measurement interval and stored; in which an evaluation window is determined for the stored individual accumulation pressure (pE), within which window an injection was brought about; in which, in a first step, both a representative injection start and a trial injection end are determined in this evaluation window as a function of the detected pressure values, and, in a second step, both a trial injection start and a representative injection end are determined in this evaluation window as a function of the detected pressure values; in which the representative injection start is checked for plausibility against the trial injection start; and in which the representative injection end is checked for plausibility against the trial injection end.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2013
    Assignee: MTU Friedrichshafen GmbH
    Inventors: Michael Walder, Robby Gerbeth
  • Patent number: 8483933
    Abstract: A method is for operating a fuel injector, in particular of an internal combustion engine of a motor vehicle, the fuel injector including a piezoelectric actuator for driving a valve needle, which is connected, preferably hydraulically, to the actuator, and the control voltage of the piezoelectric actuator being analyzed to infer an operating state of the fuel injector. According to this method, the second time derivative of the control voltage and/or a variable depending on the second time derivative of the control voltage is/are analyzed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 23, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2013
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Hans-Peter Lehr, Erik Tonner
  • Patent number: 8483936
    Abstract: A method to calibrate the fuel injection in at least one combustion chamber of a Diesel engine includes: a) recording the combustion noise power or amplitude in the combustion chamber over a piston position range [?1i;?2i], b) at the same time, recording the piston position during the same piston position range [?1i;?2i], c) determining from the preceding recordings for which piston position Kmin-i the measured combustion noise power passes through a minimum Pmin-i when the piston moves from position ?1i to position ?2i, d) adjusting the fuel injection according to the determined piston position Kmin-i.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 29, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2013
    Assignee: Renault Trucks
    Inventor: Florent Giovaresco
  • Patent number: 8425224
    Abstract: A burner-based exhaust gas generation system, having a blower for providing air into the system. The blower is controlled to compensate for variations in mass air flow into the system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 2006
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2013
    Assignee: Southwest Research Institute
    Inventors: Cynthia C. Webb, Jeffrey A. Mathis
  • Patent number: 8408171
    Abstract: In a variable stroke engine assembly for a front engine, front wheel drive vehicle, an engine output shaft (OS), a variable stroke control mechanism (63, 65, CR), an actuator (AC) and a starter motor (SM) are laid out in a favorable manner so that the general outer profile of the engine assembly can be made free from excessive protrusions, an increase in the engine room space requirement is avoided, layout freedom can be enhanced, and the cooling performance for the actuator can be improved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 7, 2007
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2013
    Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shigekazu Tanaka, Akinori Maezuru, Taichi Yoshikawa, Keitaro Nakanishi
  • Patent number: 8352156
    Abstract: An engine control system includes a power supply module, a measurement module, and a calibration module. The power supply module disables power supplied to N components of an engine when M cylinders of the engine are deactivated, wherein M and N are integers greater than or equal to one. The measurement module measures outputs of the N engine components. The calibration module calibrates the measurement module based on unpowered measurements from one or more of the N engine components during a period after the power supplied to the N components is disabled.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 13, 2009
    Date of Patent: January 8, 2013
    Inventor: Mike M. McDonald
  • Patent number: 8276549
    Abstract: The present invention provides a flexible fuel, spark ignition, variable boost, supercharged internal combustion engine. A variable speed drive assembly connects the engine output to a supercharger. The engine includes a fuel sensor which provides a signal to an engine controller which determines the type of fuel. The engine controller also receives signals from a mass air flow sensor, a manifold air pressure sensor, a crank angle sensor, a camshaft angle sensor, an oxygen sensor in the exhaust stream and a transmission controller. The engine controller provides control signals to an ignition module, to a fuel injection system, to an electronic throttle control, to a supercharger drive controller and to the transmission controller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 2008
    Date of Patent: October 2, 2012
    Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC
    Inventors: Ko-Jen Wu, James C. Elmslie, Jian Jun Zhang
  • Patent number: 8131455
    Abstract: The engine control apparatus includes a computing section which performs computation for engine control in synchronization with rotation of an engine, and an A/D converter which A/D-converts an analog signal necessary for the computing section to perform the computation, the analog signal being outputted from an external device such as a knock sensor. The computing section and the A/D converter are configured to enable detection of garble in the data transmitted from the A/D converter to the computing section on the side of the computing section without affecting the operation of the A/D converter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2009
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2012
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventor: Yoshiharu Takeuchi
  • Patent number: 8051838
    Abstract: A high-pressure pump section pumps fuel in a fuel tank into a delivery pipe. An injector injects the fuel in the delivery pipe directly into a combustion chamber of an engine. An ECU calculates fuel injection quantity based on an operation state of the engine and calculates fuel injection time based on the fuel injection quantity and pressure of the fuel in the delivery pipe. The ECU calculates fuel injection start timing based on the operation state of the engine. The ECU sets the fuel injection time and the fuel injection start timing as a base injection period. When a fuel inflow period, in which the high-pressure fuel flows into the delivery pipe with the fuel pumping by the high-pressure pump section, overlaps with the base injection period, the ECU changes the base injection period to eliminate or reduce the overlap.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 8, 2009
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2011
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventor: Makoto Tanaka
  • Publication number: 20110239992
    Abstract: In an engine control system for an aircraft diesel engine for a propeller aircraft for controlling the injection valves, charge pressure valves, common rail pressure valves and propeller control valves actuated by non-redundant actuators, comprising a plurality of sensors and a regulating device connected thereto and to the actuators, two engine control units—first and second—which are each connected to a first and a second power supply and are each connected to the sensors, are provided and are interconnected by way of a serial bus and can be connected selectively to the actuators by way of relays that are supplied with power together with the first engine control unit. The two engine control units each have a diagnostic function for calculating the respective health levels (A and B), which are determined by the defects detected, can be exchanged by way of the serial bus and are compared to one another.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 6, 2009
    Publication date: October 6, 2011
    Applicant: THIELERT AIRCRAFT ENGINES GMBH
    Inventor: Bodo Metzdorf
  • Publication number: 20110209688
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a method of operating an internal combustion engine. With reference to FIGS. (1), (2) and (5), fluid is supplied to charge air using an injector (116, 3116a, 3116b) which in each operation delivers a set amount of fluid. The amount of fluid supplied to the charge air in each engine cycle is controlled by how many times the injector (116, 3116a, 3116b) operates in each cycle. A desired fluid demand is calculated as a number of operations of the injector per cycle, calculated to at least one decimal place. The desired fluid demand is always rounded down or always rounded up to a near integer to provide an output fluid demand for the injector as a number of operations of the injector for the next operating cycle in varying operating conditions of the engine. The rounding difference is aggregated and when the aggregate passes an integer then the fluid demand is adjusted.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 13, 2009
    Publication date: September 1, 2011
    Applicant: SCION-SPRAYS LIMITED
    Inventors: Timothy Guy Drake, Benjamin David Smither
  • Patent number: 7991539
    Abstract: An electronic control unit 50 determines whether the ambient air in the vicinity of an oxygen concentration sensor 55 in an exhaust passage 30 has become equal to the atmospheric state as a fuel cut-off operation is executed. If the ambient air in the vicinity of the oxygen concentration sensor 55 is equal to the atmospheric state, the electronic control unit 50 executes a learning process, in which a detection value C of the oxygen concentration sensor 55 is stored as a learned value Cstd in a memory 56. The electronic control unit 50 continues the learning process until a predetermined time period set based on an exhaust gas transport delay elapses from when the fuel cut-off operation is terminated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 21, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2011
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hiroshi Enomoto, Atsushi Morikawa
  • Patent number: 7987840
    Abstract: A fuel control approach that compensates for time delays to increase exhaust gas sensor feedback response speed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 14, 2010
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2011
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Stephen William Magner, Mrdjan J. Jankovic, James Michael Kerns, Alan Robert Dona
  • Publication number: 20110180046
    Abstract: A method is for operating a fuel injector, in particular of an internal combustion engine of a motor vehicle, the fuel injector including a piezoelectric actuator for driving a valve needle, which is connected, preferably hydraulically, to the actuator, and the control voltage of the piezoelectric actuator being analyzed to infer an operating state of the fuel injector. According to this method, the second time derivative of the control voltage and/or a variable depending on the second time derivative of the control voltage is/are analyzed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 23, 2007
    Publication date: July 28, 2011
    Inventors: Hans-Peter Lehr, Erik Tonner
  • Patent number: 7917333
    Abstract: A method for providing a virtual sensor network based system. The method may include obtaining project data descriptive of a virtual sensor network to be used in a control system of a machine; establishing a virtual sensor network including a plurality of virtual sensors based on the project data. Each virtual sensor may have a model type, at least one input parameter, and at least one output parameter. The method may also include recording model information, measurement data, and performance information of the virtual sensor network including the plurality of virtual sensors; creating one or more calibration certificates of the virtual sensor network including a plurality of virtual sensors based on the model information, the measurement data, and the performance information; and generating a documentation package associated with the virtual sensor network.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 2008
    Date of Patent: March 29, 2011
    Assignee: Caterpillar Inc.
    Inventors: Anthony J. Grichnik, Mary L. Kesse, Amit Jayachandran, James Mason, Tim Felty, Christopher L. Wynkoop
  • Patent number: 7866302
    Abstract: A selective combustion starting system and method selectively provides a proper amount of fuel to one or more combustion chambers in an internal combustion engine. The particular combustion chambers selected depend upon the state of the piston of the combustion chamber and the volume of the combustion chamber, which is dependent upon the position of the piston. Once proper amounts of fuel have been provided to the one or more combustion chambers, the resulting fuel air mixture in the combustion chambers is ignited and combusts to rotate the crankshaft of the engine to commence normal operation of the engine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 20, 2008
    Date of Patent: January 11, 2011
    Assignee: Litens Automotive Partnership
    Inventors: Gary J. Spicer, Terry P. Cleland, Stan Zbyslaw Staniewicz
  • Patent number: 7840336
    Abstract: In a gas turbine aeroengine control system, in Ch-A (first control channel), a first CPU monitors the operation of a second CPU and the second CPU monitors the operation of the first CPU; in Ch-B (second control channel), third and fourth CPUs similarly monitor each other, and when the operation of at least one of the first and second CPUs in Ch-A is found not to be normal, the output sent to an FCU (fuel control unit) is switched from the output of one or the other of the first and second CPUs of Ch-A to the output of one or the other of the third and fourth CPUs of Ch-B, thereby achieving improved CPU failure detection and realizing high redundancy and high reliability.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 2006
    Date of Patent: November 23, 2010
    Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hironori Muramatsu, Yuichi Hattori, Makoto Tezuka
  • Patent number: 7707995
    Abstract: Rotation recognition means for recognizing a revolution of a crankshaft based on the cylinders before the combustion cycle of a cylinder in question is provided. When the supply of fuel by injection from an injector to a certain cylinder of the six cylinders has become impossible, then control is performed to change the number of cylinders targeted by the rotation recognition means so as to recognize the revolution of the crankshaft for all six cylinders whose combustion cycles are consecutive prior to the combustion cycle of the cylinder in question, and to stop the supply of fuel from the injectors for supplying fuel to cylinders whose combustion cycles are equally spaced from the cylinder to which the supply of fuel is not possible, so that the spacing between the combustion cycles in the cylinders whose combustion cycles come before and after and sandwich the cylinder to which the supply of fuel is not possible becomes uniform.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 4, 2010
    Assignee: Yanmar Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Fumiya Kotou, Tomohiro Otani, Hitoshi Adachi, Hideo Shiomi
  • Patent number: 7693649
    Abstract: A method of logging faults in an electronic controlled internal combustion engine that passes any fault readings through a debounce logic to determine whether the fault indication is real.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 2007
    Date of Patent: April 6, 2010
    Assignee: Detroit Diesel Corporation
    Inventors: Frank S. Groer, Tomislav I. Golub
  • Publication number: 20090248276
    Abstract: A fuel injector for an internal combustion engine is provided which has a fuel supply path and a nozzle chamber. The fuel supply path extends a spray hole. The nozzle chamber is defined in the fuel supply path. A nozzle is disposed within the nozzle chamber to establish or block a fluid communication between the fuel supply path and the spray hole. A fuel pressure sensor is installed in the fuel injector so as to be exposed to the fuel in the nozzle chamber. Specifically, the fuel pressure sensor is located closer to the spray hole than a prior art structure in which the fuel pressure sensor is installed in a fuel supply pipe, thus resulting in increased accuracy in measuring a change in pressure of the fuel arising from the spraying of the fuel from the spray hole.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 25, 2009
    Publication date: October 1, 2009
    Applicant: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Jun KONDO, Tooru TAGUCHI
  • Patent number: 7542879
    Abstract: A method for a virtual sensor system corresponding to a target physical sensor is provided. The method may include selecting a plurality of measured parameters provided by a set of physical sensors based on operational characteristics of the virtual sensor system. The method may also include establishing a virtual sensor process model indicative of interrelationships between one or more sensing parameter and the plurality of measured parameters. Further the method may include obtaining a set of values corresponding to the plurality of measured parameters; calculating a value of the sensing parameter based upon the set of values corresponding to the plurality of measured parameters and the virtual sensor process model; and providing the value of the sensing parameter to a control system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2007
    Date of Patent: June 2, 2009
    Assignee: Caterpillar Inc.
    Inventors: Anthony J. Grichnik, Michael Seskin
  • Patent number: 7438066
    Abstract: A method and device for controlling an internal combustion engine, in which the fuel quantity to be injected into the engine is limited to a limiting value. The limiting value is predefined on the basis of the output signal of a closed-loop controller or an open-loop controller and a precontrol value. Furthermore, the precontrol value is corrected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 2006
    Date of Patent: October 21, 2008
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Andreas Michalske, Sascha-Juan Moran Auth
  • Publication number: 20080245341
    Abstract: A system and/or method of controlling smoke or noise emanating from a diesel engine wherein a throttle is drivingly coupled to the diesel engine, and wherein an operator of the engine changes a throttle position. The system may comprise a high pressure fuel pump in fluid communication with a fuel reservoir, a fuel accumulator, in fluid communication with the high pressure fuel pump, one or more injectors that are in fluid communication with the fuel accumulator and each of the fuel injectors. A main controller transmits a signal in response to a change in the throttle position. A fuel injection controller, in electrical communication with the main controller, in response to one or more signals relative to a transient operation, transmits one or more signals relative to fuel injection parameters of a fuel injection made during the transient operation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 4, 2007
    Publication date: October 9, 2008
    Inventor: Shawn Michael Gallagher
  • Patent number: 7357122
    Abstract: An engine ECU executes a program including the steps of: detecting an engine speed NE, a throttle angle THA and an amount of intake air GA; estimating an amount of intake air GAINI from the engine speed NE and the throttle angle THA; if the estimated amount of intake air GAINI minus the detected amount of intake air GA is larger than a predetermined deviation ?GA(0) (YES at S104), then causing an intake manifold injector to inject fuel to clear a deposit, as controlled, at the exhaust stroke when an intake valve is closed and at the intake stroke when the intake valve is opened and an exhaust valve is closed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 29, 2005
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2008
    Assignees: Nippon Soken, Inc., Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Masatoshi Basaki, Tatsushi Nakashima, Fumikazu Satou, Motoki Ohtani
  • Patent number: 7353104
    Abstract: A timer module in an ECU has an angle counter and a timer counter. A value counted by the angle counter indicates a crank angle of a crankshaft. Under the control of the termination to output an ignition pulse signal to an igniter, the ECU inverts the level of the ignition pulse signal to Low level (as an inactive mode) when a first comparator outputs an angle comparison matching signal after a value of the angle counter reaches a pulse OFF angle “an12” count value of the angle counter, and when a second comparator outputs a time comparison matching signal after the value of the time counter reaches a time “t12” as an elapsed time of a regular time length “TH” counted from a pulse ON time “t11”. Thus, even if the crank angle of the crankshaft reaches the pulse OFF angle “an12” before the timing “t12”, the ECU keeps High level of the ignition pulse signal until the timing “t12”.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 15, 2006
    Date of Patent: April 1, 2008
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventor: Tadaharu Nishimura