Abstract: A system and method for controlling combustion in a direct injection spark ignition internal combustion engine inject fuel directly into a combustion chamber through an injector having an ignition jet or group of jets positioned primarily to support stratified charge formation and a mixing jet or group of jets positioned primarily to support homogeneous charge formation. The ignition jet(s) and mixing jet(s) produce discernibly different yet well connected fuel clouds within the cylinder to provide stable combustion and reduce cylinder wall wetting by appropriate selection of the axial/longitudinal angles and radial/circumferential angles of the ignition and mixing jets.

Abstract: A system and method for utilizing a humidity sensor with an internal combustion engine of a vehicle is described. Specifically, information from the humidity sensor is used to adjust a desired air-fuel ratio to reduce engine misfire while improving vehicle fuel economy. Further, such information is also used to adjust timing and/or lift of the valve in the engine cylinder. Finally, diagnostic routines are also described.

Abstract: A system and method for controlling randomly operable valves in an engine is presented. According to the method, valve lift is used to create a Helmholtz resonator from a deactivated cylinder. The method can reduce engine pressure based audible noise for variable displacement engines.

Abstract: A system for actuating a clutch that alternately driveably connects and disconnects components, includes a clutch having a piston that includes a first apply area and a second apply area, a fluid pressure source, a source of variable control pressure, and a control coupled with the fluid pressure source and operative in response to the control pressure to engage the clutch initially by increasing pressure steadily at the first apply area up to a first magnitude followed by a rapid increase in pressure at the first apply area and the second apply area above the first magnitude to a second magnitude.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method for reducing the exhaust emissions during the cold start of an internal combustion engine (3). According to the method, a starter motor (4) is operated in parallel with the internal combustion engine (3) until the operating temperature of an exhaust gas catalytic converter (1) is reached, to thereby relieve the power demand on the internal combustion engine and thereby to minimize the production of pollutants. The heating of catalytic converter (1) can preferably be accelerated by retarded spark timing, by a delayed shift in automatic transmission (6) and/or by an electrical heater coupled to catalytic converter (1).

Abstract: In an apparatus having a combustion engine and an emissions system including a catalytic converter and a metal oxide catalyst disposed downstream of the catalytic converter, a method of controlling a chemical transformation of hydrogen sulfide in an emissions stream to a less-noxious sulfur-containing compound is disclosed. The method includes reacting the hydrogen sulfide with the metal oxide catalyst to form a metal sulfide, monitoring a saturation of the metal oxide catalyst with the metal sulfide, and when a predetermined saturation of metal sulfide on the metal oxide is reached, changing an air/fuel ratio supplied to the combustion engine.

Abstract: A method and system to start an internal combustion engine from rest is disclosed. The engine has intake and exhaust valves in each cylinder in which actuation of such valves is independent of engine rotation. The engine also has a fuel injector and a spark plug disposed in each engine cylinder. The intake and exhaust valves are closed in one engine cylinder; fuel is sprayed into such cylinder; the spark plug is fired in such cylinder. Additionally, a second cylinder is identified in which the intake and exhaust valves are closed, fuel is sprayed, and a spark is fired prior to engine rotation.

Abstract: A target command generator for use in a control system for an automatic transmission having a simple planetary gearset in series with a multiple-ratio gearset, the target command generator providing input for a controller for the simple planetary gearset to achieve synchronized control of pressure operated friction elements of the gearsets to effect smooth swap-shifts during an overall transmission ratio change.

Abstract: A method of developing product characteristics for a new automotive vehicle comprising the steps of: generating a plurality of vehicle attributes including usage experience attributes, driving experience attributes, and design attributes; classifying each of the attributes; generating a preferred vehicle brand position as a function of the vehicle attributes; and, generating target vehicle characteristics as a function of the vehicle attributes and the preferred vehicle brand position. In this manner, the target vehicle characteristics represent customer-driven objectives for each of the plurality of vehicle attributes. An advantage of the present method is that it provides customer-driven products with identifiable brand images.

Abstract: A one-way clutch includes a first race having a plurality of pockets, each pocket defining a pivot center, a second race including a plurality of notches, a plurality of rockers, each rocker being supported on a respective pocket for pivoting movement about a pivot center relative to the second race, and a spring for urging a rocker toward engagement with a notch.

Abstract: A system for a hydraulically driven vehicle includes a pump producing fluid flow at an outlet, pump-motors having variable flow rates for driving the wheels, a hydraulic rail having a pressure and connecting the pump and the pump-motors, sensors producing signals representing rail pressure, pump-motor speed, pump-motor displacement, and a controller for determining a target hydraulic system parameter, determining, based at least in part on the flow rate of the pump-motor, rail pressure, and a flow rate produced by the engine-pump, a flow rate produced by the engine-pump that is required to produce the target system parameter, and adjusting an engine operating parameter of a cylinder-pump bank such that the demanded magnitude of the system parameter is produced.

Abstract: The many embodiments of the present invention comprise a device to simulate first order and higher-order tire non-uniformity forces. Some embodiments may comprise a wheel adapter adapted to attach to a vehicle wheel, rotate in a first rotational direction, and to couple to a gearbox; a weight retaining member adapted to be coupled to the gearbox, wherein the gearbox is adapted to rotate the weight retaining member in a second rotational direction or at a second rotational speed in the first and second rotational directions; and a rotation restriction member adapted to attach to the gearbox and to restrict the gearbox from rotating. Other devices and methods are also claimed and described.

Abstract: A method for operating a vehicle to reduce exhaust emissions is provided. The vehicle includes an engine, a motor, a battery for operating the motor, and a catalyst for reducing exhaust gas emissions. The vehicle is operated in a first mode when at least one predetermined condition is met. The first mode includes providing at least some of the desired vehicle output power with the motor. The engine is operated to quickly increase the temperature of the catalyst when the output power from the battery is within a first predetermined range. When the output power of the battery is outside the first predetermined range, the operation of the engine is adjusted to drive battery operation into the first predetermined range. When the at least one predetermined condition is not met, the vehicle is operated in a second mode based at least partly on driver demand and battery requirements.

Abstract: A method for controlling an engine coupled to a transmission is described. The method is suited for a transmission having at least one gear in which an over-running clutch is present. The invention describes a method for adjusting an engine operating parameter to maintain transmission input speed at or below a synchronous transmission input speed when the transmission is in the gear with the over-running clutch. The synchronous transmission input speed is based on transmission state and transmission output speed. Alternatively, vehicle speed can be used in place of transmission output speed.

Abstract: A method of manufacturing electric machines comprised of geometrically patterned arrays of permanent magnets, soft magnetic materials, and electrical conductors deposited by kinetic spraying methods directly atop a carrier. The magnets and planar coils of the present invention may be integrally formed atop carriers to form electrical machines such as motors, generators, alternators, solenoids, and actuators. The manufacturing techniques used in this invention may produce highly defined articles that do not require additional shaping or attaching steps. Very high-purity permanent and soft magnetic materials, and conductors with low oxidation are produced.

Abstract: An integrated cooling system having two separate evaporator coils is provided. Each evaporator coil has its own shutoff, thereby allowing for individual control over the cooling of each of two vehicle spaces. The evaporator coils may be disposed within the vehicle to cool the passenger compartment and a battery compartment, respectively. The separate control afforded by the cooling system provides the flexibility of shutting off cooling to the vehicle passenger compartment for the comfort of the vehicle occupants, while still providing cooling to the battery, as needed. The cooling system includes a number of control features which provide for automatically shutting off cooling to one or more of the evaporator coils based on parameters such as air temperature and refrigerant pressure.

Abstract: For the purpose of reducing artifacts caused by a scan plane tilted with respect to a rotation plane when a multi-row detector is employed, a j-th detector row which an X-ray passing through a pixel point g(x, y) enters is selected based on the distance ?z from a scan center plane to an image reconstruction plane in a z-axis direction and the position (x, y) of the pixel point g in the image reconstruction plane, and data of the j-th detector row is used to determine the pixel value of the pixel point g, where the scan center plane at a certain view angle is defined as an x-y plane, and a direction normal to the x-y plane, i.e., a detector row direction, is defined as the z-axis direction.

Abstract: A method is presented for estimating an amount of ammonia stored in a urea-based SCR catalyst based on a dynamic model of the catalyst. The model takes into account chemical and physical properties of the catalyst, such as catalyst volume, the number of available ammonia storage cites, adsorption and desorption dynamics, as well as sulfur poisoning, thermal aging, and different catalyst operating temperatures, and generates the estimate based on a measured or estimated amount of NOx in an exhaust gas mixture upstream of the catalyst, an amount of reductant injected into the catalyst to facilitate NOx reduction, and on a measured value of NOx in an exhaust gas mixture downstream of the catalyst. The estimated ammonia storage amount is then used to control the amount of reductant injected into the catalyst to maintain desired ammonia storage amount such that maximum NOx conversion efficiency coupled with minimum ammonia slip are achieved.