Patents Examined by Carl C Staubach
  • Patent number: 11680504
    Abstract: A combined power conversion and carbon capture and recycling subsystem including a fossil fueled oxidation unit, a physical adsorbent CO2 capture medium, rotor, motor, heater, CO2 compressor, diffuser and water storage tank. Exhaust gas from fossil fuel oxidation is scrubbed of CO2 via passage across a physical adsorbent and then released from the adsorbent via fuel oxidation waste heat. High CO2 concentration scrubber exhaust air is then compressed and fed to a diffuser which facilitates dissociation of the CO2 into water where it is temporarily stored for use in watering plants. Carbon from fossil fuel is recycled back into the environment and permanently stored as biomass by natural means of photosynthesis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 1, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 20, 2023
    Assignee: Gridiron LLC
    Inventors: Donald Williams, Erik Rodriguez
  • Patent number: 11679752
    Abstract: A hybrid electric vehicle and method of its control include a parallel hybrid powertrain including an engine, a transmission, a battery system, a first electric motor coupled to the engine by a first clutch between the engine and the first electric motor, a second electric motor coupled to the transmission and to the first electric motor by a second clutch between the first and second electric motors, and a controller configured to control the parallel hybrid powertrain for optimal operation across a plurality of different propulsion and charging modes, including calculating cost values for each of the engine and the first and second electric motors and selecting optimal propulsion and charging modes based on the calculated cost values.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 20, 2023
    Assignee: FCA US LLC
    Inventors: Meng Li, Yang Liang
  • Patent number: 11679359
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a wall flow filter, to a method for the production and the use of the filter for reducing harmful exhaust gases of an internal combustion engine. Particle filters are commonly used for filtering exhaust gases from a combustion process. Also disclosed are novel filter substrates and their specific use in exhaust gas aftertreatment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 2, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 20, 2023
    Assignee: UMICORE AG & CO. KG
    Inventors: Astrid Mueller, Meike Antonia Gotthardt, Martin Foerster, Stephanie Spiess, Yannic Weigl, Carsten Herzog
  • Patent number: 11674419
    Abstract: An engine system includes an engine configured to combust liquid natural gas and generate an exhaust gas comprising methane; a catalytic reactor coupled downstream of the engine and configured to convert methane into a product through one or more of oxidative coupling of methane (OCM) reaction and steam methane reforming (SMR) reaction; and a recirculation loop configured to recirculate at least a part of the product back to the engine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 24, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2023
    Assignee: SAUDI ARABIAN OIL COMPANY
    Inventors: Vallinayagam Raman, Seung-Hak Choi, Junseok Chang
  • Patent number: 11674466
    Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for detection of a closing time for a solenoid valve. In one example, a method may include monitoring a current of the solenoid valve, filtering the current, and determining the closing time of the solenoid valve based on each of the current and the filtered current. In some examples, the solenoid valve may be an electrically-actuated fuel injection valve. In some examples, determining the closing time may include using the filtered current to determine an inflection point of the current.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 21, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2023
    Assignee: Transportation IP Holdings, LLC
    Inventor: David Zielinski
  • Patent number: 11674459
    Abstract: A control apparatus includes: a data acquisition part that is configured to acquire torque data indicating a drive torque of an electric motor, rotation number data indicating a rotation number of the electric motor, and DC voltage data indicating a DC voltage supplied to an inverter which supplies an AC current to the electric motor; a determination basis derivation part that is configured to derive a determination basis based on a drive efficiency of the electric motor by using the torque data, the rotation number data, and the DC voltage data; and a control method determination part that is configured to determine, based on the determination basis, which one of a one-pulse control and a pulse-width modulation control is employed as a control method of the inverter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2023
    Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Masaki Tanaka, Yoichi Yamashiro
  • Patent number: 11674425
    Abstract: A reductant injecting device includes: a honeycomb structure comprising: a pillar shaped honeycomb structure portion having a partition wall that defines a plurality of cells each extending from a fluid inflow end face to a fluid outflow end face; and at least one pair of electrode portions arranged on a side surface of the honeycomb structure portion; an inner cylinder being configured to house the honeycomb structure; a urea sprayer arranged at one end of the inner cylinder; and an outer cylinder arranged on an outer peripheral side of the inner cylinder, the outer cylinder being spaced apart from the inner cylinder. A flow path through which the carrier gas passes is formed between the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 2, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2023
    Assignee: NGK INSULATORS, LTD.
    Inventors: Katsumi Saiki, Yukinari Shibagaki
  • Patent number: 11668255
    Abstract: An engine braking system includes engine braking actuators for adjusting exhaust valve timings to engine braking timings in a cylinder-number braking mode. The system further includes an engine braking controller coupled to a control switch that produces a request indicating a requested cylinder-number braking mode. The engine braking controller is structured to transition exhaust valves to the engine braking timings, determine a control term to adjust intake air pressure for varying a braking power of the engine, and to adjust geometry of an exhaust turbine based on the control term. An adjusted speed of a compressor rotated by the exhaust turbine provides a change to intake air pressure that adjusts the braking power of the engine. Different levels of braking power are provided within different cylinder-number braking modes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2023
    Assignee: Caterpillar Inc.
    Inventors: Rajesh Narayanan Nair, Samuel Were, James Harris Mutti, Behnaz Ensan, James Vernon Dornberger, II, Rodney L. Menold, Timothy David Schwartz, Kevin Walsh
  • Patent number: 11668218
    Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for adjusting a location of a fuel injection in response to a substitution rate and a desired EGR flow. In one example, a method may include injecting a first fuel to a combustion chamber via a direct injector positioned to inject directly into the combustion chamber, injecting a second, different, fuel to the combustion chamber via an exhaust port injector positioned to inject toward an exhaust valve of the combustion chamber, and combusting the first and second fuels together in the combustion chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2023
    Assignee: Transportation IP Holdings, LLC
    Inventors: Adam Edgar Klingbeil, Thomas Michael Lavertu
  • Patent number: 11668261
    Abstract: A method and system is provided of controlling a pump having a pumping element comprising: determining, by a controller, a suspension of one or more fuel delivery events for a pumping element of the at least one pumping element; subsequent to determining the suspension of the one or more fuel delivery events, providing, by the controller, a first command to open an inlet valve of the pumping element to remove a portion of residual fluid within a pumping chamber based on pressure within the pumping chamber of the pumping element; and subsequent to providing the first command, providing, by the controller, a second command to close the inlet valve of the pumping element based on a top dead center (TDC) position of the pumping element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2023
    Assignee: Cummins Inc.
    Inventor: Donald J. Benson
  • Patent number: 11661877
    Abstract: The subject matter of the present invention relates to trained machine-learning models (300), methods (200, 400) and apparatuses (500) allowing a future resonant frequency of a catalyst for selective reduction of nitrogen oxides (SCR) to be predicted, the resonant frequency being representative of a concentration of a reducing agent within the SCR. The SCR forms part of a system for after-treatment of a flow of exhaust gases of an internal combustion engine with which a motor vehicle is provided. The general principle of the invention is based on the observation of correlations between the resonant frequency of an SCR and the concentration of ammonia present within the SCR. This observation led the inventor to envision using machine learning to create a trained machine-learning model in order to predict the resonant frequency of an SCR.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2023
    Assignee: VITESCO TECHNOLOGIES GMBH
    Inventor: Michel Povlovitsch Seixas
  • Patent number: 11654885
    Abstract: A coasting regeneration control method of a vehicle equipped with a continuously variable valve duration (CVVD) engine includes: determining, by an engine control unit (ECU), whether a current state of the vehicle satisfies coasting regeneration conditions; and entering, by the ECU, a coasting regeneration mode and performing regenerative braking when the current state of the vehicle satisfies the coasting regeneration conditions, in which when the coasting regeneration mode is entered, a throttle valve is fully opened so that the amount of intake air of the engine is maximized, a CVVD target duration is controlled to be maximized, and a closing time of an intake valve is delayed after a start point of time of a compression stroke, thereby decreasing pumping loss of the engine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2023
    Assignee: Hyundai Kefico Corporation
    Inventors: Young Ho Jun, Jung Min Yoon
  • Patent number: 11655154
    Abstract: In one aspect, there is provided a process for converting gaseous carbon dioxide, comprising: emplacing a reaction zone material, including gaseous carbon dioxide, gaseous carbon monoxide, and an operative reagent, within a reaction zone, such that gaseous carbon dioxide, gaseous carbon monoxide, and an operative reagent are disposed within the reaction zone, with effect that a reactive process is effected, such that a product material is produced; wherein: the ratio of total number of moles of gaseous carbon dioxide, disposed within the reaction zone material, to total number of moles of gaseous carbon monoxide, disposed within the reaction zone material, is at least 1:4; the operative reagent is at least one of metallic iron, metallic nickel, and metallic magnesium; and the product material includes solid carbon-comprising material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2023
    Assignee: CVMR ENERGY METALS INC.
    Inventors: Nanthakumar Victor Emmanuel, Kamran Khozan, Serge Kovtun, Mohammad Al Quayyum
  • Patent number: 11655775
    Abstract: A system that controls a combustion engine stores network vectors in a memory that represent diverse and distinct spiking neural networks. The system decodes the network vectors and trains and evaluates the spiking neural networks. The system duplicates selected network vectors and crosses-over the duplicated network vectors that represent modified spiking neural networks. The system mutates the crossed-over duplicated network vectors by randomly modifying one or more portions of the crossing-over duplicated network vectors. The system meter exhaust gas into an intake manifold when an engine temperature exceeds a threshold, an engine load exceeds a threshold, an engine's rotation-per-minute rate exceeds a threshold, and a fuel flow exceeds a threshold. The system modifies fuel flow into an engine's combustion chamber on a cycle-to-cycle basis by the trained spiking neural network.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 15, 2022
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2023
    Assignee: UT-BATTELLE, LLC
    Inventors: Bryan P. Maldonado Puente, Brian C. Kaul, Catherine D. Schuman, John Parker Mitchell, Steven R. Young
  • Patent number: 11649777
    Abstract: An internal combustion engine is operated at fuel-rich conditions by adjusting one or more operating parameters such as, for example, a throttle, an ignition timing, a load coupled to the engine, a fuel pressure, power to a supercharger, and power to a preheater to maintain a specified engine speed and a temperature of an exhaust gas. Operating the engine under these conditions allows the engine to function as a reformer producing a synthesis gas comprising hydrogen and carbon monoxide.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2023
    Assignee: Research Triangle Institute
    Inventors: John Reeves Carpenter, III, David Douglas Barbee, Apoorv Agarwal
  • Patent number: 11629659
    Abstract: Systems and methods for operating an engine that is started via expansion stroke combustion are described. In one example, the method increases air flow through the engine during an engine stopping process so that a larger amount of air may be trapped in a cylinder that is on its expansion stroke so that greater amounts of engine torque may be provided during engine starting.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2023
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Adam Banker, Jeffrey Doering, Chris Glugla
  • Patent number: 11629870
    Abstract: An environmental control system of a vehicle including a first inlet for providing a first medium, a second inlet for providing a second medium, a compression device arranged in fluid communication with the first inlet, and an expansion device separate from the compression device. The expansion device is arranged in fluid communication with the second inlet. Energy extracted from the second medium within the expansion device is provided to one or more loads of the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 21, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2023
    Assignee: HAMILTON SUNDSTRAND CORPORATION
    Inventor: Aiden Coutin
  • Patent number: 11624310
    Abstract: A component for a mixer of a vehicle exhaust system, according to an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure includes, among other things, a doser mount comprising a curved body having a center boss with a doser opening defining a doser axis. The curved body includes at least a first mating surface configured to receive a first mixer shell defined by a first dimension and a second mating surface configured to receive a second mixer shell defined by a second dimension different than the first dimension.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 11, 2023
    Assignee: Faurecia Emissions Control Technologies, USA, LLC
    Inventors: Randall Cvelbar, Eduardo Alano, Amee Bhatt, Amaresh Rakkasagi, Anthony Burnett
  • Patent number: 11618541
    Abstract: Control system for controlling operations of a marine vessel having a first engine and a second engine is provided. Parity switches are operable to start/stop first and second engine. Each parity switch is actuated for first time to activate remote start/stop control of respective engine. Each switch is actuated for second time to switch respective engine to ON or OFF state. Operator console is communicatively coupled to parity switches to receive first and/or second user inputs. Propulsion control unit is communicably coupled to operator console via network communication channel, first engine control unit of first engine and second engine control unit of second engine. Propulsion control unit receives operational parameters for engines from engine control units and receives first and second user inputs from operator console. Propulsion control unit transmits engine operating signals for operating respective engines in response to first and/or second user input and based on operational parameters.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 22, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 4, 2023
    Assignee: Caterpillar Inc.
    Inventors: Brian Philip Neathery, Cameron Scott Gandy
  • Patent number: 11613248
    Abstract: A controller as a control apparatus for a hybrid vehicle determines whether or not to perform switching from a first traveling mode in which a hybrid vehicle is caused to travel using torque of a motor without using torque of an engine to a second traveling mode in which the hybrid vehicle is caused to travel using at least the torque of the engine. The controller, when determining that switching is to be performed from the first traveling mode to the second traveling mode, performs control to reduce output torque of the motor by a predetermined amount. After this control, the controller shifts a first clutch from a released state to an engaged state so that the torque of the motor is transmitted to the engine via the first clutch, and cranks the engine using the motor to start the engine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 16, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 28, 2023
    Assignee: Mazda Motor Corporation
    Inventors: Yutaro Fukuda, Tadashi Saito