Patents Examined by Carl C Staubach
  • Patent number: 11181088
    Abstract: An internal-combustion engine starting device includes a switch section, a motor section, a transmission mechanism section, and a pinion gear section, wherein the transmission mechanism section is configured of a planetary gear train including a pinion which is connected to the rotating shaft of the motor section, a plurality of planetary gears to which the rotation of the pinion is transmitted, and an internal gear which receives the rotation of the planetary gears; and of a machine casing in which is housed the planetary gear train, and wherein elastic bodies are each fitted between a protruding portion formed on the outer peripheral surface of the internal gear and a recessed portion in which to receive the protruding portion, and clearances are formed between the internal gear and the machine casing via the elastic bodies.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 23, 2021
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Junji Kida, Kazuhiro Odahara
  • Patent number: 11181066
    Abstract: An injection controller includes a control IC outputting an energization instruction signal to apply a peak current to a fuel injection valve (i.e., an instruction TQ), and a current monitor unit detecting an electric current flowing in the fuel injection valve. The control IC corrects an output OFF time of the energization instruction signal based on a difference between (i) an integrated current of an ideal current profile which serves as a target current before reaching the peak current and (ii) an integrated current of an energization current in the fuel injection valve detected by the current monitor unit (i.e., an effective TQ).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 23, 2021
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Masashi Inaba, Hiroyuki Fukuda, Katsuya Minamijima
  • Patent number: 11181059
    Abstract: Disclosed is a method for determining the configuration of a combustion engine of a motor vehicle including a step of detecting the reference position of the crankshaft, a step of controlling the control valve of the injection pump, after a predetermined time interval, a step of measuring a fuel pressure value in the injection rail, and a step of determining a first configuration of the engine when the fuel pressure value measured in the injection rail is greater than or equal to a first predetermined pressure threshold or determining a second configuration of the engine when the fuel pressure value measured in the injection rail is between a second predetermined pressure threshold and a third predetermined pressure threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 8, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 23, 2021
    Assignees: CONTINENTAL AUTOMOTIVE FRANCE, CONTINENTAL AUTOMOTIVE GMBH
    Inventors: Yves Agnus, Julien Lefevre
  • Patent number: 11168657
    Abstract: A method for operating a vehicle that may be automatically stopped and started is described. In one example, the method includes supply electrical current to a starter motor independently from supplying electrical current to a starter solenoid. In addition, the method includes adjusting and amount of electrical current that is delivered to the starter motor in response to a level of urgency of an automatic engine start.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 9, 2021
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Adam Nathan Banker, Alexander Gibson, David Andrew Ord, Imtiaz Ali, Jeffrey Allen Doering
  • Patent number: 11162446
    Abstract: A fuel injection control apparatus including a microprocessor. The microprocessor is configured to perform calculating a target injection time, determining a first crank angle defining a start of fuel injection and a second crank angle defining an end of fuel injection, controlling a fuel injector in a first injection mode in which the fuel is injected for the first target injection time from a first time point corresponding to the first crank angle or a second injection mode in which the fuel is injected for the second target injection time from a second time point corresponding to a target crank angle, and the controlling including controlling the fuel injector so as to inject the fuel in an intake stroke in the first injection mode, while inject the fuel in a compression stroke in the second injection mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 2, 2021
    Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Masatoshi Nakajima, Hidekazu Hironobu, Nobuaki Ito, Yasunori Shinmi, Ryuichi Hata, Daiki Yamazaki
  • Patent number: 11162452
    Abstract: An internal combustion engine control apparatus including an electronic control unit having a microprocessor and a memory. The microprocessor is configured to perform switching an injection mode between a first injection mode in which the fuel is injected in a range including an intake stroke and a compression stroke of an internal combustion engine and a second injection mode in which the fuel is injected in the range so that an injection frequency in the compression stroke in the second injection mode is greater than an injection frequency in the compression stroke in the first injection mode; and determining whether the injection mode needs to be switched based on an ignition timing of the ignitor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 2, 2021
    Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hidekazu Hironobu, Daiki Yamazaki, Masatoshi Nakajima, Nobuaki Ito, Ryuichi Hata, Hiroaki Tone
  • Patent number: 11162449
    Abstract: The invention is related to a fuel pressure control device for an internal combustion engine, which controls a pressure of fuel supplied to a fuel injection valve and includes: a fuel pump, adopting the internal combustion engine as a driving source, and discharging pressurized fuel to a side of the fuel injection valve; a boost control part, setting a fuel discharge amount of the high-pressure fuel pump to a maximum value for boosting a pressure from a time when cranking starts until a predetermined timing halfway during a startup of the internal combustion engine; and a limit control part, performing limit control which follows the boost control and limits the fuel discharge amount to an upper limit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 2, 2021
    Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Masahiro Yamada, Hirofumi Ohara, Takayoshi Okuda, Toshifumi Hiraboshi, Yoichi Kanou
  • Patent number: 11161495
    Abstract: A fuel-empty-state recovery determination method including: when driving of the hybrid vehicle is started, performing rotation speed control of an electric power generator for a specified time, and then stopping the rotation speed control; in a case where it is detected that a state in which the rotation speed of an engine after stopping the rotation speed control is higher than a threshold continues for more than a first determination time, determining that recovery has been made from a fuel-empty state; in a case where the measured time does not exceed the first determination time, starting measurement of the time during which the rotation speed of the engine is lower than the threshold; and in a case where the measured time exceeds a second determination time, maintaining determination that the vehicle is in a fuel-empty state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 2, 2021
    Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yuki Fujita, Shunsuke Baba
  • Patent number: 11149669
    Abstract: Exhaust particulates are collected by a GPF(gasoline particulate filter) device. EGR control is executed, and exhaust gas flowing through an exhaust passage upstream of the GPF device is introduced into an intake passage via an EGR passage. In the EGR control, an opening area of the EGR passage is controlled to reduce the opening area of the EGR passage according to an operating state of the engine as a particulate deposition amount in the GPF device is increased.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 19, 2021
    Assignee: NISSAN MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Takeshi Tsuyuki
  • Patent number: 11149674
    Abstract: Disclosed is a method for the diagnosis of a digital valve in a fuel injection system. In the diagnosis, a diagnosis current is applied to the digital valve with an intensity and for a hold time that are predetermined by experiment on digital valves identified as being fault-free, this intensity and this time being recognized as being sufficient for an inflection on a curve of the closing current to be detected in the hold time. Measurements are taken at more than 3 kHz of the diagnosis current added to the induced current in the hold time. When an inflection on the current curve is detected in this hold time, it is concluded that the valve is working correctly. When no inflection on the curve is detected in this hold time, it is concluded that the valve is faulty.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 19, 2021
    Assignee: VITESCO TECHNOLOGIES GMBH
    Inventors: Nicolas Girard, George Weaver, Jérémie Memain
  • Patent number: 11149663
    Abstract: Techniques are disclosed herein that provide for controlling torque in a vehicle. In some embodiments, desired torque values are generated and are compared to an amount of torque currently being generated by an engine. If a different amount of torque is desired, an engine speed target is altered in a linear fashion, and then converted back to a torque request to be provided to an engine ECU for implementation. Techniques disclosed herein may cause changes in torque demand to be limited in such a way to cause predictable and smooth changes in engine speed, even when engine speed and torque do not have a linear relationship to each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 19, 2021
    Assignee: PACCAR Inc.
    Inventors: Riley Sparman Kilfoyle, Christopher Balton, Charles Wayne Reinhardt Swart
  • Patent number: 11136934
    Abstract: A misfire detection device for an internal combustion engine includes a storage device and processing circuitry. The storage device stores mapping data. The mapping data is data specifying a mapping that outputs a misfire variable using a rotation waveform variable as an input. The misfire variable is a variable related to a probability that a misfire has occurred in the internal combustion engine. The rotation waveform variable is a variable based on an instantaneous speed variable corresponding to each of discontinuous rotational angle intervals selected from multiple continuous rotational angle intervals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2021
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Takumi Anzawa
  • Patent number: 11118497
    Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for combusting an air-fuel mixture in a pre-chamber of a cylinder during an exhaust stroke of the cylinder responsive to fouling of the pre-chamber. In one example, a method may include injecting air into the pre-chamber during the exhaust stroke, injecting fuel into the pre-chamber during the exhaust stroke, and actuating a pre-chamber spark plug in order to combust the air-fuel mixture during the exhaust stroke. In this way, a temperature of the pre-chamber may be increased, which may decrease a soot load of one of a pre-chamber air-injector, a pre-chamber fuel injector, and the pre-chamber spark plug.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 14, 2021
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Chris Paul Glugla, Michael Howard Shelby, Michael Damian Czekala
  • Patent number: 11105277
    Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for controlling a variable displacement engine (VDE) of a vehicle to adjust a power generated by the VDE based on a demand for power from an onboard AC power generator of the vehicle. In one example, a method for a vehicle includes, with an engine of the vehicle turned off, estimating a power draw of an external electrical device to be supplied power via an onboard generator of the vehicle, and starting the engine in a variable displacement engine (VDE) mode with a number of deactivated cylinders selected based on the estimated power draw.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 31, 2021
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventor: Aed Dudar
  • Patent number: 11098953
    Abstract: An integrated fan heat exchanger stator assembly is provided including a hub and a casing. A plurality of elements is arranged between the hub and the casing. The plurality of elements is separated from one another by a plurality of external flow passages. At least one internal flow passage is configured to convey a first heat transfer fluid through one or more of the plurality of elements. The first heat transfer fluid is arranged in thermal communication with a second heat transfer fluid configured to flow through at least one of the external flow passages.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 5, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2021
    Assignee: CARRIER CORPORATION
    Inventors: Jackie S. Anderson, Peter R. Bushnell, Ryan K. Dygert
  • Patent number: 11098662
    Abstract: An engine system incorporating an intake manifold, a compressor, and a controller. The compressor may provide air to the intake manifold and the controller may be connected to the intake manifold and the compressor. The controller may receive a control signal and control air flow from the compressor to the intake manifold based on the received control signal. The controller may control the air flow from the compressor to the intake manifold based on a first equation when a value related to the control signal is on a first side of a threshold and according to a second equation when the value is on a second side of the threshold. The controller may control the air flow between the compressor and intake manifold according to the second equation to prevent the compressor from operating at a surge condition when controlling the air flow according to the first equation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2021
    Assignee: Garrett Transportation I, Inc.
    Inventors: Radek Beno, Daniel Pachner
  • Patent number: 11098685
    Abstract: A fuel injector assembly includes a fuel injector and an annular filter coupled with the fuel injector, the annular filter being snap-fitted with one of a nozzle case or an injector body of the fuel injector and slip-fitted with the other of the nozzle case or the injector body. The annular filter has a perforated wall forming a filtration screen covering an actuation fluid inlet formed in the nozzle case and positioned upstream of the actuation fluid inlet to trap particulates in incoming actuation fluid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2021
    Assignee: Caterpillar Inc.
    Inventors: Dianqi Fang, Daniel Bumpus, Diego Caceres, David Martin, Sudhindra Ayanji
  • Patent number: 11078861
    Abstract: The fuel injection control device and fuel injection control method according to the present invention allow a fuel injection device to perform fuel injection in the case where an open period of the intake valve and an open period of the exhaust valve overlap with each other, and sets the timing to start injection to the closing timing of the exhaust valve, and that sets the timing to end injection to the timing at which a deceleration rate of intake air speed becomes the local maximum. As such, the homogeneity of in-cylinder air-fuel mixture can be improved while preventing the adhesion of fuel to the inner wall of the intake port and the blow-through of fuel to the exhaust passage from occurring.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 3, 2021
    Assignee: Hitachi Astemo, Ltd.
    Inventors: Kohsuke Kanda, Atsushi Murai, Yoshitatsu Nakamura
  • Patent number: 11078881
    Abstract: A method for detecting knocking of an engine includes receiving a knock signal indicating a vibration level in a cylinder of the engine and a crank angle signal indicating a crank angle by which a knocking window and an end of injection (EOI) of an injector of the engine are expressed, determining whether the knocking window and the EOI overlap, based on the crank angle signal, setting a second reference value for an overlapping range within the knocking window overlapping the EOI by reflecting a predetermined level on a first reference value for a non-overlapping range within the knocking window non-overlapping the EOI depending on the determination, integrating the knock signal in the knocking window, determining whether an integrated value of the knock signal exceeds the first reference value in the non-overlapping range or the second reference value in the overlapping range, and retarding an ignition timing of the engine as a knocking avoidance logic depending on the determination.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 14, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 3, 2021
    Assignees: Hyundai Motor Company, Kia Corporation
    Inventors: Kook Jin Hwang, Ju Hyeong Seo
  • Patent number: 11073093
    Abstract: Methods and systems are disclosed for operating an engine that includes a knock control system that may determine contributions of individual noise sources to an engine background noise level. The contributions of the individual noise sources may be determined via adjusting timing of a knock window or timing of the individual noise sources.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 27, 2021
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Rani Kiwan, Mohannad Hakeem, Christopher Paul Glugla, James Matthew Kindree, Amey Karnik, Donald J. Lewis