Patents Examined by Carl S. Miller
  • Patent number: 7201145
    Abstract: In a fuel supply apparatus for an internal combustion engine including a first fuel injection valve for directly injecting a fuel into a cylinder and a second fuel injection valve for injecting the fuel into an intake manifold, production of deposits in the first fuel injection valve is prevented and a satisfactory homogenous air-fuel mixture can be formed during homogenous combustion while an engine is at idle. In order to achieve this effect, during homogenous combustion while the engine is idle, a second fuel injection valve injects the fuel and a first fuel injection valve injects the fuel to which pressure has been applied by a low-pressure pump, without a high-pressure pump applying further pressure to the fuel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 2005
    Date of Patent: April 10, 2007
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Eriko Matsumura
  • Patent number: 7201147
    Abstract: An internal combustion engine (30) has a fueling system comprising fuel injectors (36) that utilize oil under pressure to force fuel into engine combustion chambers. Oil is pumped to an oil rail (44) by an engine-driven pump (42) whose effective displacement can be varied. A control system (32) processes certain data, such as engine speed and load, for controlling the effective displacement of the pump. The pump has a larger stage (42B) and a smaller stage (42A). The control system selects and de-selects the stages to control pump displacement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 13, 2002
    Date of Patent: April 10, 2007
    Assignee: International Engine Intellectual Property Company, LLC
    Inventors: John E. Bernhardt, Christopher R. Ciesla
  • Patent number: 7201150
    Abstract: In an energy-saving high-pressure fuel supply control device for sucking a low-pressure fuel via a flow rate control valve and supplying high-pressure fuel acquired by pressurizing the sucked fuel to a fuel rail, at a time point that is logically decided from a bottom dead center and at which the pressure of the high-pressure fuel rises to a pressure to hold closing of the flow rate control valve, energization of the flow rate control valve is ended to restrain energization energy to the flow rate control valve. The time point when the energization of the flow rate control valve is ended is deviated toward lag side in advance by a time that causes deviation of the bottom dead center of the plunger toward the lag side from the original bottom dead center.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 4, 2006
    Date of Patent: April 10, 2007
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventor: Takahiko Oono
  • Patent number: 7198032
    Abstract: An improved fuel supply pipe in a multiple throttle body comprising two fuel injection valves comprises a first fuel supply pipe 1 having a first one side inserting pipe 1c, a first another side inserting pipe 1d and a fuel flow-in pipe 1b, a second fuel supply pipe 2 having a second one side inserting pipe 2b and a second another side inserting pipe 2c and a fuel connection pipe 3 for connecting these pipes 1 and 2, a first one side inserting pipe 1c is inserted into one side first inserting hole 10c, a second one side inserting pipe 2d is inserted into one side second inserting hole 11c, a first another side inserting pipe 1d is inserted into another side first inserting hole 12c, and a second another side inserting pipe 2c is inserted into another side second inserting hole 13c.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 2006
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2007
    Assignee: Keihin Corporation
    Inventors: Naohiro Taguchi, Shunsuke Mochizuki
  • Patent number: 7198033
    Abstract: A high-pressure pump is formed with a secondary suction passage, which branches from a fuel suction passage and communicates with a pump chamber. Check valves for preventing a backflow of fuel are disposed respectively in the secondary suction passage and a discharge passage. An electromagnetic valve for regulating a fuel discharge quantity is disposed in the fuel suction passage. Normal control for controlling the fuel discharge quantity by controlling opening timing and closing timing of the electromagnetic valve with respect to reciprocating movement of a plunger is performed when an engine rotation speed is higher than a predetermined value during operation of an engine. Valve closing control for holding the electromagnetic valve at a closed state is performed when the engine rotation speed is equal to or lower than the predetermined value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2005
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2007
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Yoshitsugu Inaguma, Hiroshi Inoue
  • Patent number: 7195003
    Abstract: In a fuel injection system including at least one fuel injector which includes an inflow section and a fuel distributor line which includes for each fuel injector a coupling connection, an annular gasket support is provided for a sealing connection of the inflow section with the coupling connection; this gasket support cooperates with a first sealing element for sealing the gasket support from an end face of the inflow section and includes a second sealing element for sealing the gasket support from the coupling connection. A guide section of the inflow section passes through the gasket support, and a retaining ring is provided on the inflow section secures the gasket support so that it is movable in the radial direction between the retaining ring and the end face.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 12, 2001
    Date of Patent: March 27, 2007
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventor: Uwe Liskow
  • Patent number: 7195004
    Abstract: A fuel rail cup is provided with a lead-in volume of one-third a receiving volume of the fuel rail cup that allows insertion of an O-ring mounted on a fuel injector inlet to be inserted at 20 pound-force or less. A method of inserting the fuel injector inlet with an O-ring surrounding the fuel injector inlet into a receiving volume of a fuel rail cup is also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 27, 2007
    Assignee: Siemens VDO Automotive Corporation
    Inventors: Joseph Edward Scollard, Stephen C. Bugos
  • Patent number: 7191961
    Abstract: In an injection hole plate of a fuel injection apparatus, a second-side hole section of each injection hole extends from a downstream end of a base wall of the injection hole plate and is communicated with first-side hole sections, which extends from an upstream end of the wall of the injection hole plate to an axially intermediate point of the wall. The first-side hole sections may discharge fuel into the second-side hole section in a manner that forms a swirl fuel flow in the second-side hole section. The injection hole plate may includes a collision portion, in which fuel flows supplied from the first-side hole sections collide with one another.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 26, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2007
    Assignees: Denso Corporation, Nippon Soken, Inc.
    Inventors: Atsuya Okamoto, Takeshi Mizobuchi, Takehiko Kato
  • Patent number: 7188608
    Abstract: In common rail fuel injection systems, a sensed rail pressure is used to determine control signals to produce desired injection characteristics. Because rail pressure fluctuates, especially during cold start procedures, and because the rail pressure must be sensed before the injection event to be controlled, the accuracy of the timing and quantity of the injection event can be compromised if the rail pressure at the start of the injection event is different from the sensed rail pressure. In order to produce more accurate fuel injection characteristics, the rail pressure is sensed after the end of control signal for an immediately preceeding injection event but at least a predetermined time before the start of control signal for a succeeding injection event.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2001
    Date of Patent: March 13, 2007
    Assignee: Caterpillar Inc.
    Inventors: Jeremy J. Wilson, Eric E. Sollenberger
  • Patent number: 7188613
    Abstract: A fuel valve comprises a first valve chamber and a second valve chamber within a casing, where a first valve mechanism and a second valve mechanism are housed in the respective valve chambers. A first float of the first valve mechanism rises when the fuel level reaches a first liquid level, to close a first connection conduit. The second valve mechanism rises to close a second connection conduit when a second liquid level, which is higher than the first liquid level is reached. A valve conduit, which acts as a restriction path, is provided between the first valve chamber and the second valve chamber. The valve conduit is formed with a conduit area that is less than that of the first connection conduit, so as to increase the pressure within the fuel tank when the first connection conduit is closed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2006
    Date of Patent: March 13, 2007
    Assignee: Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Natsushi Miura, Tomohide Aoki
  • Patent number: 7185636
    Abstract: A fuel delivery pipe capable of reducing a pressure pulsation at the time of a fuel injection due to injection nozzles, preventing vibrations and noises at an underfloor pipe arrangement, and turning down a radiate sound from the fuel delivery pipe, wherein a flexible absorbing wall surface 10 formed on a wall surface of a fuel delivery body 1 is loosened due to internal pressure changes to render internal volume of the fuel delivery body 1 increasable, ?L/?{square root over ( )}V determined by sonic speed ?L of fuel flowing through the fuel delivery body 1 and the internal volume V of the fuel delivery body 1 is set as 20×103(m?0.5·sec?1)??L/?{square root over ( )}V?85×103(m?0.5·sec?) while a ratio ?L/?H of equivalent sonic speed ?H in a high frequency area to the sonic speed ?L of the fuel is set as ?L/?H?0.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 8, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2007
    Assignee: USUI Kokusai Sangyo Kaisha, Ltd.
    Inventors: Masayoshi Usui, Eiji Watanabe, Hikari Tsuchiya, Yoshiyuki Serizawa, Kazuteru Mizuno, Koichi Hayashi, Tetsuo Ogata
  • Patent number: 7185635
    Abstract: A fuel injection system for internal combustion engines includes a high-pressure accumulator acted on with highly pressurized fuel by a high-pressure delivery unit and in turn supplies fuel to fuel injectors. The fuel injection system has a pressure control valve, which is disposed between a high-pressure side and a low-pressure side and actuating a valve element. The pressure control valve is actuated by means of an electrical actuator. An end surface of the pressure control valve delimits the low-pressure region in the high-pressure accumulator and is sealed by means of a seal disposed on the low-pressure side.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 18, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2007
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Claudia Esther Frank, legal representative, Simone Christel Frank, legal representative, Verena Andrea Frank, legal representative, Werner Wagner, Kurt Frank, deceased
  • Patent number: 7185641
    Abstract: Both evaporated fuel purge and EGR are performed by supplying both an evaporated fuel and an exhaust gas at a position downstream from a throttle valve, of an intake pipe. A controller for controlling a purge flow rate and an EGR flow rate controls an opening degree of a purge control valve and an opening degree of the throttle valve, for example, as an operational state of an engine to compensate for a decrease in the purge flow rate caused by an increase in the EGR flow rate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 12, 2005
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2007
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Naoto Suzuki
  • Patent number: 7185634
    Abstract: High efficiency, high pressure fixed displacement pump systems and methods of control. A typical application is for engine driven high pressure pumps for powering loads such as fuel injectors and/or hydraulic engine valve actuators. The pump systems include a control valve controllably coupling the pump output back to the pump input to stop the pumping when the desired pressure of the output is reached. Reinitiating pumping an increment in crankshaft angle before a load event based in the increment in pressure needed to reach the desired pressure at the crankshaft angle of the load event provides a simple control algorithm assuring accurate repeatability in the pressure at the beginning of a load event. Pumping throughout the load event minimizes the decrease in pressure during the load event. Providing underlap in the control valve minimizes pressure peaks and maximizes efficiently when starting and stopping the pumping action. Various embodiments are disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2005
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2007
    Assignee: Sturman Industries, Inc.
    Inventors: Jeffrey T. Gardner, Guy Robert Babbitt, Jeffrey A. Rogers, Gary Mansouri, Jonathan J. Lorenzen, Oded Eddie Sturman
  • Patent number: 7182064
    Abstract: A method for closed-loop speed control of an internal combustion engine that is provided as a generator drive or a marine propulsion unit, including the steps of: computing a first control deviation (dR1) from a speed variance comparison; computing a first set injection quantity (qV0) from the first control deviation (dR1) by a speed controller; determining a second set injection quantity (qV) from the first set injection quantity (qV0) and another input variable (E) by a minimum value selector for the closed-loop speed control of the internal combustion engine, wherein in a first, steady operating state of the internal combustion engine, the input variable (E) corresponds to a first injection quantity (qV1) (E=qV1), which is computed via a first characteristic curve, and in a second, dynamic operating state of the internal combustion engine, the input variable (E) corresponds to a second injection quantity (qV2) (E=qV2), which is computed via a second characteristic curve; and changing from the first charact
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 20, 2004
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2007
    Assignee: MTU Friedrichshafen GmbH
    Inventors: Armin Dolker, Franz Butscher
  • Patent number: 7182067
    Abstract: The injection system (1) includes a pump (7) for supplying high-pressure fuel to a storage volume, defined for example by a common rail (6), for supplying a number of injectors (5). The pump (7) has at least one reciprocating pumping member (18) with a sinusoidal compression stroke (24). The injection system (1) includes at least one bypass solenoid valve (14) controlled by a control unit (16) having a chopper unit (28) for producing multiple deliveries (29, 31) at each compression stroke (24), so that the pressure in the common rail (6) is substantially level. Each pumping member (18) may be associated with a corresponding bypass solenoid valve (14).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 2005
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2007
    Assignee: C.R.F. Società Consortile per Azioni
    Inventors: Mario Ricco, Sisto Luigi De Matthaeis, Annunziata Anna Satriano, Raffaele Ricco
  • Patent number: 7178510
    Abstract: A fuel system for use in an internal combustion engine, the fuel system comprising a source of high pressure fuel for supplying fuel through a single fuel supply path to an injector for injecting fuel, a first valve arrangement for controlling initiation of fuel injection and a second valve arrangement arranged in the fuel supply path, comprising a valve member which is operable between first and second positions to vary the rate of flow of fuel through the second valve arrangement, thereby to permit the fuel injection characteristics to be varied, in use.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 2001
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2007
    Assignee: Woodward Governor Company
    Inventors: James Martin Anderton Askew, Peter Derek Bogle
  • Patent number: 7174881
    Abstract: The present invention relates to engines having multiple hydraulic devices. For instance a multi-cylinder diesel engine might include both an a fuel injector and an engine compression release brake. Traditionally, each of these hydraulic devices has been controlled by an individual actuator control valve. However, engineers have learned that decreasing the number of engine components can increase engine robustness. In addition, engineers have learned that de-coupling fluid pressure to the needle valve member hydraulic surface from fluid pressure lines to other injector components can result in greater control of the injector. Therefore, the present invention utilizes a single actuator control valve to control both hydraulic devices for an engine cylinder and to provide independent control of fluid pressure to the needle valve member closing hydraulic surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 2001
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2007
    Assignee: Caterpillar Inc.
    Inventors: Ye Tian, Scott Leman, Xinshuang Nan, Lifeng Wang, Jianyuan Yang
  • Patent number: 7171944
    Abstract: A high-pressure fuel pump control device for an internal combustion engine includes a feedback quantity calculating unit (602) for calculating a fuel discharge feedback quantity (QFB) of a high-pressure pump according to a proportional integral operation based on a pressure deviation (?PF) between a target pressure (PO) and a fuel pressure (PF), a flow control valve controlling unit (603) for setting drive timing (TD) of a flow control valve (10) on the basis of a target fuel discharge quantity (QO), and an integral operation update prohibiting unit for prohibiting, when the number of times of calculation of the fuel discharge feedback quantity (QFB) reaches a first predetermined number of times while a sign of the pressure deviation (?PF) does not invert, update of an integral operand (QFBI), and for resuming, when the sign of the pressure deviation (?PF) inverts thereafter, the update of the integral operand (QFBI).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 2006
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2007
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventor: Takahiko Oono
  • Patent number: 7165534
    Abstract: A fuel feed system capable of feeding a fuel to fuel injection valves at a fuel pressure with improved stability is provided. A fuel feed system for an internal combustion engine including a fuel tank and a low-pressure pump for feeding the fuel in the fuel tank to fuel injection valves, is provided with a diaphragm type damper having a wave-shape cross section at a position in contact with the fuel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 21, 2002
    Date of Patent: January 23, 2007
    Assignees: Hitachi, Ltd., Hitachi Car Engineering Co, Ltd.
    Inventors: Satoshi Usui, Hiroshi Odakura, Toru Onose, Atsuji Saito, Masami Abe, Hiroyuki Yamada