Patents Examined by Erick Solis
  • Patent number: 6883491
    Abstract: A fuel-injection system for internal combustion engines has at least one fuel injector injecting fuel into a combustion chamber, which is delimited by a cylinder wall in which a piston is guided. A spark plug projects into the combustion chamber, and the fuel injector is located in the combustion chamber in the region of a gas-intake valve toward the cylinder wall. The fuel injector produces a plurality of fuel jets at least one of these fuel jets being tangentially oriented to the region of the spark plug.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 10, 2002
    Date of Patent: April 26, 2005
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Stefan Arndt, Gernot Würfel, Jürgen Raimann, Roman Grzeszik
  • Patent number: 6883492
    Abstract: Lost motion systems and methods for providing engine valves with variable valve actuation for engine valve events are disclosed. The system may include a master piston hydraulically linked to a slave piston, and a dedicated cam operatively connected to the master piston. The slave piston may be disposed substantially perpendicular to the master piston in a common housing. The slave piston is adapted to actuate one or more engine valves. The slave piston may incorporate an optional valve seating assembly into its upper end. A trigger valve may be operatively connected to the master-slave hydraulic circuit to selectively release and add hydraulic fluid to the circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 2003
    Date of Patent: April 26, 2005
    Assignee: Jacobs Vehicle Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Richard E. Vanderpoel, John A. Schwoerer, Jeffrey Mossberg, Shengqiang Huang
  • Patent number: 6880526
    Abstract: An intake system for an internal combustion engine in which the inflow characteristic of a mixture of gas is varied by a partition wall provided replaceably in an intake port opening, whereby the output characteristic of the internal combustion engine is regulated to a desired condition, and a vehicle having appropriate operating characteristics is provided. A replaceable partition wall A is mounted in an intake port opening 1a of an internal combustion engine. The partition wall A is composed of a plate P that differs in length as compared to other plates. The plate P is inserted into an upper-lower pair of grooves provided in the intake port opening 1a, whereby the plate P is replaceably mounted, and the inflow characteristic of a mixture of gas sucked in through the intake port opening 1a is varied by replacement of the plate P thus mounted, whereby the output characteristic of the internal combustion engine is regulated to a desired condition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 1, 2003
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2005
    Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hisashi Uneta, Seiji Adachi, Hideki Noritake
  • Patent number: 6880519
    Abstract: With a cylinder direct injection engine in which fuel is injected directly into combustion chambers and air-fuel mixture is guided by an air flow, it is difficult to secure combustion stability under low engine speed and low load conditions such as during idling. Furthermore, there are needs for improvement of emission characteristics and fuel economy in other operation modes as well. An engine according to the invention injects fuel while dividing the same in plural parts during a compression stroke. The first injection forms a lean air-fuel mixture around an ignition plug, and the second injection makes a flammable air-fuel mixture reach an area around the ignition plug. This ensures efficient stratified combustion and allows improvement in emission and fuel economy performance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 2003
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2005
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoko Nakayama, Toshiharu Nogi, Takuya Shiraishi, Yoshihiro Sukegawa
  • Patent number: 6877491
    Abstract: An air fuel injection engine including an injector composed of a fuel injection valve for injecting fuel and an air fuel injection valve for directly injecting fuel together with compressed air into a combustion chamber and an injector housing for holding and securing the injector to an engine body. The injector is supported on a head cover, and at least part of a compressed air supply passage for supplying compressed air to the injector is provided directly in the head cover. Further, an injector housing is formed integrally with a head cover which forms part of an engine body. With this configuration, the scale of the engine, the complication of the structure around the engine, and the number of part required can be kept to a minimum.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 26, 2003
    Date of Patent: April 12, 2005
    Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kaoru Hanawa, Shuichi Ishida, Hiroya Ueda, Hiroshi Kuribara
  • Patent number: 6874490
    Abstract: A method is disclosed for controlling operation of an engine coupled to an exhaust treatment catalyst. Under predetermined conditions, the method operates an engine with a first group of cylinders combusting a lean air/fuel mixture and a second group of cylinders pumping air only (i.e., without fuel injection). In addition, the engine control method also provides the following features in combination with the above-described split air/lean mode: idle speed control, sensor diagnostics, air/fuel ratio control, adaptive learning, fuel vapor purging, catalyst temperature estimation, default operation, and exhaust gas and emission control device temperature control. In addition, the engine control method also changes to combusting in all cylinders under preselected operating conditions such as fuel vapor purging, manifold vacuum control, and purging of stored oxidants in an emission control device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2005
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventor: Gopichandra Surnilla
  • Patent number: 6874465
    Abstract: An intake apparatus for an internal combustion engine includes an intake port leading to an engine cylinder. The intake port is divided into first and second passage section by a partition extending in the intake port in a longitudinal direction of the intake port. A gas motion control valve is arranged to open and close an upstream end of the second passage section. A connection passage connects an upstream end portion of the second passage section to the first passage section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 2, 2003
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2005
    Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kanjo Arimatsu, Taro Sakai
  • Patent number: 6874466
    Abstract: An intake valve device includes a throttle body defining a bore for the flow of intake air. A throttle shaft is rotatably mounted to the throttle body. A slit is formed in the throttle shaft in a diametrical direction and extends throughout the diameter of the throttle shaft. The slit has opposing end walls along the rotational axis of the throttle shaft. A throttle valve is inserted into the slit of the throttle shaft and fixed in position relative to the throttle shaft. Possible intake air leakage channels are defined between the outer periphery of the throttle valve and the end walls of the slit. At least one restriction portion is formed on the throttle valve so as to extend into at least one of the possible leakage channels in order to narrow the possible leakage channel and reduce or inhibit the leakage of intake air.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 13, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2005
    Assignee: Aisan Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yukihiro Shibata, Toru Sakurai
  • Patent number: 6868823
    Abstract: An intake apparatus for an internal combustion engine includes an intake port having therein first and second regions extending longitudinally of the intake port. There is further provided a recirculating section defining an intake recirculation passage to recirculate part of intake air from the second region in the intake port to an upstream portion in the intake port to strengthen an intake air stream in the first region of the intake port.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 2, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2005
    Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Taro Sakai, Kanjo Arimatsu
  • Patent number: 6866018
    Abstract: An electric-motor adjusting unit for a metering system of an internal combustion engine, having an adjuster housing and an adjusting shaft rotatable therein that actuates a final control element, having a commutator motor coupled to the adjusting shaft, having a sensor for detecting the rotary position of the adjusting shaft, and having a carrier plate that can be secured in the adjuster housing, on which plate on the one hand a brush holder for the commutator motor and on the other a plug electrically connected to the brush holder and to the sensor are disposed, in order to obtain a prefabricatable assembly unit with which installation tolerances in the adjuster housing can be compensated for, the sensor being disposed on a carrier, and on the carrier and on the carrier plate, joining means corresponding with one another for joining the carrier and the carrier plate are embodied.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2005
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Klaus Kaiser, Michael Brozio, Markus Michels, Stefan Josten
  • Patent number: 6866022
    Abstract: A remote control manually movable handle for a gear selection and throttle selection device is provided with asymmetry in order to improve the mechanical advantage available to the operator when moving the selection handle from neutral gear position to forward or reverse gear position. The total neutral zone is increased in order to provide this improved mechanical advantage while maintaining the generally similar range of travel of the forward gear zone in comparison to known prior art systems. By changing the relative gear teeth arrangements of the remote control system, this asymmetry and resulting mechanical advantage is achieved. A handle shape is provided that results in a general perpendicularity between the handle and a reference line in order to improve the feel of the handle when used by the operator of the marine vessel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 3, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2005
    Assignee: Brunswick Corporation
    Inventors: George E. Phillips, Wayne M. Jaszewski, Gregory L. Fugar, John M. Griffiths
  • Patent number: 6866021
    Abstract: In a system for controlling opening of a throttle valve installed at an air intake system of an internal combustion engine mounted on a vehicle, a fully-closed value of the opening of a throttle valve is learning-controlled based on a detected opening of the throttle valve to update the learned fully-closed value, when operating state of the vehicle is under a prescribed operating state such as the operator rides the accelerator pedal; and the updating of the learned fully-closed value is inhibited in valve opening direction until the operating state of the vehicle moves outside the prescribed operating state and then again returns to the operating state. In addition, an amount for updating in the opening direction is set smaller than that in the closing direction. With this, it becomes possible to avoid engine speed destabilization and other various problems even if the learned value in effect during pedal riding is used for engine idling speed control.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2005
    Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yukio Miyashita, Yuzuru Koike, Katsuji Wada
  • Patent number: 6863045
    Abstract: A gas combustion-powered apparatus has a first chamber, a rotatable fan in the first chamber, an ignition source in operable relationship to the first chamber to ignite a combustible gas, and a second chamber. A communication passage is located downstream of the fan between the first chamber and the second chamber, and is constructed and arranged for enabling passage of an ignited gas jet from the first chamber to the second chamber. An intake port is located on a wall of the first chamber upstream of the fan, and a bypass port, separate from the communication passage, is located on the wall of the first chamber downstream of the fan.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2005
    Assignee: Illinois Tool Works Inc.
    Inventor: Christian Paul Andre Ricordi
  • Patent number: 6863047
    Abstract: A method and system of automatically controlling engine speed of a vehicle in a turn employs an engine control system (10) to determine an optimal engine speed for the turn and an actual engine speed as sensed by an engine speed sensor (38). Engine control system (10) determines the difference between optimal engine speed and actual engine speed and compares this difference to current engine load. Based on this comparison, engine control system (10) then determines whether to alter engine speed and, if so, determines an amount to reduce the difference between optimal engine speed and actual engine speed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 21, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2005
    Assignee: Siemens VDO Automotive Corporation
    Inventors: Kevin Mijit, Douglas Raymond Martin, Stephen Marc Baker
  • Patent number: 6860254
    Abstract: A carburetor with a single fuel system that is capable of ensuring stable engine operation and lower fuel consumption. The fuel system comprises an electrical fuel control C that, in addition to mechanically coordinating the fuel flow rate with air intake by way of a metering needle 22 that operates in coordination with the throttle valve 3, opens and closes opening/closing valve 30 and cuts off and delivers fuel to the air intake passage 2 so as to maintain a required target rotational speed with little fuel consumption in a specific region of the degrees of opening of the throttle valve 3. Stable operation with minimal fluctuations in the rotational speed is ensured by cutting off the fuel when the rotational speed rises above the target rotational speed, and delivering the fuel when the rotational speed falls below the target rotational speed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2005
    Assignee: Zama Japan
    Inventor: Takumi Nonaka
  • Patent number: 6854444
    Abstract: A method and an arrangement for controlling a drive unit are suggested wherein a maximum permissible value of an output quantity is determined. This maximum permissible value is compared to the actual value and, when the permissible value is exceeded by the actual value, reaction measures are initiated. The maximum permissible value is filtered at least in one operating state in accordance with filter means including a filter and a dead zone member. Furthermore, the maximum permissible value is continuously reduced in dependence upon the approaching of at least one quantity to a limit value. This quantity represents an operating state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 17, 2001
    Date of Patent: February 15, 2005
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Frank Plagge, Ralf Dunke, Torsten Bauer, Frank Bederna, Berthold Steinmann
  • Patent number: 6854450
    Abstract: An electronic control system for an internal combustion engine comprising a controller having a fuel injection control section to control an injector of a fuel injection unit to supply fuel to the engine and an electric power source section to apply a driving power from a generator driven by the engine to the fuel injection unit and the controller, the controller having a first injection command generation section to generate an injection command when an output voltage of the generator reaches a set value whereby a first fuel injection at a start of the engine is made when the first fuel injection command generation section generates the injection command.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 8, 2003
    Date of Patent: February 15, 2005
    Assignee: Kokusan Denki Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yuichi Kitagawa, Kazuyoshi Kishibata, Hiroyasu Sato
  • Patent number: 6851409
    Abstract: In an internal combustion engine provided with a variable valve mechanism that varies at least a valve operating characteristic (valve lift amount, valve operating angle and the like) of an intake valve, a target volume flow ratio equivalent to a target torque of the engine is obtained to be converted into a valve opening area, and a target valve operating characteristic of the variable valve mechanism is set based on the converted valve opening area, to control the variable valve mechanism so that an actual valve operating characteristic reaches a target valve operating angle, thereby executing with high accuracy an intake air amount control mainly by the variable valve mechanism.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 2002
    Date of Patent: February 8, 2005
    Assignee: Hitachi Unisia Automotive, Ltd.
    Inventors: Kenichi Machida, Hirokazu Shimizu, Isamu Iizuka
  • Patent number: 6848437
    Abstract: The ignition device for an internal combustion engine includes, a control unit (1) for outputting an ignition signal used to determine a time when an ignition plug (8) should be ignited, a switching unit (5) connected to the other terminal of a primary coil for cutting off the flow of a primary current, and a drive unit (4) for turning ON or OFF the switching unit (5) in response to the ignition signal to adjust a voltage to be applied to a gate of the switching unit (5).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 7, 2002
    Date of Patent: February 1, 2005
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yusuke Naruse, Hisanori Nobe
  • Patent number: 6848420
    Abstract: A control system for a throttle valve actuating device is disclosed. The throttle valve actuating device has a throttle valve of an internal combustion engine and an actuator for actuating the throttle valve. Model parameters of a controlled object model obtained by modeling the throttle valve actuating device is identified by an identifier. The model parameters includes a specific model parameter irrelevant to an input and an output of the controlled object model. An opening of the throttle valve is controlled to a target opening using the identified model parameters. It is determined that the throttle valve actuating device is abnormal when the value of the specific model parameter becomes greater than a predetermined value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 13, 2003
    Date of Patent: February 1, 2005
    Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Tetsuya Ishiguro, Masahiro Sato, Eiji Hashimoto, Shusuke Akazaki