Patents Examined by George C Jin
  • Patent number: 11613246
    Abstract: A control system for a work vehicle includes a power source with an engine and at least one motor configured to generate power; a transmission including a plurality of clutches configured for selective engagement to transfer the power to drive an output shaft of a powertrain of the work vehicle; and a controller coupled to the power source and the transmission. The controller has a processor and memory architecture configured to: initiate a transition for the transmission between a first transmission mode and a second transmission mode at a first shift point associated with an engine throttle shift function; determine a current engine speed; and generate and execute an engine speed command for the engine such that a commanded engine speed is a function of the current engine speed in accordance with the engine throttle shift function upon the transition of the transmission at the first shift point.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 21, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 28, 2023
    Assignee: DEERE & COMPANY
    Inventors: Kyle K. McKinzie, Clayton G. Janasek, Eric Vilar
  • Patent number: 11615660
    Abstract: A controller may obtain data associated with operation of an engine of a machine that comprises a first engine bank associated with a first set of turbochargers and a second engine bank associated with a second set of turbochargers, and may determine, based on the data, that the engine is in an operating state that requires the first and second sets of turbochargers to be operative. The controller may determine, based on the data, a difference in operation of the first engine bank and the second engine bank and identify, based on the data, a turbocharger failure condition associated with a particular set of turbochargers, of the first and second sets of turbochargers. The controller may identify, based on the data, a particular turbocharger, of the particular set of turbochargers, as a failed turbocharger, and may perform one or more actions based on identifying the particular turbocharger.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 17, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 28, 2023
    Assignee: Caterpillar Inc.
    Inventors: Deepashri Phatak, Dereck G Heffron, Joseph Patrick Karasch
  • Patent number: 11608048
    Abstract: A system includes a battery, an engine, and a processor. The processor is configured to plan, according to a model, an activation action of the engine of a vehicle for a next road segment subsequent to a current road segment; and activate, for the next road segment, the engine according to the activation action. The model includes a state space that includes a navigation map, which includes the current road segment of the vehicle, a current charge level of the battery, and whether the engine is currently on or off. The activation action is selected from a set comprising a first action to turn on the engine to charge the battery and a second action to turn off the engine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2023
    Assignee: Nissan North America, Inc.
    Inventors: Kyle Hollins Wray, Liam Pedersen, Richard Lui, Christopher Ostafew
  • Patent number: 11608047
    Abstract: The operation of a hybrid powertrain system is optimized with respect to a desired state-of-charge trajectory, taking account of the estimated anticipated vehicle drive power. The hybrid powertrain system has an internal combustion engine and an electrically operated torque machine. The internal combustion engine and the torque machine are controlled by a control device and are connected to an output element via a hybrid transmission. Before the start of the prediction period ?t, an experience-based state-of-charge trajectory for the anticipated route, covering at least the prediction period ?t, is retrieved from an external database. The desired state-of-charge trajectory is established based on the experience-based state-of-charge trajectory by modifying it with at least one optimization constraint.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 18, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2023
    Assignee: Technische Universität Darmstadt
    Inventors: Christian Beidl, Raja Sangili Vadamalu, Sakthivel Pavithiran
  • Patent number: 11608052
    Abstract: Provided is a vehicle capable of suppressing vibration of a drive unit having an engine and a motor to be small and having high vehicle motion performance. The drive unit for travel of the vehicle includes an engine and a motor. The engine is a rotary engine and has an engine output shaft and an engine housing. The motor has a motor output shaft, a rotor, and a stator that are accommodated in a motor housing. The engine housing of the engine and the motor housing of the motor are directly joined to each other. The engine output shaft and the motor output shaft are directly joined to each other. The rotor of the motor has: a main body section that generates a rotational magnetic field with the stator; and a weight section that functions as a balance weight of the engine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2023
    Assignee: Mazda Motor Corporation
    Inventors: Hiroshi Tanaka, Satoshi Ueno, Hiroshi Kinoshita, Kei Yonemori
  • Patent number: 11603809
    Abstract: A leakage diagnostic device diagnoses leakage of evaporated fuel in an evaporative fuel treatment device. The evaporative fuel treatment device purges evaporated fuel, which is generated in a fuel tank and adsorbed on a canister, to an intake passage. The leakage diagnostic device includes a vent valve that blocks a first atmospheric passage, which connects the canister with an atmospheric opening, and a pump that pressurizes and depressurizes a second atmospheric passage, which is a bypass passage of the first atmospheric passage. The malfunction diagnostic device diagnoses malfunction of the leakage diagnostic device based on an output value of a pressure sensor that detects pressure in a passage connected to the canister.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 14, 2023
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Keiichirou Ishihara, Taiki Yasuzaka, Yasuo Kato
  • Patent number: 11598257
    Abstract: The invention relates to a power unit, in particular for a hybrid vehicle, including a reciprocating-piston engine and at least one generator drivingly connected to the engine, wherein the engine has at least two pistons guided in at least two cylinders in a tandem arrangement, and two crankshafts, which are connected to the pistons by connection rods that run in opposite directions, and are mechanically coupled in the same phase. The engine includes a hub-hub connection with a first connection joining a first hub to a second hub such that an angular position between the first hub and the second hub is continuously adjustable on installation. The hub-hub connection also has a second connection in the form of a connection disk configured, dimensioned and arranged with support surfaces, on each of which the first hub and the second hub rest.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 7, 2023
    Assignee: Obrist Technologies GmbH
    Inventors: Frank Obrist, Oliver Obrist
  • Patent number: 11597375
    Abstract: A vehicle control device 40 of a vehicle 200 provided with a cooling circuit 20 using a circulating cooling liquid to cool motors 112, 114 for driving a vehicle or a PCU 118 and a refrigerant circuit 30 discharging heat of the circulating refrigerant for air-conditioning a passenger compartment to the cooling liquid of the cooling circuit 20 and driven by jointly using the outputs of the motors 112, 114 and the output of an engine 12, which control device comprising a cooling mode switching part 42 switching a cooling mode from a normal control mode to a cooling priority control mode cooling the passenger compartment with priority when a predetermined condition stands and a vehicle control part 43 making the outputs of the motors 112, 114 decrease and making the output of the engine 12 increase when the normal control mode is switched to the cooling priority control mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 7, 2023
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Hiroyuki Sugihara
  • Patent number: 11598233
    Abstract: A connection device for connecting a ventilating line to an intake air flow guide of an internal combustion engine, wherein the connection device has a non-return valve for preventing a flow from the intake air flow guide into the ventilating line. The connection device has at least one hole which is arranged upstream of the non-return valve and connects an interior chamber of the connection device to a surrounding area of the connection device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 12, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 7, 2023
    Assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventor: Johannes Maier
  • Patent number: 11597376
    Abstract: When a vehicle is in a traveling state having a low necessity to quickly increase required traveling torque, high-rotational-speed engine starting unit that reduces an emission amount of particulate matter emitted during engine starting starts the engine. Since quick torque response is not required when the vehicle is in the traveling state having the low necessity to quickly increase the required traveling torque, the high-rotational-speed engine starting unit starts the engine, so that increase of the emission amount of particulate matter emitted during engine starting can be curbed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 9, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 7, 2023
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Toshio Inoue
  • Patent number: 11591953
    Abstract: A method for controlling hydrogen combustion in a hydrogen internal combustion engine system includes a combustion chamber linked to an intake port via an intake valve, the hydrogen internal combustion engine system comprising a piston slidably moving between a top dead center position and a bottom dead center position, characterized by the steps of: injecting water in liquid phase in the intake port when the piston is between 0 and 40 crank angle degrees before opening of the intake valve, injecting hydrogen after opening of the intake valve and when the piston is between 0 and 60 crank angle degrees after the top dead center position, stopping hydrogen injection when the piston is between 0 and 100 crank angle degrees before the bottom dead center position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 5, 2022
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2023
    Assignee: VOLVO TRUCK CORPORATION
    Inventors: Jean-Marc Neveu, Lionel Simon
  • Patent number: 11577714
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a method of controlling a terrain driving mode of a hybrid vehicle, including defining demand torque required for vehicle driving depending on driver demand and an environment of a driving road, differentiating demand torque in response to the terrain driving mode, calculating accumulated driving energy from a time point of an operation in the terrain driving mode based on the differentiated demand torque, and determining a terrain driving method based on the calculated accumulated driving energy and a state of energy (SoE) in consideration of a state of charge (SoC) and a voltage condition of a battery cell.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2023
    Assignees: HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY, KIA MOTORS CORPORATION
    Inventor: Seok Min Jeong
  • Patent number: 11577599
    Abstract: To provide a vehicle, vehicle motion performance of which can be made high by downsizing a drive unit having an engine and a motor. A drive unit for vehicle travel has the engine and the motor. The motor is arranged adjacent to a rear side of the engine. In a housing of the motor, parts of oil control valves and motor cooling oil paths, through each of which motor cooling oil flows, are provided. The motor cooling oil flowing through first motor cooling oil paths exchanges heat with engine oil in a first heat exchanger. The motor cooling oil flowing through second motor cooling oil paths exchanges heat with an engine cooling coolant in a second heat exchanger.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 11, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2023
    Assignee: Mazda Motor Corporation
    Inventors: Hiroshi Tanaka, Satoshi Ueno, Kei Yonemori, Wataru Harazawa
  • Patent number: 11572845
    Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for diagnosing cylinders. In one example, a system includes an engine having a plurality of cylinders coupled to a crankshaft, a crankshaft speed sensor, and a controller. The controller is configured to receive a first output from the crankshaft speed sensor during nominal engine operation, receive a second output from the crankshaft speed sensor during engine operation where a fueling disturbance is introduced to a cylinder of the plurality of cylinders, indicate that the cylinder is unhealthy responsive to a difference between the first output and the second output being less than a threshold difference, and adjust one or more operating parameters of the engine in response to the indication.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 5, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 7, 2023
    Assignee: Transportation IP Holdings, LLC
    Inventors: Margaret Ilorieuse Dieudonne, Jacob Kenneth Pedder, James Robert Mischler, Luke Michael Henry
  • Patent number: 11566568
    Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for increasing EGR delivered to an engine. In one example, a method may include determining an EVO timing set point and an external EGR setpoint in parallel, based on an inverse model. The EVO timing may be adjusted based on a combination of the EVO timing setpoint and an EGR cylinder balancing feedback loop, thereby varying internal EGR to the engine to supplement external EGR.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2023
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Brien Lloyd Fulton, Michiel J. Van Nieuwstadt
  • Patent number: 11565689
    Abstract: A vehicle control apparatus includes a condition determining unit, a mode switching controller, and a notification controller. The condition determining unit is configured to determine whether enabling conditions set to enable a switching control to an engine stop mode are satisfied. The engine stop mode stops an engine of a vehicle in a driving state. The mode switching controller is configured to perform the switching control to the engine stop mode in response to that the condition determining unit determines that the enabling conditions are satisfied. The notification controller is configured to compare a measured time value and a threshold both related to the enabling condition which the condition determining unit determines as not being satisfied. The notification controller is configured to perform, in response to that the measured time value exceeds the threshold, a control of making notification that the switching control is in a disabled state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2023
    Assignee: SUBARU CORPORATION
    Inventors: Fumiyuki Moriya, Hirofumi Yabe
  • Patent number: 11566571
    Abstract: Engine control method for protecting the engine during reverse rotation, and involving the following steps: when a first prediction of the engine speed at a next top dead center is below a predetermined lower threshold, inhibiting the next combustion for this cylinder of the engine, and when the first prediction of the engine speed is between the predetermined lower threshold and a predetermined upper threshold, and the engine reaches a second measurement predetermined angular position which is subsequent to the first measurement position, activating the prediction means again in order to obtain a second prediction of the engine speed at the next top dead center.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 11, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2023
    Inventors: Stéphane Eloy, Jérémie Memain
  • Patent number: 11563394
    Abstract: A system includes a generator and an engine coupled to the generator. The engine is configured to provide mechanical power to the generator. The system further includes a controller coupled to the engine and the generator. The controller is configured to: receive information regarding an engine operating parameter threshold value at which an engine operating parameter value failed to match a load demand value that is indicative of a load exerted by the generator on the engine, and set the engine operating parameter threshold value as a maximum allowable engine operating parameter value for the engine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 15, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 24, 2023
    Assignee: Cummins Inc.
    Inventors: Erik L. Piper, Martin T. Books, Richard A. Booth
  • Patent number: 11560835
    Abstract: Combustion engine with a variable compression ratio which, according to the invention, includes the following items: engine body, crankshaft with crank pins mounted rotatably in the body, cylinders, pistons connected to the crankshaft via pin connecting rod sand control arms as well as the control arm rod located inside the engine body, with eccentrics mounted on it, on which eccentrics for each piston there are separately mounted control arms, it is characterized by the fact that on the control arm rod (19) aside from the rigidly mounted eccentrics (18), on which single control arms (14) are rotatably mounted, there are also rotatably mounted eccentrics (23), on which single control arms (14) are rotatably mounted, where preferably on the eccentrics (18) are mounted the control arms (14) for one row of cylinders (5), while for the eccentrics (23) are mounted the control arms (14) for the other row of cylinders (5), additionally the engine contains a mechanism for changing the compression ratio consisting of
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 24, 2023
    Inventor: Miroslaw Szymkowiak
  • Patent number: 11560894
    Abstract: A chopper pump including a drive section having a drive shaft, and a housing coupled to the drive section and having an inlet, an outlet, and an internal cavity arranged between the inlet and the outlet. The chopper pump further includes an impeller received within the internal cavity and coupled to the drive shaft for rotation therewith. The impeller includes a recess formed therein. The chopper pump further includes a cutting insert received within the recess of the impeller. The cutting insert includes a cutting groove axially recessed into the cutting insert. The chopper pump further includes a cutting plate coupled to the housing within the internal cavity. The cutting plate includes a cutting extension that extends radially inward. Rotation of the impeller rotates the cutting blade past the cutting extension.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 24, 2023
    Assignee: PENTAIR FLOW TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    Inventor: Jack Bevington