Patents Examined by Hai Huynh
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Patent number: 9631528Abstract: A reduced emission apparatus is coupled to a vehicle such that the vehicle is enabled to operate in a reduced emission mode by use of the reduced emission apparatus. A data acquisition apparatus is mounted on the vehicle and configured to acquire data relating to operation of the vehicle. Security may be provided for the reduced emission apparatus and vehicle-mounted data acquisition apparatus. The credits from operating the reduced emission apparatus apply to resources for deploying the reduced emission apparatus.Type: GrantFiled: September 2, 2010Date of Patent: April 25, 2017Assignee: Clean Emissions Technologies, Inc.Inventors: Bill C. Bradley, Joel Craig Diehl, Wayne Turnbow, Steward B. Nazzaro
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Patent number: 9631596Abstract: The engine starting device for stopping, when an engine automatic stop condition is satisfied, fuel injection to the engine to automatically stop the engine, and for thereafter restarting the engine when an engine restart condition is satisfied, includes: a ring gear coupled to a crankshaft of the engine; a starter motor rotated by a current supply; a pinion gear for transmitting the rotation of the starter motor to the ring gear; a pinion gear moving part for moving the pinion gear toward the ring gear by a current supply, thereby meshing the pinion gear with the ring gear; and a fuel injection control part for restarting the fuel injection so that combustion is generated in a predetermined compression cylinder after the engine restart condition is satisfied and after the pinion gear moving part starts the movement of the pinion gear.Type: GrantFiled: March 19, 2013Date of Patent: April 25, 2017Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric CorporationInventors: Hiroaki Kitano, Daisuke Mizuno, Osamu Ishikawa, Takeru Okabe, Koichiro Kamei
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Patent number: 9631562Abstract: A variable cylinder engine is provided. The engine includes an engine body having a plurality of cylinders, a cooling mechanism for cooling the engine body by using a coolant, and a controller for controlling a temperature of the coolant and changing the number of active cylinders according to an operating state of the engine. The controller reduces the number of active cylinders in a reduced-cylinder operating range set within a partial engine load range, and expands the reduced-cylinder operating range to a higher engine load side as the coolant temperature becomes lower.Type: GrantFiled: January 21, 2014Date of Patent: April 25, 2017Assignee: Mazda Motor CorporationInventors: Junsou Sasaki, Kazutoyo Watanabe, Keiji Araki
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Patent number: 9631540Abstract: Systems and methods are described for heating engine coolant by transferring heat from an exhaust flow to the engine coolant via a heat exchanger positioned in an exhaust gas heat recovery line coupled to the EGR cooler responsive to an EGR valve position. In one particular example, a branching pathway of the EGR cooler is positioned downstream of the EGR cooler and allows exhaust gas to be routed to the EGR cooler and/or exhaust gas heat exchanger based on the EGR valve position, which allows for control of the amount of heat transferred to the engine coolant as well as exhaust gas recirculation into the engine. With this arrangement, a cabin temperature of a hybrid vehicle may be increased as quickly as possible under cold start conditions to allow the engine to be quickly turned off after heating the vehicle cabin.Type: GrantFiled: October 22, 2014Date of Patent: April 25, 2017Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLCInventor: Eric David Bramson
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Patent number: 9631592Abstract: Methods, systems, and devices are disclosed for injecting and igniting a fuel using corona discharge for combustion. In one aspect, a method to ignite a fuel in an engine includes injecting ionized fuel particles into a combustion chamber of an engine, and generating one or more corona discharges at a particular location within the combustion chamber to ignite the ionized fuel particles, in which the generating includes applying an electric field at electrodes configured at a port of the combustion chamber, the electric field applied at a frequency that does not produce an ion current or spark on or between the electrodes.Type: GrantFiled: April 30, 2014Date of Patent: April 25, 2017Assignee: McAlister Technologies, LLCInventor: Roy Edward McAlister
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Patent number: 9631582Abstract: A system includes an internal combustion engine having a number of cylinders, with at least one of the cylinders plumbed to have a complete recycle of the exhaust gases from the cylinder. The system further includes the completely recycled cylinder having an EGR stroke cycle, and the non-recycled cylinders of the engine having an exhaust stroke cycle. The system includes the EGR stroke cycle being distinct from the exhaust stroke cycle. An amount and composition of the exhaust gases from the recycled cylinder are distinct from the amount and composition of the exhaust gases from the non-recycled cylinders, at least at certain operating conditions of the engine.Type: GrantFiled: December 24, 2014Date of Patent: April 25, 2017Assignee: Cummins Inc.Inventors: Samuel C. Geckler, Madhuri Gandikota, Rajkumar Subramanian, Axel Otto zur Loye
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Patent number: 9624882Abstract: An aspirator for a brake system is provided having the integrated functions of a flow bypass and a check valve for automotive applications to achieve various suction flow openings in response to different engine operating condition to enhance brake boost performance. The brake system includes a brake vacuum booster, an engine having an intake manifold, an aspirator having a movable total flow divergence nozzle, the aspirator being connected to the manifold, and a vacuum line connecting the booster to the aspirator. The aspirator includes a body having an internal end wall. A biasing element such as a spring is provided between the movable total flow divergence nozzle and the internal end wall of the aspirator body. The body of the aspirator includes an air flow path having an upstream area and a downstream area. The movable motive flow nozzle is positioned in the downstream area of the flow path.Type: GrantFiled: June 8, 2015Date of Patent: April 18, 2017Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLCInventor: Xiaogang Zhang
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Patent number: 9624845Abstract: A dual fuel injector may be used to inject both gas and liquid fuel into a cylinder of a compression ignition engine. An injector body defines a first set of nozzle outlets, a second set of nozzle outlets, a first fuel inlet and a second fuel inlet. A dual solenoid actuator includes a first armature, a first coil, a second armature and a second coil that share a common centerline. The dual solenoid actuator has a non-injection configuration at which the first armature is at an un-energized position and the second armature is at an un-energized position. The dual solenoid actuator has a first fuel injection configuration at which the first fuel inlet is fluidly connected to the first set of nozzle outlets, the first armature is at an energized position and the second armature is at the un-energized position.Type: GrantFiled: January 23, 2015Date of Patent: April 18, 2017Assignee: Caterpillar Inc.Inventors: Hoisan Kim, Mark F. Sommars, Xiangdong Ding
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Patent number: 9624854Abstract: A method for fuel injection of an engine system may include detecting driving information, including a combustion pressure in a combustion chamber, a heat generation amount in the combustion chamber, a crank angle, and a pressure/temperature/air amount of an intake manifold and an exhaust manifold, setting a fuel amount and injection timing with respect to a pilot injection as map data from an internal temperature, determining whether a maximum combustion pressure change rate is greater than a predetermined pressure change rate, determining generation timing of the maximum combustion pressure change rate, when the maximum combustion pressure change rate is greater than the predetermined pressure change rate, and decreasing a fuel amount of the pilot injection when the maximum combustion pressure change rate is generated during the pilot injection.Type: GrantFiled: July 13, 2015Date of Patent: April 18, 2017Assignee: Hyundai Motor CompanyInventors: JangSu Lee, Hyo Sang Cho, Hyoung Hyoun Kim
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Patent number: 9624862Abstract: A control apparatus for an internal combustion engine in the present invention is provided with a fuel injection valve (12) which is capable of directly injecting fuel into a cylinder, and which includes: a needle valve (12b) that has a seat contact part (12b1) at its distal end part; and a nozzle body (12a) that has a seat part (12a1) with which the seat contact part (12b1) comes into contact, a fuel receiving part (12d) formed downstream of the seat part (12a1), and a plurality of nozzle holes (12e) formed downstream of the seat part (12a1). The control apparatus executes learning control of fuel injection amount to learn the fuel injection amount. Further, the control apparatus executes pre-learning injection of fuel prior to execution of learning-use injection of fuel for the learning control.Type: GrantFiled: January 26, 2012Date of Patent: April 18, 2017Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventor: Masato Ikemoto
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Patent number: 9624842Abstract: A method and device for determining a value for a valve lift of a valve of an individual cylinder of a multi-cylinder internal combustion engine are provided. The method includes determining a first exhaust-gas lambda value for fuel combustion in the individual cylinder in a first operating state of the engine by a cylinder-individual and time-resolved detection of lambda values without an artificial variation in an air/fuel ratio. The method also includes determining an air mass sucked in by all cylinders of the engine in the first operating state. The method also includes determining the value for the valve lift of the valve of the individual cylinder based on the first exhaust-gas lambda value, the determined air mass, and a correction value, wherein the correction value is based on a relationship between the valve lift and an associated air mass sucked in by all cylinders of the engine.Type: GrantFiled: December 5, 2012Date of Patent: April 18, 2017Assignee: CONTINENTAL AUTOMOTIVE GMBHInventors: Gerhard Eser, Martin Reisinger, Ganizani Master
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Patent number: 9624859Abstract: An engine stopping section first selects, when an engine stop condition is satisfied, a power-generation braking mode in which a power-generation braking torque is applied to the engine by a power generation operation of the generator, to thereby apply the power-generation braking torque to the engine, and then selects a short-circuit braking mode in which a short-circuit braking torque is applied to the engine by short-circuiting each energization phase of an armature coil with a semiconductor switch and by causing a field current to flow through a field coil, to thereby apply the short-circuit braking torque to the engine.Type: GrantFiled: April 22, 2013Date of Patent: April 18, 2017Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric CorporationInventors: Nozomu Kamioka, Satoshi Wachi, Toshiaki Date, Noriya Sagayama
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Patent number: 9624895Abstract: A vehicle control device includes: a controller configured to adjust a temperature of an evaporator constituting an air conditioning system of the vehicle to a target temperature; the controller being configured to automatically stop an engine when a predetermined engine automatic stop condition is satisfied; the controller being configured to automatically start the engine when at least the temperature of the evaporator reaches a predetermined temperature or higher during automatic stop of the engine, and the predetermined temperature being higher than the target temperature; and the controller being configured to set the target temperature of the evaporator to be lower when a vehicle speed is low than that when the vehicle speed is high.Type: GrantFiled: February 18, 2014Date of Patent: April 18, 2017Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Shinsuke Iwasaki, Takahiro Araki
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Patent number: 9624860Abstract: Disclosed is a method for the control and regulation of a V-type internal combustion engine (1), comprising an independent common rail system on the A side and an independent common rail system on the B-side, in which the rotational speed of the internal combustion engine (1) is regulated in a speed control loop and a nominal torque as an adjusted variable of the rotational speed governor is limited during the starting procedure to a starting torque for representing a nominal injection null set.Type: GrantFiled: October 20, 2010Date of Patent: April 18, 2017Assignee: MTU FRIEDRICHSHAFEN GMBHInventor: Armin Dölker
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Patent number: 9624880Abstract: The present invention provides an intake system of an internal combustion engine. A plasma actuator is provided in a region which is on an inner wall surface of an intake passage and to which fuel injected from a fuel injection valve adheres. The plasma actuator is disposed so as to generate an airflow in a predetermined direction not including a component in a direction toward a downstream side of the intake passage at the time of its operation. A control unit is configured to control the plasma actuator so as to actuate the plasma actuator in at least a part of a period from start of fuel injection by the fuel injection valve to start of valve opening of an intake valve.Type: GrantFiled: September 8, 2015Date of Patent: April 18, 2017Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki KaishaInventor: Hirokazu Ito
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Patent number: 9624893Abstract: When a non-hybrid motor vehicle is stopped, its engine is shut-off upon concurrence of certain conditions precedent without turning off the ignition switch.Type: GrantFiled: April 27, 2015Date of Patent: April 18, 2017Assignee: International Truck Intellectual Property Company, LLCInventors: Nicolas Falaise, Dean Alan Opperman, Stacey Parker
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Patent number: 9624898Abstract: A quarter wave coaxial cavity resonator for producing corona discharge plasma from is presented. The quarter wave coaxial cavity resonator has a folded cavity made of opposing concentric cavity members that are nested together to form a continuous cavity ending in a aperture. A center conductor with a tip is positioned in the cavity. The folded cavity advantageously permits the coaxial cavity resonator to resonate at a lower operating frequency than an unfolded quarter wave coaxial cavity resonator of the same length. Embodiments of the quarter wave coaxial cavity resonator use narrower apertures to reduce radiative losses, and include center conductors that are reactive load elements, such as helical coils. When a radio frequency (RF) oscillation is produced in the quarter wave coaxial cavity resonator, corona discharge plasma is formed at the tip of the center conductor. The corona discharge plasma can be used to ignite combustible materials in combustion chambers of combustion engines.Type: GrantFiled: May 9, 2014Date of Patent: April 18, 2017Assignee: WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITYInventors: James E. Smith, Franz A. Pertl
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Patent number: 9617927Abstract: A method for supplying fuel to a direct injection fuel pump of an internal combustion engine is described. In one example, pressure and/or temperature of a fuel supplied to the direct injection fuel pump may be adjusted to ensure liquid fuel is supplied to the direct injection fuel pump so that the possibility of engine air-fuel ratio errors may be reduced.Type: GrantFiled: November 4, 2014Date of Patent: April 11, 2017Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLCInventor: Ross Dykstra Pursifull
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Patent number: 9617933Abstract: A number of variations may include a method including controlling low pressure EGR flow rates using air intake throttle with a variable swirl device or throttle valve, or using exhaust throttling.Type: GrantFiled: August 3, 2015Date of Patent: April 11, 2017Assignee: BorgWarner Inc.Inventors: Xiaobing Liu, John Shutty, B. Jerry Song, Houcine Benali
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Patent number: 9617908Abstract: A nozzle for a prechamber assembly of an engine includes a nozzle body which is hollow and includes an outer surface, an inner surface, and an orifice surface. The outer surface defines an outer orifice opening, and the inner surface defines an interior chamber and an inner orifice opening. The orifice surface defines an orifice passage extending between, and in communication with, the outer orifice opening and the inner orifice opening. The orifice passage is in communication with the interior chamber via the inner orifice opening. The nozzle body includes a coolant surface which defines a coolant passage within the nozzle body. The coolant surface includes an orifice interface portion disposed adjacent the orifice surface such that the orifice surface and the orifice interface portion of the coolant surface are in heat-transferring relationship with each other.Type: GrantFiled: May 11, 2015Date of Patent: April 11, 2017Assignee: Caterpillar Inc.Inventor: Martin Willi