Patents Examined by Hieu T. Vo
  • Patent number: 10746111
    Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for determining an extent of clogging of a canister filter included in a fuel vapor storage canister of a vehicle. In one example, a method comprises determining an extent to which the canister filter is clogged based on an output of an exhaust gas sensor, and adjusting one or more parameters related to purging of the fuel vapor storage canister as a function of the extent to which the canister filter is clogged. In this way, canister lifetime may be improved, and release of undesired evaporative emissions to atmosphere may be reduced or avoided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 21, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 18, 2020
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventor: Aed Dudar
  • Patent number: 10738684
    Abstract: An applied-ignition internal combustion engine having at least one cylinder head comprising at least one cylinder and having a rotatably mounted crankshaft is provided. In the internal combustion engine each cylinder has an inlet opening, which is adjoined by an intake line, and an outlet opening, which is adjoined by an exhaust-gas line, each opening being equipped with a valve, each cylinder comprises a combustion chamber which is jointly formed by a piston crown of a cylinder-specific piston, by a cylinder liner and by the cylinder head. Additionally, the crankshaft is articulably connected to the piston of each cylinder, such that, as the crankshaft rotates about an axis of rotation, the piston oscillates along a cylinder longitudinal axis, where the cylinder longitudinal axis is perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the crankshaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 15, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 11, 2020
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Martin Wirth, Maziar Khosravi
  • Patent number: 10711711
    Abstract: A vehicle controller includes a controlling section configured to control a torque applying mechanism. The controlling section is configured to execute a negative torque control by using the torque applying mechanism when execution conditions are satisfied. The execution conditions include a condition that an increase amount per predetermined time of the boost pressure has become greater than a preset boost pressure determination value. The negative torque control is a control to set the rotational torque applied to the crankshaft by the torque applying mechanism to a negative value that is on the negative side of a value immediately before the start of the negative torque control.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 29, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 14, 2020
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Takumi Anzawa
  • Patent number: 10704522
    Abstract: An ignition control device includes a main ignition circuit to generate a spark discharge to a spark plug by controlling energization of a primary coil of an ignition coil for an internal combustion engine, an energy supply circuit that supplies energy based on a discharge continuation signal by controlling the energization of the primary coil during the spark discharge started by the operation of the main ignition circuit to supply a secondary current in the same direction as a main ignition continuously in a secondary coil of the ignition coil, a secondary current command circuit for outputting a command value of the secondary current based on the secondary current command signal, and an ignition control unit for setting signal values of the secondary current command signal and the discharge continuation signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 17, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 7, 2020
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Shunichi Takeda, Mitsunobu Niwa, Hisaharu Morita
  • Patent number: 10690107
    Abstract: An igniter for a dual fuel engine includes a plurality of spray orifices formed in a nozzle and defining a plurality of spray axes. A plurality of spark electrodes are resident on the nozzle and form spark gaps offset from the spray axes, in a spark gap pattern that is at variance in at least one of a circumferential aspect or an axial aspect with the spray plume pattern.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 18, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 23, 2020
    Assignee: Caterpillar Inc.
    Inventors: Jonathan W. Anders, Bobby John
  • Patent number: 10641226
    Abstract: A system is disclosed which includes a remote generator interface controller and a generator interface device. The generator interface device receives generator operation information and transmits the generator operation information to the remote generator interface controller. The remote generator controller device includes a processor, a screen, and a wireless receiver connected wirelessly to receive generator operation information from the generator interface device connected to a generator. The generator interface device includes a processor connected to a generator which receives generator operation information from at least one of a generator computer and a generator sensor and a transmitter connected wirelessly to transmit the generator operation information wirelessly from the generator interface device to the remote generator controller device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 5, 2020
    Assignee: Wheeler Machinery Co.
    Inventor: Scott Murdock
  • Patent number: 10640086
    Abstract: A motorcycle (1) including: an electronic system of authorization control (100,200); wherein: a first electronic control unit (200) is adapted and configured to determine whether the motorcycle (1) is in an authorized or non-authorized usage state and is adapted to interrogate a portable transponder, which can have a master identification electronic code or a slave identification electronic code, in order to acquire said electronic code and to verify if said electronic code is correct; and wherein: if the first control unit (200) acquires the master identification electronic code, starting the traction engine is allowed independently from the second electronic control unit; if the first control unit (200) acquires the slave identification electronic code, it is determined that the motorcycle (1) is in the authorized usage state and starting the traction engine is allowed if it receives consent information from the second electronic control unit (100).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 5, 2020
    Assignee: PIAGGIO & C. SPA
    Inventor: Luigi Baracchino
  • Patent number: 10619589
    Abstract: A method of diagnosing a non-coupling breather hose includes: sensing a revolutions per minute (RPM) after starting an engine; operating a differential pressure sensor; and determining that a breather hose is not coupled when an output voltage from the differential pressure sensor or a holding time of the output voltage is in a predetermined range.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 14, 2020
    Assignees: Hyundai Motor Company, Kia Motors Corporation
    Inventor: Young-Min Kim
  • Patent number: 10598120
    Abstract: A controller for an internal combustion engine includes processing circuitry. The processing circuitry performs a dither control process and a multi-injection process. Multiple injections in the multi-injection process includes a first injection and a second injection performed at a timing retarded from the first injection. The dither control process includes at least one of a process performed on a cylinder changed to a lean combustion cylinder so that a reduction amount of fuel injected through the first injection is greater than a reduction amount of fuel injected through the second injection and a process performed on a cylinder changed to a rich combustion cylinder so that an increase amount of fuel injected through the first injection is greater than an increase amount of fuel injected through the second injection.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 1, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 24, 2020
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Eiichiro Kido, Masanao Idogawa, Manami Yasunaga
  • Patent number: 10584665
    Abstract: An engine and a method of operating the engine wherein fuel, intake air, and recirculated exhaust gas provides a first mixture, which is inducted into a first combustion cylinder. The first mixture is combusted in the combustion cylinder to generate a first exhaust gas that applies pressure to a piston within the combustion cylinder, reciprocating the piston and rotating a primary crankshaft coupled to the piston. Fuel and intake air, which provides a second mixture, are inducted into a rotary combustion chamber. The second mixture is combusted in the rotary combustion chamber, wherein the combustion generates a recirculated exhaust gas that applies pressure to the rotor and rotates the rotor and a secondary crankshaft coupled to the rotor. The secondary crankshaft is coupled to the primary crankshaft by a gear mechanism. The recirculated exhaust gas is exhausted into an exhaust gas recirculation loop and recirculated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 26, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 10, 2020
    Assignee: Southwest Research Institute
    Inventors: Raphael Gukelberger, Garrett L. Anderson
  • Patent number: 10578046
    Abstract: A fuel injection control device has a detection unit, a correction value calculation unit, and a conduction time calculation unit. The detection unit detects a current increase speed that is a speed of increasing an electric current flowing in an electromagnetic coil in accordance with the start of conducting the electromagnetic coil during partial lift injection in which a valve body starts valve closing operation before the valve body reaches a maximum valve opening position after the valve body starts valve opening operation. The correction value calculation unit calculates a correction value for a requested injection quantity on the basis of the detected current increase speed. The conduction time calculation unit calculates a conduction time of the electromagnetic coil during the partial lift injection on the basis of the requested injection quantity corrected by the correction value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 7, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 3, 2020
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Nobuyuki Satake, Tomohiro Nakano
  • Patent number: 10570846
    Abstract: Internal combustion engine with a controller and at least one combustion chamber and an at least one ignition amplifier associated with the combustion chamber, whereby the at least one combustion chamber, on the one hand via a feeding device for a fuel-air mixture, can be supplied with energy, and on the other hand can be supplied with energy by the associated ignition amplifier, whereby the controller is designed to change the excess-air ratio of the fuel-air mixture in a detection mode for the at least one combustion chamber, and at least one sensor is provided, whose signals can be supplied to the controller and whose signals are characteristic of the combustion event in at least one combustion chamber and that the controller is designed such that, depending on the signals supplied by at least one sensor, a representative detection signal is generated associated with a status of the at least one ignition amplifier associated with at least one combustion chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 25, 2020
    Assignee: INNIO JENBACHER GMBH & CO OG
    Inventors: Moritz Frohlich, Johannes Huber, Herbert Schaumberger, Klaus Zoggeler
  • Patent number: 10563612
    Abstract: Provided is a control device for an internal combustion engine capable of avoiding deterioration of combustion and reliably suppressing synthetic noise of a high pressure fuel pump and a fuel injection valve without affecting an operating state of the internal combustion engine. Therefore, when it is determined that there is synthetic noise of a high pressure fuel pump and a fuel injection valve, an operating angle of a variable valve mechanism provided in the internal combustion engine is made variable while satisfying a fuel injection request of the fuel injection valve.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 18, 2020
    Assignee: Hitachi Automotive Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Osamu Mukaihara, Satoshi Usui, Masahiro Toyohara
  • Patent number: 10563596
    Abstract: An internal combustion engine-based system includes an internal combustion engine. The internal combustion engine-based system includes an engine interrupt connected to the engine. The engine interrupt is configured to selectively stop the operation of the engine. The internal combustion engine-based system includes a controller in communication with the engine interrupt. The internal combustion engine-based system includes a carbon monoxide detector in communication with the controller. The controller uses the engine interrupt to stop the operation of the engine when the carbon monoxide detector provides the controller with signals that are representative of a carbon monoxide level proximate the internal combustion engine that together form a trend of building carbon monoxide amounts over a set time interval.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 18, 2020
    Assignee: Generac Power Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Gregory A. Wischstadt, Adam M. Schroeder, Mitchell L. Horn, Brandon Schmidt, Kevin Cole, Tod R. Tesch
  • Patent number: 10563515
    Abstract: A turbine impeller includes: a hub portion coupled to an end of a rotational shaft; a plurality of main blades disposed at intervals on a peripheral surface of the hub portion; and a short blade disposed between two adjacent main blades among the plurality of main blades. An inter-blade flow channel is formed between the two adjacent main blades so that a fluid flows through the inter-blade flow channel from an outer side toward an inner side of the turbine impeller in a radial direction. In a meridional plane, a hub-side end of a leading edge of the short blade is disposed on an inner side, in the radial direction, of a hub-side end of a leading edge of the main blade.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 18, 2020
    Assignee: MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES ENGINE & TURBOCHARGER, LTD.
    Inventors: Takao Yokoyama, Seiichi Ibaraki, Toyotaka Yoshida
  • Patent number: 10557432
    Abstract: Various embodiments include a method for operating an internal combustion engine with a fuel injection system including a piezo actuator comprising: stopping the discharge phase of the actuator during an injection cycle; measuring a voltage profile at the actuator; comparing a feedback signal at the actuator with a setpoint value; varying the discharge time of the actuator in successive injection cycles until the feedback signal corresponds to the setpoint value; defining a servo valve closing time as a defined offset with respect to the optimized discharge time; and using the defined servo valve closing time to set an injection quantity of fuel for future injection cycles.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 11, 2020
    Assignee: CONTINENTAL AUTOMOTIVE GMBH
    Inventors: Vincent Dian, Matthias Scheid
  • Patent number: 10557435
    Abstract: In the present disclosure, pressurized fuel is directly injected from a fuel injection valve into a cylinder, and a fuel pressure is controlled to a target fuel pressure. A target fuel pressure during early depressurization is calculated on the basis of a target amount of intake air that is a target load of an internal-combustion engine, a target fuel pressure during a normal state is set on the basis of an actual amount of intake air that is an actual load of the internal-combustion engine, and a lower one of the target fuel pressure during early depressurization and the target fuel pressure during a normal state is set as the target fuel pressure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 11, 2020
    Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Masatoshi Nakajima, Yujiro Tsutsumi, Junya Iino, Kentaro Miki, Toru Nakashima, Keita Kamase
  • Patent number: 10549862
    Abstract: There is provided a system for monitoring an engine. The system includes a processor. A memory including instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform certain operations. The operations may include receiving a first data set and a second data set. The first data set being sampled at a first rate and the second data set being sampled at a second rate, where the first and second rate are different. The operations further include determining, based on a number of occurrences in either the first data set or the second set, whether an event that has occurred in the engine has occurred a predetermined number of times. The operations further include recording the first data set as an output in response to the number of occurrences exceeding the predetermined number of times, and in the contrary recording the second data set as the output.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 5, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 4, 2020
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Alexander James Haines, Matthew William Wiseman
  • Patent number: 10550740
    Abstract: A multifunctional engine brake, comprising an engine valve motion transformation mechanism, a slow seating mechanism (250), and a timing oil control mechanism. By axially moving a roller (235) on a roller shaft (231), the connections between the roller (235) and different cams (230, 2302) are switched, so as to implement the transformation between different engine valve motions. A roller axial driving mechanism (100) is disposed in the roller shaft (231), thereby achieving a simple and compact structure, a symmetrical and reliable force, and easy manufacturing and assembling. The timing oil control mechanism provides timing oil supply or discharge for the engine brake, thereby eliminating the randomness of the opening or closing of a conventional engine brake, avoiding slipping and impact of the roller during roller translation, and improving the reliability and durability of the brake and engine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 4, 2020
    Assignee: Shanghai Universoon Autoparts Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Zhou Yang, Rujie Zhu, Yong Xi
  • Patent number: 10550804
    Abstract: An air intake apparatus of a multi-cylinder engine includes an intake air inlet passage, an intake air distribution portion, a plurality of independent intake air passages, and a secondary gas inlet passage. The intake air inlet passage has one end portion attached to a throttle valve, and the other end connected to an intake air distribution portion. The intake air distribution portion has a space therein. The secondary gas inlet passage is connected at a part spaced apart, in the intake air inlet passage, from the throttle valve. The intake air distribution portion has a reflux passage which is a passage that connects the space and a part between the one end portion and the other end in the intake air inlet passage. The reflux passage is a passage which refluxes fresh air and secondary gas introduced from the intake air inlet passage to the intake air inlet passage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 4, 2020
    Assignee: Mazda Motor Corporation
    Inventors: Fusatoshi Tanaka, Kazuki Onishi, Takuya Yamada, Ryo Yamamoto, Kazuhiro Nakamura