Patents Examined by Kurt Liethen
  • Patent number: 9964088
    Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for direct fuel injection. In one example, a fuel injector system includes an injector needle with an injector pin with a curved fuel channel around the outer circumference of the injector pin, fluidically connected along the length of the curved fuel channel with a fuel reservoir inside the injector pin. An actuator coupled to the injector needle may sequentially move and position the injector needle to establish fluidic connection between the curved fuel channel and with one or more nozzle holes of the fuel injector at each position, discharging fuel from only those nozzle holes, thereby minimizing fuel spray interaction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 18, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 8, 2018
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventor: Xiaogang Zhang
  • Patent number: 9957933
    Abstract: A boost switching device (115) for generating a boosted high voltage (Vh) includes a slew rate selection circuit (115s), decreases a selection value (k) to suppress noises when the temperature of the boost switching device (115) is low, and increases the selection value (k) to suppress a temperature increase when the temperature thereof is high. An internal average temperature of an in-vehicle engine control apparatus (100) is detected by an environmental temperature detection device (139), reference data (400) provided in a calculation control circuit unit (130) is used to calculate a relationship between a permissible engine rotational speed (Nk) at which the split injection can be continued at a current measured environmental temperature (Tx) and the selection value (k), and an appropriate selection value (k) corresponding to a current engine rotational speed (Ne) is determined.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 1, 2018
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Kazumasa Harada, Mitsunori Nishida, Osamu Nishizawa
  • Patent number: 9957915
    Abstract: The cylinder head includes: an intake port; a low-temperature cooling water channel for circulating low-temperature cooling water; a high-temperature cooling water channel for circulating cooling water of a higher temperature than the cooling water flowing through the low-temperature cooling water channel; and a gas channel for recirculating a portion of blow-by gas or EGR gas to the intake port. The low-temperature cooling water channel is configured to include a first water jacket that covers at least one portion of the wall surface of the intake port on an intake-air upstream side relative to an opening end opening at a wall surface of the intake port from the gas channel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 1, 2018
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Kohei Kodama
  • Patent number: 9920705
    Abstract: A combination port fuel injection (PFI) and direct injection (DI) dual path fuel injection system includes an electronic control unit (ECU) that switches between the PFI portion and the DI portion depending on the engine operating point and fuel flow requirements. During transitions in engine loading, the ECU instructs the PFI portion to increase injection for a limited amount of time, while instructing the DI portion to maintain a current injection. Subsequently, fueling is transitioned from the PFI portion back to the DI portion. Advantageously, the combination PFI and DI dual path fuel injection system mitigates the emission of particles during transient engine operating conditions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2018
    Assignees: Robert Bosch, LLC, Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventor: Michael Mosburger
  • Patent number: 9903287
    Abstract: A control apparatus for an internal combustion engine is configured to: calculate measured data for MFB in synchrony with crank angle based on in-cylinder pressure detected by an in-cylinder pressure sensor; execute SA-CA10 feedback control and CA50 feedback control based on a measured CA10 and a measured CA50 that are calculated based on the measured data; execute engine control based on a degree of correlation between the MFB measured data and the reference data that corresponds thereto; and generate reference data for a combustion period by linear interpolation and linear extrapolation based on a target CA50 and a specified CA10.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2018
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Eiki Kitagawa
  • Patent number: 9885310
    Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for operating a lift pump of an engine fuel system. In one example, a method may comprise closed loop operating a lift pump of a fuel system based on a difference between a desired fuel rail pressure and an estimated fuel rail pressure, and open loop operating the lift pump to the desired fuel rail pressure in response to a fuel flow rate in a direction of a fuel rail through a check valve positioned between the lift pump and the fuel rail decreasing to a threshold. Thus, outputs from a fuel rail pressure sensor may not be used to adjust lift pump operation when an amount of fuel flowing to the fuel rail decreases to a threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 20, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2018
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Ross Dykstra Pursifull, Justin Trzeciak, Joseph Norman Ulrey
  • Patent number: 9885321
    Abstract: This multi-cylinder internal combustion engine (1) is provided with an EGR device (30) containing an EGR cooler (27), a valve overlap period in which valve opening periods of intake valves (20) and exhaust valves (21) overlap one another is set, and the multi-cylinder internal combustion engine (1) has four cylinders (2). The multi-cylinder internal combustion engine (1) comprises: four exhaust side branch conduits (15), one provided for each of the cylinders (2); a storage tank (31) configured to store condensed water (CW) generated by the EGR cooler (27); and four condensed water introduction conduits (33), one provided for each of the exhaust side branch conduits (15) and communicating the exhaust side branch conduit (15) with the storage tank (31).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2018
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Kentaro Nishida
  • Patent number: 9879590
    Abstract: A fuel injection nozzle disposed in a center of a reentrant cavity combustion chamber has first and second nozzle hole groups whose inclination angles with respect to a cylinder center axis line are different. A nozzle hole diameter of the second nozzle hole group is larger than that of the first one. First and second nozzle holes are alternately arranged in a circumferential direction. A glow plug projects, in a height direction of the cylinder, up to a height of a spray center axis line (F2) of the second nozzle hole directed at a lower side. Therefore the glow plug can contact fuel masses formed by sprays from both the first and second nozzle holes. The glow plug is positioned between spray center axis lines (F1, F2) in the circumferential direction, and positioned at a swirl downstream side of spray center axis line (F2).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 21, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2018
    Assignee: NISSAN MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Isshou Uehara, Manabu Hasegawa, Naohide Tsuji, Masahiko Nakano
  • Patent number: 9863338
    Abstract: When a difference between a target intake air amount during the reduced-cylinder operation, which is greater than a target intake air amount during the all-cylinder operation in a normal state, and an actual intake air amount is greater than an allowable deficient intake air amount, a preparatory control for increasing the actual intake air amount and shifting an ignition timing toward a retard side with respect to an ignition timing during the all-cylinder operation in the normal state. Then, at a time when the difference between the target intake air amount and the actual intake air amount becomes equal to or less than the allowable deficient intake air amount, the reduced-cylinder operation is started, wherein the allowable deficient intake air amount is set to a larger value when a current speed stage is a high speed stage than when it is a low speed stage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 5, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2018
    Assignee: MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATION
    Inventors: Masayoshi Higashio, Yukio Haizaki
  • Patent number: 9863334
    Abstract: A drive control apparatus in which the target torque which is a target value of an output torque of the prime mover for driving a vehicle, is calculated, and the output torque control is performed so that the output torque of the prime mover coincides with the target torque, is provided. An estimated output torque which is an estimated value of the actual output torque of the prime mover, is calculated, and the torque difference accumulated value which approximates a time-integration value of a torque difference between the target torque and the estimated output torque, is calculated. It is determined that an abnormality has occurred in the output torque control when the torque difference accumulated value exceeds a determination threshold value which is set to a constant value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 15, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2018
    Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Tatsuya Arikai, Shinobu Ochiai, Naoki Tsuji
  • Patent number: 9856830
    Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for reducing evaporative emissions in a vehicle during engine-off conditions responsive to an indication of undesired fuel outflow from one or more fuel injectors. In one example, at an engine-off event, an electric motor is operated to spin a vehicle engine unfueled to position a cylinder receiving fuel from a fuel injector with undesired fuel outflow with an intake valve open and an exhaust valve closed, and subsequently an onboard vacuum pump is activated to purge the contents of the cylinder to a fuel vapor canister. In this way, upon detection of undesired fuel outflow from one or more fuel injectors, during engine-off conditions mitigating action may be undertaken such that the undesired fuel outflow is purged to the fuel vapor canister, rather than being released as vapors to the environment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 8, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2018
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventor: Aed M. Dudar
  • Patent number: 9840987
    Abstract: An air duct for an air induction system of a combustion engine. The air duct includes an air duct, a frame and a hydrocarbon adsorbing member. The air duct housing including a first end and a second end. A fluid path extends between the first and second ends. The frame is disposed in the fluid path. The hydrocarbon adsorbing member is generally planar and is retained within the frame such that first and second opposing planar sides of the hydrocarbon adsorbing member are exposed to the fluid path. The housing may include a first portion carrying the frame. The hydrocarbon adsorbing element may be retained within the frame by a second portion of the housing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 8, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 12, 2017
    Assignee: MANN+HUMMEL GMBH
    Inventor: Michael Desjardins
  • Patent number: 9790908
    Abstract: A common rail fuel injection device includes first and second flow rate regulating valves for regulating a delivery volume of a pressurized fuel feed pump that feeds pressurized fuel to a common rail, a pressure reducing valve for reducing a common rail pressure, and a control device. The control device for the common rail fuel injection device includes a first drive controlling unit that controls a first electromagnetic driving unit for the second flow rate regulating valve and a second electromagnetic driving unit for the pressure reducing valve, and a second drive controlling unit that controls a third electromagnetic driving unit for the first flow rate regulating valve. The first drive controlling unit prohibits a drive instruction from being sent to the second flow rate regulating valve when the first drive controlling unit sends a drive instruction to the pressure reducing valve.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 29, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2017
    Assignee: ISUZU MOTORS LIMITED
    Inventors: Takahiro Nagasaki, Kazuyoshi Narita, Kenta Suzuki
  • Patent number: 9784210
    Abstract: A piston for an internal combustion engine is proposed with a piston head and with two pin bosses which lie opposite one another, are molded integrally onto the piston head in the direction which faces away from the piston head, and have in each case one pin bore. In each case one turned groove is formed into the radially inner regions of the lower halves of the pin bores, which halves face away from the piston head.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 22, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2017
    Assignee: MAHLE International GmbH
    Inventor: Wolfgang Issler