Patents Examined by Lindsay Low
  • Patent number: 10294874
    Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for expediting EGR purging in a hybrid vehicle during transient operations, such as tip-out to lower load conditions. In response to decreasing engine torque demand, engine fueling is disabled and a motor is used to spin the engine unfueled until a desired LP-EGR rate is achieved. Alternatively, engine operation is maintained with EGR disabled until the desired LP-EGR rate is achieved, and the excess engine torque generated is stored in a system battery.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 20, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 21, 2019
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Daniel Joseph Styles, Stanley Larue Bower, James Alfred Hilditch, Robert Ralph Iorio, Gopichandra Surnilla
  • Patent number: 10294889
    Abstract: An engine is described having a crankcase, a liner and a head assembly. The crankcase is split along a plane defining a two part crankcase, where fluid passages are passing through only one of the crankcase portions, so as to not require crossing the split line. A connecting rod also includes a tapered end, and the piston has a complementary carrier receiving the connecting rod.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 2011
    Date of Patent: May 21, 2019
    Assignee: Polaris Industries Inc.
    Inventors: Bret Allen Oltmans, Brian J. Hitt, David Andrew Galsworthy, Chad Michael Slater, Daniel Joseph Nugteren, George Jay McKoskey, Gordon Raymond Nelson
  • Patent number: 10288023
    Abstract: A pump unit for feeding fuel, preferably diesel fuel, to an internal combustion engine; the pump unit (1) comprising: a head (4) inside which a cylinder (12) extending along an axis (A1) is formed; a pumping piston (5) extending along the axis (A1) and slidingly coupled with the cylinder (12); a through-hole (13) which extends from the cylinder (12) towards the outside of the pump unit (1); an intake chamber (8) communicating with the cylinder (12) via the hole (13); an intake valve (7) which controls the flow of fuel from the intake chamber (8) to the hole (13); a cap (23; 123; 223) which is connected to the head (4), is arranged on the opposite side to the pumping piston (5) and can be selectively fixed along an outer surface (25) of the head (4) so as to close the intake chamber (8) on one side.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 25, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 14, 2019
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Benedetto Loiacono, Domenico Macchia, Luisa Moscarella, Michele Antonio Iannuzzi
  • Patent number: 10286897
    Abstract: A method for heating engine and/or transmission oil of a hybrid vehicle having an internal combustion engine and an electric motor, the engine and/or transmission oil being heated with the aid of the waste heat of a charging device for at least one battery and/or the waste heat of the at least one battery.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 2010
    Date of Patent: May 14, 2019
    Assignee: ROBERT BOSCH GMBH
    Inventor: Klaus Ries-Mueller
  • Patent number: 10287938
    Abstract: A method for a vehicle comprises responsive to installation of a new exhaust particulate filter, doping fuel with an ash-producing additive, and combusting the doped fuel to produce ash, wherein the ash deposits as an ash coating on the new exhaust particulate filter. In this way, a filtration efficiency of an exhaust particulate filter can be increased quickly as compared to a filter with no deposited ash coating, inexpensively as compared to conventional methods using membranes, and with a lower back pressure drop as compared to conventional methods.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 14, 2019
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: James Robert Warner, Timothy Brian Chanko, William Charles Ruona, Giovanni Cavataio, Douglas Allen Dobson
  • Patent number: 10273877
    Abstract: A variable compression ratio (VCR) internal combustion engine includes an engine block defining a cylinder and a cylinder head mounted to the engine block and defining at least a part of a combustion chamber. The engine also includes a reciprocating primary piston arranged inside the cylinder and configured to compress a mixture of air and fuel and a crankshaft arranged in the engine block and rotated by an application of a combustion force to the primary piston. The engine additionally includes a secondary piston mounted in the cylinder head, movably with respect to the combustion chamber and a mechanism configured to shift the secondary piston in the cylinder head and thereby vary a volume of the combustion chamber and a compression ratio of the engine. A vehicle employing such an engine is also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 30, 2019
    Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC
    Inventor: Akram R. Zahdeh
  • Patent number: 10267272
    Abstract: An intake apparatus of an internal combustion engine includes: an intake passage configured to communicate with a combustion chamber of an internal combustion engine having two intake valves per cylinder and supply intake air to the combustion chamber; and an intake flow control valve installed in the intake passage and configured to control a flow of intake air by an opening formed between a valve body and an inner surface of the intake passage when the valve is closed as the valve body is rotated, in which, when the intake flow control valve is closed, an opening length of the opening, which is formed on an end side in an arrangement direction of the two intake valves in a direction orthogonal to the arrangement direction and an intake air flow direction, is longer than an opening length of the opening, which is formed at a central portion of the intake flow control valve in the arrangement direction in the direction orthogonal to the arrangement direction and the intake air flow direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2019
    Assignee: AISIN SEIKI KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Atsushi Ito, Koji Moriguchi
  • Patent number: 10267239
    Abstract: It is an object to suppress turbo lag, while suppressing a decrease in torque in an acceleration-transient state to a supercharged state, occurring owing to a rise in required load. In a prescribed steady state, an engine compression ratio ?m and ignition timing Tm are set so as to achieve a maximum thermal efficiency. In contrast, in a transient state from a non-supercharged state to a supercharged state, occurring owing to a rise in required load, the engine compression ratio is corrected to a higher compression ratio ?h and concurrently the ignition timing is corrected to a retarded timing value Th, in comparison with the engine compression ratio ?m and the ignition timing Tm during steady-state operation for the same load, thereby increasing exhaust energy due to a reduction in cooling loss and consequently suppressing a delay of response to a rise in supercharging pressure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 4, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2019
    Assignee: NISSAN MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Eiji Takahashi, Shinobu Kamada
  • Patent number: 10266676
    Abstract: The invention relates to a plastic engine cover, as well as to a process for making the plastic engine cover and to an engine comprising the plastic engine cover. The plastic engine cover is made of a glass fiber reinforced thermoplastic polymeric material comprising a polyamide with units derived from terephthalic acid and from diamino butane.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 1, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2019
    Assignee: DSM IP ASSETS B.V.
    Inventors: James Beam Conkey, Peter Clinton Schmieg
  • Patent number: 10267225
    Abstract: It comprises one or more cylinders with pistons therein and mutually opposed power cams connected to respective first and second rotary shafts. The reciprocating pistons act on the power cams to impart a rotating motion to the rotary shafts. An attachment device is provided for connecting the rotary shafts to each other. The attachment device includes a shifting device for changing the relative angular position of the first and second rotary shafts. The result is engine distribution and compression ratio are changed dynamically.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 4, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2019
    Assignee: INNENGINE, S.L.
    Inventor: Juan Garrido Requena
  • Patent number: 10260511
    Abstract: A ceiling fan includes a body having a disk which is driven by a motor. Multiple frames are connected to the disk and each frame has a rod which is connected between at least two seats and the disk. The at least two seats each are positioned by an inclination angle relative to a horizontal plane. A height difference is formed between the at least two seats of each rod. A blade is connected to each of the at least two seats of each rod of each frame. The ceiling fan includes less number of seats while more blades are connected to the seats.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2019
    Inventor: Wen Chin Li
  • Patent number: 10260444
    Abstract: A direct injection fuel supply system, in one exemplary implementation, includes a lift fuel pump, a positive displacement pump, at least one fuel injector and an accumulator assembly. The lift pump is adapted to be in fluid communication with a supply of fuel and the positive displacement pump is in fluid communication with and downstream of the lift pump. The at least one injector is in fluid communication with an outlet of the positive displacement pump via a high pressure fuel line. The accumulator assembly includes an accumulator and a valve, where the valve is in direct fluid communication with the high pressure fuel line and the injector. The valve is selectively controlled to at least one of an open state providing fluid communication between the accumulator and the high pressure fuel line and a closed state blocking fluid communication between the accumulator and the high pressure fuel line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2019
    Assignee: FCA US LLC
    Inventor: Russell J Wakeman
  • Patent number: 10253684
    Abstract: An internal combustion engine control apparatus includes a secondary air supply device having a secondary air supply passage that supplies secondary air pumped by an air pump into an exhaust system of an internal combustion engine and an opening/closing unit that opens and closes the secondary air supply passage. A controller provided in the internal combustion engine control apparatus sets the opening/closing unit in an open condition such that the secondary air is supplied to the secondary air supply passage, and then executes foreign matter removal control in which the opening/closing unit is opened and closed. As a result, foreign matter caught in an ASV during AI control is removed immediately. By implementing OBD after removing the foreign matter, detection of an open sticking abnormality caused by foreign matter caught in the ASV is suppressed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2019
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Shinya Kondo, Ryosuke Tsukamoto, Hironori Kitadani, Jun Aoki, Shinsuke Kiyomiya, Kazuyoshi Tashiro, Satoshi Kawai, Tatsuro Nakata
  • Patent number: 10233878
    Abstract: A method for controlling a position of a flap of a variable port flap control module (VCM) may include determining whether a vehicle state satisfies a predetermined opening condition of the VCM, determining a VCM opening voltage in consideration of tolerance of the flap of the VCM when the vehicle state satisfies the opening condition of the VCM, and controlling the flap of the VCM to be in an opened state by applying the VCM opening voltage to a motor of the VCM when the opening condition of the VCM is satisfied, during an engine starts.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2019
    Assignee: Hyundai Motor Company
    Inventor: Seung-Bum Kim
  • Patent number: 10227948
    Abstract: A piston for an internal combustion engine is formed from an upper part connected to a lower part. The upper part has a combustion bowl, a top land, and a ring belt extending circumferentially around the piston upper part. The lower part contains pin bosses and a piston skirt. A circumferential cooling channel is formed by joining the upper and lower parts. There is an oil inlet formed in one piece with the piston lower part. The inlet has a lower extremity and an upper extremity that terminates at the floor of the cooling channel. A bore extends through the oil inlet from the lower extremity up though the floor of the cooling channel. The circumference of the bore increases from the upper extremity to the lower extremity, so the oil inlet forms a funnel shape.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2019
    Assignee: MAHLE International GmbH
    Inventors: Fabio Menotti, Ioan Stefan, Dieter Gabriel, Ralph Klein, Luiz Perrone, Michael Lapp, Joachim Wagenblast
  • Patent number: 10221795
    Abstract: The control apparatus operates an engine water temperature adjustment apparatus so that the temperature of cooling water that passes through an engine head enters a first temperature region in a lean mode, and operates the engine water temperature adjustment apparatus so that the temperature of the cooling water enters a second temperature region that is lower than the first temperature region in a stoichiometric mode. When knocking is detected after switching is started from the stoichiometric mode to the lean mode, the control apparatus performs any one of a first operation to operate a variable valve apparatus so as to retard the closing timing of an intake valve, a second operation to operate an oil jet apparatus so as to increase an oil jet amount, and a third operation to operate an EGR apparatus so as to increase an EGR amount.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2019
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Shintaro Hotta, Hiroyuki Tanaka
  • Patent number: 10215078
    Abstract: A pressure relief valve is opened from a first time to a second time for the purpose of reducing the pressure in the gas phase in a gas-liquid separator. A first water pump (WP) is driven at a third time and a fourth time. The third time and fourth time correspond to timings at which a difference between a boiling temperature and an actual temperature becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined temperature. Since liquid-phase coolant in a catch tank can be fed to another water pump by driving the first WP, the actual temperature of the liquid-phase coolant immediately upstream of the other water pump can be lowered. It is thus possible to prevent intense boiling of the liquid-phase coolant immediately upstream of the other water pump.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 26, 2019
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Masahiro Sato
  • Patent number: 10215144
    Abstract: A fuel system is provided for switching between two separate regulated pressures of a first fuel pump to a supply line. The supply line supplies both a second fuel pump of a high pressure fuel injection system and a fuel injector separate from the high pressure fuel injection system. The switchover can include multiple regulators, one of which is selectively disabled.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 26, 2019
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Brent D. Keppy, Justin Allen
  • Patent number: 10215080
    Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for regulating coolant flow in a vehicle cooling system during an engine startup event. In one example, a method may include, during an engine startup event, controlling a flowpath of an engine coolant in a vehicle cooling system via a passive valve and an actively regulatable valve, and responsive to an engine coolant temperature below a threshold at the engine startup event, isolating the flowpath of engine coolant to a subsection of the cooling system to enable rapid warming of the engine coolant without stagnating the engine coolant at an engine. In this way, engine coolant may be rapidly warmed at an engine startup event, via coolant flow isolation, rather than coolant flow stagnation, which may decrease uneven heating of engine system components, and which may thus prolong a functional lifetime of the engine system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 1, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 26, 2019
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventor: Joshua Putman Styron
  • Patent number: 10215149
    Abstract: A plasma header gasket for use with an internal combustion engine includes electrodes disposed around the perimeter of apertures in the gasket corresponding to piston cylinders in the engine. The electrodes produce a plasma spark in time with the engine to increase the efficiency of combustion. The plasma spark produces an ignition discharge compatible with various types of engines and types of fuels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 26, 2019
    Inventor: Serge V. Monros