Patents Examined by Matthew T Largi
  • Patent number: 11136911
    Abstract: Determining the presence of a particle filter in the exhaust gas tract of an engine, with the steps of determining a first exhaust gas temperature curve which occurs in the exhaust gas tract upstream of the particle filter; measuring a second exhaust gas temperature curve by a first temperature sensor arranged downstream of the particle filter; determining a first heat quantity by integration over a specific time of a first heat flow curve determined by a first exhaust gas mass flow, a first specific heat capacity and the first exhaust gas temperature curve; determining a second heat quantity by integration over the specific time of a second heat flow curve determined by a second exhaust gas mass flow, a second specific heat capacity and the second exhaust gas temperature curve, evaluating the first heat quantity and the second heat quantity to determine the presence of the correct particle filter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2021
    Assignee: Vitesco Technologies GmbH
    Inventors: Michael Nienhoff, Hao Chen, Paul Rodatz
  • Patent number: 11125131
    Abstract: A heat generation system including: a liquid storage tank; a heating element including: a reaction container having a storage space, and a porous body stored in the storage space, and loaded with an exothermic reaction solid that causes an exothermic reaction when being in contact with the liquid; a liquid injection mechanism member including: a liquid flow pipe that communicates between the liquid storage tank and the storage space of the reaction container, through which the liquid flows, and an injection unit that injects the liquid into the storage space; and discharge mechanism member including: a discharge pipe that communicates with the storage space of the reaction container, and a discharge unit that discharges a liquid product generated by the exothermic reaction caused by contact between the liquid and the exothermic reaction solid, and a vaporized material of the liquid, from the storage space through the discharge pipe.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 21, 2021
    Assignee: NGK Insulators, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yukio Miyairi, Shinichi Miwa
  • Patent number: 11125128
    Abstract: A method of controlling regeneration of a particulate filter which traps particulate matter contained in an exhaust gas may include: raising, by a controller, a temperature of the exhaust gas to regenerate the particulate filter by burning the trapped particulate matter when an amount of the particulate matter trapped in the particulate filter is greater than or equal to a predetermined amount. Raising the temperature of the exhaust gas may include: raising the temperature of the exhaust gas based on a first temperature difference compensation, and raising the temperature of the exhaust gas based on a second temperature difference compensation. In particular, the first and second temperature difference compensations are calculated based on a target temperature of the exhaust gas at an upstream of the particulate filter and an actual temperature of the exhaust gas at the upstream of the particulate filter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 21, 2021
    Assignees: HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY, KIA MOTORS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Minjae Kim, Seung Suk Yoon
  • Patent number: 11118495
    Abstract: An exhaust gas-purifying system includes an exhaust gas-purifying unit that includes one or more exhaust gas-purifying catalysts, is supplied with the exhaust gas from a combustion engine, and purifies the exhaust gas so that the exhaust gas can be released to the atmosphere, a sensor that detects a concentration of nitrogen oxides contained in the purified exhaust gas, and a processing section that makes a judgment with respect to at least one of the exhaust gas-purifying catalysts, as to whether or not a performance is maintained at a sufficient level, based on the concentration detected by the sensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 24, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 14, 2021
    Assignee: CATALER CORPORATION
    Inventors: Makoto Tsuji, Hiroto Imai, Kou Sugawara, Shintaro Kobayashi
  • Patent number: 11118785
    Abstract: A fuel injector for an exhaust heater includes a cover and an air blast nozzle. The cover has a nozzle seat, a fuel inlet, and an air inlet, the nozzle seat arranged along a flow axis. The air blast nozzle is seated in the nozzle seat and has a unibody. The air blast nozzle unibody is in fluid communication with the fuel inlet and the air inlet arranged along the flow axis to port fuel and air into a combustion volume, e.g., to heat a stream of exhaust gas flowing between an engine and a catalytic reactor by combustion with fuel introduced through the fuel inlet and air introduced through the air inlet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 26, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 14, 2021
    Assignee: Delavan Inc.
    Inventors: Jason A. Ryon, Steven J. Myers, Philip E. O. Buelow, Lev Alexander Prociw
  • Patent number: 11111833
    Abstract: In a method for heating an exhaust system of a combustion engine of a motor vehicle, the exhaust system comprises at least two components for exhaust gas cleaning. For at least one component, a temperature regulation is provided for heating the component while using a heating operation mode. For the heating of the exhaust system, a heating operation is used via a pulse control with heating pulses (101) and heating pauses (102), which switches between a heating operation mode and a normal operation without heating measures.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 7, 2021
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Alexander Franz, Arthur Bastoreala, Cornelia Nagel, Tobias Pfister
  • Patent number: 11105242
    Abstract: The exhaust gas purification device of the present embodiment is provided in an exhaust gas flow path of an internal combustion engine. The exhaust gas purification device includes a honeycomb catalyst and a PM trapping filter. The honeycomb catalyst is formed by supporting a catalyst on a first substrate which is made of a promoter and has a honeycomb structure. The PM trapping filter is located on the exhaust gas downstream side of the honeycomb catalyst and includes a second substrate having a honeycomb structure, configured to be capable of trapping PM.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 1, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 31, 2021
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yoichi Kadota, Yasushi Takayama
  • Patent number: 11105289
    Abstract: A method and control device for monitoring the function of a particulate filter in an exhaust gas duct of an internal combustion engine. A soot emission in the exhaust gas duct downstream from the particulate filter is determined with a particle sensor, an expected soot emission after a limit particulate filter at the location of the particle sensor is simulated and a comparison value is ascertained. A good particulate filter is found if the measured soot emission is less than the comparison value of the simulated soot emission. A defective particulate filter is found if the measured soot emission is higher than the comparison value of the simulated soot emission. The simulated soot emission is determined as being a simulated soot particle concentration at the installation site of the particle sensor such that a basic soot concentration in a soot concentration model is corrected at least with an oxygen correction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 25, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 31, 2021
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventor: Patrik Herberger
  • Patent number: 11098631
    Abstract: A NOx sensor protection system includes a flow control device forming an internal chamber with exhaust and shield gas ports and a NOx sensor. The flow control device is configured to selectively allow a flow of exhaust from an exhaust pipe to the NOx sensor when an internal combustion engine is operated with a first fuel, and to selectively direct shield gas from the shield gas port at an angle of 135° to 180° to the NOx sensor to inhibit the flow of exhaust from the exhaust pipe to the NOx sensor when the engine is operated with a second fuel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 26, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2021
    Assignee: Caterpillar Inc.
    Inventors: Andrew M. Denis, Min Xiao, Wengang Chen, Zhenhua Zhang, Qiang Zhu, Mohamed I. Daoud
  • Patent number: 11092057
    Abstract: An exhaust gas control apparatus for an internal combustion engine includes an electromagnetic wave output unit, an acquisition unit that acquires collection amounts of PM and substances other than PM based on a rotational speed and a fuel injection amount of the internal combustion engine, and a control unit that controls an output intensity of the electromagnetic wave output unit. The control unit causes electromagnetic waves to be output with a first output intensity when the collection amount of the substances other than PM becomes equal to or smaller than a predetermined threshold, and causes electromagnetic waves to be output with a second output intensity that is lower than the first output intensity when the collection amount of the substances other than PM becomes larger than the predetermined threshold, when the collection amount of PM has exceeded a permissible value of the collection amount of PM in the filter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 17, 2021
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Toru Uenishi
  • Patent number: 11092058
    Abstract: An internal combustion engine control method controls an internal combustion engine equipped with an exhaust gas temperature variation factor unit that varies the temperature of an exhaust gas of the internal combustion engine, an exhaust heat recovery device disposed in an exhaust passage downstream of the exhaust gas temperature variation factor unit and that recovers the heat from the exhaust gas into a refrigerant that cools the internal combustion engine, and a refrigerant flow rate adjustment unit that adjusts a flow rate of the refrigerant that passes through the exhaust heat recovery device. The internal combustion engine control method estimates a boiling margin, which is a parameter related to a thermal margin when the refrigerant boils in the exhaust heat recovery device, and determines whether to execute a boiling avoidance process in accordance with the boiling margin.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 17, 2021
    Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Toru Fukami, Kentaro Kawahara, Yoshifumi Iribe
  • Patent number: 11085385
    Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for operating a split exhaust engine system that provides blowthrough air and exhaust gas recirculation to an intake passage via a first exhaust manifold and exhaust gas to an exhaust passage via a second exhaust manifold. In one example, an air-fuel control method for the engine system may include flowing air from the intake manifold through a plurality of engine cylinders to a junction of the exhaust passage and a bypass passage in response to a condition, the junction positioned along the exhaust passage between first and second emission control devices. The method may further include flowing exhaust gas to the first emission control device while flowing the air to the junction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 10, 2021
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Joseph Norman Ulrey, Donald Lewis
  • Patent number: 11085348
    Abstract: A method for controlling a filling of an exhaust-gas component storage-device of a catalytic-converter in the exhaust-gas of an internal-combustion-engine, in which an actual fill level (?mod) of the exhaust-gas component storage-device is ascertained using a first-system model to which signals (?in,meas) of a first-exhaust-gas probe that extends into the exhaust-gas flow upstream from the catalytic-converter and that acquires a concentration of the exhaust-gas component are supplied, if this first exhaust-gas probe is ready for operation. A lambda-target-value (?in,set) for a first control-loop is specified by a lambda-target-value pilot control, and that, if the first exhaust-gas probe is not ready for operation, a replacement signal for the signal of the first exhaust-gas probe is supplied to the system-model, and the replacement signal is used in the lambda-target-value pilot control as an initial-value for the lambda-target-value. Also described is a control device for the method.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 10, 2021
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventor: Michael Fey
  • Patent number: 11085343
    Abstract: A control apparatus controls an exhaust purification system including an exhaust purification catalyst provided in an exhaust passage for an internal combustion engine in a vehicle, and an electric heating device for heating the exhaust purification catalyst in response to the supply of electricity. The control apparatus includes a prediction unit that detects at least one preliminary action of a startup action for the vehicle performed before the startup operation and predicts that the startup operation will be performed, and a heating control unit that causes the electric heating device to heat the exhaust purification catalyst if the prediction unit predicts that the startup operation will be performed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 10, 2021
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventor: Yasuhiro Matsumura
  • Patent number: 11073050
    Abstract: A system includes a waste heat recovery heat exchanger configured to heat a heating fluid stream by exchange with a heat source in a crude oil associated gas processing plant; and a Kalina cycle energy conversion system including a first group of heat exchangers to heat a first portion of a working fluid by exchange with the heated heating fluid stream and a second group of heat exchangers to heat a second portion of the working fluid. The second group of heat exchangers includes a first heat exchanger to heat the second portion of the working fluid by exchange with a liquid stream of the working fluid; and a second heat exchanger to heat the second portion of the working fluid by exchange with the heated heating fluid stream.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 8, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 27, 2021
    Assignee: Saudi Arabian Oil Company
    Inventors: Mahmoud Bahy Mahmoud Noureldin, Akram Hamed Mohamed Kamel
  • Patent number: 11067027
    Abstract: A controller for an internal combustion engine is configured to control the internal combustion engine. The internal combustion engine includes an in-cylinder injection valve, an ignition device, an exhaust passage, and a three-way catalyst. The controller includes a fuel introduction processor configured to execute a fuel introduction process of introducing air-fuel mixture of fuel and air, which has been introduced into a cylinder, into the exhaust passage without burning the air-fuel mixture in the cylinder. The fuel introduction processor is configured to execute the fuel introduction process in a state in which only a port injection valve of the in-cylinder injection valve and the port injection valve performs fuel injection.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 20, 2021
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yuki Nose, Yuto Ikeda, Yoshiyuki Shogenji, Hirokazu Ando
  • Patent number: 11066975
    Abstract: A method for determining a presence of a particle filter in the exhaust gas tract of a petrol-operated internal combustion engine comprises: determining a measured differential pressure curve from a first pressure curve measured in the exhaust gas tract using a first pressure sensor arranged upstream of an installation position of the particle filter, and a second pressure curve measured using a second pressure sensor arranged downstream of an installation position determining a first result curve with a first low-pass filtration of the measured differential pressure curve; determining a second result curve by means of a second low-pass filtration of the first result curve; determining a first differential result curve by forming the difference between the first result curve and the second result curve; determining a first amount result curve by forming the amount of the first differential result curve; determining an expected differential pressure curve.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 20, 2021
    Assignee: Vitesco Technologies GmbH
    Inventors: Michael Nienhoff, Hao Chen
  • Patent number: 11060430
    Abstract: A variety of methods and arrangements for controlling the exhaust gas temperature of a lean burn, skip fire controlled internal combustion engine are described. In one aspect, an engine controller includes an aftertreatment system monitor and a firing timing determination unit. The aftertreatment monitor obtains data relating to a temperature of one or more aftertreatment elements, such as a catalytic converter. Based at least partly on this data, the firing timing determination unit generates a firing sequence for operating the engine in a skip fire manner such that the temperature of the aftertreatment element is controlled within its effective operating range.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 13, 2021
    Assignee: Tula Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Matthew A. Younkins, Shikui Kevin Chen, Mark A. Wilcutts
  • Patent number: 11053919
    Abstract: An embodiment of Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT) concept with eight rotating impellers with eight rotating wind vanes, wherein each wind vane is attached to each impeller through the vane angle adjusting devices is described. Further described is the vane angle adjusting device with coupling blocking fork and the impeller with the high load capacity and increased output. In addition, the gear reducer module and the cone clutch are described that control the power transmission from the wind vane and the impeller in case of strong gusts or wind. This feature allows for a number of improvements over the current state of the art including high energy efficiency, damage protection and the ability to remain operational during high wind conditions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 3, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 6, 2021
    Inventors: Jung Hoon Lee, Jung Woon Lee
  • Patent number: 11053828
    Abstract: A skip fire engine controller and method of control is described wherein during transitions from a first firing density to a second firing density, a firing density and a pumping density are separately set so as to balance the conflicting demands of (a) torque control, (b) Noise, Vibration and Harshness (NVH), (c) air flow through the engine and (d) air-fuel ratio.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 6, 2021
    Assignees: Tula Technology, Inc., Cummins Inc.
    Inventors: Shikui Kevin Chen, Matthew A. Younkins, Louis J. Serrano