Patents Examined by Stephen K. Cronin
  • Hybrid drive device
    Patent number: 9644531
    Abstract: A hybrid drive having a clutch and a rotary electric machine disposed radially outwardly of the clutch so as to at least partially overlap the clutch in an axial direction as seen from a radially outer side, the rotary electric machine having a stator fixed to a case and a rotor coupled to the input member of the automatic transmission device. A clutch lubricating oil hole formed in a center shaft that extends at a center portion of the clutch and the rotary electric machine. A rotary electric machine lubricating oil hole formed in the center shaft. Separation means for separating lubricating oil such that lubricating oil from the clutch lubricating oil hole is led to the clutch and lubricating oil from the rotary electric machine lubricating oil hole is led to the rotary electric machine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 8, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 9, 2017
    Assignee: AISIN AW CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Satoru Kasuya, Masashi Kito, Yuichi Seki, Hiroki Shintani
  • Internal combustion engine with gear-driven crankshaft
    Patent number: 9624772
    Abstract: An internal combustion engine includes a cylinder block defining a cylinder and a crankshaft rotatably received by the cylinder block. The crankshaft includes a crankshaft gear and is configured to rotate along a longitudinal axis of the crankshaft. The engine further includes a piston configured to reciprocate within the cylinder between spaced stroke termination points defining a stroke of the piston. The engine also includes a connecting rod operably coupled to the piston. The connecting rod includes a gear configured to engage the crankshaft gear, wherein the crankshaft gear and the gear of the connecting rod are configured to engage one another, such that as the piston travels within the cylinder, the connecting rod rotates the crankshaft via engagement between the crankshaft gear and the gear of the connecting rod.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2017
    Assignee: Wilkins IP, LLC
    Inventor: Larry C. Wilkins
  • Engine control device for a work vehicle
    Patent number: 9617937
    Abstract: An engine control device for a vehicle is provided, which comprises a control unit configured to be connected to the engine of a vehicle and to control the switching of the engine from a first idle rotation speed to a second idle rotation speed in which the number of engine revolutions is lower compared to the number of revolutions of the first idle speed. The control device also includes a first sensor, configured to be connected to the engine and to instantaneously sense and transmit to the control unit the number of revolutions completed by the engine in the unit of time. The control device further includes a second sensor for detecting the presence of an operator at the vehicle controls, and the second sensor is configured to transmit to the control unit a signal indicating the presence of an operator at the vehicle controls.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 11, 2017
    Assignee: CNH Industrial America LLC
    Inventors: Massimo Baroni, Eugenio Sereni, Francesco Mancarella
  • Device and method for controlling internal combustion engine for vehicle
    Patent number: 9617926
    Abstract: In a vehicle with an automatic transmission, an internal combustion engine is provided with a variable compression ratio mechanism. A target compression ratio of the variable compression ratio mechanism is determined based on a demand load and an engine rotation speed with reference to a compression ratio map. A reverse-drive compression ratio map is selected when the automatic transmission is in a reverse drive position; a first compression ratio map is selected when an actual speed reduction ratio of the transmission is low; and a second compression ratio map is selected when the actual speed reduction ratio of the transmission is high. A variable control range of the compression ratio is narrower in the second compression ratio map than in the first compression ratio map and is narrower in the reverse-drive compression ratio map than in the first and second compression ratio maps.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 11, 2017
    Assignee: NISSAN MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Eiji Takahashi
  • Fuel supply apparatus for internal combustion engine
    Patent number: 9617960
    Abstract: A fuel supply apparatus for an internal combustion engine includes: a feed pump capable of feeding a fuel of the internal combustion engine; a high pressure fuel pump that pressurizes the fuel fed from the feed pump; and a second injector that supplies the pressurized high-pressure fuel to the internal combustion engine selectively. An ECU of the fuel supply apparatus includes: a pulsation width detection unit that detects a pulsation width in a pressure of the fuel fed from the feed pump to the high pressure fuel pump; and a feeding condition determination unit that determines that a condition variation causing fuel vapor to form in the fuel fed to the high pressure fuel pump has occurred when the pulsation width detected by the pulsation width detection unit falls rapidly to a preset threshold variation width.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 11, 2017
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Kenichi Saito
  • Direct injection flexible multiplexing scheme
    Patent number: 9611797
    Abstract: An engine system may include a specified number of injectors and an engine control unit (ECU) having pins to which the injectors may be coupled. The ECU may include a controller implemented in hardware, software, or combination of both, and capable of switching between different multiplexing configurations, where each multiplexing configuration includes a specified number of individual injectors coupled across corresponding pairs of pins. The controller may select one multiplexing configuration from the number of specified multiplexing configurations without requiring any hardware adjustments to be made to the injectors and/or pins. The controller may also operate the individual injectors through the corresponding pairs of pins in an active multiplexing configuration selected by the controller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 3, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 4, 2017
    Assignee: NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS CORPORATION
    Inventor: Matthew Viele
  • Spark plug having long service life
    Patent number: 9608412
    Abstract: A spark plug, including a central electrode, a first ground electrode, which is situated in a curved shape having a horizontal area and an essentially vertical area, and at least one second ground electrode, which is situated adjacent to the central electrode in such a way that a distance between the first ground electrode and the central electrode is less than a distance between the second ground electrode and the central electrode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 3, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 28, 2017
    Assignee: ROBERT BOSCH GMBH
    Inventors: Detlef Hartmann, Andreas Benz, Mario Fleischhauer, Jochen Fischer
  • Engine fuel injection device
    Patent number: 9599085
    Abstract: A fuel injection device injects fuel per each cylinder in an engine having a plurality of cylinders #1 and #2. At a time of engine actuation, start timings of fuel injections are shifted per each cylinder and times within one rotation of a crankshaft is set as the injection start timings for all cylinders. At least the initial fuel injection is performed before cylinder discrimination.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 2, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2017
    Assignee: SUZUKI MOTOR CORPORATION
    Inventor: Yukihiro Yoshikawa
  • Fuel system control
    Patent number: 9599086
    Abstract: A method of controlling a fuel system includes determining the opening of a pressure relief valve and initiating a reseat strategy for the valve. The fuel system comprises a source of high pressure fuel and a pressure relief valve having at least one inlet fluidly coupled to the source of high pressure fuel and at least one outlet. The pressure relief valve has a closed position and at least one open position in which fuel is able to pass from the inlet to the outlet. The method comprises the steps of continuously measuring the pressure of the fuel in the fuel source, determining whether the pressure relief valve is in an open position, and generating an open signal if it is determined that the pressure relief valve is in an open position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 12, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2017
    Assignee: Perkins Engines Company Limited
    Inventor: Michael David Smith
  • System for cranking internal combustion engine by engagement of pinion with ring gear
    Patent number: 9599088
    Abstract: In a system, an engine restating module is capable of executing an engine restart task to crank an automatically stopped engine if an engine restart condition is met. The engine restart task includes energization of a mechanism to thereby shift a pinion to be engaged with a ring gear, and energization of a motor to rotate the pinion. A deenergizing module is capable of deenergizing the motor if an interrupting request that interrupts restart of the automatically stopped engine is generated during execution of the engine restart task. A maintaining module is capable of maintaining energization of the mechanism to engage the pinion with the ring gear even if the interrupting request that interrupts restart of the automatically stopped engine is generated during execution of the engine restart task.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 29, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2017
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventor: Takeshi Aoyagi
  • Fuel injection device and adjustment method thereof
    Patent number: 9588016
    Abstract: A fuel injection device (fuel supply system) of a common rail type fuel injection system for an engine includes a pressure sensor disposed in a fuel inlet of an injector for measuring a fuel pressure at a position where the sensor is disposed and an ECU for sensing various kinds of pressure fluctuations associated with the injection including a pressure leak due to an injection operation of the injector and waving characteristics due to actual injection thereof based on sensor outputs from the pressure sensor. The ECU serially obtains the sensor outputs from the pressure sensor at intervals of 20 ?sec.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2007
    Date of Patent: March 7, 2017
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kouji Ishizuka, Kenichirou Nakata, Katsuhiko Takeuchi
  • Fuel injection control device for internal combustion engine
    Patent number: 9587577
    Abstract: When injecting fuel from a direct injector and a port injector such that a requested fuel injection amount for an internal combustion engine is reached, the direct injector is driven in the following manner. That is, target fuel injection amounts are set on the basis of the engine operating state in order from the fuel injection with the highest priority among fuel injection in a compression stroke, fuel injection in the late stage of an intake stroke, and fuel injection in the early stage of the intake stroke in the direct injector, and the abovementioned setting continues until the total value of the target fuel injection amounts reaches the requested fuel injection amount. Moreover, the direct injector is driven in such a manner that the target fuel injection amounts for each of the abovementioned fuel injections set in this manner are obtained.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 26, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 7, 2017
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Tomohiro Nakano
  • Pressure reducing device for gaseous fuel system
    Patent number: 9587587
    Abstract: A pressure reducing device is disclosed for use with a gaseous fuel system. The pressure reducing device may include a body defining an inlet and an outlet, and a converging-diverging nozzle formed between the inlet and the outlet. The pressure reducing device may further include a shockwave inducing element disposed within the body between the venture and the outlet, and an airfoil located inside the body upstream of the shockwave inducing element and connected to move the shockwave inducing element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 24, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 7, 2017
    Assignee: Electro-Motive Diesel, Inc.
    Inventors: Aaron Gamache Foege, Emma Kathleen Kaiser
  • Method for internal combustion engine fuel injection computation based on fuel aging
    Patent number: 9581101
    Abstract: A method for the injection computation for an internal combustion engine, in particular for a gasoline range extender engine. This includes ascertaining an adaptation factor, which represents fuel aging, from a model of the fuel and a fuel outgassing via a tank vent and adaptation of a fuel injection quantity and/or a fuel injection time using the adaptation factor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2017
    Assignee: ROBERT BOSCH GMBH
    Inventor: Martin Huber
  • Methods and systems for starting an electrically controlled engine of a transport refrigeration system
    Patent number: 9580003
    Abstract: Embodiments of systems and methods for starting an electronically controlled engine of a TRS by supplying power from a battery, are provided. The engine is electronically controlled by an engine control unit (ECU). The systems and methods can achieve a complete engine start even when the ECU experiences a reset during the startup of the engine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2017
    Assignee: THERMO KING CORPORATION
    Inventor: Omosola Waidi Olaleye
  • Ignition method for an internal combustion engine and an ignition device operated accordingly
    Patent number: 9574539
    Abstract: The detection of the switching state of a stop switch at a switch terminal of an ignition device for an internal combustion engine is provided, in which an ignition pulse for controlling an electronic ignition switch is generated and a first power storage device is discharged via an ignition coil and during this discharge a voltage signal having negative and positive voltage half waves is generated, which is used for synchronizing a sampling, representing the switch state of the stop switch, particularly its closed position, of a voltage value at the switch terminal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 21, 2017
    Assignee: PRUEFREX engineering e motion GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventors: Denis Lenz, Leo Kiessling
  • Controller and control method for engines
    Patent number: 9567933
    Abstract: An alternator configured to acquire a motive force from an engine to generate electricity and a capacitor capable of storing therein the electricity generated by the alternator are provided. An electricity consumption amount required during learning is calculated, and a capacitor electricity amount is compared with the calculated electricity consumption amount, and when the capacitor electricity amount is equal to or less than the calculated electricity consumption amount, the alternator is operated to generate electricity until the capacitor electricity amount is increased beyond the calculated electricity consumption amount.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 21, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2017
    Assignee: MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kazunori Hirabayashi, Naoya Mitsuishi, Shingo Okamoto, Masahiro Tateishi, Toshihiro Kamimura, Issei Oiso, Yoshiaki Enseki
  • Determining outgassing of a fuel from a lubricant within an internal combustion engine and lambda value adaptation based on the determined outgassing of fuel
    Patent number: 9567925
    Abstract: A method for determining the quantity of outgassing of a fuel from a lubricant located in an intake section housing of an internal combustion engine may include (a) setting a first coil current through the housing, (b) measuring a first output value of a lambda controller, (c) setting a second coil current through the housing, the second coil current having a different current strength than the first coil current, (d) measuring a second output value of the lambda controller and (e) determining the quantity of outgassing of the fuel based on the measured first and second output values. In addition, a method for adapting a lambda value for a fuel/air mixture to be burnt in an internal combustion engine during a lower load range may include the above-mentioned method of determining the quantity of outgassing of a fuel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 2011
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2017
    Assignee: CONTINENTAL AUTOMOTIVE GMBH
    Inventors: Lars Nilsson, Sebastian Viehöver, Jan-Richard Lenk
  • Idle stop condition determination method of engine
    Patent number: 9556808
    Abstract: An idle stop condition determination method of an engine includes: calculating and storing a fuel saving estimation amount in idle stop of an engine on the basis of traveling information; calculating the amount of fuel consumption in restarting for restarting, when an idle stop condition of the engine is satisfied; comparing the magnitudes of the fuel saving estimation amount with the amount of fuel consumption in restarting, and stopping the engine in accordance with the result of the comparing; and restarting the engine, when a restarting condition of the engine is satisfied.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2017
    Assignee: Hyundai Motor Company
    Inventor: Jae Woong Yoo
  • Control device for coolant flow in an internal combustion engine
    Patent number: 9551270
    Abstract: A control device for an internal combustion engine is a control device, applied to an internal combustion engine including an EGR cooler which includes a heat exchange body made of a material including SiC. The control device includes a control unit that controls a flow rate of coolant passing through an EGR cooler to be small in a case of a temperature of the coolant not less than a predetermined value in ending the coolant stop control of the coolant stop control unit, as compared with a case of a temperature of the coolant less than the predetermined value in ending the coolant stop control of the coolant stop control unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 24, 2017
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Takeshi Kitayama