Patents Examined by Xiao Mo
  • Patent number: 9222427
    Abstract: A system includes a parameter module that determines at least one of a position of a throttle and a load of an engine. A cylinder status module generates a status signal indicating an activation status of each cylinder of the engine. The cylinder status module determines whether one or more of the cylinders are activated. A first pressure prediction module, when all of the cylinders are activated, predicts first intake port pressures for the cylinders of the engine according to a first model and based on the at least one of the position of the throttle and the engine load. A second pressure prediction module, when one or more of the cylinders is deactivated, predicts second intake port pressures for the deactivated cylinders according to a second model and based on the status signal and the at least one of the position of the throttle and the engine load.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 29, 2015
    Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC
    Inventors: Gregory P. Matthews, Zhiping Steven Liu
  • Patent number: 9217360
    Abstract: This disclosure relates to an improved prechamber device for an internal combustion engine. The prechamber device is positioned adjacent to a combustion chamber. The improved prechamber device is configured to improve removal of heat from the prechamber device, particularly in the area adjacent to the combustion chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 1, 2011
    Date of Patent: December 22, 2015
    Assignee: Cummins Intellectual Property, Inc.
    Inventor: Patrick M. Pierz
  • Patent number: 9217407
    Abstract: The mechanical lifter generally includes an inner lift member, an outer lift member, and a roller. The inner lift member is at least partly made of a metallic material. The outer lift member is at least partly made of a polymeric material and surrounds the inner lift member. The roller is rotatably coupled with respect to the inner lift member and is partly disposed within the inner lift member. The inner lift member is configured to move a first component in response to a force applied to the roller by a second component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 22, 2015
    Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC
    Inventors: William D Bauman, Gerald R Stabel, Carl Ralph Kangas
  • Patent number: 9206760
    Abstract: When a state in which fuel supply to a combustion chamber of an internal combustion engine is cut is recovered, since a vehicle control device starts the fuel supply by controlling the internal combustion engine at the time that a requested driving force that is being requested becomes the same as an actual driving force that is being actually generated, the vehicle control device can appropriately start the fuel supply when the fuel cut state is recovered. When, for example, the deviation between the requested driving force and the actual driving force becomes within a preset and predetermined range, as the time at which the requested driving force that is being requested becomes the same as the actual driving force that is being actually generated, the vehicle control device starts the fuel supply.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 8, 2015
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Masaki Mitsuyasu, Norimi Asahara
  • Patent number: 9194307
    Abstract: Systems and methods for fuelling a plurality of cylinders of an internal combustion engine are disclosed. The system includes a dedicated exhaust gas recirculation system for recirculating exhaust gas flow from at least one dedicated cylinder of an engine into an intake system prior to combustion. The system further includes a fueling system to provide a first flow of fuel to each of the plurality of cylinders and a second flow of fuel to each of the dedicated cylinders that is in addition to the first flow of fuel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 24, 2015
    Assignee: Cummins Inc.
    Inventors: Samuel C. Geckler, Marten H. Dane, Anthony Kyle Perfetto
  • Patent number: 9194280
    Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for reducing coking residues on an injection device of an applied-ignition, direct injection engine. An example system comprises an injection device; an electric heating device integrated with the injection device; a catalytic coating on a surface of the injection device; and a controller suitable to initiate a cleaning mode of the injection device wherein the electric heating device raises the temperature of the injection device. Heating the injection device allows coking residues on the injection device to oxidize in the presence of the catalytic coating.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 7, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 24, 2015
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Oliver Berkemeier, Klemens Grieser, Kay Hohenboeken, Jens Wojahn
  • Patent number: 9175617
    Abstract: A system and method can control exhaust braking in a vehicle. The vehicle includes an engine system. The engine system includes internal combustion engine, an intake manifold, a control module, an exhaust system, and a variable geometry turbocharger (VGT) having a turbine. The turbine includes turbine blades and vanes movable with respect to the turbine blades. The method includes the following: (a) receiving an exhaust brake torque request; (b) determining target pumping losses in the internal combustion engine based on the exhaust brake torque request; (c) determining a target exhaust gas pressure within the exhaust system based on the target pumping losses; and (d) determining a target vane position of the vanes based on the target exhaust gas pressure, wherein the target vane position yields an exhaust brake torque in accordance with the exhaust brake torque request.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 8, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 3, 2015
    Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC
    Inventors: Luca Scavone, Simone Barbero, Francesco Castorina, Francesco Cianflone, Andrea Di Giovanni, Andrea De Vito
  • Patent number: 9175640
    Abstract: A fuel injector assembly is provided herein. The fuel injector assembly includes an insulated delivery conduit in fluidic communication with a fuel pump and a conductive enclosure at least partially surrounding the insulated delivery conduit. The fuel injector assembly further includes a seal positioned between the insulated delivery conduit, conductive enclosure, and the fuel injector outlet with radial and axial forces against an exterior surface of the insulated delivery conduit, interior surface of the conductive enclosure, and the exterior surface of fuel injector outlet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 2012
    Date of Patent: November 3, 2015
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Stephen Raymond Ryan, Brendan John Butcher
  • Patent number: 9169784
    Abstract: A system and method is provided to analyze an intermediate pressure signal portion between an end of an injection event signal portion and a start of a subsequent injection event signal portion. The analysis is simplified by identifying a plurality of single cycle windows and calculating a single value, such as a mean or a median, for each of the windows. An intermediate portion single value is determined by averaging the single values for each of the windows. The intermediate portion single value may then be used to identify pumping events or leakage errors that occur during the intermediate pressure signal portion that affect further analysis of the intermediate pressure signal portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 8, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 27, 2015
    Assignee: Cummins Inc.
    Inventors: Paul V. Moonjelly, David Lee Baldwin, David M. Carey, Donald J. Benson
  • Patent number: 9169791
    Abstract: A method for operating an engine of a vehicle. During a warm-up period following a cold start of the vehicle, a cylinder of the engine is charged to a reduced air-charge pressure, and fuel is injected into the cylinder. After the warm-up period, the cylinder is charged to a non-reduced air-charge pressure, greater for an equivalent driver demand than the reduced air-charge pressure, and fuel is injected into the cylinder.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 27, 2015
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Brad Alan VanDerWege, Ken Jahr, Joseph Norman Ulrey, Todd Anthony Rumpsa
  • Patent number: 9169795
    Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for adjusting an anticipatory controller of an exhaust gas sensor coupled in an engine exhaust. In one embodiment, the method comprises adjusting fuel injection responsive to exhaust oxygen feedback from the anticipatory controller of the exhaust gas sensor and adjusting one or more parameters of the anticipatory controller responsive to a type of oxygen sensor degradation. In this way, the anticipatory controller may be adapted based on the type and magnitude of the degradation behavior to increase performance of the air-fuel control system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 27, 2015
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Hassene Jammoussi, Imad Hassan Makki, Dimitar Petrov Filev, Adam Nathan Banker, Michael James Uhrich, Michael Casedy
  • Patent number: 9163598
    Abstract: The engine with a variable flow rate oil pump includes a subsidiary relief passage that extends from an oil passage-switching valve to a subsidiary oil pump, a main relief passage that extends from the oil passage-switching valve to the main oil pump separately from the subsidiary relief passage, and a check valve that is provided in the subsidiary discharge passage and cuts off the flow of oil from the main discharge passage side to the oil passage-switching valve side. The oil passage-switching valve has a main pressure-adjusting chamber for the main oil pump, a subsidiary pressure-adjusting chamber of for the subsidiary oil pump, and a spool valve that performs partitioning between the main pressure-adjusting chamber and the subsidiary pressure-adjusting chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 20, 2015
    Assignees: YAMADA MANUFACTURING CO., LTD., HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Yasunori Ono, Junichi Miyajima, Noriyuki Kawamata, Hayato Maehara, Eisuke Kajihara, Kazuhiro Takeuchi, Norihiko Gogami, Satoshi Ino
  • Patent number: 9151233
    Abstract: A vehicle controller performs a throttle-valve-late-close control in which the throttle valve is held open until a delay time has passed after the fuel cut is started, and an EGR-valve-open-close control in which the EGR valve is repeatedly opened and closed. Then, the throttle valve is closed and the EGR valve is opened. In a period from a latter period of an exhaust stroke to a preceding period of an intake stroke, a valve-overlap control is executed so that a variable valve timing controller is controlled to make both an intake valve and an exhaust valve opened. A pumping loss of an engine is sufficiently reduced and an energy-regenerate efficiency can be effectively improved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 12, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 6, 2015
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Taketsugu Sasaki, Shuhei Oe, Masanori Sugiura, Takashi Satoh, Motoyoshi Hatta
  • Patent number: 9140200
    Abstract: An idle throttle valve control method of a diesel vehicle, may include a first step of determining whether an idle entry condition of the vehicle may be satisfied, a second step of controlling a throttle valve based on an air amount map and controlling an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) valve based on an EGR map, when the first step may be satisfied, a third step of determining whether an idle release condition may be satisfied during the second step, and a fourth step of determining whether an EGR return condition may be satisfied, when the idle release condition may be satisfied in the third step.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 8, 2011
    Date of Patent: September 22, 2015
    Assignees: HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY, KIA MOTORS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Heungseok Lee, Chang Kook Chae, Sukil Oh, Wan Soo Oh, Jin Hyun Kim, Koo Tae Kang, Kwang Min Won
  • Patent number: 9133776
    Abstract: A control apparatus and a control method diagnose whether an internal-combustion engine is rotated in forward or reverse directions is being properly implemented. Specifically, based on a pulse width WIPOS of a rotation signal POS output by a crank angle sensor, it is determined whether a crankshaft is rotated in the forward or the reverse directions. Based on the determination of the rotating direction of the crankshaft, a counter CNTPOS, which denotes a count value of rotation signal POS, is updated. At the time of restarting the engine, counter CNTPOS is updated, using a value on counter CNTPOSz at the time of stopping the engine as an initial value. If the value on counter CNTPOS at a crank angle position determined after the starting of the engine differs from an expected value, then the function for determining the rotating direction of the crankshaft is diagnosed to be abnormal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 2011
    Date of Patent: September 15, 2015
    Assignee: HITACHI AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS, LTD.
    Inventor: Hirokazu Shimizu
  • Patent number: 9121356
    Abstract: A stop/start system of a vehicle autostops and autostarts an engine and, in response to an identification of a drive cycle destination indicating that the vehicle will remain parked for at least a predefined period of time, prevents autostopping of the engine during the drive cycle to increase a state of charge of the battery above a nominal target state of charge.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 21, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 1, 2015
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Mathew Alan Boesch, George Edmund Walley, Sangeetha Sangameswaran, J. Anthony Lockwood
  • Patent number: 9109485
    Abstract: A method of controlling a low-pressure fuel pump for a GDI engine includes setting predetermined driving conditions that affect a drivability of the GDI engine in situations that are generated in a vehicle in which the GDI engine is mounted, open-loop controlling the low-pressure fuel pump when one or more of the predetermined driving conditions occur, and when none of the predetermined driving conditions occurs, close-loop controlling the low-pressure fuel pump according to a signal from a fuel pressure sensor such that a target fuel pressure provided from an engine controller is pursued.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 18, 2015
    Assignees: HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY, KIA MOTORS CORP.
    Inventor: Bum Ky Lee
  • Patent number: 9103313
    Abstract: A corona ignition system for providing a corona discharge (24) includes an igniter (20) having an electrode (26) with an asymmetrical firing tip (28) relative to an electrode center axis (ae). The firing tip (28) includes a first surface area (A1) facing the fuel injector (42) which is greater than a second surface area (A2) facing a cylinder block (32). The first surface area (A1) presents a projection (60) having a sharp edge, and the second surface area (A2) presents a round outward surface (62). Accordingly, a radio frequency electric field emitted from the first surface area (A1) provides a robust corona discharge (24) in a flammable area at an outside edge (30) of the fuel spray. No electric field is emitted from the second surface area (A2), and no power arcing occurs between the second surface area (A2) and the cylinder block (32).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 11, 2015
    Assignee: Federal-Mogul Ignition Company
    Inventors: John Antony Burrows, James D. Lykowski
  • Patent number: 9103286
    Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for use of a windshield wiper fluid having a reformulated composition including one or more non-ionic surfactants. The fluid is delivered to the windshield in response to an operator demand for wiping the windshield. The same fluid is also delivered to a cylinder in response to an indication of abnormal cylinder combustion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 16, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 11, 2015
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: David Karl Bidner, Ross Dykstra Pursifull, Gopichandra Surnilla, Mark Allen Dearth
  • Patent number: 9097224
    Abstract: A method for a multi-fuel vehicle includes: determining a first target amount of fuel to be injected for a combustion event of a combustion chamber of an engine; determining first and second fractions for the combustion event based on at least one of engine speed, engine load, and engine temperature; determining a second target amount of liquid fuel for the combustion event based on the first target amount and the first fraction; determining a third target amount of gaseous fuel for the combustion event based on the first target amount and the second fraction; selectively injecting a liquid fuel directly into the combustion chamber for the combustion event based on the second target amount and using a first fuel injector; and selectively injecting a gaseous fuel into a port of the combustion chamber for the combustion event based on the third target amount and using a second fuel injector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 4, 2015
    Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC
    Inventors: Ben W. Moscherosch, Craig D. Marriott, Joshua Cowgill