Patents by Inventor Danny R. Baker

Danny R. Baker has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 7089738
    Abstract: A system for controlling turbocharger compressor surge includes a turbocharger compressor fluidly coupled to an engine intake manifold, an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) valve disposed in-line with an EGR conduit fluidly coupled between the engine intake and exhaust manifolds, means for determining a mass flow parameter, a speed sensor producing a speed signal indicative of turbocharger speed, and a control computer configured to determine a mass flow rate surge value, corresponding to a fresh air mass flow rate above which turbocharger compressor surge is avoided, as a function of the speed signal, and to limit the EGR valve position and VGT position as a function of the mass flow parameter and the mass flow rate surge value to maintain exhaust gas flow through the EGR valve at a flow rate below which turbocharger compressor surge is avoided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 9, 2005
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2006
    Assignee: Cummins, Inc.
    Inventors: Daniel E. Boewe, Danny R. Baker, Philip M. Dimpelfeld, David A. Vittorio, Thomas A. Grana
  • Patent number: 6804601
    Abstract: A sensor failure accommodation system includes a control computer receiving a sensor signal corresponding to an engine operating condition, and estimating a value of the engine operating condition as a function of one or more engine operating parameters different than the engine operating condition. The computer is operable to control one or more air handling mechanisms as a function of a final engine operating condition value, and if the sensor producing the engine operating condition signal is error free the final engine operating condition value is the engine operating condition signal. If the sensor producing the engine operating condition signal has failed, the final engine operating condition value is the engine operating condition estimate, and if at least one sensor producing the one or more engine operating parameters has also failed, the final engine operating condition value is a commanded or other definable engine operating condition value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2002
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2004
    Assignee: Cummins, Inc.
    Inventors: Yue Yun Wang, Dennis Robinson, George Brunemann, Danny R. Baker
  • Publication number: 20030182048
    Abstract: A sensor failure accommodation system includes a control computer receiving a sensor signal corresponding to an engine operating condition, and estimating a value of the engine operating condition as a function of one or more engine operating parameters different than the engine operating condition. The computer is operable to control one or more air handling mechanisms as a function of a final engine operating condition value, and if the sensor producing the engine operating condition signal is error free the final engine operating condition value is the engine operating condition signal. If the sensor producing the engine operating condition signal has failed, the final engine operating condition value is the engine operating condition estimate, and if at least one sensor producing the one or more engine operating parameters has also failed, the final engine operating condition value is a commanded or other definable engine operating condition value.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 19, 2002
    Publication date: September 25, 2003
    Inventors: Yue Yun Wang, Dennis Robinson, George Brunemann, Danny R. Baker
  • Patent number: 6601015
    Abstract: An apparatus is disclosed including an internal combustion engine, a number of sensors configured to detect operating parameters of the engine, and art engine control system responsive to the sensors to regulate engine operation. The control system includes a controller operatively coupled to a nonvolatile memory and has an interface capable of receiving operator input to customize aspects of a diagnostic data collection routine embedded in the control system. The routine responds to this input to selectively establish a data collection trigger, the nature of the information to be stored in the nonvolatile memory in response to this trigger, and the rate of storage of this information in the memory. The trigger may be externally generated with an operator-controlled triggering device coupled to the control system or internally generated as a function of one or more of the operating parameters.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 1999
    Date of Patent: July 29, 2003
    Assignee: Cummins Engine Company, Inc.
    Inventors: Thomas J. Milvert, Danny R. Baker, John V. Shutty, Todd E. Greenwood, Rick Stoughton
  • Patent number: 6112148
    Abstract: A diagnostic system for an engine is provided for which a plurality of annunciators are energized according to particular fault code sequences. A self-diagnosis mode is controlled by use of the vehicle throttle. The self-diagnosis mode can be initiated by a predetermined number of cycles of the vehicle throttle, in which a cycle corresponds to depressing and releasing the throttle beyond upper and lower limits. In one aspect of the invention, a timer is used to determine whether the predetermined number of throttle cycles occurs within a fixed time limit. If not, then the self-diagnosis mode is not activated. Once the self-diagnosis mode is activated, subsequent cycles of the vehicle throttle will increment the annunciators among the sequential fault codes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 1998
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2000
    Assignee: Cummins Engine Co., Inc.
    Inventors: Dmitri V. Baraban, David L. Clark, William A. Rankin, Randal L. Bergstedt, Danny R. Baker, Kenneth S. Houston
  • Patent number: 6009372
    Abstract: An internal combustion engine with an embedded control system is disclosed which includes a programmable controller operatively coupled to a nonvolatile memory and a volatile memory. The nonvolatile memory is loaded with programming instructions for the controller. In one embodiment, a portion of the programming instructions are provided in an unexecutable compressed format which are then selectively decompressed into an executable format by an executable routine loaded in another portion of the nonvolatile memory. In another aspect, a first loading program is executed by the controller to load data from external support equipment. This data includes a second loading routine. The downloaded data also includes a code substitution program which is executed to replace the first loading routine with the second loading routine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 1997
    Date of Patent: December 28, 1999
    Assignee: Cummins Engine Company, Inc.
    Inventors: Danny R. Baker, Thane Morgan