Abstract: An internal combustion engine is operated on auto-ignition combustion of fuel with low cetane number like gasoline. The engine has at least one cylinder and a reciprocating piston in the cylinder to define a combustion chamber. Combustion event in the cylinder is expressed in terms of two variables. They are main combustion timing (&thgr;50) and a main combustion period (&thgr;20-50). The main combustion timing (&thgr;50) represents a crank position when mass burnt rate is 50 percent. The main combustion period (&thgr;20-50) represents a period from a crank position when mass burnt is 20 percent to a crank position when mass burnt is 50 percent. Controlled parameters governing main combustion are varied to adjust the main combustion timing on an advance side of a retard limit (&thgr;50 max) and to adjust the main combustion period within a range between an upper limit (&thgr;20-50 max) and a lower limit (&thgr;20-50 min).

Abstract: A fuel cell system is provided with a fuel cell body, a hydrogen supply system supplying hydrogen containing gas to the fuel cell body, an oxygen supply system supplying oxygen containing gas to the fuel cell body, a cooling system adjusting the temperature of the fuel cell body, a water circulation system supplying water to humidify the fuel cell body and collecting water discharged from the fuel cell body, a generated heat amount calculating section calculating a generated heat amount of the fuel cell body, a cooling performance calculating section calculating a cooling performance of the cooling system, a temperature calculating section calculating a fuel cell temperature of the fuel cell body on the basis of the generated heat amount and the cooling performance, a collected water amount calculating section calculating an amount of water collected from the water circulation system on the basis of the fuel cell temperature, and a collected water amount controlling section controlling the amount of collected

Abstract: A system and method for widening auto-ignition range of a lean burn internal combustion engine employs stratified charge of exhaust gas content and air content. A fuel injection system carries out a first injection of gasoline fuel for dispersion within the air content, and a second injection of gasoline fuel for dispersion within the exhaust gas content. This intelligent injection of gasoline fuel accomplishes auto-ignition of gasoline fuel within the exhaust gas content over extended range of engine speed and load.

Abstract: Controlling of an engine provided with a catalytic converter in an exhaust passage is executed during an idling operation of the engine to heat catalyst in the catalytic converter while permitting the self-ignition combustion mode to be performed in the engine when the catalyst is in a non-active condition, and when the temperature Te of the engine cooling water is higher than a predetermined threshold value Te1, and to allow execution of the self-ignition combustion mode as well as the idling-stop function when the catalyst is in an active condition, and when the temperature Te of the engine cooling water is higher than a predetermined threshold value Te2 that is larger than the predetermined threshold value Te1.

Abstract: An internal combustion engine includes a cylinder including at least one intake valve which is selectively open to allow at least air to enter the cylinder and at least one exhaust valve which is selectively open to allow residual gas escape from the cylinder after a firing event. An auto-ignition system for such an engine comprises a device communicably coupled with the cylinder. The device is, effective to allow an amount of high temperature and pressure residual gas to enter the cylinder in the compression stroke of an engine cycle after valve closure of the intake valve.

Abstract: A system and method for controlling an internal combustion engine employs a split injection to create stratified air/fuel mixture charge. The stratified charge includes an ignitable air/fuel mixture portion around a spark plug within the surrounding lean air/fuel mixture and experiences a two-stage combustion. The first stage is combustion of the ignitable air/fuel mixture portion initiated by a spark produced by the spark plug, providing an additional increase of cylinder pressure. The second stage is auto-ignited combustion of the surrounding lean air/fuel mixture induced by such additional cylinder pressure increase. The system and method also employ generating a combustion event indicative (CEI) parameter related with combustion speed or ignition timing point of auto-ignition of auto-ignited combustion of the surrounding mixture, and determining control parameters of a spark timing controller and a fuel supply controller in response to the CEI parameter.

Abstract: An exhaust manifold provides improved output by suppressing exhaust interference between cylinders at the exhaust manifold. An air-fuel ratio sensor is installed in position where it can uniformly detect the exhaust gas of each cylinder. The exhaust manifold has a plurality of exhaust tubes, one per cylinder, that connect with a collector case. Each of exhaust tubes has a linear portion located directly above the section where it merges with the collector case. The exhaust tubes are connected to the collector case such that the center axes of the linear portions intersect at intersection point inside the collector case or downstream thereof. The air-fuel ratio sensor is arranged such that its detecting part is positioned in the vicinity of the intersection point. Depending upon whether the exhaust tubes of cylinders have firing orders that are successive or not determines whether the exhaust tubes are slanted or parallel with respect to each other.

Abstract: A self-ignition combustion engine has a control unit that controls the temperature of the intake air such that the operating load range of compression self-ignition combustion is expanded. In operating regions where cooling the intake air results in an intake air temperature that is too low and an inability to conduct self-ignition operation, the temperature of the intake air is raised by directing intake air that has been supercharged by a supercharger to a bypass passage so that it does not pass through an inter-cooler.

Abstract: An enhanced auto-ignition in a gasoline internal combustion engine, comprises a fuel injector directly communicating with said combustion chamber for spraying gasoline fuel.

Abstract: A system and method for enhanced combustion control in an internal combustion engine is disclosed. A fuel supply system has a fuel injector positioned to directly inject fuel into a combustion chamber, and it is capable of performing a split injection wherein a first fuel injection in each engine cycle precedes a second fuel injection that occurs during compression stroke in the same engine cycle. A spark plug produces a spark to ignite a first air/fuel mixture portion created due to the second fuel injection, initiating a first stage combustion. The first stage combustion raises temperature and pressure high enough to cause auto-ignition of a second air/fuel mixture portion surrounding the first air-fuel mixture portion, initiating a second stage combustion. An engine controller is programmed to perform control over initiation timing of the second stage combustion in response to at least one of the engine speed and load.

Abstract: A compression self-ignition gasoline engine includes a stratifying device stratifying gas in a combustion chamber of the engine, a fuel injector directly injecting fuel in the combustion chamber and a controller connected to the stratifying device and the fuel injector. The controller controlling the stratifying device to produce a high temperature gas layer of a high temperature gas and a low temperature gas layer of a low temperature gas in the combustion chamber. The controller further controls the fuel injector to inject the fuel to both the high temperature gas layer and the low temperature gas layer.

Abstract: An engine control unit controls a self-ignition gasoline engine which is capable of changing a combustion condition of the engine between a self-ignition combustion and a spark-ignition combustion according to an engine operating condition. The control unit executes detecting an combustion condition in the engine, detecting a self-ignition limit of a region for executing the self-ignition combustion on the basis of the combustion condition, and varying a combustion parameter for the combustion during the self-ignition combustion so that the combustion condition approaches the self-ignition combustion limit and a self-ignition combustion operation is executed under a condition maintaining the self-ignition limit.

Abstract: A gasoline engine has an actuating system including an in-cylinder fuel injection system and an ignition system, capable of changing over combustion between spark ignition combustion and compression autoignition combustion, and a controlling system for controlling the combustion changeover. In a transition from one combustion to the other, the actuating system is controlled to perform transient combustion such as stratified charge combustion with fuel injection on the compression stroke, or combustion with fuel injection during a valve shutoff period during which intake and exhaust valves are both closed.

Abstract: An internal combustion engine has a fuel injection system capable of performing a multiple injection wherein a main injection event and a trigger injection event take place in this order in one cycle. With main injection, fuel is widely dispersed within a combustion chamber to create a main mixture for main combustion. With trigger injection, fuel is dispersed locally within the combustion chamber to create an ignitable mixture for auto-ignition. Auto-ignition of the ignitable mixture creates condition under which auto-ignition of the main mixture takes place. Fuel quantity and timing for each of main and trigger injections are varied corresponding to engine speed and load request to cause the main mixture to burn at a target crank angle after TDC of compression stroke.

Abstract: An internal combustion engine is operated on auto-ignition combustion of fuel with low cetane number like gasoline. The engine has at least one cylinder and a reciprocating piston in the cylinder to define a combustion chamber. Combustion event in the cylinder is expressed in terms of two variables. They are main combustion timing (&thgr;50) and a main combustion period (&thgr;20-50). The main combustion timing (&thgr;50) represents a crank position when mass burnt rate is 50 percent. The main combustion period (&thgr;20-50) represents a period from a crank position when mass burnt is 20 percent to a crank position when mass burnt is 50 percent. Controlled parameters governing main combustion are varied to adjust the main combustion timing on an advance side of a retard limit (&thgr;50 max) and to adjust the main combustion period within a range between an upper limit (&thgr;20-50 max) and a lower limit (&thgr;20-50 min).

Abstract: A system and method for widening auto-ignition range of a lean burn internal combustion engine employs stratified charge of exhaust gas content and air content. A fuel injection system carries out a first injection of gasoline fuel for dispersion within the air content, and a second injection of gasoline fuel for dispersion within the exhaust gas content. This intelligent injection of gasoline fuel accomplishes auto-ignition of gasoline fuel within the exhaust gas content over extended range of engine speed and load.

Abstract: A split injection of gasoline produces stratified charge in at least one cylinder. A sensor measures cylinder pressure or knock and generates a sensor signal indicative of combustion event timing of stratified charge. From the sensor signal, a controller determines an actual value of a characteristic parameter representing combustion event timing in the cylinder. The controller modifies at least one of operating variables governing a split injection for the subsequent cycle in such a direction as to decrease a deviation between the actual value of the characteristic parameter and a target value thereof toward zero.

Abstract: An enhanced auto-ignition in a gasoline internal combustion engine, comprises a fuel injector directly communicating with said combustion chamber for spraying gasoline fuel.

Abstract: A compression self-ignition gasoline engine includes a stratifying device stratifying gas in a combustion chamber of the engine, a fuel injector directly injecting fuel in the combustion chamber and a controller connected to the stratifying device and the fuel injector. The controller controlling the stratifying device to produce a high temperature gas layer of a high temperature gas and a low temperature gas layer of a low temperature gas in the combustion chamber. The controller further controls the fuel injector to inject the fuel to both the high temperature gas layer and the low temperature gas layer.