Patents by Inventor Kouhei Iwai
Kouhei Iwai 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).
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Patent number: 9932883Abstract: A controller injects fuel into a cylinder at a high fuel pressure of 30 MPa or higher, at least in a period between a terminal stage of a compression stroke and an initial stage of an expansion stroke when an operating mode of an engine body is at least in a first specified sub-range of a low load range, and at least in a second specified sub-range of a high load range. The controller sets an EGR ratio in the first specified sub-range to be higher than an EGR ratio in the second specified sub-range, and advances start of fuel injection in the first specified sub-range to start of fuel injection in the second specified sub-range.Type: GrantFiled: August 26, 2013Date of Patent: April 3, 2018Assignee: MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATIONInventors: Kouhei Iwai, Masahisa Yamakawa, Kazuhiro Nagatsu, Takashi Youso, Keiji Araki
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Patent number: 9702316Abstract: A spark-ignition direct injection engine is provided. The engine includes an engine body, a fuel injection valve, a fuel pressure setting mechanism, an ignition plug, and a controller. The controller switches between a compression-ignition mode where the engine body is operated to perform compression-ignition combustion and a spark-ignition mode where the engine body is operated to perform spark-ignition combustion. Immediately after switching from the spark-ignition mode to the compression-ignition mode, the controller operates the engine body in a compression-ignition initial mode where the fuel pressure is set to be 30 MPa or above and the fuel injection valve is controlled to perform the fuel injection in a period from a late stage of the compression stroke to an early stage of the expansion stroke so that the gas mixture self-ignites to combust.Type: GrantFiled: August 21, 2013Date of Patent: July 11, 2017Assignee: Mazda Motor CorporationInventors: Kouhei Iwai, Masahisa Yamakawa, Junichi Taga, Shigeru Nakagawa, Saori Mizuno, Keiji Araki
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Patent number: 9695770Abstract: A control device of a spark-ignition engine is provided. The control device includes a main body of the engine, a fuel injection valve, an ignition plug, and a controller. According to an operating state of the engine, the controller switches an ignition mode between a compression-ignition mode in which compression-ignition combustion is performed by causing the mixture gas to self-ignite and combust, and a spark-ignition mode in which spark-ignition combustion is performed by igniting the mixture gas with the ignition plug to combust. The controller switches the ignition mode from the spark-ignition mode to the compression-ignition mode by performing a transition mode in which a temperature inside the cylinder is forcibly decreased and combustion is performed.Type: GrantFiled: February 14, 2014Date of Patent: July 4, 2017Assignee: Mazda Motor CorporationInventors: Toshiaki Takahashi, Junichi Taga, Kouhei Iwai
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Patent number: 9624868Abstract: A spark-ignition direct injection engine is provided. The engine includes an engine body having a cylinder, intake and exhaust valves for opening and closing intake and exhaust ports that open to the cylinder, respectively, a fuel injection valve for injecting fuel into the cylinder, a catalyst in an exhaust passage, and a controller for operating the engine body by controlling the intake and exhaust valves and the fuel injection valve. The controller performs a fuel cut by suspending the fuel injection during engine deceleration in a non-operated accelerator state, and when the engine speed drops to a predetermined speed, the controller resumes the fuel injection. During the fuel cut, the controller opens the exhaust valve on an intake stroke and then opens the intake valve, and after closing the exhaust valve and when mixture gas is blown back to the intake port, the controller closes the intake valve.Type: GrantFiled: August 21, 2013Date of Patent: April 18, 2017Assignee: Mazda Motor CorporationInventors: Kouhei Iwai, Junichi Taga
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Patent number: 9617945Abstract: A control device of a spark-ignition engine is provided. The control device includes a main body of the engine, a fuel injection valve, an ignition plug, and a controller. According to an engine operating state, the controller switches between a compression-ignition mode in which compression-ignition combustion is performed, and a spark-ignition mode in which spark-ignition combustion is performed. The controller switches from the spark-ignition mode to the compression-ignition mode by performing in order, a first stage where an air-fuel ratio of mixture gas is set to a predetermined value and the spark-ignition combustion is performed, a second stage where the air-fuel ratio of the mixture gas is set leaner than the first stage and the compression-ignition combustion is performed, and a third stage where the air-fuel ratio of the mixture gas is set richer than the second stage and the compression-ignition combustion is performed.Type: GrantFiled: February 14, 2014Date of Patent: April 11, 2017Assignee: Mazda Motor CorporationInventors: Toshiaki Takahashi, Junichi Taga, Kouhei Iwai
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Patent number: 9470174Abstract: An engine body includes a cylinder with a geometrical compression ratio of 15 or higher, and is supplied with fuel containing at least gasoline. When an operating mode of the engine body is in a high load range, a controller (i.e., a PCM 10) drives a fuel injection valve (i.e., an injector) 67 to inject the fuel at a time within a retarded period between a terminal stage of a compression stroke and an initial stage of an expansion stroke in a low speed range. The controller drives the fuel injection valve to inject the fuel in an intake stroke until an intake valve 21 is closed in a high-load high-speed range.Type: GrantFiled: November 8, 2012Date of Patent: October 18, 2016Assignee: MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATIONInventors: Kouhei Iwai, Masahisa Yamakawa, Takashi Youso, Tatsuya Fujikawa, Tatsuya Koga
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Patent number: 9429087Abstract: A controller performs switching between a compression ignition mode in which compression ignition combustion is performed to operate an engine body, and a spark ignition mode in which spark ignition combustion is performed to drive a spark plug to ignite and combust an air-fuel mixture in a cylinder. The controller reduces an EGR ratio to be lower than an EGR ratio set in the compression ignition mode to operate the engine body in a transitional mode in which the compression ignition combustion is performed in switching from the spark ignition mode to the compression ignition mode.Type: GrantFiled: March 27, 2013Date of Patent: August 30, 2016Assignee: MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATIONInventors: Kouhei Iwai, Junichi Taga, Keiji Araki
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Patent number: 9261041Abstract: A spark-ignition direct injection engine is provided. The engine includes an engine body, a fuel injection valve, a fuel pressure setting mechanism, an ignition plug, and a controller. The controller operates the engine to perform compression-ignition combustion within a first operating range, and controls the ignition plug to operate the engine to perform spark-ignition combustion within a second operating range. Within a specific part of the first range, the controller sets the fuel pressure to 30 MPa or above, and retards the compression ignition to after a compression top dead center by controlling the injection valve to inject fuel into a cylinder in a period from a late stage of compression stroke to an early stage of expansion stroke. Below the specific part, the controller controls the fuel injection valve to inject the fuel into the cylinder in a period from intake stroke to a mid-stage of the compression stroke.Type: GrantFiled: July 30, 2013Date of Patent: February 16, 2016Assignee: Mazda Motor CorporationInventors: Kouhei Iwai, Masahisa Yamakawa, Kazuhiro Nagatsu, Takashi Youso
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Patent number: 9255539Abstract: A spark-ignition engine is provided. The engine includes an engine body, a fuel injection valve, an ignition plug, an EGR introduction system, and a controller for operating the engine body by controlling the fuel injection valve, the ignition plug, and the EGR introduction system. The controller controls to combust mixture gas by compressing to self-ignite within a compression self-ignition combustion applying range, and to combust the mixture gas by a spark-ignition using the ignition plug within a spark-ignition combustion applying range. Substantially throughout the spark-ignition combustion applying range, the controller controls the EGR introduction system to introduce cooled EGR gas, and within the compression self-ignition applying range, the controller controls the EGR introduction system to introduce hot EGR gas. The controller controls the EGR introduction system to introduce the hot EGR gas and the cooled EGR gas within a low engine load part of the spark-ignition combustion applying range.Type: GrantFiled: August 20, 2013Date of Patent: February 9, 2016Assignee: Mazda Motor CorporationInventors: Kouhei Iwai, Masahisa Yamakawa, Kazuhiro Nagatsu, Hiroyuki Kurita
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Patent number: 9145843Abstract: A spark-ignition direct injection engine is provided. The engine includes an engine body, a fuel injection valve, a fuel pressure setting mechanism, an ignition plug, and a controller. Within a low engine speed operating range of a predetermined high engine load range, the fuel pressure setting mechanism sets a fuel pressure to 30 MPa or above, the fuel injection valve injects fuel between late stage of compression stroke and early stage of expansion stroke, and the ignition plug performs spark-ignition after the fuel injection completes. Within a high engine speed operating range of the high engine load range, the fuel injection valve injects fuel between intake stroke to mid-stage of compression stroke, and the ignition plug performs the spark-ignition. The ignition timing is changed according to an octane number, the changing width of the ignition timing is shorter within the low engine speed range than the high engine speed range.Type: GrantFiled: July 30, 2013Date of Patent: September 29, 2015Assignee: Mazda Motor CorporationInventors: Kouhei Iwai, Masahisa Yamakawa, Kazuhiro Nagatsu, Takashi Youso, Keiji Araki
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Publication number: 20150226143Abstract: A controller performs switching between a compression ignition mode in which compression ignition combustion is performed to operate an engine body, and a spark ignition mode in which spark ignition combustion is performed to drive a spark plug to ignite and combust an air-fuel mixture in a cylinder. The controller reduces an EGR ratio to be lower than an EGR ratio set in the compression ignition mode to operate the engine body in a transitional mode in which the compression ignition combustion is performed in switching from the spark ignition mode to the compression ignition mode.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 27, 2013Publication date: August 13, 2015Inventors: Kouhei Iwai, Junichi Taga, Keiji Araki
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Publication number: 20150114342Abstract: A controller injects fuel into a cylinder at a high fuel pressure of 30 MPa or higher, at least in a period between a terminal stage of a compression stroke and an initial stage of an expansion stroke when an operating mode of an engine body is at least in a first specified sub-range of a low load range, and at least in a second specified sub-range of a high load range. The controller sets an EGR ratio in the first specified sub-range to be higher than an EGR ratio in the second specified sub-range, and advances start of fuel injection in the first specified sub-range to start of fuel injection in the second specified sub-range.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 26, 2013Publication date: April 30, 2015Applicant: MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATIONInventors: Kouhei Iwai, Masahisa Yamakawa, Kazuhiro Nagatsu, Takashi Youso, Keiji Araki
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Publication number: 20140299107Abstract: An engine body includes a cylinder with a geometrical compression ratio of 15 or higher, and is supplied with fuel containing at least gasoline. When an operating mode of the engine body is in a high load range, a controller (i.e., a PCM 10) drives a fuel injection valve (i.e., an injector) 67 to inject the fuel at a time within a retarded period between a terminal stage of a compression stroke and an initial stage of an expansion stroke in a low speed range. The controller drives the fuel injection valve to inject the fuel in an intake stroke until an intake valve 21 is closed in a high-load high-speed range.Type: ApplicationFiled: November 8, 2012Publication date: October 9, 2014Applicant: MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATIONInventors: Kouhei Iwai, Masahisa Yamakawa, Takashi Youso, Tatsuya Fujikawa, Tatsuya Koga
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Publication number: 20140283785Abstract: A control device of a spark-ignition engine is provided. The control device includes a main body of the engine, a fuel injection valve, an ignition plug, and a controller. According to an operating state of the engine, the controller switches an ignition mode between a compression-ignition mode in which compression-ignition combustion is performed by causing the mixture gas to self-ignite and combust, and a spark-ignition mode in which spark-ignition combustion is performed by igniting the mixture gas with the ignition plug to combust. The controller switches the ignition mode from the spark-ignition mode to the compression-ignition mode by performing a transition mode in which a temperature inside the cylinder is forcibly decreased and combustion is performed.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 14, 2014Publication date: September 25, 2014Applicant: Mazda Motor CorporationInventors: Toshiaki Takahashi, Junichi Taga, Kouhei Iwai
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Publication number: 20140283784Abstract: A control device of a spark-ignition engine is provided. The control device includes a main body of the engine, a fuel injection valve, an ignition plug, and a controller. According to an engine operating state, the controller switches between a compression-ignition mode in which compression-ignition combustion is performed, and a spark-ignition mode in which spark-ignition combustion is performed. The controller switches from the spark-ignition mode to the compression-ignition mode by performing in order, a first stage where an air-fuel ratio of mixture gas is set to a predetermined value and the spark-ignition combustion is performed, a second stage where the air-fuel ratio of the mixture gas is set leaner than the first stage and the compression-ignition combustion is performed, and a third stage where the air-fuel ratio of the mixture gas is set richer than the second stage and the compression-ignition combustion is performed.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 14, 2014Publication date: September 25, 2014Applicant: Mazda Motor CorporationInventors: Toshiaki Takahashi, Junichi Taga, Kouhei Iwai
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Patent number: 8838364Abstract: A control device of a spark-ignition gasoline engine is provided. The control device includes a controller for operating the engine body by controlling at least a fuel injection valve, an ignition plug, and a fuel pressure variable mechanism. Depending on the engine load range, the controller sets the combustion mode to a compression-ignition mode or a spark-ignition mode. In each mode, the controller also controls the fuel pressure, and the timing of fuel injection and ignition. The controller may also performs external EGR control in each mode.Type: GrantFiled: February 7, 2012Date of Patent: September 16, 2014Assignee: Mazda Motor CorporationInventors: Kazuhiro Nagatsu, Masahisa Yamakawa, Kouhei Iwai, Yoshihisa Nou, Noriyuki Ota, Kazutoyo Watanabe, Naoya Watanabe, Hiroyuki Kurita, Shuji Oba, Tatsuya Koga
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Patent number: 8783227Abstract: An engine is designed to allow a compression self-ignition combustion under an air-fuel ratio leaner than a stoichiometric air-fuel ratio to be performed at least in a partial-load range of the engine. Under a condition that an engine speed varies at a same load in an engine operating region of the compression self-ignition combustion, a compression end temperature Tx, which is an in-cylinder temperature just before an air-fuel mixture self-ignites, is controlled to be raised higher in a higher engine speed side than in a lower engine speed side. As one example of control for the compression end temperature Tx, an internal EGR amount is controlled to be increased larger in the higher engine speed side than in the lower engine speed side, to raise a compression initial temperature T0 which is an in-cylinder temperature at a start timing of a compression stroke.Type: GrantFiled: January 24, 2011Date of Patent: July 22, 2014Assignee: Mazda Motor CorporationInventors: Masahisa Yamakawa, Kouhei Iwai, Shuji Oba
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Patent number: 8706382Abstract: The disclosure provides a control device of a spark-ignition gasoline engine. When an operating state of an engine body is within a low engine speed range, a controller controls a fuel pressure variable mechanism so that a fuel pressure is higher within a high engine load range compared to a low engine load range, the controller operates, within the high engine load range, a fuel injection valve to perform a fuel injection at least at a timing that is more retarded than an injection timing of a fuel within the low engine load range and is within a retard period from a late stage of a compression stroke to an early stage of an expansion stroke, and the controller operates, within the high engine load range, an ignition plug to ignite at a timing within the retard period and further after the fuel injection.Type: GrantFiled: February 7, 2012Date of Patent: April 22, 2014Assignee: Mazda Motor CorporationInventors: Shuji Oba, Kouhei Iwai, Kazuhiro Nagatsu, Masahisa Yamakawa, Noriyuki Ota, Naoya Watanabe, Hiroyuki Kurita, Tatsuya Fujikawa, Kenji Uchida, Daisuke Asaji, Takaaki Nagano
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Publication number: 20140069382Abstract: A spark-ignition direct injection engine is provided. The engine includes an engine body, a fuel injection valve, a fuel pressure setting mechanism, an ignition plug, and a controller. The controller switches between a compression-ignition mode where the engine body is operated to perform compression-ignition combustion and a spark-ignition mode where the engine body is operated to perform spark-ignition combustion. Immediately after switching from the spark-ignition mode to the compression-ignition mode, the controller operates the engine body in a compression-ignition initial mode where the fuel pressure is set to be 30 MPa or above and the fuel injection valve is controlled to perform the fuel injection in a period from a late stage of the compression stroke to an early stage of the expansion stroke so that the gas mixture self-ignites to combust.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 21, 2013Publication date: March 13, 2014Applicant: Mazda Motor CorporationInventors: Kouhei Iwai, Masahisa Yamakawa, Junichi Taga, Shigeru Nakagawa, Saori Mizuno, Keiji Araki
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Publication number: 20140074378Abstract: A spark-ignition direct injection engine is provided. The engine includes an engine body having a cylinder, intake and exhaust valves for opening and closing intake and exhaust ports that open to the cylinder, respectively, a fuel injection valve for injecting fuel into the cylinder, a catalyst in an exhaust passage, and a controller for operating the engine body by controlling the intake and exhaust valves and the fuel injection valve. The controller performs a fuel cut by suspending the fuel injection during engine deceleration in a non-operated accelerator state, and when the engine speed drops to a predetermined speed, the controller resumes the fuel injection. During the fuel cut, the controller opens the exhaust valve on an intake stroke and then opens the intake valve, and after closing the exhaust valve and when mixture gas is blown back to the intake port, the controller closes the intake valve.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 21, 2013Publication date: March 13, 2014Applicant: Mazda Motor CorporationInventors: Kouhei Iwai, Junichi Taga