Patents by Inventor Vincent White

Vincent White 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: 7035730
    Abstract: A method of generating a metric data set for determining a performance of a catalytic converter includes sampling data from a post catalytic converter oxygen sensor to provide a raw data set and generating a revised data set based on the raw data set. Data within the revised data set is eliminated based on characteristics of data points of the revised data set and the revised data set is filtered to provide the metric data set.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 25, 2006
    Assignee: General Motors Corporation
    Inventors: Vincent A. White, David N. Belton, Randy L. Dufresne
  • Publication number: 20060081231
    Abstract: A method of controlling fuel input to an engine of a vehicle. A feedback signal is received from a sensor that senses engine exhaust. A dither signal having the same frequency as the feedback signal is applied to a fuel control signal controlling fuel to the engine. A proportional/integral correction is applied to the fuel control signal based on the frequency.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 14, 2004
    Publication date: April 20, 2006
    Inventor: Vincent White
  • Publication number: 20060074132
    Abstract: Higher molecular weight hydrocarbon compounds or oxygenates are produced from a gas comprising methane in a process comprising the steps of generating synthesis gas (“syngas”) comprising carbon monoxide and hydrogen by reaction of a gas comprising methane with steam and/or an oxidant gas comprising oxygen, producing higher molecular weight hydrocarbon compounds or oxygenates in a syngas conversion process, removing offgas comprising unreacted hydrogen and unreacted carbon monoxide from said syngas conversion process and separating cryogenically unreacted hydrogen from said offgas or from a gas derived therefrom to produce separated hydrogen product that is is substantially free of unreacted carbon monoxide and a first cryogenic liquid comprising unreacted carbon monoxide. The unreacted hydrogen is preferably separated from the offgas in a liquid methane wash column.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 6, 2003
    Publication date: April 6, 2006
    Inventors: Rodney Allam, Andrew Weaver, Vincent White, David Byard
  • Publication number: 20060047407
    Abstract: A method of generating a metric data set for determining a performance of a catalytic converter includes sampling data from a post catalytic converter oxygen sensor to provide a raw data set and generating a revised data set based on the raw data set. Data within the revised data set is eliminated based on characteristics of data points of the revised data set and the revised data set is filtered to provide the metric data set.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 31, 2004
    Publication date: March 2, 2006
    Inventors: Vincent White, David Belton, Randy Dufresne
  • Publication number: 20050072138
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for controlling the equivalence ratio in an internal combustion engine to improve catalytic converter performance including varying an equivalence ratio setpoint between a rich and a lean state periodically, and introducing a fuel enrichment pulse to the equivalence ratio that sweeps the equivalence ratio across stoichiometry.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 1, 2003
    Publication date: April 7, 2005
    Inventors: Vincent White, Richard Amann, Daniel Brennan, David Belton
  • Patent number: 6520159
    Abstract: An engine catalytic converter misfire protection method and apparatus which controls engine parameters in response to the detection of potentially damaging cylinder misfire. A misfire counter responsive to engine cylinder misfires, counts misfires over a predetermined time period, with the positive changes in the counter output integrated and then compared with a threshold count to determine if the count corresponds to a damaging misfire condition. The apparatus and method simultaneously samples a short term fuel correction signal and compares the short term fuel correction signal with a second threshold. When both thresholds are exceeded substantially at the same time, the apparatus and method shut off fuel to the misfiring cylinder and shuts off the short and long term fuel control. Verification that the proper cylinder has the fuel shut off is made by repeating the control sequence to determine if the fuel has been shut off to the same cylinders.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2001
    Date of Patent: February 18, 2003
    Assignee: General Motors Corporation
    Inventors: Vincent A. White, Randal L. DuFresne
  • Publication number: 20020134357
    Abstract: An engine catalytic converter misfire protection method and apparatus which controls engine parameters in response to the detection of potentially damaging cylinder misfire. A misfire counter responsive to engine cylinder misfires, counts misfires over a predetermined time period, with the positive changes in the counter output integrated and then compared with a threshold count to determine if the count corresponds to a damaging misfire condition. The apparatus and method simultaneously samples a short term fuel correction signal and compares the short term fuel correction signal with a second threshold. When both thresholds are exceeded substantially at the same time, the apparatus and method shut off fuel to the misfiring cylinder and shuts off the short and long term fuel control. Verification that the proper cylinder has the fuel shut off is made by repeating the control sequence to determine if the fuel has been shut off to the same cylinders.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 26, 2001
    Publication date: September 26, 2002
    Inventors: Vincent A. White, Randal L. DuFresne
  • Patent number: 5392598
    Abstract: Internal combustion engine air/fuel ratio regulation in which closed-loop air/fuel ratio control responsive to a pre-converter oxygen sensor feedback signal is further regulated in accord with a feedback signal from a post-converter oxygen sensor signal operative under certain engine operating conditions to provide an average actual engine air/fuel ratio signal. A pre-converter oxygen sensor rich/lean threshold is adjusted in accord with the post-converter signal to drive or maintain such post-converter signal within a preferred range corresponding to an average engine air/fuel ratio of stoichiometry.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 7, 1993
    Date of Patent: February 28, 1995
    Assignee: General Motors Corporation
    Inventors: Vincent A. White, Hossein Javaherian
  • Patent number: 5394331
    Abstract: A method for controlling a vehicle engine includes predicting an engine parameter with a controller that determines measures of various engine parameters, determines a prediction set including at least one predicted value of a measurable engine parameter, determines an estimation set including at least one estimated value of the engine parameter and controls the engine in response to the estimated engine parameter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 1993
    Date of Patent: February 28, 1995
    Assignee: General Motors Corporation
    Inventors: Kenneth P. Dudek, Vincent A. White
  • Patent number: 5293553
    Abstract: A method for accurately determining the measure of mass airflow into an internal combustion engine is implemented with a controller that determines measures of various engine parameters, determines a prediction set including at least one predicted value of a measurable engine parameter and at least one predicted value of mass airflow into the engine, determines an estimation set including at least one estimated value of mass airflow into the engine and controls the engine in response to the estimated value of mass airflow.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 1991
    Date of Patent: March 8, 1994
    Assignee: General Motors Corporation
    Inventors: Kenneth P. Dudek, Vincent A. White
  • Patent number: 5270935
    Abstract: A method for accurately determining the measure of mass airflow into an internal combustion engine determines measures of various engine parameters and implements the mathematical modeling technique of prediction and estimation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 1991
    Date of Patent: December 14, 1993
    Assignee: General Motors Corporation
    Inventors: Kenneth P. Dudek, Vincent A. White