Patents by Inventor William P. Attard

William P. Attard 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: 12378937
    Abstract: A pre-ignition prevention system for a turbulent jet ignition (TJI) engine having dual spark plugs includes an ion sensing system and a controller configured to receive the ion sense signal from the ion sensing system, detect, using the ion sense signal, a misfire event where a firing of a first spark plug fails to completely combust a fuel/air pre-charge in a pre-chamber of a cylinder of the TJI engine, in response to detecting the misfire event, detect, using the ion sense signal, an exhaust stroke heat release event after a firing of the second spark plug indicative of a remaining portion of a primary fuel/air charge in the main chamber and, in response to detecting the exhaust stroke heat release event, adjust fueling for at least one subsequent combustion cycle to prevent pre-ignition of the remaining portion of the primary fuel/air charge in the main chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 19, 2024
    Date of Patent: August 5, 2025
    Assignee: FCA US LLC
    Inventors: Michael S McMeekin, William P Attard
  • Patent number: 12378923
    Abstract: A control system and method for operating a gasoline engine comprising a turbocharger having a compressor and a turbine is provided. The system includes a throttle, vanes on the turbine, at least one cam, and a controller. The controller controls a transition into vane braking and is configured to: command the throttle to move to the closed position; command the vanes to the open position; determine whether additional negative torque is required; activate vane braking based on the determination that additional negative torque is required; command the vanes to the closed position; command the at least one cam to a maximum volumetric efficiency position; determine whether the at least one cam is at a maximum volumetric efficiency position; and command the throttle to the open position based on the determination that the at least one cam is at the maximum volumetric efficiency position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 2024
    Date of Patent: August 5, 2025
    Assignee: FCA US LLC
    Inventors: Bindal Patel, Joseph Falcon, William P Attard
  • Publication number: 20250244207
    Abstract: A system for detecting a source of a misfire for a turbulent jet ignition (TJI) engine having a first ignition device disposed in a pre-chamber of a cylinder head and a second ignition device disposed for communication with a main combustion chamber is presented. The system includes a controller that determines engine operating conditions; generates a first spark from the first ignition device at a first time; generates a second spark from the second ignition device at a second time; activates a skipfire mode based on a determination that the engine operating conditions are satisfactory, wherein in the skipfire mode, the controller generates a modified second spark at a modified second time, the modified second time being later than the second time; and determines a misfire event based on sensing ionization of gasses at the main combustion chamber subsequent to firing the first and second ignition devices.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 29, 2024
    Publication date: July 31, 2025
    Inventors: Cody Baldwin-Squibb, William P. Attard, Matthew Delleree, Michael McMeekin, Matthew Bresler, Saleel Mahajan, Jonathon Stoffer, Sahil Sandhu
  • Patent number: 12281606
    Abstract: An engine system includes an engine including intake and exhaust camshafts, a transmission, a turbocharger including a compressor and a turbine, a surge valve to selectively bypass the compressor, a main exhaust aftertreatment system with a main catalytic converter, and a light-off catalyst bypass system with a bypass valve configured to selectively provide exhaust gas to a bypass passage and a bypass catalytic converter. An emissions control system includes a controller configured to monitor a temperature of the main catalytic converter to determine if the temperature is below a light-off temperature, move the bypass valve to an open position to provide exhaust gas flow through the bypass passage and bypass catalytic converter when the main catalytic converter is below the predetermined light-off temperature, and move the surge valve to an open position to enable intake air to bypass the compressor to minimize pressure loss during a cold catalyst mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 2024
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2025
    Assignee: FCA US LLC
    Inventors: Jeongyong Choi, Michael A Barkey, William P Attard
  • Patent number: 11739709
    Abstract: A port and direct fuel injection (PDI) fuel delivery system for a vehicle having an engine configured to selectively operate between a port fuel injection (PFI) mode, a gasoline direct injection (GDI) mode, and a PDI mode includes a PFI system including plurality of PFI injectors, and a GDI system including a plurality of GDI injectors. The PFI and GDI systems are configured to provide various split-ratios of fuel mass injection to the engine based on a particular engine operating condition. A controller is programmed to identify a known first long term fuel trim (LTFT) for a first split-ratio, identify a known second LTFT for a second split-ratio, generate a linear equation based on the known first and second LTFTs, and determine an unknown third LTFT for a third split-ratio by utilizing the linear equation to facilitate reducing fueling errors and emissions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 4, 2022
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2023
    Assignee: FCA US LLC
    Inventors: Nicholas Firsich, Alex Eskenazi-Gold, David R Pedro, William P Attard, Joseph D Falcon
  • Patent number: 11686251
    Abstract: A combustion control system and method for a turbulent jet ignition engine is presented. A controller is configured to access a trained feedforward artificial neural network (ANN) configured to model a first spark from a first ignition source and maximum brake torque (MBT) based on measured operating parameters, generate the first spark and MBT using the ANN, generate a second spark from a second ignition device, and determine a target spark timing. The ANN can be further configured to receive an input related to spark stagger.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2022
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2023
    Assignee: FCA US LLC
    Inventors: William P Attard, Shawali Chaudhury, Qun Wei
  • Patent number: 11512677
    Abstract: A combustion control system and method for a turbulent jet ignition engine is presented. A controller is configured to receive a torque request, determine a target spark stagger based on a first spark from a first ignition device and a second spark from a second ignition device, determine an adjusted maximum brake torque (MBT) based on the spark stagger, determine a delta spark based on a difference between the adjusted MBT and an actual leading spark from the first and second ignition devices, determine a torque efficiency based on the delta spark, estimate an actual torque, and command a first and a second spark timing from the first and second ignition devices to satisfy the torque request.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 2022
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2022
    Assignee: FCA US LLC
    Inventors: Qun Wei, William P Attard, Shawali Chaudhury
  • Patent number: 11125203
    Abstract: An ignition control system and method for an engine having a two-step variable valve lift (VVL) system utilizes an ignition control system comprising a plurality of spark plugs each configured to generate one or more ignition strikes during a combustion event in a respective cylinder of the engine and a controller configured to detect a low-to-high or high-to-low lift mode transition of the VVL system and, in response to detecting the low-to-high or high-to-low lift mode transition of the VVL system, command the ignition control system to perform multi-strike ignition for at least one combustion event, wherein commanding the multi-strike ignition mitigates or eliminates at least one of engine torque variations and increased engine emissions resulting from poor combustion quality caused by residual exhaust components within the cylinder from a previous combustion event prior to the low-to-high or high-to-low lift mode transition of the VVL system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 13, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 21, 2021
    Assignee: FCA US LLC
    Inventors: William P Attard, Nikhil Patil, Tyler Tutton
  • Patent number: 11092093
    Abstract: Techniques for controlling a forced-induction engine having a low pressure cooled exhaust gas recirculation (LPCEGR) system comprise determining a target boost device inlet pressure for each of one or more systems that could require a boost device inlet pressure change as part of their operation and boost device inlet pressure hardware limits for a set of components in the induction system, determining a final target boost device inlet pressure based on the determined sets of target boost device inlet pressures and boost device inlet pressure hardware limits, and controlling a differential pressure (dP) valve based on the final target boost device inlet pressure to balance (i) competing boost device inlet pressure targets of the one or more systems and (ii) the set of boost device inlet pressure hardware limits in order to optimize engine performance and prevent component damage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 12, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 17, 2021
    Assignee: FCA US LLC
    Inventors: David Lawrence, Ethan E Bayer, William P Attard, Shu Wang
  • Patent number: 11073100
    Abstract: Calibration techniques for forced-induction engines having low pressure cooled exhaust gas recirculation (LPCEGR) systems include commanding an EGR to a fully-closed position, after the EGR valve has reached the fully-closed position, commanding the engine to operate at fixed steady-state conditions for a calibration period, wherein the fixed steady-state conditions comprise at least a fixed throttle valve angle, a fixed injected fuel mass, and a fixed cylinder air/fuel ratio (AFR), during the calibration period, increasingly opening the EGR valve and monitoring a AFR of exhaust gas produced by the engine, calibrating an EGR fraction estimation and EGR transport delay model based on previously measured and/or modeled total engine flow and the monitored exhaust gas AFR during the calibration period, and storing the calibrated model at a memory of a controller of the engine for future usage to improve engine operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 27, 2021
    Assignee: FCA US LLC
    Inventors: Tyler Tutton, William P Attard
  • Patent number: 10823120
    Abstract: Techniques for controlling a forced-induction engine having a low pressure exhaust gas recirculation (LPEGR) system comprise determining a desired differential pressure (dP) at an inlet of a boost device based on an engine mass air flow (MAF) and a speed of the engine, wherein the engine further comprises a dP valve disposed upstream from an EGR port and a throttle valve disposed downstream from the boost device, determining a desired EGR mass fraction based on at least the engine MAF and the engine speed, determining a maximum throttle inlet pressure (TIP) based on the engine speed, the desired EGR mass fraction, and a barometric pressure, and performing coordinated control of the dP valve and the throttle valve based on the desired dP and the maximum TIP, respectively, thereby extending EGR operability to additional engine speed/load regions and increasing engine efficiency.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 7, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 3, 2020
    Assignee: FCA US LLC
    Inventors: Tyler Tutton, William P Attard, Michael Barkey
  • Patent number: 10823098
    Abstract: A low speed pre-ignition detection, mitigation, and driver notification system and method utilize a controller to analyze a knock signal from a knock sensor to detect LSPI knock of the engine and in response to detecting the LSPI knock, enrich a fuel/air ratio of the engine and limit a torque output of the engine to a level that is less than a maximum torque output of the engine, and when enriching the fuel/air ratio of the engine and limiting the torque output of the engine does not mitigate the LSPI knock, output at least one message for a driver of the vehicle instructing the driver to take remedial action to mitigate the LSPI knock.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 18, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 3, 2020
    Assignee: FCA US LLC
    Inventors: Ethan E Bayer, Jonathan D Stoffer, David A Lawrence, William P Attard, Tyler Tutton
  • Publication number: 20200332737
    Abstract: A low speed pre-ignition detection, mitigation, and driver notification system and method utilize a controller to analyze a knock signal from a knock sensor to detect LSPI knock of the engine and in response to detecting the LSPI knock, enrich a fuel/air ratio of the engine and limit a torque output of the engine to a level that is less than a maximum torque output of the engine, and when enriching the fuel/air ratio of the engine and limiting the torque output of the engine does not mitigate the LSPI knock, output at least one message for a driver of the vehicle instructing the driver to take remedial action to mitigate the LSPI knock.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 18, 2019
    Publication date: October 22, 2020
    Inventors: Ethan E Bayer, Jonathan D. Stoffer, David A. Lawrence, William P. Attard, Tyler Tutton
  • Patent number: 10788396
    Abstract: A calibration system and method for a spark ignition engine of a vehicle involve artificially weighting engine dynamometer data in high engine load regions and using it to generate training data for an artificial neutral network (ANN). A plurality of ANNs are trained using the training data and the plurality of ANNs are then filtered based on their maximum error to obtain a filtered set of trained ANNs. A statistical analysis is performed on each of the filtered set of trained ANNs including determining a set of statistical metrics for each of the filtered set of trained ANNs and then one of the filtered set of trained ANNs having a best combination of error at high engine loads and the set of statistical error metrics is then selected. Finally, an ANN calibration is generated using the selected one of the filtered set of trained ANNs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 29, 2020
    Assignee: FCA US LLC
    Inventors: William P Attard, Shu Wang, Shuonan Xu, Tyler Tutton, Srinath Gopinath, David A Lawrence
  • Publication number: 20200200140
    Abstract: A calibration system and method for a spark ignition engine of a vehicle involve artificially weighting engine dynamometer data in high engine load regions and using it to generate training data for an artificial neutral network (ANN). A plurality of ANNs are trained using the training data and the plurality of ANNs are then filtered based on their maximum error to obtain a filtered set of trained ANNs. A statistical analysis is performed on each of the filtered set of trained ANNs including determining a set of statistical metrics for each of the filtered set of trained ANNs and then one of the filtered set of trained ANNs having a best combination of error at high engine loads and the set of statistical error metrics is then selected. Finally, an ANN calibration is generated using the selected one of the filtered set of trained ANNs.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 19, 2018
    Publication date: June 25, 2020
    Inventors: William P. Attard, Shu Wang, Shuonan Xu, Tyler Tutton, Srinath Gopinath, David A. Lawrence
  • Publication number: 20200158042
    Abstract: Calibration techniques for forced-induction engines having low pressure cooled exhaust gas recirculation (LPCEGR) systems include commanding an EGR to a fully-closed position, after the EGR valve has reached the fully-closed position, commanding the engine to operate at fixed steady-state conditions for a calibration period, wherein the fixed steady-state conditions comprise at least a fixed throttle valve angle, a fixed injected fuel mass, and a fixed cylinder air/fuel ratio (AFR), during the calibration period, increasingly opening the EGR valve and monitoring a AFR of exhaust gas produced by the engine, calibrating an EGR fraction estimation and EGR transport delay model based on previously measured and/or modeled total engine flow and the monitored exhaust gas AFR during the calibration period, and storing the calibrated model at a memory of a controller of the engine for future usage to improve engine operation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 31, 2019
    Publication date: May 21, 2020
    Inventors: Tyler Tutton, William P. Attard
  • Publication number: 20200158038
    Abstract: Engine low pressure cooled exhaust gas recirculation (LPCEGR) control techniques comprise receiving a measured position of an accelerator pedal and, based on this measurement, detecting a transient tip-out event or a transient tip-in event. In response to detecting the transient tip-out event, an EGR depletion rate is temporarily increased by at least one of (i) downstream throttle valve control to maintain at least a minimum engine airflow or to regulate a rate of decrease of the airflow into the engine, (ii) cylinder bank fuel shutoff, and (iii) pre-scheduled EGR valve control based on the measured accelerator pedal position. In response to detecting the transient tip-in event, an EGR delivery rate is temporarily increased by at least one of (i) the pre-scheduled EGR valve control and (ii) controlling intake/exhaust valves of cylinders of the engine to enable a scavenging mode.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 12, 2019
    Publication date: May 21, 2020
    Inventors: Shu Wang, Ethan E. Bayer, William P. Attard, David Lawrence
  • Publication number: 20200158051
    Abstract: Techniques for controlling a forced-induction engine having a low pressure exhaust gas recirculation (LPEGR) system comprise determining a desired differential pressure (dP) at an inlet of a boost device based on an engine mass air flow (MAF) and a speed of the engine, wherein the engine further comprises a dP valve disposed upstream from an EGR port and a throttle valve disposed downstream from the boost device, determining a desired EGR mass fraction based on at least the engine MAF and the engine speed, determining a maximum throttle inlet pressure (TIP) based on the engine speed, the desired EGR mass fraction, and a barometric pressure, and performing coordinated control of the dP valve and the throttle valve based on the desired dP and the maximum TIP, respectively, thereby extending EGR operability to additional engine speed/load regions and increasing engine efficiency.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 7, 2019
    Publication date: May 21, 2020
    Inventors: Tyler Tutton, William P. Attard, Michael Barkey
  • Publication number: 20200158032
    Abstract: Techniques for controlling a forced-induction engine having a low pressure cooled exhaust gas recirculation (LPCEGR) system comprise determining a target boost device inlet pressure for each of one or more systems that could require a boost device inlet pressure change as part of their operation and boost device inlet pressure hardware limits for a set of components in the induction system, determining a final target boost device inlet pressure based on the determined sets of target boost device inlet pressures and boost device inlet pressure hardware limits, and controlling a differential pressure (dP) valve based on the final target boost device inlet pressure to balance (i) competing boost device inlet pressure targets of the one or more systems and (ii) the set of boost device inlet pressure hardware limits in order to optimize engine performance and prevent component damage.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 12, 2019
    Publication date: May 21, 2020
    Inventors: David Lawrence, Ethan E. Bayer, William P. Attard, Shu Wang
  • Patent number: 10544746
    Abstract: A system and method of utilizing a pre-turbine wide-range oxygen (WRO2) sensor during both individual cylinder fuel control (ICFC) and scavenging of a turbocharged engine involve receiving, by a controller and from the WRO2 sensor arranged in an exhaust system of the engine at a point upstream of a turbine of a turbocharger of the engine, an unfiltered WRO2 signal indicative of a fuel/air (FA) ratio of exhaust gas produced by the engine, performing, by the controller, ICFC by controlling the engine using the unfiltered WRO2 signal, performing, by the controller, engine cycle average filtering of the WRO2 signal to obtain a filtered WRO2 signal, and, while the engine is scavenging, performing, by the controller, engine FA ratio and emissions control using the filtered WRO2 signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 28, 2020
    Assignee: FCA US LLC
    Inventors: Andrew P White, William P Attard, Tamer Badawy, Lurun Zhong