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: 11960683
    Abstract: A display system for sensing a finger of a user applied to the display system includes a display panel; a sensor for sensing the finger; a sensing light source configured to emit a first light having a first wavelength W1; and a reflective polarizer disposed between the display panel and the sensor. For a substantially normally incident light, an optical transmittance of the reflective polarizer versus wavelength for a first polarization state has a band edge such that for a first wavelength range extending from a smaller wavelength L1 to a greater wavelength L2 and including W1, where 30 nm?L2?L1?50 nm and L1 is greater than and within about 20 nm of a wavelength L3 corresponding to an optical transmittance of about 50% along the band edge, the optical transmittance has an average of greater than about 75%.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 4, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2024
    Assignee: 3M INNOVATIVE PROPERTIES COMPANY
    Inventors: Bharat R. Acharya, Robert D. Taylor, Joseph P. Attard, Benjamin J. Forsythe, David T. Yust, Matthew E. Sousa, Jason S. Petaja, Anthony M. Renstrom, William Blake Kolb, Matthew S. Cole, Matthew S. Stay, Matthew R. D. Smith, Jeremy O. Swanson, Tri D. Pham, David A. Rosen, Qunyi Chen, Lisa A. DeNicola, Quinn D. Sanford, Carl A. Stover, Lin Zhao, Gilles J. Benoit
  • 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: 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: 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: 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
  • Publication number: 20200003141
    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: Application
    Filed: June 29, 2018
    Publication date: January 2, 2020
    Inventors: Andrew P White, William P Attard, Tamer Badawy, Lurun Zhong
  • Patent number: 10364764
    Abstract: Systems and methods for a turbocharged engine comprising an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) valve and an EGR valve differential pressure sensor disposed in a low pressure EGR (LPEGR) system of the engine and a differential pressure (dP) valve that is distinct from a throttle valve and a dP valve outlet pressure sensor disposed in an induction system of the engine utilize a controller configured to, based on the sensed pressures, determine (i) a modeled pressure at the EGR pickup, (ii) a modeled pressure at outlet of an EGR cooler, (iii) a modeled pressure at an outlet of an air filter and (iv) a modeled pressure at the dP valve outlet, and control the dP valve and the EGR valve based on the modeled EGR pickup pressure, the modeled EGR cooler outlet pressure, the modeled air filter outlet pressure, and the modeled dP valve outlet pressure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 1, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 30, 2019
    Assignee: FCA US LLC
    Inventors: Shu Wang, Ethan Bayer, William P Attard
  • Patent number: 10344691
    Abstract: Systems and methods for a turbocharged gasoline engine utilize a controller configured to receive a set of parameters including a measured pressure delta across an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) valve disposed in a low pressure EGR (LPEGR) system of the engine and a measured pressure at an outlet of a differential pressure (dP) valve disposed in and distinct from a throttle valve of an induction system of the engine. The controller is further configured to determine a set of modeled pressures based on the set of parameters, a target EGR valve mass flow, a target EGR valve delta pressure, a current dP valve mass flow, and a pressure at an outlet of the air filter, determine target positions for the EGR valve and the dP valve based on the set of modeled pressures, and control the EGR valve and the dP valve based on their respective target positions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 1, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2019
    Assignee: FCA US LLC
    Inventors: Shu Wang, William P Attard, David Lawrence, Ethan E Bayer, Tyler Tutton