Injected Fuel Spraying Into Whirling Fluid Patents (Class 123/301)
  • Patent number: 11927148
    Abstract: A method for operating a fuel injection system is provided. The method includes injecting fuel from a first direct fuel injection device arranged in a cylinder liner in a cylinder block into a combustion chamber and injecting fuel from a second direct fuel injection device arranged in a cylinder head into the combustion chamber, the first and second direct fuel injection devices arranged at an obtuse angle with regard to an intersection of central axes of the first and second direct fuel injection devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2024
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Maziar Khosravi, Helmut Hans Ruhland, Albert Breuer, Thomas Lorenz
  • Patent number: 11649783
    Abstract: A combustion chamber structure in which an installation hole of the injector is improved to realize a rapid combustion and to reduce an unburned hydrocarbon. In the combustion chamber, a leading end of an injector is withdrawn from an upper end of an opening of an installation hole, and an additionally expanded surface area is formed on an upper inner surface of the installation hole from a portion to which the leading end of the injector is situated to an opening end of the installation hole. An angle between the additionally expanded surface area and a joint surface of a cylinder head is narrower than an angle between a center axis of the installation hole and the joint surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 10, 2022
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2023
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Motonari Yarino, Noriyuki Takada, Atsushi Inoue
  • Patent number: 11512663
    Abstract: An engine is provided, which includes a combustion chamber defined by a piston crown surface, an inner wall surface of a cylinder, and a pentroof ceiling surface formed in a cylinder head, and an ignition part of a spark plug disposed at the ceiling surface to achieve flame propagation combustion inside the combustion chamber. A cavity recessed in a spherical cap shape is formed in a central area of the crown surface. An opening of an intake port is formed in the ceiling surface (intake side) and an opening of an exhaust port is formed in the ceiling surface (exhaust side). When seen in a cross-sectional view taken along a cylinder axis, the ignition part is located above the cavity to be offset toward the exhaust side with respect to a cylinder axial line whereas a cavity center point is located to be offset toward the intake side.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2022
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2022
    Assignee: Mazda Motor Corporation
    Inventors: Satoshi Imamura, Masaki Fukuma, Naohiro Yamaguchi, Yoshitaka Wada, Takumi Uemura, Keisuke Yamamoto
  • Patent number: 11473493
    Abstract: In a control method of an internal combustion engine including a fuel injection valve having a plurality of injection holes and adapted to directly inject a fuel into a cylinder and an ignition plug adapted to generate a plug discharging channel, after fuel injection is performed, spark ignition is performed while turbulence in an air flow is generated by the fuel injection by an ignition plug disposed so that a discharging region is sandwiched by fuel sprays injected from the two adjacent injection holes and located within a range where the turbulence in the air flow is generated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 18, 2022
    Assignees: NISSAN MOTOR CO., LTD., RENAULT s.a.s
    Inventors: Yoshihiko Iwabuchi, Daisuke Tanaka, Ryo Uchida
  • Patent number: 11391236
    Abstract: A control method of an internal combustion engine including a spark plug and a fuel injection valve includes starting electric discharge of the spark plug after a gas flow in a direction from a side of the fuel injection valve toward a side of the spark plug is generated at a position of an electric discharge gap of the spark plug due to spray of the fuel injected from the fuel injection valve.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 10, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2022
    Assignee: NISSAN MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Takayoshi Kodama, Masaharu Kassai, Yoshihiko Iwabuchi
  • Patent number: 10989123
    Abstract: A blowback air amount is an amount of air that is part of the air that has flowed into a combustion chamber and is blown back into an intake passage before an intake valve closes. If the blowback air amount increases, a controller causes a fuel injection valve to inject fuel by an amount increased with respect to a fuel amount for a case in which the blowback air amount remains constant. The controller sets an increase amount of fuel injected from the fuel injection valve to a greater value when the stoichiometric air-fuel ratio of the fuel injected from the fuel injection valve is small than when the stoichiometric air-fuel ratio of the fuel injected from the fuel injection valve is great.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 30, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 27, 2021
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yoshikazu Yamamoto, Kazuya Ohshima, Masaya Kubo, Yuichiroh Yamanaka
  • Patent number: 10767551
    Abstract: In an engine (1), when an intake valve (16) opens, a downstream end portion (61) of a first intake port (6) extends to direct to between a shade back (162a) positioned on a cylinder axis (C) side with respect to a valve stem (161) and a ceiling surface (51) facing the shade back (162a). As viewed in a section perpendicular to a direction perpendicular to an intake air flow direction, a second intake port side inner wall surface (61a) at the downstream end portion (61) of the first intake port (6) curves apart from a second intake port (7) in a direction from an exhaust side to an intake side as compared to the shape of an opposite second intake port side inner wall surface (61b) mirror-reversed to a second intake port (7) side.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 8, 2020
    Assignee: MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yasushi Nakahara, Yohei Suzuki, Tsuyoshi Yamamoto, Michiharu Kawano, Yuya Honda, Kento Onishi
  • Patent number: 10711753
    Abstract: An internal combustion engine includes two intake openings, opened and closed by intake valves; exhaust openings opened and closed by exhaust valves; a fuel injector having a plurality of nozzle holes; and mask parts having wall surfaces extending along outer edges of the intake openings toward the inside of the combustion chamber. The fuel injector arranged wherein the nozzle holes are positioned at the opposite exhaust opening sides from the intake openings, and the plurality of nozzle holes include a first nozzle hole, injecting in a direction with the smallest angle from a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the cylinder. The wall surface formed wherein a height in a first nozzle hole ejection region positioned in a range of injection of a fuel spray from the first nozzle hole, when viewed in the axial direction, is lower than a height in the first nozzle hole ejection region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 2, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 14, 2020
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Shintaro Hotta
  • Patent number: 10415456
    Abstract: An engine includes a combustion chamber including a cylinder wall defining a cylinder, a fuel injector disposed in a first opening in the cylinder wall and a piston head disposed in the cylinder. A piston bowl at least partially defined by a wall having a generally spiral shape is provided in a top of the piston head.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 17, 2019
    Assignee: Volvo Truck Corporation
    Inventor: Richard S. Brandt
  • Patent number: 10286988
    Abstract: An outboard motor includes an internal combustion engine. The internal combustion engine includes a cylinder head including a fuel injector including an injection portion, and an ignition including an ignition portion that provides ignition within a combustion chamber. The ignition portion is deviated in an upward-downward direction, in which a valve actuating shaft extends, with respect to the injection portion in a central region of the combustion chamber. The ignition is mounted in the cylinder head.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 22, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 14, 2019
    Assignee: YAMAHA HATSUDOKI KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Kaname Suzuki
  • Patent number: 10233850
    Abstract: A system for controlling the combustion behavior of an engine is provided. The engine is equipped with a plurality of control subsystems that influence combustion in the engine. The system includes a controller configured to receive a plurality of inputs, to determine a desired subsystem states to operate the engine, and to determine a target value for each of a plurality of control parameters, wherein the target values for one or more control parameters depends on the values of the plurality of inputs. The controller is further configured to communicate the target values of control parameters to the control subsystems.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 14, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2019
    Assignee: DELPHI TECHNOLOGIES IP LIMITED
    Inventors: Gregory T. Roth, Gary C. Fulks, Andrew Fedewa, Xiaojian Yang, Donald V. Johnson
  • Patent number: 9845763
    Abstract: A fuel injection strategy and ignition timing for a spark-ignition direct fuel injection engine are selected in response to monitored engine load in relation to a plurality of load regions. This includes selecting a preferred ignition timing based upon the engine load, and selecting a first fuel injection event that is executed post-ignition, wherein the first fuel injection event delivers a set fuel mass at a preset timing relative to the preferred timing for the spark ignition event regardless of the engine load. A first pre-ignition fuel injection event is selected, and includes a second fuel mass being injected at a second fuel injection timing, wherein an end-of-injection timing of the first pre-ignition fuel injection event is at a preset timing relative to the preferred ignition timing regardless of the engine load, and wherein the second fuel mass is determined in relation to the engine load.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 6, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 19, 2017
    Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC
    Inventors: Arun S. Solomon, Ronald M. Otto
  • Patent number: 9810142
    Abstract: A uniflow-scavenging-type two-cycle engine includes: a cylinder; a piston that slides in the cylinder; an exhaust port that is provided at a first end of the cylinder; an exhaust valve that opens and closes the exhaust port; a scavenging port that is provided in an inner circumferential surface of a second end of the cylinder in the stroke direction of the piston and inhales an active gas into a combustion chamber in accordance with a sliding movement of the piston; a plurality of fuel injection valves that inject a fuel gas to the active gas, which has been drawn in from the scavenging port to the combustion chamber, to thereby generate a premixed gas; and a fuel injection control unit that varies injection directions of fuel gas injected from a part or all of the fuel injection valves.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2017
    Assignee: IHI CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yutaka Masuda, Takayuki Yamada, Takayuki Hirose, Takahiro Kuge, Takeshi Yamada
  • Patent number: 9714624
    Abstract: An engine system is disclosed. The engine system may have an engine including at least one cylinder. Further, the engine system may have a nozzle configured to selectively inject gaseous fuel into the at least one cylinder of the engine. The engine system may also have an intake port configured to direct air for combustion to the at least one cylinder. In addition, the engine system may have exhaust valves associated with the at least one cylinder. The exhaust valves may be configured to direct exhaust from the cylinder to an atmosphere. The exhaust valves may also be configured to close at different times.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 25, 2017
    Assignee: Electro-Motive Diesel, Inc.
    Inventors: Deep Bandyopadhyay, John P. Timmons, David Todd Montgomery, Aaron Gamache Foege
  • Patent number: 9482164
    Abstract: A system includes a turbocharged engine, sensors, and a controller. The engine includes an engine intake manifold, air intake manifold, a compressor, a first aftercooler device, a throttle that admits cooled compressed air to the engine intake manifold, and cylinders. The sensors determine engine status signals and include a first manifold pressure (MAP) sensor positioned with respect to the first aftercooler device, a second MAP sensor positioned with respect to the engine intake manifold, a mass airflow (MAF) sensor positioned in the air intake manifold, a first manifold temperature (MAT) sensor positioned in the engine intake manifold, and a second MAT sensor positioned between the first aftercooler device and the throttle. The controller executes a method to calculate a cylinder air charge using an oxygen level of post-combustion gasses and the engine status signals, and controls an operation of the engine using the calculated air charge via engine control signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 1, 2016
    Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC
    Inventors: Hossein Javaherian, Shifang Li, Yiran Hu, Jun-Mo Kang, Chen-Fang Chang
  • Patent number: 9410521
    Abstract: A fuel injector having an injector axis, comprising a first nozzle aiming in a first radial direction; a first nozzle pair aiming in radial directions each equally angled relative to the first direction, closest to the first radial direction, and having a longest radial offset; a nozzle second pair in radial directions each equally angled relative to the first direction; and another nozzle aiming opposite the first radial direction and having a shortest radial offset.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2016
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Jianwen James Yi, Claudia Olivia Iyer, Steven Wooldridge, Gary Alan Coulson, David Bruce Reiche, Brad Alan VanDerWege
  • Patent number: 8918268
    Abstract: A malfunction detecting device for an internal combustion engine is mounted on a vehicle and includes an engine and a control unit. The engine is a multi-cylinder engine and is a bi fuel-enabled engine which is capable of switching plural kinds of fuels including a gas fuel and which can use bifuel. The control unit detects, in case of detecting a malfunction with respect to an imbalance of an air fuel ratio among the cylinders at a time of an operation based on the gas fuel, the malfunction based on variation of pressure pulsations of the gas fuel due to a fuel injection.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 10, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 23, 2014
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yoshihisa Shinoda
  • Patent number: 8881706
    Abstract: A piston for an internal combustion engine, for example a diesel engine, including a body delimited laterally by a skirt and configured to collaborate with walls of a cylinder of axis of revolution C in which the piston can slide along the axis C, the piston including a transverse face including a central pip, a peripheral ring, and a bowl of axis of revolution B that extends from the central pip towards the peripheral ring to which it connects at a lip of thickness Ep, the bowl including, in substantial vertical alignment with the lip, a torus in profile, for example of dome-shaped, of maximum radius capable of guiding fuel injected under the lip in the region of a re-entrant zone towards the central pip. The tip of the central pip exhibits a flattened region centred on the axis of revolution B of the bowl, of a width Lt ranging between 0 mm and 5 mm, or substantially equal to 2.5 mm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 11, 2014
    Assignee: Renault S.A.S.
    Inventors: Sylvain Augot, Anne-Marie Doisy, Gregory Musq
  • Patent number: 8820294
    Abstract: A combustion chamber for an opposed-piston engine includes a squish zone defined between circumferential peripheral areas of opposing end surfaces of the pistons, a cavity defined by one or more bowls in the end surfaces, and at least one injection port that extends radially through the squish zone into the cavity. The cavity has a cross-sectional shape that imposes a tumbling motion on air flowing from the squish zone into the cavity. Opposing spray patterns of fuel are injected into the combustion chamber. In some aspects, the opposing spray patterns are injected along a major axis of the combustion chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 15, 2011
    Date of Patent: September 2, 2014
    Assignee: Achates Power, Inc.
    Inventors: Kevin B. Fuqua, Fabien G. Redon, Huixian Shen, Michael H. Wahl
  • Publication number: 20140238341
    Abstract: A combustion chamber of an internal combustion engine includes a contoured surface that defines a plurality of deflection foils. The contoured surface distributes fuel spray into portions directed toward one of the deflection foils. Each deflection foil re-directs their respective portion of the fuel spray into a combined radial path that swirls about a center of the combustion chamber. Each of the deflection foils defines a flow path and a foil axis. The flow path includes an entrance segment and an exit segment. The entrance segment directs a portion of the fuel spray radially away from the center of the combustion chamber, and the exit segment directs the portion of the fuel spray substantially tangential relative to the combined radial path of the re-directed portions of the fuel spray.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 26, 2013
    Publication date: August 28, 2014
    Applicant: GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS LLC
    Inventor: Robert D. Straub
  • Patent number: 8800528
    Abstract: A combustion chamber for an opposed-piston engine includes a squish zone defined between circumferential peripheral areas of opposing end surfaces of the pistons, a cavity defined by one or more bowls in the end surfaces, and at least one injection port that extends radially through the squish zone into the cavity. The cavity has a cross-sectional shape that imposes a tumbling motion on air flowing from the squish zone into the cavity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 18, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 12, 2014
    Assignee: Achates Power, Inc.
    Inventors: Kevin B. Fuqua, Fabien G. Redon, Huixian Shen, Michael H. Wahl, Brendan M. Lenski
  • Publication number: 20140130772
    Abstract: It is an object of the present invention to reduce the penetration of a fuel spray directed toward a certain area in a cylinder, thereby reducing oil dilution that increases sliding resistance in the engine, reducing fuel adhesion or the like onto the cylinder liner, and also reducing the adverse effect of a fuel spray having an increased penetration. A fuel injection valve that has a plurality of injection holes and injects fuel into a cylinder 3 of an internal combustion engine includes: injection holes a2 and a6 having a larger diameter for injecting fuel toward a ring-shaped space T1 including areas A2 and A6 of strong tumble flow T formed in the cylinder; and injection holes al, a4, a3 and a5 having a smaller diameter for injecting fuel toward a space including areas A1, A4, A3 and A5 of weak tumble flow formed in the cylinder 3.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 4, 2012
    Publication date: May 15, 2014
    Applicant: BOSCH CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kaoru Maeda, Yuichiro Goto, Wolfram Wiese, Daniel Scherrer
  • Patent number: 8646428
    Abstract: A piston is positioned for reciprocal movement in a combustion engine cylinder. Half way between flame plume impingement areas are arranged a first type of protrusions protruding into the combustion chamber and having a smooth form adapted for preserving kinetic energy in a flame plume. Each of the first type of protrusions has a shape of a longitudinal ridge that extends only in the outer bowl area. The first type of protrusions have a left side flank and a right side flank of the ridge when seen from the injector. The left side flank is formed differently compared to the right side flank in order to redirect the movement of a flame plume progressing towards the left side flank in a plane perpendicular to the reciprocal movement, differently compared to corresponding flame plume progressing, towards the right side flank.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 18, 2011
    Date of Patent: February 11, 2014
    Assignee: Volvo Technology Corporation
    Inventors: Jan Eismark, Michael Balthasar
  • Patent number: 8627799
    Abstract: Apparatus constituting part of an induction and fuel delivery system for a cylinder of a piston internal combustion engine comprising a small cyclone into which is tangentially discharged a flow of heated air to generate a sustained vortex of high rotational speed; a modulatable fuel injector delivering a flow of atomized fuel into said small cyclone wherein it underdoes flash evaporation and energetic mixing; a delivery duct connecting said small cyclone to the inlet tract of said cylinder wherein said vortex fuel-air mixture is mixed with heated induction air; and means to prevent overheating of said modulatable fuel injector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 6, 2006
    Date of Patent: January 14, 2014
    Inventor: David Littlewood Johnson
  • Patent number: 8468998
    Abstract: An engine assembly may include an engine structure, a piston, and a direct injection fuel system. The engine structure may define a cylinder bore and an intake port in communication with the cylinder bore and adapted to mitigate intake air swirl within the cylinder bore. The piston may be disposed within the cylinder bore for a reciprocal stroke between a top dead center position and a bottom dead center position. The piston may define an annular recess portion in an axial end surface thereof. The direct injection fuel system may include a fuel injector that provides a fuel spray to a combustion chamber defined by the piston and the cylinder bore. The fuel spray may define an annular plume intersecting the annular recess portion in the piston when the piston is in an injection position within twenty percent of the reciprocal stroke from the top dead center position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 25, 2013
    Inventor: Robert D. Straub
  • Patent number: 8430074
    Abstract: A spark ignition direct injection fuel cylinder for an engine includes a rotatable valve at a curved wall of an intake duct. The rotatable valve provides a variable step in to adjust the degree of tumble airflow while reducing flow restriction to improve engine performance across operating conditions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 30, 2013
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Thomas A. McCarthy, Jianwen James Yi
  • Patent number: 8402940
    Abstract: An engine assembly may include an engine structure, a piston, and a direct injection fuel system. The engine structure may define a cylinder bore and the piston may be disposed within the cylinder bore for reciprocal displacement between a top dead center position and a bottom dead center position. The direct injection fuel system may include a fuel injector that provides a fuel spray to a combustion chamber defined by the piston and the cylinder bore. The fuel flow may extend generally tangential to a circumference of the combustion chamber and may define a centerline extending in a direction radially across the combustion chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2013
    Inventor: Robert D. Straub
  • Patent number: 8387588
    Abstract: An ECU controls an internal combustion engine that creates a tumble flow in each engine cylinder and intensifies the tumble flow using fuel injected at a timing near the intake stroke bottom dead center during homogeneous combustion. The ECU includes a fuel property identifying mechanism identifying the property of fuel and combustion state changing mechanism changing the combustion state. When the fuel has a property that requires a stoichiometric air-fuel ratio lower than the stoichiometric air-fuel ratio for gasoline, the combustion state changing mechanism changes the combustion state by, for example, retarding the ignition timing, so that the combustion progresses moderately. This prevents an excessive increase in the combustion speed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2007
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2013
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Takeshi Ashizawa
  • Patent number: 8286598
    Abstract: An engine has a rotatable crankshaft. A compression piston is received within a compression cylinder and operatively connected to the crankshaft such that the compression piston reciprocates through an intake stroke and a compression stroke during a single rotation of the crankshaft. An expansion piston is received within an expansion cylinder and operatively connected to the crankshaft such that the expansion piston reciprocates through an expansion stroke and an exhaust stroke during a single rotation of the crankshaft. A crossover passage interconnects the compression and expansion cylinders. The crossover passage includes a crossover compression valve and a crossover expansion valve defining a pressure chamber therebetween. A fuel injector is disposed in the pressure chamber of the crossover passage. Fuel injection from the fuel injector into the crossover passage is timed to occur entirely during the compression stroke of the compression piston.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2012
    Assignee: Scuderi Group, LLC
    Inventor: Ford A. Phillips
  • Patent number: 8181626
    Abstract: A systematic fuel injection control technique for compression self-igniting internal combustion engines capable of executing an auxiliary injection prior to a primary injection is provided, with which it is possible to optimize an injection mode for the primary injection and the auxiliary injection. In a common rail diesel engine capable of executing at least a main injection and a pre-injection as an operation of fuel injection from an injector, the pre-injection is executed by being split into a first pre-injection and a second pre-injection. The injection timing and the injection amount of each fuel injection is controlled such that some of the fuel injected in the first pre-injection combusts by self-ignition, and the remainder of the fuel does not combust until fuel is injected in the main injection, but combusts together with the fuel injected in the main injection.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 3, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2012
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Mitsuhiro Nada
  • Publication number: 20120073541
    Abstract: A combustion chamber for an opposed-piston engine includes a squish zone defined between circumferential peripheral areas of opposing end surfaces of the pistons, a cavity defined by one or more bowls in the end surfaces, and at least one injection port that extends radially through the squish zone into the cavity. The cavity has a cross-sectional shape that imposes a tumbling motion on air flowing from the squish zone into the cavity. Opposing spray patterns of fuel are injected into the combustion chamber. In some aspects, the opposing spray patterns are injected along a major axis of the combustion chamber.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 15, 2011
    Publication date: March 29, 2012
    Applicant: Achates Power, Inc.
    Inventors: Kevin B. Fuqua, Fabien G. Redon, Huixian Shen, Michael H. Wahl
  • Patent number: 8091520
    Abstract: A split-cycle engine includes a crankshaft. A compression piston is received within a compression cylinder and operatively connected to the crankshaft such that the compression piston reciprocates through an intake stroke and a compression stroke during a single rotation of the crankshaft. An expansion piston is received within an expansion cylinder and operatively connected to the crankshaft such that the expansion piston reciprocates through an expansion stroke and an exhaust stroke during a single rotation of the crankshaft. A crossover passage interconnects the compression and expansion cylinders. The crossover passage includes a crossover compression (XovrC) valve and a crossover expansion (XovrE) valve defining a pressure chamber therebetween. The crossover compression valve is timed to open when the pressure in the compression cylinder is less than the upstream pressure in the crossover passage at the crossover compression valve.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 11, 2008
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2012
    Assignee: Scuderi Group, LLC
    Inventor: Ford A. Phillips
  • Patent number: 8056530
    Abstract: In a direct injection spark ignition internal combustion engine that performs an Atkinson cycle operation in which the time to close intake valves is retarded, the tumble flow in the engine cylinder is intensified by fuel injected from a fuel injection valve during a time period from an intake stroke bottom dead center to closing of the intake valves.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 23, 2007
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2011
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Takeshi Ashizawa
  • Publication number: 20110271932
    Abstract: A combustion chamber for an opposed-piston engine includes a squish zone defined between circumferential peripheral areas of opposing end surfaces of the pistons, a cavity defined by one or more bowls in the end surfaces, and at least one injection port that extends radially through the squish zone into the cavity. The cavity has a cross-sectional shape that imposes a tumbling motion on air flowing from the squish zone into the cavity.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 18, 2011
    Publication date: November 10, 2011
    Applicant: Achates Power, Inc.
    Inventors: Kevin B. Fuqua, Fabien G. Redon, Huixian Shen, Michael H. Wahl, Brendan M. Lenski
  • Patent number: 8051811
    Abstract: An engine has a rotatable crankshaft. A compression piston is received within a compression cylinder and operatively connected to the crankshaft such that the compression piston reciprocates through an intake stroke and a compression stroke during a single rotation of the crankshaft. An expansion piston is received within an expansion cylinder and operatively connected to the crankshaft such that the expansion piston reciprocates through an expansion stroke and an exhaust stroke during a single rotation of the crankshaft. A crossover passage interconnects the compression and expansion cylinders. The crossover passage includes a crossover compression valve and a crossover expansion valve defining a pressure chamber therebetween. A fuel injector is disposed in the pressure chamber of the crossover passage. Fuel injection from the fuel injector into the crossover passage is timed to occur entirely during the compression stroke of the compression piston.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 11, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2011
    Assignee: Scuderi Group, LLC
    Inventor: Ford A. Phillips
  • Patent number: 7987833
    Abstract: A combustion system for a vehicle may include a piston in which a first combustion recess is formed in an upper end surface thereof, and at least one second combustion recess is further formed at the bottom of the first combustion recess, a first intake port and a second intake port for supplying a cylinder with air, and a controller that differently controls amounts of recirculation exhaust gas being supplied to the first intake port and the second intake port.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2011
    Assignees: Hyundai Motor Company, SNU R&DB Foundation
    Inventors: Sung Hwan Cho, Jang Heon Kim, Kyoung-Doug Min, Yong-Taik Han, Seung-Mok Choi, Kyeong-Hyeon Lee
  • Patent number: 7942349
    Abstract: A fuel injector body has a fuel chamber and a valve seat around a fuel outlet. A valve body is positioned at the valve seat and a valve stem extends through the fuel outlet and fuel chamber. Engagement (disengagement) of valve body and valve seat closes (opens) the injector. The fuel chamber can comprise primary and secondary chambers connected by a valve passage and a metering member that restricts fuel flow between the chambers, thereby providing a flow-dependent closing force that reduces the dependence of fuel flow through the injector on fuel inlet pressure and that makes that flow dependent on an injector actuating force. The injector body or the valve body can comprise a spray-shaping surface arranged at least partly around the valve seat, which spray-shaping surface is arranged to direct a spray of fuel flowing through the fuel outlet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2011
    Inventor: Andrew E. Meyer
  • Patent number: 7918206
    Abstract: An internal combustion engine includes a combustion chamber, at least one intake port for directing intake air into the combustion chamber with no/low swirling; a piston with piston bowl, an injector with plurality of orifices arranged to inject fuel with high injection pressure to form spray plumes, each of the plurality of orifices having a central axis oriented at a positive spray angle sufficient to cause the spray/flame to impinge on a piston outer bowl section and a curvilinear shape of the outer bowl section is such that a reflection angle of the impingement of the central axis is positive during at least start of injection in order to increase balance between vertical upwardly directed and tangential movements of the spray/flame and to preserve mixing energy late in the combustion cycle for increased soot oxidation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2006
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2011
    Assignee: Volvo Lastvagnar AB
    Inventors: Jan Eismark, Michael Balthasar
  • Publication number: 20110056459
    Abstract: A systematic fuel injection control technique for compression self-igniting internal combustion engines capable of executing an auxiliary injection prior to a primary injection is provided, with which it is possible to optimize an injection mode for the primary injection and the auxiliary injection. In a common rail diesel engine capable of executing at least a main injection and a pre-injection as an operation of fuel injection from an injector, the pre-injection is executed by being split into a first pre-injection and a second pre-injection. The injection timing and the injection amount of each fuel injection is controlled such that some of the fuel injected in the first pre-injection combusts by self-ignition, and the remainder of the fuel does not combust until fuel is injected in the main injection, but combusts together with the fuel injected in the main injection.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 3, 2009
    Publication date: March 10, 2011
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Mitsuhiro Nada
  • Publication number: 20100275878
    Abstract: An engine includes a rotatable crankshaft and an expansion piston slidably received within an expansion cylinder and operatively connected to the crankshaft. A crossover passage including walls connects a source of high pressure gas to the expansion cylinder. A crossover expansion (XovrE) valve is operable to control fluid communication between the crossover passage and the expansion cylinder. The XovrE valve includes a valve head and a valve stem extending from the valve head. A fuel injector operable to inject fuel into the crossover passage includes a plurality of spray holes disposed in a nozzle end and aimed at an at least one target at which fuel emitting from the spray holes is directed to form at least one spray pattern. The at least one target is located above a seated position of the XovrE valve head and between the walls of the crossover passage and the XovrE valve stem.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 27, 2010
    Publication date: November 4, 2010
    Applicant: Scuderi Group, LLC
    Inventor: Ford Phillips
  • Patent number: 7802554
    Abstract: A direct injection spark ignition internal combustion engine includes a fuel injection valve and fuel injection control device that controls fuel injection such that a fuel is injected from an upper area of an engine cylinder toward a top face of a piston through the fuel injection valve. The fuel injection control device switches a thrust force of the fuel injected from the fuel injection valve between at least two levels such that the thrust force of the injected fuel becomes weaker when the position of the piston is high than when the position of the piston is low.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2007
    Date of Patent: September 28, 2010
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Takeshi Ashizawa
  • Patent number: 7730871
    Abstract: A direct injection spark ignition internal combustion engine including a controller that controls a fuel injector to perform a plurality of fuel injections to inject a necessary amount of fuel during an intake stroke, or from an intake stroke to a first half of a compression stroke, when homogeneous combustion is to be performed. The fuel injection control sets an injection prohibition period, in which injection of the fuel is prohibited, to a middle of the intake stroke. The injection prohibition period is decreased as the engine speed and as the intake air pressure increase. In addition, the amount of fuel injected before the injection prohibition period is reduced, and the amount of fuel injected after the injection prohibition period is increased, as the engine speed decreases.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 2007
    Date of Patent: June 8, 2010
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Fumiaki Hattori
  • Patent number: 7726282
    Abstract: A direct injection spark ignition internal combustion engine includes a fuel injector for directly injecting fuel into a cylinder and intensifies a tumble flow using the fuel injected into the cylinder bore at a time near an intake stroke bottom dead center during homogenous combustion. The thrust force of the fuel injected from the fuel injector is set to intensify the tumble flow based on at least one of the state of the combustion chamber, the temperature of the injected fuel, and the orientation of the injection hole.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2007
    Date of Patent: June 1, 2010
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Takeshi Ashizawa
  • Patent number: 7681564
    Abstract: An internal combustion engine has at least one cylinder, wherein in the cylinder there is a piston, which has a recess. Furthermore, the internal combustion engine has a cylinder head, which has the shape of a roof complementary to the roof-shaped geometry of the piston with a first and second side converging in the shape of a gable, with the piston and the cylinder head defining a top side and a bottom side of a combustion chamber. The internal combustion engine has an ignition device, which is arranged at least approximately in the center in the roof shape. The cylinder further has preferably two inlet valves, which are arranged in the first side, and also preferably two outlet valves, which are arranged in the second side. The recess extends past both sides, wherein the recess includes at the side approximately vertically descending sides and a base. The piston further has at least two, preferably four quench zones, which are at least partially separated from each other by valve pockets for valves.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 7, 2006
    Date of Patent: March 23, 2010
    Assignee: FEV Motorentechnik GmbH
    Inventors: Markus Umierski, Bertold Hüchtebrock
  • Publication number: 20100012082
    Abstract: The present invention provides a swirl-injection type eight-stroke engine capable of constantly varying the injection-direction of the high-density-air from the slave cylinder, thereby effectively circulating the high-density-air around the master cylinder wall and master cylinder head during the injection process to speed up the mixing of the high-density-air and the hot combustion medium in the master cylinder, furthermore the hot spots in the master cylinder head and the master cylinder wall are eliminated with the two-direction swirling effect during the cold-expansion process.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 25, 2009
    Publication date: January 21, 2010
    Inventor: Lung-tan Hu
  • Publication number: 20100012081
    Abstract: An ECU controls an internal combustion engine that creates a tumble flow in each engine cylinder and intensifies the tumble flow using fuel injected at a timing near the intake stroke bottom dead center during homogeneous combustion. The ECU includes a fuel property identifying mechanism identifying the property of fuel and combustion state changing mechanism changing the combustion state. When the fuel has a property that requires a stoichiometric air-fuel ratio lower than the stoichiometric air-fuel ratio for gasoline, the combustion state changing mechanism changes the combustion state by, for example, retarding the ignition timing, so that the combustion progresses moderately. This prevents an excessive increase in the combustion speed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 19, 2007
    Publication date: January 21, 2010
    Applicant: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Takeshi Ashizawa
  • Publication number: 20090255508
    Abstract: The present invention provides a heated catalyzed fuel injector that dispenses fuel substantially exclusively during the power stroke of an internal combustion engine, wherein ignition occurs in a fast burn zone at high fuel density such that a leading surface of the fuel is completely burned within several microseconds. In operation, the fuel injector precisely meters instantly igniting fuel at a predetermined crank angle for optimal power stroke production. Specifically, the fuel is metered into the fuel injector, such that the fuel injector heats, vaporizes, compresses and mildly oxidizes the fuel, and then dispenses the fuel as a relatively low pressure gas column into a combustion chamber of the engine.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 12, 2009
    Publication date: October 15, 2009
    Inventor: Michael Cheiky
  • Patent number: 7597085
    Abstract: When a homogeneous combustion is to be executed at a lean air-fuel ratio, a tumbling flow that whirls in the cylinder descending in the cylinder bore on the exhaust valve side and ascending in the cylinder bore on the intake valve side, is intensified by the fuel that is injected from the fuel injection valve toward the exhaust valve side in the cylinder bore in the last stage of the intake stroke.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 16, 2006
    Date of Patent: October 6, 2009
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Takeshi Ashizawa, Hiroshi Nomura, Osamu Tomino
  • Publication number: 20090007892
    Abstract: An engine with a high pressure common rail fuel system includes a bleed line to tank to facilitate evacuation of air and vapor from the fuel lines to assist in priming the fuel system. An anti-drainback valve prevents fuel vapor from migrating in a reverse direction through the bleed line toward the fuel pump during long periods of engine shut down. The inclusion of the anti-drainback valves helps facilitate short cranking times on the order of three seconds or less during engine start up, even after prolonged periods of engine shut down.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 5, 2007
    Publication date: January 8, 2009
    Inventor: Joseph Burkitt
  • Patent number: 7431012
    Abstract: A diesel combustion system with a re-entrant piston bowl utilizes momentum interaction with the bowl at multiple locations to cause recirculation of the partially burned fuel and combustion products in a toroidal flow so as to consume soot formed during an earlier portion of the combustion process, while reducing the formation of NOx and improving fuel efficiency of the engine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 2007
    Date of Patent: October 7, 2008
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: William D. Glenn, Roy J. Primus, Bhaskar Tamma, Michael Vanetta