Exhaust Gas Condition Responsive Control Of Spark Timing Patents (Class 123/406.44)
  • Patent number: 6550450
    Abstract: A two-cycle internal combustion engine has an ignition timing that varies with engine speed. A plurality of ignition patterns (the relationship between ignition timing and engine speed) are used. The engine exhaust gas temperature is sensed and is used to determine the particular ignition pattern used at a particular time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 16, 2002
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2003
    Assignee: Arctic Cat Inc.
    Inventor: Greg Spaulding
  • Patent number: 6536411
    Abstract: In a method for operating an internal combustion engine, as a function of a desired load, wherein a desired pressure in the intake pipe of the internal combustion engine is determined and set by means of an air supply device, the ignition timing, the beginning of fuel injection and the duration of fuel injection values are determined in accordance with a predetermined relationship as a function of the desired load and the values are supplied as actuating signals to actuating elements by which the ignition and the fuel injection are adjusted to improve the engine response behavior.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 29, 2001
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2003
    Assignee: DaimlerChrysler AG
    Inventors: Thomas Ganser, Thomas Kaiser, Charles R. Koch, Michael Kühn, Kurt Maute, Martin Spanninger
  • Patent number: 6532935
    Abstract: In a method of operating an internal combustion engine which has at least two cylinder banks that can be controlled separately as a function of a desired load, wherein a desired pressure in the intake pipe of the internal combustion engine is determined and set by means of an air supply device for supplying combustion air to the cylinders of the internal combustion engine, at least one engine-related characteristic value which affects the behavior of the internal combustion engine is determined for each cylinder bank, and, in the event of a difference between the characteristic values of the cylinder banks, at least one cylinder bank is manipulated in such a way that the average value of the considered characteristic quantity corresponds to a desired average value in order to reduce the thermodynamic and mechanical loading of the internal combustion engine with bank-selective operating mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 29, 2001
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2003
    Assignees: DaimlerChrysler AG, Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Thomas Ganser, Thomas Kaiser, Charles R. Koch, Kurt Maute, Christoph Schmitz, Martin Spanninger
  • Publication number: 20020185107
    Abstract: A system and method of controlling an engine includes sensing a concentration of NOx in exhaust gases produced by the engine and generating a sensed NOx value representative thereof, and controlling an engine control set point as a function of the sensed NOx value. The system also calculates a NOx difference value by subtracting a base NOx value from the sensed NOx value, and if an absolute value of the difference value exceeds a threshold, modifying the set point as a function of the NOx difference value. The method also includes sensing engine RPM, sensing engine manifold absolute pressure (MAP), determining the NOx value as a function of sensed engine RPM and MAP.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 12, 2001
    Publication date: December 12, 2002
    Applicant: Deere & Company, a Delaware corporation
    Inventors: John Thomas Kubesh, Daniel James Podnar, John Phillip Latusek, Donald Lee McCaw
  • Publication number: 20020179052
    Abstract: In a method of operating an internal combustion engine which has at least two cylinder banks that can be controlled separately as a function of a desired load, wherein a desired pressure in the intake pipe of the internal combustion engine is determined and set by means of an air supply device for supplying combustion air to the cylinders of the internal combustion engine, at least one engine-related characteristic value which affects the behavior of the internal combustion engine is determined for each cylinder bank, and, in the event of a difference between the characteristic values of the cylinder banks, at least one cylinder bank is manipulated in such a way that the average value of the considered characteristic quantity corresponds to a desired average value in order to reduce the thermodynamic and mechanical loading of the internal combustion engine with bank-selective operating mode.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 29, 2001
    Publication date: December 5, 2002
    Inventors: Thomas Ganser, Thomas Kaiser, Charles R. Koch, Kurt Maute, Christoph Schmitz, Martin Spanninger
  • Publication number: 20020179055
    Abstract: In a method for operating an internal combustion engine, as a function of a desired load, wherein a desired pressure in the intake pipe of the internal combustion engine is determined and set by means of an air supply device, the ignition timing, the beginning of fuel injection and the duration of fuel injection values are determined in accordance with a predetermined relationship as a function of the desired load and the values are supplied as actuating signals to actuating elements by which the ignition and the fuel injection are adjusted to improve the engine response behavior.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 29, 2001
    Publication date: December 5, 2002
    Inventors: Thomas Ganser, Thomas Kaiser, Charles R. Koch, Michael Kuhn, Kurt Maute, Martin Spanninger
  • Patent number: 6481416
    Abstract: Method for correction of the spark advance for an internal combustion engine with a continuous phase transformer at the intake and/or exhaust; for each cylinder, the method consists of calculating a theoretical value of the optimum spark advance according to the drive point, calculating a first correction value, which depends on the mass of burnt gas-trapped in the cylinder at the end of the intake phase, calculating a second correction value, which depends on the torque value generated, and calculating the actual value of the spark advance, by adding the two correction values to the theoretical value of the spark advance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 25, 2001
    Date of Patent: November 19, 2002
    Assignee: Magneti Marelli Powertrain S.p.A.
    Inventors: Alessandro Palazzi, Paolo Spinelli, Jean Charles Minichetti
  • Patent number: 6412472
    Abstract: The present invention is a method of ignition advance correction of an internal-combustion engine according to the composition variation of the natural gas contained in a tank and supplying the engine. A methane number relative to the natural gas filling the tank is determined and an ignition advance correction value is deduced from the number. According to the invention, a correlation is established between the methane number described above, an air-fuel ratio R for a stoichiometric combustion and the gas flow variation required to reach a reference working point of the engine after the composition variation of this gas.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 16, 2001
    Date of Patent: July 2, 2002
    Assignee: Institut Francais du Petrole
    Inventors: Richard Tilagone, Gaétan Monnier
  • Patent number: 6371082
    Abstract: A two-cycle internal combustion engine has an ignition timing that varies with engine speed. A plurality of ignition patterns (the relationship between ignition timing and engine speed) are used. The engine exhaust gas temperature is sensed and is used to determine the particular ignition pattern used at a particular time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 10, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2002
    Assignee: Arctic Cat, Inc.
    Inventor: Greg L. Spaulding
  • Patent number: 6345500
    Abstract: In a cylinder injection spark-ignition engine having a spark plug to ignite an air mixture fuel within a corresponding cylinder; a fuel injector to inject fuel into a combustion chamber; a catalytic converter interposed in an exhaust passage; and a controller, the controller being programmed to: command the fuel injector to inject a main fuel into the combustion chamber for a first time duration within at least one of a suction stroke and a compression stroke and to inject an additional fuel for a second time duration within at least one of an expansion stroke and an exhaust stroke, the controller is programmed to set a target value of a total air-fuel mixture ratio to a value of the air-fuel mixture ratio which is leaner than a stoichiometric air-fuel mixture ratio for a warm-up condition of the catalytic converter and the controller is programmed to calculate respective injection quantities (Ti1 and Ti2) of the main fuel and the additional fuel in such a manner that the total air-fuel mixture ratio based on
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 1999
    Date of Patent: February 12, 2002
    Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yasuyuki Itou, Takashi Fukuda
  • Patent number: 6325046
    Abstract: An internal combustion engine includes an improved feedback control system and method for operating the engine to provide the desired air/fuel ratio under all running conditions without causing unsettling variations in engine speed and torque as adjustments to the air/fuel ratio are made. The feedback control operates to modify the fuel/air ratio from that achieved by a basic setting that is derived from parameters of engine performance so as to maintain the desired ratio. The control system also adjust the ignition timing while the air and fuel ratio is adjusted toward the desired ratio to maintain generally constant engine speed and torque.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 21, 1999
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2001
    Assignee: Sanshin Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Isao Kanno
  • Patent number: 6237566
    Abstract: A two-cycle internal combustion engine has an ignition timing that varies with engine speed. A plurality of ignition patterns (the relationship between ignition timing and engine speed) are used. The engine exhaust gas temperature is sensed and is used to determine the particular ignition pattern used at a particular time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 1, 1999
    Date of Patent: May 29, 2001
    Assignee: Arctic Cat Inc.
    Inventor: Greg L. Spaulding
  • Patent number: 6213913
    Abstract: An ignition timing control method and apparatus for an internal combustion engine mounted on a motor vehicle can prevent the occurrence of the knocking in the internal combustion engine. When the engine is running within a specific speed range and the transmission gear ratio is high, the control device determines that the engine is running under a condition where knocking is likely to occur. Accordingly retarding of the ignition timing in the internal combustion engine is accomplished in order to prevent knocking.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 1999
    Date of Patent: April 10, 2001
    Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yoshiaki Hirakata, Masahiko Abe, Yasuo Iwata
  • Patent number: 6178373
    Abstract: An engine control method for an internal combustion engine having a powertrain control module (PCM). The powertrain control module includes a microprocessor and associated memory. A mathematical model of the engine cycle of the engine system is stored in the PCM memory. The PCM continuously monitors a variety of engine operating parameters. From these inputs, the PCM generates optimized control setpoints for the intake airflow, fueling right, spark timing and EGR flow for the engine using the mathematical model. The setpoints are generated in real-time for every engine cycle, and the engine is then operated in accordance with the generated control setpoints. In another aspect of the invention, the engine model includes submodels for fuel delivery, the in-cylinder processes, the engine heat capacitance and cooling system, engine friction, airflow, engine inertia, and the front-end auxiliary drive.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 12, 1999
    Date of Patent: January 23, 2001
    Assignee: Ford Motor Company
    Inventors: George Carver Davis, Rodney John Tabaczynski, Wengang Dai