| Patent application number | Description | Published |
|---|
| 20080314467 | Piston-in-sleeve hydraulic pressure accumulator - A piston-in-sleeve accumulator includes a cleaning element positioned on the piston and configured to remove and prevent debris from lodging between the piston and a cylindrical nonpermeable sleeve within which the piston slides. A seal on the piston is positioned to engage an opposing surface in the event of a leak, and thereby prevent the possibility of a complete drainage of pressurized fluid from occurring through the accumulator's fluid port. A position contactor switch is further provided to signal position of the piston within the accumulator. | 12-25-2008 |
| 20090019839 | Diesel particulate filter regeneration system - A diesel combustion engine comprises multiple particulate filters and corresponding exhaust piping and valving in the exhaust manifold and/or exhaust line, configured to enable regeneration to occur in one of the DPF filters through heating the exhaust from a single cylinder of the engine, while the exhaust from the remaining cylinders is temporarily routed through the other DPF filter during the regeneration event. Flow redirection devices are placed within the DPF filters to direct flow of exhaust gas through the DPF filters during regeneration in a manner to facilitate complete regeneration, including in outer volumes along the interior walls of the DPF filters. | 01-22-2009 |
| 20090056684 | Low emission dimethyl ether (DME) engine - A compression ignition internal combustion engine system combusts DME as fuel using high fuel injection pressures (e.g., above 800 bar) and low oxygen concentrations (e.g., below 17%, through high levels of EGR), thereby resulting in simultaneously very low NOx and PM engine-out emissions. | 03-05-2009 |
| 20090095366 | HYDRAULIC PRESSURE ACCUMULATOR - A bladder for a high pressure accumulator includes a metal foil layer adhered to the inside of a rubber bladder with a paint-on adhesive. A position contactor switch is further provided to signal position of the bladder within the accumulator and thereby prevent an undesired shut-off. | 04-16-2009 |
| 20090320464 | On-demand power brake system and method - A hydraulic brake system includes a piston that separates a first pressure chamber from a second pressure chamber of a cylinder bore. A valve within a piston bore is movable between three positions. In the first position, the first and second pressure chambers are in fluid communication with a low-pressure fluid supply; in the second position, the second pressure chamber is isolated from the first pressure chamber and the low-pressure fluid supply; in the third position, a high-pressure fluid supply is in fluid communication with the second pressure chamber, allowing high-pressure fluid to flow into the second pressure chamber. High pressure in the second pressure chamber moves the boost piston, applying boosted braking pressure to a vehicle brake. Pressure in the second chamber against a surface of the valve biases the valve toward the first position. An accumulator stores pressurized fluid and provides the high-pressure fluid supply, enabling on-demand brake boosting force during engine-off operation of a hybrid vehicle. | 12-31-2009 |
| 20100077746 | Efficiency turbocharged engine system with bottoming cycle, and method of operation - A turbocharged engine system is configured to vaporize methanol using heat from exhaust gases and uses the vaporized methanol to drive the engine's turbocharger. The methanol may also be dissociated into hydrogen and carbon monoxide. After passing through the turbocharger, the vapor is injected into the engine by port injection. By selective timing of exhaust valves, the exhaust gases are separated into two streams, a first stream comprising gases ejected during exhaust blowdown, and a second stream of gases ejected during the remainder of the engine's exhaust stroke. The blowdown gases are employed to drive a separate turbine of the turbocharger. | 04-01-2010 |
| 20100199837 | VARIABLE LENGTH BENT-AXIS PUMP/MOTOR - In a bent axis hydraulic machine, a back plate and cylinder barrel vary in distance from a drive plate as a stroke angle of the cylinder barrel changes, thereby minimizing unswept fluid volume in the cylinders of the barrel at any stroke angle. Distance is controlled by one or more rollers, engaging respective tracks that define a profile of contact that determines the distance as a function of the stroke angle. Telescoping fluid supply channels are employed to maintain a fluid supply to the cylinder barrel as the distance changes. | 08-12-2010 |
| 20100258324 | Hydraulic accumulator and fire suppression system - A hydraulic pressure accumulator has an interior chamber containing a fire-suppressing gas such as nitrogen. The fire-suppressing gas in the accumulator is fluidly connected to a thermal device, such as a valve with a thermal fuse or a controlled valve triggered by a thermal sensor. The thermal device is designed to open a fluid connection between the accumulator's interior chamber to ambient when the exterior temperature exceeds a determined safety threshold, thereby releasing the fire suppressing gas from the accumulator. | 10-14-2010 |
| 20100275884 | Quasi Free Piston Engine - A quasi free piston engine uses, a small, lightweight crankshaft to connect the piston assemblies of the free piston engine with a flywheel. While most of the power output from the combustion pistons is extracted by pumping pistons as hydraulic power, the small crankshaft and flywheel ensure exact TDC position of the combustion pistons in operation, and provide a rotating means to drive combustion cylinder intake and exhaust valves. Flywheel speed may be monitored to provide feedback on power extraction for further control of the system. In addition, a hydraulic push-rod system for efficient valve actuation is provided. | 11-04-2010 |
| 20100326401 | Two Mode Dual Crankshaft Engine - A variable displacement engine comprises two engine modules fed from a common fuel source, each engine module having an individual crankshaft. The first engine module has a high compression ratio (e.g., greater than 13:1), while the second module has a typical compression ratio for a gasoline engine (e.g., between 9:1 and 11:1). In one embodiment, the first engine module operates through high efficiency optimized alcohol fuel combustion when the fuel content exceeds a minimum alcohol content. In an alternative embodiment, the first engine module operates at high efficiency through gasoline HCCI combustion when conditions permit. When operating conditions do not permit the first engine module to operate at high efficiency, the second engine module operates as the primary engine module, with the first engine module available to provide supplemental power (at less than optimal efficiency) if needed to meet driver demand. | 12-30-2010 |
| 20110071716 | METHODS OF OPERATING A SERIES HYBRID VEHICLE - A method for operating a series hybrid vehicle is provided, in which an engine generates secondary power that is either stored or used as direct input energy by a secondary power source to provide motive power to the vehicle. Regenerative braking is used to convert kinetic energy of the vehicle into secondary energy, which is also stored. When the vehicle driver makes a power demand, the secondary power source is powered by secondary energy from an energy storage device, direct input energy generated by the engine, or both, depending on the amount of stored secondary energy in combination with vehicle speed. When in use, the power level at which the engine is operated is also determined on the basis of available stored energy and vehicle speed. At higher vehicle speeds, the amount of stored energy is allowed to be depleted in order to increase the available storage capacity for regenerative braking. | 03-24-2011 |
| 20110073191 | Hydraulic Circuit and Manifold with Multifunction Valve - A hydraulic manifold has features adapted to the needs of hybrid vehicle applications. In one embodiment, multifunction valves selectively regulate fluid flow among primary and auxiliary flow paths. A normally closed butterfly valve is biased by a relatively small secondary biasing force against rotation in first and second (opposite) directions, and by a relatively large principal biasing force against rotation in the first direction past a transitional angular position at which the principal biasing force takes effect. An actuator selectively controls the transitional angular position and the magnitude of the principal biasing force. In the first direction, flow must overcome only the secondary biasing force to pass the valve. In the second direction, any flow sufficient to overcome the secondary biasing force but not the principal biasing force will divide into a first flow passing the valve and a second flow induced to enter an auxiliary path upstream. Additional flow causing the principal biasing force to additionally be overcome will substantially pass the valve as part of the first flow. This and other embodiments provide a manifold that is controllable to allocate flow among primary and auxiliary paths while remaining responsive to sudden large changes in flow independently of immediate control response. | 03-31-2011 |
| 20110153129 | Methods for optimizing the efficiency of a series hybrid vehicle with multi-gear transmission - In a series hybrid vehicle, a system for determining a shift schedule for shifting a multi-gear transmission connected to a drive means is disclosed. A vehicle operator selects among a plurality of shift styles respectively representing a plurality of shift schedules variously optimized for performance or fuel economy. A performance-based shift schedule favors providing maximum power to the road by starting at the first (lowest) gear when accelerating from a stop and utilizing all available gears of the transmission. An economy based shift schedule favors energy efficiency by skipping the first gear and optionally one or more higher-numbered gears in order to bias operation of the drive means toward lower speeds and higher torque output while reducing shift frequency. The invention provides for maintaining the number of gear ratio choices provided by a transmission having relatively many distinct gear ratios, while providing for reduced frequency of shifting and driver choice of a shift schedule favoring either performance or economy. | 06-23-2011 |
