Patent application number | Description | Published |
20100006065 | INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE CONTROL FOR IMPROVED FUEL EFFICIENCY - A variety of methods and arrangements for improving the fuel efficiency of internal combustion engines are described. Generally, an engine is controlled to operate in a skip fire variable displacement mode. Feedback control is used to dynamically determine the working cycles to be skipped to provide a desired engine output. In some embodiments a substantially optimized amount of air and fuel is delivered to the working chambers during active working cycles so that the fired working chambers can operate at efficiencies close to their optimal efficiency. In some embodiments, the appropriate firing pattern is determined at least in part using predictive adaptive control. By way of example, sigma delta controllers work well for this purpose. In some implementations, the feedback includes feedback indicative of at least one of actual and requested working cycle firings. In some embodiments, the appropriate firings are determined on a firing opportunity by firing opportunity basis. Additionally, in some embodiments, an indicia of the current rotational speed of the engine is used as a clock input for a controller used to selectively cause the skipped working cycles to be skipped. | 01-14-2010 |
20100010724 | INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE CONTROL FOR IMPROVED FUEL EFFICIENCY - A variety of methods and arrangements for improving the fuel efficiency of internal combustion engines are described. Generally, selected combustion events are skipped during operation of the internal combustion engine so that other working cycles can operate at a better thermodynamic efficiency. In one aspect of the invention, an engine is controlled to operate in a variable displacement mode. In the variable displacement mode, fuel is not delivered to the working chambers (e.g. cylinders) during selected “skipped” working cycles. During active (“non-skipped”) working cycles, a maximum (e.g., unthrottled) amount of air and an optimized amount of fuel is delivered to the relevant working chambers so that the fired working chambers can operate at efficiencies closer to their optimal efficiency. A controller is used to dynamically determine the chamber firings required to provide the engine torque based on the engine's current operational state and conditions. The chamber firings may be sequenced in real time or in near real time in a manner that helps reduce undesirable vibrations of the engine. | 01-14-2010 |
20100037857 | INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE CONTROL FOR IMPROVED FUEL EFFICIENCY - A variety of methods and arrangements for improving the fuel efficiency of internal combustion engines are described. Generally, an engine is controlled to operate in a skip fire variable displacement mode. Feedback control is used to dynamically determine the working cycles to be skipped to provide a desired engine output. In some embodiments a substantially optimized amount of air and fuel is delivered to the working chambers during active working cycles so that the fired working chambers can operate at efficiencies close to their optimal efficiency. In some embodiments, the appropriate firing pattern is determined at least in part using predictive adaptive control. By way of example, sigma delta controllers work well for this purpose. In some implementations, the feedback includes feedback indicative of at least one of actual and requested working cycle firings. In some embodiments, the appropriate firings are determined on a firing opportunity by firing opportunity basis. Additionally, in some embodiments, an indicia of the current rotational speed of the engine is used as a clock input for a controller used to selectively cause the skipped working cycles to be skipped. | 02-18-2010 |
20100050985 | INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE CONTROL FOR IMPROVED FUEL EFFICIENCY - A variety of methods and arrangements for improving the fuel efficiency of internal combustion engines are described. Generally, an engine is controlled to operate in a skip fire variable displacement mode. Feedback control is used to dynamically determine the working cycles to be skipped to provide a desired engine output. In some embodiments a substantially optimized amount of air and fuel is delivered to the working chambers during active working cycles so that the fired working chambers can operate at efficiencies close to their optimal efficiency. In some embodiments, the appropriate firing pattern is determined at least in part using predictive adaptive control. By way of example, sigma delta controllers work well for this purpose. In some implementations, the feedback includes feedback indicative of at least one of actual and requested working cycle firings. In some embodiments, the appropriate firings are determined on a firing opportunity by firing opportunity basis. Additionally, in some embodiments, an indicia of the current rotational speed of the engine is used as a clock input for a controller used to selectively cause the skipped working cycles to be skipped. | 03-04-2010 |
20100050986 | INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE CONTROL FOR IMPROVED FUEL EFFICIENCY - A variety of methods and arrangements for improving the fuel efficiency of internal combustion engines are described. Generally, an engine is controlled to operate in a skip fire variable displacement mode. Feedback control is used to dynamically determine the working cycles to be skipped to provide a desired engine output. In some embodiments a substantially optimized amount of air and fuel is delivered to the working chambers during active working cycles so that the fired working chambers can operate at efficiencies close to their optimal efficiency. In some embodiments, the appropriate firing pattern is determined at least in part using predictive adaptive control. By way of example, sigma delta controllers work well for this purpose. In some implementations, the feedback includes feedback indicative of at least one of actual and requested working cycle firings. In some embodiments, the appropriate firings are determined on a firing opportunity by firing opportunity basis. Additionally, in some embodiments, an indicia of the current rotational speed of the engine is used as a clock input for a controller used to selectively cause the skipped working cycles to be skipped. | 03-04-2010 |
20100100299 | System and Methods for Improving Efficiency in Internal Combustion Engines - The present invention relates to system and methods for improving efficiency of an internal combustion engine. This system may include a fuel processor. The system receives instructions for a desired engine output and operating conditions. The system may then determine an operational state corresponding to the desired output. The operational state includes designating the cylinders into one of three categories: working, deactivated and passive. The number of working cylinders is calculated by dividing the desired output by the power provided by one cylinder operating at substantially optimal efficiency. Then the system substantially disables fuel flow to and air flow to the deactivated cylinders, substantially disables fuel flow to and firing of the passive cylinders, and substantially regulates fuel flow to, air flow to and firing of the working cylinders. Firing of the working cylinders is synchronized with engine speed to reduce unwanted engine vibrations. The number of working, passive and deactivated cylinders may be continually altered in response to changes in desired output or operating conditions. | 04-22-2010 |
20110030657 | SKIP FIRE ENGINE CONTROL - A variety of methods and arrangements for controlling the operation of an internal combustion engine in a skip fire variable displacement mode are described. Generally, an engine is controlled to operate in a skip fire variable displacement mode. In the variable displacement mode, selected combustion events are skipped so that other working cycles can operate at better thermodynamic efficiency. More specifically, selected “skipped” working cycles are not fired while other “active” working cycles are fired. Typically, fuel is not delivered to the working chambers during skipped working cycles. In one aspect of the invention, a firing pattern is determined that is not fixed but the active working cycles are selected to favor the firing of working chambers that have recently been fired at least in part to reduce wall wetting losses. In another aspect of the invention, when an active working cycle follows a skipped working cycle in the same working chamber, the quanta of fuel injected for delivery to the working chamber is increased relative to the quanta of fuel that would be delivered to the working chamber when the active working cycle follows another active working cycle in the same working chamber in order to compensate for wall wetting losses that occur during skipped working cycles. | 02-10-2011 |
20110048372 | System and Methods for Stoichiometric Compression Ignition Engine Control - The present invention relates to a diesel engine control system and methods for substantially operating a diesel engine at stoichiometric fuel to air ratios. The system may include a fuel processor which receives instructions for a desired engine output and current operating conditions. The fuel processor may also generate fueling instructions for the cylinders, including: substantially regulating fuel delivery into to a first group of cylinders at or near stoichiometric fuel levels, and substantially disabling fuel injection into to a second grouping of cylinders. The number of cylinders being fueled, and therefore undergoing a combustion event corresponds to the desired engine output. This may be calculated by dividing the desired output by the power provided by one cylinder operating at substantially stoichiometric fuel levels. The number of cylinders receiving fuel may be varied over a succession of engine revolutions such that the actual average engine power output conforms to the desired output. | 03-03-2011 |
20110208405 | INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE CONTROL FOR IMPROVED FUEL EFFICIENCY - A variety of methods and arrangements for improving the fuel efficiency of internal combustion engines are described. Generally, an engine is controlled to operate in a skip fire variable displacement mode. In various embodiments, the appropriate firings are determined dynamically during operation of the engine on a firing opportunity by firing opportunity basis and/or without the use of predefined firing patterns. | 08-25-2011 |
20110213540 | INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE CONTROL FOR IMPROVED FUEL EFFICIENCY - A variety of methods and arrangements for improving the fuel efficiency of internal combustion engines are described. In some aspects, methods and arrangements are described for operating an engine in a throttled skip fire mode. In other aspects, methods and arrangements are described for controlling the operational state of a variable displacement engine. | 09-01-2011 |
20110213541 | INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE CONTROL FOR IMPROVED FUEL EFFICIENCY - A variety of methods and arrangements for improving the fuel efficiency of internal combustion engines are described. Generally, an engine is controlled to operate in a skip fire variable displacement mode. Predictive Adaptive control is used to dynamically determine the working cycles to be skipped to provide a desired engine output. | 09-01-2011 |
20120042633 | System and Methods for Skip Fire Engine with a Lean NOx Trap - Systems and methods for skip fire spark ignition engine operation with a lean NOx trap after-treatment are provided. This system includes engine control circuitry capable of fueling and firing subsets of the engine's cylinders. Other cylinders are not provided fuel and are not fired (i.e. “skip fired”). The system includes an exhaust manifold for channeling the exhaust from at least some cylinders through a multistage catalytic converter. This may include a standard two-way or three-way catalytic converter. From the catalytic converter the exhaust may be channeled through a lean NOx trap. The lean NOx trap is able to chemically absorb the NOx emissions for regeneration according to a regeneration protocol. Lean NOx traps may include a substrate, an absorption material (also referred to as a ‘sorbent’) and a catalyst. The regeneration protocol may include monitoring NOx emissions downstream from the lean NOx trap, and comparing them against either a threshold or a lean NOx trap saturation model. Once the NOx emissions reach the threshold, or deviate from the model, a regeneration cycle may be performed. | 02-23-2012 |
20120046853 | System and Methods for Improved Efficiency Compression Ignition Internal Combustion Engine Control - The present invention relates to a compression ignition engine control system and methods for improving fuel efficiency. The system includes a fuel processor which receives instructions for a desired engine output and current operating conditions. The fuel processor generates fueling instructions for a plurality of cylinders. The fueling instructions include a low power skip fire mode of operation and a high power mode of operation. The instructions substantially regulate fuel delivery into to a first group of cylinders at or near optimal efficiency fuel levels during each of their respective working cycles. Likewise, the instructions may either substantially disable fuel injection into to a second grouping of cylinders or regulate fuel injection into to the second grouping of cylinders at an elevated high power fuel to air ratio. The fuel processor may include a synchronizer for synchronizing firing of the cylinders with the engine speed. Likewise, the fuel processor may include a sigma delta control circuit for generating a firing pattern that utilizes predictive adaptive control. | 02-23-2012 |
20130073169 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR IMPROVING THE FUEL ECONOMY OF A VARIABLE DISPLACEMENT ENGINE - A secondary controller for controlling the performance of a moving automobile is described. The secondary controller can be configured to communicate with one or more vehicle controllers, such as the engine control unit, while the automobile is being driven. The secondary controller can send control commands, such as self-test or diagnostic commands to the vehicle controller to effect the operation of the vehicle's power train. The secondary controller can receive power train related data from the engine control unit and based upon the received power train data determine when to send the control commands. In one embodiment, the secondary controller communicates with the vehicle controller via the vehicle's diagnostic port, such as an OBD-II port. In another embodiment, the secondary controller can be configured to control a variable displacement engine in a vehicle to improve the fuel efficiency of the vehicle while it is driven. | 03-21-2013 |
20130298870 | SKIP FIRE ENGINE CONTROL - A variety of methods and arrangements for controlling the operation of an internal combustion engine in a skip fire variable displacement mode are described. Generally, an engine is controlled to operate in a skip fire variable displacement mode. In one aspect, the spark timing associated with each fired working cycle is based at least in part on the firing history of the fired working chamber. | 11-14-2013 |
20140067231 | SUPPLEMENTING ENGINE CONTROL VIA A DIAGNOSTICS PORT - A secondary controller for controlling the performance of a moving automobile is described. The secondary controller can be configured to communicate with one or more vehicle controllers, such as the engine control unit, while the automobile is being driven. The secondary controller can send control commands to the vehicle controller to effect the operation of the vehicle's power train. The secondary controller can receive power train related data from the engine control unit and based upon the received power train data determine when to send the control commands. In one embodiment, the secondary controller communicates with the vehicle controller via the vehicle's diagnostic port, such as an OBD-II port. In another embodiment, the secondary controller can be configured to control the operational displacement of a variable displacement engine while the vehicle is driven. | 03-06-2014 |
20140172272 | INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE CONTROL FOR IMPROVED FUEL EFFICIENCY - A variety of methods and arrangements for improving the fuel efficiency of internal combustion engines based on skip fire operation of the engine are described. | 06-19-2014 |
20140207351 | SUPPLEMENTING ENGINE CONTROL VIA A DIAGNOSTICS PORT - A secondary controller for controlling the performance of a vehicle is described. The secondary controller sends control commands to a vehicle controller while the vehicle is being driven to effect the operation of the vehicle's power train without requiring any modification of the vehicle controller and without falsifying any information sent to the vehicle controller. In some embodiments, the secondary controller communicates with the vehicle controller via the vehicle's diagnostic port, such as an OBD-II port. In one aspect, the secondary controller is used to direct the vehicle controller not to utilize a start/stop feature to automatically turn off the engine in the selected circumstances during normal operation of the vehicle. As such, the control command causes the vehicle controller to operate the vehicle in the selected operating mode in manner dictated by the engine controller. | 07-24-2014 |