Caterpillar Motoren Gmbh & Co. Kg

Perkins Engines Company Limited

Adam Stubbs

Eike Joachim Sixel

Arvind Sivasubramanian

Daniel Wester

Andre Schmidt

Hannes Marscheider

Chris Burgess

Aradhita Chakrabarty

Kane Lok

Thorsten Tuexen

Kai Ruschmeyer

Christian Hoffmann

Rodney Stazicker

Michael Andrew Snopko

Aradhita Subirkumar Chakrabarty

Christian Hohenwald

Rodney G Stazicker

Michael Snopko

Christopher P Burgess

This disclosure relates to a method of controlling an engine and more particularly for controlling the transition between operating modes of an internal combustion engine such as between an economy mode and a performance mode. The method comprising the steps of determining a current fuel-air ratio at which the engine is operating and comparing it with a predetermined fuel-air ratio limit. The time duration for which the current fuel air-ratio is below the fuel-air ratio limit is determined and compared with a predetermined waiting time threshold value. A count is triggered, which is based on a difference between the current fuel-air ratio and the fuel-air ratio limit when the engine is operating at a current fuel-air ratio which is below the fuel-air ratio limit and this is compared with an intensity threshold value. The operating mode is shifted from the performance mode to the economy mode when both the time duration and the count exceed the waiting time threshold value and the intensity threshold value respectively. The operating mode is automatically shifted back to the performance mode when the current fuel-air ratio reaches or exceeds the fuel ratio limit. The method alternatively comprises using the air-fuel ratio, instead of the fuel-air ratio, and the switch from performance mode to economy mode only occurs when the current air-fuel is above a predetermined air-fuel limit and it remains above the predetermined air-fuel limit until two other predetermined thresholds have been reached.

Method of controlling an engine

A process of controlling operation in a multi-cylinder engine either during start of operation or low-load conditions is disclosed. The process may include skipping a supply of fuel in a first set of cylinders of the multi-cylinder engine for a pre-defined number of multiple working cycles. The process may further include supplying fuel-air mixture to a second set of cylinders of the multi-cylinder engine for the pre-defined number of multiple working cycles. The process may also include executing combustion of the fuel-air mixture supplied to the second set of cylinders for the pre-defined number of multiple working cycles. In addition the process may include either changing a selection of cylinders included in the first set of cylinders and the second set of cylinders respectively, or switching the supply of fuel, after the pre-defined number of multiple working cycles, from the second set of cylinders to the first set of cylinders.

Process of controlling operation in a multi-cylinder engine

A method for controlling an internal combustion engine is disclosed. The method may include receiving knock data corresponding to knock levels over a time period. The method may also include determining from the knock data whether the knock levels change over the time period. Further, the method may include determining that a variation in the gas composition of the gaseous fuel supplied to the internal combustion engine has occurred when the knock levels change over the time period. In addition, the method may include adjusting an operating condition of the internal combustion engine to adapt a knock susceptibility of the internal combustion engine to the varying gas composition.

Method for controlling an internal combustion engine

A method of operating a gas or dual fuel engine having a plurality of cylinders, includes monitoring a characteristic of each of the plurality of cylinders during operation of the gas or dual fuel engine. The method also includes detecting a pre-ignition condition associated with one or more cylinders of the plurality of cylinders based on the monitored characteristic. The method further includes reducing fuel supply to the one or more cylinders having the pre-ignition condition. The fuel supply to remaining cylinders of the plurality of cylinders is increased, to maintain a constant power output of the gas or dual fuel engine. The method further includes adjusting an amount of air supplied to each of the plurality of cylinders based on the increased amount of fuel supplied to the remaining cylinders, to maintain an air-to-fuel ratio within a desired range.

Gas or dual fuel engine

A method of controlling a valve assembly includes calculating, by a controller of the valve assembly, one or more electrical signals to move a valve element of the valve assembly dependent on an actual and a desired position of the valve element. The method also includes sending, by the controller, the one or more electrical signals to an electrical actuator of the valve assembly. The method further includes detecting a valve fault condition defined as the actual position of the valve element failing to match the desired position of the valve element after a configurable period has elapsed. When the valve fault condition is detected, the method includes substituting the data corresponding to the desired position of the valve element with pulses of waveform data which oscillate about a value corresponding to the desired position of the valve element until either of two predetermined conditions is met.

Fault detection and correction in valve assemblies

Growing community of inventors

Peterborough, United Kingdom

Adam Stubbs