Ford Global Technolgoies, LLC

Daniel Dusa

Joseph Lyle Thomas

Ethan D Sanborn

Paul Hollar

Xiaoying Zhang

Gopichandra Surnilla

Ross Dykstra Pursifull

Joseph Norman Ulrey

Mary Catherine Farmer

Mark Meinhart

Ian D Campbell

Ron Reichenbach

Methods and systems are provided for relieving pressure from a compression locked engine. The engine may be compression locked during an engine start attempt due to operator application of a manual transmission clutch at or around the time of a first combustion event of the engine start. A direct injector of the compression locked cylinder is commanded open to relieve the pressure into the fuel rail.

Method and system for an engine

Methods and systems are provided for learning a cylinder-to-cylinder air variation. During conditions when a PFDI engine is operated in a port-injection only mode, prior to port fuel injection, a direct-injection fuel rail pressure may be lowered via direct-injection. Then, prior to a spark event in a port-injected cylinder, the direct-injector may be transiently opened to use the rail pressure sensor for estimating a cylinder compression pressure, and inferring cylinder air charge therefrom.

Method and system for cylinder imbalance estimation

Methods and systems are provided for reducing port injection fuel errors by selectively reactivating a direct fuel injector. Responsive to an increase in driver demand received while delivering fuel to a cylinder via port injection only, wherein the increase in driver demand is received late in the port injection window, the port injection error is addressed by reactivating a direct injector on the same engine cycle and delivering at least a portion of the fuel mass corresponding to the error via the direct injector. Additionally, a portion of the fuel mass may be delivered by the port injector on the same engine cycle by extending the end of injection timing, if possible.

Methods and systems for dual fuel infection

Methods and systems are provided for reducing direct injector fueling errors due to injection variability in a transition region of a direct injector map. Fuel injection, including usage of one or more direct and port injected fuel pulses, may be planned based on engine operating conditions including engine temperature and driver demand. Responsive to any of the direct injected fuel pulses having a pulse-width that lies in a high variability transition region of the direct injector, the fuel injection may be adjusted via adjustments to a number and/or split ratio of the injections so as to not operate in the transition region.

Methods and systems for adjusting a direct fuel injector and a port fuel injector

Methods and systems for simultaneously operating port fuel injectors and direct fuel injectors of an internal combustion engine are described. In one example, a duration of a port fuel injection window is increased to improve engine performance and a direct fuel injector fuel pulse width is dynamically adjusted to improve accuracy of an amount of fuel delivered during a cylinder cycle.

Methods and system for improving fuel delivery amount accuracy

A method of operating an engine with dual fuel injection capabilities to address fuel rail over-pressure due to stagnating hot fuel is shown. The method comprises operating an engine cylinder with only port injection, and selectively activating and deactivating the second injector in response to a rail pressure increase of a fuel rail, the fuel rail coupled to the second injector, and deactivating the second injector in response to a rail pressure decrease of the fuel rail to a lower threshold determined based on engine operating conditions. In this way, degradation of the second injector may be reduced while maintaining a desired level of engine performance.

Method for operating a dual fuel injection system

Methods and systems for simultaneously operating port fuel injectors and direct fuel injectors of an internal combustion engine are described. In one example, a port fuel injection window is shorted to provide time for scheduling a direct fuel injector pulse width so that the direct fuel injector pulse width may be adjusted so that a desired amount of fuel enters a cylinder.

Methods and system for improving accuracy of injecting smaller amounts of fuel to an engine

Methods and systems are provided for reducing fueling errors resulting from pressure pulsations in a port injection fuel rail. The pressure pulsations result from pressure pulsations generated in a high pressure fuel pump delivering fuel to both the port injection fuel rail and a direct injection fuel rail. A center of a port injection fuel pulse is positioned on an average pressure-crossing of the pressure pulsations so as to cancel out the effect of the over-average and under-average pressure pulsations.

Methods and systems for dual fuel injection

Methods and systems are provided for reducing lean air-fuel ratio excursions due to degradation of a port injector while fueling an engine via each of port and direct injection. During a PFDI mode of engine operation, responsive to an indication of port injector degradation, such as due to circuit or injector power issues, intake airflow is limited by reducing the opening of an intake throttle. Air flow is limited to be based only on the direct injected fuel fraction, and independent of the commanded port injected fuel fraction.

Methods and systems for dual fuel injection system

Methods and systems for adjusting a direct fuel injector

Methods and systems are provided for reducing fueling errors resulting from pressure pulsations in a port injection fuel rail. The pressure pulsations result from pressure pulsations generated in a high pressure fuel pump delivering fuel to both the port injection fuel rail and a direct injection fuel rail. A center of a port injection fuel pulse is repositioned on a nearest fuel rail pressure sampling point in the advanced direction to improve the accuracy of the delivered fuel pulse.

A method of operating an engine with multi-fuel injector per cylinder capabilities to accommodate reaching minimum fuel pulsewidth conditions of any of the injectors under various operating conditions including hot and cold engine starts. The method reduces engine performance and emissions variations resulting from changes in fuel injection mass below minimum mass.

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West Bloomfield, MI, United States of America

Daniel Dusa