Ford Global Technolgoies, LLC

Ford Motor Company Limited

David George Farmer

Gopichandra Surnilla

Michael John Cullen

Daniel V Orzel

David Oshinsky

Ilya V Kolmanovsky

Jing Sun

Edward Badillo

Arnold W Brandt

Jeffrey Scott Hepburn

Davor Hrovat

Jerry Dean Robichaux

Peter John Grutter

Stanley Larue Bower

Gopichandra Sumilla

Tri T Truong

Joseph N Ulrey

Donald Fenwick Dickison

Michael A Weyburne

Ace Koua Kue

Louis R Christensen

Salomone Castro

Susan Nicole Cok

A method for operating a fuel delivery system with a first pressure pump fluidly coupled to a second higher pressure pump is described. In one example, the fuel pumps are adjusted based on measured fuel pressure during a first condition. The fuel pumps are adjusted independent of the measured fuel pressure during a second condition.

Feed-forward control in a fuel delivery system and leak detection diagnostics

As one example, a method of operating an engine system including a first air intake passage branch including a first compression device and a second air intake passage branch including a second compression device, wherein each of the first branch and the second branch are fluidly coupled to at least a combustion chamber the engine via a common intake passage, a first sensor arranged along the first branch and at least a second sensor arranged along the common intake passage, wherein the first sensor is a mass airflow sensor and wherein the second branch does not include a mass airflow sensor. The method comprises increasing the mass airflow through the first branch relative to the mass airflow through the second branch when an amount of decrease in the mass airflow through the first branch is more than half an amount of a corresponding decrease in the combined mass airflow.

Airflow balance for a twin turbocharged engine system

A method and system for controlling output torque of an internal combustion engine during a gearshift in an automatic shift manual transmission coupled to the engine is disclosed. The transmission includes a multiplicity of gears and a clutch actuated by a transmission control unit (TCU), which controls clutch disengagement, gear change, and clutch re-engagement. The engine includes an engine control unit in communication with the TCU. The method includes determining engine operator demanded engine torque; sending a signal to the engine control unit in response to actuation of the clutch; and, computing in the engine control unit in response to the sent clutch actuation signal and the determined engine operator demanded engine torque, a control signal for the engine, such engine, in response to such control signal changing engine torque during the gear change to substantially match demanded engine torque when the clutch is re-engaged.

Method for managing engine torque during a gear shift in an automatic shift manual transmission

An exhaust gas treatment system for an internal combustion engine includes a three-way catalyst and a NO device located downstream of the three-way catalyst. The device is preconditioned for emissions reduction at engine operating conditions about stoichiometry by substantially filling the device with oxygen and NO ; and purging stored oxygen and stored NO from only an upstream portion of the device, whereupon the upstream portion of the device operates to store oxygen and NO during subsequent lean transients while the downstream portion of the device operates to reduce excess HC and CO during subsequent rich transients.

Method and system for preconditioning an emission control device for operation about stoichiometry

A system ( ) and method for determining the closed position of a throttle plate of an internal combustion engine ( ) are provided. The system ( ) includes a throttle sensor ( ), a temperature sensor ( or ), and an electronic control unit (ECU) ( ). The throttle sensor ( ) generates a signal indicative of the position of the throttle plate ( ). The temperature sensor ( or ) generates a signal indicative of the temperature of a throttle body ( ) of the engine ( ). The ECU ( ) is configured to select one of a first closed position value indicated by throttle sensor ( ) signal and a second closed position value retrieved from a memory ( ) responsive to the measured temperature. The inventive system is able to minimize inaccuracies in throttle plate position detection by eliminating errors resulting from a change in geometry between the throttle plate ( ) and the throttle body ( ) of the engine during relatively high temperatures.

Electronic throttle plate index position determination for improved airflow correlation over various temperature conditions

A control method for an internal combustion engine has multiple cylinder groups with at least one control device positioned between an intake manifold and a cylinder group. The engine operates the cylinder groups at different air/fuel ratio and uses the control device to balance torque produced by the different cylinder groups. In one aspect of the invention, one cylinder group is operated rich and another cylinder group is operated lean thereby providing heat to an exhaust system located downstream of the engine.

Engine air and fuel control

A closed throttle position of a vehicle internal combustion engine is determined by storing a plurality of signal values representative of previous foot-off position values of an accelerator pedal ( ) within a normal range of pedal positions, determining a current foot-off position value of the accelerator pedal, comparing the current foot-off position value to an average of the previous stored foot-off position values, and using the average as the closed pedal position to determine a closed throttle position when the comparison is indicative of an abnormal pedal position.

Throttle valve position determination using accelerator pedal position

A vehicle exhaust treatment system includes an emission control device featuring at least one upstream NO -storing &ldquo;brick,&rdquo; and a downstream NO -storing &ldquo;brick&rdquo; that is substantially smaller in nominal capacity than the upstream brick. An oxygen sensor positioned between the upstream and downstream bricks generates an output signal representing the concentration of oxygen in the device. A controller selects a rich operating condition to purge the device of stored NO , and deselects the rich, NO -purging engine operating condition in response to the sensor output signal, preferably after an additional time delay calculated to provide sufficient excess hydrocarbons to release substantially all stored NO from the downstream brick.

Closed-loop method and system for purging a vehicle emission control

An exhaust treatment system for an internal combustion engine includes a catalytic emission control device. When transitioning the engine between a lean operating condition and a stoichiometric operating condition, as when scheduling a purge of the downstream device to thereby release an amount of a selected exhaust gas constituent, such as NO , that has been stored in the downstream device during the lean operating condition, the air-fuel ratio of the air-fuel mixture supplied to each cylinder is sequentially stepped from an air-fuel ratio of at least about 18 to the stoichiometric air-fuel ratio. The purge event is preferably commenced when all but one cylinders has been stepped to stoichiometric operation, with the air-fuel mixture supplied to the last cylinder being stepped immediately to an air-fuel ratio rich of a stoichiometric air-fuel ratio.

Method and system for transitioning between lean and stoichiometric operation of a lean-burn engine

A method and system for controlling the operation of an internal combustion engine, wherein exhaust gas generated by the engine is directed through an emission control device, includes determining instantaneous rates of storage for a constituent of the exhaust gas, such as NO , as well as the capacity reduction of the device to store the exhaust gas constituent as a function of a calculated value representing an amount of SO which has accumulated in the device since a prior device-regeneration (desulfation) event. The calculated accumulated SO value is also preferably used to schedule a device-regeneration event, as when the calculated accumulated SO value exceeds a predetermined threshold value.

Open-loop method and system for controlling the storage and release cycles of an emission control device

An exhaust gas treatment system for an internal combustion engine includes a pair of upstream emission control devices which respectively receive the exhaust gas generated by a respective group of cylinders, and a single, shared downstream emission control device receiving catalyzed exhaust gas from each of the upstream emission control devices. After the downstream device stores a selected constituent gas generated when each cylinder group is operating &ldquo;lean,&rdquo; the downstream device is purged by operating the first cylinder group with a stoichiometric air-fuel mixture while operating the second cylinder group with a rich air-fuel mixture, such that the combined catalyzed exhaust gas flowing through the downstream device during the purge event has an air-fuel ratio slightly rich of stoichiometry. As a result, the invention improves overall vehicle fuel economy because only one of the upstream devices is purged of stored oxygen when purging the downstream device of previously-stored constituent gas.

Method and system for operating dual-exhaust engine

A control method for an internal combustion engine has multiple cylinder groups with at least one control device positioned between an intake manifold and a cylinder group. The engine operates the cylinder groups at different air/fuel ratios and uses the control device to balance torque produced by the different cylinder groups. In one aspect of the invention, one cylinder group is operated rich and another cylinder group is operated lean thereby providing heat to an exhaust system located downstream of the engine.

A nitrous oxide trap temperature control system for desulfating the trap uses and engine with some cylinders operating with lean combustion and some cylinders operating with rich combustion. The lean and rich combustion gases are combined to form an mixture which is fed to the trap to provide an exothermic reaction. The desired lean and rich air/fuel ratios of the respective lean and rich cylinders are determined based in part on the difference between the trap temperature and a desired trap temperature. The desired lean and rich air/fuel ratios of the respective lean and rich cylinders are also determined from the desired mixture air/fuel ratio entering the trap.

Emission control device air/fuel ratio control system

A nitrous oxide trap temperature control system for desulfating the trap uses and engine with some cylinders operating with lean combustion and some cylinders operating with rich combustion. The lean and rich combustion gases are combined to form an mixture which is fed to the trap to provide an exothermic reaction. The desired lean and rich air/fuel ratios of the respective lean and rich cylinders are limited depending on trap temperature and incremental heat addition to prevent inadvertently decreasing trap temperature.

Growing community of inventors

Plymouth, MI, United States of America

David George Farmer