Visteon Global Technolgoies, Inc.

Michigan State University

Cummins Inc.

Guoming Zhu

Chao Fu Daniels

Kevin David Moran

Michael T Nation

Bruce Wang

Kenneth L Gould

Garlan J Huberts

Ross Dykstra Pursifull

Harold J Schock

Ibrahim Haskara

David Lee Porter

David Ling-Shun Hung

Thomas R Stuecken

Xiaobo Tan

Mengyang Zhang

Mathew Ethan Breton

Jerilyn Tsai

Edward J Timm

William Charles Mammen, Jr

Tamas I Pattantyus

Elisa Toulson

Qingwen Song

Constantine Panagos

Trevor Ruckle

Kevin Moran

A control circuit is provided for a field-effect transistor with a floating source node. The control circuit includes: a charge storage device electrically connected between a gate of the field-effect transistor and a DC power supply; a gate control circuit electrically connected between the charge storage device and the gate of the field-effect transistor; and a charge control circuit electrically connected between the DC power supply and the charge storage device. The gate control circuit is configured to receive a gate control signal and operates to turn on the field-effect transistor during on time of the gate control signal and turn off the field-effect transistor during off time of the gate control signal. The charge control circuit is also configured to receive the gate control signal and operates to charge the charge storage device with power from the DC power supply during off time of the gate control signal.

Control circuit for transistor with floating source node

A diesel engine employs a turbulent jet ignition system and method. In another aspect, diesel fuel and air are premixed prior to introduction of the mixture into a main engine combustion chamber. A further aspect employs a turbocharger compressor to boost air pressure into a main piston combustion chamber and/or an ignition pre-chamber for missing with a heavy fuel, such as diesel.

Diesel engine with turbulent jet ignition

A thermoelectric device () and a method for manufacturing and using the same are disclosed. The thermoelectric device () includes a hot shoe () and a cold shoe () disposed about the hot shoe. A heat conducting member () formed of a thermoelectric material extends between the hot shoe () and the cold shoe () and generates electricity in response to a temperature difference therebetween. The hot shoe () is heated and expands at a greater rate than the cold shoe () does during operation. The structural and spatial relationship of the hot shoe () and the cold shoe () maintains the thermoelectric material of the heat conducting member () in compression during operation of the thermoelectric device ().

Thermoelectric device and methods for manufacture and use

An ionization detector that reduces the filtering effects of the ignition coil inductances by shorting an inductance of a primary winding of the ignition coil. The ionization detector includes a bias voltage source and an inductance control switch. The bias voltage source supplies electric voltage across an electric gap of a spark plug for detecting ionization within the combustion chamber. The inductance control switch is electrically parallel with a primary winding of an ignition coil and is operable to short an inductance of the primary winding.

Ionization detector with ignition coil inductance shorting

An internal combustion engine includes a pre-chamber. In another aspect, pressure within a pre-chamber is equal to or greater than pressure within a main combustion chamber at least prior to ignition in the main combustion chamber. In yet another aspect, internal combustion engine control software automatically controls pressure within a turbulent jet ignition pre-chamber, controls a valve-actuator to admit a fuel-air charge into the pre-chamber, and causes an igniter to initiate combustion in the pressurized pre-chamber. This also permits the rate of combustion to be controlled in the primary chamber regardless of the air-fuel ratio or the diluent fraction in the main chamber. Another aspect employs a pre-chamber purge pump with separate air and fuel injection.

Internal combustion engine

An apparatus includes an electroactive polymer member and a first electric terminal and a second electric terminal. The electroactive polymer member has a free portion configured to change position relative to a fixed portion in response to an external stimulus corresponding to at least one of a flow parameter or a fluid parameter. The first electric terminal and the second electric terminal are coupled to the electroactive polymer member. The first electric terminal and the second electric terminal provide an electrical signal in response to the change.

Electroactive polymer-based flow sensor and methods related thereto

Alcohol concentration level of flex fuel is estimated based upon in-cylinder ionization signals. The in-cylinder ionization signals are integrated and the rotational completion point of a chosen percentage of the integration total is identified as the integration location for the operating conditions under observation. The calculated integration location correlates with alcohol concentration level of flex fuel, and the integration calculations provide a basis for a virtual flex fuel sensor that provides calculated estimates of alcohol concentration rather than direct sensing using an expensive physical flex fuel sensor.

Virtual flex fuel sensor for spark ignition engines using ionization signal

Disclosed is a way to detect ionization within a cylinder of an internal combustion engine where the engine selectively operates in either a spark ignition mode or a HCCI mode. A single ionization detector circuit adapts in response to a control input to alter its bias voltage and its gain to selectively enable effective detection of ionization for each of two different operational modes of an internal combustion engine.

Detecting ionization signal for HCCI engines using a dual gain and dual bias voltage circuit

An engine exhaust treatment system using a control system is described. In one form of the present invention, engine exhaust gas contaminates are passed through a selective reduction catalyst and a contaminate reducing agent is injected into the catalyst. The amount of contaminates present in the exhaust proximate to the selective reduction catalyst are sensed using at least one sensor. In one embodiment, input signals are sent to a control system from the sensor or sensors and a feedforward control combined with a feedback loop is used to transform these signals and a predetermined catalyst output contaminate value into an output signal. The output signal instructs a provider to inject contaminate reducing agents in a manner to efficiently track the desired predetermined catalyst output contaminate value.

Control system for an engine aftertreatment system

A system and method for selecting the data content of an ionization feedback signal is disclosed. An ignition system monitors both the ionization signal and ignition coil dwell data. The ignition system outputs either the ionization signal or the ignition coil dwell data on the ionization feedback line, depending on what information is desired by the powertrain control module. In one embodiment, the ionization signal is only output during the before ignition period when the operating condition of the engine indicates possible pre-ignition conditions.

System and method of selecting data content of ionization signal

A system and method for pre-processing an ionization signal to amplify knock information and combining the amplified knock information with the ionization signal to create a knock-enhanced ionization signal is disclosed. In one embodiment, an on-plug integrated ionization detection circuit detects the ionization signal, processes the ionization signal to produce a knock-amplified ionization signal and then combines the original ionization signal with the knock-amplified ionization signal to create a knock-enhanced ionization signal. The step of processing the ionization signal to produce a knock-amplified ionization signal may comprise any singular step, or combination, of amplifying, band-pass filtering, AC-coupling, and offsetting said in-cylinder ionization signal.

System and method for pre-processing ionization signal to include enhanced knock information

A system for determining a minimum ignition coil charge duration of an internal combustion engine to meet a desired level of combustion stability includes a sensor in communication with a controller. The sensor is configured to measure the ionization current of a cylinder of the internal combustion engine and output to the dwell controller. The controller is configured to determine a combustion stability criterion based upon the ionization signal and determine the minimum ignition coil charge duration based upon the combustion stability criterion.

Adaptive ignition dwell based on ionization feedback

A device to control the charging rate of an ignition coil for an internal combustion spark ignition engine. The device controls the turn-on rate of the primary coil by slew-rate limiting using switching devices and a Miller-effect capacitor in order to reduce secondary oscillation magnitudes originated by a sharp transition of the controlling switch.

Ignition coil driver device with slew-rate limited dwell turn-on

A robust multi-criteria minimum timing for the best torque (MBT) timing estimation method and apparatus utilizes different ionization signal waveforms that are generated under different engine operating conditions. The MBT timing criteria is calculated based upon both ionization and analog derivative ionization. Multiple MBT timing criteria are determined and combined to increase the reliability and robustness of MBT timing estimation based upon spark plug ionization signal waveforms. In a preferred embodiment, a combination of the MBT timing estimation criteria comprises a maximum flame acceleration location, a 50% burn location, and a second peak location.

Method and system of estimating MBT timing using in-cylinder ionization signal

In a first embodiment, the present invention is a method of detecting an open secondary winding, including the steps of enabling an integrator, resetting the integrator, detecting an ionization current, integrating the ionization current over a spark window, comparing the integrated ionization current with a threshold, and setting an open secondary flag if the integrated ionization current is below the threshold. In another preferred embodiment, the invention is a method of detecting an open secondary winding by measuring spark duration including the steps of comparing an ionization signal with a first threshold, measuring the spark duration when the ionization signal is greater than the first threshold, comparing said spark duration with a second threshold, and setting an open secondary flag.

Growing community of inventors

Novi, MI, United States of America

Guoming Zhu