Ford Global Technolgoies, LLC

Ford Motor Company Limited

Other

Mark Freeland

Colin Jeffrey Young

Julie A Konrad

Michael James Lynch

Benjamin J Saltsman

Brian S Czuhai

Rotary fluid compressor comprises a stator housing and a crankshaft rotatable about an axis of rotation and having a crank pin offset relative to the axis of rotation. A rotor is disposed by a bearing assembly on the crank pin for orbiting motion about the axis of rotation in the stator housing. An annular spring is assembled between the bearing assembly and either the rotor or the crank pin with the spring radially compressed to an extent to provide a controlled spring preload that, in combination with a controlled spring rate, maintains radial sealing force between the rotor and the stator housing between preselected minimum and maximum design values.

Preloaded spring mount for crank pin/rotor bearing assembly

A watertight and airtight seal is useful for use between two structures having relative movement therebetween. The seal apparatus includes a first adhesive bead (38) disposed on a first structural member (12) and a second adhesive bead (44) disposed on a second structural member (22). An elastomeric member (30) includes a first flange (34) portion bonded to the first adhesive bead and a second flange portion (36) bonded to the second adhesive bead (44). The elastomeric member also includes a flexible portion disposed between the first and second flange portions, this flexible portion being operative to freely flex during relative motion between the first and second structural members. This flexibility substantially reduces stress otherwise imparted on the first and second adhesive beads during such movements in the absence of the flexible portion, thereby improving the durability of the seal.

Fixed window seal apparatus

A hydraulic lash adjuster mechanism for an internal combustion engine having a body portion with a bore formed in the body portion having a bottom surface. A plunger having a top surface is slidingly received within the bore of the body portion. The plunger has an internal channel with a bleed hole formed therein connecting the top surface of the plunger to a high pressure chamber formed between the bottom surface of the bore and the bottom of the plunger. The body portion has a valve opening formed therein that is in fluid communication with an engine fluid supply. A check valve mechanism selectively opens and closing the valve opening in response to pressure differences between the engine fluid reservoir and the high pressure chamber. The diameter and length of the bleed hole and the force applied to said top surface of said plunger control the leak down rate of the hydraulic lash adjuster to eliminate lash in the engine valve train components.

Hydraulic lash adjuster with an open ended top plunger surface

A fuel vapor emission control system for an automobile includes a fuel filler pipe, a filler cap, a check valve, a fuel tank, a carbon canister or other vapor storage device, a reservoir, and a vapor tube for conducting fuel vapor from one or more tank vent valves located on the fuel tank. The system reduces the amount of vapor mass which exits the fuel tank to the carbon canister by condensing some of the vapor sent to the canister during refueling. Fuel entering the filler pipe is used as a condensing agent. The system also reduces the amount of vapor pumped to the vapor storage device during diurnal cycles by permitting the volume of the fuel tank to change in response to changes in pressure within the tank.

Fuel vapor management system

A hydraulic lash adjuster mechanism for an internal combustion engine, the adjuster having a body with a bore formed therein, a plunger slidingly received within the bore, and a high pressure chamber formed between the bottom of the bore and the plunger. The plunger has a fluid chamber formed therein to receive engine fluid through an inlet opening and is in communication with a first check valve mechanism for regulating the flow of fluid from the fluid chamber through a valve opening into a high pressure chamber. A leak path allows fluid to escape from the high pressure chamber due to increased force on the plunger. The high pressure chamber is in communication with a second check valve mechanism for allowing fluid to leak from the high pressure chamber at an increased rate in response to increased force on the plunger.

Hydraulic lash adjuster with pressure relief check valve

A system and method for controlling a vapor recovery system. The system uses a vapor sensor canister containing activated charcoal and two temperature probes. The sensor provides a differential temperature measurement that can be monitored and processed to determine hydrocarbon content in the vapor recovery system.

Vapor recovery control system for an internal combustion engine

There is disclosed herein an electronic circuit assembly using a bonding material/phase change material system for electronic device heat burst dissipation. One embodiment of the assembly comprises: a substrate having a substrate surface with a preselected mounting site located thereon; a predetermined amount of phase change material disposed on the substrate surface at the preselected mounting site; a predetermined amount of bonding material arranged on the substrate surface at the preselected mounting site so as to substantially surround the predetermined amount of phase change material; and an electronic device having a heatspreader portion, the device being oriented such that the heatspreader portion is positioned at the preselected mounting site over the predetermined amounts of phase change material and bonding material, the heatspreader portion being attached to the substrate surface by the bonding material.

Bonding material and phase change material system for heat burst

An air inlet duct is provided for a heat exchanger of a vehicle. The heat exchanger having a top portion and a bottom portion for receiving air from an air inlet duct. The duct has an outer wall that fits against the heat exchanger and a center baffle for dividing air flow equally to the top and bottom portions of the heat exchanger. The center baffle has at least one member with a vertical portion dividing the air inlet into a plurality of vertical sections and at least one horizontal portion combining alternate ones of the vertical sections and directing air flowing therethrough to the top portion of the heat exchanger and also combining other alternate ones of the vertical sections and directing air flowing therethrough to the bottom portion of the heat exchanger so that the top and bottom portions receive substantially equal air flow.

Heat exchanger inlet duct with a center baffle

An adaptive fuel control system and method directed for use in a motor vehicle powered by a fuel-injected engine and having a fuel tank and a fuel rail and which is operative to run on a plurality of fuels and fuel blends. The system includes a refueling mixer which acts as a fluid damper to slowly introduce new fuel into the fuel rail and correspondingly slow the rate at which new fuel composition is mixed with existing fuel. A stratification mixer is also utilized to re-mix components of blended fuels which may have separated at cold temperatures. An Exhaust Gas Oxygen sensor (EGO) monitors engine exhaust gases and generates a corresponding electrical signal when the air/fuel mixture of the fuel switches between rich and lean. Finally, an electronic control assembly communicates with the EGO and the fuel injectors to generate and store in memory an updatable extended adaptive fuel control table of air/fuel ratio multipliers for selected engine load/engine speed cells. The ECA is adapted to update each of the cells in an amount proportional to the distance the corresponding load point is away from the corresponding load point of all bordering cells. The ECA further generates and stores an updatable counter table and an updatable time stamping table which, together, are operative to adjust the fuel injectors to provide the correct adaption for the current fuel at the current engine speed and engine load.

Method and system for controlling flexible fuel vehicle fueling

A reservoir in which fluid entering the reservoir is mixed with fluid already present in the reservoir is provided. The mixed fluid is then drawn from the reservoir in such a manner that the fluid drawn from the reservoir has a composition which closely approximates the average composition of the fluid in the reservoir. In this manner, the rate of composition change of fluid released from the reservoir is less than the rate of compositional change of fluid entering the reservoir.

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Farmington Hills, MI, United States of America

Mark Freeland