Continental Automotive Gmbh

Continental Automotive France

Philippe Serrecchia

Jean-Luc Fremaux

Claude Courtiel

Renaud Andre

Jerome Dileon

Disclosed is a method of alerting to the state of a high-pressure pump of an engine including a relief valve, a threshold pressure defining the opening pressure of the relief valve, the pump supplying fuel under pressure to a chamber equipped with a pressure sensor, including the following steps: initializing a computer when the engine is cut off during which cut-off a threshold pressure and a value of a first counter are collected in a memory associated with the computer; measuring the pressure of the fuel in the chamber; incrementing the first counter if the pressure of the fuel in the chamber is above or equal to the threshold pressure; and triggering an alert when the value of the first counter crosses a predetermined threshold.

Alerting method for predictive maintenance of a high-pressure pump in an internal combustion engine

In a method of cleaning injectors of a direct-injection controlled-ignition engine, while idling, maximum fuel pressure to be injected for cleaning is calculated, by executing for at least one predetermined engine operating speed an iterative loop. During each loop the injected fuel pressure value increases and the injection time corresponding to the increased pressure is determined, selecting for each operating speed a cleaning pressure equal either to the maximum fuel pressure to which an injection time greater than the calibrated minimum injection time determined for the operating speed corresponds or to a maximum limit pressure corresponding to a given calibrated pressure for the engine/injectors system. Secondly, a cleaning treatment includes selecting an operating speed allowing the maximum cleaning pressure and controlling an engine operation by applying this speed and programming the cleaning pressure over a treatment duration exceeding the operating time allowed while running under operating conditions of this kind.

Method for cleaning injectors of a direct-injection controlled-ignition engine

This method of injection management in a direct-injection engine involves shifting from a so-called single-injection mode (Init 1 pulse), in which the major portion of the quantity of fuel injected during a combustion cycle is injected in one go, to a so-called multi-injection mode (MPL active), in which several successive injections are carried out in order to inject fuel during a combustion cycle, and vice versa. The multi-injection mode is chosen when a condition based on one or more parameter(s) of the engine is fulfilled (MPL cdn ok). The multi-injection mode is limited to a predefined time interval (Tact_MPL_max) even if, at the end of the interval, the condition for adopting the multi-injection mode is still fulfilled.

Method of injection management in an internal combustion engine

A method for starting a direct-injection internal combustion engine of a vehicle includes: rotating the high-pressure injection pump by a starter; measuring fuel pressure delivered by the pump, taken at two successive compression top dead centers of the pump operating in maximum output mode; establishing the pressure gradient of the fuel, on an angular reference system, based on the two successive pressure measurements; comparing the established gradient with a predefined bijective table that respectively matches a plurality of quantities of fuel to be injected and a plurality of pressure gradients; and adapting the quantity of fuel injected during the starting phase before the engine reaches steady operating speed, depending on the result of the comparison, in order to inject a quantity of fuel that corresponds, in the predefined bijective table, to the established pressure gradient, upon authorization of the first injection given by the engine control unit.

Method for starting a direct-injection internal combustion engine by adapting the quantity of fuel injected

Disclosed is a method for limiting fuel leakage from at least one injector in an engine of a motor vehicle, the engine being stopped and the motor vehicle ignition circuit being switched off, the injector being supplied with fuel via a fuel rail which is pressurized during operation, the pressurization persisting for a certain period when the engine has been stopped and the ignition circuit switched off, leading to leakage of fuel through the injector. The injection rail is subjected to forced cooling following the stoppage of the engine with the motor vehicle ignition circuit switched off, which is sufficient to reduce the pressure, the forced cooling continuing until the pressure in the rail is close to atmospheric pressure.

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Villefranche de Lauragais, France

Philippe Serrecchia