Ford Global Technolgoies, LLC

Ford Motor Company Limited

Richard E Soltis

Gopichandra Surnilla

Daniel A Makled

Eleftherios M Logothetis

Michael Mcquillen

Jacobus Hendrik Visser

Timothy Joseph Clark

Stephen B Smith

Mohannad Hakeem

David John Kubinski

Evangelos P Skoures

Dan A Makled

Douglas R Hamburg

Robert F Novak

Jun Yang

Kenneth John Behr

Yi Ding

James Michael Kerns

Imad Hassan Makki

Larry Dean Elie

Jeffrey A Cook

Hao Zhang

James Waldecker

David James Scholl

Mark S Sulek

John Joseph Virga

Ross Dykstra Pursifull

David Karl Bidner

Robert Roy Jentz

Michael James Uhrich

James Alfred Hilditch

Christopher Paul Glugla

Andrew Robert Drews

Joseph F Basmaji

Shinichi Hirano

Margherita Zanini-Fisher

Carolyn Parks Hubbard

Chunchuan Xu

Andrea Pulskamp

Douglas Blue

Christopher House

Lyth Alobiedat

Michael Howard Parsons

Mohammad Aslam

Ahmed Abdelaziz Omara

Patrick Pietrasz

Michael D Hurley

Timothy Schram

John Eric Rollinger

Douglas Raymond Martin

Manoharprasad K Rao

Daniel Joseph Styles

Joseph Lyle Thomas

Michael Howard Shelby

Jeffrey Scott Hepburn

Clay Wesley Maranville

Steven Joseph Szwabowski

Brian Joseph Robert

Christian Thomas Goralski, Jr

Suriyaprakash Ayyangar Janarthanam

Todd Anthony Rumpsa

William Goodwin

Robert E Hetrick

David James Bauch

John Robert Grabowski

Alex D Colvin

Matthew John Gerhart

Jessy W Grizzle

William Frederick Sanderson

John M Roth

Kerrie Kathleen Gath

Paul Simmons

Chi Paik

Mohan Karulkar

Theodore Joseph Filippi

Zijie Lu

Radhakrishnan Swaminathan

David Bilby

John Richard Blankenship

Mark John Jagner

William C Vassell

Lajos Rimai

Jennifer Helen Chang

William P Boone

Tie Wang

Seha Son

Carlos M Barrera

Michael Brown

Anthony G Grabowski

Arun Kumar Jaura

Jaco Visser

Kenneth Ellison

Susan Nicole Wilber

Dane Miller

A fuel cell system includes a stack of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells defining a body, the body including a coolant inlet and coolant outlet, a cathode inlet and cathode outlet corresponding to a cathode, an anode inlet and an anode outlet corresponding to an anode. The fuel cell system also includes a cathode humidifier fluidly connected to the cathode inlet to provide a humidified inlet stream to the cathode inlet, an oxygen sensor positioned upstream of the cathode inlet and downstream of the cathode humidifier, and configured to measure oxygen content of the humidified inlet stream, and a controller connected to the cathode humidifier and the oxygen sensor and configured to operate the cathode humidifier based on the oxygen content of the humidified inlet stream.

Cathode inlet humidity sensing with oxygen sensor

Systems and methods for operating an internal combustion engine that includes an oxygen sensor are described. In one example, a voltage that is applied to a heating element of an oxygen sensor is integrated to determine a resistance of the heating element. The resistance of the heating element is the basis for adjusting voltage applied to the heating element during subsequent engine starts.

Methods and system for operating an oxygen sensor

Methods and systems are provided for a battery supplying power to an exhaust oxygen sensor heater. In one example, a method may include estimating a power delivered to the heater during heating of the sensor and in response to a power delivered from a battery being lower than a threshold, adjusting a battery charging strategy prior to an immediately subsequent engine start.

Systems and methods for oxygen sensor light-off

Methods and systems are provided for an oxygen sensor heater. In one example, a method may include applying a less than maximum duty cycle of voltage to the oxygen sensor heater during an engine cold start (e.g., when a temperature of the oxygen sensor is less than its light-off temperature) and adjusting the applied duty cycle of voltage to maintain a constant amount of power. In this way, the oxygen sensor may be heated at a constant rate even as a resistance of the oxygen sensor heater increases, decreasing an amount of time before the oxygen sensor reaches its light-off temperature.

Systems and methods for reducing a light-off time of an oxygen sensor

A fuel cell oxidation reduction reaction catalyst comprising a carbon substrate, an amorphous metal oxide intermediate layer on the substrate, and an intertwined matrix of platinum and elemental niobium arranged to form a surface metal layer covering the intermediate layer such that upon oxidation, the niobium binds with oxygen resulting in strengthened bonds between the platinum and the intermediate layer.

Fuel cell oxidation reduction reaction catalyst

Methods and systems are provided for adjusting heater power of an oxygen sensor. In one example, a method for an engine includes adjusting heater power of a heating element of the oxygen sensor when the heater power increases by a threshold amount. The method includes subsequently increasing heater power back to a baseline power level responsive to a temperature of the heating element.

Methods and systems for adjusting heater power of an oxygen sensor to reduce degradation from water

Various methods are provided for compensating changes in the relation between impedance setpoint and operating temperature in an oxygen sensor. In one embodiment, a method of operating an oxygen sensor comprises adjusting an impedance setpoint based on a change in dry air pumping current of the oxygen sensor.

Compensating oxygen sensor aging

Methods and systems are provided for improving operation of a vehicle heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system. In one example, a method may include calibrating a vehicle humidity sensor position inside a cabin of the vehicle by obtaining one or more humidity measurements with one or more personal computing devices positioned inside the cabin, and may further include adjusting operation of the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system responsive to the calibration. In this way, an interior humidity sensor of a vehicle may be regularly calibrated, which may improve operation of the vehicle heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system, and may further increase fuel economy.

Systems and methods for calibrating vehicle sensing devices

The present description relates generally to methods and systems for detecting thermal aging and blackening in oxygen sensors. Thermal aging and blackening effects may be differentiated based on a monitored change in impedance in each of a pump cell and a Nernst cell of the oxygen sensor following application of an alternating voltage. In response to detection of thermal aging and/or blackening in the oxygen sensor corrective measures may be taken to ensure accurate oxygen estimation using the sensor.

Oxygen sensor element blackening detection

Methods and systems are provided for conducting measurements of relative humidity using an ultrasonic sensor. In one example, a plurality of ultrasonic signals having different frequencies are transmitted from a single sensor, and attenuation values of reflected signals are determined only for those signals determined to have the same transit time from transmission to receipt, and where frequency of the plurality of ultrasonic signals may be changed responsive to an indication that the signals may be below a signal-to-noise threshold. In this way, by determining a difference between attenuation values between pairs of signals, where the signals comprise different frequencies and where the signals comprise the same transit times, relative humidity may be accurately determined.

Systems and methods for humidity determination and uses thereof

Methods and systems are provided for conducting measurements of relative humidity via the use of either an ultrasonic sensor positioned on the vehicle, or via another sensor. In one example, responsive to a request for a relative humidity measurement and an indication of fueled engine operation, the ultrasonic sensor may be utilized, whereas responsive to an indication of non-fueled engine operation, another sensor may be utilized. In this way, robust measurement of relative humidity with desired accuracy may be actively determined, rather than opportunistically, and such measurements of relative humidity may be utilized to adjust vehicle operating parameters, which may improve overall vehicle operation.

Methods and systems are provided for conducting measurements of relative humidity via the use of an ultrasonic sensor. In one example, the ultrasonic sensor for conducting the relative humidity measurement is selected from a plurality of ultrasonic sensors positioned at various locations on the vehicle, and where the selecting is accomplished in some examples via the use of one or more onboard cameras configured to identify suitable objects that are stationary with respect to the vehicle. In this way, robustness and accuracy of relative humidity measurements may be improved, lifetime of individual ultrasonic sensors may be extended, and vehicle operating conditions that depend on accurate relative humidity measurements may be improved.

Methods and systems are provided for controlling exhaust catalyst temperature during an engine cold-start by water injection. In one example, a method may include during the engine cold-start, injecting water into an intake of an engine based on the exhaust catalyst temperature and accumulating water molecules within an exhaust catalyst to generate heat within the exhaust catalyst. In this way, by generating and storing heat within the exhaust catalyst, the exhaust catalyst may be heated up rapidly, thus reducing catalyst light-off time.

Method and system for engine exhaust catalyst operations

Methods and systems are provided for operating an exhaust oxygen sensor coupled to an exhaust passage of an internal combustion engine in response to detecting water at the sensor. In one example, a method may include indicating water at an exhaust oxygen sensor positioned in an engine exhaust passage based on a sensor parameter of the exhaust oxygen sensor while operating the exhaust oxygen sensor in a variable voltage (VVs) mode where a reference voltage is adjusted from a lower, first voltage to a higher, second voltage; and adjusting one or more of sensor operation and engine operation based on the indicating water.

Methods and systems for operating an exhaust oxygen sensor based on water contact at the sensor

Systems and methods for diagnosing and operating an engine with a fuel pump that supplies fuel to a fuel injector that may be temporarily deactivated are described. In one example, injection of fuel may commence in response to a level of lubrication of a fuel pump. The system and methods may extend fuel pump life in systems where fuel injection may be deactivated.

System and method for lubricating a fuel pump

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Saline, MI, United States of America

Richard E Soltis