Ford Global Technolgoies, LLC

Ford Motor Company Limited

Rodney John Tabaczynski

Wengang Dai

Allan Joseph Kotwicki

Furqan Zafar Shaikh

Daniel M Kabat

Nizar Trigui

Bryan Christopher Stoll

Allan Roy Gale

Ilya V Kolmanovsky

Julia Helen Buckland

Jing Sun

Stephen George Russ

Eric Warren Curtis

James R Clarke

George Carver Davis

Harry Arthur Cikanek

Mohammad Haghgooie

Richard Walter Anderson

Bradford Bates

Peter H Havstad

Ronald I Sims

Durga Rao

A valve assembly and method for controlling flow of gases through a passage between an engine crankcase and an engine intake manifold is provided. The method includes decreasing a flow of gases through the passage between the crankcase and the intake manifold when a temperature of the gases is greater than a predetermined temperature.

Valve assembly and method for controlling flow of gases from an engine crankcase to an engine intake manifold

A valve assembly and method for controlling flow of gases through a passage between an engine crankcase and an engine intake manifold is provided. The method includes increasing a flow of gases through the passage between the crankcase and the intake manifold when a temperature of the gases is below a predetermined temperature.

An arrangement of a four cycle internal combustion engine is provided. In the preferred embodiment the engine has a plurality of combustion chambers having reciprocating pistons mounted therein. A fuel injector is provided for each combustion chamber. The fuel injector injects a stratified charge into the combustion chamber upon a compression stroke of the piston . An intake manifold is provided to provide air to each combustion chamber. A charging device is provided to pressurize the air within the intake manifold . Preferably the charging device is a variable geometry turbocharger . The pressurizing of the air within the intake manifold allows the engine to extend the stratified charge operation of the engine and facilitates in increased gas mileage by allowing the engine to stay in a stratified mode of operation longer than prior stratified charged internal combustion engines.

Boosted direct injection stratified charge gasoline engines

A catalyst assembly for an exhaust gas system for an automotive vehicle includes a housing and a porous support structure having a plurality of channels . A plurality of catalyst pellets are disposed within at least some of the channels. A retainer is positioned adjacent to the support structure for retaining the pellets within the channels

Catalyst assembly for an exhaust gas system

A method and system for generating auxiliary load during start-up and warm-up of a spark ignition engine operating with a high load, cold start and spark retard and enleanment (HL-CSSRE) methodology to achieve rapid light-off. The method and system of the present invention uses existing vehicle systems ( ) to couple an auxiliary load to the engine for a predetermined period of time during engine start-up and warm-up.

Method for generating additional engine loads during start-up

An engine control method for an internal combustion engine having a powertrain control module (PCM). The powertrain control module includes a microprocessor and associated memory. A mathematical model of the engine cycle of the engine system is stored in the PCM memory. The PCM continuously monitors a variety of engine operating parameters. From these inputs, the PCM generates optimized control setpoints for the intake airflow, fueling right, spark timing and EGR flow for the engine using the mathematical model. The setpoints are generated in real-time for every engine cycle, and the engine is then operated in accordance with the generated control setpoints. In another aspect of the invention, the engine model includes submodels for fuel delivery, the in-cylinder processes, the engine heat capacitance and cooling system, engine friction, airflow, engine inertia, and the front-end auxiliary drive. The disclosed engine control method is advantageous in that it allows optimum engine performance in any operating environment.

Engine control method using real-time engine system model

A reciprocating internal combustion engine includes a variable compression ratio system for adjusting the compression ratio of an engine in a first compression range located about a first predetermined compression ratio in the event that the engine is operating at a first predetermined load range, with the variable compression ratio adding a fixed clearance volume to the volume of the combustion chamber in the event that the engine is operating in a knocking condition beyond the range of the first compression range.

Internal combustion engine with adjustable compression ratio and knock

A method of detecting internal combustion engine misfires by generating a predicted Karlovitz number as a function of different engine operating conditions such as the air fuel ratio (AFR), the engine speed, the amount of exhaust gas recirculation (EGR), spark-ignition (SI) timing and the airflow rate. The predicted Karlovitz number is then compared against the threshold Karlovitz number in which misfire occurs. The threshold Karlovitz number is determined from a model for misfire predictions in engines and is stored in the electronic engine controller (EEC). A misfire is reported if the predicted Karlovitz number is greater than the threshold Karlovitz number. In another aspect of the invention, the predicted Karlovitz number is generated from submodels of laminar flame speed, laminar flame thickness, turbulence intensity, and turbulence integral length scale.

Real-time engine misfire detection method

An engine is provided with a combustion chamber that is separate from the main cylinder displacement/swept volume area and mounted in a cavity in the cylinder head and having a connection between the two by a channel of small cross-sectional area providing high velocity flow of fresh air from the cylinder into the combustion chamber to aid in fuel evaporation and fuel-air mixing, thereby providing complete combustion wholly within the separate chamber. Only intake air is taken into the engine during the intake stroke. A separate valve is provided at the exit of the combustion chamber to the connecting channel for cold start operation, the valve remaining closed until the ratio between the pressures in the cylinder under compression and in the combustion chamber exceeds two, i.e., establishing sonic flow in the channel, whereby a rush of fresh air into the combustion chamber upon opening of the valve and injection of fuel and ignition thereof causes complete combustion wholly within the combustion chamber. The pockets of fresh air stored in the main cylinder dilute the burned gas during the expansion stroke of the piston in response to the intense vortex flow out of the combustion chamber to the main chamber therefor promoting post oxidation of any unburned hydrocarbons.

Spark ignition engine with cylinder head combustion chamber

A hybrid drive system for use in an electric vehicle comprising an electric motor generator for moving the vehicle, plural electrical energy sources in electric contact with electric motor/generator and a control source in electrical contact with the plural electrical energy sources include a variable-rate energy storage system, a low-rate energy storage system and a high-rate energy storage system. In operation, the control source determines the average power consumption of the vehicle during emission operation throughout its ongoing duty cycle and controls the extent to which each of the energy sources energizes the electric motor/generator to move the vehicle, such that the vehicle may be efficiently operated in both emission and non-emission modes in accordance with environmental restrictions and operator-imposed power demands.

Hybrid drive system

A method of operating an automotive type internal combustion engine to improve the efficiency and power, fuel economy, and emission control is obtained by phase shifting of both the intake and exhaust valve timing schedules or events, coupled with the use of reed valves in each intake port to restrict the backflow of exhaust gases into the intake port, and essentially unthrottled operation except where necessary to maintain engine stability, the reed valves also providing for a controlled internal EGR system. The phase shifting and use of intake reed valves will optimize the intake and exhaust event timing at the four major engine operating conditions of idle speed, part load, and wide open throttle low speed and high speed operation.

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Northville, MI, United States of America

Rodney John Tabaczynski