Gm Global Technolgoy Operations, Inc.

Stefano Nieddu

Andrea Mollar

Angelo Argento

Paolo Casasso

Simone Alpe

Francesco Concetto Pesce

Luca Giuseppe Pairolero

Gennaro Merlino

Filippo Parisi

Massimiliano Melis

Maura Dintino

Tiziana Belvedere

Roberto Morone

Fabio Autieri

Paul Leondardo Claude

Tiziano Sorrentino

An interface module includes: N pairs of input connectors that are electrically conductive and that are configured to connect to and disconnect from N different temperature sensors, respectively; and M output connectors that are electrically conductive, where each pair of input connectors includes: a first input connector configured to connect to and disconnect from a first connector soldered to a first wire connected to one of the N different temperature sensors; and a second input connector configured to connect to and disconnect from a second connector soldered to a second wire connected to the one of the N different temperature sensors, where the second input connectors are electrically connected to second ones of the M output connectors, respectively, and where the first input connectors of the N pairs of input connectors are all electrically connected to a node that is connected to a first one of the M output connectors.

Multiple thermocouple management

A method of operating a fuel injection system for a motor vehicle includes one or more of the following: operating a fuel injector to perform a fuel injection, the fuel injector being in fluid communication with a fuel rail; sampling a rail pressure in the fuel rail during the fuel injection; regulating the rail pressure at a desired injection pressure, P, to the fuel injector; measuring an overall leakage on variations of the rail pressure across an engine cycle for the motor vehicle and between two engine positions of an internal combustion engine for the motor vehicle; and restarting a new measurement cycle for a new pressure measurement target.

Method for fuel injector characterization

A system includes: a first temperature sensor configured to measure a first temperature of exhaust at a first location of an exhaust system of a vehicle; a second temperature sensor configured to measure a second temperature of exhaust at a second location of the exhaust system of the vehicle; a first analog to digital (A/D) converter configured to receive a first analog signal from the first temperature sensor, to sample the first analog signal to produce first samples, and to generate first digital values corresponding to the first temperature based on the first samples, respectively; and a second A/D converter a configured to receive a second analog signal from the second temperature sensor, to sample the second analog signal to produce second samples, and to generate second digital values corresponding to the second temperature based on the second samples, respectively.

Analog to digital converters for temperature sensors of vehicles

A circuit and a method for a digital inlet valve having a shutter moveable between a closed and an open position and actuated by a linear electromagnetic actuator including a movable needle located inside a coil winding connected to a power source by a first electronic switch. An electric current is supplied to the coil winding. A parameter indicative of a movement of the needle is monitored. The electric current supply is adjusted when the monitored parameter exceeds a predetermined value.

Method of operating a digital inlet valve

A method for operating a combustion engine is provided. A fuel injector is operated to perform a fuel injection, a sequence of pressure signals of the fuel rail pressure during the fuel injection is sampled and filtered and a total pressure difference between a first sample after a top dead center of the fuel pump and before the fuel injection has started and a chosen second sample after the injection and before a next pumping stroke is determined. A linear pressure slope at the second sample and a leakage pressure difference between the first sample and the second sample based on the linear pressure slope is calculated, leading to calculating an injection pressure difference as the difference between total pressure difference and the leakage pressure difference. With this, a value of a fuel quantity injected as a function of the injection pressure difference can be determined, while leakages are compensated.

Injector delivery measurement with leakage correction

A method of controlling the fuel rail pressure of a fuel injection system of an internal combustion engine is disclosed. A failure condition of a fuel rail pressure sensor is detected. A fuel rail pressure target value and an injector fuel output target value are determined on the basis of an internal combustion engine operating condition. A fuel pump output target value to be supplied into the fuel rail is determined. The fuel pump is driven in order to provide the fuel pump output target value. The fuel pump output target value is determined on the basis of the injector fuel output target value, and the fuel injector is energized for an energizing time target value determined on the basis of the fuel rail pressure target value and the injector fuel output target value.

Method of controlling a fuel injection system during rail pressure sensor failure condition

A method and apparatus are disclosed for determining the fuel quantity that is actually injected by a fuel injector in an internal combustion engine. A fuel injector is operated to perform a fuel injection. The first discharge stroke of the fuel pump is deactivated following a start of the fuel injection for preventing the discharge stroke from delivering fuel into the fuel rail. A value of a pressure drop caused into the fuel rail by the fuel injection is calculated. A value of a fuel quantity injected by the fuel injection is calculated on the basis of the calculated value of the pressure drop.

Method of operating an internal combustion engine

Methods and apparatus are provided for a high current control strategy and a low current control strategy using fixed threshold values and variable threshold values. An electrical quantity related to an electrical current which is to be switched is received on an input. The electrical quantity related to the electrical current is compared with a predefined first fixed threshold value in a first comparator for determining a first logical state. The electrical quantity is compared with a first variable threshold value in a second comparator for determining a second logical state. The electrical current is switched between an ON state and an OFF state in response to a switching signal on an output terminal when the electrical quantity of the electrical current meets the first variable threshold value. The first logical state, the second logical state and the switching signal provided at the output terminal vary the first variable threshold value.

Switching signal generating apparatus and method

A method of calculating an angular position of a crankshaft at the occurrence of a fuel injection event includes integrating a first polynomial function, and integrating a second polynomial function. The integrated second polynomial function is then divided by the integrated first polynomial function to calculate the angular position of the crankshaft at the occurrence of the fuel injection event. The calculated angular position of the crankshaft at the occurrence of the fuel injection event may then be correlated to an absolute angular position of the crankshaft, relative to a Top Dead Center position of the crankshaft. The calculated angular position of the crankshaft at the occurrence of the fuel injection event may be used to adjust the injection timing of future fuel injection events.

Method of calculating an angular position of a crankshaft during a fuel injection event

Technical solutions are described for measuring fuel injection to an engine of a vehicle. For example, an engine control unit (ECU) that controls the operation of the engine, is equipped with a first direct memory address channel to store rail pressure values that are received from the engine in a first buffer. The ECU further includes a second direct memory address channel configured to copy a first subset of the rail pressure value from the first buffer to a filter module in response to an angle-based interrupt request. The ECU further includes a third direct memory address channel configured to copy filtered pressure values from the filter module to a second buffer. The ECU also includes a processor that computes a pressure drop based on the filtered pressure values from the second buffer, and compute a quantity of fuel injected into the engine based on the pressure drop.

Fuel-injection delivery measurement

A control method is provided for using a feed forward technique. The method includes, but is not limited to using a setpoint value of a controlled variable to calculate a compensation of the closed loop static error, summing said contribution to the setpoint value, operating an estimation of the closed loop error to obtain a feed forward contribution.

Feed forward technique and application for injection pressure control

A method for automatically operating a cam-driven pump is disclosed. The pump is monitored to determine whether a specified detachment condition or potential detachment of an actuator of the pump from a driving cam is occurring. The pump is operated in a minimal pressure holding mode to provide a minimal pressure within a working chamber of the pump so as to bias the actuator towards the cam if it is determined that the detachment condition is occurring.

Method and system for operating a cam-driven pump

A method of determining the timing and quantity of fuel injection to operate an internal combustion engine is disclosed. While operating the fuel injector to perform a fuel injection; a signal of a fuel pressure within the fuel rail during the fuel injection is sampled. The signal is used to determine first and second integral transforms yielding as output a value of first and second functions having as variables the fuel rail pressure drop caused by the fuel injection and the timing parameter indicative of the instant when the fuel injection started. Values of the first and second functions are used to calculate a value of the fuel rail pressure drop caused by the fuel injection and a value of the timing parameter. A value of a fuel quantity injected by the fuel injection is calculated as a function of the value of the fuel rail pressure drop.

Method of determining the timing and quantity of fuel injection to operate an internal combustion engine

An apparatus and method for controlling a fuel injection system of an internal combustion engine is disclosed. Each fuel injector in the system is operated to perform a predetermined injection pattern per engine cycle. A signal representative of a fuel pressure within the fuel rail during the operation of the fuel injectors is sampled. A Fourier analysis of the fuel rail pressure signal is performed to determine one or more harmonic components thereof. The determined harmonic components of the fuel rail pressure signal are used to calculate a dynamic fuel quantity that flows through a fuel injector during an injection pulse of the injection pattern. A fuel quantity actually injected by the fuel injector during the injection pulse as a function of the dynamic fuel quantity is calculated.

A method and control apparatus are disclosed for operating a fuel-metering valve associated to a fuel pump arranged to supply fuel into a fuel rail, the fuel-metering valve having a valve member and an electric actuator arranged to move that member for regulating a fuel flow-rate. The control apparatus includes an electronic control unit connected to the fuel-metering valve and configured to implement a method of control using a target value, a nominal function corrected value to set an adjustable parameter of a control signal for the fuel-metering valve.

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Turin, Italy

Stefano Nieddu