Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Exxonmobil Research and Engineering Company

Other

Toyota Jidosha Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Corning Incorporated

Exxonmobile Research and Engineering Company

Yoshihiro Iwashita

Keiji Yoeda

Takeshi Okumura

Shouji Katsumata

Hideyuki Nishida

Walter Weissman

Randall David Partridge

Takanori Ueda

Makoto Ogiso

Kazuhiko Shiratani

Tomomi Yamada

Kiyoshi Nakanishi

Bhupender S Minhas

Isao Matsumoto

Satoshi Yamazaki

Kazuhiro Akihama

Guido Sartori

Takamitsu Asanuma

Mutsumi Kanda

Masaaki Tanaka

Yoshihiro Kanome

Masanori Okada

Norimasa Yamada

Mamoru Yoshioka

Makoto Suzuki

Ramesh Gupta

Tomihisa Oda

Krishnan Kumaran

Hiroki Ichinose

Takehisa Yaegashi

Toshimi Kashiwagura

Takeshi Kotani

Kouseki Sugiyama

Shigeo Kikori

Haruyuki Obata

Paul Oakley Johnson

Robert P Lucchesi

Yoshiharu Saito

Masahiro Taki

Hironori Okamizu

Ken Tanoue

Toshio Yamada

George L Kellogg

Bhaskar Sengupta

Hirohumi Kubota

A fuel separation method by which auxiliary fuel is separated from blended gasoline fuel for a flexible fuel vehicle capable of using ethanol-blended gasoline fuel, the method including the following steps (a) and (b): (a) a step in which, when the ethanol concentration is low, the blended gasoline fuel is separated by a polar separating membrane member at a relatively high separation temperature to obtain, at the permeation side of the membrane, a first auxiliary fuel enriched with the aromatic gasoline components and ethanol component, and (b) a step in which, when the ethanol concentration is high, the blended gasoline fuel is separated by a polar separating membrane member at a relatively low second separation temperature to obtain, at the permeation side of the membrane, a second auxiliary fuel enriched with the non-aromatic high-volatile gasoline components.

Fuel separation method

A fuel management system mounted on a vehicle is operative to feed individually or a mixture of grades of relatively low, intermediate, and high autoignition temperature fuels to an associated internal combustion engine. The system includes an on board separation unit (OBS unit) for receiving and separating intermediate autoignition temperature (IAT) fuel into low and high autoignition temperature fuels, LAT and HAT, respectively. The production rate of the LAT and HAT fuels by the OBS unit is controlled to substantially match the consumption requirements of the engine at any given time for the LAT and HAT fuels.

Multiple fuel system for internal combustion engines

An exhaust path and a heated portion such as an air duct of an internal combustion engine are connected to each other by a heat pipe. A heat pipe working fluid (water) vaporized by the heat of the exhaust gas in a heat receiving portion of the heat pipe is condensed in a heat discharging portion of the heat pipe and heated in the heated portion by the heat of the exhaust gas. An outer cylinder is formed around the casing of the heat pipe, and the exhaust path and the heated portion are connected to each other through heat insulating members, while at the same time supporting the heat pipe body through heat insulating members.

Heat pipe structure

A fuel system for on-board vehicle fuel separation to supply engine fuel compositions formulated as a function of driving cycle conditions. The invention results in improvements in one or more of feed efficiency and combustion emissions.

Fuel composition supply means for spark ignition engines

A device for controlling an internal combustion engine with a variable valve timing system is provided. While the piston descends just after the combustion in the cylinder, the intake valve is opened by the variable valve system for the intake valve such that the intake air is supplied into the cylinder from the engine intake system.

Device for controlling an internal combustion engine with a variable valve timing system

An onboard fuel separation apparatus separates a material fuel (gasoline) into a high-octane fuel having a higher octane value than the material fuel and a low-octane fuel having a lower octane value than the material fuel using a separation membrane which selectively allows high-octane value components (such as aromatic components) permeate through the membrane. The apparatus increases the ratio of the amount of the high-octane value components permeating through the membrane to the amount of the high-octane value components contained in the material fuel by, (A) Controlling the temperature of the material fuel supplied to the membrane (B) Increasing partial pressure of the low-octane value components on the high-octane fuel side of the membrane and removing volatiles from the permeate, and (C) Bypassing volatiles in the material feed around the membrane.

Onboard fuel separation apparatus for an automobile

An apparatus is provided which includes an internal combustion engine of a lean-burn type, an NOx catalyst disposed in an exhaust passage of the engine so as to remove nitrogen oxides contained in exhaust gas emitted from the engine, and a variable valve control system capable of changing at least one of the opening and closing timing and a lift of the intake valve and/or the exhaust valve for each cylinder of the engine. The variable valve control system is controlled so that the exhaust gas to which the NOx catalyst is exposed is controlled so as to be suitable for removing a selected gaseous component from the NOx catalyst when the selected gaseous component should be removed. A method of purifying an exhaust gas emitted from the above engine is also provided.

Internal combustion engine having variable valve control system and NOx catalyst

A gasoline in a material fuel tank is separated into a high-RON fuel having a higher octane value than the material fuel and a low-RON fuel having a lower octane value than the material fuel, by a separator device equipped with a separation membrane. Using a fuel switching mechanism, one or both of the high-RON fuel and the low-RON fuel are supplied to the engine in accordance with the state of operation of the engine. As the octane value of a fuel can be changed in accordance with the engine operation state, the state of combustion in the engine improves, so that both an increase in engine output and an improvement in an exhaust property can be achieved.

Fuel supply apparatus for an internal combustion engine

Fuel composition supply means for driving cycle conditions in spark ignition engines

An internal combustion engine includes two intake side solenoid driving valve mechanisms for opening and closing intake valves by cooperation of an electromagnetic coil and a spring, and/or two exhaust side solenoid driving valve mechanisms for opening and closing exhaust valves provided on each cylinder. A controller commands a driving circuit to cause the valve-opening timing of the exhaust valves or the intake valves to be different.

Internal combustion engine and method for controlling valve of internal combustion engine

An electromagnetic drive valve always maintains an optimal waveform of a current supplied to electromagnets for driving an armature. The waveform of an instruction current to each coil is changed in accordance with changes of external disturbances affecting a valve body based on the pressure in the cylinders of an internal combustion engine, the sliding resistance on a bearing, and the like.

Electromagnetic drive valve and method for controlling same

A solenoid valve device includes an engine valve which can move in an axial direction thereof, an armature which moves with the engine valve, an electromagnet which attracts the engine valve so that the engine valve moves in the axial direction, and a zero-lash adjuster mechanism which is interposed between the engine valve and the armature. Thus, the solenoid valve can positively actuate an engine valve between a fully closed position and a fully opened position without formation of a clearance between the engine valve and the armature. A current supplied to the electromagnet may be set in accordance with a value which is related to a relative position of the armature and the electromagnet.

Solenoid valve device

The variable valve timing control device according to the present invention controls the valve timing of the intake valves of the engine based on the optimum valve timing at the full load operation of the engine. Namely, the variable valve timing control device of the present invention determines the valve timing in accordance with the combination of the present engine load and the present engine speed in such a manner that the deviation of the valve timing from the optimum valve timing when the engine is operated in full load at the present speed does not exceed a predetermined maximum allowable value. Since the valve timing of the engine is always set within a range determined by the maximum allowable deviation from the optimum valve timing for the full load operation, when the engine is accelerated to the full load condition the amount of the change, i.e., the amount of the operation of the variable valve timing control device is kept always within the range determined by the maximum allowable deviation. Therefore, the time required for changing the valve timing to the optimum valve timing for the full load operation is always short regardless of the present operating condition of the engine. Consequently, the response of the valve timing control can be improved without increasing the operating speed of the variable valve timing control device.

Variable valve timing control device for an engine

A control method and apparatus of an engine for driving a generator. When a weight W of a charcoal canister is greater than a predetermined value W.sub.1 ` and a vehicle runs, the engine is actuated. As the result of the actuation of the engine, when a gasoline vapor within a fuel tank is purged and the weight W of the charcoal canister is lower than a second predetermined value W.sub.2, a vacuum switching valve for purging the canister is turned off and the engine is stopped. Even when the vehicle runs while a battery is frequently charged by an external charger, the occurrence of a certain amount of the fuel vapor which can not be caught and collected by the charcoal canister can be prevented and a low pollution vehicle can be obtained. In place of the vehicle running state, a vehicle running distance, or a vehicle running time can be used. In place of the predetermined value W.sub.2, a fuel purge amount can be used.

Control method and apparatus of engine for driving generator

Growing community of inventors

Mishima, Japan

Yoshihiro Iwashita