The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 22, 2020
Filed:
Nov. 13, 2017
Ford Global Technologies, Llc, Dearborn, MI (US);
Gopichandra Surnilla, West Bloomfield, MI (US);
Hao Zhang, Ann Arbor, MI (US);
Richard E. Soltis, Saline, MI (US);
William Russell Goodwin, Farmington Hills, MI (US);
Robert F. Novak, Farmington Hills, MI (US);
David Bilby, Auburn Hills, MI (US);
Evangelos P. Skoures, Detroit, MI (US);
Ford Global Technologies, LLC, Dearborn, MI (US);
Abstract
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.