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:
Aug. 03, 2004
Filed:
Jun. 10, 2002
Donald James Lewis, Brighton, MI (US);
Kevin Ronald Carlstrom, Fort Wayne, IN (US);
Stanley Larue Bower, Jr., Ann Arbor, MI (US);
Stephen L. Hahn, Novi, MI (US);
Ford Global Technologies, LLC, Dearborn, MI (US);
Abstract
The invention relates to a new method and system for optimizing the efficiency of an automotive catalytic converter. The invention comprises adjusting an air/fuel ratio in the cylinders of an internal combustion engine to maintain the amount of oxidants stored in the catalyst at or near an oxidant target value. The oxidant target value is either a pre-determined constant value or a dynamically-determined value that is calculated based on engine operating conditions. The air/fuel ratio in the cylinders is adjusted based on the magnitude of the difference between the actual oxidant amount and the target oxidant amount to prevent NOx and hydrocarbon breakthrough.