Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090019851 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR EXHAUST GAS RECIRCULATION - A system and method for controlling EGR of an internal combustion engine is presented. The system is capable of controlling EGR over a wide range of flow rates. | 01-22-2009 |
20090096400 | Starter Relay Control - A starter control system includes a power source, a starter motor, a starter relay, a control module, and an ignition switch. The starter motor is in operative communication with the power source. The starter relay is operatively interposed between the power source and the starter motor, and includes a high side node and a low side node. The starter relay is controllable to selectively enable power delivery from the power source to the starter motor responsive to activation of the high side node and the low side node. The control module includes a high side driver in operative communication with the high side node of the starter relay and a low side driver in operative communication with the low side node of the starter relay. The ignition switch is in operative communication with the high side node of the starter relay and in operative communication with the control module. | 04-16-2009 |
20090293839 | SYSTEM AND METHOD OF OPTIMIZING AN AUTOMOBILE ENGINE IDLE SPEED BASED ON ACTUAL AIR CONDITIONER USAGE - A system and method for optimizing an automobile engine idle speed based on actual air conditioner usage. The automobile engine may supply power to the air conditioner upon engagement of an air conditioner clutch with the automobile engine. The system may include at least one sensor for transmitting electrical signals representative of air conditioner activities, and a control system for receiving the electrical signals and controlling engagement of the air conditioner clutch with the automobile engine. The control system may determine an air conditioning cycling percentage based on an amount of time the air conditioner clutch is engaged with the automobile engine over an amount of time air conditioning is requested by a user. The control system may adjust an idle engine speed based on the air conditioning cycling percentage to optimize operation of the air conditioner. | 12-03-2009 |
20110023847 | ADAPTIVE EGR CONTROL FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES - A system and method for controlling an internal combustion engine having an EGR valve determine a base valve position to deliver a target flow using a stored map and adjust the base position in response to differential pressure across an orifice in the EGR flow to move the valve to a position different from the base position to provide the target flow. | 02-03-2011 |
20110198863 | Starter Relay Control - A starter control system is disclosed. In one example, the starter control system allows both automatic and manual control over an engine starting sequence. The starter control system can enhance starter control system flexibility. | 08-18-2011 |
20110288717 | VEHICLE GRILLE SHUTTER SYSTEM AND METHOD OF ITS USE - A vehicle system includes a first sensor that provides first data indicating at least one of vehicle speed and ambient temperature. The system also includes a shutter control module. The shutter control module includes a first sub-module that provides a first amount of modification to an opening amount for a shutter based on the first data. | 11-24-2011 |
20130218408 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR IMPROVING VEHICLE FUEL ECONOMY WITH ENERGY STORAGE EFFICIENCY MODEL - A method is described for improving fuel economy in a vehicle having an engine, a generator driven by the engine, and an energy storage unit by using an energy storage efficiency model. The method includes evaluating a current efficiency state of the engine, evaluating a current efficiency state of the generator, evaluating a current efficiency state of the energy storage unit, and, controlling the generator to provide an optimized voltage output, based on the results of the evaluations and the energy storage efficiency model. A voltage regulator implementing this method is also described. | 08-22-2013 |
20130306042 | EXHAUST GAS RECIRCULATION SYSTEM AND CONTROL STRATEGY - A method for controlling a vehicle's exhaust gas recirculation system. The method controls the exhaust gas recirculation system in a manner that is suitable for a pedal tip-out transition while also being optimized for normal operating situations. | 11-21-2013 |
20140081560 | ENGINE MANAGEMENT STRATEGY - A system and method for controlling a vehicle to implement an engine torque management strategy. The engine torque management strategy implements a sophisticated engine knock control method that alleviates/mitigates the cause of the knock while also optimizing vehicle performance and engine efficiency without compromising engine hardware protection. Whenever suitable, the system and method attempt to reduce the amount of air trapped in a knocking cylinder to reduce its effective compression ratio and to eliminate the knock while keeping the same optimal spark timing for combustion efficiency. | 03-20-2014 |
20140156156 | REAL TIME MODELING OF ENGINE LOAD ADDITION DUE TO ALTERNATOR WITH AN OVER-RUN CLUTCH - A system and method for providing engine torque load in real time. The system includes a sensor to determine, in real time, a clutch state of an alternator clutch and a controller for determining an alternator torque value and applying the alternator torque value to the engine torque load in real time. | 06-05-2014 |
20140158097 | SUPERCHARGED ENGINE AND METHOD OF CONTROL - Methods and systems for minimizing the power consumed by a supercharger pump in an engine system. The methods and systems minimize the delta pressure across the pump with a control strategy for positioning the electronic throttle and supercharger bypass valve in a coordinated manner to deliver the required amount of fresh air flow into engine (i.e., the air flow associated with the driver's requested torque), while, at the same time, minimizing the power consumed by the supercharger pump for best fuel economy. | 06-12-2014 |
20150088392 | TRANSMISSION GEAR SHIFT INDICATION TECHNIQUES - Transmission gear shift control techniques can include calculating, at a controller of a vehicle powered by an internal combustion engine, the controller including one or more processors, brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) for each of: (i) a current gear of a transmission of the vehicle, (ii) a lower gear than the current gear of the transmission, and (iii) a higher gear than the current gear of the transmission, wherein the transmission is one of a manual transmission and an automatic transmission operating in a manual mode. The techniques can include determining, at the controller, which of the current gear, the lower gear, and the higher gear has a smallest BSFC to obtain a desired gear of the transmission. The techniques can also include outputting, from the controller, an indication to shift the transmission to the desired gear. | 03-26-2015 |