Internal-combustion engines – Charge forming device – Supercharger
Reexamination Certificate
1998-07-01
2001-04-03
Yuen, Henry C. (Department: 3747)
Internal-combustion engines
Charge forming device
Supercharger
C060S608000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06209528
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fuel supply system for automotive engines that can achieve enhancements in fuel economy and harmful exhaust gas purification.
2. Description of the Related Art
Engines for automobiles can be classified into a gasoline engine using gasoline, a diesel engine using diesel oil, and so on. The fuel supply system for supplying fuel to such automotive engines is shown, for example, in FIG.
1
.
In
FIG. 1
, reference numeral
30
denotes a four-cylinder engine. The combustion chambers of four cylinders (not shown) of the engine
30
have four branch pipes of an intake manifold (not shown) connected thereto, respectively.
To this intake manifold (intake side) an air filter
10
is connected through an air flow sensor
20
, an air hose
40
, and a throttle valve
60
. This throttle value
60
is opened or closed by an accelerator pedal
50
.
Also, in the branch pipes of the intake manifold or the combustion chambers of the cylinders of the engine
30
, injection nozzles
31
are provided so that fuel can be injected into the branch pipes or combustion chambers. Moreover, an output signal from the air flow sensor
20
is input to a microcomputer
70
. Based on the output signal from the air flow sensor
20
, the microcomputer
70
increase or decrease a quantity of fuel which is injected from the injection nozzles
31
in correspondence to an increase or decrease in the quantity of air which is drawn in.
Therefore, in a fuel supply system such as this, if the engine
30
is operated, then negative intake pressure will be produced within the intake manifold (not shown) through the combustion chambers. With this negative intake pressure, the air in the atmosphere is drawn into the air hose
40
through the air filter
10
. When this occurs, the dust and the like contained in the air are collected with the air filter
10
, and the air being passed through the air filter
10
is purified. This purified air is drawn into the combustion chambers of the cylinders of the engine
30
through the air flow sensor
20
, air hose
40
, throttle valve
60
, and the intake manifold (not shown). On the other hand, fuel is injected from the injection nozzles
31
into the four branch pipes of the intake manifold (not shown) or the combustion chambers. This fuel is mixed with the air which is supplied to the engine
30
. And after this fuel-air mixture has burned within the combustion chambers, it is exhausted into the atmosphere.
Also, if the throttle opening angle of the throttle valve
60
is increased or decreased by the operation of stepping on the accelerator pedal
50
, the quantity of air which is drawn in through the air filter
10
will be increased or decreased and therefore the quantity of fuel-air mixture which is produced at the throttle valve
60
will be increased or decreased. At the same time, the quantity of fuel which is injected from the injection nozzles
31
to the four branch pipes of the intake manifold (not shown) is increased or decreased, so that the output of the engine
30
is increased or decreased.
To increase the output of the engine suddenly in the above-mentioned fuel supply system, the driver can step on the accelerator pedal
50
considerably to increase the throttle opening angle of the throttle valve
60
.
However, in the early stage of this operation of stepping on the accelerator pedal
50
, a phenomenon in which the gases in the engine
30
flow backward occurs. In this case, although the air intake quantity is reduced, the quantity of fuel injected from the fuel injection nozzle
31
is increased, so that the rich fuel-air mixture is drawn into the combustion chambers of the engine
30
and is not completely burned. As a consequence, in the early stage of the operation of stepping on the accelerator pedal
50
deeply, exhaust gases, such as carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon, harmful to the atmospheric environment or human body are exhausted form the engine
30
into the atmosphere and result in the primary causes of environmental pollution. Furthermore, there is a problem in that the engine output efficiency falls and therefore the operational performance of the automobile is reduced.
An air oversupplying device, such as a turbocharger or a supercharger, has been proposed as a means for resolving this problem. In the turbocharger, an air compressor is driven with a turbine revolved by exhaust gases so as to supply an above-normal quantity of air to an engine. In the supercharger, an above-normal quantity of air is supplied to an engine by the use of an air compressor coupled to an output shaft of the engine.
However, since this type of air oversupplying means is not constructed to be afterward provided in an engine completed as a single product, it is difficult to easily equip a conventional automobile with the air oversupplying means.
Further, since the air oversupplying means is operated using the exhaust gas discharged from an engine and the drive force generated by the engine, the engine is always under a load. As a result, it is necessary to set the revolution speed of the engine at a somewhat high value, in order to prevent the engine from stopping during idling. However, in the case where an automobile stops frequently at intersections or in traffic jams, an excessive quantity of fuel corresponding to the increased revolution speed of the engine during idling is consumed. This is undesirable in fuel economy.
Further, as mentioned above, since the air oversupplying means is operated using the exhaust has discharged from the engine or the driving force generated thereby, the quantity of air to be supplied to the engine cannot necessarily be precisely controlled according to the revolution speed of the engine.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art. Accordingly, it is a first object of the present invention to provide a fuel supply system for automotive engines which is capable of producing a completely combustible mixture of fuel and air so that fuel economy and engine efficiency can be enhanced and also exhaust gases harmful to the atmospheric environment and human body can be purified, by injecting the quantity of fuel which corresponds to the intake air quantity of the engine during the acceleration and low speed of the automobile.
It is a second object of the present invention to provide a fuel supply system for automotive engines which can be easily equipped in a conventional automobile.
It is a third object of the present invention to provide a fuel supply system for automotive engines which is capable of precisely controlling the quantity of air to be supplied to the engine in accordance with an engine revolution speed.
In order to achieve the first and second objects, there is provided a fuel supply system for an automotive engine which comprises an intake passage for drawing the air in the atmosphere and guiding it to an intake side of the engine; an air flow detecting means for detecting a quantity of the air which is drawn into the intake passage; a turbo means for compressing the air drawn into the intake passage and supplying the compressed air to the engine; a throttle valve arranged in the way of the intake passage; fuel injectors for injecting fuel into the air which is supplied to the engine through the throttle valve; a fuel injection control means for increasing or decreasing a quantity of the fuel which is injected from the fuel injectors in accordance with an increase or decrease in the flow rate of the air which is drawn into the intake passage, based on an output signal from the air flow sensor; a drive motor for driving the turbo means; a valve operation detecting means of detecting the operation of the throttle valve when the opening angle thereof is equal to or greater than a predetermined value and also outputting a detection signal; and a motor control means for driving and controlling the drive motor in response to the detection signal from the valve operati
Gimie Mahmoud M.
Jacobson Price Holman & Stern PLLC
Tatsumi Corporation
Yuen Henry C.
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