Measuring and testing – Vehicle chassis – Steering
Patent
1997-12-31
1999-10-26
McCall, Eric S.
Measuring and testing
Vehicle chassis
Steering
340441, G01M 1500
Patent
active
059707844
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
Not Applicable.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
Not Applicable.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for recognizing or identifying the phase of the cylinders of a multi-cylinder four-stroke internal combustion engine, of the type equipped with an ignition system and/or fuel injection system controlled individually for each cylinder, and comprising a sensor, often called the crank angle sensor, which is fixed with respect to the engine and detects the movement past it of at least one position mark fixed on a rotary target which rotates integrally with the engine crankshaft, to supply a signal indicating the passage of the piston of a reference cylinder of the engine through a determined position, for example approximately 100.degree. crank angle before top dead center (TDC) for this piston.
2. Description of the Prior Art
To optimize the operation of a four-stroke internal combustion engine, particularly for controlling a sequential ignition system and/or a sequential multi-point fuel injection system of such an engine correctly, it is known that the phase of the cylinders of the engine needs to be identified or recognized, that is to say that at every moment during an engine cycle it is necessary to know the position of each of the various pistons of the engine as well as which phase or stroke of the engine cycle each of the various cylinders of this engine is performing, and in particular the passage of the pistons through the TDC position at the beginning of the induction phase, so that the moment at which fuel is to be injected can be defined with precision, and their passage through the TDC position at the beginning of the combustion-expansion phase, so that ignition (the moment and energy of ignition) can be defined with precision if the internal combustion engine is a controlled-ignition engine.
In effect, in an electronic and multi-point fuel injection system, which comprises at least one injector per cylinder for injecting metered amounts of fuel just upstream of the corresponding inlet valve or valves, and in which the injectors are operated periodically and at least once per engine cycle, sequential injection consists in operating the various injectors in turn and in a given order, so that the metered amounts of fuel can be injected toward the cylinders in the most favorable conditions relative to the corresponding induction phases. Likewise, a sequential ignition system allows ignition to be commanded in turn and in a given order in the various cylinders under the best conditions with respect to the corresponding combustion-expansion phases, that is to say, in practical terms, with an appropriate ignition advance, with respect to TDC, at the beginning of the corresponding combustion-expansion phase, as a function of the operating conditions of the engine, and does so without simultaneously causing an unnecessary and sometimes disturbing spark in another cylinder which is performing an engine stroke ill-suited to being fired.
Ignition systems and/or fuel injection systems of the sequential type for internal combustion engines generally comprise an engine control computer, which in particular manages ignition and fuel injection and which must, for this, always know which phase the cylinders are in so that it can precisely monitor the way in which the engine cycle is occurring in each of these cylinders so that the engine control computer can calculate and command the amount of fuel delivered by each injector, that is to say in actual fact the injection period, starting from a determined moment, on the one hand, and so that the engine control computer can calculate the moment of ignition and trigger it by commanding a corresponding ignition coil, on the other hand.
On a rotating target, that rotates integrally with the engine crankshaft or flywheel, and generally consists of a ring gear whose teeth, distributed about the periphery of the ring, constitute marks for measu
REFERENCES:
patent: 4989448 (1991-02-01), Fukui et al.
patent: 5196844 (1993-03-01), Tomisawa et al.
patent: 5321979 (1994-06-01), McKendry et al.
patent: 5402675 (1995-04-01), Entenmann et al.
patent: 5554802 (1996-09-01), Fukui et al.
patent: 5562082 (1996-10-01), Norppa et al.
patent: 5613473 (1997-03-01), Angermaier
patent: 5703283 (1997-12-01), McClish et al.
patent: 5715780 (1998-02-01), Haller
patent: 5756888 (1998-05-01), Marquez-Escoto
Magneti Marelli France
McCall Eric S.
LandOfFree
Method for identifying the cylinder phase of an internal combust does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Method for identifying the cylinder phase of an internal combust, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Method for identifying the cylinder phase of an internal combust will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-751413