System and method to extend operating time of valve actuators of an internal combustion engine
First Claim
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1. An engine control method, comprising:
- deactivating engine cylinders via a controller according to a first cylinder deactivation strategy in response to an actual total number of valve actuator state changes being less than a first threshold; and
deactivating the engine cylinders via the controller according to a second cylinder deactivation strategy in response to an actual total number of valve actuator state changes being greater than a second threshold.
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Abstract
Systems and methods for determining when one or more cylinders of an engine may be deactivated are presented. In one example, different cylinder deactivation strategies are used to determine which engine cylinders are deactivated during an engine cycle in response to an actual total number of valve actuator state changes being greater than a first threshold.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. An engine control method, comprising:
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deactivating engine cylinders via a controller according to a first cylinder deactivation strategy in response to an actual total number of valve actuator state changes being less than a first threshold; and deactivating the engine cylinders via the controller according to a second cylinder deactivation strategy in response to an actual total number of valve actuator state changes being greater than a second threshold. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. An engine control method, comprising:
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changing which cylinders of an engine are deactivated over a plurality of engine cycles while an engine operates at a substantially constant temperature and a substantially constant engine speed and load via a controller in response to an actual total number of valve actuator state changes being less than a first threshold; and deactivating a fixed group of engine cylinders while the engine operates at the substantially constant temperature and the substantially constant engine speed and loads via the controller in response to the actual total number of valve actuator state changes being greater than the first threshold. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. An engine system, comprising:
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an engine including one or more cylinder deactivating mechanisms; a controller including executable instructions stored in non-transitory memory to adjust an engine operating range that defines where engine cylinders may be deactivated in response to an actual total number of valve actuator state changes being greater than a first threshold, and deactivate engine cylinders according to the engine operating range. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification