MULTI-STROKE VARIABLE DISPLACEMENT ENGINE
First Claim
1. A method of operating a vehicle propulsion system, said vehicle propulsion system including an internal combustion engine coupled to one or more drive wheels of the vehicle via a transmission, the method comprising:
- operating the engine to produce an engine output;
transferring the engine output to said one or more drive wheels via the transmission;
responsive to a first condition, varying torque supplied to said one or more drive wheels by adjusting a relative number of combusting cylinders and deactivated cylinders of the engine; and
responsive to a second condition, varying the torque supplied to said one or more drive wheels by adjusting a number of strokes performed by the combusting cylinders per combustion cycle while shifting the transmission between different gear ratios.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A vehicle propulsion system and method of operation are presented. As one example, the method includes operating an engine to produce an engine output; transferring the engine output to one or more drive wheels of the vehicle via a transmission; responsive to a first condition, varying torque supplied to the drive wheels by adjusting a relative number of combusting cylinders and deactivated cylinders of the engine; and responsive to a second condition, varying the torque supplied to the drive wheels by adjusting a number of strokes performed by the combusting cylinders per combustion cycle while shifting the transmission between different gear ratios.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of operating a vehicle propulsion system, said vehicle propulsion system including an internal combustion engine coupled to one or more drive wheels of the vehicle via a transmission, the method comprising:
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operating the engine to produce an engine output; transferring the engine output to said one or more drive wheels via the transmission; responsive to a first condition, varying torque supplied to said one or more drive wheels by adjusting a relative number of combusting cylinders and deactivated cylinders of the engine; and responsive to a second condition, varying the torque supplied to said one or more drive wheels by adjusting a number of strokes performed by the combusting cylinders per combustion cycle while shifting the transmission between different gear ratios. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A vehicle propulsion system, comprising:
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an internal combustion engine including; a first group of cylinders, where each cylinder of the first group of cylinders is configured to be selectively deactivated wherein combustion is discontinued; a second group of cylinders, where each cylinder of the second group of cylinders is configured to be selectively operated in either of a two stroke cycle and a four stroke cycle; a transmission operatively coupling the internal combustion engine to one or more drive wheels of the vehicle, the transmission including a plurality of selectable gear ratios; and a control system configured to; operate the engine in a first mode with the first and second groups of cylinders carrying out combustion in a four stroke cycle; operate the engine in a second mode with the first group of cylinders deactivated and the second group of cylinders carrying out combustion in the four stroke cycle; operate the engine in a third mode with the first group of cylinders deactivated and the second group of cylinders carrying out combustion in the two stroke cycle; and vary a selected gear ratio of the transmission responsive to whether the engine is operated in the first mode, the second mode, or the third mode. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method of operating a vehicle propulsion system, comprising:
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producing an engine output that propels the vehicle via a transmission by repeatedly performing combustion in a first cylinder of the engine without performing combustion in a second cylinder of the engine; and reducing a number of strokes performed by the first cylinder per combustion cycle without performing combustion in the second cylinder of the engine to increase the engine output by a first amount; and varying a gear ratio of the transmission responsive to the number of strokes performed by the first cylinder per combustion cycle. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification