Cold-Start Fuel Control System
First Claim
1. A liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) fuel control system for controlling fuel supplied to an engine from an LPG tank, the fuel control system comprising:
- a pressure regulator; and
a cold-start fuel control valve fluidly coupled to the pressure regulator upstream of the pressure regulator.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A fuel control system for controlling the supply of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to injectors of a fuel supply system during a cold start is provided. The fuel control system includes a LPG pressure regulator and a cold-start fuel control valve for throttling fuel to the injectors when the pressure of the LPG is below a nominal set point pressure of the pressure regulator. The cold-start fuel control valve may be in parallel or series with a fuel lock-off valve. The system is configured to supply limited discrete amounts of LPG to the injectors when the pressure of the LPG is below the nominal set point pressure to allow the LPG to vaporize prior to being injected, by the injector, into an engine. Operation of the cold-start fuel control valve during non-cold starts and normal operation are also provided.
40 Citations
30 Claims
-
1. A liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) fuel control system for controlling fuel supplied to an engine from an LPG tank, the fuel control system comprising:
-
a pressure regulator; and a cold-start fuel control valve fluidly coupled to the pressure regulator upstream of the pressure regulator. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
-
-
18. A liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) fuel control system for controlling fuel supplied to an engine from an LPG tank, the fuel control system comprising:
-
a cold-start fuel control valve; an injector downstream of the cold-start fuel control valve; a first temperature sensor for sensing a temperature of the LPG; a pressure sensor for sensing a pressure of the LPG; a controller coupled to the first temperature sensor, the pressure sensor and the cold-start fuel control valve, the controller configured to inject a first discrete amount of LPG into a sampling portion of the system, the sampling portion of the system being between the cold-start fuel control valve and the injector. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
-
-
24. A method of starting an engine operating on a liquefied petroleum gas using a fuel control system, the method comprising:
-
sampling the temperature and pressure of the LPG; determining that cold-start assist is needed when the temperature and pressure of the LPG are both below respective predetermined thresholds; supplying only a discrete amount of LPG to an injector arrangement of the system downstream of a cold-start fuel control valve if cold-start assist is needed to prevent supplying liquid LPG to the injector arrangement. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
-
Specification