Relative manifold vacuum of an internal combustion engine
First Claim
1. Apparatus for measuring the relative manifold vacuum contribution between cylinders of an internal combustion (IC) engine connected through its crankshaft to the drive shaft of an engine load and running at a selected speed, comprising:
- position sensing means, adapted to be disposed along the drive shaft for providing crankshaft position signals indicative of the instantaneous angular position of the engine crankshaft at successive angle intervals within the engine cycle, each angle interval being less than that associated with a cylinder sub-cycle;
manifold vacuum sensing means, adapted to be disposed on the engine for providing signals indicative of the actual engine manifold vacuum; and
signal processing means, responsive to said crankshaft position signals and said actual engine manifold vacuum signals and having memory means for storing signals including signals definitive of the engine cycle,for sampling and storing in said memory means, successive values of said actual manifold vacuum signals in response to the presense of each of said crankshaft position signals, to provide an indication of the sub-cyclic fluctuations in manifold vacuum over at least one engine cycle, andfor comparing the magnitudes of each of said sub-cyclic fluctuations occurring in a common engine cycle with each other to provide signal indications of the relative manifold vacuum contribution between cylinders.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The instantaneous values of intake manifold vacuum in an internal combustion (IC) engine running under load are measured to provide an indication of the relative performance and relative suction ability of each cylinder in the engine. The instantaneous values of manifold vacuum are sensed at selected, sub-cyclic crankshaft angle intervals within a full engine cycle, each angle interval being substantial less than that associated with a cylinder sub-cycle, each sensed value of manifold vacuum being identified by the sensed angle position to provide an indication of the sub-cyclic fluctuations in manifold vacuum as they occur at known cylinder intake strokes within the engine cycle, thereby providing identification of each sub-cyclic fluctuation in manifold vacuum as being associated with a particular cylinder, the relative magnitudes of the manifold vacuum fluctuations providing a relative indication of each cylinder'"'"'s performance and suction ability within a common engine cycle.
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Citations
7 Claims
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1. Apparatus for measuring the relative manifold vacuum contribution between cylinders of an internal combustion (IC) engine connected through its crankshaft to the drive shaft of an engine load and running at a selected speed, comprising:
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position sensing means, adapted to be disposed along the drive shaft for providing crankshaft position signals indicative of the instantaneous angular position of the engine crankshaft at successive angle intervals within the engine cycle, each angle interval being less than that associated with a cylinder sub-cycle; manifold vacuum sensing means, adapted to be disposed on the engine for providing signals indicative of the actual engine manifold vacuum; and signal processing means, responsive to said crankshaft position signals and said actual engine manifold vacuum signals and having memory means for storing signals including signals definitive of the engine cycle, for sampling and storing in said memory means, successive values of said actual manifold vacuum signals in response to the presense of each of said crankshaft position signals, to provide an indication of the sub-cyclic fluctuations in manifold vacuum over at least one engine cycle, and for comparing the magnitudes of each of said sub-cyclic fluctuations occurring in a common engine cycle with each other to provide signal indications of the relative manifold vacuum contribution between cylinders. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. The method of measuring the relative manifold vacuum contribution between cylinders of an internal combustion engine connected through its crankshaft to the driveshaft of an engine load and running at a selected speed, comprising the steps of:
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sensing the instantaneous angular position of the drive shaft to provide crankshaft position signals manifesting the instantaneous position of the engine crankshaft at successive angle intervals within the engine cycle, each angle interval being less than that associated with a cylinder sub-cycle; measuring the actual value of the engine manifold vacuum in the presence of each crankshaft position signal to provide an indication of the sub-cyclic fluctuations in vacuum magnitude as they occur over an engine cycle; and comparing the magnitudes of each of said sub-cyclic fluctuations occurring in a common engine cycle with each other to provide indications of the relative manifold vacuum contribution between cylinders. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7)
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Specification