Method for controlling an amount of fuel and vehicle including same
First Claim
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1. A method for operating a vehicular engine that comprises a plurality of pistons and a plurality of cylinders, the method comprising:
- detecting an engine temperature;
detecting an alcohol concentration of fuel;
selecting an amount of fuel according to the engine temperature and the alcohol concentration;
detecting each occurrence of a top dead center event of at least one of the cylinders;
providing a predetermined fuel enrichment map that defines a relationship, using three-dimensional plots, of a plurality of fuel enrichment coefficients, a plurality of engine temperatures, and a plurality of occurrences of top dead center events;
selecting one of the plurality of fuel enrichment coefficients based on each of;
one of the plurality of engine temperatures that corresponds to the detected engine temperature,the detected alcohol concentration of the fuel, andone of the plurality of occurrences of the top dead center events that corresponds to an event value indicative of the detected occurrence of the top dead center event;
determining an injection amount of fuel by multiplying the selected amount of fuel and the selected fuel enrichment coefficient; and
selectively dispensing the amount of fuel to the cylinders according to the injection amount of fuel.
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Abstract
A method is provided for operating a vehicular engine that comprises a plurality of pistons and a plurality of cylinders. The method comprises detecting an engine temperature and detecting an alcohol concentration of fuel. The method further comprises selecting an amount of fuel according to the engine temperature and the alcohol concentration and selectively dispensing the amount of fuel to the cylinders.
55 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for operating a vehicular engine that comprises a plurality of pistons and a plurality of cylinders, the method comprising:
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detecting an engine temperature; detecting an alcohol concentration of fuel; selecting an amount of fuel according to the engine temperature and the alcohol concentration; detecting each occurrence of a top dead center event of at least one of the cylinders; providing a predetermined fuel enrichment map that defines a relationship, using three-dimensional plots, of a plurality of fuel enrichment coefficients, a plurality of engine temperatures, and a plurality of occurrences of top dead center events; selecting one of the plurality of fuel enrichment coefficients based on each of; one of the plurality of engine temperatures that corresponds to the detected engine temperature, the detected alcohol concentration of the fuel, and one of the plurality of occurrences of the top dead center events that corresponds to an event value indicative of the detected occurrence of the top dead center event; determining an injection amount of fuel by multiplying the selected amount of fuel and the selected fuel enrichment coefficient; and selectively dispensing the amount of fuel to the cylinders according to the injection amount of fuel. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method for operating a vehicular engine that comprises a plurality of pistons and a plurality of cylinders, the method comprising:
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detecting an engine temperature; detecting an alcohol concentration of fuel; selecting an amount of fuel according to the engine temperature and the alcohol concentration; detecting each occurrence of a top dead center event of at least one of the cylinders; providing a predetermined fuel enrichment map that defines a relationship, using three dimensional plots, between a plurality of fuel enrichment coefficients, a plurality of engine temperatures, and a plurality of occurrences of top dead center events; determining one of the fuel enrichment coefficients from the predetermined fuel enrichment map based on each of; one of the plurality of engine temperatures that corresponds to the detected engine temperature, the detected alcohol concentration of the fuel, and one of the plurality of occurrences of the top dead center events that corresponds to an event value indicative of the detected top dead center event; selecting an amount of fuel according to the detected engine temperature and the detected alcohol concentration; determining an injection amount of fuel by multiplying the selected amount of fuel and the selected fuel enrichment coefficient; and operating fuel injectors according to the injection amount of fuel. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A vehicle comprising:
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an engine comprising; an intake manifold in fluid communication with an ambient air source; a cylinder bank in fluid communication with an output of the intake manifold and comprising a plurality of pistons and a plurality of cylinders; a crankshaft coupled with each of the pistons; a plurality of fuel injectors coupled with the cylinder bank and operable to dispense fuel to the cylinders; an engine temperature sensor configured to detect an engine temperature; a crankshaft position sensor configured to detect at least one top dead center event and to generate an event signal for each occurrence of the top dead center event; and an alcohol sensor configured to detect an alcohol concentration of fuel; and a controller including a memory device, and electrically coupled with the plurality of fuel injectors, the engine temperature sensor, the engine crankshaft position sensor, and the alcohol sensor, the controller comprising a predetermined fuel enrichment map, wherein the controller is configured with a predetermined fuel enrichment map that defines a relationship, using three-dimensional plots, of a plurality of fuel enrichment coefficients, a plurality of engine temperatures, and a plurality of occurrences of top dead center events, and wherein the controller is configured to; select one of the plurality of fuel enrichment coefficients based on each of; one of the plurality of engine temperatures that corresponds to the detected engine temperature, the detected alcohol concentration of the fuel, and one of the plurality of occurrences of top dead center events that corresponds to a value of the event signal, select an amount of fuel according to the detected engine temperature and the detected alcohol concentration; determine an injection amount of fuel by multiplying the selected amount of fuel and the selected fuel enrichment coefficient; and operate the fuel injectors to selectively dispense an amount of fuel according to the injection amount of fuel. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification