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US 12,510,044 B2Granted
Propane fuel system thermal management systems and methods
AssigneeCummins Inc.
InventorsAnthony Kyle Perfetto, Samuel C. Geckler
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Systems and methods for thermal management of a propane fuel system are disclosed that include controlling a pressure of a fuel tank so that a fuel supply is available for starting of the engine even during cold ambient conditions.
Claims20
A method, comprising:
- determining a pressure associated with a fuel tank, the fuel tank including a fuel for operating an internal combustion engine, wherein the internal combustion engine is shut down during the determining the pressure;
- automatically restarting the shut down internal combustion engine in response to the pressure associated with the fuel tank falling to or below a first pressure threshold indicating a restart condition while the internal combustion engine is shut down, the first pressure threshold being above a saturated vapor pressure of the fuel in the fuel tank in which the pressure in the fuel tank is insufficient to supply fuel to the plurality of cylinders, wherein the restart condition maintains a pressure condition of the fuel tank to be able to output a supply of fuel capable of automatically restarting the internal combustion engine;
- increasing a temperature of the fuel tank with heat generated from operating the automatically restarted internal combustion engine to maintain an engine start capability of the fuel;
- and
- automatically shutting down the automatically restarted internal combustion engine in response to the pressure associated with the fuel tank increasing to or above a second pressure threshold that is greater than the first pressure threshold.
2 more elements
A system, comprising:
- an internal combustion engine including a plurality of cylinders that receive a fuel from a fuel tank, wherein the fuel tank is thermally connected to the internal combustion engine;
- and
- a controller configured to receive one or more inputs associated with a pressure of the fuel tank and to automatically start and stop the internal combustion engine, wherein the controller is configured to:
- determine the pressure of the fuel tank has fallen at or below a restart pressure threshold indicating a restart condition, the restart pressure threshold being above a saturated vapor pressure of the fuel in the fuel tank in which the pressure in the fuel tank is insufficient to supply fuel to the plurality of cylinders while the internal combustion engine is shut down;
- automatically start the shut down internal combustion engine in response to determining the pressure of the fuel tank has fallen at or below the restart pressure threshold while the internal combustion engine is shut down in order to thermally manage the fuel in the fuel tank to maintain an engine start capability of the fuel, wherein the restart pressure threshold maintains a pressure condition of the fuel tank to be able to output a supply of fuel capable of automatically starting the internal combustion engine;
- and
- automatically shut down the automatically started internal combustion engine in response to the pressure associated with the fuel tank increasing to or above a second pressure threshold that is greater than the restart pressure threshold.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.