Back to results
US 12,637,989 B2Granted
Camshaft tone wheel, system, and method for determining engine speed and position
AssigneeCummins Inc.
InventorsDavid L. Baldwin, Matthew Shawn Bower, Xiaoyu Xie
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A camshaft tone wheel, system, and method are provided for determining a rotational position of an internal combustion engine. Sensors detect unique features positioned around the camshaft tone wheel in conjunction with a tooth count on a crankshaft tone wheel, or in conjunction with elapsed time for passage of the unique features during rotation of the camshaft tone wheel, to resolve engine position and enable accurately timed combustion.
Claims20
An engine speed and position sensing system, the system comprising:
- a crankshaft tone wheel including a plurality of indicators positioned around the crankshaft tone wheel and at least one interruption in the plurality of indicators;
- a camshaft tone wheel including a periphery and a face extending from a rotational center of the camshaft tone wheel to the periphery, the camshaft tone wheel including a plurality of binary features formed by raised and lowered areas positioned on the face around the camshaft tone wheel, wherein adjacent ones of the plurality of binary features each define one of a first transition or a second transition, the second transitions being located between adjacent ones of the first transitions, and the plurality of first transitions are located at unique angular spacings from one another about the camshaft tone wheel;
- a sensor arrangement operable to provide an output indicative of a passage of the plurality of indicators of the crankshaft tone wheel and a passage of the first and second transitions of the camshaft tone wheel;
- and
- a control unit configured to resolve an engine position in response to the passage of a number of the plurality of indicators of the crankshaft tone wheel that identifies at least one of the first and second transitions of the camshaft tone wheel.
2 more elements
An engine speed and position sensing system, the system comprising:
- a crankshaft tone wheel including a plurality of indicators positioned around the crankshaft tone wheel and at least one interruption in the plurality of indicators;
- a camshaft tone wheel including a plurality of binary features positioned around the camshaft tone wheel, wherein adjacent ones of the plurality of binary features each define one of a first transition or a second transition, the second transitions being located between adjacent ones of the first transitions, and the plurality of first transitions are located at unique angular spacings from one another about the camshaft tone wheel, wherein:
- each of the first transitions and the second transitions is identified by a transition type and a number of the plurality of indicators that correspond to an angular rotation of the camshaft tone wheel relative to the crankshaft tone wheel;
- and
- the plurality of binary features include a number of paired binary features, and each one of the paired binary features are located in a corresponding segment of the camshaft tone wheel, and each of the segments of the camshaft tone wheel has an angular sweep about the camshaft tone wheel that is associated with a corresponding number of indicators of the crankshaft tone wheel;
- a sensor arrangement operable to provide an output indicative of a passage of the plurality of indicators of the crankshaft tone wheel and a passage of the first and second transitions of the camshaft tone wheel;
- and
- a control unit configured to resolve an engine position in response to the passage of a number of the plurality of indicators of the crankshaft tone wheel that identifies at least one of the first and second transitions of the camshaft tone wheel.
5 more elements
An engine speed and position sensing system, the system comprising:
- a crankshaft tone wheel including a plurality of indicators positioned around the crankshaft tone wheel and at least one interruption in the plurality of indicators, wherein the plurality of indicators of the crankshaft tone wheel are teeth distributed about a periphery of the crankshaft tone wheel, the teeth being separated by gaps, and the at least one interruption is two missing teeth;
- a camshaft tone wheel including a plurality of binary features positioned around the camshaft tone wheel, wherein adjacent ones of the plurality of binary features each define one of a first transition or a second transition, the second transitions being located between adjacent ones of the first transitions, and the plurality of first transitions are located at unique angular spacings from one another about the camshaft tone wheel, wherein each of the first transitions and the second transitions is identified by a transition type and a number of the plurality of indicators that correspond to an angular rotation of the camshaft tone wheel relative to the crankshaft tone wheel, wherein:
- each of the binary features of the camshaft tone wheel is defined by one of a raised area or a lower area;
- and
- the plurality of binary features include opposing binary features positioned on opposite sides of the camshaft tone wheel, and one of the opposing binary features is raised area and the other of the opposing binary features is a lower area, and one of the raised and lower areas is synced with the at least one interruption of the crankshaft tone wheel;
- a sensor arrangement operable to provide an output indicative of a passage of the plurality of indicators of the crankshaft tone wheel and a passage of the first and second transitions of the camshaft tone wheel;
- and
- a control unit configured to resolve an engine position in response to the passage of a number of the plurality of indicators of the crankshaft tone wheel that identifies at least one of the first and second transitions of the camshaft tone wheel.
5 more elements
An engine speed and position sensing system, the system comprising:
- a crankshaft tone wheel including a plurality of indicators positioned around the crankshaft tone wheel and at least one interruption in the plurality of indicators;
- a camshaft tone wheel including a plurality of binary features positioned around the camshaft tone wheel, wherein adjacent ones of the plurality of binary features each define one of a first transition or a second transition, the second transitions being located between adjacent ones of the first transitions, and the plurality of first transitions are located at unique angular spacings from one another about the camshaft tone wheel;
- a sensor arrangement operable to provide an output indicative of a passage of the plurality of indicators of the crankshaft tone wheel and a passage of the first and second transitions of the camshaft tone wheel;
- and
- a control unit configured to resolve an engine position in response to the passage of a number of the plurality of indicators of the crankshaft tone wheel that identifies at least one of the first and second transitions of the camshaft tone wheel, wherein the plurality of binary features is related to a total number of combustion events operated by the control unit.
2 more elements
A method for determining an engine position, the method comprising:
- sensing a transition between a pair of binary features of a camshaft tone wheel as the camshaft wheel rotates, wherein the transition is a first transition;
- determining a number of indicators of a rotating crankshaft tone wheel associated with the sensed first transition;
- and
- resolving the engine position based on the number of indicators associated with the sensed first transition;
- sensing a next transition between a second pair of binary features of the camshaft tone wheel;
- determining a second number of indicators of the crankshaft tone wheel associated with the sensed next transition;
- and
- resolving the engine position based on the second number of indicators associated with the sensed next transition in addition to the number of indicators associated with the sensed first transition.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.