Fuel injection control system and method
AssigneeCaterpillar Inc.
InventorDaniel Reese Puckett
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A system and method of controlling a fuel injector is provided. A first injection signal is applied to a hydraulically actuated fuel injector to inject a quantity of fuel into a combustion chamber of an internal combustion engine. An amount of an operating fluid used by the fuel injector to inject the quantity of fuel into the combustion chamber is calculated. The amount of fuel injected into the combustion chamber is estimated based on the amount of operating fluid used by the fuel injector. A viscosity parameter is determined for the fuel injector based on the duration of the first injection signal and the estimated amount of fuel injected into the combustion chamber.
Claims24
A method of controlling a fuel injector, comprising:
- applying a first injection signal to a hydraulically actuated fuel injector to inject a quantity of fuel into a combustion chamber of an internal combustion engine;
- calculating an amount of an operating fluid used by the fuel injector to inject the quantity of fuel into the combustion chamber;
- estimating the amount of fuel injected into the combustion chamber based on the amount of operating fluid used by the fuel injector;
- and
- determining a viscosity parameter for the fuel injector based on the duration of the first injection signal and the estimated amount of fuel injected into the combustion chamber.
A fuel injection system, comprising:
- a fluid supply rail configured to conduct a pressurized fluid;
- a fuel injector having a valve configured to introduce an amount of pressurized fluid into the fuel injector from the fluid supply rail, the fuel injector configured to release an amount of fuel in response to the introduction of the pressurized fluid;
- and
- an electronic control module configured to apply a first injection signal to the fuel injector to modulate the valve, to calculate the amount of pressurized fluid used by the fuel injector, to calculate an amount of fuel injected into the combustion chamber based on the calculated amount of pressurized fluid used by the fuel injector, and to determine a viscosity parameter indicating the sensitivity of the fuel injector to the properties of the pressurized fluid.
An engine, comprising:
- a fluid supply rail configured to conduct a pressurized fluid;
- a pressure sensor operable to sense the pressure of the pressurized fluid in the fluid supply rail;
- an engine block defining a plurality of combustion chambers;
- a plurality of fuel injectors, each fuel injector having a valve configured to introduce an amount of pressurized fluid into the fuel injector from the fluid supply rail, the fuel injector configured to inject an amount of fuel into one of the plurality of combustion chambers in response to the introduction of the pressurized fluid;
- and
- an electronic control module configured to apply a first injection signal to the fuel injector to modulate the valve, to calculate the amount of pressurized fluid used by the fuel injector, to calculate an amount of fuel injected into the combustion chamber based on the calculated amount of pressurized fluid used by the fuel injector, to determine a viscosity parameter indicating the sensitivity of the fuel injector to the properties of the pressurized fluid, and to estimate a fluid type parameter for the pressurized fluid.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.