Method and system for fuel injection timing
AssigneeStanadyne, Inc.
InventorDaniel E. Salzgeber
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A fuel pump timing system having a hydraulic pressure transducer mounted for sensing a reaction hydraulic pulse to each fuel injection pressure pulse, a stepper motor for adjusting the fuel injection pump timing, engine sensors for sensing an engine reference position and certain engine operation data and a microprocessor connected to the transducer and engine sensors and operable for calculating the optimum and actual angles of fuel injection and for controlling the stepper motor to adjust the fuel injection pump timing in accordance with the difference between the optimum and actual angles of fuel injection.
Claims23
A method of timing a fuel injection system of an internal combustion engine having a fuel injection pump driven by the engine and a fuel injection nozzle for each engine cylinder;
- the fuel injection pump having fuel pumping means, synchronized means, including pump actuating means for periodically actuating the pumping means, synchronized with the internal combustion engine for delivering respective high pressure fuel injection pulses to the fuel injection nozzles in succession for injection of fuel charges into the engine cylinders, the pump actuating means being shiftable in advance and retard opposite directions thereof to advance and retard the fuel injection pulse timing, a hydraulic cylinder, a timing control piston mechanically connected to the pump actuating means and shiftable within the hydraulic cylinder in advance and retard opposite directions thereof for mechanically shifting the pump actuating means in advance and retard directions thereof respectively, and hydraulic control means for hydraulically positioning the timing control piston within the hydraulic cylinder;
- the method comprising sensing in said hydraulic cylinder a reaction hydraulic pulse to the actuation of the fuel pumping means by the pump actuating means and generating an electrical fuel injection pulse timing signal for said reaction pulse for timing the fuel charge injection.
A method of timing a fuel injection system of an internal combustion engine, having a fuel injection pump driven by the engine and a fuel injection nozzle for each engine cylinder;
- the fuel injection pump having fuel pumping means, synchronized means, including pump actuating means for periodically actuating the fuel pumping means, synchronized with the internal combustion engine for delivering respective high pressure fuel injection pulses to the fuel injection nozzles in succession for injection of fuel charges into the engine cylinders, the pump actuating means being shiftable in advance and retard opposite directions thereof to advance and retard the fuel injection pulse timing respectively, and hydraulic control means for hydraulically positioning the pump actuating means, the method comprising sensing a reaction pulse to the actuation of the fuel pumping means by the pump actuating means and generating an electrical fuel injection pulse timing signal for said reaction pulse for timing the fuel charge injection.
In a fuel injection pump for an internal combustion engine having a fuel injection nozzle for each engine cylinder;
- the fuel injection pump having a rotary input adapted to be driven by the engine, fuel pumping means, synchronized means, including pump actuating means for periodically actuating the pumping means, synchronized with the internal combustion engine for delivering respective high pressure fuel injection pulses to the fuel injection nozzles in succession for injection of fuel charges into the engine cylinders, the pump actuating means being shiftable in advance and retard opposite directions thereof to advance and retard the fuel injection pulse timing respectively, a hydraulic cylinder, a timing control piston mechanically connected to the shiftable actuatng means and shiftable within the hydraulic cylinder in advance and retard opposite directions thereof for mechanically shifting the pump actuating means in advance and retard directions thereof respectively, and hydraulic control means for hydraulically positioning the timing control piston within the hydraulic cylinder, the improvement wherein the fuel injection pump further comprises sensor means for sensing reaction hydraulic pressure pulses within the hydraulic cylinder to the actuation of the fuel pumping means by the shiftable pump actuating means and operable for generating an electrical fuel injection pulse timing signal for each said reaction hydraulic pulse for timing the fuel charge injection.
In a fuel injection pump for an internal combustion engine having a fuel injection nozzle for each engine cylinder, the fuel injection pump having a rotary input adapted to be driven by the engine for operating the pump and synchronizing the pump with the engine, fuel pumping means, synchronized means, including pump actuating means for periodically actuating the fuel pumping means, synchronized with the internal combustion engine for delivering respective high pressure fuel injection pulses to the fuel injection nozzles in succession for injection of fuel charges into the engine cylinders, the pump actuating means being shiftable in advance and retard opposite directions thereof to advance and retard the fuel injection pulse timing respectively, and hydraulic control means for hydraulically positioning the actuating means, the improvement wherein the fuel injection pump further comprises sensor means for sensing reaction pulses to the actuation of the fuel pumping means by the shiftable pump actuating means and operable for generating an electrical fuel injection pulse timing signal for each said reaction pulse for timing the fuel charge injection.
A fuel injection timing system for a fuel injection pump having pumping means to deliver discrete charges of liquid fuel in successive pumping strokes sequentially to cylinders of an associated engine, timing means, including a hydraulic cylinder and a timing control piston axially shiftable within the hydraulic cylnder, to vary the timing of the pumping strokes relative to the operation of the associated engine, the hydraulic cylinder having a hydraulic operating chamber for establishing the axial position of the control piston within the hydraulic cylinder;
- the fuel injection system comprising sensor means for generating a fuel injection pulse timing signal in response to a pumping stroke of the pumping means;
- detection means for generating reference timing signals of engine position;
- processing means connected to said sensor means and detection means to calculate the actual fuel injection timing from the fuel injection pulse timing signals and reference timing signals;
- the processing means also being adapted to receive signals indicative of at least one other engine operation parameter indicative of engine speed, engine load, engine temperature or altitude and operable to determine the optimum fuel injection timing based thereon;
- the processing means being operable to provide a timing adjustment signal indicative of the difference between the actual and optimum fuel injection timing, and timing actuator means responsive to said timing adjustment signal to adjust the position of the timing control piston in accordance with said difference.
In a fuel injection pump having pumping means to deliver discrete charges of liquid fuel in successive pumping strokes sequentially to cylinders of an associated engine, timing means including a hydraulic cylinder and a timing control piston axially shiftable in the hydraulic cylinder to vary the timing of the pumping stroke relative to the operation of the associated engine, the hydraulic cylinder having a hydraulic operating chamber for establishing the axial position of the control piston within the hydraulic cylinder, the improvement wherein the fuel injection pump further comprises a transducer positioned to detect a hydraulic pressure pulse in said hydraulic operating chamber caused by each pumping stroke of the pumping means, the transducer being operative to produce a fuel injection pulse timing signal for each said hydraulic pressure pulse and processor means responsive to said timing signal and operable to determine therefrom the actual timing of fuel charge injection.
A method of determining the instant of fuel injection into a cylinder of an internal combustion engine by a fuel injection system having a fuel injection pump with pumping means periodically actuated to deliver high pressure pulses of liquid fuel in successive pumping strokes of the pumping means sequentially to the cylinders of the associated engine for injection of discrete charges of liquid fuel into the engine cylinders, said method comprising the steps of sensing from within the pump a hydraulic pressure pulse produced by each pumping stroke of the pumping means;
- producing a pressure pulse timing signal indicative of the occurrence of each said hydraulic pressure pulse;
- and processing said pressure pulse signal to determine the acutal time of fuel charge injection.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.