Idle speed control system for a marine propulsion system
AssigneeBrunswick Corporation
InventorsPhillip K. Gaynor, Edwin B. Hatch, Jeffery C. Ehlers
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An idle speed control system for a marine propulsion system controls the amount of fuel injected into the combustion chamber of an engine cylinder as a function of the error between a selected target speed and an actual speed. The speed can be engine speed measured in revolutions per minute or, alternatively, it can be boat speed measured in nautical miles per hour or kilometers per hour. By comparing target speed to actual speed, the control system selects an appropriate pulse with length for the injection of fuel into the combustion chamber and regulates the speed by increasing or decreasing the pulse width.
Claims24
An engine idle control system for a marine propulsion system, comprising:
- means for measuring actual speed;
- means for receiving a desired speed magnitude, said desired speed being a boat speed magnitude;
- means for comparing said actual speed to said desired speed magnitude to determine an error magnitude;
- and
- means for controlling a fuel supply to said engine as a function of said error magnitude.
Method for controlling the idle speed of an engine for a marine propulsion system, comprising:
- measuring actual speed;
- receiving a desired speed magnitude, said desired speed magnitude being a magnitude of boat velocity;
- comparing said actual speed to said desired speed magnitude to determine an error magnitude;
- and
- controlling a fuel supply to said engine as a function of said error magnitude.
An engine idle control system for a marine propulsion system, comprising:
- an actual speed measuring device;
- an operator interface, said interface comprising one or more input signals representing a desired speed magnitude, said desired speed magnitude being a boat speed magnitude;
- a comparator, said comparator having said actual speed measuring device and said operator interface as inputs and an error magnitude as an output, said error magnitude being determined as a function of the difference of said inputs;
- and
- a controller, said controller having an output which determines the quantity of fuel provided to a combustion chamber of said engine for each cycle of said engine.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.