US 6,305,351 B1 · Engine control unit for gaseous injection engine

Abstract

An engine control unit and method of controlling the operation of a gas fuelled internal combustion engine of the kind having a gas injector for injecting gaseous fuel into each cylinder and an inlet manifold through which air flows into each cylinder of the engine, the inlet manifold having a manifold valve to control the flow of air into the inlet manifold. An improved control strategy employed by the engine control unit involves closed loop control of airflow through the inlet manifold of the engine. Manifold absolute pressure (MAP) (70) and manifold air temperature (MAT) (72) are employed to calculate air density (84) which is representative of the mass of air flowing through the inlet manifold (28). The detected air density (84) is compared to a desired air density (DAD) (86) and an air density correction (88) is calculated to adjust the manifold valve position (MVP) (90).

Claims15

Dependent claims

A method of controlling the operation of a gas fuelled internal combustion engine, the engine having a gas injector for injecting gaseous fuel into each cylinder and an inlet manifold through which air flows into each cylinder of the engine, the inlet manifold having a manifold valve to control the flow of air into the inlet manifold, the method comprising the steps of:

detecting the current throttle position of the engine;
detecting a manifold air parameter representative of the mass of air flowing through the inlet manifold;
deriving a desired load value for the engine, based on said current throttle position;
and,
calculating a manifold valve position based on said desired load value and manifold air parameter, wherein the correct amount of air is delivered to the engine cylinders responsive to current throttle position to achieve optimum engine performance.

2 more elements

An engine control unit for controlling the operation of a gas fuelled internal combustion engine, the engine having a gas injector for injecting gaseous fuel into each cylinder and an intake manifold through which air flows into each cylinder of the engine, a manifold valve being provided to control the flow of air into the intake manifold, the control unit comprising:

throttle position detecting means for detecting the current throttle position of the engine;
manifold air detecting means for detecting a manifold air parameter representative of the mass of air flowing through the intake manifold;
and,
processing means for deriving a desired load value for the engine based on said current throttle position, and for calculating a manifold valve position based on said desired load value and manifold air parameter, wherein the correct amount of air is delivered to the engine cylinders responsive to current throttle position to achieve optimum engine performance.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Engine control unit for gaseous injection engine

Life of this patent

Engine control unit for gaseous injection engine

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims15