Exhaust pipe heater
AssigneePolaris Industries Inc.
InventorsRichard H. Bates, Jr., Brian R. Gillingham
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A vehicle with a two-stroke engine includes a system for rapidly heating an exhaust pipe. The system may include a heating mode signal generator, a sensor, and a controller. Activation of the signal generator signals the controller, which, in turn, determines whether the engine RPM falls in a range such that the vehicle remains stationary. The controller may then set the engine ignition timing to a heating mode range that rapidly heats the exhaust pipe system. The ignition timing may be after top dead center in the heating mode. A method of rapidly heating an exhaust pipe is also disclosed.
Claims20
A system for rapidly heating the temperature in an exhaust system of a vehicle engine, comprising:
- a cylinder;
- a piston movable in the cylinder and adapted to compress a fuel-air mixture to be ignited in the cylinder with exhaust gas from ignition of the fuel-air mixture being expelled from the cylinder into the exhaust system;
- an ignition source operatively coupled to the cylinder;
- a heating mode switch that generates a signal when manually activated;
- a sensor detecting a temperature of the exhaust system;
- and
- a controller operatively coupled to the ignition source, the heating mode switch, and the temperature sensor, the controller activating the ignition source at a particular point during the movement of the piston to provide an ignition timing, and the controller setting the engine ignition timing to a generally after top dead center (ATDC) setting to rapidly increase the exhaust system temperature when the switch is activated and when the sensed exhaust system temperature is less than a predetermined target temperature.
A system for controlling the temperature in an exhaust system of a vehicle engine, comprising:
- a cylinder;
- a piston movable in the cylinder and adapted to compress a fuel-air mixture to be ignited in the cylinder with exhaust gas from ignition of the fuel-air mixture being expelled from the cylinder into the exhaust system;
- an ignition source operatively coupled to the cylinder;
- a heating mode switch that generates a signal when manually activated;
- a controller operatively coupled to the ignition source and the heating mode switch, the controller activating the ignition source at a particular point during the movement of the piston to provide an ignition timing, and the controller automatically setting the engine ignition timing to a first ignition timing and a second ignition timing when the switch is activated, the first ignition timing being generally after top dead center (ATDC) setting to rapidly increase the exhaust system temperature past a target temperature, the second ignition timing being generally advanced from the first ignition timing setting and permitting the exhaust system temperature to cool below the target temperature.
A system for controlling the temperature in an exhaust system of a vehicle engine, comprising:
- a cylinder;
- a piston movable in the cylinder and adapted to compress a fuel-air mixture to be ignited in the cylinder with exhaust gas from ignition of the fuel-air mixture being expelled from the cylinder into the exhaust system;
- an ignition source operatively coupled to the cylinder;
- a heating mode switch that generates a signal when manually activated;
- a sensor detecting a temperature of the exhaust system;
- and
- a controller operatively coupled to the ignition source, the heating mode switch, and the temperature sensor, the controller activating the ignition source at a particular point during the movement of the piston to provide an ignition timing, and the controller setting the engine ignition timing to a setting that permits the exhaust system temperature to cool below a target temperature when the generator is activated and when the sensed exhaust system temperature is greater than the predetermined target temperature.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.