Combustion systems and methods

Abstract

To provide improved internal combustion engines.SOLUTION: Embodiments disclosed herein relate to internal combustion engines, combustion systems that include such internal combustion engines, and controls for controlling operation of the combustion engine. The internal combustion engine may include one or more mechanisms for injecting fuel, air, fuel-air mixture, or combinations thereof directly into one or more cylinders, and the controls may operate or direct the operation of such mechanisms.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62 / 529,462, filed July 6, 2017, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0002] The present disclosure relates to internal combustion engines that can operate on gas fuels, liquid fuels, solid fuels, or combinations thereof. [Background technology]

[0003] Generally, internal combustion engines can have any number of configurations and sizes. For example, internal combustion engines can have a variety of piston layouts, such as in-line, flat (also known as boxer), and V-configurations. Internal combustion engines can also have rotary configurations. Improving the structure and / or operation of internal combustion engines can lead to improved or more efficient operation, improved service life, reduced operating costs, etc. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2016 / 109459 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Therefore, users and manufacturers of internal combustion engines continue to seek improvements therein. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] Embodiments described herein relate to an internal combustion engine that includes at least one combustion chamber, an output shaft, and an energy conversion mechanism for converting energy created during combustion of a fuel into mechanical power at the output shaft (e.g., converting a pressure increase in the combustion chamber into rotation of the output shaft). In some embodiments, fuel and oxidizer are injected into the combustion chamber, and the combustion reaction creates a pressure increase therein. The engine can include one or more energy conversion mechanisms configured to convert the increased pressure in the combustion chamber into mechanical energy, such as rotation of the output shaft.

[0007] In one embodiment, a combustion system includes an engine and a controller operably coupled to the engine. The engine includes one or more combustion chambers, each of the one or more combustion chambers including one or more injection ports and an exhaust port. The engine also includes one or more injectors, each of the one or more injectors in communication with a corresponding one of the one or more injection ports. Each of the one or more injectors is configured to inject at least a quantity of air into a corresponding one of the one or more combustion chambers for a combustion reaction, the combustion reaction creating a pressure increase in the corresponding one of the one or more combustion chambers. The engine also includes one or more energy conversion mechanisms, each of the one or more energy conversion mechanisms positioned in a corresponding one of the one or more combustion chambers and configured to convert the pressure increase in the corresponding one of the one or more combustion chambers into mechanical energy. The engine also includes an output shaft configured to move in response to mechanical energy generated by the one or more energy conversion mechanisms. The engine also includes at least one exhaust valve in communication with a respective exhaust port of the one or more combustion chambers. The engine lacks at least one of a throttle body, a retainer, a cam lobe, a camshaft, a timing belt, or a shim. The controller is configured to determine, based at least in part on one or more inputs received by the controller, an amount of air to inject into at least one of the one or more combustion chambers through one or more injectors in communication with the at least one combustion chamber. The controller is also configured to actuate the one or more injectors in communication with the at least one combustion chamber to inject at least the amount of air into the at least one combustion chamber.

[0008] In another embodiment, a method of controlling combustion in a combustion engine is disclosed. The method includes receiving, by a controller operably coupled to the combustion engine, one or more inputs related to operating parameters of the combustion engine. The method also includes determining, by the controller, based at least in part on the one or more inputs, at least a quantity of air to inject into at least some of one or more combustion chambers in the combustion engine through at least one injector associated with at least one injection port of the combustion chamber, the combustion engine being devoid of a throttle body, a retainer, a cam lobe, a camshaft, a timing belt, or a shim. The method also includes actuating, by the controller, at least one injector of at least some of the one or more combustion chambers to inject at least the quantity of air determined for at least some of the one or more combustion chambers.

[0009] Features from any of the disclosed embodiments may be used in combination with each other without limitation. Additionally, other features and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.

[0010] The drawings illustrate several embodiments, in which the same reference numbers represent the same or similar elements or features in different figures or embodiments shown in the drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a front isometric view of an internal combustion engine according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a side view of the internal combustion engine of FIG. 1. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a rear isometric view of the internal combustion engine of FIG. 1. [Figure 4] 2 is a partial longitudinal cross-sectional view of the internal combustion engine of FIG. 1; [Figure 5] 2 is a partial transverse cross-sectional view of the internal combustion engine of FIG. 1; [Figure 6] FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a fuel system according to an embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of a fuel system according to another embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an air system according to an embodiment. [Figure 9] 1 is a flowchart of a method for controlling operation of an internal combustion engine according to an embodiment. [Figure 10] 4 is a flowchart of a method for controlling operation of an internal combustion engine according to another embodiment. [Figure 11] 4 is a flowchart of a method for controlling operation of an internal combustion engine according to yet another embodiment. [Figure 12] 1 is a partial cross-sectional view of a cylinder of an internal combustion engine according to an embodiment. [Figure 13] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a controller according to an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Embodiments described herein relate to an internal combustion engine that includes at least one combustion chamber, an output shaft, and an energy conversion mechanism for converting energy created during combustion of a fuel into mechanical power at the output shaft (e.g., converting a pressure increase in the combustion chamber into rotation of the output shaft). In some embodiments, fuel and oxidizer are injected into the combustion chamber, and the combustion reaction creates a pressure increase therein. The engine can include one or more energy conversion mechanisms configured to convert the increased pressure in the combustion chamber into mechanical energy, such as rotation of the output shaft.

[0013] In general, the combustion chamber and / or energy conversion mechanism may vary from embodiment to embodiment. For example, an internal combustion engine may include one or more cylinders and corresponding pistons that may define or form the combustion chamber. The energy conversion mechanism may include a piston that is movable within the cylinder in response to combustion of a fuel and air mixture. The piston may be rotatably mounted on an output shaft (e.g., on a crankshaft) such that its linear / reciprocating movement (e.g., in a two-stroke or four-stroke cycle) may be converted into rotation of the crankshaft. Alternatively or additionally, the engine may include a linear output mechanism that may be linearly moved and / or reciprocating in response to combustion and / or pressure increase within the combustion chamber.

[0014] Additionally or alternatively, the internal combustion engine can be a rotary engine (e.g., a Wankel engine, etc.) and can include a combustion chamber that is at least partially formed or defined by a non-reciprocating mechanism that can convert energy created during combustion into rotation of an output shaft. For example, the engine's combustion chamber can be formed or defined by and between a rotor and a housing (e.g., for a Wankel engine). Thus, for example, the energy conversion mechanism can include a rotor that can rotate the output shaft in response to increased pressure created in the housing during and / or after combustion of fuel.

[0015] In some cases, in a four-stroke cycle of a reciprocating internal combustion engine including one or more pistons, air and fuel may enter the upper end of the cylinder by the descending piston and may be compressed as the piston rises during its upstroke. The mixture is ignited and combusted within the cylinder, which forces the piston to begin its next downstroke. The final upstroke expels the gases resulting from combustion, after which the next intake stroke begins. Typically, air enters the engine's combustion chamber through one or more intake valves, which may open during the piston's downstroke. Additionally, fuel is delivered into the cylinder, and the cycle described above begins after the intake valve closes.

[0016] In conventional engines, each cylinder may have at least one fuel-intake port controlled by an intake valve and at least one exhaust port for exhaust gases, and at least one exhaust port may also be controlled by an exhaust valve. Some conventional engines may have two or more intake valves and / or two or more exhaust valves. Typically, the intake and / or exhaust valves may be opened and closed at precise times during the engine's cycle, which may involve complex timing connections (e.g., belts, chains, etc.) and cams that can actuate the intake and / or exhaust valves. For example, a timing belt may connect the engine's crankshaft to a camshaft, which may open and close the intake and / or exhaust valves based on the rotation of the crankshaft and the position of the piston in the corresponding cylinder (i.e., timing the piston position with the opening and closing of the intake and exhaust valves). Some conventional engines may include intake and / or exhaust valves that are electronically controlled and / or operated.

[0017] In some cases, conventional engines may have a gasoline direct injection (GDI) system, in which fuel injectors may deliver fuel directly into the cylinders. Conventional engines with GDI systems may include intake valves (e.g., poppet or stem valves) and exhaust valves, where the intake valves can open to intake air and the exhaust valves can open to exhaust gases. Accordingly, such engines may have timing mechanisms and camshafts to time the opening and closing of the intake and exhaust valves during the engine's cycle.

[0018] Generally, as noted above, an internal combustion engine according to one or more embodiments described herein includes one or more combustion chambers (e.g., an internal combustion engine may have one or more cylinders, which may include combustion chambers and may be arranged in any suitable manner and have any suitable size). In certain embodiments, a combustion system includes one or more mechanisms for injecting fuel, air, a fuel-air mixture, or a combination thereof into one or more combustion chambers of the internal combustion engine (e.g., into a cylinder, combustion chamber of a rotary engine such as a Wankel engine). Additionally, in some examples, the amount of injected fuel, air, fuel-air mixture, or a combination thereof may be precisely measured and / or controlled and adjusted during operation of the internal combustion engine. Although reference is made generally to “air” herein, it should be recognized that any suitable oxidizer (e.g., oxygen (O)) may be mixed with the fuel and / or injected into the cylinder.

[0019] Moreover, in some embodiments, reducing the moving parts in an internal combustion engine (compared to a conventional combustion engine) can reduce mechanical losses during operation (e.g., losses resulting from friction of various components), reduce the weight of the internal combustion engine, and / or otherwise improve its efficiency. For example, in some embodiments, the internal combustion engine lacks at least one or more of a throttle body, a retainer, a cam lobe, a camshaft, a timing belt, a shim, an intake valve on the engine's cylinder, or an intake port. Additionally or alternatively, in at least one embodiment, the internal combustion engine may be easier or cheaper to manufacture and / or to maintain during operation.

[0020] In certain embodiments, an internal combustion engine includes one or more fuel injectors to inject fuel directly into a combustion chamber (e.g., into a cylinder). Additionally, in some embodiments, an internal combustion engine includes one or more air injectors, which are capable of injecting air directly into a combustion chamber (e.g., into a cylinder of an internal combustion engine). For example, in contrast to conventional engines, the internal combustion engines described herein may not have intake valves for opening and / or closing air flow into the combustion chamber. Thus, in some embodiments, every air port in the internal combustion engine is coupled to a corresponding air injector, such as an air injection port. In such embodiments, no additional air ports are required beyond the air injection ports on the cylinders because there are no intake valves to allow ambient air to be drawn into the combustion chamber via the intake stroke of the piston in the combustion chamber. For example, each of the one or more injectors is configured to inject at least a quantity of air or other oxidizer into a corresponding one of the one or more combustion chambers for a combustion reaction without the assistance of air provided by the intake stroke from the engine.

[0021] According to one or more embodiments, the air injector may be operated independently of combustion chamber conditions (e.g., independently of piston position and / or crankshaft rotation). For example, during some portions of the combustion cycle, an internal combustion engine may compress fuel and / or air in the combustion chamber (e.g., during the piston's upstroke). In other words, air, fuel, or a fuel-air mixture may be injected into the combustion chamber at any time during the combustion cycle (e.g., when the piston is positioned at any suitable position in the cylinder).

[0022] In some embodiments, an internal combustion engine may include one or more exhaust ports for exhausting combusted gases from the combustion chamber. Under some operating conditions, the exhaust ports may operate independently of the rotation of the output shaft (e.g., independently of the rotation of the crankshaft and / or the reciprocating motion of the pistons within the cylinders). For example, one, some, or each of the cylinders may include a dedicated exhaust port, and an exhaust valve (e.g., an electromechanical valve) may control the flow of exhaust gases from the corresponding cylinder through the exhaust port.

[0023] In at least one example, one, some, or each of the cylinders of an internal combustion engine includes a fuel injection port, an air injection port, and an exhaust port, each of which is in fluid communication with the respective cylinder. More specifically, fuel may be injected into the cylinder through the fuel injection port, air may be injected into the cylinder through the air injection port, and exhaust gases may exit the cylinder through the exhaust port. As noted above, the valves controlling fuel injection, air injection, and gas exhaust at corresponding ports may operate independently of one another. Moreover, the amount of air and / or fuel injected into the combustion chamber may be determined and / or preset prior to its injection.

[0024] For example, one or more valves or injectors in an air injection port may open for a selected (e.g., calculated) and / or predetermined amount of time to inject a selected (e.g., calculated) and / or amount of air into the cylinder (e.g., the valves may be electrically or electromagnetically actuated, hydraulically actuated, etc.). In some embodiments, one, some, or all of the cylinders of an internal combustion engine may have multiple fuel injection ports, multiple air injection ports, multiple exhaust ports, or a combination thereof.

[0025] As described above, in some embodiments, an internal combustion engine includes reciprocating pistons that reciprocate within corresponding cylinders during a combustion cycle. Generally, the reciprocating movement of the pistons within the cylinders can produce rotation of the crankshaft. Thus, the revolutions per minute (RPM) of the crankshaft can be proportional to the number of reciprocating movements of the pistons or cycles within one, some, or all of the engine's cylinders. In conventional engines, the opening and / or closing of spring-loaded valves can limit the frequency of the pistons' cycles within the cylinders (e.g., as the frequency of valve opening increases, the spring that closes the valve may not be able to close the valve within an appropriate amount of time and / or the valve may become unseated). This, in turn, can limit the operating range of RPM for conventional engines. In contrast, however, it should be appreciated that the internal combustion engines described herein are capable of operating within any appropriate range of RPM. For example, direct injection of air into cylinders in an internal combustion engine (and the absence of valves and springs) can facilitate operation of the engine at higher RPMs (compared to conventional engines (e.g., with a similar number of cylinders and / or displacement)).

[0026] 1 is a front isometric view of an internal combustion engine 10 according to one embodiment. In the illustrated embodiment, engine 10 includes a block 12 having six in-line cylinders arranged in a straight line that at least partially define a combustion chamber for engine 10. However, it should be recognized that the engine may have any number of cylinders and any number of suitable cylinder arrangements (e.g., V, rotary, boxer, etc.), as discussed above.

[0027] As described above, engine 10 generally includes a combustion chamber, a mechanism for combusting fuel therein, and a mechanism for converting energy created during combustion into mechanical energy (e.g., rotation of an output shaft). For example, while the combustion chamber of engine 10 is defined by a cylinder and corresponding piston, it should be recognized that the engine can have any number of appropriately configured combustion chambers. In some embodiments, the engine can have multiple pistons (e.g., two, three, etc.) driven from and / or operating within a single cylinder, which collectively can define a combustion chamber. Moreover, as described above, in one or more embodiments, the engine can be a non-reciprocating and / or pistonless engine and can directly convert pressure created during combustion into rotational motion (e.g., a wave disk engine, a Wankel engine, etc.).

[0028] As noted above, the engine may include an output shaft. For example, engine 10 includes crankshaft 13, which may be rotatably positioned within block 12 and / or fixed to block 12. Additionally, as described in more detail below, in some embodiments, pistons reciprocate within corresponding cylinders, producing rotation of crankshaft 13. In some examples, the pistons are rotatably connected to crankshaft 13, and their reciprocating motion produces corresponding rotation of crankshaft 13. In general, crankshaft 13 may be connected to and capable of providing rotational power to any number of suitable devices or systems.

[0029] In some embodiments, the reciprocating movement of the piston within the cylinder is generated from the combustion of fuel and oxidizer (e.g., air) within the cylinder. For example, the cylinder is at least partially sealed during combustion, and pressure created from the combustion exerts a force on the corresponding piston, thereby creating its linear and reciprocating movement (as described above). For example, engine 10 includes a cylinder head 14 connected to or integral with block 12, and cylinder head 14 and block 12 collectively seal or close the cylinder to create a substantially pressure-resistant environment during combustion of the fuel and air within the cylinder.

[0030] In some examples, a head gasket may be positioned between the block 12 and the cylinder head 14 to promote sealing therebetween. However, it should be recognized that the engine may have any number of suitable configurations and, in some cases, may not require a head gasket. For example, the block 12 and the cylinder head 14 may be integrally formed.

[0031] As described above, air, fuel, a fuel-air mixture, or a combination thereof may be injected directly into one or more of the cylinders. For example, engine 10 includes fuel lines 24 operably connected to corresponding cylinders such that fuel may be injected directly into the cylinders through the fuel lines. It should be appreciated that one, some, or all of the cylinders may include any suitable number of fuel lines operably connected thereto.

[0032] In some embodiments, engine 10 includes a fuel sensor 28 (e.g., an octane sensor). In at least one example, fuel sensor 28 is operably connected to fuel line 24 to detect the type of fuel therein. Thus, for example, engine 10 can accept any suitable fuel (e.g., any fuel that can be detected and / or identified by sensor 28). For example, fuel sensor 28 can distinguish between gasoline (petrol), ethanol, diesel, liquefied natural gas (LNG), liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), hydrogen, etc. It should be appreciated that one, some, or all of fuel lines 24 can include a separate fuel sensor 28. In some embodiments, fuel sensor 28 can be configured to detect the amount of ethanol in gasoline and / or in similar types of fuel.

[0033] In some embodiments, as described in more detail below, engine 10 includes control mechanisms for regulating the flow or injection of fuel from fuel lines 24 into corresponding cylinders. For example, engine 10 may include valves, fuel injectors, etc., which may be positioned between fuel lines 24 and the cylinders (e.g., fuel lines 24 may be connected to corresponding fuel injectors, which may regulate the delivery and / or injection of fuel into such cylinders).

[0034] In some embodiments, the engine 10 includes air lines 26 operably connected to corresponding cylinders. It should be appreciated that one, some, or all of the cylinders may include one or more air lines operably connected thereto. The air lines 26 may supply one or more oxidizers into the cylinders of the engine 10. As described below, the engine may include one or more mechanisms (e.g., valves, air injectors, etc.) for controlling the flow or supply of oxidizer from the air lines 26 into the cylinders. Generally, any number of suitable oxidizers, such as air, may be injected directly into the cylinders. For example, similar to fuel injectors, valves or air injectors may be positioned between the air lines 26 and the cylinders to regulate the supply or injection of air into the cylinders (e.g., the air lines 26 may be operably connected to corresponding air injectors, and the air injectors may regulate the air flow from the air lines 26 into the cylinders).

[0035] In one embodiment, air line 26 is connected to and capable of receiving air from intake manifold 16. It should be appreciated that one, some, or all of the air lines may be connected to and capable of receiving air from intake manifold 16. Alternatively, one or more of the air lines may be connected to any number of suitable oxidizer sources (e.g., directly to a compressor, reservoir tank, accumulator, etc.). In either case, air line 26 is capable of supplying air into the cylinders of engine 10.

[0036] As described in more detail below, intake manifold 16 may distribute air to various air lines 26 connected thereto (e.g., the air in intake manifold 16 may be compressed). In other words, in at least one embodiment, air lines 26 may be connected to a source of compressed air. However, it should be recognized that the particular source of compressed air to air lines 26 may vary from embodiment to embodiment (e.g., the source of compressed air may include a compressed air tank).

[0037] Generally, intake manifold 16 forms an enclosure configured to contain air and distribute the air to air lines 26. In some embodiments, intake manifold 16 has a generally tubular, cylindrical shape with closed ends. However, it should be recognized that intake manifold 16 can have any number of suitable shapes and / or sizes (e.g., rectangular cross-sectional shape, etc.). In either case, air can be supplied into intake manifold 16 and thereby further distributed to air lines 26 connected to intake manifold 16.

[0038] In some embodiments, compressor 18 is operably connected to intake manifold 16 and supplies air (e.g., compressed air) to intake manifold 16, which may be further distributed into the cylinders through air lines 26. In general, compressor 18 may be any suitable compressor capable of operating independently of the operation of engine 10 (e.g., compressor 18 may be electrically powered). Additionally or alternatively, compressor 18 may be at least partially driven or operated by or from the rotation of crankshaft 13. In either case, compressor 18 may compress air and supply the compressed air to intake manifold 16.

[0039] In some embodiments, the engine can include one or more cylinders configured and / or specialized to compress air, which can be supplied to the air line 26, the intake manifold 16, an air injector (described in more detail below), or a combination of the foregoing. For example, the engine can include one or more cylinders, which are in fluid communication with the outside environment and in fluid communication with the air line 26, the intake manifold 16, an air injector (described in more detail below), or a combination of the foregoing. Corresponding one or more pistons can move or reciprocate within the cylinder to draw in and compress air therein. For example, the interior space of the cylinder can be substantially sealed until an appropriate pressure is reached, after which one or more valves can open to allow compressed air to flow into and / or toward the air line 26, the intake manifold 16, an air injector (described in more detail below), or a combination of the foregoing. In certain embodiments, the piston may be connected to the crankshaft in a manner similar to the power piston of an engine (e.g., the piston that rotates the crankshaft, as described below). In other words, in some embodiments, the compressor may be integrated with the engine.

[0040] In one or more examples, the engine may include one or more filters that can improve the quality of the air supplied to the cylinders. For example, a HEPA filter, a water separation filter, or the like may be installed between the compressor 18 and the cylinders of the engine (e.g., between the compressor 18 and the intake manifold 16). Such filters may remove particles and / or liquids from the air entering the manifold 16 and / or cylinders of the engine.

[0041] An engine according to at least one embodiment can include a temperature sensor that can determine or measure the temperature of the air prior to injection of the air into the cylinder. For example, engine 10 includes temperature sensor 17, which can sense the temperature of the air in intake manifold 16. In the illustrated embodiment, engine 10 includes pressure sensor 19 (e.g., a manifold absolute pressure sensor (MAP)). For example, controller 5 can operate air injectors (described below) to inject selected (e.g., calculated) and / or predetermined amounts of air into the cylinder based at least in part on readings from pressure sensor 19 and / or temperature sensor 17. However, it should be recognized that one or more sensor functions can be included in a single sensor and / or one or more sensors can be included in a single enclosure. Moreover, in some embodiments, an engine can include one or more different sensors or may not include a sensor (e.g., manually and / or electromechanically operated, etc.).

[0042] Generally, as discussed above, after combustion of fuel in an engine's combustion chamber, the gases produced are exhausted from the combustion chamber (e.g., to allow additional fuel and air to enter the chamber). For example, piston movement within a cylinder can exhaust exhaust gases from the cylinder through one or more connections and into exhaust manifold 20. Thus, for example, engine 10 includes exhaust connections. More specifically, in certain embodiments, engine 10 includes exhaust manifold 20 operably connected to the cylinder such that exhaust gases from the cylinder can enter exhaust manifold 20.

[0043] As described in more detail below, an engine according to one or more embodiments can include one or more exhaust valves that can control the flow of exhaust gases from the cylinders into an exhaust manifold. Moreover, in general, the exhaust manifold can be similar to an intake manifold. For example, the exhaust manifold 20 can have a tubular shape and capped ends, similar to a gas cylinder. However, it should be recognized that the exhaust manifold can have any suitable shape and / or size.

[0044] 2-3 illustrate side and rear isometric views, respectively, of engine 10 according to certain embodiments. In the illustrated embodiment, an exhaust line 50 connects exhaust manifold 20 to the cylinders of engine 10. However, it should be appreciated that in some instances, exhaust gases may exit one, some, or all of the cylinders in any number of suitable manners (e.g., without entering an exhaust line and / or exhaust manifold). In one or more embodiments, the engine may have any number of suitable exhaust systems in addition to and / or in place of the exhausts described herein.

[0045] In the illustrated embodiment, the engine 10 includes exhaust valves 52 operably connected to corresponding exhaust lines 50 to control the exit of exhaust gases from the cylinders. For example, the exhaust valves 52 may be positioned on corresponding exhaust lines 50 to allow and restrict gas flow therethrough. Additionally or alternatively, one, some, or all of the exhaust valves may be positioned between the exhaust lines 50 and the cylinders (e.g., the exhaust valves may be positioned inside the cylinders, just outside the cylinders, or otherwise positioned between the exhaust lines 50 and the cylinders and / or cylinder head 14).

[0046] Generally, to control exhaust gas outflow, the exhaust valves 52 may be operated between a fully open position (e.g., outflow through the least or unrestricted exhaust line 50) and a fully closed position (e.g., outflow through a substantially or completely restricted exhaust line 50). Additionally, the exhaust valves 52 may be operated to restrict outflow from the cylinders at any number of partially restricted positions between the fully open and fully closed positions. In either case, exhaust gas flow from one, some, or each of the cylinders into the exhaust manifold 20 may be controlled by a corresponding exhaust valve 52, which may be electrically or electromechanically actuated, hydraulically actuated, pneumatically actuated, etc., to allow exhaust gas to flow out of the cylinders (e.g., into the exhaust manifold 20). In some examples, the exhaust valves 52 may be actuated from the controller 5. Thus, the timing of the opening and / or closing of the exhaust valves 52 may be electronically controlled and based on any number of suitable parameters or inputs.

[0047] When the exhaust valves 52 are closed, the corresponding cylinders may be substantially sealed, allowing combustion of fuel to create pressure therein, exerting a force on the pistons and moving the pistons, thereby rotating the crankshaft and generating mechanical power for the engine 10. The exhaust valves 52 may be selectively opened to allow exhaust gases to exit the cylinders during and / or after combustion. Additionally, in some embodiments, a negative pressure or partial vacuum may be created in the exhaust manifold 50 to assist in removing exhaust gases from the cylinders. In either case, the exhaust valves 52 may be operated to create a sealed environment within one, some, or all of the corresponding cylinders during combustion, and may also be operated (e.g., the controller 5 may operate the exhaust valves 52) to allow exhaust gases to exit the cylinders during and / or after combustion.

[0048] An engine according to one or more embodiments may include one or more sensors (e.g., oxygen sensors) capable of detecting the presence and / or amount of oxygen in the exhaust gas. For example, engine 10 may include an exhaust or oxygen sensor 54 mounted in exhaust line 50 such that sensor 54 may detect and / or measure the amount of oxygen in the exhaust gas passing through exhaust line 50 and into exhaust manifold 20. In general, an engine may include any number of suitable sensors capable of detecting and / or measuring the composition of the exhaust gas (e.g., as the exhaust gas passes from the cylinders into the exhaust manifold), the temperature of the exhaust gas, etc. In certain examples, engine 10 may include one or more so-called "five-gas sensors" (e.g., sensors configured to detect or identify carbon dioxide (CO), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NO), etc.), and it should be appreciated that a "five-gas sensor" may be capable of detecting and / or measuring the composition of the exhaust gas.

[0049] In the illustrated embodiment, the fuel lines 24 connect to a distribution rail 22. For example, the distribution rail 22 is operably or fluidly connected to a fuel supply reservoir (e.g., a fuel tank). As such, fuel may be distributed (e.g., pumped) from the fuel supply reservoir to the distribution rail 22 and then into the fuel lines 24. As described above, from the fuel lines 24, the fuel may be injected directly into the cylinders of the engine 10 (e.g., the fuel in the fuel lines 24 may be pressurized and the fuel injectors 30 may control the injection of the fuel into the cylinders).

[0050] As described above, in the illustrated embodiment, engine 10 includes air line 26, which may be sized and configured to inject an appropriate amount of air into the cylinders of engine 10. Additionally, the air line may be connected to an intake manifold (e.g., air line 26 of engine 10 is connected to intake manifold 16). In some embodiments, intake manifold 16 may be positioned opposite exhaust manifold 20. It should be appreciated that the intake manifold and exhaust manifold may be positioned in any location and / or orientation relative to the engine and relative to each other.

[0051] Generally, an engine according to one or more embodiments can include one or more sensors for identifying or sensing improper combustion and / or detonation of fuel in one, some, or all of the cylinders. In the illustrated embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 , engine 10 includes a knock sensor 56 associated with a cylinder to detect detonation of fuel in the corresponding cylinder. For example, controller 5 can adjust the amount of fuel injected, the timing of fuel injection, the amount of air injected, the timing of air injection, the timing of sparks in a cylinder, or a combination thereof, based at least in part on a signal received from knock sensor 56. Moreover, it should be appreciated that one, some, or all of the sensors described herein can be coupled to and / or operated by controller 5. Moreover, as described in more detail below, controller 5 can control fuel pressure, fuel injectors, air pressure, exhaust pressure, air injectors, spark plugs, etc., based at least in part on signals or information received from sensors.

[0052] Figure 4 is a partial longitudinal cross-section of engine 10 (i.e., a cross-section through multiple cylinders along the length of engine 10), and Figure 5 is a transverse cross-section of engine 10 (i.e., a cross-section through a single cylinder and across the width of engine 10) according to one embodiment. As shown in Figures 4-5 and described above, engine 10 includes cylinders 15 and corresponding pistons 21 capable of reciprocating within cylinders 15, thereby rotating a crankshaft and generating a mechanical power output of engine 10.

[0053] As noted above, a combustion chamber in a reciprocating engine may be formed by a cylinder and a corresponding piston. For example, engine 10 includes combustion chamber 23 formed or defined by cylinder 15 and corresponding piston 21. It should be recognized that the actual volume of the combustion chamber may vary depending on the position of the piston therein during ignition and / or combustion of fuel (e.g., as the piston reciprocates within the cylinder between bottom and top dead center positions). Moreover, as discussed in more detail below, the combustion volume within the combustion chamber may depend on the amount of air injected into the cylinder. In other words, the combustion volume may be the volume of gas (e.g., air) within the combustion chamber when the gas is at atmospheric pressure.

[0054] Generally, fuel may be injected directly into the cylinders 15. For example, fuel may be injected directly into the cylinders through corresponding fuel ports, which may open into the corresponding cylinders of the engine. In the illustrated embodiment, the engine 10 includes fuel injection ports 38, which open directly into the cylinders (e.g., from the cylinder head 14). More specifically, the fuel lines 24 connect to corresponding fuel injectors 30, which are positioned and / or secured within the fuel injection ports 38. In certain embodiments, the fuel injectors 30 may be operated to allow or restrict fuel flow or injection from the fuel lines 24 into the corresponding cylinders 15. It should also be appreciated that the engine may include any number of suitable mechanisms for injecting fuel into the cylinders.

[0055] In addition to or instead of injecting fuel directly into the cylinders, in some cases, air may be injected directly into the engine's cylinders. In the illustrated embodiment, the engine 10 includes air injection ports 40 that open (e.g., from the cylinder head 14) into the corresponding cylinders 15. For example, the air lines 26 are connected to one or more corresponding air injectors 34, which may inject air directly into the corresponding cylinders 15 through the air injection ports 40. In some cases, the air injectors 34 may be positioned and / or secured within the corresponding air injection ports 40 and configured to inject air from the air lines 26 into the air injection ports 40. As discussed above, a controller may control the operation of the air injectors 34 (e.g., injection timing, injection duration, and / or amount, etc.).

[0056] Generally, the air and / or fuel may be injected into the cylinder at any number of suitable angles and / or locations. For example, at least some of the air may be injected to create a swirl effect, which may promote mixing of the fuel and air inside the cylinder. In certain embodiments, the air and / or fuel may be injected from locations or ports in the cylinder head (e.g., the air may be injected along a direction generally parallel to the movement of the piston 21, and the piston 21 may include one or more pockets or recesses that can direct the air to create a swirl effect inside the cylinder). Alternatively or additionally, at least some of the air and / or fuel may be injected along a direction generally perpendicular to the movement of the piston 21. For example, the air may be injected at a location substantially opposite the location of fuel injection. Furthermore, it should be appreciated that the air injector 34 and / or the fuel injector 30 may correspondingly inject air and fuel at multiple angles and / or spray angles or fans to promote mixing of the air and fuel inside the cylinder.

[0057] The air injectors 34 may include any suitable valves and / or gaging mechanisms capable of regulating and / or controlling the injection of air into the corresponding cylinders. In some embodiments, the air injectors 34 may be similar to or the same as fuel injectors (e.g., GDI injectors). For example, the fuel injectors may be similar to or the same as commercially available GDI or FSI fuel injectors, e.g., diesel direct injectors, such as FSI fuel injectors (e.g., manufactured by Bosch), which may be electrically or electronically controlled (e.g., by the controller 5) and operably connected to a fuel supply (e.g., via a distribution element such as the distribution rail 22).

[0058] In either case, the air injectors 34 may be configured to be controlled to allow a predetermined and / or controlled amount of air from the air lines 26 into the corresponding cylinders 15 of the engine 10. Moreover, the injection of air into the cylinders may be generally unobstructed. For example, as described above, the injection ports 40 open directly into the cylinders 15 without any obstructions that may interfere with or impede the air flow into the cylinders 15. Alternatively, in some embodiments, the engine may include one or more obstructions or redirecting mechanisms (e.g., baffles) that can guide and / or distribute the air in the cylinders 15.

[0059] In some embodiments, the controller can adjust or control the amount of air (e.g., the volume of air or the mass of air at a selected pressure) injected into the corresponding cylinder 15 to create a predetermined combustion volume. Thus, under some operating conditions, the controller can operate the air injector 34 to inject a volume of air that may have the same volume as the volume of the cylinder (e.g., the volume of the cylinder when the piston 21 is at bottom dead center). In some cases, the controller 5 can operate the air injector 34 to inject a volume of air that may have a volume (e.g., at atmospheric pressure) greater than the volume of the cylinder 15 (e.g., thereby increasing the operating volume of the cylinder 15).

[0060] Moreover, in some examples, the controller 5 may operate the air injector 34 to inject a quantity of air that may be less than the volume of the cylinder 15 (e.g., thereby reducing the operating volume of the cylinder 15 and / or creating a sub-atmospheric pressure within the cylinder 15). It should also be recognized that reducing the pressure within the cylinder 15 below atmospheric pressure (e.g., operating the cylinder 15 at a partial vacuum during some portions of the operating cycle) may improve or assist in vaporizing fuel that may be injected into the cylinder 15, thereby improving combustion.

[0061] 4-5, the fuel injection ports 38 and / or air injection ports 40 and / or the corresponding fuel injectors 30 and air injectors 34 are oriented approximately parallel to the movement of the piston 21. Additionally or alternatively, the fuel injection ports and / or air injection ports and / or the corresponding fuel injectors and air injectors can have a non-parallel orientation to the movement of the piston 21. Moreover, in some examples, the fuel injection ports and / or air injection ports and / or the corresponding fuel injectors and air injectors can be positioned in one or more sidewalls of the cylinder.

[0062] In one or more embodiments, one, some, or each of the cylinders of the engine may have multiple fuel and / or air injection ports. In any case, the fuel and / or air injection ports may have any suitable orientation relative to the centerline axis of the cylinder or relative to the movement of the piston within the cylinder. As such, fuel and / or air may be injected into the cylinder to create (e.g., optimize) its proper distribution within the cylinder. In some examples, the fuel and / or air injectors may be operated sequentially or asynchronously to create the proper distribution and / or mixing of fuel and air within the cylinder.

[0063] As discussed above, air and / or fuel may be injected into the cylinders generally unobstructed (e.g., through corresponding fuel injection ports 38 and air injection ports 40, which may be substantially unobstructed by valves or other elements or components of engine 10). Thus, the amount of air and / or fuel injected into the cylinders may be precisely or better controlled (e.g., compared to conventional engines that include valves). Additionally or alternatively, the injection velocity of the fuel and / or air may be controlled to create a suitable mixture thereof within the cylinders. For example, the fuel and / or air may be injected into the cylinders in any number of suitable sequences or stages of injection and / or at any number of suitable angles (relative to the cylinders and / or to each other).

[0064] Moreover, in some embodiments, fuel and air may be injected into a cylinder through separate or individual injection ports and may mix within the cylinder, although this disclosure is not so limited. For example, air and fuel may enter one, some, or all of the cylinders through the same port (e.g., each cylinder may include a single port for injecting both air and fuel therethrough). In certain embodiments, air and fuel may be at least partially premixed before entering the cylinder (e.g., air and fuel may be at least partially premixed near the injection port).

[0065] In some embodiments, engine 10 includes one or more spark plugs 46 to ignite the fuel-air mixture in a corresponding cylinder 15. For example, a threaded opening may open into the cylinder 15 (e.g., from the cylinder head 14), and the corresponding spark plug 46 may be fixed relative to the cylinder 15. In either case, in some cases, the spark plug 46 may be operated to ignite the fuel-air mixture in the corresponding cylinder 15 (e.g., a controller may control and / or provide power to the spark plug based on selected, predetermined, and / or adjustable timing).

[0066] In one or more embodiments, one, some, or all of the cylinders 15 of the engine 10 may operate without spark plugs 46 and / or without activating one, some, or all of the spark plugs 46. For example, diesel may be injected into one, some, or all of the engine's cylinders 15 and ignited and burned without spark ignition. Moreover, in certain embodiments, one or some of the cylinders 15 may receive gasoline, which may be ignited by a spark from a corresponding spark plug 46, while one or some of the cylinders 15 may receive diesel, which may be burned during its compression (e.g., without activating the corresponding spark plug 46).

[0067] In some examples, the spark plug 46 may be at least partially recessed into the cylinder head 14. For example, the cylinder head 14 may include a recess 42 that may be connected to or extend from a corresponding threaded opening. As noted above, the spark plug 46 may be threaded into the threaded opening such that a spark-generating portion of the spark plug extends into the corresponding cylinder 15.

[0068] As explained above, exhaust gases from the cylinders 15 may exit into the exhaust manifold 20. In the illustrated embodiment, the engine 10 includes exhaust ports 48 in fluid communication with one, some, or each of the cylinders 15. In some examples, the exhaust ports 48 are in fluid communication with corresponding exhaust lines 50, which may be connected to the manifold 20. Thus, exhaust gases produced during combustion of fuel may exit the cylinders 15 through the exhaust ports 48, into the exhaust lines 50, and into the exhaust manifold 20. In either case, the exhaust gases may exit the cylinders 15 through the corresponding exhaust ports 48.

[0069] In some cases, engine 10 may include exhaust valves 52 that can selectively open and / or close flow at and / or through exhaust ports 48 (e.g., one, some, or all of exhaust valves 52 may be electrically or electronically controlled by a controller). More specifically, in some embodiments, closing an exhaust valve 52 provides an at least partially sealed or hermetic environment within the corresponding cylinder 15 (e.g., during combustion of fuel). Conversely, for example, opening an exhaust valve 52 allows exhaust gases within the corresponding cylinder 15 to exit and / or be drawn therefrom.

[0070] Additionally, the operation of an engine and / or its components or elements may be represented schematically. For example, an engine may include or be connected to a fuel system 90a, which is represented schematically by the block diagram shown in FIG. 6. As noted above, an engine may include any number of cylinders, and this number may vary from embodiment to embodiment. For ease of explanation, the block diagram of FIG. 6 illustrates a fuel system 90a that is included in or connected to a four-cylinder engine.

[0071] In one embodiment, fuel in fuel system 90a is pumped from fuel tank 58a by pump 60a. It should be appreciated that in some embodiments, fuel may be advanced from the fuel tank by any number of suitable devices or configurations (e.g., fuel may be gravity-fed from the fuel tank). Additionally or alternatively, in the illustrated embodiment, fuel system 90a includes pressure sensor 62a (e.g., in fluid communication with the fuel) to measure the pressure of the fuel in the fuel line (e.g., immediately after the fuel exits fuel pump 60a).

[0072] In some embodiments, the fuel pump 60a is in fluid communication with the distribution rail 22a and is capable of pumping fuel into the distribution rail 22a. As described above, the distribution rail 22a is connected to and is capable of distributing fuel into the fuel lines 24a. The fuel lines 24a are capable of distributing fuel to and / or into corresponding cylinders of the engine. In some embodiments, the fuel system 90a includes a fuel pressure regulator 64a, which is capable of regulating the pressure in the fuel lines 24a and / or in the distribution rail 22a. For example, the fuel pressure regulator 64a can facilitate maintaining a substantially constant pressure in the fuel rail 22a and / or in the fuel lines 24a.

[0073] In some cases, the fuel pressure regulator 64a can relieve or reduce the fuel pressure in the lines and / or distribution rail 22a to create an appropriate and / or selected and / or predetermined pressure therein. For example, the fuel pressure regulator 64a can reduce the pressure in the distribution rail 22a by allowing some fuel to exit the distribution rail 22a. In some embodiments, the fuel exiting the distribution rail 22a can flow back to the fuel tank 58a (e.g., along the return line 66a) or can be pumped back to the fuel tank 58a.

[0074] In at least one embodiment, the fuel system 90a includes one or more fuel sensors 28a corresponding to the fuel lines 24a leading to the cylinders of the engine. For example, the fuel sensors 28a can detect the type of fuel in the fuel lines 24a. As described above, fuel can be injected into the cylinders by or through the fuel injectors 30a. For example, the controller can determine the duration of time that the fuel injectors 30a remain open so that a selected and / or predetermined amount of fuel enters each cylinder of the engine. It should also be appreciated that the controller can activate any of the fuel injectors 30a at any time and for any duration of time (e.g., to create a customized injection of fuel for each cylinder). Furthermore, the controller can operate the fuel injectors 30a based at least in part on signals or readings from one, some, or all of the fuel sensors 28a.

[0075] In some embodiments, the fuel pressure regulator may be positioned sequentially after the distribution rail 22 (e.g., downstream in the fuel flow), although the disclosure is not so limited. FIG. 7 is a schematic block diagram of a fuel system 90b according to one or more embodiments. As shown in FIG. 7, in at least one example, the fuel pressure regulator 64b is positioned between the distribution rail 22b and the compressed gas tank 58b (e.g., compressed gas fuel may be positioned in the compressed gas tank 58b). In certain embodiments, the fuel in the compressed gas tank 58b may be pressurized by a fuel pump (if in liquid phase) or by a compressor (if in vapor phase) and maintained at an approximately constant and / or selected and / or predetermined pressure in the compressed gas tank 58b. Moreover, in some embodiments, the fuel system 90b may include one or more mechanisms for maintaining the fuel (e.g., fuel in the distribution rail, fuel in the fuel lines, etc.) at an approximately constant pressure.

[0076] The fuel pressure regulator 64b may be operated by the controller to create or cause a flow of fuel from the compressed gas tank 58b into the distribution rail 22b (e.g., as adjusted by the controller based at least in part on a signal or information from the pressure sensor 62b). For example, the fuel pressure regulator 64b may be operated to maintain an approximately constant pressure of fuel in the distribution rail 22b and / or in the fuel line 24b. The fuel sensor 28b may be operably connected to the fuel line 24b between the distribution rail 22b and the fuel injector 30b.

[0077] As described above, the engine may include or be connected to an air injection system. FIG. 8 illustrates a schematic block diagram of an air injection system 95 according to one embodiment. In the illustrated embodiment, the air injection system 95 includes a compressor 18c, which is capable of drawing in air (e.g., at atmospheric pressure) and outputting pressurized air (e.g., at a pressure greater than atmospheric pressure). In some embodiments, the air injection system 95 includes a first air pressure sensor 68, which is capable of detecting the output air pressure of the air compressor 18c. Thus, the controller may adjust the operation of the compressor 18c based at least in part on a reading or signal from the air pressure sensor.

[0078] In some examples, the air injection system 95 includes an air pressure regulator 70 that can regulate the pressure between the air compressor 18c and the intake manifold 16c. For example, the air pressure regulator 70 can be set to a selected and / or predetermined pressure, or can be dynamically and / or automatically adjusted (e.g., by a controller) during operation of the engine 10c. In at least one embodiment, the air injection system 95 includes a second air pressure sensor 72 that can verify the air pressure in the intake manifold 16c. For example, the controller can adjust the air pressure regulator 70 based at least in part on readings or information from the second air pressure sensor 72 to create a selected, predetermined, and / or appropriate pressure in the intake manifold 16c and in the air lines 26c that supply air to corresponding cylinders of the engine 10. In certain embodiments, the air in the intake manifold 16c and / or in the air lines 26c can be maintained at an approximately constant pressure.

[0079] In one or more embodiments, air injection into the cylinders of the engine may be controlled and / or regulated by the air injectors 34c. As described above, the air injectors 34c can control the amount of air injected from the air lines 26c into the corresponding cylinders at any one or more times during the engine's cycle. For example, the controller can activate one, some, or all of the air injectors 34c at any suitable time and for any suitable time duration, allowing an appropriate, selected, and / or predetermined amount of air from the air lines 26c to flow through the corresponding air injectors 34c and be injected into the cylinders of the engine 10c.

[0080] In some embodiments, the engine is allowed to idle for periods of time using compressed air to power it. In other words, compressed air can be injected into the cylinders by sequentially operating the air injectors 34c to push the pistons downward in a sequence that creates rotation of the crankshaft. In some examples, the compressed air can be used to start or assist in starting the engine (e.g., if the starter is not functioning or battery power is not available for the starter). For example, the compressed air can be supplied from a tank (e.g., a reserve tank) that can contain pressurized air. Moreover, in some examples, during engine operation, air can be continuously added to the tank and / or circulated from the tank (e.g., from the operation of the engine and / or from an air compressor that can create compressed air).

[0081] As noted above, engine 10c may include or be connected to an exhaust system. For example, exhaust from a cylinder may enter a corresponding exhaust line 50c and flow into exhaust manifold 20c. In some embodiments, exhaust manifold 20c may be connected to one or more additional components or elements of the exhaust system (e.g., a catalytic converter, a muffler, etc.). In some embodiments, exhaust valve 52c may be positioned between the engine and exhaust line 50c.

[0082] In certain embodiments, one, some, or all of the air injectors, fuel injectors, exhaust valves, or combinations thereof may be mechanically released or decoupled from the output shaft (e.g., from the crankshaft) and / or may be operated by a controller (including directly or indirectly (e.g., by providing instructions to operate, etc.)). Generally, the controller may be any suitable general-purpose or special-purpose computing device, which may be programmable. For example, the controller may include one or more processors, memory (e.g., storage memory, RAM, etc.) operably coupled to the processor, and an input / output (I / O) interface for receiving and sending commands or signals. In either case, the controller may be configured to operate one or more elements or components of the engine (e.g., based at least in part on information or signals from sensors described herein).

[0083] In some embodiments, the controller may adjust the operation of fuel injectors, air injectors, exhaust valves, or combinations thereof based on any number of suitable parameters and / or inputs. In some embodiments, the engine or combustion system may include and / or be connected to a throttle position sensor that may detect changes in the position of a throttle indicator (e.g., a gas pedal). Additionally, a crankshaft position sensor may detect the position of the crankshaft and provide information about the crankshaft position to the controller (e.g., based on the crankshaft position, the controller may determine the respective positions of the pistons in one, some, or all of the engine's cylinders). In either case, based on any number of suitable parameters and / or inputs, the controller may adjust the operation of the engine or any portion thereof (e.g., the supply of fuel and / or air to one or some of the cylinders may be different from one or some of the other cylinders, and / or any one or some of the cylinders may be non-functioning at any time).

[0084] It should be appreciated that, according to one or more embodiments, the actuation of the fuel and air injectors and the time they remain actuated or open can be controlled to provide fuel and / or air to the respective cylinders in a staged manner. For example, a first charge of fuel and / or air can be provided at a first position of the piston after the piston completes its upstroke (e.g., top dead center) and as the piston moves down during the downstroke. As the piston moves further down during the downstroke, one or more additional charges of fuel and / or air can be provided into the cylinder at one or more additional positions of the piston before the piston reaches the end of the downstroke (e.g., bottom dead center). Moreover, additional or alternative charges of fuel and / or air can be delivered into the cylinder before the piston reaches top dead center or bottom dead center (e.g., various configurations and staging settings can allow the engine to be configured to be adjustable for the combustion characteristics of different fuels).

[0085] In some examples, the engine may be operated to create a short-duration rapid increase in power (e.g., by operating the engine in a two-stroke cycle). For example, fuel and air may be injected every time the piston begins its downward stroke (instead of every other stroke in a four-stroke cycle). Additionally, any one or more cylinders may be operated in a two-stroke cycle to generate a rapid increase in power output from the engine.

[0086] As described above, an internal combustion engine generally includes at least one combustion chamber and an output shaft rotatable in response to combustion of fuel in the combustion chamber. For example, an internal combustion engine can include an energy conversion mechanism for converting energy created during combustion of fuel in the combustion chamber into mechanical power at the output shaft (e.g., converting a pressure increase in the combustion chamber into rotation of the output shaft). In some embodiments, fuel and oxidizer are injected into the combustion chamber, and a combustion reaction creates a pressure increase therein. The energy conversion mechanism is configured to convert the increased pressure in the combustion chamber into mechanical energy, such as rotation of the output shaft (e.g., a piston movable in a cylinder and connected to the output shaft; a housing and a rotatable rotor connected to the output shaft, etc.).

[0087] In either case, in one or more embodiments, a controller or control system can control the operation of an internal combustion engine by controlling the injection of fuel and / or air into the combustion chamber and / or by controlling the exhaust from the combustion chamber. For example, the controller can control an engine that can include one or more fuel injectors and / or one or more air injectors that can inject fuel and oxidizer, respectively, into the engine's combustion chambers (e.g., cylinders), and exhaust valves that can prevent or allow exhaust from exiting the corresponding combustion chambers. As described in more detail below, in at least one embodiment, the fuel injectors, air injectors, exhaust valves, or combinations thereof, can be mechanically released or decoupled from the output shaft and operated by the controller. Also, generally, controlling the amount of fuel and / or air injected into the cylinders and the timing of such injection can create any number of suitable operating conditions for the engine.

[0088] In some embodiments, a controller may be operably coupled to and / or capable of controlling or actuating the operation of one or more elements or components of the engine. For example, a control system including the controller may include any number of suitable sensors that can provide various inputs to the controller. In some examples, the control system may include one or more input interface devices (e.g., devices including a user interface) coupled to the controller such that the controller can receive inputs therefrom (e.g., inputs that may be provided by a user and / or that may be related to operating parameters of the engine). Thus, the controller may receive one or more inputs and operate (directly or indirectly) elements or components of the engine (and / or elements or components connected to the engine) to thereby modify the operation of the engine. For example, the controller may modify or adjust the operation of the engine to change and / or optimize power output, revolutions per minute (RPM) of the output shaft, direction of rotation of the output shaft, combustion efficiency, combustion volume, combinations of the foregoing, etc.

[0089] In one or more embodiments, the control system may determine or calculate the amount of fuel and / or air to be injected into the cylinders of the engine based on one or more operational inputs (e.g., inputs from a user of the engine). For example, the operational inputs may include inputs related to power output requirements, output shaft RPM, combustion volume, etc., and the control system may determine parameters related to elements and / or components of the engine to achieve or produce engine operation corresponding to the operational inputs. For example, as described in more detail below, the controller may determine the amount of fuel and / or air to inject into the cylinders and / or the timing of such injection, the timing of ignition of the air-fuel mixture in the cylinders, the timing and duration of exhaust valve opening, etc.

[0090] Generally, an internal combustion engine may burn any suitable type of fuel, such as gasoline (petrol), ethanol, diesel, liquefied natural gas (LNG), liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), hydrogen, etc. Additionally, any suitable oxidant, such as oxygen, may facilitate and / or drive the combustion of the fuel.

[0091] As discussed above, combustion engine 10 (e.g., as shown in FIG. 1 ) may be computer controlled and, according to an embodiment, operably coupled to controller 5. Again, it should be recognized that the engine may have any number of cylinders and any number of suitable cylinder arrangements, as discussed above (e.g., V, rotary, boxer, etc.).

[0092] As described above, fuel and / or air may be injected directly into the cylinders of engine 10. For example, engine 10 includes fuel injectors 30 and air injectors 34 ( FIG. 4 ) associated with corresponding cylinders of engine 10. In some embodiments, controller 5 operates (including directly or indirectly (e.g., by providing instructions to operate)) fuel injectors 30 and / or air injectors 34, as described in more detail below.

[0093] As described above, the air injectors 34 may be connected to any number of sources or supplies of air or any number of suitable oxidizers. In one or more embodiments, the air injectors 34 are connected to the intake manifold 16. For example, the intake manifold 16 may contain air (e.g., compressed air) and / or distribute air to the air injectors 34 (e.g., via one or more corresponding air lines between the air injectors 34 and the intake manifold 16). In some embodiments, the intake manifold 16 may be in fluid communication with the compressor 18, which may supply compressed air into the intake manifold. Similarly, the fuel injectors 30 may be connected to a supply of fuel (e.g., a fuel pump may supply fuel to or toward the fuel injectors 30).

[0094] In one or more embodiments, the controller 5 operates (directly or indirectly (e.g., by providing instructions to operate)) the fuel injectors 30 and / or the air injectors 34, as described in more detail below. For example, the exhaust valves 52 of the combustion engine 10 may be operably coupled to the controller 5 and thereby operated between an open position, where the open position allows exhaust to exit the cylinder during and / or after combustion, and where the exhaust valves 52 at least partially prevent exhaust from exiting the corresponding cylinder. Additionally, as noted above, the controller 5 may be connected to one or more sensors that can provide information about the operation of the engine 10 and / or about operating parameters related to the operation of the engine 10. In some embodiments, an octane or fuel sensor is connected to the controller 5 and positioned in contact with the fuel flowing toward or to the fuel injectors 30 ( FIG. 4 ). Thus, the controller 5 may receive information or signals related to fuel flowing to and / or into the cylinders of the engine 10 .

[0095] The controller 5 may also be connected to one or more sensors capable of providing information about the oxidizer being supplied to the cylinders of the engine 10. For example, the engine 10 may include a pressure and / or temperature sensor 17 that is connected to the controller 5 and in communication with the air in the intake manifold 16. Similarly, the controller 5 may be connected to one or more sensors that may provide information about the exhaust exiting one or more cylinders of the engine 10.

[0096] In certain embodiments, engine 10 includes exhaust sensors 54 in communication with the exhaust exiting the corresponding cylinders of engine 10 and connected to controller 5. For example, exhaust sensors 54 may detect or determine the amount of oxygen present in the exhaust gases exiting the corresponding cylinders of engine 10. Additionally, in some examples, controller 5 may be connected to one or more oxygen sensors in communication with the incoming air (e.g., air in intake manifold 16, air in air lines connecting intake manifold 16 to air injectors 34). Thus, the controller may receive inputs or signals related to the oxygen content or concentration in the air flowing toward or to the jets in the combustion chambers of engine 10.

[0097] As described in more detail below, the controller may be connected to and / or receive information from any number of suitable sensors, such as a position sensor connected to the output shaft, a knock sensor, a throttle position sensor, etc. Additionally, in some examples, the controller may receive inputs from sensors and / or input devices that may not be associated with the engine. In any case, the controller may operate air injectors, fuel injectors, exhaust valves, or a combination thereof based at least in part on information or signals received from sensors connected to the controller.

[0098] FIG. 9 illustrates a flowchart of actions or acts that may be performed by a controller of a control system that may control combustion in and / or operation of an internal combustion engine, according to at least one embodiment. In certain embodiments, the controller performs or executes act 100 of receiving one or more operational inputs related to operating parameters of the engine. For example, the controller may receive input or information related to the power output and / or RPM to be produced by the engine (e.g., a request to increase the RPM of the engine's crankshaft). In general, inputs may be provided or supplied to the controller in any number of suitable manners and / or from any number of suitable input interfaces and / or input interface devices. For example, in a vehicle, the input interface device may be a throttle (e.g., a throttle pedal, lever, steering wheel, etc.).

[0099] In some cases, one or more sensors (e.g., position sensors) may receive input from the throttle and transmit a converted input (e.g., throttle displacement) to a control system. Thus, for example, throttle pedal displacement (e.g., input from a user) may be digitized or converted into a corresponding input that may be transmitted or sent to a controller, which may indicate to the controller the amount of throttle pedal displacement produced by the user. In some cases, throttle pedal displacement (as indicated by a signal or input from a sensor coupled to the throttle pedal) may be processed by the controller and / or associated with one or more operating parameters of the engine (e.g., RPM, power output, etc.).

[0100] Also, because the throttle pedal displacement may be digitized, combinations or patterns of displacement (e.g., multiple short displacements, multiple long displacements, combinations thereof, etc.) may be correlated by the controller with particular operating parameters of the engine. For example, two long displacements may be correlated by the controller with a selected and / or predetermined power output or a percentage increase in engine power output or RPM. In either case, the controller may receive one or more inputs related to desired or requested engine power output and / or RPM.

[0101] In alternative or additional embodiments, the controller can receive input regarding a desired combustion volume. For example, a suitable input interface can include a dial, a keyed interface, a touchpad, a combination of the foregoing, or the like. In either case, the input interface can facilitate input of a desired or desired combustion volume for the engine, which can be sent or transmitted to the controller. In some embodiments, the input related to the operating parameter can include a desired sound (e.g., frequency, tone, etc.) to be produced by the engine. For example, the interface can provide or display sound options (e.g., sounds of various engines or engine models) and receive a selection of such an option. The interface can transmit such a selection to the controller as an input related to the engine's operating parameter.

[0102] Moreover, in one or more embodiments, the input may be indirectly related to one or more operating parameters of the engine. For example, the engine may be included in an engine-powered vehicle. Thus, for example, the input may be related to the speed of the vehicle, which may depend on the vehicle's orientation (e.g., uphill, downhill, etc.), vehicle maneuvering, weather conditions, etc. In such an example, an input from an input interface device (e.g., cruise control) may be converted or translated into one or more parameters or inputs that may be related to the operating parameters of the engine, such as crankshaft RPM.

[0103] In some embodiments, inputs (e.g., inputs that may be indirectly related to engine operating parameters) may be related to and / or based at least in part on predicted power requirements for the engine. For example, operational inputs for controlling the engine of an engine-powered vehicle may be related to and / or based at least in part on the weight of the vehicle and its cargo, the predicted or planned route (e.g., uphill, downhill, turns, etc.), etc. Accordingly, as described in more detail below, the controller may correlate such inputs with engine operating parameters.

[0104] In some embodiments, the operational input may include identifying a particular type of fuel and / or oxidizer to be delivered into the cylinders of the engine. For example, the input may include a selection or input of a fuel type and oxidizer combination, which may be received via any suitable interface that may be coupled to the controller. Additionally or alternatively, the input related to the fuel and / or oxidizer type may be received from one or more sensors. In some embodiments, the controller performs or executes act 110 of receiving input from one or more sensors. For example, the controller may receive input from a fuel sensor and / or an oxidizer sensor. While the description sometimes refers to a "cylinder" or "cylinders," it should be appreciated that such references are made for simplicity and that the engine may include any suitable combustion chamber, as described above.

[0105] In at least one embodiment, the controller may receive input from one or more air pressure sensors, which may indicate the pressure in the air line and / or the pressure in the intake manifold, which collectively supplies air (or other oxidizer) into the cylinder. In other words, the controller may receive information about the pressure or percent compression of air that may be forced or injected directly into the cylinder (e.g., without the intervention of a valve). In some cases, the controller may also receive input from additional or alternative sensors in communication with the air line and / or in communication with the intake manifold. Such sensors may identify the type and / or amount of oxidizer in the air line (e.g., the percentage or concentration of oxygen present in the air). Additionally, in some examples, the controller may receive input from one or more exhaust sensors. For example, an exhaust sensor may provide an input related to the oxygen content in exhaust gases exiting the engine's cylinders.

[0106] In some embodiments, the controller may receive input from a fuel sensor capable of identifying the type of fuel being supplied to the cylinder. For example, the fuel sensor may be in communication with the fuel and capable of identifying its type (e.g., distinguishing between gasoline, diesel, hydrogen, natural gas, propane, etc.). In some cases, one or more sensors may also be capable of determining or identifying the pressure of the fuel (e.g., in the fuel line, near the fuel injector, etc.).

[0107] In some embodiments, the controller may receive inputs or signals related to engine temperature, air temperature, fuel temperature, etc. For example, the controller may receive information related to engine temperature from one or more sensors (e.g., thermocouples) in thermal communication with one or more portions of the engine. In additional or alternative embodiments, the controller may receive inputs regarding the rotational speed (RPM) and / or position of the engine's crankshaft. For example, one or more encoders or similar sensors may be connected to the crankshaft to determine the crankshaft's rotational position and its rotational speed. Moreover, in examples, the encoder may be an absolute encoder and may maintain position information related to the position of the crankshaft. Thus, for example, the encoder may maintain position information without power being supplied to it and may send inputs related to such information to the controller without the crankshaft rotating (e.g., before the engine is running). It should be appreciated that the encoder may have any suitable resolution (e.g., 1 degree, ½ degree, ¼ degree, etc.), with the controller receiving information or signals related to rotation of the crankshaft every 1 degree, every ½ degree, every ¼ degree, etc. Alternatively or additionally, the controller may receive information or signals related to every quarter turn (e.g., every 90 degrees) of rotation of the crankshaft.

[0108] As described above, in at least one example, an engine may power a vehicle. Accordingly, in some cases, the controller may receive input from one or more sensors, which may be related to operating conditions of such a vehicle. For example, such sensors (e.g., accelerometers, gyroscopes, etc.) may send input to the controller that may be related to vehicle movement, such as uphill or slope movement, downhill or slope movement, turning, pivoting, etc.

[0109] In some embodiments, the sensors may include a global positioning system (GPS), which may provide global positioning coordinates for a vehicle powered by an engine. Thus, for example, as described in more detail below, the controller may estimate movement of the vehicle based at least in part on inputs received from the GPS. For example, the controller may correlate the global positioning coordinates and / or changes thereto with positions on a map and may determine the location of the vehicle on the map and the movement of such vehicle relative to the map.

[0110] In one or more embodiments, the controller performs or executes act 120 of determining an amount of air to inject into one or more combustion chambers of the engine (e.g., into one or more cylinders of the engine). More specifically, for example, the controller may determine the amount of air to inject into the combustion chambers based on information or readings received from sensors and / or based on received inputs related to operating parameters of the engine. In some cases, the controller may refer to or consult one or more algorithms, tables, databases, or combinations thereof to determine the amount of air to inject into the cylinders.

[0111] As described above, the controller can correlate one or more inputs with operating parameters of the engine. In particular, the controller can correlate inputs received from one or more users, sensors, etc. with operating parameters of the engine. For example, the controller can process inputs from a GPS to determine the location of a vehicle including the engine and / or its current and predicted movement (e.g., uphill, downhill, etc.). Based on the vehicle's location and current and / or predicted movement, the controller can determine one or more operating parameters of the engine. For example, the controller can determine or calculate a combustion volume based on the current and / or predicted movement of the engine vehicle and / or based on correlated current and / or predicted load and / or power requirements (e.g., the controller can determine an increase in combustion volume to maintain a current RPM based on a predicted incline in the vehicle's route). In some examples, the controller can determine a combustion volume based on one or more additional or alternative parameters (e.g., local laws or regulations related to allowable emissions). For example, based on local laws or regulations and based on input from the GPS, the controller may decide to reduce the combustion volume (e.g., to a volume less than the internal volume of the cylinder, e.g., so that the combustion volume is at a pressure below atmospheric pressure).

[0112] In some embodiments, the controller may reference a table, chart, one or more formulas or algorithms, etc., that correlate selected and / or predetermined amounts of fuel and air with revolutions per minute (RPM) produced at the engine's crankshaft. It should be recognized that such tables may vary from embodiment to embodiment and from engine to engine. In any case, however, based at least in part on such tables, the controller may determine the amount of air to inject into the cylinder.

[0113] For example, as described above, the controller may receive inputs related to desired engine operating parameters, such as the RPM of the engine's crankshaft. Additionally or alternatively, as described above, the controller may receive any number of suitable inputs, which may be converted to and / or correlated with engine operating parameters. In certain embodiments, based on such inputs, the controller may determine the amount of air to be injected into the cylinder. For example, the controller may select or determine an optimal amount of air (e.g., based on user preference) to produce the desired RPM, thereby minimizing the amount of fuel to produce lean burn in the cylinder, as described in more detail below.

[0114] It should be appreciated that because conventional engines cannot precisely control the amount of air entering the cylinder, typical conventional control systems can adjust intake mechanisms (e.g., throttle, turbo, etc.) to achieve a desired RPM. In at least one embodiment, precisely controlling the amount of air injected into the cylinder (e.g., by injecting a selected and / or predetermined amount of air directly into the cylinder) can facilitate creating a selected and / or predetermined RPM based on such an injection or series of injections. In other words, compared to conventional adjustments to air supply to the cylinder that are made based on RPM (e.g., because the conventional controller cannot have information about the precise amount of air entering the cylinder), the controller can determine a specific amount of air to inject into the combustion chamber (e.g., cylinder, etc.) to create a selected, predetermined, and / or desired RPM output.

[0115] Similarly, as discussed above, the controller may receive one or more inputs related to a requested volume for one or more cylinders. For example, the controller may receive a request to increase (e.g., by 100%, 200%, etc.) or decrease (e.g., by 20%, 40%, 50%, etc.) the actual combustion volume of the cylinder. Based on such a request, the controller may determine an amount or volume of air to inject into the cylinder. It should be recognized that in some cases, the determined amount of air to be injected may be less than the actual volume of the cylinder (e.g., at atmospheric pressure, the volume of air to be injected into the cylinder may be less than the volume of the cylinder).

[0116] In some examples, the controller may independently determine the amount of air to inject into each particular cylinder. For example, the controller may reduce the amount of air supplied to one or more cylinders, thereby reducing the combustion volume. Alternatively or additionally, the controller may determine to increase the air supply to one or more cylinders (e.g., based on a reduction in fuel supply) to create lean burn, such as for improved fuel economy. It should be recognized that in some cases, lean burn may have a higher combustion temperature, which may lead to increased engine temperatures. The controller may determine to selectively create lean burn in one or more cylinders and may periodically change the cylinders that create lean burn (e.g., based on temperature input from one or more temperature sensors) to avoid overheating the engine and / or damaging its elements or components.

[0117] In some cases, the controller may adjust the amount of air to be injected into the cylinder based on input from one or more exhaust sensors. For example, the controller may receive input identifying the amount of oxygen in the exhaust gas. As such, the controller may adjust a previously determined amount of air based on the amount of oxygen present in the exhaust. Additionally, in some embodiments, the controller may adjust an algorithm (e.g., a formula), table value, or the like for making future determinations of the amount of air to be injected into the cylinder in response to receiving the same or similar input, such as input from one or more of the sensors and / or the same or similar operational input.

[0118] In some embodiments, the controller performs or executes act 130 of operating one or more air injectors based at least in part on the determined amount of air. Among other things, for example, the controller can operate the air injectors (directly or indirectly (e.g., by providing instructions to operate, etc.)) to inject air directly into the cylinders of the engine (e.g., inject air in an at least substantially unimpeded manner). For example, the controller can open the air injectors in one, some, or all of the cylinders for a selected and / or predetermined period or amount of time, which will allow a selected, predetermined, and / or precise amount of air to enter the cylinder. As discussed above, the controller can receive input that can be related to air pressure at or near the air injectors. So, for example, the controller can determine the amount of time needed to hold the air injectors open (e.g., based at least in part on input received from an air pressure sensor) to allow a selected and / or predetermined amount of air to enter the cylinder.

[0119] In either case, the controller may operate the air injectors to provide predetermined and / or precise amounts of air into the cylinders, thereby operating the engine at one or more selected and / or predetermined operating parameters (e.g., at selected and / or predetermined or required RPM, temperature, fuel efficiency, etc.). Moreover, although the above acts are described in a particular order, it should be appreciated that such acts may be performed in any number of suitable sequences, and the sequence may vary from embodiment to embodiment. For example, the controller may first receive input from one or more sensors (act 110), followed by one or more operational inputs related to the engine's operating parameters (act 100).

[0120] As noted above, the controller may receive information or signals from any number of suitable sensors or input sources, and such information or signals may be related to any number of operating conditions or parameters of the engine. For example, the controller may receive information or signals related to exhaust gases exiting the combustion chamber of the engine. Moreover, in some examples, the controller may operate air injectors based at least in part on information or signals received from exhaust sensors. For example, FIG. 10 illustrates a flowchart of steps or actions that may be performed by a controller according to at least one embodiment.

[0121] More specifically, in certain embodiments, the controller performs or executes act 110a of receiving a signal related to exhaust gases from one or more combustion chambers. For example, the controller may receive information or a signal from an exhaust sensor, which may be indicative of or related to the composition of the exhaust gases (e.g., the signal may be related to the amount of oxygen present in the exhaust). Additionally, in some embodiments, the controller performs or executes act 120a of determining an amount of air to inject into one or more combustion chambers of the engine. Among other things, such a determination may be based at least in part on a signal or reading received from the exhaust sensor.

[0122] For example, based on the amount of residual oxygen present in the exhaust, the controller can determine an amount of air to inject into the combustion chamber, such that the injected oxygen is completely or substantially consumed during the combustion reaction. Accordingly, at least one embodiment includes act 130a of activating one or more air injectors based at least in part on the amount of air determined by the controller. As described above, for example, the controller can operate the air injectors by opening the air injectors and / or maintaining the air injectors open for a selected and / or predetermined amount of time, such that the selected and / or predetermined amount of air enters the combustion chamber. Additionally or alternatively, the controller can provide information including the determined amount of air to be injected into the combustion chamber. The air injectors can be operated based on such information to inject the selected and / or predetermined amount of air into the combustion chamber of the engine.

[0123] Additionally, in some embodiments, the controller may determine operating parameters for and / or operate additional or alternative elements or components that can control the operation of the engine. FIG. 11 illustrates a flowchart of steps or actions that may be performed by a controller, according to at least one embodiment. Except as otherwise described herein, the actions described below may be similar to or the same as the actions described above in connection with FIGS. 9-10. In the illustrated example, the controller performs act 200 of receiving one or more operating inputs related to operating parameters of the engine and act 210 of receiving input from one or more sensors, which may be similar to or the same as acts 100, 110 (FIG. 9).

[0124] In some embodiments, the controller performs or executes act 220 of determining the amount of air and / or fuel to inject into one or more combustion chambers (e.g., cylinders) of the engine, which may be based at least in part on operational inputs and / or inputs from sensors. For example, the controller may determine the amount of air to inject into the cylinder in the same or similar manner as described above. Additionally, the controller may also determine the amount of fuel to inject into the cylinder, thereby determining the air-fuel mixture to be injected into the cylinder.

[0125] It should also be appreciated that in some embodiments, air and fuel can be mixed and injected together outside of the combustion chamber of the engine. Thus, for example, a controller can provide signals or instructions to one or more control elements (e.g., valves, injectors, etc.), which can dispense selected and / or predetermined amounts of air and / or fuel, which can be mixed together outside of the combustion chamber. The premixed air-fuel mixture can then be delivered to (e.g., injected into) the combustion chamber of the engine.

[0126] As discussed above, the controller may receive input from sensors capable of identifying the type of fuel (e.g., fuel composition) in the fuel cell (e.g., gas tank), in the fuel line, near the fuel injector, or a combination thereof. Thus, the controller may determine the amount of fuel to be injected into the cylinder based at least in part on the type of fuel that may be injected into the cylinder. In some embodiments, gasoline may be injected into the cylinder (e.g., the oxidation reaction of gasoline may be

number

[0127] As such, depending on, for example, the concentration of O in the air, a stoichiometric air-gasoline mixture may be considered to burn at a 14.7:1 (air-gasoline) ratio, where the gasoline burns with no excess air or oxygen available after combustion. Thus, a lean mixture may have more air (e.g., a ratio greater than 14.7:1), and a rich mixture may have more fuel (e.g., a ratio less than 14.7:1). For example, maximum power output may be produced in a rich mixture that may have an air-gasoline ratio of approximately 12.6:1, while best fuel economy may be produced in a lean air-gasoline mixture, which may have an air-gasoline ratio of about 15.4:1 or greater. Under some operating conditions, the ratio may be ultra-lean, such as about 65:1 and / or higher. It should be recognized that ultra-lean mixtures may burn at relatively high temperatures (e.g., higher than stoichiometric mixtures). In some embodiments, the controller may determine a duration for operating the engine and / or one or more of its cylinders at elevated temperatures that may result from combustion of a lean or ultra-lean mixture to prevent damaging and / or destroying the engine and / or one or more of its cylinders. Additionally, the controller may determine and / or select air and / or fuel injection to create an appropriate mixture to correspond to the load experienced by the engine and / or to correspond to the predicted load.

[0128] For example, lean and / or ultra-lean mixtures may be produced when a vehicle (e.g., a car, etc.) powered by the engine experiences a low load (e.g., at a constant or decreasing speed, in a car driving downhill, etc.) When the load increases or is predicted to increase (e.g., when a car is driving uphill or is predicted to drive uphill), the controller can decide to produce a stoichiometric and / or rich mixture.

[0129] In some cases, the controller may determine to inject a lean air-fuel mixture (e.g., to improve fuel economy). Additionally, for example, in an engine including a combustion chamber formed by a cylinder and a piston, the controller may selectively and / or continuously modify the air-fuel mixture injected into any cylinder. For example, the controller may create leaner combustion in one or some cylinders compared to other cylinders. In some cases, the controller may create lean combustion in one or some cylinders and stoichiometric or rich combustion in one or more other cylinders.

[0130] Stoichiometric combustion of at least some fuels (e.g., gasoline) can produce higher combustion temperatures than rich combustion, and lean combustion can produce higher combustion temperatures than stoichiometric combustion. Moreover, under some operating conditions, prolonged stoichiometric and / or lean combustion can damage or destroy one or more engine components and / or reduce the engine's useful life. In some embodiments, a controller can monitor temperature changes within the engine while determining an injection and / or combustion cycle that can maintain stoichiometric and / or lean combustion in one or more cylinders and modify combustion parameters within such combustion chambers (e.g., cylinders) to mitigate or eliminate temperature increases that could be harmful to the engine. For example, the controller can determine to terminate lean stoichiometric and / or lean combustion in one, some, or all of the cylinders and initiate rich combustion therein. Additionally or alternatively, the controller may decide to alternate between lean and rich burn mixtures in one or more cylinders (e.g., some cylinders may operate with a lean burn mixture while other cylinders may operate with a rich burn mixture).

[0131] Moreover, as described above, the controller may receive input or information regarding the orientation of the crankshaft and / or the location of the piston within the cylinder (e.g., of a reciprocating engine). Under some operating conditions, the controller may determine to inject fuel and / or air into the cylinder at various times and / or at multiple locations on the piston. For example, instead of a single injection of a particular amount of fuel and / or air, the controller may direct the fuel injector and / or air injector to perform multiple injections of fuel and / or air (e.g., which may generate the same power output at the crankshaft as a single injection of the same, lesser, or greater amount of fuel and / or air). In some cases, multiple injections of fuel and / or air may improve air-fuel mixing, fuel combustion, etc. Similarly, the controller may direct the fuel injector and / or air injector to perform multiple injections of fuel and air (respectively) into the combustion chamber of a rotary engine (e.g., as its rotor rotates).

[0132] Additionally, for reciprocating engines, the controller can direct the fuel injector and / or the air injector to inject fuel and / or air during the downward and / or upward movement of the piston, respectively. In some embodiments, the controller can direct the fuel injector and / or the air injector to inject fuel and / or air during the downward stroke of the piston (e.g., during the intake stroke and / or during the power stroke in a four-stroke cycle). For example, injecting air and / or fuel during the power stroke can improve ignition of the fuel and / or provide additional power. In one or more additional or alternative embodiments, the controller can direct the fuel injector and / or the air injector to inject fuel and / or air during the exhaust stroke (e.g., in a four-stroke cycle), which can assist in expelling exhaust gases out of the cylinder.

[0133] In some cases, the controller may determine to perform multiple injections of air and fuel to create a stoichiometric and / or lean air-fuel mixture in the combustion chamber of the engine. For example, the controller may determine injection timing based at least in part on a selected and / or predetermined output shaft orientation (e.g., crankshaft orientation in a reciprocating engine), a selected and / or predetermined position of the piston within the cylinder, a combination of the foregoing, etc. Moreover, the controller may determine to perform one or more such injections of air and fuel that can create a stoichiometric and / or lean mixture, and may also determine to perform one or more injections of air and fuel that can create a rich mixture (e.g., that can reduce or minimize engine temperature increase during stoichiometric and / or lean combustion).

[0134] In some cases, the controller may determine to operate one or more cylinders of the engine on any even numbered combustion cycle (e.g., 2-, 4-, 6-, etc.). For example, the controller may determine to inject air and fuel into one, some, or all cylinders on every piston downstroke, every other downstroke, every third downstroke, etc. For example, the controller may determine to operate some or all cylinders on a 2-stroke cycle for a predetermined amount of time to meet a power requirement requested in one or more inputs received by the controller, and under some conditions, after meeting such power requirement, the cylinders may be operated on a 4-stroke cycle.

[0135] In some embodiments, the controller may determine to turn off or shut down one or more of the combustion chambers (e.g., one or more of the cylinders). For example, the controller may determine which cylinders can be turned off to improve fuel efficiency while meeting power output requirements. For example, the controller may determine to turn off fuel injection and / or air injection to one or more cylinders (e.g., to stop burning fuel in such cylinders). Under some operating conditions, the controller may also determine to close and / or keep closed the exhaust valves of the turned-off cylinders.

[0136] In some cases, a spark may be required to create combustion of the air-fuel mixture in the cylinder. For example, the air-gasoline mixture may be ignited in the cylinder by a spark (e.g., from a fuel ignition device such as a spark plug). As such, in one or more embodiments, the controller performs or executes act 230 of determining the timing of a spark in one or more combustion chambers (e.g., in the cylinder). For example, for a reciprocating engine, the controller may determine to inject fuel and air at multiple times and / or locations during the piston's downward stroke. Similarly, the controller may determine one or more times for providing a spark in the cylinder, which may correspond to one or more of the fuel injection and / or air injection (e.g., at approximately the same time that the fuel and air are injected; at a selected and / or predetermined amount of time after injection of the air and / or fuel into the cylinder; at a selected and / or predetermined piston location and / or crankshaft orientation, which may be based on input from an encoder; etc.). In either case, the controller is capable of determining the appropriate time to provide a spark in the corresponding cylinder to combust the air-fuel mixture therein.

[0137] As described above, a piston connector rod can generally rotatably connect a piston to a crankshaft, and reciprocating motion of the piston within the corresponding cylinder can produce rotation of the crankshaft. As such, depending on the angular position of the piston connector rod relative to the crankshaft, a downward force on the piston or movement of the piston can produce a corresponding torque on the crankshaft and / or rotation of the crankshaft in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction. For example, at top dead center (TDC), the connector rod can be parallel to the centerline axis of the cylinder and perpendicular to the crankshaft (e.g., a downward force on the piston cannot produce rotation of the crankshaft). Similarly, when the piston is located before TDC (BTDC) or after TDC (ATDC), the connection point of the piston connector rod can be at a non-perpendicular angle to the rotational axis of the crankshaft (e.g., a downward force on the piston can produce a corresponding clockwise or counterclockwise rotation of the crankshaft). For example, when a piston is at BTDC, a force applied to the piston may create a corresponding relative counterclockwise force and / or rotation of the crankshaft, and when the piston is after TDC (ATDC), a force applied to the piston may create a corresponding relative clockwise force and / or rotation of the crankshaft.

[0138] As described above, the controller can receive input from an encoder, which can identify the relative orientation of the engine's crankshafts. Additionally, in some cases, based on the relative radial orientations of the crankshafts, the controller can determine or correlate the positions of the pistons within the cylinders (e.g., where each of the pistons is positioned relative to TDC). In some embodiments, the controller can start the engine without producing an initial rotation of the crankshaft and / or movement of the pistons (e.g., without a starter). For example, the controller can determine or identify one or more cylinders having pistons positioned at ATDC, and can determine to inject air and / or fuel into such cylinders and (if appropriate) determine to provide a spark into such cylinders to ignite the air-fuel mixture (e.g., the controller can determine or identify the cylinders to provide the air-fuel mixture and to ignite such mixture to start the engine).

[0139] Moreover, for cylinders having pistons at ATDC, the controller can determine a sequence for injecting air and / or fuel and a sequence for providing a spark to ignite the air-fuel mixture (e.g., at least in part in response to a received input requesting an engine start). For example, the controller can determine to start fuel and / or air injection into cylinders having pistons at a selected and / or predetermined position or angle relative to the crankshaft (e.g., nearest and / or after such selected and / or predetermined angle). For example, the controller can determine to start fuel and air injection and / or provide a spark to ignite the air-fuel mixture in cylinders having pistons at least 10 degrees ATDC and / or nearest to 10 degrees ATDC relative to the crankshaft. The controller can also determine the amount of fuel and air to inject into such cylinders.

[0140] In some embodiments, the controller can determine or identify a cylinder for injecting air and / or fuel and igniting the air-fuel mixture, and can stop and / or reverse the rotation of the crankshaft (e.g., at least in part in response to received input indicating stopping and / or reversing the rotation of the crankshaft). As described above, the controller can receive input that can identify the location of the piston within the cylinder. For example, the controller can determine or identify a cylinder having a piston positioned at BTDC (e.g., on the piston upstroke) and can determine an amount of air and / or fuel appropriate to create combustion pressure to stop and / or reverse the rotation of the crankshaft. In other words, based on the operation of the engine and / or one or more received inputs (e.g., crankshaft RPM, load on the crankshaft, e.g., external load from a mechanism connected to the shaft, location of the piston within the cylinder when a request to stop or reverse the rotation of the crankshaft is received, etc.), the controller can determine the amount of torque required or appropriate to stop and / or reverse the rotation. Additionally, in some examples, the controller may determine the amount of air and fuel to inject into one or more cylinders to create a determined amount of torque to stop and / or reverse rotation of the crankshaft.

[0141] As noted above, the engine may be included in any number of engine-powered vehicles (e.g., automobiles, personal watercraft, aircraft, etc.). Thus, for example, an operator of such a vehicle may provide an input or request at an interface regarding a rotational reversal of the vehicle's movement. The controller may then receive the input indicating a request for a rotational reversal of the engine's crankshaft, determine amounts of air and fuel to inject into cylinders to produce such a reversal, and identify specific or appropriate cylinders for such injection of air and fuel.

[0142] In at least one embodiment, the controller performs or executes act 240 of operating one or more air injectors and / or fuel injectors based at least in part on the determined air-fuel mixture. As discussed above, fuel and / or air may be injected directly into selected and / or predetermined cylinders. In other words, the controller can determine or identify one or more cylinders for injecting air and fuel and for igniting the air-fuel mixture in such cylinders. The controller can determine the amount of air and / or fuel to inject. The controller can determine the sequence (e.g., the order of injection of air and / or fuel among the cylinders). The controller can determine a combination of the foregoing.

[0143] In some embodiments, the controller performs or executes act 250 of operating one or more fuel ignition devices (e.g., spark plugs) based at least in part on the determined spark timing (e.g., in act 230). For example, with respect to a reciprocating engine, the controller may determine the timing of providing a spark into one or more of the cylinders (e.g., based on input from an encoder (which may be related to and / or capable of identifying the orientation of the crankshaft and / or the corresponding position of the piston)). Moreover, as described above, the encoder may have any suitable resolution (e.g., ½ degree or less). Thus, in at least one embodiment, the controller may operate the fuel ignition device without any additional or intentional delay between receiving input from the encoder and operating the determined fuel ignition device (e.g., with only the delay inherent in transmitting a signal from the controller to the fuel ignition device and / or the delay inherent in the computational operation of the controller).

[0144] Also, as described above, the controller can determine to inject air and / or fuel at multiple times and / or piston positions on the piston's downward stroke. Additionally, the controller can operate the fuel injectors and air injectors to inject air and fuel into the cylinder at such determined times and locations and in determined amounts. In at least one embodiment, the controller can operate a fuel ignition device at multiple selected and / or predetermined times and / or locations of the piston within the cylinder, which can be related to or correspond to the times of operation of the air and fuel injector controllers.

[0145] It should be appreciated that acts 210-250 described above may be performed by the controller in any suitable order. Moreover, in some embodiments, one or more of the acts may be omitted and / or substituted. For example, the engine may be capable of operating on any number of suitable fuels (e.g., diesel, hydrogen, propane, etc.), and under some operating conditions, the controller may operate or control the engine without a spark (e.g., an engine operating on diesel fuel). As such, in some examples, acts 230 and / or 250 may be omitted.

[0146] In some embodiments, to determine the amount of air and fuel to inject into the cylinder, the controller may be configured or programmed to determine an air-fuel ratio (AFR) and an appropriate volume for the cylinder. For example, as described herein, the controller may be configured or programmed to determine a combustion volume. The controller may direct one or more air injectors to inject air (or other suitable oxidizer) into the cylinder to create a determined combustion volume therein. Additionally, the controller may be configured or programmed to determine an appropriate amount of fuel to inject into the cylinder and direct the fuel injectors to inject the determined amount of fuel (e.g., to create a suitable AFR in the cylinder). In at least one embodiment, the controller may be configured or programmed to determine the amount of air and fuel to inject by determining an appropriate combustion volume and an appropriate AFR for one or more operating conditions (e.g., needed or desired power output).

[0147] Additionally or alternatively, the controller may be configured or programmed to determine the combustion volume independently of the AFR. For example, the controller may be configured or programmed to determine an appropriate AFR for one or more selected combustion volumes and operating conditions of the engine. For example, the controller and / or a user may select a combustion volume for the engine (e.g., a user may select the engine to operate at a particular combustion volume, such as 0.5 liters, 2.5 liters, 3.0 liters, etc.). The controller may be configured or programmed to determine an AFR for the selected combustion volume that corresponds to the engine's operating conditions (e.g., a desired or selected power output of the engine). Thus, for example, the controller may be configured or programmed to maintain or create a constant combustion volume in the cylinder while modifying the AFR. It should be recognized that the selected combustion volume for the cylinder may be greater than the actual or nominal volume of the cylinder or less than the volume of the cylinder (e.g., the pressure in the cylinder after air injection and when the cylinder is at bottom dead center may be below atmospheric pressure).

[0148] In additional or alternative embodiments, the controller may be configured or programmed to determine an appropriate combustion volume for a cylinder for a selected AFR. For example, the controller may be configured or programmed to hold or maintain a selected AFR while varying the combustion volume so that the engine produces an appropriate or selected power output. For example, the AFR may be selected based on smog limits or requirements (e.g., smog requirements in some jurisdictions may effectively cap the AFR), fuel economy requirements, etc., and the combustion volume may be selected to produce a selected or desired engine power output.

[0149] In some embodiments, the controller may be configured or programmed to calculate, based on a formula or algorithm, a combustion volume for a selected AFR to produce a selected or appropriate engine power output. In at least one embodiment, the controller may be configured or programmed to determine an AFR-based Hopkinson-type curve, for example, based on a selected distance from the location of detonation or ignition of the air-fuel mixture to the top of the piston and a scaled charge ratio, e.g., P=R / W 1 / 3 where P is the power output of the engine, R is the distance from the location of combustion of the air-fuel mixture to the piston, and W is the energy produced during combustion. Thus, for example, R can be generally constant (e.g., for a constant RPM of the engine), and the controller can be configured or programmed to determine the AFR by calculating W, or the amount of energy required to produce a selected or desired power output.

[0150] Additionally or alternatively, the controller may include and / or be operably coupled to a table or database that can contain appropriate values for the amount of air and fuel to inject for one or more corresponding operating conditions. For example, the table or database may correlate values for the amount of fuel and air to inject into the cylinder with respective values for a combustion volume, an AFR, and a selected power output. In other words, the table may include (1) air and fuel values for creating an appropriate combustion volume at a selected or constant AFR to produce a selected power output of the engine, and / or (2) air and fuel values for creating an appropriate AFR for any number of discrete or constant combustion volumes to produce a selected power output of the engine.

[0151] In some embodiments, the table may be generated based on empirical data or testing of various conditions and corresponding engine power output. For example, the controller may be configured or programmed to direct the air and fuel injectors to produce a constant AFR (e.g., an AFR of 14.7:1) and to vary or incrementally increase or decrease the combustion volume (e.g., by increasing fuel injection with increasing air injection to maintain the constant AFR as the combustion volume is increased). The controller may measure or receive data corresponding to measurements of engine power output to generate the table. Similarly, the controller may be configured or programmed to direct the air and fuel injectors to produce a constant combustion volume (e.g., any selected combustion volume, which may be the same as, larger than, or smaller than the cylinder volume) and to vary the AFR (e.g., by increasing fuel injection while holding air injection constant). The controller may measure or receive data corresponding to measurements of engine power output to generate the table.

[0152] In some embodiments, the power output of the engine may be measured by coupling the engine's output shaft (e.g., crankshaft) to a dynamometer. Additionally or alternatively, a pressure sensor may be suitably positioned to detect the pressure within the cylinder. FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of cylinder 15a including pressure sensor 19a. As noted above, cylinder 15a may be included in any suitable engine, which may have any number of configurations and / or any suitable number of cylinders.

[0153] In the illustrated example, the pressure sensor 19a is incorporated into or included in the spark plug 46a. In other examples, the pressure sensor may be positioned in any number of suitable locations. The pressure sensor 19a may be operably coupled to the controller 5a such that the controller 5a can receive or detect one or more signals from the pressure sensor 19a, which may be related to and / or based on the pressure in the cylinder 15a (e.g., the pressure sensor 19a may detect the pressure in the cylinder 15a and generate or modify a signal that may be received at the controller 5a).

[0154] For example, the controller 5a can continuously or intermittently monitor the pressure in the cylinder 15a. Moreover, the controller 5a can be configured or programmed to correlate the detected pressure with the power generated at the engine's output shaft. It should be recognized that the pressure in the cylinder 15a varies during the engine's cycle. Moreover, as described below, the engine can include one or more additional sensors, such as sensors capable of indicating the phase of the cycle or the position of the piston (e.g., the engine can include one or more encoders coupled to the crankshaft and connected to the controller 5a). In at least one embodiment, the controller 5a can correlate the detected pressure in the cylinder with the position of the piston and / or the phase of the combustion cycle. For example, the controller 5a can be configured or programmed to correlate the highest pressure, pressure gradient, pressure change, etc., during the power phase of the cycle or the piston's downward stroke with the engine's power output (e.g., the power generated at the engine's output shaft).

[0155] Thus, for example, the controller 5a may be configured or programmed to compare the power output value with calculated values and / or values assigned in a table for AFR, combustion volume, compression, amount of air, amount of fuel, altitude, etc. Additionally, as described above, the controller 5a may be configured or programmed to determine appropriate values for combustion volume and AFR (e.g., appropriate values for the amount of air or other suitable oxidizer and fuel to inject into the cylinder), such as those described above.

[0156] In some embodiments, the controller 5a may be configured or programmed to determine the fuel type and / or combustion characteristics of the fuel based on the pressure in the cylinder (e.g., during combustion of the fuel) as determined by the pressure sensor 19a. For example, the controller 5a may be calibrated and / or capable of generating one or more tables containing values corresponding to the AFR, combustion volume, compression ratio, and pressure in the cylinder 15a based on one or more known fuels or fuel combinations (e.g., the controller 5a may be configured or programmed to vary the amount of air and / or fuel injected to generate the tables). Additionally, the controller 5a may be configured or programmed to compare the power output of an unknown or unspecified fuel based on the corresponding amount of fuel and air injected (e.g., adjusted for elevation) and the corresponding known or expected power output.

[0157] For example, the controller 5a may be configured or programmed to generate a regression function or curve based on the following variables: amount of air, amount of fuel, altitude, power stroke pressure, etc. Moreover, the controller 5a can generate two-dimensional or three-dimensional curves or regression functions based on known values of the variables. Moreover, based on the generated curves and / or regression functions, the controller 5a can determine one or more unknown variables (e.g., determine the fuel type or combustion characteristics of the fuel). For example, the controller 5a can match two similar curves (one generated by a known fuel and another generated by an unidentified fuel) to thereby identify the unidentified fuel.

[0158] Thus, for example, controller 5a may be configured or programmed to determine the type and / or combustion characteristics of the fuel based on a pressure reading in cylinder 15a (e.g., as received from pressure sensor 19a), the amount of air and fuel injected into cylinder 15a, the altitude (or an estimated or determined amount or concentration of oxygen in the injected air), and the compression ratio. As described above, controller 5a may be configured or programmed to determine the amount of air and fuel to inject into the cylinder based at least in part on the type of fuel and / or the combustion characteristics of the fuel.

[0159] It should be recognized that air at different geographic locations and / or altitudes may contain different amounts of oxygen. In certain embodiments, an oxygen sensor may detect the amount of oxygen in the air and adjust the AFR and / or the amount of air injected into the cylinder. In some embodiments, one or more pressure and / or temperature sensors may be appropriately positioned to determine the atmospheric pressure and temperature outside the engine. Based on the atmospheric pressure and temperature, the controller 5a may be configured or programmed to determine the amount or concentration of oxygen in the air injected into the cylinder 15a and may adjust the amount of air and / or fuel based on the amount of oxygen injected and the compression pressure.

[0160] In some embodiments, controller 5a may be operably coupled to one or more oxygen sensors and / or air quality intake sensors. For example, as described above, one or more sensors may be operably connected to or included within the intake manifold. In some embodiments, the air quality sensor may be positioned at least partially inside the intake manifold or in fluid communication with the air therein. Specifically, the air quality sensor may determine the oxygen concentration in the air being injected into cylinder 15a, the contaminants being injected into the cylinder, etc.

[0161] Additionally, controller 5a may be configured or programmed to determine the amount of air and fuel to inject into cylinder 15a based at least in part on the pressure detected by pressure sensor 19a in cylinder 15a. For example, controller 5a may be configured or programmed to instruct air injectors and / or fuel injectors to increase or decrease the amount of air and / or fuel injected to achieve an appropriate or desired pressure in cylinder 15a. In some embodiments, the power output may be selected at least in part by a user (e.g., by user demand (e.g., for an engine included in a vehicle (where accelerator position can correspond to user demand selection))). Thus, for example, controller 5a may be configured or programmed to modify the amount of air and / or fuel injected into cylinder 15a to create an appropriate combustion pressure corresponding to a request for a selected power output received by controller 5a (e.g., from a user).

[0162] Moreover, as described above, when controller 5a determines the appropriate amount of air and / or fuel to inject into cylinder 15a (e.g., to instruct air and fuel injectors), controller 5a may determine the amount of air and fuel based on a constant combustion volume or AFR, or based on a variable combustion volume and AFR (as described above) to produce a selected power output or combustion pressure in cylinder 15a. Thus, for example, controller 5a may instruct air and fuel injectors to incrementally change (e.g., increase or decrease by a selected incremental amount) the amount of air and / or fuel injected into cylinder 15a to produce the appropriate or selected power output or combustion pressure.

[0163] As described above, the controller 5a may be configured or programmed to operate or direct the operation of the air injector and / or the fuel injector. In some embodiments, the controller 5a operates or directs the operation of the air injector and / or the fuel injector to remain open for a selected duration so that a selected or determined amount of air and / or fuel is injected into the cylinder 15a. For example, the controller 5a may receive one or more signals from one or more pressure sensors in fluid communication with the intake manifold and direct the opening of the air injector for a selected duration (e.g., based on the pressure of air being injected through the air injector, the controller 5a may determine the duration for keeping the injector open and allowing air to be injected into the cylinder). Similarly, the controller 5a may receive one or more signals corresponding to the pressure of fuel being injected through the fuel injector. Based on the fuel pressure, the controller 5a may determine the duration for injecting a selected amount of fuel.

[0164] That is, the controller 5a can instruct the fuel injector and / or air injector to open for a selected amount of time to inject a selected amount of fuel and / or air into the cylinder. Additionally or alternatively, the controller 5a can determine an appropriate pressure for the fuel and / or air flowing to each fuel injector and air injector. In some embodiments, the controller 5a can instruct a change in the fuel and / or air pressure to produce the appropriate amount of air and fuel injection into the cylinder, respectively. For example, to increase the amount of air flowing into the cylinder, the controller 5a can instruct the air injector to open for an increased duration and / or instruct the compressor to increase the pressure of the air flowing to the air injector (e.g., to increase the pressure in the intake manifold). Conversely, to decrease the amount of air flowing into the cylinder, the controller 5a can instruct the air injector to open for a decreased duration and / or instruct the compressor to increase the pressure of the air flowing to the air injector (e.g., to increase the pressure in the intake manifold).

[0165] Similarly, to increase the amount of fuel flowing into a cylinder, the controller 5a can instruct the fuel injector to open for an increased duration and / or can instruct the fuel pump to increase the pressure of fuel flowing to the fuel injector (e.g., to increase the pressure in the intake manifold). Additionally, to decrease the amount of fuel flowing into a cylinder, the controller 5a can instruct the fuel injector to open for an increased duration and / or can instruct the fuel pump to decrease the pressure of fuel flowing to the fuel injector.

[0166] Thus, in general, the controller 5a can instruct the fuel pump, air compressor, air injector, and fuel injector to inject the appropriate amount of fuel and air (e.g., to create the appropriate combustion volume and AFR, as described above). Additionally, the controller 5a can create the appropriate air and fuel velocity inside the cylinder. For example, as the engine RPM increases, the controller 5a can instruct the fuel pump and / or air compressor to increase the fuel and air pressure to create the appropriate injection velocity. For example, the controller 5a can instruct or control the air and fuel injectors, compressor, and fuel pump to complete fuel and air injection when the piston is at a selected or appropriate position in the cylinder (e.g., when the piston is at or near bottom dead center, when the piston is less than halfway through its travel from bottom dead center to top dead center, etc.). Similarly, when engine RPM decreases, the controller 5a can instruct the fuel pump and / or air compressor to decrease fuel and air pressure to produce an appropriate injection rate (e.g., so that fuel injection and air injection are completed when the piston is at a selected or appropriate position in the cylinder).

[0167] In some embodiments, the controller 5a may be configured or programmed to increase or decrease the amount and / or flow rate of air and / or fuel into the cylinder 15a by operating or controlling any number of appropriate air injectors and / or fuel injectors. For example, the air injectors and / or fuel injectors may have variable-sized openings, the size of which (e.g., their cross-sectional areas) may be controlled by one or more signals from the controller 5a. In one example, the air injectors and / or fuel injectors may have orifices and tapered shafts that can seal the orifices. The controller 5a may direct movement of the tapered shaft relative to the orifices to effectively change the size of the openings through which fluid (e.g., air or gas) can flow. Thus, for example, by operating the air injectors and / or fuel injectors and changing the size of the openings therein, the controller 5a may direct the air injectors and / or fuel injectors to inject an appropriate amount of air and / or fuel at an appropriate flow rate into the cylinder 15a.

[0168] Generally, the controllers described herein may include any number of suitable computing devices (e.g., engine control units (ECUs), which may be programmed and / or operated with hardware and / or software). Moreover, the acts or steps described herein may be performed by software instructions stored on a computing device (e.g., in a memory of the computing device) and / or by hardware configured to perform such acts or steps. An example of a suitable computing device is illustrated in FIG. 13. More specifically, FIG. 13 is a block diagram of a computing device 300 according to an embodiment. The computing device 300 may be configured to perform one or more of the processes or acts described above.

[0169] For example, computing device 300 may include a computer program (e.g., software or hardware coded) that may direct or provide instructions to various components and / or elements of computing device 300 to perform the acts described above. In some embodiments, computing device may include a processor 310, memory 320, storage device 330, I / O interface 340, communication interface 350, or a combination thereof. While FIG. 13 illustrates an exemplary computing device 300, the illustrated components are not intended to be limiting. Additional or alternative components may be used in other embodiments. Moreover, in certain embodiments, computing device 300 may include fewer components than those illustrated in FIG. 13.

[0170] In some embodiments, processor 310 includes hardware for executing instructions, such as those that make up a computer program. By way of example, and not limitation, to execute instructions, processor 310 may retrieve (or fetch) instructions from internal registers, an internal cache, memory 320, or storage device 330, and may decode and execute them. In particular embodiments, processor 310 may include one or more internal caches for data, instructions, or addresses. By way of example, and not limitation, processor 310 may include one or more instruction caches, one or more data caches, and one or more translation lookaside buffers (TLBs). Instructions in an instruction cache may be copies of instructions in memory 320 or storage 330.

[0171] The computing device 300 may include memory 320 coupled to the processor 310. The memory 320 may be used to store data, metadata, programs, or combinations thereof for execution by the processor. The memory 320 may include one or more of volatile and non-volatile memory, such as random access memory (“RAM”), read-only memory (“ROM”), solid-state disk (“SSD”), flash, phase-change memory (“PCM”), or other types of data storage. The memory 320 may be internal memory or distributed memory.

[0172] Computing device 300 may include storage device 330, which may have storage for storing data and / or instructions. By way of example, and not limitation, storage device 330 may include the non-transitory storage media described above. Storage device 330 may include a hard disk drive (HDD), a floppy disk drive, flash memory, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, magnetic tape, or a universal serial bus (USB) drive, or a combination of two or more thereof. Storage device 330 may include removable or non-removable (or fixed) media, where appropriate. Storage device 330 may be internal or external to computing device 300. In some embodiments, storage device 330 is non-volatile solid-state memory. Additionally or alternatively, storage device 330 may include read-only memory (ROM). Where appropriate, the ROM may be mask-programmed ROM, programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), electrically alterable ROM (EAROM), or flash memory, or a combination of two or more of these.

[0173] Computing device 300 may also include one or more input or output ("I / O") interfaces 340 that may be provided to enable a user to provide input to, receive output from, and otherwise transfer data to and from computing device 300. For example, I / O interface 340 may be coupled to one or more sensors (e.g., pressure sensors, temperature sensors, fuel sensors, etc.) (described above) and / or to one or more input devices (e.g., a throttle, a user interface, a mouse, a keypad or keyboard, a touchscreen, a camera, an optical scanner, a network interface, a modem, other known I / O devices, or a combination thereof). A touchscreen may be activated by a stylus or a finger.

[0174] I / O interface 340 may include and / or be coupled to one or more devices for presenting output to a user, including, but not limited to, a graphics engine, a display (e.g., a display screen), one or more output drivers (e.g., a display driver), one or more audio speakers, and one or more audio drivers. In some embodiments, interface 340 may be configured to provide graphical data to a display for presentation to a user. The graphical data may be representative of one or more graphical user interfaces and / or any other graphical content as a particular implementation may provide.

[0175] Computing device 300 may further include a communications interface 350. The communications interface may include hardware, software, or both. Communications interface 350 may provide one or more interfaces for communications (e.g., packet-based communications) between the computing device and one or more other computing devices 300 or one or more networks. By way of example, and not limitation, communications interface 350 may include a network interface controller (NIC) or network adapter for communicating with an Ethernet or other wire-based network, or a wireless NIC (WNIC) or wireless adapter for communicating with a wireless network, such as Wi-Fi.

[0176] This disclosure contemplates any suitable network and any suitable communication interface 350. By way of example, and not limitation, computing device 300 may communicate with one or more portions of an ad hoc network, a personal area network (PAN), a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), or the Internet, or a combination of two or more of these. One or more portions of one or more of these networks may be wired or wireless. By way of example, computing system 300 may communicate with a wireless PAN (WPAN) (e.g., a BLUETOOTH® WPAN, etc.), a Wi-Fi network, a Wi-MAX network, a cellular network (e.g., a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM®) network, etc.), or other suitable wireless network, or a combination thereof. Computing device 300 may include any suitable communication interface 350 for any of these networks, where appropriate.

[0177] Computing device 300 may further include bus 360. Bus 360 may include hardware, software, or both that couple together components of computing device 300. By way of example, and not limitation, bus 360 may include an Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) or other graphics bus, an Expansion (EISA) bus, a Front Side Bus (FSB), a HyperTransport (HT) interconnect, an Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, an InfiniBand interconnect, a Low Pin Count (LPC) bus, a memory bus, a MicroChannel Architecture (MCA) bus, a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus, a PCI-Express (PCIe) bus, a Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) bus, a Video Electronics Standards Association Local (VLB) bus, or another suitable bus, or combination thereof.

[0178] In some embodiments, a suitable engine control unit (ECU) may be used and / or programmed to control elements and / or components of the engine and / or to perform the acts described herein. For example, an EMS-4 (available from AEM Electronics) may be programmed and / or store executable software code that can perform the acts described herein for a 4-cylinder engine. In some embodiments, the controller or computing device may be a special-purpose computer, such as a suitable ECU, although it should be appreciated that in additional or alternative embodiments, the controller or computing device may be a general-purpose computer.

[0179] While the foregoing is directed to embodiments of the present invention, other and further embodiments of the invention may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof, which scope is determined by the claims that follow.

Claims

1. The engine and a controller operably coupled to the engine; Including, The engine is one or more combustion chambers; one or more air injectors configured to inject air into a corresponding one of the one or more combustion chambers; one or more fuel injectors configured to inject fuel into a corresponding one of the one or more combustion chambers; one or more energy conversion mechanisms each including a cylinder and a piston that reciprocates up and down within the cylinder, each of the one or more energy conversion mechanisms corresponding to the one or more combustion chambers; an output shaft configured to move in response to mechanical energy generated by the one or more energy conversion mechanisms; at least one exhaust valve in communication with an exhaust port of each of the one or more combustion chambers; Including, The controller configured to determine a combustion volume and an air-fuel ratio (AFR) for each of the one or more combustion chambers based on operating conditions of the engine; determining an amount of air to be injected from the air injector into the combustion chamber and an amount of fuel to be injected from the fuel injector into the combustion chamber based on the combustion volume and the AFR of each of the one or more combustion chambers; A combustion system characterized by:

2. 10. The combustion system of claim 1, The controller further comprises: configured to actuate the one or more air injectors in communication with the at least one combustion chamber to inject at least the amount of air into the at least one combustion chamber; configured to actuate the one or more fuel injectors in communication with the at least one combustion chamber to inject at least the amount of fuel into the at least one combustion chamber. A combustion system characterized by:

3. 3. The combustion system of claim 2, the controller is configured to determine the combustion volume and the air-to-fuel ratio (AFR) for each of the one or more combustion chambers based on one or more inputs regarding the operating conditions of the engine and a database correlating the operating conditions of the engine with amounts of air and fuel injected into the one or more combustion chambers; the engine including one or more spark plugs corresponding to the one or more combustion chambers; and a pressure sensor disposed proximate to a corresponding one of the one or more spark plugs for detecting pressure within the one or more combustion chambers. A combustion system characterized by:

4. 4. The combustion system of claim 3, the one or more inputs include a throttle input received from one or more position sensors; The throttle input is related to the displacement of the throttle pedal. A combustion system characterized by:

5. 4. The combustion system of claim 3, the operating conditions include at least one of a speed of a vehicle on which the combustion system is installed, weather conditions around the vehicle, or maneuvering of the vehicle; A combustion system characterized by:

6. 3. The combustion system of claim 2, The controller configured to receive from a user a combustion volume request for the engine; determining at least the combustion volume and the air-fuel ratio (AFR) for the at least one combustion chamber of the one or more combustion chambers based on the requested combustion volume for the engine. A combustion system characterized by:

7. 10. The combustion system of claim 1, the one or more combustion chambers of the engine include a plurality of cylinders; The engine is a plurality of air lines, each of the plurality of air lines being connected to a corresponding one of the plurality of cylinders at the air injector associated with the corresponding cylinder; a plurality of fuel lines, each of the plurality of fuel lines connected to a corresponding cylinder of the plurality of cylinders at the fuel injector associated with the corresponding cylinder; Including, The controller configured to determine the amount of air to inject into each of the plurality of cylinders through the air injector of each of the plurality of cylinders; configured to determine a quantity of fuel to inject into each of the plurality of cylinders through the fuel injector of each of the plurality of cylinders; configured, for each of the plurality of cylinders, to activate the air injector in communication with the cylinder to inject the amount of air into the cylinder; configured, for each of the plurality of cylinders, to actuate the fuel injector in communication with the cylinder to inject the quantity of fuel into the cylinder. A combustion system characterized by:

8. 8. The combustion system of claim 7, The engine is an intake manifold connected to the plurality of air lines, the intake manifold configured to provide the air to the air lines; an air compressor configured to output pressurized air to the intake manifold; at least one air sensor operably coupled to the controller, the at least one air sensor configured to detect an air pressure of the air between the air compressor and the intake manifold; A combustion system characterized by:

9. 9. The combustion system of claim 8, the controller receives an air pressure input from the at least one air sensor; the controller is configured to determine the amount of air and the amount of fuel to inject into the at least one combustion chamber of the one or more combustion chambers based on the air pressure input received from the at least one air sensor. A combustion system characterized by:

10. 9. The combustion system of claim 8, the at least one air sensor is configured to determine at least one of an oxidant type in the plurality of air lines or a concentration of oxygen present in the air between the air compressor and the intake manifold; the controller receives an air input from the at least one air sensor related to at least one of the type of oxidant or the concentration of oxygen present in the air in the one or more air lines; the controller is configured to determine the amount of air and the amount of fuel to inject into the at least one combustion chamber of the one or more combustion chambers based on at least one of the type of oxidant or the concentration of oxygen present in the air in the one or more air lines. A combustion system characterized by:

11. 9. The combustion system of claim 8, the engine includes an air pressure regulator configured to adjust air pressure between the air compressor and the intake manifold; The at least one air sensor a first air pressure sensor operably coupled to the controller and positioned between the air compressor and the air pressure regulator, the first air pressure sensor configured to detect an output air pressure of the air compressor; and a second air pressure sensor operably coupled to the controller and positioned between the air pressure regulator and the intake manifold, the second air pressure sensor configured to determine air pressure in the intake manifold; A combustion system characterized by:

12. 8. The combustion system of claim 7, for each cylinder of the plurality of cylinders, the air injected into the cylinder through the air injector is unobstructed between the air injector and the cylinder; A combustion system characterized by:

13. 8. The combustion system of claim 7, the controller receives one or more inputs regarding the operating conditions of the engine; at least one of the quantity of fuel or the quantity of air to inject into a first cylinder of the plurality of cylinders determined by the controller based on the one or more inputs is different from at least one of the quantity of fuel or the quantity of air to inject into a second cylinder of the plurality of cylinders determined by the controller; A combustion system characterized by:

14. 10. The combustion system of claim 1, The controller configured to accept from a user a selection of an AFR for the engine; configured to determine the combustion volume of the one or more combustion chambers based on the selection of the AFR and a selected engine power output; each of the one or more air injectors and each of the one or more fuel injectors are configured to generate a constant AFR in the one or more combustion chambers during operation of the engine; A combustion system characterized by:

15. 1. A method for controlling combustion in a combustion engine, the method comprising: a controller operably coupled to the combustion engine determining a combustion volume and an air-fuel ratio (AFR) for each of one or more combustion chambers based on at least one operating condition; determining, by the controller, at least a quantity of air to inject into at least some of the one or more combustion chambers in the combustion engine through at least one air injector based at least in part on the combustion volume and the AFR of each of the one or more combustion chambers and the determined fuel type; determining, by the controller, at least a quantity of fuel to inject into at least some of the one or more combustion chambers in the combustion engine through at least one fuel injector based at least in part on the combustion volume and the AFR of each of the one or more combustion chambers and the determined fuel type; activating, by the controller, the at least one air injector of at least some of the one or more combustion chambers to inject at least the amount of air; actuating, by the controller, the at least one fuel injector to inject at least the amount of fuel determined for at least some of the one or more combustion chambers; Including, A method characterized by:

16. 16. The method of claim 15, Determining the combustion volume and the air-fuel ratio (AFR) for each of the one or more combustion chambers comprises: determining the combustion volume and the air-to-fuel ratio (AFR) for each of one or more combustion chambers in the combustion engine based on the operating conditions and a database correlating the operating conditions of the combustion engine with amounts of air and fuel injected into the one or more combustion chambers; A method characterized by:

17. 17. The method of claim 16, further comprising: receiving one or more inputs related to the operating conditions, the inputs including a throttle input from a throttle position sensor related to a displacement of a throttle pedal; A method characterized by:

18. 17. The method of claim 16, further comprising: receiving a combustion volume request from a user for the combustion engine; determining the combustion volume and the air-fuel ratio (AFR) for the one or more combustion chambers includes determining at least the combustion volume and the air-fuel ratio (AFR) for one or more combustion chambers in the combustion engine based at least in part on the requested combustion volume for the combustion engine; A method characterized by:

19. 17. The method of claim 16, further comprising: accepting a selection of an AFR for the combustion engine from a user; determining the combustion volume of the one or more combustion chambers based on the selection of the AFR and a selected engine power output; causing each of the one or more air injectors and each of the one or more fuel injectors to produce a constant AFR in the one or more combustion chambers during operation of the combustion engine; Including, A method characterized by:

20. 17. The method of claim 16, further comprising: receiving one or more inputs related to the operating conditions of the combustion engine, the inputs including at least one of a speed of a vehicle on which the combustion engine is installed, weather conditions around the vehicle, or a maneuver of the vehicle; A method characterized by:

21. 17. The method of claim 16, further comprising: determining, by at least one air sensor operably coupled to the controller, an air pressure of air between an intake manifold connected to one or more air lines and an air compressor, the one or more air lines being connected to corresponding ones of the one or more combustion chambers through the at least one air injector; receiving one or more inputs regarding the operating conditions, including the air pressure of the air between the intake manifold and the air compressor; Including, A method characterized by:

22. 17. The method of claim 16, further comprising: detecting, with an air sensor, at least one of an oxidizer type or a concentration of oxygen present in the air between an air compressor and an intake manifold, the intake manifold providing the air through one or more air lines to the at least one air injector of each of the one or more combustion chambers; receiving one or more inputs regarding the operating conditions of the combustion engine, including at least one of the type of oxidant or the concentration of oxygen present in the air between the air compressor and the intake manifold; Including, A method characterized by:

23. 17. The method of claim 16, further comprising: determining, by one or more fuel sensors operably coupled to the controller, a type of fuel to be injected into the one or more combustion chambers; receiving one or more inputs regarding the operating conditions of the combustion engine, including the type of fuel to be injected into the one or more combustion chambers; Including, A method characterized by:

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