Multi-cylinder Engine Cylinder Assignment via Pre-calculated Delay
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing control strategies for internal combustion engines are inefficient and unpredictable during engine operating mode transitions due to real-time processing requirements and complex handling of actuation delays, leading to suboptimal combustion processes and increased production costs.
Innovation Solution
A control system where a programming delay is pre-defined based on engine speed, allowing the electronic control unit to assign new operating conditions to cylinders without real-time processing, simplifying the control strategy and ensuring deterministic behavior by always selecting the cylinder capable of actuating the new conditions within the predetermined delay.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If real-time processing is used to assign operating conditions to cylinders during mode transitions, then the engine can respond dynamically to operating variations, but the control system becomes complex and unpredictable
Solution Approach 1:
The patent pre-calculates and stores actuation delays for all possible operating conditions before engine operation. During runtime, the ECU simply retrieves the appropriate delay values from memory based on the current operating mode, eliminating complex real-time calculations and ensuring predictable, deterministic control behavior while maintaining full adaptability to operating variations.
2Loss of time
If intermediate modes are actuated during transitions to reach new operating conditions quickly, then the response time is reduced, but the combustion process quality deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-determines the optimal assignment of operating conditions to cylinders based on pre-calculated actuation delays, ensuring that the first cylinder capable of executing the new mode is selected immediately. This approach achieves fast engine response to torque variations while maintaining excellent combustion processes by avoiding intermediate modes and directly transitioning to the target operating condition.
3Adaptability or versatility
If complex real-time control strategies are implemented to manage cylinder actuation delays, then operating mode transitions can be handled, but production costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent moves all complex calculations to the pre-operational phase by pre-computing actuation delays for every possible operating condition and storing them in the ECU memory. This eliminates the need for complex real-time processing hardware and software, significantly reducing production costs while maintaining full operating mode transition capability through simple table lookup operations during engine operation.
Data Source
AI summary
Internal combustion engine with variable actuation of the valves providing electronic control means which, when the engine is subject to an operating variation request from a first operating condition to a second operating condition, are adapted to select a cylinder to which to assign said second operating condition based on a determined programming delay only as a function of the engine speed.