Internal Combustion Engine Gear Shift Sound Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Turbocharged engines and EURO6d emission standards compromise the sound quality of exhaust systems in high-performance sports cars, making it difficult to achieve a 'racing' sound during gear shifts without harming the engine.
Innovation Solution
A control method for internal combustion engines that temporarily reduces torque by adjusting spark advance and fuel injection during gear shifts, creating a high-intensity, impulsive noise through strategic spark timing and fuel combustion conditions, while avoiding mechanical and thermal stress.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If turbocharged engine configuration is used to improve engine performance, then power output is improved, but exhaust sound quality deteriorates due to turbine and compressor filtering
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies periodic action by temporarily modifying combustion parameters (spark advance, fuel injection) specifically during gear shift events to generate impulsive exhaust noise, while maintaining normal combustion parameters during other operations. This periodic intervention creates the desired racing sound character only when needed without continuously compromising engine performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes combustion parameters (spark advance angle, fuel injection quantity) during gear shifts to optimize exhaust sound generation. By advancing spark timing and adjusting fuel injection, the combustion process produces higher pressure waves that propagate through the exhaust system, overcoming the filtering effect of the turbine and particulate filter to generate desirable racing sound.
2Power
If spark advance is increased and fuel injection is cut to reduce torque during gear shift, then torque is reduced, but engine sound performance improves
Solution Approach 1:
The control method applies periodic action by implementing specific combustion parameter modifications (spark advance increase, fuel injection cut) only during the brief gear shift event. This temporary intervention creates impulsive exhaust noise characteristic of racing cars, while maintaining normal torque production during other driving conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes combustion parameters dynamically during gear shifts: increasing spark advance angle to advance ignition timing and cutting fuel injection to create lean burn conditions. These parameter changes transform the combustion process to generate pressure waves that produce desirable exhaust sound while managing torque reduction during the gear shift transient.
3Object-generated harmful factors
If aggressive spark timing and fuel cut are applied during gear shift to generate racing sound, then exhaust sound quality improves, but risk of excessive mechanical and thermal stress increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial action by implementing aggressive combustion parameter modifications (extreme spark advance, complete fuel cut) only for the brief duration of gear shift events rather than continuously. This limited application generates the desired racing sound impulse without subjecting the engine to prolonged excessive stress, as the aggressive parameters are reverted immediately after the gear shift completes.
Solution Approach 2:
The control strategy applies periodic intervention by temporarily implementing aggressive combustion parameters only during gear shift transients. The periodic nature of gear shifts means the excessive stress conditions are applied intermittently rather than continuously, allowing the engine to return to normal operating conditions between events, thereby managing cumulative thermal and mechanical stress.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The method generates a highly appreciated 'racing' sound during gear shifts without compromising engine performance or causing excessive mechanical and thermal stress, achieving an intense and impulsive noise characteristic of high-performance cars.
Implementation Method 1
each cylinder (18) is provided with a spark plug (25) and with a fuel injector (26)
Implementation Method 2
each cylinder (18) is provided with a spark plug (25) and with a fuel injector (26)
Implementation Method 3
a piston (24), which moves, in a reciprocal manner, inside the corresponding cylinder (18)
Data Source
AI summary
A method to control a road vehicle provided with an internal combustion engine having a plurality of cylinders and with a servo-assisted transmission. The control method comprises the steps of: establishing a minimum spark advance which should not be exceeded in order to avoid the risk of knocking or spontaneous ignitions of the mixture; temporarily reducing, during a gear shift in the servo-assisted transmission, a torque generated by the internal combustion engine by setting an actual spark advance, which is smaller than the minimum spark advance, for one single thermodynamic cycle of each cylinder; and cancelling the injection of fuel into each cylinder in the thermodynamic cycle immediately following the thermodynamic cycle carried out with an actual spark advance smaller than the minimum spark advance.