Engine Waste Heat Controller for Fuel Economy
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems for controlling engine waste heat quantity in internal combustion engines often lead to increased fuel consumption and deteriorated fuel economy, as they do not account for engine driving conditions, and determining optimal electric power allocation across multiple sources is computationally complex and inefficient.
Innovation Solution
A waste heat controller that computes a fuel-increase-rate based on heat-utilize requirements and compares it to a reference rate to determine if waste heat should be increased, while an electric-power-source controller allocates power across multiple sources to minimize fuel consumption by optimizing the fuel consumption per unit of electric power supplied.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If ignition timing and valve timings are controlled to increase engine waste heat quantity without considering engine driving condition, then waste heat quantity is increased, but fuel consumption excessively increases and fuel economy deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the waste heat generation control adaptive to changing engine driving conditions. The controller dynamically adjusts ignition timing and valve timings based on real-time detection of engine speed, load, and temperature, transforming a static control approach into a dynamic one that responds to operational variations, thereby preventing excessive fuel consumption while maintaining necessary waste heat generation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements parameter changes by modifying ignition timing and valve timings as control variables based on detected engine conditions. The controller changes these parameters adaptively - adjusting ignition advance angle and valve opening/closing timings according to engine speed, load, and temperature - to optimize the balance between waste heat generation and fuel consumption across different operating scenarios.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple electric-power sources are used to supply electric power, then power supply flexibility is improved, but computation load exponentially increases when determining optimal allocation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the electric power supply system into distinct power sources (engine-driven generator, motor generator, battery) with individually controllable output. Each power source is managed separately with its own control algorithm, allowing the system to allocate power demands to specific sources based on current conditions without requiring complex simultaneous optimization of all sources, thus reducing computational load while maintaining flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements self-service through autonomous control algorithms that automatically determine optimal power allocation among multiple sources based on real-time system state detection. The controller independently manages each power source's contribution without requiring external intervention or complex centralized computation, enabling the system to self-optimize power distribution while reducing computational burden through efficient decision-making logic.
Data Source
AI summary
A waste heat controller controls waste heat quantity of an engine according to a required heat quantity along with a heat-utilize requirement. When the heat-utilize requirement is generated, a fuel-increase-rate indicating a fuel increase quantity is computed. A reference fuel-increase-rate is established to be compared with the fuel-increase-rate. Based on this comparison result, it is determined whether the waste heat increase control will be executed.