Patent Application
20170306878
The present disclosure relates to internal combustion engines and more particularly to an engine with direct injection and port fuel injection adjustment based upon engine oil parameters.
This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
Internal combustion engines are often provided with fuel injectors that inject fuel directly into the combustion cylinders. The fuel injectors are supplied with fuel by a direct injection high pressure pump which can be driven by a cam mechanism. The cam mechanism can experience high stress/load at the cam-follower interface. At high engine speeds and high engine oil temperatures, a lubricating oil film thickness on the cam follower interface and on the cam bearings can be reduced which leads to premature wear.
Accordingly, it is desirable to prolong the direct injection high pressure fuel pump life by reducing the cam stress/load at the cam-follower interface. The present disclosure provides an internal combustion engine, including an engine structure defining a cylinder having an intake port and an exhaust port. A piston is disposed in the cylinder and is drivingly connected to a crankshaft. A direct injection system injects fuel directly into the cylinder. A port fuel injection system injects fuel into the intake port. An oil temperature sensor and an engine speed sensor are in communication with a controller that controls the direct injection system and the port fuel injection system based on measured oil temperature and engine speed. In particular, the controller employs a control algorithm that alters the direct injection and port fuel injection split based on the measured oil temperature and engine speed. The maximum direct injection pressure reduction is limited by a maximum allowable port fuel injection duty cycle as determined by the controller.
Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. The description and specific examples in this summary are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only of selected embodiments and not all possible implementations, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
Corresponding reference numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.
Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Example embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough, and will fully convey the scope to those who are skilled in the art. Numerous specific details are set forth such as examples of specific components, devices, and methods, to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that specific details need not be employed, that example embodiments may be embodied in many different forms and that neither should be construed to limit the scope of the disclosure. In some example embodiments, well-known processes, well-known device structures, and well-known technologies are not described in detail.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “including,” and “having,” are inclusive and therefore specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. The method steps, processes, and operations described herein are not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance in the particular order discussed or illustrated, unless specifically identified as an order of performance. It is also to be understood that additional or alternative steps may be employed.
When an element or layer is referred to as being “on,” “engaged to,” “connected to,” or “coupled to” another element or layer, it may be directly on, engaged, connected or coupled to the other element or layer, or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on,” “directly engaged to,” “directly connected to,” or “directly coupled to” another element or layer, there may be no intervening elements or layers present. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion (e.g., “between” versus “directly between,” “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent,” etc.). As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
Although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms may be only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another region, layer or section. Terms such as “first,” “second,” and other numerical terms when used herein do not imply a sequence or order unless clearly indicated by the context. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer or section discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachings of the example embodiments.
Spatially relative terms, such as “inner,” “outer,” “beneath,” “below,” “lower,” “above,” “upper,” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. Spatially relative terms may be intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elements or features would then be oriented “above” the other elements or features. Thus, the example term “below” can encompass both an orientation of above and below. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.
With reference to
With reference to
Internal combustion engine 10 includes a controller 50 that controls operation of the actuator 30 of the direct injection fuel injector 26 and the actuator 34 of the port fuel injection injector 28. The internal combustion engine 10 also includes an engine speed sensor 52 and an oil temperature sensor 54 to provide signals to the controller 50. As the engine speed and/or oil temperature rise to predetermined threshold levels, the load on the direct injection fuel pump 32 is decreased by the controller 50 which increases the amount of fuel introduced by the port fuel injector 28 in order to offset the reduced fuel injection by the director fuel injector 26.
In operation, the controller 50 receives inputs relating to oil parameters that can affect the oil viscosity. According to one preferred example, the controller receives the engine oil temperature and engine speed from the oil temperature sensor 54 and the engine speed sensor 52. According to an alternative embodiment, the sensor 54 can be another device that senses oil parameters that can be used to infer oil quality such as an oil viscosity sensor. As shown in
The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure. Individual elements or features of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, where applicable, are interchangeable and can be used in a selected embodiment, even if not specifically shown or described. The same may also be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the disclosure, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the disclosure.
