Did You Know...
...that to encourage use of his new invention, the shopping cart, market owner Sylvan Goldman hired fake shoppers to push the carts around his store in Oklahoma City? Seems his customers were reluctant to give up their hand-carried baskets.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 8096282 | Method for reducing misfire in an internal combustion engine The present invention is a method for reducing misfire in a cylinder of an internal combustion engine. The method includes detecting a misfire event frequency that is equal to or greater than a first predetermined value, determining a pulse-width signal for a fuel i... | 01/17/2012 |
| 7946272 | Method for determining the composition of a fuel blend A method for determining composition of a fuel blend from a first and at least a second fuel for operating an internal combustion engine. An ignition angle of the internal combustion engine is altered and a non-intermittent fluctuation in torque, which is a function... | 05/24/2011 |
| 7703437 | Electronic control device for controlling the internal combustion engine in a motor vehicle An electronic control device according to the invention is disclosed for controlling the internal combustion engine in a motor vehicle, for fault recognition with an irregular running determination unit and with an injection quantity correction unit, a defined group... | 04/27/2010 |
| 7690352 | System and method of selecting data content of ionization signal A system and method for selecting the data content of an ionization feedback signal is disclosed. An ignition system monitors both the ionization signal and ignition coil dwell data. The ignition system outputs either the ionization signal or the ignition coil dwell... | 04/06/2010 |
| 7607345 | Misfire detection apparatus for internal combustion engine In an internal combustion engine including a flywheel damper, an operation range in which misfire detection is affected by the flywheel damper is set in advance. Whether or not an operation state of the internal combustion engine is within an operation range affecte... | 10/27/2009 |
| 7348782 | Ignition device and spark condition detection method When a spark discharge is produced, a first current flows in one direction. From a rise of an ignition signal to energize an ignition coil to a fall of the ignition signal to deenergize the ignition coil, in order that a second current flowing in the opposite direct... | 03/25/2008 |
| 7328100 | Coil failure detection system for general-purpose engine In a failure detection system of coils that produce outputs in response to rotation of a crankshaft of a general-purpose engine (including a power coil that produces an output indicative of the engine speed), the outputs produced by the coils are inputted to determi... | 02/05/2008 |
| 7318411 | Adaptive ignition dwell based on ionization feedback A system for determining a minimum ignition coil charge duration of an internal combustion engine to meet a desired level of combustion stability includes a sensor in communication with a controller. The sensor is configured to measure the ionization current of a cy... | 01/15/2008 |
| 7293554 | Ignition coil driver device with slew-rate limited dwell turn-on A device to control the charging rate of an ignition coil for an internal combustion spark ignition engine. The device controls the turn-on rate of the primary coil by slew-rate limiting using switching devices and a Miller-effect capacitor in order to reduce second... | 11/13/2007 |
| 7290442 | Method and system of estimating MBT timing using in-cylinder ionization signal A robust multi-criteria minimum timing for the best torque (MBT) timing estimation method and apparatus utilizes different ionization signal waveforms that are generated under different engine operating conditions. The MBT timing criteria is calculated based upon bo... | 11/06/2007 |
| 7251571 | Methods of diagnosing open-secondary winding of an ignition coil using the ionization current signal In a first embodiment, the present invention is a method of detecting an open secondary winding, including the steps of enabling an integrator, resetting the integrator, detecting an ionization current, integrating the ionization current over a spark window, compari... | 07/31/2007 |
| 7242195 | Integral spark detector in fitting which supports igniter in gas turbine engine A system for detecting spark in an igniter for a gas turbine engine. An igniter generates a plasma, or spark, somewhat similar to an automotive spark plug. In the invention, an inductive pick-up is positioned adjacent the igniter, to detect current pulses in the ign... | 07/10/2007 |
| 7234446 | Misfire detector for multi-cylinder engine A misfire detector prevents catalysts from being heated to damaging high temperatures. The misfire detector for a multi-cylinder engine includes a fuel cut control to stop supplying fuel to misfiring cylinders, a control to prevent a fuel feed back control and a fue... | 06/26/2007 |
| 7213573 | System and method of controlling engine dilution rate using combustion stability measurer derived from the ionization signal This feature of the present invention comprises a system and method of controlling exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) based on a measure combustion stability measure. The combustion stability measure is obtained by determining the integration duration of the engine ion... | 05/08/2007 |
| 7198038 | Learned EGR valve position control An exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) valve positioning system according to the present invention includes an actuate valve module, an EGR valve position module, and an adjust control variables module. The actuate valve module selectively uses learned and default varia... | 04/03/2007 |
| 7188023 | Misfire detection system for displacement on demand (DOD) engine A cylinder misfire control system for a displacement on demand (DOD) engine that is operable in an activated mode and a deactivated mode includes a sensor that is responsive to rotation of a crankshaft of the engine and a first module that calculates a time derivati... | 03/06/2007 |
| 7165399 | Method and system for using a measure of fueling rate in the air side control of an engine Methods and Systems for using a measure of fueling rate in the air side control of an engine. By using a measure of the fueling rate, the air side control may, for example, anticipate the future air side needs of the engine, and adjust one or more air side parameter... | 01/23/2007 |
| 7134423 | Ignition diagnosis and combustion feedback control system using an ionization signal This feature of the present invention comprises an ignition diagnostics and feedback control system based upon detected ionization current in an individual cylinder. The system is divided into two subsystems: an ignition diagnostics subsystem and an ignition feedbac... | 11/14/2006 |
| 7104043 | Closed loop cold start retard spark control using ionization feedback This feature of the present invention comprises a method and apparatus to retard the spark time. As a result, the catalyst heats up quickly during the cold start. The retard spark control method of the present invention uses a closed loop to adjust the engine retard... | 09/12/2006 |
| 7096722 | Method and apparatus for detecting combustion instability in continuous combustion systems An apparatus and method to sense the onset of combustion stability is presented. An electrode is positioned in a turbine combustion chamber such that the electrode is exposed to gases in the combustion chamber. A control module applies a voltage potential to the ele... | 08/29/2006 |
| 7089922 | Apparatus, system, and method for minimizing NOin exhaust gasses An apparatus, system, and method are disclosed for minimizing NOx in exhaust gasses. The apparatus includes an ionization module configured to at least partially ionize an exhaust gas of an engine. A characterization module is configured to identify NO | 08/15/2006 |
| 7062373 | Misfire detection apparatus of internal combustion engine A misfire detection apparatus of an internal combustion engine. The misfire detection apparatus includes an angle sensor for detecting rotation angle of the internal combustion engine, an ECU for performing fuel injection and ignition control based on rotation infor... | 06/13/2006 |
| 7021287 | Closed-loop individual cylinder A/F ratio balancing The individual cylinder air to fuel ratio of an internal combustion engine varies due to the fact that the intake manifold cannot distribute airflow into the individual cylinders evenly. This feature of the present invention utilizes minimum timing for best torque M... | 04/04/2006 |
| 7015698 | Sensor for detection of spark in igniter in gas turbine engine An igniter for a gas turbine engine. An igniter generates a plasma, or spark, somewhat similar to an automotive spark plug. In the invention, an inductive pick-up is used to detect current which produces the spark, the thereby infer the presence of spark. Further, t... | 03/21/2006 |
| 6998846 | Ignition diagnosis using ionization signal The present feature of the invention is generally directed to a subsystem of an ignition diagnostics and feedback control system using ionization current feedback. It utilizes the ionization signal from an ionization detection circuit to monitor ignition parameters,... | 02/14/2006 |
| 6935317 | Fuel supply and diagnostics module A fuel supply system includes one fuel supply and diagnostic module that is used to control various fuel supply system components. The fuel supply and diagnostics module includes a fuel system control unit that operates separately from an engine control unit. The en... | 08/30/2005 |
| 6935310 | Method and apparatus for detecting abnormal combustion conditions in reciprocating engines having high exhaust gas recirculation An apparatus and method to detect abnormal combustion conditions for use as a feedback control of an EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation) controlled reciprocating engine using ionization signals is presented. The system receives a succession of ionization signals for suc... | 08/30/2005 |
| 6931836 | Method for NOx reduction of externally-ignited, explosion, internal combustion engines In a method for reducing NOx in the exhaust gas of an externally ignited, explosion-type internal combustion engine that is operated at a lean fuel/air ratio of λ>1 and has a motor control device for controlling λ, the λ value is slidingly controlled a... | 08/23/2005 |
| 6925374 | Misfire detection apparatus of internal combustion engine A misfire detection apparatus of an internal combustion engine for detecting combustion or a misfire of an air fuel mixture in the internal combustion engine based on an ion current generated at the combustion time of the air fuel mixture. The misfire detection appa... | 08/02/2005 |
| 6922628 | IC engine diagnostic system using the peak and integration ionization current signals The present invention includes an engine diagnostic method and routine, wherein a method of using an ionization signal to perform an engine diagnostic routine includes the steps of detecting the ionization signal; integrating the ionization signal over a first sampl... | 07/26/2005 |
| 6907341 | Misfire detector A misfire detector is provided that is accurate even in the case of a disturbance due to causes such as driving on a rough road. The misfire detector is equipped with a crankshaft revolution detector to measure the time period required for the crankshaft of an inter... | 06/14/2005 |
| 6874464 | System and method to detect and correct spark plug fouling in a marine engine A system and method for operating a combustion engine including a combustion chamber operable in at least a first operating mode and second operating mode. An engine control unit (ECU) performs conductivity sensing within the combustion chamber and interprets the re... | 04/05/2005 |
| 6816775 | Method for detecting misfiring in a multi-cylinder internal combustion engine A method for detecting combustion misses in a multi-cylinder internal combustion engine. The control units of the engine use an engine control program which is interrupted by interrupt routines, in phase-synchronism with the rotational movement of the crankshaft, in... | 11/09/2004 |
| 6812585 | Fuel cutoff system for engine-driven generator Methods and systems for cutting off the supply of fuel to an engine in response to engine turn-off. A fuel cutoff solenoid or functionally equivalent device is connected to a source of electrical power in response to detection of conditions representing engine turn-... | 11/02/2004 |
| 6810320 | Apparatus and method of combustion diagnosis/control in internal combustion engine An apparatus diagnoses and controls combustion of an internal combustion engine which makes smooth operation of an engine possible by adjusting the combustion condition at the occurrence of knock, misfire, and flame quenching and also makes it possible to detect the... | 10/26/2004 |
| 6801848 | Methods and apparatus for sensing misfire in an internal combustion engine Methods and apparatus are provided for sensing a misfire in an engine having at least one cylinder and for providing a misfire indication signal in response to the occurrence of the misfire. The apparatus comprises an electronic controller that calculates an expecte... | 10/05/2004 |
| 6742499 | Method and apparatus for detecting abnormal combustion conditions in lean burn reciprocating engines An apparatus and method to detect abnormal combustion conditions for use as a feedback control of a lean burn reciprocating engine using ionization signals is presented. The system receives a succession of ionization signals for successive cycles of a running engine... | 06/01/2004 |
| 6658346 | Misfire detection apparatus for internal combustion engine A misfire detection apparatus for an internal combustion engine determines misfire based on first and second variation amounts calculated based on variations of rotational speed of the internal combustion engine. A second variation amount is calculated, a... | 12/02/2003 |
| 6619260 | Method for correcting the input signal and for synchronizing the cylinders in an internal combustion engine The method serves for input signal correction of a misfire detection function and for cylinder equalization in an internal combustion engine, especially of a motor vehicle. Here, it is provided that a control for the input signal correction (10) and a con... | 09/16/2003 |
| 6615645 | System and method for generating a knock determination window for an ion current sensing system An ignition apparatus including a primary and a secondary winding for producing a spark voltage, an ion current detection circuit for producing an ion current signal, a slope detector and a knock detector. The slope detector determines when the ion curren... | 09/09/2003 |
