Methods and systems for high pressure port fuel injection

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016169145-A1
Application number	US-201414570802-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Dec 15, 2014
Priority date	Dec 15, 2014
Publication date	Jun 16, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

Systems and methods for improving fuel injection of an engine that includes a cylinder receiving fuel from two different fuel injectors is disclosed. In one example, fuel is supplied to port fuel injectors and direct fuel injectors via a same high pressure fuel pump, and high pressure port fuel injection is activated at times where direct fuel injection would supply less fuel than is desired or an inconsistent amount of fuel.

First claim

1 . A method for fueling a cylinder, comprising:
activating a port fuel injector in response to a request to inject a fuel amount into a cylinder during a cylinder cycle while engine speed is greater than a threshold engine speed at which a direct fuel injector may supply the fuel amount during a predetermined crankshaft interval.

2 . The method of claim 1 , where the crankshaft interval is from intake valve opening of the cylinder to time of ignition in the cylinder.

3 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising pumping fuel via a low pressure fuel pump to a high pressure fuel pump, and supplying fuel pressurized by the high pressure fuel pump to the port fuel injector and the direct fuel injector.

4 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising deactivating the port fuel injector after activating the port fuel injector in response to a request to inject a fuel amount into the cylinder during the cylinder cycle that is less than the threshold amount while engine speed is greater than the threshold engine speed at which the direct fuel injector may supply the fuel amount during the predetermined crankshaft interval.

5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising injecting fuel via the port fuel injector during the cylinder cycle.

6 . The method of claim 5 , where the fuel amount is provided by the port fuel injector and the direct fuel injector.

7 . The method of claim 6 , where the port fuel injector injects while an intake valve of the cylinder is open.

8 . A method for fueling a cylinder, comprising:
activating a port fuel injector in response to a request to inject a fuel amount into a cylinder during a cylinder cycle that would cause a direct fuel injector to operate in a ballistic operating region.

9 . The method of claim 8 , further comprising pumping fuel via a low pressure fuel pump to a high pressure fuel pump, and supplying fuel pressurized by the high pressure fuel pump to the port fuel injector and the direct fuel injector.

10 . The method of claim 9 , where fuel supplied to the port fuel injectors is a higher pressure than a pressure at an outlet of the low pressure fuel pump.

11 . The method of claim 8 , where the port fuel injector supplies fuel to the cylinder during intake valve opening of the cylinder.

12 . The method of claim 8 , where the ballistic operating region is a non-linear fuel flow region, and where the non-linear fuel flow region is activated via supplying a voltage pulse to the direct fuel injector that is less than a threshold time.

13 . The method of claim 8 , where the fuel amount is requested when an engine in which the cylinder operates is at idle.

14 . The method of claim 8 , further comprising deactivating the direct fuel injector in response to the request to inject the fuel amount into the cylinder, and where the fuel amount is based on engine idle conditions.

15 . A system, comprising:
an engine including a cylinder; a port fuel injector in fluidic communication with the cylinder; a direct fuel injector in fluidic communication with the cylinder; a high pressure pump supplying fuel to the port fuel injector and the direct fuel injector; a low pressure pump supplying fuel to the high pressure pump; and a controller including executable instructions stored in non-transitory memory for commanding the high pressure pump based on an amount of fuel injected via the port fuel injector in a first mode, and instructions for commanding the high pressure pump based on an amount of fuel injected via the direct fuel injector in a second mode.

16 . The system of claim 15 , further comprising additional instructions for activating the port fuel injector in response to a request to inject a fuel amount into the cylinder during a cylinder cycle that would cause the direct fuel injector to operate in a ballistic operating region.

17 . The system of claim 15 , further comprising additional instructions for activating the port fuel injector in response to a request to inject a fuel amount into the cylinder during a cylinder cycle that is greater than a threshold amount while engine speed is greater than a threshold engine speed at which the direct fuel injector may supply the fuel amount during a predetermined crankshaft interval.

18 . The system of claim 17 , where the crankshaft interval is from intake valve opening of the cylinder to time of ignition in the cylinder.

19 . The system of claim 15 , where the first mode is a mode where only the port fuel injector supplies fuel to the cylinder.

20 . The system of claim 15 , where the second mode is a mode where only the direct fuel injector supplies fuel to the cylinder.

Assignees

• Ford Global Tech Llc

Inventors

• Surnilla Gopichandra
• Meinhart Mark
• Basmaji Joseph F
• Pursifull Ross Dykstra

Classifications

• F02D41/345

  Controlling injection timing (F02D41/365 takes precedence) · CPC title

• F02D2200/0602

  Fuel pressure · CPC title

• F02D41/3845 Primary

  by controlling the flow into the common rail, e.g. the amount of fuel pumped · CPC title

• F02D2041/3881

  with multiple common rails, e.g. one rail per cylinder bank, or a high pressure rail and a low pressure rail · CPC title

• F02D2200/101

  Engine speed · CPC title