System and method for controlling an engine to remove soot deposits from the fuel injectors of the engine

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9797358-B2
Application number	US-201514958013-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 3, 2015
Priority date	Dec 3, 2015
Publication date	Oct 24, 2017
Grant date	Oct 24, 2017

Abstract

A system according to the principles of the present disclosure includes a fuel injector cleaning module and a fuel control module. The fuel injector cleaning module generates an instruction to clean a fuel injector of an engine based on engine operating conditions. The fuel control module, in response to the injector clean instruction, controls the fuel injector to perform N fuel injections for each combustion event in a cylinder of the engine and, during each of the N fuel injections, deactivates the fuel injector before the fuel injector fully opens. N is an integer greater than one.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system comprising:
a fuel injector cleaning module that generates an instruction to clean a fuel injector of an engine based on engine operating conditions; and
a fuel control module that, in response to the injector clean instruction, controls the fuel injector to perform N fuel injections for each combustion event in a cylinder of the engine and, during each of the N fuel injections, deactivates the fuel injector before the fuel injector fully opens, wherein N is an integer greater than one.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein, during each of the N fuel injections, the fuel control module activates the fuel injector for a period between 0.5 milliseconds and 0.8 milliseconds.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein, between each of the N fuel injections, the fuel control module deactivates the fuel injector for a period between 0.2 milliseconds and 1.2 milliseconds.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the fuel control module increases a pressure of fuel supplied to the fuel injector in response to the injector clean instruction.

5. The system of claim 4 wherein the fuel control module increases the fuel pressure to a predetermined pressure corresponding to maximum capacity of a fuel pump that supplies fuel to the fuel injector.

6. The system of claim 1 further comprising a spark control module that advances spark timing in response to the injector clean instruction.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein the spark control module advances the spark timing by controlling a spark plug to generate spark in the cylinder of the engine at a crank angle of 7 to 12 degrees after the fuel injector starts performing the N fuel injections.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the fuel injector cleaning module generates the injector clean instruction when a vehicle propelled by the engine is at least one of decelerating and coasting.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein the fuel injector cleaning module generates the injector clean instruction at predetermined operating intervals of the engine.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein the fuel injector cleaning module generates the injector clean instruction when a rate of fuel flow through the fuel injector decreases by at least a predetermined amount.

11. The system of claim 1 wherein the fuel injector cleaning module generates the injector clean instruction when at least one of:
a transmission is decoupled from the engine; and
the transmission is shifting gears.

12. The system of claim 1 wherein the fuel control module continues to control the fuel injector to perform the N fuel injections for each combustion event in the cylinder for a predetermined period.

13. A method comprising:
generating an instruction to clean a fuel injector of an engine based on engine operating conditions; and
in response to the injector clean instruction, controlling the fuel injector to perform N fuel injections for each combustion event in a cylinder of the engine and, during each of the N fuel injections, deactivates the fuel injector before the fuel injector fully opens, wherein N is an integer greater than one.

14. The method of claim 13 further comprising, during each of the N fuel injections, activating the fuel injector for a period between 0.5 milliseconds and 0.8 milliseconds.

15. The method of claim 13 further comprising, between each of the N fuel injections, deactivating the fuel injector for a period between 0.2 milliseconds and 1.2 milliseconds.

16. The method of claim 13 further comprising increasing a pressure of fuel supplied to the fuel injector in response to the injector clean instruction.

17. The method of claim 16 further comprising increasing the fuel pressure to a predetermined pressure corresponding to maximum capacity of a fuel pump that supplies fuel to the fuel injector.

18. The method of claim 13 further comprising advancing spark timing in response to the injector clean instruction.

19. The method of claim 18 further comprising advancing the spark timing by controlling a spark plug to generate spark in the cylinder of the engine at a crank angle of 7 to 12 degrees after the fuel injector starts performing the N fuel injections.

20. The method of claim 13 further comprising generating the injector clean instruction when a vehicle propelled by the engine is at least one of decelerating and coasting.

21. The method of claim 13 further comprising generating the injector clean instruction at predetermined operating intervals of the engine.

22. The method of claim 13 further comprising generating the injector clean instruction when a rate of fuel flow through the fuel injector decreases by at least a predetermined amount.

23. The method of claim 13 further comprising generating the injector clean instruction when at least one of:
a transmission is decoupled from the engine; and
the transmission is shifting gears.

24. The method of claim 13 further comprising continuing to control the fuel injector to perform the N fuel injections for each combustion event in the cylinder for a predetermined period.

Assignees

• Gm Global Tech Operations Llc

Inventors

• Li Sharon Xiaobin
• Levy Robert S

Classifications

• F02M61/16

  Details not provided for in, or of interest apart from, the apparatus of groups F02M61/02 - F02M61/14 · CPC title

• F02D2250/38

  Control for minimising smoke emissions, e.g. by applying smoke limitations on the fuel injection amount · CPC title

• F02D37/02

  one of the functions being ignition · CPC title

• F02D41/38 Primary

  of the high pressure type · CPC title

• F02D41/402

  Multiple injections · CPC title