DESC:FIELD OF INVENTION

The invention relates to fuel injection control device of a multi-fuel engine which can efficiently and accurately regulate the fuelling during the change in alcohol concentration in fuel.

OBJECTIVE OF INVENTION:

Due to shortages of oil and awareness of stringent emission standards, the automotive industry has been under intense pressure to develop engines that can perform efficiently using alternative fuels such as ethanol.

Further the main object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for determining the percentages of two fuels in a mixture wherein each possess different properties and same to be used for selecting and listing engine parameters.

The other object of the invention is to equip motorcycle with ethanol sensor which can be mounted flexibly in the fuel line wherever mountable and so that it can minimize the length of fuel line between fuel pump to injector and further the system can detect ethanol ratio in the used fuel within 110ms and +/-5% ethanol ratio accuracy which can control fuel injection without pollutant impact. The main purpose hence is to improve the performance of motorcycles operable with flex fuel.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment claims and drawings submitted in this application.

PRIOR ART:

In automobile industry there are demands for vehicles that can perform on both gasoline and alcohol such as ethanol. However typical fuel injection control needs selective adjustable parameters, for efficient performance when running on two different fuels or mixtures thereof.

Some of the known prior art to inventors are:

IN6290/CHENP/2010 (or PCT/JP2009/052755)

There is a single patent granted in India which is to layout fuel hose longer in order to avoid sudden ethanol ratio change. In the system (the patent), the motorcycle does not equip ethanol sensor therefore the control system needs to estimate ethanol ratio based on oxygen concentration (O2 sensor input) which takes minimum 30 sec. that leads to produce high pollutant from exhaust as not optimal combustion and engine components may get damage during the period due to too lean or too rich condition if ethanol ratio which filled in tank is suddenly changed from originally used which the system recognized in previous driving cycle before filling new fuel. The system need to equip longer fuel line between fuel pump and injector in order to avoid such sudden ethanol ratio change after filling fuel so that the system can gradually adjust fuel control to minimize engine damage as well as pollutant impact.

1404/DEL/2007

A fuel injection control device (10) of a multiple-kind fuel internal combustion engine (1) which includes a starting completion detection means (Step Sc10) adapted to detect a starting state of an internal combustion engine (1), and adapted to determine a fuel injection quantity in response to a state of the internal combustion engine (1) after detecting the completion of starting by the starting completion detection means (Step SclO), wherein the control device (10) stores a plurality of reference fuel injection quantity maps corresponding to a mixed concentration of a multiple-kind fuel, characterized in that starting control of the internal combustion engine (1) is performed by the control device (10) using the reference fuel injection quantity map with the minimum reference concentration at the time of initiating the starting and, at the same time, the starting control is performed by iterative changing over to reference fuel injection quantity maps with higher reference concentrations in response to a state of starting until the starting of the internal combustion engine (1) is completed.

34/DEL/2009

The present invention provides a fuel injection control device of a multi-fuel engine which can optimize fuel injection quantity irrespective of alcohol concentration of fuel using only one basic injection map. [Means for Resolution] An E-concentration determining part l 00 determines alcohol concentration of fuel based on a measured value of an 02 sensor 15. In a basic injection map I OJ, a basic injection quantity Timap is stored. In an E-concentration coefficient table 102, an E-concentration coefficient is stored for every alcohol concentration of fuel. A basic injection quantity extracting part 104 extracts the basic injection quantity Timap corresponding to an engine rotational speed Ne and a throttle opening TH from the basic injection map 101. An E-concentration coefficient extracting part 105 extracts the E-concentration coefficient corresponding to a result of determination of the alcohol concentration and the basic injection quantity Timap from the E-concentration coefficient table 102.

6130/CHENP/2010

To provide a fuel injection control device of a multi-kind fuel engine which can properly regulate a fuel injection quantity by rapidly responding to a change of alcohol concentration of fuel. An oxygen concentration coefficient calculation part 100 calculates a learnt average value K02REF of an oxygen concentration coefficient K02 based on a measured value V02 of an 02 sensor 15. A first map changeover part 101 compares the learnt average value K02REF and a fuel injection map which is being presently referenced, and changes over a fuel injection map to a high-concentration side map or a low-concentration-side map when the present fuel injection map does not match the learnt average value K02REF. A second map changeover part I 02 compares the measured value V02 and a current fuel it1iection map, and changes over a fuel injection map when the present fuel injection map does not match the measured value V02. A changeover selection part 104 selects either one of first and second map changeover parts 101, 102 based on an engine load. The selected map changeover part executes the map changeover based on the measured value V02 or the learnt average value K02REF.

2587/CHE/2009

[Problem]

To provide a fuel injection control device for a multi-fuel engine where a catalyzer does not become damaged even when there is a difference between an alcohol concentration learning value for a fuel and actual alcohol concentration.

[Resolving Means]

At a fuel injection amount control unit 105, a reduction amount correction unit 105a reduces and corrects an amount of fuel injected by just a prescribed period when a learning value stored in a storage unit 103 is for a high concentration. A learning value reviewing unit 105b then reviews the learning value for E-concentration based on a value calculated by an 02 sensor 15 during reducing and correction of the amount of fuel injected. A switching determination unit 105c than determines whether or not the fuel injected has been switched over from fuel remaining within a fuel pipe 17 to fuel within the fuel tank. When the engine then starts and it is determined that the injected fuel has been switched over to the fuel within the fuel tank, when the learning value for the E-concentration is for a high-concentration and the engine load is in a high load state, the fuel injection amount control unit 105 refers to the fuel injection map according to the learning value and the obtained fuel injection quantity is reduced and corrected.

1642/DEL/2007

[Problem] To provide a multiple-kind fuel engine fuel injection control device which includes a plurality of maps for determining a basic fuel injection time corresponding to a state of an engine and changes over the map corresponding to alcohol concentration. [Means for Resolution] A fuel injection control device used in a multiple-kind fuel engine 1 is configured to include: a memory region 26 which stores a plurality of fuel injection control maps 30 in which a state of an engine 1 and a basic fuel injection time Ti are made to correspond to each other in response to the concentration of alcohol contained in the fuel; an 02 sensor 15 which is arranged in an exhaust pipe 4 and detects the oxygen concentration in an exhaust gas; a basic fuel injection time determination part 22 which determines the basic fuel injection time Ti using the currently selected fuel injection control map 30 of the concentration of alcohol; a correction coefficient determination part 24 which determines an air-fuel ratio correction coefficient K02 for correcting the basic fuel injection time Ti such that an air-fuel ratio of the engine 1 becomes a target air-fuel ratio in response to a detection value of the 02 sensor 15; a fuel injection quantity determination part 25 which determines a fuel injection quantity based on the basic fuel injection time Ti and the air-fuel ratio correction coefficient K02/' and a map changeover part 21 which selects the fuel injection control map 30 of the concentration of alcohol close to the concentration of alcohol of the fuel based on the air-fuel ratio correction coefficient K02.

There are multiple patents to control fuel injection without ethanol sensor and the control in these patents has limitation, e.g. ethanol ratio detection takes more than 30 sec, the accuracy is more than +/- 15%, the system needs to be operated under certain limited condition, and there are pollutant impact until ethanol ratio can be estimated.

The control strategy in these patents is, a) Estimate ethanol ratio based on starting (cranking) duration, b) Estimate ethanol ratio based on oxygen concentration (based on binary O2 sensor behaviour).

The patented system has 4 different ethanol group calculation based on ethanol ratio (e.g. Group1 : E20 to E40, Group 2 : E30 to E60, Group 3 : E50 to E80, Group for E70 above) therefore each group need to cover wider range of ethanol ratio with compromised fuel calculation which lead high pollutant impact as well as driveability impact.

These system cannot detect production tolerance of the motorcycle in production therefore the system may estimate ethanol ratio wrongly that leads to high pollutant production.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION:

The fuel injection control and detection device of the present invention, for the motorcycle, equips ethanol sensor which can be mounted flexibly in the fuel line wherever mountable and as short as possible in fuel line between fuel pump to injector.

A flex fuel engine system as per this invention includes a means for sensing ethanol concentration / ration of the fuel. A real-time ethanol sensor is provided in the motorcycle to quickly and accurately determine the ethanol concentration in the fuel tank. Based on the ethanol concentration, the engine can be altered mutually between lean combustion mode and stoichiometry as per demand.

The invention has achieved the objective such that a motorcycle with ethanol sensor is mounted flexibly in the fuel line wherever mountable and so that it can minimize the length of fuel line between fuel pump to injector and further the system can detect ethanol ratio in the used fuel within 110ms and +/-5% ethanol ratio accuracy which can control fuel injection without pollutant impact. The main purpose hence is to improve the performance of motorcycles operable with flex fuel.

Fig 1 : Theoretical fuel amount change based on ethanol ratio
Part no. Part names
11 Fuel rate [time]
12 Ethanol rate [%]

Fig 2 : Existing technology image
Part no. Part names
21 Fuel rate [time]
22 Ethanol rate [%]
23 Group1
24 Group2
25 Group3
26 Group4

Fig 3 : Proposed technology image
Part no. Part names
301 E0 Mass air flow map
302 E0 Fuel flow map
303 E0 ignition timing map
304 E0 Starting calculation
305 E0 Post starting calculation
306 E0 Target idle speed calculation
307 E0 Engine temperature compensation
308 E0 intake air temperature compensation
309 E0 Transient compensation
310 E0 Barometric pressure compensation
311 Ethanol ration input from the sensor
312 Weighting factor to start
313 Weighting factor for post start
314 Weighting factor for idle speed
315 Weighting factor for engine temperature compensation
316 Weighting factor for air temperature compensation
317 Weighting factor for transient compensation
318 Weighting factor for barometric pressure compensation
319 E100 Mass air flow map
320 E100 Fuel flow map
321 E100 ignition timing map
322 E100 Starting calculation
323 E100 Post starting calculation
324 E100 Target idle speed calculation
325 E100 Engine temperature compensation
326 E100 intake air temperature compensation
327 E100 Transient compensation
328 E100 Barometric pressure compensation

Fig 4: Image of the sensor layout

Fig 5 : Flow chart of detection process of ethanol in the system.

Fig 6 : Geometry of the position of O2 sensor and ethanol sensor in a motorcycle.

Fig 7: Image of Ethanol sensor.

Fig 8: Illustration of petrol mixture flows through the measurement cell.

Part no. Part names
801 Electrodes
802 Fuel
803 Measurement cell

Fig 9: Illustration of ethanol content of fuel is defined function of its relative permittivity and conductivity and related to temperature.

Part no. Part names
901 Fuel In
902 Power/120V & ground
903 Measure alcohol content
904 Fuel conductivity
905 Fuel temperature
906 Dielectric
907 Logic tables (determine ethanol %)
908 Fuel out
909 Ethanol % (transmitted on freuency signal)

Fig 10: Illustration of the graph wherein the output signal from the sensor is delivered to Engine Control Unit (ECU).

Part no. Part names
1001 Output frequency (Hz)
1002 Ethanol %
1003 Output frequency (Hz) Vs Ethanol %

Technical limitation in existing technology and solution to be offered by the invention is described herein.

- In the existing technology, Ethanol ratio is estimated based on oxygen concentration (O2 sensor input) which deviation of ethanol rate detection is high by considering production tolerance and its approx. +/-15% or more depending on base production tolerance level and the existing system needs certain period of time to detect ethanol ratio after engine starting (more than 30sec) therefore during such detection period until the system can detect ethanol ratio, Engine management system need to run with special control condition (make base fuel richer to cover full range of ethanol %, restrict engine torque to avoid engine component damages). This leads higher pollutant production until the system can update the ethanol ratio level.
- The existing technology has to cover wider range of ethanol ratio fuel with dedicated predetermined fuel map which has overlap zone between predetermined fuel map as the system cannot calculate precise ethanol ratio just with O2 sensor input since O2 sensor input get influence from other production tolerances (e.g. engine compression ratio, throttle body airflow, injector flow) (refer Fig. 2).
- Existing system needs certain period to detect ethanol ratio of used fuel in the tank and it needs longer fuel line (from fuel pump to injector) to avoid sudden change in ethanol ratio therefore fuel hose design has limitation/restriction in the package and it also has a safety concern of high fuel leakage when it is in accident.
- The existing technology has to cover wider range of ethanol ratio fuel with dedicated predetermined fuel map whilst proposed technology (the present invention) can calculate precise fuel with one predetermined base fuel calibration and predetermined compensation factor.
- A method for flex fuel conversion system for efficiently providing fuel delivery system which allows the vehicle to be operated on gasoline, ethanol or any combination of gasoline and ethanol. The method as per invention for operating a flex fuel conversion system includes providing a ethanol sensor to measure a current ethanol level of the fuel, providing a microprocessor wherein a first signal including the current ethanol level of the fuel is sent to the microprocessor from the ethanol sensor and current determined ethanol level is subsequently compared to an optimal ethanol level, providing a fuel flow value wherein an adjustment signal is sent to the fuel flow valve from the microprocessor, which controls the fuel stream entering the engine. The ethanol sensor is electronically connected to the microprocessor. The microprocessor will have preprogrammed table within the microprocessor to be utilised in conjunction with ethanol sensor. The first preprogrammed table will include plurality of optimal alcohol levels to match up with corresponding desired RRP an of the engine and throttle position of the accelerator connected to the engine for that optimal ethanol level. When receiving the first signal from ethanol sensor, the microprocessor matches up the current RPM of engine, current throttle position of accelerator with corresponding values upon the table and subsequently compares the current ethanol level contained within the first signal to the optimal ethanol level (value at the intersection of the current RPM and current throttle position upon the table. Based on difference between optimal ethanol level and current ethanol level, the microprocessor will send corresponding signal to the fuel flow value to reject controlled fuel. The above process continuously repeats while the engine is running.
- The proposed system (the present invention) can immediately detect ethanol ratio by using the sensor within 110ms and switch to precise ethanol level that keep proper engine operating condition without performance drop and pollutant impact and the accuracy of ethanol ratio is within +/-5% for any ethanol ratio which can maintain the same pollutant with any ethanol ratio fuel.

The solution for the limitation with proposed technology as detailed in this invention is that

- Proposed technology can package flexibly between fuel pump and injector which can minimize fuel line length and can be covered by protection to avoid any safety concern.
- The system calculates precise fuel with two predetermined base mass flow, fuel flow and ignition timing calibration and multiple predetermined weighting factor that weighting factor is also applied to starting, post-starting, target idling speed, engine temperature compensation, intake air temperature compensation, transition compensation and barometric pressure compensation for mass flow, fuel flow and ignition timing (Refer Fig. 3).
- The proposed system can detect ethanol ratio by using the sensor within 110ms and switch to precise ethanol level that keep proper engine operating condition without performance drop and pollutant impact and the accuracy of ethanol ratio is within +/-5% for any ethanol ratio.

Ethanol sensor image is illustrated in fig. 7.

Sensor operation is explained with support of fig. 8, fig. 9 and fig 10.

The ethanol sensor is to be attached to the fuel supply line, and as the fuel flows through the sensor, will determine the ethanol content of the fuel. The output signal from the sensor to be delivered to the Engine Control Unit (ECU) in the units of frequency (Hz). (Graph1 – fig. 10)

The ethanol sensor is an electronic device to measure the percentage of ethanol and the temperature of the fuel before being delivered to the engine. The ethanol sensor image is illustrated in fig. 7 and the operation system is disclosed herein. A petrol mixture flows through the measurement cell (fig. 8) and fills the space between both electrodes. The relative permittivity of the fuel (The relative permittivity of petrol differs from that of ethanol due to the different oxygen content), and therefore the capacitance, between the two electrodes depends upon the ratio of ethanol / petrol. The ethanol content of the fuel is a defined function of its relative permittivity and conductivity, related to temperature and its response time of the sensor is less than 110ms. (fig. 8, fig. 9)

As per invention, the sensor disclosed herein is adapted to detect the ethanol ratio change within 110ms and enable the switch to precise ethanol level as desired for optimum operation of engine and the accuracy of the detected ethanol ratio is within +/-5% of the ethanol ratio and this is achieved as illustrated in Fig. 3 with a calibration.

Further the flow chart of detection process of ethanol in the system is illustrated in fig. 5.

Also fig. 6d, illustrates one of the geometry of the position of O2 sensor and ethanol sensor in a motorcycle.

Hence, the invention achieves the object of ensuring detection of ethanol ratio dynamically, efficiently and speedily with the most desirable accuracy.

The invention also relies upon the provisional specification filed.

The invention has been described as provided above but various embodiments and variations are possible beyond the preferred embodiments disclosed in this document. All such variations and modifications as obvious to the skilled person is within the scope of this invention. The applicant intends to rely upon specifications and the drawings submitted along with the specification.
,CLAIMS:1. A fuel injection control and flex fuel combustion system for motorcycle with an engine, a fuel tank configured to hold a fuel comprising gasolines, ethanol or a mixture thereof for combustion of engine, an air intake value and a fuel injector connecting the fuel tank and engine comprising of :

a. ethanol sensor means arranged on the fuel line for determining the ethanol concentration of the fuel, and
b. injection means for controlling the fuel injector and air intake valve to maintain desired air-fuel ratio for stoichiometric condition and to provide excess air for lean combustion, based on the detected ethanol concentration in the fuel tank with the ethanol sensor characterised in the arrangement of providing a real-time ethanol sensor in the fuel line.

the said arrangement characterised in minimizing the fuel length and also detection within 110ms.

2. A fuel injection control and flex fuel combustion system for motorcycle with an engine as claimed in claim 1 includes arranging a sensor which detects the ethanol ratio in the path between fuel pump and injector.