Methods and systems are provided for reducing blackening of an oxygen sensor due to voltage excursions into an over-potential region. Before transitioning the sensor from a lower voltage to an upper voltage during variable voltage operation, an operating temperature of the sensor is reduced via adjustments to a sensor heater setting. The reduction in temperature increases the range of temperatures available to the sensor before the over-potential region is entered.

An ignition coil unit includes: an ignition circuit including a primary coil and a secondary coil; a power generator including a generator coil; a controller configured to control an ignition timing of the ignition circuit by an input signal generated by an induced voltage of the generator coil; and a sensor configured to input load information to the controller. The controller includes a memory configured to store working time information which corresponds to operating information based on the input information and the load information, as matrix data composed of the operating information, the load information and time data.

The generator control device for vehicle is provided with a boost permission determination circuit capable of controlling the power generation rate, if there is communication between the engine control device and the generator control device for vehicle, the boost permission determination circuit performs the field current control so that the specified power generation rate is achieved by the communication, if there is no communication between the engine control device and the generator control device for vehicle, based on the rotation speed and temperature of the generator for vehicle, the boost permission determination circuit performs the field current control.

Methods and systems are provided for aging a new plastic fuel tank in a vehicle. In one example, during a plug-in event to recharge a battery of the vehicle, the fuel tank is isolated and the fuel pump is actuated to agitate fuel within the tank and increase fuel vapors until the plastic fuel tank becomes aged to a predetermined degree by fuel vapors generated therein. In this manner, the fuel tank is aged more rapidly, resulting in more accurate fuel level readings and less noise and vibration.

Methods and systems are provided for direct fuel injection. In one example, a fuel injector system includes an injector needle with an injector pin with a curved fuel channel of non-uniform width around the outer circumference of the injector pin, fluidically connected along the length of the curved fuel channel with a fuel reservoir inside the injector pin. An actuator coupled to the injector needle may sequentially move and position the injector needle to establish fluidic connection between the curved fuel channel and with one or more nozzle holes of the fuel injector at each position, where a duration of the fluidic connection at each position is based on a width of the curved fuel channel, and may determine the volume of fuel being discharged from only those nozzle holes, thereby reducing fuel spray interaction and increasing fuel spray atomization.

A supercharging system to be mounted in a vehicle including an engine, a driving operator, and an electric power storage unit includes an exhaust turbine, an intake compressor, an electric power converter, and a controller. The exhaust turbine generates electric power. The intake compressor feeds compressed intake air to the engine. The electric power converter supplies electric power from the electric power storage unit and recovers electric power to the electric power storage unit via an electric power path between the exhaust turbine and the intake compressor. The controller acquires a target value of compression power of the intake compressor, based on an operation of the driving operator and an operating state of the engine, and controls the electric power converter such that electric power corresponding to a difference between the acquired target value and the generated electric power is supplied from or recovered to the electric power storage unit.

At every ignition cycle, when a duration change amount ΔT30[i] is equal to or less than a reference value ΔT30ref2, a misfire counter Cmf is kept unchanged. When the duration change amount ΔT30[i] is greater than the reference value ΔT30ref2, on the other hand, the misfire counter Cmf is incremented by value 1. A misfire ratio Rmf is set to provide a smaller value when an amount increasing determination flag F[i] is equal to value 1 than a value when the amount increasing determination flag F[i] is equal to value 0. In the case where an ignition counter Ci reaches or exceeds a reference value Ciref, it is determined whether a conversion catalyst is overheated by comparison between the misfire counter Cmf and an accumulated misfire ratio Rmfsum that is an accumulated value of the misfire ratio Rmf.

Methods and systems are provided for controlling a boosted engine system, having a turbocharger and a charge air cooler, to limit overheating of a compressor outlet. In one example, a method includes predicting an engine torque profile based on current and future engine operating conditions. The method then models a compressor outlet temperature profile and reduces engine torque output to limit overheating of the compressor outlet.

Methods and systems are provided for classification of the type and weight of a trailer being towed by a vehicle. The classification is based on a comparison between a real-time road gradient as determined by the vehicle system and an expected road gradient as determined from an off-board or an onboard map. Vehicle operations may be adjusted based on the classification of the attached trailer.

A communication device has a first data interface and a second data interface. A safe protection of the communication device against malicious code even under an easily breakable communication line between the communication device and a remote server is achieved by an intermediate protection unit located in a data communication line between the two data interfaces, wherein the intermediate protection unit blocks data in the direction from the second to the first data interface.