Patent ID: 11933244
Assignee: CATERPILLAR INC.
Field: Engines, pumps, turbines (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC F  Y | IPC F

Claim 0:
1. A method for injecting fuel into a combustion chamber of an internal combustion engine, comprising:
determining, using control circuitry, whether in-cylinder temperature of the combustion chamber is within a predetermined temperature range, the predetermined temperature range being a non-zero and non-startup temperature values;
outputting, under control of the control circuitry, to the combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine via a fuel injection system and at least one duct inside the combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine, a plurality of pilot injections of fuel in a predetermined range before top dead center (BTDC) for a combustion cycle of the internal combustion engine; and
outputting, under control of the control circuitry, to the combustion chamber via the fuel injection system and the at least one duct, a main injection of fuel for the combustion cycle of the internal combustion engine after said outputting the plurality of pilot injections,
wherein the main injection of fuel passes through the at least one duct and the plurality of pilot injections of fuel pass through the at least one duct,
wherein an amount of fuel of the plurality of pilot injections is less than an amount of fuel of the main injection,
wherein the plurality of pilot injections of fuel per combustion cycle is from two to six pilot injections,
wherein the predetermined range before top dead center (BTDC) of the plurality of pilot injections of fuel is from 85 to 50 degrees BTDC,
wherein said outputting the main injection is such that the main injection begins before top dead center (TDC) and ends after top dead center (TDC), and
wherein said outputting the plurality of pilot injections of fuel is performed only in a case where the in-cylinder temperature of the combustion chamber is determined to be within the predetermined temperature range.