Patent ID: 8583346
Filing Date: 2013-11-12
Classification: F02D,F02M,Y02T

Abstract:
1. A system for controlling the viscosity of liquid fuel delivered from a fuel tank to the fuel injectors of an internal combustion engine, comprising: a fuel line for delivering fuel from the fuel tank; a heat exchanger for receiving fuel from the fuel tank and for heating the fuel in response to a heating control signal; a viscosity sensor placed in the fuel line, or in a bypass fuel line, between the heat exchanger and the fuel injectors; wherein the viscosity sensor is a rotating cylinder having a nominal rotation velocity, configured to rotate such that the nominal rotation velocity increases or decreases in response to fuel viscosity, and configured to generate a rotation measurement signal; and a control unit programmed to store a target value, to receive the rotation measurement signal from the viscosity sensor, to obtain a rotation measurement value from the rotation measurement signal, to compare the rotation measurement value to the target value, to generate a heating control signal when the rotation measurement value is less than the target value, and to deliver the heating control signal to the heat exchanger.