Patent ID: 7627416
Filing Date: 2009-12-01
Classification: F02D,F02M,Y02T

Abstract:
1. An apparatus is provided for determining when to fuel an internal combustion engine with main fuel and secondary fuel or secondary fuel alone, said apparatus comprising: (a) a main-fuel supply system comprising a main-fuel injection valve that is operable to introduce said main fuel into a combustion chamber of said engine; (b) a secondary-fuel injection system comprising a secondary-fuel injection valve that is operable to introduce said secondary fuel directly into said combustion chamber; (c) a pressure sensor associated with said main-fuel supply system for determining an available injection pressure inside said main-fuel injection valve; and (d) an electronic controller in communication with said pressure sensor and programmable to separately command actuation of said secondary-fuel injection valve and said main-fuel injection valve to permit said engine to operate at power levels up to full power when said available injection pressure is greater than a predetermined threshold and to otherwise command actuation of said secondary-fuel injection valve and not said main-fuel injection valve to permit said engine to operate at reduced power levels less than full power for up to a predetermined amount of time.