Patent ID: 8402942

Claim:
A system for improving efficiency of an internal combustion engine having a plurality of cylinders, each cylinder being capable of operating in a succession of combustion cycles, wherein at least one of the plurality of cylinders is a controllable cylinder, and wherein the at least one controllable cylinder can be deactivated to selectively shut intake and exhaust valves, the system for improving efficiency of an internal combustion engine comprising: a fuel processor configured to receive instructions for a first desired engine output, and generate, based upon the first desired engine output, at least one of a cylinder firing pattern and an operational state, wherein the fuel processor is further configured to: substantially disable fuel flow to and air flow to a subset of deactivated cylinders while the engine is in the first operational state corresponding to the first desired output, wherein disabling air flow includes shutting the intake and exhaust valves of the deactivated cylinders; substantially disable fuel flow to and firing of to a subset of passive cylinders while the engine is in the first operational state corresponding to the first desired output; substantially regulate fuel flow to, air flow to and firing of a subset of working cylinders during each of their respective combustion cycles while the engine is in the first operational state corresponding to the first desired output; and substantially modulate the regulation of fuel flow to, air flow to and firing of at least one of the subset of working cylinders during some of the at least one of the subset of working cylinder's combustion cycles while the engine is in the first operational state corresponding to the first desired output, wherein the modulated regulation of fuel flow to and firing of the at least one of the subset of working cylinders is dynamically determined during operation of the engine on a combustion cycle by combustion cycle basis, of the at least one of the subset of working cylinders, to provide the first desired output for the engine while the engine is in the first operational state corresponding to the first desired output.