[0001] Spark ignition engines having fuel injectors typically incorporate a throttle body for controlling air intake to the engine. A “butterfly” type valve that is generally disposed within a bore of the throttle body controls the amount of air intake there through. The valve pivots or rotates with a shaft between an idle position substantially restricting air intake through the throttle body and a wide-open position permitting increased air intake through the throttle body. The amount of rotation of the valves may depend upon the actuated amount of a throttle gripper or an accelerator pedal and thus controls said spark-ignition engine. By controlling the amount of air intake through the throttle body, the fuel-to-air mixture can be adjusted, and thus, the running performance of the spark-ignition engine can be controlled.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0002] The following detailed description references the drawings, wherein: [0003] Figure 1 illustrates a throttle actuation transmitter system for a vehicle in accordance with an example implementation of the present subject matter;

[0004] Figure 2 illustrates a throttle actuation receiver system for the vehicle in accordance with an example implementation of the present subject matter;

[0005] Figure 3 illustrates a wireless environment comprising a throttle actuation system, in accordance with an example implementation of the present subject matter;

[0006] Figure 4 illustrates a throttle actuation transmitting method, in accordance with an example implementation of the present subject matter; and [0007] Figure 5 illustrates a throttle actuation receiving method, in accordance with another example implementation of the present subject matter. [0008] Throughout the drawings, identical reference numbers designate similar, but not necessarily identical, elements. The figures are not necessarily to scale, and the size of some parts may be exaggerated to more clearly illustrate the example shown. Moreover, the drawings provide examples and/or implementations consistent with the description; however, the description is not limited to the examples and/or implementations provided in the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0009] The present invention relates generally to a throttle body of a sparkignition engine of a vehicle, and more particularly, to a throttle actuation system.

[0010] It is known that to control an amount of air intake through the throttle body, a throttle valve is disposed of within a bore of the throttle body. The bore is opened and closed by the throttle valve rotating together with a shaft that supports the throttle valve within the bore so that it is possible to control the amount of air intake through the bore.

[0011] In the case of a two-wheeled vehicle, generally, one end of the shaft is keyed to a spring-loaded pulley which is driven usually by a metallic cable connected to a throttle gripper that is rotatably mounted on a steering handle of the two-wheeler. This direct mechanical linkage between the throttle gripper and the throttle valve is known to have adverse effects on the supply of the air intake to the engine. For example, a sudden gush of the air fed into the engine due to unwarranted twisting of the throttle gripper may briefly skew the air intake towards the leaner side till a fuel supply system of the vehicle can catch up. This may also lead to improper combustion and a less efficient engine.

[0012] Conventionally, to overcome such disadvantages associated with the mechanical linkage, a ride-by-wire system is employed, which does not have any direct mechanical linkages between the throttle valve and the throttle gripper. In the ride-by-wire system, when a rider of the vehicle twists the throttle gripper, a sensor reads the movement in the throttle gripper and relays this information to an electronic control unit (ECU) of the vehicle. The ECU then considers the engine speed, and gear selection amongst other factors, such as unconsumed oxygen in the exhaust, and sends a signal to an electronic throttle body (ETB) which adjusts the throttle valve opening accordingly.

[0013] However, the ride-by-wire system is not completely wireless. In this system, the throttle gripper and the throttle body involve physical wires which run between the throttle gripper to the ECU and from the ECU to the ETB. The sensor values at the throttle gripper and feedback, i.e., throttle valve position value, are fed to the ECU via a physically insulated metallic wire (hereinafter wire) which carries a limited current. A drive motor attached to the throttle body to rotatively drive the throttle valve based on input from the ECU is also connected to the ECU by a wire.

[0014] The wires used in the ride-by-wire system are subjected to wear due to friction arising between mating parts or a frame of the vehicle. These wires are prone to electric shorting when subjected to wet environments and also due to operational errors at the cost of system malfunction or failure of other components of the vehicle. Additionally, a sleeve protects the wire from the outside environment, keeping it safe from any physical damage. However, the sleeve is surrounded by moisture, which may damage the sleeve, leaving the wire exposed to the environment. Moreover, a reduction in the mechanical aspect of the process incurs more dependency on trained mechanics and specialized machines to not only troubleshoot but also to rectify the problem as it comes in the ride-by-wire system.

[0015] Due to the above-mentioned reasons, the operation of the throttle body may get hindered by an application of the ride by wire system for actuation of the throttle valve and a user may not get the desired result. [0016] Thus, a technique is needed to eliminate the physical linkage between the throttle gripper and the throttle body, without compromising the functionality of the throttle body.

[0017] The present invention relates to providing a wireless throttle actuation system that permits establishing wireless communication between the throttle gripper and the throttle body, thereby eliminating the drawbacks of the prior art systems set forth above.

[0018] In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the physical linkage between the throttle gripper and the throttle body is eliminated, without compromising the operational need of the throttle actuation process.

[0019] In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, a throttle actuation transmitter system is provided. The throttle actuation transmitter system comprises a position sensing module that senses a rotation angle of a throttle gripper based on a detected value of a magnetic field change. The throttle actuation transmitter system further comprises a position determination module that is electrically coupled to the position sensing module. The position determination module determines a throttle valve opening degree based on the throttle rotation angle data. The position determination module thereafter wirelessly transmits data comprising the throttle valve opening degree to cause the actuation of a throttle valve.

[0020] In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, a corresponding throttle actuation receiver system is provided. The throttle actuation receiver system comprises a throttle valve control module that wirelessly communicates with the position determination module to receive a throttle valve opening degree. Further, a drive motor, electrically coupled to the throttle valve control module, actuates to rotate a throttle valve in accordance with the throttle valve opening degree that is determined by the position determination module. [0021] The throttle actuation transmitter and receiver systems of the present invention communicate wirelessly without requiring any physical connection between the throttle gripper and the throttle body. Thus, the wireless throttle actuation system of the present invention prevents the damages usually caused by a physical linkage between the throttle gripper and the throttle body and ensures a safe throttle actuation operation.

[0022] The above-described wireless throttle actuation system is further described with reference to figures 1 to 5. It should be noted that the description and figures merely illustrate the principles of the present subject matter along with examples described herein and should not be construed as a limitation to the present subject matter. It is thus noted that various arrangements may be devised that, although not explicitly described or shown herein, describe the principles of the present subject matter. Moreover, all statements herein reciting principles, aspects, and examples of the present subject matter, as well as specific examples thereof, are intended to encompass equivalents thereof. [0023] Figure 1 illustrates a throttle actuation transmitter system 100 for a vehicle in accordance with an example implementation of the present subject matter. The illustrated throttle actuation transmitter system 100 may be disposed inside a throttle gripper 102. The throttle gripper 102 may be mounted for rotation on a handlebar 104 of the vehicle. Although the present example of the invention has been explained considering the vehicle to be a two-wheeled vehicle, it may also be implemented in any vehicle which has a spark-ignition engine incorporating a throttle gripper.

[0024] The throttle actuation transmitter system 100 comprises a position sensing module 106 that senses a throttle rotation angle of the throttle gripper 102. To sense the throttle rotation angle, the position sensing module 106 uses a magnet 108 that generates a continuous magnetic field that may be detected. In an example, the magnet 108 may be made up of permanent magnet material, a ferromagnetic material, or a spiral lattice for photoelectric induction. The position sensing module 106 further includes a first sensor 110 that may be positioned in the magnetic field. The first sensor 110 senses a throttle gripper angle that corresponds to an idle throttle position, i.e., when the throttle rotation angle amounts to zero. Hence, the first sensor 110 outputs a first detection signal that is indicative of the idle or rest position of the throttle gripper 102.

[0025] The position sensing module 106 may also include a second sensor 112 that may be positioned in the magnetic field to generate a second detection signal based on the sensed value of the magnetic field. The second detection signal is indicative of a rotation angle of the throttle gripper 102 and may be proportional to the extent to which a user of the vehicle has angularly displaced throttle gripper 102 relative to the handlebar 104.

[0026] In an example embodiment of the present subject matter, the first sensor 110 and the second sensor 112 may be a Hall effect sensor, a rotary encoder, or the like.

[0027] The throttle actuation transmitter system 100 further comprises a position determination module 114 that is electrically coupled to the position sensing module 106. The position determination module 114 determines a throttle opening degree based on the throttle rotation angle. To determine the throttle opening degree, the position determination module 114 receives the first and the second detection signals from the first sensor 110 and the second sensor 112, respectively, through electrical means, for example, by wires (not illustrated). Thereafter, based on the values of the first and second detection signals, a first controller 116 of the position determination module 114 identifies whether the throttle gripper 102 is at the rest position or has been angularly displaced from the rest position. If the first controller 116 identifies that the throttle gripper 102 is at the rest position, no action is taken as the throttle gripper 102 at the rest position indicates that a throttle actuation is not required. [0028] However, in response to the second detection signal received from the second sensor 112, if the first controller 116 recognizes that the throttle gripper 102 has been angularly displaced relative to the handlebar 104, it calculates a throttle valve opening degree that may be indicative of an angle by which a throttle valve (illustrated in Figure 3) needs to be rotated for allowing an optimum supply of the air intake into the vehicle's engine. It is understood that the throttle valve opening degree may differ with different manufacturers and thus are manufacturer specific.

[0029] The position determination module 114 further includes a first transceiver 118 that may be electrically interfaced with the first controller 116. The first transceiver 118 wirelessly transmits a data communication that comprises the throttle opening degree. The implementation and working of the first transceiver 118 have been elaborated on later.

[0030] In an example implementation of the present subject matter, the position sensing module 106 and the position determination module 114 each may be implemented as a combination of hardware and programming, for example, programmable instructions to implement functionalities of the respective module(s). In the examples described herein, such combinations of hardware and programming may be implemented in several different ways. For example, the hardware for the position sensing module 106 and the position determination module 114 may include one or more sensors for sensing the throttle gripper angle and monitoring rotation angle of the throttle gripper. The transceiver for transmitting the data communication may comprise hardware and instructions to enable the transmission of the data communication and a processing resource to execute such instructions.

[0031] In an example, the processing resource may include microprocessors, microcomputers, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, central processing units, sensors, state machines, logic circuitries, and/or any other devices that manipulate signals and data based on computer-readable instructions. In the present examples, the machine-readable storage medium may store instructions that, when executed by the processing resource, implement the functionality of the position sensing module 106 and the position determination module 114, and the corresponding hardware(s). In other examples, module(s) of the throttle actuation transmitter system 100, including the position sensing module 106 and the position determination module 114, may be implemented by electronic circuitry.

[0032] Figure 2 illustrates a throttle actuation receiver system 200 for a vehicle in accordance with an example implementation of the present subject matter. The throttle actuation receiver system 200 communicates wirelessly with the throttle actuation transmitter system 100 to receive the data communication that comprises the throttle opening degree. The throttle actuation receiver system 200 comprises a throttle valve control module 202 that is attached to a throttle body 204. The throttle body 204 comprises a throttle valve 206 that is disposed of within a bore 208 of the throttle body 204. The bore 208 may be opened and closed by the throttle valve 206. The throttle body 204 further comprises a shaft 210 that rotatively supports the throttle valve 206 within the bore 208 so that it is possible to control the amount of air intake through the bore 208. The throttle body 204 also includes a drive motor 212 that is keyed to shaft 210 through a geared arrangement (not illustrated). The drive motor 212, when powered, integrally rotates the shaft 210 and the throttle valve 206, thereby allowing the air intake into the vehicle's engine.

[0033] As shown in Figure 2, the throttle actuation receiver system 200 comprises a second transceiver 216. The second transceiver 216 wirelessly receives the data communication consisting of the throttle opening degree from the first transceiver 118. The data communication received by the second transceiver 216 is then fed to a second controller 218 with which the second transceiver 216 may be electrically interfaced. The second controller 218, based on the throttle opening degree, commands the drive motor 212 to control an angular position of the throttle valve 206. The angular position of the throttle valve 206 would be proportional to the extent to which the user has angularly displaced a throttle gripper 102 relative to the handlebar 104.

[0034] In an example embodiment, both the devices, i.e., the first transceiver 118 and the second transceiver 216 may be paired using their media access control (MAC). The pairing is done so that the first transceiver 118 and the second transceiver 216 communicate only with each other, thus preventing the hijacking of connection or interference from other similar systems, or other systems of the same kind.

[0035] As described with respect to the example Figure 1 , in the present example as well, the throttle valve control module 202 may be implemented as a combination of hardware and programming (for example, programmable instructions) to implement certain functionalities of the module, such as receiving the data communication signals from the first transceiver 1 18.

[0036] In the examples described herein, such combinations of hardware and programming may be implemented in several different ways. For example, similar to the position sensing module 106 and the position determination module 114, the throttle valve control module 202 may also be implemented by electronic circuitry. For instance, the first transceiver 118 and the second transceiver 216 may be at least one of a ZIGBEE module, a BLUETOOTH module, a power line communication (PLC) module, or other wired or wireless communication modules.

[0037] In yet another example embodiment, the first controller 116 and the second controller 218 may be configured to communicate using BLUETOOTH, ZIGBEE, power line communication (PLC), or other communication protocols with the help of the first transceiver 118 and the second transceiver 216. In an example implementation, the ZIGBEE protocol may be used to wirelessly transmit and receive data through a noisy environment which is common in industrial applications. Unlike other wireless protocols, ZIGBEE survives on low- duty cycles and may operate with minimum power consumption if kept connected for life. The ZIGBEE protocol provides secure data and fast connection because ZIGBEE security and data encryption is based on security defined in 802.15.4 protocol. The encryption algorithm used in ZIGBEE is AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) with a 128-bit key length (16 Bytes). The AES algorithm not only encrypts the information but also validates the data which is sent.

[0038] Moreover, low latency in the ZIGBEE protocol allows crisp and quick data transfer ensuring that the user’s throttle gripper 102 opening or closing data is transmitted quickly to the throttle valve control module 202 and there is no delay in the throttle valve 206 response. The instantaneous response at the throttle valve control module 202 provides a quick response even to the slightest twist of throttle gripper 102. In an example, both the first controller 116 and the second controller 218 integrated with the ZIGBEE modules may be powered by a 12V DC supply.

[0039] In another example embodiment, both the first controller 116 and the second controller 218 may be at least one of an Arduino, Raspberry Pi, Intel Galileo, or Beagle Bone Black. In yet another example, each of the first controller 116 and the second controller 218 may be implemented as microprocessors, microcomputers, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, central processing units, state machines, logic circuitries, and/or any devices that process signals based on operational instructions.

[0040] Figure 3 illustrates a wireless environment comprising a throttle actuation system 300, in accordance with an example implementation of the present subject matter. The throttle actuation transmitter system 100 and the throttle actuation receiver system 200 as explained previously with respect to Figs. 1 and 2, are a part of the throttle actuation system 300, wherein they communicate with each other over a wireless link 302. The wireless link 302 is a local wireless connection that is established by the first transceiver 118 and the second transceiver 216. The first transceiver 118 and the second transceiver 216 each may include a wireless communication interface that supports wireless communication over a local area utilizing an industry-standard wireless communication protocol. For example, the wireless communication interfaces of the first transceiver 118 and the second transceiver 216 may support wireless communication based on the IEEE 802.15.4-2003 protocol such as a ZIGBEE, as discussed previously.

[0041] The functions of the various elements shown in the figures, including the functional blocks, such as “First Sensor”, “Second Sensor”, "First Controller", "First Transceiver", "Drive Motor", "Second Controller", "Second Transceiver" each may be provided through the use of dedicated hardware as well as hardware capable of executing software.

[0042] The functions may be provided by a single dedicated processor, by a single shared processor, or by a plurality of individual processors, some of which may be shared. Moreover, explicit use of the term “processor” should not be construed to refer exclusively to hardware capable of executing software, and may implicitly include, without limitation, digital signal processor (DSP) hardware, network processor, application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), field programmable gate array (FPGA), read-only memory (ROM) for storing software, random access memory (RAM), and non-volatile storage. Other hardware, conventional and/or custom, may also be included.

[0043] An example scenario is explained herein to elaborate on the working of the throttle actuation system 300. In an example, as the throttle gripper 102 is rotated to accelerate the vehicle, the first controller 116 determines the throttle valve opening degree based on the throttle rotation angle measured by the second sensor 112. Thereafter, data comprising the throttle valve opening degree is transmitted wirelessly over the wireless link 302 from the first transceiver 118 and the same is received at the throttle actuation receiver system 200 by the second transceiver 216. As the second transceiver 216 and the second controller 218 are coupled electrically to each other, the data received by the second transceiver 216 is read by the second controller 218.

[0044] The second controller 218 ensures that the throttle rotation angle data received from the throttle gripper 102 end and value of the throttle valve opening degree provided to the drive motor 212 matches with each other, thereby ensuring that the drive motor 212 does not rotate the shaft 210 more than the angular displacement of the throttle gripper 102. In an embodiment, the throttle gripper 102 returns to its idle position and the drive motor 212 closes the throttle valve 206 when the user drops the force on the throttle gripper 102.

[0045] As there is no use of the wires between the throttle body and throttle gripper in the throttle actuation system 300, its handling becomes easy, and complexity is reduced. Also, in case of the failure of a module, the entire module may be replaced without requiring tedious and lengthy rework. Additionally, fault diagnosis becomes easy due to the elimination of wires.

[0046] Figures 4 and 5 illustrate a throttle actuation transmitting method 400 and a throttle actuation receiving method 500, respectively, to transmit data comprising the throttle valve opening degree from the throttle gripper end to the throttle body end without requiring any physical linkage between the throttle gripper 102 and the throttle body 204 to ensure a safe throttle actuation operation, in accordance with an example of the present subject matter.

[0047] Although methods 400 and 500 may be implemented in a variety of transmitter and receiver systems similar to systems 100 or 200, for ease of explanation, the present description of the example methods 400 and 500 are provided in reference to the above-described throttle actuation system 300. [0048] The orders in which the methods 400 and 500 are described are not intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of the described method blocks may be combined in any order to implement the methods 400 and 500, or an alternative method.

[0049] Referring to Figure 4, at block 402, the throttle rotation angle of the throttle gripper 102 is sensed by the position sensing module 106. As explained earlier, to sense the throttle rotation angle, the position sensing module 106 uses first and second sensors 110, 112 that may be positioned in the magnetic field to generate a detection signal based upon the sensed value of the magnetic field. The second detection signal indicates a rotation angle of the throttle gripper 102 and is proportional to the extent to which the user of the vehicle has angularly displaced throttle gripper 102 relative to the handlebar 104. [0050] At block 404, the throttle valve opening degree is determined by the first controller 116 based on the throttle rotation angle. In an example, the first controller 116 may be pre-programmed to determine the throttle valve opening degree for every value of the rotation angle of the throttle gripper 102 sensed by the position sensing module 106.

[0051] At block 406, the data comprising the throttle valve opening degree is transmitted wirelessly by the first transceiver 118 to the second transceiver 216. However, no data transmission takes place if the first controller 116 determines that throttle gripper 102 is idle relative to the handlebar 104.

[0052] Referring to Figure 5, at block 502, the data comprising the throttle valve opening degree is received by the second transceiver 216 from the first transceiver 118. As explained earlier, the data transfer between the first transceiver 118 and the second transceiver 216 may take place wirelessly over a local area network such as the wireless link 302.

[0053] At block 504, the second controller 218, based on the throttle valve opening degree, electrically passes a signal to the drive motor 212 to actuate the throttle valve 206 to allow the air intake through the bore 208 of the throttle body 204.

[0054] Thus, the present throttle actuation system and method of the present invention provide a wireless means of connectivity between the throttle gripper and the throttle body using a wireless protocol, thereby eliminating the need for conventional metal-braided cables and also the insulated wired connection to open or close the throttle valve. Also, the use of the controller and the transceiver at the throttle body end facilitates the actuation of the drive motor in response to the wireless input from the transceiver provided at the throttle gripper end.

[0055] Implementations of the present system of actuation facilitate easy operation in short-distance high radiofrequency (RF) environments and also avoid human interference.

[0056] In an embodiment, the sensor data that are transmitted over wireless may also be transmitted to a cloud network for real-time data analysis and study. The sensor data may be recorded without requiring a separate data logger.

[0057] Although examples for the present disclosure have been described in language specific to structural features and/or methods, it should be understood that the appended claims are not necessarily limited to the specific features or methods described. Rather, the specific features and methods are disclosed and explained as examples of the present disclosure.