Abstract: The intake manifold assembly comprises three blocks each molded from a plastic material by injection molding, the three blocks consisting of a first block defining a half of the surge tank, a second block defining a half of the individual intake pipes and a third block defining a remaining half of the surge tank and a remaining half of the individual intake pipes. Thereby, the intake manifold assembly may be provided with various features for defining a pair of intake pipe sections arranged in a mutually parallel relationship while being made to be suitable for an injection molding process. Because the surge tank are defined by the first and third blocks while the individual intake pipes are defined by the second and third blocks, the intake manifold assembly essentially consisting of three blocks can internally define essential features required for a dual port intake device without requiring additional component members.

Abstract: In a method for operating an internal combustion engine, the air-fuel ratio in a combustion chamber is a function of the operating conditions and/or the operating state of the internal combustion engine. It is provided that, with the aid of a data model, a variable expressing a target air-fuel ratio is ascertained from a target torque and an air mass determined with the aid of a model or a measured value, and in addition a setpoint fuel quantity to be injected into the combustion chamber is determined and, using the same data model, a setpoint air mass to be conveyed to the combustion chamber is determined from the target torque and a variable expressing a predefined air-fuel ratio in the combustion chamber.

Abstract: An apparatus and method to detect combustion conditions using ion signals for use in a feedback control of a diesel engine is presented. The apparatus is a spark plug type of sensor or a sensor integrated with a fuel injector. The spark plug type of sensor is used to provide a cold start mechanism combined with an ion sensing device.

Abstract: An engine control practices a method for engine control including detecting an overspeed indication selectively settable in the vehicle, responding to the threshold speed operation, and inhibiting response to the throttle control actuation when engine braking is desired. The engine braking may be enabled when said overspeed operation is maintained beyond its detection in combination with continued throttle actuation.

Abstract: A cap with a curved visor includes a crown formed of a plurality of panels and a visor consisted of a rigid material and inner and outer fabric panels, which covers the rigid material. The visor is secured to a front side of the crown. At least one incision line is made on the rigid material thereby creating a main portion and a strip portion, the main portion is inserted below the strip portion to retain the visor curved. The panels of crown are made out of a common woven fabric material or a stretchable fabric material. The rigid material is a flexible rigid material or a non-flexible rigid material. At least one incision line is made on the rigid material in equal distance from an outer edge of the rigid material along a periphery of the rigid material.

Abstract: An air amount control valve is connected to a sidewall of a throttle body in which a main air passage for supplying intake air into an internal combustion engine is formed. The air amount control valve has a bypass air passage bypassing the main passage and controls an amount of air flowing through the bypass air passage, thereby controlling an idling speed of the engine. The air amount control valve includes an aluminum alloy housing having a valve hole and a rotatable valve body having a valve surface facing a fringe wall of the valve hole. To prevent deposits from adhering to the fringe wall facing the valve surface, an anodic oxide film is formed to cover the fringe wall and further a fluororesin film is formed on the anodic oxide film.

Abstract: An electronic control unit (ECU) of an injection control system of an internal combustion engine determines that a load of a fuel pump is stabilized when a pressure-feeding operation delay elapses since a command pressure-feeding quantity outputted to the fuel pump reaches a certain pressure-feeding quantity necessary to maintain a target injection pressure. The ECU permits a single injection when a waiting period necessary to measure rotation speeds once for each cylinder before the single injection is performed elapses since the load of the fuel pump is stabilized. Thus, the single injection timing is determined based on the time point when the command pressure-feeding quantity is stabilized, the pressure-feeding operation delay, and the waiting period. Therefore, an injection quantity learning operation can be performed highly accurately in a short period.

Abstract: A combustion state estimating apparatus for estimating the state of combustion in an internal combustion engine includes an angular acceleration calculator that calculates a crank angle acceleration, and a combustion state estimator that estimates the state of combustion in the internal combustion engine based on the crank angle acceleration in a crank angle interval in which an average value of inertia torque caused by a reciprocating inertia mass of the internal combustion engine is substantially zero. Thus, the combustion state estimating apparatus excludes the effect that the inertia torque caused by the reciprocating inertia mass has on the angular acceleration, and therefore is able to precisely estimate the state of combustion based on the angular acceleration.

Abstract: A control system for a plant is disclosed. In this control system, a model parameter vector of a controlled object model which is obtained by modeling said plant, is calculated. A sliding mode controller is included in the control system. The sliding mode controller controls the plant using the identified model parameter vector. A damping input is calculated according to a speed of change in an output of the plant, and an element of the model parameter vector. A control input form the sliding mode controller to the plant includes the calculated damping input.

Abstract: A method for reducing the magnitude of a knock retard angle in a vehicle having a quantity of fuel and a system for determining the quantity of fuel. The method determines a previous fuel quantity and a present fuel quantity, determines from said present fuel quantity and said previous fuel quantity whether the quantity of fuel has increased; and decreases the magnitude of the knock retard angle upon determining the quantity of fuel has increased.

Abstract: A fuel injection valve protecting apparatus for an LPG injection type engine operates when an excessive current passes through the fuel injection valve, or when an abnormality of the fuel injection valve occurs. An electrical fuse is inserted in a driving current supply line of the fuel injection valve. An electronic control apparatus has an abnormality diagnostic unit to detect any abnormality of the fuel injection valve by monitoring a check signal sent back from a fuel injection valve driving circuit, to thereby close a fuel shutoff valve and shut off the liquefied petroleum gas. Relief valves are connected in parallel between a petroleum gas supply line and an intake manifold so as to directly discharge any petroleum gas in the petroleum gas supply line into the intake manifold when the pressure difference between the petroleum gas supply line and the intake manifold reaches a set differential pressure.

Abstract: An engine is cranked by a motor generator at a start time of the engine. An engine ECU opens an intake valve or an exhaust valve during a compression stroke using a valve control mechanism during a period from when cranking is started until when a predetermined crank angle position (detected by a crank angle sensor) is reached, thereby reducing a compression workload.

Abstract: There is provided a control system capable of realizing a highly robust control having a large margin of stability. The ECU of the control system controls the air-fuel ratio of exhaust gases emitted from the first to fourth cylinders. The ECU 2 estimates an estimation value of a detected air-fuel ratio, from a model defining a relation between the estimation value and a plurality of simulation values, and identifies an intake air amount variation coefficient such the estimation value becomes equal to a detected air-fuel ratio.

Abstract: Valve mechanism in an internal combustion engine, includes a valve play-take up mechanism in the form of a piston in a cylinder chamber at one end of an exhaust rocker arm, and a hydraulic circuit with valve elements for supplying or draining off pressure fluid to and from the cylinder chamber. A second cylinder chamber with a piston acting in an opposite direction is arranged in the rocker arm and communicates with the first-mentioned cylinder chamber. A brake rocker arm is mounted on the same rocker arm shaft as the exhaust rocker arm and has an outer end, which acts against the piston in the second cylinder chamber. The brake rocker arm has its own cam element with brake cam lobes to one side of the exhaust rocker arm cam element.

Abstract: In an engine control system, an accelerating condition is detected from the phase of a crankshaft and an induction air pressure. A stroke condition is detected from a rotational angle of the crankshaft and an induction air pressure. A differential pressure between induction pipe pressures detected at a predetermined crank angle on an exhaust stroke and an induction stroke and induction pipe pressures resulting at the same crank angle on the same strokes is calculated as an induction air pressure difference ?PA-MAN. When ?PA-MAN is equal to or larger than the threshold, an accelerating condition is determined to be occurring, and fuel in acceleration is immediately added to a steady-state fuel injection amount for injection. To improve accelerating condition and the induction air amount detection accuracy, a volume from a throttle valve to an induction port is made equal to or smaller than the volume of the stroke of a cylinder.

Abstract: A control apparatus is provided for eliminating a slippage in control timing between the input/output of a controlled object, even when the control object exhibits a relatively large dynamic characteristic such as a phase delay, a dead time, or the like, to improve the stability and the controllability of the control. The control apparatus comprises a state predictor for calculating a predicted value of a value indicative of an output of a controlled object based on a prediction algorithm, and a DSM controller for calculating a control input to the controlled object based on one modulation algorithm selected from a ? modulation algorithm, a ?? modulation algorithm, and a ?? modulation algorithm for controlling the output of the controlled object in accordance with the calculated predicted value.

Abstract: Vehicular accelerator pedal device includes: a depression amount detection section for detecting an amount of depression, by a human operator, of an accelerator pedal and generating a depression amount signal; a throttle control section for controlling a throttle opening based upon the depression amount signal; a pedal reaction impartment section for imparting the accelerator pedal with a reaction force in accordance with the amount of depression; and a pedal reaction control section for, when operation has been performed for returning the pedal from a depressed position, controlling the reaction force based upon the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal.

Abstract: An internal combustion engine 10 includes a first combustion chamber (20) in each of its cylinders (12). First fuel injector (24) injects a first volume of fuel into the chamber (20). A housing (28) defining an auxiliary combustion chamber (30) is coupled to the engine (10). The housing (28) includes a passage (32) that extends from the auxiliary combustion chamber (30) to the first combustion chamber (20). Fluid communication through the passage (32) is controlled by a valve (34). When the valve (34) is in an extended position it provides a high impedance to the flow of fluid between the auxiliary combustion chamber (30) and the first combustion chamber (20). However when in a retracted position, the valve (34) allows unimpeded fluid flow between the two chambers. An auxiliary air and fuel injector (38) to inject a fuel/air mixture into the auxiliary combustion chamber (34). Air for the auxiliary injector (38) is sourced from outside of the first combustion chamber (20), i.e.

Abstract: A method of balancing combustion among cylinders of an internal combustion engine. For each cylinder, a normalized peak firing pressure is calculated as the ratio of its peak firing pressure to its combustion pressure. Each cylinder's normalized peak firing pressure is compared to a target value for normalized peak firing pressure. The fuel flow is adjusted to any cylinder whose normalized peak firing pressure is not substantially equal to the target value.

Abstract: This feature of the present invention comprises a method and apparatus to reduce NOx emissions in an internal combustion engine. This feature of the present invention uses a closed loop control of the exhaust gas re-circulation to provide the engine with the either EGR MBT timing or a knock limited timing to yield the minimum NOx emission with maximum fuel economy benefits associated with exhaust gas re-circulation. When the exhaust gas re-circulation rate is not knock limited, the engine sets its exhaust gas re-circulation rate to an optimal rate at which the engine runs at the exhaust gas re-circulation minimum best time for best torque spark timing limit. When the exhaust gas re-circulation rate is knock limited, the engine sets its exhaust gas re-circulation rate to a knock limited rate at which the engine runs at a retarded MBT spark timing limit. The engine uses calibratable MBT timing criteria to determine the retarded MBT spark timing limit.