Abstract: In the fuel cylinder injection engine with the supercharging machine, the ignitability deteriorates because the density of the fuel at the spray center becomes excessive due to the shrinkage of the fuel spray under the supercharging. As a result, the density of the smoke and the hydrocarbon exhaust rate increase.

Abstract: A diagnostic equipment for an exhaust gas cleaning apparatus installed for an engine, comprising a misfire detector which detects the misfire of the engine, and a secondary-air-system failure detector which detects the failure of a secondary air system. An index corrector corrects a deterioration index calculated by a deterioration-index calculator, in accordance with the detected result of the detector. A deterioration decision unit decides if the diagnostic equipment has failed, by the use of the corrected deterioration index. In a case where the extent of the misfire or the like is severe, a decision interrupter interrupts the decision of the deterioration decision unit. Thus, even when the misfire of the engine or the failure of the secondary air system has occurred, the detection of the deterioration of a catalyst does not err. It is therefore avoided to erroneously replace the catalyst which has not deteriorated yet, or to run the engine in spite of the deterioration of the catalyst.

Abstract: A diagnostic system in which the accuracy of the diagnosis of the deterioration state of a catalyst in a catalytic converter for cleaning the exhaust gas of an internal combustion engine is enhanced without incurring a rise in cost. The temperature of the catalyst is estimated using the operating-state signal (for example, the flow rate of intake air or the width of a fuel injection pulse) of the engine by a diagnostic device. The conversion efficiency of the catalyst calculated from the outputs of oxygen sensors is corrected using the estimated temperature by the diagnostic device. The deterioration state of the catalyst is diagnosed on the basis of the corrected temperature by the diagnostic device.

Abstract: The method for hot dip galvanizing comprises the steps of: dividing a plating vessel holding a molten metal into a plating tank and a dross removing tank; conducting hot dip galvanizing to a steel strip by immersing thereof in the molten metal bath; then transferring the molten metal bath from the plating tank to the dross removing tank; removing a dross from the molten metal bath in the dross removing tank; and recycling the molten metal bath from the dross removing tank to the plating tank through an opening located on the plating tank. The apparatus for galvanizing comprises a plating tank, a dross removing tank, a means to transfer the molten metal bath from the plating tank to the dross removing tank, and an opening located on the plating tank to recycle the molten metal bath from the dross removing tank to the plating tank.

Abstract: It is an object of the present invention to provide a low-cost combustion state diagnosing system and a combustion state diagnosing method capable of accurately detecting misfires which occur at a low frequency while a multiple-cylinder engine is operating at a high engine speed under a low load.

Abstract: An exhaust gas cleaning system for an engine capable of judging the amount of trapped NOx and the oxygen storage capacity of an NOx trap agent and which can diagnose the deterioration of the NOx trap agent. The NOx trap is arranged in an exhaust gas passage and the air-fuel ratio of the exhaust gas is temporally changed from a lean air-fuel ratio to the stoichiometric air-fuel ratio or a rich air-fuel ratio with a predetermined cycle. The NOx trapping occurs by absorbing or adsorbing NOx in the exhaust gas when an air-fuel ratio of the exhaust gas is a lean air-fuel ratio and by releasing or reducing NOx when the air-fuel ratio is a rich air-fuel ratio. The amount of trapped NOx is judged from the oxygen concentration and the oxygen concentration in the exhaust gas is detected in the exhaust gas passage in the downstream side of the NOx trap and determined by taking the oxygen storage capacity when the air-fuel ratio of the exhaust gas changes to the stoichiometric air-fuel ratio or the rich air-fuel ratio.

Abstract: The invention provides a method of controlling an air-fuel ratio and for diagnosing a deterioration of a catalyst having an NOx trapping agent in an internal combustion engine. An exhaust gas purifying apparatus having an NOx trapping agent arranged within an exhaust gas passage, an air-fuel ratio changing means temporarily changing the air-fuel ratio of the exhaust gas from the lean to the stoichiometric or rich air-fuel ratio at a predetermined cycle, a particular component detecting means detecting a particular component in the exhaust gas downstream the NOx trapping agent, a NOx discharge or reduction completion judging means, and NOx discharge or reduction completion time detecting means detecting a time required for purifying the NOx.

Abstract: The present invention has its object to judge the establishment of conditions influencing on the evaluation of performance of a NOx catalyst, whereby when being established, the evaluation of performance of the NOx catalyst is stopped to thereby prevent the performance of the NOx catalyst from being erroneously judged.

Abstract: It is an object of the present invention to provide a low-cost combustion state diagnosing system and a combustion state diagnosing method capable of accurately detecting misfires which occur at a low frequency while a multiple-cylinder engine is operating at a high engine speed under a low load.

Abstract: A diagnostic system in which the accuracy of the diagnosis of the deterioration state of a catalyst in a catalytic converter for cleaning the exhaust gas of an internal combustion engine is enhanced without incurring a rise in cost. The temperature of the catalyst is estimated using the operating-state signal (for example, the flow rate of intake air or the width of a fuel injection pulse) of the engine by a diagnostic device. The conversion efficiency of the catalyst calculated from the outputs of oxygen sensors is corrected using the estimated temperature by the diagnostic device. The deterioration state of the catalyst is diagnosed on the basis of the corrected temperature by the diagnostic device.

Abstract: A failure of a detecting circuit such as an ion current detecting circuit for detecting a combustion condition of an engine can be diagnosed at a stage for detecting a combustion condition by a combustion condition detecting apparatus equipped with a malfunction diagnosing apparatus. The engine combustion condition detecting apparatus equipped with the malfunction diagnosing apparatus is arranged by a sensing circuit for sensing an ion current flowing through a combustion chamber, a misfire judging means for judging misfire occurred in the engine in response to the detection signal derived from the sensing circuit, and a malfunction judging means for judging malfunction of the sensing circuit.

Abstract: An aluminum oxde-coated article has a first coating layer and a second coating layer formed in this order on a substrate, the first coating layer having a single- or multi-layer structure and being made of at least one selected from the group consisting of carbides, nitrides, carbonitrides, oxides, oxycarbides, oxynitrides and oxycarbonitrides of metals in Groups IVa, Va and VIa of the Periodic Table, and the second coating layer being constituted by at least one &agr;-aluminum oxide-based oxide layer, which has an equivalent X-ray diffraction peak ratio PR (1 0 10) of 1.3 or more in a (1 0 10) plane.

Abstract: A diagnosing system for an engine diagnoses malfunctions that occur in a direct-injection engine in which fuel is injected into combustion chambers or a lean-burn engine. The present invention provides a diagnosing system for an engine capable of diagnosing malfunctions in an intake air flow intensifying component and a fuel supply component and of specifying a malfunctioning part without being affected by the difference between different engines, the difference in quality between parts and aging.

Abstract: If the output of an O2 sensor located downstream of a catalyst deviates from a predetermined range, the air-to-fuel ratio upstream of the catalyst is over-corrected to be a leaner value or a richer value beyond the predetermined purification-efficiency range when the output of the O2 sensor downstream of the catalyst indicates rich or lean, respectively, so that the output of the O sensor downstream of the catalyst returns within a predetermined range as soon as possible.

Abstract: An apparatus for hot-dip coating a steel strip, comprising: (a) an annealing furnace for continuously annealing the steel strip, the annealing furnace having an entrance side and an exit side; (b) a coating pot having a molten metal coating bath for coating the annealed steel strip; (c) a snout through which the annealed steel strip is introduced into the molten metal coating bath, one end of the snout being connected to the annealing furnace and the other end being immersed into the molten metal coating bath; (d) a seal device for sealing between the annealing furnace and the snout, the seal device being disposed at the exit side of the annealing furnace; and (e) a discharge device for discharging a gas containing a metal vapor from the snout to outside of the snout, the metal vapor being evaporated from the molten metal coating bath in the snout.

Abstract: A diagnosing system for an engine diagnoses malfunctions that occur in a direct-injection engine in which fuel is injected into combustion chambers or a lean-burn engine. The present invention provides a diagnosing system for an engine capable of diagnosing malfunctions in an intake air flow intensifying component and a fuel supply component and of specifying a malfunctioning part without being affected by the difference between different engines, the difference in quality between parts and aging.

Abstract: There is disclosed a leakage diagnosis of an evaporative system in an internal combustion engine, and more particularly there is disclosed an evaporative system in which a more accurate leakage diagnosis can be effected using a change in the pressure in the evaporative system, and such a diagnosis method is also disclosed. The evaporative system includes a gauge line having a gauge valve, which gauge line branches off from an evaporative gas line or an evaporative gas purge line, and communicates with a point upstream of an engine throttle valve or with the ambient atmosphere, a pressure sensor for detecting the pressure in the evaporative system, and a purge valve. A leakage diagnosis of this system is effected based on detected values of the pressure sensor obtained by opening and closing the purge valve and the gauge valve. Therefore, accurate results of the diagnosis can be obtained.

Abstract: An air-fuel ratio correction coefficient calculating component is provided to an air-fuel ratio controller for an engine having the wide range air-fuel ratio sensor. The air-fuel ratio correction coefficient calculating component can accommodate a time lag in detection of an air-fuel ratio detected by the wide range air-fuel ratio sensor from the time when a mixed gas of the air-fuel ratio is supplied to the engine.

Abstract: A diagnosis system for an engine including an exhaust pipe, a hydrocarbon (HC) absorbent arranged within the exhaust pipe, an upstream air/fuel ratio sensor arranged upstream of the HC absorbent and detecting a wide range air/fuel ratio of an exhaust gas, a downstream air/fuel ratio sensor arranged downstream of the HC absorbent and detecting rich or lean with respect to stoichiometric air/fuel ratio of the exhaust gas, and a control unit, the control unit includes means for correcting an air/fuel ratio upstream of the HC absorbent, means for correcting an air/fuel ratio downstream of the HC absorbent, and means for predicting a HC absorbing amount of the HC absorbent, the means for correcting the air/fuel ratio upstream of the HC absorbent correcting and controlling an output value of the upstream air/fuel ratio sensor toward lean, the means for predicting the HC absorbing amount of the HC absorbent predicting an absorbing performance of the HC absorbent on the basis of a difference between an output value o

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide an engine exhaust gas cleaning system which can accurately judge whether or not there is the remaining capacity in an NOx trapping amount of an NOx trapping agent, can optimize the timing of NOx purge control, and can diagnose the deterioration of the NOx trapping agent.