With Modifying Or Updating Memory (i.e., Learning) Patents (Class 123/674)
  • Patent number: 7606654
    Abstract: A correction apparatus for correcting an error in an output of an oxygen sensor such as an A/F sensor installed in an exhaust pipe of an internal combustion engine to measure the concentration of oxygen contained in exhaust gas. The apparatus works to determine a given parameter correlating with an actual concentration of oxygen within the exhaust pipe after start of a fuel cut event and also determine an oxygen concentration-corresponding output based on the given parameter which is a parameter corresponding to an output of the oxygen sensor considered to represent the actual concentration of oxygen correctly. The apparatus samples an output of the oxygen sensor during the fuel cut event and determines a correction factor based on the sampled output of the oxygen sensor and the oxygen concentration-corresponding output for use in correcting an output of the oxygen sensor when the engine is undergoing no fuel cut.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 16, 2008
    Date of Patent: October 20, 2009
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Tomoo Kawase, Eiichi Kurokawa, Takahito Masuko
  • Patent number: 7599784
    Abstract: A fuel injection system designed to execute a learning operation to spray fuel through a fuel injector in a cycle to calculate an average of actual injection quantities for correcting an injection duration so as to minimize a deviation of the average from a target quantity. The system samples the actual injection quantities for a given period of time made up of a first and a second time section. In each of the first and second time sections, the system decides whether each of the actual injection quantities is suitable for use in calculating the average or not. When a desired number of the actual injection quantities decided to be suitable for the calculation of the average has been derived in the first time section, the system proceeds to the second time section to calculate the average. This enhances the accuracy in determining the quantity of fuel actually sprayed from the fuel injector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 18, 2008
    Date of Patent: October 6, 2009
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Koji Ishizuka, Kouichi Sugiyama, Tetsuya Ohno, Manabu Tsujimura
  • Patent number: 7596992
    Abstract: A fuel injection control apparatus for an internal combustion engine is provided. A controller directs a fuel injector to spray a learning injection quantity of fuel and determines a resulting increase in speed of the engine. The controller determines the quantity of the fuel actually sprayed from the fuel injector based on the increase in speed of the engine and calculates a correction factor which compensates for a difference between the learning injection quantity and the actual injection quantity. The controller also determines a variation in load acting on a driving member of a torque transmission mechanism. When such a variation is great undesirably, the controller stops spraying the learning injection quantity. The controller may determine the increase in speed of the engine based on the degree of the variation in load. This ensures the accuracy in calculating the correction factor regardless of the variation in load.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 16, 2008
    Date of Patent: October 6, 2009
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Masahiro Asano, Eiji Takemoto, Yuuki Tarusawa
  • Publication number: 20090248279
    Abstract: A fuel injection control apparatus for a multi-fuel engine can optimize a fuel injection quantity, using only one basic injection map, irrespective of alcohol concentration of a fuel. An E-concentration determining apparatus determines alcohol concentration of a fuel, based on a measured oxygen amount in exhaust. Basic injection quantities are stored in a basic injection map. E-concentration coefficients are stored in an E-concentration coefficient table for a plurality of alcohol concentrations in the fuel. A basic injection quantity, corresponding to a current rotary engine speed and a throttle opening, is selected from the basic injection map. A concentration coefficient, corresponding to the alcohol concentration and the basic injection quantity, is selected from the E-concentration coefficient table. A fuel injection quantity calculator determines an applied fuel injection quantity by multiplying the basic injection quantity by the concentration coefficient.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 18, 2009
    Publication date: October 1, 2009
    Applicant: Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Atsushi Ito, Yoichi Takahashi
  • Patent number: 7596446
    Abstract: A change in a torque request for an internal combustion engine during a prediction period is predicted as a change in a target torque. Further, a change in an outputtable upper-limit torque during the prediction period is calculated as an upper-limit torque change. When the target torque is greater than the upper-limit torque by more than a judgment value during the prediction period, control is exercised to increase an intake air amount. Moreover, the torque difference between the target torque and upper-limit torque at a second time, which is later than a first time, is calculated to correct the torque difference with higher responsiveness than exhibited for intake air amount control.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 7, 2008
    Date of Patent: September 29, 2009
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yoshihiro Sakayanagi, Tsuyoshi Fujikane
  • Publication number: 20090198430
    Abstract: A control apparatus capable of ensuring high control accuracy even if a controlled object is in a transient state, when a control input is calculated based on a value obtained by correcting a value calculated by a feedforward control method using a value calculated by a feedback control method. The control apparatus calculates a fuel correction coefficient such that an output from an oxygen concentration sensor converges to a target output, and multiplies a basic injection amount by the coefficient to calculate a fuel injection amount. The basic injection amount is selected from three values according to the cause of a mapping error. Two of them are calculated by searching respective maps according to corrected throttle valve opening values and engine speed. The other is calculated by multiplying a value obtained by searching a map according to the opening and the speed by a correction coefficient.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 7, 2009
    Publication date: August 6, 2009
    Inventors: Yuji YASUI, Ikue KAWASUMI
  • Publication number: 20090198434
    Abstract: A cylinder causing an abnormal air-fuel ratio is specified. Injection ratio changing control for gradually changing a ratio between command injection quantities of two injectors of the abnormal cylinder while keeping the sum of the command injection quantities of the two injectors constant is performed on the abnormal cylinder. If the injection ratio changing control is performed under the same condition, a changing behavior of the actual sum injection quantity of the two injectors varies and a changing behavior of the air-fuel ratio varies depending on which one of the two injectors is abnormal. Therefore, the abnormal injector out of the two injectors is specified using a learning value of an air-fuel ratio feedback correction value based on an output of an exhaust gas sensor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 15, 2009
    Publication date: August 6, 2009
    Applicant: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Toshihiko Tanaka, Akinori Koda, Hiroshi Yamashita
  • Patent number: 7571046
    Abstract: An engine management apparatus for an internal combustion engine of a vehicle includes a microprocessor that is operable on adjustment mechanisms of the vehicle. The vehicle has a torque sensor for sensing torque generated by the engine and the adjustment mechanisms adjust parametric values related to the torque. Memory circuitry is accessible by the microprocessor. The memory circuitry stores data representing at least one set of parametric values and a range of torque values corresponding to respective parametric values in the set. A set of instructions are executable by the microprocessor so that the microprocessor cyclically retrieves a real time torque value from the torque sensor and updates the memory if the retrieved torque value is higher than a stored torque value corresponding to a current parametric value. The microprocessor adjusts the current parametric value if the retrieved torque value is lower than the stored torque value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2005
    Date of Patent: August 4, 2009
    Assignee: The University of Queensland
    Inventor: Larry Lin Feng Weng
  • Patent number: 7568476
    Abstract: When detecting the data showing an output characteristics of an air-fuel ratio sensor, the air-fuel ratio (feed air-fuel ratio) supplied to each cylinder is alternately changed to rich or lean by a predetermined ratio (X %). And then, the average value of the detected air-fuel ratio ? in the rich side and the lean side is respectively computed. A ratio between the variation width of the air-fuel ratio and the detection variation of the air-fuel ratio sensor 20 is computed as an output-characteristics correction value for correcting the dispersion in the output characteristics of the air-fuel ratio sensor. By correcting the air-fuel ratio detection of the air-fuel ratio sensor with this output-characteristics correction value, the dispersion in the output characteristics due to manufacturing tolerances, aged deterioration, etc. of the air-fuel ratio sensor is corrected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 2007
    Date of Patent: August 4, 2009
    Assignee: DENSO Corporation
    Inventor: Eijirou Yamada
  • Patent number: 7558663
    Abstract: A fuel management system for fuel injected vehicles permits a user to modify vehicle performance without exceeding acceptable standards for vehicle emissions. A portion of the fuel management system fuel map is designated as an exempt area in which the user is not permitted to modify the fuel offset values.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 3, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 7, 2009
    Inventor: Tyler T Drazich
  • Patent number: 7546169
    Abstract: A plant model expressing an object to be controlled by a discrete mathematical model is used. Parameters of the plant model are identified in such a way as to bring an identification error, which is an error between a plant model output of an output when an input to an object to be controlled is applied to the plant model and an actual output of the object to be controlled, close to zero. By discretizing the plant model in the form of including information of part of time delay of the object to be controlled in model parameters, the information of part of time delay included in the discrete model parameters can be estimated and time delay is estimated on the basis of a change in estimated values in such a way as to be brought close to actual time delay of the object to be controlled.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 21, 2005
    Date of Patent: June 9, 2009
    Assignee: DENSO Corporation
    Inventors: Yasuhiro Kawakatsu, Noriaki Ikemoto
  • Patent number: 7520265
    Abstract: A fuel injection device calculates a variation correction value by incorporating in-cylinder pressure into injector individual data based on an injection rate of an injector measured outside a cylinder of an engine. The fuel injection device corrects a target injection amount and generation timing of a command signal of the injector based on the variation correction value. Thus, accurate injection characteristics substantially conforming to designed median values can be obtained inside the cylinder, and highly accurate injection control can be performed. Thus, the fuel injection device can perform accurate multi-injection, which requires extremely high accuracy, to simultaneously achieve reduction of engine vibration and engine noise, purification of exhaust gas and improvement of engine output and fuel consumption at high levels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 17, 2007
    Date of Patent: April 21, 2009
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventor: Koji Ishizuka
  • Publication number: 20090064977
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method to determine an alcohol content in the fuel of an internal combustion engine, in which the fuel is delivered to the individual cylinders of the internal combustion engine by way of a fuel supply via a fuel rail; and the exhaust gas of the internal combustion engine is discharged via an exhaust gas manifold of an exhaust gas system, wherein at least one exhaust gas probe is present, and in which current changes in the alcohol content of the fuel are evaluated from the signal flow of a lambda signal of the exhaust gas probe, and said signal results from a closed-loop lambda control. With this method a change in the alcohol content of the fuel can be detected and an explicit condition for a change in fuel can be derived. Moreover with the method, fuel-mixture errors can be distinguished from a changed fuel composition after a filling of the tank (fueling).
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 2, 2008
    Publication date: March 12, 2009
    Applicant: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Oliver MIERSCH-WIEMERS, Georg Mallebrein, Stephan Uhl, Juergen Pfeiffer
  • Publication number: 20090064976
    Abstract: A system for estimating fuel concentration comprises an ethanol estimating module that generates an ethanol estimate based on baseline closed loop corrections (CLC). A fuel system module controls fuel to an engine and generates a fuel system error. The ethanol estimating module selectively adjusts the baseline CLC and the ethanol estimate based on the fuel system error. A method for estimating fuel concentration comprises generating an ethanol estimate based on baseline closed loop corrections (CLC); controlling fuel to an engine and generating a fuel system error; and selectively adjusting said baseline CLC and said ethanol estimate based on said fuel system error.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 11, 2007
    Publication date: March 12, 2009
    Inventors: Mark D. Carr, Louis A. Avallone, Ian J. MacEwen, Wajdi B. Hamama, Julian R. Verdejo
  • Patent number: 7489999
    Abstract: In an engine provided with a valve lift amount variable mechanism and a center phase variable mechanism for an intake valve, a region between a region where a flow rate of an intake air passing through the intake valve reaches a sonic speed and a region where an intake air amount does not substantially change relative to a change in an opening area of the intake valve is made to be a learning region. Then, in order to resolve an error in intake air amount in the learning region, a correction value for correcting control process of the valve lift amount variable mechanism is learned. When the learning of the correction value is converged, the learning correction value is corrected with an occupied rate of the valve lift amount variable mechanism in the influence ratio between influences on the two mechanisms in relation to the error.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 10, 2009
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Ryo Miyakoshi, Kentaro Mikawa, Masahiro Arai, Yuko Nagaishi, legal representative, Takahiro Yoshino, Hatsuo Nagaishi
  • Patent number: 7484504
    Abstract: An air-fuel ratio control system includes: a catalyst; an oxygen concentration sensor; an integral value calculation portion that calculates an integral value of a deviation updated by integrating the deviation between an output value from the oxygen concentration sensor and a reference value; an air-fuel ratio control portion that controls an air-fuel ratio of exhaust gas entering the catalyst to be equal to a target air-fuel ratio; a target air-fuel ratio switching portion that sets a rich target air-fuel ratio when the output value has been inverted from rich to lean while sets a lean target air-fuel ratio when the output value has been inverted from lean to rich; and an integral value correction portion that corrects the integral value of the deviation when the air-fuel ratio is being controlled to a switched target air-fuel ratio, based on whether the next inversion takes place within a predetermined time period from the last inversion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 3, 2009
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Naoto Kato, Shuntaro Okazaki
  • Patent number: 7455048
    Abstract: A method of monitoring proper operation of an internal combustion engine by analyzing an engine speed includes the following steps: determination of an acceleration characteristic for each cylinder, which is a function of the engine acceleration between preferably directly successive working cycles of a specifiable number of examined cylinders; selection of the acceleration characteristics of one or a plurality of cylinders on the basis of specifiable criteria; and modification of an error characteristic provided for each examined cylinder as a function of the acceleration characteristic assigned to the cylinder, if an acceleration characteristic assigned to the cylinder has been selected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 2007
    Date of Patent: November 25, 2008
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventor: Rolf Maier-Landgrebe
  • Patent number: 7451037
    Abstract: A learning time counter is started and updated if an operation state is stabilized after shifting to a certain operation range. Then, convergence of a FCCB correction value of a variation in an injection characteristic is determined. If the FCCB correction value is determined to have converged, a permit flag is turned on and the FCCB correction value is decided as a learning value. Even if the FCCB correction value does not converge, the learning value is compulsorily decided when the learning time counter reaches a threshold. If the FCCB correction value is decided early, a surplus time is added to a threshold of the next operation range. Thus, the variation of the injection characteristics among cylinders can be learned highly accurately while averting unnecessary lengthening of a learning time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 2007
    Date of Patent: November 11, 2008
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventor: Sumitaka Ikeda
  • Publication number: 20080264398
    Abstract: A method for updating a map in a vehicle having an internal combustion engine and an auxiliary power source is provided. The method includes changing an input parameter; monitoring an actual output value corresponding to the changed input parameter; mapping the monitored actual output value to the changed input parameter; and compensating engine output with the auxiliary power source to account for changes to engine output resulting from changing the input parameter.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 26, 2007
    Publication date: October 30, 2008
    Applicant: FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    Inventors: Steven Yellin Schondorf, Tom Scott Gee, John Shanahan
  • Patent number: 7438066
    Abstract: A method and device for controlling an internal combustion engine, in which the fuel quantity to be injected into the engine is limited to a limiting value. The limiting value is predefined on the basis of the output signal of a closed-loop controller or an open-loop controller and a precontrol value. Furthermore, the precontrol value is corrected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 2006
    Date of Patent: October 21, 2008
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Andreas Michalske, Sascha-Juan Moran Auth
  • Patent number: 7426926
    Abstract: A method for controlling fueling of an engine, the method comprising during an engine cold start and before the engine is warmed to a predetermined level, transitioning from open-loop fueling to closed-loop fueling, where during closed-loop fueling feedback from an exhaust gas oxygen sensor is utilized and where said closed-loop fueling generates a cycling of delivered fuel in maintaining exhaust air-fuel ratio at a desired level; and providing a fueling adjustment to a subsequent engine start in response to fueling information, said fueling information obtained over at least a complete cycle of closed-loop fueling following said transition from open-loop fueling.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2006
    Date of Patent: September 23, 2008
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Philip Husak, Daniel Meyer, Venkateswaran Nallaperumal, Michael J. Cullen, Paul Roth, Michael Smokovitz
  • Publication number: 20080189008
    Abstract: A system extending from a fuel injection valve to an air-fuel ratio sensor is modeled by using a first order response delay element. Parameters of the first order response delay element T, k are identified based on an input u(t) based on an input air-fuel ratio that occurs when the input air-fuel ratio is relatively sharply changed in accordance with an engine operation requirement, and an output y(t) of the air-fuel ratio sensor that changes in response to a change in the input air-fuel ratio. Then, an abnormality of characteristics (response rate and output) of the air-fuel ratio sensor is determined based on the identified parameter.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 5, 2008
    Publication date: August 7, 2008
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Yasushi Iwazaki
  • Patent number: 7404397
    Abstract: A fuel injector control modification module is configured to modify primary fuel injector control signals provided by an engine control unit of an internal combustion engine. The module is particularly adapted to modifying fuel injector control signals based upon detected variations in fuel provided to the engine. Information indicative of fuel type is obtained by the module from an onboard diagnostic port associated with the engine control unit. The information may comprise fuel trim information which is generated, at least in part, from exhaust gas oxygen content information provided to the engine control unit. The module may modify or completely replace the primary fuel injector control signals at one or more times with secondary signal, such as to accommodate changes in fuel type. The module is particularly suited to addition to an existing engine to adapt the engine to run upon alternative fuels not contemplated by the original engine manufacturer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 7, 2006
    Date of Patent: July 29, 2008
    Assignee: Total Fuel Systems, LLC
    Inventor: Michael V. Dobeck
  • Patent number: 7401604
    Abstract: An engine control device and method that prevents fuel injection quantity from becoming unstable due to a rapid change of a correction quantity even in a predetermined operation state such as acceleration time and thus stabilizes an air-fuel ratio. Under a predetermined operating state, even when feedback control of oxygen in exhaust gas is stopped, a correction quantity immediately before the predetermined operating state is held by a correction quantity storage part and the correction of the fuel injection time is performed based on the correction quantity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 22, 2008
    Assignee: Yamaha Hatsudoki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Harumi Furukawa, Yoshitsugu Kosugi
  • Publication number: 20080141988
    Abstract: A method of controlling post injection in a diesel engine, including: storing an engine coolant temperature and a Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) temperature when the engine is turned off; calculating an SCR temperature and a coolant temperature when the engine is restarted, based on the temperatures when the engine is turned off, and if the coolant temperature when restarting is higher than a reference coolant temperature, and the SCR temperature when restarting is below a reference SCR temperature, using the SCR temperature when restarting as a factor in controlling the post injection.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 27, 2007
    Publication date: June 19, 2008
    Inventor: Jong Ik Jeon
  • Patent number: 7386388
    Abstract: An air-fuel ratio control system for an internal combustion engine, which is capable of accurately estimating an exhaust gas state parameter according to the properties of fuel, thereby making it possible to properly control the air-fuel ratio of a mixture.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 9, 2007
    Date of Patent: June 10, 2008
    Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shusuke Akazaki, Takahide Mizuno, Masayoshi Nishino, Mitsuo Hashizume
  • Patent number: 7370642
    Abstract: A CPU measures an actual air-fuel ratio based on the signals detected by the air-fuel ratio sensor. When the difference between the actual air-fuel ratio and a target air-fuel ratio is larger than a predetermined value, the computer determines that a fuel vapor amount purged into the intake passage deviates from a target value due to an incorrectness of a reference flow quantity of the purge valve. The computer calculates an actual reference flow quantity based on a measured actual air-fuel ratio, and rewrites the reference flow quantity corresponding to a current intake pressure into the calculated the reference flow quantity. Thereby, the difference between the actual air-fuel ratio and the target air-fuel ratio can be reduced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 2006
    Date of Patent: May 13, 2008
    Assignees: Denso Corporation, Nippon Soken, Inc.
    Inventors: Noriyasu Amano, Naoya Kato, Masao Kano, Shinsuke Takakura
  • Patent number: 7363912
    Abstract: A fuel injection controller calculates a difference between a rotation speed fluctuation amount of an engine in the case where an injection for learning is performed and the rotation speed fluctuation amount in the case where the injection for the learning is not performed as a rotation speed increase amount. The controller calculates an actual injection amount actually injected from an injector based on a rotation state of the engine. The controller calculates a difference between the actual injection amount and a command injection amount outputted to the injector as a characteristic deviation and corrects the command injection amount to reduce the characteristic deviation. The controller prohibits the correction of the command injection amount when a variation in the rotation speed increase amount is equal to or greater than a specified value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 2007
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Masahiro Asano, Eiji Takemoto
  • Patent number: 7359792
    Abstract: In an apparatus for initializing injectors based on pieces of correction data each corresponding to one of the injectors, an obtaining unit obtains injection characteristics of the injectors using temporally-input pieces of data as the pieces of correction data. The temporarily-input pieces of data correspond to the individual injectors. The injection characteristic of each injector depends on the injection quantity thereof. A matching unit executes determination of whether the obtained injection characteristics are substantially matched with each other. The matching unit also executes interchange of at least two of the temporarily-input pieces of data with each other, thereby obtaining injection characteristics of the injectors based on the temporally-input pieces of data whose at least two pieces of data are interchanged with each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2006
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2008
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventor: Noriyasu Nishie
  • Patent number: 7353814
    Abstract: An internal combustion engine has a fuel injection valve. To cause an actual air-fuel ratio of air-fuel mixture burned in the engine to be equal to a target value, an electronic control device corrects a fuel injection amount from the fuel injection valve using a feedback correction value. The feedback correction value is changed based on the actual air-fuel ratio. The electronic control device computes, as a safeguard value, a value of the feedback correction value that causes a fuel injection time, which is an instruction sent to the fuel injection valve, to be a permissible minimum time. When the fuel injection time is less than the permissible minimum time, the electronic control device limits the lowest value of the feedback correction value to the safeguard value. As a result, the actual air-fuel ratio is prevented from being rich.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2005
    Date of Patent: April 8, 2008
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Seiji Hirowatari, Masanao Idogawa, Masahiko Teraoka
  • Publication number: 20080060598
    Abstract: A fuel injector control modification module is configured to modify primary fuel injector control signals provided by an engine control unit of an internal combustion engine. The module is particularly adapted to modifying fuel injector control signals based upon detected variations in fuel provided to the engine. Information indicative of fuel type is obtained by the module from an onboard diagnostic port associated with the engine control unit. The information may comprise fuel trim information which is generated, at least in part, from exhaust gas oxygen content information provided to the engine control unit. The module may modify or completely replace the primary fuel injector control signals at one or more times with secondary signal, such as to accommodate changes in fuel type. The module is particularly suited to addition to an existing engine to adapt the engine to run upon alternative fuels not contemplated by the original engine manufacturer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 7, 2006
    Publication date: March 13, 2008
    Inventor: Michael V. Dobeck
  • Patent number: 7343240
    Abstract: In a case that actual values of a fuel injection quantity and fuel pressure are not in consistent with a representative point, an interpolation process is conducted by used of a learn value of a plurality of representative points. During the interpolation process, a computer determines whether the number of learning exceeds a predetermined number N. When the number of learning is less that the number N, the learn value at the representative point is replaced by the learning value at a representative point of the actual values.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 1, 2006
    Date of Patent: March 11, 2008
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kouichi Sugiyama, Koji Ishizuka
  • Patent number: 7324889
    Abstract: In an intake-air quantity control system of an engine employing a variable valve operating device capable of controlling a cylinder intake-air quantity by variable control of an operating characteristic of an intake valve, in a normal intake-valve operating mode a target operating characteristic of the intake valve is determined based on a target cylinder intake-air quantity calculated based on a target engine torque. In a predetermined high-load range, in particular, at full-load operation, the target operating characteristic is switched to a high-load period valve operating characteristic, preset to be suitable for the predetermined high-load range.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2007
    Date of Patent: January 29, 2008
    Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Masahiro Arai, Takahiro Yoshino, Hidekazu Yoshizawa, Hirokazu Shimizu
  • Patent number: 7322346
    Abstract: A method is specified for controlling a combustion engine in a motor vehicle, namely for optimally adjusting an air/fuel ratio which is distinguished in that the air/fuel ratio is the result of a regulation process. Individual aspects of the invention further address a regulation method particularly suitable for such regulation in consideration of the available input values and readings. For the purposes of supporting regulation, an adaptation method is specified which can also be used independently of the regulation method or with other regulation methods and which enables the regulation to be continuously adapted to the respective operating conditions, such as, for example, the engine operational performance, and signs of wear and tear and disruptions due to deposits etc. which accompany it.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 1, 2005
    Date of Patent: January 29, 2008
    Assignee: Delphi Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Bart Hubert Schreurs, Julien Schmitt
  • Patent number: 7308354
    Abstract: A method of controlling elements used to execute the elementary functions of internal combustion engines. The method controls the elements using measurement signals provided by sensors, determines theoretical signals that have to be provided by reference sensors at a current operating point of the engine, determines deviations between the theoretical signals and the signals measured by the reference sensors, and establishes signal correction instructions for the elements according to the determined deviations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2003
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2007
    Assignee: Renault s.a.s.
    Inventors: Marc Daneau, Bernard Dionnet, Xavier Gruson, Philippe Pelletier
  • Patent number: 7302941
    Abstract: An air-fuel ratio control apparatus for an internal combustion engine according to the invention includes a control unit that makes a correction to the fuel injection amount using the air-fuel ratio learned value when calculating the fuel injection amount, and that changes the guard value that places a limitation on the degree of correction to the fuel injection amount made by using the air-fuel ratio learned value, based on the degree to which lubricating oil has been diluted with fuel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2005
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2007
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Koji Honda, Seiji Hirowatari, Masanao Idogawa
  • Patent number: 7281533
    Abstract: A feedback control of an air-fuel ratio of an internal combustion engine is performed in such a manner that when fuel injection is resumed from a condition where fuel injection is stopped due to deceleration running, air-fuel ratio feedback control is resumed once the output from an air-fuel ratio sensor indicates an air-fuel ratio less than or equal to a threshold value SL.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 2005
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2007
    Assignees: Hitachi, Ltd., Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd.
    Inventors: Akira Kiyomura, Hisanori Ozaki
  • Patent number: 7270119
    Abstract: An air-fuel ratio control apparatus for an internal combustion engine, implementing integral correction of the air-fuel ratio by an integral term edfii obtained by multiplying an integrated difference between a target air fuel ratio and the actual air-fuel ratio by an integral gain, wherein the upper and lower limit values of the integral term are set based on the actual intake air amount and the actual air-fuel ratio. This limits the range of the integral term edfii to prevent it from being set at an excessively high or low level removed from the realities of the intake air amount and the air-fuel ratio, and thereby to prevent erroneous air-fuel ratio correction by the integral term.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 2004
    Date of Patent: September 18, 2007
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Noritake Mitsutani
  • Patent number: 7269466
    Abstract: The present invention aims to control elements to improve operation efficiency of a plant based on a correlation value of the past accumulated data. According to the invention, an optimal operation controller obtains a correlation between a state of a predetermined process and each element based on an operation status of the plant to be controlled, storing the correlation in a correlation table, and compute an operation efficiency for each element based on the operation status of the plant. Also, the operation controller has a categorization efficiency table for storing the computed operation efficiency of the predetermined process. The operation controller refers to the categorization efficiency table based on a data input from the plant, and outputs an instruction to control the each element accordingly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 8, 2003
    Date of Patent: September 11, 2007
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Norio Hirai
  • Publication number: 20070199552
    Abstract: An engine control device and method that prevents fuel injection quantity from becoming unstable due to a rapid change of a correction quantity even in a predetermined operation state such as acceleration time and thus stabilizes an air-fuel ratio. Under a predetermined operating state, even when feedback control of oxygen in exhaust gas is stopped, a correction quantity immediately before the predetermined operating state is held by a correction quantity storage part and the correction of the fuel injection time is performed based on the correction quantity.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 20, 2007
    Publication date: August 30, 2007
    Applicant: YAMAHA HATSUDOKI KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Harumi FURUKAWA, Yoshitsugu KOSUGI
  • Patent number: 7258102
    Abstract: An engine ECU executes a program including the steps of: detecting an air-fuel ratio; calculating a learn value of a feedback correction amount for total fuel injection amount calculated based on the air-fuel ratio, for a plurality of learning regions obtained as a result of division corresponding to an intake air amount; interpolating the learn value at an intake air amount different from the intake air amount detected at the time of calculation of the learn value, based on the calculated learn value; and correcting an amount of fuel injection based on the obtained learn value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2007
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kenichi Kinose, Tatsuya Tahara
  • Publication number: 20070169465
    Abstract: The output from an air-fuel ratio sensor is corrected using an integral term that is calculated by integrating values of deviation of the output from an oxygen sensor with respect to a reference output that would be obtained when the combustion air-fuel ratio is stoichiometric, when an engine operates with a target combustion air-fuel ratio set to the stoichiometric air-fuel ratio. A fuel-cutoff prohibition period in which fuel supply cutoff is prohibited is set so that the engine continues to operate with the target combustion air-fuel ratio set to the stoichiometric air-fuel ratio, until the integral term is updated at least once. The integral term may be updated when a predetermined updating condition is satisfied.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 29, 2006
    Publication date: July 26, 2007
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Norihisa Nakagawa, Takahiko Fujiwara, Taiga Hagimoto, Junichi Kako, Naoto Kato, Shuntaro Okazaki
  • Patent number: 7246005
    Abstract: An apparatus comprises a feed-forward arrangement and a closed-loop controller. The feed-forward arrangement is configured to determine a change of a system, the system change being independent of an output of a component of the system. The feed-forward arrangement is further configured to generate a feed-forward signal representative of the system change. The controller is configured to modify a state of the controller in response to the feed-forward signal and to perform closed-loop control of the component based on its modified state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 2005
    Date of Patent: July 17, 2007
    Assignee: Arvin Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: Randall J. Johnson
  • Patent number: 7234446
    Abstract: A misfire detector prevents catalysts from being heated to damaging high temperatures. The misfire detector for a multi-cylinder engine includes a fuel cut control to stop supplying fuel to misfiring cylinders, a control to prevent a fuel feed back control and a fuel learning control and to initialize the correction values of both the fuel feed back control and the fuel learning control, and a retard control to retard the ignition timing based on the extent that misfire occurs or the air-fuel ratio. The retard control can be replaced by a throttle opening control for misfire to limit the throttle opening angle. The retard control can also be replaced by an engine or vehicle speed control to limit the engine or vehicle speed below a predetermined engine or vehicle speed, respectively, irrespective of the throttle position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2005
    Date of Patent: June 26, 2007
    Assignee: Suzuki Motor Corporation
    Inventor: Katsuhiko Toyoda
  • Patent number: 7216640
    Abstract: A method for calculating transient fuel wall wetting characteristics of an operating engine is described. The method accounts for cylinder valve deactivation of cylinders in the engine in calculating the dynamic fueling compensation. In one example, fuel vaporization effects from fuel puddles in deactivated cylinders are considered when calculating the fueling compensation for active cylinders.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 2006
    Date of Patent: May 15, 2007
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Gang Song, Ilya V. Kolmanovsky, John Ottavio Michelini, Donald J. Lewis
  • Patent number: 7216639
    Abstract: When carrying out abnormality determination for an air-fuel ratio sensor 33 by comparison of an average value tave of all diagnostic values t(n) and an abnormality determination value C, the abnormality determination value C is corrected using an average value ?tave for the disturbance correction values ?t(n). A disturbance correction value ?t(n) is derived by subtracting a correction reference value A, which is a diagnostic value with a normal air-fuel ratio sensor 33 when there is no disturbance, from the diagnostic value t(n). The present invention provides the abnormality diagnosis device for the air-fuel ratio sensor that can acquire highly precise diagnosis results without lowering frequency of diagnosis accurately taking into consideration the influence of disturbance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 2006
    Date of Patent: May 15, 2007
    Assignees: Fuji Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha, Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Hisanori Ozaki, Akira Kiyomura
  • Patent number: 7195008
    Abstract: During a learning mode period, the fuel correction coefficient is forcibly changed three times from a situation in which no correction is necessary, whereby the fuel injection quantity of each cylinder is forcibly changed three times. A cross-correlation between the estimated air-fuel ratio and the fuel correction coefficient, which are calculated based on the detected value of the air-fuel ratio sensor every 60° CA, is evaluated to learn a deviation of the air-fuel ratio detecting timing from the appropriate value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 2006
    Date of Patent: March 27, 2007
    Assignees: Denso Corporation, Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Toshiki Annoura, Koichi Hoshi
  • Patent number: 7191772
    Abstract: Method of regulating an internal combustion engine in order to reach presettable nitrogen oxide emission values of the internal combustion engine, wherein the internal combustion engine is supplied at least some of the time with a first fuel and at least some of the time with a second fuel, the quantity of the first fuel supplied to the internal combustion engine per unit of time being controlled according to a preset control actual value or kept constant and the quantity of the second fuel supplied to the internal combustion engine per unit of time to reach a presettable nitrogen oxide emission value being regulated according to at least one recorded engine parameter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 20, 2005
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2007
    Assignee: GE Jenbacher GmbH & Co OHG
    Inventors: Reinhard Robitschko, Herbert Schaumberger, Johann Hirzinger, Albert Fahringer
  • Patent number: 7191771
    Abstract: The aim of the inventive method is to improve the emission values of an internal combustion engine during idling following a cold start. Said aim is achieved by inferring an adaptive value for the required fuel quantity from a characteristic curve in accordance with the temperature of the internal combustion engine and verifying during continuous lambda regulation whether predetermined adaptation conditions are met. If so, an adaptive value is determined from the parameters of the lambda regulator and the characteristic curve is adjusted according the newly determined adaptive value and the measured temperature of the internal combustion engine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 15, 2004
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2007
    Assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Alexander Ketterer, Hong Zhang
  • Patent number: RE40431
    Abstract: Method of regulating an internal combustion engine in order to reach presettable nitrogen oxide emission values of the internal combustion engine, wherein the internal combustion engine is supplied at least some of the time with a first fuel and at least some of the time with a second fuel, the quantity of the first fuel supplied to the internal combustion engine per unit of time being controlled according to a preset control actual value or kept constant and the quantity of the second fuel supplied to the internal combustion engine per unit of time to reach a presettable nitrogen oxide emission value being regulated according to at least one recorded engine parameter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 3, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 15, 2008
    Assignee: GE Jenbacher GmbH & Co OHG
    Inventors: Reinhard Robitschko, Herbert Schaumberger, Johann Hirzinger, Albert Fahringer