Control apparatus and method for internal combustion engine and fuel property determining apparatus and method
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Abstract
A fuel feed chamber and a residual fuel chamber that are connectable to each other via a shutoff valve are provided in a fuel tank. When the fuel tank is refueled, the fuel feed chamber and the residual fuel chamber, which have been connected to each other so far, are disconnected and then fuel is fed only into the fuel feed chamber to refuel the fuel tank. When the engine is restarted after the refueling, only the fuel in the residual fuel chamber is supplied to the engine while the fuel feed chamber and the residual fuel chamber remain disconnected from each other, and the engine is controlled in accordance with the property of the fuel in the residual fuel chamber, which has been determined in advance.
10 Citations
37 Claims
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1-19. -19. (canceled)
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20. A control apparatus for an internal combustion engine, wherein
a fuel feed chamber and a residual fuel chamber that can be selectively connected to and disconnected from each other are provided in a fuel tank, when the fuel tank is refueled, the fuel feed chamber and the residual fuel chamber, which have been connected so far, are disconnected from each other and fuel is then fed only into the fuel feed chamber to refuel the fuel tank; - when the internal combustion engine is restarted after the refueling of the fuel tank, only the fuel in the residual fuel chamber is supplied to the internal combustion engine while the fuel feed chamber and the residual fuel chamber remain disconnected from each other and the internal combustion engine is controlled in accordance with the property of the fuel in the residua fuel chamber, which has been determined in advance;
the fuel in the fuel feed chamber and the fuel in the residual fuel chamber are supplied to the internal combustion engine at a predetermined ratio in response to a predetermined condition coming into effect after the restart of the internal combustion engine and the property of the mixture of the fuels supplied to the internal combustion engine at the predetermined ratio is determined based on the present value of an engine state amount, the average property of the fuel in the fuel feed chamber and the fuel in the residual fuel chamber is determined based on the property of the mixture of the fuels supplied to the internal combustion engine at the predetermined ratio and the property of the fuel in the residual fuel chamber, which has been determined in advance, the fuel feed chamber and the residual fuel chamber are connected to each other to allow the fuel in the fuel feed chamber and the fuel in the residual fuel chamber to be mixed with each other in the fuel tank, and the mixture of the fuels in the fuel tank is supplied to the internal combustion engine from at least one of the fuel feed chamber and the residual fuel chamber and the internal combustion engine is controlled in accordance with the determined average property. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
- when the internal combustion engine is restarted after the refueling of the fuel tank, only the fuel in the residual fuel chamber is supplied to the internal combustion engine while the fuel feed chamber and the residual fuel chamber remain disconnected from each other and the internal combustion engine is controlled in accordance with the property of the fuel in the residua fuel chamber, which has been determined in advance;
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30. A fuel property determining apparatus for an internal combustion engine having a standard fuel chamber containing a standard fuel, the property of which is known in advance, and a reference fuel chamber containing a reference fuel, the property of which is unknown, wherein
the reference fuel in the reference fuel chamber and the standard fuel in the standard fuel chamber are supplied to the internal combustion engine at a predetermined ratio in response to a predetermined condition coming into effect after the restart of the internal combustion engine and the property of the mixture of the reference and standard fuels supplied to the internal combustion engine at the predetermined ratio is determined based on the present value of an engine state amount, and the average property of the reference fuel in the reference fuel chamber and the standard fuel in the standard fuel chamber is determined based on the property of the mixture of the reference and standard fuels supplied to the internal combustion engine at the predetermined ratio and the property of the standard fuel in the standard fuel chamber, which has been determined in advance.
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31. A control apparatus for an internal combustion engine, comprising:
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a fuel tank having a fuel feed chamber and a residual fuel chamber that are connectable to each other; a fuel supply device that disconnects the fuel feed chamber and the residual fuel chamber from each other when the fuel tank is refueled, and that supplies, when the internal combustion engine is to be restarted after the refueling of the fuel tank, only the fuel in the residual fuel chamber to the internal combustion engine while the fuel feed chamber and the residual fuel chamber remain disconnected from each other; and a controller that controls the internal combustion engine in accordance with the property of the fuel in the residual fuel chamber that has been determined in advance, wherein the fuel in the fuel feed chamber and the fuel in the residual fuel chamber are supplied to the internal combustion engine at a predetermined ratio in response to a predetermined condition coming into effect after the restart of the internal combustion engine and the property of the mixture of the fuels supplied to the internal combustion engine at the predetermined ratio is determined based on the present value of an engine state amount, the average property of the fuel in the fuel feed chamber and the fuel in the residual fuel chamber is determined based on the property of the mixture of the fuels supplied to the internal combustion engine at the predetermined ratio and the property of the fuel in the residual fuel chamber, which has been determined in advance, the fuel feed chamber and the residual fuel chamber are connected to each other to allow the fuel in the fuel feed chamber and the fuel in the residual fuel chamber to be mixed with each other in the fuel tank, and the mixture of the fuels in the fuel tank is supplied to the internal combustion engine from at least one of the fuel feed chamber and the residual fuel chamber and the internal combustion engine is controlled in accordance with the determined average property.
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32. A control apparatus for an internal combustion engine, comprising:
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a fuel tank having a fuel feed chamber and a residual fuel chamber that are connectable to each other; a fuel supply device that disconnects the fuel feed chamber and the residual fuel chamber from each other when the fuel tank is refueled and that supplies, when the internal combustion engine is restarted after the refueling of the fuel tank, the fuel in the fuel feed chamber and the fuel in the residual fuel chamber to the internal combustion engine at a predetermined ratio while the fuel feed chamber and the residual fuel chamber remain disconnected from each other; and a controller that determines the property of the mixture of the fuels supplied to the internal combustion engine at the predetermined ratio based on an engine state amount that is obtained while the fuels are being supplied to the internal combustion engine at the predetermined ratio and that determines the average property of the fuel in the fuel feed chamber and the fuel in the residual fuel chamber based on the property of the mixture of the fuels supplied to the internal combustion engine at the predetermined ratio and the property of the fuel in the residual fuel chamber, which has been determined in advance, wherein the fuel supply device, after the average property has been determined, connects the fuel feed chamber and the residual fuel chamber to each other so that the fuel in the fuel feed chamber and the fuel in the residual fuel chamber are mixed with each other and supplies the mixture of the fuels to the internal combustion engine from at least one of the fuel feed chamber and the residual fuel chamber, and the controller controls the internal combustion engine in accordance with the determined average fuel property.
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33. A fuel property determining apparatus for an internal combustion engine, comprising;
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a standard fuel chamber containing a standard fuel, the property of which is known in advance; a reference fuel chamber containing a reference fuel, the property of which is unknown; and a controller that supplies the standard fuel and the reference fuel to the internal combustion engine at a predetermined ratio in response to a predetermined condition coming into effect after the restart of the internal combustion engine, determines the property of the mixture of the fuels supplied to the internal combustion engine at the predetermined ratio is based on the present value of an engine state amount, and determines the average property of the fuel in the reference fuel chamber and the fuel in the standard fuel chamber based on the property of the mixture of the fuels supplied to the internal combustion engine at the predetermined ratio and the property of the fuel in the standard fuel chamber, which has been determined in advance.
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34. A fuel property determining apparatus for an internal combustion engine, comprising:
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a first fuel chamber; a second fuel chamber; a record device that records the property of the fuel in the first fuel chamber; and a controller that supplies the fuel in the first fuel chamber and the fuel in the second fuel chamber to the internal combustion engine at a predetermined ratio in response to a predetermined condition coming into effect after the restart of the internal combustion engine and the property of the mixture of the fuels supplied to the internal combustion engine at the predetermined ratio is determined based on the present value of an engine state amount, and determines the average property of the fuel in the second fuel chamber and the fuel in the first fuel chamber based on the property of the mixture of the fuels supplied to the internal combustion engine at the predetermined ratio and the property of the fuel in the first fuel chamber, which has been determined in advance.
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35. A method for controlling an internal combustion engine, comprising:
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disconnecting, when a fuel tank is refueled, a fuel feed chamber and a residual fuel chamber from each other; supplying, when the internal combustion engine is restarted after the refueling of the fuel tank, only the fuel in the residual fuel chamber to the internal combustion engine while the fuel feed chamber and the residual fuel chamber remain disconnected from each other; controlling the internal combustion engine in accordance with the property of the fuel in the residual fuel chamber that has been determined in advance, supplying the fuel in the fuel feed chamber and the fuel in the residual fuel chamber to the internal combustion engine at a predetermined ratio in response to a predetermined condition coming into effect after the restart of the internal combustion engine and determining the property of the mixture of the fuels supplied to the internal combustion engine at the predetermined ratio based on the present value of an engine state amount, determining the average property of the fuel in the fuel feed chamber and the fuel in the residual fuel chamber based on the property of the mixture of the fuels supplied to the internal combustion engine at the predetermined ratio and the property of the fuel in the residual fuel chamber, which has been determined in advance, connecting the fuel feed chamber and the residual fuel chamber to each other to allow the fuel in the fuel feed chamber and the fuel in the residual fuel chamber to be mixed with each other in the fuel tank, and supplying the mixture of the fuels in the fuel tank to the internal combustion engine from at least one of the fuel feed chamber and controlling the internal combustion engine in accordance with the determined average property.
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36. A method for controlling an internal combustion engine, comprising:
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disconnecting, when a fuel tank is refueled, a fuel feed chamber and a residual fuel chamber from each other and supplying, when the internal combustion engine is restarted after the refueling of the fuel tank, the fuel in the fuel feed chamber and the fuel in the residual fuel chamber to the internal combustion engine at a predetermined ratio while the fuel feed chamber and the residual fuel chamber remain disconnected from each other; and determining the property of the mixture of the fuels supplied to the internal combustion engine at the predetermined ratio based on an engine state amount that is obtained while the fuels are being supplied to the internal combustion engine at the predetermined ratio; determining the average property of the fuel in the fuel feed chamber and the fuel in the residual fuel chamber based on the property of the mixture of the fuels supplied to the internal combustion engine at the predetermined ratio and the property of the fuel in the residual fuel chamber, which has been determined in advance; connecting, after the average property has been determined, the fuel feed chamber and the residual fuel chamber to each other so that the fuel in the fuel feed chamber and the fuel in the residual fuel chamber are mixed with each other and supplying the mixture of the fuels in the fuel tank to the internal combustion engine from at least one of the fuel feed chamber and the residual fuel chamber, and controlling the internal combustion engine in accordance with the determined average fuel property.
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37. A method for determining the property of fuel supplied to an internal combustion engine, comprising:
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supplying a standard fuel, which is contained in a standard fuel chamber and the property of which is known in advance, and a reference fuel, which is contained in a reference fuel chamber and the property of which is unknown, to the internal combustion engine at a predetermined ratio in response to a predetermined condition coming into effect after the restart of the internal combustion engine; determining the property of the mixture of the fuels supplied to the internal combustion engine at the predetermined ratio based on the present value of an engine state amount; and determining the average property of the fuel in reference fuel chamber and the fuel in the standard fuel chamber based on the property of the mixture of the fuels supplied to the internal combustion engine at the predetermined ratio and the property of the fuel in the standard fuel chamber, which has been determined in advance.
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Specification