CONTROL APPARATUS FOR AN INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE

• US 20100235072A1
• Filed: 06/11/2008
• Published: 09/16/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/11/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Okazaki, Shuntaro
• Granted Patent: US 7,996,143 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/106
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 41/0042 Controlling the combustible mixture as a function of the canister purging, e.g. control of injected fuel to compensate for deviation of air fuel ratio when purging

Abstract

An evaporated fuel gas concentration learning section A8 renews an evaporated fuel gas concentration learning value based on a feedback correction amount FAF. An estimated purge rate calculating section A9 estimates, a flow of an evaporated fuel gas introduced into a combustion chamber based on a flow KP of an evaporated fuel gas passing through a purge control valve in consideration of a transportation delay time duration and a behavior of the evaporated fuel gas. An instructed injection amount determining section A10 calculates a purge correction amount based on the evaporated fuel gas concentration learning value and the estimated purge flow. An evaporated fuel gas purge stop timing adjusting section A11, at a purge control valve closing instruction timing, corrects the feedback correction amount to a base value and corrects the evaporated fuel gas concentration learning value so as to add, to the purge correction amount, an amount corresponding to an correction amount to correct the base injection amount provided by the feedback correction amount at a timing immediately before the feedback correction amount is corrected to the base value.

Claims

1. A control apparatus for an internal combustion engine, the engine having:

fuel injection means for supplying fuel to a combustion chamber by injecting fuel stored in a fuel tank;

a purge passage connecting said fuel tank with an intake passage, the purge passage being for introducing evaporated fuel generated in said fuel tank into said intake passage in a form of evaporated fuel gas containing the evaporated fuel;

a purge control valve which is disposed in said purge passage and whose opening is varied in response to an instruction signal; and

an air-fuel ratio sensor which is disposed in an exhaust passage and which detects an air-fuel ratio of a mixture supplied into said combustion chamber;

the control apparatus comprising,

purge control means for providing, to said purge control valve, an instruction signal to open said purge control valve at a predetermined opening when a predetermined purge condition is satisfied so as to introduce said evaporated fuel gas into said intake passage, and an instruction signal to completely close said purge control valve when said purge condition becomes unsatisfied so as to stop introducing said evaporated fuel gas into said intake passage;

base injection amount determining means for determining, based on an amount of an intake air of said engine, a base injection amount to make an air-fuel ratio of a mixture formed in said combustion chamber by the fuel injected from said fuel injection means equal to a predetermined target air-fuel ratio;

feedback correction amount calculating means for calculating a feedback correction amount to correct said base injection amount in such a manner that said detected air-fuel ratio becomes equal to said target air-fuel ratio when a predetermined feedback control condition is satisfied;

evaporated fuel gas concentration learning means for learning, as an evaporated fuel gas concentration learning value, a value relating to a concentration of said evaporated fuel contained in said evaporated fuel gas based on a value relating to said feedback correction amount, when an instruction signal for opening said purge control valve at said predetermined opening is being sent to said purge control valve;

purge flow estimating means for estimating, as an estimated purge flow, a flow of said evaporated fuel gas introduced into said combustion chamber based on a value relating to said opening of said purge control valve, in consideration of a transportation delay time duration which is a time that said evaporated fuel gas takes to transport from said purge control valve to said combustion chamber and a behavior of said evaporated fuel gas passing through said purge control valve with respect to a value relating to said opening of said purge control valve;

purge correction amount calculating means for calculating a purge correction amount to correct said base injection amount based on said evaporated fuel gas concentration learning value and said estimated purge flow so as to decrease said base injection amount by an amount corresponding to said evaporated fuel contained in said evaporated fuel gas introduced into said combustion chamber;

feedback correction amount correcting means for correcting said feedback correction amount to a base value which neither increase nor decrease said base injection amount, at a purge control closing instruction timing when an instruction signal causing said purge control valve to change its state from opening state to completely closing state is sent to said purge control valve;

evaporated fuel gas concentration learning value correcting means for correcting said evaporated fuel gas concentration learning value at said purge control valve closing instruction timing in such a manner that an amount corresponding to an correction amount to correct said base injection amount, said correction amount being provided by said feedback correction amount at a timing immediately before said feedback correction amount is corrected to said base value, is added to said purge correction amount; and

fuel injection amount determining means for determining a fuel injection amount injected from said fuel injection means by correcting said base injection amount using said feedback correction amount and said purge correction amount.

2. The control apparatus for the internal combustion engine according to claim 1, comprising:

base air-fuel ratio learning means for performing base air-fuel ratio learning by renewing a base air-fuel ratio learning value based on a feedback value for learning which varies depending on said feedback correction amount so as to make said feedback correction amount closer to said base value during a purge control valve closing instruction period for which an instruction signal to keep said purge control valve in a state in which said purge control valve is completely closed is sent to said purge control valve;

base air-fuel ratio learning completion determining means for determining whether or not said base air-fuel ratio learning is completed based on said feedback value for learning during said purge control valve closing instruction period; and

correction prohibiting means for prohibiting said feedback correction amount correcting means from correcting said feedback correction amount and for prohibiting said evaporated fuel gas concentration learning value correcting means from correcting said evaporated fuel gas concentration learning value, if it is determined that said base air-fuel ratio learning has not been completed when said purge control valve closing instruction timing arrives;

wherein said fuel injection amount determining means is configured so as to further use said base air-fuel ratio learning value to correct said base injection amount.

3. The control apparatus for the internal combustion engine according to claim 2, further comprising revolution speed detecting means for detecting a revolution speed of said engine,

wherein said correction prohibiting means is configured so as to prohibit said feedback correction amount correcting means from correcting said feedback correction amount and to prohibit said evaporated fuel gas concentration learning value correcting means from correcting said evaporated fuel gas concentration learning value, only when said detected revolution speed is higher than a predetermined threshold.

4. The control apparatus for the internal combustion engine according to claim 1, comprising:

base air-fuel ratio learning means for performing base air-fuel ratio learning by renewing a base air-fuel ratio learning value based on a feedback value for learning which varies depending on said feedback correction amount so as to make said feedback correction amount closer to said base value during a purge control valve closing instruction period for which an instruction signal to keep said purge control valve in a state in which said purge control valve is completely closed is sent to said purge control valve; and

base air-fuel ratio learning completion determining means for determining whether or not said base air-fuel ratio learning is completed based on said feedback value for learning during said purge control valve closing instruction period;

wherein said evaporated fuel gas concentration learning value correcting means performs said correcting of said feedback correction amount by said feedback correction amount correcting means and said correcting of said evaporated fuel gas concentration learning value by said evaporated fuel gas concentration learning value correcting means if it is determined that said base air-fuel ratio learning is completed when said purge control valve closing instruction timing arrives;

determines a partition ratio based on an operation state parameter of said engine if it is determined that said base air-fuel ratio learning is not completed when said purge control valve closing instruction timing arrives, and corrects said evaporated fuel gas concentration learning value in such a manner that a partition amount is added to said purge correction amount, the partition amount being corresponding to said determined partition ratio of an amount corresponding to a correction amount to correct said base injection amount by said feedback correction amount that is calculated at said purge control valve closing instruction timing, and corrects said feedback correction amount in such a manner that said feedback correction amount becomes a value obtained by subtracting said partition amount from said feedback correction amount.

5. The control apparatus for the internal combustion engine according to claim 1, further comprising filtering means for obtaining filtered feedback correction amount by performing filtering processing on said feedback correction amount calculated by said feedback correction amount calculating means, the filtering processing being for passing only low frequency components in said feedback correction amount, and wherein said evaporated fuel gas concentration learning value correcting means is configured so as to use, as said amount corresponding to said correction amount to correct said base injection amount being provided by said feedback correction amount at the timing immediately before said feedback correction amount is corrected to said base value, an amount corresponding to a correction amount to correct said base injection amount, the correction amount being indicated by said filtered feedback correction amount at the purge control valve closing instruction timing.

6. The control apparatus for the internal combustion engine according to claim 5, wherein said filtering means is configured so as to adjust a time constant of the filtering processing based on an operation state parameter of said engine.

7. The control apparatus for the internal combustion engine according to claim 2, further comprising filtering means for obtaining filtered feedback correction amount by performing filtering processing on said feedback correction amount calculated by said feedback correction amount calculating means, the filtering processing being for passing only low frequency components in said feedback correction amount, and wherein said evaporated fuel gas concentration learning value correcting means is configured so as to use, as said amount corresponding to said correction amount to correct said base injection amount being provided by said feedback correction amount at the timing immediately before said feedback correction amount is corrected to said base value, an amount corresponding to a correction amount to correct said base injection amount, the correction amount being indicated by said filtered feedback correction amount at the purge control valve closing instruction timing.

8. The control apparatus for the internal combustion engine according to claim 3, further comprising filtering means for obtaining filtered feedback correction amount by performing filtering processing on said feedback correction amount calculated by said feedback correction amount calculating means, the filtering processing being for passing only low frequency components in said feedback correction amount, and wherein said evaporated fuel gas concentration learning value correcting means is configured so as to use, as said amount corresponding to said correction amount to correct said base injection amount being provided by said feedback correction amount at the timing immediately before said feedback correction amount is corrected to said base value, an amount corresponding to a correction amount to correct said base injection amount, the correction amount being indicated by said filtered feedback correction amount at the purge control valve closing instruction timing.

9. The control apparatus for the internal combustion engine according to claim 4, further comprising filtering means for obtaining filtered feedback correction amount by performing filtering processing on said feedback correction amount calculated by said feedback correction amount calculating means, the filtering processing being for passing only low frequency components in said feedback correction amount, and wherein said evaporated fuel gas concentration learning value correcting means is configured so as to use, as said amount corresponding to said correction amount to correct said base injection amount being provided by said feedback correction amount at the timing immediately before said feedback correction amount is corrected to said base value, an amount corresponding to a correction amount to correct said base injection amount, the correction amount being indicated by said filtered feedback correction amount at the purge control valve closing instruction timing.

10. The control apparatus for the internal combustion engine according to claim 7, wherein said filtering means is configured so as to adjust a time constant of the filtering processing based on an operation state parameter of said engine.

11. The control apparatus for the internal combustion engine according to claim 8, wherein said filtering means is configured so as to adjust a time constant of the filtering processing based on an operation state parameter of said engine.

12. The control apparatus for the internal combustion engine according to claim 9, wherein said filtering means is configured so as to adjust a time constant of the filtering processing based on an operation state parameter of said engine.