Fuel consumption measuring apparatus

• US 4,307,452 A
• Filed: 10/01/1979
• Issued: 12/22/1981
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/1978
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Original Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Mizote, Masanori
• Primary Examiner(s): Krass, Errol A.
• Application Number:
  US06/080,318
• Time in Patent Office: 813 Days
• Field of Search: 364/431, 364/442, 364/509, 123/32 EA, 123/32 EF, 123/32 EC, 123/487, 235/92 CT, 235/92 PE, 73/114, 73/113
• US Class Current: 701/123
• CPC Class Codes: G01F 9/001 with electric, electro-mechanic or electronic means G01F9/008 and G01F9/02 take precedence

Abstract

A fuel consumption measuring apparatus for an internal combustion engine equipped with an electromagnetic fuel injection valve, comprising a fuel injection control means which calculates a proper value of fuel to be injected into the engine, and which then corrects this value in accordance with the characteristics of the electromagnetic fuel injection valve and controls the valve thereby, and a totalling means, which, in synchronization with the signals for controlling the valve, totals the values of the amount of fuel to be injected. In an embodiment, the totalling means is capable of subtracting a first predetermined value from the total held therein, and the apparatus further comprises a decision means which at regular time intervals judges whether the totalled value in the totalling means is greater than a second predetermined value or not; and, if it is, outputs an output pulse signal and also controls the totalling means to cause it to perform the subtraction.

Claims

1. In an electronic fuel injection control system for an internal combustion engine for controlling the ratio of an energized period and a deenergized period of an actuator which operates to open and close a fuel injection valve in response to a fuel injection pulse, which system includes a first means for determining a fuel injection amount based on intake air flow rate and other control parameters and generating a first signal having a signal value indicative of the determined fuel injection amount, a second means for correcting the value of said first signal fed from said first means and generating the fuel injection pulse having a pulse width corresponding to the corrected fuel injection amount and indicative of the ratio of an energized period and a deenergized period of the actuator of the fuel injection valve based on the corrected signal value,

a fuel consumption measuring apparatus comprising in combination:

a third means for receiving said first signal and adding the signal value of said first signal in synchronism with said fuel injection pulse, said third means comparing a sum of said signal value with a predetermined value and generating a counting pulse signal when said sum becomes equal to or more than the predetermined value;

a fourth means for counting up said counting pulse signal, said fourth means generating a second signal indicative of consumed fuel amount, and said fourth means further generating a command signal to be fed to said third means and operate the third means for subtracting said predetermined value from the sum of the signal value; and

a fifth means for receiving said second signal from said fourth means and calculating consumed fuel amount based on the counted up counting pulse signal, and displaying consumed fuel amount based on said second signal value.

2. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said fourth means generates said command signal repeatedly until the sum of said first signal value becomes less than the predetermined value.

3. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1 or 2, wherein said second signal generated by said fourth means is a pulse signal having a frequency proportional to the fuel consumption amount and said fifth means includes a digital display means.

4. In an electronic fuel injection control system for an internal combustion engine for controlling the ratio of an energized period and a deenergized period of an actuator which operates to open and close a fuel injection valve in response to a fuel injection pulse, which system includes a first means for determining a fuel injection amount based on intake air flow rate and other control parameters and generating a first signal having a signal value indicative of the determined fuel injection amount, a second means for correcting the value of said first signal fed from said first means and generating the fuel injection pulse having a pulse width corresponding to the corrected fuel injection amount and indicative of the ratio of an energized period and a deenergized period of the actuator of the fuel injection valve based on the corrected signal value,

a method for measuring of fuel consumption comprising in combination the steps of:

totalling signal value of said first signal;

comparing a sum of said first signal value with a predetermined value and generating a counting pulse when the sum is equal to or more than said predetermined value;

subtracting said predetermined value from said sum of first signal value in response to a generation of said counting pulse;

counting said counting pulse and determining fuel consumption amount based on the counted pulse numbers and generating a pulse signal having a frequency proportional to the determined fuel consumption amount; and

displaying the determined fuel consumption amount based on said pulse signal.

5. A method as set forth in claim 4, wherein the step of totalling said first signal value is carried out in synchronism with said fuel injection pulse.