Control apparatus for an internal combustion engine

• US 7,305,967 B1
• Filed: 02/13/2007
• Issued: 12/11/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 08/29/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Inventors: Hagari, Hideki, Nishimura, Hideki
• Primary Examiner(s): KWON, JOHN
• Application Number:
  US11/705,427
• Time in Patent Office: 301 Days
• Field of Search: 123/402, 123/403, 123/478, 123/480, 123/462, 701/103
• US Class Current: 123/403
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 11/105 characterised by the function converting demand to actuation, e.g. a map indicating relations between an accelerator pedal position and throttle valve opening or target engine torque
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 2200/0404 Throttle position
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 2200/0406 Intake manifold pressure
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 2200/0414 Air temperature
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 2200/703 Atmospheric pressure
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 41/0002 Controlling intake air
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 41/18 by measuring intake air flow
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 41/2448 Prohibition of learning
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 41/2464 Characteristics of actuators
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 9/02 concerning induction conduits throttle valves, or arrangements thereof in conduits F02D9/08
• CPC Class Codes: F02M 35/10052 special shapes or arrangements of plenum chambers; Constructional details
• CPC Class Codes: F02M 35/10295 Damping means, e.g. tranquillising chamber to dampen air oscillations intake silencers F02M35/12
• CPC Class Codes: F02M 35/1038 for temperature or pressure
• CPC Class Codes: F02M 35/10386 for flow rate air flow meters in air cleaners F02M35/021; circuit arrangements for generating control signals by measuring intake air flow F02D41/18
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/40 Engine management systems

Abstract

In throttle control, a throttle opening is set with sufficient control accuracy in accordance with the operating state of an engine despite variations in a throttle body and various kinds of sensors. A target effective opening area is calculated from a target amount of intake air, an atmospheric pressure, an intake pipe internal pressure and an intake air temperature by using a flow rate formula for a throttle type flow meter. A target throttle opening is calculated from a correlation map. An actual effective opening area is calculated from the amount of intake air, the atmospheric pressure, the intake pipe internal pressure, and the intake air temperature by using the above-mentioned flow rate formula, and a learning throttle opening is calculated from the correlation map. The target throttle opening is corrected by a throttle opening learning value calculated from a deviation between the target throttle opening and the learning throttle opening.

Claims

1. A control apparatus for an internal combustion engine comprising:

a throttle valve that is arranged in an intake passage of said internal combustion engine;

a throttle opening control section that variably controls an amount of intake air supplied to said internal combustion engine by changing an effective opening area of said intake passage thereby to control a throttle opening of said throttle valve;

an operating state detection section that detects an operating state of said internal combustion engine, and includes an intake air amount detection section that detects the amount of intake air supplied to said internal combustion engine, an atmospheric pressure detection section that detects pressure at an atmospheric side of said throttle valve as an atmospheric pressure, an intake pipe internal pressure detection section that detects pressure at said internal combustion engine side of said throttle valve as an intake pipe internal pressure, and an intake air temperature detection section that detects an intake air temperature at an atmospheric side of said throttle valve;

a target intake air amount calculation section that calculates a target amount of intake air based on the operating state of said internal combustion engine;

a target effective opening area calculation section that calculates a target effective opening area of said throttle opening control section by applying said target amount of intake air, said atmospheric pressure, said intake pipe internal pressure and said intake air temperature to a flow rate formula for a throttle type flow meter;

a target throttle opening calculation section that calculates a target throttle opening from said target effective opening area by using a correlation map between the effective opening area and the throttle opening, which are suited to each other in advance, of said throttle opening control section;

an actual effective opening area calculation section that calculates an actual effective opening area of said throttle opening control section by applying said amount of intake air, said atmospheric pressure, said intake pipe internal pressure and said intake air temperature to said flow rate formula for a throttle type flow meter; and

a learning throttle opening calculation section that calculates a learning throttle opening from said actual effective opening area by using said correlation map;

wherein said throttle opening control section includes a throttle opening learning value calculation section that calculates a throttle opening learning value based on a deviation between said target throttle opening and said learning throttle opening; and

said throttle opening control section controls said throttle opening based on a learning corrected target throttle opening which is obtained by correcting said target throttle opening by said throttle opening learning value.

2. The control apparatus for an internal combustion engine as set forth in claim 1, wherein

said throttle opening learning value is distributed to and stored in at least one of a real-time learning value being updated in real time and a long time learning value corresponding to each learning region according to an effective opening area axis of said correlation map.

3. The control apparatus for an internal combustion engine as set forth in claim 1, wherein

said long time learning value is stored in at least one of a first learning region corresponding to said target effective opening area and a second learning region corresponding to said actual effective opening area.

4. The control apparatus for an internal combustion engine as set forth in claim 1, wherein

said long time learning value is limited in such a manner that said correlation map and a relation between an effective opening area of said throttle opening control section to which said long time learning value is added and said throttle opening become monotonously increasing.

5. The control apparatus for an internal combustion engine as set forth in claim 1, wherein

the updates of said real-time learning value and said long time learning value is inhibited when a pressure ratio of said intake pipe internal pressure to said atmospheric pressure indicates a value equal to or larger than a first predetermined value.

6. The control apparatus for an internal combustion engine as set forth in claim 1, wherein

in a period in which the time elapsed after a time change rate of said target amount of intake air has reached a second predetermined value or more indicates a value less than or equal to a third predetermined value, said real-time learning value is reset, and the update of said long time learning value is inhibited.

7. The control apparatus for an internal combustion engine as set forth in claim 1, wherein

said throttle opening control section includes a backup memory;

when said engine is stopped or when a power supply for said control apparatus is turned off, said real-time learning value is reset, and said long time learning value is held in said backup memory;

in a period of time in which the time elapsed after the starting of said engine indicates a value within a fourth predetermined value, the update of said real-time learning value is inhibited;

in a period of time in which the time elapsed after the starting of said engine indicates a value that is equal to or larger than said fourth predetermined value and within a fifth predetermined value, the update of said long time learning value is inhibited; and

when the number of revolutions per minute of said internal combustion engine indicates a value less than or equal to a sixth predetermined value that is lower than a target number of revolutions per minute of said engine during idling, the update of said long time learning value is inhibited.