US5875757A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Method and apparatus for controlling idle speed of stratified charge injection engine
Assignee: Toyota Motor Corp
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Filing: 1997-09-15
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Granted: 1999-03-02
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Expires: 2017-09-15
Abstract
Abstract An apparatus for controlling idle speed of an engine is disclosed. The engine is able to perform stratified charge combustion and uniform charge combustion. A fuel injection valve directly injects fuel into the combustion chamber to perform either stratified charge combustion or uniform charge combustion in accordance with the running state of the engine. An automatic transmission is operably coupled to the engine to selectively load the engine. The engine power is increased for avoiding a decrease in the idle speed of the engine when the transmission starts to operate while the engine is idling. However, the power increase is delayed from when the transmission starts operating. The amount of fuel injected from a fuel injection valve is increased to increase power of the engine during stratified charge combustion. The amount of air supplied to the combustion chamber is increased to increase power of the engine during uniform charge combustion. The delay is longer during stratified charge combustion than during uniform charge combustion.
Inventors
- 👤 Hiroyuki Mizuno
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-30 17:30
CPC Classifications
F; F02; F02D; F02D43/00; F02D41/00; F02D41/02; F02D41/04; F02D41/08; F02D41/021; F02D41/0215; F02D41/0225; F02D41/083; F02D41/30; F02D41/3011; F02D41/3017; F02D41/3023; F02D41/3029; F02D41/14; F02D41/1401; F02D2041/1413; F02D2041/1431; F02D41/38; F02D2041/389; Y; Y02; Y02T; Y02T10/00; Y02T10/10; Y02T10/12
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 16
Claim 1
Independent Claim
179 words
An apparatus for controlling idle speed of an internal combustion engine, the engine being able to perform stratified charge combustion, in which the air-fuel ratio varies in the combustion chamber, and uniform charge combustion, in which the air-fuel mixture is uniform in the combustion chamber, a loading mechanism being operably coupled to the engine to selectively load the engine, the controlling apparatus comprising: supplying means for supplying fuel to the combustion chamber to perform either stratified charge combustion or uniform charge combustion in accordance with the running state of the engine; increasing means for increasing power of the engine to suppress a decrease in the idle speed of the engine; detecting means for detecting when the loading mechanism starts to operate while the engine is idling; and controlling means for actuating the increasing means to increase power of the engine after the detecting means detects that the loading mechanism starts operating, wherein the controlling means delays actuating the increasing means during stratified charge combustion relative to a time when it starts actuating the increasing means during uniform charge combustion.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
179 words
An apparatus for controlling idle speed of an internal combustion engine, the engine being able to perform stratified charge combustion, in which the air-fuel ratio varies in the combustion chamber, and uniform charge combustion, in which the air-fuel mixture is uniform in the combustion chamber, a loading mechanism being operably coupled to the engine to selectively load the engine, the controlling apparatus comprising: supplying means for supplying fuel to the combustion chamber to perform either stratified charge combustion or uniform charge combustion in accordance with the running state of the engine; increasing means for increasing power of the engine to suppress a decrease in the idle speed of the engine; detecting means for detecting when the loading mechanism starts to operate while the engine is idling; and controlling means for actuating the increasing means to increase power of the engine after the detecting means detects that the loading mechanism starts operating, wherein the controlling means delays actuating the increasing means during stratified charge combustion relative to a time when it starts actuating the increasing means during uniform charge combustion.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
51 words
The controlling apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the controlling means actuates the increasing means when a predetermined time period has elapsed from when the detecting means detects that the loading mechanism starts operating, and wherein the predetermined time period is longer during stratified charge combustion than during uniform charge combustion.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
48 words
The controlling apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the supplying means includes a fuel injection valve for directly injecting fuel into the combustion chamber, and the fuel injection valve directly injects fuel into the combustion chamber during a compression stroke of the engine for performing stratified charge combustion.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
31 words
The controlling apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the fuel injection valve directly injects fuel into the combustion chamber during an intake stroke of the engine for performing uniform charge combustion.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
46 words
The controlling apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the fuel injection valve functions as the increasing means during stratified charge combustion, and the controlling means increases the amount of fuel injected from the fuel injection valve for increasing power of the engine during stratified charge combustion.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
54 words
The controlling apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the engine comprises: an intake passage connected to the combustion chamber for supplying air to the combustion chamber; a throttle valve located in the intake passage for controlling the opening amount of the intake passage, the throttle valve being substantially fully opened during stratified charge combustion.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
64 words
The controlling apparatus according to claim 5 further comprising an adjusting mechanism for adjusting the amount of air supplied to the combustion chamber, the adjusting mechanism functioning as the increasing means during uniform charge combustion, and the controlling means controlling the adjusting mechanism for increasing the amount of air supplied to the combustion chamber thereby increasing power of the engine during uniform charge combustion.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
68 words
The controlling apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the engine comprises an intake passage connected to the combustion chamber for supplying air to the combustion chamber, and the adjusting mechanism comprises: a throttle valve located in the intake passage for controlling the opening amount of the intake passage; and an actuator for actuating the throttle valve, the controlling means controlling the actuator as necessary during uniform charge combustion.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
119 words
The controlling apparatus according claim 7, wherein the engine comprises an intake passage connected to the combustion chamber for supplying air to the combustion chamber and a throttle valve located in the intake passage for controlling the opening amount of the intake passage, the throttle valve being fully closed when the engine is idling, the adjusting mechanism comprises: a bypass passage that is connected to the intake passage to bypass the throttle valve; an idle speed control valve located in the bypass passage for controlling the opening amount of the bypass passage when the engine is idling; and an actuator for actuating the idle speed control valve, the controlling means controlling the actuator as necessary during uniform charge combustion.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
310 words
An apparatus for controlling idle speed of an internal combustion engine, the engine being able to perform stratified charge combustion, in which the air-fuel ratio varies in the combustion chamber, and uniform charge combustion, in which the air-fuel mixture is uniform in the combustion chamber, a loading mechanism being operably coupled to the engine to selectively load the engine, the controlling apparatus comprising: a fuel injection valve for directly injecting fuel into the combustion chamber to perform either stratified charge combustion or uniform charge combustion in accordance with the running state of the engine, wherein the fuel injection valve directly injects fuel into the combustion chamber during a compression stroke of the engine for performing stratified charge combustion, and wherein the fuel injection valve directly injects fuel into the combustion chamber during an intake stroke of the engine for performing uniform charge combustion; an adjusting mechanism for adjusting the amount of air supplied to the combustion chamber; increasing means for increasing power of the engine to suppress a decrease in the idle speed of the engine, wherein the fuel injection valve functions as the increasing means during stratified charge combustion, and wherein the adjusting mechanism functions as the increasing means during uniform charge combustion; detecting means for detecting when the loading mechanism starts to operate while the engine is idling; and controlling means for actuating the increasing means to increase power of the engine when a predetermined time period has elapsed after the detecting means detects that the loading mechanism has started operating, wherein the controlling means increases the amount of fuel injected from the fuel injection valve during stratified charge combustion and controls the adjusting means to increase the amount of intake air supplied to the combustion chamber during uniform charge combustion, and wherein the predetermined time period is longer during stratified charge combustion than during uniform charge combustion.
Claim 12
Independent Claim
310 words
An apparatus for controlling idle speed of an internal combustion engine, the engine being able to perform stratified charge combustion, in which the air-fuel ratio varies in the combustion chamber, and uniform charge combustion, in which the air-fuel mixture is uniform in the combustion chamber, a loading mechanism being operably coupled to the engine to selectively load the engine, the controlling apparatus comprising: a fuel injection valve for directly injecting fuel into the combustion chamber to perform either stratified charge combustion or uniform charge combustion in accordance with the running state of the engine, wherein the fuel injection valve directly injects fuel into the combustion chamber during a compression stroke of the engine for performing stratified charge combustion, and wherein the fuel injection valve directly injects fuel into the combustion chamber during an intake stroke of the engine for performing uniform charge combustion; an adjusting mechanism for adjusting the amount of air supplied to the combustion chamber; increasing means for increasing power of the engine to suppress a decrease in the idle speed of the engine, wherein the fuel injection valve functions as the increasing means during stratified charge combustion, and wherein the adjusting mechanism functions as the increasing means during uniform charge combustion; detecting means for detecting when the loading mechanism starts to operate while the engine is idling; and controlling means for actuating the increasing means to increase power of the engine when a predetermined time period has elapsed after the detecting means detects that the loading mechanism has started operating, wherein the controlling means increases the amount of fuel injected from the fuel injection valve during stratified charge combustion and controls the adjusting means to increase the amount of intake air supplied to the combustion chamber during uniform charge combustion, and wherein the predetermined time period is longer during stratified charge combustion than during uniform charge combustion.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
79 words
The controlling apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the engine comprises an intake passage connected to the combustion chamber for supplying air to the combustion chamber, and the adjusting mechanism comprises: a throttle valve located in the intake passage for controlling the opening amount of the intake passage, the throttle valve being substantially fully opened during stratified charge combustion; and an actuator for actuating the throttle valve, the controlling means controlling the actuator as necessary during uniform charge combustion.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
135 words
The controlling apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the engine comprises an intake passage connected to the combustion chamber for supplying air to the combustion chamber and a throttle valve located in the intake passage for controlling the opening amount of the intake passage, the throttle valve being fully closed when the engine is idling, wherein the adjusting mechanism further comprises: a bypass passage that is connected to the intake passage to bypass the throttle valve; an idle speed control valve located in the bypass passage for controlling the opening amount of the bypass passage when the engine is idling, the idle speed control valve being substantially fully opened during stratified charge combustion; and an actuator for actuating the idle speed control valve, the controlling means controlling the actuator as necessary during uniform charge combustion.
Claim 15
Independent Claim
132 words
A method for controlling idle speed of an internal combustion engine, the engine being able to perform stratified charge combustion, in which the air-fuel ratio varies in the combustion chamber, and uniform charge combustion in which the air-fuel mixture is uniform in the combustion chamber, a loading mechanism being operably coupled to the engine to selectively load the engine, the method comprising: performing either stratified charge combustion or uniform charge combustion in accordance with the running state of the engine; actuating an increasing means for increasing power of the engine to suppress a decrease in the idle speed of the engine after operation of the loading mechanism is detected while the engine is idling; and delaying actuation of the increasing means during stratified charge combustion relative to that of uniform charge combustion.
Claim 16
Independent Claim
132 words
A method for controlling idle speed of an internal combustion engine, the engine being able to perform stratified charge combustion, in which the air-fuel ratio varies in the combustion chamber, and uniform charge combustion in which the air-fuel mixture is uniform in the combustion chamber, a loading mechanism being operably coupled to the engine to selectively load the engine, the method comprising: performing either stratified charge combustion or uniform charge combustion in accordance with the running state of the engine; actuating an increasing means for increasing power of the engine to suppress a decrease in the idle speed of the engine after operation of the loading mechanism is detected while the engine is idling; and delaying actuation of the increasing means during stratified charge combustion relative to that of uniform charge combustion.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2002-03-01 | 2002-08-31 | 2003-03-02 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2006-03-01 | 2006-08-31 | 2007-03-02 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2010-03-01 | 2010-08-31 | 2011-03-02 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |