Denso Corporation

Koji Ishizuka

Kenichiro Nakata

Kazuhiro Higuchi

Kouichi Sugiyama

Sumitaka Ikeda

Masahiro Asano

Youhei Morimoto

Naoyuki Yamada

Satoru Sasaki

Yoshimitsu Takashima

Mitsuhiro Nishimura

Jun Kawamura

Yuuki Nakatsuji

Masayuki Suzuki

Hideo Naruse

Takayuki Fukushima

Shinya Hoshi

Takashi Kikutani

Tomohiro Takahashi

Manabu Tsujimura

Tetsuya Ohno

Makoto Mashida

Ru Long Li

Ru-Long Li

The density of fuel being used by a compression-ignition engine and the flammability of the fuel (readiness to ignite when injected into a combustion chamber of the engine, under the current operating conditions of the engine) are respectively detected. When the flammability is excessively low and the density is above a threshold value, the oxygen concentration of the intake air supplied to the cylinders is increased until the flammability reaches a reference condition, while when the flammability is excessively low and the density is below the threshold value, the compression ratio of the engine (and/or each pilot injection amount) is increased until the flammability reaches the reference condition.

Control apparatus for controlling combustion in compression-ignition internal combustion engine

A fuel property detection apparatus detects fuel properties based on cetane number and density of a tested fuel. Tested fuel is examined in terms of ignition timing, and, when the tested fuel has an ignition timing earlier than a threshold, the tested fuel is identified as having a standard cetane number. When the tested fuel has an ignition timing later than the threshold, the tested fuel is identified as having a low cetane number. An advance angle of the ignition timing is increased for yielding a greater ignition timing difference between a light property fuel and a heavy property fuel, and, in such manner, the difference therebetween is detected. When an advancement of the ignition timing is greater than a threshold, the fuel property is identified as heavy, and, when an advancement of the ignition timing is smaller than the threshold, the fuel property is identified as light.

Fuel property detection apparatus

A fuel-injector-replacement device obtains a learning value of characteristic data of an injector while an engine is running. The learning value stored in an ECU is updated into the learning value. When the engine is stopped, the characteristic data stored in an INJ-EEPROM are updated into the characteristic data stored in the ECU. When the engine is started, it is determined whether the characteristic data stored in the ECU agrees with the characteristic data stored in the INJ-EEPROM. When these data do not agree with each other, it is determined that the fuel-injector is improperly replaced without updating the characteristic data stored in the ECU.

Fuel-injector-replacement determining device

An engine control apparatus works to determine target values of a plurality of combustion parameters which represent combustion states of fuel in a combustion engine and are needed to achieve required performances of the combustion engine, calculate a combustion parameter deviation that is a deviation of an actual value of each of the combustion parameters from the target value thereof, select at least one of controlled parameters correlating with the combustion parameters as a function of a degree of a selected one of the combustion parameter deviations for minimizing the selected one of the combustion parameter deviations. The controlled parameters are parameters for controlling operations of actuators working to control the combustion states of the combustion engine. The engine control apparatus controls the one of the controlled parameters, as selected by the controlled parameter selector, to minimize the selected one of the combustion parameter deviations.

Engine control system with actuator control

A characteristics-detecting-portion analyzes a fuel injection condition based on a fuel pressure waveform which represents a variation in a detection value of the fuel pressure sensor and then detects the fuel-injection-characteristic value based on the analyzed fuel injection condition. The detected parameter is learned and stored in a memory in association with a fuel temperature detected by a fuel temperature sensor. A fuel-injection-rate model is established based on the learned detected parameters. A command-fuel-injection start time and a command-fuel-injection period are defined by use of the fuel-injection-rate model and the current fuel temperature.

Fuel-injection-characteristics learning apparatus

A multicylinder engine is provided with a fuel injector for each cylinder. An ECU defines a fuel injection condition of the fuel injector based on an engine driving condition and executes a fuel injection control for each cylinder based on the defined fuel injection condition. The ECU computes an engine speed with respect to each cylinder. While the engine is running, the fuel injection condition is operated in an operation cylinder. A fuel property is determined based on the engine speed of the operation cylinder and an engine speed of a non-operation cylinder.

Controller for internal combustion engine

An engine control system which may be used in automotive vehicles includes first correlation data representing correlations between performance parameters associated with different types of performances of a combustion engine and uncorrelated common factors existing among the performance parameters and second correlation data representing correlations between the common factors and combustion parameters associated with combustion states of fuel in the combustion engine. The engine control system determines target values of the common factors using the first correlation data and also determines target values of the combustion parameters using the second correlation data. The engine control system determines command values as a function of the target values of the combustion parameter and outputs them to actuators which control combustion states of fuel in the engine for achieving desired levels of the performances of the combustion engine. This enables the performance parameters to be controlled independently of each other without any interference.

Engine control system for actuator control

A fuel injection system for an internal combustion engine is provided which calculates the quantity of fuel required to bring the pressure in a fuel accumulator into agreement with a target pressure and then control an operation of a high-pressure pump based on the required quantity. Even in the absence of a change in pressure in the accumulator, the system controls the high-pressure pump based on the required quantity. Specifically, the system calculates a feedback fuel quantity required to compensate for a difference between the required quantity and a quantity of the fuel actually supplied to the accumulator, in other words, leans such a quantity difference to correct the required quantity, thus resulting in an enhanced response of the system to control the high-pressure pump to a change in pressure in the accumulator.

Fuel injection system for internal combustion engine

An engine control apparatus works to determine a target value of each of performance parameters associated with different types of performances of a combustion engine based on operating conditions of the combustion engine, determine target values of combustion parameters associated with combustion states of fuel in the combustion engine based on the target values of the performance parameters using first correlation data representing correlations between the performance parameters and the combustion parameters, and calculate command values of controlled parameters for actuators as a function of the target values of the combustion parameters. When actual values of the performance parameters are in coincidence with the target values, the system changes or corrects the target value of a selected one of the performance parameters so as to enhance the level of a corresponding one of the performances of the engine based on the other performance parameters.

Engine control system with algorithm for actuator control

An engine control apparatus which may be employed in automotive vehicles. The engine control apparatus is equipped with a controlled variable arithmetic expression which defines correlations between a plurality of combustion parameters and a plurality of controlled variables of actuators for control of an operation of the engine to calculate a combination of command values to be outputted to the actuators for regulating the controlled variables needed to achieve target values of the combustion parameters. When one of the command values is produced outside an allowable operation range of a corresponding one of the actuators, the engine control apparatus corrects or limits the one of the command values to an upper or a lower limit of the allowable operation range, thereby ensuring the stability in bringing engine output characteristics close to desired values.

An engine control apparatus which may be employed in automotive vehicles. The engine control apparatus is equipped with at least one of a combustion parameter or a controlled variable arithmetic expression. The combustion parameter arithmetic expression defines combustion conditions of the engine needed to achieve required values of engine output-related values such as exhaust emissions. The controlled variable arithmetic expression defines how to operate actuators for an operation of the engine to meet desired combustion conditions of the engine. The use of the combustion parameter or controlled variable arithmetic expression achieves simultaneous agreement of the engine output-related values with required values without mutual interference between combustion parameters associated with the combustion conditions. The engine control apparatus also works to correct target values of fuel injection-related combustion parameters based on a response delay of an air-related combustion parameter, thereby ensuring the accuracy in achieving required values of the engine output-related values.

A fuel injection controller includes an ECU controlling an operation of a fuel injector based on a characteristic data of the fuel injector, an EEPROM provided to the injector, and an EEPROM provided to the ECU. Identification information by which the fuel injector is individually identified is stored in both of the EEPROMs. It is determined whether the identification information stored in the injector-side EEPROM is identical to the identification information stored in the ECU-side EEPROM. Based on this determination result, it can be determined whether the injector and/or the ECU are exchanged to new one.

Fuel injection controller

An actual maximum fuel injection rate is computed based on a falling waveform and a rising waveform of the fuel pressure. The falling waveform represents the fuel pressure detected by a fuel sensor during a period in which the fuel pressure increases due to a fuel injection rate decrease. The rising waveform represents the fuel pressure detected by the fuel sensor during a period in which the fuel pressure decreases due to a fuel injection rate increase. The falling waveform and the rising waveform are modeled by modeling functions. A reference pressure is computed based on pressure during a specified time period before the falling waveform is generated. An intersection pressure is computed, at which the straight lines expressed by the modeling functions intersect to each other. The maximum fuel injection rate is computed based on a fuel pressure drop from the reference pressure to the intersection pressure.

Fuel injection detecting device

A fuel injection device includes a fuel injection valve for injecting fuel, which is distributed from a pressure-accumulation vessel. A pressure sensor is located in a fuel passage, which extends from the pressure-accumulation vessel to a nozzle hole. The pressure sensor is located closer to the nozzle hole than the pressure-accumulation vessel. A storage unit stores individual difference information obtained by an examination. The individual difference information indicates an injection characteristic of the fuel injection valve and indicates at least one of an injection response time delay between an injection start point and a time point, at which a fluctuation is caused by the start of fuel injection in detected pressure of the pressure sensor, and a parameter for calculating the injection response time delay.

Fuel injection device, fuel injection system, and method for determining malfunction of the same

A fuel injection control device (ECU) for controlling injection supply of fuel to an engine is applied to an injector that has a valve body formed with a fuel injection hole, a needle accommodated in the valve body for opening and closing the injection hole, and a piezoelectric element for driving the needle such that the needle reciprocates and that can continuously adjust an injection rate in accordance with an injection command signal to the piezoelectric element. The fuel injection control device senses a fuel pressure waveform indicating a transition of fuel pressure fluctuation accompanying a predetermined injection of the injector based on an output of a fuel pressure sensor and calculates an injection command signal for approximating a predetermined injection parameter concerning the predetermined injection to a reference value of the parameter based on the sensed fuel pressure waveform.

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Chita-gun, Japan

Koji Ishizuka