Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Noriaki Kumagai

Mamoru Yoshioka

Naoya Takagi

Hiroki Murata

Go Hayashita

Masakazu Tabata

Tatsuo Iida

Takahiro Nishigaki

Kazuhiro Sugimoto

Yasuo Kinoshita

Hirokazu Ito

Sohichi Imai

Koji Ichikawa

Naoki Takeuchi

Masaya Kubo

Takahiro Yoshida

Masahiro Noguchi

A cooling device is employed in a vehicle including an internal combustion engine provided with a forced-induction device and an intercooler. The cooling device includes a circulation circuit configured to circulate coolant supplied to the intercooler, an electric pump configured to operate to circulate the coolant in the circulation circuit, and processing circuitry configured to control a discharge amount of the coolant of the pump. The processing circuitry is configured to execute a control amount deriving process of deriving a control amount of the pump based on a requested flow rate and a coolant temperature, and an operation process of causing the pump to operate based on the control amount when the requested flow rate is larger than 0.

Vehicle cooling device

An object of the present invention is to provide an exhaust system component having excellent properties to be located in an exhaust flow path from an internal combustion engine, particularly, an exhaust system component having an extended use-life. The exhaust system component of the present invention for an internal combustion engine has a self-healing ceramic material and an electric heater for heating the self-healing ceramic material. In particular, the exhaust system component of the present invention is an oxygen sensor having a detection element and an electric heater, wherein the detection element has a solid electrolyte layer, a reference-side electrode layer, an exhaust-side electrode layer, and a diffusion layer and/or a trap layer each composed of a self-healing ceramic material.

Method for controlling an internal combustion engine having an exhaust system component including a self-healing ceramic material

It is intended to suppress formation of any excessive rich air-fuel ratio of the air-fuel mixture caused by adhered fuel on an inner wall surface of an intake passage of an internal combustion engine. A throttle valve driving unit is controlled so that if a variation amount of decrease in output of the internal combustion engine exceeds a predetermined variation amount when the output of the internal combustion engine is smaller than a predetermined output in a non-warm-up state in which the temperature of the internal combustion engine is equal to or lower than a predetermined temperature, then an opening degree of the throttle valve becomes a predetermined increased opening degree which is increased as compared with a standard opening degree as an opening degree of the throttle valve to be provided if the variation amount does not exceed the predetermined variation amount. Further, the electric power generated by a generator is stored in an electricity storage apparatus corresponding to increase in output of the internal combustion engine based on an amount of increase from the standard opening degree to the predetermined increased opening degree.

Control apparatus for internal combustion engine

In a control apparatus for an internal combustion engine provided with an electrically heated catalyst which heats a catalyst having an ability to purify an exhaust gas by heat from a heat generation element which generates heat by the supply of electric power, provision is made for a decision unit that decides a restraint amount for energy inputted to the electrically heated catalyst through the exhaust gas so that a heat generation element internal temperature difference, which is a difference in temperature between predetermined portions in the heat generation element of the electrically heated catalyst at the time of cold starting of the internal combustion engine, falls within a predetermined temperature range; and a control unit that controls an operating state of the internal combustion engine according to the restraint amount for the input energy decided by the decision unit. With this construction, the occurrence of cracks inside the heat generation element of the electrically heated catalyst is suppressed.

Control apparatus for an internal combustion engine

The present invention is intended to provide a technique which is capable of contributing to the suppression of the deterioration of surface electrodes in an electrically heated catalyst. The electrically heated catalyst according to the invention is provided with a heat generation element to heat a catalyst, and a pair of electrodes to supply electricity to the heat generation element. Each of the pair of electrodes has a surface electrode which spreads along a surface of the heat generation element, and the surface electrodes are arranged in opposition to each other with the heat generation element being sandwiched therebetween. Then, when a frequency becomes large in which a condition was satisfied in which a difference in temperature between two points located at a predetermined distance from each other on surfaces or in insides of the surface electrodes exceeds a predetermined temperature difference, an electric power supplied to the heat generation element is decreased, and an amount of heat supplied to the EHC by an exhaust gas is increased, as compared with when the frequency is small.

Control device for an electrically heated catalyst, and electrode deterioration degree estimation device for an electrically heated catalyst

An object of the present invention is to suppress the decrease in the insulation resistance between an electrode and a case resulting from condensed water in an electric heating catalyst (EHC). The EHC includes a heat generating element which generates heat by applying electricity and which heats a catalyst, a case which accommodates the heat generating element, and an insulating member which is provided between the heat generating element and the case, and which provides insulation from electricity. An electrode chamber, which is a space formed around an electrode connected to the heat generating element, is occluded by an occluding member, which has an airtightness higher than those of the heat generating element and the insulating member, in the case of the EHC.

Electric heating catalyst

An electric heating catalyst (EHC) in which a short circuit between a heat generation element and a case in EHC is suppressed. The EHC includes a heat generation element (catalyst carrier) electrically energized to generate heat; a case receiving the heat generation element; an insulating support member between the heat generation element and the case; a tubular inner pipe inserted into the insulating support member and located between the heat generation element and the case. The inner pipe has an end protruding into an exhaust gas from the insulating support member's end face, and the inner pipe has an electrically insulating layer formed on an entire surface, or the inner pipe is formed of an electrically insulating material; and an inner pipe heater supplied with electricity through a path different from a path through which electricity is supplied to the heat generation element, thereby heating the inner pipe's protrusion portion.

An object of the invention is to control the penetration of condensed water into an insulation member or a heater element in an electric heating catalyst (EHC). The EHC according to the invention includes a heater element that generates heat by supply of electric current to heat a catalyst, a casing that houses the heater element, an insulation member provided between the heater element and the casing to provide electric insulation, and an electrode connected to the heater element through an electrode chamber, which is a space located between the inner wall surface of the casing and the outer circumferential surface of the heater element. The EHC is further provided with a bypass passage, one end of which is connected to a bottom part of the casing at a position upstream of the upstream end face of the insulation member. The bypass passage bypasses the insulation member.

An exhaust gas purifying device for an internal combustion engine, including: an electrically heated catalyst which has a catalyst carrier supporting a catalyst and a carrier retention unit which is provided on an outer periphery of the catalyst carrier, which retains the catalyst carrier, and which has an electrical insulation property; and a cooling unit which cools the carrier retention unit. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the temperature of the carrier retention unit from becoming high, and it becomes possible to appropriately ensure the insulation property of the electrically heated catalyst. Hence, it becomes possible to expand a condition range in which the current can be applied to the electrically heated catalyst.

Exhaust gas purifying device for internal combustion engine

The electricity is suppressed from flowing through a case () of an electric heating catalyst (). The electric heating catalyst () comprises a heat generating element () which generates heat by applying electricity; a case () which accommodates the heat generating element (); an inner tube () which is provided between the heat generating element () and the case (); and a mat () which is provided between the heat generating element () and the inner tube () and between the inner tube () and the case () and which insulates the electricity; wherein the inner tube () protrudes from the mat () toward an upstream side and a downstream side in a flow direction of an exhaust gas, the inner tube () is composed of at least two substances having different thermal conductivities, the substance () having the lower thermal conductivity is arranged on an inner side as compared with a surface, and the substance () having the higher thermal conductivity is arranged to surround the substance having the lower thermal conductivity.

The present invention is intended to suppress a decrease in insulation resistance between electrodes and a case in an electric heating catalyst (EHC). An EHC () according to the present invention is provided with a heat generation element () that is energized to generate heat thereby to heat a catalyst, a case () that receives the heat generation element therein, an insulating member () that is arranged between the heat generation element () and the case () for insulating electricity, electrodes () that are connected to the heat generation element () through an electrode chamber () which is a space located between an inner wall surface of the case () and an outer peripheral surface of the heat generation element (), and a ventilation passage () that ventilates the electrode chamber.

The flow of electricity to the case () of an electrically heated catalyst () is inhibited. The heating element (), the case (), and the electrically insulating inner pipe () provided between the heating element () and the case () and inner matsandthat are shorter in the direction of the flow of exhaust gases than inner pipe () that are provided in a compressed condition between heating element () and inner pipe (), and outer matsandthat are shorter in the direction of the flow of exhaust gases than inner pipe () that are provided in a compressed condition between inner pipe () and case () are provided and the load per unit area acting upon inner pipe () at the contact surface between inner pipe () and outer matsandis larger than the load born per unit area of acting upon the heating element () at the contact surface between the inner matsandand heating element ().

Electrically heated catalyst

The present invention has for its subject to avoid a situation that condensed water stays around electrode terminals, in an electric heating type exhaust gas purification apparatus which is arranged in an exhaust system of an internal combustion engine. In order to solve this subject, the present invention resides in an exhaust gas purification apparatus of an internal combustion engine which is provided with a catalyst carrier having electrodes, a case in which the catalyst carrier is accommodated, a mat member arranged between the catalyst carrier and the case, a space part extending from the catalyst carrier to the case while passing through the mat member, and electrode terminals accommodated in said space part for supplying electric power to the electrodes of the catalyst carrier, wherein exhaust gas and condensed water are kept from permeating into the space part through the mat member or the catalyst carrier, by the provision of a pressure supply unit which supplies a positive pressure to the space part.

Exhaust gas purification apparatus of an internal combustion engine

The exhaust gas purifying device of an internal combustion engine includes: an electrically heated catalyst which is provided on an exhaust passage of the internal combustion engine, which purifies the exhaust gas drawn to the exhaust passage, and is warmed by electrification; and an electrification characteristic setting unit which set an electrification characteristic indicating a characteristic of an electrification resistance value in the electrically heated catalyst, in accordance with an electrification condition at a time of starting the electrification of the electrically heated catalyst. Thus, various determinations and controls relating to the electrically heated catalyst and using the electrification characteristic can be accurately performed.

An electrically-heated catalytic converter comprises a catalyst support which produces heat when electric current is applied, a holding mat made of an electrical insulating material, the holding mat being provided so as to cover an outer circumference of the catalyst support, and a case which houses the catalyst support and holds the catalyst support via the holding mat. The catalytic converter treats gas flowing in the case by a catalyst supported on the catalyst support. The holding mat has a water-absorbing property. An insulation layer made of an electrical insulating material is provided between the case and the holding mat.

Growing community of inventors

Susono, Japan

Noriaki Kumagai