Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha

Takahiro Moronaga

Hiroyoshi Suzuki

Akira Okada

Shinichi Nishida

Masanobu Uchinami

Hitoshi Inoue

Toshihisa Takahashi

A tubular single-layer winding coil is installed on the outer periphery of a thin wall portion of a cylindrical container case and a columnar electrode is provided at the center of the inside of the cylindrical container case. A fuel channel is formed between the coil and the electrode so that the permittivity of fuel flowing through the fuel channel is detected from the electrostatic capacity therebetween. Further, variation of the electrostatic capacity due to the temperature characteristics of the fuel is compensated by the temperature characteristics of the permittivity of the thin wall portion of the sensor unit. Furthermore, variation of the electrostatic capacity due to the temperature characteristics of the fuel is compensated by the temperature compensation capacitor which is connected with the single layer winding coil in parallel.

Channel forming fuel permittivity sensor with automatic temperature

The air-fuel (A/F) ratio controller of an internal combustion engine related to the invention detects occurrence of abnormal condition in a heater on the basis of the resistance value of this heater which heats an oxygen sensor generating a specific voltage responsive to the difference of oxygen concentration between atmosphere and exhaust gas of the engine and of an oxygen pump allowing the pump current flow in order that the voltage can be the predetermined value. If abnormal condition arises in the heater, the A/F ratio controller stops fuel feedback control operation. The A/F ratio controller related to the invention forms a Wheatstone bridge circuit which includes the heater mentioned above and detects occurrence of an abnormal condition in the heater on the basis of the equilibrium condition of signal outputted from the Wheatstone bridge circuit.

Air-fuel ratio controller of internal combustion engine

Growing community of inventors

Hyogo, Japan

Takahiro Moronaga