Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Fujitsu Ten Limited

Takashi Nishikiori

Norihisa Nakagawa

Kazuhiro Wakao

Keisuke Sano

Takashi Watanabe

Yasuyuki Shibata

Shinya Misaka

Mamoru Yoshioka

Daiki Yokoyama

Koichi Hoshi

Shuichi Ezaki

Koji Aso

Koji Ide

Tsuyoshi Watanabe

Akio Kidooka

Sui Kurihashi

Masashi Shibayama

Hayato Shirai

Yuusuke Oda

A vehicle control system includes an imaging device configured to capture an image of an outside of a host vehicle to generate an image and a control device. The control device is configured to determine a road type of a road on which the host vehicle is traveling by recognizing a specific object in the image, and take a determination measure for determining the road type of the road on which the host vehicle is traveling when the specific object cannot be recognized.

Determining road types with imaging and non-imaging determination measures

A control apparatus which is capable of determining an abnormality of a stopping operation of an exhaust valve without using a dedicated sensor for detecting the abnormality in an internal combustion engine including a valve stop mechanism capable of maintaining the exhaust valve and an intake valve in a valve closed state is provided. It is discriminated whether or not there is a change to a rich side of a air fuel ratio of gas detected by a main A/F sensor at the time of a fuel cut for all the cylinders associated with a valve stop request for the exhaust valves and intake valves of all the cylinders. Then, when it is discriminated that there is the change to the rich side of the air fuel ratio of the gas, it is determined that the stopping operation of the exhaust valve is not performed in a normal manner in at least one cylinder.

Control apparatus for internal combustion engine including valve stop mechanism

Provided is a control apparatus for an internal combustion engine, which can determine whether or not there is a failure concerning a switching of an operational state of an intake valve, in the internal combustion engine that includes a valve stop mechanism that is capable of switching the operational state of the intake valve between a valve operating state and a valve closed/stopped state, without the need of adding a new sensor for the failure determination. An intake variable valve operating apparatus () is provided that includes a valve stop mechanism capable of switching the operational state of the intake valve () between the valve operating state and the valve closed/stopped state. A crank angle sensor () is provided for detecting the crank angle of the internal combustion engine (). An intake pressure sensor () is provided for detecting the actual intake pressure pim. It is determined whether or not there is a failure concerning the switching of the operational state of the intake valve () between the valve operating state and the valve closed/stopped state by the valve stop mechanism, based on an intake pressure difference dlpm (first difference) between the actual intake pressure pim and the pseudo intake pressure pmcrt at a predetermined crank angle (for example, 60&#xb0; CA after the top dead center in each cylinder).

Control apparatus for internal combustion engine

Valve stopping control is performed that changes an operating state of an intake valve and an exhaust valve to a closed-valve stopped state when executing a fuel-cut operation. A device is provided that sets an in-cylinder return-time target air-fuel ratio for an initial two return cycles when returning from a fuel-cut operation. The return-time target air-fuel ratio is set so that respective air-fuel ratios of air-fuel mixtures of fuel and air injected into the same cylinder for respective cycles during the initial return cycles each become values that fall within a combustible range, and so that even if a total amount of fuel injected into the same cylinder for the initial return cycles is supplied into the cylinder during an arbitrary single cycle, the air-fuel ratio of the air-fuel mixture of the total amount of fuel and air becomes a value that falls within the combustible range.

An engine includes an intake variable valve mechanism and an exhaust variable valve mechanism. An ECU causes all intake valves in all cylinders to stop in a closed state by means of intake variable valve mechanism when performing a fuel-cut operation, including when the engine is stopped. The ECU causes at least one exhaust valve in all cylinders to stop in an open state by means of exhaust variable valve mechanism. When executing a fuel-cut operation, needless compression can be avoided by stopping the exhaust valves in an open state, while protecting a catalyst from deterioration caused by contact with intake air by stopping the intake valves in a closed state. The amount of oil consumption of the engine, and electric power consumption, vibrations and a tendency for spontaneous ignition to occur at cranking time can be improved.

When the operating characteristics of an intake valve are changed by an intake valve stop mechanism, an ECU outputs a command signal (control on) to a solenoid. At this time, a timing, at which the command signal is output to the solenoid, is determined on the basis of a rotational position of a crankshaft, calculated from a signal of a crank position sensor. However, the output timing is corrected on the basis of a rotational phase difference of a camshaft with respect to the crankshaft.

Controller for internal combustion engine

A control apparatus for an internal combustion engine is provided, the control apparatus being capable of effectively suppressing the inflow of fresh air into a catalyst due to an operational delay of the valve stop mechanism when an execution request for fuel cut is issued. There is provided a valve stop mechanism capable of changing the operational states of intake valves and exhaust valves between a valve operating state and a valve closed/stopped state. The operational states of the intake and exhaust valves are changed into the valve closed/stopped state, if the engine rotational speed decreases to or below a predetermined rotational speed when the engine rotational speed is higher than the predetermined rotational speed in a case where an execution request for fuel cut is detected and the temperature of the catalyst is not lower than a predetermined temperature during operation of an internal combustion engine.

An engine includes variable valve mechanisms capable of causing an intake valve and an exhaust valve to stop. An ECU estimates poisoning states of catalysts, and executes and prohibits stopping of the valves based on the poisoning states. When stopping of the valves is prohibited during a fuel-cut operation, the ECU drives a crankshaft of the engine by means of a motor to idle the engine. Thus, even in a hybrid vehicle in which the engine is stopped during a fuel-cut operation, a sufficient amount of oxygen can be rapidly supplied to the catalysts by utilizing a pumping action of pistons, and the catalysts can be caused to recover from rich poisoning efficiently.

Control apparatus for hybrid vehicle

Provided is a control apparatus for an internal combustion engine which can successfully determine whether or not a failure concerning a stopping operation of an exhaust valve has occurred, without the need of providing a dedicated sensor for the failure determination. An intake variable valve operating apparatus () and an exhaust variable valve operating apparatus () are included that have valve stop mechanisms capable of switching each operational state of an intake valve () and an exhaust valve () between a valve operating state and a valve closed/stopped state. It is determined whether or not a failure concerning a stopping operation of the exhaust valve () from the valve operating state to the valve closed/stopped state has occurred, on the basis of the magnitude of the negative torque of when an execution request that is accompanied by a valve stop request to switch each operational state of the intake valve () and the exhaust valve () from the valve operating state to the valve closed/stopped state has been issued, in a case in which it is determined that a failure concerning the stopping operation of the intake valve () has not occurred.

Provided is a control apparatus for an internal combustion engine that can favorably achieve compatibility between suppressing deterioration of a catalyst and suppressing progression of rich poisoning thereof when the internal combustion engine has a configuration that performs valve stopping control during a fuel-cut operation. Variable valve operating apparatuses are provided having valve stop mechanisms that can respectively change an operating state of an intake valve and an exhaust valve between a valve operating state and a closed-valve stopped state. When an integrated fuel injection amount is equal to or greater than a predetermined value &#x3b2; when executing a fuel-cut operation, it is determined that rich poisoning of an upstream catalyst is in a progressed state. In that case, valve stopping control of the intake and exhaust valves is prohibited to thereby supply oxygen to the upstream catalyst.

A control apparatus for an internal combustion engine is provided, which is capable of suppressing deterioration of exhaust emission due to an unburned fuel contained in oil which enters a combustion chamber during valve stop control while preventing inflow of fresh air to a catalyst, at a time of valve return following return from fuel cut. Variable valve operating apparatuses having valve stop mechanisms capable of changing operation states of an intake valve and an exhaust valve between valve operation states and valve closed and stopped states are included. Valve stop control that changes the operation states of the intake valve and the exhaust valve to the valve closed and stopped states is performed, at a time of execution of the fuel cut. When a return request from the fuel cut with the valve stop control is detected, a fuel is supplied to a combustion chamber before the operation state of the exhaust valve is returned to the valve operation state. The fuel supply amount in this case is corrected in accordance with an amount of the unburned fuel contained in the oil which enters into the combustion chamber from a crank chamber side during the fuel cut with the valve stop control.

Provided is a control apparatus, which can successfully suppress that deterioration of combustion is caused in response to inflow of a large amount of blow-by gas to cylinders at the time of a valve return from a valve stop state in an internal combustion engine including a positive crankcase ventilation system and a variable valve operating mechanism that is capable of stopping at least one valve of an intake valve and exhaust valve in a closed state. A valve stop control is performed which stops the intake valve and exhaust valve in a closed state when a fuel cut of the internal combustion engine is executed. A deviation amount &#x394;A/F between a predetermined target air fuel ratio and an actual air fuel ratio detected by an A/F sensor at the time of a valve return is obtained. A correction is performed to decrease a fuel injection amount by a fuel amount equivalent to the deviation amount &#x394;A/F at the time of the subsequent valve returns.

Control apparatus for internal combustion engine including variable valve operating mechanism

Provided is a variable valve operating apparatus for an internal combustion engine, which can favorably reduce electric power consumption in a vehicle system that may stop the internal combustion engine during power-up of the vehicle system. A changeover mechanismis provided which is capable of switching between a connection state in which a first rocker armand a second rocker armare in connection with each other via a changeover pinand a disconnection state in which the connection is released. The changeover mechanismperforms energization of actuatorsfor each cylinder in a case in which fuel supply to the internal combustion engineis stopped in response to an establishment of a predetermined stop condition. The above-described energization of the actuatorfor each cylinder is stopped in a case in which a crankshaftof the internal combustion enginestops rotating during an energization time period of the actuatorand in which the crankshaftis not driven by an external power.

Variable valve operating apparatus for internal combustion engine

There is provided a control apparatus for an internal combustion engine, which can favorably reduce a load necessary for cranking at the time of the next start, while preventing the fresh air inflow to a catalyst at the time of the stop of the internal combustion engine. A valve stop command is issued to an electrically-driven actuator so that the operational states of intake and exhaust valves becomes a valve closed/stopped state when fuel supply is stopped in response to an establishment of a predetermined stop condition of the internal combustion engine. Then, to return the operational states of the intake and exhaust valves to a valve operating state after the completion of the stopping operation of the internal combustion engine, a valve return command is issued to the actuator, and a crankshaft is rotationally driven by a predetermined angle required to return the operational states of the intake and exhaust valves to the valve operating state.

An air-fuel ratio imbalance determining apparatus that is configured to sequentially stop a fuel injection for each of cylinders in accordance with a firing (ignition) order by changing the intake valves and exhaust valves of the cylinder whose fuel injection is stopped from a valve operating state to a valve resting state. After a predetermined time elapses (time-point tp), an upstream-side air-fuel ratio value obtained based on an output value of an upstream air-fuel ratio sensor disposed in the exhaust passage which becomes a value corresponding to an air-fuel ratio of the final gas. The determining apparatus obtains that value as data relating to an air-fuel ratio of the cylinder which discharged the final gas, and determines whether or not an air-fuel ratio imbalance is occurring based on the data relating to the air-fuel ratio of each of the cylinders.

Growing community of inventors

Susono, Japan

Takashi Nishikiori