Method and device for operating an internal combustion engine

A device for operating an internal combustion engine, the device comprising a processor, the internal combustion engine having a first air duct configured to supply air to a cylinder of the internal combustion engine and a second air duct configured to supply air to a heater situated in the second air duct for heating an exhaust system of the internal combustion engine, wherein the first air duct and the second air duct each have at least one control element for controlling an amount of air flowing through, wherein the first air duct and the second air duct are connected by a third air duct to an air filter for providing filtered ambient air to the internal combustion engine, wherein a mass flow sensor configured to measure an amount of air flowing through the third air duct is arranged in the third air duct, the device being configured to regulate, using the measured signal of the mass flow sensor, an amount of air flowing through the first air duct and the second air duct as a function of operating states of the internal combustion engine, wherein the control element in the first air duct includes a first valve, and wherein the control element in the second air duct includes an air pump and a second valve, the second valve being situated between the air pump and the heater;

• wherein, in a first operating state of the internal combustion engine, the device being configured to (i) close the first valve in the first air duct so that no air flows through the first air duct, (ii) switch on the air pump and opening the second valve such that air for operation of the heater flows through the second air duct, and (iii) regulate the amount of air for operating the heater using the measured signal of the mass flow sensor in the third air duct, the regulating including:
• (a) controlling of a delivery rate or rotational speed of the air pump, and (b) controlling a cross-section of the opening of the second valve.