Diagnostic apparatus for an evaporated fuel system, and vehicle control apparatus for a vehicle equipped with the diagnostic apparatus

A vehicle control apparatus for an automotive vehicle equipped with an internal combustion engine, a secondary power source, an evaporated fuel system and an evaporated fuel system diagnostic apparatus, wherein the evaporated fuel system diagnostic apparatus comprises:

• a malfunction determination unit determining whether a malfunction in the evaporated fuel system occurs, based on an internal pressure produced in the evaporated fuel system after a reference pressure is reached by the evaporated fuel system pressure by introduction of a negative pressure of an intake passage of the engine into a fuel tank;
• and
• an upper-limit changing unit changing, when the malfunction determination unit performs the determination regarding the malfunction, an upper-limit value of an opening angle for a throttle valve to a second upper-limit value that is smaller than a first upper-limit value of the throttle valve opening angle used when the malfunction determination unit does not perform the determination,
• the vehicle control apparatus comprising:
• an output force changing unit increasing, when an output force of the engine is decreased after the upper-limit changing unit changes the upper-limit value of the throttle valve opening angle to the second upper-limit value, an output force of the secondary power source by an amount corresponding to the decrease of the engine output force.

A diagnostic apparatus for an evaporated fuel system in which fuel vapor, evaporated from fuel within a fuel tank, is adsorbed, and the adsorbed fuel vapor is purged into an intake passage of an internal combustion engine via a purge passage by using a negative pressure of the intake passage, comprising:

• a malfunction determination unit determining whether a malfunction occurs in the evaporated fuel system, based on an internal pressure in the evaporated fuel system after the evaporated fuel system pressure reaches a reference pressure by introduction of the negative pressure of the intake passage into the fuel tank;
• a pressure introduction unit introducing the negative pressure of the intake passage into the fuel tank to cause the evaporated fuel system pressure to reach the reference pressure;
• and
• a time counting unit determining an elapsed time from a start of the introduction of the negative pressure, during which an internal pressure in the intake passage is less than a threshold value,
• wherein the malfunction determination unit determines whether the evaporated fuel system pressure reaches the reference pressure, based on whether the elapsed time, determined by the time counting unit, reaches a reference time.

A diagnostic apparatus for an evaporated fuel system in which fuel vapor, evaporated from fuel within a fuel tank, is adsorbed, and the adsorbed fuel vapor is purged into an intake passage of an internal combustion engine via a purge passage by using a negative pressure of the intake passage, comprising:

• a malfunction determination unit determining whether a malfunction occurs in the evaporated fuel system, based on an internal pressure in the evaporated fuel system after the evaporated fuel system pressure reaches a reference pressure by introduction of the negative pressure of the intake passage into the fuel tank;
• and
• a pressure introduction unit for introducing the negative pressure of the intake passage into the fuel tank to cause the evaporated fuel system pressure to reach the reference pressure,
• wherein the malfunction determination unit determines whether the evaporated fuel system pressure reaches the reference pressure, based on whether an elapsed time, counted from a start of the introduction of the negative pressure, reaches a reference time, and interrupts, when an internal pressure in the intake passage after the start of the introduction of the negative pressure exceeds a threshold value, the counting of the elapsed time.

A diagnostic apparatus for an evaporated fuel system of an automotive vehicle equipped with an internal combustion engine and a secondary power source, comprising:

• a malfunction determination unit determining whether a malfunction occurs in the evaporated fuel system, by introduction of a negative pressure of an intake passage of the engine into a fuel tank;
• an operating condition setting unit setting, when the malfunction determination unit has started the introduction of the negative pressure of the intake passage into the fuel tank, an operating condition of the engine in a predetermined condition that causes the negative pressure of the intake passage to be within a predetermined pressure range;
• and
• an output force changing unit increasing, when the operating condition setting unit has set the operating condition of the engine in the predetermined condition, an output force of the secondary power source by an amount corresponding to a decrease of an engine output force calculated with respect to the engine operating condition that is set in the predetermined condition.