US 2008/0167785 A1Published application

Control Apparatus and Control Method for Variable Valve Apparatus

AssigneeHitachi, Ltd.

InventorsRyo MIYAKOSHI, Kentaro Mikawa, Masahiro Arai, Hatsuo Nagaishi, Takahiro Yoshino, Yuko Nagaishi

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Abstract

In an engine provided with a valve lift amount variable mechanism and a center phase variable mechanism for an intake valve, a region between a region where a flow rate of an intake air passing through the intake valve reaches a sonic speed and a region where an intake air amount does not substantially change relative to a change in an opening area of the intake valve is made to be a learning region. Then, in order to resolve an error in intake air amount in the learning region, a correction value for correcting control process of the valve lift amount variable mechanism is learned. When the learning of the correction value is converged, the learning correction value is corrected with an occupied rate of the valve lift amount variable mechanism in the influence ratio between influences on the two mechanisms in relation to the error. Further, based on the error occurring in a state corrected with the learning correction value which is corrected with the influence ratio, a correction value for correcting control process of the center phase variable mechanism is learned.

Claims21

Dependent claims

A control apparatus for a variable valve apparatus including a center phase variable mechanism which varies a phase of the center of an operating angle of an intake valve, and a valve lift amount variable mechanism which varies a valve lift amount of the intake valve and the operating angle thereof, comprising:

a region discriminating section that discriminates an operating region of an engine as to which one of a first operating region where an intake air amount changes in proportion to an opening area of the intake valve, a second operating region where the intake air amount does not substantially change relative to a change in the opening area of the intake valve, and an intermediate operating region between the first and second operating regions does take place;
an error computing section that computes an error in intake air amount of the engine;
an influence ratio computing section that, when the engine is operated in the intermediate operating region, computes influence ratio between influence on the center phase variable mechanism and that on the valve lift amount variable mechanism in relation to the error in intake air amount computed by the error computing section;
and
a learning section that, when the engine is operated in the intermediate operating region, learns correction values for correcting control process of the center phase variable mechanism and control process of the valve lift amount variable mechanism, based on the error in intake air amount computed by the error computing section and the influence ratio computed by the influence ratio computing section.

2 more elements

A control method for a variable valve apparatus including a center phase variable mechanism which varies a phase of the center of an operating angle of an intake valve, and a valve lift amount variable mechanism which varies a valve lift amount of the intake valve and the operating angle thereof, comprising the steps of:

discriminating operating regions of an engine as to which one of a first operating region where an intake air amount changes in proportion to an opening area of the intake valve, a second operating region where the intake air amount does not substantially change relative to a change in the opening area of the intake valve, and an intermediate operating region between the first and second operating regions does take place;
computing an error in intake air amount of the engine;
computing influence ratio between influence on the center phase variable mechanism and that on the valve lift amount variable mechanism in relation to the error in intake air amount, when the engine is operated in the intermediate operating region;
and
when the engine is operated in the intermediate operating region, learning correction values for correcting control process of the center phase variable mechanism and control process of the valve lift amount variable mechanism, based on the error in intake air amount and the influence ratio computed in the steps of computing, respectively.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.