# US 2018/0320629 A1 · Internal combustion engine with an electronically controlled tumble control valve > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2018/0320629 A1 - Document ID: US20180320629A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 16/037,533 - Filed: 2018-07-17 - Published: 2018-11-08 - Earliest claimed: 2013-09-06 - Assignees: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha - Applicants: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha - Inventors: Sachio MORI; Koshiro KIMURA; Satoshi TSUDA - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20180320629A1 ## CPC - F02D 41/0072: {Estimating, calculating or determining the EGR rate, amount or flow (sensors in EGR systems F02M26/45)} - F02B 23/08: with positive ignition - F02B 31/06: Movable means, e.g. butterfly valves - F02B 31/085: {having two inlet valves} - F02D 31/001: {Electric control of rotation speed} - F02D 35/026: {using an estimation} - F02D 41/0002: {Controlling intake air} - F02D 41/005: {according to engine operating conditions} - F02D 41/1454: {the characteristics being an oxygen content or concentration or the air-fuel ratio} - F02D 43/00: Conjoint electrical control of two or more functions, e.g. ignition, fuel-air mixture, recirculation, supercharging or exhaust-gas treatment - F02P 5/045: {combined with electronic control of other engine functions, e.g. fuel injection (in general F02D37/02)} - F02P 5/145: using electrical means - F02B 2023/106: {Tumble flow, i.e. the axis of rotation of the main charge flow motion is horizontal} - F02B 2075/125: {Direct injection in the combustion chamber for spark ignition engines, i.e. not in pre-combustion chamber} - F02D 41/18: by measuring intake air flow - F02D 2041/0015: {for engines with means for controlling swirl or tumble flow, e.g. by using swirl valves} - Y02T 10/10: Internal combustion engine [ICE] based vehicles - Y02T 10/12: Improving ICE efficiencies - Y02T 10/40: Engine management systems - F02D: CONTROLLING COMBUSTION ENGINES (vehicle fittings, acting on a single sub-unit only, for automatically controlling vehicle speed B60K31/00; conjoint control of vehicle sub-units of different type or different function, road vehicle drive control systems for purposes other than the control of a single sub-unit B60W) - F02B: INTERNAL-COMBUSTION PISTON ENGINES; COMBUSTION ENGINES IN GENERAL (gas-turbine plants F02C; hot-gas or combustion-product positive-displacement engine plants F02G) - F02P: IGNITION, OTHER THAN COMPRESSION IGNITION, FOR INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES; TESTING OF IGNITION TIMING IN COMPRESSION-IGNITION ENGINES ({anti-pollution means for internal-combustion engines F02B17/00}; specially adapted for rotary-piston or oscillating-piston engines F02B53/12; {ignition of gas turbine plants F02C7/26; ignition of jet propulsion plants F02K9/95; starting of combustion engines F02N9/00}; ignition of combustion apparatus in general, glowing plugs F23Q; measuring of physical variables in general G01; controlling in general G05; data processing in general G06; electrical components in general see Section H; {ignition coils H01F38/12}; sparking plugs H01T13/00) - Y02T: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION ## Abstract An internal combustion engine includes an ignition plug and an electronic control unit. The electronic control unit is configured to: (i) execute a lean-burn operation in a first operation region, (ii) execute an operation in a second operation region at an air-fuel ratio lower than an air-fuel ratio during the lean-burn operation, and (iii) control a gas flow in a cylinder so that a ratio of a change in a gas flow speed around the ignition plug during ignition to a change in an engine rotation speed in a first engine rotation speed region within the first operation region is smaller than the ratio in a second engine rotation speed region within the second operation region. ## Claims ### Claim at position 1 -10. (canceled) ### Claim 11 An internal combustion engine comprising: a cylinder; an ignition plug that ignites air-fuel mixture; and an electronic control unit configured to, in a rotation speed region that is at least part of a lean-burn operation region, control a gas flow in the cylinder such that a gas flow speed around the ignition plug during ignition falls within a flow speed range, the flow speed range being determined based on at least one of an air-fuel ratio in the cylinder, an ignition energy that is supplied to the ignition plug, an EGR rate and an in-cylinder temperature, and the flow speed range when the air-fuel ratio in the cylinder is high is narrower than the flow speed range when the air-fuel ratio in the cylinder is low. ### Claim 12 (canceled) ### Claim 13 (depends on 11) The internal combustion engine according to claim 11, wherein the flow speed range when the ignition energy is low is narrower than the flow speed range when the ignition energy is high. ### Claim 14 (depends on 11) The internal combustion engine according to claim 11, wherein the flow speed range when the EGR rate is high is narrower than the flow speed range when the EGR rate is low. ### Claim 15 (depends on 11) The internal combustion engine according to claim 11, wherein the flow speed range when the in-cylinder temperature is low is narrower than the flow speed range when the in-cylinder temperature is high. ### Claim 16 (depends on 11) The internal combustion engine according to claim 11, wherein the flow speed range is shrunk such that a variation in the flow speed range at a high flow speed side increases with respect to a variation in the flow speed range at a low flow speed side as the air-fuel ratio in the cylinder increases. ### Claim 17 (depends on 13) The internal combustion engine according to claim 13, wherein the flow speed range is shrunk such that a variation in the flow speed range at a high flow speed side increases with respect to a variation in the flow speed range at a low flow speed side as the ignition energy decreases. ### Claim 18 (depends on 14) The internal combustion engine according to claim 14, wherein the flow speed range is shrunk such that a variation in the flow speed range at a high flow speed side increases with respect to a variation in the flow speed range at a low flow speed side as the EGR rate increases. ### Claim 19 (depends on 15) The internal combustion engine according to claim 15, wherein the flow speed range is shrunk such that a variation in the flow speed range at a high flow speed side increases with respect to a variation in the flow speed range at a low flow speed side as the in-cylinder temperature decreases. ### Claim 20 An internal combustion engine comprising: a cylinder; an ignition plug that ignites air-fuel mixture; and an electronic control unit configured to, in a rotation speed region that is at least part of a lean-burn operation region, control a gas flow in the cylinder such that a gas flow speed around the ignition plug during ignition decreases as an engine state changes, the engine state include at least one of: increase of an air-fuel ratio in the cylinder, decrease of an ignition energy that is supplied to the ignition plug, increase of an EGR rate, and decrease of an in-cylinder temperature. ### Claim 21 (canceled) ### Claim 22 A control method for an internal combustion engine including a cylinder, an ignition plug and an electronic control unit, the control method comprising: in a rotation speed region that is at least part of a lean-burn operation region, controlling, by the electronic control unit, a gas flow in the cylinder such that a gas flow speed around the ignition plug during ignition falls within a flow speed range, the flow speed range being determined based on at least one of an air-fuel ratio in the cylinder, an ignition energy that is supplied to the ignition plug, an EGR rate and an in-cylinder temperature, and the flow speed range when the air-fuel ratio in the cylinder is high is narrower than the flow speed range when the air-fuel ratio in the cylinder is low. ### Claim 23 A control method for an internal combustion engine including a cylinder, an ignition plug and an electronic control unit, the control method comprising: in a rotation speed region that is at least part of a lean-burn operation region, controlling, by the electronic control unit, a gas flow in the cylinder such that a gas flow speed around the ignition plug during ignition decreases as an air-fuel ratio in the cylinder increases, as an ignition energy that is supplied to the ignition plug decreases, as an EGR rate increases, or as an in-cylinder temperature decreases.