# US 2020/0400087 A1 · Control device for internal combustion engine > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2020/0400087 A1 - Document ID: US20200400087A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 16/993,222 - Filed: 2020-08-13 - Published: 2020-12-24 - Earliest claimed: 2018-12-25 - Assignees: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha - Applicants: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha - Inventors: Kazumasa Katoh; Takahiko Fujiwara; Kenji Igawa; Kentaro Mineo - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20200400087A1 ## CPC - F01N 3/021: by means of filters - F01N 11/002: {the diagnostic devices measuring or estimating temperature or pressure in, or downstream of the exhaust apparatus} - F01N 3/101: {Three-way catalysts} - F01N 13/009: {having two or more separate purifying devices arranged in series} - F02D 41/1446: {the characteristics being exhaust temperatures} - F02N 11/0818: {Conditions for starting or stopping the engine or for deactivating the idle-start-stop mode} - B60R 25/30: Detection related to theft or to other events relevant to anti-theft systems - F01N 11/005: {the temperature or pressure being estimated, e.g. by means of a theoretical model} - F01N 2260/22: for preventing theft of exhaust parts or devices, e.g. anti-theft arrangements - F01N 2550/04: Filtering activity of particulate filters - F01N 2550/24: Determining the presence or absence of an exhaust treating device - F01N 2560/06: the means being a temperature sensor - F01N 2560/14: having more than one sensor of one kind - F01N 2590/11: for hybrid vehicles - F01N 2900/0416: using the state of a sensor, e.g. of an exhaust gas sensor - F01N 2900/0422: measuring the elapsed time - F01N 2900/1404: Exhaust gas temperature - F01N 2900/1411: Exhaust gas flow rate, e.g. mass flow rate or volumetric flow rate - F02D 41/029: {the exhaust gas treating apparatus being a particulate filter} - F02D 41/1441: {Plural sensors} - F02D 41/22: Safety or indicating devices for abnormal conditions {(in air/fuel ratio feedback systems F02D41/1495, in electric control linkage F02D11/107, in purge control systems F02M25/0809)} - F02D 2200/0414: Air temperature - F02D 2200/0802: Temperature of the exhaust gas treatment apparatus - Y02A 50/20: Air quality improvement or preservation, e.g. vehicle emission control or emission reduction by using catalytic converters - Y02T 10/12: Improving ICE efficiencies - Y02T 10/40: Engine management systems - F01N: GAS-FLOW SILENCERS OR EXHAUST APPARATUS FOR MACHINES OR ENGINES IN GENERAL; GAS-FLOW SILENCERS OR EXHAUST APPARATUS FOR INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES (arrangements in connection with gas exhaust of propulsion units in vehicles B60K13/00; combustion-air intake silencers specially adapted for, or arranged on, internal-combustion engines F02M35/00; protecting against, or damping, noise in general G10K11/16) - 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) - F02N: STARTING OF COMBUSTION ENGINES; STARTING AIDS FOR SUCH ENGINES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR - B60R: VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR - Y02A: TECHNOLOGIES FOR ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE - Y02T: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION ## Abstract A control device comprising a first exhaust temperature calculation part calculating a temperature of exhaust flowing into a PM trapping device as a first exhaust temperature, a second exhaust temperature calculation part calculating a temperature of exhaust flowing out from the PM trapping device as a second exhaust temperature, a rate of change over time calculation part calculating a rate of change over time of the first exhaust temperature and a rate of change over time of the second exhaust temperature, and a judgment part judging if the PM trapping device is in a removed state removed from the exhaust passage based on a difference between the rate of change over time of the first exhaust temperature and the rate of change over time of the second exhaust temperature. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A control device for an internal combustion engine, the internal combustion engine comprising: an engine body; and an exhaust after-treatment system installed in an exhaust passage of the engine body, wherein the control device comprises: a first exhaust temperature calculation part configured to calculate a temperature of exhaust flowing into the exhaust after-treatment system as a first exhaust temperature; a second exhaust temperature calculation part configured to calculate a temperature of exhaust flowing out from the exhaust after-treatment system as a second exhaust temperature; a rate of change over time calculation part configured to calculate a rate of change over time of the first exhaust temperature and a rate of change over time of the second exhaust temperature; and a judgment part configured to judge if the exhaust after-treatment system is in a removed state removed from the exhaust passage based on a difference between the rate of change over time of the first exhaust temperature and the rate of change over time of the second exhaust temperature, wherein the judgment part is configured to: calculate a differential value between an absolute value of the rate of change over tune of the first exhaust temperature and an absolute value of the rate of change over time of the second exhaust temperature; and judge a state is the removed state if an average value of a certain number or more of values of the differential value is less than a predetermined threshold value. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The control device for the internal combustion engine according to claim 1, wherein the judgment part is further configured to perform the judgment on whether a state is the removed state based on a difference of a rate of change over time of the first exhaust temperature and a rate of change over time of the second exhaust temperature when a predetermined condition stands, and the predetermined condition is being an exhaust flow rate being a predetermined lower limit flow rate or more. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The control device for the internal combustion engine according to claim 2, further including, as the predetermined condition, the exhaust flow rate is being a predetermined upper limit flow rate or less larger than the lower limit flow rate. ### Claim 4 (depends on 2) The control device for the internal combustion engine according to claim 2, further including, as the predetermined condition, an integrated value of an intake air flow rate from when the internal combustion engine is started up is being a predetermined integrated value or more. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The control device for the internal combustion engine according to claim 4, wherein the control device further comprises an engine stopping time calculation part configured to calculate an engine stopping time from when the internal combustion engine is stopped to when it is started, and the judgment part is further configured so as to increase the predetermined integrated value when the engine stopping time is long compared to when it is short. ### Claim 6 (depends on 2) The control device for the internal combustion engine according to claim 2, further including, as the predetermined condition, an outside air temperature is being a predetermined temperature or more. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The control device for the internal combustion engine according to claim 1, wherein the judgment part is further configured so as to judge if a state is the removed state based on the difference of the rate of change over time of the first exhaust temperature and the rate of change over time of the second exhaust temperature when a predetermined condition stands, and as the predetermined condition, the rate of change over time of the first exhaust temperature is being a predetermined rate of change or less is included, and the predetermined rate of change is a negative value. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The control device for the internal combustion engine according to claim 1, wherein the control device further comprises an engine stopping time calculation part configured to calculate an engine stopping time from when the internal combustion engine is stopped to when it is restarted, and the judgment part is further configured so as to judge if a state is the removed state based on the difference of the rate of change over time of the first exhaust temperature and the rate of change over time of the second exhaust temperature when a predetermined condition stands, and the predetermined condition is being that the engine stopping time before the internal combustion engine is restarted is a predetermined time or more and an exhaust flow rate after the internal combustion engine is restarted is a predetermined flow rate or more. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The control device for the internal combustion engine according to claim 8, wherein the control device further comprises an elapsed time calculation part configured to calculate an elapsed time from when the internal combustion engine is restarted, and as the predetermined condition, the elapsed time is being a predetermined time or more being further included. ### Claim 10 (depends on 8) The control device for the internal combustion engine according to claim 8, wherein, as the predetermined condition, a temperature of the exhaust after-treatment system being a predetermined temperature or less is further included. ### Claim 11 (depends on 8) The control device for the internal combustion engine according to claim 8, wherein, as the predetermined condition, an integrated value of a flow rate of intake air from when the internal combustion engine is restarted being a predetermined integrated value or less is further included. ### Claim 12 (depends on 8) The control device for the internal combustion engine according to claim 8, wherein the internal combustion engine is mounted in a hybrid vehicle. ### Claim 13 (depends on 8) The control device for the internal combustion engine according to claim 8, wherein the control device is further comprises an idling stop control part configured to perform idling stop control for automatically making the internal combustion engine stop when a predetermined engine stop condition stands and automatically making the internal combustion engine restart when a predetermined engine restart condition stands. ### Claim 14 (depends on 17) The control device for the internal combustion engine according to claim 17, wherein the first exhaust temperature calculation part comprises a drop calculation part configured to calculate an amount of drop of exhaust temperature falling in a process of flowing through the exhaust passage from a position where a first exhaust temperature sensor provided in the exhaust passage at an upstream side from the exhaust after-treatment system in an exhaust flow direction is attached to the exhaust after-treatment system, and the first exhaust temperature calculation part calculates the detection value of the first exhaust temperature sensor minus the amount of drop as the first exhaust temperature. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The control device for the internal combustion engine according to claim 14, wherein the drop calculation part calculates the amount of drop based on the flow rate of intake air and outside air temperature. ### Claim 16 (depends on 7) The control device for the internal combustion engine according to claim 7, including, as a predetermined condition, a degree of unevenness of a temperature distribution inside the exhaust after-treatment system being a predetermined degree of unevenness or less. ### Claim 17 (depends on 1) The control device for the internal combustion engine according to claim 1, the control device further comprises an intermittent operation run part making the internal combustion engine operate intermittently, and the judgment part is further configured to: judge if a state is the removed state based on the difference of the rate of change over time of the first exhaust temperature and the rate of change over time of the second exhaust temperature when a predetermined condition stands; and change the content of the predetermined condition between when intermittent operation of the internal combustion engine is allowed and when not allowed. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The control device for the internal combustion engine according to claim 17, wherein the control device further comprises an engine stopping time calculation part configured to calculate an engine stopping time from when the internal combustion engine is stopped to when it is started, and, when intermittent operation of the internal combustion engine is permitted, the predetermined condition is being that when intermittent operation of the internal combustion engine is permitted, the engine stopping time before the internal combustion engine is restarted is made a predetermined time or more and an exhaust flow rate after the internal combustion engine is restarted is made a predetermined flow rate or more, and, when intermittent operation of the internal combustion engine is not permitted, the predetermined condition is being that the rate of change over time of the first exhaust temperature is made not more than a predetermined tale of change which is a negative value. ### Claim 19 (depends on 7) The control device for the internal combustion engine according to claim 7, wherein the judgment part further comprises a correction part configured to correct the predetermined threshold value based on an average value of the first exhaust temperature in a time period for calculating the differential value or a parameter correlated with the average value, and the correction part is configured to increase the predetermined threshold value when the average value of the first exhaust temperature or a parameter correlated with the average value is small compared to when it is large. ### Claim 20 (depends on 19) The control device for the internal combustion engine according to claim 19, wherein the parameter correlated with the average value of the first exhaust temperature is a temperature inside the exhaust after-treatment system. ### Claim 21 (depends on 1) The control device for the internal combustion engine according to claim 1, wherein the judgment part is further configured so that when a predetermined condition stands, it judges if the state is the removed state based on the difference between the rate of change over time of the first exhaust temperature and the rate of change over time of the second exhaust temperature, as the predetermined condition, the timing being one of a transition state where the flow rate of intake air of the internal combustion engine becomes a predetermined flow rate or more within a predetermined time from when the flow rate of intake air increases and one when a predetermined time lag from when changing to the transition state elapses being included. ### Claim 22 (depends on 1) The control device for the internal combustion engine according to claim 1, wherein the judgment part is further configured so that when a predetermined condition stands, it judges if the state is the removed state based on the difference between the rate of change over time of the first exhaust temperature and the rate of change over time of the second exhaust temperature, as the predetermined condition, the timing being one of a transition state where the flow rate of intake air of the internal combustion engine becomes a predetermined flow rate or more within a predetermined time from when the flow rate of intake air increases and one when a predetermined time lag elapses from when a time derivative of the rate of change over time of the first exhaust temperature becomes zero at the time of the transition state being included. ### Claim 23 (depends on 1) The control device for the internal combustion engine according to claim 1, wherein the judgment part is further configured so that when a predetermined condition stands, it judges if the state is the removed state based on the difference between the rate of change over time of the first exhaust temperature and the rate of change over time of the second exhaust temperature, as the predetermined condition, a time derivative of the rate of change over time of the first exhaust temperature failing within a predetermined range including zero at the transition time when the flow rate of intake air of the internal combustion engine becomes a predetermined flow rate or more being included. ### Claim 24 (depends on 1) The control device for the internal combustion engine according to claim 1, wherein the exhaust after-treatment system is configured to be able to trap PM in the exhaust, the judgment part is further configured so that when a predetermined condition stands, it judges if the state is the removed state based on the difference between the rate of change over time of the first exhaust temperature and the rate of change over time of the second exhaust temperature, as the predetermined condition, regeneration processing for burning off PM in the exhaust after-treatment system not being performed at the transition time when the flow rate of intake air of the internal combustion engine becomes a predetermined flow rate or more being included.