Fuel supply apparatus and method for internal combustion engines
AssigneeNissan Motor Co., Ltd.
InventorsTadahiro Yamamoto, Tadaki Oota
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A first temperature sensor senses the temperature of intake air supplied to an internal combustion engine before the intake air is mixed with fuel supplied thereto. A second temperature sensor senses the temperature of the mixture of the intake air and fuel within the intake air passage. A control unit controls the fuel injection quantity in accordance with the difference between the sensed temperatures, thereby causing the actual air-fuel ratio to coincide with a desired air-fuel ratio. The desired air-fuel ratio is adjusted in accordance with the throttling effect of a throttle valve in the intake air passage and with engine speed.
Claims23
A fuel supply apparatus for an internal combustion engine, comprising:
- (a) means for changing the cross-sectional area of an intake air passage leading into the engine in accordance with the operation of an accelerator pedal;
- (b) means for supplying fuel to the air within said intake air passage at an adjustable rate and causing the fuel to vaporize;
- (c) means for measuring the difference between the temperature of the intake air before being supplied with fuel and the temperature of the mixture of the intake air and the vaporized fuel;
- (d) means for determining a target temperature difference;
- (e) means for sensing an operating condition of the engine;
- (f) means for correcting the target temperature difference in accordance to the sensed engine operating condition;
- (g) means for comparing the measured target difference with the corrected target temperature difference;
- and
- (h) means for adjusting the rate of fuel supply in accordance with the result of the comparison between the temperature differences.
A method of controlling the air-fuel ratio of an air-fuel mixture supplied to an internal combustion engine comprising the steps of:
- measuring the difference in temperature between the air drawn into the engine before admixture of fuel and the air-fuel mixture after admixture and vaporization of the fuel;
- and
- controlling the amount of fuel admixed into the air in accordance with the measured temperature difference, said controlling step including estimating the proportions of vaporized and unvaporized fuel in the air-fuel mixture and adjusting the amount of fuel in accordance with said estimate, and measuring engine speed and adjusting the amount of fuel in accordance with the measured engine speed.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.