Internal combustion engine controller
AssigneeToyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorsMitsuto Sakai, Daichi Yamazaki, Tatsuhiko Akita, Naoki Kurata
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An ECU for an internal combustion engine predicts change in the driving state of the engine when switching from port injection mode to in-cylinder injection mode. In accordance with the prediction, the ECU actuates a high-pressure pump before entering the in-cylinder injection mode to pressurize the fuel supplied to an air-intake passage injector.
Claims18
A controller for an internal combustion engine, wherein the internal combustion engine includes a combustion chamber, an in-cylinder injector for directly injecting fuel into the combustion chamber, an air-intake passage injector for injecting fuel to a position upstream from the combustion chamber, a low-pressure pump for pumping fuel from a, fuel tank and discharging low-pressure fuel, a low-pressure pipe for supplying the low-pressure fuel to the air-intake passage injector, a high-pressure pump for pressurizing the low-pressure fuel and discharging high-pressure fuel, and a high-pressure pipe for supplying the high-pressure fuel to the in-cylinder injector, the internal combustion engine having a first driving mode, in which fuel is injected only from the air-intake passage injector, and a second driving mode, in which fuel is injected from the in-cylinder injector, the controller comprising:
- a prediction means for predicting whether the internal combustion engine will shift from the first driving mode to the second driving mode based on a driving state of the internal combustion engine;
- and
- a pump control means for controlling fuel pressure in the high-pressure pipe, the pump control means operating the high-pressure pump at a first output when the prediction means predicts that the internal combustion engine is likely to shift from the first driving mode to the second driving mode, and the pump control means de-actuating the high-pressure pump or operating the high-pressure pump at a second output lower than the first output when the prediction means predicts that the internal combustion engine is not likely to shift from the first driving mode to the second driving mode.
A controller for an internal combustion engine, wherein the internal combustion engine includes a combustion chamber, an in-cylinder injector for directly injecting fuel into the combustion chamber, an air-intake passage injector for injecting fuel to a position upstream from the combustion chamber, a low-pressure pump for pumping fuel from a fuel tank and discharging low-pressure fuel, a low-pressure pipe for supplying the low-pressure fuel to the air-intake passage injector, a high-pressure pump for pressurizing the low-pressure fuel and discharging high-pressure fuel, and a high-pressure pipe for supplying the high-pressure fuel to the in-cylinder injector, the internal combustion engine having a first driving mode, in which fuel is injected only from the air-intake passage injector, and a second driving mode, in which fuel is injected from the in-cylinder injector, the controller comprising:
- a pressure sensor for detecting pressure of the fuel in the high-pressure pipe and generating a detection signal according to the detected pressure;
- and
- a computer for controlling the high-pressure pump according to the detection signal of the pressure sensor, wherein the computer:
- predicts whether the internal combustion engine is likely to shift from the first driving mode to the second driving mode based on a driving state of the internal combustion engine,
- operates the high-pressure pump at a first output when predicting that the internal combustion engine is likely to shift from the first driving mode to the second driving mode, and
- de-actuates the high-pressure pump or operates the high-pressure pump at a second output lower than the first output when predicting that the internal combustion engine is not likely to shift from the first driving mode to the second driving mode.
A controller for an internal combustion engine, wherein the internal combustion engine includes a combustion chamber, an in-cylinder injector for directly injecting fuel into the combustion chamber, an air-intake passage injector for injecting fuel to a position upstream from the combustion chamber, a low-pressure pump for pumping fuel from a fuel tank and supplying low-pressure fuel to the air-intake passage injector, and a high-pressure pump for pressurizing the low-pressure fuel and supplying high-pressure fuel to the in-cylinder injector, the internal combustion engine having a plurality of driving modes including a first driving mode, in which fuel is injected only from the air-intake passage injector, and a second driving mode, in which fuel is injected from the in-cylinder injector, the controller comprising:
- a pressure sensor for detecting pressure of the high-pressure fuel and generating a detection signal according to the detected pressure;
- and
- a computer for adjusting output of the high-pressure pump according to the detection signal of the pressure sensor, wherein the computer is programmed to:
- predict whether the internal combustion engine will exit from the first driving mode based on a driving state of the internal combustion engine,
- operate the high-pressure pump at a first output when predicting that the internal combustion engine is likely to exit from the first driving mode, and
- de-actuate the high-pressure pump or operate the high-pressure pump at a second output lower than the first output when predicting that the internal combustion engine will remain in the first driving mode.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.