Control apparatus for hybrid vehicle
AssigneeToyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorsNorihisa Nakagawa, Takashi Nishikiori
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An engine includes variable valve mechanisms capable of causing an intake valve and an exhaust valve to stop. An ECU estimates poisoning states of catalysts, and executes and prohibits stopping of the valves based on the poisoning states. When stopping of the valves is prohibited during a fuel-cut operation, the ECU drives a crankshaft of the engine by means of a motor to idle the engine. Thus, even in a hybrid vehicle in which the engine is stopped during a fuel-cut operation, a sufficient amount of oxygen can be rapidly supplied to the catalysts by utilizing a pumping action of pistons, and the catalysts can be caused to recover from rich poisoning efficiently.
Claims7
A control apparatus for a hybrid vehicle that comprises:
- an internal combustion engine comprising a valve stop mechanism configured to stopping at least one valve among an intake valve and an exhaust valve in a closed state, and a catalyst that purifies exhaust gas;
- a motor that is an electric motor that, together with the internal combustion engine, constitutes a power source of the vehicle, and that is configured to driving an output shaft of the internal combustion engine that is in a stopped state;
- poisoning state estimation means that estimates a rich poisoning state of the catalyst based on an operating state of the internal combustion engine;
- fuel-cut operation control means that, when a predetermined fuel-cut operation condition is established during operation of the internal combustion engine, executes a fuel-cut operation that stops a fuel supply to the internal combustion engine;
- valve operation control means that, during the fuel-cut operation, controls the valve stop mechanism and executes valve stopping in case where it is estimated by the poisoning state estimation means that the catalyst is not in a rich poisoning state, or a temperature of the catalyst is higher than a predetermined determination temperature, and the valve operation control means that, during the fuel-cut operation, prohibits valve stopping in case where it is estimated that the catalyst is in a rich poisoning state, and a temperature of the catalyst is less than or equal to the determination temperature;
- and
- engine idling means that, during the fuel-cut operation, when valve stopping with respect to the valve is prohibited by the valve operation control means, drives the output shaft of the internal combustion engine by means of the motor and supplies oxygen to the catalyst.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.