Internal-combustion engines – Poppet valve operating mechanism – With means for varying timing
Reexamination Certificate
2004-03-11
2004-12-28
Denion, Thomas (Department: 3748)
Internal-combustion engines
Poppet valve operating mechanism
With means for varying timing
C123S391000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06834627
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an internal combustion engine mounted on a vehicle or the like, and more specifically to an intake air amount control apparatus for the internal combustion engine for and an intake air amount control method thereof of performing fail-safe processing for the internal combustion engine which controls an intake air amount or an intake amount, by using an air-system variable mechanism provided with: a variable valve mechanism; an opening control mechanism of a throttle valve; and an intake characteristics change mechanism, such as a variable intake system (or “Acoustic Control Induction System (ACIS))” and a swirl control valve system (i.e. an intake airflow control mechanism), for example.
2. Description of the Related Art
In order to control the intake air amount or the intake amount, as for the internal combustion engine mounted on a vehicle or the a like, development has been recently proceeding with an internal combustion engine which employs a complicated air-system variable mechanism provided with: an electronic control or computerized throttle-valve mechanism for driving the opening and closing of a throttle valve by an actuator; a variable valve mechanism capable of varying at least one of three constituent elements of the opening/closing characteristics (or valve opening characteristics) of an intake valve or an exhaust valve (i.e. an opening and closing timing, an operating angle, and a lift amount); and an intake characteristics change mechanism, such as a variable intake system and a swirl control valve system (i.e. an intake airflow control mechanism), for example. Specifically, in order to obtain the desired or targeted torque corresponding to the accelerator opening operated by a driver, the control is performed so as to intake the desired or targeted intake air amount by cooperatively controlling the actuators of the various air-system variable mechanisms.
As an operating angle change mechanism, which is one of the above-described opening/closing characteristics, it is possible to exemplify a mechanism for continuously changing the operating angle of the intake valve and the lift amount by using a rotating cam, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laying Open NO. 2001-263015, for example.
Moreover, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laying Open NO. 2001-65376, for example, such a technique is also known that the opening and closing timing of the intake valve out of the constituent elements of the opening/closing characteristics is fixed to the most retarded or delayed time when an opening measurement sensor (e.g. a throttle position sensor) in the opening control mechanism of a throttle valve has a failure.
Moreover, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laying Open NO. Hei 10-184406, for example, such a technique is also known that the operating angle out of the opening/closing characteristics of the intake valve is fixed to the largest side in the internal combustion engine for controlling the intake air amount by adjusting the opening/closing characteristics of the intake valve and by the opening control mechanism of a throttle valve (e.g. an electronic control throttle valve), as the fail-safe processing upon the failure or malfunction of the opening control mechanism of a throttle valve.
Furthermore, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laying Open NO. 2001-65374, for example, such a technique is also known that the opening and closing timing of the intake valve is set to the most retarded or delayed time when a water thermometer has a failure.
However, if at least one of the above-described various air-system variable mechanisms has a failure, a situation may turn out to be what is usually not assumed as the control of the intake air amount in some cases. In this case, because the cooperative control among the opening control mechanism, the intake-air-characteristics change mechanism, and the variable valve mechanism diverges (i.e. the three mechanisms are no longer cooperatively controlled), the operating condition of the internal combustion engine possibly may become worse and an evacuation run may become impossible, which is technically a problem.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an intake air amount control apparatus and an intake air amount control method for an internal combustion engine which can appropriately continue the operation thereof even in case that at least one of the three mechanisms has a failure or abnormality, for the internal combustion engine, in which the intake air amount is controlled by cooperatively controlling (i) the opening control mechanism of a throttle valve or the like, (ii) the intake characteristics change mechanism, such as the variable intake system and the swirl control valve system and (iii) the valuable valve mechanism, such as the operating angle change mechanism and a timing change mechanism (or Variable Valve Timing (VVT)).
The main purpose of the present invention is to prohibit the cooperative control to thereby prevent the divergence of the control and to preferably control the intake air amount of the internal combustion engine by one normal mechanism of (I) the opening control mechanism, (II) the variable valve mechanism and (III) the intake characteristics change mechanism, in case that there is an abnormality in any one of the three mechanisms in a technique of controlling the intake air amount of the internal combustion engine by the cooperative control of the three mechanisms.
The above object of the present invention can be achieved by a first intake air amount control apparatus for an internal combustion engine provided with: an opening control mechanism for controlling an opening of a throttle valve disposed on an intake path of the internal combustion engine; a variable valve mechanism for varying opening/closing characteristics (which mean both of the opening characteristic and the closing characteristics, or may mean one of the opening characteristic and the closing characteristic) of at least one of an intake valve and an exhaust valve of the internal combustion engine; an intake characteristics change mechanism for changing the intake characteristics of the internal combustion engine by controlling a parameter or parameters different from (i) the opening of the throttle valve and (ii) the opening/closing characteristics of the at least one of the intake valve and the exhaust valve; an intake amount control device for controlling an intake air amount supplied into a combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine by performing a cooperative control of the opening control mechanism, the variable valve mechanism and the intake characteristics change mechanism; an abnormality detection device for detecting an abnormal condition in the opening control mechanism and the variable valve mechanism; and a fail-safe device for controlling the opening control mechanism, the variable valve mechanism, and the intake characteristics change mechanism, in case that the abnormal condition is detected by the abnormality detection device in one of the opening control mechanism and the variable valve mechanism, so as to control the intake air amount by the other of the opening control mechanism and the variable valve mechanism, in place of the cooperative control by the intake amount control device.
According to the first intake air amount control apparatus for the internal combustion engine of the present invention, upon the operation thereof, the intake air amount supplied into the combustion chamber is controlled by that the three mechanisms, which are (I) the opening control mechanism of a throttle valve; (II) the variable valve mechanism; and (III) the intake characteristics change mechanism, are cooperatively controlled by the intake amount control device. More specifically, for example, while the intake air amount accompanying changes in the opening of the throttle valve according to the accelerator opening is measured by an intake amount
Fuwa Naohide
Hiraku Keizo
Yamada Hirohiko
Yamanashi Takahiro
Chang Ching
Denion Thomas
Toyota Jidosha & Kabushiki Kaisha
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