JP2009264118A - Control device for internal combustion engine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a control device for an internal combustion engine appropriately performing exhaust recirculation control in the internal combustion engine provided with an exhaust recirculation mechanism performing exhaust recirculation from the downstream side of an exhaust emission control catalyst to an intake passage and preventing malfunction such as fixation of an exhaust recirculation control valve. <P>SOLUTION: A timer TMFC integrates fuel cut operation execution time (S21), and EGR delay time TEGRDLY is calculated according to the value of the timer TMFC (S13). Exhaust recirculation (external exhaust recirculation) through the exhaust recirculation mechanism is stopped (S17, S22) from fuel cut operation end to elapse of the EGR delay time TEGRDLY. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a control device for an internal combustion engine, and more particularly to a control device for an internal combustion engine that includes an exhaust gas recirculation passage that recirculates exhaust gas from a downstream side of an exhaust purification catalyst provided in the exhaust passage to an intake passage.

  Patent Document 1 discloses an internal combustion engine that includes an exhaust gas recirculation passage that recirculates exhaust gas from a downstream side of an exhaust purification catalyst provided in an exhaust passage to an intake passage. In this way, by causing the exhaust gas to recirculate from the downstream side of the exhaust purification catalyst, contamination of the exhaust gas recirculation passage and the intake passage can be suppressed.

  Patent Document 2 discloses an internal combustion engine having an exhaust gas recirculation passage that performs exhaust gas recirculation from an upstream side of an exhaust purification catalyst provided in the exhaust passage to an intake passage, and further stops fuel supply to the engine. A technique for suppressing the inflow of air into the exhaust purification catalyst by opening the exhaust gas recirculation passage during the cut operation is shown.

JP 2005-188287 A JP-A-9-209844

  When the fuel cut operation is performed in an engine that performs exhaust gas recirculation from the downstream side of the exhaust purification catalyst to the intake passage as disclosed in Patent Document 1, the following problems may occur. That is, when the fuel cut operation time becomes longer, the exhaust purification catalyst is cooled by fresh air, and the purification capability of the exhaust purification catalyst is reduced. Therefore, if exhaust gas recirculation is performed immediately after returning from fuel cut operation to normal operation (resumption of fuel supply), exhaust gas with insufficient purification may be recirculated, which may cause clogging of the exhaust gas recirculation passage and sticking of the exhaust gas recirculation control valve. is there.

  The technique disclosed in Patent Document 2 is to open the exhaust gas recirculation passage (open the exhaust gas recirculation control valve) during the fuel cut operation, and thus cannot solve the above problem.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to the above-described points, and appropriately performs exhaust gas recirculation control in an internal combustion engine including an exhaust gas recirculation passage that performs exhaust gas recirculation from the downstream side of the exhaust purification catalyst to the intake passage, and an exhaust gas recirculation control valve. An object of the present invention is to provide a control device for an internal combustion engine that can prevent problems such as sticking of the internal combustion engine.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is directed to an exhaust gas recirculation passage (21) connecting the downstream side of the exhaust purification catalyst (14) provided in the exhaust passage (13) and the intake passage (2). An internal combustion engine control device comprising an exhaust gas recirculation control valve (22) for controlling a flow rate of the recirculated exhaust gas flowing through the exhaust gas recirculation passage (21), wherein fuel supply to the engine is stopped in a predetermined operating state of the engine. A fuel supply stop means, a fuel supply stop time integrating means for integrating the fuel supply stop time (TMFC) during which the fuel supply is stopped, and the exhaust gas recirculation passage (21) according to the fuel supply stop time (TMFC) ), A prohibition time setting means for setting an external exhaust gas recirculation prohibition time (TEGRDLY) for prohibiting the exhaust gas recirculation through the fuel supply stop, and the external exhaust gas from the time when the fuel supply stoppage by the fuel supply stop means is completed During the reflux inhibition time (TEGRDLY), characterized in that it comprises an exhaust reflux delay means for inhibiting the opening of the exhaust gas recirculation control valve (22).

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the control device for an internal combustion engine according to the first aspect, the intake valve that opens and closes the intake port that communicates the combustion chamber of the engine and the intake passage is opened during the exhaust stroke. And an internal exhaust gas recirculation means for performing internal exhaust gas recirculation by opening or closing an exhaust valve that opens and closes an exhaust port communicating with the combustion chamber and the exhaust passage during the intake stroke, and It further comprises an internal exhaust gas recirculation amount control means for increasing the internal exhaust gas recirculation amount by the internal exhaust gas recirculation means when exhaust gas recirculation is prohibited.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the external exhaust gas recirculation prohibition time is set according to the fuel supply stop time, and the exhaust gas recirculation control valve is opened during the period from the time when the fuel supply stop is completed to the external exhaust gas recirculation prohibition time. Is prohibited. Therefore, for example, when the fuel supply stop time is prolonged and the activity of the exhaust purification catalyst is reduced, the exhaust gas recirculation prohibition time is lengthened to start the exhaust gas recirculation after the purification ability of the exhaust purification catalyst is recovered. it can. As a result, exhaust that is not sufficiently purified is recirculated, and it is possible to prevent the exhaust gas recirculation passage from being clogged and the exhaust gas recirculation control valve from being stuck.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the external exhaust gas recirculation is prohibited, the internal exhaust gas recirculation amount is increased. Fuel consumption can be improved by reliably burning the fuel.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an internal combustion engine and a control device thereof according to an embodiment of the present invention. An internal combustion engine (hereinafter simply referred to as “engine”) 1 has, for example, four cylinders, and a throttle valve 3 is disposed in the middle of an intake pipe 2 of the engine 1. The throttle valve 3 is provided with a throttle valve opening sensor 4 for detecting the opening TH of the throttle valve 3, and a detection signal thereof is supplied to an electronic control unit (hereinafter referred to as “ECU”) 5.

  A fuel injection valve 6 is provided for each cylinder slightly upstream of an intake valve (not shown). Each injection valve is connected to a fuel pump (not shown) and electrically connected to the ECU 5 to receive a signal from the ECU 5. Thus, the valve opening time of the fuel injection valve 6 is controlled.

  An intake pressure sensor 7 for detecting the intake pressure PBA is provided immediately downstream of the throttle valve 3, and an intake air temperature sensor 8 for detecting the intake air temperature TA is attached downstream of the intake pressure sensor 7. An engine cooling water temperature sensor 9 that detects the engine cooling water temperature TW is attached to the main body of the engine 1. Detection signals from these sensors are supplied to the ECU 5.

  The ECU 5 is connected to a crank angle position sensor 10 that detects a rotation angle of a crankshaft (not shown) of the engine 1, and a signal corresponding to the rotation angle of the crankshaft is supplied to the ECU 5. The crank angle position sensor 10 is a cylinder discrimination sensor that outputs a pulse (hereinafter referred to as “CYL pulse”) at a predetermined crank angle position of a specific cylinder of the engine 1, and relates to a top dead center (TDC) at the start of the intake stroke of each cylinder. A TDC sensor that outputs a TDC pulse at a crank angle position before a predetermined crank angle (every crank angle of 180 degrees in a four-cylinder engine) and a CRK pulse that generates a CRK pulse at a constant crank angle cycle shorter than the TDC pulse (for example, a cycle of 30 °). It consists of sensors, and a CYL pulse, a TDC pulse and a CRK pulse are supplied to the ECU 5. These signal pulses are used for various timing controls such as fuel injection timing and ignition timing, and detection of engine speed (engine speed) NE.

  The exhaust pipe 13 is provided with an exhaust purification catalyst 14 that purifies the exhaust. An exhaust gas recirculation passage 21 is provided between the downstream side of the exhaust purification catalyst 14 and the downstream side of the throttle valve 3 of the intake pipe 2, and an exhaust gas for controlling the exhaust gas recirculation amount is provided in the middle of the exhaust gas recirculation passage 21. A reflux control valve (hereinafter referred to as “EGR valve”) 22 is provided. The EGR valve 22 is an electromagnetic valve having a solenoid, and the valve opening degree is controlled by the ECU 5. The EGR valve 22 is provided with a lift sensor 23 for detecting the valve opening degree (valve lift amount) LACT, and the detection signal is supplied to the ECU 5. An exhaust gas recirculation mechanism is configured by the exhaust gas recirculation passage 21 and the EGR valve 22. The ECU 5 calculates the valve opening command value LCMD of the EGR valve 22 according to the engine operating state, and controls the EGR valve 22 so that the actual valve opening LACT coincides with the valve opening command value LCMD.

  The engine 1 has a variable valve operation phase mechanism 30 that can continuously change the opening / closing valve timing of the intake valve. The configuration of the valve actuation phase variable mechanism is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-227013.

  The ECU 5 shapes input signal waveforms from various sensors, corrects the voltage level to a predetermined level, converts an analog signal value into a digital signal value, etc., and a central processing circuit (hereinafter referred to as “CPU”). A storage circuit that stores various calculation programs executed by the CPU, calculation results, and the like, an output circuit that supplies a drive signal to the fuel injection valve 6, and the like. The ECU 5 controls the valve opening time of the fuel injection valve 6 and the opening degree control (EGR flow rate control) of the EGR valve 22 based on detection signals of various sensors.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a process for performing EGR flow rate control. This process is executed every predetermined time by the CPU of the ECU 5.

  In step S11, it is determined whether or not the fuel cut FFC is "1". The fuel cut flag FFC is set to “1” when the engine 1 is decelerating and a predetermined fuel cut condition is satisfied. When the fuel cut flag FFC is set to “1”, the valve opening time TOUT of the fuel injection valve 6 is set to “0”, and the fuel supply to the engine 1 is stopped.

  If the answer to step S11 is affirmative (YES), the up-count timer TMFC is counted up (step S21). The upcount timer TMFC is a timer that accumulates the execution time of the fuel cut operation. In step S21, the valve opening command value LCMD of the EGR valve 22 is set to “0”, and the exhaust gas recirculation is stopped.

  If FFC = 0 and fuel is supplied in step S11, it is determined whether or not the initial flag FINI is “1” (step S12). Since FINI = 0 initially, the process proceeds to step S13, and the TEGRDLY table shown in FIG. 3A is searched according to the value of the timer TMFC, that is, the immediately preceding fuel cut execution time, and the EGR delay time TEGRDLY is calculated. The TEGRDLY table is set so that the EGR delay time TEGRDLY increases as the value of the timer TMFC increases.

  In step S14, the downcount timer TMEGRDLY is set to the EGR delay time TEGRDLY. In step S15, the initial flag FINI is set to “1”. After step S15 is executed, the answer to step S12 is affirmative (YES), and the process immediately proceeds from step S12 to step S16.

  In step S16, the timer TMEGRDLY is counted down, and in step S17, it is determined whether or not the value of the timer TMEGRDLY is “0”. Since this answer is negative (NO) at first, the process proceeds to step S22.

  When the EGR delay time TEGRDLY has elapsed from the end of the fuel cut operation, the process proceeds from step S17 to step S18, the value of the timer TMFC is set to “0”, and the initial flag FINI is returned to “0” (steps S18, S19). . In step S20, the valve opening command value LCMD is calculated according to the engine operating state (specifically, the engine speed NE and the engine load (intake pressure PBA or throttle valve opening TH)).

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of processing for performing fuel injection control. This process is executed by the CPU of the ECU 5 in synchronization with the generation of the TDC pulse.
In step S31, it is determined whether or not the fuel cut flag FFC is “1”. If the answer is affirmative (YES), the fuel injection time TOUT is set to “0” and the fuel supply is stopped ( Step S33). When FFC = 0, the fuel injection time TOUT is calculated according to the engine operating state, specifically, the engine speed NE, the engine load, the engine coolant temperature, and the like.

  As described above, in this embodiment, immediately after the end of the fuel cut operation, the EGR delay time TEGRDLY is set according to the value of the timer TMFC indicating the execution time of the immediately preceding fuel cut operation, and from the time when the fuel cut operation ends. During the EGR delay time TEGRDLY, the valve opening command value LCMD of the EGR valve 22 is maintained at “0”. Therefore, for example, when the execution time of the fuel cut operation becomes longer and the activity of the exhaust purification catalyst 14 decreases, the EGR delay time TEGRDLY becomes longer and the exhaust gas recirculation is performed after the exhaust purification catalyst 14 is activated and the purification ability is recovered. Can be started. As a result, exhaust that is not sufficiently purified is recirculated, and the exhaust recirculation passage 21 can be prevented from being clogged and the EGR valve 22 being stuck.

  In the present embodiment, the ECU 5 constitutes a fuel supply stop unit, a fuel supply stop time integration unit, a prohibition time setting unit, and an exhaust gas recirculation delay unit. Specifically, steps S31 and S33 in FIG. 4 correspond to fuel supply stop means, steps S18 and S21 in FIG. 2 correspond to fuel supply stop time integration means, and step S13 corresponds to prohibition time setting means. Steps S14, S16, and S17 correspond to the exhaust gas recirculation delay means.

[Modification 1]
According to the process shown in FIG. 2, when the fuel cut operation is started again before the value of the timer TMEGRDLY becomes “0” as shown in FIG. 5, the timer TMFC is counted up without being reset. As a result, there is a possibility that the time for continuously stopping the exhaust gas recirculation (hereinafter referred to as “continuous EGR stop time”) TEGRSTP becomes too long. Therefore, instead of the process shown in FIG. 2, the process shown in FIG. 6 may be applied.

  FIG. 6 is obtained by adding step S14a to the process of FIG. In step S14a, the value of the timer TMFC is reset to “0” when the fuel cut operation ends.

  In this modification, the continuous EGR stop time TEGRSTP is as shown in FIG. 7, and the continuous EGR stop time TEGRSTP can be prevented from becoming excessively long.

[Modification 2]
Although the first modification can prevent the continuous EGR stop time TEGRSTTP from becoming excessively long, the following problems may occur. That is, when a relatively long fuel cut operation is performed, and a relatively short fuel cut operation is performed before the value of the timer TMEGRDLY becomes “0”, the first relatively long fuel cut operation is performed. There is a possibility that the EGR delay time TEGRDLY is insufficient with respect to the time required for the purification performance of the cooled exhaust purification catalyst to recover.

Therefore, it is desirable to adopt the process shown in FIG. 8 instead of the process shown in FIG. The process of FIG. 8 is obtained by adding steps S41 to S44 to the process of FIG.
If the answer to step S11 is affirmative (YES), the process proceeds to step S41, and it is determined whether or not the value of the timer TMEGRDLY is greater than “0”. If this answer is negative (NO), that is, if TMEGRDLY = 0, the process immediately proceeds to step S21.

  If TMEGRDLY> 0 in step S41, the EGR delay time TEGRDLY is set to the value of the timer TMEGRDLY at that time (step S42). Next, the TEGRDLY table shown in FIG. 3A is reversely searched according to the EGR delay time TEGRDLY, the value of the timer TMFC is calculated, and the calculated value is set in the timer TMFC (step S43). In step S44, the value of the timer TMEGRDLY is reset to “0”, and then the process proceeds to step S21.

  According to the process of FIG. 8, the first time T1 shown in FIG. 9C is a value corresponding to the first fuel cut operation execution time, and the second time T2 is the interruption of the first time T1 and the fuel cut operation. The time corresponds to the time T4. Then, by setting the third time T3 calculated according to the second time T2 as the initial value of the timer TMFC at time t1, the initial value of the timer TMFC becomes an appropriate value according to the first time T1 and the interruption time T4. It is possible to prevent the EGR stop time TEGRDLY after time t2 from being insufficient.

[Modification 3]
If the fuel cut operation for a short time that does not cool the exhaust purification catalyst and the relatively short interruption time (<TEGRDRLY) are continued, the timer is maintained even though the exhaust purification catalyst remains active. There is a possibility that the value of TMFC increases and the continuous EGR stop time TEGRSTP becomes excessively long. Therefore, it is desirable to use the table shown in FIG. 3B instead of the table shown in FIG.

  That is, when the fuel cut execution time is equal to or shorter than a predetermined time TFC1 (for example, set to 5 to 10 seconds), the EGR delay time TEGRDLY is set to “0”. This is because when the fuel cut execution time is short, there is little influence on the purification performance of the exhaust purification catalyst (for example, because the fuel adhering to the inner wall of the intake pipe is discharged and the temperature of the exhaust purification catalyst hardly decreases). . In particular, by using the TEGRDLY table shown in FIG. 3B in the modified example 2, when the fuel cut execution time is equal to or shorter than the predetermined time TFC1, the EGR delay time TEGRDLY is maintained at “0”. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the continuous EGR stop time TEGRSTP from becoming excessively long.

[Modification 4]
In this modified example, the TEGRDLY table shown in FIG. 3C is used instead of the TEGRDLY table shown in FIG. 3A or 3B in the first embodiment and the modified example. It is a thing. The table shown in FIG. 3C is set so that the EGR delay time TEGRDLY does not exceed the maximum value TEDMAX (for example, 15 to 20 minutes). By using this table, it is possible to prevent the continuous EGR stop time TEGRSTP from becoming excessively long when the fuel cut operation for a time slightly exceeding the predetermined time TFC1 is executed intermittently.

[Second Embodiment]
In this embodiment, in addition to external exhaust gas recirculation via the exhaust gas recirculation passage 21, internal exhaust gas recirculation is performed by advancing the valve opening timing of the intake valve (opening the intake valve in the exhaust stroke). Is. Although not shown, the intake valve is provided to open and close an intake port that communicates the combustion chamber of the engine 1 and the intake pipe 2. Internal exhaust gas recirculation (internal EGR) is performed by returning a part of burned gas generated by the combustion of the air-fuel mixture in the combustion chamber to the intake pipe 2 by advancing the opening timing of the intake valve. Is called. By adjusting the advance amount of the intake valve opening timing, the amount of burnt gas recirculated by the internal EGR (internal EGR flow rate) is controlled.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart of the EGR flow rate control process in this embodiment. In this process, step S20 in FIG. 2 is changed to step S20a, and step S21a is added.

  In step S20a, the valve opening command value LCMD of the EGR valve 22 is calculated according to the engine operating state, and the intake valve opening timing CAIN is calculated. The internal EGR flow rate is controlled by changing the valve opening timing CAIN.

  In step S21a, the intake valve opening timing CAIN is calculated according to the engine operating state, specifically, the engine speed NE and the engine load. Since the external EGR is stopped in step S22, the valve opening timing CAIN is set in step S21a so that the valve opening timing CAIN is advanced from the valve opening timing set in step S20a when the engine operating states are compared in the same state. Is done. That is, when the external EGR is stopped during the fuel supply, the internal EGR amount is increased as compared with the execution of the external EGR. As a result, the influence of stopping the external EGR is suppressed, the deterioration of the exhaust characteristics is prevented, and when the unburned fuel remains in the burned gas, the unburned fuel is surely burned, thereby reducing the fuel consumption. Can be improved.

In this embodiment, the valve operation phase varying mechanism 30 corresponds to the internal exhaust gas recirculation means, and steps S20a and S21a in FIG. 10 correspond to the internal exhaust gas recirculation amount control means.
Note that Modifications 1 to 4 of the first embodiment may also be applied to this embodiment.

  The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, and various modifications can be made. For example, in the present invention, in an engine in which two exhaust purification catalysts 14 and 15 are provided in an exhaust pipe as shown in FIGS. The present invention can be applied to both the case where it is connected to the downstream side and the case where it is connected to the downstream side of the exhaust purification catalyst 15. The same applies to the case where three or more exhaust purification catalysts are provided, and the present invention is applied to the control of an engine in which at least one exhaust purification catalyst is provided upstream of the connection portion between the exhaust gas recirculation passage 21 and the exhaust pipe 13. Can be applied.

  Further, in the embodiment described above, the internal exhaust gas recirculation is performed by advancing the opening timing of the intake valve, but instead of the valve operation phase variable mechanism 30, the opening / closing valve timing of the exhaust valve is continuously changed. A possible valve operation phase variable mechanism 30a is provided, and internal exhaust gas recirculation may be performed by retarding the closing timing of the exhaust valve (opening the exhaust valve in the intake stroke). Further, both the valve operation phase variable mechanisms 30 and 30a may be provided to perform internal exhaust gas recirculation by advancing the opening timing of the intake valve and retarding the closing timing of the exhaust valve. Although not shown, the exhaust valve is provided to open and close an exhaust port that communicates the combustion chamber of the engine 1 and the exhaust pipe 13.

  The present invention is applicable not only to gasoline internal combustion engines but also to control of diesel internal combustion engines. Furthermore, the present invention can also be applied to the control of a marine vessel propulsion engine such as an outboard motor having a vertical crankshaft.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the internal combustion engine and its control apparatus concerning one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart of the process (1st Embodiment) which controls recirculation | reflux exhaust flow volume. It is a figure which shows the table referred by the process of FIG. It is a flowchart of the process which controls fuel injection time (TOUT). It is a figure for demonstrating the time (TEGRRSTP) when exhaust gas recirculation is stopped continuously by the process of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the modification of the process shown in FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the time (TEGRSTTP) by which exhaust gas recirculation is stopped continuously by the process of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the modification of the process shown in FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the time (TEGRSTTP) by which the exhaust gas recirculation is stopped continuously by the process of FIG. It is a flowchart of the process (2nd Embodiment) which controls recirculation | reflux exhaust flow volume. It is a figure which shows the example provided with two or more exhaust gas purification catalysts.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Internal combustion engine 2 Intake pipe 5 Electronic control unit (Fuel supply stop means, fuel supply stop time integration means, prohibition time setting means, exhaust gas recirculation delay means, internal exhaust gas recirculation amount control means)
6 Fuel injection valve 13 Exhaust pipe 14 Exhaust purification catalyst 21 Exhaust gas recirculation passage 22 Exhaust gas recirculation control valve 30 Valve operation phase variable mechanism (internal exhaust gas recirculation means)

Claims (2)

In a control apparatus for an internal combustion engine, comprising an exhaust gas recirculation passage that connects a downstream side of an exhaust purification catalyst provided in an exhaust passage and an intake air passage, and an exhaust gas recirculation control valve that controls a flow rate of the recirculated exhaust gas flowing through the exhaust gas recirculation passage ,
Fuel supply stop means for stopping fuel supply to the engine in a predetermined operating state of the engine;
Fuel supply stop time integration means for integrating the fuel supply stop time during which the fuel supply is stopped;
A prohibition time setting means for setting an external exhaust gas recirculation prohibition time for prohibiting exhaust gas recirculation through the exhaust gas recirculation passage according to the fuel supply stop time;
An internal combustion engine control comprising: an exhaust gas recirculation delay unit that prohibits opening of the exhaust gas recirculation control valve during a period of the external exhaust gas recirculation prohibition time from when the fuel supply stop by the fuel supply stop unit is terminated. apparatus.   An intake valve that opens and closes an intake port that communicates the combustion chamber of the engine with the intake passage is opened during an exhaust stroke, and an exhaust valve that opens and closes an exhaust port that communicates the combustion chamber and the exhaust passage is opened during an intake stroke. The internal exhaust gas recirculation means for performing the internal exhaust gas recirculation by one or both of the valve opening, and the internal exhaust gas recirculation means increase the internal exhaust gas recirculation amount when the exhaust gas recirculation delay means prohibits the external exhaust gas recirculation. 2. The control apparatus for an internal combustion engine according to claim 1, further comprising internal exhaust gas recirculation amount control means.

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